Facebook removes hundreds of pages and groups in Indonesia

Following the takedown of hundreds of pages and groups linked to Iran on Thursday, Facebook has continued its cull in Indonesia.

The social media giant has been targeting "coordinated inauthentic behavior" on the platform, announcing on Thursday the removal of accounts, pages, and groups linked to the Saracen Group.

SEE ALSO: Some Facebook employees considered quitting over Apple mess

Described as a "fake news syndicate," the Saracen Group has been under the spotlight for its smear campaigns against Indonesian politicians and other people. 

According to The Straits Times, the syndicate reportedly charged $5,600 for a customised fake news article, which would then be disseminated to its hundreds of thousands of followers. Read more...

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Some Facebook employees considered quitting over Apple mess

Facebook's questionable research tactics has led Apple to remind them who's boss.

After TechCrunch revealed Facebook misused Apple's Enterprise Developer Certificate program to spy on consumer phone and web activity through its "Research" app, Apple pulled the plug.

SEE ALSO: Facebook is making more money than ever because nothing matters

Facebook relies on Apple's program to run internal apps on iOS devices, from simple things like bus schedules to communication tools like Workplace and Messenger.

That led to plenty of frustration within Facebook's workplace, as employees were unable to get work done due to the shutdown, as reported in the New York Times. Read more...

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Facebook isn't sorry about its shady 'research' app

Facebook may have just been caught spying on teens' phones under the guise of "market research," but the company isn't about to apologize for it.

In a company memo published by Business insider, Facebook's VP of Production, Engineering, and Security Pedro Canahuati, attempts to explain the company's ongoing drama with Apple that resulted from news of its "research" app being made public.

SEE ALSO: 'F*ck ethics. Money is everything': Facebook employees react to scandal on gossip app

Apple earlier revoked Facebook's Enterprise Certificate, which allows companies to distribute apps internally outside of its App Store. Thousands of Facebook employees rely on these apps for day-to-day work. On Thursday, Apple granted Facebook a new Enterprise Certificate, but the company now has to rebuild "a few dozen" apps, as Canahuat explained in his memo to employees. Read more...

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Apple has now broken all of Google’s internal iOS apps

Google is joining Facebook in iOS hell.

Apple has now revoked Google’s Enterprise Certificate, breaking all of the search engine’s internal apps, according to The Verge.

A source familiar with the situation informed the news outlet that pre-release beta versions of Google’s iOS apps have stopped working as of Thursday.

These apps include new builds of Gmail, Google Maps, and Hangouts. Apps meant for internal company use, such as the search engine’s cafe app and Gbus transportation app have also ceased working.

“We’re working with Apple to fix a temporary disruption to some of our corporate iOS apps, which we expect will be resolved soon,” said a Google spokesperson in a statement provided to Mashable. Read more...

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Massive AirPods Upgrade?

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Facebook removed hundreds of accounts and pages linked to Iran

Facebook has removed nearly 800 fake accounts, pages and groups its security researchers say were linked to Iran.

The accounts, which were in many cases made to look like local news organizations, engaged in "coordinated inauthentic behavior," according to Facebook and had accumulated more than 2 million followers and hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram.

SEE ALSO: 50 percent of Facebook users could be fake, report claims

As with previous mass takedowns tied to Iran, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, was quick to caution that though the accounts originated in Iran, the company hasn't been able to definitively say whether or not it was part of a state sponsored campaign. Read more...

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Casper's new Glow light lulls you asleep

It uses gradually dimming warm light to help you fall asleep naturally. Read more...

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Mowing your lawn could be easier than ever with this little robot

iRobot, the people who brought you the Roomba, are here again to solve another first-world problem - mowing the lawn. Their newest robot, Terra, can mow your green nice n' easily after a pretty simple setup. If you're in the U.S. though, you're' going to have to wait a bit because its launching in Germany first. However, there will be a beta run sometime in 2019, so keep your eyes peeled. Read more...

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Hulu will soon show ads when you pause a video

Twitter suspends thousands of accounts for potential ties to 'foreign information operations'

The work of a Twitter moderator is never done, it seems. 

The social media company announced Jan. 31 the suspension of thousands of accounts it believes were tied to "foreign information operations." And, this time around, it's not just Russia's Internet Research Agency that's getting a call out. The newly discovered accounts in question, according to Twitter, are believed to have originated in Iran, Venezuela, and yeah OK definitely still Russia. 

SEE ALSO: Facebook's board says Zuckerberg was too slow to spot Russian interference

And, because Twitter wants to make the content posted by the suspended accounts available to researchers and the public, the company has added it all to a downloadable archive.  Read more...

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Now Puma has self-lacing sneakers, too

The task we learned in kindergarten is apparently too dang hard.

Puma debuted its latest smartphone-connected self-lacing shoe called Fit Intelligence, or, "Fi," giving Nike's Adapt BB sneakers a run for their money. Puma released its first generation self-lacing shoes in 2016. But it says that the new Fi is powered by a "state of the art technology platform" that will allow your shoes to, uh, fit really well. 

SEE ALSO: Puma is reissuing a 1986 fitness-tracking 'smart shoe'

Fi will apparently power other smart footwear products. Smart laces are — *gazes off into the cosmos* — just the beginning. Read more...

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Go hands-free with a Google Home Mini from Walmart for $29, or double the fun with a 2-pack for $50

Are you one of the last holdouts to put a smart speaker in your home? If so, it's time for you to join the rest of us in 21st century convenience (or laziness if you prefer) and save $20 on a Google Home Mini.

At Walmart you have the option to get a single Google Home Mini on sale for $29.99, or you can purchase a 2-pack for only $50. The 2-pack is only available in chalk, but the single Home Mini comes with four different color options. Plus, the single Home Mini includes a 14-day free trial of YouTube Music Premium, so you can stream the latest tunes from Wheatus or the other hot bands of today with voice-commands.  Read more...

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The 4 best VPNs for unlocking US Amazon Prime Video content from the UK

Amazon Prime Video is an increasingly popular on-demand streaming service that hosts thousands of popular movies, TV shows, and award-winning Prime Originals. In case you don't have all the facts memorised, allow us to explain. 

Let's start with the basicsAmazon Prime costs £79 a year in the UK and offers one-day delivery, music, and Amazon Prime Video. You can pay for the whole package in one lump sum or pay monthly instead at a cost of £7.99 a month, which comes to £95.88 each year. 

You can get a 30-day free Amazon Prime trial if you are a new customer, which lets you get a taste of all the benefits before you commit. You can cancel the trial when it comes to an end or you can continue Prime membership at full price. The choice is yours. Read more...

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What would make you trust an AI assistant? How about a face?

Interacting with AI is fast becoming the norm, thanks to the ubiquity of Siri, Alexa, and the Google Assistant.

My morning routine starts by using the "Okay, Google" command to ask my smartphone for the latest news, and it responds with the BBC Radio 4 bulletin. During my work day, 80 percent of my searches are conducted by voice on my HP Chromebook, and I end the day with a "Goodnight, Google," which triggers a runtime routine that reads tomorrow's schedule, tells me the weather, sets my alarm for 5 a.m., and plays 60 minutes of wind-down forest sounds.

But would these interactions be more meaningful if the Google Assistant had a face? Mark Stephen Meadows thinks so. He's the founder and CEO of Botanic Technologies, and has spent 20 years working in AI, including stints at Siri creator SRI International and Xerox PARC. Read more...

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Fake news sites are simply changing their domain name to get around Facebook fact-checkers

Facebook has been cracking down on the fake news that gets shared on its platform. One problem: one of the biggest fake news websites has found a workaround.

In order to avoid Facebook’s fact checking system, the site formerly known as YourNewsWire, one of the most well-known purveyors of fake news online, has simply rebranded. The site now goes by News Punch and posts fake news content similar to what it published under their former name, according to a report by Poynter. 

YourNewsWire co-founders Sinclair Treadway and Sean Adl-Tabatabai, who reside in California, founded the site in 2014. The two completely migrated the website from the “yournewswire.com” domain name to “newspunch.com” in November 2018. Treadway told Bloomberg at the time that they move was made due to declining revenue thanks to Facebook’s fact-checking system. Under this program, fact-checking outlets like Snopes are able to mark content posted on Facebook as false, which in turn decreases the site’s reach on Facebook. Read more...

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China will stop at nothing to steal information from Apple's secret self-driving car project

Few people outside of Apple really know what the end goal of its top secret "Project Titan" car development project is. 

Is Apple building a Tesla killer? Just further developing CarPlay? Experimenting with autonomous driving technologies and sensors? One thing we do know: Chinese auto companies really want to steal any information from Project Titan.

According to NBC News Bay Area, the FBI arrested a Chinese national accused of stealing Project Titan trade secrets. Jizhong Chen was arrested prior to flying to China after another Apple employee caught him photographing Apple-classified information. Read more...

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Be the first to know about the new Samsung Galaxy and you could win a £1,000 Currys PC World giftcard

All eyes are on Samsung, because rumours are building that something exciting is on its way from  Seoul. 

Some things are top secret, so there's been no official announcement from Samsung yet, but even though things are quiet, some whispers still make it through. 

So what exactly is going on? Well we're expecting the next Samsung Galaxy flagship handset to be released soon. That's massive news and if you are a fan of the Galaxy you'll naturally want to be kept abreast of any developments.

One of the best ways to keep up to date with the latest Samsung handset news is by registering with Carphone Warehouse. It's really easy, only takes a minute, and you'll be in with a chance of winning a £1,000 Currys PC World giftcard. This promotion closes on Feb. 19 so you have a little time to register, but don't leave it too late. Read more...

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2018 was the 'worst year ever' for smartphone shipments

2018 was "the worst year ever for smartphone shipments," according to the research firm IDC.

Total shipments fell by 4.1 percent compared to 2017, as both Apple and Samsung struggled to drum up strong sales for their products, IDC reported on Wednesday. (The year before, annual growth in the smartphone sector was pretty much flat.)

"Globally the smartphone market is a mess right now," IDC analyst Ryan Reith said in a statement. "Outside of a handful of high-growth markets like India, Indonesia, Korea, and Vietnam, we did not see a lot of positive activity in 2018."

So why the shipment drop? According to IDC, people are holding off upgrading to the newest phones like they used to. Many consumers also have gripes with the rising prices. Read more...

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