Viber update brings end-to-end encryption and hidden chats

Earlier this month, WhatsApp has announced that everything you communicate through it can now be end-to-end encrypted, and today one of its biggest competitors has done the same.

Viber is the app in question, and it’s no small deal, this, as it currently has more than 700 million users. With the latest version (that’s already available in both the iTunes App Store for iOS and the Google Play Store for Android), all of your communications are end-to-end encrypted, provided all the people in a conversation have the new Viber iteration.

Like always, end-to-end encryption means no one…

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Viber update brings end-to-end encryption and hidden chats

Mixed Dimensions retools its 3D printing software to target gamers, b2b

San Francisco-based Mixed Dimensions, which makes software targeting the 3D printing space, has closed a $4 million Series A, with the funding round led by SiliconValley investors Alsop Louie Partners and Dolby Family Ventures. Read More

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Mixed Dimensions retools its 3D printing software to target gamers, b2b

Judge: If feds find drugs on your car, pics of cash on your phone, you’re suspicious

(credit: Omar Bárcena)

A judge in southern California has ruled that a recent federal agents’ search of a man’s cellphone as he was crossing into the United States was entirely lawful.

The case, known as United States v. Caballero, involves a man who was driving into the US from Mexico and attempted to cross the border at Calexico (Imperial County) on September 28, 2015. While at the checkpoint, a dog alerted agents to the presence of narcotics on the man’s car. The government is now accusing Sergio Caballero with importation of over 33 pounds of methamphetamine, and 2.75 pounds of heroin inside the gas tank.

The government brought the criminal case that same day. However, approximately two months later, Caballero’s public defender attempted to suppress the search of the phone, which revealed a photograph of a large amount of cash. The defense attorney, Nathan Feneis, argued that the search of his client’s phone was illegal under the Supreme Court decision, Riley v. California. That 2014 decision found that law enforcement generally does not have the right to search a phone belonging to someone who is arrested without a warrant.

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Judge: If feds find drugs on your car, pics of cash on your phone, you’re suspicious

Report: Theranos Is Under Criminal Investigation

The blood-testing company Theranos has been at the receiving end of biting criticism

for months now. But it seems things have finally come to a head: A new report claims that the company is under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors.

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Report: Theranos Is Under Criminal Investigation

Betaout raises $1.5M to help e-commerce companies manage marketing campaigns

Betaout, a marketing automation platform for e-commerce companies, plans to expand in India, Southeast Asia, and the United States after closing $1.5 million in pre-Series A funding. Read More

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Betaout raises $1.5M to help e-commerce companies manage marketing campaigns

BlackBerry Priv currently available for just $450

If you’re in the United States, and are planning to purchase BlackBerry’s debut Android smartphone (the Priv), here is some good news: for a limited time, the device has received a solid price cut.

Daily Steals currently has the handset listed for $450, down from the $700 price tag that it usually carries there. A quick look at the Canadian company’s official US online store reveals a price tag of $650, so the deal saves you at-least $200.

The model on offer is AT&T branded, although unlocked, meaning you’ll be able to use it with other GSM carriers as well. As we’ve already told…

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BlackBerry Priv currently available for just $450

Watch Six Bulldozers Battle Each Other on the Streets of China in the Craziest Fight Ever

This is madness. Like, seriously what in the hell is going on. In northern China, multiple bulldozers apparently got so mad at each other that they started one of the craziest demolition derbies I’ve ever seen on a public road. It’s a legitimate royal rumble between heavy machinery. There are normal cars on the street driving around trying to avoid the ridiculousness that is giant bulldozers trying to ram the hell out of each other! Some of the bulldozers even got flipped over!

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Watch Six Bulldozers Battle Each Other on the Streets of China in the Craziest Fight Ever

Workers Have Found a 'Significant' Nuclear Waste Leak At a Washington Storage Site

A slow, ongoing nuclear waste leak at a storage facility in Washington State has escalated over the weekend. …

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Workers Have Found a 'Significant' Nuclear Waste Leak At a Washington Storage Site

How hackers eavesdropped on a US Congressman using only his phone number

A US congressman has learned first-hand just how vulnerable cellphones are to eavesdropping and geographic tracking after hackers were able to record his calls and monitor his movements using nothing more than the public ten-digit phone number associated with the handset he used.

The stalking of US Representative Ted Lieu’s smartphone was carried out with his permission for a piece broadcast Sunday night by 60 Minutes. Karsten Nohl of Germany-based Security Research Labs was able to record any call made to or from the phone and to track its precise location in real-time as the California congressman traveled to various points in the southern part of the state. At one point, 60 minutes played for Lieu a crystal-clear recording Nohl made of one call that discussed data collection practices by the US National Security Agency. While SR Labs had permission to carry out the surveillance, there’s nothing stopping malicious hackers from doing the same thing.

The representative said he had two reactions: “First it’s really creepy,” he said. “And second it makes me angry. They could hear any call. Pretty much anyone has a cell phone. It could be stock trades you want someone to execute. It could be a call with a bank.”

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How hackers eavesdropped on a US Congressman using only his phone number

Americans are keeping their phones longer; new data says U.S. users wait 29-months between upgrades

According to data computed by Citibank, by the first half of this year the average American will be keeping his phone for an average of 29-months. That is up from the 28-month holding period that Americans averaged in the fourth quarter of last year. With the demise of the two-year contract and the subsidized phone offer, more Americans are paying full price for their handsets, As a result they are not as eager to turn them over so quickly.

Two to three years ago, the average smartphone was being held for only 24 to 26-months, which you might expect with consumers upgrading to a new phone … – Source

Americans are keeping their phones longer; new data says U.S. users wait 29-months between upgrades

Google’s WebM and VP9 codecs coming to Edge in Windows 10 Anniversary Update

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update, due this summer, will expand the range of video and audio codecs that are supported by the Edge browser. Microsoft is adding the VP9 video codec, the Opus audio codec, and the WebM container format.

VP9 and WebM are both spearheaded by Google. Google bought video codec company On2 in 2010 with the intent of opening up On2’s VP8 codec to serve as an open source, royalty-free alternative to the open but royalty-incurring H.264. Unfortunately, groups claiming to have patents that covered VP8 emerged. Google ultimately came to an agreement with those groups in 2013 to ensure the codec’s royalty-free status, but by then, H.264 was too firmly entrenched to displace.

VP9 is a successor to VP8 that is more efficient and essential for the growing demand for 4K video. Along with Microsoft and others, Google has joined the Alliance for Open Media to promote VP9’s development and try to ensure that it remains royalty-free. As with VP8 before it, VP9 is covered by patents, but the companies hope that they own all the relevant patents and hence are in a position to grant a royalty-free license. Microsoft announced in September 2015 that it was starting work on VP9 for Edge.

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Google’s WebM and VP9 codecs coming to Edge in Windows 10 Anniversary Update