Facebook Lasso app lead Brady Voss leaves for Netflix right after launch

Facebook Lasso has a steep uphill climb ahead as it hopes to chase the musical video app it cloned, China’s TikTok (which merged with Musically). Lasso lets you overlay popular songs on 15-second clips of you lip syncing, dancing, or just being silly — kind of like Vine with a soundtrack. It’s off to a slow start since launching Friday, having failed to reach the overall app download charts as it falls from #169 to #217 on the US iOS Photo and Video App chart, according to App Annie.

Forme Facebook Lead Product Designer Brady Voss

And now one of the Lasso team’s bosses Brady Voss is leaving Facebook for a job at Netflix. He’d spent five years as a lead product designer at Facebook working on standalone apps like Hello and major feature launches like Watch, Live, 360 video, and the social network’s smart TV app. He previously designed products for TiVo and Microsoft’s XBox.

“After five life-changing years at Facebook, my last day will be this Friday, 11/16” Voss wrote on Facebook. “Following our launch of our new app, Lasso, a project I’ve been working on for a while now, the timing works well to explore what’s coming next . . . As for what’s next? I have accepted a position at Netflix in Los Gatos, California.” A Facebook spokesperson responded that “Yes, I can confirm that Brady is leaving Facebook.”

Voss added some color about joining Facebook, noting  “There was actually a discussion about whether or not I’d be a great culture fit because I wore a tie to my interviews–which is funny because we don’t believe dressing like that is what enables people to bring their best everyday. Thankfully, they saw past the common clichés–because suits and ties are not me.” As for Facebook’s troubles, he wrote that “I was even there for the big freak out moments along the way–we’ll keep them unnamed ”, which could refer to his work on Facebook Live that spawned big problems with real-time broadcasts of violence and self-harm.

While it’s reasonable for anyone to want a change of pace after five years, especially after the brutal year Facebook’s had in the press, his departure just a week after Lasso’s launch doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence in the app’s trajectory. It might have been a sensible stopping point haven gotten the app out the door, but you’d also think that if Lasso had a real shot at popularity, he’d have wanted to stick around to oversee that growth.

Lasso’s First Rodeo

TechCrunch first broke the news that Lasso was in development last month, citing Voss as one of the team’s heads. But in the meantime, the world’s highest valued private startup Bytedance managed to push its TikTok app past Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube on the download charts. It’s now at #5 on the US iOS overall charts and #1 in Photo and Video. Facebook seems to have shooed Lasso out a little prematurely before losing more ground, given it lacks many of the augmented reality features and filters found in Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.

Facebook Lasso

TechCrunch asked the company for some more details about the Lasso roadmap. A spokesperson told me that Facebook will be evolving Lasso and adding new features with time, and may test a feature for uploading videos instead of being restricted to shooting them in-app right now. In fact, Voss’ departure post includes a “Made With Lasso” video featuring an augmented reality effect with him conjuring Facebook Like thumbs-ups out of his hand.

As for monetization, Facebook tells me there are no plans to show ads right now. Typically, Facebook tries to build products to have hundreds of millions of users before it potentially endangers growth by layering in revenue generators. I asked if users might be able to pay their favorite video creators with tips, and the company says that while that’s not currently available, it hopes to explore ways to allow creators to earn money in the future. Instagram said the same thing about IGTV when it launched in June, and we still haven’t heard anything on that front. Facebook likely won’t be able to lure creators to new platforms with smaller audiences than their main channels unless it’s going to let them earn money there.

If Facebook is truly serious about challenging TikTok, it may need to build closer ties between Lasso and Instagram. Facebook left its previous standalone video apps like Slingshot and Poke out to dry, eventually shuttering them after providing little cross promotion. Given the teen audience Lasso craves is already on Instagram, it will be fascinating to see if former VP of News Feed Adam Mosseri who’s now running Instagram will insert some links to Lasso. A Facebook spokesperson says that Facebook may investigate promoting Lasso on its other apps down the line.

And one final concern regarding Lasso is that Facebook isn’t doing much to prevent underage kids below 13 from getting on the app. Tweens flocked to Musically, leading to some worrisome content. 10-year-old girls in revealing clothing singing along to the scandalous lyrics of pop songs frequently populated the Musically leaderboard. That prompted me to question Musically CEO Alex Zhu on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt London 2015 about whether his app violated the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that prohibits online services from collecting photos or videos of kids under 13. He denied wrongdoing with flimsy excuses, claiming parents were always aware of what kids were doing, and stormed out of the backstage area after our talk.

Facebook launches Lasso, its music and video TikTok clone

So I asked Facebook how it would prevent such issues on Lasso, where all content is public and adults can follow children. A spokesperson told me that you need a Facebook or Instagram account to sign up for Lasso, and those services require people to be 13 older. But “require” isn’t exactly the right word. It asks people to state they’re of age, but doesn’t do anything to confirm that. Lasso does have a report button for flagging inappropriate content, and the company claims to be taking privacy and safety seriously.

But if the tech giants are going to build apps purposefully designed for young audiences, asking for kids to merely promise they’re old enough to join may not be sufficient.

Read Full Article

Facebook Lasso app lead Brady Voss leaves for Netflix right after launch

Facebook Lasso has a steep uphill climb ahead as it hopes to chase the musical video app it cloned, China’s TikTok (which merged with Musically). Lasso lets you overlay popular songs on 15-second clips of you lip syncing, dancing, or just being silly — kind of like Vine with a soundtrack. It’s off to a slow start since launching Friday, having failed to reach the overall app download charts as it falls from #169 to #217 on the US iOS Photo and Video App chart, according to App Annie.

Forme Facebook Lead Product Designer Brady Voss

And now one of the Lasso team’s bosses Brady Voss is leaving Facebook for a job at Netflix. He’d spent five years as a lead product designer at Facebook working on standalone apps like Hello and major feature launches like Watch, Live, 360 video, and the social network’s smart TV app. He previously designed products for TiVo and Microsoft’s XBox.

“After five life-changing years at Facebook, my last day will be this Friday, 11/16” Voss wrote on Facebook. “Following our launch of our new app, Lasso, a project I’ve been working on for a while now, the timing works well to explore what’s coming next . . . As for what’s next? I have accepted a position at Netflix in Los Gatos, California.” A Facebook spokesperson responded that “Yes, I can confirm that Brady is leaving Facebook.”

Voss added some color about joining Facebook, noting  “There was actually a discussion about whether or not I’d be a great culture fit because I wore a tie to my interviews–which is funny because we don’t believe dressing like that is what enables people to bring their best everyday. Thankfully, they saw past the common clichés–because suits and ties are not me.” As for Facebook’s troubles, he wrote that “I was even there for the big freak out moments along the way–we’ll keep them unnamed ”, which could refer to his work on Facebook Live that spawned big problems with real-time broadcasts of violence and self-harm.

While it’s reasonable for anyone to want a change of pace after five years, especially after the brutal year Facebook’s had in the press, his departure just a week after Lasso’s launch doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence in the app’s trajectory. It might have been a sensible stopping point haven gotten the app out the door, but you’d also think that if Lasso had a real shot at popularity, he’d have wanted to stick around to oversee that growth.

Lasso’s First Rodeo

TechCrunch first broke the news that Lasso was in development last month, citing Voss as one of the team’s heads. But in the meantime, the world’s highest valued private startup Bytedance managed to push its TikTok app past Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube on the download charts. It’s now at #5 on the US iOS overall charts and #1 in Photo and Video. Facebook seems to have shooed Lasso out a little prematurely before losing more ground, given it lacks many of the augmented reality features and filters found in Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.

Facebook Lasso

TechCrunch asked the company for some more details about the Lasso roadmap. A spokesperson told me that Facebook will be evolving Lasso and adding new features with time, and may test a feature for uploading videos instead of being restricted to shooting them in-app right now. In fact, Voss’ departure post includes a “Made With Lasso” video featuring an augmented reality effect with him conjuring Facebook Like thumbs-ups out of his hand.

As for monetization, Facebook tells me there are no plans to show ads right now. Typically, Facebook tries to build products to have hundreds of millions of users before it potentially endangers growth by layering in revenue generators. I asked if users might be able to pay their favorite video creators with tips, and the company says that while that’s not currently available, it hopes to explore ways to allow creators to earn money in the future. Instagram said the same thing about IGTV when it launched in June, and we still haven’t heard anything on that front. Facebook likely won’t be able to lure creators to new platforms with smaller audiences than their main channels unless it’s going to let them earn money there.

If Facebook is truly serious about challenging TikTok, it may need to build closer ties between Lasso and Instagram. Facebook left its previous standalone video apps like Slingshot and Poke out to dry, eventually shuttering them after providing little cross promotion. Given the teen audience Lasso craves is already on Instagram, it will be fascinating to see if former VP of News Feed Adam Mosseri who’s now running Instagram will insert some links to Lasso. A Facebook spokesperson says that Facebook may investigate promoting Lasso on its other apps down the line.

And one final concern regarding Lasso is that Facebook isn’t doing much to prevent underage kids below 13 from getting on the app. Tweens flocked to Musically, leading to some worrisome content. 10-year-old girls in revealing clothing singing along to the scandalous lyrics of pop songs frequently populated the Musically leaderboard. That prompted me to question Musically CEO Alex Zhu on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt London 2015 about whether his app violated the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that prohibits online services from collecting photos or videos of kids under 13. He denied wrongdoing with flimsy excuses, claiming parents were always aware of what kids were doing, and stormed out of the backstage area after our talk.

Facebook launches Lasso, its music and video TikTok clone

So I asked Facebook how it would prevent such issues on Lasso, where all content is public and adults can follow children. A spokesperson told me that you need a Facebook or Instagram account to sign up for Lasso, and those services require people to be 13 older. But “require” isn’t exactly the right word. It asks people to state they’re of age, but doesn’t do anything to confirm that. Lasso does have a report button for flagging inappropriate content, and the company claims to be taking privacy and safety seriously.

But if the tech giants are going to build apps purposefully designed for young audiences, asking for kids to merely promise they’re old enough to join may not be sufficient.

Read Full Article

Mac Won’t Boot? A Step-by-Step Guide to Waking It Up

Got a desktop Mac or MacBook that won’t turn on, or maybe won’t boot past the Apple logo? Don’t worry—it’s frustrating, but usually fixable.

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Here are all the steps you need to get your Mac started again. Just work through them in order, unless your Mac won’t boot after a failed operating system update. In that case, skip straight to step 8.

1. Check If the Mac Has Power

First, check that your Mac has a power source. Yes, it’s silly and obvious, but anyone who’s done tech support knows that you have to get the obvious fixes out of the way first.

So if your MacBook won’t boot on battery power, plug it in. The battery may be fully depleted, or could be malfunctioning.

If your MacBook won’t charge or turn on with the power adapter connected, make sure it’s connected properly and not damaged in any way. Try a different power cable, if you’ve got one around. Also, check that the port is clean. A buildup of dust can disrupt older MagSafe chargers.

And while you’re at it, check your external hardware as well. Disconnect any peripherals like printers or graphics tablets, as these can sometimes be the cause. If you’ve got a Mac Mini, make sure the monitor is connected and powered properly.

2. Run a Power Cycle

The next step is to run a power cycle. This completely cuts all traces of power from the Mac and enables you to restart it from scratch.

• On a recent MacBook, disconnect the power cable and hold the power button down for 10 seconds.
• For an older MacBook, disconnect the power cable and remove the battery for at least 10 seconds.
• If you’re using a desktop Mac, disconnect the power cord for at least 10 seconds.

Now reconnect the power and try to restart your computer. This move may be enough to spring it to life.

Holding the Power button down like this is the equivalent to pressing a “reset” button or pulling the plug. It works on phones, ebook readers, and pretty much every other gadget that doesn’t allow you to remove the battery, so is a good tip to remember.

3. Boot in Safe Mode

When your MacBook won’t boot, try to remember what you were doing the last time it was working. Were you installing apps, fiddling with fonts, or tweaking the system?

If your Mac shows signs of life when you power it on—it won’t go past the Apple logo or login screen—then booting into Safe Mode may help you fix it.

Press the Power button on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key. Keep it held until you reach the login screen, then continue as normal.

Safe mode runs a bunch diagnostic tests, then boots a stripped-down version of macOS. This doesn’t load your startup apps, custom fonts, extra hardware features, or anything else beyond the basics.

If your Mac boots successfully into Safe Mode, you can start uninstalling any new apps, disabling startup items, removing hardware, or undoing any other recent changes that may cause the problem.

4. Reset SMC

The System Management Controller (SMC) controls a host of basic Mac functions. It handles everything from the keyboard backlight, to battery management, to what happens when you press the Power button.

Resetting the SMC is a good catch-all solution to many problems, including if your MacBook won’t start or it won’t wake up when you open the lid. There are a few ways to do it, depending on what model of Mac you’ve got:

Desktop Macs

1. Unplug the power cord and wait 15 seconds.
2. Plug the cord back in and wait another five seconds.
3. Restart your Mac.

2018 MacBook Pro + MacBooks With T2 Security Chip

1. Press and hold the right Shift key, the left Option key (Alt), and the left Control key for seven seconds.
2. While keeping these keys pressed, hold down the Power button for another seven seconds.
3. Release all the keys, wait a few seconds, then restart.

MacBooks Without Removable Batteries

1. Press and hold the left Shift, Option (Alt), and Control keys, plus the Power button (or Touch ID button) for 10 seconds.
2. Release all the keys then restart your computer.

Older MacBooks With a Removable Battery

1. Remove the battery.
2. Press and hold the Power button for five seconds.
3. Reconnect the battery, and restart the MacBook.

5. Reset NVRAM or PRAM

NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) is a special section of memory that stores certain settings a Mac needs to access quickly. Although problems with this are less likely to render your computer unbootable, resetting it as a precaution will do no harm.

Older Macs used PRAM (perimeter RAM) instead. The process for resetting either is the same:

1. Press the Power button then immediately press and hold the Option (Alt), Command, P, and R keys.
2. Keep the keys pressed for around 20 seconds, even if your Mac appears to restart.
3. If your Mac plays a startup sound, release the keys after you hear it chime for the second time.
4. If your Mac has the T2 Chip, release the keys after the Apple logo disappears for the second time.

When your Mac has restarted, you’ll find that some basic settings like time zone or volume level might need adjusting.

6. Run Apple Diagnostics

Hopefully by now, your Mac is up and running again. If not you can check for hardware issues by using the Apple Diagnostics tool. This will check for problems, then either suggest fixes or show your support options.

1. Disconnect any unnecessary external devices, such as a printer. You can leave your keyboard, mouse, and monitor plugged in if needed.
2. Press the Power button.
3. Press and hold the D key. Keep it pressed until you see a screen asking you to select your language.
4. Pick a language, then Apple Diagnostics will begin running its tests. These take a few minutes to complete.

When done, you’ll see the results of the test. Some will suggest quick fixes, and give you the chance to re-run the test. Others will generate reference codes which you can look up on the Apple Diagnostics page. It’ll also show your Mac support options. If there are no issues, then the fault likely is not with your hardware.

On Macs released before June 2013, you’ll get the Apple Hardware Test instead. You activate it in the same way, and the principle is the same. Select your language, then click Test to begin.

7. Use Recovery Mode Tools

All Macs have a special Recovery partition on the hard drive. This boots independently of the full macOS and gives you access to a suite of tools for repairing your computer.

To boot into Recovery:

1. Press the Power button.
2. Press and hold the Command and R keys.
3. Release the keys when you see the Apple logo.
4. When it finishes booting, you’ll see a new macOS Utilities menu.

The one to try first is Disk Utility. This is a version of the same tool that’s available in macOS and enables you to scan and repair your hard drive or SSD. Select the drive and click First Aid to begin the repair process.

There are a few more tools available through the Utilities menu. These include the Terminal for more advanced users.

8. Reinstall macOS in Recovery Mode

If you’ve gotten this far, then it’s likely that your problem is not hardware-related, nor is it a simple software fix. The best solution now is to restore a Time Machine backup, or reinstall macOS entirely.

You can do this through Recovery. Get started by pressing the Power button and holding down the Command and R keys.

If you’ve got a recent Time Machine backup, you can restore that to see if it solves your problem. If not, choose Reinstall macOS from the menu.

When you choose to reinstall macOS you’re given the option to format your disk as part of the process. Don’t select this if you simply want to repair your installation—there’s no problem with reinstalling macOS on top of itself.

Follow the onscreen guide to complete the installation. You’ll need to be connected to the internet, as the tool will download the operating system from scratch.

Check for Other Warning Signs on Mac

All Macs, whether a high-end MacBook Pro or an older iMac, have great reputations for reliability. But they can still run into problems.

Although it’s often relatively easy to fix a Mac that’s not turning on, it’s best to check for warning signs and patch up problems before they strike.

Follow the advice in our guide to finding and fixing common macOS problems—covering everything from memory to malware—and you’ll keep your Mac running smoothly and problem free.

Read the full article: Mac Won’t Boot? A Step-by-Step Guide to Waking It Up

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How to Find a Book Without Knowing the Title or Author

Sometimes you remember a book you read by its jacket. Sometimes by the actions of an obscure character. However, there are times when you can’t remember author or title.

I am sure you have racked your brain trying to remember that book you loved reading. Book amnesia has affected us all at some time or another. If you are a book lover of any kind, expect to see (or ask) a question of this type one day:

“Do you remember a mystery book that had something about a puppet master as a murderer?”

Tracking down that long-lost book is like a treasure hunt. In the old days, you could have asked the librarian. Today, search engines like Google have the librarian beat.

Here are some tips to help you find a book without knowing the title or author.

Start Your Book Search With Google

When you can’t (or even if you can) remember the name of a book, author, or the characters in it, Google or any other search engine should be your first port of call. What is true for any generic search is true when trying to find a book without knowing the name and the author too… it’s all about the keywords.

In case of a forgotten title or author, you have to remember anything you can use from the book. It could be the name of a character, a line of dialog, or even basic plot points. The more specific the phrase, the better the result. All rules of a normal search apply (for instance, for exact searches put it in quotes). Google auto-suggestions will also tell you if you are on the right track.

Tip: The search for a long-lost book is a good way to master advanced Google Search skills. For example, you can include or exclude specific keywords, search with an exact phrase, or use the wildcard operator to guess the name of a character.

Now Try Google Books Search

As an avid reader, you should have heard about the massive Google Books Library Project. It is the largest book cataloging project of its kind. Google Books Search works just like Google Search.

The difference is that the reference page displayed for your search result also contains extra information like various covers, tables of content, common terms and phrases, and popular passages from the book. You can view sample pages and check if this is the book you were searching for. Also, you can search within a book.

Use the Advanced Google Search Page with filters like subject, publisher, language, publication date, ISBN and ISSN numbers (you aren’t going to remember these two).

Experiment with keywords and wildcard operators to grab a clue. Even if you do not find the book you’re looking for, you might come across a reference which could then lead you to the answer.

Other Catalogs You Can Use for Your Book Search

There are some search engines which are more specialized for book searches.

BookFinder

BookFinder is an advanced search engine (Click on Show more options) which taps into the inventories of over 100,000 booksellers worldwide. Try a keyword search or, if you can recall it, restrict your query by the publication year.

WorldCat

WorldCat is the world’s largest network of library content and services. You can search the worldwide database of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries. Search for a book and then locate it at a nearby library. Membership of the library allows you to check out the item online. Try the Advanced Search with unique filters like Audience and Languages.

Peek into WorldCat Genres (or Fictional Finder) which helps you browse through fiction genres for hundreds of titles, authors, subjects, characters, locations, and more, ranked by popularity in the world’s libraries.

The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress (LOC) is the world’s largest library and today it also hosts a huge digital collection. An online book search through its catalog of 167 million items that include books, serials, manuscripts, maps, music, recordings, images, and electronic resources shouldn’t take too long. And to top it all, the LOC has a friendly Ask A Librarian form for queries.

Also, check out the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) search tool which is another Library of Congress utility.

Tap Into Amazon Search

Amazon started life as an online bookstore. It remains the leading category by sales with millions of titles in stock at any one time. If Amazon doesn’t sell the book you are looking for, then it’s probably no longer available (or just a figment of your imagination). The basic search bar can get you close to the book with a keyword. But the real spadework can be done by Amazon’s Advanced Book Search.

Amazon does not have an official list of advanced search operators. But it does display a few search tips on the above page. The API documentation also lists a few power searches you can try out for your book. Go through the documentation by clicking on “Next”. For instance, experimenting with the [title-begins] keyword could return close hits.

The trick is to cut through the clutter of Amazon search results. Try this neat Amazon advanced search tool called JungleSearch.net to which can help you fetch hidden Amazon search results too.

And if all fails, then do a site search with Google. You might just get lucky. For example:

“Rachel Childs”+journalist site:amazon.com

Search Inside the Book

Amazon not only matches your keywords to titles and authors but also on every word inside a book. You can discover if this is the exact book you are looking for by clicking the Look Inside link and going through the preview pages. Use the Search Inside This Book field to look for sentences, key phrases, and even citations.

Ask for Help From Online Book Communities

Any website which helps you discover your next book will have an online community behind it. Tap into the collective memory of book lovers on these recommended book platforms.

Goodreads

Goodreads is an Amazon subsidiary. As such, you can expect the knowledge base to be just as vast. This social network for book nerds has discussion boards on a variety of topics.

You can go to any genre-specific group and ask for help. But it might be worth trying these two first:

• Book Hunting
• What’s the Name of That Book

Abe Books: BookSleuth

The appropriately named BookSleuth is another good hunting ground for forgotten titles. Use the community forum that is organized by genre, and provide as many details as you can for the members to help you out.

LibraryThing: Name That Book

LibraryThing is a less hip, more cerebral alternative to Goodreads. Start a new topic for your specific search in this community group and enter all of the book details you can remember.

Last but Not Least: Social Networks!

By now, you should have got either the book or your memory back. If not, your search has probably reached a frustrating hurdle because the book-loving masses haven’t been able to rescue you yet. It’s time to broaden your scope with an SOS on your social network of choice.

Facebook

The social network isn’t only for finding long lost friends. You can also call upon the wisdom of the crowd to help you find that elusive book. Your own social circle might be too limited, so broaden your search using book clubs.

Mark Zuckerberg started A Year of Books, and now it has close to 800,000 followers. Even smaller public groups like Books are worth a try. You just have to shout above the noise.

Twitter

Start with a Twitter search. Hashtags are what makes micro-blogging work, but a generic #books or #bibliophile hashtag might be too broad. Try to plug the specific genre into a hashtag search (e.g. #DarkFantasy or #UrbanFantasy) to narrow your results, and/or when you ask for help.

Quora

The Q&A site could be the largest gathering of “experts” outside Facebook and Twitter. The best thing about Quora is that you can expect a quality response. Take the answer in the screenshot for example.

Stack Exchange

A potpourri of 168 Q&A communities makes up Stack Exchange. Stack Overflow might be the most popular with programmers but there are niche communities for Ebooks and Literature. Then, you can also go into a genre-specific community and drop a question. Sci-Fi and Fantasy is popular.

Reddit

You couldn’t have thought of a better name for a subreddit on books than Tip of My Tongue. Just scan your eyes down the solved answers with the green tag to understand the power of collective memory. Also, try other subreddits like What’s That Book, Books, and printSF when you can only remember the cover.

Can You Now Find That Lost Book?

The web relies on the kindness of strangers. The good thing is that book lovers are everywhere and the fraternity is amazingly co-operative. We can always find them closeted together in some group or community.

So, the next time you have a memory blackout try to recall any vague detail of the book.

Go back in time to remember any physical feature or illustration. Try to bring up some associated memories—what were you doing when you were reading that book? How old were you? Was it a gift or did you borrow it?

Believe me, every tiny shred of information helps. But the best tip I can offer to every book lover is this—make a reading list and keep it organized!

Read the full article: How to Find a Book Without Knowing the Title or Author

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New PC? 15 Must-Have Windows Applications You Should Install First

Software is the backbone of any computer setup. Whether you’ve just purchased a new PC or reinstalled Windows, the first task you’ll likely do is install apps. While there are dozens of amazing Windows programs, knowing which are must-have software for Windows 10 makes setting up a new installation easy.

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In no particular order, let’s step through 15 must-have Windows programs everyone should install right away, along with some alternatives.

1. Internet Browser: Google Chrome

Unsurprisingly, Google Chrome is our top browser pick. It’s still super-speedy, includes little conveniences like instantly searching Google for an image, and the library of Chrome extensions is vast. Throw in cross-platform syncing that lets you open your desktop tabs on your phone and vice-versa, and you’ve got a fantastic browser for all purposes.

Chrome isn’t without its faults, however. Plenty of people want to avoid Google’s pervasive tracking in Chrome, and it gobbles a lot of RAM. But the good news is that you have plenty of other fantastic browsers to choose from, like Firefox and Opera.

Download: Google Chrome (Free)
Download: Firefox (Free)
Download: Opera (Free)

2. Cloud Storage: Dropbox

If you only pick one cloud app service, Dropbox is the one you should install. The 2GB of free storage isn’t much, though you can increase that by referring friends. Dropbox offers an app for every major platform, so you can take your files anywhere. It’s also super easy to share files with others.

Whether you use it as part of your backup plan, as a cloud flash drive, or for setting up shared folders with others, you can’t go wrong with Dropbox. Check out our Dropbox tips to get more done with it.

You can take advantage of alternative cloud services in conjunction with Dropbox to get more free space and separate your files logically. Google Drive offers an impressive 15GB for free, making it another great choice.

Download: Dropbox (Free, subscription available)
Download: Google Drive (Free, subscription available)

3. Music Streaming: Spotify

Years ago, listening to music on your desktop meant painstakingly importing and organizing a collection of MP3s. No longer; music streaming services eliminate the need for buying individual albums physically or digitally.

There are many music streaming services in the market, but we recommend Spotify. Its ad-supported free plan lets you listen to as much music as you like, and the Spotify Premium upgrade is definitely worth it for avid listeners. Spotify also has a dedicated Windows app, while Apple Music requires the bloated iTunes and Google Play Music is web-only.

If you’re invested in either ecosystem, though, the respective music app might be a better choice for you.

Download: Spotify (Free, subscription available)
Visit: Apple Music (Free trial, subscription required)
Visit: Google Play Music (Free, subscription available)

4. Office Suite: LibreOffice

Chances are, you’ll need a tool that lets you work with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations at some point. You might think that paying for Microsoft Office is the only way to do this, but that’s far from the truth.

No Windows user should go without LibreOffice. It’s a completely free and powerful office suite that includes alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and more. Once you get used to a few small aesthetic differences from MS Office, you’ll be flying through your work with LibreOffice.

Note that OpenOffice, a popular alternative, is basically a dead program now. If you don’t want to use LibreOffice, try FreeOffice.

Download: LibreOffice (Free)
Download: FreeOffice (Free)

5. Image Editor: Paint.NET

Whether you want to try your hand at image manipulation, need a way to blur sensitive info on screenshots, or want to retouch old photos, everyone should have an image editing program installed. You probably think of Photoshop as the gold standard for this, but there are plenty of free tools that are more accessible.

Paint.NET is our top choice. It’s far more powerful than Microsoft Paint but doesn’t overwhelm you with confusing icons. You can easily blur out parts of an image, auto-level photos to make them look better, and add text and shapes to your pictures in just a few clicks. Plenty of plugins allow you to expand its functionality, too.

If you find Paint.NET too basic, GIMP is a more advanced solution.

Download: Paint.NET (Free)
Download: GIMP (Free)

6. Security: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Windows 10 includes Windows Defender, which is a good enough antivirus for most people. However, it’s wise to keep a secondary security program installed.

For this, you can’t beat Malwarebytes. The free version lets you scan your system for all sorts of malware that your antivirus might not catch. And for a powerful blended security solution, we think upgrading to Malwarebytes Premium is worth the cost.

Download: Malwarebytes (Free, subscription available)

7. Media Player: VLC

With YouTube’s popularity, you probably do most of your video viewing in a browser. However, you should still keep a solid video player around on your desktop for when you need to play media files locally.

For this task, nothing beats VLC Media Player, which packs a ton of features and is capable of playing nearly every video and audio format imaginable. You might not break it out often, but give VLC a download and save yourself the hassle of messing with video codecs or using the awfully insecure QuickTime.

Download: VLC (Free)

8. Screenshots: ShareX

Taking a Windows screenshot is useful for everything from recording funny moments to having a record of information. Windows’s basic Snipping Tool only provides a barebones feature set, so you need something better.

You won’t find a better free screenshot tool than ShareX. With tons of capture methods, a powerful built-in editor, automated steps after you take a screenshot, and extra tools like a color grabber and ruler, ShareX has an impressive feature set for no cost.

Try Greenshot if ShareX overwhelms you and you’d like something simpler.

Download: ShareX (Free)
Download: Greenshot (Free)

9. File Compression and Extraction: PeaZip

Windows includes native support for simple zipped files, but anything beyond the basics requires a more powerful tool. While these aren’t the most exciting type of software, they’re important for working with any kind of archived files you might encounter.

PeaZip is a great choice for your compression and extraction needs. It’s much more attractive and user-friendly than its competition, and includes useful features like repairing damaged archives and converting their file formats.

7-Zip is a longtime favorite that’s definitely worth a look, but we chose PeaZip here due to its better looks for the average user. Either way, you don’t need to pay for tools like WinRAR.

Download: PeaZip (Free)
Download: 7-Zip (Free)

10. Messaging: Franz

Chances are that you use at least one messaging service to stay in touch with your friends during the day. With so many options to choose from, there’s no way we could pick the best messaging service because it all depends on what your friends use. So why not pick all of them?

Franz is our pick for the best messaging app on Windows. It lets you add accounts from dozens of popular messaging services, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Telegram, GroupMe, Hangouts, Discord, and many more.

Franz simply adds a new tab for every service you use, letting you keep up with every group in one window. It’s easier on battery than using browser windows for these apps, and you can close it when it’s time to focus.

Download: Franz (Free)

11-15. Odds and Ends: Other Awesome Tools

As a bonus, here are five other programs we think everyone should install. These don’t fit into any of the above categories, so we’ll mention them briefly here.

• Unchecky automatically watches check boxes during software installation and makes sure you don’t install any third-party junk. Everyone misses these sometimes, so it helps to have a second set of eyes.
• Ditto Clipboard Manager increases the usefulness of the Windows clipboard many times over. With it, you can keep dozens of copied entries close at hand and search through your clipboard history.
• F.lux automatically filters blue light from your PC’s screen when the sun goes down, allowing you to continue working at night without a blinding light in your face. Windows 10 has a similar Night Light function built-in, but F.lux offers more customization.
• Everything provides near-instant search to your entire Windows system. If you need to locate a file and the default search isn’t doing the job, Everything can find it.
• TreeSize Free allows you to quickly analyze your storage usage and see which folders are taking up the most space.

Windows 10 Essential Apps and Programs: Installed!

Now you know which apps to install right away on a new computer—and they’re all free! If you don’t prefer one of our favorites, you’ll find a suitable alternative without much trouble. We think most people will get plenty of use out of these programs.

On the flipside, you should also know which Windows 10 apps you shouldn’t install.

Read the full article: New PC? 15 Must-Have Windows Applications You Should Install First

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The 15 Best Web Proxies for Geo-Blocked Content and Online Privacy

Want to improve your online privacy but don’t want to use a VPN? The alternative is a web proxy, but with so many available, the experience can differ wildly.

If you’re looking for a free web proxy that actually works, keep reading. We’ve listed the top 15 services available today.

Proxies vs. VPNs: What Are the Differences?

Proxies serve one primary purpose; they hide your IP address to make it look like your internet traffic is coming from somewhere else. As such, they are ideal for tasks such as accessing geo-blocked content and bypassing IP address restrictions in offices and schools.

However, unlike most high-quality paid VPNs, they typically do not encrypt your traffic. Nor do they remove other identifiable information or offer other security-orientated features. Therefore, proxies are not a suitable alternative to VPNs if you want to hide your traffic from ISPs, governments, hackers, and other snoopers.

Furthermore, proxies only work with traffic originating from the app on which they are running. For example, if you’re running a proxy on your browser, it will not change the IP address on traffic coming from Steam, Spotify, or any other app.

Free Proxies vs. Paid Proxies

Just like the world of VPNs, they quality of proxies varies enormously between free services and paid services.

Free services are ideal for quick tasks and one-time situations like watching a blocked YouTube video. If you need something more long-term, you should not use a free proxy, just like you should not use a free VPN.

So, all that said, which are some of the most reliable free proxies that are available today?

1. Hide Me

Hide Me is a well-known VPN provider, but the company also offers a free proxy service.

Three server locations are available—the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany. Other options include the ability to block cookies, encrypt URLs, encrypt pages, remove scripts, and remove objects.

2. 11proxy

11proxy has one server in the US. The service is suitable for people who want to access geo-blocked content that’s only available to people in North America. Other options include page encryption, cookie blocking, and a way to block scripts and objects.

Note: 11proxy comes in many different guises. Other names for the same service include Dacd.win, ProxyEuro, and 789proxy.

3. Whoer

With nine servers, Whoer offers a solid diversity of locations. You can connect to Paris, Amsterdam (x2), Moscow (x2), Saint Petersburg, Stockholm, London, and Dallas. There’s also an option to use a random server.

Whoer also offers a free speed test and ping test, along with a paid VPN service.

4. NewIPNow

NewIPNow is another States-focused service. It has 13 servers, of which nine are in America, two are in Canada, one is in Poland, and one is in Lithuania.

There are no additional options.

5. VPNBook

There aren’t many worthwhile free VPN services, but VPNBook is definitely one of the recommendable ones.

It’s logical, therefore, that its free proxy service is also robust. There’s a server in the United States, Canada, the UK, and France.

6. Hide My Ass

Another well-known VPN provider, Hide My Ass offers a free proxy for anyone to use. It has two servers in the US (New York and Seattle), along with a single server in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, and Czech Republic.

Three additional options are available: encrypt URL, disable cookies, and block scripts.

7. Boom Proxy

Boom Proxy’s homepage has a bare-bones design, but the underlying service is reliable. Only one server is available, but there are a range of additional options. You can encrypt the URL, encrypt the page, disallow cookies, and remove scripts and objects.

8. Privoxy

Privoxy is the only downloadable proxy app on this list. It is a non-caching proxy with options that let you control cookies, alter page data and HTTP headers, and strip away bandwidth-eating junk code.

9. Dontfilter

Dontfilter is a no-frills service. There’s only one server and no additional options. Of course, the no-frills approach also means the proxy is straightforward to use; just enter the URL and hit Go.

10. Xroxy

Xroxy provides you with a massive list of servers. There are more than 100 to choose from, all of which are based in the United States.

The site also makes it easy to see which will be the fastest and most reliable for your needs. You can sort by latency, uptime, port number, type, and whether SSL is available.

11. FilterBypass

FilterBypass offers the usual selection of options. You can encrypt your URL and page, block cookies and scripts, and prevent cookies.

The proxy uses a 128-bit SSL connection.

12. BlewPass

BlewPass offers four web servers to users. They are in the United States (Phoenix), Canada (Quebec), France (Roubaix), and Poland (Warsaw).

You can separately set your IP location. There are more than 15 locations available, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Finland.

The wide range of IP locations means BlewPass is one of the best services on this list for accessing geo-blocked content.

13. KProxy

KProxy is one of the most well-established proxy providers on the list. It’s been online since way back in 2005.

Interestingly, KProxy offers extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Add the extension to your browser, and all your browser traffic with be routed through one of the company’s 10 servers.

There’s a pro version of KProxy ($10 per month) that provides more bandwidth and removes ads.

14. ProxySite

ProxySite is hosted on a gigabit network, so you’re guaranteed fast speeds.

It offers 11 servers in the United States and 10 in the European Union. All its servers use SSL connections.

The company also offers a premium VPN service in case you need a little more protection.

15. Tor

Tor isn’t a true proxy, but it always makes sense to mention it in articles like this one. The service uses an onion network to route your traffic through a network of relays around the world.

Be aware that some sites block traffic that’s originated from Tor.

Other Ways to Stay Anonymous Online

Using proxies and VPNs is just one of the ways you can keep yourself secure while surfing the web. For more information, check out our article on other ways to mask your activity online.

Read the full article: The 15 Best Web Proxies for Geo-Blocked Content and Online Privacy

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How to Know What iPad You Have

4 Things to Do Immediately If Your Kids Are Hacking

Kids born only a decade ago have far more tech prowess than their parents. This false sense of technical skill leads many kids to infect their parent’s home computers and devices with malicious software.

Unless the parent has a job in a tech field, their children’s understanding of technology far exceeds their own. This can be dangerous in many ways.

So what can you do about it?

Parents: Take Back Control

Many parents might know enough to install parental monitoring software on computers or mobile devices that kids use.

Unfortunately, doing so is not usually effective, since anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of basic hacking tools can bypass parental monitoring software.

There are much more effective ways to control what your kids may be doing online, and you don’t need a PhD in computer science to do it.

Following this simple guide will allow you to regain control of what’s going on within your home network.

The Dangers of Raising a Script Kiddie

The rise of hacking movements like Anonymous, and countless movies and TV shows that glorify computer hacking, gave rise to the popularity of “hacking” among children and teens. For kids who’ve been nursed on iPads, this is especially true.

The reality is that you don’t need advanced coding skills or a college degree in Computer Science to enter into the shadowy world of hacking.

An example of this was 20-year-old Kenneth Currin Schuchman of Vancouver, Washington, who was responsible for developing a massive botnet that hacked over 500,000 internet routers across the world.

Federal investigators tracked down the attack to what they called a “hacking amateur” known as “Nexus Zeta”, a frequent poster on hacker forums. They sized him up as an amateur due to the lack of hacking knowledge he displayed on those forums.

Yet, Schuchman used existing hacker code and tools to build a malicious botnet the likes of which Federal investigators had only seen from more sophisticated hacker groups.

If you don’t think your little budding hacker could ever get in this kind of trouble, consider that Schuchman was an unemployed, disabled 20-year-old living with his father. He had no formal computer training, and no resources to purchase advanced computer systems. He was working out of his bedroom and messing around on hacker forums, using basic hacker tools and code.

Schuchman is now facing Federal charges and possibly prison time.

How Your Child’s Hacking Can Impact You

My family often turns to me for technical advice. In one case a mother in the family reached out about her iPhone, SMS messaging, and even her bank accounts getting compromised by a hacker.

She advised that she suspected one or more of her kids were interested in “hacking”. This fact raised alarm bells for a number of reasons.

If your child is into hacking, your computers and devices could be compromised in the following ways.

Pirated or Free Software (Trojans)

Having a child interested in hacking increases the odds of getting infected with a Trojan horse application.

A Trojan horse is an application that’s disguised as a seemingly innocent application. This could be a simple hacking tool or a pirated movie or game downloaded off the dark web.

It’s a dangerous infection because it can create a backdoor on the computer, modify files, or steal sensitive information.

And you don’t need sensitive information to be stored on the computer for it to be accessed. The Trojan can use keylogging tools to track your keystrokes when you type in a password on banking or credit card websites.

The Dark Web

Kids who believe they’re “hackers” are often the first to dive into the dark web. In most cases, this involves using the Tor network to download pirated music, movies, and more.

Unfortunately, used the wrong way, it could also deliver malware or other viruses.

If you’re accessing servers located within the Tor network itself, it’s relatively safe so long as the files that are downloaded are not infected themselves.

Where the danger comes in is when the Tor network is used to access the regular internet. “Exit Nodes” are servers where Tor traffic is funneled out to the web, and there have been examples in the past of unscrupulous exit nodes threatening the security of that traffic.

Exit nodes can attempt to:

• Steal passwords
• Inject malicious code into trusted downloads
• Steal personal information

For kids, using the Tor network is just one aspect of feeling like a hacker. Unfortunately, they may not fully understand the ramifications of things like exit nodes or injected malicious code.

And if your child is using the Tor network to access any of your accounts (like your Apple ID or Facebook account) using non-encrypted channels, then your own accounts could be compromised.

How to Take Back Control (For Parents)

If you’ve discovered your kids are actively hacking, there are a few steps you need to take immediately to clean your devices and protect your network.

1. Lock Down Your Router

The very first thing you need to do as a parent is take control of the internet. That means taking control of the router right at the source, where the internet comes into your home.

On your own PC, open a CMD prompt and type: ipconfig.

Now, open up a web browser and type that IP address into the URL field.

You’ll see a login screen. The login ID is typically “admin”. If you don’t know the password then you’ve probably left your router wide open without any security. Unfortunately, this is a common mistake too many people make. If you can log in without typing in any password, then this is the case.

Make sure to set an admin password no one can guess.

When you first log into your router, you may see that your firewall is disabled, or set with low security. You should also look for any unusual devices on your network that you don’t recognize.

Check with your kids to see what devices they’re using, and keep in mind that smart home devices will be listed here as well.

Preferably, choose a security level that blocks dangerous peer-to-peer apps kids use to download pirated content, like BitTorrent.

Your router may also have a “parental control” area where you can strictly limit access to specific websites or sites that contain keywords. You can also only allow router access from specific devices and nothing else.

Most importantly, once you update your router password, do not provide it to your kids.

They might have been able to bypass parental controls on their computer or smartphone, but they won’t be able to bypass your router security unless you’ve used a short password that’s easy to guess.

For more, see our guide to securing your router.

2. Lock Down Devices

Most major wireless providers today offer the ability for parents to apply safeguards and other controls to how children access the internet.

Services like this let you do things like:

• GPS location tracking
• Limit screen time
• Content filtering
• Control what apps can be installed

Just keep in mind that resourceful kids who are into hacking will likely try to jailbreak their iPhone or root their Android so they can do whatever they want. You can install apps on those phones to check if they’ve been compromised. Check them at least monthly.

3. Reset Your Computers and Mobile Devices

Unfortunately, if your kid has been actively downloading and running hacker tools on your network, or downloading pirated content, the safest approach is to start fresh.

This is especially important if you suspect any device on your network has been infected.

This won’t be easy, but it’s the best insurance that your household will be clean of all Trojan horses and other malware.

Before you do any of these steps, make sure to back up important documents, files, images, and video to something like an external hard drive.

• Restore all Windows computers to factory default
• Restore all Mac computers to factory default
• Reset all Android smartphones under Settings, Backup & reset
• Reset all iPhone or iPad devices

While this may seem like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly, it’s necessary.

From experience, I can assure you that it’s very difficult to know which device compromised your banking credentials or credit card account. Cleaning up all devices is the only way to eradicate a particularly determined hacker from your life forever.

4. Reset All Passwords

Once your router is locked down, household device activity is controlled, and all of your devices are clean, it’s time to reset all of your account passwords.

You can only do this step after the cleanup. If any keylogger software was running on any of the devices prior to cleaning, the hacker would just recapture the new passwords again.

Make a list of all accounts you use, including accounts that have your credit card or banking information stored.

Some examples might include:

• Apple Pay or Google Pay
• PayPal
• Your Apple ID
• All social media accounts
• All email accounts (especially ones used for password reset confirmations)
• Banking accounts
• Credit card accounts
• Media accounts like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon

Once you’ve finished all of your password resets, your entire household should be eradicated of the infection.

Additional Safety and Security Tips

The only way to maintain a household free from the threat of hackers is to follow a strict set of security protocols. Hold your kids responsible for these same rules.

The most important way to protect yourself as a family:

• Don’t share passwords within the family
• Keep individual accounts like Apple IDs or email accounts
• Avoid saving credit card details into gaming accounts your kids use (like the PlayStation network)
• If possible, don’t share computers or smart devices between adults and kids in the family

If your kids break these rules, take away their devices to show that you’re serious.

Talk to Your Kids About the Dangers

While these measures may seem dramatic, the effects of malware or Trojan software leading to a stolen identity and money getting taken from your bank account are much more dramatic.

Don’t wait until you become a victim. Talk to your kids about what can happen when they download infected pirated content from peer-to-peer networks, or use hacking tools that can’t be trusted.

Turn your child’s interest in hacking into a productive interest in computers and technology. Encourage their interest in computer security and cryptography, but make sure they understand the inherent dangers of hacking. And make sure they understand the dangers of downloading pirated games, movies, and other content.

Image Credit: marcinmaslowski/Depositphotos

Read the full article: 4 Things to Do Immediately If Your Kids Are Hacking

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6 Android Ebook Reader Apps With Great Annotation Features

DeepMind hands off role as health app provider to parent Google

DeepMind’s recent foray into providing software as a service to UK hospitals has reached the end of its run.

The Google-owned AI division has just announced it will be stepping back from providing a clinicial alerts and task management healthcare app to focus on research — handing off the team doing the day to day delivery of the Streams to its parent, Google. 

It’s been a phenomenal journey to see Streams go from initial idea to live deployment, and to hear how it’s helped change the lives of patients and the nurses and doctors who treat them. https://t.co/rTcFMebuFp

— Mustafa Suleyman (@mustafasuleymn) November 13, 2018

Announcing the move in a blog post entitled ‘Scaling Streams with Google’, DeepMind’s co-founders write: “Our vision is for Streams to now become an AI-powered assistant for nurses and doctors everywhere — combining the best algorithms with intuitive design, all backed up by rigorous evidence. The team working within Google, alongside brilliant colleagues from across the organisation, will help make this vision a reality.”

DeepMind’s 2015 plunge into the health apps space always looked like a curious departure for an AI specialist because — despite the above quote — the Streams app does not use any AI.

Rather it uses a National Health Service algorithm. The design of the app was also outsourced to a UK based app studio.

Yet DeepMind began its foray into health with grand ambitions about applying AI to patient data, quietly inking an expansive data-sharing arrangement plus memorandum of understanding with an NHS Trust to get access to millions of patients’ full (and fully identifiable) medical records, as we reported at the time.

It also made a 2015 ethics application with the NHS’ Health Research Authority to apply AI to the patient data. Though it later said it quickly realized that clinicians’ “most urgent problems” were rather more fundamental than a pressing need to rush into experiments with AI. (And DeepMind has always maintained that the patient data it obtained under its arrangement with the Royal Free NHS Trust, with whom the Streams app was co-developed, was never used for AI.)

The Streams project ran into major controversy in May 2016 when fuller details emerged about the scope and terms of the data-sharing underpinning the app — and questions started being asked about data governance due process, legal bases for data-sharing and Google’s role and potential interest in people’s medical records.

After a year, the initial data-sharing arrangement between DeepMind and the Royal Free was scraped and replaced with a tighter contract.

Then last year the UK’s data protection watchdog ruled the first arrangement had breached UK law — with the information commissioner saying patients “would not have reasonably expected” their sensitive medical records to be used for developing an app.

Although by then the Streams app had already been deployed into Royal Free hospitals. And DeepMind had inked a few more deals with NHS Trusts to use the app.

It also emerged that DeepMind was providing Streams to Trusts essentially free of charge for the first five years. And a panel of external reviewers engaged by DeepMind with the aim of boosting trust warned in their annual review earlier this year of the risk of it “exert[ing] excessive monopoly power” as a result of a data access and streaming infrastructure that it bundles with the Streams app.

The whole episode opened a pandora’s box of data governance, privacy and trust issues — which DeepMind now appears to be dumping directly onto Google which will now be fully in the frame as the health app provider (and patient data handler) behind Streams.

“The Streams team will remain in London, under the leadership of former NHS surgeon and researcher Dr Dominic King,” write the DeepMind co-founders now. “We’re fully committed to all our NHS partners, and to delivering on our current projects and more. We’ll be working closely with them as we plan for the team’s transition, and information governance and safety remain our top priorities. Patient data remains under our partners’ strict control, and all decisions about its use will continue to lie with them.”

They add that DeepMind’s role from here on in will be focused on research, rather than software as a service, saying: “As a research organisation, DeepMind will continue to work on fundamental health research with partners in academia, the NHS and beyond. When we have promising results that could have impact at scale, we’ll work closely with the Streams and translational research teams at Google on how to implement research ideas into clinical settings.”

So provision of any health AIs that DeepMind develops in the future will be left to Google to deploy and scale. (And on the scale front Google might be feeling buoyed by the UK’s new minister for health being very pro-app.)

As will the task of winning patient trust — which may well prove the biggest challenge here.

The trust issue was also flagged by DeepMind’s independent reviewers last year, when they wrote in their annual report: “As far as we can ascertain, DMH [DeepMind Health] does not share its data with Google, yet the public perception that this might be the case, now or in the future, will be difficult to overcome and has the potential to delay or undermine work that could be of great potential benefit to patients.”

It’s not clear whether Google will engage a panel of independent reviewers to oversee its provision of Streams going forward, as DeepMind had. We’ve asked the company to confirm its intention vis-a-vis oversight.

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