Privacy fears about the Pokemon Go app have been largely addressed, but dozens of other apps that piggy back on the popular game have raised further concerns.Since the game launched last week, a swarm of unofficial apps has emerged and is trying to capitalize on the title’s success. And many are hungry for your personal data.These unofficial apps have been offering cheats, tips and even songs from the hit game. But in exchange, they demand permission to access sensitive data on your phone, said Chad Salisbury, a security engineer with RiskIQ, which monitors mobile malware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Big IoT partnerships are coming thick and fast these days. A deal between IBM and AT&T to help developers turn IoT ideas into reality is just the latest tie-up involving major enterprise vendors in this field.The partnership will combine AT&T’s connectivity with IBM’s Watson and Bluemix analytics platforms. Through APIs (application programming interfaces) and development environments, plus open-source tools, the two companies say they’ll make life easier for developers.IoT involves so many parts that it’s almost inevitable enterprises will be working with several vendors to get their infrastructure up and running. Devices that collect data, clouds that analyze it, and networks that link the two are just the main components of systems that can rival the complexity of anything in IT.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Skype team teased “exciting� news for Linux users, and it’s arrived. The old, outdated Skype for Linux application that’s barely been updated in years is being phased out. Replacing it is a new, modern Skype for Linux application that’s currently in alpha.It’s a web app, mostly Skype for Linux Alpha is based on the Skype for Web website, which Chromebook users can now use for voice calls. It works in web browsers on Linux, too.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Facebook can test its code on 2,000 phones at onceImage by FacebookFacebook makes thousands of changes in its code every week. Any one of them could accidentally cause Facebook software to take up more data, memory or battery life on your phone. So the company tests code on more than 2,000 phones to account for different hardware models, operating systems and network connections.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft is doing new things with its Surface tablets, and hoping that enterprises will find a lot to like.The company is taking steps to tailor the tablets to the needs of enterprises. The goal of customization is to differentiate the Surface from look-alike products, and to tie devices closely to a company's operations."We're going to meet the enterprise on their terms," said Hayete Gallot, general manager of Microsoft Devices, in an interview with the IDG News Service.Surface tablets have been successful with consumers and professionals, and Microsoft is giving it an additional enterprise twist. The effort comes as companies look to upgrade to Windows 10 PCs, with tablet-laptop hybrids like Surface being popular replacements.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

If you want to watch true 1080p content on Netflix over your PC, you need to use Microsoft’s Edge browser. On Wednesday, Microsoft claimed that its Edge browser was the only one of the big four browsers—which also includes Chrome, Firefox, and Opera—to offer 1080p resolution while playing Netflix content. A quick test of all four browsers by PCWorld proved this claim to be true, with the other three browsers capped at 720p. Currently, Opera runs Netflix at a maximum resolution of 720p.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

A driver in New York state ran his car off the road and into a tree last night as a result of playing "Pokémon Go."Police in Auburn, a town near Syracuse in upstate New York, were called to a traffic accident shortly before 11 p.m."The driver admitted to actively playing the Pokémon Go game while driving causing him to become distracted and run off the roadway into a tree," the police said in a statement.The car was badly damaged in the accident and police say the driver is lucky he was not seriously injured."This is an example of how easily accidents can occur when someone is engaged in the game and not paying attention," the police said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft's supersize Surface Hub is often viewed as a computer for videoconferencing and digital whiteboarding, but it is emerging as more than just the centerpiece of a conference room.The Surface Hub is a one-of-a-kind, all-in-one PC with a 55- or 84-inch screen that started shipping a few months back. The device provides new ways for users to present, exchange, share and manipulate data from the Azure cloud, said Hayete Gallot, general manager at Microsoft Devices.Users are still exploring ways in which it can be used. The large screen and collaborative features can be powerful tools in visualizing data extracted from the cloud, Gallot suggests.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

You don’t need a fancy college degree (and $100,000 in student debt) to land a tech job, as long as you can prove you’ve got the skills. And because Linux is such an in-demand skill, underlying everything from desktop performance to online security--it’s a great place to start. The Complete Linux System Administrator Bundle will more than get you up to speed, and it’s now only $69.Packed with over 100 hours of instruction, this bundle will help you dive into Linux, the popular open-source operating system. Throughout its 7 courses, you’ll make your way from Linux/Unix basics to more advanced concepts like penetration testing, bash scripting, and openSUSE system administration. With such a robust curriculum, this bundle has everything you need to become a Linux pro.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Miracle-Grow AeroGarden, with room for 9 plants and 45 Watts of LED Lighting, the AeroGarden Bounty is the largest and most powerful AeroGarden to date. It comes with a Gourmet Herbs Seed Kit that will deliver fresh, flavorful herbs right at your fingertips. The easy-to-use Control Panel has an interactive LCD display that utilizes on screen prompts to guide you from set up to harvest. It automatically creates optimal conditions for your plants by turning the lights on and off and reminding you when to add water and our Specially Formulated Liquid Plant Food.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Z623 home speaker system has what Logitech describes as "200 watts of window-rattling power". Its THX certified audio is rich and loud with deep impressive bass. From music lovers to gamers, just plug in your gear and stand back as this compact system has no trouble filling the room and immersing everyone in it. The system has generated almost 3,000 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars (87% rate it 4+ stars -- read reviews). Amazon indicates that its typical list price of $149.99 has been reduced by a significant 33%, so you can buy the 200 watt 2.1 speaker system now on Amazon for $99.99.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The security team of the popular Drupal content management system worked with the maintainers of three third-party modules to fix critical vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to take over websites.The flaws allow attackers to execute rogue PHP code web servers that host Drupal websites with the RESTWS, Coder or Webform Multiple File Upload modules installed. These modules are not part of Drupal's core, but are used by thousands of websites.The RESTWS module is a popular tool for creating Rest application programming interfaces (APIs) and is currently installed on over 5,800 websites. Unauthenticated attackers can exploit the remote code execution vulnerability in its page callback functionality by sending specially crafted requests to the website.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft landed in Cairo on Wednesday, putting it tantalizingly close to completing a circumnavigation of the globe without burning a single drop of fuel.The aircraft swept over the pyramids before landing at Cairo International Airport at just after 7 a.m. local time this morning. It's now about 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles) away from Abu Dhabi, where it began its journey in March 2015.Solar Impulse 2 was designed to run entirely on solar power, generated by hundreds of thin panels that cover the upper side of its wings and its body. It can carry a single pilot and theoretically stay in the air forever, but its human cargo necessitates the need to land.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Chinese government hackers were the likely attackers in three breaches in recent years at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. agency that insures bank accounts, according to a congressional audit.Breaches at the FDIC in 2010, 2011, and 2013 were caused by an "advanced persistent threat ... believed to have been the Chinese government," according to an interim report on the agency's cybersecurity from the House of Representatives Science, Space, and Technology Committee.In the 2013 breach, hackers gained access to the computers of 12 staff computers, including the former chairman, chief of staff and general counsel of the agency, the House report said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Much virtual ink gets spilled each week enumerating the many horrors that could be ours in an AI-filled world, but top researchers in the field are already thinking ahead and making plans to ensure none of that happens.In particular, the importance of making artificial intelligence "human-aware" has come to be viewed as a top imperative for the field, earning it special status as an official theme of the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence taking place this week in New York.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

We’re at the point in the election cycle where everyone is a little tired of cable TV’s talking heads analyzing every move presumptive presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump make. BitTorrent is wading into the chaos, offering what the peer-to-peer protocol company calls a “welcome independent voice� in the form of a live-streaming news channel. Beginning July 18 at the Republic National Convention, BitTorrent News will stream live from Cleveland on the BitTorrent Live app for Apple TV and OS X.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

While we’re all waiting for the next-generation messaging apps from Google, Allo and Duo, Google is hard at work making sure it updates its many other messaging apps. Apparently, Google’s just going to keep making new messaging apps without retiring old ones, forever. The company just released version 11 of Hangouts, it’s combined over-the-top and SMS client for Android. So what’s new? First, Android users get a feature that has been available on iOS for quite awhile now: video messages. This isn’t video chat, it’s sending a recorded message. While Google didn’t mention how long the messages can be, the limit is 2 minutes on iOS, and we’d wager it’s the same on Android.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

There’s a new form of ransomware—apparently built by amateurs—that takes your money but deletes your personal files anyway. Security research firm Talos recently published a blog post about a new form of malware dubbed Ranscam. This ransomware follows the basic premise of previous variants. It claims your files have been encrypted, and thus inaccessible to you, then threatens to delete all your files if you don’t pay up. Ransomware's scary premise prompts many people to fork over the dough in order to save their photos and other content.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Linux and Chromebook users now have new versions of Skype to play with after years of neglect from Microsoft.Microsoft launched an alpha version of a new client for Linux on Wednesday, in a push to get users of the open-source operating system to make video calls and send messages with Skype.There was a long-ignored Linux client available for the service previously, but this launch is a move by the company to get users of the operating system on the latest version of Skype. Users will get a new interface, emoticons, and a file-sharing interface.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

It’s no secret that few people pay much attention to reading and understanding all the terms of service and privacy policies you come across online. Now a new study shows just how ridiculous and anti-consumer the lengthy agreements really are.The new paper, titled “The Biggest Lie on the Internet,� created a fake social networking site with suggestive and outrageous clauses in its Terms of Service (ToS). But surprise! Nearly everyone joined anyway, as first reported by Ars Technica.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft’s new batch of security patches fixes 47 vulnerabilities across its products, including in Internet Explorer, Edge, Office, Windows and the .NET Framework. The patches, released Tuesday, are arranged in 11 security bulletins, 10 of which are for Microsoft products. The remaining patch covers Adobe Flash Player, which is bundled with Internet Explorer in Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 10. Six security bulletins, including the Flash Player one, are rated critical and primarily cover remote code execution vulnerabilities that could lead to a complete system compromise.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

When Firaxis launched the underrated Civilization: Beyond Earth two years ago, the game served as a showcase for what was possible using AMD’s revolutionary “close to the metal� Mantle API, featuring unorthodox “split frame rendering� to deliver extraordinary smoothness in systems with multiple Radeon graphics cards. Two years later, Mantle is dead, subsumed by Vulkan and rivaled by Microsoft’s own DirectX 12.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

There’s nothing like a late-night chapter of a Kindle book to put me right to sleep, but the glow of my iPhone’s screen tends to keep my wife awake—and if a jarring iOS notification sounds or buzzes, well, that certainly doesn’t help her slumber.While the new Night Shift mode (which finally works even when iOS’s low-power mode is enabled) will supposedly help you sleep by filtering out the brightest colors from your iPhone or iPad’s display, it won’t do much good for a bedfellow who sleeps best in total darkness and silence.I’ve collected a quartet of tips that’ll take Night Shift one step further by dimming your iPhone or iPad screen as much as possible while you read, as well as silencing any intrusive alerts or buzzes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has launched a bug bounty program to attract white-hat hackers to spot out cybersecurity flaws in its products and connected services.The program is focused on FCA's connected vehicles, including systems within them and external services and applications that link to them.The move follows the remote hack and control of a Jeep Cherokee, one of the company’s products, by security researchers. That breach led to the recall of 1.4 million vehicles last year. Fiat Chrysler is also moving quite aggressively in the area of autonomous vehicles, announcing earlier this year the joint development of self-driven minivans with Alphabet's Google Self-Driving Car Project.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The popularity of augmented reality smartphone game Pokémon Go has raised a variety of concerns, including a warning by the National Safety Council, urging drivers not to play the game behind the wheel and asking pedestrians to be careful while playing it. U.S. Senator Al Franken, a strong privacy advocate, has raised the inevitable question about the privacy of the extensive data the game collects from its users, including children, and whether the data is used for other purposes. “I am concerned about the extent to which Niantic may be unnecessarily collecting, using, and sharing a wide range of users’ personal information without their appropriate consent,� Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, wrote in a letter Tuesday to John Hanke, the CEO of Niantic, the developer of the game.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

One of the most interesting features of the Anniversary Update for Windows 10 is the beefed-up inking capability. Particularly when combined with Cortana, which can turn handwriting into actionable tasks such as reminders.It’s a neat feature, and you don’t have to be a stylus-wielding user to take advantage of it. Even someone with a keyboard and mouse can use Cortana’s smarts in collaboration with the new Sticky Notes app.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The smartphone may have replaced the flashlight for most consumers, but when you really need to light it up, nothing beats the real thing.And when it comes to a really good flashlight, it's hard to beat the Fenix RC40. Upgraded this year with the latest Cree XM-L2 U2 LEDs, the RC40 (available for $380 on Amazon), will put out a scorching 6,000 lumens from its six-LED cluster. That’s enough output to reach almost half a mile away.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

In 2016, just how much phone can you get for $200? A lot, if you’re a Cricket Wireless customer.Case in point: ZTE’s Grand X Max 2 boasts a six-inch display, three cameras (one on the front, two on the back), a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor, two-gigabytes of memory, and a sizable 3,400 milliamp-hour battery complete with Quick Charge 2.0 capabilities.Indeed, this is far from the first $200 Android device we’ve seen, and on paper it looks like a promising device. But we all know looks can be deceiving. So how does this behemoth of a device stack up?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

If you’ve ever been annoyed by the clutter of icons along the top of your Android home screen, good news: There’s something you can do about it.Turns out there’s a trio of secret settings for customizing the Android user interface, and one of them will let you hide or reveal icons in the status bar. You can also rearrange the pull-down Android “quick settings,� as well as make a small but important tweak to the Android battery meter.You won’t find any of these settings by poking around the standard Settings screen. Instead, you’ll need to unlock the hidden “System UI Tuner� first. Here’s how to do it.How to reveal the System UI Tuner First, flick down from the top of the screen to reveal the full “quick settings� window shade, then tap and hold the Settings button (the one that looks like a gear) in the top-right corner of the display.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

By now, you must be familiar with Pokémon Go, the latest Pokémon game for iOS and Android that uses VR and real-world locations to send players on an IRL quest to catch Pokémon. But considering it’s a global phenomenon, Pokémon Go is surprisingly lacking in beginner instruction. This may be on purpose—Pokémon Go has a huge social element, and fewer instructions means more people turning to each other for help.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here