Month: August 2024
Commercial spyware vendor exploits used by Kremlin-backed hackers, Google says
Findings undercut pledges of NSO Group and Intgellexa their wares won’t be abused.
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)
Critics of spyware and exploit sellers have long warned that the advanced hacking sold by commercial surveillance vendors (CSVs) represents a worldwide danger because they inevitably find their way into the hands of malicious parties, even when the CSVs promise they will be used only to target known criminals. On Thursday, Google analysts presented evidence bolstering the critique after finding that spies working on behalf of the Kremlin used exploits that are “identical or strikingly similar” to those sold by spyware makers Intellexa and NSO Group.
The hacking outfit, tracked under names including APT29, Cozy Bear, and Midnight Blizzard, is widely assessed to work on behalf of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or the SVR. Researchers with Google’s Threat Analysis Group, which tracks nation-state hacking, said Thursday that they observed APT29 using exploits identical or closely identical to those first used by commercial exploit sellers NSO Group of Israel and Intellexa of Ireland. In both cases, the Commercial Surveillance Vendors’ exploits were first used as zero-days, meaning when the vulnerabilities weren’t publicly known and no patch was available.
Identical or strikingly similar
Once patches became available for the vulnerabilities, TAG said, APT29 used the exploits in watering hole attacks, which infect targets by surreptitiously planting exploits on sites they’re known to frequent. TAG said APT29 used the exploits as n-days, which target vulnerabilities that have recently been fixed but not yet widely installed by users.
Latest Sonos app update fixes a few minor issues – but there’s still a long way to go
Sonos pushes out another update to its apps on Android and iOS, but the improvements are incremental.
The saga of the disastrous Sonos app update continues to run and run, and the audio company has now rolled out several bug fixes with the latest update – but there’s still a lot of work to be done before users are going to be happy again.
As you can see from the release notes for the latest Sonos app update (via The Verge), alongside “smoothness and reliability” improvements, the Android version of the software restores the ability to clear the upcoming queue.
It’s basic functionality like this that has been missing in the newly revamped version of the Sonos app – and it’s prompted some users to start looking for alternatives, because they’re missing features that were established in the older version.
This latest patch also adds some accessibility improvements in the Settings part of the app, Sonos says, so they should be easier to get to for everyone. There’s also a new Night Mode toggle switch in the Room Settings for soundbars.
Coming soon
The Sonos Era 100 (Image credit: Sonos)
In a post on Threads, the Sonos team says more improvements are coming soon: better volume responsiveness, UI enhancements, improved system stability, more reliable alarms, enhanced queue editing, and Trueplay support for iOS 18.
However, this is all taking time – and this has been going on for months. Features like reliable alarms really should have been sorted from the start, and the initial Sonos response to user complaints wasn’t the most understanding.
In fact, at one stage the situation deteriorated to the extent where Sonos was considering bringing the old app back – although it now seems that won’t be possible. Let’s hope more improvements turn up sooner rather than later.
“Thank you for your continued patience and understanding,” Sonos says in its Threads post. “We know there is more work to be done and we won’t pause until we deliver the Sonos experience you deserve”. Let’s hope it does that work sooner rather than later.
You might also like
The Sonos app disaster may have delayed the Arc 2 soundbarHere are the best Sonos speakers you can buySonos finally apologizes for its controversial new app update
Midjourney Says It’s ‘Getting Into Hardware’
Midjourney, the AI image-generating platform, announced on Wednesday that it’s “officially getting into hardware.” TechCrunch reports: As for what hardware Midjourney, which has a team of fewer than 100 people, might pursue, there might be a clue in its hiring of Ahmad Abbas in February. Abbas, an ex-Neuralink staffer, helped engineer the Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s mixed reality headset. Midjourney CEO David Holz is also no stranger to hardware. He co-founded Leap Motion, which built motion-tracking peripherals. (Abbas worked together with Holz at Leap, in fact.)
Despite the lawsuits over its AI training approach working their way through the courts, Midjourney has said it’s continuing to develop AI models for video and 3D generation. The hardware could perhaps be related to those efforts, as well.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Midjourney, the AI image-generating platform, announced on Wednesday that it’s “officially getting into hardware.” TechCrunch reports: As for what hardware Midjourney, which has a team of fewer than 100 people, might pursue, there might be a clue in its hiring of Ahmad Abbas in February. Abbas, an ex-Neuralink staffer, helped engineer the Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s mixed reality headset. Midjourney CEO David Holz is also no stranger to hardware. He co-founded Leap Motion, which built motion-tracking peripherals. (Abbas worked together with Holz at Leap, in fact.)
Despite the lawsuits over its AI training approach working their way through the courts, Midjourney has said it’s continuing to develop AI models for video and 3D generation. The hardware could perhaps be related to those efforts, as well.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Spotify says Apple broke some of its volume controls on iOS
The latest round in the Spotify vs. Apple battle concerns volume controls. The streaming service says Apple “discontinued the technology” that allowed it to employ the volume buttons on iOS devices to make level adjustments when using Spotify Connect. Spotify says it’s working on a solution, but for now, you’ll have to use the volume slider in the iOS app. The company explains that this issue doesn’t affect Bluetooth or AirPlay connections, nor does it impact Android users.
“Apple has discontinued the technology that enables Spotify to control volume for connected devices using the volume buttons on the device,” the company says in a support article. “While we work with them on a solution, you can use the Spotify app to easily adjust the volume on your connected device.”
Spotify Connect allows you to sync with speakers, TVs, and other devices from inside the streaming app. It works with either Bluetooth or WiFi, showing a list of compatible options when you click the display/speaker icon on the app’s media player. Once connected, you have full control over the device from inside the Spotify app. It’s a lot faster than swiping through the settings menu on your phone.
Until recently, that included the ability to use an iPhone’s volume buttons to make adjustments. This functionality works on Apple TV and HomePod, but TechCrunch reports that Apple told Spotify it would need to integrate with HomePod in order to restore the controls. Direct Spotify integration has been absent on HomePod since the first device launched in 2018. Pandora support was added in 2020 and YouTube Music followed in 2023. Deezer, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio are also on the list.
For now, Spotify will prompt users to make volume changes inside the app with a notification when they try to use the buttons. If you’re already inside the app, the volume slider will pop up directly. This is certainly less convenient than before, but it sounds like it’s only temporary. What’s more, the issue seems to also impact Google Cast on iOS, as users reported a similar issue on Spotify’s forums back in February.
According to TechCrunch, Spotify is once again blaming Apple for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to stop “gatekeepers” from using “unfair practices” with their products and services. This includes interoperability with operating systems and software features. Spotify was only able to display pricing in its app in the EU this month, following a €1.8 billion ($1.95 billion) fine back in March for restrictions it placed on other music streaming apps on the App Store.
Engadget has asked Apple for comment.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/spotify-says-apple-broke-some-of-its-volume-controls-on-ios-204746045.html?src=rss
The latest round in the Spotify vs. Apple battle concerns volume controls. The streaming service says Apple “discontinued the technology” that allowed it to employ the volume buttons on iOS devices to make level adjustments when using Spotify Connect. Spotify says it’s working on a solution, but for now, you’ll have to use the volume slider in the iOS app. The company explains that this issue doesn’t affect Bluetooth or AirPlay connections, nor does it impact Android users.
“Apple has discontinued the technology that enables Spotify to control volume for connected devices using the volume buttons on the device,” the company says in a support article. “While we work with them on a solution, you can use the Spotify app to easily adjust the volume on your connected device.”
Spotify Connect allows you to sync with speakers, TVs, and other devices from inside the streaming app. It works with either Bluetooth or WiFi, showing a list of compatible options when you click the display/speaker icon on the app’s media player. Once connected, you have full control over the device from inside the Spotify app. It’s a lot faster than swiping through the settings menu on your phone.
Until recently, that included the ability to use an iPhone’s volume buttons to make adjustments. This functionality works on Apple TV and HomePod, but TechCrunch reports that Apple told Spotify it would need to integrate with HomePod in order to restore the controls. Direct Spotify integration has been absent on HomePod since the first device launched in 2018. Pandora support was added in 2020 and YouTube Music followed in 2023. Deezer, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio are also on the list.
For now, Spotify will prompt users to make volume changes inside the app with a notification when they try to use the buttons. If you’re already inside the app, the volume slider will pop up directly. This is certainly less convenient than before, but it sounds like it’s only temporary. What’s more, the issue seems to also impact Google Cast on iOS, as users reported a similar issue on Spotify’s forums back in February.
According to TechCrunch, Spotify is once again blaming Apple for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to stop “gatekeepers” from using “unfair practices” with their products and services. This includes interoperability with operating systems and software features. Spotify was only able to display pricing in its app in the EU this month, following a €1.8 billion ($1.95 billion) fine back in March for restrictions it placed on other music streaming apps on the App Store.
Engadget has asked Apple for comment.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/spotify-says-apple-broke-some-of-its-volume-controls-on-ios-204746045.html?src=rss
Apple is reportedly trying to invest in OpenAI
OpenAI’s ChatGPT will be built into the iPhone operating system later this year.
Enlarge / The OpenAI logo. (credit: Getty Images)
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Apple is in talks to invest in OpenAI, the generative AI company whose ChatGPT will feature in future versions of iOS.
If the talks are successful, Apple will join a multi-billion dollar funding round led by Thrive Capital that would value the startup at more than $100 billion.
The report doesn’t say exactly how much Apple would invest, but it does note that it would not be the only participant in this round of funding. For example, Microsoft is expected to invest further, and Bloomberg reports that Nvidia is also considering participating.
Meta’s canceled Quest Pro 2 could pave the way for a major VR headset redesign in 2027 – and I’m all for it
Meta may have reportedly canceled one Quest Pro 2, but a different version could still be coming in 2027.
Meta may have reportedly dumped its plans to launch a Meta Quest Pro 2 in 2027, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be serving mixed reality goodness that year. According to a new report, we could see a pair of light mixed reality glasses – codenamed ‘Puffin’ – launch instead, and if the leaks are true Puffin sounds like a fantastic alternative to the canceled headset.
Once again coming via The Information (behind a paywall) – who also shared details of the ‘La Jolla’ cancellation (the VR headset project likely set to be the Quest Pro 2) – Puffin is described as a 110g device that’ll look like opaque glasses offering VR and MR experiences using pancake lenses and passthrough cameras.
To cut the weight so dramatically – for context the Meta Quest 3 is 515g – Meta would shift the battery and most computing hardware into a puck that’s tethered to the headset via a wire that Meta “hopes” will fit in a person’s pocket. What’s more, Puffin won’t offer controllers in the box, with it reportedly relying solely on hand tracking – with The Information adding it may use a version of the Vision Pro’s gaze-and-pinch control scheme, suggesting Puffin will boast eye tracking.
This would be entirely different from anything Meta has launched before, but with Puffin seemingly set to focus on watching media and being used for productivity – like the Apple Vision Pro – I wouldn’t be shocked if this device launched using the Meta Quest Pro rather than adopting an all-new title so that it has a ‘Pro’ name that marks it as a direct competitor to Apple’s device.
A Meta Quest Pro 2 I could love
I think the Vision Pro’s tethered battery was a smart weight-saving idea, and moving even more of a headset’s hardware to an external puck seems like a logical evolution to allow for even greater weight-saving. We’ve already seen something similar with some of the best AR smart glasses (like the Xreal Air 2) working by being tethered to a phone or device like the Xreal Beam Pro.
Is Meta taking a page out of Xreal’s book? (Image credit: Future)
The idea makes extra sense if the headset is dedicated to more static entertainment and/or productivity tasks. Wearing a 110g headset for a whole two-hour movie (or longer film) or for a day of work would be a much easier task than with a headset weighing over 500g – I should know I tried wearing the Meta Quest Pro for a whole week over a year ago and didn’t love the pain in my neck it caused.
The only detail we’re left in the dark about is the cost, but considering La Jolla was apparently canceled because Meta couldn’t keep it under the original Meta Quets Pro’s price ($999.99 / £999.99 / AU$1,729.99) I suspect Meta’s aiming for a similar target with Puffin. Though as with all rumors, we should take these details with a pinch of salt. Given the recent reports of Meta’s La Jolla project cancellation, there’s a chance that even if Puffin has been greenlit it could face the same fate at some point between now and the end of 2027.
But I seriously hope Puffin sees the light of day. This bold redesign is exactly what I’ve wanted to see from a Meta Quest Pro 2, and if it does launch with that name attached Puffin sounds like it could live up to the original’s promise in a serious way.
You might also like
Meta Quest 3S: everything we know about the leaked cheap VR headsetRumored Samsung XR headset appears on GeekbenchThese are the best virtual reality headsets you can buy