Elon Musk surpasses Barack Obama to become the most followed user on Twitter

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Elon Musk surpasses Barack Obama to become the most followed user on Twitter
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Elon Musk is now officially the most followed Twitter user after he could dethrone former president Barack Obama, The Verge reports.

The billionaire has been at the top of the news after he took over the platform last year. According to the latest calculations, Elon Musk now has 133,531,099 followers, making him the most followed person on the platform.

Prior to this, US former president Barack Obama had the most follower base, with over 133 million followers. To be precise, Obama now has 133,007,786 followers on Twitter, making him the second most-followed user after the owner Elon Musk.

Elon Musk is now the most followed user on Twitter

After a lot of back and forth, Elon Musk completed the Twitter deal for $44 billion in late October 2022. Since then, the billionaire has been making the headlines for laying off employees, changing the company’s direction, and launching innovative programs like paid verifications.

Back in June, Musk had 100 million followers on Twitter, and his follower base has grown exponentially since then. Musk’s handling of his Twitter account is different from most of his counterparts. Unlike billionaires who post lazy and boring stuff, Musk posts funny and offensive memes to tease a specific group or individual.

The billionaire sometimes also surveys Twitter users about required changes to the platform and policies. He recently polled followers about whether former president Donald Trump can return to the platform or he should step down as Twitter CEO.

After Elon Musk and Barack Obama, the pop singers Justin Bieber and Katy Perry are the most followed users on Twitter, with 113 and 108 million people following them.

Many experts say Musk could turn Twitter into a trillion-dollar company as TikTok is at the edge of getting banned in the United States. The Chinese video-sharing app is known to be a threat to US national security following its suspicious ties with the Chinese Communist government. If TikTok gets banned in the US, Twitter can hope to attract millions of new users.


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Twitter Blue is now finalized, but checkmarks haven’t changed much

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Twitter Blue is now finalized, but checkmarks haven’t changed much
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So, Twitter Blue — Musk’s alternative to the valuable verified checkmark of the social platform — launched a while back, but its terms finalized just in time for April Fools. What was supposed to be a restart for the verified system, however, resulted in utter confusion.

Here is what users were expecting to happen on April 1, 2023: anyone who has not signed up for Twitter blue, regardless of if they’ve previously earned a verified checkmark, would no longer have a checkmark. Until they subscribe to Twitter blue.

But imagine everyone’s shock when the world woke up to find that the blue checkmark’s description was changed to: “This account is verified because it’s subscribed to Twitter blue or is a legacy verified account”. So does this mean that legacy checkmarks were never going to go away after all?

In all honesty, no one knows and Elon Musk doesn’t seem very interested in explaining things.

Influencers on the platform were quick to admit if they’ve paid for the sub or not. Some of them did so out of fear of backlash, as they’d previously taken a stance against the subscription model, only for their followers to see that the blue checkmark is still there. But in reality, these people haven’t gone against their word: it’s just that the terms were unclear, to say the least. Furthermore, this impacted Golden checkmarks too — like the blue ones, but for official organizations — as some profiles seemingly retained theirs without having paid up either. The New York Times is an example, as its profile Tweeted out a jab, which pointed out the inconsistency.

And here is where it gets spicy: Elon pulled a “hold my beer” and outright removed the publication’s Gold checkmark seemingly manually. Which in turn spiraled into an argument in typical internet fashion.

And just for a bit of context, gold checkmarks are quite more costly when compared to their blue counterparts. Twitter requires each organization to pay $1,000 for its primary profile, and then an additional per-user fee for each “company” profile.

While all of this doesn’t mean that Twitter blue is outright or literally canceled, it does shift perspective. What happens to those who had legacy checkmarks but paid for blue anyway? What about owners of blue, who had it in them to earn legacy checkmarks? Would they have paid at all if they had the option to work for it?

Food for thought. And Twitter’s competition.


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T2 social is the latest Twitter competitor packing similar features

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T2 social is the latest Twitter competitor packing similar features
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Ever since Elon Musk’s take-over of the bird app, a ton of competitors have risen, one of such being T2 social. This new app is currently accepting people to join its waitlist. Already some early birds are getting to try out the platform, making posts and even getting a checkmark.

At this early stage, there are a few design elements within this social media platform that is similar to those found on Twitter. This doesn’t mean that the T2 social platform is in any way affiliated with the bird app. But, this new social media platform was founded by ex-Twitter staff that are now correcting some ‘flaws’ they feel need fixing.

One of the flaws this new social media platform aims to correct is creating a fuse among some Twitter users. It has to do with the verification badge that Twitter is ripping off of users that earned theirs without being Blue subscribers. The competition now offers to give these individuals back their check marks but on a different platform.

Verified Twitter users that don’t want to pay a Blue subscription can now move to T2 social

Twitter is currently bringing an end to its legacy verification program, hence forcing users to pay a Blue subscription. This is a monthly subscription plan that will give users a verification badge and access to other features. Well, this move (which came after Elon Musk’s takeover) doesn’t sit well with all Twitter legacy users, hence the search for a new platform.

T2 socials are promising legacy users a new verification badge if they open an account with them. The offer only lasts for a few days, and some Twitter legacy users are already making the switch. Their new accounts with T2 come with a verification badge and a sign to tell that they were once Twitter Legacy users.

This is simply a plight to attract Twitter users robbed of their verification badges. Still, the new competition restricts this offer to previous legacy users that didn’t pay for the Blue subscription. To benefit from this program, those signing in will need to fill out a form to confirm if they were once Twitter Legacy users.

You can also join the waitlist to open a T2 social account, but be wary that it is very similar to Twitter. The company’s founder, Gabor Cselle said that this platform is “a pretty straightforward copy of Twitter with some simplifications.” They have also hired some key players in the social media industry to help build this platform to become a worthy Twitter competitor.

Truthfully, this new social media platform has to put in a lot of work before it becomes a worthy competition to the bird app. It is also going up against other options like Mastodon and the new Bluesky. The growth of the T2 social platform, which will get a new name, will become evident in the coming months.


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Google gets partial relief against the CCI ruling

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Google gets partial relief against the CCI ruling
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Over the past few years, Google’s control over the Android ecosystem has been a topic of debate, particularly in India, where regulators and the government have called for changes in Google’s treatment of its operating system. These changes include reducing pre-installed apps, loosening restrictions on Android “forks,” and allowing third-party app stores to distribute through the Google Play Store. However, in a recent ruling, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) partially relieved Google by setting aside four of the 10 directives issued by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) related to the abuse of Google’s dominant position in Android.

Earlier this year, the CCI directed Google to make several changes to its business practices in India, including giving users the ability to remove Google apps, use third-party billing options on the Play Store, and change their search engine if desired. Google argued that the CCI’s order suffered from “confirmation bias” and was too similar to a verdict by the European Commission in 2018.

Partial relief for Google

Although the NCLAT upheld the $161 million penalty levied on Google by the CCI, it offered some relief to the tech giant by removing four out of ten directives. These directives included the need to permit the hosting of third-party app stores within the Play Store and restrict the uninstallation of pre-installed apps by users.

Despite the appeal, Google has agreed to implement some changes suggested by the CCI. Indian smartphone vendors can now license individual apps for pre-installation on their Android-powered devices, and users can change their search engine and use third-party billing options for apps and game purchases on the Play Store.

“We are grateful for the opportunity given by the NCLAT to make our case. We are reviewing the order and evaluating our legal options,” said Google on the verdict.


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Nearby Share app for Windows in open beta makes file sharing easier than ever

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Nearby Share app for Windows in open beta makes file sharing easier than ever
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Nearby Share is one of the most convenient ways to send a picture or video to a friend’s phone while they are, well… nearby. The feature debuted in 2020 and it is found on all of the best Android phones on the market.

That being said, Nearby Share has always lacked a very specific feature, which would severely bump up its utility. Namely, the ability to transfer files just as effortlessly to Windows PCs.

While such an option has been available on Chromebooks for a while now, it is now officially available for Windows PCs in the form of a beta app. Well, as long as you aren’t in Europe, but it is bound to come around sooner or later, so this is still a great start. So, what can this new Nearby Share app accomplish? Pretty much the same as ever, but in regards to Windows PCs.

Once you download and set up the app, you’ll have established the possibility of opening a two-way connection between your Android phone and PC. That means that you can send files not only from your phone to your PC, but from your PC to your phone too!

Here’s a quick overview of the file types that Nearby Share supports:

  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Documents
  • Audio files
  • Entire folders of files as the ones above

By the sound of things, there is no limit to size, but you’ll have to pay for that transfer with your patience, as larger files are bound to take more time. AndroidAuthority managed to do a bit of testing and a 690MB file got transferred in about five minutes, while a 80MB one took less than a minute.

As part of the app’s setup, you’ll be required to log into your Google account, after which you’ll have several options to choose from when it comes to who can find you on this network. But for an extra layer of security, you can always just disable the feature when you are not using it.

All in all, this app was long overdue. It’s great to see that the feature is finally supported on Windows and we can’t wait to see it become fully rolled out. In the meantime, if you are excited about trying it out, you can download it straight from Google here.


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Galaxy S24 series to offer more RAM than you may think

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Galaxy S24 series to offer more RAM than you may think
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The entire Samsung Galaxy S24 series is tipped to offer more RAM and storage. This information comes from Tarun Vats, a tipster, as he shared the info via Twitter.

The Galaxy S24 series is tipped to offer more RAM than you may think

The tipster claims that the Galaxy S24 and S24+ will offer 12GB of RAM. That is an improvement over the 8GB of RAM current-gen models offer. Samsung has been sticking with 8GB of RAM in its vanilla and ‘Plus’ models for quite some time now.

He also claims that both of those smartphones will come with more storage. The current-gen base models offer 128GB of storage. Well, based on the info this tipster shared, the Galaxy S24 and S24+ will offer 256GB of storage in their base models.

What about the Galaxy S24 Ultra? Well, Tarun says that Samsung will utilize up to 16GB of RAM. That is an improvement over the 12GB of RAM the current-gen ‘Ultra’ model offers, of course. He did not say anything about the storage, though.

We’re looking at LPDDR5X RAM & UFS 4.0 flash storage here

Do note that all Galaxy S24 models are also expected to utilize LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. Well, almost all Galaxy S23 models do, except the base Galaxy S23 model, the 128GB storage unit.

The Galaxy S24 series is not expected to arrive before Q1 next year. So, there’s still a long way to go until then, and these are only some initial rumors that we’re seeing.

The Galaxy S23 series turned out to be quite successful for Samsung, at least until now. All Galaxy S23 models come with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. So, not even Europe has to deal with the Exynos model, as previous Exynos variants were inferior to their Snapdragon counterparts.

It remains to be seen what will change with the Galaxy S24 series. Samsung is due to some sort of a notable design change, however, so… let’s see if next year is the year when the company changes things up.


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FabriXss Vulnerability in Microsoft Azure SFX Leads to RCE

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FabriXss Vulnerability in Microsoft Azure SFX Leads to RCE
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FabriXss Vulnerability

New information has surfaced regarding a security flaw patched by Microsoft in Azure Service Fabric Explorer (SFX). The vulnerability had the potential to result in unauthorized remote code execution.

The vulnerability has been discovered by the security researchers at Orca Security and tracked as CVE-2023-23383 with a CVSS score of 8.2, dubbed “Super FabriXss.”

Super FabriXss Vulnerability

The current Service Fabric Explorer (SFX) dashboard shares many similarities with the previous version, which Microsoft patched in October 2022 following the discovery of the FabriXss vulnerability (CVE-2022-35829).

On the other hand, the difference between the old SFX and the new one is that we can no longer toggle between the two at any time.

EHA

By exploiting the XSS vulnerability, the Super FabriXss vulnerability can enable threat actors to execute code remotely on a container hosted on a Service Fabric node. All these could be done without needing to authenticate themselves.

XSS is an attack involving injecting malicious code into legitimate websites, typically through vulnerabilities on the client side, allowing attackers to execute harmful scripts.

A number of unintended effects can occur when the scripts in the compromised website are executed on each visit by a victim.

The recently discovered Super FabriXss vulnerability in the “Events” tab of Azure Service Fabric Explorer is a reflected XSS flaw that can be triggered when a user clicks a link with an embedded malicious script.

To take advantage of an XSS vulnerability in the Service Fabric platform, attackers can exploit the Cluster Type Toggle options by exploiting the vulnerability. 

This is done so that a customized URL can initiate the upgrade and the existing Compose deployment can be overwritten. It specifically targets the Service Fabric platform by targeting the Events Tab.

Flaw Profile

  • CVE ID: CVE-2023-23383
  • Description: Service Fabric Explorer Spoofing Vulnerability
  • CVSS Score: 8.2
  • Severity: Critical

Super FabriXss Vulnerability Demo

It is only the Windows Cluster that is susceptible to the SuperFabriXxs vulnerability. The steps for exploiting this vulnerability are outlined below:-

  • Step 1: Creating the Azure Service Fabric Cluster
  • Step 2: Observing Node Name Changes
  • Step 3: Toggling the Cluster Option
  • Step 4: Leveraging the XSS to an RCE

NetSPI has recently disclosed a security vulnerability in Azure Function Apps that allows users with limited “read-only” permissions to obtain unauthorized access to confidential data and execute commands.

When an attacker hijacks a genuine application, they can utilize it as a launching pad for more attacks or to obtain entry to valuable resources and confidential data.

Searching to secure your APIs? – Try Free API Penetration Testing

Related Read:


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Galaxy S23 gets massive camera update with April security patch

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Galaxy S23 gets massive camera update with April security patch
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Samsung was expected to release a big camera update for the Galaxy S23 series in March end, and it’s here. The update started rolling out in the company’s home country South Korea earlier today. It should reach global markets, including the US, in the next few days.

The Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra are getting a host of camera-related changes and improvements with this update. In a community post in South Korea, Samsung announced that pressing the shutter button will now take photos even if the frame is not in focus completely. Photos may sometimes come out partly or fully blurry, but this behavior ensures you don’t lose the perfect moment waiting for autofocus to be ready. If you don’t like this behavior, you can change it from the Camera Assistant app.

Low-light videos from the ultrawide camera on the Galaxy S23 phones will reduce flickering after this update. Samsung has also improved the stabilization of Full HD videos captured at 60fps when Auto FPS is turned off. When shooting the night sky in high-resolution mode (50MP or 200MP), you should no longer see a line-shaped banding noise. Intermittent blurring and sharpness of footage have been improved too. Some Galaxy S23 users reported occasionally seeing a green line when using the rear camera. Samsung has fixed that issue as well.

Elsewhere, you can now delete photos from the Gallery app immediately after capturing them, even if the system is still processing them. This update also fixes a problem where face recognition didn’t work properly for some time after ending a third-party video call. Last but not least, Samsung has improved the image quality of low-light photos captured without enabling the Night mode. You can see the full changelog in Samsung’s official community post here (translated from Korean).

This Galaxy S23 camera update is already rolling out

As said earlier, Samsung has already started pushing this camera update to Galaxy S23 users. It was rolled out to users in South Korea earlier today with the firmware build number S91*NKSU1AWC8. A screenshot shared by @Tech_Reve on Twitter shows the OTA (over the air) package weighs more than 922MB for the Ultra model. It should be a similar-sized OTA package for the vanilla Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ as well.

Along with all of those goodies, the Galaxy S23 series is also getting a new security patch with this update. Samsung is pushing the April 2023 SMR (Security Maintenance Release) to the latest Galaxy flagships. April isn’t here yet, so we will have to wait a few more days to know the details about vulnerabilities patched with the new security release. The April security update will soon reach more Galaxy devices. We will keep you posted on those updates.


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Nokia unveils new user interface called ‘Pure UI’

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Nokia unveils new user interface called ‘Pure UI’
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Nokia redesigned its logo after six decades. That change was announced during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) last month, and now the company has more news to share. Nokia just announced a new user interface for its devices called ‘Pure UI’.

Nokia intros ‘Pure UI’ for its Android smartphones and other devices

As many of you know, Nokia basically used stock Android for quite some time now. Well, that’s about to change, as the company wants to set itself apart. The good news is, Pure UI does look very clean, minimal.

The Nokia Pure typeface is a major part of this design, and you’ll see it throughout the UI. Nokia also brought forth new icons, which are based on strokes. Their thickness will vary from one device to the next.

The company also said that new animations have been added to the mix. They’re supposed to be smooth, and really pleasant to use. It’s also worth saying that dark mode is supported.

The company has prepared some standard Pure UI elements for designers to work with. That should make it rather easy for them to create consistent-looking screens, should they choose to do so.

The company says that this UI is suitable for various display sizes and shapes

Nokia also says that this UI is suitable for various displays, it’s not limited to just phones. You can check out the gallery below to see it in action on a smartwatch, laptop, and more.

We don’t have all the information just yet, as the company still didn’t share all the details. What we’ve talked about here comes from Phandroid, as we’re waiting for the nokiapure.com website to get updated.

We’re not sure when will Nokia phones start getting this UI, but we’re guessing soon. Let’s hope that the company will share more information soon. This UI sure does look interesting. There are a bunch of images included in the gallery below, to give you a great look at Pure UI.


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The Beta version of the Samsung Internet Browser has some new features

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The Beta version of the Samsung Internet Browser has some new features
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One of the best browsers available for Android users is the Samsung Internet Browser. Like many major browsers, Android users can also install a Beta version of the browser on their phones. The public version of the app can be installed from the Play Store by tapping on this link. The Beta version of the browser can be installed by pressing on this link. Those with Galaxy phones can click on this link to install the Internet Browser Beta app from the Galaxy Store. The app weighs in at 110.52MB.
According to SamMobile, an update to the Beta version of the app to version 21.0.0.25 has added some new features. To make sure that you have the latest version, tap the hamburger menu icon found on the bottom right of the display, tap on Settings, and scroll down to About Samsung Internet. Tap on it and you’ll see a page that will give you the Version number of the Beta app under the Samsung Internet heading.
The new features can be toggled on and the bookmark and tab bars appear on the browser - The Beta version of the Samsung Internet Browser has some new features

The new features can be toggled on and the bookmark and tab bars appear on the browser

One of the new features allows users to move the bookmark bar and tab bar to a position near the bottom of the screen. And while smartphone users already had the ability to move the URL address bar to the bottom of the screen, this feature is now available for tablet owners using the Samsung Internet Browser Beta. To enable the new features, tap the hamburger menu icon on the bottom right of the screen and go to Settings > Layout and menus and toggle on the appropriate settings.
Your options will include:
  • Show address bar at bottom
  • Show tab bar
  • Show bookmark bar

When you long-press on a listing in the bookmark bar, it will automatically open that website in a new tab, and a new window. You can also edit the bookmark, copy the link, or delete the bookmark. By long-pressing the tab on the tab bar, you can close the tab, close other tabs, close all tabs, move the tab, open the app in a new tab, and open it in a new window.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra now!

If you’re an Android user, check out the Samsung Internet Browser and if you’d like the aforementioned features on your browser now, make sure you install the Beta version of the browser app. The Samsung Internet Browser is a popular app with over 1 billion installs. The Beta variant of the app has been installed over 5 million times.


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