Pixel 8 certification reveals no wireless charging improvements

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Pixel 8 certification reveals no wireless charging improvements
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The Google Pixel 8 got certified for Qi wireless charging. In other words, it appeared at the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). That listing confirmed no speed improvement over last year’s model, unfortunately.

The Pixel 8 certification confirms the phone won’t offer wireless charging improvements

The device listed comes with a model number ‘GKWS6’, and 9to5Google claims this is the Pixel 8. This listing did not show the phone’s design, however, as the Pixel 6 was used as a placeholder.

In any case, the listing confirms that the Pixel 8 will offer the same maximum Qi charging rate as the Pixel 7, 12W. The phone also won’t offer the ‘Qi2’ standard that got announced earlier this year, at least based on the version of its Qi charging (1.2.4).

Qi2 support won’t be included, it seems

Qi2 would be a nice addition, and it would bring something along the lines of Apple’s MagSafe system to the phone. This would not only bring magnets to the plate, but it would also make the phone compatible with more third-party accessories. Qi2 will start rolling out later this year, and we were hoping the Pixel 8 will support it.

Now, it’s possible the Pixel 8 Pro will paint a different picture, at least as far as wireless charging speed is concerned. That’s not likely, however, and if the Pixel 8 doesn’t support Qi2, chances are the ‘Pro’ model won’t either.

The Pixel 8 design did surface earlier this year

The Pixel 8 surfaced in CAD-based renders earlier this year. It seems like it will be a bit smaller than the Pixel 7, which makes sense, as it will create a bit of difference between vanilla and ‘Pro’ models.

The phone will feature a flat display that will be somewhere between 6.1 and 6.2 inches in size. The Pixel 7 arrived with a 6.3-inch display. The Pixel 8 is also expected to offer thinner bezels.

It will be fueled by the Google Tensor G3 processor that will get announced along with the phone. Android 14 will come pre-installed on the phone, while the device will retain a similar design language as the Pixel 7.

Pixel 8 WPC


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Amazon to pay over $30 million to settle FTC privacy violation lawsuits

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Amazon to pay over $30 million to settle FTC privacy violation lawsuits
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Amazon has agreed to pay over $30 million to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to settle a couple of lawsuits alleging privacy violations. Its Ring home security unit will pay $5.8 million against an FTC complaint that alleges the company of spying on its users by allowing its employees and third-party contractors full access to videos recorded by its products. Separately, the e-commerce giant will pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit that alleges it of illegally retaining children’s information through the Alexa voice assistant.

Amazon settles the FTC lawsuit against Ring

In its complaint against Ring, the FTC said that the company gave all of its employees and “hundreds of Ukraine-based third-party contractors” full access to customer videos. It allowed access “regardless of whether the employee or contractor actually needed that access to perform his or her job function”. Employees could even download the videos and share them with others whenever they want. The lawsuit also highlights several cases of Ring employees illegally spying on users without the company’s knowledge.

While most of these privacy violations happened before Amazon acquired Ring, the FTC alleges that Amazon failed to implement proper security measures at least a few years into its ownership of the company. “Before January 2020, Ring systematically failed to appreciate and control for the risk of at least two types of well-known online attacks: credential stuffing and brute force,” the complaint states. As a result, more than 55,000 US customers suffered from such attacks between January 2019 and March 2020.

The FTC filed this lawsuit in the US District Court of Colombia on Wednesday. Ring immediately agreed to settle the case outside of court and pay the consumer protection body $5.8 million in penalty. In a statement, the company said that it has “strong policies and controls” that restrict employees from accessing customer videos. “If we discover any employee violating our policies, we take appropriate and swift action, which can include firing the individual and referring them to law enforcement,” it added. Ring has previously fired a few employees for policy violations.

Amazon will also pay $25 million in FTC settlements over Alexa privacy violation

Amazon has settled one more case with the FTC this week. The second lawsuit, which was filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, alleges violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The complaint states that the company illegally retained “thousands of children’s information through their profiles with the Alexa voice assistant”. It kept those young users’ voice and geolocation information for years and prevented their parents from deleting the data (via).

The e-commerce biggie will pay $25 million to settle this case. It will also delete inactive child accounts and “some voice recordings and geolocation information”. The company is prevented from using that illegally retained information to train its algorithms. “We take our responsibilities to our customers and their families very seriously, and we will continue to invent more privacy features on behalf of our customers and ensure they are aware of the controls and options available to them,” Amazon said in an official statement. Both settlements are pending court approval.


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YouTube Music is testing a new style of Artist pages, but only some users see it

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YouTube Music is testing a new style of Artist pages, but only some users see it
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YouTube Music is one of the major competitors to Spotify. As a music streaming service, it has a wide range of features and even wider selection of artists. But what about the app’s design? Well, huge chunks of it have pretty much remained the same for a long time.

But this is Google we’re talking about. We can see the company’s strive for innovation through products like its Android phones, such as the Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold. So how does that translate into refreshing YouTube Music? Well, with a test.

Said test impacts the Artist pages in the app, which up until now was pretty straightforward and conventional. With this change, though, users who navigate to an artist’s page will be able to see a new section labeled “Discography” which includes new filters too.

While users will be able to browse the given discography at leisure, they can also utilize the new filtering options to single out Albums or Singles specifically. As someone who appreciates a full album playlist more than some random selection of songs, I personally welcome this change with open arms!

That being said, there was a short appearance of another visual mode too: Top Releases. This, of course, features the given artist’s most successful hits, but for some reason the feature was rolled back a few days after release. That being said: some users are still seeing it, which is… interesting?

That might be because the page launched too early and wasn’t exactly finished, but it also may be due to some other, more dubious reason. Regardless, we’re sure that it will make an appearance again if — and when — the Big G thinks that it is ready. 

As 9to5Google points out, this change does limit the content offering on the first page of the artist pane, but in return it is also much easier to navigate. We still don’t know how wide the roll out of this revamp is, so you might want to check for any pending app updates today.


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Nothing Phone (2) display size reveled, bigger screen coming

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Nothing Phone (2) display size reveled, bigger screen coming
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Nothing confirmed some additional details about its upcoming smartphone. In addition to revealing its plan for Nothing Phone (2) updates, the company also revealed the phone’s display size. On top of that, Nothing’s sustainability efforts were also talked about.

Having said that, we’ve already talked about updates in a separate article. The Nothing Phone (2) will receive three years of major Android updates. That means that Android 16 is basically guaranteed. Four years of security updates were also promised by Nothing.

The Nothing Phone (2) will include a larger display, and its size has been revealed

Now, regarding its display. Nothing confirmed that the phone’s display will be 0.15 inches bigger than the one on the Phone (1). That means that we’re looking at a 6.7-inch display, basically, as the Nothing Phone (1) includes a 6.55-inch panel.

The phone’s battery capacity will also increase, from 4,500mAh in the Nothing Phone (1) to 4,700mAh in the Nothing Phone (2). We hope that’ll be enough to fuel the device.

It remains to be seen if the display will be flat or curved, though. Considering its size, we’d guess it’s curved. However, the Nothing Phone (1) included a flat display, so… we’ll have to wait and see.

The Nothing Phone (2) will also have a lower carbon footprint than its predecessor

Nothing also talked about the phone’s carbon footprint, as the company managed to lower it. The Nothing Phone (2) has an SGS certified carbon footprint of 53.45kg, which is over 5kg lower than the Phone (1).

IMAGE

It was confirmed earlier that the Phone (2) will ship with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. It was also confirmed that the phone will launch in July, so we’re expecting it next month.

Chances are that the Nothing Phone (2) will keep the same design language as the first-gen model. You can expect a see-through backplate with Glyph LED lights on the back of it.


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Proton Family bundles encrypted email, VPN, storage & calendar

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Proton Family bundles encrypted email, VPN, storage & calendar
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Proton, the Swiss technology company that has made a name for itself with its privacy-focused services such as Proton Mail, VPN, Calendar, Drive, and password manager, is here with its latest offering. It’s a bundle of all of these services intended for families, plus the company’s future services complete with all premium features. Its password manager, dubbed Proton Pass, is still in beta and not yet available to the public.

Proton launches a family plan bundling all of its services

The Proton Family plan can be shared by up to six people. It gives users 3TB of cloud storage in Proton Drive, with the company promising 20GB of bonus storage every year. Additionally, you get full access to Proton Mail. It brings 90 encrypted email addresses (15 each for six users), three custom domains, short-domain email addresses (@pm.me) with unlimited sending and receiving abilities, password protection, unlimited labels, folders, and filters, IMAP support, auto-reply, and more.

Proton VPN is also part of this package. It offers VPN on up to ten devices for each user at the same time. The company promises the highest VPN speed with more than 2,900 encrypted servers in over 65 countries around the world. It also bundles NetShield ad-blocker. Other features include P2P/BitTorrent support, DNS leak prevention, router support, split tunneling, strict no-logs policy, unlimited volume/bandwidth, and kill switch/always-on VPN. Proton Calendar, meanwhile, gives access to 25 personal calendars to each user.

As said earlier, the Proton Family plan also promises access to all future services from the company. Its end-to-end encrypted password manager is currently available to some users in beta. Proton Pass encrypts everything from your username and password to the web address and all other information fields. It also boasts two-factor authentication (2FA) and supports 2FA autofill. The service is open source, allowing anyone to audit the security features. Proton says its password manager will be available to the public soon.

Proton’s family offering starts at $20 a month

Proton’s Family plan costs $29.99 per month. But if you pay for two years upfront, you get full access at just $19.99 per month, billed at $479.76 every two years. The company also offers an annual plan that costs $23.99 per month for a total of $287.88 for a year. You can sign up for Proton Family here. Existing users can follow these instructions to upgrade their Proton plan. Note that the company also offers a free tier with limited access.


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WhatsApp finally switches it up to a Material You inspired design

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WhatsApp finally switches it up to a Material You inspired design
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If you take a moment to consider what are the staple apps that most of us install on our Android phones, WhatsApp is likely to come up rather quickly. And if that is the case, we can’t really blame you. This end-to-end encrypted instant messaging app is certainly one of the most feature-packed options on the Google Play Store.And speaking of Google, its Material You theming was quite impactful. It was initially introduced with Android 12 and it brought a more unified vibe to Android’s user interface. Right now, we’re expecting Android 14 and the style is still prominent. That speaks for itself right there!

In fact, it is so impactful that it has even begun leaking into non-Google owned apps. Which, in general, is great, as it further serves to unify the look and feel of options and settings menus. It has taken some time, but WhatsApp is finally among the inspired, as testified by this report from WABetaInfo.


The team has managed to note this change in the 2.23.12.3 version release of the WhatsApp Beta release of the app for Android. What may turn into the start of a more major overhaul seems to be right in line with the Material Design 3 guidelines. This latest release is focusing on revamping the options toggles to fit in with the general aesthetic. Those among you who’ve been vigilant will know that this is just another step in this road, for the Meta-owned company already revamped the navigation bar in a previous beta release.

With this being a Beta release though, we can’t say for certain when it will be ready for a wider live release. What we can remind you of though is that you are free to check and see if you can join the WhatsApp beta, if you want to help out with testing the app’s latest features.


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Garmin unveils new Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Pro Gen 2 series watches

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Garmin unveils new Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Pro Gen 2 series watches
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Garmin is back at it with its next round of sports watches in the Fenix 7 Pro series and the Epix Pro (Gen 2) series. Each is capable of providing the wearer with similar features but also come with a few that are unique to their offering.

The Epix Pro series watches for example come with a bright AMOLED display. This should be easier to see in sunlight and on most occasions where you might experience glare. It comes in three different sizes which are 42mm, 47mm, and 51mm. Both the 42mm and 47mm versions cost $899.99 while the 51mm model bumps up that price by $100. You can also get it with a Sapphire display which bumps the starting price to $999.99, and the 51mm Sapphire model goes up to $1,099.99.

Basically, they’re by no means inexpensive and definitely designed for serious active enthusiasts who spend a lot of time with fitness activities, and value having loads of stats and related features. The Epix Pro series also comes with a built-in flashlight for those late-night excursions. The watch features a battery life of up to 10 days in smartwatch mode too. Which is plenty if you’re not fond of throwing your watch on the charger every night.

Garmin’s Fenix 7 Pro series is for the constant wanderer

Do you fancy yourself a serious outdoor enthusiast who likes to explore as much as possible? If so, then Garmin made the Fenix 7 Pro series watches just for you.

They swap out the AMOLED display for a solar-powered display that can keep the watch going long beyond the typical amount of time you get from these devices. And they already start with great battery life to begin with. Garmin claims up to 22 days in smartwatch mode and up to 37 if you use the solar charging. It also has the LED flashlight so you can see better if your adventures get into the late hours of the evening.

Garmin’s Fenix 7 Pro series starts at $799.99 and goes up to $999.99 for the 51mm Sapphire Solar display model.

Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) Series

Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Series


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Japan is aiming to beam solar power from space by 2025

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Japan is aiming to beam solar power from space by 2025
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Ever since we first started using solar power back in the 1970s, scientists have been looking for a way to beam solar energy from space since it would essentially solve the world energy crises and provide an almost unlimited source of renewable energy. Now, in line with these efforts, a Japanese public-private partnership is reportedly aiming to conduct the first trial run of this technology in 2025, by launching solar panels into space to generate electricity at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers.

First proposed by an American physicist back in 1968, the concept revolves around converting solar power into microwaves in space, similar to electromagnetic radiation used in microwaves, and then transmitting them back to Earth, where receiving stations convert these microwaves back into electrical energy. This approach not only addresses the current challenge of renewable energy generation but also overcomes the limitation of solar power during cloudy weather.

Japan’s role in developing this technology

Over the past few decades, Japan has been at the forefront of developing this technology, with a group led by former Kyoto University President Hiroshi Matsumoto spearheading the efforts. In the 1980s, they achieved the first successful transmission of power via microwaves in space and in 2015, the Japanese space administration, JAXA, in collaboration with Kyoto University professor Naoki Shinohara successfully transmitted 1.8 kilowatts of power over a distance of over 50 meters to a wireless receiver.

However, it is important to note that other countries, including the United States, in collaboration with the California Institute of Technology and the European Space Agency, are also working on their own methods to commercialize space-based solar power.

While recent advancements and future plans to implement this technology on a large scale have the potential to transform the future of humanity, cost remains a significant challenge. Currently, to generate approximately 1 gigawatt of power, equivalent to that of a nuclear reactor, the solar panels would need to measure 2 kilometres on each side. As a result, even with all the technological advancements, the current installation cost for such a system exceeds $7.1 billion.


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Instagram rankings get explained, CEO addresses ‘shadowbanning’

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Instagram rankings get explained, CEO addresses ‘shadowbanning’
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Confused about why some of your Insta posts don’t get the reach you would like? Well, over the years many creators have been wondering how Instagram’s rankings work, and the company has tried to explain it to creators before. Now, a new post details how the rankings actually work, reports Engadget.

Instagram explains how recommendations work


The company has published this new blog post in an attempt to clear “misconceptions” about the oh-so-infamous algorithm it’s using. Instagram’s head Adam Mosseri dives deep into the explanations about the rankings.

First off, he notes that there isn’t a single algorithm that oversees what people do on the app. He explains there are multiple algorithms and tanking systems, and they are responsible for different aspects of the app, like Explore, Reels, Stories, and Search. He adds that each algorithm uses a plethora of signals to determine how content is shown to each user.


For instance, the posts you see in your feed are determined by your past activity, as well as the interactions you have with the person who made the post. Stories are determined by a similar tactic: for example how likely are you to be friends or family with the person.Meanwhile, recommendations in Explore follow a slightly different approach. Those are based on posts you’ve liked, saved, shared, and commented on in the past, but it’s more likely these posts come from people you haven’t interacted with.

All of this sounds pretty straightforward. Mosseri also goes on to address another aspect of Instagram that has been bugging some creators. The so-called “Shadowbanning”.

Mosseri also addresses Shadowbanning


First off, for those of you who may not know, Shadowbanning is not an official term and is been used by creators who feel their accounts or posts have suddenly gotten a more limited exposure, or are hidden, and that is without any warning or explanation on the part of the social media. Mosseri says that the company is working on increasing transparency if a creator’s content or account is blocked from the app’s recommendations. He says that the app’s account status feature can alert users if their content or their account is considered not eligible for recommendations. You will also have the option to appeal.

On top of that, Mosseri notes that the app is testing new notifications that will be aimed to help creators understand when the reach of their reel may be limited due to a watermark (a watermark appears when a short vid is taken straight out of TikTok and posted onto Reels).


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Hackers Exploit Barracuda Zero-Day Flaw Since 2022

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Hackers Exploit Barracuda Zero-Day Flaw Since 2022
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Barracuda Zero-Day Flaw

Barracuda Networks, which is currently owned by KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.,) announced that they had faced a cyber attack in which a Zero Day flaw was exploited, and threat actors extracted data.

The earliest identification of this attack dates back to October 2022.

The flaw existed on their Email Security Gateway (ESG) appliance. The company worked closely with Mandiant cyber security experts to investigate this issue.

The vulnerability was identified to be CVE-2023-2868, and a patch was applied to all ESG appliances worldwide.

CVE-2023-2868: Remote Command Injection Vulnerability

This vulnerability exists due to improper processing, validation, and sanitization of the names of the files within the user-supplied .tar file.

An attacker could exploit this by sending a specially crafted file name in a specified manner, resulting in remote command execution on the system through Perl’s qx operator inside the Email Security Gateway (ESG) product.

Affected Products

ProductsVersions
Email Security Gateway Application5.1.3.001-9.2.0.006

Malware Deployment Using Zero-Day

There were three malware deployed by the threat actors using the Barracuda Email Security Gateway Appliance.

SALTWATER – Trojanised malware for uploading or downloading arbitrary files, command execution, proxy, and tunneling.  It uses five channels for these functionalities: UploadChannel, DownloadChannel, ProxyChannel, TunnelArgs, and ShellChannel.

SEASPY – Persistent backdoor which looks like a legitimate Barracuda Networks Service by establishing itself as a PCAP filter. It monitors port 25 (SMTP) traffic and contains the backdoor functionality.

Mandiant analysis stated that the code could overlap between SEASPY and cd00r, a publicly available backdoor.

SEASIDE – Lua-based module which monitors SMTP HELO/EHLO commands that are used for receiving command and control (C2) IP address and port. It creates a reverse shell by sending the information as arguments to an external library.

ModuleNameSHA256
SALTWATERmod_up.so1c6cad0ed66cf8fd438974e1eac0bc6dd9119f84892930cb71cb56a5e985f0a4
SEASPYBarracudaMailService3f26a13f023ad0dcd7f2aa4e7771bba74910ee227b4b36ff72edc5f07336f115
SEASIDEmod_require_helo.luafa8996766ae347ddcbbd1818fe3a878272653601a347d76ea3d5dfc227cd0bc8
ModuleMD5File TypeSize (Bytes)
SALTWATER827d507aa3bde0ef903ca5dec60cdec8ELF x861,879,643
SEASPY4ca4f582418b2cc0626700511a6315c0ELF x642,924,217
SEASIDEcd2813f0260d63ad5adf0446253c2172Lua module2,724

Barracuda has also provided Indicators of Compromise, Network IOCs and YARA rules for detecting this malware.

Barracuda Networks said, “We took immediate steps to investigate this vulnerability.

Our investigation revealed that the vulnerability resulted in unauthorized access to several email gateway appliances. As part of our containment strategy, all ESG appliances received a second patch on May 21, 2023.”

EHA

The company also confirmed that no other Barracuda products were affected due to this vulnerability, including the SaaS email security services.

They released patches for fixing this vulnerability as part of their BNSF-36456 on May 20, 2023.

Shut Down Phishing Attacks with Device Posture Security – Download Free E-Book


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