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Latest by Maya Shwayder

Quibi

Quibi is finally here: How to sign up for the new streaming video app

Big stars like Jennifer Lopez, Chrissy Teigen, and a few Kardashian/Jenners are attached to the ambitious pan-Hollywood project.
cyberbullying asian people hate speech coronavirus emojis v2

Cyberbullying against Asian people skyrockets 900% in wake of pandemic

Hateful online abuse targeting Asian people has increased by a whopping 900% since the coronavirus outbreak began, according to a report.
Zoom Meeting

Is Zoom’s new privacy policy worth a damn? Proceed with caution, experts say

The videoconferencing app was caught by a flurry of bad press around its privacy policy, but the recent changes might not amount to much.
Dark Sky on a smartwatch

Apple acquires weather app Dark Sky — and it’s leaving Android

Apple has bought the popular weather app Dark Sky, which will now be known as Dark Sky by Apple, and Android users are going to be shut out of it as of July 1.
houseparty privacy tracking security housepartyapp 1

Houseparty could be a digital privacy nightmare, experts warn

The video chatting app has seen a huge spike in popularity since people were confined inside, but it comes with some major security questions.
Two people playing Nintendo switch

Nintendo Switch price gouging is rampant on Amazon

People wanting to buy a Nintendo Switch will have to pay an average of 52% higher than the normal retail price: Amazon is one of the few places left to buy one.
hacks header

Attacks from Chinese hacking group have spiked, U.S. firm says

Attempted cyberattacks from a sophisticated Chinese hacking group have spiked since late January, according to cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc.
online school materials

How coronavirus is forcing online learning to evolve

The coronavirus may force schools to get their digital acts together unlike any other potential catalyst. Online degrees may gain the prestige they've lacked.
Costco line amid the coronavirus outbreak

‘The internet is in no way a part of my job’: Not everyone can work from home

Restaurant and hospitality jobs cannot be done from a computer at home, and workers in those sectors are struggling during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Man Smoking Electronic Cigarette

Doctors worry about the terrifying possibility that vaping makes COVID-19 worse

Public health officials fear that vaping-related lung damage could cause the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, to present worse symptoms in users.
Woman Checking Her Email

Coronavirus panic is creating a scammer’s paradise. Don’t let your guard down

Hackers and scammers are taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis. Here's how to protect yourself.
Project Baseline

Google’s coronavirus screening website accused of mining health data for profit

Project Baseline, a pilot site set up by Google to give access to COVID-19 testing sites, has been accused of collecting patient data and selling it for profit.
Amazon sign on warehouse

Coronavirus: Amazon suspends shipments of nonessential products to warehouses

To make room for high-demand items, Amazon will stop receiving nonessential products in its warehouses in the U.S. and U.K. amid the coronavirus pandemic
Amazon Warehouse Worker

Amazon increases worker pay, ramps up hiring to cover COVID-19 needs

Amazon is upping its pay by $2 an hour in the U.S and hiring for 100,000 new full- and part-time positions across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus puts university budgets to the test as classes go remote

Coronavirus puts university budgets to the test as classes go remote

As more schools switch to online-only for the rest of the semester in the wake of the coronavirus, many professors are struggling with an unguided transition.

Hand-washing expert’s scanner shows you all the spots you may have missed

A handwashing expert invented a device to test for contaminants on hands. It doesn't test for coronavirus yet, but having truly clean hands is key to hygiene.
Man in Wuhan wearing a mask amid coronavirus outbreak

Clean your phones, ya filthy animals! Coronavirus can cling for days

With coronavirus continuing to spread around the globe, it's smart to make sure to regularly clean your phone. Glass and plastic make happy homes for COVID-19.
Wyze smart home lock on a door.

Yes, China is probably watching us through our IoT devices

There's a good chance that if it was built in China, your IoT smart home gadget is likely sending some kind of info to China. Thing is, it's mostly innocuous.
school via tablet

Coronavirus is closing schools and hinting at a digital future for education

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak, as well as the possibility of future pandemics, illustrates the need for schools to prepare for virus-induced digitalization.

Your iPhone’s normal copy-paste function could leak sensitive data

After testing their theory, two software developers say they’ve discovered a flaw in the Apple iOS copy-paste system that could leave information vulnerable.
Jif and GIF Peanut Butter

Iffy on the pronunciation of GIF? Jif peanut butter is here to help

Jif peanut butter has teamed up with the makers of Giphy, everyone’s favorite Slack function, to release a gif-themed peanut butter jar. This clears nothing up.
Data privacy survey.

Would you sell your personal data for profit? Survey says ‘no’

The vast majority of people would never sell their personal data for a profit, according to a new survey released Monday. Only 3% polled would sell their data.
chocolate chip cookies

Chrome is ditching third-party cookies because Google wants your data all to itself

Face ID Masks

Uncanny Face ID mask can deter the spread of germs, but won’t unlock your phone

When a San Francisco-based artist joked that she was making medical masks with people's face printed on them, she was surprised the internet really wanted them.
Jeff Bezos

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos commits $10 billion to fighting climate change

Jeff Bezos announced the formation of the Bezos Earth Fund and a $10 billion commitment to fight climate change, following his "climate pledge" for Amazon.
John-Legere-T-Mobile-CEO

Why the Sprint/T-Mobile merger could actually help the spread of 5G

Sprint and T-Mobile have promised 5G rollouts and coverage, and experts now agree that with the companies' merger, U.S. customers will see 5G coverage sooner.
Man in Wuhan wearing a mask amid coronavirus outbreak

China’s coronavirus app will only inspire panic, experts say

China's government issued an app that tells people if they've been close to an infected person, but experts say it will only spur more misinformation and panic.
Person using cellphone with mask

Chinese firm working on facial recognition that can identify you under a mask

The Chinese government may now grant startup Megvii millions of yuan to develop facial-recognition technology that could be used on mask-wearers in a crowd.
collage of facial recognition faces

Is Clearview AI’s facial recognition legal? We need to figure it out soon

No one can figure out if what Clearview AI is doing with people's personal data is legal, and experts say we need to do better regarding facial recognition.
Bernie Sanders speaks after the 2020 Iowa caucuses

Iowa caucus app chaos shows why American elections should stay analog for now

This week's Iowa caucus voting app debacle, which wreaked havoc on the process, showed us just how unprepared we are for the realities of electronic voting.
youtube to remove more hateful and supremacist content going forward logo phone

The time you lost watching YouTube ads last year netted Google $15 billion

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, revealed YouTube’s revenue from advertising: $15 billion. That's just under 10 percent of Alphabet’s total revenue for 2019.
amazon prime planet on fire

Would you give up Amazon Prime shipping to save the planet?

Amazon releases 44.4 million metric tons of carbon every year. If it wants to reduce this -- which it has pledged to do -- the retail giant needs to drastically overhaul its shipping methods. And that would mean saying goodbye to something Americans hold dear: Prime shipping.
Amazon Prime Air

Amazon’s airport ambitions might be squashed by a tiny group of activists

A group of environmental and labor activists in Southern California are taking on Amazon and the U.S. government. They're hoping to stop a new airport terminal that's expected to be used as a massive Amazon fulfillment center that could make air quality in the area even worse.
Cellebrite Hacking Tools

À la carte phone hacking is scary, but it’s better than a government backdoor

Law enforcement says it's easier than ever to break into a person's phone, even as the government continues to demand encryption backdoors. But a private company hacking your phone is still better than your government having full access, say ex-NSA and ex-CIA analysts.