Last winter, as an FBI hostage rescue team took up an elevated position to assess an unfolding crisis, agents heard the buzz of small drones approaching. Soon, the tiny unmanned aircraft had the team surrounded, swooping past in a series of “high-speed low passes at the agents in the observation post to flush them,” Joe …

YouTube has 1.8 billion people registered viewers every month, not counting any people who watch the massive video service without logging in.  “It’s incredibly important to me and to everyone at YouTube that we grow responsibly,” Wojcicki said Thursday, speaking at a New York presentation for advertisers known as a Newfront. “There is not a playbook for how open platforms operate at our …

Macs have Siri built in, and Windows PCs have Cortana, so almost everyone with a laptop or desktop already has access to a voice-activated smart assistant. But that hasn’t stopped other assistants from trying to get a foothold in computers. Amazon’s Alexa is coming to select laptops later in 2018, and more interestingly, Amazon and Microsoft have promised Alexa/Cortana integration, …

You can now earn cash by using your Samsung Galaxy device to pay for items.  Samsung on Thursday unveiled its new Cash Back program for Samsung Pay, which has started rolling out exclusively for users in the US. There is a new section on the mobile payment app’s home screen that shows you exclusive offers from retailers. When you click …

Sonos could be ready to announce a new home-theater speaker with voice control next month. In an invitation that went out to journalists Thursday morning, the audio company has scheduled an event for June 6 in San Francisco. The invite features a table-full of remotes with the tagline “You’re better than this.” The Sonos invite that was sent to journalists  …

HTC teased the unveiling of its latest flagship phone on Twitter on Thursday. The date? May 23. “Coming Soon. A phone that is more than the sum of its specs,” said HTC in a tweet, with an image showing a number of components spread out on a gray background. Update, May 4: If those components look strangely familiar, this might …

Ashamed that you binge-watched all five seasons of “Saved by the Bell”? Don’t want Netflix to blow the whistle on you during a Netflix-and-chill session with one of those “Because you like ‘Saved by the Bell'” show suggestions? Hey, no problem. Now playing: Watch this: How to delete your Netflix history right now 1:14 How to hide your guilty pleasures …

Google’s Advanced Protection program isn’t exclusive to Google’s own apps anymore. It’s now bringing iOS users under the umbrella. The company on Thursday announced that it’s expanding its high security features to iOS apps, including Apple Mail, Contacts and Calendar. Google first rolled out the program last October, designed to protect high-risk internet users, like politicians, campaign staffers, business leaders, …

This isn’t a card you want for shooting 4K video or even continuous-shooting photography, but Samsung’s Pro endurance may be the one you want if you need to record or store data in temperatures up to 85 degrees Celsius (185 F).  They’re available now, with prices of $90 for 128GB, $45 for 64GB and $25 for 32GB. There’s no word …

You’ve probably heard that every single Samsung Galaxy S9 phone will soon include preinstalled apps from its new partner, Oath, whether you like it or no. But we checked with Samsung, and it turns out those initial reports weren’t entirely true.  Yes, Samsung has signed a deal with Oath (known for its Yahoo and AOL brands) to install some of Oath’s …