Blog

Engadget The Morning After | Engadget

[ad_1]

Twitter’s bad day started with a weird tweet from Elon Musk (not that unusual) and probably peaked when Barack Obama’s account suddenly posted a scam message begging for Bitcoin. Someone at Twitter decided to prevent all verified accounts from tweeting while they tried to get things under control, and they really had no other choice when hackers compromised accounts for Warren Buffett, Apple and Kimye.

Twitter

Twitter

Later on in the evening, a thread from the company placed blame on a “social engineering attack” that targeted its employees, but that won’t be enough to satisfy questions about what really happened on Wednesday.

— Richard

Everything you need to know about Google’s Pixel 4a

Google is not great at keeping secrets.

Pixel 4a

Google

Now that Google has retired its fan-favorite Pixel 3a, what’s next? Chris Velazco digs into the rumor mill and explains what the next midrange smartphone from Google will look like.
Continue reading.

You can buy ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator’ on 10 DVDs if you want

But why?

Flight Simulator

Aerosoft

When the 2020 edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator comes out on August 18th, fans of the long-running series in Europe will have the chance to buy a physical copy of the upcoming game. Usually, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but Flight Simulator will come on a whopping 10 discs.
Continue reading.

Gmail is getting a huge workplace overhaul

On Google, your digital office starts in Gmail.

Gmail

Google

To answer the question of how it will respond to Microsoft Teams and Slack, Google is creating a stronger link between Gmail and its other productivity apps. Google Chat is already integrated with Gmail on the web, and soon it will be built into the mobile app on Android and iOS. Group chats can include people inside or outside your company, and another tab in the mobile app will take users directly to Meet for video and voice calls.
Continue reading.

Sponsored Content by: IdentityForce

Identity Force



[ad_2]

Source link

Zoom fixed a vanity URL issue that could have led to phishing attacks

[ad_1]

Zoom says it has fixed a security issue that would have let hackers manipulate organizations’ custom URLs for the service and send legitimate-seeming meeting invitations. If a victim accepted the invitation and attended the meeting, the phony caller may have been able to inject malware into their device or carry out a phishing attack.

Hackers could have taken advantage of the exploit in two ways. One involved changing a vanity URL (i.e. http://[whatever].zoom.com) to include a direct link to a phony meeting. The other centered around targeting an organization’s own Zoom web interface, and urging a victim to enter their meeting ID into a malicious vanity URL instead. A video shared by Zoom and Check Point Research, which helped identify and resolve the issue, shows how the exploit worked.

[ad_2]

Source link

AppleCare+ monthly plans move abroad to Canada, Japan and Australia

[ad_1]

Apple first rolled out monthly payments for Applecare+ last year, but so far the service has been limited to to US. Now, Apple is expanding the program abroad to three additional countries: Japan, Australia and Canada (via MacRumors).

AppleCare+ extends your regular warranty and includes accidental damage coverage. As in the US, the lump-sum plan is limited to 24 months (or 36 months if you own an Apple Watch Edition or Hérmes), whereas the monthly plan renews indefinitely each month until you cancel it. However, the single payment option is cheaper than the monthly plan over the two- or three-year period. (All of that is a generalization, as many terms and conditions apply).

[ad_2]

Source link

Amazon will let businesses use its Twitch streaming tech for livestreams

[ad_1]

They can personalize their streams to, say, show additional information or a buy button when specific products appear on screen. But IVS does the heavy lifting to make sure the video will be viewable to anybody in the world. Even better, the service includes access to a player SDK that makes integrating videos into websites and apps straightforward.

Seeing as businesses have to rely more heavily on livestreams and other virtual means to reach potential customers these days, IVS could end up being a hit among AWS clients. “Customers have been asking to use Twitch’s video streaming technology on their own platforms for a range of use cases like education, retail, sports, fitness, and more,” Amazon IVS General Manager Martin Hess said in a statement. “Now with Amazon IVS, customers can leverage the same innovative technology that has taken Twitch over a decade to build and refine. Any developer can build an interactive live streaming experience into their own application without having to manage the underlying video infrastructure.”

[ad_2]

Source link

Virgin Galactic appoints former Disney exec as its new CEO

[ad_1]

“…we are delighted to welcome Michael as the new Chief Executive to lead Galactic into commercial operations. I believe Michael’s long and distinguished career at one of the world’s leading customer experience brands provides a natural fit with Virgin’s culture as well as Galactic’s requirements as it prepares for commercial service.”

Colglazier is replacing George Whitesides, who’s taking on a new role as Chief Space Officer. Whitesides is also stepping down from the company’s Board of Directors, but he will remain in charge of developing Virgin’s future business opportunities, including point-to-point hypersonic and orbital space travel.

The aerospace company started selling tickets for suborbital flights in 2013, but ticket sales went on hold after the SpaceShipTwo crash in 2014 that killed one of the pilots and forced the company to build a replacement vehicle. Virgin Galactic has reopened ticket sales since then but closed it yet again after the new SpaceShipTwo reached space during a test flight in 2018.

Earlier this year, the company began preparing to reopen ticket sales by launching the One Small Step program. It allows those interested to register online for a ticket slot with a $1,000 refundable deposit. If they pass the “qualification process” — we’re guessing they have to be very, very rich to qualify — then they get bumped to the front of line for firm seat reservations once they become available.

[ad_2]

Source link

Twitter claims ‘social engineering attack’ led to crypto scam tweets

[ad_1]

In its first detailed statements since someone took over a number of high profile accounts Wednesday afternoon, Twitter posted a thread explaining “what we know so far.” While rumors have swirled about what may have caused a compromise that gave hackers access to Twitter accounts for Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Apple, Kanye West and others, the company stated “We detected what we believe to be a coordinated social engineering attack by people who successfully targeted some of our employees with access to internal systems and tools.”

The company went on to say that after temporarily limiting Twitter activity — including a period where all verified accounts were prevented from tweeting — it has restored those features. Internally it’s limiting access to its tools while the investigation continues. Twitter did not comment on a report by Motherboard that included a picture of its internal tools, and cited anonymous sources in the SIM swapping community that said an insider did the work for them.



[ad_2]

Source link

You can buy ‘Microsoft Flight Simulator’ on 10 DVDs if you want

[ad_1]

When Microsoft Flight Simulator comes out on August 18th, fans of the long-running series in Europe will have the chance to buy a physical copy of the upcoming game. Usually, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but Flight Simulator will come on a whopping 10 discs. The package is coming courtesy of a publisher named Aerosoft that struck a deal with Microsoft to distribute the game in the continent. 

The 10 dual-layered DVDs will contain approximately 90GB of game assets, including all the textures and models of the planes featured in the game. That’s almost 100GB of data people with slow internet connections won’t have to download. No physical release would be complete without a manual. Fortunately, it looks like Flight Simulator will come with a hefty one. The entire package also comes in a fancy-looking box. As with the digital version of the game, they’ll be multiple editions of the physical release. Buying the more expensive €130 will give players access to additional aircraft and airports. However, both will come on 10 DVDs. 

[ad_2]

Source link

Twitter has apparently disabled tweets from verified accounts

[ad_1]

In an effort to prevent more hacked accounts from posting crypto scams, Twitter has apparently chosen to disable tweets from verified accounts. Though the company has not yet confirmed this to us, Engadget staffers have experienced this with our own verified accounts. At the same time, we were able to tweet using our unverified accounts. Other users on Twitter are having the same experience.

So far, the only tweet we’ve seen that acknowledges the issue is this one from Twitter Support, which states “You may be unable to tweet or reset your password while we review and address this incident.” We’ve since reached out to Twitter for additional information.



[ad_2]

Source link

Overwatch League’s online-only playoffs start on September 3rd

[ad_1]

To limit server lag, the North American teams will travel to Asia. While they won’t compete in person, there will be a break before the playoffs resume. “Before the four finalists can face off, we will need a few weeks for health and safety needs and to account for travel logistics,” Blizzard said. 

The entire format means there won’t be an in-person final. But that something Blizzard will likely take after the match cancellations and setbacks OWL faced earlier in the year. Since moving to more tournament-style competitions, the league has seen promising viewership numbers. Approximately 91,000 concurrent viewers tuned in to watch the North American Summer Showdown semi-final match between Paris Eternal and the San Francisco Shock. Those are numbers the league hasn’t seen since its opening weekend earlier this year. Moving forward, Spector said tournaments will likely play a big part in the league’s 2021 season.



[ad_2]

Source link

Crypto scammers hack Elon Musk, Apple and Bill Gates on Twitter

[ad_1]

Apple twitter account hacked

Screenshot/ Twitter

The attacks appeared to be coordinated, with similar messages shared on multiple accounts. Musk’s account later replied to the previous tweet, referencing Gates. “Me and my brother Bill Gates are returning the favor today! Stay safe out there!”

musk crypto scam

Twitter/ screenshot

Bill Gates' hacked Twitter account

Screenshot / Twitter

Similar scams were tweeted from another of other high-profile accounts, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Kanye West and Uber.

Bezos Twitter hack crypto scam.

screenshot / twitter

Also targeted: accounts belonging to CoinDesk, Binance, Ripple, Gemini, and other figures well-known in the cryptocurrency world, though messages shared there were slightly different. A tweet posted to the account of Ripple promised “2,000 Ripple to random addresses that send over 1,000 Ripple to our Covid-19 Fund.” Other messages on targeted accounts, including Coinbase and Gemini, promoted a fictitious giveaway for “CryptoForHealth.”

Many of the messages were removed soon after being posted, with executives of affected companies tweeting out warnings not to fall for the scams.

It’s unclear how the hackers gained access to so many accounts. CoinDesk reports that many of the affected accounts, including its own, were using two-factor authentication.

Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the hacks.

Developing…



[ad_2]

Source link