Chinese startup Rokid pitches COVID-19 detection glasses in US

Thermal imaging wearables used in China to detect COVID-19 symptoms could soon be deployed in the U.S.

Hangzhou based AI startup Rokid is in talks with several companies to sell its T1 glasses in America, according to Rokid’s U.S. Director Liang Guan.

Rokid is among a wave of Chinese companies creating technology to address the coronavirus pandemic, which has dealt a blow to the country’s economy. 

Per info Guan provided, Rokid’s T1 thermal glasses use an infrared sensor to detect the temperatures of up to 200 people within two minutes from as far as three meters. The devices carry a Qualcomm CPU, 12 megapixel camera and offer augmented reality features — for hands free voice controls — to record live photos and videos.

The Chinese startup (with a San Francisco office) plans B2B sales of its wearable devices in the U.S. to assist businesses, hospitals and law enforcement with COVID-19 detection, according to Guan.

Rokid is also offering IoT and software solutions for facial recognition and data management, as part of its T1 packages.

Image Credits: Rokid

The company is working on deals with U.S. hospitals and local municipalities to deliver shipments of the smart glasses, but could not disclose names due to confidentiality agreements.

One commercial venture that could use the thermal imaging wearables is California based e-commerce company Weee!.

The online grocer is evaluating Rokid’s T1 glasses to monitor temperatures of its warehouse employees throughout the day, Weee! founder Larry Liu confirmed to TechCrunch via email.

On procedures, to manage those who exhibit COVID-19 related symptoms —  such as referring them for testing — that’s something for end-users to determine, according to Rokid. “The clients can do the follow-up action, such as giving them a mask or asking to work from home,” Guan said.

The T1 glasses connect via USB and can be set up for IoT capabilities for commercial clients to sync to their own platforms. The product could capture the attention of U.S. regulators, who have become increasingly wary of Chinese tech firms’ handling of American citizen data. Rokid says it doesn’t collect info from the T1 glasses directly.

“Regarding this module…we do not take any data to the cloud. For customers, privacy is very important to them. The data measurement is stored locally,” according to Guan.

Image Credits: Rokid

Founded in 2014 by Eric Wong and Mingming Zhu, Rokid raised $100 million at the Series B level in 2018. The business focuses primarily on developing AI and AR tech for applications from manufacturing to gaming, but developed the T1 glasses in response to China’s COVID-19 outbreak.

The goal was to provide businesses and authorities a thermal imaging detection tool that is wearable, compact, mobile and more effective than the common options.

Large scanning stations, such as those used in airports, have drawbacks in not being easily portable and handheld devices — with infrared thermometers — pose risks.

“You have to point them to people’s foreheads…you need to be really close, it’s not wearable and you’re not practicing social distancing to use those,” Guang said.

Rokid pivoted to create the T1 glasses shortly after COVID-19 broke out in China in late 2019. Other Chinese tech startups that have joined the virus-fighting mission include face recognition giant SenseTime — which has installed thermal imaging systems at railway stations across China — and its close rival Megvii, which has set up similar thermal solutions in supermarkets.

On Rokid’s motivations, “At the time we thought something like this can really help the frontline people still working,” Guang said.

The startup’s engineering team developed the T1 product in just under two months. In China, Rokid’s smart glasses have been used by national parks staff, in schools and by national authorities to screen for COVID-19 symptoms.

Temperature detectors have their limitation, however, as research has shown that more than half of China’s COVID-19 patients did not have a fever when admitted to hospital.

Source: Johns Hopkins University of Medicine Coronavirus Research Center

The growth rate of China’s coronavirus cases — which peaked to 83,306 and led to 3,345 deaths — has declined and parts of the country have begun to reopen from lockdown. There is still debate, however, about the veracity of data coming out of China on COVID-19. That led to a row between the White House and World Health Organization, which ultimately saw President Trump halt U.S. contributions to the global body this week.

As COVID-19 cases and related deaths continue to rise in the U.S., technological innovation will become central to the health response and finding some new normal for personal mobility and economic activity. That will certainly bring fresh facets to the common tech conundrums — namely measuring efficacy and balancing benefits with personal privacy.

For its part, Rokid already has new features for its T1 thermal smart glasses in the works. The Chinese startup plans to upgrade the device to take multiple temperature readings simultaneously for up to four people at a time.

“That’s not on the market yet, but we will release this very soon as an update,” said Rokid’s U.S. Director Liang Guan.

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New Google Play policies to cut down on ‘fleeceware,’ deepfakes, and unnecessary location tracking

Google is today announcing a series of policy changes aimed at eliminating untrustworthy apps from its Android app marketplace, the Google Play store. The changes are meant to give users more control over how their data is used, tighten subscription policies and help prevent deceptive apps and media — including those involving deepfakes — from becoming available on the Google Play Store.

Background Location

The first of these new policies is focused on the location tracking permissions requested by some apps.

Overuse of location tracking has been an area Google has struggled to rein in. In Android 10, users were able to restrict apps’ access to location while the app was in use, similar to what’s been available on iOS. With the debut of Android 11, Google decided to give users even more control with the new ability to grant a temporary “one-time” permission to sensitive data, like location.

In February, Google said it would also soon require developers to get user permission before accessing background location data, after noting that many apps were asking for unnecessary user data. The company found that a number of these apps would have been able to provide the same experience to users if they only accessed location while the app was in use — there was no advantage to running the app in the background.

Of course, there’s an advantage for developers who are collecting location data. This sort of data can be sold to third-party through trackers that supply advertisers with detailed information about the app’s users, earning the developer additional income.

The new change to Google Play policies now requires that developers get approval to access background location in their apps.

But Google is giving developers time to comply. It says no action will be taken for new apps until August 2020 or on existing apps until November 2020.

“Fleeceware”

A second policy is focused on subscription-based apps. Subscriptions have become a booming business industry-wide. They’re often a better way for apps to generate revenue as opposed to other monetization methods — like paid downloads, ads or in-app purchases.

However, many subscription apps are duping users into paying by not making it easy or obvious how to dismiss a subscription offer in order to use the free parts of an app, or not being clear about subscription terms or the length of free trials, among other things.

The new Google Play policy says developers will need to be explicit about their subscription terms, trials and offers, by telling users the following:

• Whether a subscription is required to use all or parts of the app (and if not required, allow users to dismiss the offer easily).
• The cost of the subscription.
• The frequency of the billing cycle.
• Duration of free trials and offers.
• The pricing of introductory offers.
• What is included with a free trial or introductory offer.
• When a free trial converts to a paid subscription.
• How users can cancel if they do not want to convert to a paid subscription

That means the “fine print” has to be included on the offer’s page, and developers shouldn’t use sneaky tricks like lighter font to hide the important bits, either.

For example:

This change aims to address the rampant problem with “fleeceware” across the Google Play store. Multiple studies have shown subscription apps have gotten out of control. In fact, one study from January stated that over 600 million Android users had installed “fleeceware” apps from the Play Store. To be fair, the problem is not limited to Android. The iOS App Store was recently found to have an issue, too, with more than 3.5 million users having installed “fleeceware.” 

Developers have until June 16, 2020 to come into compliance with this policy, Google says.

Deepfakes

The final update has to do with the Play Store’s “Deceptive Behavior” policy.

This wasn’t detailed in Google’s official announcements about the new policies, but Google tells us it’s also rolling out updated rules around deceptive content and apps.

Before, Google’s policy was used to restrict apps that tried to deceive users — like apps claiming a functionally impossible task, those that lied in their listing about their content or features or those that mimicked the Android OS, among others.

The updated policy is meant to better ensure all apps are clear about their behavior once they’re downloaded. In particular, it’s meant to prevent any manipulated content (aka “deepfakes”) from being available on the Play Store.

Google tells us this policy change won’t impact apps that allow users to make deepfakes that are “for fun” — like those that allow users to swap their face onto GIFs, for example. These will fall under an exception to the rule, which allows deepfakes that are “obvious satire or parody.”

However, it will take aim at apps that manipulate and alter media in a way that isn’t conventionally obvious or acceptable.

For example:

• Apps adding a public figure to a demonstration during a politically sensitive event.
• Apps using public figures or media from a sensitive event to advertise media altering capability within an app’s store listing.
• Apps that alter media clips to mimic a news broadcast.

In particular, the policy will focus on apps that promote misleading imagery that could cause harm related to politics, social issues or sensitive events. The apps must also disclose or watermark the altered media if it isn’t clear the media has been altered.

Similar bans on manipulated media have been enacted across social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and WeChat. Apple’s App Store Developer Guidelines don’t specifically reference “deepfakes” by name, however, though it bans apps with false or defamatory information, outside of satire and humor.

Google says the apps currently available on Google Play have 30 days to comply with this change.

In Google’s announcement, the company said it understood these were difficult times for people, which is why it’s taken steps to minimize the short-term impact of these changes. In other words, it doesn’t sound like the policy changes will soon result in any mass banning or big Play Store clean-out — rather, they’re meant to set the stage for better policing of the store in the future.

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New Google Play policies to cut down on ‘fleeceware,’ deepfakes, and unnecessary location tracking

Google is today announcing a series of policy changes aimed at eliminating untrustworthy apps from its Android app marketplace, the Google Play store. The changes are meant to give users more control over how their data is used, tighten subscription policies, and help prevent deceptive apps and media — including those involving deepfakes — from becoming available on the Google Play Store.

Background Location

The first of these new policies is focused on the location tracking permissions requested by some apps.

Overuse of location tracking has been an area Google has struggled to rein in. In Android 10, users were able to restrict apps’ access to location while the app was in use, similar to what’s been available on iOS. With the debut of Android 11, Google decided to give users even more control with the new ability to grant a temporary “one-time” permission to sensitive data, like location.

In February, Google said it would also soon require developers to get user permission before accessing background location data, after noting that many apps were asking for unnecessary user data. The company found that a number of these apps would have been able to provide the same experience to users if they only accessed location while the app was in use — there was no advantage to running the app run in the background.

Of course, there’s an advantage for developers who are collecting location data. This sort of data can be sold to third-party through trackers that supply advertisers with detailed information about the app’s users, earning the developer additional income.

The new change to Google Play policies now requires that developers get approval to access background location in their app.

But Google is giving developers time to comply. It says no action will be taken for new apps until August 2020 or on existing apps until November 2020.

“Fleeceware”

A second policy is focused on subscription-based apps. Subscriptions have become a booming business industry-wide. They’re often a better way for apps to generate revenue as opposed to other monetization methods — like paid downloads, ads, or in-app purchases.

However, many subscription apps are duping users into paying by not making it easy or obvious how to dismiss a subscription offer in order to use the free parts of an app, or not being clear about subscription terms or the length of free trials, among other things.

The new Google Play policy says developers will need to be explicit about their subscription terms, trials and offers, by telling users the following:

• Whether a subscription is required to use all or parts of the app. (And if not required, allow users to dismiss the offer easily.)
• The cost of the subscription
• The frequency of the billing cycle
• Duration of free trials and offers
• The pricing of introductory offers
• What is included with a free trial or introductory offer
• When a free trial converts to a paid subscription
• How users can cancel if they do not want to convert to a paid subscription

That means the “fine print” has to be included on the offer’s page, and developers shouldn’t use sneaky tricks like lighter font to hide the important bits, either.

For example:

This change aim to address the rampant problem with “fleeceware” across the Google Play store. Multiple studies have shown subscription apps have gotten out of control. In fact, one study from January stated that over 600 million Android users had installed “fleeceware” apps from the Play Store. To be fair, the problem is not limited to Android. The iOS App Store was recently found to have an issue, too, with more than 3.5 million users having installed “fleeceware.” 

Developers have until June 16, 2020 to come into compliance with this policy, Google says.

Deepfakes

The final update has to do with the Play Store’s “Deceptive Behavior” policy.

This wasn’t detailed in Google’s official announcements about the new policies, but Google tells us it’s also rolling out updated rules around deceptive content and apps.

Before, Google’s policy was used to restrict apps that tried to deceive users — like apps claiming a functionally impossible task, those that lied in their listing about their content or features, or those that mimicked the Android OS, among others.

The updated policy is meant to better ensure all apps are clear about their behavior once their downloaded. In particular, it’s meant to prevent any manipulated content (aka “deepfakes”) from being available on the Play Store.

Google tells us this policy change won’t impact apps that allow users to make deepfakes that are “for fun” — like those that allow users to swap their face onto GIFs, for example. These will fall under an exception to the rule, which allows deepfakes which are “obvious satire or parody.”

However, it will take aim at apps that manipulate and alter media in a way that isn’t conventionally obvious or acceptable.

For example:

• Apps adding a public figure to a demonstration during a politically sensitive event.
• Apps using public figures or media from a sensitive event to advertise media altering capability within an app’s store listing.
• Apps that alter media clips to mimic a news broadcast.

In particular, the policy will focus on apps that promote misleading imagery that could cause harm related to politics, social issues, or sensitive events. The apps must also disclose or watermark the altered media, too, if it isn’t clear the media has been altered.

Similar bans on manipulated media have been enacted across social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and WeChat. Apple’s App Store Developer Guidelines don’t specifically reference “deepfakes” by name, however, though it bans apps with false or defamatory information, outside of satire and humor.

Google says the apps currently available on Google Play have 30 days to comply with this change.

In Google’s announcement, the company said it understood these were difficult times for people, which is why it’s taken steps to minimize the short-term impact of these changes. In other words, it doesn’t sound like the policy changes will soon result in any mass banning or big Play Store clean-out — rather, they’re meant to set the stage for better policing of the store in the future.

 

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TikTok to launch parental controls globally, disable direct messaging for users under 16

TikTok is introducing a new set of parental controls to its platform to users worldwide, including in the U.S. The features, collectively referred to as “Family Pairing,” will allow parents to set controls on Screen Time Management, Restricted Mode and Direct Messages for their teen users. It also will now disable direct messaging for users under the age of 16 in all markets. A similar set of features was launched in the U.K. in February, designed with European laws and regulations in mind.

In that market, the features were called “Family Safety Mode.”

Today is the official introduction to “Family Pairing,” but TikTok says the worldwide rollout will take place over the “coming weeks.”

To use the new controls, parents of a teenage user age 13 and older will be able to link their account to their child’s, which requires the parent to set up their own TikTok account. This will allow the parent to set controls on how long their child is able to use the TikTok app, turn on or off who the teen can direct message with and they can opt to turn on TikTok’s “restricted” mode for the child’s account in order to limit inappropriate content.

The latter is not a well-explained feature. But for an app of TikTok’s scale, it’s likely based in large part on users flagging inappropriate videos they come across. Parents should be aware, then, that this is not equivalent to setting parental controls on a video streaming app, like Netflix, or restricting what a child can download from the App Store on their phone. In other words, some inappropriate content or more adult material could slip through.

Both Screen Time Management and Restricted Mode are existing controls that TikTok users can set for themselves via the app’s Digital Wellbeing section. But with Family Pairing, the parent will be able to set these controls for their child, instead of relying on the teen to do it for themselves.

TikTok also already offered a number of controls on Direct Messaging before today, which allow users to restrict messages to only approved followers, restrict the audience or disable direct messages altogether. TikTok also blocks images and videos in messages to cut down on other issues, as well.

But with Family Pairing, parents can choose to what extent teens can message privately on the platform, if at all.

And in a move that will likely enrage teens, TikTok has now decided to automatically disable Direct Messages for any registered accounts for those under the age of 16. (Prepare to see a lot more activity and private conversations taking place in the TikTok comments section!) This change goes live on April 30.

The changes give parents far more control over their child’s use of TikTok compared with any other social media app on the market today, outside of those designed exclusively with families and children in mind. However, the parental controls are only a subset of the controls users can opt to set for themselves. For example, users can choose to make their accounts private, turn off comments and control who can duet with them, among other things.

But the options may relieve some parents’ stress about how addictive the TikTok app has become. Teen users are spending significant amounts of time on the short video app — so much that TikTok itself even launched its own in-app PSA that encourages users to “take a break” from their phone.

TikTok offers other resources for parents, as well, including educational safety videos and parental guides. 

It’s an interesting decision on TikTok’s part to launch screen time-limiting features and other restrictions amid a global pandemic, when teens are stuck at home with nothing much to do but watch videos, chat and play games. But with families at home together, there may be no better time than now to have a conversation about how much social media is too much.

“More than ever, families are turning to internet platforms like TikTok to stay entertained, informed, and connected. That was, of course, happening before COVID-19, but it has only accelerated since the outbreak began and social distancing brought families closer together,” writes TikTok director of Trust & Safety, Jeff Collins, in an announcement. “The embrace of platforms like ours is providing families with joint tools to express their creativity, share their stories, and show support for their communities. At the same time, they are often learning to navigate the digital landscape together and focused on ensuring a safe experience,” he said.

The changes follow increased scrutiny by government regulators of TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, and the 2019 fine of $5.7 million leveraged against Musical.ly (which had been acquired by ByteDance) by the FTC for violation of U.S. children’s privacy law COPPA.

TikTok has responded to these concerns in a variety of ways, including the introduction of the TikTok Content Advisory Council; the release of new Community Guidelines; publication of its first Transparency Report; the hiring of global General Counsel; expansion of its Trust & Safety hubs in the U.S., Ireland and Singapore; and its launch of a Transparency Center open to outside experts who want to review its moderation practices.

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Racism has a cost for everyone | Heather C. McGhee

Racism has a cost for everyone | Heather C. McGhee

Racism makes our economy worse -- and not just in ways that harm people of color, says public policy expert Heather C. McGhee. From her research and travels across the US, McGhee shares startling insights into how racism fuels bad policymaking and drains our economic potential -- and offers a crucial rethink on what we can do to create a more prosperous nation for all. "Our fates are linked," she says. "It costs us so much to remain divided."

Click the above link to download the TED talk.

Facebook will start alerting users who have interacted with ‘harmful misinformation’ about COVID-19

Facebook this morning announced its latest step in effort to combat the spread of misinformation around the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Chief among them is a new message targeting users who have commented on, reacted to or liked false content about the virus.

The social network will pop up a message from the World Health Organization (recently defunded by Trump) with an option to share the link or visit the WHO’s COVID-19 debunk site. “We want to connect people who may have interacted with harmful misinformation about the virus with the truth from authoritative sources in case they see or hear these claims again off of Facebook,” the company wrote in a post.

The pop-up is set to start appearing in the coming weeks. Debunks on the list include,

• 5G mobile networks DO NOT spread COVID-19

• Exposing yourself to the sun or to temperatures higher than 25C degrees DOES NOT prevent the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

• You can recover from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Catching the new coronavirus DOES NOT mean you will have it for life.

• Being able to hold your breath for 10 seconds or more without coughing or feeling discomfort DOES NOT mean you are free from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) or any other lung disease.

• Drinking alcohol does not protect you against COVID-19 and can be dangerous

• COVID-19 virus can be transmitted in areas with hot and humid climates

• Cold weather and snow CANNOT kill the new coronavirus.

• Taking a hot bath does not prevent the new coronavirus disease

• The new coronavirus CANNOT be transmitted through mosquito bites.

You seem like a rational person who probably knew all of that, but this is Facebook we’re talking about here. So, um, better safe than sorry. The site has also added a new page called Get the Facts that curates accurate info, include media fact checks. That information will soon trickle into Facebook News, as well.

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Investors explain COVID-19’s impact on consumer startups

Home fitness and games as gathering places are a few of the startup verticals propelled by unprecedented shifts in behavior due to shelter-in-place orders. We surveyed the top investors in consumer and social apps to learn about 2020’s startup trends, the M&A climate, the threat of incumbents copying new entrants, underserved demographics and which features are poised to be unbundled from the biggest apps.

The Extra Crunch survey series assembles the best minds in different verticals, drawing on investors who’ve backed or worked at the companies defining their industry. For this survey, we asked how COVID-19 was affecting their investment strategies and the operations of their portfolio companies. We also dug into whether founders are more or less hopeful about being acquired, which startup ideas they wish they were being pitched and what age groups or cultures deserve new social products.

Subscribe to Extra Crunch to read the full answers to our questionnaire from funds like General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins and Sweet Capital.

Here are the 17 leading social network VCs who participated in our survey:

• Olivia Moore, CRV
• Justine Moore, CRV
• Connie Chan, Andreessen Horowitz
• Alexis Ohanian, Initialized Capital
• Niko Bonatsos, General Catalyst
• Josh Coyne, Kleiner Perkins
• Wayne Hu, Signal Fire
• Alexia Bonatsos, Dream Machine
• Josh Elman, Angel Investor
• Aydin Senkut, Felicis Ventures
• James Currier, NFX
• Pippa Lamb, Sweet Capital
• Christian Dorffer, Sweet Capital
• Jim Scheinman, Maven Ventures
• Eva Casanova, Day One Ventures
• Masha Drokova, Day One Ventures
• Dan Ciporin, Canaan

Olivia Moore & Justine Moore, CRV

How much time are you spending on social right now? Is the market underheated, overheated, or just right?

It’s been a tough couple of years for new social startups — but when something hits in this space, it hits big! We’re always spending time looking at consumer social — we have a network of 200+ college scouts at campuses around the country, so we hear about (and try) new apps pretty frequently.

It is difficult for new social startups to reach any kind of meaningful scale. The average person doesn’t download any apps in a given month, and even though younger users may be more willing to try new things, they often face storage or data constraints.

We feel that the market is probably “appropriately heated.” Once a social startup is “working,” it shouldn’t struggle to raise capital, but there are probably fewer investors making large pre-launch social bets because there have been so few breakout hits recently.

How has COVID-19 impacted social startups operationally?

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GoPro lays off 200 employees representing 20% of the company

Action camera manufacturer GoPro has announced some massive organizational changes at the company. In particular, the company is laying off over 200 employees — it represents a 20% staff reduction.

GoPro will shut down some offices altogether. There will be offices in five geographies after the round of layoffs. The company expects to reduce operating expenses by $100 million in 2020. But it says that it’ll cut operating expenses again by $250 million in 2021. In other words, if you still have a job at GoPro, you could lose your job next year.

Behind the scene, GoPro is making some radical changes to its business model. The company is still selling cameras, accessories and subscriptions. But it is switching to a direct-to-consumer model with GoPro.com acting as the main storefront.

The company will stop selling its devices in many retail stores. GoPro will still work with select retailers in some regions as they still generate a lot of sales.

But selling directly on GoPro.com represents the future of the company, which should improve margins. They don’t have to give a cut to retailers when GoPro is acting as the retailer. In 2019, GoPro.com represented a bit more than 20% of European revenue and a bit less than 20% of revenue in the U.S.

"GoPro's global distribution network has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, driving us to transition into a more efficient and profitable direct-to-consumer-centric business over the course of this year," founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman wrote. "We are crushed that this forces us to let go of many talented members of our team, and we are forever grateful for their contributions."

In addition to today’s layoffs, sales and marketing expenditure will be cut down in 2020 and beyond. Woodman himself won’t take a salary for the remainder of the year. The company’s board won’t receive any cash compensation either.

GoPro has withdrawn earnings guidance for Q1 and 2020. The company now expects revenue of $119 million with a non-GAAP EPS loss of $0.30 to $0.40 per share. In pre-market trading, GoPro shares are currently trading at $2.58, 3% below yesterday’s closing price.

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India says video conference app Zoom is ‘not safe’

India said today Zoom is ‘not a safe platform’ as the video conference service surges in popularity in many nations including the world’s second largest smartphone market as billions of people remain stuck at home due to the coronavirus crisis.

“Zoom is a not a safe platform,” the Cyber Coordination Centre (CyCord) of India’s ministry of home affairs said in a 16-page advisory. The advisory also includes guidelines for users who still wish to use Zoom for their private communications.

The move comes as several companies including Google, Apple, NASA, and Tesla have urged — or warned — their employees from using Zoom, which has amassed over 200 million users. German and Taiwan have also banned the use of Zoom in their nations. But the firm, with market cap of over $40 billion, has also come under scrutiny — and become subject of a lawsuit — after several of its security and privacy lapses emerged in recent weeks.

MHA issues advisory, says Zoom not secure video conferencing platform for private individuals. Mentions guidelines for those who still want to use it. pic.twitter.com/b900JOw1Si

— Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) April 16, 2020

Zoom has been trending in India in recent weeks, too, in a surprise as enterprise services rarely get traction with consumers in the country. Several Indian ministers in India have also tweeted pictures that showed they were using Zoom in recent weeks.

The app is being downloaded more than 450,000 times a day for the last two weeks in India, research firm Apptopia told TechCrunch. This week, India also started a competition for startups to develop a secure conferencing app.

Zoom chief executive has Eric S. Yuan has apologized for the security lapses and pledged to prioritize focus on users’ privacy and security over development of new features. The firm recently also recently hired former Facebook security officer Alex Stamos as an advisor.

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EU lawmakers set out guidance for coronavirus contacts tracing apps

The European Commission has published detailed guidance for Member States on developing coronavirus contacts tracing and warning apps.

The toolbox, which has been developed by the e-Health Network with the support of the Commission, is intended as a practical guide to implementing digital tools for tracking close contacts between device carriers as a proxy for infection risk that seeks to steer Member States in a common, privacy-sensitive direction as they configure their digital responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commenting in a statement, Thierry Breton — the EU commissioner for Internal Market — said: “Contact tracing apps to limit the spread of coronavirus can be useful, especially as part of Member States’ exit strategies. However, strong privacy safeguards are a pre-requisite for the uptake of these apps, and therefore their usefulness. While we should be innovative and make the best use of technology in fighting the pandemic, we will not compromise on our values and privacy requirements.”

“Digital tools will be crucial to protect our citizens as we gradually lift confinement measures,” added Stella Kyriakides, commissioner for health and food safety, in another supporting statement. “Mobile apps can warn us of infection risks and support health authorities with contact tracing, which is essential to break transmission chains. We need to be diligent, creative, and flexible in our approaches to opening up our societies again. We need to continue to flatten the curve – and keep it down. Without safe and compliant digital technologies, our approach will not be efficient.”

The Commission’s top-line “essential requirements” for national contacts tracing apps are that they’re:

• voluntary;
• approved by the national health authority;
• privacy-preserving (“personal data is securely encrypted”); and
• dismantled as soon as no longer needed

In the document the Commission writes that the requirements on how to record contacts and notify individuals are “anchored in accepted epidemiological guidance, and reflect best practice on cybersecurity, and accessibility”.

“They cover how to prevent the appearance of potentially harmful unapproved apps, success criteria and collectively monitoring the effectiveness of the apps, and the outline of a communications strategy to engage with stakeholders and the people affected by these initiatives,” it adds.

Yesterday, setting out a wider roadmap to encourage a co-ordinated lifting of the coronavirus lockdown, the Commission suggested digital tools for contacts tracing will play a key role in easing quarantine measures.

Although today’s toolbox clearly emphasizes the need to use manual contact tracing in parallel with digital contact tracing, with such apps and tools envisaged as a support for health authorities — if widely rolled out — by enabling limited resources to be more focused toward manual contacts tracing.

“Manual contact tracing will continue to play an important role, in particular for those, such as elderly or disabled persons, who could be more vulnerable to infection but less likely to have a mobile phone or have access to these applications,” the Commission writes. “Rolling-out mobile applications on a large-scale will significantly contribute to contact tracing efforts also allowing health authorities to carry manual tracing in a more focussed manner.”

“Mobile apps will not reach all citizens given that they rely on the possession and active use of a smart phone. Evidence from Singapore and a study by Oxford University indicate that 60-75% of a population need to have the app for it to be efficient,” it adds in a section on accessibility and inclusiveness. “However, non-users will benefit from any increased population disease control the widespread use of such an app may bring.”

The toolbox also reiterates a clear message from the Commission in recent days that “appropriate safeguards” must be embedded into digital contacts tracing systems. Though it’s less clear whether all Member States are listening to memos about respecting EU rights and freedoms, as they scrambled for tech and data to beat back COVID-19.

“This digital technology, if deployed correctly, could contribute substantively to containing and reversing its spread. Deployed without appropriate safeguards, however, it could have a significant negative effect on privacy and individual rights and freedoms,” the Commission writes, further warning that: “A fragmented and uncoordinated approach to contact tracing apps risks hampering the effectiveness of measures aimed at combating the COVID-19 crisis, whilst also causing adverse effects to the single market and to fundamental rights and freedoms.”

On safeguards the Commission has a clear warning for EU Member States, writing: “Any contact tracing and warning app officially recognised by Member States’ relevant authorities should present all guarantees for respect of fundamental rights, and in particular privacy and data protection, the prevention of surveillance and stigmatization.”

Its list of key safeguards notably includes avoiding the collection of any location data.

“Location data is not necessary nor recommended for the purpose of contact tracing apps, as their goal is not to follow the movements of individuals or to enforce prescriptions,” it says. “Collecting an individual’s movements in the context of contact tracing apps would violate the principle of data minimisation and would create major security and privacy issues.”

The toolbox also emphasizes that such contacts tracing/warning systems be temporary and voluntary in nature — with “automated/gentle self-dismantling, including deletion of all remaining personal data and proximity information, as soon as the crisis is over”.

“The apps’ installation should be consent-based, while providing users with complete and clear information on intended use and processing,” is another key recommendation. 

The toolbox leans towards suggesting a decentralized approach, in line with earlier Commission missives, with a push for: “Safeguards to ensure the storing of proximity data on the device and data encryption.”

EU privacy experts push a decentralized approach to COVID-19 contacts tracing

Though the document also includes some discussion of alternative centralized models which involve uploading arbitrary identifiers to a backend server held by public health authorities. 

“Users cannot be directly identified through these data. Only the arbitrary identifiers generated by the app are stored on the server. The advantage is that the data stored in the server can be anonymised by aggregation and further used by public authorities as a source of important aggregated information on the intensity of contacts in the population, on the effectiveness of the app in tracing and alerting contacts and on the aggregated number of people that could potentially develop symptoms,” it writes. 

“None of the two options [decentralized vs centralized] includes storing of unnecessary personal information,” it adds, leaving the door open to states that might want their public health authorities to be responsible for centralized data processing.

However the Commission draws a clear distinction between centralized approaches that use arbitrary identifiers and those that store directly-identifiable data on every user — with the latter definitely not recommended.

They would have “major disadvantage”, per the toolbox, because they “would not keep personal data processing to the absolute minimum, and so people may be less willing to install and use the app”.

“Centralised storage of mobile phone numbers could also create risks of data breaches and cyberattacks,” the Commission further warns.

Discussing cross-border interoperability requirements, the toolbox highlights the necessity for a grab-bag of EU contacts tracing apps to be interoperable, in order to successfully break cross-border transmission chains, which requires national health authorities to be technically able to exchange available information about individuals infected with and/or exposed to COVID-19.

“Tracing and warning apps should therefore follow common EU interoperability protocols so that the previous functionalities can be performed, and particularly safeguarding rights to privacy and data protection, regardless of where a device is in the EU,” it suggests.

On preventing the spread of harmful or unlawful apps the document suggests Member States consider setting up a national system of evaluation/accreditation endorsement of national apps, perhaps based on a common set of criteria (that would need to be defined).

“A close cooperation between health and digital authorities should be sought whenever possible for the evaluation/endorsement of the apps,” it writes. 

The Commission also says “close cooperation with app stores will be needed to promote national apps and promote uptake while delisting harmful apps” — putting Apple and Google squarely in the frame.

Earlier this week the pair announced their own collaboration on coronavirus contracts tracing — announcing a plan to offer an API and later opt-in system-level contacts tracing, based on a decentralized tracking architecture with ephemeral IDs processed locally on devices, rather than being uploaded and held on a central server.

Given the dominance of the two tech giants their decision to collaborate on a decentralized system may effectively deprive national health authorities of the option to gain buy in for systems that would give those publicly funded bodies access to anonymized and aggregated data for coronavirus modelling and/or tracking purposes. Which should, in the middle of a pandemic, give more than a little pause for thought.

A note in the toolbox mentions Apple and Google — with the Commission writing that: “By the end of April 2020, Member States with the Commission will seek clarifications on the solution proposed by Google and Apple with regard to contact tracing functionality on Android and iOS in order to ensure that their initiative is compatible with the EU common approach.”

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Apple said to be working on modular, high-end, noise-cancelling over-ear headphones

Apple is said to be developing its own competitors to popular over-ear noise-cancelling headphones like those made by Bose and Sony, Bloomberg reports, but with similar technology on board to that used in the AirPod and AirPod Pro lines. These headphones would also include a design with interchangeable parts that would allow some modification with customizable accessories for specific uses like workouts and long-term wear, for instance.

The prototype designs of the new headphones, which are set to potentially be released some time later this year (though timing is clearly up in the air as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, and Apple’s general tendency to move things around depending on other factors), are said to feature a “retro look” by Bloomberg, and include oval ear cups which connect directly to thin arms that extend to the headband. The swappable parts include the ear pads and headband cushion, both of which are said to attach to the headphone frame using magnetic connectors.

These will support Siri on board, along with active noise cancellation and touch controls, but most importantly for iOS and Mac users, they’ll also feature the simple connection across multiple devices that are featured on AirPods and some of Apple’s Beats line of headphones.

Apple has already released Beats over- and on-ear headphone models with AirPod-like features, including cross-connectivity, and that feature onboard noise cancellation. The Bloomberg report doesn’t seem to indicate these new models would be Beats-branded, however, and their customization features would also be new in terms of Apple’s available existing options.

Bloomberg also previously reported that Apple was working on a smaller HomePod speaker as part of its forthcoming product lineup, and a new FCC filing made public this week could indicate the impending release of a success to its PowerBeats Pro fully wireless in-ear sport headphones.

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Build Your Career in Cybersecurity With 28 Hours of Training for Under $40

Many sectors are laying off jobs right now. But with 3.5 million unfilled jobs expected by next year, there are still loads of opportunities in the world of cybersecurity. If you would like to break into this highly-paid niche, The Ultimate Cybersecurity Certification Bundle is a great place to start. It features nine premium courses, helping you master networking, security, and ethical hacking. You can get the bundle now for only $39.99 at MakeUseOf Deals.

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What you do need is knowledge. This bundle provides a launchpad for your new career, with 28 hours of hands-on training. Perfect for beginners, it even helps you prepare for top IT exams.

Along the way, you learn how to test remote servers, websites, and networks using common exploits. Other courses focus on the specifics of networking, such as routing and switching. You also discover how to break into databases with SQL injections, develop socket apps using C++, and automate testing.

You learn from instructors with years of technical experience such as David Czagan, the founder and CEO at Silesia Security Lab.

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This training is worth $84.91 in total, but you can grab the bundle now for just $39.99 with lifetime access included.

Read the full article: Build Your Career in Cybersecurity With 28 Hours of Training for Under $40

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100% Disk Usage in Windows 10 Fixed With 15 Tricks

Got 100% disk usage in Windows 10? So your computer is hanging and freezing. Same old Windows, right? Except you’re using a brand-new Windows 10 device; you’ve only had it a few days. So just what is going on?

Investigating, you discover that your system drive is running at 100%. Surely this can’t be, right? Sadly, it is. The latest versions of Windows have a problem with the drives being overworked, which slows down the operating system. This issue affects both hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs).

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Several fixes are available for this. But first, you need to trace the problem.

100% Disk Usage in Windows 10: Fixed!

When the error was first discovered, only a few culprits were found. But as time passes, despite the 100% disk usage error being reported to Microsoft, more causes of this bug are discovered, not fewer.

1. Check disk performance with chkdisk
2. Check your anti-virus software
3. Disable Windows search
4. Disable SysMain service
5. Time to disable Flash
6. Change web browser
7. Check Skype impact on disk usage
8. Fix the PCI-Express firmware bug
9. Stop Steam maxing out your PC
10. Check diagnostic tracking
11. Is Windows Update causing 100% disk usage?
12. Reset your Virtual Memory
13. Enable High Performance mode
14. Install the latest SATA drivers
15. Replace your PC’s power supply

Click the link above for each possible cause of the bug to see how to fix it.

Once you’ve established that there is a problem, you have several options available. Check the following steps one at a time, checking the disk usage in the Task Manager after each.

Note that even if you find a solution, a Windows Update could reset the changes you’ve made. Bookmarking this page will help you find it in the future and run through the fixes again.

1. Slow Performance? Run Disk Check

This performance issue is most obvious when attempting to use Windows Search to find a file or program, and anything else that requires the drive to do some work (perhaps copying and pasting a group of files).

To establish whether it is a problem that is affecting you, when your computer next slows down press Ctrl+Alt+Del and select Task Manager.

(Alternatively, right-click the Taskbar and select Task Manager.) Note that this may take some time to open with the drive being under strain.

On the first tab, Processes, look for the Disk column. If you’re having problems with drive performance, this should be at 100%, and shaded red to indicate whether you have a problem or not.

Problematic sectors on your HDD can cause the 100% disk usage issue in Windows 10. However, using Windows’ built-in disk check can fix this.

Open Windows Explorer and select This PC, then identify your hard drive. Right-click on C: and select Properties. Here, find the Tools tab, and under Error checking click on Check.

In the resulting window, click Scan drive. Wait while the system scans the drive; a reboot may be required for a full disk repair. This should deal with the error.

2. Update Your Anti-Virus if Windows 10 Disk Is Running at 100%

As with any such performance issue, the first thing to do is confirm that your computer hasn’t been infected with malware. Your security software should be able to deal with this, whether it’s a free app or a paid suite.

At the very least, tools such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware should be able to scan your system drive and detect any problems, although with a heavy load on your drive already this may take a while.

If threats are found, use the software’s recommendations to discard them and reboot. Next, check your drive’s performance further. Hopefully, you’ve resolved the issue; if not, then malware wasn’t to blame, so read on.

3. Disable Windows Search for Improved Disk Performance

The next thing to check is whether the 100% disk usage error has anything to do with Windows Search.

A bug in Windows 10 results in a “search loop” that causes an increased load on the system drive.

To stop this and prevent it from happening during your current session (until Windows is rebooted) open Windows PowerShell (Admin). You’ll find this by right clicking the Windows 10 Start menu.

Enter:

net.exe stop "Windows search"

To permanently disable Windows Search or Indexing, press WIN+R, enter services.msc, and hit Enter. In the Services window that opens find the Windows Search entry and double-click it to open the Windows Search Properties window.

Under Startup type, select Disabled. Here you can click Stop to abort the service. Click OK to save your changes.

A few moments after disabling Windows Search, your Windows 10 performance should improve considerably. If not, move on…

4. Disable SysMain to Fix 100% Disk Usage in Windows 10

Another Windows 10 feature identified as a potential cause of the 100% disk usage issue is the superfetch service. Since Windows 10 1809 (the 2018 Windows 10 October Update) this has been renamed to “SysMain.”

To prevent this service from causing the disk usage issue, open another Windows PowerShell (Admin) and enter:

net.exe stop sysmain

Again, wait a few moments to check whether this has had any effect on your computer’s performance. You should also run Check Disk:

chkdsk.exe /f /r

You’ll be informed that your PC must be rebooted for Check Disk to complete, so make sure you have closed all your applications first.

If this doesn’t work, it is likely that you’re experiencing a frustrating iteration of this issue that is simple to resolve.

5. Is Flash Causing the 100% Disk Usage Bug?

Flash remains one of the most vulnerable aspects of modern computing and should be disabled. Adobe plans to kill off its multimedia plugin in 2020, so there’s little reason to keep using it.

Flash also seems to be one of the most common culprits for the 100% hard disk usage in Windows 10 if you’re using the Google Chrome browser.

Open Menu > Settings > Privacy and security and click the section marked Site Settings. Here, find Flash and set the toggle to Block sites from running Flash, then click Back.

Restart the browser and check your HDD performance.

6. Disk Usage at 100%? Switch Web Browsers

It may not be Flash that is impacting on your browser performance.

Another cause could be the browser itself, particularly if you’re using Google Chrome.

The obvious option is to choose a different browser. Windows 10 already has two browsers built in. You probably don’t want to use Internet Explorer, but Microsoft Edge is an adequate replacement for Chrome.

Several browsers are available, some better than others. See our guide to the best web browsers for Windows to find an alternative.

7. Is Skype Eating Disk Resources?

Another widely-used application could also be causing your 100% HDD usage: Skype.

To find out—and disable its OTT resource requirement, begin by checking that the software is not running. You can do this by looking in the Task Manager, or checking the System Tray, the area on your desktop around the clock. If Skype is running here, right-click the icon and select Quit.

Next, press WIN+R and paste this address into the box:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\

Click OK to find the Skype.exe file and right-click this and select Properties. In the Security tab click Edit, then select ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES.

Put a check next to Write in the Allow column and finish off by clicking Apply, then OK. Head back to the Task Manager to see the change. You may also consider finding a Skype alternative.

No difference? Keep reading…

8. Resolve PCI-Express Firmware Bug

Some drivers don’t run quite as they should in Windows 10. One that has been discovered to be causing 100% HDD use is the StorAHCI.sys driver, which has a firmware bug. StorAHCI.sys intended for storage devices connected to the PC or laptop motherboard via Advanced Host Controller Interface PCI-Express.

If you’ve made it this far with no success, this could be the problem.

Open the Device Manager (use Windows 10 search, or right-click This PC in Windows Explorer, then Properties > Device Manager) and expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers. If an AHCI Controller entry is listed, double-click, then open the Driver tab and select Driver Details.

Is the driver listed as C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\storahci.sys? If so, you could be affected by this bug.

Close the driver details box and switch to the Details tab, selecting Device instance path from the drop-down menu. Where the Value is listed, right-click, and select Copy. Launch your text editor (like Notepad) and Paste the contents in.

Next, press WIN+R and type regedit, followed by the OK button. Navigate to this address: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\ and use the pasted string above to open the correct AHCI Controller, followed by the random number.

Here, expand Device Parameters\Interrupt Management\MessageSignaledInterruptProperties and you should see MSISupported listed in the right-hand pane. Double-click this, then change the Value data: to 0. Click OK to confirm and follow the instructions to restart Windows.

9. Is Steam Maxing Out Your HDD?

Enjoy gaming and have Steam installed? There’s a good chance this digital delivery system is causing 100% disk usage.

Usually this is due to update delivery, causing the background downloader to get caught in a loop. Clear the Steam cache to fix this.

First, make sure you have exited Steam. Where Steam is a likely cause of the 100% disk usage error, it may hang when you try to exit. In this case, use the Windows 10 Task Manager to close the software.

Next, open the WIN+R run box and enter

steam://flushconfig

You’ll see a dialogue box, informing you that content will be deleted.

Click OK to proceed.

Note that games and saves will be retained, so there is no risk of them being deleted.

10. Disable Diagnostic Tracking in Windows 10

Finally, it’s worth considering the impact of diagnostic tracking in Windows 10. A feature that you might have otherwise disabled for privacy reasons, it has been blamed for 100% HDD use on many PCs.

When it comes to reducing your hard disk drive usage, it’s quicker to simply disable the DiagTrack service. If this is the source of the 100% disk usage error in Windows 10, you can stop the service launching.

However, to do this you’ll need to access Command Prompt in administrator mode.

Do this by clicking Start and typing cmd in the search box. Wait for the results and right-click Command Prompt, selecting Run as administrator.

Input these commands to disable and stop DiagTrack:

sc config "DiagTrack" start= disabled

sc stop "DiagTrack"

In addition, you might also head to Settings > System > Notification & actions and disable Get tips, tricks and suggestions as you use Windows. Doing so has been shown to improve things.

11. Windows Update Can Cause 100% Disk Usage

As well as affecting changes you make to your PC when fixing the 100% disk use problem, Windows Update can also be a cause.

This usually only happens when Windows Update has a problem (which is typically due to a file refusing to download). You have two options here:

1. Leave your computer alone—shut all your open applications and wait. Eventually, the files will download, but depending on how Windows Update is scheduled on your computer, it may require a reboot.
2. Shutdown your computer—once you’ve done that, restart and wait for Windows Update to resolve the problem.

Once the update has finished downloading, it’s wise to run it as soon as possible. Remember to check any previous fixes for 100% disk usage before proceeding; as noted above, Windows Update can reverse these fixes.

12. Reset Your Virtual Memory

Virtual memory is a combination of RAM and hard disk space and can be responsible for overuse of your HDD. If there isn’t enough RAM to perform a task, the HDD is used to supplement the RAM. Data moved to the HDD is then returned to RAM when required.

If you’ve made it this far and you’ve yet to solve the 100% disk usage issue, it could be worth resetting your virtual memory.

Open the System screen with Windows+Break/Pause, then Advanced System Settings on the left. In the resulting box, select the Advanced tab, then under Performance click Settings.

Here you’ll find another Advanced tab, which has a section labeled Virtual memory. Click Change and clear the checkbox for Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.

Staying on this screen, select your Windows drive (usually C:) and then Custom size. Here, add an Initial size and a Maximum size; note both are measured in MB rather than GB.

These numbers can be confusing, so with the first value, rely on the recommended option. For the maximum value, aim for a figure no more than 1.5 times your system RAM.

For instance, a computer with 4GB of RAM should have no more than 6.5GB (6144MB).

With the values input, click Set, then OK to continue. You now need to clear the temporary files that have been used in the previous virtual memory allocation.

Do this by opening the Run box (WIN+R) then entering “temp”. When the temp directory opens, select all files (Ctrl+A) and tap Delete on your keyboard.

13. Activate High Performance Mode

One final thing to try is altering your Windows power settings. Standard power modes are more prone to the 100% disk usage bug but switching to high performance often overcomes the problem.

The downside, of course, is that your computer will use more power. Thanks to modern processor design this shouldn’t be a massive issue. However, notebooks and desktop replacement laptops may take a hit on battery life.

To change to high performance, open the Power & sleep screen with WIN+X > Power Options.

Here, click Additional power settings, select High performance, then OK.

If this isn’t a displayed option, you’ll need to create your own custom power plan. Click Create a power plan, then choose High performance. Give the plan a name, tweak any personal settings you need then select it as a power plan to use.

In a moment or two, the 100% disk usage issue should drop down to less than 10%.

14. Install the Latest SATA Drivers

Could a storage device driver be resulting in the 100% disk usage error?

Your Windows 10 computer almost certainly uses SATA connections for hard drives, SSDs, and optical drives. If the drivers aren’t up to date, the disk usage error can occur.

Avoid this by upgrading to the latest SATA drivers.

Open the Power User menu with WIN+X and select Device Manager. From here, expand Storage controllers, then identify the correct controller for your SATA devices. If you can’t do this, don’t worry—simply update both.

To update, right-click on each controller and select Update driver.

Select the Browse my computer for driver software option, then Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer. Here, choose Standard AHCI Controller and see how this impacts performance.

You may need to reboot Windows for this to take effect. Note that if it doesn’t work, you can still try this by checking the manufacturer’s website for a new driver. This can be installed using the instructions that accompany it.

15. Replace Your PC’s Power Supply (PSU)

There is a chance that your computer’s hardware is causing the 100% disk usage issue in Windows: specifically, the PSU.

If disk usage issues can be attributed to excessive disk activity, then it follows there might be a power-related cause.

100% disk usage has been spotted on Windows 10 laptops running on the battery. Once plugged into the power adaptor, the issue resolves. Similarly, the problem has been shown to alleviate once a new PSU is installed in a desktop PC.

Check our guide to new PC power supply units to help you choose a replacement.

Disk Usage Should Rarely Be 100%

Put simply, there is little reason for your disk load to be anything close to 100%, certainly not under normal usage. A slow computer is one with a problem, and if you cannot fix it by disabling a browser plugin, stopping services, or running your antivirus software, then the problem may well be hardware related.

Perhaps your drive is getting old; it may be defective, or the cables may need replacing. Alternatively, there is a chance that the problem is connected to the Windows defrag tool.

If your computer is attempting to defrag your drive, but your HDD is actually an SSD, then serious problems can occur. Deal with this by opening the Task Scheduler (WIN+Q, enter “task scheduler”) and disable any scheduled disk defrag tasks.

Try these fixes the next time your Windows computer slows down. Be sure to check your Windows Experience Index periodically to identify performance issues in need of immediate resolution. And add these fixes to your skillset for solving annoying Windows issues.

Read the full article: 100% Disk Usage in Windows 10 Fixed With 15 Tricks

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