Smartphones contain a treasure trove of personal data, which makes them a worthwhile target for hackers. However, law enforcement is not above snooping on cell phones, and their tactics are usually much harder to detect. Cell site simulators, often called Stingrays, can trick your phone into revealing private communications, but a change in Android 16 could allow phones to detect this spying. Law enforcement organizations … Continue reading Android phones could soon warn you of “Stingrays” snooping on your communications

The blue screen that stressed computer users for more than three decades is giving way to a black one. Continue reading 🙁 Microsoft’s ‘Blue Screen of Death’ Is Going Away

In the summer of 2024, corporate anti-malware provider CrowdStrike pushed a broken update to millions of PCs and servers running some version of Microsoft’s Windows software, taking down systems that both companies and consumers relied on for air travel, payments, emergency services, and their morning coffee. It was a huge outage, and it caused days and weeks of pain as the world’s permanently beleaguered IT … Continue reading Microsoft changes Windows in attempt to prevent next CrowdStrike-style catastrophe

Apple is changing its App Store policies in the EU in a last-minute attempt to avoid a series of escalating fines from Brussels. The $3 trillion iPhone maker will allow developers in the bloc to offer apps designed for the iOS operating system in places other than Apple’s App Store, the company said. Apple has been negotiating for two months with the European Commission after … Continue reading Apple gives EU users App Store options in attempt to avoid massive fines

Highlights from our first live taping, and our reaction to a spicy interview with OpenAI leaders. Continue reading Hard Fork Live, Part 1: Sam Altman and Brad Lightcap of OpenAI

Unhappy with his company’s artificial intelligence efforts, Meta’s C.E.O. is on a spending spree as he reconsiders his strategy in the contest to invent a hypothetical “superintelligence.” Continue reading Mark Zuckerberg Ramps Up Meta’s A.I. Spending as Competition Heats Up

Companies like OpenAI, Amazon and Meta have supersized their spending on artificial intelligence, with no signs of slowing down. Continue reading A.I. Frenzy Escalates as OpenAI, Amazon and Meta Supersize Spending

The 9-year-old from Vietnam was abused by her mother for customers watching on smartphone apps in the U.S. and elsewhere. The mother said she needed the money. Continue reading Authorities Rescue Girl Whose Mother Livestreamed Her Sexual Abuse

The ride-hailing company is in talks to help Mr. Kalanick, who was forced out in 2017, purchase an autonomous vehicles start-up as robot taxi service Waymo gains momentum. Continue reading Uber in Talks With Travis Kalanick to Fund Self-Driving Car Deal

Microsoft’s new 13-inch Surface Laptop is an odd one. It’s inarguably a step down in every respect from last year’s 13.8-inch Surface Laptop. But it’s also too good (and too expensive) to be considered a replacement for the Surface Laptop Go, the company’s perennially overpriced and underspecced entry-level laptop. It’s cheaper than last year’s Surfaces, but mostly because Microsoft gave those devices a de facto … Continue reading 13-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop review: A slightly worse version of a year-old PC