Apple’s next big event is minutes away: Here’s what you can expect
Apple's next big event takes place on March 25 in Cupertino, California. The company is expected to make services announcements, including its new streaming service. and possibly a new Apple TV streaming device. Follow our detailed guide to find out all you need to know.
How much!? British Airways glitch results in $4.2M quote for family vacation
Website errors sometimes cause flight prices to display at way below the correct price. But British Airways recently experienced the opposite issue when it tried to charge a family 200 times more than it should have for a two-week vacation in Mexico. The booking price? About $4.2 million.
Privacy-focused DuckDuckGo added to Chrome as a default search option
DuckDuckGo is now listed as a default search option on Google’s Chrome browser. The search engine was added this week as part of the browser's latest update. DuckDuckGo claims to offer a more private browsing experience than other search engines as it doesn't store or share any personal information linked to its users.
FTC levies huge fine on merchant for fake, paid-for Amazon reviews
Fake, paid-for reviews are an ongoing problem for shopping websites like Amazon, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently came down hard on one perpetrator, fining it millions of dollars for deploying bogus reviews in a bid to score more sales of a weight-loss product.
YouTube struggles with inappropriate content, demonetizes videos of minors
An issue has arisen on YouTube with reports of child exploitation happening in the comment sections of videos featuring children. In response, YouTube has demonetized even innocent videos featuring children, leading content creators to worry that their incomes are at risk because of commenters.
Gmail adds lots of new functionality to its right-click menu
Right-click on an email in Gmail and the list of actions is pretty limited. That's about to change, though, as Google has just announced it's expanding the list of options to make its email client that little bit more useful. The extended right-click menu is rolling out to all desktop users in the next couple of weeks.
Amazon has another shot at a live shopping channel like QVC
Amazon is having another shot at a QVC-style shopping channel featuring slick shows produced in-house, as well as presentations posted by brands. Viewers can interact with presenters during a live-stream, while a carousel below the video highlights the product being talked about.
FCC didn’t have the right to repeal net neutrality, court case argues
This week a major court case in support of net neutrality began, with a group of consumer advocates and internet trade organizations challenging the Federal Communications Commission's overturning of the Open Internet Order. They say the FCC did not have the right to repeal to OIO.
YouTube limiting recommendations of conspiracy theory videos
YouTube has had a problem for some time with conspiracy theories and other misinformation being spread over its platform. Now it has announced plans to reduce recommendations of content that promotes misinformation like phony cures, flat Earth theories, and false claims about events like 9/11.
Facebook’s merger plan causing concern among lawmakers and security experts
A Facebook plan to merge Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram has caused controversy this week. Now some experts and lawmakers are raising concerns about the privacy implications and antitrust issues stemming from the plan, as well as questioning the plans for end-to-end encryption in messaging.
Google Chrome’s latest decision could prevent most ad-blockers from functioning
Google Chrome's newest change is cited as a step forward for speed and security, but could profoundly alter how the majority of ad-blocking extensions operate. The new developer API change potentially gives Google more control over exactly which ads can be blocked while browsing the web.
Shutdown makes dozens of .gov websites insecure due to expired TLS certificates
The U.S. government shutdown is causing trouble not only in political circles but also in internet security. As the shutdown enters day 22, dozens of government websites have been rendered insecure or inaccessible due to expired transport layer security (TLS) certificates.
Chrome fights manipulative sites that don’t allow you to hit the back button
Have you encountered a webpage that won't let you hit the back button? Some unscrupulous websites employ what is known as history manipulation, preventing you from hitting the back button and returning to your original destination, but now Google Chrome will be fighting back.
Can Microsoft’s Airband Initiative close broadband gap for 25M Americans?
A new report from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says that 25 million Americans do not have access to broadband internet -- more than 19 million living in rural communities. Broadband adoption in the U.S. has plateaued at 70 percent since 2010. Can Microsoft's Airband Initiative help?
Encryption-busting law passed in Australia may have global privacy implications
A legal battle brewing in Australia right now could have global consequences for security and privacy on the internet. Controversial laws have been passed in Australia which oblige tech companies to allow the police to access encrypted messages, undermining the privacy of encryption.
Google Translate updated to reduce gender bias in its translations
Google has taken a step towards reducing gender bias by changing the way that Google Translate offers translations. Previously when you entered a word like doctor, Translate would tend towards a masculine interpretation of the word. Now, Translate will offer you both masculine and feminine versions.
Google’s updated Santa Tracker entertains and teaches coding throughout December
Google's Santa Tracker is in its fifteenth year and is back again with even more features. You can have fun with more than 20 games, learn about different holiday traditions around the world, and enjoy some festive animations. There's also a chance to learn some basic coding, all Christmas-related, of course.
Qualcomm is ready to bring blazing-ast 5G speeds to the masses. Here’s how
Qualcomm is working hard on bringing 5G to the world, and at its annual Snapdragon Summit it revealed a little more about its plans for the next few years. In particular, the company is working with the likes of Verizon, AT&T, Samsung, and more, in an effort to speed up 5G adoption.
The highest-paid YouTuber is currently a 7-year-old kid
He's only 7 years old and he's already earning $22 million a year on YouTube. OK, his parents set up the channel, but little Ryan is the star of the show, with his toys- and games-based channel followed by 17 million fans around the world. And the channel has only been active for three years.
YouTube tries bundling ads together for a better viewing experience
In a bid to improve the viewing experience for its 1.8 billion users around the world, YouTube is testing a system that bundles ads together to reduce the number of interruptions during the main video. The company says that the new method reduces the number of interruptions during the main video by up to 40 percent.
USPS fixes online flaw that exposed the data of 60 million customers
The United States Postal Service has patched an online security flaw that allowed anyone with an account at usps.com to view the account details of any of the 60 million people signed up to the service. In some cases, the flaw even allowed for changes to be made to information held by the accounts.
U.S. Customers spent over $6 billion on Black Friday purchases
The sales on Black Friday are getting larger each year. In 2018, an enormous total of $6.2 billion was spent, which is up 23.6 percent from last year. While the majority of customers shopped from a desktop or laptop, nearly one third of customers shopping in this period purchased from their smartphone.
Data stolen from HealthCare.gov includes partial SSNs and immigration status
Details of the user data stolen from government site healthcare.gov back in October have been revealed. Around 75,000 users had their data accessed by hackers, including information on their immigration status, whether they were pregnant, and partial social security numbers.
A major Wikipedia project fixed millions of old, broken links
A major project undertaken by the San Francisco-based Internet Archive has helped to restore some nine million broken links on Wikipedia. The ongoing work to re-establish the links has helped to improve the usability of the site and also boost its credibility in the process.
To make the web safer, Google says URLs must die
After building its search empire by indexing all the web pages on the internet and their corresponding web addresses, Google is undergoing an existential crisis. The company proposes that to make the web a safer place for all, URLs must be killed. URLs are difficult to understand, and hackers prey on this confusion.
Google plans crackdown on tech-support scams appearing in search ads
Google is constantly removing scammers' "tech-support" ads from its search engine results, but the problem has been getting more serious of late. The web giant now says it's planning to roll out a verification program to ensure that only legitimate providers of third-party tech support can use the platform.
If you’re still using Yahoo email, it’s still spying on you
Yahoo's parent company, Oath, has admitted that it still scans the content of some emails sent to users of the company's Mail platform in an effort to sell ads. Although it claims only promotion emails are scanned, this does raise concerns over personal privacy on the platform.
Google claims censored search in China is ‘not close’ as employees protest
Google is not close to releasing a censored search product in China, Google's CEO Sundar Pinchai promised company employees at a recent meeting. This follows the protest of more than 1,000 Google employees after the news of a secretive project for a censored Chinese Google search engine came to light.
Wikipedia taps streetwear brand to design fundraising apparel
What's white, features the WIkipedia logo, and has the words "internet master" emblazoned on one side? Why, it's a shirt designed to raise funds for the internet's most popular encyclopedia. The $85 top is the result of a collaboration between Wikipedia and an L.A.-based streetwear brand.
FatCam: Museum of London’s livestream of a rancid hunk of sewage proves popular
The Museum of London put part of a fatberg on display earlier this year, and the rancid filth proved to be a surprising hit with visitors. Evidently keen to share the mutating muck with a wider audience, the museum has just launched a livestream of its fatberg for everyone around the world to enjoy.
Facebook’s security chief has quit — now who’s watching the watchmen?
Facebook's chief security officer, Alex Stamos, has announced that he's leaving the company in mid-August to move on to a new full-time teaching position. Crucially, Facebook has said he will not be replaced, raising questions about its approach to digital security on the social network in the future.
How clean is your favorite restaurant? Yelp’s hygiene scores will dish the dirt
Sure, the ambiance, the food, and the service can all make or break the quality of a restaurant, but does any of that mean anything if it's unclean? Sanitation experts certainly don't think so, and now, Yelp is providing hygiene scores to help you ensure that your delicious dinner stays in your stomach.
Google to run a 4,000-mile cable between Virginia and France
There will soon be a cable connecting France and Virginia, and it's all in the name of providing better internet service. In a statement this week, Google announced that it would be constructing an undersea, transatlantic cable that will have one end in Virginia Beach, and will span 4,000 miles across the ocean.
Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Facebook team up on new data transfer project
Some of the largest tech companies in the world have teamed up to make data portability a little easier. The initiative is called the Data Transfer Project, and the likes of Google, Twitter, Microsoft, and Facebook are all on board. There's no product to show off just yet, but the project could be groundbreaking.