Finnish Customs service to sell its massive bitcoin pile 7 Jan 2021, 11:08 am

Over the years, Finnish Customs service has gathered a huge pile of cryptocurrencies that have been seized from criminals and smugglers.

Customs service has kept all the bitcoins in their possession as they are, but now the organization plans to sell them and convert them into more traditional euros. The current value of seized bitcoins is now around 60 million euros (appx. $74M).

Most of the bitcoins in customs possession have been seized back in 2016 with a so-called Douppikauppa (literally "dope store") case where customs raideda an illegal drug-selling site that operated in dark web. Originally the bitcoins seized were worth appx 700 000 euros, but now the value has risen to more than 50 million euros, as the bitcoin's value has risen dramatically over the past five years.

After the sale, customs will transfer the money to Finnish government. Customs has been criticized for holding on to its bitcoins, but for taxpayers, the holding on to the bitcoins has been extremely wise move.

Permalink | Comments

---

Android 11 update tracker - What phones will get it? 4 Jan 2021, 11:13 am

Android 11 was released in September, 2020. Only handful of phones in fall of 2020 were actually released with Android 11 operating system, but the list of phones announced that will get the update has grown significantly over the months.

In this list, we try to keep track of all promised, rumored and confirmed Android 11 updates to all major manufacturer phones. Some of the list is based on -Google's own list, some of the list is based on manufacturer's own announcements.

It should be remembered that even when specific phone model is promised to have an Android 11 update, it doesn't necessarily mean that your phone will get it. The models promised to get the update include typically only unlocked phones, not those customized to specific operator - it is up to operators to decide whether their custom models will get the said update or not.

Android 11 has already arrived or has been promised to arrive to these phone models:

• Google phones
• Samsung phones
• OnePlus phones
• Xiaomi phones
• Nokia phones
• Oppo phones
• Realme phones
• Sony phones
• Motorola phones

Google phones

• Pixel 2
• Pixel 2 XL
• Pixel 3
• Pixel 3 XL
• Pixel 3a
• Pixel 3a XL
• Pixel 4
• Pixel 4
• Pixel 4a

All the mentioned Google phones can already get the official Android 11 update.

Samsung

OTA (over-the-air) updates already available:

• Galaxy S20
• Galaxy S20+
• Galaxy S20 Ultra
• Galaxy S20 FE
• Galaxy Z Flip
• Galaxy Note 20
• Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
• Galaxy Note 10
• Galaxy Note 10+
• Galaxy S10 Lite

January 2021:

• Galaxy Fold
• Galaxy S10
• Galaxy S10+
• Galaxy S10e
• Galaxy Z Fold2

March 2021:

• Samsung Galaxy A70
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
• Samsung Galaxy A51
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite
• Samsung Galaxy 31
• Samsung Galaxy M21

April 2021:

• Samsung Galaxy A50
• Samsung Galaxy A50s
• Samsung Galaxy A80
• Samsung Galaxy M51
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S7

May 2021:

• Samsung Galaxy A70s
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
• Samsung Galaxy A71
• Samsung Galaxy M31s
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite

June 2021:

• Samasung Galaxy M40
• Samsung Galaxy A31
• Samsung Galaxy M11
• Samsung Galaxy A21s
• Samsung Galaxy M01
• Samsung Galaxy M01 Core
• Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 (2020 model)

July 2021:

• Samsung Galaxy A30
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e

August 2021:

• Samsung Galaxy A10
• Samsung Galaxy A10s
• Samsung Galaxy A20
• Samsung Galaxy A20s
• Samsung Galaxy A30s
• Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2019 model)

September 2021:

• Samsung Galaxy M10s
• Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019 model)

Schedule listed here is official Samsung schedule, but might change over the time. We'll update the list accordingly, if needed.

OnePlus

For these models, official, open Android 11 beta is already available:

• OnePlus 8 Pro
• OnePlus 8

For these models, Android 11 will be released later this year:

• OnePlus 7T Pro
• McLaren Edition OnePlus 7T Pro
• OnePlus Nord (open beta promised for January, 2021)
• OnePlus 7T
• OnePlus 7 Pro 5G
• OnePlus 7 Pro
• OnePlus 7
• OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition
• OnePlus 6T
• OnePlus 6
• OnePlus Nord N10 5G
• OnePlus Nord N100

Furthermore, OnePlus 8T shipped with Android 11.

Xiaomi

Open beta of Android 11 can be downloaded for these models:

• Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
• Xiaomi Mi 10
• Xiaomi POCO F2 Pro

Android 11 is promised for these models, but not available yet:

• Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth Edition
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
• Xiaomi Mi 9
• Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro
• Xiaomi Mi 9 SE
• Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite
• Xiaomi Mi 9T
• Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
• Xiaomi Mi A3
• Redmi K30 Pro
• Redmi K30
• Redmi K30 5G
• Redmi K30i 5G
• Redmi K20 Pro
• Redmi K20
• Redmi Note 9
• Redmi Note 9 Pro
• Redmi Note 9 Pro Max
• Redmi 10X Pro
• Redmi 10X 5G
• Redmi 9
• Redmi 9C
• Redmi 9A
• POCO X2
• POCO M2 Pro
• POCO C3
• POCO X3

Nokia

These models will get Android 11, according to the manufacturer HMD Global:

• Nokia 9 PureView (Q2/2021)
• Nokia 8.3 5G (Q4/2020 - Q1/2021)
• Nokia 8.1 (Q4/2020 - Q1/2021)
• Nokia 7.2 (Q1-Q2/2021)
• Nokia 6.2 (Q1-Q2/2021)
• Nokia 5.3 (Q4/2020 - Q1/2021)
• Nokia 4.2 (Q1/2021)
• Nokia 3.4 (Q1/2021)
• Nokia 3.2 (Q1-Q2/2021)
• Nokia 2.4 (Q1/2021)
• Nokia 2.3 (Q1/2021)
• Nokia 2.2 (Q4/2020 - Q1/2021)
• Nokia 1.3 (Q1/2021)
• Nokia 1 Plus (Q2/2021)

OPPO

These OPPO phones will get Android 11:

• Find X2
• Find X2 Pro
• Reno 3
• Reno 3 Pro

Realme

These Realme models already have open Android 11 beta available:

• Realme X50 Pro

For these Realme phone models, Android 11 will be released, but later:

• Realme X50
• Realme X3
• Realme X2 Pro
• Realme X2
• Realme XT
• Realme X
• Realme 7 Pro
• Realme 7
• Realme 6 Pro
• Realme 6
• Realme 6i
• Realme 6S
• Realme 5
• Realme 5 Pro
• Realme 5i
• Realme 5s
• Realme 3 Pro
• Realme 3
• Realme Narzo 10
• Realme Narzo 10A

Sony

These Sony phones already have OTA Android 11 update:

• Sony Xperia 1 II (released in December, 2020)

These Sony models will get Android 11:

• Sony Xperia 1 (February 2021)
• Sony Xperia 5 II (January 2021)
• Sony Xperia 5 (February 2021)
• Sony Xperia 10 II (January 2021)

Motorola

This is the official list of Motorola phones that will get Android 11 update:

• Lenovo K12 Note
• Motorola razr 5G
• Motorola razr
• Motorola edge
• Motorola edge+
• Motorola One 5G
• Motorola One Action
• Motorola One Fusion
• Motorola One Fusion Plus
• Motorola One Hyper
• Motorola One Vision
• Moto G 5G
• Moto G 5G Plus
• Moto G Pro
• Moto G Stylus
• Moto G9
• Moto G9 Play
• Moto G9 Plus
• Moto G9 Power
• Moto G8
• Moto G8 Power
• Moto G Power

Are we missing something? Let us know in comments!

Permalink | Comments

---

Year 2020 in review: COVID-19, new consoles, rise of the mid-ranged phones, .. 1 Jan 2021, 5:25 pm

The weird year of 2020 is finally past us and it is time to take a look at tech news, events and phenomenons that happened during this year. Obviously, the global lockdown affected the lives of millions, maybe billions, across the world. But it also caused changes to how work is done, how we entertained ourselves and more.

Remote work

Sometime in February and March, most of the world was locked down as the global pandemic was spreading like wildfire, causing fatalities that we haven't seen in decades in most parts of the world.

As of this, virtually all of those who could do their work from home, were ordered to do so. This, obviously, changed many things in the online world. First of all, it put massive strain to networks all over the world when suddenly hundreds of millions of people started doing work from home who had been working at the offices before the lockdown.

Secondly, it also introduced many of us to new software solutions and applications that helped us to do remote meetings, collaborate with our peers and more. Perfect example of such software is Zoom, a video conferencing software that very few had heard of before the pandemic, but which quickly became a synonym for online video conferences.

Secondly, the already-established collaboration software providers - most notably Slack and Microsoft Teams - saw a massive user surge. Both companies have since the beginning of the pandemic poured resources to introduce new features and to support the infrastructure tat their services rely on.

Hiccups happened, sure. Both, Microsoft and its arch-rival Google experienced wide-scale downtime during the year 2020, frustrating remote workers globally, who had relied on their cloud services in order to do their work.

Furthermore, those millions of office workers now working from their homes have realized that working from your sofa with your laptop isn't exactly ergonomic - especially not for several months. So, we'd assume that many of you have since March updated your home office with new monitors, chairs and more.

Rise of the mid-range phones

One of the big technological changes of the year 2020 was the sudden rise of the mid-range Android phones. Quite unexpectedly, the €300 - €400 (appx $350 - $450) saw a massive wave of excellent phones introduced this year.

The phenomenon was sparked by Qualcomm's new mid-priced mobile chip, Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G that powered most of those excellent cheap-ish phones. To mention some of those: OnePlus Nord and Google Pixel 5.

Furthermore, while the super-premium price range got even more expensive, with flagship phone prices rising to near €1500 / $1500, the new "budget superphone" category popped up, with phones like OnePlus 8 Pro and Samsung's surprise hit, Samsung Galaxy S20 FE.

It will be interesting to see how the category of extremely expensive phones can fight off the challenge presented by these two categories that are getting stronger and stronger. Basically: What can phone manufacturers offer with $1500 price tag that is still worth buying, when very good phones can be bought for less than $500.

Streaming was big, but it became massive

One of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic was the fact that all kinds of out-of-home entertainment was pretty much outright banned, worldwide. The winners were video streaming services, led by Netflix.

But the big winner must have been Disney+ that expanded to several new countries during the year 2020 - and was a massive hit in most of those new countries. Come to think of it, it probably isn't a big surprise: when you try to do work from home, with your kids staying at home, too, month after month, Disney+ eases the obvious conflicts quite nicely..

The impossible is happening? Decades long era of x86 might be ending

While most of the technologies we use have changed, been replaced with new ones, distrupted and outright cannibalized by new-comers, there has been one tech architecture that has outlasted all of its competitors.

That is obviously the Intel's x86 CPU architecture.

Sure, the x86 CPU architecture has evolved and many other manufacturers have used it - and are using it. AMD is nowadays the biggest rival of Intel in x86 CPUs, but many others have developed x86 CPUs, too. x86 architecture was introduced in early 1980s and it is kind of mind-boggling that it is still the de facto CPU architecture of most PCs, servers and laptops in the world.

But one area where x86 has failed is the mobile world. Intel itself has tried to develop CPUs and chips suited for mobile phones - and has poured billions of dollars to the development of a mobile phone chipset that would attract manufacturers. To no avail.

Mobile phone world is dominated entirely by ARM-based CPUs. Basically all Androids and iPhones run on chips that are based on ARM architecture.

And now the x86 camp is facing the biggest challenge in decades, as ARM-based CPUs are coming to laptops and other traditional PCs. This dramatic change is already visible: Microsoft is actively developing ARM-compatible Windows 10 and is considering to use ARM-based chips with its own Surface products, too.

But the first big player to abandon x86 and replace it with ARM-based architecture is Apple which released its own ARM-based CPU dubbed M1 and switched its new Mac products to use it. As the first benchmarks show significant gains in both battery life and performance, we're sure that many traditional PC manufacturers are eager to launch ARM-based products in near future, too.

New console war

At the very end of the year 2020 both Sony and Microsoft released their latest gaming consoles: Xbox One Series S/X and Playstation 5.

The new gaming kings push the gaming to new levels, but both consoles were in such high demand that very few consoles were found in Santa's bag this Christmas - but the availability of consoles should get better in 2021, so the most sought-after tech product for the year 2021 is most likely a new console in most households.

As a sidenote, both consoles mark probably the final days of physical media, as both embrace fully the digital downloads over physical game sales.

Google and Facebook to face court

Both online giants Facebook and Google are facing charges now in United States over their anti-competitive business practices. And European Union is investigating both companies too.

Internet is nowadays being controlled by handful of massive players and many tech observers feel that the dominance of such players has already ruined the free nature of the Internet. Thus, the probe into companies like Facebook's and Google's practices is a welcomed one.

But as such investigations might drag on for years, it is unclear how they will affect the online world in short term. But the fact that such investigations - and charges - have been put in place, might work as a warning signal to the tech giants to play bit more fairly, at least against smaller guys.

Happy new year!

Well, that's it. I probably missed tons of very important thins that occurred during the weird year of 2020. Apologies.

But now, I'd like to wish all of you a happy new year of 2021.

Best,

-Petteri Pyyny, CEO
AfterDawn

twitter: @pyyny

Permalink | Comments

---

Avast scoured through browser extension: These you should remove 20 Dec 2020, 6:02 pm

The cybersecurity company Avast has released a review on web browser extensions and found out which ones might contain malware-like behavior.

The company found a total of 28 extensions for either Google's Chrome or Microsoft's Edge browsers that you should probably get rid of.

After all Avast should have plenty of experience about browser extension that need to be deleted after Mozilla pulled Avast's add-on for data collection, although they quickly met with Mozilla's guidelines.

Most of these extension redirect the user to an ad-filled page or phishing sites, which try to acquire some personal information about the user.

According to Avast, the majority of these extensions are designed for Instagram or video platforms and usually promise (and usually deliver) some kind of unofficial download function for those platforms.

Unfortunately not only do they let you download content, they also try to gain access to your attention and information.

What's more impressive about some of these malware-infused extensions is that they recognize if the user is suspicious about their behavior and can "hide itself." According to Avast it can detect if the user searches the domain in use and removes the attempts to phish.

The researchers also believe that these extensions didn't necessarily start off as malware but after gaining traction have turned to the dark side. However, needless to say that you want to remove these extensions and perhaps look for an alternative, if the function is really that important to you.

Most of these extensions are no longer available on Microsoft's and Google's stores after Avast informed the companies about their behavior.

Below is a list of infected extensions by browser.

Chrome:

• Direct Message for Instagram
  
• DM for Instagram
  
• Invisible mode for Instagram Direct Message
  
• Downloader for Instagram
  
• App Phone for Instagram
  
• Stories for Instagram
  
• Universal Video Downloader
  
• Video Downloader for FaceBook
  
• Vimeo Video Downloader
  
• Zoomer for Instagram and FaceBook
  
• VK UnBlock. Works fast.
  
• Odnoklassniki UnBlock. Works quickly.
  
• Upload photo to Instagram
  
• Spotify Music Downloader
  
• The New York Times News

Edge:

• Direct Message for Instagram
  
• Instagram Download Video & Image
  
• App Phone for Instagram
  
• Stories for Instagram
  
• Upload photo to Instagram
  
• Instagram App with Direct Message DM
  
• Universal Video Downloader
  
• Video Downloader for FaceBook
  
• Vimeo Video Downloader
  
• Video Downloader for YouTube
  
• SoundCloud Music Downloader
  
• Volume Controller
  
• Pretty Kitty, The Cat Pet

Permalink | Comments

---

Cyberpunk 2077 removed from PlayStation Store 18 Dec 2020, 4:26 pm

The most anticipated game of perhaps the past decade was released eight days ago and while the sales figures and gamer stats broke records, the reception was anything but one-sided adulation.

Sony has determined that the game is in fact so broken that it needed to remove it from the PlayStation Store. This is somewhat unforeseen act from the game console maker and a harsh punishment for CD Projekt Red.

The company has also offered full refund for all those who've bought the game already.

In a statement, CD Projekt Red first notes that people can still buy the physical copies both from brick and mortar stores and online even for PlayStation. There's also a mention of working hard to repair the game and get it back to PlayStation Store as fast as possible.

Important Update for @PlayStation Users pic.twitter.com/fCB4z74M3z

-- Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 18, 2020

Permalink | Comments

---

New Netflix feature: Listen to your favorite shows 17 Dec 2020, 6:37 pm

Well, this one you didn't expect, did you? Netflix is adding a audio-only mode to its world-leading streaming video service.

According to Android Police, Netflix is bringing the new feature to at least the Android app.

In the new version (version 7.84.1 build 28 35243) Netflix adds a Video button on the top of the UI. By clicking the button the video turns off and you are presented with only the audio and a black screen with regular playback controls. You can tap the button again to regain the video playback.

As Android Police notes, somewhat oddly even the brightness slider stays in place when the video is turned off.

There's also an option in the settings to tweak how you'd like to use the feature. You can select the audio only to be always on, off, or only for headphones and external speakers.

Whether Netflix is trying to combat the increasing success of podcasts or just thinks you might want to listen to a less visually intense piece of entertainment is not certain but people will likely find use for the feature.

At this point there's no word on when this might land on your devices, especially if you aren't running Android. However, shouldn't take too long if some already have access to it.

Permalink | Comments

---

Spotify is down - globally 16 Dec 2020, 9:06 am

Spotify crashed globally about ten minutes ago. Problem is widespread and neither paying customers or those using free version can't access the streaming service.

Social media is flooded with reports about Spotify going down and quick look at the DownDetector site that monitors various web and online services confirms the problem.



Tons of tweets about the problem sparked immediately:

everyone running to twitter to check if spotify is working or not #spotifydown pic.twitter.com/Z5OJ9WaWRU

-- david ❀ | restriction (@ntltcap) December 16, 2020

Spotify scheint den harten Lockdown recht ernst zu nehmen. #spotifydown

-- Daniel Schöberl (@danielschoeberl) December 16, 2020

The other day was #googledown, now its #spotifydown. Wonderful! pic.twitter.com/xUO57bNOOv

-- Giorgia Bosello (@giorgiabosello) December 16, 2020

Permalink | Comments

---

Signal offers free encrypted video calls 15 Dec 2020, 7:41 am

Signal has expanded its end-to-end encrypted communications to include video group calls.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to embrace video conferencing software for everything from school classrooms to corporate meetings.

Earlier in the year, Zoom came under fire after it was found its video was not subject to end-to-end encryption as had been claimed. There were also other security concerns that hit the service, which grew significantly during the pandemic.

Now, encrypted messaging app Signal has added group video chats to its line-up and like everything else it offers, it benefits from end-to-end encryption.

"Today, we're launching group calls in Signal with the latest versions of our apps. Group calls are free, private, and end-to-end encrypted," Signal's announcement reads.

A video call button will now be added to the top of group chats. When you start or join a group call, Signal will display the participants in a grid view. You can also swipe up to switch to a view that automatically focuses the screen on who is speaking, and it will update in real-time as the active speaker changes.

Free group calls are available starting today as long as the Signal app has been updated to the latest version. You won't see the call button in your legacy groups, but your legacy Signal groups will start automatically updating to New Groups in the coming weeks.

Currently, group video chats are limited to five participants but this will be improved soon.

Permalink | Comments

---

CD Projekt Red sorry for Cyberpunk 2077 issues 15 Dec 2020, 7:39 am

The developer of the open-world, action-adventure RPG has apologized to customers who are experience technical issues and glitches.

Most of the problems seem to be limited to users of the previous generation of gaming consoles, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, typically including choppy framerates and screen tearing. Reviewers had been given a PC version of the blockbuster, so the issues were not reported until after the release.

In an apology posted to its social media account, CD Projekt Red admitted it should have paid more attention to how the game performed on the older consoles and should have shown the game on the consoles before it premiered.

pic.twitter.com/jtF5WKCiro

-- Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 14, 2020

CD Projekt Red went on to promise major patches to address the issues with the first Patch #1 arriving in January. It will be followed by Patch #2 in February.

These patches will fix the most prominent problems that are affecting Cyberpunk 2077 on the previous generation consoles. For those who don't want to wait for updates to fix the problems, CD Projekt Red is offering full refunds.

Permalink | Comments

---

Pornhub purges millions of 'unverified' videos 15 Dec 2020, 7:37 am

One of the largest adult entertainment websites has removed millions of videos from its platform.

Pornhub had been under fire since a New York Times report allegedly discovered illegal content mixed in with its millions of erotic videos. Following the report, MasterCard stopped processing payments for the website while rival Visa is also conducting an investigation.

PornHub had blasted the move by the payment processors at the time, pointing out that the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) had reported 118 incidents of child abuse material on PornHub, compared to 84 million reported by Facebook.

The new report did spark a major change in Pornhub policies, however. It decided that all uploaders of material would soon need to be verified. In line with that commitment, Pornhub has effectively removed millions of videos as it has suspended uploads from unverified accounts.

Most of the material on Pornhub is posted by unverified accounts.

It now says it is going further than any other platform in its trust and safety practices but also claims it is being targeted ultimately by groups that wish to abolish pornography outright.

"This means every piece of Pornhub content is from verified uploaders, a requirement that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter have yet to institute," the company said in a blog post.

"It is clear that Pornhub is being targeted not because of our policies and how we compare to our peers, but because we are an adult content platform. The two groups that have spearheaded the campaign against our company are the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (formerly known as Morality in Media) and Exodus Cry/TraffickingHub. These are organizations dedicated to abolishing pornography, banning material they claim is obscene, and shutting down commercial sex work. These are the same forces that have spent 50 years demonizing Playboy, the National Endowment for the Arts, sex education, LGBTQ rights, women's rights, and even the American Library Association. Today, it happens to be Pornhub."

Permalink | Comments

---

Samsung announces next-gen TV tech in a 110 inch MicroLED TV 14 Dec 2020, 3:24 pm

Samsung has been developing MicroLED technology for a while now, and some of its first implementation have been out for while too, like the custom display called The Wall.

However, these displays have been meant for custom installations only, and thus only for the wealthy. Well, now Samsung is letting us regular folks buy MicroLED TVs to their homes for the first time, as it announces the first ever home MicroLED screen.

Perhaps some clarification is in order, though, since we don't actually mean regular folks, we mean people that have just under $100k lying around waiting to be spent on a massive television. Yes, that's how much this will cost.

Samsung anticipates that it will enter the market in early 2021 and will cost around a hundred million won which translates to around $91,500.



While price is ridiculous for the common customer, the MicroLED technology is something special. It has some of the best features of OLED TVs, including high contrast, without the tradeoffs, like picture burnin or low full screen brightness.

MicroLED is constructed from inorganic matter using LEDs measured in micrometers and that eliminates the need of backlighting or color filters. Instead the inorganically light emitting diodes create their own picture and provide consistent light across the picture.


With screen to body ratio of 99.99% there isn't any borders.

Not only is the contrast going to be top notch and the brightness way better than on an OLED, it produces 100% DCI and Adobe RGB gamut and has the tiniest borders with screen to body ratio of 99.99%.

Samsung gives the LEDs a 100 000 hour lifespan which is over 10 years, with the TV on that is.

The TV comes with a 5.1 surround sound system called Majestic, although you probably have a couple grand to put towards a sound system if you are spending $90k on a TV.

One thing that is slightly disappointing is that it only supports 4K resolution which might not be a big deal currently, since there aren't really any 8K media available, but in the future you'd likely want to take advantage of the 110 inch screen with up to date resolution.

All in all Samsung's MicroLED seems to be nearly the perfect TV technology for the future, we'll just have to wait it comes down in price quite a bit. Meanwhile, you can go look at some decently priced OLED TVs for Christmas that are far better than the QLEDs Samsung unfortunately has to offer to us mere mortals.

Permalink | Comments

---

RIGHT NOW: Google is down - also YouTube, Gmail, Google Photos, etc are all down 14 Dec 2020, 12:08 pm

Just few minutes ago all major Google services went crashing down.

Social media is being flooded with reports from users who cannot access Google search, YouTube, Gmail or Google Photos.

You can see the situation in DownDetector and other similar sites monitoring web services' health.

Here's how YouTube looks like right now:



And here's how Google search looks like:



Current monitoring status for Google Drive:

Permalink | Comments

---

Brexit: Britons must give up their .eu domains by January, 2021 13 Dec 2020, 6:53 pm

One of the consequences that very few people probably thought about when Brexit became a reality is the change in TLD domains.

One of the oldest "new-ish" TLDs is .eu top-level domain space, launched back in 2005. As per .eu domain's rules, the domain cannot be held by anyone other than a citizen or organization located within European Union.

As Britain finally exits European Union at the end of 2020 (the exit happened on 1st of January, 2020, but there has been one-year long transition period), also all .eu domains held by British nationals or British organizations are going to be suspended. That is, unless the organization has subsidiaries within the EU to whom it can transfer the ownership of the domain before the transition period is over.

This might come as a shock to some Britons owning .eu domains, but shouldn't be one: .eu domain has always been restricted to EU nationals and organizations and as Britain ceases to be within EU, the suspension of those domains is just logical one.

.eu domain authority EURid has already started notifying UK-based .eu domain owners about the upcoming deadline. EU nationals residing in the UK owning .eu domains don't need to worry - the ownership of the domain isn't restricted to where person is living at, as long as the domain owner's nationality is within EU borders.

As an additional concession, UK nationals residing in a EU member state will keep their .eu domains, as long as their residence stays within EU borders.

Permalink | Comments

---

Massive Android problem: SMS has huge delays, here's how to fix 11 Dec 2020, 12:14 pm

Many Android users have experienced extremely annoying situation recently: incoming text messages (SMS) have been delayed for very long time, sometimes even half an hour.

This has caused massive problems when trying to log in to services that require SMS verification, such as logging in to Google services, many banks, etc when 2-factor authentication is enabled.

The delayed incoming SMS problem started on 23rd of November, 2020 when Google rolled out an update to Carrier Services module of Android operating system. Module is updated through Google Play store and it handles operator-specific services, such as checking your current data quota, etc.

Luckily, the problem is easy-ish to fix.

How to fix delayed incoming SMS message problem with Android

1. Open Google Play store.
2. Search for Carrier Services
3. Tap the app when it appears in the search results.
   li>
4. On app's description page, choose Uninstall.

Uninstalling the app wont do any harm to your Android phone, but solves the problem. This is, obviously, a hack, until Google issues a fix to its Carrier Services app. And we don't know exactly what causes the problem in the first place.

But we have personally experienced this problem during past two weeks and uninstalling the Carrier Services app did the trick - now 2FA SMS messages (and other text messages) finally arrive on time.

Permalink | Comments

---

Spotify forcing some users to change passwords 11 Dec 2020, 7:07 am

The discovery of a security bug that leaked user information to third parties has prompted the action.

Spotify is forcing some of its subscribers to change their passwords following the discovery of a security bug. The bug reportedly led to user information being incorrectly shared with third parties, and Spotify is contacting users of affected accounts.

Information shared unintentionally includes e-mail addresses, passwords, display names, and more. So far there is no evidence that the information has been used for nefarious purposes and Spotify has contacted third parties and ordered them to delete the data.

Affected users will have been issued a password reset, and so will be alerted by email to continue through the process to change their account password.

Affected users should also consider changing the password on other services if they had been using it for them also.

Permalink | Comments

---