Posts

Showing posts from December, 2020

A new Golang-based worm has been actively dropping XMRig cryptocurrency malware on Windows and Linux servers since early December, mining Monero (Sergiu Gatlan/BleepingComputer)

Image
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer : A new Golang-based worm has been actively dropping XMRig cryptocurrency malware on Windows and Linux servers since early December, mining Monero   —  A newly discovered and self-spreading Golang-based malware has been actively dropping XMRig cryptocurrency miners on Windows and Linux servers since early December. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3rMDvR6

Sony to launch PlayStation 5 in India on February 2

Image
Sony said on Friday that it will launch the PlayStation 5 in India on February 2, suggesting improvements in the supply chain network that has been severely throttled by the coronavirus pandemic. The Japanese firm said it will begin taking pre-order requests for the new gaming console in India, which is the world’s second largest internet market, on January 12. The console will be available for pre-order at Amazon, Flipkart, Croma, Reliance Digital, Games the Shop, Sony Center, Vijay Sales and select other authorized retail partners, the company said. The PlayStation 5 is priced at Indian rupees 49,990 ($685), while the digital edition of the console will sell at Indian rupees 39,990 ($550). Xbox Series X is priced at $685 in India, and Xbox Series S sells at $480. Like elsewhere in the world, Microsoft has been struggling to meet the demand for the new Xbox consoles in India. The Xbox Series X is facing so much shortage in the country that it’s not even easy to locate its page on A...

Flexiv, a Chinese startup that makes general-purpose adaptive robots powered by computer vision and AI, raises $100M+ Series B from investors including Meituan (Rita Liao/TechCrunch)

Image
Rita Liao / TechCrunch : Flexiv, a Chinese startup that makes general-purpose adaptive robots powered by computer vision and AI, raises $100M+ Series B from investors including Meituan   —  As businesses around the world look to automate production lines and supply chains, companies making the robots are attracting great investor interest. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/384Xump

NYSE says it will delist three Chinese companies, China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, on January 7 to comply with a US EO imposing restrictions (Max Zimmerman/Bloomberg)

Image
Max Zimmerman / Bloomberg : NYSE says it will delist three Chinese companies, China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, on January 7 to comply with a US EO imposing restrictions   —  The New York Stock Exchange said it will delist three Chinese companies to comply with a U.S. executive order that imposed restrictions … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/385gbGo

Adobe Flash Player is finally laid to rest

The beleaguered web browser plug-in will no longer receive security updates from Adobe. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/34W9e8D

Adobe Flash Player reaches the end of its life

The browser plug-in that brought rich interactivity to the early web is retired. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3naKMac

Moscow train carriage helps rehome stray pets

The Tails and Paws train features posters of dozens of animals in need of a new home. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3n3C90Q

7 most valuable US tech companies added a combined $3.4T in market cap in 2020: Apple gained ~$1T, Amazon $710B, Microsoft $480B, Alphabet $268B, Facebook $193B (Ari Levy/CNBC)

Image
Ari Levy / CNBC : 7 most valuable US tech companies added a combined $3.4T in market cap in 2020: Apple gained ~$1T, Amazon $710B, Microsoft $480B, Alphabet $268B, Facebook $193B   —  - Apple's market cap jumped by almost $1 trillion this year, followed by Amazon, which increased by over $700 billion. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/38POqkn

Alphabet's Wing says new FAA drone rules mandating radio-frequency broadcasts for remote identification will erode privacy, suggests internet-based tracking (David Shepardson/Reuters)

Image
David Shepardson / Reuters : Alphabet's Wing says new FAA drone rules mandating radio-frequency broadcasts for remote identification will erode privacy, suggests internet-based tracking   —  Alphabet Inc's drone delivery unit Wing criticized Trump administration rules issued this week mandating broadcast-based remote identification … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/395OKMj

The Equity crew predicts what’s to come in 2021

Image
What could go wrong? Hello and welcome back to  Equity , TechCrunch’s venture-capital-focused podcast ( now on Twitter! ), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. As you can see, this is our yearly predictions episode. Our behind-the-scenes guru Chris Gates joins us on the mic, we take shots at our prior prognostications, and nosh on what we feel is positively persaged. As always, this episode is in good fun. If you don’t agree with we think is up ahead, that’s fine. You’re probably right. But we’re nothing if not up for a challenge, so we kept the tradition alive this year. This is the last Equity episode of 2020. While we can’t tell you yet what our plans are for 2021, we can say — nay, project — that there are a lot of fun and big things coming for Equity. We’re planning our busiest year ever, by far. And with that, we’re out of here. Thanks for several million downloads this year, our biggest annum to date. Equity drops every Monday at 7:00 a.m. PST and Thur...

Adobe ends support for Flash today and will start blocking Flash content from January 12; major browsers will block Flash content from Jan. 1 (T.C. Sottek/The Verge)

Image
T.C. Sottek / The Verge : Adobe ends support for Flash today and will start blocking Flash content from January 12; major browsers will block Flash content from Jan. 1   —  It's the end of the line  —  Adobe scheduled its famous Flash software to end on December 31st, 2020, and today is the day. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3baoTWb

Microsoft says SolarWinds hackers were able to view some of its source code by hacking into an employee account but were unable to modify code or access emails (Nicole Perlroth/New York Times)

Image
Nicole Perlroth / New York Times : Microsoft says SolarWinds hackers were able to view some of its source code by hacking into an employee account but were unable to modify code or access emails   —  The hackers gained more access than the company previously revealed, though the attackers were unable to modify code or access emails. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/38TrK2T

Hacked home cams used to livestream police raids in swatting attacks

The FBI issues an alert saying offenders have sometimes spoken to police via breached smart devices. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3rIlJP7

Pandemic heroes dominate New Year Honours List 2021

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/2WZJy72

Report: 10 ex-members of Apple's supplier responsibility team say it avoids or delays removing suppliers guilty of labor violations when doing so hurts business (Ben Lovejoy/9to5Mac)

Image
Ben Lovejoy / 9to5Mac : Report: 10 ex-members of Apple's supplier responsibility team say it avoids or delays removing suppliers guilty of labor violations when doing so hurts business   —  A new report today claims that Apple is reluctant to ban suppliers found guilty of labor violations, and can take years to do so, even in the most serious of cases. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2LdyCja

Activist hedge fund advises Intel to outsource CPU manufacturing

Image
(credit: Andrew Cunningham) Activist hedge fund Third Point has taken a stake of nearly $1 billion in Intel and called on the chipmaker to consider shedding its manufacturing operations, throwing a core part of its strategy into question. The firm with $15 billion in assets run by Daniel Loeb made a number of demands in a letter sent to Intel’s chairman Omar Ishrak on Tuesday and seen by the Financial Times. In the letter, Mr Loeb said that Intel was “once the gold standard for innovative microprocessor manufacturing” but had fallen behind manufacturing competitors in East Asia such as TSMC and Samsung. Read 12 remaining paragraphs | Comments from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/2JwCDyP

Ticketmaster agrees to pay a $10M fine after admitting to hiring an ex-CrowdSurge staffer and using his credentials to access the rival ticket seller's systems (Adi Robertson/The Verge)

Image
Adi Robertson / The Verge : Ticketmaster agrees to pay a $10M fine after admitting to hiring an ex-CrowdSurge staffer and using his credentials to access the rival ticket seller's systems   —  It used stolen login credentials at a company summit  —  Ticketmaster has agreed to pay $10 million for breaking into a competitors' network. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3mXokkA

Report: Apple removed 46K+ apps, including 39K games from its China store on Thursday, as it set a year-end deadline for game publishers to obtain a license (Pei Li/Reuters)

Image
Pei Li / Reuters : Report: Apple removed 46K+ apps, including 39K games from its China store on Thursday, as it set a year-end deadline for game publishers to obtain a license   —  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Apple removed 39,000 game apps on its China store Thursday, the biggest removal ever in a single day … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3rGMGmc

Ticketmaster fined $10m for business 'intrusions'

The US Department of Justice says the firm unlawfully tried to "choke off" a competitor's business. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3pBfmLB

Apple executes New Year's Eve apps purge in China

The tech firm removed about 46,000 apps in a day to meet a 31 December deadline. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3n3lB96

TikTok faces legal action from 12-year-old girl in England

An English court rules the girl can remains anonymous over claims TikTok misuses children's data. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3aWqu1F

Innovation at the shelf edge

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3pzfcEz

Top 10 technology and ethics stories of 2020

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/38JWTpk

Top 10 investigations and national security stories of 2020

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/3hxAlw3

Study finds no correlation between growing up playing violent video games and increased levels of aggression 10 years later (Gamesage)

Image
Gamesage : Study finds no correlation between growing up playing violent video games and increased levels of aggression 10 years later   —  A ten-year longitudinal study published in the Journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking on a group in early adolescence from as young as ten years old … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3htqFTk

Over 66 SPACs were raised in 2020, according to PitchBook, up from 30 in 2019, amid a year of uncertainty that opened tech companies' eyes to an IPO alternative (Shakeel Hashim/Protocol)

Image
Shakeel Hashim / Protocol : Over 66 SPACs were raised in 2020, according to PitchBook, up from 30 in 2019, amid a year of uncertainty that opened tech companies' eyes to an IPO alternative   —  For many in the tech industry, 2020 was a year of two acronyms.  There was COVID, obviously.  And then there were SPACs. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2WXNa9t

Hogmanay drone swarm lights up Scottish skies

Edinburgh's Hogmanay has been lighting up the skies online with a drone display of Scottish icons. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/2WVysjl

The Bay Area won't be displaced as the nation's top tech hub anytime soon but lawmakers need to recognize the dangers of bad governance that is fueling backlash (Bloomberg)

Image
Bloomberg : The Bay Area won't be displaced as the nation's top tech hub anytime soon but lawmakers need to recognize the dangers of bad governance that is fueling backlash   —  Silicon Valley remains the world's preeminent tech hub.  But that won't last if lawmakers there keep antagonizing businesses. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3pBW8W5

Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee faces nine-year sentence in bribery case

Image
Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee faces a nine-year prison term in the bribery case that contributed to the downfall of former president Park Guen-hye. Prosecutors argued that the length of the sentence is warranted because of Samsung’s power as the largest chaebol, or family-owned conglomerate, in South Korea. “Samsung is a group with such overwhelming power that it is said Korean companies are divided into Samsung and non-Samsung,” they said during a final hearing on Wednesday, reports the Korea Herald. The final ruling is scheduled for January 18. The bribery case is separate from another trial Lee is involved in, over alleged accounting fraud and stock-price manipulation. Hearings in that case began in October. Hearings begin in Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee’s accounting fraud trial The bribery case dates back to 2017, when Lee was convicted of bribing Park and her close associate Choi Soon-sil and sentenced to five years in prison. Prosecutors allege the b...

Drone users face new rules across Europe and UK

The regulations relax the distinctions between commercial and recreational drone use. from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8290670 https://ift.tt/34Z8Fv3

Researchers: NSO Group used location data from thousands of unsuspecting people during its pitch of COVID-19 contact-tracing tech to governments and journalists (Zack Whittaker/TechCrunch)

Image
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch : Researchers: NSO Group used location data from thousands of unsuspecting people during its pitch of COVID-19 contact-tracing tech to governments and journalists   —  Researchers say NSO's use of real data “violated the privacy” of thousands of people.  —  Spyware maker NSO Group used real … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/34ZdHrr

Corellium notches partial victory in Apple iOS copyright case

Image
Enlarge / Just some of the iDevice types that Corellium didn't break one law—but may still have broken another—by emulating. (credit: Kristin Lee | Getty Images ) Security firm Corellium, which develops software that researchers can use to analyze Apple products, has been handed a partial victory in Apple's lawsuit against it, as a judge ruled that its creation of virtual iOS environments does not violate Apple's copyrights. Corellium has since 2017 been creating iOS environments that can run on desktop computers, for use as a research and development tool. Apple sued Corellium in 2019, alleging, "Corellium's true goal is profiting off its blatant infringement" of iOS, and claiming that the firm "encourages its users to sell any discovered information [about system vulnerabilities] on the open market to the highest bidder." Earlier this year, Apple amended the suit to include allegations that Corellium's work violated the Digital Mille...

EarlyBird’s new app lets families and friends ‘gift’ investments to children

Image
A new fintech startup called EarlyBird wants to help families invest in their children’s financial futures. Through the EarlyBird mobile app, parents in just a few minutes can create a custodial account, also known as a UGMA (Uniform Gifts to Minors Act) account . These accounts typically allow a parent, aka the “custodian,” to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other securities on behalf of the minor child. When the child comes of legal adult age, the investments become theirs. Through the app, parents can set up an account for their child, then invite other family members and close friends to contribute. The idea is not so different, in spirit at least, from something like HoneyFund, where newlyweds ask loved ones for cash donations instead of physical gifts. Similarly, EarlyBird offers an alternative to giving a child toys and more “stuff,” by inviting family and friends to donate money. Except in EarlyBird’s case, it’s not asking for straight cash donations — this is no...