Washingtonian: DC’s New Covid-Tracing Smartphone Tool Is Going Live This Week. “Starting Tuesday, iPhone and Android users can opt-in to ‘DC CAN’—the District’s new coronavirus contact tracing technology. The tool will send push notifications to users if they’ve been in contact with a Covid-positive individual. iPhone users can opt-in to the tech through their phone settings; Android users will download an app.”
smartphones
CNN: Your old iPhone is worth big bucks. Here’s why
I’m sticking with my iPhone 7, but if you’re looking to upgrade your phone, check this out from CNN: Your old iPhone is worth big bucks. Here’s why. “Apple this week widened the price range for its flagship smartphones, announcing the iPhone 12 mini at $699 for users who balk at spending over $1,000 for more premium models. But for people who want to spend even less — in one case, absolutely nothing — to upgrade, Apple (AAPL) and major wireless carriers are doling out big discounts to those trading in their old devices.”
CNET: Your phone may help you fight off deepfakes before they’re even made
CNET: Your phone may help you fight off deepfakes before they’re even made. “Truepic, a San Diego startup, says it’s found a way to prevent deepfakes and doctored images before they can even show up online: by verifying the authenticity of videos and images at the time they’re captured. Now the company is working to put the technology, which it calls Truepic Foresight, in millions of smartphones around the globe by having it embedded it in the Qualcomm processors that power the majority of the world’s Android phones.”
Techdirt: FBI Sent A Special Task Force To Portland To ‘Exploit’ Phones Taken From Protesters
Techdirt: FBI Sent A Special Task Force To Portland To ‘Exploit’ Phones Taken From Protesters . “The Fly Teams have been in existence since shortly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. But until now, they’ve mainly been foreign-focused — either operating in other countries or targeting foreign terrorists. This breaks some new ground in a disturbing way: counterterrorist activity targeting US citizens, some of which have engaged in nothing more than exercising their First Amendment rights.”
KOAA: Colorado to work with Google, Apple on COVID-19 exposure app
KOAA: Colorado to work with Google, Apple on COVID-19 exposure app. “The release of a mobile application that would notify Colorado residents if they were close to a person who tested positive for COVID-19 has been delayed so state officials can work with Google and Apple. Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said at the beginning of September that the Exposure Notification Express application would be available by the end of the month, the Denver Post reported. It is now unclear when the app would be available for use.”
XDA Developers: Google launches the Android Partner Vulnerability Initiative to improve the security of non-Pixel devices
XDA Developers: Google launches the Android Partner Vulnerability Initiative to improve the security of non-Pixel devices. “Known as the Android Partner Vulnerability Initiative (APVI), the program will let users known when it has discovered security concerns that affect devices shipped by OEMs. ‘The APVI covers Google-discovered issues that could potentially affect the security posture of an Android device or its user and is aligned to ISO/IEC 29147:2018 Information technology — Security techniques — Vulnerability disclosure recommendations,’ Google said.”
NBC News: Covid apps went through the hype cycle. Now, they might be ready to work.
NBC News: Covid apps went through the hype cycle. Now, they might be ready to work.. “Jen Tracy, 36, was sick of hearing people bickering about how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and last week, New Jersey offered an alternative she liked better: a smartphone app. Tracy, who lives in Pine Hill, New Jersey, became one of the early adopters of an app the state rolled out to try to slow the spread of Covid-19. The app displays statistics, such as the percentage of people who are reporting symptoms, and maybe more importantly, it’s designed to alert people if they’ve been near someone else who’s tested positive.”
SIM swap fraud: How to prevent your phone number from being stolen (CNET)
CNET: SIM swap fraud: How to prevent your phone number from being stolen. “In January, a published study revealed how incredibly easy it to do, potentially leading to thousands of dollars in fraud — that’s your money on the line. The practice of SIM swapping is becoming increasingly common, and despite carriers putting safeguards in place, researchers were able to demonstrate taking over your phone number quickly and with ease.”
EurekAlert: App analyzes coronavirus genome on a smartphone
EurekAlert: App analyzes coronavirus genome on a smartphone. “A new mobile app has made it possible to analyse the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on a smartphone in less than half an hour. Cutting-edge nanopore devices have enabled scientists to read or ‘sequence’ the genetic material in a biological sample outside a laboratory, however analysing the raw data has still required access to high-end computing power – until now.”
Ubergizmo: Instagram Bug Would Have Allowed Hackers To Take Over Your Smartphone
Ubergizmo: Instagram Bug Would Have Allowed Hackers To Take Over Your Smartphone. “It would seem that Instagram had a particularly nasty bug on their hands when cybersecurity researchers at Check Point Security discovered that this bug, when exploited, would have allowed a hacker to take over the victim’s phone. Yup, the entire phone, not just their Instagram account.”
Bustle: How To Curate Your iPhone’s Home Screen With The New Widget Tool
Bustle: How To Curate Your iPhone’s Home Screen With The New Widget Tool. “On Sept. 16, Apple released the iPhone’s latest operating system, iOS 14. The upgrade has a few features that make life easier, like direct replies in group chats and a new translation app, but one upgrade will make your life harder in the best possible way — the newly customizable Home Screen with widgets, graphic icons that offer a summary of an app at a glance.”
Wired: Companies Can Track Your Phone’s Movements to Target Ads
Wired: Companies Can Track Your Phone’s Movements to Target Ads. “GOOGLE AND APPLE have taken steps this year they say will help users shield themselves from hundreds of companies that compile profiles based on online behavior. Meanwhile, other companies are devising new ways to probe more deeply into other aspects of our lives.”
Google Blog: Easier access to Search, Chrome and Gmail in iOS 14
Google Blog: Easier access to Search, Chrome and Gmail in iOS 14. “iOS 14 has launched, and with it comes new features that make it easier to access some of the Google apps you use most often. Starting today, you can add a Google Search Widget to your Home Screen to let you find information even faster. You can also set Chrome as your default browser app on your iPhone or iPad, and in the coming days, you’ll be able to set Gmail as your default email app.”
TechCrunch: Android 11 has arrived
TechCrunch: Android 11 has arrived. “Android 11 isn’t a radical departure from what you’ve come to expect in recent years, but there are a number of interesting new user-facing updates here that mostly center around messaging, privacy and giving you better control over all of your smart devices.”
CNET: Targeted ads stalking you on your iPhone? Here’s how to limit them
CNET: Targeted ads stalking you on your iPhone? Here’s how to limit them. “When iOS 14 is released this fall, iPhone ($699 at Apple) users will have to opt in to targeted advertising. It’s not a stretch to assume that users aren’t going to eagerly opt in and allow Facebook, or any advertiser for that matter, to track their internet usage when given a choice. But what about limiting ad tracking on your iPhone right now, even before iOS 14 is available? It’s possible, but it’s only possible in Apple’s own ad network. Below I’ll walk you through how to limit ad tracking, what exactly that means, and offer some of my own anecdotal experience after testing it myself.”