The Galaxy Z Fold 5 may not include a built-in S Pen slot, but Samsung will offer an official protective case that can hold the stylus accessory. Leaked images of the new case show it will look slightly different from the one the company offered for last year’s model.
Posted on Threads by noted tipster Ishan Agarwal, the Galaxy Z Fold 5’s S Pen case can be seen in a couple of plain colors. It has a carved silo on its back where you can store the accessory, which comes in contrasting colors to the cover. This is a design shift from the detachable S Pen holster that Samsung offered with the Standing case for the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Since last year’s solution had a separate holster, it made the device a bit unstable when attached to the case. This year, Samsung has fixed that issue. But to carve a silo big enough to store the S Pen, the company had to make the case a bit thicker. As such, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 would feel quite bulky with the S Pen case. The accessory itself appears to have undergone a minor redesign.
Note that Samsung has developed a separate S Pen for foldable devices. Since folding screens are made of plastic, they are scratched easily with a sharp tip. The company offers one with a bland tip to use on the plastic screen. You shouldn’t use the S Pen that comes with the Galaxy S23 Ultra on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. The foldable won’t come with a stylus in the box, though. You’ll have to purchase it separately.
Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 leaks keep coming as Samsung gears up for Unpacked
The latest leak also shows official-looking promotional posters for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5. The posters don’t reveal anything new that we don’t already know. The Fold model expectedly looks a little thinner, while the Flip model is getting a bigger cover display. These are among the few big changes Samsung’s fifth-gen foldables will bring to the table.
A redesigned hinge, which allows the devices to fold shut without a gap, can also be put in this bracket. Most other things remain unchanged or are minor upgrades over the 2022 models. With Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled for July 26, we are less than a week away from the official launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5. The Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series will also debut on the same day.
We all know about YouTube and likely use it every single day. But what about YouTube Premium? That’s YouTube’s paid, subscription service, and it’s not as popular as YouTube itself is. Which is not a surprise, since it is paid. But what all is included in YouTube Premium, and what exactly is it?
Well, in this article, we are going to go over everything you need to know about YouTube Premium. Including what is included, pricing, what countries it is available in, and so much more. So you can make a better, more informed decision about whether you should sign up.
What is YouTube Premium?
YouTube Premium was born, originally in November of 2014, as YouTube Red. It was rebranded a few years later (in 2018) as YouTube Premium. Which added more perks, and also included YouTube Music. Which was not even a service in 2014 when YouTube Red came out.
Originally, YouTube Red was really just a place for some YouTube Originals and included a subscription to Google Play Music.
When YouTube Premium launched in 2018, Google added a number of other features and swapped out Google Play Music for YouTube Music. It also raised the price to $11.99 per month, and given everything that is included, it is well more than worth that price.
The first three features are what most people sign up for YouTube Premium for, especially the ad-free experience. Since YouTube has really littered its platform with a ton of ads, making it impossible to watch a ton of videos on the platform.
Being able to download videos to watch offline is also a really popular feature. Especially if you do a lot of traveling. Downloading videos to watch you’re on a plane, or on the subway, is definitely very helpful.
How much does YouTube Premium cost?
YouTube Premium costs $13.99 per month.
Like most other streaming services, there are family and student plans available. For students, it’ll cost you $7.99/month, and for a family plan, it’s $22.99/month. With the family plan, you can add up to five other people. Similar to how it works for YouTube TV and YouTube Music.
For the student plan, you will need to do some kind of verification to prove that you are indeed a student. Otherwise, everyone would sign up for the student plan and get that discount. Since it is nearly half the price.
Update: On July 20, 2023, Google announced that the price for YouTube Premium is going up. It’s now $13.99 per month ($2 increase), or $139 per year ($20 increase). YouTube Music Premium is also going up to $10.99 per month.
Can I get YouTube Music Premium only?
While YouTube Music Premium is included in YouTube Premium, you can still buy it by itself. Google offers the service for $10.99 per month, when it is not inside YouTube Premium. Which, if you just want a music streaming service, that’s right in par with the competition. But for $3 more per month, you can get ad-free YouTube, which is honestly worth it.
Keep in mind that Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify and Apple Music are all priced at $9.99/month. So it’s the same as the competition. And it also has a family plan for $14.99/month like the competition.
Where is YouTube Premium available?
According to Google, YouTube Premium is available in nearly 100 countries around the world. All of which are listed below. However, the paid membership may not be available in all states/provinces.
American Samoa
Argentina
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bolivia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Cayman Islands
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Estonia
Finland
France
French Guyana
French Polynesia
Germany
Greece
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Turks and Caicos Islands
US Virgin Islands
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Can I still use my subscription if I travel to another country?
Imagine you live in the US, and subscribe to YouTube Premium, and you travel to another country for vacation or something. Can you still use YouTube Premium there? It really depends on where you travel to. If you travel to another country that has YouTube Premium, then you can keep using your subscription as usual.
But, if you go to a country that doesn’t have YouTube Premium – like Russia, here’s what happens:
“You won’t be allowed to download videos, videos won’t play in the background, and you may see ads. Any videos that you’ve downloaded before traveling will be available offline for 30 days.”
So the sort answer, is yes you can still use it. But you may not get the same experience if you enter a country where YouTube Premium is not available.
Is it worth it, to sign up?
Yes, totally worth it. Especially if you do watch a lot of YouTube. I know I watch around 3-4 hours a day of YouTube and not having to watch ads is a huge bonus. The other features that this subscription has, I don’t even use. Though, if we ever return to travel like before the pandemic, I’ll likely use the offline playback a lot more.
If you already use YouTube Music, then this bundle is worth the cost. As you’re paying literally two dollars more to get ad-free YouTube. And that alone is worth the extra cost here. Of course, if you’re like me and are not a fan of YouTube Music, then it might be a bit harder of a decision. Paying $12 per month for ad-free YouTube is still quite a bit.
The best way to find out if this is worth it for you is to go ahead and sign up for one of the free trial bonuses. Google typically gives out two to six months of free trials for different things. Giving you plenty of time to try out the service. Then you can tap on your profile picture, then tap on “Your Premium Benefits” in the YouTube app, to see how you’ve used these benefits and whether it is worth the price.
If you can’t find any of your Google Play subscriptions all of a sudden, don’t panic. It’s a bug!
This problematic behavior was spotted by the 9to5Google team, who found the billing functionality is currently broken on Android. Since this is a component of vital importance to Google and Android, it may already be fixed by the time you read this article. If, however, your list of subscriptions has disappeared, don’t panic, you’ve done nothing wrong.
Here’s how to check if your phone is (or isn’t) affected by the bug:
Open the Google Play Store
Go to the account menu (top-right, tap on the picture)
Select ‘Payments and subscriptions’
From the next submenu, tap ‘Subscriptions’
If the page that opens shows no active subscriptions, that means your phone is affected by the bug. You’ll see a screen that reads ‘Discover subscriptions’ and ‘Get started’, as if you’ve never ever subscribed to anything, even if you have done so. There’s another possibility: you could get to see your active subscriptions list, but tapping one of them opens the same page with the ‘Discover subscriptions’ offer. That’s a nasty bug that has the potential to mess things up with money and payments. As long as the bug is present, users can’t cancel subscriptions using the Play Store app. The workaround is to visit via a web browser play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions. There you can find the whole set of information and options to cancel, update or set a backup payment method.
Editorial note: no phones reproduce this Google Play bug on our side.
Microsoft expanded cloud logging accessibility and flexibility for customers’ deeper security visibility.
This expansion coordinates results with commercial and government customers and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) about security to provide cloud customers with insight and analysis.
The wider availability of a Microsoft signing key has emerged following a notorious incident involving Chinese hackers.
These hackers managed to exploit the key, gaining unauthorized access to numerous corporate and government Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft 365 accounts, ultimately resulting in the theft of sensitive email data.
With the cloud, software updates happen automatically and security monitoring is centralized.
Log data provides detailed and auditable information on application and device access for customers using the cloud.
Digital forensics and incident response teams rely on log data to identify instances where an attacker is posing as an authorized user.
Microsoft provides cloud security to worldwide customers at no additional ended the coming months.
Microsoft Purview Audit
Customers can utilize Microsoft Purview Audit to visualize various types of log data, enabling them to respond more effectively to security events, investigations, and compliance obligations.
In Audit (standard), after expanding, the customer has a detailed log of email access and more than 30 other types of log data previously available only at the premium level also it increases the retention period from 90 days to 180 days.
In Audit (Premium) already, customers will receive access to all available audit logging events, including insights it helps in the Microsoft purview compliance portal and Office 365 Management Activity API. An additional feature of expanding Premium includes longer retention periods and automation support for importing log data.
“After working collaboratively for over a year, I am extremely pleased with Microsoft’s decision to make necessary log types available to the broader cybersecurity community at no additional cost,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly.
The update will be rolled out over September 2023 to all government and commercial customers.
All the existing and new logs can be accessible; visit the Microsoft Purview compliance portal and select Audit from the Solutions panel.
“We believe that every organization deserves to have products that are secure by design and come with necessary security data “out of the box,” reads the CISA report.
WhatsApp is making it easier to initiate larger group voice and video calls. The latest beta version of the Meta-owned messaging app (v2.23.15.14 for Android) lets users begin a group call with up to 15 people. That’s more than double the previous limit of seven participants at the beginning.
WhatsApp has allowed group voice and video calls in groups with up to 32 participants since April last year. However, it has put in place a weird limit on the number of people that can join a group call from the beginning. You can only initiate a call with a maximum of seven group members. You have to select those seven participants beforehand (you can proceed with fewer participants as well).
If you want to add other group members to the call, you have to manually do that later. This is a bit of a hassle for calls in larger groups. WhatsApp is fixing it by raising the limit to 15 people (via WABetaInfo). You can now select up to 15 group members before initiating a voice or video call. Like before, you can add more later. The overall participant limit for group calls on WhatsApp is still 32, though.
As said earlier, WhatsApp is currently testing this change among beta users on Android. If everything goes according to the plan, the update should reach the stable version of the app soon. But if you can’t wait for it, you can try your luck by signing up for the beta program here. If you’re lucky enough, you may get early access to the new group call limit on the Meta-owned messaging platform.
WhatsApp is working on more new features
Over the past couple of years or so, Meta has shaped WhatsApp into a more comprehensive communication and collaboration tool. While it’s still not as feature-rich as the likes of Google Meet and Zoom, WhatsApp can do a lot that the latter two can also do. Moreover, Meta is frequently pushing new features to it. Features like screen sharing and group video calls are among those.
Going forward, WhatsApp will gain more power. The company is testing the ability to send messages to new phone numbers without saving them first. WhatsApp also recently launched an app for Wear OS smartwatches. Stay tuned to find out what Meta has in the pipeline for its messaging app in the coming months. You can click the button below to download the latest version of the app for your Android smartphone.
Forget tapping your phone or your card, Amazon lets you pay with your palm. This feature is called Amazon One, and it’s available in more than 200 Amazon stores in the US. That’s a lot, but Amazon is planning on bringing palm-based payments to more stores by the end of the year.
The e-commerce super giant brought this technology to several of its Whole Foods stores in states like Texas, California, and New York. Instead of pulling out your card or phone, you just need to hover your palm over the reader. The machine will use your unique palm signature as a form of identification.
Supposedly, your palm signature should be unique to you just like your fingerprint. With that, you should be able to make secure payments and redeem your Amazon perks.
Amazon is bringing palm-based payments to more stores
As stated, Amazon One is available in more than 200 stores. However, the company plans on more than doubling this number by the end of the year, according to Engadget. It plans on the functionality making it to more than 500 stores.
While the technology is available for Amazon-owned stores, it won’t only be limited to those stores. The technology is available in some third-party venues at the moment. This includes the Colorado Rockie’s Stadium and Panera. We can guess that this expansion will include more third-party stores.
We’re not sure what stores will gain this functionality. However, if you live close to an Amazon-owned store, then you should be on the lookout for it to come later this year.
This isn’t without its controversy
As you can imagine, a feature such as this has landed Amazon in some legal trouble. This feature uses biometric data… let’s rephrase that, Amazon collects your biometric data in order for this feature to work. While this might not be an issue for most people, there are plenty of folks who don’t like this.
In fact, the company could be looking at a class-action lawsuit over this in New York. The suit says that Amazon didn’t inform its users that it collects this data. Thus, many people are giving away their biometric data without the proper heads-up. Regardless, Amazon is still going ahead with this expansion.
One day after Meta announced the rollout of the standalone WhatsApp for Wear OS app, Samsung replied with an announcement of its own. The South Korean giant has just revealed that three apps are coming to its Galaxy Watch series: WhatsApp, Wallet, and Thermo Check.
Samsung Wallet made its debut last year when it bundled together Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass to make it easier for users to manage their wallets on their smartphones. Starting today, Samsung Wallet is making its way to Galaxy Watch wearable devices, allowing users to make payments, provide IDs, and pull up show tickets right on their wrists.
It’s worth noting that the Wallet app is not yet available in all countries, although Samsung is trying hard to expand its availability to additional markets. Early this year, Samsung Wallet was launched in 8 new markets, after the app was originally debuted in 21 countries in 2022.
The new Thermo Check app takes advantage of the Galaxy Watch’s advanced infrared technology to make accurate temperature measurements. The app allows users to measure the temperature of their surroundings, from meals to water, all without any physical contact required. According to Samsung, the Thermo Check app will first be available on the upcoming Galaxy Watch 6 devices and later expanded to Galaxy Watch 5 series.
Last but not least, WhatsApp is now available for Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 4 users. The app is simple to use and offers some basic messaging features, including the option to continue conversations, reply to messages by voice, as well as answer calls. All these features are available to Galaxy Watch 5 and 4 users without having to pair their smartwatches with a phone.
But that’s not all! Samsung hinted at even more “versatile functions” to be unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked on July 26, so expect even more improvements to Galaxy Watch users to be announced next week.
Cyber criminals have recently started using Facebook to pretend to be well-known generative AI brands like ChatGPT, Google Bard, Midjourney, and Jasper to steal users’ personal information.
Users on Facebook are deceived into downloading content from fake brand sites and advertisements.
These downloads contain harmful malware that steals users’ internet credentials for banking, social networking, gaming, and other services, their cryptocurrency wallets, and any data saved in their browsers.
According to the Check Point Research Team (CPR), the majority of Facebook campaigns that use fake sites and dangerous advertisements eventually spread malware that steals information.
Users who are not aware of the situation are liking and commenting on fake posts, spreading them to their social networks.
How Criminals Use Facebook Ads to Steal Private Information?
This new scam makes use of people’s curiosity about popular generative AI apps to trick them out of their passwords and sensitive data.
The intruders begin by making fake Facebook pages or groups for well-known brands and adding interesting content to them. The unaware individual comments on or likes the content, guaranteeing that it appears on their friends’ news feeds.
Through a link, the false page advertises a new service. When the user clicks on the link, malicious malware that is intended to steal their internet passwords, cryptocurrency wallets, and other information saved in their browser is unknowingly downloaded.
“Many of the fake pages offer tips, news, and enhanced versions of AI services Google Bard or ChatGPT”, researchers said.
Fake posts displayed to the users
Additionally, cyber criminals frequently persuade users to utilize other AI services and tools. Jasper AI is another well-known AI brand that has amassed over 2 million followers and is being impersonated by online crooks.
Jasper AI impersonated by cyber criminals
In reality, people are furiously debating the role of AI in the comments and liking/sharing the posts, which increases their reach.
“Most of those Facebook pages lead to similar type landing pages which encourage users to download password-protected archive files that are allegedly related to generative AI engines”, say the researchers.
Notably say, when an ignorant user looks for ‘Midjourney AI’ on Facebook and comes across a page with 1.2 million followers, they are likely to assume it is genuine.
Researchers mention that the main goal of this fake Mid-Journey AI Facebook page is to mislead visitors into downloading malware. Links to malicious websites are combined with links to authentic Midjourney reviews or social networks to offer credibility.
“The malware makes efforts to gather various types of information from all the major browsers, including cookies, bookmarks, browsing history, and passwords,” researchers.
“It targets cryptocurrency wallets including Zcash, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others.”
Final Thoughts
The primary objective of cybercriminals seems to be information related to Facebook accounts and the theft of Facebook pages. Even many pages with a wide audience might be used in this way to propagate fraud since cybercriminals are seeking to take advantage of pages with significant audiences and advertising budgets already in place.
Individuals and organizations must thus educate themselves, be aware of the hazards, and maintain vigilance against the strategies used by cybercriminals. To defend against these changing dangers, advanced security solutions are still crucial.
The worm exploits a sandbox escape vulnerability in the Lua Library, which has received a maximum severity score of 10.0 on the CVSSv3 severity scale.
Security experts have issued a warning about a highly sophisticated peer-to-peer (P2P) worm, written in Rust, that is specifically targeting instances of the popular open-source database software Redis.
Known as ‘P2PInfect,’ the worm exploits a critical vulnerability to infiltrate Redis instances and assimilates them into a larger P2P network, enabling it to spread rapidly.
Researchers from Unit 42, Palo Alto Networks’ cloud research team, identified the worm and named it after a term found in leaked symbols within its code. The worm exploits CVE-2022-0543, a sandbox escape vulnerability in the Lua Library, which has received a maximum severity score of 10.0 on the CVSSv3 severity scale, indicating its significant threat potential.
Screenshot shared by researchers shows P2PInfect appears in the leaked symbols
P2PInfect establishes its foothold in cloud container environments, making it stand out from other worms targeting Redis, such as the cryptojacking malware operated by Adept Libra (aka TeamTnT), Thief Libra (aka WatchDog).
Once inside a Redis instance, the worm executes a Powershell script that alters local firewall settings, preventing the infected Redis instance from being accessed by legitimate owners while granting the worm operators unrestricted access.
One of the worm’s sophisticated techniques for persistence involves a process named ‘Monitor,’ stored in the Temp folder within a user’s AppData directory. This process downloads multiple randomly named P2PInfect executables alongside an encrypted configuration file, ensuring its long-term presence on infected systems.
Researchers have observed that the worm establishes a P2P connection via port 60100 to a large command and control (C2) botnet. While samples downloaded from the C2 include files labelled ‘miner’ and ‘winminer,’ there is no evidence yet of P2PInfect engaging in cryptomining using infected instances.
Experts speculate that the worm might be laying the groundwork for future campaigns, potentially involving mining activities using the botnet.
According to Unit 42’s blog post, the company discovered P2PInfect on July 11th using its HoneyCloud platform, a diverse array of honeypots designed to attract and analyze public cloud threats. The worm’s rapid spread has been noted, with 934 out of 307,000 publicly-communicating Redis instances identified as vulnerable.
The unique use of Rust programming language by P2PInfect raises concerns among cybersecurity experts, as many ransomware groups have also shifted to Rust due to benefits such as faster encryption and evading common detection methods.
As the threat landscape continues to evolve, researchers are closely monitoring the worm’s behaviour, including the possibility of new behaviours and features being added to P2PInfect in the future.
While Rust offers numerous advantages beyond its use in malware, its adoption in sophisticated worms like P2PInfect highlights the importance of constant vigilance and proactive security measures in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats. Organizations and individuals are urged to update their Redis instances and implement robust cybersecurity practices to safeguard against potential attacks.
In the wake of this discovery, the cybersecurity community must remain vigilant and proactive in safeguarding critical systems and data against emerging threats like P2PInfect and other advanced malware strains.
We just had a significant leak of the OnePlus 12 half a year before it’s slated to launch. Now, we’re looking at a leak of the more affordable version of that phone. Thanks to OnLeaks (via Phone Arena), we have a leak of the OnePlus 12R.
If you want to know more about the OnePlus 12 leak, you can click here. We see that this phone is going to look similar to the OnePlus 11 with its circular camera package. We see that it’s going for a center-mounted punch-hole rather than one on the left of the screen.
The leaked specs point to it using the most powerful Snapdragon SoC that will be available at that time and come with up to 16GB of RAM. There’s a lot more to this leak, so be sure to check out the article.
The OnePlus 12R got an early leak
Just like the OnePlus 12, the OnePlus 12R looks like it’s going to retain the same design as the OnePlus 11. It could look 1:1 with the OnePlus 11 with no noticeable change.
As for the display, this phone could sport a large 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. We don’t know the resolution, but the leak points to it being 1.5K. That’s somewhere between 1080p and 1440p.
As for the internals, the leak points to this phone using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, which is the same chip powering the OnePlus 11. We’re looking at up to 16GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. We’re sure that the base model will come with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Moving onto the camera, the OnePlus 12R could come with a 50MP main camera, 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 32MP 2x zoom camera. Up front, we could be looking at a 16MP selfie camera.
The battery in this phone looks like it will also get a boost. The OnePlus 12R could have a 5,000mAh battery. That’s 10% larger than the standard flagship capacity of 5,000mAh.
So far, it looks like this phone is going to be a powerful alternative to the latest Galaxy S phones, iPhones, and Pixel phones that will be out next year. We’re not sure how much this phone will cost when it launches. However, we expect it to be more affordable than the OnePlus 12.
