FileHippo News

The latest software and tech news

Esports “Killer Games Are Too Violent” For Olympics 
Esports are a big business, but don’t expect to see them in the Olympics anytime soon… The president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, has said that violent ‘esport’ video games are not consistent with ‘Olympic values’ and cannot therefore be considered for future Olympic Games. Speaking at the recent Asian Games, Bach said “If you have egames where it’s about killing... Read more
Sony Closes PlayStation 2 Repair Service…After 18 Years. 
Starting on September 7th, 2018, Sony’s aftercare service for the PlayStation 2 will be no more. That such a service still exists for a console originally released in the year 2000, is testament to the fact that the ‘PS2’ has the record for the world’s bestselling gaming console of all time.... Read more
Snapchat Hacker Changes Map To Anti-Semitic Slur
Snapchat users were a little taken aback by a recent hacking event that altered the map of New York City in the platform. According to users who called out the platform and its parent company on Twitter, someone had changed “Manhattan” to “Jewtropolis.” The company was quick to apologize... Read more
No, Your iPhone Isn’t Listening To Everything, Apple Says
Apple have insisted in a letter to US Federal authorities that despite the number of conspiracy theories going around, iPhones only listen to their users when they use the ‘Hey Siri’ trigger phrase. Apple has also said that there is a clear visual indicator that lets users know when Siri is listening, to a... Read more
Third Hacker Jailed For Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton Nude Photo Hack
The fourth man involved is due to be sentenced next month. On Tuesday 28th August, a 26-year-old male found himself sentenced to nine months in prison for his part in the 2014 hacking of the online iCloud accounts of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, a host of other celebrities, and stealing the private information, including nude photos. The photos were later posted online and a basic... Read more
Netflix Jumps Apple Fees, Bypassing App Store Signup
This could be bad news for Apple… Netflix has proven something in its nearly two decade-history: it’s a game-changing innovator who’s constantly experimenting in order to stay relevant and profitable. From its start taking on the age-old video rental store concept as a DVD-by-mail subscription all the way through... Read more
Facebook Dumps Its Data-Gathering VPN
A popular television commercial brought a new phrase to the public vernacular: “That’s not how this works… that’s not how any of this works.” The woman in the commercial obviously has no clue how Facebook works as she shows her friends all the photos she’s posted to her wall…... Read more
Apple Removes 25,000 ‘Gambling’ Apps From China App Store 
Chinese officials and State Media criticize Apple for hosting gambling apps. News has emerged this week that Apple have been forced to cull some 25,000 gambling and lottery apps from its China App Store although at the time of writing, Apple have not confirmed the number. Apple were forced to remove the... Read more
Airbnb Sues New York Over New Law That Demands Disclosure Of Host Information 
Airbnb, the specialist short term renter has announced that it is suing the city of New York. The move is a response to a law passed in July, that legally requires the company to share hosts’ names and addresses with the authorities on a monthly basis. Airbnb claims that the... Read more
AI Pornography Deepfakes Are Dangerous Ground
AI-created “deepfake” videos can be shockingly realistic, causing terrifying concern for misuse. When a video of a foul-mouthed former President Barack Obama (NSFW) went viral last year, it was good for a laugh. The straight-laced favorite leader was finally letting loose and saying the things he wanted to say!... Read more
Banks Warned Of Global Cyberattack
The FBI warns financial institutions of suspected upcoming unlimited operation attack. In cybercrime, an “unlimited operation” (also called an ATM cashout) happens when hackers gain access to a financial institution’s account information and PINs, change the balances in different customers’ accounts, and then use that balance and login information... Read more
Google Sued For Allegedly Tracking Phones Regardless Of Privacy Settings 
Google is being sued for tracking mobile devices even when users have asked them not to. The Lawsuit alleges that Google is illegally tracking the movements of millions of iPhone and Android phone users even if they think their privacy settings have been set to prevent it. The plaintiff’s... Read more
Teen Pleads Guilty In Apple Hacking Case
Kids these days, right? A little juvenile mischief used to involve shoplifting a pack of gum or spray painting your name on a bridge outside of town. Now, it involves hacking into the world’s first trillion-dollar company, Apple, over the course of about one year. An unnamed Australian teenager–his... Read more
Computer Programmers Get New Tech Ethics Code 
New guidelines issued by the Association for Computing Machinery are the first significant upgrade since 1992. The world’s single largest organization of computer scientists and engineers, the Association for Computing Machinery, (ACM) has issued a new code of ethics for computing professionals. The new code has been released to help technologists deal with... Read more
Tech Support Scammers Use Optimization Tools
New report by Symantec shows tech support scammers have been using call optimization software. When you run a business of any size–but especially a small operation with limited funding and a team that has to work hard while wearing many hats–it’s vital that you take advantage of cost effective... Read more
‘Foreshadow’: Yet Another Security Flaw Found In Intel Chips 
A new security flaw in Intel processors has been discovered by researchers that could allow hackers to steal data from the company’s ‘secure’ virtual vaults in Intel chips. ‘Foreshadow’ is the third similar flaw of significance found to have affected Intel designed chips in 2018. “If used for malicious purposes, this class of vulnerability has the potential to improperly infer data values from multiple... Read more
Essential Tech For Back To School
Whether you’re starting college or returning for another year, here’s our top 5 tech must-haves for the new academic year. All around the world, new school years are about to get underway. Students of a variety of ages will be packing up their backpacks or moving into dorms, ready... Read more
Google Wages Internal War Over China Censorship Project
Google prepares for return to China by building a censored search engine, much to some employees’ outrage. Google has been at work on a version of its search engine that will meet the strict standards of the Chinese government, but new reports from the internet giant show that some... Read more