Steps taken to improve security of voter registration systems after the 2016 election could help governments fend off election-related ransomware attacks. In West Virginia, state officials are more concerned about the cyber-threat confronting its 55 county election offices than a direct attack on the state-wide voter registration system. For states conducting elections entirely by mail, including Colorado, an attack near election day may have little effect on voting because ballots are sent early to all voters, with few votes cast in-person. That’s how Louisiana’s election network survived multiple ransomware attacks: one occurred six days before the November election through an IT services company shared by the seven impacted counties.

A potential shotgun wedding to Microsoft Corp for TikTok’s U.S. operations provoked an outcry on Chinese social media as well as criticism from a prominent Chinese investor in TikTok owner ByteDance. The proposed acquisition of parts of TikTok, which boasts 100 million U.S. users, would offer Microsoft a rare opportunity to become a major competitor to social media giants such as Facebook Inc and Snap Inc. Microsoft which owns the social media network LinkedIn for professional workers, is also seeking to buy TikTok’s Canadian, Australian and New Zealand interests. But in an internal letter to staff on Monday seen by Reuters, the company’s founder and CEO Zhang Yiming said the firm had started talks with a tech company it did not identify to clear the way “for us to continue offering the TikTok app in the U.S.” But clinching a deal — potentially worth billions of dollars and a lightning rod for crumbling U.S-China relations — that will satisfy all parties will be a tall order. Mr. Zhang’s letter to staff also said ByteDance did not agree with the stance taken by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which scrutinizes deals for national security risks, that it must fully divest TikTok'’ U.S. operations.

Instagram is testing a new feature that will allow users to raise money for a personal cause by helping them directly with donors via their profile page.“We’re rolling out a new way to raise money for a personal cause, like yourself, your small business, a friend or a cause that’s important to you,” Instagram said in a statement. To create a Personal Fundraiser, tap “Edit Profile,” “Add Fundraiser,” and then “Raise Money.” The feature will allow users to select cover photo, currency, supported fundraiser category and add details about the eligible cause for fundraising. Donors can send money to these fundraisers and have the option to hide their details on the platform from public.

Google introduced new features to help users navigate their Chromebooks, drag screen to external monitors from the device, and multitask between sessions with ease. The new Explore app helps Chrome OS and Chromebook users learn new technology that would otherwise need several pages of instructions and tutorials, Alexander Kuscher, director of Chrome OS software, said. It guides users to learn about the most helpful Chrome OS features, when they log in to a Chromebook for the first time and complete onboarding. Users can drag windows from their Chromebook screen to an external monitor, and vice versa, in the Overview mode.

The thirteenth Google Store Daily Special is a big Nest Hub Max ($229), Nest Wifi router and point ($269), and Chromecast bundle ($29.99). Hot off Netflix support rolling out to Nest Hubs, the eight Daily Special is $85 off a Nest Hub Max ($229) and Nest Wifi router and point ($269) bundle. The fourth Daily Special is $50 off a Nest Hello ($229) and Nest Hub bundle ($89.99). The third Daily Special is $60 off a bundle that includes a Nest Wifi router and point ($269), as well as Nest Hub ($89.99).

In addition to clearing out accessory inventory, you can get a Claw for $5 with the purchase of a Stadia Controller, while there’s an okay deal on the Pixelbook Go. You can save $10 when buying the $69 Stadia Controller and $14.99 Claw accessory. The Stadia Controller is available in Clearly White, Just Black, and Wasabi, while the Claw deal runs until August 31st. Lastly, Google is discounting all its past fabric cases by 50% to $20: Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, and Pixel 4 XL.

If you use Gmail and send a whole lot of emails as text messages, this little extension is a valuable — and free — download. If you type out the email that you want to send and then click the phone icon it will bring up your list of Gmail contacts and you can search through it to find the person you want to text. The email is automatically formatted for proper texting and replies to the text will be emailed back to that Gmail address, allowing you to successfully carry on conversations. The app also allows you to reverse the process and get text alerts for important emails that you receive in Gmail, which may be nice if you are on the go but really need to follow a particular email conversation.

If Goldilocks were to somehow stumble into Amazon’s headquarters, she wouldn’t have an affinity for either the 10-inch Echo Show or Echo Show 5. Something like the Amazon Echo Show 8 with its reasonably sized 8-inch display. There have been several new smart displays introduced over the last year that have been outstanding, like the Lenovo Smart Display 7 and Google Nest Hub Max, but the Echo Show 8 intends on remaining a relevant player, especially given the sales and package deals that are constantly being offered by Amazon. However, if you’re thinking about some other solutions besides a smart display, then consider the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock as an entry-level offering, or the Amazon Echo Studio if you happen to be an audiophile.

It will cost USD 349, a USD 50 discount from a cheap Pixel released last year. The next versions of Google's top-of-the-line Pixel phones will be released sometime this fall, said, without revealing their their price. The budget-minded Pixel 4a is coming out four months after Apple released a discount iPhone, the SE, priced at USD 399. so far has been selling fewer than 10 million Pixel phones a year since rolling out the product line in 2016, barely making a dent a market where more than 1 billion phones are shipped annually, according to IDC.

The big focus for Alphabet is on sustainability bonds for environmental and social initiatives. At $5.75 billion, this is the “largest sustainability or green bond by any company in history.” It differs from green bonds, which are solely for environmental uses, by also supporting social efforts. The proceeds from these sustainability bonds will fund ongoing and new projects that are environmentally or socially responsible and enable investors to join us in tackling critical issues. Alphabet issued a Sustainability Bond Framework, and will report annually on what projects were funded and their results.

But here I am, making the switch to Amazon’s Alexa with the company’s latest affordable smart speaker in the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock. The Amazon Echo Dot with Clock is best suited for interactions with Alexa. That complaint aside, I must admit there’s a huge library of Alexa skills that enhance the functionality of this virtual assistant using the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock. Adding an LED clock to an existing speaker may seem like a lazy update on Amazon’s part, but the Echo Dot (3rd Gen) with Clock is still a standout among entry-level smart speakers in the home with its current price of $60, exceptional smart home integration, powerful assistant in Alexa, and a design that fits any decor style.

Twitter says it is expecting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to hit it with a fine of between $150 million and $250 million over alleged privacy violations. In a 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the San Francisco-based company said it received a draft complaint from the FTC on July 28 detailing alleged violations of Twitter’s 2011 consent order with the commission that required it to stop misleading its users regarding how it protects their personal data. Specifically, the allegations relate to Twitter’s use of users’ phone numbers and email data that it gathered for safety and security purposes but which was also used for targeted advertising between 2013 and 2019. Explaining what had happened, the company said that when an advertiser uploaded their marketing list, “we may have matched people on Twitter to their list based on the email or phone number the Twitter account holder provided for safety and security purposes.” It said the action had been carried out “inadvertently” and described it as an “error.” It added that it couldn’t be certain how many people on its platform had had their data used for advertising purposes.

After threatening on Friday to ban the app from the United States, Mr. Trump reversed course, saying he would allow TikTok to keep operating if it was sold to an American owner. At the White House on Monday, Mr. Trump said that TikTok would be shut down in the United States on Sept. 15 unless Microsoft or another “very American” company purchased it, and that he had told Microsoft’s chief executive in a call over the weekend to “go ahead” with the acquisition. He also argued that the United States should receive money in return for letting the deal happen, without explaining how that would work.“A very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury of the United States, because we’re making it possible for this deal to happen,” he said.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Twitter said on Monday that it was under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission for potentially misusing people’s personal information to serve ads, adding that it faced fines of $150 million to $250 million. In a corporate filing, Twitter disclosed that the F.T.C. Under the agreement, Twitter was restricted from misleading people about the measures it took to protect their security and privacy. The investigation was disclosed in accordance with “standard accounting rules” and was included in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he added.

Your iPhone and iPad are getting new software this fall, but the public beta for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 are available right now. From a new home screen to widg...

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The expansion deal will make Waymo FCA’s exclusive partner in developing L4 fully self-driving technology across the automaker’s full product portfolio, including light commercial vehicles. In the past four years, Waymo has integrated its software with Chrysler’s Pacifica Hybrid minivans, making it L4 ready, and has launched commercial autonomous ride-hailing service, called Waymo One. Now, the expanded deal with FCA will take Waymo’s driver-less technology into automaker’s commercial cargo vans, and other vehicles.“Together, we’ll introduce the Waymo Driver throughout the FCA brand portfolio, opening up new frontiers for ride-hailing, commercial delivery, and personal-use vehicles around the world,” John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo, said in a statement.

The Google Pixel 3a kept most of the camera quality from its more expensive siblings, so I certainly hoped that a cheaper Pixel would retain the famous photo capabilities. When the cheap phone comes with the headphone port and the rich phone doesn’t, it certainly makes you wonder. Of all the features left out of the Google Pixel 4a, and other bargain phones like the OnePlus Nord, a lack of water resistance is what bursts the bubble. If we could change one thing about the Pixel that would benefit the most users, we would make it water-resistant so that buyers aren’t looking for another cheap phone before too long.

Along with either 13- or 15-inch options, HP’s convertible is available in a range of Ryzen 4000 configurations that start with a Ryzen 3 4300U and go up to a Ryzen 7 4700U. Starting at just $699, the Inspiron 14 7000 2-in-1 is one of the more affordable laptops on the market, pairing AMD’s processor with integrated Radeon graphics, a 14-inch FHD touchscreen display, and fingerprint security in a travel-friendly 3.42-pound package. The HP ProBook 445 G7 is one of the first business-oriented laptops to ship with Ryzen 4000 chips, so you’ll be getting the durability of HP’s notebooks — like a spill-resistant backlit keyboard and Sure View privacy display on an ultra-bright 1,000-nit screen — with the performance of AMD’s processor. The base model ships with a Ryzen 3 PRO 4450U processor, though upgraded configurations top out with a Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U processor, 16GB DDR4 memory, 1TB solid-state drive, fingerprint reader, and an IR and 720p webcam all in a package that’s been tested to ensure durability.

Last month, the full YouTube app on Android TV gained a dedicated “Music” section. Google is now offering a direct shortcut to that experience with a new YouTube Music “app.”Today, you get to YouTube Music on Android TV by scrolling through the YouTube app’s sidebar. There’s also a new “Hey Google, play recommended music from YouTube Music” Assistant command that currently only works on Nest speakers.

It now seems that Microsoft, one of the biggest and oldest legacy tech corporations in the U.S., is the frontrunner to become the owner of TikTok, the hugely popular social media platform drawing in hundreds of millions of users. Perhaps the most notorious example of Big Tech’s ill-fated dalliance with social media is when Yahoo bought the popular blogging site Tumblr in 2013. But it’s not all bad: According to CNET, Skype reported a massive surge in users due to the pandemic: It now has 200 million monthly active users. Not all acquisitions are destined to stagnate like Skype, wither and die like Tumblr or Flickr, or straight-up get murdered like Vine: Microsoft also bought LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016 — its largest acquisition to date — and it’s doing fine.