BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Fake Banksy NFT sold through artist's website for £244k
A hacker has returned $336,000 to a British collector after he tricked him into buying a fake NFT advertised through the artist's official website. A link to an online auction for the NFT was posted on a now-deleted page of banksy.co.uk. The auction ended early after the man offered 90% more than rival bidders. Banksy's team told the BBC "any Banksy NFT auctions are not affiliated with the ... Read more
2021-08-31 20:15:13
Covid in Scotland: Cases doubling weekly after restrictions eased
Covid cases in Scotland have roughly doubled every week since restrictions eased, leading to an increase in hospital admissions. More than 500 people with Covid-19 are in hospital and case numbers hit a record high at the weekend. According to the latest WHO figures, Lanarkshire and Glasgow's health board areas had Europe's highest case rates. National clinical director Prof Jason Leitch said t ... Read more
2021-08-30 19:41:45
China cuts children's online gaming to one hour
Online gamers under the age of 18 will only be allowed to play for an hour on Fridays, weekends and holidays, China's video game regulator has said. The National Press and Publication Administration told state-run news agency Xinhua that game-playing would be only allowed between 8pm to 9pm. It also instructed gaming companies to prevent children playing outside these times. Earlier this month ... Read more
2021-08-30 19:40:54
Afghanistan: Final flights arriving as UK's campaign ends
The final flights bringing British troops home from Afghanistan are arriving, as the UK's 20-year military campaign ends. The last British flight has left Kabul, and the ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, arrived at RAF Brize Norton on Sunday morning. Further flights are expected to arrive at the RAF base in Oxfordshire later. More than 15,000 people, including about 2,200 children, ... Read more
2021-08-29 20:22:33
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is self-isolating
Scotland's first minister is self-isolating after being identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. Nicola Sturgeon revealed on Twitter on Sunday evening that she had been notified by NHS Test and Protect. The SNP leader said that in line with the current guidelines, she would self isolate pending a PCR test result. Ms Sturgeon also thanked the NHS Test and Pr ... Read more
2021-08-29 20:21:57
Apple tweaks app pay rules in $100m settlement
Apple app developers will soon be able to email customers and tell them how to avoid Apple's payment systems. The current rules ban app makers from mentioning that there are ways to pay that avoid Apple's 30% cut, even through e-mail outside the store. But as part of a $100m (£73m) legal settlement with developers, the tech giant is changing its policy. Apple said the change was a "clarifi ... Read more
2021-08-27 20:05:21
Overwatch to change cowboy character McCree's name
Jesse McCree, a character in Blizzard's Overwatch game, will be renamed in the wake of fallout over sexual harassment allegations against the company. The in-game McCree, a revolver-toting cowboy character, was named after a real-life Blizzard staff member. In August, he and two other executives left the company without explanation. In a statement, the Overwatch team said it was "necessary ... Read more
2021-08-27 20:04:41
Data protection 'shake-up' takes aim at cookie pop-ups
The UK's new Information Commissioner will be charged with a post-Brexit "shake up" of data rules, including getting rid of cookie pop-ups. John Edwards has been named the next head of data regulator the ICO. The government said Mr Edwards, currently the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner, would "go beyond the regulator's traditional role". The job would now be "balanced& ... Read more
2021-08-26 19:58:53
Twelve-year-old boy makes £290,000 from whale NFTs
A 12-year-old boy from London has made about £290,000 during the school holidays, after creating a series of pixelated artworks called Weird Whales and selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs). With NFTs, artwork can be "tokenised" to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought and sold. They do not generally give the buyer the actual artwork or its copyright. Benyamin Ahme ... Read more
2021-08-26 19:58:19
The real victims of mass crypto-hacks that keep happening
Taxi driver Chris is obsessively checking his phone for updates. "I'm set to lose almost 2,500 euros (£2,100) worth of cryptocurrency coins," he says. Chris describes himself as "a small crypto-holder from Austria" and is one of many victims of a hack attack on cryptocurrency exchange Liquid Global last week. The company has insisted it will pay all customers who lost out in ... Read more
2021-08-25 19:59:35