Amazon has the Google Pixel 6a back down to just $299. Now that is not an all-time low, however that is still a really good value. This is normally priced at $449, so not to shabby. This phone is a really good value. How good? Well, it won MKBHD’s blind smartphone camera test last year. Beating out the iPhone 14, Pixel 7, Galaxy S22 Ultra and even the $1600 Xperia 1 IV. So yeah, this is a great value.
The Pixel 6a is a pretty impressive smartphone in this price range. It sports a 6.1-inch FHD+ display, which is still at 60Hz, but that’s fine at this price. It is powered by Google’s own Tensor chipset – the same as the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. That’s paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage on-board.
There’s also a pretty sizable 4410mAh capacity battery on-board here. Which Google estimates will get you through a full 24 hours.
Camera-wise, it’s using the same 12-megapixel sensor that the Pixel 2 through Pixel 5a used. So it’s not the upgraded one on the Pixel 6 models. It’s a fine camera sensor, and Google has spent a lot of time on software for this sensor so it performs really well. This year, it is also including a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor too. So you can get some great pictures with this sub-$500 smartphone.
A lot of the features from the more expensive Pixel is also available on the Pixel 6a. Which is really what makes the Pixel 6a such a great deal every year. That includes features like Magic Eraser that can remove entire objects from the picture. As well as Live Translate, which can translate live video captions, private chats and messages and signs in up to 44 languages in real-time on your Pixel 6a, just to name a few.
You can pick up the Google Pixel 6a from Amazon today by clicking here. But you’d better be quick as this price is not going to last very long.
It’s so easy to fall in love with the shiniest and fanciest premium phones on the market. That makes sense, as they have the best features and most robust specs. However, we don’t always have the $1,000+ to buy those devices, and we sometimes need to set our sites just a little lower. This is where budget Android smartphones come in handy.
The Android platform is home to a myriad of budget-friendly phones that pack more power than their puny prices project. If you’re looking for a new phone that breaks expectations (and NOT the bank), then continue reading. Here’s a list of 10 great budget Android phones.
Top 10 Best Budget Android Smartphones – March 2023 Summary
Finding the best budget Android smartphones can be a bit of a tedious affair; there are quite a few of them out there. So, here is a quick summary of the phones that are on this list. It’s recommended that you read below to see a full description of the phones. The descriptions will tell you which aspects make these phones great and why you should buy them.
However, if you don’t want to bother with the descriptions, here’s a chart of the phones. It tells you the full names of the devices, their price, and a link to buy them. Just know that prices can change as time goes on, so the prices that are written might not reflect the final price when you visit the page.
TCL has contributed some interesting and nice phones to the budget smartphone market. If you’re looking for a neat and stylish phone that doesn’t cost much, then you’ll want to look at the TCL 20S. This smartphone has the design language that TCL has built up over the years, and it’s sure to turn some heads.
As for the specs, we’re looking at a 6.67-inch display with an FHD+ resolution. That will give you great visuals, especially with TCL’s great display technology. There are dual speakers as well, so it’s a great phone if you’re going to watch a lot of movies and videos.
You can expect great battery life with the TCL 20S. It comes with a large 5000mAh battery. It will get you through the day with no sweat.
This phone is on the pricier side of the spectrum, but it’s still a bargain. The OnePlus 10T was released last year as the mid-cycle release for the OnePlus 10. This phone is a true-to-form premium med-ranger with some monster specs.
You’re looking at a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2412. So, it’s an FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It uses the flagship-grade Snapdragon 8+ Gen SoC. It’s more powerful than the processor in the Galaxy S22, and it’s backed up by up to 16GB RAM and 256GB of RAM.
If you’re looking for a flagship-grade experience for the price of a mid-range phone, then you’ll want to check this phone out.
Motorola is a giant in the budget phone segment, and the Moto e is a good example of that. This phone is a good mobile companion, so it’s not for the power users out there. If you need a solid phone to get you through the day, then it’s for you.
The Moto e has a decently large 6.2-inch display for watching videos. Motorola usually hooks its cheaper phones up with decent displays. What’s the best spec about this phone is the battery. It promises up to two days of battery power on one charge. Given Motorola’s history with battery efficiency, that’s not a bold claim.
T-Mobile wanted to get into the smartphone game, and the company has done a decent job at it. The Revvl phones are good competition in the budget phone space. These phones are rather affordable, and they have decent specs.
The Revvl 6 Pro 5G cones with an impressive 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That’s not bad for the price. Also, it has a large 5,000mAh battery which should give you really good battery life. Topping off the specs, this phone has a 50MP main camera which most likely bins to 12MP.
Even though the Galaxy Note 20 was an expensive flagship phone when it launched, it’s much cheaper nowadays. Getting an older flagship phone today can still give you great performance. Also, this phone isn’t all that old.
The main thing about this phone is the built-in stylus that adds a ton of added functionality. You’re able to draw, take notes, sign documents, etc. with the S Pen. Samsung stuffed a ton of features into the pen, so this is a great phone to get if you need that.
Also, you can bet that you’re getting an amazing display.
The Nokia G400 is definitely a middle-of-the-road phone that deserves your attention. It’s meant to be an affordable phone to get the job done. What’s probably most notable about this phone is the display.
The display has a 1080p+ display with an impressive 120Hz refresh rate. That means that you’ll have some nice visuals. If you’re going to be using this phone for the camera, there’s a decently powerful 48MP main camera. On the front of the phone, there’s a 16MP selfie camera. It should be good enough to take some nice pictures.
If you’re looking for a cheap phone from Motorola with some decent specs, then you should look no further than the One 5G Ace. This phone has a design different from most other Motorola devices, but it will still bring the great Moto experience.
This phone, along with having a large FHD+ display, a large 5000mAh battery, and 128GB of onboard storage, has the fast 5G connectivity. You get Sub-6 5G, which isn’t the fastest out there, but it’s still really fast compared to 4GLTE. This is a great phone to get if you’re looking for an affordable 5G phone.
The Galaxy A03 is one of the lower-powered Galaxy phones that prioritize value. This phone is definitely a mid-range phone with its HD+ LCD display.
It uses the MediaTek Helio P36 SoC, and it comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. On top of that, the Galaxy A03s has a large 5,000mAh battery. That should give you more than a day and a half of battery easy.
It might be weird that this list includes an LG phone, but the company has been updating this phone since it shut down its smartphone division. The LG Velvet is now on Android 13, so its software is up to date. Also, the processor is good enough to run most games that come out today.
What’s notable about this phone is its amazing display. LG gave this phone a gorgeous AMOLED display that rivals many other phones in its price range. It’s a steal if you miss the LG phones from the old days.
The Redmi is a mid-range phone with some neat specs. You have a sturdy build to give you a premium feel. This phone has a 6.57-inch 1080+ display.
The phone is powered by the mid-range Snapdragon 765G SoC, and that will give you some good performance. This is backed up by 4GB of RM and 128GB of storage. Also, this phone has a pretty big 4520mAh battery. You can expect good battery life from this phone.
So, while Twitter is weathering Hurricane Elon, it’s still able to bring changes to the user experience. The company is rolling out a change that will add another metric to your tweets that you can see. Twitter will let you see how many people have bookmarked your tweets.
Not too long ago, Twitter brought the update that lets people see how many views their tweets get. Technically, this information was always available to the public. When you’re viewing your tweet, you’re able to tap on the View Tweet Activity button. This would show you a bunch of information about that tweet.
Twitter will let you see how many people bookmarked your tweets
Sometimes, people want to preserve a tweet to access at a later time. In order to do that, people would typically just retweet it and go to their profile later. Twitter solved this issue by letting people bookmark tweets. This would save the tweet to a list that you can come back to later.
So, if someone bookmarks your tweet, it means that they like it so much that they want to see it multiple times. It’s the ultimate form of flattery. Wouldn’t you want to know how many people bookmarked your tweets?
Apparently, Twitter thinks that you do. The company rolled out a feature that will show you how many times your tweets were bookmarked. At the moment, the company only rolled this out on iOS. The company announced this via a tweet, but it didn’t say when it will make its way over to Android.
If someone bookmarks your tweet, the app won’t tell you who did it. It will just show up as a number under the other metrics on your tweet. If you’re interested in seeing how many people are bookmarking your tweets, make sure that the Twitter app on your phone is up-to-date.
The relatively new Trigona ransomware strain, according to Unit 42 researchers, was particularly active in December 2022, targeting industries in the manufacturing, finance, construction, agriculture, marketing, and high technology industries.
“Trigona’s threat operator engaging in behavior such as obtaining initial access to a target’s environment, conducting reconnaissance, transferring malware via remote monitoring and management (RMM) software, creating new user accounts and deploying ransomware,” Unit 42 researchers.
Companies in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, France, and Germany were affected.
Specifics of the Trigona Ransomware
From the recent analysis, researchers say that unique computer IDs (CIDs) and victim IDs are included in Trigona’s ransom notes, which are presented via an HTML application with embedded JavaScript rather than the typical text file (VID).
Sample Trigona ransom note
The ransom note’s JavaScript contains the following details:
A uniquely generated CID and VID
A link to the negotiation Tor portal
An email address to contact.
At least 15 possible victims who were compromised in December 2022 may be found, according to experts. Also, in January 2023 and February 2023, they discovered two new Trigona ransom notes.
There was no proof that Trigona was using a leak site for double extortion when it was originally discovered. The victims were sent to their negotiating portal by their ransom message instead. A researcher identified a leak site attributable to Trigona hosted on a specific IP address.
Trigona leak site
Additionally, tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by Trigona operators and CryLock ransomware operators coincide, indicating that the threat actors who previously used CryLock ransomware may have switched to using Trigona ransomware.
A user on SafeZone, a Russian anti-malware forum, seeking help for Crylock ransomware
Both ransomware families drop ransom notes in HTML Application format, and the ransom message is similar, including:
Their claim that all “documents, databases, backups, and other critical” files and data were encrypted
AES is their choice of cryptographic algorithm
Their statement that “the price depends on how soon you will contact us.”
Hence, by unveiling Trigona and its unusual method of obfuscating malware utilizing password-protected executables, defenders can better defend their organizations against this threat.
Samsung has released a couple of new camera accessories for the Galaxy S23 series. The company is offering a Slim Tripod Stand and a Camera Grip Stand with a detachable Bluetooth remote for its latest flagships. Both are add-on accessories compatible only with the official Gadget Case.
Samsung has multiple new camera accessories for the Galaxy S23 flagships
The Slim Tripod Stand is a folding mini tripod for your Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, or Galaxy S23 Ultra. Measuring just 52 x 10.5 x 96 mm in dimension and weighing 70 grams, it’s extremely portable and lightweight. But an aluminum body means it’s a sturdy stand capable of firmly and stably mounting the device in vertical or horizontal orientation.
This makes it an ideal solution while watching videos or using the camera. Thanks to the rotating hinge structure, you can easily adjust the mounting angle. And when not in use, simply fold it and the mini tripod will stay attached to the back of your phone. Of course, you can also detach it without much effort.
The Camera Grip Stand is also an add-on accessory for the Gadget Case. It’s a little bulkier (64 x 26 x 74 mm) and heavier (85 grams), though not much. As the name suggests, it gives you extra grip when shooting photos or videos on your Galaxy S23 device. It has a dedicated shutter button that allows you to take pictures comfortably with just one hand. Moreover, this accessory doubles as a mini tripod too.
The shutter button is detachable as well. So you can remotely take photos while your phone is on a tripod. Thanks to tilting support, you can adjust the angles of your shot without removing the handset from the tripod.
Price and availability
As of this writing, Samsung’s Slim Tripod Stand and Camera Grip Stand are listed on the company’s official website in the UK (via). The former is priced at £34 (roughly $40) and is available to purchase immediately in Silver color. The latter, on the other hand, some in White but doesn’t have a price or availability date yet.
As for their availability outside the UK, there’s no word from Samsung yet. The accessories are pretty useful for photography enthusiasts who frequently capture photos and videos with their brand-new Galaxy S23 phones. The Korean firm will probably sell both Slim Tripod Stand and Camera Grip Stand in more markets in the coming weeks. We will let you know if these accessories arrive in the US.
Ever since Apple introduced satellite connectivity with its iPhone 14 series, the industry has experienced an unprecedented boom. This technology, which allows users to communicate through satellites when traditional cell service is not available, has the potential to be a game-changer in emergencies, particularly in remote and underserved areas. And while the industry is still in the early stages, the FCC plans to introduce new licenses that will allow companies like SpaceX, T-Mobile, AST Spacemobile, and Lynk to offer satellite connectivity directly to cell phones.
The proposal primarily focuses on satellite companies collaborating with existing cell carriers and using portions of the spectrum traditionally reserved for standards such as 5G. This approach will enable cell phones to communicate with satellites without the need for additional hardware. However, to use the spectrum, satellite operators can only utilize non-geostationary orbit satellites and will have to obtain leases from terrestrial spectrum owners in a given area.
While Apple’s iPhone 14 series are currently the only phones to support satellite connectivity, Android chip manufacturers like Qualcomm have also introduced their version of the technology, which should be available in the second half of 2023.
Testing already underway
Currently, the FCC has given experimental licenses and approvals to deploy satellites to companies such as AST Spacemobile and Lynk as they test their satellite connectivity systems. However, experts suggest the FCC needs to establish specific rules for companies due to slow development with the current approach.
Additionally, the FCC is also seeking suggestions on how systems like 911 and emergency alerts would work when someone is connected to a satellite and whether the framework can be extended to other bands, locations, and applications supported by such collaborations.
“Connecting consumers to essential wireless services where no terrestrial mobile service is available can be life-saving in remote locations and can open up innovative opportunities for consumers and businesses,” says the FCC.
The LockBit ransomware group has attacked Essendant, a US-based distributor of office products, and is threatening to leak its data.
The LockBit ransomware group is claiming responsibility for taking down a US-based distributor of office products called Essendant. This attack, which is said to have begun on or around March 6, created severe ramifications for the organisation, disrupting freight carrier pickups, online orders, and access to customer support.
As noted by Bleeping Computer, the original notification that something had gone wrong made no mention of ransomware or even any form of compromise. There’s still no mention on the updated notification page. However, this may be about to change in the wake of LockBit’s claims.
As with so many ransomware groups out there, LockBit is a fan of using stolen data to apply additional pressure and make victims pay the ransom. In cases where the payment is not made, the data is put up for sale, or simply posted online for free. This is a big leveraging factor on many businesses when deciding what to do about ransom threats.
On March 14, LockBit added Essendant to its leaks page with the threat of supposedly stolen data being published by March 18, if its demands are not met.
The description of the embattled organisation comes with the message “Change a recovery company and try again”. This could be a reference to previous failed attempts to decrypt the compromised data.
LockBit has demonstrated time and again that it will release stolen data if the target refuses to pay. Just last month, Royal Mail found itself on the wrong end of a data dump via the LockBit leak portal after a high profile ransomware attack caused all manner of postal delays.
LockBit is arguably the most dangerous malware in the world right now. It was by far the most dominant ransomware in 2022, and hasn’t slowed down in 2023, which is why it’s one of the five threats you can’t afford to ignore in our in our 2023 State of Malware report.
Known attacks by the most prevalent ransomware groups in 2022
Its success comes from its professionalism. LockBit is run as a business: It has a slick website, it avoids the political grandstanding of its competitors, and even offers bug bounties to people who find flaws in its software. It distributes three different versions of its ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), which are reportedly used by 100 affiliates, and its largest known ransom demand is $80 million.
Detect intrusions. Make it harder for intruders to operate inside your organization by segmenting networks and assigning access rights prudently. Use EDR or MDR to detect unusual activity before an attack occurs.
Stop malicious encryption. Deploy Endpoint Detection and Response software like Malwarebytes EDR that uses multiple different detection techniques to identify ransomware, and ransomware rollback to restore damaged system files.
Create offsite, offline backups. Keep backups offsite and offline, beyond the reach of attackers. Test them regularly to make sure you can restore essential business functions swiftly.
Don’t get attacked twice. Once you’ve isolated the outbreak and stopped the first attack, you must remove every trace of the attackers, their malware, their tools, and their methods of entry, to avoid being attacked again.
Malwarebytes removes all remnants of ransomware and prevents you from getting reinfected. Want to learn more about how we can help protect your business? Get a free trial below.
Samsung is expected to launch three new flagship Android tablets as part of its Galaxy Tab S9 series later this year. We should get a base model, a Plus, and an Ultra. The devices will probably arrive alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 foldables. Early rumors suggest that the Korean firm will ship all of these upcoming products with the same chipset that powers the Galaxy S23 series.
According to Twitter tipster @Tech_Reve, the Galaxy Tab S9 series and the new foldables will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. It’s an overclocked version of the latest Qualcomm processor exclusively available to Samsung. While the regular version has its Cortex-X3 prime CPU core running at a clock speed of 3.20GHz, the Galaxy version goes up to 3.36GHz. The Adreno 740 GPU in it also runs at a higher frequency of 719MHz, against 680MHz in the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
The tipster further added that the Galaxy Tab S9 will pack a 10,880mAh battery. That’s slightly smaller than the 11,200mAh unit found inside last year’s Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. However, power-efficiency gains brought by the new chipset should make up for that capacity deficit. Unfortunately, not much else is known about the upcoming Galaxy tablets at the moment. Rumors are that they will be the first waterproof flagship tablets from Samsung. We should get confirmation about that in the coming months.
The Galaxy Tab S9 series and new foldables will arrive in the second half of 2023
Samsung hasn’t been launching new flagship tablets in a yearly cycle lately. The Galaxy Tab S7 series arrived in August 2020 while the Galaxy Tab S8 came in February last year. We are now seemingly looking at an August/September 2023 launch for the Galaxy Tab S9 series. As said earlier, there haven’t been many rumors about the new tablets so far. That’s likely because the devices are still in the early stages of development. Leaks should start coming more frequently in a few months once Samsung finalizes everything and proceeds to the manufacturing step.
Likewise, leaks about the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 will also come thick and fast in the coming months as the Korean firm progresses with the development of the two foldables. All of these devices should go official in August or September this year. The Galaxy Watch 6 series and a new pair of Galaxy Buds TWS earbuds should also debut alongside them. The Galaxy S23 FE may follow a few months later if it arrives at all. We will keep you posted with all the latest information about these upcoming Samsung products.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) is alerting the public about the dangers of ChatGPT. This artificial intelligence model gained popularity after its launch a few months ago. After it became available to the public, a ton of people trooped in to try out its abilities in various ways.
Some people asked for recipes for specific dishes, answers to assignment questions, and other random questions. The response of this artificial intelligence model to various questions thrown it’s way amazed lots of people. For this reason, more people wanted to give ChatGPT a try, hence increasing its popularity.
Now the system on which this artificial intelligence model run has received an upgrade. The GPT-4 system brings improvements to the conversation abilities of various artificial intelligence models that rely on it. With the increasing adoption of this artificial intelligence model, are there any dangers that it poses to society? A recent update highlights a few, let’s take a close look at these dangers.
According to the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) here are the dangers of ChatGPT
The UK National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) has alerted the public to the dangers of ChatGPT. They did this with a recent blog post on their official website, where they delved into ChatGPT and large language models (LLMs).
With the increase in popularity of these artificial intelligence models, there is a need to know the risk they might pose. Well, the UK National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) has done the research to help enlighten the public. From their findings, users of ChatGPT and other LLMs will get to know what majors to take with these artificial intelligence models.
One of the first observations to take to mind with the artificial intelligence models is that they might be misleading. Some information they provide to users’ requests might be wrong, biased, violent, etc. For this reason, users of ChatGPT and other LLMs should be mindful of the content they consume from these artificial intelligence models.
There is also the need to be careful about the type of information you share with these platforms. The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) advises against sharing sensitive information with ChatGPT or other LLMs. These platforms might not reveal user information, but they have access to user queries and can be hacked, hence revealing these queries to the public.
For this reason, try not to ask such platforms questions that are quite sensitive to your personal life or work. The dangers of ChatGPT and other LLMs also encompass how cyber criminals and bad actors can put it to use. So, while you try new or existing large language models, it is important to understand the risks they pose.
Pompompurin has been charged with a single count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud.
Conor Brian Fitzpatrick (aka Pompompurin, aka Pom), a 2021 graduate of Peekskill High School, has been arrested for running the notorious dark web data breach site BreachForums, according to FBI Special Agent John Longmire.
It is worth noting that Breach Forums surfaced as an alternative to the popular and now-seized Raidforums in 2022.
Pompompurin’s profile on Breach Forums (Screen credit: Hackread.com)
Fitzpatrick was arrested by a team of investigators at his home in Peekskill, New York, on Wednesday and charged with a single count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud. His arrest has also been confirmed by administrators of the forum, Hackread.com can confirm.
BreachForums, which hosted the stolen databases of almost 1,000 companies and websites, was a well-known site among cybercriminals who sold personal information, including names, emails, and passwords.
Fitzpatrick, who operated under the name “pompompurin” on the site, admitted to being the owner and operator of the site, according to Longmire’s statement.
Cybersecurity investigators had been closely monitoring Fitzpatrick for over a year before his arrest, considering him a significant player in the cybercrime ecosystem. In November 2021, Fitzpatrick claimed responsibility for sending out fake emails from a “fbi.gov” email address.
Breach Forums to Stay Online
At the time of publishing this article, the Breach Forums were still accessible and the dataset of 888 companies and organizations was available for download. This is because one of the forum administrators, who goes by the alias Baphomet, has claimed responsibility for taking over the forum to keep it running and protect it from being seized by authorities.
This is what Baphomet had to say (Screen credit: Hackread.com)
Nevertheless, according to Bloomberg, the charges filed against Fitzpatrick in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, have not been made public. Fitzpatrick was presented in federal court in White Plains, New York, and released on a $300,000 unsecured bond, signed by his parents.
He is required to avoid any contact with codefendants, coconspirators, and witnesses in the case and is due to appear in court in Alexandria on March 24.
