Popsugar's Twinning app was leaking your photo, even if you didn't share it

If you spent anytime on the internet this holiday season, you likely saw friends and family sharing a photo matching their face with their celebrity look-alike. If they didn’t share the photo, it very likely was made publicly available anyway.

The Twinning app created by Popsugar has been inadvertently making the photos uploaded by its users publicly available via an unsecured web address where the pics were stored. 

TechCrunch discovered the data leak on Monday when it noticed an Amazon Web Services storage bucket URL in the source code of the Popsugar Twinning web app. A real-time photo stream of users uploading pics to the app was viewable when opening the AWS address in a web browser.  Read more...

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We used Boring’s Not-A-Flamethrower to burn away the worst of 2018

As 2018 comes to a close, it’s hard not to look back at the year with some bitterness.

Okay, okay, 2018 wasn't complete trash for everyone. But for all the highs, there were an equal amount (if not more) lows that made the year kind of suck.

We're not here to be a Debbie Downer and dredge up all the bad moments 2018 threw at us, so instead we're using this very last day of the year to cleanse the past and ring in 2019 in Mashable style: by burning it all away 🔥.

Armed with our new little friend, the Boring Not-A-Flamethrower, we torched some of the year's worst times — trends and products that rightfully deserved to be incinerated. Read more...

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The Most Crazy Expensive Phones of 2018

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NYPD surveillance drone will fly above Times Square on New Year’s Eve

It's a bird, it's a plane — it's a...surveillance drone?

For the first time in history, the New York Police Department will fly a drone over Times Square to monitor the crowd during the annual New Year’s Eve celebration. The drone will surveil the event alongside more than 1,200 cameras in order to assist around 7,000 police officers who will be on duty, according to the Associated Press.

The remote-controlled quadcopter will never fly directly over the crowd and will be tied to a building in an enclosed area as a safety precaution.

The NYPD will also be deploying technology that prevents unauthorized drone usage during the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square. Read more...

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Here's how to get a Lyft discount on New Year's Eve

New Year's is always a mess. It starts with such high expectations and then the ball drops, it's midnight, and you have no way to get home without spending a small fortune on a hard-to-find taxi or surging ride-hailing trips.

While it's near impossible to avoid a costly ride home soon after midnight or right when the bars and parties shut down, you have some cost-saving options.

SEE ALSO: Uber and Lyft IPOs will make a lot of people rich. But what about the drivers?

First the obvious: If you haven't downloaded the Lyft or Uber apps yet, you've got up to $20 of free rides waiting for you. But for the majority of us partygoers, those are well-used apps. So in several big cities across the U.S., Lyft is offering some discounts. Read more...

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Research: Some Android apps share your data with Facebook without consent

A worrying number of popular Android apps share user data with Facebook without user consent, new research from Privacy International shows (via Financial Times). 

Here's the worst part: Staying off Facebook doesn't protect you from this.  

SEE ALSO: Veteran tech journalist Walt Mossberg quits Facebook, because yeah

Privacy International, a London-based charity that focuses on improving people's personal privacy, examined 34 popular Android apps, each installed from 10 to 500 million times, between August and December 2018.

All of these apps share data with Facebook through its SDK (software development kit), which is fine if the users have in some way consented to this. But the organization intercepted data as it was sent (using a freely available, open-source tool) and found that at least 20 of these apps (roughly 61 percent) "automatically transfer data to Facebook the moment a user opens the app." Read more...

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7 of the best computer speakers to give your audio a boost

Computer and home theater setups have at least one thing in common: The out-of-the-box speakers that come with both are just not that good. 

Thankfully, there are plenty of speaker setups to choose from to give your computer's audio that extra punch. And better yet, it doesn't just have to be for a desktop.

It should be noted that the best quality speakers are typically going to be for a traditional desk setup rather than a laptop. The right speakers will deliver booming audio, and might even allow for a surround-sound setup, which makes everything better.

SEE ALSO: 10 of the best laptops for Windows 10 Read more...

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Apple Watch, MacBook Pro, Bose, Google Home, KitchenAid, Instant Pot, Keurig, and more on sale for Dec. 31

Well, you did it. You made it through 2018. And whether you're a bit battered and bruised or had your best year ever, there's no denying that 2019 is swiftly rolling in.

Start the new year off right: With big savings. We're rounding up the best deals from Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Macy's, and more on tech like smart home devices and 4K TVs, kitchen products like Instant Pot's multi-cookers, and Amazon video streaming and home security devices. 

In addition, we also found great deals on Udemy online courses starting at just $9.99. If your New Year's resolution involves learning something new and exciting, Udemy has amazing online courses on web design, animation, and more.  Read more...

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11 home products on sale that'll give your space a glow-up 2019

Getting in shape? Eating healthier? Psh. As 2019 rounds the bend, make a New Year's resolution you can actually stick to — like giving your home a much-needed makeover. 

We weren't able to track down Ty Pennington on your behalf, unfortunately, but we've done the next best thing: rounded up a list of 11 awesome, on-sale products that make it easy to revitalize one's space. Plus, you can combine them with another popular New Year's resolution — saving money — by entering the code NEWYEAR2019 at checkout and score an additional 19% off.

1. 6-Piece Bibb Home Cotton Towel Set 

Bring the luxury of a spa to your bathroom with these ultra-soft, ultra-absorbable, and ultra-durable two-ply cotton towels. Each set comes with two bath towels, two hand towels, and two washcloths, and comes in your choice of three shades: silver, coral, and white. Read more...

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Malware attack affects publishing of major U.S. newspapers

A suspected malware attack affected major U.S. newspapers over the weekend.

In what was initially thought to be a server outage, the attack delayed distribution of Saturday's Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, according to the Times. 

SEE ALSO: Hacker uses internet meme to send hidden commands to malware

On Saturday afternoon, the company suspected that the attack had originated from outside of the U.S., but didn't reveal any further detail about its origins or what evidence led to the belief it came from overseas.

"We believe the intention of the attack was to disable infrastructure, more specifically servers, as opposed to looking to steal information," a source told the Times. Read more...

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Microsoft's prediction of 2019 ten years ago is just a bit off

Predictions of the future are rarely accurate, but Microsoft's vision of what its technology would look it 2019 would be like is pretty off the mark.

The promotional video originally launched in 2009 was unearthed on reddit recently, where translucent, ultra-thin screens and interactive newspapers, slick (albeit dated looking) graphics are part of everyday life.

There are handful of things in the video that have become reality, not necessarily all by Microsoft though, like the foldable phone, augmented reality, gesture controls, but these technologies aren't as slick as the tech giant envisaged them to be by now. Read more...

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4 free sites for creating your own comics

In the days of cold, hard newsprint, only people who could draw were successful comic strip authors. In some cases, this resulted in comic strips that had very nice pictures, but weren't all that funny (cough, Blondie). Thankfully, the internet has taught us not to accept an inferior form of comic artistry, but a more flexible one.

Comic strip enthusiasts who want funny but don't care about pretty drawing can have their strips, those who want artistry have theirs, and even those with very specific tastes can find something just right.

The best part about these developments is that they allow you, regardless of any talent as an artist or comedian, to create your very own comic strip. Depending on what you're going for, you can use one of these four sites to help you do it. Read more...

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5 surefire ways to find the name of that song

Shop these online courses on sale and learn something new in 2019

New year, new me — or so you say every year.

But is it really a "new you" if you're stuck in your old ways? Would you consider yourself evolved if you're not learning something different? Eh, we don't think so.

Take this fresh chapter as an excuse to pick up a new skill (or two). The Mashable Shop is currently offering deals on online courses that will help you level up. We're even throwing an additional discount to get you more motivated. Make sure to use the code NEWYEAR2019 at checkout to enjoy an additional 19% off.

eLearnExcel Microsoft Excel Mastery School — $31.59 ($999 value)

It's high time that you actually learn what to do with spreadsheets instead of just staring at those little rectangles until your eyes turn white. This course will make an Excel master out of you by training you to data crunch, create reports, analyze data values, and more. Read more...

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9 great reads from CNET this week - CNET

We review the fight to renew net neutrality, ponder the good news in space and turn back time with Cher.

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9 great reads from CNET this week - CNET

We review the fight to renew net neutrality, ponder the good news in space and turn back time with Cher.

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These wireless earbuds obliterated their Indiegogo goal, and now they're on sale

Hear that? That's the sound of 2018 drawing its last breaths — a noise that would be more than welcome if it wasn't messing with the sound quality of the bop to which you're currently listening.

Enter: AXUM Gear True Wireless Earbuds, on sale now in the Mashable Shop.

As a pair of headphones that can please both gym rats and audiophiles, these cordless earbuds are both durable — clinging to you with an adjustable hook that won't falter during movement — and euphonious. Each pair includes an omnidirectional microphone that eliminates distracting background noises, as well as a portable charging case with enough juice to energize the buds six times.  Read more...

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'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' doesn't work on Apple TV and users are furious

It may be a groundbreaking high-tech piece of TV entertainment, but the interactive Black Mirror movie Bandersnatch is off limits if you happen to be using the highest-rated high-tech TV setup.

That would be the Apple TV, the 4K model of which we recently rated not only the most essential set-top box but also the most ahead-of-the-pack product Apple currently makes. (Many users agreed.) 

SEE ALSO: 'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' marks the dawn of a new era in television

Bandersnatch is also unavailable on Google's Chromecast and Amazon's Fire Stick. Try to watch it on these platforms and what you'll get instead of the two-plus hour storyline is a 2-minute supercut of Black Mirror characters from other episodes saying "sorry." And if you thought you could stream it from other devices to these set-top boxes: Sorry, that won't work either.  Read more...

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Elon Musk's Twitter in 2018: Lawsuits, dank memes, and 'funding secured'

What better way to really understand Elon Musk's year as Tesla CEO than to look back at his Twitter. It's been a bumpy and very busy year for the electric car executive. He went from the depths of despair to turning a profit for Tesla for the first time — with a few lawsuits and scathing news reports thrown in for good measure. He even took a few puffs of marijuana on a podcast.

His most famous tweet of 2018? 

Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

That led to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit and possible criminal investigation. In his settlement (which cost him $20 million and Tesla another $20 million), he was removed as chairman of the board and his tweeting is now under close watch. That didn't stop him from taunting the SEC. He remains CEO of Tesla. Read more...

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Here’s why the New York City sky turned bright blue last night

A huge blue light flashed brightly over over the New York City skyline late Thursday night. New Yorkers filled social media with photos and videos of the phenomenon, which appeared to be centered over the borough of Queens. In short, people freaked out.

Con Edison quickly put everyone’s alien-conspiracy theories to bed. The utility company tweeted that what New Yorkers were seeing was the effect of a brief electrical fire that broke out at a substation in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. 

There was a brief electrical fire at our substation on 20th Avenue & 32nd Street in Astoria this evening, which caused a transmission dip in the area. All power lines serving the area are in service and the system is stable. Photo: Michael Friedl, New York Times pic.twitter.com/vq2Ao46rhk

— Con Edison (@ConEdison) December 28, 2018 Read more...

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