OxygenOS 13.1 rolling out to OnePlus 11 & a bunch of older phones

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The OnePlus 10T started getting OxygenOS 13.1 quite recently, and a bunch of other phones now joined the party, including the OnePlus 11. The OnePlus 11 is, as many of you know, the company’s latest flagship handset.

The OnePlus 11 and a number of other OnePlus phones are now getting OxygenOS 11

In addition to the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 10T, a bunch of other devices got the update as already mentioned. Those devices are: OnePlus 11R, OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro, OnePlus 8T, OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus 9R, and OnePlus 10 Pro.

Now, the changelogs for all devices are not the same. Also, some of the listed devices are getting the update in India only, for now. The global models are expected to join the party soon enough, though.

Let’s first tackle the changes that are the same across devices, shall we? All devices are getting a new TalkBack feature that recognizes and announces images in apps and Photos. OnePlus also added the Zen Space app. That app comes with Deep Zen and Light Zen modes, to help you focus.

The Championship mode has been added to Game Assistant. This mode is supposed to improve performance while disabling notifications, calls, and other messages so that you can focus on gaming.

You can now also control your music playback directly from the Game Assistant

Speaking of gaming, OnePlus also added a music playback control to Game Assistant. You can now control your music directly from the game assistant, without the need to access the notification shade or anything of the sort.

All the other features are exclusive to some phones. OnePlus added a new auto-connect feature that enables automatic connection between phones, tablets, and PCs which are in close proximity. This feature is coming to the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro only.

The company also expanded Omoji’s functionality and library on the OnePlus 8 Pro, 9, 9 Pro, 9R, 11, and 11R. The Simple mode got improved as it got a new helper widget and quick controls on the home screen. This change is coming to the OnePlus 8 Pro, 8T, 9, 9 Pro, and 9R.

The OnePlus 10 Pro changelog also consists of two additional entries. One says that OnePlus improved the battery life in some scenarios, and the other that the system stability and performance have been improved.


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Samsung completes a 200km test run of Level 4 self-driving tech

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Samsung may soon achieve Level 4 autonomous driving. The company has reportedly completed a test run of its self-driving system, covering 200km from Suwon to Gangneung in South Korea without any human driver intervention. Its research and development (R&D) arm SAIT (Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology) developed the autonomous driving software and algorithm that powered this test vehicle. The Korean conglomerate used a market-ready car in conjunction with necessary technologies from other companies.

Samsung gets closer to achieving Level 4 autonomous driving

Level 4 autonomous driving (High Driving Automation) is the penultimate level of vehicle autonomy, which includes six levels in total (0-5, with Level 0 offering no automation). As Synopsys explains, these vehicles “can intervene if things go wrong or there is a system failure”. They usually do not require human interaction to drive in most circumstances. However, a human driver can always manually override the system. This is to ensure proper handling of emergencies and extreme weather conditions.

Google-owned autonomous driving technology company Waymo is already running a Level 4 self-driving taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona. While these vehicles can operate in self-driving mode, there are certain limitations. They must not cross a preset top speed limit and aren’t only allowed to go outside a designated area. Level 5 autonomous driving (Full Driving Automation), which doesn’t require a human driver at all, is undergoing testing but is not yet available to the general public. Level 3 (Conditional Driving Automation), meanwhile, is already in the commercialization stage.

Samsung has been working on advanced self-driving technology for some time now. While it doesn’t plan to enter the automotive business itself, at least not just yet, the company aims to create a complete autonomous driving system for other manufacturers. The Korean conglomerate already makes semiconductors, displays, and other sensors for self-driving cars. The idea is to combine technologies from subsidiaries such as Harman and the DS division to give its automotive customers a reliable “brain” for their cars of the future.

The years of work are now bearing fruit for Samsung. According to the Korean media, the autonomous driving software and algorithm developed by SAIT can already detect a ramp and adjust driving automatically. It can also recognize special-purpose vehicles and automatically change lanes when required. With these accomplishments, Samsung has essentially secured the prerequisite technologies for Level 4 autonomous driving. Time will tell what’s next for the company in the field of autonomous driving.


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Mastermind Behind iSpoof Fraud Website Sentenced to 13 Years in the UK

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At the peak of its illicit activities, iSpoof enabled scammers to contact nearly 20 individuals every minute, employing false identities to deceive their targets.

In a landmark case, Tejay Fletcher, the mastermind behind the notorious fraud website iSpoof, has been sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in prison. The 35-year-old, residing in Western Gateway, London, was handed his sentence at Southwark Crown Court on May 18th.

Fletcher had previously pleaded guilty to manufacturing or providing fraudulent materials, aiding and abetting criminal offences, possessing criminal assets, and transferring illicit funds.

Working in collaboration with the Cyber and Economic Crime Units of the Metropolitan Police, City of London Police, the National Crime Agency, Europol, Eurojust, Dutch authorities, and the FBI, the operation succeeded in dismantling iSpoof in November 2022, apprehending its users, and ensuring the website’s operator faced justice.

Scotland Yard shuts down iSpoof Website, Arrests 100+ People in the UK
Seized iSpoof website (Image credit: Hackread.com)

iSpoof operated as a platform for criminals to impersonate representatives from banks, tax offices, and other official institutions to defraud unsuspecting victims of millions of pounds. It is estimated that UK victims alone suffered losses totalling £43 million, with global losses exceeding £100 million.

At the peak of its illicit activities, iSpoof enabled scammers to contact nearly 20 individuals every minute, employing false identities to deceive their targets. The network’s takedown, however, has provided some relief to the victims and dealt a significant blow to the world of cyber-enabled fraud.

Paul Foster, Deputy Director of the National Crime Agency and Head of the National Cyber Crime Unit, emphasized the importance of targeting online platforms that facilitate criminal activities. Foster stated, “We will continue to target criminal infrastructure and pursue the administrators and users. The protection of victims and their data online is paramount.”

The modus operandi of iSpoof involved users paying for its services to impersonate representatives from prominent banks such as Barclays, Santander, HSBC, Lloyds, and Halifax.

By posing as concerned officials, fraudsters coerced unsuspecting individuals into divulging sensitive information, including one-time passcodes, ultimately allowing them to siphon money from the victims’ accounts.

The reported losses suffered by iSpoof’s victims in the UK alone amount to £48 million, with an average loss estimated at £10,000. However, due to underreporting, the actual figures are believed to be much higher.

Over the course of 12 months leading up to August 2022, iSpoof facilitated approximately 10 million fraudulent calls globally, with 3.5 million originating in the UK.

Of these calls, 350,000 lasted longer than one minute, affecting 200,000 individuals. As a result of public appeals, an additional 340 victims have come forward to aid the investigation, indicating the widespread impact of iSpoof’s operations.

Mastermind Behind iSpoof Fraud Website Sentenced to 13 Years in the UK
Tejay Fletcher

Prior to its shutdown in November 2022, iSpoof experienced rapid growth, with 700 new users registering on the site each week. It generated an average weekly income of £80,000, accumulating 59,000 registered users.

Fletcher also utilized the encrypted messaging platform Telegram to market iSpoof through a channel called The iSpoof Club. He leveraged this channel to update users, promote website enhancements, and expand the network.

  1. Encrypted Messenger Exclu Seized
  2. “Robin Hood of Spanish Hackers,” Arrested
  3. Owner of Breach Forums Pompompurin Arrested
  4. Do Kwon of Terraform Labs, Arrested in Montenegro
  5. Instagrammer Ray Hushpuppi over $125m BEC scam

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Motorola Razr 40 Ultra will have a different name in the US

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Motorola has recently officially confirmed when will its new ‘Razr’ phones launch. The Motorola Razr 40 and Razr 40 Ultra will become official on June 1, and it seems like at least one of them will have a different name in the US.

The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra is coming to the US with a different name

This is not all that surprising, as we’ve seen something similar happen in the past. Anyhow, this new info was revealed by Evan Blass, a well-known tipster. He says that the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra will be called the Motorola Razr+ in the US.

Motorola Razr Plus name US

He did not mention the regular variant, the Razr 40. We’re not sure why, but the Razr 40 may not even make its way to the US. We’ll have to wait and see. If it does, it would be logical for it to be called just the ‘Razr’, considering that the ‘Ultra’ model will have the ‘+’ in its name.

Having said that, the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra aka Razr+ is definitely not a mystery at this point. The phone’s design surfaced, along with its specs, and more information.

It will have the largest cover display in the business (as far as clamshell foldables are concerned)

The Razr+ will feature a large cover display, the largest in the business on a clamshell foldable. It will even go around the phone’s main camera, so you’ll essentially have several display holes on it.

The device’s main screen will have thin bezels, and a centered display camera hole. The phone will once again be made out of metal and glass, and it will include two cameras on the back.

The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra / Razr+ will feature a 6.7-inch fullHD+ main pOLED display. That display will offer a high refresh rate. The company will also offer 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage with this phone.

A 3,800mAh battery was also mentioned, as was support for wireless charging. You’ll find a side-facing fingerprint scanner on this smartphone, and a 3.5-inch cover display.

The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC is said to fuel the phone, while a 32-megapixel main camera was tipped too. The same goes for an 8-megapixel secondary camera, which does seem weird. Both of those camera sensors do seem out of place, so take this info with a grain of salt.


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Meta releases Quest VR version 54 update with new features

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It’s no secret that Meta’s Quest devices have single-handedly transformed the VR space, offering users an affordable way to immerse themselves in virtual reality. Now, in an effort to make the experience even better, Meta has announced the new version 54 update for the Quest VR devices, which brings a range of innovative additions, including Custom Skybox View, 2D app push notifications, and controller improvements.

One of the most exciting new features of the update is the Custom Skybox View, which allows users to set their own images as a VR backdrop. However, it’s important to note that the custom views must be in JPG or PNG format and should not exceed 6144×3160 pixels. Therefore, to set the Custom Skybox View, users need to navigate to the Experimental Settings > Personalization tab and scroll down to the Virtual Environment page. And although this new personalized skybox feature remains invisible to others visiting your virtual home, Meta might introduce the option to share these custom environments in the future.

“In the coming weeks, a new experimental feature will enable you to customize your skybox on Quest Home. With the power of AI, you will soon be able to generate anything you can imagine,” said Zuckerberg.

More new features

In addition to the new customization options, the new version 54 update brings 2D app push notifications, allowing important messages and updates from apps like Instagram to be displayed directly in the Meta Quest VR headsets. Additionally, users can also reply to messages and interact with notifications without exiting their VR experience. Moreover, Meta claims they have resolved the tracking issues with the Quest Pro controller and significantly enhanced the interactions within the virtual environment.

Several other notable features of the new update include a streamlined Physical Space setting, new environments for the avatar mirror feature, which allows users to see themselves in the virtual world, and the integration of filter and sorting options into the search feature, thus making it easier to discover new apps.


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Russian IT Guy Jailed for DDoSing Government Websites

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IT Guy Jailed ddos

According to reports from the FSB (Federal Security Service) Department’s Press Service in Rostov Region, Yevgeny Kotikov, an IT specialist, was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

FSB also ordered to pay a fine of 800 thousand rubles ($10,000) for his participation in a computer DDoS attack by Ukraine for blocking information resources in the Russian Federation.

The attack was organized by Ukraine and targeted the information systems belonging to the critical information infrastructure of the Russian Federation.

Kotikov was arrested in February 2022, during the start of the special military operation in Ukraine.

Kotikov was supporting the Kyiv regime, which decided to participate in blocking information resources of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian Federation’s website for the president.

DDoS Attack On Government Websites

The FSB has also confiscated the personal computer used for the DDoS attacks.

This evidence was used to prove Kotikov guilty, resulting in a 3-year prison sentence to be served in a colony settlement, including the fine amount.

An independent security researcher, Oleg Shakirov, stated, “For instance, in February, a Russian national was sentenced under the same article for DDoS — but he got 3 years of suspended sentence, not a real sentence. The conflict with Ukraine was apparently an important factor that contributed to the severity of the sentence. The authorities would like to deter Russians from helping the Ukrainian cause, including in cyberspace.“

The Russia-Ukraine war has developed a lot of heat among the countries, resulting in many criminal activities targeting each other. Peace must prevail in these nations as soon as possible.

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


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HONOR 90 series phones appear in live images ahead of launch

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The HONOR 90 series will become official on May 29, and as we’re waiting for that, live images of both devices have just surfaced. We are, of course, talking about the HONOR 90 and HONOR 90 Pro here.

Before we get down to that, do note that their first-ever images appeared a couple of days ago. Those were renders, however, and they only gave us a look at the back sides of both devices.

The HONOR 90 series phones surface early in a bunch of live images

These live images, however, give us a better look at the phones, from both the front and the back. You will find a bunch of shots in the gallery below the article.

The model with circular camera islands on the back, and a single camera hole on the front is the HONOR 90. The HONOR 90 Pro employs a rounded hexagonal design for its rear cameras, and has a pill-shaped camera hole on the front.

It seems like both models will have curved displays, on all four sides. The HONOR 90, in particular, looks great here. It has very thin bezels, or at least they seem like they’re thin in this image. That pill-shaped cutout on the ‘Pro’ model really doesn’t help it from the aesthetic standpoint.

They’ll arrive in four color variants

All the physical keys will sit on the right-hand side of these two smartphones. The devices will arrive in Bright Black, Dark Jade Green, Gradient Blue, and Star Diamond Silver.

Do note that both smartphones will be making it to global markets too. We’re not sure when, but chances are that we won’t have to wait for long after they launch in China.

The HONOR 90 is said to offer 66W wired charging, while the ‘Pro’ model will support 100W charging. The ‘Pro’ variant is also tipped to include a 1.5K OLED display, and the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC.

A 200-megapixel camera is expected on both smartphones, the ISOCELL GN3 sensor. Both phones will also include a “zero-risk dimming eye protection screen”, whatever that means. A 5,000mAh battery could be included in both smartphones, or at least the ‘Pro’ model.


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Hackers Using AI Tools Like ChatGPT to Deploy Malware

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ChatGPT to Deploy Malware

Malicious ad campaigns with themes connected to artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Midjourney and ChatGPT have been seen in Google’s search engine, according to Trendmicro researchers.

When a user types in the keyword “midjourney” into Google, several malicious advertisements are displayed. Midjourney is an AI tool that generates images from natural language descriptions.

Malicious ads that appear on the search results page when using the keyword “midjourney”

When a user clicks on one of these sponsored ads, the user’s IP address is transmitted to a backend server, where it is then used to display the user a malicious webpage.

Fake ChatGPT webpage used by threat actors for their malicious advertisements

To reduce detection, the backend server can filter bots going to the malicious domain for some of these fraudulent ads. 

The server will show a non-malicious version of the domain if the IP address accessing these Midjourney-themed URLs is blocked or visited directly by manually inputting the URL.

Clicking on a sponsored ad takes the user to a malicious website

Researchers say to interact with its command-and-control (C&C) server; this campaign takes advantage of Telegram’s API. This is an evasion method that enables communication with the C&C server to mix in with regular network traffic, assisting in detection avoidance.

Further, a fake installation window will appear when a victim runs the downloaded installer, and the malicious PowerShell download process will keep running in the background.

“In this particular campaign, victims are eventually led to a Redline stealer once they have downloaded and executed the fake Midjourney installer,” researchers explain.

“Once the script downloads and executes the Redline stealer, it will proceed with the exfiltration of sensitive information such as browser cookies, passwords, cryptocurrency wallet data, and file information.”

Generated traffic from the Redline stealer showing sensitive information being stolen

Final Thoughts

As a result, businesses and individuals must exercise caution while downloading and using new apps and tools. Users are advised to stop downloading unverified or unofficial apps and clicking on suspicious ads. 

Since many AI tools, including ChatGPT and Midjourney, don’t have desktop or mobile apps, such a version is usually a sign of malicious software.

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


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Verizon’s new myPlans Explained: Reading the Fine Print!

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This week, Verizon announced its new unlimited plans, coined “myPlan”. It’s replacing the “more” plans that Verizon had been using over the past few years. These new myPlan options are a lot simpler, but there’s still plenty of changes here. And after studying the plans, and reading the fine print, we’re here to tell you everything you need to know about the new myPlans: Unlimited Welcome and Unlimited Plus.

What is myPlan?

myPlan is really just the name for unlimited now at Verizon. As the two unlimited plans are called “Unlimited Welcome” and Unlimited Plus”. These plans are identical to the older plans, and the price is even cheaper. However, Verizon did take out all of the perks. So no more Disney Bundle, Apple Music and other things included here. You can add those for $10/month each.

The perks are all $10 per month, and each perk is normally priced higher. So you’re still saving on each one. For instance, Verizon is offering the Apple Music Family plan for $10/month, Apple charges $16.99/month for it.

It’s an interesting way to do it, and it has upset a lot of people, since these were included in their plan, and now to get the same perks, their bill would be going up.

Unlimited Welcome

Unlimited Welcome is their entry-level Unlimited plan now. As you might expect with that name. It gives you unlimited 5G data. While it does not mention 5G UW (that’s their mmWave and C-Band network), it is included, but throttled to 25Mbps. Still very usable however. There is a limit here of 500GB. Which is quite a jump from its older plans, that had a cap of 50GB. Basically, after you hit 500GB of data, you’ll be throttled to 4Mbps. Which is also an upgrade, previously, you’d be throttled to 128Kbps.

With this plan, there’s nothing else included. Only unlimited talk, text and data. There’s no mobile hotspot included, but that can be added through one of the add-ons which we’ll talk about later.

On top of this, video will stream at 480p. That’s DVD quality streaming, and for most things, it’s perfectly fine. But there is an option to upgrade to HD video streaming, for an additional fee.

The final thing to keep in mind here is that when it comes to buying new phones or other devices, you won’t get the best deals on this plan. That’s saved for the Unlimited Plus plan. Additionally, for those bringing your own device, you will only get up to $180 promotional credit. While Unlimited Plus gets up to $540 in promotional credit.

Now for the pricing, it will start at $65 for the first line. Two lines are $55 each, three are $40 each and four are $30 each. Now, because three lines are $40 and four lines are $30, that effectively means that the fourth line is free. As both three and four lines here are $120. These prices are for auto-pay and paper-free billing, those not enrolled will see prices go up by $10 per month, per line.

Unlimited Plus

The other plan is Unlimited Plus. This gives you truly unlimited data on 5G and 5G UW (that’s mmWave and C-Band networks), with no possibility of being slowed down. That’s really great to see from Verizon, especially if you take an occasional speed test.

The only limit on this plan is the mobile hotspot. It’s 30GB of premium data, and once you use up that data it’ll be slowed to 3Mbps on 5G UW or 600Kbps on 5G/LTE for the rest of the billing cycle.

When it comes to video, streaming will be done in up to 4K, where available. This will depend on your phone and also what app you’re using for streaming, and only on 5G UW. If you’re streaming on the 5G or LTE networks, it’ll be limited to 720p streaming. Now the caveat here is that this needs to be turned on for the line, in your MyVerizon app. otherwise, it’ll be 720p and 480p streaming, respectively.

A few other things to consider here, with Unlimited Plus you will get the best deals on new devices. You will also get up to $540 in promo credit when you bring your own phone, and Verizon is also doing a 3-year price guarantee. And finally, you will get up to 50% off on a connected device plan. So if you wanted to get an LTE smartwatch, that plan would be $5 instead of $10.

Pricing here starts at $80 for a single line. It’s $70 per line for two, $55 per line for three and $45 per line for four. Keep in mind that these prices are with auto-pay and paper-free billing. Otherwise, it’ll be $10 more per month, per line.

Verizon’s new Perks

With these new plans, Verizon is giving customers the ability to get the perks you want. Instead of being stuck with those you don’t care for. So far, there’s eight perks you can choose from. However, Verizon has said they are going to be adding more. These are the perks that Verizon currently has, keep in mind that each one is $10, through Verizon.

  • 100GB Mobile Hotspot
  • Walmart+ Membership
  • Disney Bundle
  • Apple One (Individual)
  • Apple Music Family
  • 3 TravelPass Days
  • 2TB Cloud Storage (Verizon Cloud)
  • +play Monthly Credit

You can add as many or as few as you want, to your plan.

Verizon’s Unlimited Welcome vs Unlimited Plus: Which should you choose?

So which plan should you choose? Unlimited Welcome is definitely the better plan, and at $80 it’s actually not too crazy priced. It’s especially good for those that do a lot of travel, or aren’t home much. However, if you are like me and work from home, then Unlimited Plus is a better option.

Why does everyone hate these new plans, when they are actually cheaper? Well, that’s because the perks they were getting before were “included” and now to add them back, you’d be paying more for month. For instance, Verizon’s 5G Get More plan, their highest-end plan which was $90 per month, but included Apple Music, Disney Bundle, as well as a few other things. To get those add-ons now, would cost you $110. That’s a big jump in price. But if you were only using one of those perks, then it’s the same price.

These are actually good plans, and they are also very easy to understand versus their old plans.


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US government seizes domains linked to DDoS attack

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The United States (US) federal government has seized 13 domains linked to ‘booter’ websites that offered distributed denial of service (DDoS)-attacks-for-hire services.  

So-called ‘booter’ sites allow people to pay malicious actors to launch DDoS attacks against people or organizations of their choice. DDoS attacks disrupt sites by overwhelming their infrastructure with a large amount of internet traffic, which overwhelms the site’s bandwidth and prevents users from accessing it. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized the domains on May 8. The seizure revealed that “hundreds of thousands of registered users have used these services to launch millions of attacks against millions of victims”, including financial institutions, school districts, government websites and universities. Additionally, 10 of the 13 domains were reincarnated versions of domains previously seized in a similar sweep in December 2022. 

The Los Angeles Justice Department announced in relation to the sites seized that four men who pleaded guilty in late 2022 and were charged with federal charges earlier this year, admitted that they operated or participated in the operation of booter services. All four defendants are due to be sentenced later in 2023. 

The FBI and Los Angeles Justice Department have said that the investigation into booter sites remains ongoing. 


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