Trusted Advisor now available for Mac, iOS, and Android  

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Trusted Advisor now available for Mac, iOS, and Android  
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First released for Windows last year, the Malwarebytes Trusted Advisor dashboard is also now available on Mac, iOS and Android. 

Our Trusted Advisor dashboard provides an easy-to-understand assessment of your device’s security, with a single comprehensive protection score, and clear, expert-driven advice. 

In our recent report, “Everyone’s afraid of the internet, and no-one’s sure what to do about it,” we found that only half of the people surveyed feel confident they know how to stay safe online and even fewer are taking the right measures. 

So, though the fears are big, they are followed by very little action. We want to make things easy for our customers so they know what they should be doing, and how. 

Computer security can be difficult and time consuming, especially if you consider all the different devices and operating systems. We want to help our customers, whatever they use. 

Getting it right means knowing what software needs to be updated, whether your system settings are configured securely, and running active protection that can uncover hidden threats. 

Getting it wrong means leaving gaps in your defences that malware, criminal hackers, and other online threats can sneak through. 

Trusted Advisor takes away the guesswork by delivering a holistic assessment of your security and privacy in a way that’s easy to understand, making issues simple to correct. It combines the proven capabilities of Malwarebytes with the knowledge of the brightest industry experts to give you an expert assessment that puts you one step ahead of the cybercrooks. 

Protection score

At the heart of Trusted Advisor is a single, easy-to-understand protection score. If you’re rocking a 100% rating then you know you’re crushing it. 

Trusted Advisor's Protection Score

If your score dips below 100%, we’ll explain why, and offer you a checklist of items to improve your security and boost your score. 

Trusted Advisor's Protection Score on mobile

Trusted Advisor’s recommendations are practical and jargon-free, so they’re easy to action.

Recommendations from Trusted Advisor

Six steps to security

Trusted Advisor monitors various categories of information around security and privacy to assess your overall Protection Score: 

  • Real-time protection monitors your device continuously, stopping and removing threats like malware as they appear. It’s vital for keeping you safe from the most destructive threats and the most common methods of infection, so Trusted Advisor will alert you if you aren’t fully protected. 
  • Software updates fix the coding flaws that cybercriminals exploit to steal data or put malware on your system. Staying up to date is one of the most important things you can do for your security, so Trusted Advisor has your back here too. 
  • General settings covers settings within Malwarebytes, Operating Systems, or your network preferences. Trusted Advisor checks for settings that may not be configured correctly. For example, on iOS it ensures you have defined a passcode for your device and activated web and call protection. 
  • Device scans are routine scans that seek out hidden threats on your system. Trusted Advisor will tell you if you get behind and need to run a scan manually. 
  • Online privacy helps you take a proactive stance on your privacy by hiding your IP address and blocking third-party ad trackers, making you’re harder to track on the web. Trusted Advisor monitors this so you only part with the personal information you intend to. 
  • Device health guards against slowdowns and other performance problems. Trusted Advisor helps you get the most out of your system so that you aren’t left guessing whether it was malware grinding your device to a halt. 

Even with an excellent score, you can’t guarantee absolute safety, though it places you in the closest proximity to it. By following our recommendations, you’ll be in the best security situation you can be.

Try it today

If you’re an existing Malwarebytes customer you will get Trusted Advisor automatically, but if you’re in a hurry, you can go to Settings > About > Check for updates and get it right now. If you aren’t, you can get Trusted Advisor by just downloading the latest version of Malwarebytes.


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Samsung details April 2024 security update for Galaxy devices

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Samsung details April 2024 security update for Galaxy devices
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Samsung has detailed the content of the April 2024 SMR (Security Maintenance Release) for its Android smartphones and tablets. The latest security update for Galaxy devices contains fixes for more than 40 vulnerabilities, including one critical Android OS flaw. These patches have already rolled out to the Galaxy S24 series and will soon make it into other eligible Samsung products.

Samsung patched over 40 security issues with the April 2024 update

Every month, Samsung releases new security patches for Galaxy devices to address various vulnerabilities and security issues. Called SMR, these patches contain the latest Android OS fixes from Google and some Galaxy-specific patches. This month’s release addresses 27 Android OS vulnerabilities, one of which is confirmed to be a critical flaw by Google. The rest are labeled high-risk vulnerabilities.

The April 2024 security update for Galaxy smartphones and tablets also contains 17 Galaxy-specific patches, aka Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE) items. As usual, the Korean firm hasn’t disclosed them all for security reasons. Among the disclosed vulnerabilities are four high-severity issues that allow a local attacker to execute arbitrary code on affected devices.

All of these security fixes have been already pushed to the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra globally. Samsung released the April update for the latest flagships last week along with some camera enhancements. It will gradually expand the new SMR to the Galaxy S23 and other models over the next few weeks. You should get a notification once the update reaches your Galaxy device.

Some devices may get these patches with the One UI 6.1 update

Samsung is in the middle of updating eligible Galaxy devices to One UI 6.1. Introduced with the Galaxy S24 series, the new One UI version brings AI features, camera improvements, and more. The company has already pushed it to the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and Galaxy Tab S9 series. These devices received the update with the March SMR.

One UI 6.1 will soon reach the likes of the Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Flip 4, and many more. Some of these devices may pick up the April SMR along with this feature update. We will keep you posted on these upcoming updates for Galaxy devices. To check for updates manually on your Samsung phone or tablet, go to Settings, enter the Software update menu, and tap on Download and install. If you don’t see any updates, check again later.


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Samsung patents an electronic face mask with air purification tech

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Samsung patents an electronic face mask with air purification tech
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Samsung may have an electronic face mask in the pipeline. A newly published patent application from the South Korean conglomerate describes a mask fitted with a processor, air filters, sensors, a fan, and more. It filters out dust particles and other unwanted matter from the air so you can breathe clean air.

Samsung patent shows an electronic mask that helps clean the air you breathe

Originally filed in Korea in February 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published this patent application from Samsung on March 28, 2024. The patent is for an electronic mask and a method of controlling it. The 32-page official document spotted by MSPowerUser reveals its working method and functions.

The mask supports various types of filters like MA-60, MA-80, or MA-94 to clean the air you breathe. The filters feature colored patterns on their edges. The colors vary depending on the filter’s grade, so the system can detect the type of filter based on these colors and adjust the rest of the settings accordingly. Samsung has also fitted the filters with sensors in all corners to determine the dirt level.

The processor uses the data from these sensors to automatically adjust the fan speed. If the filters are dirty, the fan rotates faster to remove the dust faster. If they are not so dirty, it will slow down to conserve battery. The whole setup works in tandem to filter out dust and pass clean air into your body. You can wear it when roaming around the city, in public places, or during workout sessions.

Samsung electronic mask patent sketch 2

You can see stats in a mobile app

Samsung’s electronic mask will come with a companion mobile app that gives you various statistics and information. You can see the grade of the filter currently fitted. battery level, the fan’s speed, the duration of the mask in use, the average number of breaths per minute, the amount of air filtered during this period, and more. You may also be able to control some settings through the app.

Like all patent applications, there is no guarantee Samsung will pursue this product. However, as air pollution levels rise globally, there may be a market for electronic masks in the future. The Korean behemoth might be evaluating the industry and could take its time before deciding the next step. Even if it decides to make an electronic mask, Samsung may or may not select this design.

Samsung electronic mask patent sketch 3


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WhatsApp may be getting a simplified “Like” button for status update reactions

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WhatsApp may be getting a simplified “Like” button for status update reactions
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Right now, when you see a WhatsApp status update that you want to interact with, you can either write out a reply or swipe up to pick from a small range of emojis. Instagram does this differently, with a simple “Like” button doing the trick and sending a heart emoji reaction. However, in the latest beta version of WhatsApp, a shift to a more Instagram-like way to react to status updates is brewing.

Spotted by AssembleDebug from TheSPAndroid in WhatsApp Android beta 2.24.8.6, and activated by tinkering with the code, is the ability for WhatsApp users to quickly react to others’ post with a dedicated “Like” button. In its current form, the feature doesn’t appear to be ready to roll out anytime soon, since it continually crashes the app, but from the screenshot below the UI looks pretty polished.
WhatsApp may be getting a simplified "Like" button for status update reactions

Image Credit: AssembleDebug

This is yet another Instagram feature that Meta seems determined to roll out to another one of its family of products. WhatsApp in particular has been getting a lot of social-like features lately, either in production, beta, or simply with hints spotted in the code. Features like status updates, channels, and even communities feel like they could have been ripped right out of Instagram, and the trend doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

This Instagram-ization of WhatsApp has its benefits and drawbacks. This feature in particular could be helpful, especially for quick reactions to the constant stream of statuses and shared media. However, it also definitely blurs the line between the two social apps, and it makes you wonder if Meta is trying to squash any differences between them. It’s two different audiences, and maybe the intent is to have feature-parity on both apps in order to minimize any friction when switching from one to the other.

Regardless of what the end goal is here, we will have to wait and see how the users react once the feature officially arrives. Will the new heart button be used often? Or will those that have been using WhatsApp for years stick to what they have already been doing? — simply replying with an emoji or an “LOL” when they like something.


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4 Incident Triage Best Practices for Your Organization in 2024

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4 Incident Triage Best Practices for Your Organization in 2024
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Maintaining uninterrupted services is vital for any organization.

The backbone of ensuring this continuous uptime lies in the Incident Management process. Incident triage is a significant component of this process.

It enables organizations to prioritize and address potential incidents efficiently.

In this article, we’ll look into the elements of incident triage and outline best practices to streamline your organization’s incident response.

Incidents, ranging from minor glitches to critical outages, can disrupt operations and impact customer experience.

To mitigate these disruptions effectively, organizations must implement active Incident Management processes.

By identifying and addressing issues, organizations can minimize downtime, uphold service reliability, and safeguard their reputation.

How Incident Triage Works

To understand how incident triage works, it starts the moment a potential issue arises, prompting responders to assess its severity and determine the appropriate course of action.

This initial evaluation distinguishes between mere anomalies and genuine incidents, guiding subsequent response efforts.

So, through meticulous analysis and classification, organizations can optimize resource allocation and speed up incident resolution.

The Incident Lifecycle

Incident Detection & Classification

The first step in incident triage involves detecting and accurately classifying incoming alerts. It establishes predefined data fields and event tags and facilitates automated classification, reducing manual intervention and response times.

Moreover, it implements deduplication rules to prevent notification overload, ensuring that responders focus on unique incidents.

It also furnishes essential details and filters out irrelevant information, which helps organizations streamline the triage process and enhance operational efficiency.

Incident Alerting

Effective incident alerting hinges on delivering timely notifications for actionable events while mitigating alert fatigue.

Configuring deduplication and suppression rules prevents redundant alerts, enabling responders to prioritize critical incidents.

So, by optimizing alerting mechanisms, organizations cultivate a responsive incident management ecosystem conducive to swift resolution and minimal service disruption.

Incident Prioritization

Prioritizing incidents based on their impact and urgency is paramount for efficient triage and resource allocation.

Automated prioritization mechanisms, aligned with service and customer impact metrics, expedite incident handling and resolution.

So, an organization that equips responders with clear directives and contextual insights will optimize incident triage workflows and uphold service excellence.

Triage and Collaboration

Logical collaboration and streamlined communication are indispensable for effective incident triage and resolution.

Configuring incident routing and escalation policies ensures that incidents reach the appropriate responders promptly.

Leveraging platform-specific collaboration tools like Radiants Security will foster real-time communication and knowledge sharing, enhancing team cohesion and decision-making agility.

Incident Communication

Transparent and active communication is essential for managing stakeholder expectations and maintaining trust during incidents.

Automating communication updates and providing stakeholders with real-time insights fosters transparency and accountability.

Furthermore, maintaining a public status page facilitates active customer engagement and augments organizational resilience to disruptions.

Incident Resolution

Automation and documentation are cornerstones of efficient incident resolution processes.

Integrating incident management tools enables the execution of remedial actions, minimizing manual intervention and accelerating resolution.

So, documenting resolution efforts and maintaining comprehensive incident records empower organizations to derive insights and refine response strategies iteratively.

Incident Review & Remediation

Post-incident review and remediation are integral to continuous improvement and resilience enhancement.

Collaborative incident reviews, coupled with root-cause analysis, explain underlying issues and inform preventive measures.

Embracing a blameless culture fosters open dialogue and knowledge sharing, fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

Extending Incident Triage Practices

As organizations innovate, so do the challenges they face in incident management.

To stay ahead of the curve, continually refining and expanding incident triage practices is essential.

Here are additional strategies to augment your incident response capabilities:

1. Advanced Automation

Harness the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate complex incident detection and resolution tasks.

Implement predictive analytics algorithms to anticipate potential issues before they escalate, enabling active intervention and risk mitigation.

Leveraging cutting-edge automation technologies will enable organizations to enhance operational efficiency and resilience in the face of conventional threats. 

2. Cross-Functional Training

Provide cross-functional training to incident response teams to foster a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Equip team members with an understanding of organizational systems and processes, enabling them to collaborate effectively across departments during incident triage and resolution.

By breaking down silos and promoting interdisciplinary cooperation, organizations can optimize incident response efforts and minimize disruptions.

3. Continuous Evaluation and Optimization

Assess incident triage processes and performance metrics regularly to identify areas for improvement.

Solicit feedback from frontline responders and stakeholders to gain insights into pain points and emerging challenges.

Iterate incident response workflows based on lessons learned from past incidents and industry best practices.

By embracing a culture of continuous evaluation and optimization, organizations can adapt and evolve their incident management capabilities to meet threats and business requirements.

4. Stakeholder Engagement

Engage stakeholders proactively throughout the incident triage and resolution process to manage expectations and maintain transparency.

Provide regular updates on incident status and mitigation efforts to internal teams, customers, and other relevant stakeholders.

Solicit stakeholder input and feedback to ensure that incident response efforts align with business priorities and customer needs.

Conclusion

Mastering incident triage is essential for organizations seeking to enhance their Incident Management capabilities and boost resilience against potential disruptions.

Organizations can effectively identify, prioritize, and resolve incidents by implementing best practices and leveraging advanced technologies like Radiants Security, ensuring uninterrupted service delivery and maintaining customer trust in today’s digital space.

Stay updated on Cybersecurity news, Whitepapers, and Infographics. Follow us on LinkedIn & Twitter.


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Clearpool Debuts on Avalanche with Fintech Firm’s First Credit Vault Launch

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Clearpool Debuts on Avalanche with Fintech Firm’s First Credit Vault Launch
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Clearpool Debuts on Avalanche with Fintech Firm's First Credit Vault Launch

Clearpool, a leading on-chain credit marketplace, is thrilled to announce its expansion to Avalanche with an exclusive launch of its new real-world asset (RWA)-backed product, Credit Vaults. 

While Clearpool’s permissionless pools brought private credit yield to DeFi, especially for trading firms and market makers as borrowers, Credit Vaults cater to the influx of new on-chain borrowers, including fintech and payment companies, through stable rates and stickier liquidity.

With Credit Vaults, Clearpool empowers borrowers to set their terms, such as interest rates and repayment frequencies. Credit Vaults also enable higher lending APYs via 100% utilization, increasing lending volume and protocol revenue and making interest rates for lenders more efficient.

“Avalanche is the ideal platform to support the launch of Clearpool’s Credit Vaults,” said Morgan Krupetsky, Senior Director of BD for Institutions and Capital Markets at Ava Labs. “The collaboration with Clearpool showcases a mutual commitment to developing innovative digital financial products and a shared focus on bringing tokenized assets and greater utility into the Avalanche ecosystem.”

Bringing Short-term & Liquid Fintech Pools to DeFi

Banxa, a publicly listed (TSX.V: BNXA, OTCQX: BNXAF) global infrastructure provider enabling embedded crypto in the payments space, has joined forces with Clearpool to launch the inaugural Credit Vault. The Credit Vault will enable Banxa to start by borrowing up to USDT 5 million, with lenders benefiting from the flexibility of a seven-day repayment window and additional rewards paid in the AVAX token.

Typically, investing in receivable financing opportunities involves medium to long-term lockups for lenders, particularly in activities such as trade financing or invoice financing. While this time horizon aligns with the traditional credit world, there is a growing preference among DeFi users for more liquid alternatives. Unlike competing on-chain fintech lending pools, Credit Vault lenders can request fund withdrawals within as little as seven days. 

Institutional Adoption Accelerating on Clearpool

The launch of Credit Vaults is a significant milestone in the RWA space, providing the most liquid and short-term fintech pools in the market. The institutional adoption of crypto and DeFi is rapidly gaining momentum and seeing increased demand for on-chain credit. With over 20 institutions already having borrowed on the platform, including Wall Street giant Jane Street, Clearpool is at the forefront of this trend.

Banxa’s recent entry to on-chain borrowing further emphasizes the growing interest in Clearpool’s product offerings, with several institutions in the pipeline set to follow. Clearpool’s mission is to bridge the gap between the traditional private credit market (currently $1.5 trillion and expected to reach $2.3 trillion by 2027, according to Morgan Stanley) and the decentralized lending ecosystem. 

“Launching Credit Vaults on Avalanche marks a major milestone for Clearpool and the RWA sector as we pioneer migrating credit on-chain. Working with prominent players such as the listed fintech, Banxa, and experienced credit fund, Cauris, validates the enormous potential of Credit Vaults to revolutionize the RWA DeFi space and drive institutional adoption,” said Jakob Kronbichler, CEO & Co-founder of Clearpool.

Leading Embedded Crypto Provider Pioneers Credit Vaults

Founded in 2014 and publicly listed (TSX.V: BNXA, OTCQX: BNXAF), Banxa is the trusted partner of choice for businesses seeking to take ownership of their crypto journey. It helps businesses integrate crypto and fiat payments for global audiences with lower fees and higher conversion rates through an extensive network of global and local payment solutions and regulatory licenses. With immense year-on-year growth and ~AUD$3.4 billion in transactions, Banxa is the leading global infrastructure provider enabling embedded crypto.

“Clearpool’s Credit Vaults offer us the flexibility to meet our liquidity requirements, allowing us to set our own terms and attract a wider range of lenders. With their seamless and efficient on-chain credit solution, we are excited to develop our relationship with Clearpool as our demand for working capital continues to grow with rapidly rising transaction volumes,” said Holger Arians, Chairman & CEO of Banxa.

Cauris, an investment firm specializing in private credit for financial technology companies, has structured, will manage, and is the servicer for the Credit Vault. Specifically, they have implemented security measures, including direct control over designated bank accounts for fund flow and critical covenants, to ensure the integrity of the system.

Clearpool’s launch of Credit Vaults on Avalanche signals a paradigm shift in on-chain RWAs. Clearpool is at the forefront of this shift, ushering in a new era of institutional borrower profiles in DeFi.

About Clearpool

Clearpool is the leading decentralized finance credit marketplace. A permissionless protocol enables institutions to raise unsecured liquidity directly from DeFi markets, while a separate fully permissioned platform, Clearpool Prime, further meets the compliance needs for wholesale borrowing and lending of digital assets by institutional market participants. Liquidity providers on Clearpool earn attractive yields, with pool interest rates enhanced by additional rewards paid in CPOOL — the protocol’s utility and governance token. Clearpool LP tokens, called cpTokens, are the building blocks for a system of tokenized credit and on-chain risk management.

Launched in March 2022, Clearpool has originated over US$480 million in loans with a growing user base spanning both crypto and TradFi institutions such as Wintermute, Jane Street, Fasanara Digital, CoinShares, and others. The protocol launched on the Ethereum mainnet in March 2022, followed by the expansion to Polygon PoS in July 2022, Polygon zkEVM in July 2023, Optimism in October 2023, and Mantle Network in February 2024.

About Avalanche

Avalanche is a smart contracts platform that scales infinitely and regularly finalizes transactions in less than one second. Its novel consensus protocol, Subnet infrastructure, and HyperSDK toolkit enable Web3 developers to easily launch powerful, custom blockchain solutions. Build anything you want, any way you want, on the eco-friendly blockchain designed for Web3 devs.

About Banxa

Banxa (TSX.V: BNXA, OTCQX: BNXAF) is the leading infrastructure provider for enabling embedded crypto – empowering businesses to take control of their crypto journey. Through an extensive and growing network of global and local payment solutions and regulatory licenses, Banxa helps businesses provide seamless integration of crypto and fiat for global audiences with lower fees and higher conversion rates. Headquartered in the USA, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, the Banxa team is building for a world where global commerce is run on digital assets.


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Samsung to stick with Exynos & Snapdragon chips for Galaxy S25

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Samsung to stick with Exynos & Snapdragon chips for Galaxy S25
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Samsung may stick to its usual dual-chip strategy for the Galaxy S25 series. While there have been rumors that the 2025 flagships might go all-Exynos, a new report suggests the company isn’t yet ready to ditch Snapdragon. The next-gen Galaxy S models will be available in both chip flavors.

Galaxy S25 to use Exynos and Snapdragion chips

Samsung has long used Exynos and Snapdragon chips in its flagship smartphones. It ships the phones with the former in most global markets, but the US, China, and a few other regions have always got the latter. The trend changed for good in 2023 when the Galaxy S23 series shipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 globally. Everyone well received this move because Exynos versions have historically underperformed.

However, Exynos returned to the Galaxy S24 this year, albeit only to the smaller two models. The Galaxy S24 Ultra uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 globally. Despite all the improvements from Samsung, the Galaxy S24’s Exynos 2400 struggles to go neck-on-neck with the latest Snapdragon. Ideally, fans would want the company to go back to an all-Snapdragon strategy for the Galaxy S25 series next year. But it has other plans.

The Korean behemoth is working on specialized Exynos chips for its flagships that match or potentially surpass competing Snapdragon solutions in performance. It has formed a separate team to optimize the chips for its phones from the development stage. Industry insiders suggest the first-gen solution will debut in 2025. This gave birth to rumors that the Galaxy S25 phones could ship with this custom Exynos chip globally.

However, according to DigiTimes, this may not happen. Samsung still plans to use Snapdragon chips in its 2025 flagships. Details are scarce but the Galaxy S25 Ultra will likely feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in all markets. The other two models will get the Exynos 2500 in some regions. We shall find out in due course whether it will be the rumored “special” Exynos chip from Samsung or the standard one.

Exynos may come to Samsung’s foldables this year

You may want Samsung to stop using Exynos chips in its flagship phones but the opposite may happen. The company wants to increase the share of its in-house processors in Galaxy devices and that may see it equip the Galaxy Z Flip 6 with an Exynos chip this year. A couple of tipsters have hinted at it. If true, it would be the first Samsung foldable to not use a Snapdragon processor. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 launch in July.


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Microsoft faces scrutiny after separating Teams and Office

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Microsoft faces scrutiny after separating Teams and Office
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Following the European Commission antitrust investigation, Microsoft started unbundling Teams from Microsoft Office and 365 suites. Teams have been a part of Microsoft 365 since 2017, and its separation will cause the separate selling of the Teams video and chat app in all countries.

Microsoft Teams was initially included in the Microsoft 365 package along with Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and other applications. Its integration replaced Skype for Business and gained significant popularity during the pandemic. However, its inclusion in subscription packages drew scrutiny for potential anti-competitive practices.

Packages gave Microsoft Office and Teams an unfair advantage

The origin of the scrutiny traces back to when the rivals, especially Salesforce-owned Slack, deemed the packaging of products together an anti-competitive act. They added that it gave Microsoft an unfair advantage. The European Commission has been investigating the merger of Microsoft Office and Teams since 2020. And, to avert the possible fine, Microsoft started separating Teams from Office back in October 2023.

Microsoft proactively reacted to the European competition scrutiny by saying, “We will continue to cooperate with the Commission and remain committed to finding solutions that will address its concerns”.

“To ensure clarity for our customers, we are extending the steps we took last year to unbundle Microsoft Teams from 365 and 365 in the European Economic Area and Switzerland to customers globally. Doing so also addresses feedback from the European Commission by providing multinational companies more flexibility when they want to standardize their purchasing across geographies,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters.

However, sources have told Reuters that the unbundling alone will not suffice antitrust charges, as the rivals might even criticize the level of the charges.

Impact of change on Microsoft

Several analysts have said that Microsoft’s separation of Teams from Office may not have a significant impact. Meanwhile, a few companies might indeed consider shifting to rivals like Slack or Google Chat. Moreover, Sensor Tower Data quoted that even after the unbundling started in October 2023, the majority of the user count has remained unchanged.

For fresh customers, Microsoft is planning to price Teams alone at $5.25 per user per month. Meanwhile, Office packages without Teams will be charged from $7.75 to $54.75, depending on the package features per user per month. Figures might vary from country to country.


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Newest Android 14 QPR beta brings the new HQ mode to the Pixel USB webcam

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Newest Android 14 QPR beta brings the new HQ mode to the Pixel USB webcam
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Google added a handy webcam feature to Pixel phones earlier this year with Android 14 QPR1. As great as it was, though, the image quality wasn’t exactly blowing anyone away. Last month, it was discovered that Google was mitigating this by adding an HQ option to the webcam and that it was already working on Android 15 Developer Preview 2. Thankfully, this has now also been spotted on Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2.1, which just began rolling out yesterday.
Found by the eagle-eyed Mishaal Rahman, this new mode promises to give your Pixel’s webcam the glow-up it deserves. A little “HQ” button now sits in the top corner, ready to transform your video quality. One tap and your Pixel webcam will prioritize clarity over battery life, and this time it will tell you exactly what it is doing via a popup.

New Pixel webcam HQ mode with power and heat warning

Through this popup, engaging High Quality Mode on your Pixel will issue a warning that it disables power optimizations, thus using up more power and possibly heat up your device. Of course, HQ mode will gobble up more battery than usual, so you might not want it on all the time. But for important stuff, like streaming? Rahman says the quality boost can be seriously impressive.

Got a Pixel and want to try this out? If you are willing to wait a little longer, you might not need to jump on the beta. You will most likely be able to give this a try in an upcoming feature drop or when Android 15 makes its public debut later this year.

Google’s clearly committed to making Pixel’s webcam feature more than just a gimmick, and High Quality Mode could be a sign of good things to come. This is huge for anyone who wants better video without shelling out for a fancy webcam. Your trusty Pixel may be all you need.


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Google to Delete Billions of User’s Personal Data

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Google to Delete Billions of User’s Personal Data
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Google has agreed to delete billions of data records that reflect the private browsing activities of users.

This decision comes as part of a settlement for a lawsuit that accused the tech giant of improperly tracking users’ web-browsing habits who believed they were browsing the internet privately using Chrome’s ‘Incognito’ mode.

Settlement of the ‘Incognito’ Lawsuit

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2020, alleged that Google misrepresented the kind of data it collects from users who browsed the internet via ‘Incognito’ mode in Chrome.

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Google agreed to settle the suit late last year, and the settlement terms were disclosed in a filing on Monday.

As part of the settlement, Google must delete “billions of data records” that reflect the private browsing activities of users in the class action suit.

In addition to data deletion, Google will update its disclosure to inform users about the data it collects each time a user initiates a private browsing session.

Google has already started implementing these changes.

As part of the settlement, Google will also let private browsing users block third-party cookies for the next five years.

The data deletion is a key milestone in Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiative, which aims to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome by the second half of 2024, subject to addressing any remaining competition concerns from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. 

The initiative includes the introduction of Tracking Protection, a new feature that limits cross-site tracking by default restricting website access to third-party cookies.

Impact on User Privacy

The settlement and the Privacy Sandbox initiative represent significant steps towards enhancing user privacy on the web.

Google’s commitment to deleting extensive data and limiting tracking cookies showcases a shift towards a more privacy-conscious browsing experience.

The changes are vital to ensure that Google remains in cooperation with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Future of Web Browsing

As Google continues to work on making the web more private, it also provides businesses with tools to succeed online.

The goal is to ensure that high-quality content remains freely accessible while creating a more private web than ever. 

The regulatory environment keeps changing, but Google’s proactive steps to prioritize privacy in company culture and product design are positioning the company for what lies ahead.

Google’s decision to delete billions of users’ data marks a significant development in digital privacy.

With the implementation of the Privacy Sandbox and Tracking Protection, Google is setting a new standard for privacy on the web, balancing innovation with robust data privacy protections.

Stay updated on Cybersecurity news, Whitepapers, and Infographics. Follow us on LinkedIn & Twitter.


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