Crazy Facebook conspiracy theory, Apple's $550 headphones, vaccine scams

December 11, 2020

Allie, Ben and Mike dive into the week in tech news, including a crazy conspiracy theory make the rounds on social media, Apple’s shockingly expensive new headphones and a game-changing app from Google. Can Ben fool Allie and Mike in Brand New or Not True? And the inspiring story of an Amazon driver who saved a man’s life.

Tags: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google

Google’s amazing new app lets you speak using just your eyes

While we wait for the Babel fish translator from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” Google has been working on an entirely new way for people to communicate.

The company’s latest experimental app is geared toward those with speech and motor impairments. It enables users to select a word or phrase — with just their eyes — that is then spoken aloud.

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Facebook slapped with massive antitrust lawsuits to break up social media chokehold

For years, Facebook has been fighting threats of lawsuits, legal challenges and investigations into its practices. It all came to a head this week.

Those legal issues aren’t the only problems Facebook has faced recently, though; Facebook-owned Instagram was accused of illegal facial recognition scans of millions of users earlier this year.

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Edge has a handy new search feature that may make you ditch Chrome

You have a wide range of choices when it comes to browsers. Google Chrome is by far the most popular choice, capturing nearly 64% of the market share worldwide.

There are a lot of perks to using Chrome, but there are some serious downsides, too. The biggest, perhaps, is what a drain it can be on your system’s resources. Tap or click for tricks to speed up Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge.

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Warning: Your Gmail and Google Drive files could soon be deleted

Remember when you used to keep physical copies of photos? Those were the days. Even just viewing them would require printing them out.

That’s changed quite a bit as technology has advanced. Most smartphones have excellent cameras with multiple lenses these days, and our photos end up in a folder on our desktops rather than a photo album. You can even invest in a digital photo frame to display your images beautifully.

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Spectacular 'Christmas Star' will appear for the first time in 800 years

If you had to describe 2020, you probably wouldn’t say that it was the year the planets aligned. That phrase is reserved for use in good times, and the past year hasn’t been a lucky one for most.

But while things haven’t exactly fallen into place for 2020 thanks to the pandemic, we will be closing the year off with a spectacular space show in which everything lines up just right. Later this month, two planets in our solar system will align, creating a double planet for the first time in 800 years.

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With vaccines on the way, 4 ways scammers are out to get you

When there’s an opportunity to part a victim from their money, scammers will take it. We’ve seen it happen consistently over the last year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not only are scammers capitalizing on phishing and shopping scams, but they’ve also been taking advantage of pandemic-related schemes. For starters, we’ve seen a ton of COVID-19 phone scams in recent months. We’ve also seen lots of job-related scams due to high unemployment numbers.

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Is Alexa or Google spying on your meetings? Make this change now

Virtual assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant can be a great help around the house. But within them lurks hidden dangers that could potentially put your data at risk. They are triggered with wake words, and once activated, listen for a question from you. While that might not seem dangerous, consider the process involved. Tap or click here to see how thousands of phrases trigger smart assistants.

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Security tip: How to spot fake social media profiles

Social media is packed with interesting accounts to follow and tons of useful information, but some people use the internet’s power for nefarious purposes by creating fake profiles. Whether it is to scam other users, spread spam messages or post questionable article links, fake social media profiles are a huge problem on almost all platforms.

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5 new ways to customize your iPhone with iOS 14

Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 14, brings with it plenty of changes that make it easier to use your phone. But you might not know that iOS 14 is also giving you something Apple is traditionally stingy with, more customization options!

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Don't fall for this fake Costco giveaway

Times are tough for many people right now. The economy and job market aren’t great due to the pandemic, leaving stressed out people in a lurch with empty wallets.

The economy isn’t the only thing draining wallets, though. Holidays are tough on finances, too. Plenty of people are looking for deals or giveaways to ease the financial strain right now, and scammers are capitalizing on it.

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