The Galaxy S23 Ultra Moon photo controversy is still fresh in people’s minds and another Samsung camera feature is in the headlines for the wrong reasons. A Galaxy user recently discovered that Samsung’s photo remaster feature is adding teeth to pictures of a seven-month-old baby. The device in question here is, unfortunately, the Galaxy S23 Ultra once again. But the remaster feature may give you similarly unsettling results on other Galaxy models as well.
Photo remastering is a Galaxy feature available in Samsung‘s Gallery app. It lets you “remaster” photos to remove shadows, reflections, and other unwanted artifacts to give you a better picture. It’s an optional feature that uses AI (artificial intelligence) to enhance the photo. You can find it in the More menu when viewing a photo in the Gallery app. Samsung offers a “Before/After” slider to quickly check what has been removed or enhanced so you can decide whether to keep the remastered photo or discard it.
Overall, it’s a nice feature to have. But Twitter user @earcity has had a nightmarish experience with Samsung’s photo remaster feature. They tried to fix a photo of their seven-month-old daughter using the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Sure, it erased snot from the baby’s face. But the AI decided to replace the baby’s tongue with a row of fully-grown teeth. It even changed the eyes. As you can see in the embedded tweet below, the overall result is quite unsettling.
Samsung probably needs to look into its photo remaster AI
While there haven’t been any other reports of Samsung’s photo remaster feature giving such unsettling results, it wasn’t a one-off case for this user. They reached out to The Verge telling that the Galaxy S23 Ultra did the same with another of their daughter. They found the AI unnecessarily “remastering” the teeth of a three-year-old boy as well, though the final image isn’t that bad this time around.
But the bottom line is that Samsung’s AI tech powering this feature may need some reworking. Sure, the publication couldn’t replicate the disturbing results even after applying the feature to “half a dozen photos of babies” on a Galaxy S22. But that doesn’t mean the feature isn’t glitchy. It can’t be an excuse that photo remastering is optional and isn’t enabled by default. The technology behind it is turning pictures of babies into disturbing images and that isn’t okay. It remains to be seen what Samsung has to say about this.
Exploring further and wow! Sammy’s remaster “tool” really has a very intense love/hate relationship with childrens teeth or lack thereof. In this case my 3yr old sons teeth weren’t good enough ⚒️🧨💥 This AI is obsessed with funky smiles 🤣#Remastering@SamsungMobilepic.twitter.com/SiME6XKYom
Buyers of Samsung‘s brand-new premium mid-range smartphone Galaxy A54 5G will have a major software update waiting for them out of the box. The company is pushing camera improvements to the phone even before it reaches consumers globally. The device is slated to arrive in the US in April.
Galaxy A54 5G gets its first update days after the official launch
Samsung launched the Galaxy A54 5G in several markets in Europe and Asia last week. The device arrived alongside the Galaxy A34 5G as the company’s best two mid-range options this year, in that order. Now, as early buyers start receiving their orders, the Korean firm has released an update for the new handset.
As of this writing, the update is rolling out in Europe with the firmware build number A546BXXU1AWC4. First reported by GalaxyClub, the OTA package weighs around 228MB. The official changelog mentions improvements for the camera but doesn’t go into detail. It’s unclear what improvements Samsung is pushing to a phone that has been impressing reviewers with its factory-built camera performance. The Galaxy A54 5G boasts a 50MP primary camera with Optical Image Stabilization, Video Digital Image Stabilization, Nightography, and 4K video recording.
Apart from the undetailed camera improvements, this update doesn’t bring anything notable to the Galaxy A54 5G. Not even a new security patch. The device remains on the February Security Maintenance Release, which it shipped out of the box. Since it’s eligible for monthly security updates, Samsung will likely push regular patches starting in April. The Galaxy A54 5G will get four major Android OS upgrades (until Android 17) and five years of security patches. As usual, we will keep you in the loop with those releases.
Samsung’s new mid-range hero debuts in the US next week
As said earlier, the Galaxy A54 5G will arrive in the US in April. Samsung will start taking pre-orders for the phone stateside on March 30. General sales will commence on April 6. The handset is priced at $449.99 for the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. It’s unclear if the company will release the 8GB+256GB variant in the US. We will let you know as soon as we have more information.
Meanwhile, Galaxy A54 5G buyers in the US will likely get an update out of the box too. If you pick up this phone, you can check for new updates from the Settings app. Go to the Software update menu and tap on Download and install to check for updates manually.
In this article, we’ll compare the Xiaomi 13 Pro vs OPPO Find X6 Pro, two powerhouse smartphones from China. The global variant of the Xiaomi 13 Pro launched not so long ago, while the OPPO Find X6 Pro launched only in China thus far, quite recently. Having that in mind, do note that we’ve tested the Find X6 Pro with software made for the Chinese market. We’re not sure if the global variant will become available. It was a good experience once we placed Google services on it, so… comparing these two phones surely does make sense.
The two phones do have some similarities in the spec department, and even in the design department, at least from the front. There are a lot of differences here too, so… comparing them ought to be interesting. We’ll first list their specifications, and will then move to compare the devices across a number of categories. Those categories include design, display, performance, battery, cameras, and audio. So, let’s get started!
The global version of the Xiaomi 13 Pro combines a ceramic backplate with an aluminum frame. The OPPO Find X6 Pro comes in a variant with both glass on the back, and glass combined with vegan leather (vegan leather bottom, glass top). It also has a frame made out of aluminum. In fact, holding the ceramic Xiaomi 13 Pro and a glass-made Find X6 Pro in the hand feels somewhat similar, even though the Xiaomi 13 Pro feels smaller in the hand. Both of these phones are large, though, don’t get me wrong. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is a bit narrower, shorter, and thinner, so… the feeling is different.
Despite the fact it is smaller overall, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is heavier than the Find X6 Pro, due to the ceramic on its back. It weighs 229 grams, compared to 216-218 grams of the OPPO Find X6 Pro. The two phones look quite similar from the front. They both include curved displays with thin bezels, and a centered display camera hole. On top of that, they have curved corners, and the curvature is similar.
Once we flip the two phones around, well, that’s when you’ll see major differences. The Xiaomi 13 Pro has a squarish camera island in the top-left corner. The OPPO Find X6 Pro, on the other hand, has a circular camera island that is centered at the top. OPPO’s camera island is definitely larger, and it also protrudes more on the back. Both devices feel immensely premium in the hand, though both are also quite slippery, with the exception of the vegan leather Find X6 Pro model, which offers a bit more grip.
Xiaomi 13 Pro vs OPPO Find X6 Pro: Display
The Xiaomi 13 Pro features a 6.73-inch QHD+ (3200 x 1440) LTPO AMOLED display. That display has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and supports Dolby Vision. HDR10+ content is also supported, and the display goes up to 1,900 nits at its peak. This panel is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus, and it’s curved.
The OPPO Find X6 Pro, on the flip side, has a 6.82-inch QHD+ (3168 x 1440) LTPO3 AMOLED panel. That display can project up to 1 billion colors, and it has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. Dolby Vision is supported, and so is HDR10+ content. This display gets immensely bright at 2,500 nits of peak brightness, and is currently the brightest in the market. It is curved, and protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Both of these displays are phenomenal, some of the best in the market. They are vivid, sharp, and have excellent viewing angles. They’re very smooth, and have good touch response. The Find X6 Pro’s panel does have an advantage in the brightness department, which will certainly help out in the sun. But the Xiaomi 13 Pro’s display is also immensely bright, one of the brightest out there. In fact, it has the third brightest display in any smartphone. So, you really can’t go wrong here, both phones have phenomenal displays.
Xiaomi 13 Pro vs OPPO Find X6 Pro: Performance
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is the processor of choice for both companies, for a good reason. This is currently the best processor available to smartphone OEMs, basically. Both phones utilize LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage, except the 128GB Xiaomi 13 Pro. The Xiaomi 13 Pro has up to 12GB of RAM, while the OPPO Find X6 Pro comes with up to 16GB of RAM on the inside.
Does this translate to great performance on both phones? Well, yes, it does. They both complete regular, everyday tasks with ease. Even gaming is not an issue for either device, not even when we’re talking about the most demanding games out there. Do note that the Find X6 Pro comes with a software build made for China, though, at least at the moment. So if you decide to import it, be ready to sideload Google services (which is easy to do), and deal with some differences in that software implementation. Let’s hope OPPO will push out a variant for the global market.
During our usage, we really didn’t spot anything alarming when it comes to performance. Neither phone got too hot, nor did the heat cause any issues during gaming. Both phones have been running as smoothly as possible, in line with the most powerful smartphones available in the market.
Xiaomi 13 Pro vs OPPO Find X6 Pro: Battery
The Xiaomi 13 Pro comes with a 4,820mAh battery, while the OPPO Find X6 Pro includes a 5,000mAh battery on the inside. You’ll be glad to know that both phones do offer really, really good battery life. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is really good when it comes to power consumption, and both phones are well-optimized, it seems. The battery life on the two phones is actually comparable, at least it was for us.
We were able to reach the 8-hour screen-on-time mark rather consistently on both phones, with a bit of juice left in the tank. That was actually not light usage by any means, but gaming was not included, except for testing purposes. Your mileage may vary, though, of course. Each of us use phones in different ways, with different apps, and with different signal strengths, so… the results could be entirely different for you.
When charging is concerned, both phones are outstanding. The Xiaomi 13 Pro supports 120W wired, 50W wireless, and 10W reverse wireless charging. The OPPO Find X6 Pro supports 100W wired, 50W wireless, and 10W reverse wireless charging. Both smartphones do come with charging adapters which can provide the fastest charging possible.
Xiaomi 13 Pro vs OPPO Find X6 Pro: Cameras
The Xiaomi 13 Pro comes with a 50-megapixel main camera (1-inch sensor), a 50-megapixel ultrawide unit (115-degree FoV), and a 50-megapixel telephoto camera (3.2x optical zoom). The OPPO Find X6 Pro includes a 50-megapixel main camera (1-inch camera sensor), a 50-megapixel ultrawide unit (110-degree FoV), and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (2.8x optical zoom, 100x digital zoom). The Xiaomi 13 Pro includes Leica lenses, while the OPPO Find X6 Pro has Hasselblad’s color tuning and expertise.
Both of these phones have outstanding camera hardware, needless to say. Both phones also prefer to take a bit moodier shots with a stronger contrast, which is especially apparent in low light. Results from both smartphones are outstanding, and the only issue we’ve noticed on both during the review has to do with HDR balancing. That can be easily solved via an update, to allow both phones to be more consistent in HDR conditions.
Images from both end up looking really detailed, and the colors are excellent on both, it’s all a matter of preference. Both also have different shooting modes you can choose from. The results from the Xiaomi 13 Pro will have that Leica style on them, and Leica filters are included. Hasselblad included some of its own styles on the OPPO Find X6 Pro, in addition to the XPAN mode.
Both ultrawide cameras do a great job and keep up with the main camera in terms of color science, to the best of their abilities, though it’s not a perfect blend, of course. The portrait shots on the Xiaomi 13 Pro look outstanding, and the OPPO Find X6 Pro is not far behind in that regard. What the Xiaomi 13 Pro lacks is a periscope camera, which the Find X6 Pro has, and it’s great for zoomed-in shots. It’s even usable in low light to a certain degree. The video recording is good on both phones, but both of them are more oriented towards image-taking. These two are great smartphone cameras, simply great.
Audio
Both smartphones include stereo speakers, which are actually quite good. They’re more than loud enough, and quite detailed at the same time. The balancing is a bit different, but I wouldn’t say one is better than the other, they’re just a bit different when it comes to bass output, and overall balancing across the spectrum.
Neither phone includes an audio jack. There is a Type-C port at the bottom of each phone, so you can use it for wired connections. If you prefer to use wireless headphones, you’ll be glad to know that both phones offer Bluetooth 5.3 support.
Microsoft is reaping the fruits of its early bet on OpenAI’s conversational AI tech ChatGPT. Since the launch of the ChatGPT-powered “new Bing” in early February, the company’s search engine has reportedly seen a 15.8 percent boost in page visits. Google Search page visits declined by one percent during the same period (February 7 to March 20), Reuters reports citing data from analytics firm Similarweb.
App downloads for Bing also jumped eight times globally during this period. According to the latest data from research firm Data.ai, the Bing app was downloaded more than 810,000 between February 5 and march 11. The figure for January 1 to February 4 period was just about 100,000. On the other hand, Google Search downloads dropped two percent from 2.98 million to 2.91 million in the same period.
As the data shows, Google has a massive lead in the search market. The internet giant has a share of more than 80 percent in a market that is valued at over $120 billion. However, Microsoft is emerging as a strong competitor to it, with the ChatGPT craze boosting the latter’s usage globally. Google is also preparing to bring its in-house generative AI tech Bard to its products, including Search. But the company is taking longer to do that, allowing Bing space to make further inroads. It publicly released its conversational chatbot earlier this week.
Market analysts expect Bing to eat more into Google’s search market in the coming days. The more Google delays Bard’s integration with Search, the more Bing will benefit. “Bing has less than a tenth of Google’s market share, so even if it converts one percent or two percent of users it will be materially beneficial to Bing and Microsoft,” said Gil Luria, an analyst at D.A. Davidson & Co.
Google will fight back against this Bing resurgence
Microsoft’s “new Bing” may have gained a sudden push in the lucrative search market following the ChatGPT integration last month and left Google behind the curve, but the latter certainly isn’t throwing in the towel. Analysts expect it to fight back strongly against this Bing resurgence. The company has a massive lead in this industry, and it will overcome these setbacks soon to maintain its lead. After all, no one can forget how Google dethroned Yahoo from the top in the early 2000s.
Google’s dominance in the mobile search industry is difficult for other players to break. Most smartphones (both Android and iPhones) have Google as their default search engine. Bing or other rivals certainly can’t replace Google in mobiles, not in the foreseeable future. “Google’s ranking algorithm can have a competitive edge over that of competitors,” Yongjei Jeong, an analyst at South Korean firm Mirae Asset Securities.
Earlier, a ChatGPT bug exposed conversation histories to other users, but now reports indicate that the bug also exposed the payment details of paid users (ChatGPT Plus subscribers).
OpenAI has confirmed that a software bug on Monday caused ChatGPT to expose conversation histories from random users and payment details for some paid users. As a result, the company has reached out to affected users and implemented measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The glitch was first reported on Monday when users attempting to subscribe to the paid ChatGPT Plus service noticed email addresses from random users appearing in the payment form.
Upon further investigation, OpenAI discovered that the glitch also exposed payment-related information of 1.2% of the ChatGPT Plus subscribers who were active during a specific nine-hour window.
The exposed payment details included the first and last name, email address, payment address, last four digits of a credit card number, and credit card expiration date of another active user. However, OpenAI has emphasized that full credit card numbers were not exposed at any time.
OpenAI believes that the chances of a stranger viewing this payment information are extremely low because the exposed details partly arrived through emails confirming the subscription of new ChatGPT Plus users on Monday morning between 1 a.m. and 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST). Certain subscription confirmation emails created within that time frame were delivered to incorrect recipients as a result of the glitch.
If a user accessed the “My Account” function on ChatGPT’s website and clicked on the “Manage my subscription” feature between 1 a.m. and 10 a.m., other payment details would have been visible to them.
In a blog post, OpenAI apologized to its users and reached out to affected users about the potential data breach. The company has also identified the cause of the leak, blaming it on a bug in an open-source library used to run a Redis database.
To prevent similar incidents from occurring, OpenAI has patched the ChatGPT bug and added safeguards to ensure requests to the Redis caches match the requesting user. OpenAI is confident that there is no ongoing risk to users’ data. In addition, the chat history sidebar appears to be restored on ChatGPT.
If you are currently a paid subscriber and believe that your payment information has been exposed, it is recommended that you monitor your account for any unauthorized activity and contact your bank if you suspect any fraudulent charges.
The March 2023 Android security patch is now rolling out to Samsung‘s Galaxy A52 5G in the US. The update is live for the carrier-locked variants of the 2021 premium mid-range smartphone. Users with a factory-unlocked unit should get this update in the coming days. The Korean firm has already seeded the latest security update to the phone in most international markets.
Galaxy A52 5G gets the March security update in the US
As of this writing, Samsung is pushing the March SMR (Security Maintenance Release) to the carrier-locked Galaxy A52 5G on Comcast’s network. The new firmware build number for the phone is A526USQS7EWC1 (via SamMobile). The rollout should soon reach units on other networks as the company brings it to unlocked variants. Everyone will get the same update though the build number may vary for some.
Don’t expect anything major here, though. Samsung is only pushing the latest security patch to your phone. The Galaxy A52 5G is coming fresh from the One UI 5.1 update, which was a major one. It brought a host of new features and improvements. One UI 5.1 itself came just a few months after One UI 5.0, which brought Android 13 and even more new features. The latest release is all about vulnerability fixes.
Samsung has already revealed that the March SMR patches more than 60 vulnerabilities in Galaxy devices. As usual, that’s a cumulative number for the entire Galaxy family. Not every vulnerability is present in every Galaxy model. The company says 23 of those are Galaxy-specific issues. The remaining patches are for Android OS issues and come from Google and other Android partners. At least five Android OS vulnerabilities patched this month were critical ones, potentially allowing remote code execution.
If you’re using the Galaxy A52 5G in the US, all of these vulnerability fixes will be available to you soon. You should get a notification once the OTA (over the air) release becomes available for your unit. You can also manually check for updates from the Settings app. Go to the Software update menu and tap on Download and install. If you don’t see any updates today, wait a few days and try again.
Galaxy A52 5G will get Android 14
Samsung launched the Galaxy A52 5G in March 2021. The device arrived running Android 11 out of the box. It has since received updates to Android 12 and Android 13. The company’s software support policy makes it eligible for one more major Android OS upgrade. That means it will get Android 14 as well. But that update is still months away. The handset will pick up a few more security updates before Android 14 is here. We will keep you posted on those updates.
More than a year ago, Microsoft moved to buy Activision Blizzard, and that drama is still going on to this day. Many organizations see this as a huge anti-competitive move on the company’s part. Well, according to Engadget, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) seems to have changed its stance on whether Microsoft should buy Activision Blizzard.
This is one of the biggest video game purchases to date, and it could have a ton of implications as far as the gaming industry is concerned. This is why this case didn’t only attract the attention of the American government. In the UK, the CMA started looking into this deal last year to see if it was going to negatively affect the gaming market.
The CMA doesn’t believe that Microsoft buying Activision Blizzard is a bad thing
The CMA started looking into this deal back in July of last year, and it wanted to see if this purchase would negatively impact the gaming industry. Buying this company would mean that Microsoft would hold the reins on Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Diablo, and many many more franchises.
Many people fear that these franchises would eventually be Xbox exclusives. While that most likely won’t be the case, it’s still a scary thought that such a large chunk of the gaming market would be under one roof.
However, it seems that the CMA doesn’t see anything wrong with the merger. The organization believes that any damage done by the deal will be minimal. A major component of the deal (and the controversy) is Call of Duty. This is the biggest franchise owned by Activision Blizzard.
A lot of the conversation circles around whether Microsoft will yank Call of Duty off of the PlayStation storefront. But, the CMA acknowledged that, while a move like that could hurt the PlayStation’s appeal, it won’t sufficiently harm Sony’s consoles. Sony has a notable lead in the console gaming market with its PS5 selling in high volume.
The US still has some reservations
So, Microsoft has a little bit of the weight off of its back. The CMA isn’t looking to block the deal, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any more obstacles. The United States Federal Trade Commission is still suing Microsoft so that the deal doesn’t go through. This lawsuit has been going on for some time, and we don’t know when we’re going to see the end of it.
With all the talk of smartphone makers deciding to nix the charger in the box this year. It might be a good time to pick up a new phone charger or two. And the Galaxy S21 is the first, of what we assume to be many, to remove the charger from the box.
There are many (probably millions) of different phone chargers on the market. From some popular brands like Anker, RAVPower, AUKEY, Samsung and many more. But which ones are the best for you to buy and use with your smartphone?
That’s what we’re here to tell you. We’ve used just about all of the chargers on this list, with many different phones. And know which ones are the best. Phone chargers mostly fall into two categories. USB-C chargers and USB-A chargers. Almost all phones released since 2018 have USB-C, which means that both kinds of chargers will work for most smartphones. But USB-C is more future-proof and will offer faster speeds (depending on the device). So that is our recommendation.
The Anker PowerPort III is our favorite phone charger. That is because it is super compact, and can still charge at a decent speed. This one does up to 18W. So it’s not the fastest charger out there. But where most smartphones are capped right around 18W for USB-C PD charging right now. It makes it a good, and cheap, option.
This will work on older smartphones too, since the PowerPort III is able to adapt its speed based on what is plugged in at the time.
For only $12, this is definitely a charger you’ll want to pick up and maybe even carry in your bag to work.
Anker has been embracing GaN chargers in the last couple of years, and the Nano Pro is a really impressive charger from the company. It’s a dual USB-C charger, so you can charge two USB-C devices at the same time here. It can output 40W total, or 20W each port. So even if you plug in something else, you’re still going to get the full 20W.
This is a great charger for everyone, whether you use an iPhone, Galaxy, OnePlus or even want it for a laptop. Though it will charge a laptop pretty slowly since it is only 20W.
This is by far my favorite phone charger, and actually one that I use on my desk right now. If you are now working from home for the foreseeable future, this is worth picking up.
This has two USB-C PD ports and two USB-A ports, that can output 100W total. It can do 100W total on the USB-C port, so it is fast enough to charge a laptop. But if you have other devices plugged in at the same time, then the power will be distributed among the four ports.
It’s a killer charger to have, as you can charge many different things at the same time and not worry about having enough outlets.
You likely know Spigen from the many cases that it makes for different smartphones. But they also make different smartphone accessories too. Like this car charger.
This is a 45W car charger that offers USB-C PD up to 27W and then a USB-A port. So you can get fast charging even while you are driving down the road, which is definitely a really cool thing to have.
The USB-A port uses Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 for speed too, so even if you aren’t using the USB-C port, you are still getting some good speed here.
This is the charger that Samsung includes in the box with the Galaxy S20, Note 20 series and the Z Fold 2. It’s a 25W USB-C PD charger that can also be used with other devices, and since it’s only $13, it’s a really good option.
It uses USB-C PD and PPS, which is a newer technology designed to make faster charging even safer. So it’s no surprise that Samsung is using it. But we will see more smartphones using it in the near future. Basically, if you own a Samsung smartphone and want to use the full 25W speed that it has, then this is the charger to get. And it can never hurt to have a second one laying around.
AUKEY has made a really great charger to take when you travel. This charger here is a 18W USB-C PD charger that has a foldable plug. That is really awesome because it’ll take up less room in your bag and also protect the plug from getting damaged from other things in your bag.
This is a pretty small charger in the first place, but still offers up some really good charging speeds. Which makes it a great option for taking on the go with you. That is, when we are able to travel once again.
Not all chargers need to be ones that you plug into the wall. There are portable ones too, and this one from AUKEY is one of our favorites.
We love this one because it is super slim, and offers 10,000mAh of power. Which is enough to charge most smartphones at least once. And it’s thin enough to fit in your pocket without any real issues. That is a killer feature.
There three USB-A ports available here, as well as a micro USB and a USB-C port that can be used for input (USB-C can do both output and input).
This is one of the best four-port USB chargers on the market. Now this is not a USB-C charger, in fact, it’s all USB-A. And it also does not offer fast charging. But even with those that do have fast charging, you won’t really get “fast” charging when you use all four ports. As that speed is split up between all four.
And where this AmazonBasics model is just $20, it’s definitely a good option. And you can charge your smartphone, smartwatch, tablet and more here. All with one outlet.
How frequently do you use the Microsoft Windows Snipping tool to take a screenshot? Possibly, while browsing and you come across a page that’d be useful later, you might just take a quick screenshot. But this tool seems to have some issues affecting the screenshots that you save.
This issue alters the way you edit screenshots before saving them to your computer’s storage. Researchers have discovered a bug that seems to be plaguing the Microsoft Windows Snipping tool. Should users of Windows-powered devices worry about this recently discovered bug?
Well, you should worry about it if you are sharing the screenshots you take on your Windows device. This is because some details that you might not want to share with others via the screenshot can be accessed. Here is everything you need to know about this screenshot problem plaguing Windows-powered devices.
The Microsoft Windows Snipping tool reveals cropped-out details in screenshots
Researchers have uncovered an exploit impacting the Microsoft Windows Snipping tool. It affects both Windows 10 and 11 powered devices. This exploit saves details that users crop out while taking a screenshot.
Being confident that some confidential or unimportant information has been cropped-out, users might proceed to share their screenshots with the public. Unknowing to them, the details cropped out are still accessible to the public. Recovering the original screenshot is done with a tool known as Acropalypse, made popular by a similar vulnerability.
David Buchanan took to his Twitter page to let the public know about this flaw. He went on to test out the flaw by taking a screenshot on his Windows 11 device and it was also impacted. With the Acropalypse tool, he was able to view cropped-out parts of his screenshot.
David also noted that this flaw was also present in Windows 10’s Snip & Sketch tool. This vulnerability first hit on Pixel devices, where it saved cropped-out details on screenshots. Just like with Windows, Acropalypse could be used to recover all cropped-out details.
Well, a fix to this issue was made a few days ago, but it is not yet available globally. Windows seems to be taking its time to fix this issue before rolling it out to the public. Until you get the fix, it is important to be careful when it comes to sharing screenshots that previously contained sensitive information on the internet.
The agency set up several fake DDoS sites offering DDoS-for-hire services to infiltrate the online criminal marketplace.
Remember when the Dutch police sent letters to those who bought “booters” from DDoS sites? The National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom is doing something similar but in a tricky way.
The agency has launched a sting operation as part of Operation Power Off, a collaboration between international law enforcement agencies to take down DDoS (distributed denial of service) infrastructure.
The operation involved the NCA setting up several fake DDoS sites and offering DDoS-for-hire or booter services to infiltrate the online criminal marketplace. It is important to note that DDoS attacks are illegal in the UK under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
The NCA designed all these sites to appear authentic, giving the visitor the impression that the tools and services offered would allow them to launch DDoS attacks.
The agency claims that several thousand people have visited these sites, but upon registering on the site, instead of getting the services, users are shown a splash page informing them that their data has been collected, and law enforcement agencies will contact them.
This is what is shown once a user registers an account (Image: NCA)
For foreign visitors (users outside the United Kingdom), their data is transferred to international agencies. For instance, if a user from the United States has registered on one of the fake DDoS sites, their details would be forwarded to the FBI.
According to the NCA‘s National Cyber Crime Unit’s Alan Merrett, booter services are currently under the agency’s radar because they serve as a potent enabler of cybercrime in the country and elsewhere.
Merrett noted that the perceived anonymity and ease of use provided by these services make DDoS an attractive entry-level crime, allowing individuals with little technical ability to commit cyber offences with ease.
The perceived anonymity and ease of use afforded by these services mean that DDoS has become an attractive entry-level crime, allowing individuals with little technical ability to commit cyber offences with ease.”
Alan Merrett -NCA
Merrett added that the agency would not reveal the number of fake DDoS sites it is currently operating or how long the sting operation will last. Therefore, people looking for these services should be cautious as they might not know who is operating them.
