Author Archives: Carol Edwards

Apple is officially taking on child predators with new safety features for iPhone and iPad.

One scans for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which sounds like a good thing. But it has several privacy experts concerned.

So, how does it work? The feature, available on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 later this year, uses a new proprietary technology called NeuralHash to detect known CSAM images.

Before the image is stored in iCloud Photos, it goes through a matching process on the device against specific CSAM hashes.

It then uses technology called “threshold secret sharing,” which doesn’t allow Apple to interpret a photo unless the related account has crossed a threshold of CSAM content.

Apple can then report any CSAM content it finds to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

It’s worth noting that there is room for false positives. Matthew Green, cybersecurity expert and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, took to Twitter to voice his concerns.

Tweet may have been deleted

“To say that we are disappointed by Apple’s plans is an understatement,” said the Electronic Frontier Foundation, arguing that “even a thoroughly documented, carefully thought-out, and narrowly-scoped backdoor is still a backdoor.”

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story when we hear back.

Apple says its threshold provides “an extremely high level of accuracy and ensures less than a one in one trillion chance per year of incorrectly flagging a given account.”

Once a device crosses that threshold, the report is manually reviewed. If Apple finds a match, it disables the user’s account and a report is sent to NCMEC. Users who think their account has been flagged by mistake will have to file an appeal in order to get it back.

While it’s tough to criticize a company for wanting to crack down on child pornography, the fact that Apple has the ability to scan someone’s photos in general is concerning. It’s even worse to think that an actual human being might look through private images only to realize an account was mistakenly identified.

It’s also ironic that Apple, the company that brags about its privacy initiatives, specifically its Nutrition Labels and App Transparency Tracking, has taken this step.

Apple assures users that “CSAM is designed with user privacy in mind,” which is why it matches an image on-device before it’s sent to iCloud Photos. But they said the same thing about AirTags, and, well, those turned out to be a privacy nightmare.

“I keep getting a virus alert on my phone!! Help!!”

“Did anyone else get a damn virus on their phone from this link? I’m so pissed.”

“How do I get rid of this virus? Please help me.”

These are just some of the disgruntled comments left by Telegram users after clicking a link posted on Tuesday by Ron Watkins, the former administrator of 8kun, the extremist imageboard where Q of QAnon fame dropped communiques to their followers.

A screenshot of a small portion of the people complaining about a link Ron Watkins shared on his Telegram channel.
Credit: mashable screenshot

Many reporters and researchers of the far-right QAnon conspiracy believe that Watkins is Q himself. So, why would Watkins share a virus with his subscribers?

What’s going on here?

Earlier this week, Watkins had been teasing a big stunner of a revelation concerning the 2020 Presidential election. Watkins released his bombshell, which, even to his conspiracy theory- believing followers was pretty much a nothingburger.

Watkins’ video shows public testimony from CEO John Poulos of Dominion Voting Systems, the company responsible for a significant of the voting technology used across the country for elections. Dominion has been falsely accused by multiple people of wrongdoing in the 2020 election.

Trump supporters like Watkins and MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell have been claiming for months to have evidence that the election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump was fraudulent and that Trump actually won. However, their evidence has amounted to nothing but conspiracy theories and lies. There has been no evidence of fraud in the election and Joe Biden is officially the president of the United States.

Yet, regardless of this, believers of the right-wing QAnon conspiracy hold on to hope that sometime in the near future Biden will step down and Trump will somehow automatically ascend to the presidency once again.

In the clip used by Watkins, Poulos reiterates that the company, nor anyone else has remote access to the voting machines during an election. Interspersed by Watkins throughout the clip are blurry, unintelligible videos of computer screens allegedly from a Dominion whistleblower claiming they can access these machines remotely.

Q believers believe they’ve been hacked after opening a video from Ron Watkins.
Credit: mashable screenshot

However, included at the bottom of Watkins’ Telegram message containing the video was a since-removed link to a file uploading site containing the video, ostensibly so that his subscribers could easily download the .MP4 and share it elsewhere.

According to many of Watkins’ Telegram subscribers, the link contained a virus which took over their smartphone with a slew of notifications. It’s unclear exactly why Watkins chose that file uploading service. However, according to screenshots posted online, it’s clear what’s going on with these phones.

Where we spam 1, we spam all

Watkins shared a link to a website that installed iOS notification spam to his subscribers’ iPhones.

iOS notification spam attacks are becoming an increasingly common problem. Usually, a user will click a link and then be bombarded with pop-up notifications asking them to tap a button to proceed to the page they’re trying to access.

Here’s how one QAnon believer’s iPhone calendar looked like after clicking Watkins’ link.
Credit: mashable screenshot

Tapping on the pop-up uploads a calendar created by the spammer to your iPhone. The calendar will then proceed to show the iPhone user a notification throughout regular intervals, typically on an hourly basis.

A common example of this type of calendar spam attempts to convince users that Apple is trying to warn them that there is a virus on their phone. Hence, why so many QAnon believers thought that Watkins’ link gave their smartphones a virus.

A concerned person who clicked the link in Watkins’ message.
Credit: mashable screenshot

A concerned person who clicked the link in Watkins’ message.
Credit: mashable screenshot

The goal of the spammer is to get the user to click a payment link included in the notification so they can be tricked into purchasing an app or a subscription that claims will remove this nonexistent virus.

Q-Dropping the fix

While Mashable unfortunately can’t help with the delusion that last year’s presidential election will somehow be illegally overturned in favor of Trump, we can help with the iOS calendar notification spam.

Users with this problem, QAnon-related or otherwise, simply need to open the Calendar app on their iPhone and tap on the word “Calendars” in the middle of the menu on the bottom of the screen.

On your iPhone navigate to the calendar.
Credit: mashable screenshot

Find the spam calendar on the list and then tap the circled lowercase letter “i” colored in red.

Click on the info box on the calendar that’s producing spam.
Credit: mashable screenshot

Finally, scroll to the bottom of that screen and tap on delete.

Delete the calendar.
Credit: mashable screenshot

In conclusion, QAnon believers: There is no virus on your phone. The spam notifications will be gone after following the above steps. And Donald Trump legitimately lost the 2020 Presidential election.

Oh, what could have been.

Back in the spring of 2019, Apple did something it almost never does and canceled the AirPower wireless charging mat after it had been officially unveiled two years prior. Now, someone has their hands on a (somewhat) working version of this rare blemish on Apple’s hardware track record.

Giulio Zompetti, an Italian collector of Apple prototypes, was able to acquire a prototype AirPower mat from China, according to The Verge. In photos Zompetti provided to the publication, it’s evident the unfinished wireless charging mat lacks the materials that would have coated the outside of the product had it actually shipped as intended. So you can see all kinds of internal charging coils.

Zompetti also posted a video to Twitter showing a phone charging on the device.

Tweet may have been deleted

Zompetti told The Verge that the AirPower mat doesn’t even work with a standard-issue iPhone, instead requiring specialized iPhone prototypes to charge anything. He also said he hasn’t run into the heating problems that reportedly caused Apple to kill the project entirely, but can’t rule out their existence. Zompetti has a history with this sort of thing, coming across prototype Apple Watches a few years ago.

Apple’s cancellation of AirPower was noteworthy not necessarily because we were all super jazzed about it, but because it’s exceedingly rare for Apple to kill something after it’s been revealed publicly. Between 2017 and spring 2019, we kept expecting AirPower to show up at every Apple event, only to scratch our heads every time it didn’t. Personally, I’ll take credit for seeing things how they actually were before Apple made the news official.

Still, it’s cool to see a partially working version of the star-crossed charging mat. There aren’t many tech companies more heavily scrutinized than Apple and, for the sake of historic preservation, it’s cool that even its biggest blunders are able to survive out in the wild like this.

FX and Hulu dropped the trailer for the highly-anticipated Y: The Last Man, and it looks every bit as grim and gripping as the graphic novels.

Y: The Last Man is a post-apocalyptic drama based on the Vertigo series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. The Y has multiple meanings: For one thing, all mammals with Y chromosomes have spontaneously died, and another — one cisgender human man remains, and his name is Yorick. The world’s survivors search for answers, survival, and any hope for the future. The series also stars Diane Lane, Olivia Thirlby, Ashley Romans, and more.

Y: The Last Man starts streaming Sept. 13 on Hulu.

The cast, including Margot Robbie and John Cena, and director James Gunn bring us up to speed on backstory of The Suicide Squad.

Broke college students, rise up. Sign up for a Prime Student membership and get all of these free and discounted perks:

• BEST FOR AVOIDING THE DINING HALL: Get a free Grubhub+ student membership when you sign up for Prime Student — Save $9.99 per month

• BEST FOR STAYING MINDFUL: Prime Student subscribers get a three-month Calm premium membership for free — Save up to $61

• BEST FOR HELP WITH HOMEWORK: Get one free month of Course Hero with your Prime Student membership — Save $30.04 per month

Ah, college. The time of your life when eating instant ramen every night is acceptable, and being broke is the norm. But just because you’re a student doesn’t mean you don’t deserve nice things. Luckily, Amazon just unveiled a slew of amazing new perks for all of their Prime Student members (and a solid discount on the membership itself, too). As of Aug. 5, students can get a six month free trial of Amazon Prime Student, and when the trial is up, pay only $6.49 per month.

Of course, you’ll get the fast, free delivery that Prime is known for. So order your required reading, dorm decor, or a new backpack via Prime, and they’ll be delivered to your door faster than you can sign up for next semester’s classes. There’s also no-fuss textbook rental and access to tons of Amazon-exclusive entertainment.

If you still need some incentive to try out Prime Student, check out all these bonus deals that you can participate in once you sign up for your membership. With everything from free food delivery for those late night study sessions to free guided meditation to help you unwind after long days Prime Student has you covered.

BEST FOR AVOIDING THE DINING HALL: Free Grubhub+ student membership

Dining hall food isn’t known for being gourmet, and sometimes you just have too much homework to even bother cooking. As long as you’re a Prime Student member, you’ll have access to a free Grubhub+ subscription, which gives you unlimited free deliveries for off-campus orders over $12. You’ll also earn 10% Grubhub+ Cash on pickup orders, which you can use on all your future food runs.

BEST FOR STAYING MINDFUL: Free three-month Calm premium membership, then annual membership for $8.99

College is stressful, and if we’ve learned anything from Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka, it’s that mental health should come before all else. Prime Student members get a free three month trial to Calm Premium, giving them guided meditations, sleep stories, and music tracks designed for focus, sleep, and relaxation. If you enjoy the free trial, you can also score an annual membership for only $8.99 — a $61 discount.

BEST FOR HELP WITH HOMEWORK: One free month of Course Hero, then $9.95 per month

Sometimes, you just need help with your homework — no shame. Course Hero lets you read textbooks, practice problems, and expert tutors, so you can strive to make the Dean’s List every semester. Normally $39.99 per month, this Prime Student deal gives you a one month free trial, then a monthly subscription for under $10 after it’s over.

MORE GREAT DEALS:

Get up to 10% off travel with Student Universe

You only have so many breaks during college, so make the most of them with a budget-friendly trip. Prime Student members will get an extra 10% off already-discounted flights and hotels from Student Universe, so spring break abroad will be way more price-accessible.

Premium Prime Video channels — $0.99 per month

When you sign up for Prime Student, you’ll also be able to subscribe to premium Prime Video channels like SHOWTIME, EPIX, ALLBLK, Sundance Now, Acorn TV, Lifetime Movie Club, History Vault, Pantaya, and Motortrend for only $0.99 per month each. Given that some of these channels normally cost up to $10.99 per month, this is a slick deal for all the movie and tv buffs out there.

Amazon Music Unlimited — $0.99 per month

Normally $7.99 per month for Prime members, Prime Student members can get an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription for less than a dollar per month. Compared to Apple Music and Spotify’s $4.99 per month student price tag, opting for Amazon Music Unlimited is kind of a no-brainer.

Explore related content:

• Looking for love on campus: Best dating apps for college students

• Best laptops for students: See where the MacBook falls on our list

• 13 of the best laptop backpacks, based on Amazon reviews

The Echo Show has been around for a while, along with Amazon products made specifically for kids, but the Echo Show 5 Kids is a newbie on the scene that made its debut with the revamped 2nd gen Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8. It has the same features as the new Echo Show 5, but with a cool chameleon look, a free year of Amazon Kids, and some beefy parental controls.

And since I’m just a boring 30-year-old who spends her days hunched over a desk, I decided to enlist the help of a true expert for the purposes of this review: My 5-year-old son, a Fire tablet devotee and Sonic the Hedgehog superfan.

I knew he’d be all about figuring out the Echo Show 5 Kids for me, so I let him take the lead. His verdict?: “I really like it!”

What parents will like about the Echo Show 5 Kids

With Amazon Kids installed, this device is made for learning and fun. After just a few minutes of tinkering, my son settled on a Skill (the Echo Show’s version of apps) all about learning the periodic table. Can’t complain there.

As far as safety and security go, there’s a physical camera shutter right on top (just like the standard 2nd gen Echo Show 5) that you can toggle on and off. You can also use the device as a security camera to check in on things from the Alexa app as long as you’ve got a WiFi connection — perfect for checking in at night without subjecting your big kid to a baby monitor.

Its aesthetic is basically dino scales.
Credit: amazon

Video calls and drop-ins are available and really easy for kids to do themselves, but only to approved contacts and other devices in your home. Doting grandparents everywhere will love it. All you have to do is add contact phone numbers through the Alexa app (available for iPhone or Android) on your phone.

The parental controls are super intuitive and thorough, and your purchase comes with a free year of Amazon kids and a 2-year worry-free guarantee.

Finally, Alexa can answer those endless questions your kids have, which is arguably the very best thing about the Echo Show 5 Kids (especially if your kid, like mine, is both chatty and curious). Share that burden, parents!

When I asked Alexa to name the planets, she rattled them off and even gave a brief, kid-friendly explainer on why Pluto is no longer considered one.

The stuff kids will go crazy for

The chameleon look is adorable and according to my son, it’s “dinosaur scales” — which boosts the cool factor in his eyes to approximately infinity. And the Echo Show 5 is the perfect size for tiny hands — the larger Echo Show 8 would be a little too cumbersome for younger children.

Alexa is a great listener, too, so the Show 5 is really easy for kids to use. My son got a kick out of talking to Alexa and happily listened to books and played on his own thanks to her helpful prompts. We love impromptu dance parties at my house, and it was nice to know that my son could DJ for us all by himself using his Echo Show 5 Kids without accidentally stumbling across explicit music. (BTW, our latest jam has been the Sonic X theme song on repeat — “Alexa, play the Sonic X song” every five minutes.)

One of the best features of the Echo Show 5 Kids is that Alexa can read your kid a book. All they have to do is say, “Alexa, read me a story” to have a Disney story read to them. And if you have an Audible membership, Alexa can also play Audible audiobooks that you’ve shared with your child’s profile. For youngsters whose reading skills haven’t yet caught up to their big imaginations, this is a great way to get more reading time in.

It can stream video from all the major streaming services, too so it’s great for entertaining the kids while freeing up the TV so you can watch something.

The few games available on the device are super interactive and seem to be mostly learning-based. They kept my son entertained for a while, and if he got stuck on something he’d just say, “Alexa, it’s not working!” and that usually seemed to fix the problem. Regardless, while it’s great for streaming video and reading audiobooks, it’s not really a gaming device — so don’t buy it with that expectation.

While Amazon’s app selection is pretty limited, Alexa’s is even more so. The Echo Show is limited to a select handful of apps known as Skills. While there are a few game options, it’s not gonna impress a kid who wants it mostly for games. Thankfully, however, most of the kid-friendly Skills are made available through the Amazon Kids subscription (which also makes it much easier for your child to navigate to those Skills) so it’s a good idea to keep the subscription until your child outgrows the device.

The camera is easy to access by asking Alexa to open it, or swiping left on the screen. It features a super streamlined video option so kids can record their own videos, and doesn’t every kid these days want to be a Youtuber? He also loves that he has his own device to make and receive video calls on, instead of having to use Mom’s phone.

Overall, it’s been totally magical for him, but he did get antsy after playing on it for a short while — which is normal for a 5-year-old. He understands that it’s not really a toy, but seems really excited to have a “grown-up” device that still looks like a T-rex.

Who shouldn’t buy it

The Echo Show 5 Kids probably won’t have the same appeal to older kids. The content on Amazon Kids is heavily targeted towards younger kids. BUT if you want the parental controls for your older kids and tweens, you can try it without the Amazon Kids subscription. If they’re not crazy about the juvenile look of the Echo Show 5 Kids, you can always make any Echo Show device a dedicated children’s device during setup to access expanded parental control options.

Unfortunately, the fact that it’s not mobile is also a drawback for a kids’ device. My son was fine sitting in one spot to play with it for a little bit, but he prefers something that can go where he goes. He also thought the cord was such a major hassle. If he only knew!

And if your kid’s not an Alexa user or wants to use the device mostly for games, the much more portable and kid-proof Fire 7 or Fire 8 Kids Edition tablet might be a better option. The same inexpensive Amazon Kids membership allows access to hundreds of fully functional games on an Amazon Fire tablet, while the Echo Show 5 Kids is basically just a tiny little TV-slash-radio with internet connectivity.

Plus, the tablet has the same parental controls and Amazon Kids functionality — and it can go anywhere and is housed in a drop, throw, kick, and bite-proof case. Go ahead, ask me how I know it’s bite-proof.

Add to cart?

The Echo Show 5 Kids has major appeal for kids, and it’s perfect for your technologically inclined kid, especially if they use Alexa regularly. Parents (myself included) love the souped-up parental controls and included Amazon Kids subscription.

But kids will probably outgrow the Amazon Kids content on the Echo Show 5 Kids fairly quickly, and it’s also not a worthwhile purchase if your child is an avid gamer or doesn’t use Alexa much (or insists on toting around their fave device everywhere they go).

Regardless, it’s a great piece of tech to keep your kid connected (and protected).

Save $751.99: The Sony 75-inch X90J Bravia full-array LED 4K TV is now down to $1,848 at Amazon as of Aug. 5.

Congratulations if you’ve managed to get your hands on a new PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. Now it’s time for a new TV.

Prepare for a gaming upgrade with a Sony 75-inch X90J Bravia XR full-array 4K TV, which is on sale for $1,848 at Amazon. This $751.99 discount drops the price down to the lowest we’ve seen on this TV so far — and it beats out Walmart by $50.

The Sony X90J features HDMI 2.1 ports that allow for an optimized gaming experience for the new consoles. On top of 4K and 120Hz gaming, the Bravia Game Mode allows for increased frame rates and further reduces the input lag for more responsive controls. But even if you’re not a gamer, it’s still a good choice for your other entertainment preferences.

The Sony X90J even works with Alexa for voice controls and includes Google TV, so you can browse your favorite content on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and other top platforms.

Explore related content:

• Best 4K TVs for gaming: Samsung QLED, LG OLED, Sony, and more

• 7 of the best gaming chairs to maximize your gaming experience

• The best 4K TVs: From OLED to QLED, Samsung to TCL, and more

Every so often a website that analyses Spotify data blows up on Twitter and it is all we see for the next 24 hours. Then it’s just as quickly forgotten. But these websites are still valuable if you want to analyze your listening habits.

We’ve scoured the corners of the internet and collected our ten favorite websites that analyze your Spotify data.

But there is a caveat. Each of these websites requires you to login to your Spotify and allow the website to access your Spotify data. So if that’s not something you’re OK with, you may want to sit this one out.

But if you’re the type of person who spends your days counting down to Spotify Wrapped or need your listening habits analyzed more than once a year, check out these websites that analyze your Spotify data.

1. Stats for Spotify

Stats for Spotify is your classic Spotify data analyzer. It shows you your top tracks, artists, and genres organized by the previous four weeks, last six months, and all time. It also shows how your top tracks, artists, and genres have changed since the last time you used Stats for Spotify.

2. How Bad is Your Spotify

How Bad is Your Spotify is an AI that judges your music taste. It gained popularity in December 2020 for its snarky roasts of users’ listening habits.

Don’t judge me.
Credit: screenshot: how bad is your spotify

3. Obscurify

Obscurify tells you how obscure the music you listen to is compared to other Obscurify users. The best feature is that it shows you your top five obscure artist. It also rates your music’s happiness, danceability, and energy and compares it to other users. Another fun feature of Obscurify is it shows you your top songs of each decade.

4. Zodiac Affinity

If you’re an astrology lover, you’ll appreciate Zodiac Affinity. It chooses which five of your liked songs align with different star signs and no we have no idea what the criteria is here.

5. Discover Quickly

Discover Quickly sorts your playlists, top songs, and top artists by different criteria like popularity and danceability. It also lists all of Spotify’s crazy specific genres like deep metalcore, acid house, and charred death. If you click on a genre it will make you a playlist of songs of that genre. You can also select “random genre” and it will generate a playlist of songs of a random genre.

6. MusicScape

MusicScape generates a landscape based on your recent listening. The landscape takes the mood, mode, energy, and key of your recent listening into consideration to create the landscape.

What does your musicScape look like?
Credit: Screenshot: musicscape

7. MusicTaste.Space

MusicTaste.Space is fun because it allows you to compare your listening with another Spotify user. Just send a friend the link on the homepage and it will show you all the overlap between your top songs and top artists.

8. Receiptify

Receiptify puts your top ten tracks on a trendy receipt. You can choose your top tracks of the last month, last six months, or of all time.

Receiptify gives you an Insta Story ready list of your top songs.
Credit: screenshot: Receiptify

9. How NPRcore are you

How NPRcore are you analyzes how closely your music taste aligns with NPR music. It tells you what percent NPRcore you are and which of your top tracks and artists are most NPRcore. Like on other websites you can choose which period of listening you want it to analyze.

10. Moodify

This AI generates a playlist for you based on the mood of the song you’re currently listening to.

After you’ve had your fun poking around these websites and annoying your followers with your music taste, you can unlink your Spotify from these websites by going to Spotify app settings and selecting “Remove Access.”

Dreaming of that trip to Paris or finally buying a new car, but wondering how you’ll be able to save enough money? Mint has the solution.

Mint is one of the most popular budgeting apps out there right now. Mint is free and available on iOS on the Apple App store and in the Google Play store for Android. It syncs your accounts, automates the budgeting process, and helps you save by allowing you to set saving and spending goals.

Creating goals can make saving and conquering debt more manageable.

Follow the steps below to create a goal on Mint.

1. Open Mint App

2. Select “Monthly” on the bottom of the screen

Tap “Monthly”
Credit: screenshot: mint

3. Scroll down to “Your Goals”

4. Select “Create Goal” or “Set a goal”

Tap “Create Goal” or “Set a goal.”
Credit: screenshot: Mint

5. Scroll through the many goal options and select the goal you want to set

Select the kind of goal you want to set.
Credit: screenshot: mint

The steps for each goal depend on the goal, but they are all very user-friendly.

For example if you select “Save for a rainy day” it will prompt you with questions like “how much do you want to save” and “when do you need it by.” Then it will give you easy steps to reach your goal.