Last month, YouTube Music added personalized radio stations featuring up to 30 artists. Google’s music streaming service is now doubling down on its radio efforts by placing Artist radio stations on the app‘s home page. The idea is to make artist radios readily accessible should anyone be interested in them.
Reddit user cancerkol recently shared a screenshot showing a new “Artist radios” section on YouTube Music‘s home page. As pointed out by Android Police, which spotted the Reddit post, these are playlists featuring artists that you frequently listen to and musicians they have worked with. Opening a playlist brings up the normal radio layout with an option to tune the stations by mood (chill, discover, etc.). A similar refining feature is available for recommendations on the YouTube Music Home tab as well.
YouTube Music is making artist radio stations more accessible
Content recommendation is key to the success of any streaming service. The more users find interesting and relatable content, the more they are likely to stick to a platform. This goes for both audio and video streaming. Audio platforms like YouTube Music and Spotify already do a stellar job at it. But there’s always room for improvement. There’s always a way to do things better than others.
While Spotify shows artist radios in search results (when you search for a specific artist), YouTube Music is taking a different approach to it. Google is placing them directly on the app’s home page, making artist radios more accessible. It is keeping the personalization aspect of the service intact by allowing you to filter content by mood directly from the homepage.
You also have curated playlists for each genre you listen to more often on YouTube Music. This is in addition to the aforementioned custom radio stations where you can hand-pick your favorite artists and genres and bring them all in one place to create your own unique radio station and become the DJ of it.
The latest change is currently in testing
Artist radios on the YouTube Music home page aren’t available to everyone. The company is currently testing the new feature among a small group of users. Should everything go as planned, an upcoming update for the app should bring it to the general public. If YouTube Music is your go-to music streaming service, you can click the button below to download the latest version of the app from the Google Play Store.
After being embroiled in controversies about its data privacy for more than a year, TikTok CEO Chew is set to testify before Congress on Thursday to address “misconceptions” about the app and its parent company, ByteDance. Lawmakers have long expressed concerns about the app’s connections with the Chinese government and its possible use to target American consumers, leading to calls for a ban on the app in the US. Chew aims to argue that banning TikTok would harm the country’s economy and that the Chinese government has no control over the app.
During his testimony, Chew plans to highlight the app’s safety features and Project Texas, a billion-dollar initiative designed to protect the data of US users. He will also mention that the company is currently erasing historically protected US user data stored in non-Oracle servers and that the Chinese government cannot access data under their current app structure.
“ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country. Rather, our approach has been to work transparently and cooperatively with the U.S. government and Oracle to design robust solutions to address concerns about TikTok’s heritage,” reads Chew’s remarks.
Tough times for TikTok
Despite TikTok’s efforts to safeguard US user data, recent reports of the FBI investigating the company for spying on US journalists have worsened matters for the company. Lawmakers are likely to criticize Chew for TikTok’s connections to ByteDance and China. Nevertheless, Chew contends that the allegations that TikTok is “beholden to the Chinese government” are untrue, and he describes ByteDance as a “global enterprise” established by Chinese entrepreneurs.
TikTok CEO Chew’s appearance before Congress will be his first, and his testimony could have a significant impact. With lawmakers threatening to ban the app unless the company divests from ByteDance, Chew’s defence of TikTok’s safety measures and its parent company’s autonomy will determine the company’s fate in the US.
Looking to cut off a possible bipartisan bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S., the CEO of the platform, Shou Zi Chew, spoke to lawmakers today. The executive did admit to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that some China-based employees working for TikTok parent ByteDance might still have access to data from U.S. users. However, that access will end when the company’s Project Texas initiative begins.
But this hardly calmed the lawmakers who are concerned about a law in China that forces firms like Byte Dance to turn over personal information collected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for “national security” reasons. TikTok’s CEO did deny that TikTok shares data with the CCP.
TikTok’s Project Texas initiative is designed to prevent employees in China from accessing U.S. data
According to CNBC, when Rep. Bob Latta, (R-Ohio), asked Chew if any ByteDance employee in China could access U.S. data today, Chew answered, “After Project Texas is done, the answer is no. Today, there is still some data that we need to delete.” That data is located inside servers in Singapore and Virginia. Once this data is deleted, China-based ByteDance employees will not have access to that information. TikTok currently has 150 million U.S. subscribers.
Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok
A TikTok spokesperson said today, “Since October of 2022, all new U.S. user data has been stored exclusively in the Oracle Cloud Environment, with protected data fully out of reach of any foreign government. That data is managed exclusively by U.S. Data Security—a TikTok subsidiary made up of Americans, led and located in America—whose sole focus is to protect U.S. national security interests by securing U.S. user data and preventing outside manipulation of our systems.”
Lawmakers were also upset with certain content found on the short-form video app. For example, Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) grilled Chew about the suicide of 16-year-old Chase Nasca, who died last year after allegedly viewing TikTok videos that promoted suicide. Nasca’s parents attended the hearing and were in tears when Bilirakis played some of these videos. The parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against ByteDance. “Mr. Chew, your company destroyed their lives,” Bilirakis said.
Rep. Earl Carter, (R-Ga.), asked Chew about TikTok challenges many of which are dangerous and life-threatening. One, the “Blackout Challenge,” tries to get TikTok users to strangle themselves and several children have died. Lawsuits have been filed.
Rep. Carter asked TikTok’s CEO, “Why is it that TikTok consistently fails to identify and moderate these kinds of harmful videos? Why is it that you can’t control this?” Chew responded by saying, “This is a real industry challenge and we’re working very hard.” Carter replied, “We’re not talking about the industry. We’re talking about TikTok.”
Lawmakers blast TikTok’s CEO
During the hearing, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fl) played for attendees a TikTok video that showed an animated gun firing bullets targeting committee chair Rep. McMorris Rodgers (R-Wa). Cammack chastised Chew by saying, “Your own community guidelines state that you have a firm stance against enabling violence on or off TikTok. This video has been up for 41 days.” Chew confirmed after a break that the video had been removed during the hearing.
Cammack also read into the record an internal ByteDance memo that told employees to “downplay the parent company ByteDance, downplay the China association, downplay AI.” Commick responded by saying, “You’ve said repeatedly that there is no threat, that this is a platform for entertainment and for fun. Why, if you had nothing to hide, would you need to downplay the association with ByteDance and China?”
The executive answered, “Congresswoman, I have not seen that memo.” That led Cammack to say, “You cannot answer that question.”
TikTok is still one of the most popular apps on iOS and Android. On the latter platform alone the app has been installed over 1 billion times.
In this campaign, attackers have used the legitimate ChatGPT for Google extension and added malicious code to it in order to steal Facebook session cookies.
The cybersecurity researchers at Guardio have found a new info-stealing campaign exploiting ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot from OpenAI. In this campaign, attackers are distributing fake ChatGPT extensions that promise to integrate the chatbot with your Google search results. In reality, it can steal your Facebook account.
The latest ChatGPT scam should not come as a surprise, as cybercriminals have been attempting to exploit the popularity of the AI chatbot since its launch last year. In January 2023, it was reported that several fake ChatGPT clone apps on the iOS and Play Stores were collecting user data and sending it to remote servers.
The fake ChatGPT extension (Guardio)
Fake ChatGPT Extension Discovered
In the newly discovered campaign, Guardio researchers noted that it is based on an open-source extension containing malicious code to force the product to function as per the attacker’s demands and make it difficult to detect it.
The fake extension is leveraged by the Chrome Extension API to obtain active Facebook cookies and send the data to the attacker’s server. Hackers can easily log into the victim’s Facebook account, change account credentials and create zombie accounts by converting profiles into a false persona “Lily Collins.” The accounts are then used to distribute malicious ads and propaganda campaigns.
How Does the Attack Work?
Attackers have used the legitimate ChatGPT for Google extension and added malicious code to it in order to steal Facebook session cookies. Users are lured to download the extension via fake sponsored search results.
When the user search for ChatGPT 4, you will click on a sponsored search result that will redirect you to a landing page offering to embed the chatbot inside your search results. After you have installed the extension from the official Chrome Web Store, it allows you access to ChatGPT in search results along with compromising your Facebook account.
Attack flow (Guardio)
“Looking at the “OnInstalled” handler function that is triggered once the extension is installed, we see the genuine extension just using it to make sure you see the options screen (to log in to your OpenAI account). On the other hand, the forked, turned malicious, code is exploiting this exact moment to snatch your session cookies,” the report read.
How to Identify Fake Extension?
Researchers explained that the fake add-on was most probably downloaded via a sponsored ad in Google search results for Chat GPT 4, just like Bitwarden and Radeon users were targeted earlier in 2023. This extension was downloaded from the Chrome Store between Feb 14 and Mar 22.
It has now been removed from the store. You can check if the ChatGPT for Google installed on your computer is fake or legit by clicking on the puzzle icon on the Chrome address bar’s right side. then click on Manage Extension> Details> View in Chrome Web Store.
If the official extension shows chatgpt4googlecom as its verified developer and boasts more than a million users then it is original else it is fake.
Amazon Alexa is available in a number of different devices. And if you’re already invested in the Alexa ecosystem, then it is a good idea to pick up more Alexa devices to add to your home.
In this buyer’s guide, we will be discussing the top 10 best Amazon Alexa compatible devices that you can buy right now. This will include things like smart displays, smart speakers, smart bulbs, thermostats and so much more.
The Amazon Echo Show 5 can do everything that Alexa can do, now with a display. The Echo Show 5 is great to put in the kitchen or even in a bedroom on a nightstand in your room.
The display on the Echo Show 5 is a bit wider than the other Echo Show devices, which means it can show more content in-line versus the 8 or 10-inch models.
It’s great for controling your smart home, as well as playing music, watching Prime Video and much more.
This is a great bundle to get started with actually. It’s pretty inexpensive, and also comes with a smart plug, which is always a nice added bonus.
These bulbs from GE (it’s C by GE brand does the smart home products) are pretty basic. These are soft white bulbs, hence the much lower price here. They offer up the ability to use Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and even Apple’s Siri or Homekit for voice control.
Smart control here isn’t as robust as on Philips Hue lights, since you can’t change the color. It’s on or off, you can schedule them, and dim them. And that’s about it. That makes these great for ceiling lights in your home.
Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Siri/Homekit, IFTTT
The Philips Hue Go is another really cool light that you can add to your setup. Many people refer to it as a “bowl of light” which is technically true. The Philips Hue Go is also portable, meaning that it does not need to stay plugged in. So you can put it anywhere. Bounce the light off of the wall and so forth. Which is another way to add some cool accent lighting to your home.
This is a multi-colored light, with up to 16 million colors available to use here.
Much like the other Philips Hue products, the Go works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri/Homekit. It is also a newer model, so it works with Bluetooth too. Meaning it is not required to have the bridge.
Amazon’s fourth-generation Echo smart speaker is the best one yet, and perfect for those that are building a smart home. Since it has a Zigbee hub built into the speaker.
With this fourth-generation speaker from Amazon, it has improved the audio and also redesigned the speaker. You’re getting premium audio on the Amazon Echo, so you won’t need to use something like a Sonos or Bose speaker to get great audio.
The redesign on the Amazon Echo means that it is going to be able to better project audio in your home. As well as looking really unique. The Alexa ring is now on the bottom and can light up the table, which looks really nice.
Sonos announced the new Beam 2 in September 2021, as the second-generation compact sound bar. Which has Amazon Alexa baked in (as well as Google Assistant). And it makes it the best Alexa-compatible sound bar again. We chose this over the Sonos Arc, because we feel that the price here is more attainable than the $700 for the Arc.
With the Sonos Beam 2, there is support for Dolby Atmos now, but it’s not full-on Dolby Atmos. It’s a bit strange, but it basically comes down to the size, and the fact that there are no up-firing speakers here.
Internally, things have been upgraded which will give you a better sound experience here, and it’ll also be quicker to play via AirPlay 2, as well as HDMI eARC for controlling your TV.
The Amazon Echo Show 10 is a redesigned Echo Show, with a display that will now follow you around the room. This is useful for a few reasons. It’s great for video calls, as you’re able to stay in the frame all the time. But it’s also good for seeing what’s happening when you’re not home. Much like the Nest Hub Max, this camera can be used for security too.
The Echo Show 10 does have a really good speaker in it, and allows you to watch content from Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and other providers. As well as allowing you to watch what’s happening on your Ring Video Doorbell.
The Blink Mini is the cheapest camera on this list. And you’re probably wondering why this $35 home security camera is on this best of list, with many others that are over $100 – some of which are $200.
Well, the Blink Mini does the basics, and nothing more. It is a very small camera as you can tell by the name. Which offers two-way audio, and motion detection. It also only records in HD, and not 1080p or even 4K. Basically, you get what you pay for. And for most people, this is really all you need.
The RemoBell S is a great video doorbell to pick up, and perhaps the cheapest on this list. It does require existing doorbell wiring, which is part of why it’s so much cheaper. As there is no battery inside to power it.
It can record your front yard and see what’s going on, giving you notifications and more. There is no subscription required, so it can record and keep everything for you. Without having to pay anything extra. Which is always nice.
The Echo Dot also got a redesigned, and looks very similar to the Echo that is listed above. But of course, smaller. So it has a new spherical shape, which looks really futuristic and a bit like the Nexus Q.
But the Echo Dot still does its job and does it well. It’s a small smart speaker that offers some good audio now. It also has Alexa built-in. So you can ask about the traffic, weather and much more. Not to mention, streaming music. There is support for Spotify, TiDAL, Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music and many more.
The new Ring Video Doorbell 3 is a great device to pick up and add to your Alexa ecosystem. It adds quite a few new features, including a better way to pop out the battery and charge it. It also does 1080p HD video, with night vision. Has motion detection and person detection. So it’ll only record when it sees motion.
It does work with Echo devices, like the Echo Show, so you can see what is happening outside, from your smart display. Or on your TV with a Fire TV device.
Razer today is launching two accessories for the Meta Quest 2 VR headset, promising a more comfortable experience when playing games in virtual reality. The Razer Adjustable Headstrap and Razer Facial Interface were designed in collaboration with ResMed, an expert in human factors that uses “billions of hours of data” to gain a deep understanding of materials, geometry, and skin science to help with their creation.
Razer says both accessories were designed with the intention of enhancing the VR gameplay through improved comfort. The Razer Facial Interface for example is meant to reduce facial pressure. Razer says these “float the surface of your face on a microscopic level.” While that’s a pretty interesting claim to make, the important thing is that these should distribute weight more evenly. Which should lead to more comfort during the time you’re wearing your headset.
It also features a light-blocking design with ventilation and a contoured 3D design for better support. Both accessories are available directly from Razer at $69.99 each. Or you can grab them both in a bundle for $139.98.
The Razer Adjustable Headstrap for Meta Quest 2 was designed for all head shapes
With comfort as a central point of focus for this accessory, the headstrap needs to fit. The thing is it’s not just the size of your head that can throw that off. Everyone is different is head shape can factor into whether or not something like this fits as well.
But that shouldn’t be a problem here. Razer says it was designed to fit all head shapes. To that end, Razer calculated the ideal vector and angle for each strap so that they don’t apply as much force to the parts of the head that they contact. The adjustable straps are soft and made of a breathable texture to help with comfort and the high-performance nylon that the straps are made of will help with durability. Ensuring that they last you a while.
The best part of all perhaps, is the unique cap design. It’s meant to promote a quick on/off solution that allows you to jump out and back into your VR games. Without having to mess around with strap adjustments. You simply need to set it up the first time and from then on, you can just slide the headset off if you need to take a quick break. Then right back on when you’re ready to play again.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed new rules that will make it easier for consumers to cancel recurring subscriptions and memberships.
Currently, there is no standard way of canceling a subscription. While Apple offers an easy way of canceling its subscriptions, such as Apple Music and Apple TV+, consumers more often than not, have to follow lengthy, multi-step processes on other websites and services to cancel a subscription successfully.
FTC wants to change this and has proposed new rules that would provide consumers with a consistent legal framework that ensures businesses make it easy for customers to cancel their subscriptions. The “Click to Cancel” provisions would ensure that businesses make it at least as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to start.
This means that if a consumer can sign up online, they must be able to cancel it on the same website in the same number of steps. The proposed rule would also require companies to provide complete and clear information on canceling recurring subscriptions.
The “Click to Cancel” rule would also require sellers to provide an annual reminder to consumers before they are automatically renewed. Additionally, the rule would allow sellers to pitch additional offers or modifications when a consumer tries to cancel their enrollment. However, before making such pitches, sellers must ask consumers whether they want to hear them.
FTC Chair Lina M. Khan believes that the proposed rule would save consumers time and money and prevent businesses from tricking consumers into paying for subscriptions they no longer want or didn’t sign up for in the first place. The rule is part of the FTC’s review of the 1973 Negative Option Rule.
OnePlus is readying a new special edition OnePlus 11. The company’s President for China Li Jie recently teased the handset on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Jie says the device will feature “unprecedented materials and craftsmanship, making each mobile phone unique”. It appears to be made of marble.
A new OnePlus 11 variant with a marble back may be on the way
The OnePlus executive shared an image of a OnePlus 11 superimposed on Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. “Everyone is unique. Is it possible that each phone can also look unique?” text on the photo reads (machine translated from Chinese). As you can see in the zoomed-in image below, Jupiter’s surface patterns on the back of the OnePlus 11 hint at a marble finish.
Unfortunately, Li Jie didn’t reveal anything else. However, prolific Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station added fuel to the possibility of this handset featuring a marble back. They said the new OnePlus 11 variant uses an industry-first special material on the back. No other phone has ever used it. The material makes the phone feel cold and cool to the touch. Conversations on Weibo also point at a marble back.
If you remember, OnePlus showed a OnePlus 11 concept phone at MWC 2023 in Barcelona earlier this year. It was rather unique too, with the company’s new Active CryoFlux cooling solution which is a miniaturized closed-loop liquid cooling system found on desktop PCs. It keeps the phone’s temperature in check during graphic-intense gaming sessions, thus prolonging the battery and shortening the charging.
The concept phone wasn’t meant to enter production, and it won’t. Digital Chat Station has confirmed that the upcoming variant is different (via), though coolness appears to be one of its USPs. We’ll have to wait for more information before things get clearer as to what OnePlus is cooking here. As things stand, we don’t even have a vague timeline for the launch of this special edition OnePlus 11.
The phone may not feature those Jupiter surface patterns
Even if this special edition OnePlus 11 ends up having a marble back, there’s little hope those Jupiter patterns seen on the teaser image will make it to the end product. The handset itself may get a monotonous finish. Perhaps we may be looking at this unreleased beige color variant here, with some unique “craftsmanship” on top. This color option was rumored to be in the works but never saw the light of day. Stay tuned as we wait to find out what OnePlus has up its sleeves.
Cybersecurity experts have uncovered a fake ChatGPT Chrome extension that does not work as it claims to. This extension posed itself as a channel to integrate ChatGPT AI functions into a user’s Google search result. That in itself seemed too good to be true, considering that Google has its own AI platform.
Despite this, some Chrome users proceeded to install this extension, hence exposing their Facebook accounts to bad actors. Truthfully, a ChatGPT Chrome extension is available for download, but there seems to be more attractive to the malware version. This harmful extension was made popular via a series of sponsored advertisements.
Due to the fuss around ChatGPT recently, many Chrome users clicked on the ad and unknowingly downloaded this malicious extension. Here is everything you need to know about this fake ChatGPT Chrome extension.
Details on how the fake ChatGPT Chrome extension affected tons of users
This fake ChatGPT Chrome extension became available for download on February 14. It masqueraded itself as the original ChatGPT4 Google extension to steal people’s Facebook accounts. To make it seem more real, the hackers that developed this malicious extension made it a copycat of the original extension.
It also had the exact functions that the ChatGPT4 extension brings, but with a twist. This malicious extension feeds on Facebook cookies curated by the target’s account (those that installed the extension). These cookies are then sent to the hacker’s server, where they are used to log into Facebook and change necessary credentials.
Sadly, this extension was on the Chrome Web Store for more than a month before it was taken down. During this period, the hackers promoted this malicious extension through ads on Chrome and other platforms. This drew lots of unsuspecting users to click on the ads and proceed to install the extension to their Chrome Web browser.
Google has proceeded to take down this extension from the Chrome Web Store, but some users have already been affected. These Chrome users lost their Facebook accounts to this fake ChatGPT Chrome extension. Now that the extension is out of the Chrome Web Store, there might be some rest for Chrome users.
If you already make use of the ChatGPT4 extension on Google Chrome, it is important to check if it is original. To do this, head over to the extension manager via the puzzle icon at the top right-hand corner of the Chrome address bar. From this point, you can check the details of the extension you have via the Chrome Web Store.
In a collaborative effort, the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the National Intelligence Service of the Republic of Korea (NIS) has released a significant cybersecurity advisory.
This advisory cautions against the stealthy actions of a hacking group known as Kimsuki “Kim Su-ki” (aka Thallium, Velvet Chollima) that was found using malicious Chrome extensions to steal sensitive information from the targets’ Gmail accounts by gaining unauthorized access.
North Korean threat group Kimsuky conducts cyber espionage against the following entities by means of spear phishing:-
Diplomats
Journalists
Government agencies
University professors
Politicians
The initial focus of the threat actors was on targets located within South Korea. However, over time, they have significantly broadened their operations to include the entities in the following regions:-
Moreover, to perform and execute the attack on targets, the threat actors have used two methods:-
A malicious Chrome extension
Android applications
As we hinted earlier, the current Kimsuky campaign mainly targets individuals located in South Korea only.
However, the same TTPs could be used by threat actors to target victims globally. So, it’s completely important to stay alert of the TTPs used by the threat actors and mitigate such scenarios by detecting them.
Attack Strategy
The Kimsuky attack strategy commences with a targeted spear-phishing email that urges the victim to install a malicious Chrome extension.
It is important to note that apart from Chrome browser, this extension can also infect other Chromium-based browsers like:-
The extension can be identified as “AF” and may not appear on the extensions list under normal circumstances. To identify the malicious extension utilized in the Kimsuky attack, users must enter the following address in the address bar of the browser:-
(chrome|edge|brave)://extensions
The extension automatically activates the victim’s browser once they visit Gmail via the infected browser. It intercepts and steals the contents of the victim’s email account as soon as they click on it.
The extension employs a technique that leverages the Devtools API available in the browser to send stolen data to the server under the attacker’s control.
For this attack, Kimsuky used the following hashes for its malicious files:-
012d5ffe697e33d81b9e7447f4aa338b
51527624e7921a8157f820eb0ca78e29
582a033da897c967faade386ac30f604
04bb7e1a0b4f830ed7d1377a394bc717
89f97e1d68e274b03bc40f6e06e2ba9a
3458daa0dffdc3fbb5c931f25d7a1ec0
Kimsuki uses the following Android malware to infect Android devices:-
FastViewer
Fastfire
Fastspy DEX
Since the hashes of FastViewer were already revealed publicly by the researchers, so, in December 2022, the threat actors updated FastViewer to make continued use of it.
A phishing email or other attack led Kimsuki operators to steal the victim’s Google account, which it used to log into the account. It has also become evident that the hackers abuse Google Play’s feature that synchronizes information from the web to the phone.
The feature enables users to install applications on their linked devices directly from their computers, providing an avenue for installing malware onto these devices.
The attackers submit the malicious app to the Google Play console developer site under the guise of “internal testing only.” They then add the victim’s device as a testing target, requesting Google Play to install the malicious app onto the victim’s device.
The Android malware utilized by Kimsuky is a RAT that provides attackers with a range of capabilities to carry out their malicious activities like:-
Drop malicious payload
Create files
Delete files
Steal files
Get contact lists
Perform calls
Monitor SMS
Send SMS
Activate the camera
Perform keylogging
View the desktop
With the ever-evolving tactics of Kimsuky in compromising Gmail accounts, it is imperative that both individuals and organizations remain proactive in implementing comprehensive security measures.
