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Redmi Note 12 Pro & Redmi Note 12 Pro+ Review: The price is right

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andreasc

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April 14, 2023

Redmi Note 12 Pro & Redmi Note 12 Pro+ Review: The price is right

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Xiaomi announced quite a few Redmi phones globally not long ago. I am, of course, talking about the Redmi Note 12 series. We’re here to review the two most powerful phones from the lineup, the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G and Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G. I’ll refer to them both without the ‘5G’ part from now on, just to keep things simpler. ‘5G’ is, however, included in their official names.

Considering that the Redmi Note 12 Pro and Pro+ are very similar in many ways, we’ve decided to review them both in the same article. These two phones are literally identical in the display, processor, RAM (some variants), and some other categories. Heck, even three out of four cameras on each phone are identical. There are some differences, though. There’s a reason the more powerful unit has the ‘+’ moniker attached to its name. Having said that, let’s dive in, shall we?

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G & Pro+ 5G Review: Hardware / Design

The Redmi Note 12 Pro and Pro+ look basically the same, at least at first glance. There are some differences to note here. The Redmi Note 12 Pro has a flat glass back, while the one on the ‘+’ model is slightly curved towards the sides. The frame is flat on the sides, of both phones. You will find a glass back on both phones, while their frames are made out of plastic, though that’s not something you’ll actually notice. I had to look it up, as it didn’t feel like it upon first use. Both phones feel really good in the hand, actually, and not cheap at all.

They have thin bezels, and a side-facing fingerprint scanner which works great

You’ll notice that they both have very thin bezels, and a centered display camera hole up top. They include flat displays, and all of their physical buttons are on the right-hand side. You’ll notice that the volume up and down buttons sit above the power/lock key. Speaking of which, that power/lock key doubles as a fingerprint scanner, which works really well on both phones. A camera island with three sensors is included on the back of each phone. They do look very similar, but a different main camera is in use here. More on that later on in the review.

They’re very similar-looking

You’ll also notice the ‘Redmi’ logo on the back of each phone. They are very similar design-wise, and that’s not a bad thing. They even have a similar in-hand feel, actually, though you’ll notice the extra heft of the Pro+ model. It weighs 208 grams, compared to 187 grams of the Redmi Note 12 Pro. They are almost identical in terms of height, width, and thickness. The Pro+ model is slightly thicker, less than a millimeter. It’s also worth noting that they’re both IP53 splash and dust resistant.

Accessories

You will find a case in the box with each of these phones. Xiaomi includes a regular gel/silicone case in there, which is see-through. Quite honestly, that’s a nice inclusion, and a great first-hand solution, until you find a case that suits your style a bit more. Some people do prefer these gel cases, so if that’s the case, these ones are not bad at all.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G & Pro+ 5G Review: Display

These two phones utilize the exact same display. You’ll find a 6.67-inch fullHD+ (2400 x 1080) OLED panel on each of the two phones. That display is flat, and it offers a 120Hz refresh rate. Dolby Vision is also supported, as is HDR10+ content. The display gets up to 900 nits of peak brightness. That is okay, but it’s nowhere near the brightest flagship smartphones out there, and it could be a problem if you use your phone in direct sunlight often.

Both displays also have the same protection, the Gorilla Glass 5 lies on the front. That is not the most modern solution, but a good solution nonetheless. I’ve had great experiences with Gorilla Glass 5 throughout the years, as it’s a lot less scratch-resistant than the Gorilla Glass 3 that OEMs love to include in budget phones. So, you shouldn’t really be worried about Gorilla Glass 5, not at all.

The displays are vivid, sharp, and overall quite good

This display can jump between 30 and 120Hz refresh rate as needed, and it supports a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The display is actually good. It’s not great, mainly due to its brightness, but it’s what you’d expect at this price range, maybe even better than what you’d expect. The colors are vivid, and the viewing angles are not bad either. The touch response is also quite good, and so on. You really can’t fault it for many things, that’s for sure. There are even manual controls for it, within the software.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G & Pro+ 5G Review: Performance

When it comes to performance, it’s identical between these two phones, at least in our experience. That is not surprising, as they’re both fueled by the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 SoC. That’s a 6nm processor, it’s backed by LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 flash storage. Both of our units include 12GB of RAM, by the way, which is the upper level of offered variants. The Redmi Note 12 Pro also comes with 6GB and 8GB of RAM, while the Pro+ model is offered in an 8GB RAM variant, on top of the 12GB RAM one.

Benchmark-wise, they do offer similar performance

In terms of benchmarks, both phones had similar performance, which is also not surprising, considering the specs. They’re right in line with the Galaxy A54, and similar mid-tier phones. That’s not a bad thing, not at all. The Redmi Note 12 Pro and Pro+ actually offered really, really good performance. That goes for general use and gaming alike. They’re very responsive, and great even when you’re juggling between several apps. There was a stutter here and there, but not something worth noting, to be quite honest. Overall, the performance was very fluid, I was even a bit surprised. This chip does bring a number of improvements over what the Redmi Note 11 series offered, especially in the gaming department, so I guess that’s not a major surprise.

They didn’t get too hot at any point, not even during gaming

Even when I was testing out some games, the two phones never got hot. They did get warm, but not hot. Truth be said, I did not play games for hours, but I did try out some more graphically-intensive titles just to see how will things go. I even left the screen on for a period of time, to see how the phones react. That did not really mess with the performance at all, nor the heat. I have to say I was a bit impressed in that regard. The software also played a role in the performance, but we’ll talk about that later on.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G & Pro+ 5G Review: Battery

In addition to various other identical components, both of these phones also include the same batteries. You’ll find a 5,000mAh battery inside each of them. You’d assume the battery life is also identical, on the account of the same display, SoC, RAM, and storage, right? Well, no, not really. It is comparable, but the Redmi Note 12 Pro had more juice during our testing. It offered around 15% better battery life. Use cases were very similar with both, by the way. Most of you don’t need to worry about running out of juice before the end of the day, though, on either phone. The battery life is really good overall, even with some light gaming. Getting over 6-7 hours shouldn’t be a problem, depending on your usage, signal, and so on, of course. Just do note that these two phones don’t do all that great on standby. They have above average battery drain.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ offers considerably faster charging

Now, they do differ in the charging department. The Redmi Note 12 Pro supports 67W charging, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G comes with 120W charging support. Both include the necessary charging bricks, and neither supports wireless charging. When it comes to the charging speed, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ can reach a full charge in half an hour. In that same time, the Redmi Note 12 Pro reached 77% charge in our testing. Charging it to 100% will take you around 55 minutes, so almost twice as much as the Redmi Note 12 Pro+. Still, that’s not bad at all.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G & Pro+ 5G Review: Camera

These two phones have the same ultrawide, macro, and selfie cameras. They do differ in the main camera sector, though. The Redmi Note 12 Pro has a 50-megapixel main camera (f/1.9 aperture, OIS, PDAF, 1.0um pixel size), while the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ includes a 200-megapixel main snapper (f/1.7 aperture, OIS, 0.56um pixel size, PDAF). Both phones include an 8-megapixel ultrawide unit (120-degree FoV), and a 2-megapixel macro camera on the back. A single 16-megapixel camera sits on the front.

The Redmi Note 12 Pro daytime shots are above average

By default, the Redmi Note 12 Pro provides 12.5-megapixel images out of that 50-megapixel sensor. During the day, the photos look good. There’s plenty of detail in them, and they’re quite contrasty and vivid. Maybe even a bit too vivid at times, and the optional AI mode boosts that even further at times. We’ve used that mode too, in some shots, though most of them are shot without it. The photos can look a bit overprocessed, but let’s not nitpick. For a mid-range phone, this is great.

Low light shots are not bad either

In low light, the phone will decide on its own when to turn on the Night Mode. That goes for the main camera only, though. For a mid-range camera, this phone does a great job in low light. It has good exposure, preserves enough detail, and even keeps the noise in check. Even the dynamic range is not bad, which is also surprising. If you opt to use the dedicated night mode, you’ll get brighter shots.

The 2x shots are okay, but not as good as the shots taken with the main camera. The same goes for portrait shots, they’re okay, but the edge detection is not great. The ultrawide camera does a good job in good lighting, which managed to surprise me considering the hardware on offer. Still, they look even more artificial than the photos from the main camera. Still, they’re good enough. In terms of the 2-megapixel macro camera, well… I don’t appreciate OEMs using them at all. Those sensors are simply too tiny. Still, those images can be useful, at times, but only if there’s enough light in the scene.

Redmi Note 12 Pro camera samples:

The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ has great daytime shots

The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ provides 12-megapixel images by default, from its 200-megapixel camera. This camera also does a great job in good lighting. It provides plenty of detail, and only the foliage can look a bit oversharpened. The photos look less artificial than what the Redmi Note 12 Pro offers. They do lean on the higher contrast side of things, but that’s not exactly a bad thing, in my opinion.

The 2x photos look good, but are not as sharp as the ones provided by the main camera. You can get similar results by cropping the main photo, though slightly worse, truth be said. The ultrawide camera does a good job in good lighting. It keeps the noise out of the picture for the most part, and the dynamic range is also okay. They’re not as detailed as shots from the main camera, but that is to be expected. The macro shots are very similar to the ones from the Redmi Note 12 Pro, which is to say they look surprisingly good for a 2-megapixel camera, as long as you take them during the daytime. The portrait mode performance is similar to what the Redmi Note 12 offers.

The phone holds its own in low light too, even matches some flagship devices

These low-light photos look even better than the ones on the Redmi Note 12 Pro. The dynamic range is great, and the exposure is also good. The colors look nice in low light shots, and the photos are detailed enough. It can even stand side-by-side with some flagships, but only those that don’t have top-of-the-line cameras. Keep in mind this is a mid-range phone, and we’re observing photo quality with that in mind. Auto night mode is supported, but only on the main camera.

Video recording on both phones is okay, but nothing to write home about. It cannot really compete with flagship smartphones, but it’s more than usable, good even. That goes for both the stabilization and the footage itself.

Redmi Note 12 Pro+ camera samples:

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G & Pro+ 5G Review: Software

The software experience is basically the same across these two phones. They both come with Android 12, on top of which you’ll find MIUI 14. Yes, you read that right, Android 13 is not included here, but you’re getting the latest version of MIUI still. Xiaomi has a special approach to updates, so… you’re essentially getting the best the company has to offer, but not on the latest version of Android. MIUI likes to take a different approach to things, as many of you already know.

Only 8 apps can’t be removed

Speaking of approach, many of you are probably wondering what’s the situation with bloatware. Well, good, actually. There are only 8 apps that you cannot remove. Needless to say, that’s great, as in previous versions, there were plenty of them that had to sit there and basically be in the way. Speaking of unused apps, Xiaomi did present a rather interesting feature in MIUI 14. This version includes automatic compression for apps that you’re not using.

Some MIUI 14 features are still missing

Now, MIUI 14 did get a ton of polish over MIUI 13, mostly performance-related. It does work really well, to be quite honest, but some features are still not there. I was trying to find the animated character widgets, but they’re not there. The same goes for the duplicate file merger, and a number of other features. Still, the vast majority of features you’d expect are here, including the enlarged folders many OEMs are utilizing these days.

MIUI 14 is truly customizable

MIUI 14 is filled with customization. For example, the notification shade is split from the notification shade by default, but you can change that. You can get a more regular Android experience with ease. There are a lot of such options in the settings, actually. There are even customization options for the recent apps screen. Yes, you can also launch floating windows in MIUI 14, and a useful Sidebar is also included in the OS.

Xiaomi also includes its own image editing and video editing tools, which are feature-rich. The Security app the company provides also has a ton of features, and it can help you clean up your phone, or set some boundaries. There is also the remote app to utilize in collaboration with an IR blaster up top, and so on. All in all, the experience was great for us, even though we did stumble upon a bug or two. The OS froze at one point on the Redmi Note 12 Pro, but went back to normal two seconds later. On the Redmi Note 12 Pro+, the notification shade refused to lower for a couple of seconds. That happened only once across our usage, though, so… it’s odd, but not that annoying by any means. Overall, MIUI is much better than it was before.

Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G & Pro+ 5G Review: Should you buy either of them?

Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-brand is well-known for offering great value, and these two phones are no exception. They do offer a lot of the asking price, and with everything considered, it’s not difficult to recommend them. The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is the better phone of the two, but the difference is really not big. So, you can easily get away with getting the Redmi Note 12 Pro and calling it a day. You’ll be saving some cash, and getting a phone which is truly capable. If you do need a brighter display and a bit different camera experience, however, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is a great choice.

You should buy the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G & Pro+ 5G if:

You don’t want to break the bank, but still want value
You need good performance
You love taking pictures, and are looking for an affordable phone to do that with
You need an IR blaster
You appreciate having a good screen on a phone
You want truly fast charging in a mid-range device
You appreciate good speakers

You shouldn’t buy the Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G & Pro+ 5G if:

You need wireless charging
You want the very latest version of Android
You appreciate stock Android experience

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Hyundai Hacked – Attackers Stole Car Owners’ Personal Details

Hacking

andreasc

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April 14, 2023

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Hyundai Hacked – Attackers Stole Car Owners’ Personal Details

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Hyundai reported a data breach that impacted car owners in Italy and France and people who booked their test drives. The company has warned that hackers accessed customers’ data.

Hyundai owns roughly 3% of the market shares in Italy and France, selling nearly half a million vehicles a year in Europe.

As per Twitter reports, the following data has been exposed.

Physical addresses
E-mail addresses
Telephone numbers
Vehicle data (Chassis numbers)

Just received an email from @Hyundai_Italia (@Hyundai_Global) notifying me about a data breach for my account. Looks like a third party accessed their databases containing sensitive data.
As an Engineer primarily dealing with security and infrastructure, I’m so disappointed! pic.twitter.com/d04vXasadH
— Nicholas Valbusa (@squallstar) April 12, 2023

The breach notification released by Hyundai also mentioned that the threat actor did not steal any financial data or identification numbers.

Hyundai Italy said, “Our IT investigations confirmed that some of our customer data may indeed have been impacted. Specifically, the data includes contact information (such as emails, addresses and telephone numbers) and vehicle data (such as chassis numbers). Neither financial data nor official identification numbers were affected.”

In addition, Hyundai warned their customers that there might be phishing and social engineering attempts, asking them to be vigilant about any unsolicited emails and SMS text that appears to have originated from Hyundai.

As per Hyundai France’s reports, the exposed data has gone to a certain extent, adding First Name, Last name, DOB, telephone, Customer name, postal address, and chassis number.

“As soon as we were notified of the incident, we immediately launched an investigation and implemented all measures to contain it. We turned to the best cybersecurity specialists and our lawyers to support us in handling the incident.”

“We promptly informed the Guarantor for the Protection of Personal Data and among the various security measures adopted, we blocked the server concerned and permanently removed it from the network. We are continuing to work with our IT teams to ensure our systems maintain a high standard of security.”

Hyundai has indicated that both of their data breaches have been informed to the data protection authorities of Europe. They are working with their cyber security and IT teams to rectify this issue.

At this stage, it cannot be concluded how many customers could be affected by this breach, how long the intrusion lasted, or what counties were affected. Further reports from Hyundai will clarify these questions.

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Google Pay accidentally handed out free money, bug now fixed

Malware

andreasc

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April 14, 2023

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Google Pay accidentally handed out free money, bug now fixed

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All good things must end, they say, including generous offers of “rewards” caused by a short-lived glitch in Google Pay.

Days ago, several Google Pay users in the US received some unexpected cashback from Google, congratulating them “for dogfooding the Google Pay Remittance experience”. Confused (and a tad happy), some looked to Twitter for answers, while others aired their experiences on the /r/googlepay/ Reddit page.

Freelance journalist Mishaal Rahman was one of the many recipients of free money. He got $46 in “rewards” from the app, while someone else got six rewards of almost $100 each.

“Open GPay, swipe to the ‘Deals’ tab, and see if you have any ‘rewards’ near the top. That’s where I’m seeing this,” Rahman tweeted. “I suspect this is an error, so that money is just gonna sit in my account for now lol.”

Not every Google Pay user received this welcome surprise, though.

Wait. Dogfooding?

Dogfooding is an IT slang that means using one’s own product. By this definition, these messages and cashback rewards seemed intended for individuals working in Google or testing partners. Yet none of the recipients were either.

“It appears to be an unintended early launch, presumably it has something to do with the new price guarantee for flights,” replied a moderator to the threat on the said Google Pay Reddit page. “Nothing to be worried about.”

The price guarantee the moderator referred to is a pilot program within Google Flights, Google’s online flight booking service. This program aims to pay back Flights users the difference, which must be greater than $5, between the flight price upon booking and the lowest ticket price via Google Pay.

This explanation sounds plausible. However, Google neither confirmed nor denied this to be the reason for the hiccup.

In a follow-up to Rahman and the many recipients of the cashback reward, the Google Pay team said the cash they received was unintended. The team also reversed the credit and reassured them no further action was required.

And, yes, if wrongfully rewarded users already transferred or spent the money they received, it’s theirs to keep, the team said.

The email Rahman received from the Google Play team, telling him the free money he received was a mistake. (Source: Mishaal Rahman)

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Start Spring Cleaning with $250 off Shark’s R912S Robot Vacuum

Android

andreasc

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April 14, 2023

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Start Spring Cleaning with $250 off Shark’s R912S Robot Vacuum

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It’s a good time to start Spring Cleaning, and today Best Buy is discounting the Shark EZ RV912S Robot Vacuum with self-empty base, by $250. That’s half off of the regular price, bringing it down to $249.99.

This deal is good today only and will expire at midnight EST tonight.

Shark RV912S Robot Vacuum – Best Buy

Why you should buy the Shark RV912S robot vacuum

The RV912S is one of the newer robot vacuums from Shark, but it’s still a great one. Its base does have the auto-empty bin, so every time it docks, it will automatically empty the dustbin. Making everything a whole lot easier. According to Shark, the dock can hold about 30 days worth of dirt and debris.

It also has some pretty incredible suction power, making it great for picking up the hard to get up debris. Thanks to its deep cleaning. Like a lot of other robot vacuums, this one does also do row-by-row cleaning. Instead of just cleaning in a random direction until it thinks it has cleaned everywhere. So that’s really useful to have.

This robot vacuum is great for those with pets, thanks to the incredible suction power, but also the multi-stage filtration system. Which is able to capture dust, dander and allergens. Of course, this robot vacuum is also able to clean on multiple surfaces. That includes carpet, hardwood, laminate, and much more.

As is the case with most other robot vacuums, this one does also include support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. So you can use your voice to tell the RV912S to start cleaning your home. It also works with the Shark Home app too, of course. Making cleaning a whole lot easier. Who doesn’t love starting to clean their home with a command to Google Assistant?

You can pick up the Shark RV912S robot vacuum from Best Buy today by clicking the link below.

Shark RV912S Robot Vacuum – Best Buy

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Twitter rebrands Super Follows to Subscriptions

Tech

andreasc

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April 14, 2023

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Twitter has rebranded “Super Follows” to “Subscriptions”. The company’s CEO Elon Musk announced this rebranding on Thursday. He also detailed the terms of the subscription service that was originally announced in February 2021 before going live in September of that year.

Twitter launched Super Follows as a new way for creators to make money on the platform. It’s a subscription service that lets users pay a monthly fee to their favorite creators for access to exclusive tweets, Spaces, and other forms of content. Creators can offer three subscription tiers ($2.99, $4.99, or $9.99 per month) with varying perks.

Over two years into its launch, Twitter’s Super Follows feature doesn’t seem to have gained much traction. Now, the company is seemingly giving it a renewed push, beginning with giving the service a more straightforward name. Interested creators can apply for the Subscriptions program from the Monetization section under the Professional tools menu in the app’s sidebar (More button on the web version).

On a support page, Twitter notes that Subscriptions are currently limited to creators in the US. Moreover, you must have at least 10,000 followers, have tweeted at least 25 times in the past 30 days, and be 18 years or older to be eligible for it. Your account also must have been active for more than three months and have a verified email address. Other requirements include a bio, a profile picture, and a header image.

Twitter will not take a revenue cut from Subscriptions for a year

As for earnings, Musk says Twitter will not keep any revenue generated through Subscriptions for at least a year. Creators will get all the money after deducting Play Store (Android) and App Store (iOS) fees. For subscriptions brought through the web, Twitter will only deduct payment processing fees. “We will also help promote your work. Our goal is to maximize creator prosperity,” Musk said.

While Twitter Subscriptions aren’t available to creators outside the US, users in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia can also buy subscriptions. The fees remain the same ($2.99, $4.99, or $9.99 per month) across Android, iOS, and the web, though creators will get more if you subscribe through the latter platform. However, you can’t view subscriber-only content on the web. You must use Twitter’s mobile apps to see those exclusive tweets.

Twitter says it plans to offer “newsletters and other Twitter features as potential bonus content” for subscribers in the future. That’s a little odd considering the company recently shut down Revue, the newsletter platform it acquired in 2021. It remains to be seen whether Twitter’s re-branded subscription service lures more creators to the platform.

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New Spotify lock screen widget for iPhone gives users one tap access to the music streamer

Apps

andreasc

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April 14, 2023

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New Spotify lock screen widget for iPhone gives users one tap access to the music streamer

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Spotify announced today on its Community Blog that iOS users can now use a lock screen widget to help them get into the Spotify app faster on their iPhone handsets. Or, as the music streamer wrote, “After you add the new Spotify widget to your Lock Screen, tapping on it will quickly open the Spotify app. So whether you’re busy on the go, in the car, or at home, the Spotify app is now always just one tap away.”

To add the Spotify lock screen widget to your iPhone, you must be running iOS 16 or later. Here’s how you can add it to your iPhone:

Unlock your iPhone. When you see your Lock Screen, long-press on the screen until the Customize button pops up, then tap the Customize button.
Tap and select Lock Screen.
Tap Add Widgets (if you’ve already added widgets, tap on the box area underneath the time).
Scroll through the list and tap on Spotify or drag it to add it to the Lock Screen.
When you’re finished, tap on the (X) Close button at the top right of the list, then tap Done in the top right corner of the screen.
Tap on your finished Lock Screen to exit.

If you don’t see the option to add the Spotify lock screen widget, you might not have the latest version of the Spotify app on your phone. Simply install the app from the App Store to get the latest version of the app. You can find it here.

How to add the Spotify lock screen widget to your iPhone

Spotify also offers a widget for the iPhone home screen. To add this to your phone, long-press on an empty bit of real estate on your home screen until your apps go into jiggle mode. Tap the “+” button in the upper left corner and search for the Spotify widget. There are two different widgets to choose from with the larger one showing the album covers from the last five songs you’ve streamed on the platform. The smaller widget shows the album cover from the last song you streamed. Tap on any album cover to return to the Spotify app.

The two Spotify home screen widgets for the iPhone

Once you’ve decided on the widget you want to use, tap on the “Add Widget” button at the bottom of the screen and the widget will find a place on your home screen. If you’re satisfied with the placement, tap the “Done” button in the upper right corner of the screen.

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Hackers Shifting DDoS Attacks to VPS Infrastructure

Hacking

andreasc

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April 14, 2023

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Hackers Shifting DDoS Attacks to VPS Infrastructure

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Cloudflare released a threat report for DDoS of Q1 2023, showing that cyber threat actors use VPS-based attack vectors instead of compromised IoT (Internet of Things) devices.

DDoS is an abbreviation for Distributed Denial of Service attack in which threat actors send multiple requests that a web server cannot handle, making the server unavailable for usage.

2023 started with attack campaigns targeting banks, airports, healthcare, and universities. Pro-Russian Telegram-organised groups mainly conducted these attacks, like Killnet and AnonymousSudan.

Other threat actors who perform hyper-volumetric DDoS attacks are on the rise, with one of the attacks ranging to a maximum of 71 Million requests per second which is higher than Google’s highest recorded request of 46 million. However, Neither Killnet nor AnonymousSudan was responsible for this hyper-volumetric attack.

Cloudflare requested organizations to take preventive measures to protect their businesses from threat actors. Another powerful attack that Cloudflare handled and mitigated was an attack on a South American Telecommunications provider.

The attack reached a maximum of 1.3 Tbps (Terabits per second) which did not last more than a minute. The attack analysis showed traffic originating from the US, Brazil, Japan, Hong Kong, and India as a multi-vector attack involving DNS and UDP traffic.

As per Cloudflare reports, further analysis of the attack revealed that it was part of a broader campaign that includes multiple Terabit-strong attacks from a 20,000-strong Mirai-Variant botnet.

VPS for Increased Power

Older methods of DDoS involved using a large number of botnets that are usually IoT devices like security cameras or other small devices.

This usually accounts for hundreds of thousands or millions of devices which is enough to disrupt their targets. However, these devices must be exploitable to craft the attack.

Modern DDoS attacks use virtual private servers that amount to just a fraction of the devices used in the older methods. These servers are powerful to generate multiple requests, allowing attackers to conduct a DDoS attack much simpler and more efficiently.

2023 began with Internet disruptions due to shutdowns, cyclones, eartquakes, power outages, cable cuts, cyberattacks, technical problems, and military action. Learn more about what we observed in the first quarter of 2023 in our latest overview. https://t.co/QJ6ukHl4dT
— Cloudflare (@Cloudflare) April 12, 2023

Virtual Private Servers were introduced to help businesses create high-performance applications, which are now a haven for cyber threat actors.

Threat actors gain access to these vulnerable servers and pivot their way into management consoles using leaked API credentials.

As per reports from Cloudflare, “Cloudflare has been working with key cloud computing providers to crack down on these VPS-based botnets. Substantial portions of such botnets have been disabled thanks to the cloud computing providers’ rapid response and diligence. Since then, we have yet to see additional hyper-volumetric attacks — a testament to the fruitful collaboration“.

Furthermore, the reports said 16% of their surveyed customers had faced a Ransom DDoS attack which seems to be low. However, this accounts for a 60% increase compared to previous reports.

Two majorly targeted industries were Broadcast media and Non-profit organizations. Also, Finland has the highest traffic from which HTTP DDoS attacks originated, and Israel was the most targeted country.

Cyber attacks above 100 Gbps have increased by 6% Quarter on Quarter. DNS-based attacks became the most popular. Cloudflare has released a complete analysis of the Q1 2023 DDoS attack vector.

Cloud computing has become increasingly demanding for all businesses, and most are migrating to cloud environments. Unfortunately, threat actors are also rising since technological advancements create additional space for attackers to conduct malicious activities.

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Sextortion “assistance” scammers con victims further

Malware

andreasc

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April 14, 2023

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Sextortion “assistance” scammers con victims further

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We take a look at an FBI warning regarding for-profit entities making money from people targeted by sextortion attacks.

The FBI is warning of a particular aspect of sextortion scams: Supposed organisations that offer “help” to remove stolen images, often at a significant financial cost (and no guarantee of success).

Sextortion, the act of blackmailing individuals for cash in return for not leaking sensitive imagery and videos, has been a problem for many years. Sometimes it’s done by criminals, other times it’s by people known to the target. The imagery may be stolen from online cloud storage, leaked from a server, or obtained by compromising a PC with malware. The end result is the same: blackmail, and the threat of sending the images to friends and family, or just dumping them online.

A sub-industry of sorts has grown up around the sextortion marketplace. Companies which can supposedly help you remove sextortion content or shut down blackmailers, offer to help those in need of assistance. These organisations may be contacted by the victims directly (for example, via adverts or search engine results) or they may make contact by another method.

The FBI believes at least some of these entities may be involved in sextortion attacks themselves. However you stack it up, these supposed businesses have no real way to get material taken offline and kept offline. Unless the people holding on to the stolen content are somehow chased offline forever, there’s nothing stopping them from putting it back or reconnecting with their target.

The whack-a-mole technique, and how “help” can make things worse

This is somewhat similar to those mugshot sites, which scrape mugshots and place them online along with the details of the person in the photograph. They offer to take them down, for a price, but more often than not once the victim pays up the images reappear on a related site and they’re back to square one.

As the FBI notes, law enforcement assistance is free (and there’s slightly more chance of the people responsible getting into trouble for their actions). Here’s some examples provided by the FBI with regard to what bogus assistance looks like in practice, and how the “assistance” can make things worse:

A company solicited multiple payments totaling $5,000 from a juvenile sextortion victim after coercing the victim with threats of reputational harm, falsely indicating the victim would be unable to go to college or get a job and the victim’s parents would lose their jobs. The victim contacted the company for help after being sextorted via social media.
A juvenile sextortion victim contacted and hired a company for $2,000. When the victim declined to pay for additional services, the company told the victim the sextortion perpetrator asked for $5,000. At that point, the victim paid for the additional services, for which the company charged him an additional $3,200.
A company representative contacted the mother of a juvenile sextortion victim and offered to locate the sextortionist in exchange for $1,500. The representative also discouraged the victim’s mother from seeking assistance from law enforcement. It was not clear how the company representative knew about the sextortion or how they obtained the contact information for the victim’s mother.

Here at Malwarebytes, we’ve seen numerous examples of sextortion help advertised online which may (or more likely, may not) be of use to the person being targeted. Back in 2019 we spotted an ad making some bold claims about “keeping explicit images off the internet”. Sure, it might be legitimate, or it could just as easily be designed to suck someone in still further from a problem they can no longer escape. There’s never any real way to know for sure, and this is a primary reason why your first port of call should be law enforcement.

How to spot a sextortion assistance scam

The FBI has some recommendations when dealing with sextortion scams where anything assistance related is concerned. Supposed business entities may lean into your sense of fear, shame, and desperation to get the problem “solved”. In other words, they’ll act in a manner very similar to those performing the extortion in the first place. Signs to watch out for:

A company representative contacts you and offers assistance services for which the company charges fees;
The company advertises sextortion assistance in exchange for fees;
You are asked to pay the fees before the assistance services are rendered;
The company requires you to sign a contract for their services;
The company representative discourages you from contacting law enforcement or tells you contacting law enforcement is not the best way to get help;
The company uses high-pressure or scare tactics in an effort to secure your business; or
The for-profit company claims to be connected to government or law enforcement officials.

Malwarebytes tips for dealing with sextortion

We have many tips for all aspects of romance and sextortion attempts, and here’s some of the main things you can do to help yourself avoid sextortion fraud:

Don’t panic. If a scammer tells you they have compromising images of you and they show you no evidence of the images, they probably don’t have any. Offering “proof” such as a password or phone number of yours just means they’ve got that data from a breach, and doesn’t mean they have access to your computer or webcam.
Don’t engage: report. If you’re shown evidence of stolen images, report to your local authorities and the FBI as soon as you can. Never engage with the sextortionist.
Be cautious about what you say to someone online. When asked certain questions, be vague and never give specifics. Remember that online, people can pretend to be someone they’re not, and can even look and sound like a different person with today’s technology.
Personalize your security and privacy settings. Lock down your accounts as much as you can, and keep as much hidden from public view as possible.
Data is typically forever. Remember that once you send something to someone—whether they’re a stranger, a romantic partner, relative, or friend—you have no control over where it goes next.

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Xiaomi 13 Ultra camera sensors officially confirmed

Android

andreasc

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April 14, 2023

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Xiaomi 13 Ultra camera sensors officially confirmed

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Xiaomi has officially confirmed the Xiaomi 13 Ultra camera sensors. Before we get into it, do note that the phone will launch on April 18, in both China and globally. And yes, Xiaomi will livestream the event.

These are the camera sensors the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will use

For the main camera, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will retain a 1-inch camera sensor from the ‘Pro’ model. That is Sony’s IMX989 sensor, which is also used by the OPPO Find X6 Pro and Vivo X90 Pro, in addition to several other phones.

Three other cameras will be included on the back, and in all three cases we’ll get the Sony IMX858 sensors. 3x and 5x telephoto shots will be an option, and considering a periscope telephoto camera will also be available, crazy zoom shots will also be a possibility.

Xiaomi also teased advanced noise-reduction features and improved HDR. So, we’re getting a wide-angle main camera (1-inch sensor), an ultrawide unit, a telephoto camera, and a periscope telephoto camera.

Leica lenses will also be a part of the package

On top of that, each of those cameras will utilize Leica’s lenses. Needless to say, this does sound very promising. The Xiaomi 13 Pro had an outstanding camera setup, and capabilities, but the ‘Ultra’ could take things to a whole new level.

Some rumors even indicated that the main camera will utilize a variable aperture. Xiaomi didn’t mention anything regarding that thus far, but it would be an amazing addition if true. It would make this camera even more versatile, and enable it to adapt to pretty much every scenario.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra will utilize the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, and a 6.73-inch QHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. 90W wired charging will also be on offer, as will 50W wireless charging. Android 13 will come pre-installed with MIUI 14, and more.

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Best data recovery software

Tech

andreasc

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April 14, 2023

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How to recover data from corrupted USB

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One of the most common problems faced by digital users today is data corruption on USB drives, which can lead to the loss of valuable information. Fortunately, there are several effective methods to recover data from a corrupted USB. In this article, we will explore various techniques to safely retrieve your lost files and discuss how to prevent future data loss. By understanding these approaches, you will be well equipped to handle any potential data corruption scenario and safeguard your important data.

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