A major update for Google’s AI assistant Gemini is now available, and it enables hands-free navigation by taking you to Google Maps upon request. This development aims to streamline user experience thus removing the need for clicking directions from a link. With the feature’s help, people can simply prompt Gemini for direction and it will take you to Maps with navigation ready.
Gemini integrates seamlessly with Google Maps in this new update
Gemini, a cornerstone of Google’s AI strategy, symbolizes the company’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite being an example of investment in next-gen multimodal AI by Google, it has its own set of limitations that show how things still need to work and progress.
According to 9to5Google, the latest iteration of Gemini simplifies navigation by going from voice commands, directly to Google Maps. For this reason, when requesting directions, users get a card displaying route details which makes them have to click again before opening Google Maps.
With this recent update on March 25th, such inconvenience is avoided through auto submission of voice commands. Now, instead of manually hitting the send button users can directly go and check their map request after a few seconds.
However, Gemini still lags behind Google Assistant in terms of functionality, not standing these enhancements. Users have two choices: either they can use Gemini or they can use Google Assistant because using one disables the other. Therefore, understanding what Gemini excels at becomes crucial for optimizing user experience.
Google remains committed to replace its traditional Assistant with Gemini
While Gemini’s journey towards replacing Google Assistant continues, it’s important to acknowledge that its capabilities extend beyond simple AI chatbots. Importantly, however, Google Maps integration with Gemini appears gradual, rolling out beta testers, indicating its shift toward enhancing digital interactions.
Google remains committed to refining Gemini as part of its efforts to improve hands-free experiences while advancing AI capability. As updates continue improving functionalities on Gemini users will expect better navigation efficiency and overall assistant performance.
It looks like X (formerly Twitter) is getting spicier. Well, at least its Communities feature is. Admins will soon be able to label their subreddit-style groups as “adult content”, a move that comes hot on the heels of rumors swirling around X’s potential embrace of NSFW material.
The news was dropped, almost casually, by X engineer Dong Wook Chung in a recent post. Chung hinted that “soon” your X feed might be a lot more filtered, with NSFW content automatically stashed away within Communities. The catch? Admins get to decide whether their Community gets the “Adult” label or not.
This might feel like a shrug-worthy move to some, but many saw this one coming. Bloomberg reported that researchers had already uncovered hints towards X enabling “adult-sensitive” content settings some time ago. Remember, X has historically allowed a bit more risky content than other social media apps. Profile pics and Community banners, though… that’s where it draws the line.
X “Communities” themselves aren’t even a Musk invention. Twitter started playing with the concept back in 2021, promising a whole new level of cozy conversation. What Twitter never promised was whether that coziness would get, well, adult-themed. And as Engadget points out, let’s not forget that for a hot minute in 2022, the company was reportedly flirting with the idea of launching an OnlyFans rival. Talk about a change of direction! Those plans were reportedly scrapped due to the looming risk that it would make X’s existing problems with illegal child exploitation material infinitely worse.
To clarify further, Chung did post another statement on the matter, saying “this setting is about making Communities safer for everyone by automatically filtering out NSFW content” and that X will require users to have specified their age in order to search these NSFW communities. However, this entire thing feels like a powder keg with a very short fuse. We’ll have to wait and see what happens once the filter is activated.
They say the only backup you ever regret is the one you didn’t make. iPhone backups can be used to easily move your apps and data to a new phone, to recover things you’ve lost, or to fix things that have failed.
We’ve published posts on how to back up your iPhone to iCloud, and how to backup an iPhone to a Mac. Another method is to backup using the iTunes app on a Windows system.
Choose whichever backup method works best for you, and will continue to work.
Don’t you hate it when your friend is listening to a great piece of music, but you aren’t subscribed to the same streaming service? This is something that a lot of people deal with, but Tidal has a solution for this. According to a new report, Tidal is the first streaming service to introduce universal links.
The thing with sharing music is that you have to make sure to share music with people using the same streaming service as you. Right now, there are several streaming services including Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. However, you can’t expect all of your friends to be subscribed to the same services.
Tidal introduces universal links
Tidal is the first major streaming service to offer this functionality. If you share a link from Tidal with another person, and they don’t have the same streaming service that you do, the link will take that person to the same track or artist on their streaming service.
So, if you’re listening to the latest album from Billie Eilish on Tidal, and you share it with your friend using Apple Music, the link will take you to that same album on Apple Music. It’s not hard to see why this is an incredibly useful feature. When we share links from streaming services, we always share them with the understanding that only people with that streaming service will be able to listen. Well, universal links will make sharing music a much more integrated and inclusive task.
Tidal confirmed that universal links currently work with Apple Music and Spotify. However, we are not certain if it’s distributing this functionality to smaller streaming services. We will have to wait and see if the company plans on distributing this functionality to smaller streaming services.
One user on Reddit pointed out that you may have to restart the app once you gain the functionality. This just may be a small bug however, it seems to be the only issue.
Google’s experimental AI assistant, Gemini, seems to get more useful by the day. In the newest update to the Gemini app on the Google Play Store, Google’s given it some new skills when it comes to navigation.
As reported by 9to5Google, the Google Gemini app received a Play Store update on March 25th. This update brings the app up to version 1.0.618909562, and includes the following notes in its changelog: “Now when you ask for directions Gemini will automatically start navigation with Google Maps”.
This is a change to how the app worked in the past where this capability was not available natively without an assist from, you guess it, the Google Assistant. Whereas, now you can just give it a command such as, “Navigate to xxxx.” The app will promptly not just pull up a summary of your route and directions to get to it, but also drop you straight into Google Maps with your route ready to go within a few seconds.
Aside from this added benefit, Gemini packs a few other updates in this version, such as being able to set a reminder or calendar event via a command. I know, this is something we’ve been able to do for years with Google Assistant, but we’re trying to give Gemini the benefit of the doubt here. It is a fairly new app, after all. Just make sure that you have the “Workspace” extension turned on in your Gemini settings.
Gemini still has a long way to catch up to what Google Assistant can do, however, it’s been slowly but surely getting better. Both the web version and mobile versions have been getting small but frequent updates that add up. One thing that is clear, though, is that it cannot yet be a full digital assistant replacement on a smartphone, but that day is surely on its way.
Is your router outdated? Millions are at risk as a new variant of TheMoon malware infects devices in just 72 hours. Learn how to protect yourself from this cyberattack and secure your home network.
A multi-year campaign targeting vulnerable home and small business routers has come to light thanks to a recent report by Black Lotus Labs, a security research team at Lumen Technologies. The campaign leverages an updated version of a well-known malware strain called “TheMoon.”
TheMoon malware first emerged in 2014 and has a history of exploiting weaknesses in routers and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This latest campaign, however, appears to be particularly widespread, infecting devices across 88 countries.
According to the Black Lotus Labs report, the attackers primarily focused on end-of-life (EoL) routers, meaning devices no longer receive security updates from the manufacturer. ASUS routers were the most targeted, with over 6,000 infected in just 72 hours in early March 2024.
The attackers’ goal appears to be the creation of a large network of compromised devices. By infecting routers and IoT devices, they can add them to a service known as “Faceless.” Faceless operates as a proxy service, allowing malicious actors to anonymize their online activities. This anonymization can make it difficult to track the source of cyberattacks and other criminal operations.
Jason Soroko, Senior Vice President of Product at Sectigo told Hackread.com that, “Routers and other networking equipment that use passwords have been easy victims to pray and spray attacks for years.“
“Unfortunately, stronger forms of authentication are not common. What’s new here is the usage of proxy networks for C2 traffic obfuscation. It shows that de-anonymizing Tor and VPN traffic is not only happening but has been successfully used against attackers,“ Jason added.
To protect your devices from the latest variant of TheMoon malware or similar attacks; always follow these steps:
Update your router and IoT devices regularly. Check the manufacturer’s website for instructions on how to update the firmware for your specific device.
Disable remote access to your router. This can be done through the router’s administration panel.
Use strong passwords for your router and Wi-Fi network. Avoid using easily guessable passwords or default settings.
Consider a security solution for your home network. There are several security products available that can help to protect your network from malicious activities.
There are many more technical details and aspects addressed in the Black Lotus Labs blog post.
The Google Pixel 8 Pro (Review) offers an extremely smooth experience, well, if you’re not scrolling through social media. Pixel phones have been plagued with a weird scrolling issue that ruins the experience just a bit. However, Google announced that a fix for this Pixel scrolling issue is on its way. You’re just going to have to wait quite a bit for it.
This issue doesn’t only affect the Pixel 8 Pro. In fact, it even affected Pixel 7 phones. For some reason, when scrolling feeds, the animation would be very choppy and janky at times. It makes it appear as though the phone is having performance issues. That’s not something you want to see on your new $1,000 phone.
Google announced a fix for the Pixel scrolling issue
As reported by several sources, Google has acknowledged and addressed the scrolling issue affecting Pixel phones. The company is a little late to the game, as this issue was reported back in October of last year. That was the month that the Pixel 8 series launched. So, it’s a little disheartening seeing that Google is finally addressing the issue four months later. However, better late than never.
We’ve received reports from Reddit that Google is working on the issue. We also got official confirmation. The scrolling issue was actually marked as “fixed” on the issue tracker. This doesn’t mean that the issue is fixed on actual phones. It means that Google has successfully finished the code that will fix the issue once it’s distributed to phones.
When will Google distribute this change?
That’s where most people will have an issue. According to the issue tracker, Google will officially push this fix to affected Pixel phones with the release of Android 15. That’s going to be a bummer for people waiting for this issue to be fixed. Android 15 is still in the developer preview phase of testing. After that, it will have to go through an extended period of data testing before it hits the stable channel. We are talking about months of waiting before Google fixes this issue.
So, if you’re dealing with the Pixel scrolling issue, and you’re waiting for the fix, you’re going to have to sit tight.
Simply put, MFA bombing (also known as “push bombing” or “MFA fatigue”) is a brute force attack on your patience. Cybercriminals use MFA bombing to break into accounts that are protected by multi-factor authentication (MFA).
MFA normally requires a user to enter a six-digit code sent by SMS, or generated by an app, or to respond to a push notification, when they enter a username and password. It provides an enormous increase in security and makes life much harder for criminals.
Because it’s so hard to break, criminals have taken to getting users to defeat their own MFA. They do this by using stolen credentials to try logging in, or by trying to reset a user’s password over and over again. In both cases this bombards the user with push notifications asking them to approve the login, or messages asking them to change their password. By doing this, the criminals hope that users will either tap the wrong option or get so fed up they just do whatever the messages are asking them to do, just to make the bombardment stop.
Now, according to this blog by Bran Krebs, these attacks have evolved. If you can withstand the pressure of the constant notifications, the criminals will call you pretending to come to your rescue.
In one example Krebs writes about, criminals flooded a target’s phone with password reset notifications for their Apple ID. Each notification required the user to choose either “Allow” or “Don’t Allow” before they could go back to using their device.
After withstanding the temptation to click “Allow”, and declining “100-plus” notifications, the victim receved a call from a spoofed number pretending to be Apple Support.
The call was designed to get the victim to trigger a password reset, and then to hand over the one-time password reset code sent to their device. Armed with a reset code, the criminals could change the victim’s password and lock them out of their account.
Luckily, in this situation the victim thought the callers seemed untrustworthy, so he asked them to provide some of his personal information, and they got his name wrong.
Another victim of MFA bombing learned that the notifications kept coming even after he bought a new device and created a new Apple iCloud account. This revealed that the attacks must have been targeted at his telephone number, because it was the only constant factor between the two device configurations.
Yet another target was told by Apple that setting up an Apple Recovery Key for his account would stop the notifications once and for all, although both Krebs and the victim dispute this.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a lot you can do once an MFA bombing attack starts other than be patient, and be careful not to click Allow. If you get a call, know that Apple Support will never call you out of the blue, so don’t trust the caller, no matter how convenient their timing.
If you lose control of your Apple ID, go to iforgot.apple.com to start the account recovery process.
We don’t just report on phone security—we provide it
Apple will reportedly use an enhanced titanium finishing and coloring process for its forthcoming iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple started using Grade 5 titanium in its phones starting with last year’s iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Titanium is no longer a jaw-dropping addition to phones
But, soon enough, many smartphone manufacturers, respecting the trend, started incorporating the titanium material in some of their latest models and the ‘titanium’ keyword in their marketing material. However, not all of them adopt the same costly Grade 5 titanium.
Nonetheless, titanium is now one of the trends in the top tear flagship space and doesn’t feel like a jaw-dropping addition anymore. For example, Samsung adopted the material for this year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra. There are also rumors about its adoption in the company’s upcoming book-style foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which might help them make it look more premium and different than the rumored Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE- if that device launches.
iPhone 16 Pro models’ titanium could get a distinctive look though
“Unlike the 15 Pro model, the iPhone 16 Pro model will use a method that improves the previous titanium processing and color processing” (machine translation).
As a result, the tipster notes that the iPhone 16 Pro models could get a more polished or “glossy” look. If true, it could potentially look similar to the previous Pro iPhones with stainless steel. Yes, a glossy finish may become more susceptible to fingerprints just like before.
In addition to the polished titanium finish, MacRumors suggests that Apple may introduce new color options for the iPhone 16 Pro series. These new colors will reportedly be “Space Black” and “Rose Gold”. The traditional Blue Titanium variant might be replaced by the Rose Gold option, while Space Black may replace the Black Titanium variant. The White and Natural Titanium colorways are also expected to undergo subtle refinements.
Currently, there’s not much information about Apple’s new and refined finishing process for titanium. But, we will update you as more information comes out, that’s for sure.
INTMAX, developer of the open-source Ethereum scalability solution Plasma Next that offers near-zero gas fees to enable nano-transactions, has announced that IdeaSoft, a member of Sigma Software Group that specializes in building fintech blockchain applications, is building a perpetual decentralized exchange on Plasma Next.
This strategic partnership leverages IdeaSoft’s vast expertise in WEB3 development across various sectors, signalling a significant leap forward in the Plasma Next ecosystem.
The perpetual DEX, called JIBx, will offer zero transaction fees, restacking, and leverage of up to 250X, and boasts an on-chain matching engine with off-chain private settlement and account layers powered by Plasma Next. Users will get the cheapest transaction cost and highest performance with programmability while retaining the security and stability of Ethereum.
INTMAX Plasma Next is the complete version of Plasma, the Ethereum scalability solution presented by Joseph Poon and Vitalik Buterin in 2017. Plasma Next solved the main problem with the fund exit (difficult online requirements and on-chain verification costs) using zero-knowledge proofs.
By ensuring constant state growth per block without individual liquidity preparations and removing the need for constant online vigilance, Plasma Next offers a practical solution to the long-standing challenge of achieving statelessness in blockchain systems.
Recently, INTMAX Plasma Next teamed up with ETH Samba to empower Brazil’s vibrant Ethereum developer community and introduced the innovative nanoMoney.js, a groundbreaking JS library that aims to reward website users for engaging actions like reading, liking, or creating content.
Through this collaboration, Plasma Next demonstrated its ability to facilitate rewards as small as $0.000000001 in DAI, which is only possible when the gas fee is almost zero. Plasma Next makes Ethereum ultra-convenient for micro- and nano-transactions at scale.
Andrey Lazorenko, the Co-founder and CEO of IdeaSoft, said, “Super excited to start using INTMAX Plasma Next with our team! It’s exactly what we need to make many of the projects faster, more convenient for users, and finally get overwhelming adoption. Can’t wait to see what we’ll build with this.”
INTMAX Co-founder Leona Hioki commented, “The IdeaSoft team is highly talented and professional, with unmatched experience in financial trading in general and virtual currency in particular. I am confident that together we will be able to create a product of exceptional quality. It is a great honour to work with them.”
JIBx leverages Plasma Next for both settlement and account layers, ensuring unmatched privacy, low trading fees, security, and scalability. Distinctively, it features a perpetual on-chain limit order book utilizing black-red tree sorting. This strategic choice significantly lowers transaction costs while simultaneously increasing transactions per second (TPS), setting a new standard for DEX technology.
This DEX is poised to be the first of its kind that combines the convenience of centralized exchanges with the integrity and security of decentralized platforms. Among its novel features are:
Near 0 transaction fees – Plasma Next allows to reduce fees to less than a cent amount
Efficient Funding Rates Model: Rewards from collateral re-staking are available immediately when you open your position.
Bootstrapped Re-staking: Utilizing stablecoins and LST-based assets, we create an intriguing multiplier effect. This enables the distribution of points for re-staking and allows us to share fees with active traders.
Stablecoin and LST Staking Pools: A stablecoin pool ensures liquidity is locked during margin trading. Meanwhile, the LST staking pool offers rewards and reduced trading commissions.
Perpetual Swaps with High Leverage: Offers up to 250X leverage, backed by innovative algorithms and an insurance fund to efficiently manage high-risk operations.
By supporting IdeaSoft in developing the JIBx platform, INTMAX not only promotes the growth of the Plasma Next ecosystem but also contributes to the broader blockchain community. This initiative underscores a commitment to innovation, open-source development, and the democratization of finance, marking a pivotal step toward a more accessible and efficient decentralized finance landscape.
Plasma Next represents a groundbreaking evolution, promising to redefine blockchain scalability and privacy for the digital age. By addressing the need for constant online presence—a significant barrier to user adoption—Plasma Next marks a significant leap forward, giving developers a platform to build secure and highly scalable dApps.
About IdeaSoft
IdeaSoft is an EU-based custom software development company with over 7 years of experience and a track record of delivering 250+ projects. The company’s primary focus is on developing blockchain & web 3.0 solutions, with a particular emphasis on CeFi, DeFi, dApps, blockchain gaming, blockchain infrastructure, RWA tokenization, security tokens, custom blockchain solutions, and smart contract development.
Additionally, the team possesses extensive experience in creating fintech and banking apps, ranging from neobanking, core banking, open banking, and embedded banking to BaaS. IdeaSoft is an official partner and member of Sigma Software Group since 2021.
About INTMAX
INTMAX is the developer of the open-source Ethereum scalability solution Plasma Next which offers constant near-zero gas fees to enable nano-transactions. It is the Stateless Ethereum Layer built for mass adoption, offering a highly efficient, secure, and scalable solution for blockchain applications.
INTMAX provides a ready-to-use solution to empower any applications and services with instant, the most secure, and near-zero cost crypto transactions. For more information, visit their website or contact: Sergei Medvedev at [email protected].
