Want to make $10,000 from Libra? Break its blockchain

The supposedly independent group of companies tasked with overseeing the delivery of Facebook‘s “cryptocurrency” Libra has announced a public bug bounty. In a blog post yesterday, the Libra association disclosed that its offering up to $10,000 to security researchers that find flaws and help tune up the Libra blockchain. The bug bounty was first opened in June when Facebook officially announced plans for its Libra blockchain and cryptocurrency. However, only 50 specially selected security researchers were invited to scrutinize the platform. Now anyone can take a look under the hood, so to speak. Libra says its opened the bug bounty…

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Calendar spam is a thing now, here’s how to protect yourself

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. A few days ago, I was baffled to see an obviously scammy event pop up in my Google calendar: I’d won $2,338 in some ‘annual competition.’ I had no idea where this was coming from, and even began suspecting my browser extensions for the uninvited spam. But as it turns out, this is just a phishing scam that dates back to 2016, and was more recently spotted by security firm Kaspersky back in June. It’s…

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Malware found in CamScanner’s document scanning Android app, which has over 100M downloads

Another day, another instance of Android malware found on the Google Play app store. Researchers from Kaspersky Lab said they found an app with 100 million downloads that housed a malicious module that then pushed ads or downloaded apps surreptitiously onto compromised Android devices. The malicious component was found by the researchers after they were alerted to ‘suspicious behavior’ in the free version of the popular document scanning app CamScanner following a rash of negative reviews left by users to avoid using the app. “CamScanner was actually a legitimate app, with no malicious intensions whatsoever, for quite some time,” Kaspersky noted.…

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Canon unveils its 32-megapixel 90D DSLR and mirrorless M6 Mark II cameras

Canon just announced two new cameras with 32.5-megapixel crop sensors: the 90D and the M6 Mark II. Both snappers share the same features with differences in design. While the 90D carries on with Canon’s familiar D-series body design, the M6 Mark II has a mirrorless body with a 3-inch touch screen and no opticalviewfinder. The 32.5-megapixel sensor used in both cameras is an APS-C CMOS sensor with a crop factor of 1.6x. It’s powered by a DIGIC 8 image processor. These cameras have an ISO range of 100-25600 (expandable to 51200), and electronic shutter speeds of up to 1/16000th of a second. While the 90D can…

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Trump-appointed NASA head just declared Pluto a planet again

NASA Chief Jim Bridenstine – a politician who’s probably seen one or two episodes of “Cosmos” – has officially declared Pluto a planet again. His reasoning: that’s the way he learned it in high school. My favorite soundbyte of the day that probably won't make it to TV. It came from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. As a Pluto Supporter, I really appreciated this. #9wx #PlutoLoversRejoice @JimBridenstine pic.twitter.com/NdfQWW5PSZ — Cory Reppenhagen (@CReppWx) August 23, 2019 Bridenstine’s not just the head of NASA, mind you, he’s also a good friend of President Donald Trump’s. That friendship represents his only qualification for the…

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Nissan developed a golf ball that can’t miss the hole (and I want it)

Nissan has developed a golf ball that could turn anyone into Tiger Woods. The ball, shown today in a promotional video, allows anyone to sink jaw-dropping putts with little more than the ability to strike the ball. Nissan, if you were wondering, isn’t getting into the sporting goods business. The ball is a proof of concept for its upgraded driver assistance technology, called ProPilot, that makes its debut in the Nissan Skyline next month — but only in Japan. In the video, a toddler steps onto the green, takes a quick glance at the cup, and then sinks a putt…

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Women in gaming open up on Twitter about sexual assault in the industry

Ever since the MeToo movement started, more and more women from across various professions and walks of life have come forward with their own stories of sexual assault and harassment. Now it appears it might just be the video game industry’s turn in the spotlight. The floodgates opened when indie developer Nathalie Lawhead posted on her blog outing her alleged rapist — video game composer Jeremy Soule — and describing how her professional relationships were damaged after meeting him. While it’s a fairly lengthy read, I encourage everyone to read her post detailing how her livelihood suffered in the wake…

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Developer who started a church to worship AI indicted for stealing AI

Anthony Levandowski, a former employee at Google sister company Waymo, today was charged with 33 counts of theft and attempted theft of trade secrets after he allegedly stole more than 14,000 sensitive documents that eventually ended up in Uber‘s clutches. You might recognize the case from a year-long civil battle over the same theft that resulted in Waymo being awarded nearly a quarter-billion dollars worth of Uber stocks (Google’s lawyers must be amazing!). And, of course, you might recognize Levandowski as the AI engineer who started a church, The Way of The Future, that worships AI. Yep. That guy. His big…

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Google Maps now lets you combine subway directions with cabs and bikes

There are few applications a city dweller will use as much as Google Maps, but for all its utility, the app doesn’t often account for the multitudinous possibilities of city transit. Sure, Google can tell me how long it would take me to travel via subway, cab, or bike, but any New Yorker knows getting somewhere fast often means combining a medley of transport options. Maps users have had to rely on experience and intuition for multi-modal transportation, but today, Google announced a few new features to make those complex commutes easier. Next time you look for directions, you’ll see…

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Cyberpunk 2077’s character creation system won’t have gender options

CD Projekt Red recently revealed that Cyberpunk 2077’s character creation system won’t allow players to choose their character’s gender. This is a big deal for LGBT gamers and, hopefully, a sign the company’s committed to being more inclusive. The news comes from a Metro interview with Marthe Jonkers, lead concept artist on the game. When asked about the “difficult subject” of “gender and trans issues,” and the company’s social media controversies (we’ll get to that), Jonkers responded: Of course, if you tackle certain subjects then you will expect people to have an opinion about it and we respect that. And it’s…

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The OnePlus 7 Pro 5G finally lands in the US via Sprint

OnePlus first released a 5G variant of the fantastic OnePlus 7 Pro months ago, but it was only available in the UK. Now the device, one of the first 5G phones at all, has arrived on Sprint. The device is available today in a handful of Sprint stores and will be available online tomorrow, August 28. It’s unsurprisingly OnePlus‘ most expensive phone, coming in at $840, compared to a starting price of $669 for the regular OnePlus 7 Pro. But that price needs context; it’s the cheapest 5G flagship yet. The LG V50 5G, for example, costs $999, while the…

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Microsoft to announce new Surface devices on October 2

It’s that time of year again: Microsoft has new Surface devices to announce. The company today sent out invites for its next big event, taking place in New York on October 2. An image of a Windows logo being etched onto metal makes it pretty clear the company is planning to announce new Surface hardware – perhaps even that mythical dual-screen Surface. The timing makes sense, anyway. The Surface Book 2 is now nearly 2 years old, so its due for an update, especially considering some of the notable improvements that have been made with Intel and Nvidia‘s latest-generation chips.…

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Yelp now lets you personalize its app based on lifestyle and diet

Yelp is rolling out new options for personalization today, meaning you’ll tell the app about your dietary and lifestyle preferences, and it’ll spit back appropriately-tailored search results — in theory, anyway. If you log into Yelp today, you might find that you have the option to add “preferences.” These include several categories on foods you like, what kind of life you live (parent, pet owner), and what you like to do. Now when you search for something on Yelp, you’ll get results based on your stated preferences without having to filter them out yourself. The most helpful and potentially useful…

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