Technology | The Guardian

One false move, and you could be swamped by the conversation from hell. Dos and don’ts for the eight groups you’re probably avoiding right nowIt’s funny how quickly apps have become shorthand for everyday tasks: we now go on “Tinder dates”, a takeaway is “a Deliveroo”, taxis give way to “getting an Uber”. And when it comes to sharing confidences and keeping in touch, we’re all WhatsApping. The preposterously named app, which sounds like an unwelcome thumbs-up across the dance floor, has become the preferred method of communication for 1.2 billion of us – leaving emails, texts and (obviously) face-to-face conversation in the dust.WhatsApp’s main plus – and quite a big minus, if you think about it – is that anyone can use it. It’s free, and makes chatting in a group really easy – almost too easy, in fact, as you spend half your time being added to random groups and trying desperately to catch up and decipher their in-jokes. Leaving is not an option unless you want to be accused of flouncing. There are unwritten rules waiting to catch you out. Continue reading...

Voice-control devices that can play music, answer questions and buy goods are one of the hottest gifts this Christmas. Here’s what they can do – and our pick of the best buysSmart speakers are set to be the hottest Christmas gift this year. On Black Friday, Amazon dropped the price of its core Echo product to £79 (it is back up to £90 now), while Google slashed the cost of its Home device from £129 to £77.50 at most outlets (it is also back up now). Meanwhile, Apple is promising to launch its version, HomePod, although the price point is rumoured to be significantly higher.With the pre-Christmas launch of the Echo Show, which ups Alexa’s game with a built-in screen, are they the next must-have device? A simple voice command can fill your room with music – and change tunes whenever you wish. They will answer questions on a vast range of topics, set alarms, tell you the weather and what your commute holds in store. Some can order almost any goods over the internet for delivery within hours or days. Hooked up with other devices, they turn lights on and off and control the heating. But they have also been accused of making fake purchases and snooping on your conversations. Continue reading...

The new top-end Kindle is an indulgent purchase, but with added water resistance and other refinements it’s still the one to beatAmazon’s new top-end e-reader is now water resistant, but is the all aluminium Kindle Oasis still the luxury option to buy?While the original Kindle Oasis was a big step forward in e-reader design, the 2017 Oasis is more of a refinement with fewer of the compromises made last year for fit and form. Continue reading...

There are moments of hilarity in this fascinating and bleak documentary, which explored just how close humans and machines are going to getIf you’ve ever wondered what a life-sized mechanical sex toy called Harmony looks like reciting the lyrics to Thriller with all the passion of Alexa ordering the shopping, then The Sex Robots Are Coming (Channel 4) has got it covered. This fascinatingly bleak documentary explored the question of just how close humans and machines are going to get, and looks at the burgeoning sex robot industry, which one day hopes to create life-like rubber women who will talk and show pre-programmed emotions, but only if they are more obedient, passive and pliable than the irritatingly free-willed real thing.This was by turns hilarious and upsetting, as perplexing as it was educational. The Californian RealDoll company is on a quest to make a realistic sex robot. It already sells RealDolls for people to have their wicked way with, and though it has an eye-watering male model, 80% of customers want a female doll. The company’s founder, Matt McMullan, explains that he initially conceived of the project as art. Mmmhmm. And the customers only want a life-sized doll with a realistic vagina, so they can put dresses on it and do its makeup. Continue reading...

Change is one of several to snooper’s charter law proposed by ministers in attempt to comply with European court rulingSenior police officers are to lose the power to self-authorise access to personal phone and web browsing records under a series of late changes to the snooper’s charter law proposed by ministers in an attempt to comply with a European court ruling on Britain’s mass surveillance powers.Related: UK intelligence agencies face surveillance claims in European court Continue reading...

Emergency patch for bug that allowed anyone to take control of a Mac running macOS High Sierra prevented some users from sharing filesIn its haste to fix the macOS High Sierra bug that allowed anyone to take control of a Mac computer with a blank password, Apple broke file sharing for some users.

Colin’s old laptop has a faulty motherboard. If he junks it or sells it, how can he erase the data that’s still on the hard drive?I am unable to power on my Acer laptop, and the technician says the motherboard is faulty. I am planning to sell it. Will the buyer be able to retrieve my data after changing the motherboard? If so, how do I erase it? ColinIf you are literally scrapping an old PC or laptop, you should either remove the hard drive or destroy it to protect your data. People have been known to scavenge hard drives from tips and retrieve sensitive personal, medical and financial information.

Eugene Kaspersky, head of Kaspersky Labs, hits out at FBI, media and government actors he claims organised a smear campaignEugene Kaspersky, chief executive and co-founder of the embattled Russian cybersecurity firm that bears his name, believes his company is at the centre of a “designed and orchestrated attack” to destroy its reputation.Over a short period in the summer of 2017, Kaspersky Labs was the subject of multiple media reports alleging that the company had helped Russian intelligence agencies spy on the US, a number of FBI raids on staff members, and a nationwide ban on the use of its software by federal government agencies. Continue reading...

Lawsuit claims tech firm bypassed iPhone default privacy settings between June 2011 and February 2012, affecting 5.4m peopleMore than 5 million people in the UK could be entitled to compensation from Google if a class action against the internet giant for allegedly harvesting personal data is successful.A group led by the former executive director of consumer body Which?, Richard Lloyd, and advised by City law firm Mischon de Reya claims Google unlawfully collected personal information by bypassing the default privacy settings on the iPhone between June 2011 and February 2012. Continue reading...

London mayor Sadiq Khan says ride-hailing service must take action after ‘catastrophic’ incidentUber has admitted that 2.7 million people in the UK were affected by a 2016 security breach that compromised customers’ information, including names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers.The ride-hailing company had previously disclosed that 57 million people worldwide were affected by a breach that it covered up for more than a year. Continue reading...

Bank of England and Fed officials say cryptocurrency is too small to threaten world economy amid warnings of bubble

World’s largest shipbroker follows large corporations including Deloitte, Yahoo and Equifax in falling victim to cyber-attackShipping company Clarksons is bracing for a tranche of private data to be released, after refusing to pay a ransom to a hacker who staged a “criminal attack” on its computer systems.In a statement to the stock market, the world’s largest shipbroker said it was working with specialist police and contacting customers who may have been affected after a “cybersecurity incident”. Continue reading...

Internet providers seized a tool built at public expense, privatized it, and sold it back to us for profit. Repealing net neutrality will only make it worse

Telecom regulator of world’s second largest internet market says it opposes ‘discriminatory treatment’ of internet trafficIndia’s communications regulator has endorsed net neutrality for the world’s second largest internet market in its latest recommendations.After more than 12 months of consultations, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said it opposed “discriminatory treatment” of internet traffic, denying carriers the ability to charge more for data packages that include the use of apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Continue reading...

Apple provides emergency fix for flaw that allows access to secure preferences with username ‘root’ and subsequent bypass of lock screenA serious security flaw was found in the latest version of Apple’s macOS High Sierra that could allow anyone to access locked settings on a Mac using the user name “root” and no password, and subsequently unlock the computer.The security flaw, discovered a couple of weeks ago and disclosed in an Apple developer support forum, has been shown to work within the software’s user preferences screen, among other locations. Once triggered, the same combination will also bypass the lock screen of Macs running Apple’s latest operating system. Continue reading...

Fascinatingly and worryingly, people quickly accept and open up to the AI therapist. Plus, How to Spend It Well at Christmas with Phillip Schofield causes early-onset EbenezersHayley and Ronnie, and their two boys Ben and James, have come to see Jess to talk about some of their family issues. The main concern seems to be mum Hayley’s weight: she’s 5’4” and weighs 133kg (20st 13lb). She won’t go and watch Ben play rugby because she’s worried he will be embarrassed.Jess gets Hayley to talk her through her diet; what kind of food she eats, how many takeaways they get, etc. Hayley lies about it, Jess tells her she’s lying, the boys giggle. Jess can be pretty direct, brutal even, but she has got the facts and figures on her side to back her up. Jess likes facts and figures. Continue reading...

Many manufacturers have replaced the traditional manual handbrake with a switch controlling a powered brake, which depends on both battery power and software, writes Greg ConwayProfessor Martyn Thomas (Letters, 27 November) makes a powerful case for great caution in introducing “driverless” cars. Many manufacturers have replaced the traditional manual handbrake with a switch controlling a powered brake, which depends on both battery power and software. The handbrake was always the last resort when there was no other means of stopping a car. Now that will no longer be available. Of equal concern, if the handbrake software was hacked and switched on while the car was moving fast, it would crash catastrophically. When our new car was being explained to us last year, the salesman said “do not switch on the handbrake when moving except in an extreme emergency; it has no graded response, it is either on or off”. And what happens if the battery goes flat?

The Tesla boss responded to a ‘not true’ Medium post claiming he is the creator of the cryptocurrency who has never been conclusively identifiedElon Musk is a lot of things. Billionaire, space adventurer, transport revolutionary, but not, he says, the inventor of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency coin that crossed the $10,000 valuation threshold early on Tuesday.Related: Bitcoin nears $10,000 mark as hedge funds plough in Continue reading...

Social media giants tell Commons watchdog they will hand over information about Russian activity in coming weeksFacebook and Twitter have agreed to hand over some information relating to the reach of Russian-backed posts during the Brexit referendum, according to the House of Commons media watchdog.Damian Collins, the chair of parliament’s digital, culture, media and sport committee, said he believed the information would give the UK a better idea of whether Russia tried to influence the vote on leaving the EU. Continue reading...

Yale University’s Privacy Lab using research to call on developers and Google ‘for increased transparency into privacy and security practice’More than three in four Android apps contain at least one third-party “tracker”, according to a new analysis of hundreds of apps.The study by French research organisation Exodus Privacy and Yale University’s Privacy Lab analysed the mobile apps for the signatures of 25 known trackers, which use various techniques to glean personal information about users to better target them for advertisements and services. Continue reading...

Users reported seeing ‘s*x with your kids’ and other variants after entering phrase ‘how to have’ on Google-owned siteYouTube is investigating reports that its autofill search features are suggesting “profoundly disturbing” child abuse terms.Users reported seeing auto-suggestions of “s*x with your kids” and other variants after entering the phrase “how to have” in the search box on the Google-owned site. Experts have speculated that the search terms – several of which use the asterisked word “s*x” – may have been deliberately aimed at embarrassing the site, avoiding YouTube’s filters for terms such as “sex”. Continue reading...

New drone bill will enforce registration for owners of drones weighing over 250g and introduce safety awareness courses for all users when published in 2018The government is planning to create a raft of new police powers as part of a crackdown on the civilian use of drones, the Department for Transport has announced.The new drone bill to be published in 2018 will allow police officers to order drone operators to ground their devices where necessary, alongside a series of new changes that will create a mandatory registry for larger unmanned aerial vehicles, such as those sold by Parrot or DJI. Continue reading...

Network’s estimated power use also exceeds that of 19 other European countries, consuming more than five times output of continent’s largest windfarmBitcoin’s “mining” network uses more electricity in a year than the whole of Ireland, according to statistics released as the currency broke $9,000 for the first time.According to Digiconomist the estimated power use of the bitcoin network, which is responsible for verifying transactions made with the cryptocurrency, is 30.14TWh a year, which exceeds that of 19 other European countries. At a continual power drain of 3.4GW, it means the network consumes five times more electricity than is produced by the largest wind farm in Europe, the London Array in the outer Thames Estuary, at 630MW. Continue reading...

A great leap forward for the virtual leather on willow, another charge around the battlefields of the second world war and a revival for a 2000AD stalwartPS4, Xbox One, Koch International, cert: 3

Readers respond to the advance in robotics, and what it means for our economy, social fabric and the planetThe difference between the robots of today and all previous forms of automation is that they are so flexible (Editorial, 25 November). Intelligent robots will be utilised in any new enterprise rather than people now because the financial returns are likely to be so much greater, given that there will be no recruitment difficulties, wage demands, overtime claims, strikes, sickness absence, pensions, transport or housing problems to take care of. Factories can be situated anywhere, and HS2 could be redundant before it becomes operational.In the past, workers displaced by automation could rely on new industries springing up to take them on, but in future these will create far more jobs for robots than people across the board. Our whole economic system, which concentrates on profitability and economics rather than the welfare of the population, can only encourage this trend. What we need is a new economic system.

Rolling back net neutrality laws is just part of Trump’s giant experiment in media deregulation with little protection for the consumer“Do you want [the internet] to be governed by engineers and entrepreneurs, or do you want it governed by lawyers and bureaucrats here in Washington?” That was the question asked to the American public by Ajit Pai, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, when he appeared on Fox News last week to talk about his intention to change the way access to the internet is regulated.The dark intonation of the words “lawyers and bureaucrats” left the viewer in no doubt that Pai’s rollback of laws governing what is known as “net neutrality” could only be a good thing. Who better to decide the communications infrastructure of a country than a group of wealthy telecoms companies in an almost competition-free environment? Continue reading...

Partially redacted documents from attorney general disclose private sector’s interest in facial verification serviceThe federal government is considering allowing private companies to use its national facial recognition database for a fee, documents released under Freedom of Information laws reveal.The partially redacted documents show that the Attorney General’s Department is in discussions with major telecommunications companies about pilot programs for private sector use of the Facial Verification Service in 2018. The documents also indicate strong interest from financial institutions in using the database. Continue reading...

East Stratcom taskforce will be funded from EU budget for first time after summit highlights threat from ‘cyber-attacks and fake news’The EU is stepping up its campaign to counter disinformation and fake news from Russia by spending more than €1m a year on its specialist anti-propaganda unit.For the first time since the team was set up in 2015, the East Stratcom taskforce will have money from the EU budget, rather than relying on contributions from EU member states or squeezing other budget lines. The unit has been granted €1.1m (£980,000) a year from the EU budget for 2018-20, according to a source familiar with the team’s work.

The Greens blame outsourcing for the breach, which has affected 8,500 current and former departmental staffThe social services minister, Christian Porter, has ordered an investigation of a data breach affecting 8,500 current and former Department of Social Services employees, whose personal information was left open for more than a year.The move comes after the Greens blamed outsourcing for the breach in the Business Information Services system which held expenses and credit-card information dating from 2004 to 2015. Continue reading...

Alternatives to glitter | Driverless cars | Insects and birdsI am pleased that nurseries are considering the impact of materials they use in creative activities (A green guide to glitter alternatives, G2, 20 November). The staff of the nursery school where I was headteacher for 10 years would be appalled at the suggestion that edible material such as cereals or pulses could be used as an alternative. We thought that allowing children to play with food that would be lifesaving for children suffering from malnutrition was a reinforcement of the superior attitudes that prevail in much of society.

Case to determine whether taxi app drivers get improved rights such as guaranteed minimum wage and holiday pay

Global brands suspend YouTube and Google advertising after it was placed alongside videos paedophiles exploitedBig brands are pulling advertising from YouTube and Google after their ads were found to be displayed against content being exploited by paedophiles.Despite YouTube promising to take an “even more aggressive stance” against predatory behaviour, the confectionery giants Mars and Cadbury, the supermarket Lidl, Deutsche Bank and Adidas have led a wave of brands removing advertising from YouTube. Continue reading...

Parents urged to turn off cameras and geo-location settings in children’s smart toys to protect against hackersParents should consider turning off cameras and geolocation settings in Christmas presents to protect their children from hackers, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has warned.Smart toys and wearable devices are among the most desirable children’s toys this Christmas, but the regulator has warned their internet connectivity presents safety risks from hackers. Continue reading...

Digital minister Matt Hancock says government still trying to gauge number of people affected in the UKThere is no evidence that Uber customers who had their personal details stolen are at risk of direct financial crime, a minister has insisted, despite hundreds of users complaining that their accounts have been hacked from Russia.The digital minister, Matt Hancock, told the House of Commons that the government was still trying to gauge the number of people in the UK affected by the global breach of the personal information of 57 million customers and drivers in October last year, which the company initially concealed. Continue reading...

Shot mostly on camera phones, this British drama about a group of insufferable twentysomethings has little going for it besides zeitgeist bragging rightsAfter found footage and phone footage films, here, with the inevitability of a man in belted jeans launching a new iPhone model to a crowd of saucer-eyed disciples, is the first ever selfie movie – a naive and self-indulgent piece with very little going for it other than zeitgeist bragging rights.Shot mostly on camera phones by the actors, #Starvecrow is a tiny-budget British drama about a group of insufferably privileged twentysomething mates. Ben Willens is Ben, a controlling narcissist who creepily films everything on his phone. When his on-off girlfriend (Ashlie Walker) walks out for good, he steals her friends’ mobiles – giving the film its footage of attention-seeking drunken antics and nastier behaviour never intended for Snapchat. Ben, like one of the lads from Made in Chelsea after inadvertently catching an episode of The Moral Maze on Radio 4, tells his psychotherapist that he wants to see “between the cracks” of people’s lives. Continue reading...

Tired of reaching for the remote whenever something explodes in a film? The compact Soundbox might be your saviour – but it’s pricey if you don’t have SkySky has partnered with French audio-firm Devialet to create the Soundbox, an all-in-one TV speaker that promises to squeeze full-range, powerful sound into a small box that, in theory, won’t annoy the neighbours. Continue reading...

Social network says tool will let users see if they have liked or followed accounts created by organisation that carries out misinformation operationsFacebook has promised to tell users whether they liked or followed a member of Russia’s notorious “troll army”, accused of trying to influence elections in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Taxi-hailing firm warned it may face higher fines as inquiry continues into whether UK customers’ details were compromisedUK authorities were unaware of a mass data breach at Uber that potentially put British customers’ personal details into the hands of cyber criminals.

Company confirms it receives mobile phone mast tracking data even with sim removed and privacy features active, but says it will cease to by end of NovemberGoogle has confirmed it has been able to track the location of Android users via the addresses of local mobile phone masts, even when location services were turned off and the sim cards removed to protect privacy.

The latest revelation about the ride-hailing app concealing a huge hack of personal data confirms that London mayor Sadiq Khan is right to take it onUber is one of those companies that seems to take pride in upsetting the status quo. Its cheerleaders claim the minicab app is a shining example of “disruptive innovation” – where entrepreneurs change entire industries by thinking outside the box. Critics contend that Uber’s business model is actually pretty traditional. The only major difference is scale, and the use of a high-tech booking system.And while the app booking system is certainly convenient, it’s far from unique to Uber. There are now numerous firms using similar technology. None, though, have the same sort of global coverage Uber does. What really sets the company apart is its aggressive growth strategy, enabled by billions of dollars of investments. It has been accused of attempting to become “too big to ban” by undercutting on price – even if this means losing money – in order to drive competitors out of business and capture markets. The idea is that if Uber is able to dominate the minicab industry in a given city, politicians will struggle to ban it while keeping voters on side. This makes regulating the company difficult, as the threat of prohibition is the most powerful weapon in regulators’ arsenal. Continue reading...

YouTube, social media and even Bitcoin are allowing musicians to reject major labels and go it alone – but the industry is fighting back. Can artists use technology to stay truly independent?In the 20th century, the vast majority of music you heard and bought was controlled by a small number of companies: record labels, radio stations and other dominators of the media. Artists needed them to reach the public and the public’s choice was prescribed by what these gatekeepers believed could best turn a profit. You liked it or lumped it. Now, however, a networked world is giving artists and audiences the tools to reject those companies for ever. Continue reading...

Shoppers will benefit from lower prices as the online giant starts trading this week, in a major challenge to established storesIt looks as though Black Friday will be the day when the US online behemoth Amazon opens its Australian site, sparking what is likely to be a major price war in the retail market.Amazon said 10 days ago its launch in Australia was “very close”. This week it reportedly sent emails to suppliers indicating it would have a soft launch on Thursday and formally begin trading on Friday. This coincides with the post-Thanksgiving shopping spree Black Friday, the biggest single day in the US retail calendar.

Residents of Winlock, Washington can barely stream Spotify and Netflix. Changes to Obama’s net neutrality rules are going to make things even worse

Manufacturing partner Foxconn had student interns working 11-hour days to make £999 iPhoneApple has been accused of relying on students working illegal overtime to build the iPhone X, through its contractor Foxconn, which manufactures the devices in Zhengzhou, China.According to the Financial Times, students working at the Foxconn plant, as part of a three month “work experience” placement, were routinely working 11-hour days assembling the newest phone, breaking Chinese overtime laws in the process. Continue reading...

Patent reveals system designed to stimulate self-driving car passengers to eliminate motion sickness so they can read, work or play in transitUber is working on a system to prevent travel sickness in cars, which it sees as a barrier to the adoption of self-driving vehicles, stopping people from doing other things as they are ferried to their destination.According to a patent, which describes a “sensory stimulation system for autonomous vehicles”, Uber plans to use vibrating and moving seats, the flow of air targeting the face or other part of the body, and light bars and screens to prevent passengers from feeling travel sick. Continue reading...

As video gaming tightens its grip on mainstream culture, the games and their themes are becoming broader and bolderGadgets are only as good as their content, and though 2017 has been a difficult year for the world, it’s been a great one for video games. As gaming elbows its way to the centre stage of mainstream culture, the titles and their themes are increasingly reflecting the wide variety of players and their concerns. Here are the best games and consoles, and the most exciting trends of 2017. Continue reading...