Millions in cryptocurrencies frozen after Canadian founder's death

Quadriga has 363,000 registered users and owes C$250 million to affected users, says an affidavit. http://bit.ly/2BjCbgi https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Jamf Now and Pro simplify Apple MDM for businesses of all sizes

Jamf's Now and Pro platforms make it easier to deploy and administer Apple phones, tablets, and computers. Here's how the two mobile device management solutions work. https://tek.io/2GcmMCy https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Learning a programming language? These are the most in-demand tech jobs and skills of 2019

The number of job postings seeking software developers in January 2019 rose 59% year-on-year to 79,900. https://tek.io/2MQQwoL https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Windows Update problems: Fixed now but here's what went wrong, says Microsoft

Microsoft says Windows Update DNS outage is fixed and things should return to normal for all customers soon. https://tek.io/2TvVWrW https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Oppo K1 with Snapdragon 660, in-display fingerprint sensor launched in India: Price, launch offers and all you need to know

Highlights: Oppo K1 launched in India. The smartphone runs on Snapdragon 660 SoC.  It goes on sale via Flipkart from February 12. Oppo has launched its first K series handset in India, the Oppo K1. As the device was already launched in China, we know the specifications it comes with. The company today revealed that it will be available in India from February 12 via Flipkart and it is said to be the first phone under the Rs 20,000 range to feature an in-display fingerprint sensor. Highlights of the device include a 25MP front-facing camera that comes with AI-enabled features like Beauty mode and the display, which sports a waterdrop notch design. Oppo K1 Specifications The Oppo K1 comes equipped with a 6.4-inch Full HD+ 19.5:9 AMOLED display and is said to have a 91 percent screen-to-body ratio. The screen is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and has a fingerprint sensor embedded below. The handset runs on the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor that can reach clock speeds of up to 2.2GHz. While the phone comes in 4GB and 6GB RAM variants in China, the company has launched only the 4GB RAM/64GB storage version in India. The phone's storage can be further expanded up to 256GB via a microSD card.  In terms of optics, the Oppo K1 is equipped with a 16MP primary sensor and a 2MP secondary sensor on the back, assisted by an LED flash. The primary camera on the back is equipped with a Sony IMX 398 sensor. On the front, it comes with a 25MP selfie camera. The phone is backed by a 3600mAh battery and runs on the company's Color OS 5.2 skin, which runs on top of Android 8.1 Oreo.   Oppo K1 Price, Launch Offers and Availability   The Oppo K1 comes with 4GB RAM + 64GB of storage in India and is priced at Rs 16,990. It will be available via Flipkart at 12 PM from February 12. It comes in Piano Black and Astral Blue colour variants.  For launch offers, the company will be offering a 3 and 6 month no-cost EMIon the device. On the launch day, one can also avail 10 percent discount by using Citi bank credit or debit card to pay for the phone. There will also be the Flipkart's Complete Mobile Protection offer with the phone, along with a buyback guarantee at Rs 1. As per Flipkart, one can get up to 90 percent buyback of the device's value when they upgrade to another Oppo device within eight months.   Related Reads: Oppo K1 with in-display fingerprint sensor launching in India on February 6 Oppo Find Z spotted on European IP filings, could be company's next 5G flagship with Snapdragon 855 Oppo may soon launch F11, F11 Pro and R17 Neo phones in India: Report http://bit.ly/2DVgx3w

Googles new Password Checkup Chrome extension brings HaveIBeenPwned-like service to your browser

Highlights: Password Checkup alerts users to change their passwords in case of a breach Google says it does not get users' account details through the extension Password Checkup was launched to mark Safer Internet Day   Password security on the internet is crucial in today’s world, where data breaches have become almost a daily occurance. When huge troves of personal user data from a website or an online database leaks, it is usually accompanied by unique combinations of usernames and passwords of millions of people. In many cases, these data leaks are found out by security researchers, who then make their discoveries public and inform affected users to change their credentials. Google is one such company that possesses information of over 4 billion credentials that have been compromised in various security breaches around the world. To address the issue, the company aptly announced its Password Checkup Chrome extension to mark Safer Internet Day on February 5. Password Checkup can be downloaded as an extension from the Chrome Web Store and it functions just like HaveIBeenPwned. The service basically matches your login credentials with its database of breached usernames and passwords and alerts you if it finds that your credentials were ever a part of a data leak. In case your credentials are a match, the extension will trigger an automatic warning and suggest that you change your password. Bear in mind that when the Password Checkup extension is up and running on your Chrome browser, Google will be reading your usernames and passwords every time you log into a website. However, the company says that this private information will never be revealed to Google. Stressing on how secure the Password Checkup tool is, Google says that it is designed to withstand hacks and that all statistics reported by the extension are anonymous. “These metrics include the number of lookups that surface an unsafe credential, whether an alert leads to a password change, and the web domain involved for improving site compatibility,” Google explains in a blogpost.    Google further notes that Password Checkup will only send users alerts in case it finds a possible breach of their credentials and will not prompt users to change outdated or weak passwords like “123456”. Coincidentally, “123456” topped the list of the weakest passwords of 2018 according to SplashData. Google’s approach with Password Checkup is actually a genius way of bringing a HaveIBeenPwned-like service to the browser. The only difference being that HaveIBeenPwned also allows people to check if their email IDs have ever been part of a breach. Given that the website has been doing this a long time, its database of previous breaches is large. Just recently, a massive set of 773 million records were leaked in one of the biggest single data breaches ever to go public. The leak included 2.7 billion rows (2,692,818,238 rows to be exact) of emails and passwords, and the hack was first reported by security expert Troy Hunt who created and runs HaveIBeenPwned. How Password Checkup works To make Password Checkup a secure platform, Google says it uses multiple rounds of hashing, k-anonymity, private information retrieval, and a technique called blinding. When you log into a website, Google sends a strongly hashed and encrypted copy of your account details to its servers, ensuring the company cannot access it since the decryption key is stored on the user's machine. Google then uses blinding and private information retrieval techniques to search the database of unsafe usernames and passwords. The company says that the final check of whether username and password were part of a breach is completely local and on-machine. Since this is a first version of Password Checkup, Google says that it will continue refining the extension over the coming months. http://bit.ly/2MQ4UxG

Google tricked low-paid workers into developing AI for controversial military drones: Report

Highlights: Google reportedly tricked online workers into developing AI for a controversial drone project. The drone project is undertaken by the Pentagon and is called Project Maven. The AI being built helps the system distinguish between objects on the ground.   It appears Google has been using its services to assist more than just its end users. According to a recent report by TheIntercept, Google has been feeding the Pentagon data to help build a controversial drone that can distinguish between certain objects on the ground. The data fed is reportedly the combined effort of millions of workers that Google hired from a company called Figure Eight, which is a machine learning company that "transforms unstructured text, image, audio, and video data into customized high-quality training data" for AI. The workers had no idea they were indirectly contributing to the Pentagon’s drone project. The data collected by Google comes from a working model called human-in-the-loop, where workers online, who earn as little as $1 per hour, help machine learning algorithms distinguish between real-world objects and understand the environment better. The tasks for which Google hired these workers involved labelling objects in satellite images to help AI tell the difference between objects like trees, buildings, vehicles, etc. This data was then reportedly fed to the Pentagon and incorporated into Project Maven, the Department of Defense initiative involving the use of military drones. Project Maven has been at the centre of a controversy for a year now. In April last year, over 3,100 Google employees signed a petition demanding that Google stop assisting the Pentagon with the project. They presented it to the company’s CEO, Sundar Pichai. A couple of months later, Google announced that it would not renew its contract with the government because of “internal pressure”, which meant the contract would end sometime in 2019. The real rub in all of this is that the workers who helped build the AI system were not informed of the Pentagon’s or Google’s plans. They had no idea what they were helping build. “Contributors to the Figure Eight platform are not given who the data will benefit. Usually, they are given a reason for why they are doing a task, like, ‘Draw boxes around a certain product to help machines recognize it,’ but they are not given the company that receives the data,” a former Figure Eight contributor had said in a statement to TechSpot. The online tech publication also reports that it has yet to receive a comment from Google or Figure Eight on the matter. In any case, it seems like a case of foul play by the US government and the American search engine giant. Related Read: Google outlines three actions for better internet safety of netizens http://bit.ly/2DWFA6j

JioPhone 3 with 5-inch touchscreen display, 2GB RAM reportedly launching in June 2019 for Rs 4,500

Highlights: JioPhone 3 reportedly in the works. The JioPhone 3 said to be a smartphone with a 5-inch touch-enabled display. The device could be priced at Rs 4,500. Reliance Jio shook the Indian telecom sector with its low-cost tariffs and additional data. It then went ahead to launch the JioPhone, which was its ‘smart’ feature phone that did quite well since Counterpoint reported that it topped the feature phone and the overall handset market in the country, in 2018. Later came the JioPhone 2, which was also a feature phone that packed the same hardware as its predecessor, except for the QWERTY keyboard. Now, a new report suggests that the company will announce the JioPhone 3 in June this year and it could be a smartphone with a large touchscreen display.  JioPhone 3 specifications (rumoured) As per an anonymous Jio executive, the company will be announcing the JioPhone 3 with a 5-inch touchscreen display. The handset is also said to come equipped with 2GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. If this turns out to be true, it will be a considerable jump from the 2.4-inch screen and 4GB storage its predecessors were announced with. Like the older JioPhones, one might get an expandable storage option with the new phone as well.  The JioPhone 3 might also get bumped up optics. It could sport a 5MP camera on the back and a 2MP sensor on the front. There is no information on what OS the upcoming JioPhone 3 might be launched with but with the limited memory of 2GB, it could run on either a full-fledged version of the KaiOS or on Google’s lightweight Android Go OS.  JioPhone 3 expected price and availability  As per the report, if JioPhone 3 does come with the above-mentioned upgrades, it can be expected to cost a lot more than the original JioPhone or the JioPhone 2, which are priced at Rs 1500 and Rs 2,999 respectively. The JioPhone 3 is said to be priced around Rs 4,500, and Jio could again announce an exchange program like it did with the JioPhone 2 so that existing customers of its feature phone can upgrade to the newer version of the handset.  As for the launch date, the JioPhone 3 will reportedly launch in June, with pre-orders commencing in July and sales in August.  Source, Via Related Reads: Jio Phones top feature phone, overall handset Indian market in 2018: Counterpoint Research Reliance Jio announces JioPhone 2 with horizontal display; WhatsApp, YouTube and Monsoon Hungama Offer announced for JioPhone http://bit.ly/2SdJAYZ

Microsoft announces Sport Red Special Edition controller for the Xbox One

Highlights The new controller is priced at $69.99 (Rs 5,000 approx. directly converted) It will be avialable strating march 5. In certain regions it will come with 14-day trial memberships for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Xbox gamers, there us yet another controller for you to desire. Microsoft has announced the Sport Red Special Edition wireless controller for the XBox priced at $69.99 (Rs 5,000 approx. directly converted). The controller will be avialble from March 5. This is the second controller launched by Xbox under the Sports special edition. The first one was launched back in July 2018. The official Xbox Wire reads, “Inspired by the world of active wear and sports lifestyle, the Xbox Wireless Controller – Sport Red Special Edition is the second controller in the Sport Series. This red controller exudes energy–it features metallic red and silver accents on the front of the controller as well as a metallic red D-pad. The red diamond rubberized grips on the back of the controller will increase your comfort during long gaming sessions and help you stay on target. In select regions, this controller comes with 14-day trial memberships for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass”.  A matching Xbox Pro Charging Stand will also be made available from May 1 for $49.99 (Rs 3600 approx. directly converted) for those that want a matching stand for the red controller. Each Xbox Pro Charging Stand includes a battery cover, rechargeable battery, and a 6-foot power cord. The Charging Stand is compatible with all Xbox Wireless Controllers. Microsoft has a good collection of different controllers to suit gamers needs. The company launched its own pro controller called the Xbox Elite controller. The Elite controller came with options for the D-Pad, analogue sticks, trigger locks and custom button pads in the box. All these were user replaceable and adjustable. Apart from the Elite controller, Microsoft has launched various controllers themed alongside popular games launched for the console. One such controller was a limited edition one. This was the PUBG Greaseproof controller. Only 200 of these are available all over the world and as the name suggests, the controller is for those that like to eat fried chicken while fighting for their chicken dinner. Having used the Xbox One S and Xbox One X along with a few controllers made available by the company, we can say that the Xbox One controller is well built, comfortable for long hours of gaming and is durable. The only downside is that the controller still needs 2 AA batteries and investing in an official or third party rechargeable battery kit means spending more money. We hope that with the next console generation, microsoft launches a controller with rechargeable batteries built into the controller.  Also read: Here's how Indian PUBG gamers are streaming their way to the bank 6 games to check out in February 2019 Crackdown 3: Behind the scenes of the Xbox exclusive action-adventure http://bit.ly/2UI87lt

Apple Watch Series 4 Fall Detection feature saves life of Norwegian man

Highlights: 67-year old Norwegian man fell in the bathroom. Fall detection feature saved the man's life by alerting authorities. ECG feature still not available in India. The Apple Watch has continued to evolve since it was launched, from a fashion accessory to a fitness device to now a wrist-worn telephone. However, probably the most important feature to be added to the Apple Watch has been centered around personal safety. With the ECG feature and Fall Detection, the Apple Watch continues to save lives. The newest account comes from NRK that reported that a 67-year old Norwegian person named Toralv Østvang, who says the new Apple Watch Series 4 saved his life. According to Østvang, he took a bad fall in the bathroom, and the Apple Watch Series 4, detecting the fall intimated emergency services. The medical professionals arrived about half an hour after the fall, where they found Østvang unconscious and bleeding. Østvang fractured his face in three places from the fall. The Apple Watch Series 4 comes with a Fall Detection feature which can be set up to alert medical professionals in the event of an emergency. Apple accounted for the eventuality of severe situations, programming the feature to automatically alert medical personnel if the wearer remains immobile for more than 60 seconds. The feature is particularly designed for elderly individuals, who may not be able to help themselves in the event of a fall. This is why the Fall Detection feature is turned off by default for users below the age of 65. The other life-saving feature on the Apple Watch Series 4 that has been making news is the ECG capability of the watch. In December of 2018, a user shared his story of how the ECG app alerted him to the fact that he was experiencing Atrial fibrillation. After taking multiple readings, he visited a doctor, who confirmed that the person was indeed experiencing an a-fib. This incident occurred just a few days after the ECG app was launched. Since the launch of the Apple Watch Series 4, there have been multiple reports of users having been saved by the two new features of the Apple Watch. Unfortunately, the ECG feature requires the approval of a respective country’s Medical board, and hence, the feature is currently only limited to the US. At the time when the Apple Watch Series 4 was launched in India, we were told that the company was working with the Indian Medical Association for the requisite approvals, but refused to give any timeline as to when the feature would launch in India. Related Read:  Apple could be building its own health-focussed chip http://bit.ly/2S9zgku

Specs comparison: Nokia 81 vs Samsung Galaxy A9

The Nokia 8.1 higher-end version with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory has finally launched in India. The phone carries a price tag of Rs 29,999. It has a dual camera setup on the back and a 20MP front shooter for clicking selfies. We are comparing the device with the Samsung Galaxy A9, which also comes around with the same price in India. It is the first device by the company that features a quad camera setup on the back. So, let’s begin with a quick specs comparison to know which device would be the right one to spend money on in terms of specifications.    The Nokia 8.1 features a 6.18-inch display that offers a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy A9 sports a slightly bigger 6.3-inch screen, which comes with a resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels.  When it comes to the processor, the Nokia 8.1 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor, which is paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory. The Samsung Galaxy A9 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, which is coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory that is expandable to up to 512GB via a microSD card.  As far as the cameras are concerned, one of the main highlights of the Galaxy A9 is its quad camera set up on the back as the phone has 24MP + 10MP + 8MP + 5MP rear cameras with a 24MP unit on the front. The Nokia 8.1 has a dual 12MP + 13MP rear cameras with a 20MP sensor at the front.  The Nokia 8.1 6GB variant is now available in India for Rs 29,999, while the Samsung Galaxy A9 is available on Amazon at a discounted price of Rs 33,990. http://bit.ly/2RHtf9H

Oppo K1 with in-display fingerprint sensor headed to India today

Highlights: Oppo K1 to launch today at 12PM. The smartphone sports a waterdrop notch on the display. It features an in-display fingerprint sensor.  Oppo is all set to launch its new K series of phones in India at an event in New Delhi today. The company has been teasing the launch of its Oppo K1 smartphone for some time now and its launch today is slated to commence at 12PM. The smartphone is already available in China and is only making its way to India now. The Oppo K1 features an in-display fingerprint sensor and sports a waterdrop notch on the display. The only thing left to discover is the Oppo K1’s India pricing and the memory/storage configurations. Oppo will be live streaming the launch of the phone via its social media channels, but you can watch it in the video embedded below. Oppo K1 Specifications The Oppo K1 is powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor that can clock speeds of up to 2.2GHz. The phone sells in 4GB and 6GB RAM variants in China. It features a 6.4-inch Full HD+ 19.5:9 display with a 91 percent screen-to-body ratio. The display comes embedded with a fingerprint sensor and as mentioned earlier, it sports a waterdrop notch on the front that houses the front camera. The dual-SIM device comes with 64GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 256GB via a microSD card.  In terms of optics, the Oppo K1 features a 16MP primary sensor and a 2MP secondary sensor on the back, assisted by an LED flash. On the front, it comes with a 25MP selfie sensor. The phone is backed by a 3600mAh battery. Oppo K1 Pricing In China, the Oppo K1 is priced at CNY 1,599 (Rs 16,800 approx) for the 4GB RAM model, while its 6GB RAM option costs CNY 1,799 (Rs 19,000 approx).  The phone sells in in Mocha Red, Silver Green, Van Gogh Blue and Black Jade colour models, but it remains to be seen which ones will be introduced in India. The Oppo K1 is expected to be priced around the same or slightly lower in India.  Related Reads: Oppo K1 with in-display fingerprint sensor launching in India on February 6 Oppo Find Z spotted on European IP filings, could be company's next 5G flagship with Snapdragon 855 Oppo may soon launch F11, F11 Pro and R17 Neo phones in India: Report http://bit.ly/2WK5523

Mozilla to block autoplaying videos with Firefox 66 update

Highlights: Firefox 66 will block automatically playing audible video and audio. The update is slated to be released by March 2019.   One of the most annoying things while browsing the web is landing on a website that blares audio and video at you, out of the blue. To deliver a better browsing experience, Mozilla has announced that in March, its upcoming Firefox 66 for desktop and an update to Firefox for Android will implement the new autoplay blocking feature. With the new update, autoplay videos will automatically be blocked on websites and will only be enabled when a user interacts with the video by clicking on a play button or something similar. However, muted autoplay will still be allowed.  There are some more additions that Mozilla states in its blog post, “Any playback that happens before the user has interacted with a page via a mouse click, printable key press, or touch event, is deemed to be autoplay and will be blocked if it is potentially audible.” Considering that there will be websites like YouTube, Skype or Netflix where a user will not want auto-playing videos to be blocked, there will be an option to disable the autoplay block from an icon in the address bar. Clicking on the icon will grant access to the site's information panel and there will be an “Autoplay sound” permission panel that can be changed from the default setting of “Block” to “Allow”. Firefox will then, by default, allow that site to autoplay audibly. This option will enable users to whitelist sites that they trust to autoplay videos.  Additionally, sites are also being allowed to autoplay with sound enabled if the user has previously enabled camera or microphone permission. This is so that “sites which have explicit user permission to run WebRTC should continue to work as they do today.” The browser developers are also working on blocking autoplay for Web Audio content, but have not yet finalized their implementation.  This is not the first time we have heard of Mozilla working on blocking all auto-playing content. Back in July last year, Mozilla Nightly got the ability to block pesky autoplay videos on websites. Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Apple Safari browsers have also taken some similar steps to place restrictions on auto-playing media. Related Reads: Mozilla Firefox will soon block all ad-traffic by implementing a "will not track" policy Firefox Nightly users can now block those pesky autoplay videos on websites     http://bit.ly/2TsDccK

Specs comparison Samsung Galaxy M20 vs Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2

Samsung has launched two new devices in India under its M series - Galaxy M10 and M20 among, which the Galaxy M20 is the premium one. The phone is priced at Rs 12,990 in India and features a dual camera setup on the back. On the other hand, we have the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2, which was among the most valuable devices of the year 2018 in the mid-range segment. Both the phones are available in the country around the same price. So, it would be interesting to see whether the Samsung latest device Galaxy M20 would able to give an Asus phone a tough fight? The Samsung Galaxy M20 sports a 6.3-inch full HD+ display that offers a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. On the other hand, the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 sports a slightly smaller 6.26-inch screen that comes with a resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels.  When it comes to the processor, the Samsung Galaxy M20 is powered by an Exynos 7885 processor, which is paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory. On the other hand, the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 is backed by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, which is coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal memory that is expandable to up to 2TB. The phone is also available in 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB variant. Coming to the cameras, the Samsung Galaxy M20 has a dual camera setup on the back along with an 8MP unit on the front for clicking selfies. The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 also has a dual 12MP + 5MP camera set up at the back along with a 13MP sensor on the front.  The Samsung Galaxy M20 4GB/64GB variant is available in India for Rs 12,990, while the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 3GB variant is available at Rs 12,999.  http://bit.ly/2S97CEm

US schoolboy arrested for jokingly telling Apples Siri he wants to shoot up a school: Report

Highlights: Schoolboy detained for telling Siri, “I am going to shoot up a school” Police say the kid took a screenshot and posted it on social media thinking it’s a joke When Google introduced Duplex, its AI-powered tech that used Assistant to answer calls, it attracted criticism for allegedly being murky. However, the critics didn’t know at that time that technology could potentially paint a gloomier picture in the future. In a bizarre and worrisome incident, a middle school US boy was detained and charged with intimidation after he threatened to shoot up a school on Apple’s AI Assistant Siri. According to the police, they are investigating a general threat to school safety made today by the boy, who told Siri, “I am going to shoot up a school.” To his surprise, Siri returned with the names of multiple schools in the vicinity. The boy apparently found it interesting and posted it on his social media account for fun, however, his contacts took that ‘joke’ seriously. Here, the role of technology is more disturbing as it led to the arrest of the 13-year-old boy, who was just ‘joking’ The police say that the 'contacts' of the school kid informed the police after they saw the screenshot taken by the accused on the social media. “The male made no direct threat to a specific person, school, or school system. It has since been discovered the male has no access to weapons and posted the picture on social media as a joke. The threat is not believed to be credible at this time; however, these types of communications are taken very seriously by the Valparaiso Police Department and our community,” the police was quoted as saying. The incident comes at a time when there is a strong demand for stringent gun laws in the US. The country has seen an upward spiral in mass shootings in recent years with some of them occurring within school compounds where numerous innocent children have become victims. According to Inquirer, there were 97 school gun violence incidents in 2018 alone. This is reportedly much higher than the previous record of 59 incidents in 2006. The report says that 11 gun violence incidents have already been recorded in the US in 2019. According to a BBC report, 2018 was the ‘worst year for US school shootings’, as a total of 113 people were killed or injured in school shootings in the US. Many parts of the US have about 180 school days per year, which means that, on an average, there was a shooting incident once every eight school days. Related Read: Steam removes Active Shooter game that simulates mass school shooting http://bit.ly/2Gcn24p