Today’s Tech Sightings:
Mozilla Blocks Flash Player on Firefox
Mozilla has blocked all versions of Adobe Flash Player in its Firefox browser due to its vulnerability to attack. Last week’s breach of the Italian company Hacking Team was made possible by a Flash Player bug that hackers exploited. While Adobe issued a patch, there appear to be more issues with that product.
Facebook: Adobe’s Flash Plug-In Is a Security Risk No Longer Worth Taking
Facebook’s security chief Alex Stamos is calling Adobe to kill its Flash plug-in. His death-to-Flash verdict came in a tweet a week after the Hacking Team attack.
Microsoft’s Nadella Talks Mobile Ambitions, Windows 10 Strategy, HoloLens, More
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talked about his plans in the mobile phone market and expectations for Microsoft and its augmented-reality product, HoloLens, among other issues in an exclusive interview with ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley.
New Wi-Fi Technology Will Make Phones ‘Aware’ of Surroundings
An emerging generation of Wi-Fi-enabled devices will allow mobile phones to communicate with nearby Wi-Fi devices and take advantage of new proximity services, such as putting two gamers in the same area in touch to set up a match.
Google Photos Might Upload Your Pics Without Your Permission
Google’s Photos.app is on a roll, first tagging a couple of Africans as “Gorillas,” for which Google has apologized. Now, it appears Photos.app backs up photos to the cloud even when it is disabled or uninstalled. Neowin reported that customers found out when they began to see their photos appearing online on Google+ and among various search results.
Chinese Trojan Spies on Your Texts, Emails
Security researchers have uncovered a new threat to mobile messaging on smartphones. According to security firm Malwarebytes, a new Trojan for Android smartphones – SmsSpy – is typically found in third-party Chinese markets. Once installed on a phone, it snoops around text messages, emails and contact lists then emails them elsewhere. It also automatically emails new targets.
Nintendo Fans Flood Internet With Tributes to Late President
Gamers who grew up with Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers and Pokemon took to social media to mourn the company’s late President Satoru Iwata, who lost a fight to cancer Saturday.
