BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Apple Face ID to work for mask wearers
The next update to the iPhone operating system will let owners use a face scan to unlock their handsets even when wearing a mask - but there is one big caveat. At present, trying to use the Face ID feature with part of the face covered triggers a screen asking users to type in their passcode, which many find frustrating. The iOS 14.5 upgrade should solve that. But users also need to be wearing ... Read more
2021-02-02 20:31:21
GameStop investor battle moves on to silver as prices surge
Silver prices have hit an a eight-year high after calls to buy the metal on social media sparked a trading frenzy. It comes a week after amateur investors piled into shares in the games retailer GameStop, causing them to jump 700%. On Monday silver rose by as much as 11% to $30 an ounce, while shares in some mining firms were up as much as 60%. Small time traders swapping tips on Reddit are tho ... Read more
2021-02-01 20:09:26
Google halts Play Store 'review bombing' by GameStop traders
Google has removed a wave of negative reviews of popular stock-market trading apps targeted by furious investors. Platforms such as Robinhood have been hit after preventing independent traders buying GameStop and AMC shares. Users of a Reddit message board had managed to upset the market by buying the shares and inflating their value, hitting established hedge funds. Many online traders, feelin ... Read more
2021-01-31 19:36:23
Joe Biden's tech - what can the president use?
You might think the world's most powerful man would have access to any gadget he chooses - but when it comes consumer tech, Joe Biden may be sorely disappointed. The electronic devices around the US president are perhaps the most prominent hacking targets in the world. "The odds are zero, that [Russia] aren't targeting world leaders," Harvard Kennedy School lecturer Bruce Schneier says ... Read more
2021-01-29 19:37:32
Facebook's Oversight Board orders takedowns restored
Facebook's Oversight Board has made its first rulings about content, deciding four out of five of the removed posts referred to it have to be restored. The board was set up to hear appeals from users about content they felt had been unfairly taken down - as well as cases referred by Facebook itself. The five posts covered a range of issues, including hate speech, nudity, misinformation and viole ... Read more
2021-01-28 20:32:29
Apple Christmas sales surge to $111bn amid pandemic
Apple sales have hit another record, as families loaded up on the firm's latest phones, laptops and gadgets during the Christmas period. Sales in the last three months of 2020 hit more than $111bn (£81bn) - up 21% from the prior year. The gains come as the pandemic pushes more activity online, fuelling demand for new technology. Apple now counts more than 1.65 billion active devices globally, i ... Read more
2021-01-27 19:39:58
Beware fake Covid vaccination invites, NHS warns
The NHS has warned people to be vigilant about fake invitations to have the coronavirus vaccination, sent by scammers. The scam email includes a link to "register" for the vaccine, but no registration for the real vaccination is required. The fake site also asks for bank details either to verify identification or to make a payment. The NHS says it would never ask for bank details, and ... Read more
2021-01-26 20:14:12
Twitter pilot to let users flag 'false' content
Twitter is asking its users for help in combating fake news. It has announced a pilot that allows people to submit notes on tweets that may be false or misleading. The initiative, named 'Birdwatch', is being trialled among a small group in the US initially. The firm acknowledged the new system would have to be "resistant to manipulation attempts". Companies like Twitter are looking at ... Read more
2021-01-25 23:39:20
Zuckerberg's Biden problem
Before the Cambridge Analytica story had broken. Before Facebook's acknowledgement that its platform had been used to help incite ethnic cleansing in Myanmar. Before the WhatsApp lynchings in India. Before QAnon and the Proud Boys - Mark Zuckerberg had the world at his feet. So much so in fact, that at the start of 2017 he decided to tour America. In a Facebook post, he said he wished to "t ... Read more
2021-01-24 20:37:57
Cyber criminals publish more than 4,000 stolen Sepa files
Cyber criminals who stole thousands of digital files belonging to environmental regulator Sepa have published them on the internet. The public body had about 1.2GB of data stolen from its digital systems on Christmas Eve. Sepa rejected a ransom demand for the attack, which has been claimed by the international Conti ransomware group. Contracts, strategy documents and databases are among the 4,0 ... Read more
2021-01-22 20:02:35