Posts with «author_name|cheyenne macdonald» label

Proton Mail’s paid users will now get alerts if their info has been posted on the dark web

Proton Mail has introduced Dark Web Monitoring for its paid users, which will keep them informed of breaches or leaks they may have been affected by. If anything's been spotted on the dark web, the feature will send out alerts that include information like what service was compromised, what personal details the attackers got (e.g. passwords, name, etc.) and recommended next steps. At launch, you’ll have to visit the Proton Mail Security Center on the web or desktop to access these alerts, but the company says email and in-app notifications are on the way.

Proton

Dark Web Monitoring is intended to be a proactive security measure. If you’ve used your Proton Mail email address to sign up for a third-party service, like a social media site, and then hackers steal user data from that service, it would let you know in a timely manner if your credentials have been compromised so you can take action (hopefully) before any harm is done. It seems a fitting move for the service, which already offers end-to-end encryption and has made privacy its main stance since the beginning. Dark Web Monitoring won’t be available to free users, though.

“While data breaches of third-party sites leading to the leak of personal information (such as your email address) can never be entirely avoided, automated early warning can help users stay vigilant and mitigate worse side effects such as identity theft,” said Eamonn Maguire, Head of Anti-Abuse and Account Security at Proton.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/proton-mails-paid-users-will-now-get-alerts-if-their-info-has-been-posted-on-the-dark-web-100057504.html?src=rss

Tesla makes its controversial Full Self-Driving software cheaper by $4,000

Tesla has reduced the price of its Full Self-Driving software in the US and Canada. Per a post from the company on X, it now costs $8,000 in the US (or $11,000 for buyers in Canada) to add the so-called Full Self-Driving Capability. This is down from $12,000 ($16,000 CAD), according to Electrek, which also reports that Tesla has discontinued the $6,000 Enhanced Autopilot option. Current owners with that package can upgrade to FSD for $2,000.

Tesla’s driver assistance features have been under scrutiny from regulators for years, and despite the name, Full Self-Driving isn’t meant to fully take over for a human driver at this stage. On its website, Tesla notes that current FSD features “require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.” In March, the company reportedly introduced a mandate requiring its staff to give buyers a demonstration of FSD before they’re able to take home their new cars, so they can see what the software has to offer.

The latest price drop comes a few days after Tesla slashed the monthly cost of its subscription for FSD — which it has recently been referring to as Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The subscription, which previously cost $199/month, now goes for $99/month. Tesla also cut the starting prices of its Model Y, X and S vehicles this weekend by $2,000 each. Earlier this month, Tesla reported that its vehicle deliveries for Q1 2024 fell short of expectations, with an eight percent drop year-over-year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-makes-its-controversial-full-self-driving-software-cheaper-by-4000-184737580.html?src=rss

Biden signs bill to reauthorize FISA warrantless surveillance program for two more years

President Biden this weekend signed into law a bill that reauthorizes a controversial spying program under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Section 702 of FISA, which has now been extended for two more years, allows for warrantless intelligence gathering on foreign targets. While its focus is on the communications of targets located outside the US, that includes any exchanges with people stateside, meaning Americans’ records can get swept up in these collections too.

The Senate vote on reauthorizing Section 702 came down to the wire. It was set to expire on Friday at midnight, but was recently given an extension until April 2025, according to The New York Times, lest it lapse while disagreements over proposed amendments dragged on. Section 702’s extension period was also shortened, cutting it down to two years instead of the previous five. Congress did ultimately miss the deadline on Friday, but it passed with a 60-34 vote, CBS News reported. The White House issued a statement not long after saying the president “will swiftly sign the bill into law.”

Section 702 was first signed into law in 2008 and has been renewed twice already, allowing US intelligence agencies to use data from internet and cell phone providers without a warrant to keep tabs on foreign targets’ communications.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/biden-signs-bill-to-reauthorize-fisa-warrantless-surveillance-program-for-two-more-years-153817277.html?src=rss

House votes in favor of bill that could ban TikTok, sending it onward to Senate

The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Saturday that could either see TikTok banned in the country or force its sale. A revised version of the bill, which previously passed the House in March but later stalled in Senate, was roped in with a foreign aid package this time around, likely meaning it will now be treated as a higher priority item. The bill originally gave TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, six months to sell the app or it would be banned from US app stores. Under the revised version, ByteDance would have up to a year to divest.

The bill passed with a vote of 360-58 in the House, according to AP. It’ll now move on to the Senate, which could vote on it as soon as days from now. President Joe Biden has previously said he would support the bill if Congress passes it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/house-votes-in-favor-of-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-sending-it-onward-to-senate-185140206.html?src=rss

Tesla cuts Model Y, X and S prices in the US and says it’s ending the referral program

Another round of price cuts has shaved $2,000 off the starting prices of Tesla’s Model Y, Model X and Model S for buyers in the US. The company’s North America branch posted on X about the change Friday night, at the same time announcing that Tesla is ditching its referral program benefits in all markets. According to Tesla, the “current referral program benefits will end after April 30.”

Tesla’s Model Y now starts at $42,990 for the rear-wheel drive base model, $47,990 for the Model Y Long Range or $51,490 for the Model Y Performance. The base Model S has dropped to $72,990 while the Model S Plaid now starts at $87,990. The Model X starts at $77,990 (base) or $92,990 (Plaid). The changes come during a rocky few weeks for the company, which just issued a recall for Cybertrucks over possible issues with the accelerator pedal, reportedly laid off 10 percent of its employees and reported a decline in deliveries for the first quarter.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-cuts-model-y-x-and-s-prices-in-the-us-and-says-its-ending-the-referral-program-172311662.html?src=rss

Apple claims Epic is trying to ‘micromanage’ its business operations in a new court filing

Last month, Epic Games filed a motion asking a California judge to hold Apple in contempt for what it claims are violations of a 2021 injunction relating to the company’s App Store practices. Now, Apple is asking the judge to reject Epic’s request, alleging in a new filing spotted by Reuters that the motion is an attempt to “micromanage Apple’s business operations in a way that would increase Epic’s profitability.”

The original injunction by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers required Apple to let developers provide an option for external payment methods, which would allow them to avoid fees of up to 30 percent on App Store and in-app purchases. Apple introduced new App Store guidelines for developers in January that do allow linking to external websites for purchasing alternatives, but the new rules also require they get Apple’s approval to do so and impose a commission of 12-27 percent for these transactions. Per Reuters, Epic argued that this makes alternative payment options “commercially unusable.”

Epic also said at the time that Apple’s “so-called compliance is a sham,” and accused the company of violating the injunction with its recent moves. Apple maintains that it has acted in compliance with the injunction, stating in the new filing, “The purpose of the Injunction is to make information regarding alternative purchase options more readily available, not to dictate the commercial terms on which Apple provides access to its platform, tools and technologies, and userbase.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-claims-epic-is-trying-to-micromanage-its-business-operations-in-a-new-court-filing-171011659.html?src=rss

The new Blink Mini 2 home security camera is on sale for only $30 right now

The Blink Mini 2 home security camera was only announced a month ago, and it’s already on sale. The camera is 25 percent off in both colors — black and white — in a deal on Amazon, bringing the already budget-friendly system down to just $30. The Blink Mini 2 can be used indoors or outdoors, offers HD footage in the daytime or at night and has an LED spotlight. It can be paired with one of Amazon’s smart displays for Alexa voice controls. The camera is a plug-in device, though, so you’ll need to place it somewhere with an outlet.

You’ll also need to pick up the weather-resistant power adapter if you intend to put it outside. A bundle including that adapter is on sale as well, shaving $10 off its normal price of $50. Amazon-owned Blink announced the Mini 2 camera in March, touting improvements to image quality and the option for HD night view in color thanks to its spotlight. The camera also has motion detection and two-way audio, so you can hear what’s going on and, if you want, let whoever’s on the other side hear you too.

With the Blink subscription, you can get additional features out of the Mini 2. That includes smart notifications, like person detection, the ability to stream up to 90 minutes of live video and cloud storage for event clips. If you already own a Blink Video Doorbell, the Mini 2 camera can be used with that system to work as a chime when someone rings the doorbell. In the box you’ll get one camera, a mounting kit and stand, and one USB-C cable and power adapter for indoor use.

Purchasing the Mini 2 will get you a 30-day free trial of the Blink Subscription Plan, too. If you plan on keeping it after that, it’ll cost $3 per month per device. You can also opt to pay $10 per month to cover an unlimited amount of devices if you have a multi-camera setup.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-new-blink-mini-2-home-security-camera-is-on-sale-for-only-30-right-now-144843425.html?src=rss

Bluesky now allows heads of state to join the platform

Now that Bluesky has opened itself up to the public and introduced some new moderation options, the team’s decided it’s finally time to allow world leaders on board, too. A post from the official Bluesky account on Friday notified users, “By the way... we lifted our ‘no heads of state’ policy.” The policy has been in place for the last year as Bluesky worked through all the early growing pains of being a budding social network. 

Bluesky remained an invite-only platform from its launch in February 2023 until February of this year, when it finally ditched the waitlist. Bluesky had said last May that it wasn’t ready for heads of state to join, and even asked users to give its support team notice “before you invite prominent figures.” It’s since grown to more than 5 million users, gaining roughly a million alone in the day after it stopped requiring invite codes.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bluesky-now-allows-heads-of-state-to-join-the-platform-202700504.html?src=rss

Interstellar is coming back to theaters in September for its 10-year anniversary

It’s somehow been almost 10 years since Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi odyssey Interstellar was first released in theaters, and to celebrate the upcoming anniversary, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. are bringing it back to the big screen. Per Variety, Paramount announced at CinemaCon this week that Interstellar will be re-released on September 27, 2024 in IMAX 70mm and digital. Interstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, debuted in the US in fall 2014.

In true form for Nolan, the film is a bit of a mind-bender. Interstellar presents us with a near-future Earth that is becoming uninhabitable due to an unbeatable blight that’s wiped out nearly all food crops. A team of astronauts sets out to space in search of another planet that could support life, using a wormhole to reach a galaxy beyond our own, and space-time weirdness ensues. It’s a great movie and was well-received at the time of its release (even if it left a ton of people confused about what had actually happened), going on to rake in roughly $731 million globally, according to Variety.

If you didn’t get a chance to catch it in IMAX the first time around, it’s definitely worth taking a trip to the theater for this one.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/interstellar-is-coming-back-to-theaters-in-september-for-its-10-year-anniversary-173427501.html?src=rss

Our favorite Sony wireless earbuds are on sale for a record-low price

If you’ve been eyeing Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds but were put off by the steep price tag, now would be the perfect time to pick up a set. The premium earbuds, normally $300, are down to a record low price of $230 on Amazon, for a savings of $70. This deal only applies to the earbuds in black. The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds were released in summer 2023 and brought major upgrades over the previous model. They boast the best noise cancellation and call quality of Sony’s earbuds lineup, and have built-in Alexa support.

The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are our top pick for the best earbuds for this year. They’re more comfortable than the WF-1000XM4s, being 25 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter for a much better fit. The charging case, too, is more compact than its predecessor. In terms of sound quality, they further improve upon the already impressive capabilities of the 1000X line. The speakers are slightly larger than the previous model’s, and their Dynamic Driver X drivers make for rich, clear sound and bassier bass. Sony WF-1000XM5 scored an 87 in our review last year.

The earbuds offer Adaptive Sound Control, which will automatically adjust your noise cancellation settings to work best for the environment you’re in or activity you’re doing. You may want active noise cancellation on when you’re working from home, but switch to transparency mode when you’re going out for a run. You’ll need to enable location services for this feature using Sony’s Headphones Connect app.

The app allows for other types of customization as well, like changing the controls assigned to the touch sensors on the earbuds. Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds also support multipoint Bluetooth connections, which means you can pair them with two devices at the same time. There’s a Speak-to-Chat mode that pauses audio when it senses you’ve started a conversation, and an equalizer in the app where you can adjust your sound settings.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/our-favorite-sony-wireless-earbuds-are-on-sale-for-a-record-low-price-145310563.html?src=rss