Google’s cross-platform Flutter UI toolkit hits version 1.0

Flutter, Google’s UI toolkit for building mobile Android and iOS applications, hit its version 1.0 release today. In addition, Google also today announced a set of new third-party integrations with the likes of Square and others, as well as a couple of new features that make it easier to integrate Flutter with existing applications.

The open source Flutter project made its debut at Google’s 2017 I/O developer conference. Since then, it’s quickly grown in popularity and companies like Groupon, Philips Hue, Tencent, Alibaba, Capital One and others have already built applications with it, despite the fact that it had not hit version 1.0 yet and that developers have to write their apps in the Dart language, which is an additional barrier to entry.

In total, Google says, developers have already published “thousands” of Flutter apps to the Apple and Google app stores.

“Flutter is our portable UI toolkit for creating a beautiful native experience for iOS and Android out of just a single code base,” Tim Sneath, Google’s group product manager for Dart, explained. “The problem we’re solving is the problem that most mobile developers face today. As a developer, you’re kind of forced to choose. Either you build apps natively using the platform SDK, whether you’re building an iOS app or an Android app. And then you’ve to build them twice.”

Sneath was also part of the Silverlight team at Microsoft before he joined Google in 2017, so he’s got a bit of experience in learning what doesn’t work in this space of cross-platform development. It’s no secret, though, that Facebook is trying to solve a very similar problem with React Native, which is also quite popular.

“I mean, React Native is obviously a technology that’s proven quite popular,” Sneath said. “One of the challenges that React Native developers face, or have reported in the past — one challenge is that native React Native code is written in JavaScript, which means that it’s run using the browser’s JavaScript engine, which immediately kind of move this a little bit away from the native model of the platform. The bit that they are very native in is that they use the operating system’s own controls. And while on the surface, that seems like a good thing in practice, that had quite a few challenges for developers around compatibility.”

Google, obviously believes that its ability to compile to native code — and the speed gains that come with that — set its platform apart from the competition. In part, it does this by using a hardware-accelerated 2D engine and, of course, by compiling the Dart code to native ARM code for iOS and Android. The company also stresses that developers get full control over every pixel on the screen.

With today’s launch, Google is also announcing new third-party integrations to Flutter. The first is with Square, which announced two new Flutter SDKs for building payments flows, both for in-app experience and in-person terminals using a Square reader. Others are 2Dimensions, for building vector animations and embedding them right into Flutter, as well as Nevercode, which announced a tool for automating the build and packaging process for Flutter apps.

As for new Flutter features, Google today announced ‘Add to App,’ a new feature that makes it easier for developers to slowly add Flutter code to existing apps. In its early days, Flutter’s focus was squarely on building new apps from scratch, but as it has grown in popularity, developers now want to use it for parts of their existing applications as they modernize them.

The other new feature is ‘Platform Views,’ which is essentially the opposite of ‘Add to App’ in that it allows developers to embed Android and iOS controls in their Flutter apps.

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AT&T says it’s getting that 5G Samsung phone, too

Samsung announced yesterday that it’s set to bring a 5G phone to market in the first half of next year, name-checking Verizon in the promise. This morning, however, AT&T was quick to note that it will also be getting its hand on the still-unnamed handset in the first half of 2019.

The carrier issued a next day press release which, like Verizon’s, is less focused on information about the handset than self-congratulatory statements about the two companies involved. AT&T promises “unforeseen possibilities for the tech,” while pledging to “bring the best in technology and innovation to our customers.”

The company’s also quick to note that the untitled Samsung isn’t its first planned 5G device. That title belongs to a mobile hotspot the company announced back in October. The company hasn’t offered up a release date on that one, but the first half of 2019 seems like a pretty safe bet for that product, too.

As noted yesterday, company like OnePlus and Motorola have already promised to release 5G handsets at some point next year. Apple, on the other hand, isn’t expected to go 5G with the iPhone until 2020.

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YouTube rolls out autoplaying (but silent) videos on its mobile app’s homepage

YouTube on Monday announced a significant change to its mobile app – it will now autoplay videos by default when users are browsing the app’s home page, aka the “Home” section of the app. Fortunately, the videos will not autoplay with the sound enabled, the company says. Instead, the feature is meant to give users a preview of the video while scrolling through the Home section, so they can better decide if it’s something they want to watch.

The feature, which YouTube calls “Autoplay on Home,” is enabled by default. However, the app will introduce settings that will allow users to control their experience. Users can opt to turn the feature off entirely, if they choose, or they can opt to have autoplay only enabled when they’re connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Autoplay for Home is not an entirely new feature, however. It’s actually been up-and-running for over half a year for YouTube Premium members on Android. Premium is YouTube’s subscription offering, which removes the ads from YouTube while also offering other perks like downloads for offline access to videos, background play, and access to YouTube Music and YouTube Originals.

Now, Autoplay on Home is rolling out beyond Premium subscribers to all those who use the YouTube app on iOS and Android. As with most launches across YouTube, it’s a staged rollout – meaning you may not see autoplay immediately. YouTube says it will take a few weeks for the rollout to complete.

The company notes it made the decision to expand autoplay because it increases users’ engagement time with videos.

As YouTube explains in an announcement on its product forum (spotted first by Tubefilter): “previewing videos helps you make more informed decisions about whether you want to watch a video, leading to longer engagement with videos you choose to watch.”

The company also detailed its decision further in a YouTube Help video (below) where it noted that autoplay’s launch doesn’t mean thumbnails are going away. Instead, YouTube will display the thumbnail first during a brief pause, before the video begins to autoplay.

With the launch of autoplay, YouTube also noted that captions would become more important.

Today, the number of videos with captions enabled tops 2 billion, it said. The site offers a variety of options for captions, including automated captions (which aren’t always perfect), creator-uploaded captions, and crowdsourced community captions.

It’s not surprising to see YouTube adopt autoplay, given that rivals including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others already do the same, as do some streaming services, like Netflix.

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Marriott International Suffers 500m Record Data Breach

So much is going on every month in the world of cybersecurity, online privacy, and data protection. It’s difficult to keep up!

Our monthly security digest will help you keep tabs on the most important security and privacy news every month. Here’s what happened in November.

1. Marriott International Suffers 500m Record Data Breach

As ever, one of the biggest bits of security news hits at the end of the month.

November ended with the Marriott International hotel group revealing an enormous data breach. It is thought up to 500 million customer records are affected as the attacker had access to the Marriott International Starwood division network since 2014.

Marriott International acquired Starwood in 2016 to create the largest hotel chain in the world, with over 5,800 properties.

The leak means different things for different users. However, the information for each user contains a combination of:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Email address
• Passport number
• Account information
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Arrival and departure information

Perhaps of most importance is Marriott’s revelation that some records included encrypted card information—but also could not rule out that the private keys had been stolen, too.

The long and the short of it is this: if you stayed at any Marriott Starwood hotel, including timeshare properties, before September 10, 2018, your information might have been compromised.

Marriott is taking measures to protect potentially affected user’s by offering a year’s free subscription to WebWatcher. US citizens will also receive a free fraud consultation and reimbursement coverage for free. At the current time, there are three enrollment sites:

• United States
• Canada
• United Kingdom

Otherwise, check out these three simple ways to protect your data after a major breach.

2. Event-Stream JavaScript Library Injected With Crypto-Stealing Malware

A JavaScript library that receives over 2 million downloads per week was injected with malicious code designed to steal cryptocurrencies.

The Event-Stream repository, a JavaScript package that simplifies working with Node.js streaming modules, was found to contain obfuscated code. When researchers deobfuscated the code, it became clear that its goal was bitcoin theft.

Analysis suggests the code targets libraries associated with the Copay bitcoin wallet for mobile and desktop. If the Copay wallet is present on a system, the malicious code attempts to steal the wallet contents. It then attempts to connect to a Malaysian IP address.

The malicious code was uploaded to the Event-Stream repository after the original developer, Dominic Tarr, handed control of the library to another developer, right9ctrl.

Right9ctrl uploaded a new version of the library almost as soon as control was handed over, the new version containing the malicious code targeting Copay wallets.

However, since that time, right9ctrl has uploaded another new version of the library—without any malicious code. The new upload also coincides with Copay updating their mobile and desktop wallet packages to remove the use of the JavaScript libraries targeted by the malicious code.

3. Amazon Suffers Data Breach Days Before Black Friday

Just days before the biggest shopping day of the year (bar China’s Single’s Day, of course), Amazon suffered a data breach.

“We’re contacting you to let you know that our website inadvertently disclosed your name and email address due to a technical error. The issue has been fixed. This is not a result of anything you have done, and there is no need for you to change your password or take any other action.”

It is difficult to gauge the exact details of the breach because, well, Amazon isn’t telling. However, Amazon users in the U.K., U.S., South Korea, and the Netherlands all reported receiving an Amazon email regarding the breach, so it was a fairly global issue.

Users can take some consolation in that it was an Amazon technical issue leading to the data breach, rather than an attack on Amazon. The release of information doesn’t contain any banking information, either.

However, Amazon’s message that there is no need for affected users to change their password is plain wrong. If you have been affected by the Amazon data breach, change your account password.

4. Self-Encrypting Samsung and Crucial SSD Vulnerabilities

Security researchers uncovered multiple critical vulnerabilities in Samsung and Crucial self-encrypting SSDs. The research team tested three Crucial SSDs and four Samsung SSDs, finding critical issues with each model tested.

Carlo Meijer and Bernard van Gastel, security researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands, identified vulnerabilities [PDF] in the drives’ implementation of ATA security and TCG Opal, which are two specifications for implementing encryption on SSDs that use hardware-based encryption.

There is a variety of issues:

• Lack of cryptographic binding between password and data encryption key means an attacker can unlock drives by modifying the password validation process.
• The Crucial MX300 has a master password set by the manufacturer—this password is an empty string, e.g., there isn’t one.
• Recovery of Samsung data encryption keys through the exploitation of SSD wear leveling.

Disconcertingly, the researchers stated that these vulnerabilities might very well apply to other models as well as different SSD manufacturers.

Wondering about how to protect your drives? Here’s how you protect your data using the open-source encryption tool, VeraCrypt.

5. Apple Pay Malvertising Campaign Targets iPhone Users

iPhone users are the target of an ongoing malvertising campaign involving Apple Pay.

The campaign attempts to redirect and scam users of their Apple Pay credentials using two phishing pop-ups, with the attack originating through a series of premium newspapers and magazines when accessed via iOS.

The malware, known as PayLeak, delivers unsuspecting iPhone users who click the malicious ad to a Chinese-registered domain.

When the user arrives at the domain, the malware checks a series of credentials, including device motion, the device type (Android or iPhone), and whether the device browser is Linux x86_64, Win32, or MacIntel.

Furthermore, the malware checks the device for any antivirus or antimalware apps.

If the correct conditions are met, Android users are redirected to a phishing site that claims the user has won an Amazon gift card.

However, iPhone users receive two pop-ups. The first is an alert that the iPhone needs updating, while the second informs the user that their Apple Pay app needs updating, too. The second alert shares the Apple Pay credit card information with a remote command and control server.

6. One Million Children’s Tracker Watches Vulnerable

At least one million GPS-enabled children’s tracker watches are sold to parents packed with vulnerabilities.

Pen Test Partners’ research detailed a litany of security issues with the extremely popular MiSafe children’s security watch. The GPS-enabled watches are designed to allow a parent to track the location of their child at all times.

However, the security researchers found that device ID numbers—and therefore, the user account—could be accessed.

Accessing the account enabled the security team to locate the child, view a photo of the child, listen to conversations between the child and their parent, or remote call or message the child themselves.

“Our research was carried out on watches branded ‘Misafes kids watcher’ and appears to affect up to 30,000 watches. However, we discovered at least 53 other kids tracker watch brands that are affected by identical or near-identical security issues.”

Vulnerabilities in smart devices aimed at children are not a new issue. It does, however, remain a worrying one.

“So how do you purchase safe smart toys for your kids? You don’t,” says Aaron Zander, IT engineer at Hacker One. “But if you must, don’t go for the cheapest options and try to minimize capabilities like video, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Also, if you do have a device and it does have a security flaw, reach out to your government representatives, write your regulating bodies, make a stink about it, it’s the only way it gets better.”

November Security News Roundup

Those are six of the top security stories from November 2018. But a lot more happened; we just don’t have space to list it all in detail. Here are five more interesting security stories that popped up last month:

• The Japanese deputy-chief of cybersecurity strategy revealed he has never used a computer.
• Nation-state malware Stuxnet attacks facilities and organizations in Iran (again).
• Hackers find zero-day exploits in iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S9, and Xiaomi Mi6 devices.
• Microsoft patches a Windows zero-day exploit used in multiple attacks by various hacking groups.
• The Pegasus advanced spyware is used to target investigative journalists in Mexico.

Another whirlwind of cybersecurity news. The world of cybersecurity is constantly changing, and keeping abreast of the latest breaches, malware, and privacy issues is a struggle.

That’s why we round up the most important and most interesting bits of news for you every month.

Check back at the beginning of next month—the start of a new year, no less—for your December 2018 security roundup. Next month will also see the MakeUseOf 2018 year in security roundup, too. In the meantime, check out these five tips and tricks to securing your smart devices.

Image Credit: Karlis Dambrans/Flickr

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How to Fix the Firefox Proxy Server When It’s Refusing Connections

Firefox is one of the most popular browsers on the market today. By most usage numbers, it’s in third place in terms of popularity behind only Google Chrome and Safari.

Unfortunately, people sometimes run into common problems while using their Firefox browser. One of those is an error where the proxy server refuses connections.

The result of this error is that you won’t be able to access the internet at all. People often assume that it’s an internet connection problem. However, there are common fixes to this proxy server connection problem if you know where to look.

What Is a Proxy Server?

The most common use of a proxy is inside a corporation. Companies often use a proxy server to “filter” all internet traffic.

This proxy server is part of a two-way form of communication.

• Incoming internet traffic is checked for malicious attacks.
• Outgoing internet traffic is filtered for employees who may be trying to access inappropriate websites.

In some cases, a private internet service provider (ISP) that you use at home may also require the use of a proxy server. But, more commonly your browser will have full access to the internet without the use of any proxy server.

The error shows up when your proxy configuration either on your PC or your browser gets changed. This can be due to malicious software. Or it might be that someone inadvertently changed the Firefox proxy settings.

So you’ll need to know where to look when you have a proxy server connection problem.

Private Network: Set to No Proxy

The Firefox proxy server connection error is common if you’re using Firefox on a LAN, such as on a corporate network.

The first place to check is that your LAN settings are correct.

While in Firefox, In the menu, select Options. Scroll down to Network Settings, and click Settings.

This opens up the connection settings menu.

If you’re using the Firefox browser inside your own private home network, the odds are good you don’t need any proxy server configured at all.

Firefox defaults to Use system proxy settings, but if your own PC proxy settings are messed up, you can resolve any issue by just changing the Configure Proxy Access to the Internet setting to No proxy.

This ensures that your web traffic is going out directly to the internet, and not attempting to connect to any proxy servers first.

Restart Firefox to confirm that the proxy setting change resolved your connection issues.

Check PC LAN Proxy Settings

If your ISP does require the use of a proxy server, and the Use system proxy settings worked up until now, then you need to check whether the proxy settings on your PC changed for some reason.

You can check proxy settings on your Windows 10 PC by clicking on the Start menu, typing Configure Proxy Server, and pressing Enter. Click on the Connections tab, and then click on LAN settings.

On a network where your ISP doesn’t require a proxy server for internet access, this setting is normally set to Automatically detect settings.

However, on any network where an ISP or organization requires a proxy server, there are two options.

Either Use automatic configuration script will be selected and filled in. Or Use a proxy server for your LAN will be set, and the Address and Port fields filled in with the proxy server details.

• Automatic Configuration: If your ISP or company uses an automatic configuration, then the Address field should already be filled in under Use automatic configuration script. You should be able to click that checkbox and your internet connection will start working again.
• Proxy Server: If your ISP or company uses a specific proxy server, the Address field and Port field should already be filled in under the Proxy server section. You should be able to click the checkbox next to Use a proxy server for your LAN, and the internet connection will work again.
• No Proxy: If you know your ISP or company doesn’t use a proxy server or an automatic configuration, and either of those are selected, that’s the cause of your Firefox connection issue. Just select Automatically detect settings to fix the issue.

If none of the fields are filled in, but you know that your ISP or company requires a proxy server, you’ll need to get those details from the ISP or your company’s IT Department.

Once you change any of these settings, reboot your PC and then recheck your internet connection.

Reset Network Settings

If none of the setting changes above helped, your system may need a network settings reset. If this is the case, it’s likely that all browsers have been affected. No browser will be able to connect to the internet.

Regardless of the reason, the easiest fix is just to reset your network settings. You can do this using the following procedure.

First, click on the Start menu, type cmd, right-click on the command prompt and select Run as administrator.

Type the following commands in order.

netsh int ip reset
netsh winsock reset
netsh winhttp reset proxy

These commands reset your network interface as well as all winsock and winhttp settings. If malware or anything else inadvertently changed these settings, these commands will set things back to normal.

Once you’re done, restart your PC and check if your Firefox internet connection is working.

Edit the Registry

One issue that can affect your network connection is if you used a proxy server earlier, but now you connect to the internet without it.

Often, there are leftover proxy settings in the Windows Registry. You can clean these by following these steps.

Click on the Start menu, type regedit, and press Enter.

Navigate to the registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

Before you take any of the steps below, right click on the Internet Settings folder and export it to a safe location on your computer as a backup. If anything goes wrong, you can recover it by opening the registry and importing that file.

Look for any keys that mention the word proxy. You can delete those settings to remove the leftover proxy settings.

If you don’t see any proxy settings here, try clicking on the top level Internet Settings folder, press Ctrl + F, and search for any registry keys that contain the word proxy.

If the setting is a file path, either clear or delete the key. If it’s a Boolean setting like 1 or 0, change the setting to 0.

Restart your computer, relaunch Firefox, and confirm that the internet connection is working again.

Check for Malware or Adware

The worst case scenario is that you’re infected with malware that’s continuing to alter your internet settings.

If you don’t already have antivirus software installed on your computer, seek out the best antivirus app you can find and install it. Run a full scan on your computer and remove any troublesome apps that it finds. It may also be a good idea to install good Adware cleaners, especially as a browser add-on.

Know When to Ask for Help

If you’ve tried all the above options and you your Firefox browser still can’t access the internet, it may be time to reach out to the experts.

If you’re working at home, then give your ISP a call and let them walk you through any troubleshooting options. They may tell you that there’s an internet outage in your area, or that your router needs a restart.

If you’re at work, it’s possible your IT helpdesk will tell you when the network is down, or that the proxy server itself is down. Either way, you’ll know that the problem isn’t with your own computer.

If you do find that there’s malware or adware on your PC, follow our guide on removing malware to ensure that it never happens again.

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The 5 Best Instagram Repost Apps for Android and iOS

In recent years, Instagram has become the ultimate social network for pictures and short videos. While the Facebook-owned social network seems to have almost all the features that you might want, it still lacks a few features, the biggest omission being the ability to repost pictures or videos.

Generally speaking you needs a third-party app to accomplish this, of which there are quite a few available. So, with that in mind, here are the best repost apps for Instagram.

1. Repost for Instagram

Pros: Repost for Instagram is packed with great features, and has a clean user interface. It’s fairly simple to use, and has a tutorial built in, complete with video and text instructions.

The app runs a listener service in the background as well, which waits for you to copy Instagram links. As soon as you do that, it gives you a nifty pop-up notification, which takes you straight into the app with the copied picture ready for reposting.

By default, Repost for Instagram will put a watermark of the username of the account from which the picture you’re trying to repost is originally from. It also automatically copies the caption of the original picture, which is handy. This app also keeps a neat list of the Instagram links you copy over time.

Cons: To remove the username watermark, you need to unlock the “Pro” version by paying $4.99, which also gets rid of the adverts. Also, as far as posts that have multiple pictures/videos in it, this app will only let you repost the first picture from the post, and not the rest.

Download: Repost for Instagram for iOS | Android (Free, subscription available)

2. Repost Photo and Video for Instagram

Pros: Repost Photo and Video for Instagram runs a listener service to look for Instagram links a user copies, except that you can access this service from the notification shade, and even stop the service from the shade itself.

The user interface is quite streamlined. There are bottom tabs for easy access to copied link history, new posts, and one to donate to the developer of the app, with the option to buy the Pro version for $2. The app also copies captions automatically, which is a nifty feature.

Repost Photo and Video for Instagram also has the username watermark option, and you don’t even need to pay to remove the watermark. This app also has a great way of dealing with posts that have multiple pictures/videos. It lists all of them out separately, so you can pick one to post.

Cons: None.

Download: Repost Photo and Video for Instagram for Android (Free, subscription available)

If you’re someone who is trying to use Instagram as a business tool, check out our article about using hashtags to increase your Instagram reach.

3. Repost via Instant

Pros: Instant will listen for your copied links, as well as give you a big overlay pop-up in the middle of the screen, in addition to the persistent notification.

This app acts more like a downloader that also has a repost function. The pictures/videos get saved on your phone, and the app even lets you organize saved posts into albums. You have the option to give feedback, and to buy the Premium version of this app for $4.99.

As far as posts with multiple pictures and videos, this app will provide them to you in the typical side scrolling fashion like Instagram itself. You can slide to the one you want to repost, or share it to apps other than Instagram.

Cons: The listener service can be hard to get rid of, and may require you to “Force stop” the app.

Download: Instant for iOS | Android (Free, subscription available)

Instagram power users that want more add-on functionality should check out this nifty list of must have add-on apps for Instagram.

4. Repost for Instagram – Regrann

Pros: Repost for Instagram – Regrann greets you with a tutorial, and then gets straight to business via a Settings screen.

The app provides you with multiple modes. The most convenient one is the “Selection Pop-up Mode”, which immediately opens the app when you copy an Instagram link, and gives you options to “Quick Repost”, “Quick Save”, and “Quick Post Later”. These three options are also available as separate modes.

It also provides you the option to enable and disable the listener service, and to add the username watermark. The app also automatically copies the caption, and gives you the option to have a “Signature” to add to the caption, or to replace the caption with.

The “Post Later” feature is pretty nifty, too, letting you bookmark posts. You can also repost posts with multiple pictures/videos, one at a time.

Cons: Posts with multiple pictures/videos can only be directly saved to your phone storage, and cannot be saved with the Quick Post Later mode.

Download: Repost for Instagram – Regrann for iOS | Android (Free)

If your focus is on Instagram stories, rather than posts, check out our guide to making your Instagram stories pop.

5. Save and Repost for Instagram

Pros: Save and Repost for Instagram quickly saves posts you copy the links to, and builds up a grid out of it, which can be customized.

The main screen of the app lets you save the post, repost it, or share it to other apps. The app provides great control over notifications and the listener service too.

This app also gives the user a surprisingly great amount of control over the advertisements in the app. The Premium plans start at $9.99/month, giving you features like “Cloud Backup” of all your local posts, so that you get to keep your archive after switching devices.

Cons: This app cannot deal with posts that have multiple pictures and videos. It returns with an error when you copy a link to such a post.

Download: Save and Repost for Instagram for Android (Free, subscription available)

For more information about reposting, and ways to handle Instagram reposts without using a dedicated app, take a look at our guide to reposting Instagram pictures and videos.

Things to Note About Instagram Repost Apps

A few of the apps in this list have iOS versions. However, iOS is quite conservative with the amount of control it gives to apps. Thus, most extra features like the listener service and options to save media to storage, or sharing to apps other than Instagram, are absent from the iOS versions. Unfortunately, iOS reposting apps usually just provide the basic functionality, and have very little to set them apart from each other.

One more thing to remember is that the listener service on Android keeps constantly running in the background. It’s best to clear these apps from your phone’s memory, since they can cause battery drain.

However, if you would like to continue using an Android app with a battery drain issue, you might want to check out this battery saving app for Android.

Read the full article: The 5 Best Instagram Repost Apps for Android and iOS

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Save 75% on Top-Rated Privacy Protection with NordVPN

It’s pretty hard to use the Internet nowadays without being watched by advertisers, government agencies, and even your very own ISP. But there is one way to throw the stalkers off your tail. With masking servers around the world and advanced encryption, NordVPN helps you remain anonymous while you surf the web. Right now, you can get three years of service for $107.55 via MakeUseOf Deals — and save an extra 20% with code VPNSAVE20.

Total Anonymity

Browsing the web always feels like a personal experience. But in reality, you leave behind a trail of breadcrumbs. Pretty much every site you visit will record your physical location, the language you speak, and the devices you use. Some will even track you across the Internet.

NordVPN lets you put a stop to this nonsense. This service uses masking servers to disguise your IP address and location. In addition, all your data is protected by strong double-encryption. This means you can safely browse public Wi-Fi networks without risking your cybersecurity.

With apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and other platforms, NordVPN offers complete protection. You can also use the service to bypass local restrictions and enjoy geo-blocked content from around the world. Thanks to unlimited bandwidth, there’s no limit on the amount of content you can consume.

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The NeurIPS 2018 Test of Time Award: The Trade-Offs of Large Scale Learning

Posted by Anna Ukhanova, Program Manager, Google AI Zürich

Progress in machine learning (ML) is happening so rapidly, that it can sometimes feel like any idea or algorithm more than 2 years old is already outdated or superseded by something better. However, old ideas sometimes remain relevant even when a large fraction of the scientific community has turned away from them. This is often a question of context: an idea which may seem to be a dead end in a particular context may become wildly successful in a different one. In the specific case of deep learning (DL), the growth of both the availability of data and computing power renewed interest in the area and significantly influenced research directions.

The NIPS 2008 paper “The Trade-Offs of Large Scale Learning” by Léon Bottou (then at NEC Labs, now at Facebook AI Research) and Olivier Bousquet (Google AI, Zürich) is a good example of this phenomenon. As the recent recipient of the NeurIPS 2018 Test of Time Award, this seminal work investigated the interplay between data and computation in ML, showing that if one is limited by computing power but can make use of a large dataset, it is more efficient to perform a small amount of computation on many individual training examples rather than to perform extensive computation on a subset of the data. This demonstrated the power of an old algorithm, stochastic gradient descent, which is nowadays used in pretty much all applications of DL.

Optimization and the Challenge of Scale
Many ML algorithms can be thought of as the combination of two main ingredients:

• A model, which is a set of possible functions that will be used to fit the data.
• An optimization algorithm which specifies how to find the best function in that set.

Back in the 90’s the datasets used in ML were much smaller than the ones in use today, and while artificial neural networks had already led to some successes, they were considered hard to train. In the early 2000’s, with the introduction of Kernel Machines (SVMs in particular), neural networks went out of fashion. Simultaneously, the attention shifted away from the optimization algorithms that had been used to train neural networks (stochastic gradient descent) to focus on those used for kernel machines (quadratic programming). One important difference being that in the former case, training examples are used one at a time to perform gradient steps (this is called “stochastic”), while in the latter case, all training examples are used at each iteration (this is called “batch”).

As the size of the training sets increased, the efficiency of optimization algorithms to handle large amounts of data became a bottleneck. For example, in the case of quadratic programming, running time scales at least quadratically in the number of examples. In other words, if you double your training set size, your training will take at least 4 times longer. Hence, lots of effort went into trying to make these algorithms scale to larger training sets (see for example Large Scale Kernel Machines).

People who had experience with training neural networks knew that stochastic gradient descent was comparably easier to scale to large datasets, but unfortunately its convergence is very slow (it takes lots of iterations to reach an accuracy comparable to that of a batch algorithm), so it wasn’t clear that this would be a solution to the scaling problem.

Stochastic Algorithms Scale Better
In the context of ML, the number of iterations needed to optimize the cost function is actually not the main concern: there is no point in perfectly tuning your model since you will essentially “overfit” to the training data. So why not reduce the computational effort that you put into tuning the model and instead spend the effort processing more data?

The work of Léon and Olivier provided a formal study of this phenomenon: by considering access to a large amount of data and assuming the limiting factor is computation, they showed that it is better to perform a minimal amount of computation on each individual training example (thus processing more of them) rather than performing extensive computation on a smaller amount of data.

In doing so, they also demonstrated that among various possible optimization algorithms, stochastic gradient descent is the best. This was confirmed by many experiments and led to a renewed interest in online optimization algorithms which are now in extensive use in ML.

Mysteries Remain
In the following years, many variants of stochastic gradient descent were developed both in the convex case and in the non-convex one (particularly relevant for DL). The most common variant now is the so-called “mini-batch” SGD where one considers a small number (~10-100) of training examples at each iteration, and performs several passes over the training set, with a couple of clever tricks to scale the gradient appropriately. Most ML libraries provide a default implementation of such an algorithm and it is arguably one of the pillars of DL.

While this analysis provided a solid foundation for understanding the properties of this algorithm, the amazing and sometimes surprising successes of DL continue to raise many more questions for the scientific community. In particular, the role of this algorithm in the generalization properties of deep networks has been repeatedly demonstrated but is still poorly understood. This means that a lot of fascinating questions are yet to be explored which could lead to a better understanding of the algorithms currently in use and the development of even more efficient algorithms in the future.

The perspective proposed by Léon and Olivier in their collaboration 10 years ago provided a significant boost to the development of the algorithm that is nowadays the workhorse of ML systems that benefit our lives daily, and we offer our sincere congratulations to both authors on this well-deserved award.

Facebook’s collections are becoming shareable, just in time for the holidays

This holiday season, Facebook is hoping you’ll use a relatively little-known feature to share your gift ideas.

With collections, users can already save Facebook content — whether it’s a post, an ad, a video in Facebook Watch or a listing on the Marketplace. Now the company says that you’ll be able to share these collections with your Facebook friends.

The idea is to turn collections into more of a collaborative tool. To do so, you’ll need to open up a collection and then click the “invite” button. Then you can invite other users to become contributors to that collection.

A Facebook blog post explains how this collaboration might work:

If you and a group of friends are planning a holiday party, one of them can create a collection called “holiday recipes” and share with each person helping to plan. Those invited can add holiday recipes they’ve discovered on Facebook and save in the shared collection. The possibilities extend beyond the holiday season and can be useful for coordinating with friends on things like summer vacation planning, wedding registry ideas, furnishing a new apartment and more.

If you had no idea that this feature existed before now, I’m right there with you. Apparently Facebook has been testing “save” capabilities since 2014, which (quietly) evolved into the collections feature last year.

The company says “millions” of people are already using collections. Now that they’re becoming more of a social tool, it seems that Facebook is ready to do more to promote them.

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Xavier Niel unveils new Freebox with Alexa, Devialet, Sigfox, Netflix

Iliad, the telecom company behind Free, just unveiled a new Freebox at a press conference in its office. This is somewhat significant news for French startups as French billionaire Xavier Niel is also a startup investor through Kima Ventures, the owner of Station F and the creator of a school called 42.

When Free unveiled the first Freebox back in 2002, it was the first French internet service provider to offer a triple play service with DSL internet, unlimited calls to French landline phones and television for $34 per month (€29.99).

But things have changed drastically since then. OTT services, such as Netflix or Molotov, as well as multimedia players from Apple or running Android are competing directly with those boxes.

Free is now at a turning point. It has been relentlessly losing subscribers for the past year and its shares have been down around 40 percent in just a year.

In other words, Xavier Niel needs this Freebox to be a success to attract new subscribers, increase the average revenue per user and prove that you can compete with traditional telecom companies by leveraging technology.

The result is the Freebox Delta, a compilation of many different technologies into a single offering. It literally looks like a delta and features Devialet speakers, Sigfox connectivity, Amazon Alexa, ZigBee connectivity for connected objects and more.

“All of this would cost thousands of euros but we’re making it accessible,” Niel said.

By choosing a premium positioning, Free needs to prove that it cares about its network. You can now get as much as 10 Gbit/s using a fiber connection and the new Freebox — you’re then restricted to Gigabit Ethernet ports though.

“We think that optical fiber is the technology you need and the technology we need,” Niel said.

But if you live in the countryside, the Freebox now seamlessly aggregates DSL with a 4G LTE connection, which gives us a glimpse at the 5G future around the corner.

From a simple modem to a home hub

The modem part of the package comes with a 1TB hard drive. You can put up to 4 hard drives and use RAID to create a tiny little NAS with your Freebox. It comes with two powerline network adapters that you can plug to your modem using a single USB-C cable — the adapter acts as the power brick.

The set-top box part is a 4K HDR multimedia box with a homemade operating system. More importantly, it is also a Devialet speaker. Devialet has been working on high-end speakers with a simple goal — zero background noise, zero saturation and zero distorsion. Those speakers cost a tiny fortune.

Niel is an investor in the French startup, that’s why it makes sense to integrate Devialet’s algorithms and chipsets into the Freebox. There are 6 speakers and it should replace your TV sound bar quite easily.

Devialet unveils an ambitious new speaker

You can stream music using WiFi (AirPlay), Bluetooth and Spotify Connect. If you want something else, there are Deezer, Qobuz, YouTube, Dailymotion and Twitch apps as well — but you’ll need to turn on the TV to access those.

The Freebox Delta also acts as a voice assistant. There’s a hardware switch to enable the microphones. You can then use a homemade assistant called “Ok Freebox” to control the device. And you can use Amazon Alexa for more complicated queries.

I wasn’t impressed by the integration of two voice assistants. It’s going to confuse a lot of people who are going to say “Alexa, turn on Arte” instead of “Ok Freebox, turn on Arte”. The TV interface has also been redesigned and now looks a lot like Molotov.

Subscribers get the cheapest Netflix subscription tier for free and can upgrade for an extra €3 or €6 per month. Basic Canal channels are included. Newspaper and magazine subscriptions are included through LeKiosk.

Freebox of things

With the new device, Free is betting on connected objects. The Freebox Delta is connected to the Sigfox network and can control ZigBee objects, such as Philips Hue lights and Somfy blinds.

New subscribers get a bunch of sensors to get started. You get a connected camera, a door sensor, a motion detector and a tiny remote. You can buy more accessories in the future. Your Freebox can then alert you if there’s anything wrong in the Freebox app.

More interestingly, the Freebox comes with two remotes — a classic remote and a remote with a touchscreen. The interface of the smart remote changes depending on what you do, which reminds me a lot of Prizm. And it turns out that the team behind Prizm joined the company, according to a source. But they haven’t had time to work much on that yet.

Prizm Plays Music You Like To Transform Your Living Room Into Your Favorite Coffee Shop

Going premium

Free has suffered a lot from competition. After undercutting everyone, competitors have caught up and now offer similar services for around the same price.

In order to differentiate its offering, Free is going premium.

Orange has always attracted premium subscribers thanks to heavy network investments and premium pricing. Free wants to join Orange on this segment and leave Bouygues Telecom and SFR behind.

Free is also launching a new, cheaper Freebox today, the Freebox One. But it’s clear that the company wants to talk about its flagship offering. It costs €50 per month to subscribe to the top tier, and the company wants you to pay for the device.

Instead of lending you a Freebox Delta, it costs €10 per month over 48 months. You can then keep it forever. Niel hinted at bigger ambitions. Eventually, the company wants to sell the Freebox Delta to consumers in other countries, even if they can’t subscribe to Free.

Overall, the new Freebox feels like a melting pot of technologies (a bowl of Chocapic, as French readers would say). Only Free knows the startup ecosystem so well to put all of those technologies together.

Now, let’s see if Free has what it takes to become a full-fledged consumer electronics company. It’s an ambitious bet.

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‘Google You Owe Us’ claimants aren’t giving up on UK Safari workaround suit

Lawyers behind a UK class-action style compensation litigation against Google for privacy violations have filed an appeal against a recent High Court ruling blocking the proceeding.

In October Mr Justice Warby ruled the case could not proceed on legal grounds, finding the claimants had not demonstrated a basis for bringing a compensation claim.

The case relates to the so called ‘Safari workaround’ Google used between 2011 and 2012 to override iPhone privacy settings and track users without consent.

The civil legal action — whose claimants refer to themselves as ‘Google You Owe Us’ — was filed last year by one named iPhone user, Richard Lloyd, the former director of consumer group, Which?, seeking to represent millions of UK users whose Safari settings the complaint alleges were similarly ignored by Google, via a representative legal action.

Lawyers for the claimants argued that sensitive personal data such as iPhone users’ political affiliation, sexual orientation, financial situation and more had been gathered by Google and used for targeted advertising without their consent.

Google You Owe Us proposed the sum of £750 per claimant for the company’s improper use of people’s data — which could result in a bill of up to £3BN (based on the suit’s intent to represent ~4.4 million UK iPhone users).

However UK law requires claimants demonstrate they suffered damage as a result of violation of the relevant data protection rules.

And in his October ruling Justice Warby found that the “bare facts pleaded in this case” were not “individualised” — hence he saw no case for damages.

He also ruled against the case proceeding on another legal point, related to defining a class for the case — finding “the essential requirements for a representative action are absent” because he said individuals in the group do not have the “same interest” in the claim.

Lodging its appeal today in the Court of Appeal, Google You Owe us described the High Court judgement as disappointing, and said it highlights the barriers that remain for consumers seeking to use collective actions as a route to redress in England and Wales.

In the US, meanwhile, Google settled with the FTC over a similar cookie tracking issue back in 2012 — agreeing to pay $22.5M in that instance.

Countering Justice Warby’s earlier suggestion that affected class members in the UK case did not care about their data being taken without permission, Google You Owe Us said, on the contrary, affected class members have continued to show their support for the case on Facebook — noting that more than 20,000 have signed up for case updates.

For the appeal, the legal team will argue that the High Court judgment was incorrect in stating the class had not suffered damage within the meaning of the UK’s Data Protection Act, and that the class had not all suffered in the same way as a result of the data breach.

Commenting in a statement, Lloyd said:

Google’s business model is based on using personal data to target adverts to consumers and they must ask permission before using this data. The court accepted that people did not give Google permission to use their data in this case, yet slammed the door shut on holding Google to account.

By appealing this decision, we want to give affected consumers the opportunity to get the compensation they are owed and show that collective actions offer a clear route to justice for data protection claims.

We’ve reached out to Google for comment.

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5 New RSS Reader Apps for News Feeds and Podcast Subscriptions

RSS readers aren’t as popular today as they once were, but they are still awesome for news junkies and those who don’t want to miss a single post from their favorite blog or site. These new RSS readers promise to make you fall in love with news feeds again.

In case you didn’t know what RSS is, these apps let you add multiple websites and collect every new post from them in one place. You don’t need to go to websites anymore, they come to you.

So here are the best new RSS readers you should check out.

Winds (Windows, macOS, Linux, Web): Powerful RSS and Podcast Subscriptions

Instead of different apps for podcasts and news feeds, Winds combines your subscriptions into one app that handles it all. Plus it’s gorgeous, lets you discover new things to read and listen to, and even add notes and highlights.

Winds is available as a desktop program for all major operating systems, as well as a web app in browsers. The dashboard shows latest episodes and articles, as well as the podcasts and websites that you have subscribed to. The “Featured on Winds” section has a variety of recommendations for podcasts, blogs, and websites in topics of your interest.

Finally, for each article or episode, you can add tags, notes, or highlights. Tags are an easy way to bookmark articles for later and sort them, while notes and highlights help you remember why you liked it.

Naturally, Winds is not as powerful as some of the best podcast apps today, but it’s a good player for all your basic needs.

Download: Winds for Windows | macOS | Linux (Free)

Bloglovin’ (Web): Customizable Views, and Readymade Feeds

Bloglovin’ is a good app for beginners to the world of RSS feeds. It’s simple to set up and add feeds, even by simply searching for the site you want to follow. And the app has readymade feeds for topics like technology, fashion, lifestyle, DIY and crafts, food and drink, and so on.

If the default list view of most RSS feeds is a bit overwhelming for you, Bloglovin’ offers multiple customizable views. You can opt for a grid-like view that you’d get in Pinterest, or a list view with small images, or the standard blog view of headline-image-post. It’s a more friendly interface for newcomers.

Panda (Web, Chrome): Digg and Google Alternative, With Pocket Support

Well, Digg Reader is dead, and Google Reader left many in the lurch years ago. But if you want something similar, check out Panda. Not only is it a powerful RSS reader, but it also integrates with other apps.

The basics of Panda are similar to any other good RSS reader you have used. Let it know your interests for suggestions, or search and add feeds manually, and you’re set. But things get cool when you sign up for the free 30-day trial (no credit card required).

Panda has “integrations” with which you can connect it to popular apps like Twitter, Pocket, Dribble, and Buffer. So for example, if you bookmark an article, it can be added directly to your Buffer queue. Or you can check your Twitter timeline directly in Panda. Or better yet, the awesome Pocket read-it-later articles can be seen without ever leaving the Panda app.

After the 30-day trial, you’ll need to pay to use Panda Pro, which adds unlimited feeds, a reader mode for clean articles, powerful search, and removes ads. It costs $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

Download: Panda for Chrome (Free)

Feediary (Web): No Ads, No Tracking, and Simple

You should know by now that almost any website or online service you use is tracking you. Feediary tries to put a stop to that with the Do Not Track feature, so that your privacy is protected when you are reading your feeds.

Apart from tracking, Feediary also removes ads entirely. While it wasn’t common to get ads on RSS till a while ago, a lot of the new free RSS readers will push ads at you.

The privacy features aside, it’s still a capable and nice reader. The free account lets you add up to 50 feeds manually or by searching. There’s a handy “read it later” button, as well as “favorites” to save articles for later. And if you have an existing RSS reader, you can import your current list through OPML.

Feediary works on both desktop and mobile, and includes a dark mode. The Pro account (4 euros per month) brings you dark and light themes, full text search, and lists to sort your feeds.

Enkel (Web): Minimalist, Text-Only Reader

RSS feeds can often become overwhelming quickly, as the flurry of incoming headlines seems like an information overdose. Cut through the clutter with Enkel, a minimalist reader that focuses on typography and keeping things simple.

The web app is completely black and white, and only text, so you don’t have photos and videos cluttering up the feed. You’re only going to look at headlines and a short blurb. In fact, you can’t even expand articles to read within the app. Enkel will always take you to the original page when you click any headline. While that can be annoying, this sparseness is the appeal of the app.

You will need to find the RSS feeds of your favorite sites as this lacks an RSS search function. Nonetheless, once you set it up, Enkel can go toe-to-toe with some of the best minimalist RSS readers out there.

Don’t Forget The Big Four

These new RSS readers make us believe that RSS isn’t dead yet, and that there is a case to use it instead of social feeds. Even after major apps like Google Reader and Digg Reader shut down, it’s nice to see new readers pop up.

But just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s better. You should still have a look at the big four apps among RSS readers: Feedly, Inoreader, NewsBlur, and Flipboard. They are among the best alternatives to Google Reader, and come with a ton of features to appeal to both beginners and die-hard RSS users.

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Apple Music Is Coming to Your Amazon Echo

Apple Music is set to land on your Amazon Echo on December 17, 2018. While subscribers can already listen to Apple Music through an Echo via Bluetooth, the Apple Music skill in the Alexa app means the two will start working seamlessly with each other.

Amazon and Apple are competing on several fronts right now, including smart speakers and music streaming. In the former, Apple has the Homepod and Amazon has the Echo, and in the latter, Apple has Apple Music, and Amazon has Music Unlimited.

However, Apple and Amazon have realized there are mutual benefits to teaming up.

How to Listen to Apple Music on Your Amazon Echo

Beginning the week of December 17, the Apple Music skill means Apple Music will be available on Amazon Echo devices. Apple Music subscribers just need to install the Apple Music skill in the Alexa app and link their account to start listening.

Once installed, Apple Music subscribers will be able to ask Alexa to play their favorite songs, artists, and albums, and Apple’s curated playlists. They can also stream radio stations built around genres, or listen to Beats 1 as it’s streamed live.

It’s Happening! @Amazon announces that @Apple Music will be available on Echo devices beginning the week of December 17.#Amazon #Apple pic.twitter.com/SJKMh6uGw8

— Nanda Vardhan (@_NandaVardhan) November 30, 2018

In a post on The Amazon Blog, Dave Limp, senior vice president of Amazon Devices, said:

“Music is one of the most popular features on Alexa. Since we launched Alexa four years ago, customers are listening to more music in their homes than ever before. We are committed to offering great music providers to our customers and since launching the Music Skill API to developers just last month, we’ve expanded the music selection on Alexa to include even more top tier services. We’re thrilled to bring Apple Music – one of the most popular music services in the US – to Echo customers this holiday.”

There are no additional costs to stream Apple Music on your Echo device. You’ll just pay the industry standard $9.99/month. Apple Music users who own an Echo Show or Echo Spot will be able to see album art, but not song lyrics (at least for the time being).

Amazon and Apple Start Playing Nicely Together

This is Amazon giving its Echo devices priority over Amazon Music Unlimited. Having already allowed Spotify, Pandora, and others to play nicely with its smart speakers, it was only a matter of time before Amazon did the same for Apple Music.

If you’re big into Apple Music here are our essential Apple Music tips, and a guide to watching music videos on Apple Music, Echo fans should read our review of the Amazon Echo Show, and learn how to change the EQ settings on your Amazon Echo.

Read the full article: Apple Music Is Coming to Your Amazon Echo

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Google’s call screening transcripts are live and they’re pretty rad

If you’re the proud owner of a Pixel handset you, like 9to5Google, may have spotted this already. The call screening transcripts feature, first noted back in November, are starting to arrive for Pixel users, Google confirmed with TechCrunch.

Making good on the “end of year” promise, the offering has been rolling out for a few days now, bringing with it the ability to read voice transcriptions of voice mails. An addition to the Pixel’s existing call screening feature, the feature answers calls from unknown numbers via Google Assistant and utilizes the company’s solid voice-to-text to offer a transcription of the call.

In spite of the wide rollout, there are still some limitations here. For starters, this particular feature is only available for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. And it’s only rolling out to users in the States at the moment, though Google’s promised to bring it to additional countries in additional languages “in the future.”

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My 15 favorite gadgets and gear of 2018

This year has been tough for gadgets. Laptops seem stagnant, phones are more of the same, and toys are giving way to online games and apps. So what can you pick up for your favorite gearheaded friend, family member, or Secret Santa? I’ve picked some of my favorite gear from 2018 including toys, kitchen goodies, and even my favorite hoodie.

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Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon 855 and its new under-display fingerprint sensor

This week, Qualcomm is hosting press and analysts on Maui for its annual Snapdragon Summit. Sadly, we’re not there, but a couple of weeks ago, Qualcomm gave us a preview of the news. There’ll be three days of news and the company decided to start with a focus on 5G, as well as a preview of its new Snapdragon 855 mobile platform. In addition, the company announced its new ultrasonic fingerprint solution for sensors that can sit under the display.

It’ll probably still be a while before there’ll be a 5G tower in your neighbourhood, but after years of buzz, it’s fair to say that we’re now getting to the point where 5G is becoming real. Indeed, AT&T and Verizon are showing off live 5G networks on Maui this week. Qualcomm described its event as the “coming out party for 5G,” though I’m sure we’ll hear from plenty of other players who will claim the same in the coming months.

In the short term, what’s maybe more interesting is that Qualcomm also announced its new flagship 855 mobile platform today. While the company didn’t release all of the details yet, it stressed that the 855 is “the world’s first commercial mobile platform supporting multi-gigabit 5G.”

The 855 also features a new multi-core AI engine that promises up to 3x better AI performance compared to its previous mobile platform, as well as specialized computer vision silicon for enhances computational photography (think something akin to Google’s Night Light) and video capture.

The company also briefly noted that the new platform has been optimized for gaming. The product name for this is “Snapdragon Elite Gaming,” but details remain sparse. Qualcomm also continues to bet on AR (or ‘extended reality’ as the company brands it).

The last piece of news is likely the most interesting here. Fingerprint sensors are now standard, even on mid-market phones. With its new 3D Sonic Sensors, Qualcomm promises an enhanced ultrasonic fingerprint solution that can sit under the display. In part, this is a rebranding of Qualcomm’s existing under-display sensor, but there’s some new technology here, too. The promise here is that the scanner will work, even if the display is very dirty or if the user installs a screen protector. Chances are, we’ll see quite a few new flagship phones in the next few months (Mobile World Congress is coming up quickly, after all) that will feature these new fingerprint scanners.

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