Windows 10 is now nagging users with full screen Microsoft Edge ads
The nag will appear when users set up their PC, sign in to their system after applying updates, or when they click on a new ad banner within the Settings.
The user can easily close the advert by clicking the second option “Don’t update your browser settings”. If you try to skip the setup, the pop-up will appear again in future.
Unfortunately, you cannot permanently disable these recommendations in Windows 10.
GitHub restores DMCA-hit youtube-dl code repo after source patched
"We are taking a stand for developers and have reinstated the youtube-dl repo," said GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, via Twitter. "Section 1201 of the DMCA is broken and needs to be fixed. Developers should have the freedom to tinker. That's how you get great tools like youtube-dl."
Vollmer also said GitHub plans to urge the US Copyright Office to support greater developer freedom in the exemptions to the anti-circumvention provisions of Section 1201 adopted for the law's upcoming triennial review process.
Play Store identified as main distribution vector for most Android malware
Researchers said that depending on different classifications of Android malware, between 10% and 24% of the apps they analyzed could be described as malicious or unwanted applications.
The results showed that around 67% of the malicious app installs researchers identified came from the Google Play Store.
EU inches closer to ban on end-to-end encryption
The Council of the European Union appears to have a near-completed resolution that would propose a ban on the use of end-to-end encryption on off-the-shelf apps such as WhatsApp and Signal, according to a leaked document.
It’s argued that, moving forward, the EU hopes to “establish an active discussion” with the tech industry in order to create a “balance” between maintaining the principles of strong encryption and allowing authorities to access data in a lawful manner.
New Windows 10 update permanently removes Adobe Flash
Microsoft has released a Windows update that removes Adobe's Flash Player before it reaches end of support on December 31, 2020.
Microsoft is releasing the Flash-removing update ahead of the end of support so that enterprise customers can test the impact on business applications when Flash is removed from a Windows PC or server. But the company says it will continue to deliver Flash security updates until support ends.
Microsoft will forcibly open some websites in Edge instead of Internet Explorer
This forced IE-to-Edge behavior is part of Microsoft's Internet Explorer deprecation plans.
Big names on the list include the likes of YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Yahoo Mail, StackOverflow, StackExchange, VK, ESPN, Chase, Hotstar, Moneygram, eharmony, and GoDaddy, just to name a few.
This means that starting with next month, most IE users won't be able to load these sites inside Internet Explorer, and every time they will try, the site will be opened inside a new Edge window.
Minecraft will require a Microsoft account to play in 2021
Players who own the original version of the game and do not switch to a Microsoft account will be unable to play.
While not as incendiary as Facebook’s decision to require Facebook accounts for the use of Oculus headsets, Minecraft is still one of the biggest games in the world and now many players will have to take action if they still want to play.
Three npm packages found opening shells on Linux, Windows systems
According to advisories from the npm security team, the three JavaScript libraries opened shells on the computers of developers who imported the packages into their projects.
"Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer," the npm security team said.
In August, npm staff removed a malicious JavaScript library designed to steal sensitive files from an infected users' browser and Discord application.
In September, npm staff removed four JavaScript libraries for collecting user details and uploading the stolen data to a public GitHub page.
Windows XP leak confirmed after user compiles the leaked code into a working OS
NTDEV decided to compile the code and find out for themselves.
According to videos shared online, the amateur IT technician was successful in compiling the Windows XP code over the weekend, and Windows Server 2003 yesterday.
Last week's leak also included source code for several other Windows operating systems, such as Windows 2000, Embedded (CE 3, CE 4, CE 5, CE, 7), Windows NT (3.5 and 4), and MS-DOS (3.30 and 6.0).
Firefox usage is down 85% despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up 400%
Mozilla has already received more than enough money to set themselves up for financial independence. Mozilla received up to half a billion dollars a year (each year!) for many years. The real problem is that Mozilla didn't use that money to achieve financial independence and instead just spent it each year, doing the organisational equivalent of living hand-to-mouth.