Month: August 2021
chat history transfers between Android and iOS
WhatsApp is to allow users to transfer their chat history between operating systems for the first time including voice notes, photos and conversations. The update will mean that for the first time, WhatsApp users will be able to take their entire app history with them should they switch between Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile
YouTube Child Privacy Protection
Google has announced a raft of privacy changes for children who use its search engine and YouTube platform, designed to give minors “more control over their digital footprint”. Among the measures, videos uploaded to YouTube by those under 18 will be set to private by default, meaning they can only be viewed by themselves and
Facebook- anti-vaccine influencer campaign shutdown
Facebook on Tuesday said it shut down a disinformation operation which sought to spread Covid-19 vaccine hoaxes by duping social media influencers into backing false claims. The leading social network labeled the operation a “disinformation laundromat” which sought to legitimize false claims by pushing them through people with clean reputations. Facebook said that in July
Spotify into new Windows 11 focus feature
Tech giant Microsoft is planning to integrate Swedish music streaming platform Spotify into a new Windows 11 feature, media reports said. Microsoft’s head of Windows and devices Panos Panay teased the Focus Sessions Windows 11 feature on Twitter this week, and it appears to be a new way to focus on tasks and work. Focus
Microsoft protests Amazon win on cloud contract
Microsoft on Thursday confirmed it is challenging a decision to award a multi-billion-dollar cloud computing contract to its rival Amazon. US media reports said the contract valued at $10 billion is for modernizing storage of classified data at the National Security Agency. Microsoft in late 2019 won the JEDI contract, sparking a challenge by Amazon
Hackers return $260m to cryptocurrency platform
The hackers exploited a vulnerability in the digital contracts Poly Network uses to move assets between different blockchains, according to blockchain forensics company Chainalysis. Poly Network, a decentralised finance platform that facilitates peer-to-peer transactions, said on Twitter that $260 million of the stolen funds had been returned but that $353 million was outstanding. The company,
YouTube suspends Rand Paul Account
Republican senator Rand Paul’s YouTube Account was suspended on Tuesday for seven days over a video claiming that masks are ineffective against Covid-19. It is the latest move against a prominent public figure who has spread disinformation about ways to protect against the virus or about the vaccines developed to fight it. Many public health
Apple’s plans to scan photo libraries
Apple is taking a major step into the unknown. That’s because its version of this approach will, for the first time from any major platform, scan photos on the users’ hardware, rather than waiting for them to be uploaded to the company’s servers. Apple’s tool, called neuralMatch, will scan images before they are uploaded to
era of private wars and destabilisation
Following the recent assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, carried out by hired Colombian mercenaries, it is widely believed that members of the Haiti’s wealthy elite were responsible for removing their own president. Recent years have also seen the sale of obscure hacking tools, such as “Pegasus” developed by Israeli firm NSO, which have clearly
Craig Murray is a former UK diplomat, human rights activist, and blogger who was imprisoned on August 1st 2021 on a contempt of court charge for publishing details from the trial of Scottish MP Alex Salmond on his blog and on twitter. Alex Salmond was on trial over charges of sexual harassment and attempted rape,