Skype introduces read receipts, but don’t worry, you can disable them
There's now another medium through which you can exercise your passive-aggressive tendencies (or just generally let folks know that their messages aren't going into the void). Skype has announced that its latest version (Skype 8.26.76) will finally include read receipts. It's currently available to Insiders.
Google Classroom to stop students peeking online for test answers
Google Classroom is rolling out a bunch of new updates for educators. Among them is an option for teachers to prevent cheating during online tests by locking students onto the quiz webpage so they can't research answers via the web, and a new tool that allows for the easy creation of virtual reality tours.
Privacy’s virtual credit card service adds cash back for online transactions
Worried about all the places online your debit card information is stored? With Privacy, you can use virtual or "burner" cards for all your online transactions, making your financial details anonymous online. The company also launched a cash-back program, giving users a percentage back for purchases.
Firefox lets you test new features for side-by-side views and customizing colors
Love Firefox? You might love it even more now that you can open two tabs side by side and customize it with colors and textures. Side View and Colors are currently being offered via Mozilla's Test Pilot program, which lets you try out and give feedback on new features being considered by the browser's developers.
Couple who conned Amazon out of $1.2 million in tech goods get jail time
An Indianapolis couple who stole more than $1 million worth of tech goods from Amazon have each been given almost six years' jail time, while an accomplice received two years. Officials said the stolen items included GoPro cameras, Xboxes, Samsung smartwatches, and Surface tablets.
Amazon takes on the grocery store with Prime Pantry
Rather than a flat rate, Amazon is turning Prime Pantry into yet another monthly service subscription. If you want to take advantage of Prime Pantry, you'll pay $5 each month for unlimited deliveries and free shipping on orders over $40. If you don't hit that $40 minimum, you'll have to pay $2 extra.
Plan group trips without annoying group texts with Kayak Trip Huddle
Do you find planning a group vacation stressful? Kayak just launched an online tool that helps groups of travelers narrow down their options, including destinations, dates, and accommodations. Instead of annoying group texts, Kayak Trip Huddle asks users to vote on the different options.
Facebook’s revenge porn prevention tool now includes human review
Facebook is looking to help block revenge porn uploads before they can be shared, by asking users to pre-emptively upload their images. After initial testing, Facebook is expanding the tool by announcing more countries in the test and using specially trained review staff to examine the reports.
Tread carefully if you return a lot of products to Amazon
Amazon uses software to highlight suspicious activity on its enormous shopping site, but sometimes it takes action based on the data. A news report this week highlights how a number of customers have had their accounts shut down without warning, apparently for having returned too many items.
Virginia, North Carolina could be tech hub as Amazon, Apple consider campuses
Apple and Amazon are both said to be considering new facilities in North Virginia to expand their operations. Amazon's second headquarters would house some 50,000 employees, while Apple's would house 20,000. However, Apple is also considering North Carolina, especially if tax incentives are right.
Another Facebook privacy scandal — 3 million users’ data exposed by quiz
A new Facebook data leak has been revealed where some three million people have had their personal information and answers to a personality quiz left relatively unsecured on a third-party website, despite supposed protections in place to restrict access to the data to approved research partners only.
YouTube will now tell you to ‘take a break’ from endless viewing
If your YouTube sessions often run from minutes into hours without you realizing, the app now has a way to set up an alert telling you to take a break. The opt-in feature lets you choose how long before you receive the alert, though it doesn't block access, so you'll still have to use all your willpower to stop.
Malware attack hits Chili’s restaurants, customer payment info nabbed
Recent visitors to Chili's restaurants may have had their payment information stolen. The company says the payment systems at "some" of its restaurants were compromised by malware in March and April. The breach came to light on May 11, with the restaurant chain making it public a day later.
Cryptojacking hackers infected 400 major websites with stealth miners
Coinhive's javascript cryptocurrency miners have been found installed on more than 400 websites that contained a vulnerability in the Drupal content management system. The cryptojackers behind it have made off with heaps of cryptocurrency off of the backs of unwitting website owners and visitors.
Google Pay arrives on desktops — and it lets you choose your browser
Google has expanded support for Google Pay to desktop browsers including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, as well as making it compatible with iOS. This will give the existing 100 million users a wider range of platforms to use the quick-pay service on, and could exponentially increase the number of users.
Facebook F8 2018 Keynote recap: Everything Zuckerberg and co. announced
The Facebook F8 developers conference has officially begun! While the conference is meant primarily for developers, the keynote often gives us a good idea of what to expect from Facebook in the coming months and years. Here's everything we learned from the 2018 Facebook F8 Keynote address.
Russia’s attempt to block Telegram crashes the country’s internet
After prevailing in court against secure encrypted messaging service Telegram, Russian regulators and security officials found that trying to ban something on the internet is easier said than done. The attempted ban interrupted service across the country -- and it may be a precursor of things to come.
YouTube removed 8M videos in 3 months, and machines did most of the work
Anyone can upload anything to YouTube, but the company's computers are getting better at fishing out objectionable content. On Monday, April 23, YouTube revealed that it removed 8.3 million videos in the last three months of 2017, with its machine-based systems doing the majority of this work.
Logging in with Facebook may let Javascript trackers steal personal data
Another scandal has hit Facebook's data privacy reputation, with a new discovery highlighting how third-party Javascript trackers can scrape information from Facebook profiles when users login to sites using the Facebook sign-in API for authentication purposes, potentially revealing personal information.
Amazon reveals there are over 100 million Prime members
Amazon has always been rather vague when it comes to the issue of how many people pay for Prime. But CEO Jeff Bezos has just revealed the figure — 100 million globally — in a letter to shareholders. Bezos added that in 2017, more new members joined Prime than in any previous year, both worldwide and in the U.S.
Be our guest: Wire now lets customers communicate securely with their clients
Secure messaging service Wire has gained a new feature -- the ability for customers with accounts to communicate with clients without accounts. Not only that, communications are still safe and secure in these so-called guest rooms, and things like file sharing and video calling are still supported.
Google Chrome Canary update adds new quick-access emoji menu
Google has added a new emoji menu to its Chrome browser in the latest Canary release, making it easier to show your emotion in text boxes online.
Infected online chat service stole payment info at Best Buy, Delta, Sears, more
A number of companies are reporting that a chat client service used on their websites was found infected with malware and stole payment info.
Google is ending its URL shortening service goo.gl
Google is discontinuing its goo.gl URL shortening service, the company said Friday, to shift the focus towards Firebase Dynamic Links -- smart links meant to allow developers to redirect users to any location on a web page or within a mobile app.
Help us, our sides have split: The best 2018 April Fools Day gags
That's right, it's April Fools Day, and that means you need to be careful out there on the internet, because nothing is as it seems. Here are the best jokes we've laughed our way through this year.
Facebook isn’t the only one watching. Protect your privacy with these 5 apps
Facebook is currently feeling the heat for gathering data on its users. But it's far from alone. Here are five ways to strike back.
YouTube could bring its picture-in-picture feature to desktop soon
YouTube's picture-in-picture functionality is already available for mobile and for Safari on MacOS, but now YouTube is testing it for all desktop platforms and browsers.
Airbnb’s new filters aim to improve searches for guests with disabilities
Airbnb has added accessibility filters to its website to improve the search experience for guests with disabilities who are looking for somewhere to stay.
A year on, ‘BBC Dad’ reflects on internet stardom and life since ‘that’ video
It was a year ago when a chaotic BBC interview turned Robert Kelly and his family into overnight stars. So, how's life been since?
Googling your fave musician will soon surface personal posts in search results
Search Google for information on your favorite musician and the results should soon be a lot more personal with new Twitter-like posts from the artist.
Capital One’s virtual assistant Eno helps you shop online safely
Capital One is looking to make online shopping a bit safer, and it's leveraging its smart assistant Eno to do so.
Congress is looking to bring fiber internet to you faster with the Dig Once bill
Almost a decade after Representative Anna Eshoo of California submitted the so-called "Dig Once" legislation, the bill was passed by the House.
First sheep, then cats, and now Google Street View offers a dog’s perspective
If you're a fan of dogs, Japan, and Street View, then the latest imagery to hit Google's online service is sure to delight.
eBay now has an ‘under $10’ section for bargain hunters, just like Amazon
Ecommerce giant eBay has launched a new section on its site offering lots of new items for $10 or less. Amazon did the very same thing in January.