A relatively popular Android voice chat app was found leaking sensitive user data, with anyone who knew where to look able to access it.
The OyeTalk app was using Google’s Firebase mobile application development platform, which also offers cloud-hosted databases. According to researchers from Cybernews, OyeTalk’s Firebase instance was not password-protected, meaning its contents were available for all to see.
The contents, the researchers further explained, included people’s usernames, unencrypted chats, and IMEI numbers. This last bit is somewhat more concerning as IMEI can be used by threat actors (and law enforcement, as well) to identify (opens in new tab) the device and its legal owner.
Irreversible damage
“Spilling IMEI numbers on every message sent is a vast privacy intrusion, as the message is permanently associated with a specific device and its owner at the time,” the researchers said. “Threat actors could exploit it to impose ransom.”
The database was roughly 500MB in size, meaning potential attackers could easily have downloaded or deleted it – with the latter scenario meaning there was a possibility of permanent loss of user private messages.
Besides sensitive user data, the app was leaking secrets such as API keys and Google storage buckets too, as these were allegedly hardcoded in the app’s client side. For researchers at Cybernews, this is “sloppy” work by the developers, as hardcoding sensitive data into the client side of an Android app like this is “unsafe, as in most cases it can be easily accessed through reverse engineering.”
“In the past, this sloppy security practice has been successfully exploited by threat actors in other apps, resulting in data loss or complete takeover of user data stored on open Firebases or other storage systems,” the researchers warned.
Even after being notified of the open database, the devs did nothing, Cybernews said, but luckily enough, Google’s security measures managed to close off the instance.
AMD has been very quiet since the launch of its flagship GPU, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX (and its little brother, the RX 7900 XT). After some thermal issues with the leading card caused by a vapor chamber defect, the manufacturer admitted that there had been some manufacturing faults, and we haven’t seen any more of the RX 7000 line since.
Don’t worry, though, they’re still coming – just don’t expect AMD to be launching them just yet. In a recent statement, AMD addressed the unreleased GPUs, and confirmed that any planned launches of more RDNA 3 cards have been delayed, although it didn’t state why.
There’s some speculation around the reason. It’s possible that AMD wants to give its new RX 7000 cards a bit more time in the oven, which could be wise given how Nvidia’s current rush to launch more new GPUs has been causing Team Green problems. Some have claimed that the delay is to align future launches with China’s ‘618’ shopping festival; if you’re not familiar with 618, think of it as a sort of Chinese Black Friday which takes place on June 18.
Such a major sales event could be the perfect time for AMD to launch its new cards, but that’s still months away; Nvidia is bound to release more graphics cards before then, and AMD risks losing momentum completely after the RX 7900 XTX’s post-launch troubles. However, Team Red could potentially use that time to refine its new GPU architecture and deliver some excellent products.
Analysis: we’re likely looking at five more cards to come
As for exactly which GPUs we’re still waiting to see, there’s no concrete word from AMD, but we’re able to extrapolate a bit based on current information and leaks. Information gleaned from the South Korean RRA’s certification database by the Chinese site MyDrivers indicates that AMD has a total of seven RDNA 3 GPUs certified for release.
Those cards are listed as the D70701 through D70707, with MyDrivers confirming that the D70702 and D70704 are the RX 7900 XTX and XT respectively. From here, we can make some reasonable assumptions about what the other five cards could be.
The D70701 and D70703 are presumably – based on AMD’s previous GPU generation – going to be a suped-up RX 7950 XTX and XT. That leaves us with the bottom three, which MyDrivers claims are the RX 7800, RX 7700, and RX 7600 – though the site doesn’t actually link to a source, so a generous serving of salt may be advisable here.
Still, it’s not an absurd suggestion; those cards (or some variants of them) were always expected to appear in the RDNA 3 lineup, and will likely sell better than the flagship RX 7900 XTX purely by dint of being more affordable. Sure, the RTX 4090 is great, but it’s ludicrously expensive – and it looks like Nvidia might be throttling supply of its own flagship card in order to shift more of the unpopular RTX 4080.
Personally, we’re hoping that AMD doesn’t keep sitting on its hands here. Waiting for a big sales event is a risky move, especially since Nvidia has yet to release any budget GPUs in its current RTX 4000 range – and probably isn’t going to for a little while yet.
Gamers are crying out for more affordable next-gen hardware, as the global economic downturn pushes consumers away from big purchases such as, say, a $1,000-plus graphics card. AMD clearly has big plans for RDNA 4, but the company needs to get there first; and with Intel gunning for the budget GPU space, Team Red needs to move fast to secure its slice of the market, or it risks losing out again.
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 lineup launched less than a month ago, but we’re already looking forward to the arrival of the next flagship entries in the Galaxy range.
Specifically, we’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 – successors to two of the best foldable phones currently available – to hit shelves later this year, and more details are beginning to emerge about what to expect from both handsets.
For instance, it looks like Samsung will be sticking with what it knows when it comes to the devices’ storage options. According to SamMobile (opens in new tab), the Fold 5 will be offered in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB variants, while you’ll have to choose between 128GB, 256GB and 512GB variants for the Flip 5.
For context, those are the same storage options Samsung opted for on the Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4, as well as on the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Ultra – which isn’t revelatory news, given that we expect both new foldables to come packing the same bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset as featured in Samsung’s latest phones.
The only real surprise is that the 128GB variant of the Flip 5 looks set to be the only model that won’t benefit from UFS 4.0 speeds. Instead, being the cheapest option of the two foldables, the baseline Flip 5 will stick with its predecessor’s UFS 3.1 specification – but again, this makes sense when you consider that the 128GB of the vanilla Galaxy S23 also uses UFS 3.1.
What else do we know?
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 could come with a new hinge design (Image credit: Future)
As for what else we’ve heard about the two new foldables, a recent report from Vietnamese tech outlet The Pixel suggests the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could swap out the 50MP rear camera utilized by its predecessor for a much more powerful 108MP rear sensor.
The same report also hints that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could feature a 64MP telephoto camera (with 2x optical zoom) and a 12MP ultrawide snapper. That setup would trump the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s 10MP telephoto sensor, but lose out on the latter’s 3x optical zoom capabilities.
Several handsets from Chinese manufacturers already use this design approach for their foldables, but at the cost of full water resistance. However, Samsung is apparently going to add the new hinge shape while maintaining an IPX8 rating for the phone.
We’re keeping tabs on both upcoming foldables in our dedicated Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 hubs, so stay tuned to TechRadar for the latest news, leaks and rumors surrounding both devices.
A new Salesforce report data has highlighted the huge increase that businesses are set to see in their available data, although many are already struggling to cope with the information they already have.
Around three-quarters (73%) of the Uptapped Data Research survey’s 10,000 respondents believed data builds trust in business conversations, and eight in 10 business leaders claim that data is critical to decision-making in their organization.
However, many are struggling to make sense of their existing data, citing complexity and lack of accessibility.
How important is data to businesses?
Salesforce emphasizes the “clear disconnect” between the advantages of using data in business decisions and how leaders are using it in practice, and this is likely to become even more accentuated as the amount of data available to businesses doubles by 2026.
Currently, missed opportunities are seen by 79% of business leaders, who are failing to use data efficiently to inform diversity and inclusion policies. A further 83% are missing out on the opportunity to use insights to help guide their climate targets in an era where companies worldwide and under more pressure to meet emission goals.
Part of the reason why data has proven so beneficial to decision making is because it generally provides a quantitative perspective, helping to eliminate personal influences that often occur in business conversations. It subsequently boosts focus and helps make processes more efficient.
Despite the obvious benefits, many of the respondents said that they are unable to generate insights from data, and that there can be too much, highlighting the need for further data literacy training within organizations.
In an age where total business optimizations has never been so important, it’s clear that investing in tools that help you make the most of the facts and figures available to your business is key to success.
Google’s Cloud division has sent a memo out to its employees notifying them of an upcoming change to office arrangements that will see them having to share desks with a colleague.
According to a document seen by CNBC (opens in new tab), halving the amount of desk space needed will enable Google to vacate some of its buildings as part of its ongoing cost-cutting effort.
The change comes as the broader Google company expects to incur $500 million in costs relating to reduced global office space in this quarter alone.
Google Cloud desk sharing
Five of Google Cloud’s primary locations – Kirkland, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Sunnyvale – will be affected by the change, which the company is calling CLOE (Cloud Office Evolution).
Workers will be asked to partner up with somebody who they can share a desk setup with, and to alternate their office days: Monday and Wednesday, and Tuesday and Thursday. The notice reads:
“Through the matching process, they will agree on a basic desk setup and establish norms with their desk partner and teams to ensure a positive experience in the new shared environment.”
The change sees a revision to the company’s existing policy that requires workers to be in the office three days per week. Workers can continue to do so if they wish, however any additional office days will see them relocated to an “overflow drop-in space”.
Additionally, teams will be split up into “neighborhoods” with a local VP or director taking charge of the desk sharing situation.
Unsurprisingly, Google Cloud workers have been vocal about the change, however they seem to be less bothered about the desk-sharing setup and more bothered about how it was presented to them by the company.
One meme on the company platform Memegen read: “Not every cost-cutting measure needs to be word mangled into sounding good for employees.”
As companies continue to reduce headcounts, slow down on hiring, and reduce costs in countless other areas, it’s clear that workers value transparency and openness about the changes that affect them.
The Last of Us episode 1 ending might have looked very different if it wasn’t for the intervention of HBO’s CEO Casey Bloys, the series’ co-showrunner Craig Mazin revealed.
Speaking to Variety (opens in new tab), Mazin revealed that it was Bloys’ suggestion for the HBO Max show’s premiere to end in the way that it does. In Bloys’ view, it was a far more emotionally impactful end to the post-apocalyptic series’ first installment, and one that would grip audiences and ensure they’d return for future episodes.
Major spoilers follow for The Last of Us follow. Don’t read past the image below if you haven’t seen it yet.
The Last of Us episode 1 ending is emotionally hard-hitting (Image credit: HBO)
During the premiere, we learn that Joel has a daughter – Sarah – who dies during the initial Cordyceps outbreak in 2003. Sarah is killed when a panicked soldier shoots at the pair, believing they’re infected, with one of his shots fatally wounding Sarah.
In the first episode’s final sequence, we see a similar scenario play out. When Joel, Tess, and Ellie attempt to break out of the Boston quarantine zone, a guard catches them, and after checking them for the Cordyceps infection, he realizes Ellie is infected (Ellie is immune, but the guard doesn’t know that). Law enforcement rules state that infected personnel should be killed immediately, but Joel – reminded of Sarah’s death and how he failed to protect her – attacks the guard, beating him to death in a fit of rage to save Ellie’s life.
It’s an ending that makes for poignant albeit shocking viewing. If Mazin and co-showrunner Neil Druckmann had had their way, though, that scene would have taken place in The Last of Us episode 2. Instead, it was Bloys’ idea to combine the show’s first and second episodes together, to form a longer premiere with a movingly effective ending that would leave a lasting impression on viewers.
“Casey said ‘Hey, look, I’ve watched the first two episodes. And my audience gut is telling me we should turn this into one big one,'” Mazin explained. “[Bloys added] ‘The ending of what was going to be the second episode is such a great ending, it will drive people forward.
“This was heartfelt. It was ‘I think this will be better for the audience.’ And he was right. It was really a smart observation. He and I are cut from the same vaudevillian cloth. We want to make the audience feel things.”
Analysis: a change for the better
Audiences were immediately hooked on The Last of Us (Image credit: HBO)
As Mazin revealed, it’s a creative change that turned out to be a masterful one.
The show’s viewership has increased week-on-week since its January 15 debut, too: in the US alone, the first episode has been streamed 22 million times. Meanwhile, Variety (opens in new tab) reported that episode 4, which aired on February 5, attracted 7.5 million viewers on HBO and HBO Max. Viewing figures for episodes 5 and 6 are expected to be released soon.
Unsurprisingly, the success of The Last of Us in the US and overseas meant that the show’s renewal was always on the cards. HBO confirmed that The Last of Us would get a second season, which is expected to adapt most (if not all) of the The Last of Us Part IIgame, less than two weeks after the show premiered. It could be a while before the show’s second season is with us, so we’d better enjoy the final three episodes of The Last of Us season 1 when they air over the next three Sundays.
Microsoft Outlook users, including those with a Hotmail email address, who use the Gmail mobile app experienced a brief outage when Google and Outlook’s servers stopped talking to each other.
Affected users stopped receiving new emails on February 22, either experiencing an error page or seeing old emails that weren’t up-to-date with their real-time inbox.
In the meantime, Outlook continued to work on other apps and its browser portal, however users without the error message may not have realized that their inbox had stopped syncing.
Outlook outage in Gmail app
While Outlook has its own app, Gmail remains a popular mobile client for Android users because it comes pre-installed and can support multiple accounts, including non-Google email providers. It’s also a firm favorite for many Gmail account holders on other mobile platforms, like iOS, for its versatility and intuitive design.
Google’s status page (opens in new tab) first announced that its team was investigating reports of “Gmail sync issue with Microsoft servers when using IMAP.”
A description of the issue reads: “Customers accessing Outlook or Hotmail email accounts on Gmail application across all device platforms are unable to sync new messages.”
Several updates later, the company announced that it had teamed up with Microsoft’s engineers to resolve the issue, which apparently delivered results, because fewer than 12 hours later the issue was reported fixed.
It’s unclear what caused the issue, but the patch was implemented in the background because as of today there have been no updates to the Gmail app on Android devices for two weeks. An update to the app on iOS was released yesterday, however it’s likely not connected to the outage that was largely a server mishap.
If you have been planning to purchase a new smart TV for your home, then this may be the right time for you to purchase one. Amazon has smart TV available under Rs 50,000 from brands like Samsung, Sony, OnePlus and others. Here’s a curated list of products along with the discounts that buyers can avail: Samsung Crystal 4K Neo TV: Available at Rs 31,490 Samsung Crystal 4K Neo TV comes in a 43-inch screen size. The TV has smart features like in-built Voice Assistant, Universal Guide, PC, Mode, and Samsung TV Plus. For gamers, there’s also an Auto Game Mode and Motion Xcelerator feature that allows faster frame transition and low latency for a smooth gaming experience. Hisense 4K Ultra HD TV: Available at Rs 44,999 Hisense 4K Ultra HD smart TV comes in a 55-inch screen size with 3840 x 2160 pixels resolution. The display supports 120Hz refresh rate. Connectivity options include 4 HDMI ports (version 2.1) that help to connect the set-top box, Blu Ray players, gaming console (HDMI 1 eARC supported), 1 USB 3.0 and 1 USB 2.0 ports to connect hard drives and other USB devices, dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.1.
Sony Bravia KD-65X74K 4K Ultra HD: Available at Rs 42,990 Sony Bravia 4K Ultra HD TV features a 65-inch screen size. The display supports 60Hz refresh rate and has 178-degree wide viewing angle. The smart TV has features like Google TV, Watchlist, Voice Search, Google Play, Chromecast, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video. Additional features onboard the TV are Apple Airplay, Apple Homekit and Alexa. Redmi Smart TV X55: Available at Rs 36,999 Redmi Smart TV X55 features a 55-inch screen. The display has a 4K Ultra HD panel and supports 60Hz refresh rate with a 178-degree viewing angle. The TV supports smart TV features like Android TV 10, PatchWall – Kids Mode with Parental Lock, Smart Curation, Universal search, Language Universe, Okay Google, and Chromecast. The smart TV also supports OTT apps like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar. Acer 4K Ultra HD Android smart LED TV: Available at Rs 29,999 Acer 4K Ultra HD Android smart TV features an edge-to-edge display and a frameless design. The smart TV also offers Wide Colour Gamut+, HDR10, Super Brightness, Black Level Augmentation and 4K Upscaling and others. It has inbuilt Smart Blue Light Reduction technology and comes equipped with a 30W speaker with Dolby Audio support.
Xiaomi is reportedly preparing to launch two new tablets this year, likely to be called Xiaomi Pad 6 and Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro. The upcoming tablet from Xiaomi will succeed the company’s Pad 5 series which the company launched last year in China. The series comprises the Xiaomi Pad 5, Xiaomi Pad 5 Pro and Xiaomi Pad 5 Pro 12.4. Earlier, the expected specifications of the two tablets surfaced online and now the launch timeline of the same has emerged online. According to a report by tipster Digital Chat Station, Xiaomi could unveil its Pad 6 series of tablets sometime in March or April. Xiaomi Pad 6 series: Expected specifications, features, and more As per tipster Digital Chat Station, the Xiaomi Pad 6 is rumoured to come with an 11-inch display with a 2800 x 1800 pixels resolution and a 120 or 144Hz refresh rate. The tipster has aslo suggested that the Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro would also have a similar 11-inch display. Moreover, the display on both tablets will support HDR10+ and Dolby Vision playback. However, it is unknown as of now if Xiaomi Pad 6 and Pad 6 Pro will have an LCD panel or if Xiaomi will finally switch to an AMOLED panel with the Pad 6 series. The Xiaomi Pad 6 is likely to be powered by the Snapdragon 870 chipset, which is a minor upgrade over the Snapdragon 860 that powers the Xiaomi Pad 5. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro could come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset from last year. Not much is known about the Xiaomi Pad 6 and Pad 6 Pro other than the alleged display and processor. The tablets are expected to come with 67W charging support just like their predecessor, but is yet to be confirmed.
Messaging apps like iMessage and Telegram allow users to edit sent text messages. Meta-owned popular instant messaging service WhatsApp also started testing this feature in 2022. The company also started testing the feature on the beta version of its Android app. According to a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp has now started rolling out this feature to the beta version of its iPhone app. WhatsApp edit message option on iPhone: Availability As per the report, downloading the latest beta version of WhatsApp for iPhone has enabled the option to edit messages for a handful of testers. The feature works just like the option that is already available in the Android beta. To access this feature, users have to press a particular message and tap the “Edit” button. The report doesn’t reveal a specific timeline of when this feature will be announced to the general public. WhatsApp edit message option: How will it work However, unlike Telegram, WhatsApp is expected to restrict how users can edit sent messages. For example, users will only have 15 minutes to edit a message after it has been sent. iMessage also has a similar approach, where users are offered a 15-minute window for editing messages. Apart from this, iMessage also shows a history of the edits to other users. Meanwhile, WhatsApp might only show an “edited” label on messages which have been edited by the sender. However, users need to remember that the edit option will not work for image, video and document captions.
WhatsApp other new features Recently, WhatsApp released an update for its iPhone app. This update added picture-in-picture support for video calls done through WhatsApp on iPhones. This feature allows users to open another app on their iPhones without interrupting the video call. Simultaneously, the Meta-owned platform has also been working on a new newsletter feature that will help creators to distribute messages to a large number of users. This feature is expected to work like Telegram’s channels.
