At least 170 local or state government systems in America have been hit with ransomware, and the French Interior Ministry received reports of 560 incidents just in 2018, according to Phys.org. (Though the French ministry also notes that most incidents aren’t reported.) But when a government system is hit by ransomware, do they have a responsibility to pay the ransomware to…
Tag: updates
Major Power Outage Hits Manhattan
“More than 40,000 in Manhattan don’t have power,” reports CNN:
Of the 42,000 customers without power in New York, most are in Midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side, the utility company said. The city’s fire department is responding to numerous transformer fires, the first of which occurred in Manhattan on West 64th Street and West End Avenue, officials said. The outage…
The ‘Vast Majority’ of America’s Voting Machines Use Windows 7 or Older Systems
Many of America’s voting machines are depending on an outdated Microsoft operating system, reports the Associated Press. “The vast majority of 10,000 election jurisdictions nationwide use Windows 7 or an older operating system to create ballots, program voting machines, tally votes and report counts.” That’s significant because Windows 7 reaches its “end of life” on Jan. 14, meaning Microsoft stops providing…
Microsoft Stirs Suspicions By Adding Telemetry Files To Security-Only Update
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: As expected, Windows Update dropped off several packages of security and reliability fixes for Windows 7 earlier this week, part of the normal Patch Tuesday delivery cycle for every version of Windows. But some hawk-eyed observers noted a surprise in one of those Windows 7 packages. What was surprising about this month’s Security-only…
Apple Lowers Prices on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro and Adds New Features
Apple today announced updates to the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air price is being lowered to $1,099, but it will be offered to college students for $999. From a report: It will be sold in the same configurations as before, starting with 128GB of storage, but Apple updated the screen with new TrueTone technology. That means it…
Volkswagen Will Share Electric Car Platform and Autonomous Tech With Ford
Ford and Volkswagen have reached an outline agreement to share electric and autonomous car tech, extending their alliance beyond a cooperation on commercial vehicles. Reuters reports: VW will share its MEB electric vehicle platform [a part bin and toolkit for building electric vehicles] with Ford, the source said. Volkswagen’s supervisory board is due to discuss deepening the alliance at a meeting…
Fake Samsung Firmware Update App Tricks More Than 10 Million Android Users
Over ten million users have been duped in installing a fake Samsung app named “Updates for Samsung” that promises firmware updates, but, in reality, redirects users to an ad-filled website and charges for firmware downloads. From a report: “I have contacted the Google Play Store and asked them to consider removing this app,” Aleksejs Kuprins, malware analyst at the CSIS Security…
‘Motorola Has Let Me Down For the Last Time’
Jerry Hildenbrand, writing for AndroidCentral: If you’re ever in the mood to think about a “how the mighty have fallen” story, you need to look no further than Motorola. The company used to be at the forefront of technology in everything digital, but buyouts, restructuring, and eventually becoming another OEM nameplate has left Motorola little more than a memory that old…
Google Maps Can Now Predict How Crowded Your Bus Or Trail Will Be
Google Maps is getting a pair of updates that will offer live traffic delays for busses in the cities where it didn’t already provide real-time updates, and another that will tell you how crowded your bus, train, or subway car will be. TechCrunch reports: The latter is perhaps the more interesting of the two, as it represents a new prediction technique…
Facebook: Our Terms of Service Are Less Confusing Now.
Facebook says it wants to give people “clear, simple explanations” about how its business works and how it uses your personal information. From a report: In a blog post on Thursday, Facebook outlined updates to its terms of service intended to clarify how the company makes money and to explain users’ rights on the site. The social network said it’s adding…