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Evernote Takes Liberties With User Data; Drone Deliveries Makes History

Posted December 14th, 2016 at 12:00 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Evernote ‘Privacy’ Policy Update Allows Employees to Read Your Notes If you are using the Evernote app to take notes, you might want to reconsider. Evernote’s latest update to its “privacy” policy lets some of the company’s employees read your notes in the interest of improving machine learning. It bears mentioning that […]

Ransomware Gets Bolder as Bigger Players Join the Game

Posted December 2nd, 2016 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
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Ransomware attacks are becoming more brazen if the November 25 assault on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) is any indication. And cybersecurity experts project a surge in these types of digital assault as new players get into the act. “Unfortunately, this is a trend,” said Comodo Senior Research Scientist, Kenneth Geers. “And it works.” […]

Google Hacked; Trump Mobile Alerts Are Coming to Your Phone

Posted November 30th, 2016 at 2:28 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: At Least 1 Million Google Accounts Breached by Gooligan Android Malware An Android-based malware dubbed Gooligan has compromised up to one million Google accounts. Researchers from security firm Check Point Software Technologies found the strain in at least 86 apps available in third-party marketplaces. When the apps are installed, they gain high-level access to […]

Television Is Taking Over Social Media; 2016’s Biggest Breaches

Posted November 29th, 2016 at 11:21 am (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Social Media Is Killing Discourse Because It’s Too Much Like TV Writer Hossein Derakshan argues social media now represents the ascendance of television over other media. As video and graphic content replace text and hypertext, he says social media is recreating television, albeit with new problems. On social media, he argues, algorithms […]

Stephen Hawking Warns of AI Risks; India Suffers Massive Cyberattack

Posted October 20th, 2016 at 11:35 am (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Stephen Hawking: AI Could Be ‘Worst Thing to Happen to Humanity’ Renowned physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking again warned against the dangers of advancements in artificial intelligence. Speaking at the launch of The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) in Cambridge, England, Hawking said more advanced AI could lead to […]

UK Snooping on Citizens for Years; Bill Gates, Tim Cook for VP?

Posted October 18th, 2016 at 12:56 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: UK Spies Have Been Snooping on Citizens Since 1998 Britain’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal found that intelligence agencies have been running bulk data-collection programs for the last 17 years, in violation of EU privacy protections in many cases. Web traffic, location and device data, biographies, and financial activities were all collected for years […]

Google Search Points Out US Election Polls; Twitter Bot Tracks Dictators

Posted October 13th, 2016 at 1:03 pm (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Google Now Will Tell You Where You Can Vote in US Election The clock is ticking ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, and Google is offering to point you in the direction of the nearest polling station. Starting Thursday, searching in English or Spanish for “where to vote” will yield […]

Researcher Honored for India TB Tracking; Yahoo’s Massive Data Breach

Posted September 22nd, 2016 at 11:58 am (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Microsoft Researcher Behind TB Treatment-monitoring Program Wins ‘Genius’ Grant Microsoft’s Bill Thies, who works on communications programs in developing countries, will receive the “genius” grant, awarded by the MacArthur Foundation. Thies’ work on India’s 99DOTS program provides a low-cost way for people to receive monitored tuberculosis treatment. Using their cell phones, patients can […]

Goodbye, iPhone Headphone Jack; Ireland Backs Apple Against EU Fine

Posted September 8th, 2016 at 11:58 am (UTC-5)
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Today’s Tech Sightings: Eulogy for the iPhone Headphone Jack Twitter burst into a flurry of activity Wednesday when Apple declared the death of the iPhone headphone jack at its iPhone 7 event in San Francisco. The tech giant replaced the jack with wireless earbuds, outfitted with their own communications chip. Apple described the move to […]