ICT news

• Judge Blocks California's New AI Law In Case Over Kamala Harris Deepfake

  03-10-2024 23:25 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: A federal judge blocked one of California's new AI laws on Wednesday, less than two weeks after it was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Shortly after signing AB 2839, Newsom suggested it could be used to force Elon Musk to take down an AI deepfake of Vice President Kamala Harris he had reposted (sparking a petty online battle between the two). However, a California judge just ruled the state can't force people to take down election deepfakes -
  
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• Microsoft Pulls Plug on Mixed Reality in New Windows 11 Update

  03-10-2024 22:44 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft has discontinued Windows Mixed Reality support in its latest Windows 11 update, rendering a number of VR headsets obsolete. The move, reported by UploadVR, affects devices from major manufacturers. An estimated 80,000 users will lose access to their headsets upon upgrading to Windows 11 24H2. UploadVR adds: Despite the name, all Windows MR headsets were actually VR-only, and are compatible with most SteamVR content via Microsoft's SteamVR driver. The first Windows MR headsets arrived i
  
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• Mozilla Releases Firefox 131 With Tab Preview and Text-Specific Links

  03-10-2024 22:05 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Mozilla has released Firefox 131 for multiple platforms, addressing security vulnerabilities and introducing some new features. The update fixes at least seven high-risk security issues, none reportedly exploited in the wild. New features include Tab Preview, which displays thumbnails and details when hovering over background tabs, and temporary location permission storage. Firefox now also supports URL fragment text directives, allowing users to link to specific text passages on web pages.Read
  
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• Even Password Manager Subscribers Reuse Passwords, Study Finds

  03-10-2024 21:25 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: It's not exactly breaking news that people reuse passwords, but you might expect password manager subscribers to avoid the practice. You'd be wrong, according to a new study. Dashlane's downer of a report draws on saved logins analyzed on-device by Dashlane's software across "millions" of individual and business accounts. It finds dismally high percentages of password reuse worldwide. The US and Canada rank the worst of every region Dashlane tracked, with 48%
  
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• Social Media Sanctions Hit Conservatives More, But Due to Content Sharing, Study Says

  03-10-2024 20:45 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A study published in Nature has found that conservative social media users were more likely to face sanctions, but attributes this to their higher propensity to share low-quality news rather than political bias. Researchers analyzed 9,000 Twitter users during the 2020 U.S. election, finding pro-Trump users were 4.4 times more likely to be suspended than pro-Biden users.
  However, they also shared significantly more links from sites rated as untrustworthy by both politically balanced groups and Re
  
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• Meta Confirms It Will Use Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Images for AI Training

  03-10-2024 20:12 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Meta has confirmed that it may use images analyzed by its Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses for AI training. The policy applies to users in the United States and Canada who share images with Meta AI, according to the company. While photos captured on the device are not used for training unless submitted to AI, any image shared for analysis falls under different policies, potentially contributing to Meta's AI model development.
  Further reading: Meta's Smart Glasses Repurposed For Covert Facial Recogn
  
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• Google's AI Search Summaries Officially Have Ads

  03-10-2024 19:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google is rolling out ads in AI Overviews, which means you'll now start seeing products in some of the search engine's AI-generated summaries. From a report: Let's say you're searching for ways to get a grass stain out of your pants. If you ask Google, its AI-generated response will offer some tips, along with suggestions for products to purchase that could help you remove the stain. The products will appear beneath a "sponsored" header, and Google spokesperson Craig Ewer told The Verge they'll
  
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• Rival Browsers Allege Microsoft's Practices on Edge Unfair

  03-10-2024 18:53 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft gives its Edge web browser an unfair advantage and EU antitrust regulators should subject it to tough EU tech rules, three rival browsers and a group of web developers said in a letter to the European Commission. From a report: The move by Vivaldi, Waterfox, Wavebox and the Open Web Advocacy could boost Norwegian browser company Opera which in July took the European Commission to court for exempting Edge from the Digital Markets Act (DMA). [...] "Unfair practices are currently allowed
  
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• NSO Should Lose Spyware Case for Discovery Violations, Meta Says

  03-10-2024 18:12 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  WhatsApp and its parent Meta asked a judge to award them a total win against spyware maker NSO Group as punishment for discovery violations in a years-long case accusing the Israeli company of violating anti-hacking laws. From a report: NSO Group violated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, repeatedly ignoring the court's orders and its discovery obligations, according to a motion for sanctions filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. "NSO's discovery v
  
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• OpenAI Gets $4 Billion Revolving Credit Line, Giving It More Than $10 Billion in Liquidity

  03-10-2024 17:02 via news.slashdot.org
  
  OpenAI has a $4 billion revolving line of credit, bringing its total liquidity to more than $10 billion, CNBC reported Thursday. From the report: It follows news on Wednesday that OpenAI closed its recent funding round at a valuation of $157 billion, including the $6.6 billion the company raised from an extensive roster of investment firms and big tech companies. JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Santander, Wells Fargo, SMBC, UBS, and HSBC all participated. The base credit lin
  
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• PayPal Completes Its First Business Transaction Using Stablecoin

  03-10-2024 16:49 via news.slashdot.org
  
  PayPal completed its first business payment using its proprietary stablecoin as a way to demonstrate how digital currencies can be used to improve often-clunky commercial transactions. From a report: PayPal paid an invoice to Ernst & Young LLP on Sept. 23 using PYUSD, the stablecoin the firm launched last year, relying on an SAP SE platform to complete the transaction. SAP's platform, known as the digital currency hub, allows enterprises to send and receive digital payments instantly, around
  
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• WP Engine Sues WordPress for Libel, Extortion

  03-10-2024 16:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  WP Engine, a major web hosting provider, has filed a federal lawsuit against WordPress [PDF] co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging libel and attempted extortion. The suit stems from a public dispute over WordPress trademark usage and open-source licensing.
  WP Engine, which hosts over 200,000 websites, accuses Mullenweg and Automattic of "abuse of power, extortion, and greed." The conflict escalated after Mullenweg called WP Engine a "cancer to WordPress" on his blog, prompting a cea
  
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• Private Equity Firms Ploughing Billions Into Fossil Fuels, Analysis Reveals

  03-10-2024 15:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Private equity firms are using US public sector workers' retirement savings to fund fossil fuel projects pumping more than a billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere every year, according to an analysis. From a report: They have ploughed more than $1tn into the energy sector since 2010, often buying into old and new fossil fuel projects and, thanks to exemptions from many financial disclosures, operating them outside the public eye, the researchers say. In many cases they a
  
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• Americans Are Growing Wary of Jumping Jobs

  03-10-2024 12:00 via slashdot.org
  
  "Job hopping as a way to boost your earnings may not be as profitable as it was in 2022," writes Slashdot reader NoWayNoShapeNoForm. "Data from ADP, based on payroll data of almost 10 million employees, suggests the salary gain between 'stay' and 'jump' has definitely narrowed across all age groups, gender classes, industries, and company sizes." Yahoo Finance reports: New data from ADP released Wednesday showed that the median year-over-year pay increase for job switchers fell to 6.6% in Septem
  
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• Enel X Way's JuiceBox EV Chargers About To Lose All Connectivity Features

  03-10-2024 09:00 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  New submitter ae4ax writes: North American buyers of JuiceBox EVSEs (chargers) received an email today declaring the imminent closure of Enel X Way USA, LLC, the maintainers of the software infrastructure behind their EVSEs. Customer support has already shut down, and apps will be deactivated and removed by October 11, 2024. The company claims economic headwinds from lackluster EV sales and high interest rates as the motivation for the closure. Enel X Way properties outside North America are not
  
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• Attackers Exploit Critical Zimbra Vulnerability Using CC'd Email Addresses

  03-10-2024 05:30 via it.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Attackers are actively exploiting a critical vulnerability in mail servers sold by Zimbra in an attempt to remotely execute malicious commands that install a backdoor, researchers warn. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-45519, resides in the Zimbra email and collaboration server used by medium and large organizations. When an admin manually changes default settings to enable the postjournal service, attackers can execute commands by sen
  
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• World Wide Web Foundation is Shutting Down

  03-10-2024 04:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  After fifteen years of fighting to make the web safer and more accessible, the World Wide Web Foundation is shutting down. From a report: In a letter shared via the organization's website, co-founders Sir Tim Berners-Lee -- inventor of the World Wide Web -- and Rosemary Leith explain that the organization's mission has been somewhat accomplished and a new battle needs to be waged. When the foundation was founded in 2009, just over 20 percent of the world had access to the web and relatively few
  
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• Police Arrest Four Suspects Linked To LockBit Ransomware Gang

  03-10-2024 03:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Law enforcement from 12 countries arrested four individuals linked to the LockBit ransomware gang, including a developer and a bulletproof hosting administrator. The operation also resulted in the seizure of LockBit infrastructure and involved sanctions targeting affiliates of both LockBit and Evil Corp. BleepingComputer reports: According to Europol, a suspected LockBit ransomware developer was arrested in August 2024 at the request of French authorities while on holiday outside of Russia. The
  
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• Meta Hit With New Author Copyright Lawsuit Over AI Training

  03-10-2024 02:20 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Novelist Christopher Farnsworth has filed a class-action lawsuit (PDF) against Meta, accusing the company of using his and other authors' pirated books to train its Llama AI model. Farnsworth seeks damages and an order to stop the alleged copyright infringement, joining a growing group of creators suing tech companies over unauthorized AI training. Reuters reports: Farnsworth said in the lawsuit on Tuesday that Meta fed Llama, which powers its AI chatbots, thousands of pirated books to teach it
  
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• Cisco Is Abandoning the LoRaWAN Space With No Lifeboat For IoT Customers

  03-10-2024 01:40 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  Cisco is exiting the LoRaWAN market for IoT device connectivity, with no migration plans for customers. "LoRaWAN is a low power, wide area network specification, specifically designed to connect devices such as sensors over relatively long distances," notes The Register. "It is built on LoRa, a form of wireless communication that uses spread spectrum modulation, and makes use of license-free sub-gigahertz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) radio bands. The tech is overseen by the LoRa All
  
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• Court Blocks Uber Crash Lawsuit After Couple's Daughter Agreed To Uber Eats TOS

  03-10-2024 01:03 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: A New Jersey appeals court says a couple cannot sue Uber over a life-altering car accident because of the app's terms and conditions, even though they say it was their daughter who agreed to those terms while placing an Uber Eats order. John and Georgia McGinty -- a Mercer County couple both in their 50s -- filed a lawsuit against the ride-hailing company in February 2023, nearly a year after suffering "serious physical, psychological, and financial
  
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• The Feds Still Can't Get Into Eric Adams' Phone

  03-10-2024 00:25 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  The Verge's Gaby Del Valle reports: New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was indicted last week on charges including fraud, bribery, and soliciting donations from foreign nationals, told federal investigators he forgot his phone password before handing it over, according to charging documents. That was almost a year ago, and investigators still can't get into the phone, prosecutors said Wednesday.During a federal court hearing, prosecutor Hagan Scotten said the FBI's inability to get into Adams'
  
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