Rameez Anwar’s phone had serious problems. The device, paid for by the federally funded Lifeline program for low-income people, was overrun with pop-up ads that made it unusable. Despite multiple factory resets, the problem wouldn’t go away.  “As soon as it detected internet,” Anwar said, “it started doing the pop-ups.”  Anwar, who says he’s tinkered …

Tablet shipments for the top five brands rose notably in the second quarter of this year, according to analysts at Canalys, a market research firm. The upswing came just when people around the world were asked to work remotely and keep their kids home from school to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Shipments were 26% higher than …

Several websites became unavailable Friday after Cloudflare experienced outages in parts of its network. The problem was caused by a chain reaction in Cloudflare’s systems for routing internet traffic. Affected websites include those for Shopify, Politico, Discord and League of Legends, according to TechCrunch.  In an incident report, Cloudflare said the outage wasn’t the result of an attack. “We believe we …

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. It’s always hard for Franz Lupo to keep his phone charged, and he’s using some of that juice to talk with me. From a San Francisco Bay Area town where he lives in a tent, Lupo tells me over the phone that he …

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites. The US Senate voted down an amendment to the USA Patriot Act on Wednesday that would create a tougher standard for government investigators to collect the web search and browsing histories of people in the states. The bipartisan amendment, proposed by Sen. Ron …

Editor’s note: In recognition of World Password Day, CNET is republishing a selection of our stories on improving and replacing passwords. Even though the tech industry is working on better alternatives to passwords, you’re going to be using them for an awfully long time. Some of the advice you’ve heard over the last couple of decades is outdated. Here’s a …

Editor’s note: In recognition of World Password Day, CNET is republishing a selection of our stories on improving and replacing passwords. If you’re one of the countless people who unwisely use easy-to-guess passwords or reuse a password for several accounts, cybersecurity experts have a message for you: It isn’t your fault. Memorizing a unique, complex password for each account is …

Deepfakes and other manipulated videos put the integrity of democratic elections at risk, a group of experts told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Wednesday. What to do about it is a thorny question. A hearing, titled “Americans at Risk: Manipulation and Deception in the Digital Age” and held by the subcommittee on Consumer Protection, focused on the wide …

The Golden State is one step closer to banning police departments from using facial recognition in body cameras. The California State Senate voted Wednesday to approve a bill that would prevent police from using the two technologies together for three years. The bill arises from concerns that facial recognition isn’t reliable enough to use without flagging high rates of innocent …

Reddit announced a limited-time livestreaming feature Monday, which users can try out through Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT. Called Reddit Public Access Network, or r/pan in the parlance of the discussion forum site, the feature lets users create and watch live video and vote it up or down. The feature is available this week …