Security research firm Kryptowire has again exposed a hive of potentially malicious activity by preinstalled apps on cheaply produced Android phones. In research funded by the US Department of Homeland Security, the firm found apps secretly recording audio, changing phone settings without user permission and even granting themselves new permissions.  Kryptowire’s research is the latest …

A long period of beta incubation has come to an end with the release of Brave 1.0, the privacy-focused speed demon of a browser that’s been turning heads with its cavalier approach to ad-blocking and its promises of cryptocurrency payouts. The open source brainchild of Javascript creator and Mozilla project co-founder Brendan Eich, Brave now touts more than 8 million users …

“NordVPN gives you peace of mind each time you use public Wi-Fi, access personal and work accounts on the road, or want to keep your browsing history to yourself.” That’s just a small sample of the many advantages touted on the homepage of NordVPN, one of the best-known commercial providers of virtual private networking services, or VPNs. VPNs have grown …

You may have heard the term “ultra wideband” getting thrown around by both Apple and Verizon, but their two use cases are actually very different. Here’s what you need to know about UWB. Apple’s ultra wideband U1 chip Apple’s U1 chip is the company’s first use of sophisticated location-tracking technology that’s faster, more precise and more secure than GPS-based location tracking. …

You’ll now be able to access more than just Google’s own products when you pop a shortcut into the address bar of your browser. On Tuesday, Google revealed several new .new domain shortcuts, which open up the features to outside companies including Spotify and Medium. Google’s first three shortcuts — docs.new, sheets.new, slides.new — arrived in 2018, letting you quickly …

Why settle for connecting to just one cellular LTE network when you can connect to two? If you’ve got a Pixel 4 or Pixel 4XL from Google Fi, you’ll be able to do exactly that in the coming weeks.  Google Fi on Tuesday said customers will start seeing better coverage via its new dual connect technology. Google Fi uses local …

In October, a federal court kicked the question of net neutrality protections back to individual states when it upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to deregulate internet service providers. This leaves it up to each state to pass laws protecting consumers from broadband companies, which could block or slow your access, or charge you for faster access. It’s too early …

Late night scroll-athons on Instagram might be getting easier on your eyes now that a much-anticipated feature has arrived. Following recent moves from Gmail, WhatsApp, Twitter and Pinterest, Instagram launched its new dark mode feature Tuesday for iOS 13 and Android 10 devices.  Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said in a tweet Tuesday that dark mode is available for both iOS …

Internet access has been blocked across most of Iraq as mass anti-corruption protests continued into their third day. Internet access watchdog Netblocks reports that the blackout began with social media platforms on Wednesday and spread until roughly 75% of Iraq’s internet, including in capital city, Baghdad, was shut down Thursday morning.  The shutdown didn’t affect the autonomous Kurdish region in …

Amazon has apparently again locked horns with a streaming competitor. Amazon wants to sell a “substantial percentage” of ad space on Disney apps that are available on the retail giant’s Fire TV devices, according to a report Thursday from The Wall Street Journal. Disney is said to be resisting, and the two companies are at an impasse. Disney apps could be removed from …