John Lister

Gmail is to stop using SMS text messages as a way to authenticate accounts. It's concluded the security measure is no longer secure or efficient. The SMS message test is a common example of two-factor authentication, the idea that accounts should ... always be protected by two different factors, often including something the customer knows (such as a password), something they have (such as a smartphone), and where they are (using an IP address). This means most of the time the customer can simply log in with a password from their normal location or IP address. With two-factor authentication ... (view more)

So-called video display "dark modes" on mobile devices may use more energy than ordinary display modes according to new research. The effect of the modes on human behavior may be counterproductive. The claim comes from BBC Research ... (view more)

Microsoft claims it has made key parts of the Edge browser dramatically faster. The update affects specific features of the browser rather than simply the page loading time. According to Microsoft, 14 different features have been sped up, with an ... average boost of 40 percent. However, it's only specifically listed a few of the affected features: Browser Essentials: a status windows that lists some of the key performance features such as which tabs have been put into sleeping mode to minimize memory user. Downloads: the display of which files the user has downloaded (or is midway through ... (view more)

Google is to allow advertisers to use a controversial tactic for tracking Chrome users online. It had previously described the 'fingerprinting' technique as "wrong". The idea of fingerprinting is to identify an individual user even if they don't ... have the ability or permission to install a cookie on a user's computer. It's a way to more accurately identify somebody without relying solely on an IP address, which may be shared between multiple users or even change between different online sessions. Fingerprinting adds in specific pieces of data which individually don't reveal much about the user ... (view more)

Politically and financially motivated hacking groups are increasingly working together, according to new research. This collaboration has led to a dangerous pooling of resources, making cybercriminals more effective than ever. The research, ... conducted by Mandiant (a security firm owned by Google's parent company), suggests that hackers are becoming more specialized in their skill sets and working in partnership to maximize their impact. Just as in the corporate world, these cybercriminals are forming networks where each group focuses on a particular aspect of hacking - whether it's gaining ... (view more)

Chrome may soon make it even easier to change a password after a data breach. An in-test feature would actively change the password on the user's behalf. The change would affect what happens when Google auto-fills a password field using a stored ... password. The browser already checks such stored passwords against a database of passwords that have been breached and released publicly. At the moment Chrome will simply warn users about such a breach and prompt them to change it. However, the user will need to manually go to the password settings section or account settings on the website in ... (view more)

Microsoft is to more clearly label search results in the Windows 11 Start Menu. It will better highlight which results come from the computer itself and which are from the Internet. The change will initially apply only to users in the European ... Economic Area and appears to be a way of complying with new rules on the continent. It's not clear yet if Microsoft intends to roll the changes out to all users. It's all to do with the search feature that appears in the Start Menu itself. The current setup means typing a word or phrase will bring up results that include documents and applications on ... (view more)

A new app offers to bring together multiple social media, messaging and content tools into a single "timeline". Tapestry is made by the people behind a previous app that aimed to improve the experience of what was then called Twitter. That app, ... Twitterific, stopped working in 2023 when Twitter blocked third-party access to its service. That ongoing block means the new app doesn't support the rebranded X service. Instead, Tapestry brings together multiple apps into a single chronological timeline showing all posts that meet the user's criteria. The developers believe many users prefer that to ... (view more)

Comcast is experimenting with a new technology for reducing latency and lag online. It could be particularly useful for video calls and online gaming. While most analysis of Internet speed is about uploading or downloading data, latency - also ... called lag - is all about response time. In effect, it's how quickly the connection starts transferring data after you (and your device) start the process. Although variations in latency are usually measured in fractions of a second, they can cause serious problems for some Internet use. For video calls they can cause a notable gap between somebody on ... (view more)

Google is to take stronger actions against apps that turn out to be potentially harmful. It may revoke permissions where the app is already on a user's device. One of the most notable aspects of Google's management of Android apps is its particular ... balance of security and privacy. Although it will remove apps suspected or confirmed to be malicious from the Play Store, it doesn't usually do much if anything about devices which already have the app installed. The optional Google Play Protect can technically deactivate suspicious apps, but usually it's left to users to hear about the issue (for ... (view more)