It’s hard to picture the world more than 30 years ago if you didn’t live in those times. Technology, communications, and multimedia were fundamentally different in the days when personal computers were a rare find in any neighborhood, let alone in every home, and wireless communications were mentioned in science-fiction literature more than research papers.One thing is for sure: these sparsely spread computers were hardly targeted by malicious programs, now known as malware.In the early ‘80s, Apple II computer systems started gaining popularity in households and academia, emerging as one of the first successful series of mass-produced devices. In this “pre-commercial-Internet” era, users frequently and jauntily exchanged data on floppy drives.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click her […]

With iOS 11 and macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Apple no longer allows the use of two-step verification, its original and hastily built, somewhat creaky system for confirming a login. If you’re still using two-step, the moment you upgrade to iOS 11 or High Sierra, Apple will convert you to the newer two-factor authentication (2FA) method it introduced in September 2015. You don’t have to do anything but pay attention to how it works.The best way for most people to protect an account from letting anyone who can obtain its password from being able to log in is to use 2FA. A factor is something that identifies you. A password is one kind of factor (something you know) and a token that’s sent to a phone or via SMS is another (something you have).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click her […]

An off-the-hook price-to-performance ratio renders this small speaker a good value. […]

It’s finally happening all over again! Kiss your iPhones for the last time because Google is coming for them.Writing for Mashable, Raymond Wong says “With HTC, Google could finally have the firepower to destroy the iPhone.” (Tip o’ the antlers to Catalin Blitz.)OK, look, we know it was “so on” when Google made the Nexus One with HTC in 2010 and it was “show time” when Google bought Motorola in 2012 and then it was, uh, some other gung-ho thing last year when Google made the Pixel…To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click her […]

We like that WD is trying to make network attached storage easier, more connected, and cross-device compatible. But this box is incredibly slow writing data, and it's missing a key feature. […]

If you thought Sphero’s original BB-8 app-enabled robot was a blast back in 2015, just wait ‘til you see their take on Star Wars’ most beloved droid: R2-D2.Making its debut in early September, the Sphero R2-D2 ($179.95 MSRP; same price on Amazon and the Apple store) is here in advance of this December’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which continues the sci-fi saga’s main storyline, and it’s just as immediately impressive as BB-8. It’ll cruise around your home with ease using the iPhone/iPad companion app, the head rotates and reacts just like the real droid in the movie, and it even has movie-perfect sound effects and little animation routines.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click her […]

Rogue apps can exfiltrate all plaintext passwords, no master password required. […]