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The FBI says Chinese gov-backed hackers are waiting to ‘deal a devastating blow.’ Plus, Taylor Swift’s album leaks, Meta’s AI chatbot goes live, and lots of big retailers are shutting down (so long, 99 Cents Only store).
Tags: AI (artificial intelligence), album, chatbot, China, Chinese, deal, download, FBI, hackers, hacks, leaks, Live, Meta, open, Plus, retailers, Taylor Swift, U.S
Lots of us spend a ton of money on streaming (but not everyone). What percentage of American TV viewers watch ad-supported streaming TV every week? Is it … A.) 10%, B.) 25%, C.) 50% or D.) 75%?
👀 Grade-runner: K-12 schools are using anti-cheating software like Proctorio to record kids during tests. This includes “desk scans” to catch hidden notes, “face detection” to make sure they’re testing alone and “gaze detection” to watch their eye movements. I swear my third-grade nun was using the same tech — Sister Paula saw everything!
For produce in U.S. grocery stores. Takeaways from Consumer Reports’ analysis: Bell peppers, blueberries (even frozen) and potatoes must be organic to be safe. Celery, collard greens and strawberries must be U.S.-grown or organic to be safe. And green beans must be U.S.-grown and organic to be safe. tl;dr: Buy organic when you can.
Saw this one coming: Cybercriminals are posing as employees of the password manager app LastPass to hack your passwords. It starts with an email from “support@lastpass” about “unauthorized access.” The fake site they send you to grabs your real master password. With all the security incidents at LastPass within the last couple of years, I’m not surprised.
Phony Fabios: Think you’re being catfished? You used to be able to out them with a video call. Not anymore. Romance scammers are using video deepfakes to change their appearances in real time. They record themselves on a phone or webcam and use a face-swapping app to pose as another online cutie and charm victims — aka ask for money.
For students with last names that start with A, B, C, D or E versus V, W, X, Y or Z. That finding comes from 30 million papers submitted through Canvas, the most popular tech platform for teachers. Canvas gives papers to teachers to grade in alphabetical order. By the end of each assignment, they’re tired — and, apparently, less forgiving.
Stay sharp: Kremlin-backed hackers are ramping up fake news about the upcoming U.S. elections on social media and phony news sites. The goal? To weaken support for Ukraine and cause chaos. It’s not just Russia, by the way — China and Iran are poking around, too. Stick to sources you can trust (ahem, like me!).
🍷 Unplug and uncork: In Verona, Italy, Condominio restaurant is swapping screen time for wine time. Ditch your phone at the door, lock it up and get a free bottle of vino. Owner Angelo Lella calls smartphones a “drug” and 90% of Condominio’s diners agree, opting for wine over Wi-Fi.
Step aside, humans: Boston Dynamics just retired the clunky hydraulic Atlas for a sleek, all-electric model they’re calling “the world’s most dynamic humanoid robot.” Watch the video — it’s freaky! The new Atlas lies facedown, pops up and twists its head a full 180 degrees. But those little rotating legs show an impressive display of balance and flexibility.
It’s getting worse: In January, a water tank in Muleshow, Texas, overflowed, and now we know who was behind the cyberattack: A hacking group with ties to Russia. This will not be the last attack, and many of the 150,000 U.S. water systems are scrambling for funds and staff to beef up their defenses. Glad we store clean water at home.
