In an effort to prevent another antitrust investigation by the European Union (EU), Microsoft has reportedly agreed to stop bundling its Teams remote collaboration software with its Office productivity suite. This move comes after the rival platform, Slack, filed a complaint accusing the company’s practice of bundling the two services together as anti-competitive.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Microsoft will eventually start offering users the choice to purchase Office with or without Teams installed. However, the mechanism for doing so is still unclear, and negotiations are ongoing.
“We are mindful of our responsibilities in the EU as a major technology company. We continue to engage cooperatively with the commission in its investigation and are open to pragmatic solutions that address its concerns and serve customers well,” says Microsoft.
Nonetheless, it also remains uncertain whether Microsoft’s offer to stop bundling Teams will satisfy the commission, given that Slack has requested officials to require Microsoft to sell Teams separately from its Office suite.
Microsoft’s History of antitrust allegations
This is not the first regulatory issue for the company. Back in 2009, Microsoft settled with the European Commission to start offering users the choice of browsers after being accused of using its dominant position to promote its Internet Explorer browser by bundling it with Windows. However, in 2013, the commission fined Microsoft €561 million for not adhering to its promise.
In recent times, Microsoft’s push towards acquiring Activision Blizzard for $69 billion has come under a lot of scrutiny from regulatory bodies, which fear that it would give Microsoft a dominant position in the gaming industry. However, the company’s ten-year deal to provide Call of Duty games on Nintendo consoles attempted to alleviate some of these concerns. An attempt which ultimately failed with the CMA’s report on April 26 that it’s blocking the deal.
WhatsApp has recently introduced a new feature that allows users to use their WhatsApp account on multiple devices. This feature has been long-awaited and is now finally available for both Android and iOS users.
Previously, users could only use their WhatsApp account on one Android or iOS smartphone at a time, but with the ability to extend it to your tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. This required that your smartphone be your main WhatsApp device and the others would be linked via WhatsApp Web or the official WhatsApp Mac app. This solution worked great for many, however, you still could not use the app in more than one phone and needed to unlink and relink your account any time you wanted to switch mobile devices, which was inconvenient and time-consuming for many users.
Now, with the new update recently announced via the WhatsApp blog, you will be able to seamlessly switch between devices without any hassle. This is great news for those that frequently switch between phones, such as between Android and iOS, or who have both a business and a personal device.
To use this feature, you will still need to designate a primary phone, just as you’ve been able to do in the past with up to four devices, except now one of those linked devices can be a secondary or backup phone. On your secondary phone, open WhatsApp and tap Agree & Continue, followed by selecting “link this device to an existing account.” This will provide you with a QR code that will need to be scanned by your primary phone.
One of the great things about this feature is that your messages and other data are end-to-end encrypted and stored locally on each device. This means that your conversations are still private and secure, even when you are using multiple devices. However, there are some limitations.
A few of the limitations include the lack of live location and status features on companion phones. Additionally, if you fail to use your primary phone for over 14 days, your companion phones will be logged out as they depend on the primary phone for the connection. Lastly, linked companion phones will always show the message “This is a linked device. Learn more” in Settings.
This update has already begun to roll out to users worldwide, and should be accessible to everyone in the next weeks. In addition, over the next several weeks, WhatsApp will be rolling out a new way to link companion devices, which involves the use of a one-time code instead of a QR code.
Samsung‘s newly-introduced Gallery feature Image Clipper is now rolling out to its mid-range smartphones. The April security update for the Galaxy A53 5G brings the feature. The company has already pushed it to several flagship models, including the Galaxy S22 series and the latest foldables.
For the uninitiated, Image Clipper is a new tool in Samsung’s Gallery app for its Galaxy smartphones. Debuting with the Galaxy S23 series earlier this year, it lets you quickly crop out subjects from images.
When viewing photos in Gallery, you can press and hold on a subject to instantly crop it out. The cropped image can be saved as a separate file or copied to paste into other apps. You can also instantly share it on social media.
Shortly after the Galaxy S23 release, Samsung started pushing Image Clipper to its older devices. Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy S22 series received it first. The likes of the Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, and other flagship models followed soon.
The company also seeded the new feature to low-cost flagships such as the Galaxy S20 FE. It has now shifted focus to mid-range models, with the Galaxy A53 5G being the first in the segment to pick up Image Clipper.
The April update for the Galaxy A53 5G brings Samsung’s Image Clipper feature
As said earlier, the new feature arrives with the April security update for the 2022 premium mid-range smartphone. The update is rolling out with the firmware build number A536BXXU5CWD1 in Europe. Samsung should soon expand the release to other markets.
It’s worth noting that the April SMR (Security Maintenance Release) has already reached some Galaxy A53 5G users in the US. But it didn’t bring Image Clipper. Those users may get this new feature with the May update. Or maybe Samsung will push a second April update in the region.
Either way, if you’re using a Galaxy A53 5G, Image Clipper is headed your way. All eligible units around the world will receive this feature over the next few weeks. Of course, this update isn’t just about the new feature. The April SMR also contains dozens of vulnerability fixes.
We are talking about more than 70 security patches here, at least five of which were identified as critical issues by Samsung and Google. The remaining flaws were also mostly of high severity. You can check for updates by navigating to Settings > Software update and tapping on Download and install.
Apple uses TSMC to make all of its chipsets, across all of its products. And starting with the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple is moving to 3nm chipsets, which TSMC is now struggling to produce.
This is according to EE Times, which states that the company is having issues with tools and yield. This is impacting the ramp up to volume production of the new chip technology.
TSMC is manufacturing the A17 Bionic chipsets that will be found in the iPhone 15 Pro models. Which are set to be 3nm chipsets. They are also working on the M3 chips for Mac, which are also 3nm. Right now, analysts are estimating that the yield for A17 and M3 processors are around 55%. That sounds about right, for where TSMC is at, in development.
Could this affect iPhone 15 Pro sales?
It could affect sales, or more importantly, stock of the iPhone 15 Pro. Making it tougher to buy one, at launch. While yes, we are many months away from the iPhone 15 Pro even being announced, and TSMC could catch up by then, it could still affect the stock at launch in September.
We’ve seen, in the past, Apple delay certain models of the iPhone for a month or so, due to supply issues. Like the iPhone 12 launch, the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Mini were both delayed for a month. And that was after the iPhone 12 was initially delayed and launched in October. So those phones didn’t come out until November. And we could see that again this year from Apple.
This would also explain why the MacBook Air 15 that is set to be announced at WWDC in June is likely coming with an M2 chipset over the new M3. Though we also haven’t gotten the M2 Max nor the M2 Ultra yet, so M3 is likely still quite a ways away.
A new malware tool kit, “Decoy Dog,” has been actively targeting enterprise networks for a year. The researchers identified Decoy Dog after analyzing billions of DNS queries.
Decoy Dog Malware Actively Targeting Enterprises
Sharing the details in a recent blog post, the cybersecurity firm Infoblox has unveiled a new malware tool kit, “Decoy Dog,” running active campaigns in the wild.
As elaborated, the researchers became curious about the matter upon detecting billions of malicious DNS queries. They scanned at least 70 billion DNS queries to find a similar DNS pattern from 0.0000027% of all active domains globally. What alarmed them about the DNS queries was their peculiarity – they returned unresolvable IP addresses, something quintessential of US Dept. of Defense or malicious phishing campaigns.
Analyzing the matter further made the researchers detect these queries generated from enterprise networks. Then, the C2 communications linked back to Russian hosts.
Eventually, the researchers could find PupyRAT related to this activity. The Decoy Dog malware tool kit supposedly deployed PupyRAT on target enterprise networks.
While most domains associated with this campaign linked to the tool kit, some domains did not, hinting that they may be left for domain aging.
The researcher first detected Decoy Dog in the wild in April 2023. However, analyzing the domains made them deduce that the tool kit became active in April 2022.
It remains unclear if all Decoy Dog activity originates from the same threat actor. Alternatively, the creators might have set up Decoy Dog for commercial use, letting numerous threat actors use the tool kit for different malware.
Besides, the researchers found Decoy Dog typically focused on enterprise networks only, sparing consumer devices. Nonetheless, their target enterprise networks may include small and large businesses alike.
To mitigate such attacks, Infoblox advises enterprises to deploy blocklists on their networks to prevent malicious DNS queries. They have also shared the IOCs for the tool kit, which organizations may use to configure the filters.
Lately, FAST Channels, or Free Ad-Supported TV Channels, have been taking over the streaming industry. But what exactly are they? It’s pretty straight-forward, they are streaming channels that are free and have ads. But in this article, we’re going to go over everything you need to know.
What is FAST?
In its simplest form, FAST is Free Ad-Supported TV. Typically used as a TV channel, similar to what Cable was, but of course, free. The content on these channels are solely funded by advertisements and commercials.
FAST channels generally have both linear channels and video that is available on demand. A good example of this is Sling’s FreeStream service. Which has over 300 channels, that are completely free and have ads.
FAST Channels have become pretty popular as of late, with streaming companies continuing to raise prices on their paid plans. A lot of people are looking for areas where they can get free content. And that’s where FAST has started to take off. Especially with the explosion of users that Pluto TV, Tubi, Xumo and others have seen in the past few years.
What kind of content is available on FAST?
Content that you’ll find on FAST channels are typically not originals. Studios will license content out to these FAST channels, and typically it’s older content. Content that they likely can’t get a ton of money out of licensing. So instead what these studios do is, they get a portion of the advertising revenue from the ads shown alongside their movies and TV shows.
So, many times, you’ll see older content, or even content that has hundreds of episodes. Like some of Gordon Ramsey’s shows like Hell’s Kitchen. As well as others like Pawn Stars, and such. Some of the bigger shows will get their own channels on these platforms for streaming 24/7.
With FAST, companies can make themed channels, as well as live cable television channels, and even niche channels about sports and news shows. Peacock, while not entirely a FAST service, does offer some channels in this way. Like there’s a channel specifically for NBC news.
What are some examples of FAST services?
So what are some examples of services that utilize FAST channels? Well there’s quite a few, but below, we’ve rounded up some of the more popular models.
Pluto TV
Pluto TV was one of the first to move in on FAST. It launched back in 2013, and released a beta version of its website in 2015. Pluto TV offers around 250 virtual streaming channels. These are channels that go across a variety of categories, including entertainment, news, comedy, sports, and classic TV.
It also has some themed channels like “Cats 24/7” and “Totally Turtles” which has episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on repeat.
Xumo
Another example is Xumo, which first launched in 2011, and was then acquired by Comcast. It’s one of the largest FAST services out there, and is exclusively available in the US. It does, surprisingly, offer OTT streams of traditional broadcast channels, including NBC, CBS and ABC. It also has some content and channels from digital-first video content publishers like Fail Army, as well as free movie channels and much more.
Sling Freestream
Sling Freestream is one of the newer FAST services out there, having launched in 2023. But it has over 300 channels that are available for free. You just need to login or create a free account.
Sling is a subsidiary of Dish Network and has offered a paid streaming service for nearly a decade now. It offers an a la carte option for those cutting the cord. But now it also offers up free content as well. This is actually something it started during the pandemic, and then decided to keep it and expand it.
Sling has continued to add more and more content to these channels, and will likely continue to do so.
The Roku Channel
Roku, yes the company that makes streaming hardware, has it’s own FAST service, which is built into the Roku platform. But you don’t need to have a Roku device to use it. It’s available on most platforms. The Roku Channel has a ton of free to access channels, and even bought the tech and content from Quibi when it went out of business in 2020.
Peacock
Peacock is a bit different from the others here. That’s because it offers a free version of its service, though that’s going away soon. And it offers FAST channels, but that’s included in your monthly subscription. Peacock does have a number of FAST channels available, mostly themed channels, like Today all day, as well as channels for MSNBC and CNBC and much more. It’s not quite a FAST service, but it offers a similar option.
Should I be using a FAST streaming service?
There’s no streaming service that you have to use. That’s all entirely up to you. But the fact that you can sign up for all of these services, without spending a penny, is pretty nice.
FAST channels are really good for background noise. You know, turning on the TV and having it playing while you do chores like cooking or cleaning around the house. That’s what a lot of these paid streaming services like Netflix are really missing right now. And FAST makes that possible, without spending any money.
Today, 9to5Mac published CAD files for the iPhone 15, which shows us more of what the phone will look like. Complete with the new Action Button and the camera bump. According to the publication, these CADs come from an “extremely reputable source”, so these are likely very accurate. And at this point, the design changes are likely final.
Let’s talk about that Action Button. Many rumors have pointed to the iPhone 15 ditching the Mute Switch for an Action Button, similar to what the Apple Watch Ultra has. And we can see that here in these CAD files. It’s a bit smaller than the volume buttons, which sit below it, and it’ll only be available on the Pro models. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will stick with the mute switch.
So the skinny of it here is that if you want to keep the mute switch, don’t get a “Pro” iPhone this year. But this could be the final year for the Mute Switch.
The camera bump isn’t as big as once rumored
On earlier rumors and leaks that we had seen, the camera bump on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max were slated to be ginormous. Even compared to the iPhone 14 Pro’s camera bump. Luckily, that doesn’t appear to be the case here.
Don’t get things mixed up, the camera bump is still fairly large and getting larger this year. But it’s not as large as once thought.
With this bigger camera bump, it lends credence to the rumors that the iPhone 15 Pro Max would be getting a periscope zoom lens this year. That’s a larger lens, even if it is folded like it is on most other phones.
So there you have it, the first CADs for the iPhone 15 series this year. We’re likely just getting started with iPhone 15 leaks. Since the announcement is still well over four months away, it’s going to be a pretty busy summer here.
Hey, it’s been about 5 minutes, so that means it’s yet another time to talk about Twitter! Love it or hate it: most of us use it and have it installed on some of the best phones out there. As such, it’s probably good to be up-to-date with the happenings on the platform.
You are likely well aware that Musk took over Twitter and since then, many things have changed. Few were praised, some didn’t actually work as expected and others happened sort of in secret. Like, for example, the update to Twitter’s code of conduct.
TL;DR
Users who overstep the line will be punished by taking away their Tweets visibility. And that only makes sense, as the new guidelines aim to reduce misinformation, hate speech and other nasty verbal internet stuff. And now we can finally see it in action with the latest Twitter labels!
This was announced a while back on Twitter’s very own blog, but it took awhile before these labels actually started appearing on user profiles. Overall, there are three types of labels that you may encounter:
An exclusive one, which you get to see if you are the bad guy
One meant for the viewer
Another meant for the viewer, that has the option to display the contents of the Tweet, but after a warning
That last one is kind of reminiscent of what Instagram is doing, when it detects that a post may be too graphic or violent. Still though, unlike Instagram, some tweets will be outright made unavailable. Said posts will also be incapable of being:
Retweeted
Responded to
Saved
Having ads around them
(Did you hear that collective sigh of relief from advertisers?)
Beyond that, this update only makes sense, as the ultimate aim here is to reduce negativity on the platform. And, of course, this doesn’t in any way replace the outright removal of content or the good ol’ banhammer from the game.
Naturally, the users who don’t agree with the platform’s decision will always be capable of making an appeal. However, as is typical with rules on social media, the platform reserves its right to a final judgement call.
But there is an extra little bit of spice here: What happens with users who have the Blue Checkmark — the paid one — that get labels? No specific info as of now, but we’ll make sure to keep you posted, as it certainly sounds like an interesting situation to not be in.
In the recent hybrid, multi-vendor, multi-threat world, Cisco Extended Detection and Response (XDR) streamlines security operations with unrivaled visibility across the network and endpoint.
To accomplish its goal of the Cisco Security Cloud, a unified, AI-driven, cross-domain security platform, Cisco recently presented the most recent development.
Organizations should defend the integrity of their whole IT environment with the aid of Cisco’s new XDR solution and the introduction of sophisticated Duo MFA features.
The capabilities of the Cisco XDR Platform
Cisco’s XDR strategy combines its broad experience and endpoint visibility into a single, fully functional, risk-based solution. Also, Cisco XDR is currently in beta and will be generally available in July 2023.
“Cisco XDR prioritizes and remediates security incidents more efficiently using evidence-backed automation,” Cisco reports.
“The threat landscape is complex and evolving. Detection without response is insufficient, while response without detection is impossible. With Cisco XDR, security operations teams can respond and remediate threats before they have a chance to cause significant damage,” said Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Security and Collaboration at Cisco.
Cisco XDR concentrates on telemetry-centric data and produces results in minutes, whereas standard Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) technology manages log-centric data and measures outcomes in days.
It natively analyzes and combines the six telemetry sources—endpoint, network, firewall, email, identity, and DNS—that Security Operations Center (SOC) operators claim is essential for an XDR solution.
Cisco XDR uses information from 200 million endpoints with Cisco Secure Client, formerly AnyConnect, to give process-level visibility of the point at which the endpoint and the network meeting.
“The true measure of XDR is its ability to deliver actual security outcomes, real and measurable benefit to organizations — early detection, impact prioritization, and effective and efficient response,” said Frank Dickson, Group Vice President, Security & Trust, IDC.
Cisco XDR connects with prominent third-party vendors to share telemetry, promote interoperability, and deliver consistent outcomes independent of vendor or technology.
Out-of-the-box Integrations:
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR, Cybereason Endpoint Detection and Response, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, SentinelOne Singularity, and Trend Vision One
Email Threat Defense: Microsoft Defender for Office, Proofpoint Email Protection
Network Detection and Response (NDR): Darktrace DETECT™ and Darktrace RESPOND™, ExtraHop Reveal(x)
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): Microsoft Sentinel
Cisco is rethinking what is required for access management as attackers increasingly target weaknesses in weaker multi-factor authentication (MFA) implementations.
Every company’s access control strategy must include three critical components: enforcing strong authentication, verifying devices, and limiting the number of passwords in use.
“To protect against multi-factor authentication (MFA) attacks, Cisco is now offering advanced features in all editions of Duo, the most secure, cost-effective, and user-friendly access management solution on the market.” Cisco.
WhatsApp has finally received multi-phone support. This has been announced by Mark Zuckerberg himself. WhatsApp, as many of you know, is a Facebook company, so… there you have it.
WhatsApp gets multi-phone support, you can link up to 4 phones now
You can now use the same WhatsApp account from more than one phone, up to four, actually. Needless to say, this is a huge improvement compared to how things stood thus far. You were able to use the same account from multiple devices, but not multiple phones.
For example, thanks to the company’s multi-device feature, you were able to use it from your phone, tablet, and computer. If you use two phones, however, you were out of luck. That’s no longer the case, though.
The feature will be rolled out to everyone over the coming weeks
WhatsApp did say that this feature will be rolling out to all WhatsApp users over the coming weeks. So, just because it was announced, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to use it straight away. Some of you may have to wait a bit.
This is a crucial feature for some people, myself included. I constantly use more than one phone due to the nature of my work, and having such a feature is of utmost importance. This is actually one of the reasons why I was avoiding WhatsApp up until now.
You can link additional phones the same way you’d link your PC or tablet. Also, each device you link, connects to WhatsApp independently. That means that your personal messages, media, and calls are end-to-end encrypted. If your primary device ends up being inactive for a long time, though, WhatsApp will log you out from linked devices.
The company is also rolling out a new way to link devices
In addition to this, the company is also rolling out a new way to link devices using a one-time code. WhatsApp said: “You can now get a one-time-use code by entering your mobile number on WhatsApp Web, which you can use to link devices instead of scanning the QR code on your mobile phone. We’ll make this feature available for more linked devices in the future”.
