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If you use Adobe Acrobat DC and you’re on a Mac, you should update your software right now, because Adobe just pushed out a patch that fixes three critical vulnerabilities. In its most recent update (version 20.009.20063), Adobe addressed a security issue that allowed local users to exploit Adobe Acrobat DC to gain root access…
As many of us are sheltering in place or social distancing right now, our ways of connecting with friends and family have been severely limited. One way we’re still able to connect with others, regardless of their physical distance from us, is watching a movie together on the same streaming service. But if you’ve found…
One of Richard Burr’s chief responsibilities in the Senate was to provide oversight of the FBI’s intelligence operations. But he often instead served as an advocate in its never-ending quest for greater authority. In many ways, he worked to undermine the importance of the Fourth Amendment, offering up Americans’ digital privacy as a sacrifice in…
Despite its promises to cut ties with the data generated by underage users on its platform, TikTok continues to be a privacy-violating nightmare—especially for kids. That’s according to a complaint filed to the FTC by more than a dozen consumer advocacy groups focused on tech privacy and consumer rights. The complaint alleges that the short-form…
An international operation led by Spanish authorities has arrested 18 members of a drug gang in Spain, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and Colombia that allegedly smuggled cocaine by embedding it in cardboard. Per the Guardian, cops say the investigation was focused on a criminal going by the moniker “the Surgeon” (identified by the Local ES as…
In May 2019, President Trump issued an executive order that banned a number of foreign companies, including Huawei, from using U.S.-made tech in their devices. This week, Trump extended that order, effectively banning Huawei from sourcing components from U.S. companies like Google for another year. Trump’s original invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act…
Dell really wants you to choose its Alienware Area-51m over a high-end desktop. The company has called it a “desktop replacement” since the model’s inception, and not without reason: in addition to upgrading your memory and storage, you have the option to upgrade your CPU and GPU too. You can still do that with the…
Maybe I’m alone here, but almost two months later, I’m still thinking abouta truly haunting tweet from America’s favorite unlicensed counselor, Dr. Phil McGraw. If you’ve forgotten it—as I have tried to, repeatedly, with no success—the tweet simply stated, “BIG KNIFE! SMALL WIFE!” The overly white smile, the single contorted glove, the morsel of food…
Have you been laid off or furloughed? Are you a frontline worker dealing with new stresses or irresponsible management? Is working (or not working) from home starting to take a psychological toll? Submit a story using this Google form or send me an email with the subject line “My Covid Story” and provide as much detail…
As impressive as Spider-Man’s abilities are, there’s not much that a superhero who shoots webs from his wrists can do to combat covid-19. But what if you upgraded Spidey’s web-slingers with virus-killing hand sanitizer instead? That’s the idea behind the wrist-worn PumPiX blaster. Everyone is getting anxious for life to return to normal in the…
On top of being laid off or furloughed, hordes of people have had to figure out how to send a fax while on lockdown. According to Google Trends, in the last month, online searches for versions of “how to send a fax online” have skyrocketed as people turn to an untested ecosystem of online services…
The nation of France has approved a new law that will force tech giants to delete terrorism and pedophilia-related content from sites in as little as an hour or be exposed to fines that could total up to four percent of global revenue, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Under the law, which also set up a…
Whether you love them or hate them (or think they won’t work), authorities around the world have universally embraced the concept of contact-tracing tech in order to curb the coronavirus’s spread. In practice, however, these apps have fallen short of a lot of our expectations, with many turning out to be more invasive than any of…
Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh once said he hoped Google would be “selling products in high volumes in five years.” That was three years ago. After disappointing sales of the Pixel 4 and a recent shakeup within the Pixel team’s management, Google’s aspirations to become a major player in the hardware space may have just…
Like many people, I live in an apartment. I don’t really know how old my building is, but it must be kind of old: it has a dark and dirty basement, the ceiling has cracks in it, and there are a few exposed metal pipes. As you can probably imagine, my old apartment makes a…
A bipartisan amendment that would have prohibited law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, from obtaining the web browsing and internet search histories of Americans without a warrant failed to pass in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday by a single vote. Twenty-seven Republicans and 10 Democrats voted against the amendment to H.R. 6172, which will…
Several months into a global pandemic, Uber is finally adding mandatory face covering to its policies. As announced during a webinar Wednesday afternoon, next week Uber will roll out a spate of features intent on prioritizing health during what the company repeatedly described as “the new normal.” Among those features will be a modified version…
YouTube Music was supposed to be the successor to Google Play Music, when it launched in 2018, but it lacked a number of core features, including the ability to transfer your music library over from Google’s previous music streaming app. Now, ahead of Google Play Music’s impending death sometime later this year, Google has finally…
Reminding us that things can always be worse, YouTube’s Foone Turing has created a keyboard that is based around a floppy drive and a stack of floppy disks that somehow looks even more frustrating to use than Apple’s much-maligned butterfly keyboards. Instead of keys laid out in an obscure QWERTY arrangement that dates back to…
As of today, there are over 4.2 million cases of covid-19 identified globally, and at least 292,376 deaths. The U.S. has been the hardest-hit country, with over 1.3 million cases and 82,389 deaths. Despite that fact, many states are deciding to “reopen” their economies this month. But sadly, some U.S. states are dealing with more…
