Month: July 2024
Loss of popular 2FA tool puts security-minded GrapheneOS in a paradox
Losing access to Authy leads to another reckoning with Google’s security model.
Enlarge / Graphene is a remarkable allotrope, deserving of further study. GrapheneOS is a remarkable ROM, one that Google does not quite know how to accommodate, due to its “tiny, tiny” user numbers compared to mainstream Android.
“If it’s not an official OS, we have to assume it’s bad.”
That’s how Shawn Wilden, the tech lead for hardware-backed security in Android, described the current reality of custom Android-based operating systems in response to a real security conundrum. GrapheneOS users discovered recently that Authy, a popular (and generally well-regarded) two-factor authentication manager, will not work on their phones—phones running an OS intended to be more secure and hardened than any standard Android phone.
“We don’t want to punish users of alternative OSes, but there’s really no other option at the moment,” Wilden added before his blunt conclusion. “Play Integrity has absolutely no way to guess whether a given custom OS completely subverts the Android security model.”
Modern Warfare 3 players are less likely to play the game when there’s no skill-based matchmaking, according to new Activision study
A new Activision study shows that Call of Duty players are less likely to play if there is no skill-based matchmaking.
A new study which shows that Call of Duty players are less likely to play if there is no skill-based matchmaking.
The study, which was published online and spotted by GamesIndustry.biz, details an experiment conducted by the publisher earlier this year without the knowledge of Modern Warfare 3 players and tested the North American player base.
According to the paper, Activision ran a “Deprioritise Skill Test” in the game for 50% of its player base were it loosened the constraints on skill in matchmaking, while the remaining half received normal matchmaking.
Activision explained that it found that the players affected in the Deprioritise Skill Test were less likely to continue playing the game. The results show that the player rate dropped for 90% of players, while players who quit rose to 80%.
In addition, 10% of the highest skilled players reportedly returned, but in comparison fewer players did the same. The publisher explained that over time, like interest, this will have “meaningful impact” on the player population.
“This is a concern for all players, including the top 10%, as if this pattern is allowed to continue, players will exit the game in increased numbers,” it explained. “Eventually a top 10% player will become a top 20% player, and eventually a top 30% player, until only the very best players remain playing the game.”
It continued, saying the original top players will become increasingly more likely not return to the game.
“Ultimately, this will result in a worse experience for all players, as there will be fewer and fewer players available to play with,” Activision added.
“Also, this test only deprioritised skill in the matching rules. If it were completely removed, we would expect to see the player population erode rapidly in the span of a few months, resulting in a negative outcome for all our players.”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was recently added to Xbox Game Pass for Console, PC Game Pass, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate after weeks of rumors. It will also be joined by Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as a day one Game Pass release when it launches on October 25.
You might also like…
The cheapest Xbox game deals in July 2024Best Xbox Game Pass games to play in 2024Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks aren’t “as important as people think” says GTA: San Andreas dev
Airtable acquihires onboarding startup Dopt for AI talent
Airtable today announced that it has acquired Dopt, a startup focused on helping other startups build product onboarding experiences for new users. Earlier this year, Dopt introduced a number of features that helped users add AI-based assistance tools to their respective services — those are the main reason Airtable is now acquiring the company. The
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Airtable today announced that it has acquired Dopt, a startup focused on helping other startups build product onboarding experiences for new users. Earlier this year, Dopt introduced a number of features that helped users add AI-based assistance tools to their respective services — those are the main reason Airtable is now acquiring the company. The […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Google admits it accidentally broke its own password manager
Google admitted a dodgy update was to blame for password manager outage which lasted nearly 18 hours.
Google has apologized after its password manager malfunctioned for millions of Windows users following a glitch that left many users unable to access their saved passwords for nearly 18 hours.
The problem affected Windows users on the M127 version of the Chrome browser and was fixed after 17 hours and 51 minutes.
According to Google, the root cause was a change in product behavior without proper feature guard. Ultimately, a faulty update disrupted the password manager’s functionality, preventing users from accessing saved credentials.
Faulty update caused Google password manager malfunction
The company summarized the problem: “Impacted users were unable to find passwords in Chrome’s password manager. Users can save passwords, however it was not visible to them.”
Various estimates posit that 15-17 million individuals had been affected by the near-day-long outage.
Furthermore, the incident added insult to injury after many administrators were already dealing with the aftermath of a problematic CrowdStrike update that also affected Microsoft devices.
The global nature of the malfunction highlighted the risks associated with relying on browser-based password managers. While password managers are crucial for online security, they are not immune to such disruptions, and the outage only serves as a reminder that backup systems should be in place.
In its incident report, Google apologized for the outage and added that affected users should restart their browsers to restore functionality following the fix confirmed on July 25 at 09:27 US/Pacific.
The company also issued guidance for a potential workaround during the outage, which many smaller companies may not have been able to do quickly. However, for some users, the error has left a bitter taste in their mouths.
More from TechRadar Pro
IT downtime is costing companies billions every year — and they aren’t getting any better at fixing itWe’ve rounded up a list of the best password managersCompare the best web browsers
ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode is starting to rollout – but some users might need to wait months
Some ChatGPT Plus members can start using Advanced Voice Mode but others might need to wait for months. First demoed… Continue reading ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode is starting to rollout – but some users might need to wait months
The post ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode is starting to rollout – but some users might need to wait months appeared first on ReadWrite.
Some ChatGPT Plus members can start using Advanced Voice Mode but others might need to wait for months.
First demoed back in May as part of the launch of GPT-4o, ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode promises the ability to create customizable character voices or act as a live translator. Some ChatGPT Plus users appear to already have access to the new feature, suggesting the rollout has begun – but not as fully as you might hope.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman promised a rollout “next week” on July 25 when asked on X, specifying that Plus subscribers will be the first to access Advanced Voice Mode.
alpha rollout starts to plus subscribers next week!
— Sam Altman (@sama) July 25, 2024
Users have taken to reddit’s ChatGPT subreddit to share a new message at the bottom of the ChatGPT app, reading: “Advanced Voice Mode is on the way.”
“Our rollout of Advanced Voice Mode has started, and we’re slowly enrolling users in the alpha to ensure the quality of the experience,” the message continues. “All Plus users will have access by the end of fall – we’ll let you know as soon as you’re in.”
The end of fall could be as late as November and is suitably vague that it could arguably encompass any time before the end of the year. If you want a conservative expectation, perhaps go for ‘by the end of 2024’ as a more realistic window.
Why is Advanced Voice Mode coming later?
OpenAI did make a public statement on X back in June, clarifying that safety issues had meant a delay in the mode’s rollout.
“We had planned to start rolling this out in alpha to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, but need one more month to reach our bar to launch,” the X post reads. “For example, we’re improving the model’s ability to detect and refuse certain content. We’re also working on improving the user experience and preparing our infrastructure to scale to millions while maintaining real-time responses.”
We’re sharing an update on the advanced Voice Mode we demoed during our Spring Update, which we remain very excited about:
We had planned to start rolling this out in alpha to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, but need one more month to reach our bar to launch.…
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) June 25, 2024
The company seems to have stuck to this one-month extension, with at least a partial rollout coming almost exactly one month later.
Featured image: Unsplash
The post ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode is starting to rollout – but some users might need to wait months appeared first on ReadWrite.
Meta to pay $1.4 billion settlement after Texas facial recognition complaint
Facebook’s parent accused of gathering data from photos and videos without “informed consent.”
Enlarge (credit: SOPA Images/Getty)
Facebook owner Meta has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to the state of Texas to settle claims that the company harvested millions of citizens’ biometric data without proper consent.
The settlement, to be paid over five years, is the largest ever obtained from an action brought by a single US state, said a statement from Attorney General Ken Paxton.
It also marks one of the largest penalties levied at Meta by regulators, second only to a $5 billion settlement it paid the US Federal Trade Commission in 2019 for the misuse of user data in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal.