Safari's Safe Browsing Option Raises Privacy Concerns

An option in Apple's Safari browser that's supposed to protect Web surfers from malicious sites has raised privacy concerns in some quarters. The option, called "safe browsing," is turned on by default. Depending on where an Apple device is registered, the browser could be sending IP information to Tencent, a conglomerate with close ties to China's government. "Safe browsing should not only mean you're protected from visiting websites that are dangerous, but that your privacy is safe, too," said law professor Joel R. Reidenberg.

Setting Up Roadblocks to Social Engineering

Since the dawn of the Internet age, criminals have looked for ways to profit on unsuspecting people while they browse the Web. Viruses, malware and other schemes were invented to infect and infiltrate systems, both at the enterprise and consumer levels. One of the most successful forms of cybercrime is social engineering, also known as the con man of the Internet. Social engineering actually covers a wide range of security threats, not just those in a digital context, but it's usually associated with attacks like phishing.

Google's Pixel 3A Is On Sale at Amazon Right Now

Google's Pixel 3A is already a bargain, and it's $50 cheaper than usual.

Payments giants abandon Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency

Mastercard, Visa, eBay and Stripe join PayPal in no longer supporting Facebook's effort to launch a currency.

USB-C Has Finally Come Into Its Own

“The port of the future” has become the port of right now—with one big exception.

26 Best Nintendo Switch Accessories (WIRED's Top 2019 Picks)

Own Nintendo's two-in-one console? These are our picks for the best gaming headsets, chargers, screen protectors, cases, stands, controllers, adapters, and more.

The Big Lure of Tiny Keyboards

Minimalists intent on freeing up desk space are shrinking their keyboards.

How to Donate or Recycle Your Lego Bricks

The toy company has partnered with a logistics company to collect, wash, and redistribute used Lego pieces as part of its sustainability goal.

YouTube terminates Addy A-Game and Street Attraction channels

Hundreds of online videos are removed for breaking rules on nudity and sexual conduct after a BBC investigation.

Get Serious About Cybersecurity: Take Ownership of Your Personal Data

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and one of the prongs in the three-part theme is for all computer users to "Own IT." This means staying safe on social media, updating privacy settings, and keeping tabs on apps. Simply put, users need to take better ownership of their data and their online presence as part of daily safe cyber practices. It is all too easy simply to click the wrong link, share the wrong thing on social media, or download the wrong app. One of the biggest risks today is ransomware.

HP Omen X 2S Review: A Secondary Screen Doubles Your Gaming Pleasure

This brawny gaming laptop has a secondary display embedded above the keyboard.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Deal: $70 Off Right Now

The Hero 7 is still a great deal at $329, with superb image stabilization and awesome time-lapse video.

New Surface Line Makes the Earth Move for Microsoft Fans

Microsoft has launched a slew of new devices designed to reshape the world: the Surface Laptop 3, the Surface Pro 7, the Surface Pro X, Surface Earbuds, and the upcoming Surface Neo and Surface Duo. "The next decade will be about creation, and amplifying what we can do as humans," said CEO Satya Nadella. "It's that ambition that ... underlies the approach to Surface and everything we do today." The Surface Laptop 3, Pro 7 and Pro X are available for preorder in select markets. The dual-screen Surface Neo and Duo will be available next year.

US hospitals turn away patients as ransomware strikes

Three hospitals in Alabama were forced to close their doors to all but the most critical new patients.

A Peek at Our Wireless Future

Last week I attended a Qualcomm event that took me through the coming wave of both 5G and WiFi 6 products, touched on the millimeter wave, and at least spoke to 6G. From this I think I can begin to picture the world as it will exist by the middle of the next decade, and it is kind of fascinating. Qualcomm has spent nearly $50B -- yes billion -- advancing its wireless initiatives. Its current leading efforts are 5G, WiFi 6, and Millimeter Wave. If you are in the U.S., you'll likely have access to all three technologies.

Best Dog Tech & Accessories: 10 Essentials for Your Pup

WIRED's favorite dog gear, including a pet camera, fitness tracker, geofencing collar, camping bed, and leash.

Spoofing emails: The trickery costing businesses billions

Company executives are being targeted by spoof emails requesting them to send vast sums of money.

SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless Review: A Go-Anywhere Headset

The latest SteelSeries Arctis headset is wireless, works with every game system, and doubles as a great pair of music headphones.

Facebook to create VR world called Horizon

Inhabitants of the virtual space will be able to play games, chat and shape the world, says Facebook.

Little Talk of Sustainability at Amazon's Big Hardware Event

But CEO Jeff Bezos says he considers Amazon’s hardware strategy to be a part of the company’s efforts to reduce its overall carbon footprint.

WeWork's Adam Neumann quits as chief executive

The boss of the trendy office rental firm says stepping aside is "in the best interests of the firm".

Art Project Uncovers Bias in AI Training Models

A website created to gather faces for an art project has created a controversy over the use of AI to classify human beings. The faces collected at the ImageNet Roulette site are being incorporated into a work of art in Milan, but that is only one reason American artist Trevor Paglen and Microsoft researcher Kate Crawford created the site. "ImageNet Roulette was launched ... to draw attention to the things that can -- and regularly do -- go wrong when artificial intelligence models are trained on problematic training data," the creators wrote.

Kodak Smile Classic Review: The Best Zink Instant Camera

Kodak's latest instant camera offers bigger, better prints with its eye-catching camera-printer combo.

What3words: 'Life-saving app' divides opinion

First responders have been singing the praises of what3words but some have reservations about the tech.

It's a Great Time to Buy a Kindle (and 10 More Tech Deals)

Amazon is clearing out Kindles, and there are some deep discounts on some iPhone alternatives this weekend.

Fitness: The Sweet Spot for Smartwatches

Smartwatches outsold traditional watches in the fourth quarter of 2018. The category saw a 51 percent increase in dollar sales for last year, along with a 61 percent increase in unit sales, according to recent data from NPD Group. One in four Americans aged 18 to 34 now own a smartwatch, and that is likely to increase. Traditional watches did regain the majority of the market in Q1 2019, suggesting that not all consumers are ready to have a mini-computer on their wrists just yet.

Huawei: Microsoft president seeks resolution to tech ban

The US company's president warns of a "digital iron curtain down the Pacific Ocean".

iPhone 11: To Upgrade or Not, That's the Question

Early reviews on the new iPhone models are appearing, and for owners of older versions of Apple's flagship mobile, an upgrade may be in order. Reviewers had plenty of praise for Apple's more expensive iPhone models -- the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. However, it was the baseline iPhone 11 that came out the clear winner in the kudos game. Although the iPhone 11 is the lowest-priced of the three new models, Apple didn't skimp on the device. Reviewers found the 11's camera to be a solid performer. They also praised the iPhone 11 line's video prowess.

Wi-Fi 6 Is Ready for Prime Time

The Wi-Fi Alliance has released certification standards for Wi-Fi 6 devices, signaling that the technology is ready for prime time. The certification program assures buyers that products carrying the Wi-Fi Certified 6 label will deliver the best user experience with devices supporting IEEE 802.11ax. Wi-Fi 6 includes innovations to create faster network performance and to decrease the latency that can result from adding devices to a network. "Wi-Fi Certified 6 is ushering in a new era of WiFi," said Wi-Fi Alliance CEO Edgar Figueroa.

The Pitched Battle Over Streaming Content

At Apple's annual new products and devices event earlier this week, CEO Tim Cook told the crowd gathered at its Cupertino headquarters that the new Apple TV+ streaming service will be available for $4.99 per month. Consumers who buy a new iPad, iPhone or Apple laptop will receive a year of the subscription-based streaming video service for free. It was a shot across the bow at Disney, which recently announced at its D23 event in Anaheim, California, that the Disney+ streaming service will be available for $6.99 per month.

8 Best Zink Instant Cameras & Printers (Zero Ink, Inkless)

We've been testing inkless "Zero Ink" printers and instant cameras for months. These are our favorites.

14 Great Tech Deals on Phones, Tablets, TVs, and Dongles

Have an iPhone 11 hangover? These tech discounts may perk you up.

A Super-Powered iPhone Chip, a Potential HIV Treatment, and More News

Catch up on the most important news from today in two minutes or less.

Adam Savage’s New VR App Lets You Visit Maker Workshops

Strap on an Oculus headset and approach the workbench as the world's best makers show you how they craft their creations.

Google's Super-Sized Nest Hub Draws Mixed Reviews

The new larger version of Google's Nest Hub smart display has been garnering mixed reviews. It has a 10-inch screen, compared to its predecessor's 7-inch display, and it sells for $229, compared to $129 for the Nest Hub introduced at Google's I/O conference in June. "I like the big screen on the Nest Hub Max, since I was able to watch a football game in the kitchen and still see the score," wrote Todd Haselton. One of the best things about the Nest Hub, and now the Nest Hub Max, is viewing pictures from Google Photos, he added.

Watch Apple’s 2019 iPhone Announcement Right Here

The next iPhone (and lots of other stuff) will be unveiled today. Keep a browser tab tuned to WIRED to see it all live.

Almost one-fifth of Britons 'do not use internet'

Survey says almost everyone under 50 is online but after that, use declines by about 2% per year.

5 Best Gaming Desktop PCs (2019): Custom, High-End, Cheap

I assure you, these PC battle stations are fully armed and operational. They're also WIRED Recommended.

Unsolicited nudes detected and deleted by AI

Software that can detect unwanted penis pictures sent on Twitter is being developed.

Multi-Cloud Strategy May Pose Higher Security Risk: Study

Users of a multi-cloud storage strategy may be twice as likely to face a security breach as those that use hybrid or single clouds, suggests a report from UK-based security specialist Nominet. Fifty-two percent of survey respondents who adopted a multi-cloud approach suffered a data breach over the past 12 months, compared to 24 percent of hybrid cloud users, and 24 percent of single-cloud users, the firm found after polling nearly 300 C-Level executives and IT professionals.

Amazon Trying Out Hand-Scanning Payment System: Report

Amazon is testing scanners that can identify a human hand to use as a payment method for in-store purchases. The company plans to introduce "Orville" to some Whole Foods stores by the beginning of 2020, and later expand it to all locations in the United States. Employees at Amazon's New York offices are said to be using the technology to buy items such as sodas, chips, granola bars and phone chargers from specially equipped vending machines. The high-tech sensors used in the pilot use computer vision and depth geometry.

South Wales Police use of facial recognition ruled lawful

High Court rules against a Cardiff shopper who brought a judicial review against South Wales Police.

29 Best Labor Day Sales (2019): Tech, Laptops, TV, Gaming, Etc

From iPads to water filters, we’ve scoured the last of the summer’s deals to find our absolute favorites.

How to Save Yourself From Notification Overload

You get too many rings and blips and squawks on your smartphone. Here's how to shut them up.

Robot Coffee, a Leica Camera, and Everything Else We Loved This Month

Pro tip: Prepare all your meals in a waffle maker—it will change your life.

YouTube restores far-right channels after appeal

The video-sharing site said it had been wrong to cut off access to the white nationalist channels.

Google finds 'indiscriminate iPhone attack lasting years'

Criminals used previously unknown vulnerabilities to implant monitoring software, research shows.

Verizon Steps Up Fight Against Rampant Robocalls

Verizon, the No. 1 mobile carrier in the United States, this week introduced a free version of its robocall-blocking app, which will be standard on all new Android devices. The company further announced that it will auto-enroll eligible Android users to its Call Filter service and block what are seen as "high-risk" calls. This includes calls from numbers that have been reported as fraudulent. Those calls will be sent to voicemail, while the display on caller ID will indicate "Potential Spam" to warn callers that it is likely a robocall.

French 'cybercops' dismantle pirate computer network

A team of French police destroys a virus that infected 850,000 computers, officials say.

Tips for Women and Girls Interested in STEAM Careers

I came to tech by accident. Formally trained in public health and international development, I was presented with a problem that needed to be fixed. Suffering from a naturally inquisitive mind as I do, it was only a few rabbit holes later that I found my world blown open by a richly diverse global network of coders, mappers, geeks and dreamers. These are folks who are trying to hack real-world development challenges faced by people fighting infectious disease outbreaks, communities piecing life back together in disasters' wake, and more.