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The malware, termed Silver Sparrow, has been found on almost 30,000 Macs worldwide. Security researcher Red Canary has published information on the malware that’s spread across more than 150 countries. But experts still don’t know what exactly Silver Sparrow will do. “So far, no malicious payloads have been detected,” Chris Hauk, consumer privacy expert at cybersecurity firm Pixel Privacy, said in an email interview. “However, the fact that the malware has already infected more than 30,000 Macs around the globe, and that it is able to run natively on M1 Macs, does indicate a new type of malware threats may soon begin to rollout to Macs, both Intel, and M1-based....

“Biometrics is the ultimate way of proving you are who you are,” Morey Haber, the chief technology officer at BeyondTrust, told Lifewire over the phone. “The problem is that you can’t change biometrics once it’s been compromised.” Putting a Price Tag on Our Handprints “That information is now out there and is potentially insecure,” Haber said. “So you’re putting yourself at a very high risk by giving it to them regardless of cost....

At least 447 tech-oriented summer camps opened across 48 states in the US this year, according to a recent report from Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. The camps sell themselves as a way to prepare kids for careers in computer science, however not all parents are enthused about the trend. “I do believe that children would be better off indulging in more sporty activities outside as physical health is also an important aspect of life,” Elizabeth Hicks, a mother of two preschoolers and co-founder of parenting website Parenting Nerd, told Lifewire in an email interview....

The game is scheduled for release on November 11, 2022, as an Xbox Series X exclusive. Little is known about the new intellectual property (IP) aside from its interstellar setting. The teaser trailer released during E3 2021 didn’t give viewers much of a glimpse of what to expect. However, fans are so starved for the otherwise prolific development team it’s sure to fill the Skyrim-sized gap in our hearts. It’s time to trade in the saddle on your undead horse or your nuclear-powered Power Suit for a fully equipped space shuttle set for a planet-hopping adventure, complete with intergalactic cities, desert terrains, and alien wildlife....

Explainable AI is paying off as software companies try to make AI more understandable. LinkedIn recently increased its subscription revenue after using AI that predicted clients at risk of canceling and described how it arrived at its conclusions. “Explainable AI is about being able to trust the output as well as understand how the machine got there,” Travis Nixon, the CEO of SynerAI and Chief Data Science, Financial Services at Microsoft, told Lifewire in an email interview....

You don’t expect much from a phone when it costs less than $300, even with the advances many companies have made to their budget-friendly offerings. Still, even if you’re buying a phone on a budget, you want it to last at least a few years. While the Nord N200 5G hits all the right buttons regarding performance and specs, the N200 5G only comes with one major update, unlike some other budget smartphones, which offer two or three years of major updates....

A second monitor can help you gain up to 50% in productivity and be happier while computing. Improving Productivity Microsoft’s Research Center’s findings indicate that users can improve productivity by 9% to 50% by adding another monitor to their computing environment (depending on the type of task). Other studies cited in the New York Times suggest 20 to 30 percent productivity boosts. Whatever the actual percent productivity increase, adding a second monitor may provide the most productivity “bang for your buck:” you can get more done in less time for a relatively small investment (several recommended 22" monitors are $200 or less)....

Earlier this week, several security vendors caught wind of the reemergence of the dangerous Emotet botnet after it was taken down in a global operation involving multiple countries led by Europol, and the US, in 2021. In its breakdown of the new Emotet variant, Proofpoint observed that it includes a new module designed to extract credit card details stored in the victim’s web browser. “To our surprise [the new Emotet botnet] was a credit card stealer that was solely targeting the Chrome browser,” tweeted Proofpoint....

The canine collar called Fi tracks the location of dogs in case they get lost. It can also monitor dogs’ usual downtime behaviors, from nightly sleep to nap time during the day, and inform users of any deviation. “The hours that dogs, and any organisms, spend sleeping are essential for recharging, healing, and growing,” Dr. Jeff Werber, a veterinarian who is a consultant to Fi, told Lifewire in an email interview....

Noted security expert Mathy Vanhoef wrote on his blog recently that programming mistakes in Wi-Fi could affect every Wi-Fi device. However, Vanhoef said that the risk of attacks using the flaws is low because a hacker would have to be nearby. “The biggest risk in practice is likely the ability to abuse the discovered flaws to attack devices in someone’s home network,” Vanhoef wrote. “For instance, many smart home and Internet-of-Things devices are rarely updated, and Wi-Fi security is the last line of defense that prevents someone from attacking these devices....

How to Access and Resolve Notifications in the Action Center The Windows Action Center appears as a speech bubble in the bottom-right corner of the Windows taskbar. A number under the icon indicates you have unresolved notifications. Notifications appear as pop-ups in the bottom right corner of the screen for a second or two before disappearing. If you select on a notification pop-up, you can deal with the issue immediately. Otherwise, you can access the list of current notifications by selecting the Windows Action Center icon on the Taskbar....

Microsoft officially has revealed that it plans to discontinue support for Windows 10 Home and Pro on October 14, 2025. The date was posted on the Windows 10 Lifecycle page on Microsoft’s website, and the cutoff will apply to the Home, Pro, Pro Education, and Pro for Workstations editions. Until then, Microsoft will continue to provide semi-annual support. This puts the current operating system at roughly halfway through its lifecycle, having launched a little less than six years ago in July 2015....

“It seems to me that it’s only a matter of time before Windows on ARM is officially running on M1 Macs,” writes Apple journalist and podcaster Jason Snell. “The ball is in their court. There seem to be few technical roadblocks. It makes too much sense.” Virtual Windows ARM is the kind of chip design used for many mobile devices, like the iPhone, Android phones, and now the Mac. ARM is fundamentally different from the x86 chips from Intel and AMD that power PCs and older Macs....

Overall Findings When deciding whether to buy a wired or wireless mouse, consider what you’ll do with your computer as well as your personal preferences. If you’re a gamer, for example, you may prefer a wired gaming mouse with dedicated gaming features. If you want speed and accuracy, you may prefer a wired mouse. If you value convenience, versatility, and aesthetics, you may prefer a wireless mouse. If you travel and swap devices, opt for a cordless mouse....

A wireless TV connection, also sometimes referred to as a cordless TV connection, can be made by using a variety of wireless solutions ranging from wireless USB and HDMI devices to sending data over a Wi-Fi network. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get wireless TV working in your home or workplace and which forms of cable-free solutions are the most popular. Wireless HDMI Wireless HDMI is a cordless TV solution for connecting devices such as a DVD or Blu-ray player to television without using HDMI cables....

What Is a WMV File? A file with the WMV file extension is a Windows Media Video file, compressed with one or more of Microsoft’s video compression formats. It’s a common format used to store video in Windows, which is why some third-party programs use it for things like short animations. Windows Media Audio files are similar, but only contain audio data, no video. These files use the WMA extension....

How To Play an Original Xbox, Xbox 360 or Xbox One Game on Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S The vast majority of Xbox games are compatible with the Xbox Series X and S. Playing an Original Xbox, Xbox 360 or Xbox One game on your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S is almost as simple as playing a new game on the system. Follow these steps: Will Xbox Series X/S Play Older Xbox Games?...

What Is an XVO File? A file with the XVO file extension is a video file used by the DVD ripping software RatDVD. A number of files normally accompany this one, including XML, IFO, and VSI files, all of which are contained in an AV_TS folder and then ZIP-compressed to a format that the RatDVD software can recognize. How to Open an XVO File XVO files are the actual video files that make up an ....

Bruce Willis recently was rumored to have sold his image rights to Deepcake, an AI-powered content optimization platform, after he was diagnosed with aphasia—a brain disorder that affects his ability to communicate. Willis quickly denied the claim, but experts say it’s an example of the growing trend of deepfakes in which computers generate realistic simulations of humans. “Confusion about the Bruce Willis / DeepCake deal just shows how problematic digital identities will be in the future,” Stephen Smith, the CEO of StoryFile, an AI-powered conversational video company, told Lifewire in an email interview....

At an upcoming event, computer science professors at Louisiana State University (LSU) will present a new mechanism that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help smartphones analyze how people grip them to determine if they are in the hands of their owners or not. “[We’ve developed] a media sound-based authentication method to protect smartphone notification privacy unobtrusively,” write the researchers in their paper. “[The mechanism] wisely hides or presents sensitive content by verifying who is holding the phone....