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    Patch Tuesday problems abound, Server 2016 crashes, and a .Net patch goes down in flames

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    Patch Tuesday problems abound, Server 2016 crashes, and a .Net patch goes down in flames

    You know it’s going to be an Alice in Wonderland month when some sites report that Microsoft plugged 54 vulnerabilities on Patch Tuesday, while others report 53. Fact is, patching has become so brutal — and so banal — that there’s no consensus on counting, much less on what’s good and bad.

    Suffice to say that, once again this month, there was a huge number of security patches (129 individual patches, according to the Microsoft Update Catalog), with no pressing security fixes unless you’re using the Edge browser or Internet Explorer. Microsoft changed Win10 version 1803 to “Semi-Annual Channel,” but the term now means less than it ever has before. If that’s possible.

    Moral of the story: Don’t use IE or Edge, and wait a few weeks to see if any of the other patches blow up — which is pretty close to the same Patch Tuesday advice I’ve doled out monthly for the past year.

    An overview with a jaundiced eye

    The SANS Internet Storm Center says there are no known exploits for any of the patches, although three of the exploits have been disclosed to the patching community. None of the three is particularly interesting, unless you use Edge.

    There are “critical” fixes for Edge (12 critical) and Internet Explorer (four critical), but no “critical” fixes for any Windows version. It still amazes me how many major security problems crop up, month after month, for Edge.

    Our evergreen snooping patches, KB 2952664 for Win7 and KB 2976978 for Win8.1 make a reappearance, this time marked “Important,” checked and ready to load. Similarly, KB 4023057 — an “update reliability” patch for older Win10 versions — has appeared again. Unless you want Microsoft to push you to a new version of Windows, you don’t need or want them — they only shuffle more telemetry data off to Microsoft.

    Win10 1803 now “Semi-Annual Channel” — whatever that means

    The craziest Patch Tuesday blip wasn’t a patch at all. Win10 April 2018 update — good ol’ version 1803 — now appears in the Windows 10 release information list as “Semi-Annual Channel.” What’s more the bizarre blurb that appeared as a footnote in that post on Tuesday morning is now gone:

    (1) Windows 10, version 1803 designation has been updated to reflect the servicing option available in the operating system and to reflect existing deferral policies. We recommend organizations broadly deploy the latest version of Windows 10 when they are ready, and not wait until the “Targeted” designation has been removed.

    … surely one of the worst cases of Microsoft bafflegab ever.

    On June 14, Microsoft declared:

    Based on the update quality and reliability we are seeing through our AI approach, we are now expanding the release broadly to make the April 2018 Update (version 1803) fully available for all compatible devices running Windows 10 worldwide. Full availability is the final phase of our rollout process.

    Now, it seems, version 1803 has been kicked up from “(Targeted)” to, uh, “Not (Targeted)” — without fanfare, and with no explanation. How “Not (Targeted)” differs from “fully available” remains a mystery.

    Here’s the best way I found to parse the current announcement:

    • Win10 1703 Pro/Enterprise computers set to “Current Branch” with 0 days feature deferral are now earmarked as being ready for upgrading to 1803. They’ll be pushed to 1803 as soon as telemetry confirms that the computer is compatible.
    • Win10 1709 Pro/Enterprise computers set to “Semi-Annual Channel” with 0 days feature deferral are also earmarked as ready for 1803, pending telemetry results.

    At least, I think that’s what it means. Neither the “reflect existing deferral policies” footnote in the old KB article nor the June 14 declaration of “fully available for all compatible devices” mean much of anything, as best I can tell. Marketing pabulum.

    If you want to keep 1803 off your machine, make sure the feature deferral setting is large. And pray that Microsoft doesn’t go rogue on forced updates again.

    Server 2016 patch KB 4338814 stinks

    Yet another patch that never should’ve made it through quality control: The KB 4338814 article says:

    After installing this update on a DHCP Failover Server, Enterprise clients may receive an invalid configuration when requesting a new IP address. This may result in loss of connectivity as systems fail to renew their leases.

    Currently, there is no workaround for this issue. Microsoft is working on a resolution and estimates a solution will be available mid-July.

    The patch was reissued on July 11, but it looks like there was only a change in detection logic (“metadata”). An anonymous poster on AskWoody says it was yanked from WSUS. There’s an … entertaining … thread on Reddit that blasts Microsoft for releasing a patch that, knowingly, blows away fundamental Server functions. What on earth is Microsoft thinking?

    Permit me to rephrase that. Is Microsoft thinking?

    .Net patches and 0x80092004

    If you tried to install KB 4340558, the “Security and Quality Rollup updates for .Net Framework 3.5 SP1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, and 4.7.1 for Windows 8.1, RT 8.1, and Server 2012 R2” and had it crash with an error 0x80092004, you aren’t alone. AskWoody poster macauln82 says he’s seen it happen on all of his Server 2012 R2 machines. Günter Born has a detailed explanation.

    @abbodi86 offers this explanation and fix:

    It’s caused by the .NET 4.x rollup component KB 4338419, which somehow conflicts with the last two rollups KB 4229727 (the Preview from June) and KB 4096417 (the May rollup).

    The solution: Uninstall KB 4229727 & KB 4096417, then clean up the leftovers by running

    Dism /Online /NoRestart /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

    (you may also run Disk Cleanup > Windows Update Cleanup)

    Reboot and KB 4338419 will install successfully.

    According to an anonymous poster:

    If you’re on Windows 10 1803, Windows Update takes care of the botched up .NET 4.7.2 release shipped with that Windows version. If .NET 4.7.2 was installed before today on a previous Windows version, make sure to check out the offline installer and reinstall again from the updated installer! Re-running the updated .NET 4.7.2 should not cause any issues. In order to re-install .NET 4.7.2 without reboot, make sure to shut down all .NET apps (including Web apps running in IIS) before running the installer.

    If the .NET 4.7.2 SDK was installed before today as well, make sure to download it and reinstall again.

    This .Net patch is also failing, with the same error code, in Windows 8.1. That’s a remarkable achievement because Win8.1 continues to be the most stable version of Windows available.

    Win7’s NIC problems go on and on and on

    The old Win7 NIC problem — introduced by a security patch in March — still hasn’t been fixed. The KB article says:

    Symptom: There is an issue with Windows and a third-party software that is related to a missing file (oem<number>.inf). Because of this issue, after you apply this update, the network interface controller will stop working.

    Workaround:

    1. To locate the network device, launch devmgmt.msc; it may appear under Other Devices.
    2. To automatically rediscover the NIC and install drivers, select Scan for Hardware Changes from the Action menu.

    a. Alternatively, install the drivers for the network device by right-clicking the device and choosing Update. Then choose Search automatically for updated driver software or Browse my computer for driver software.

    If you can figure out that logic, yer a better hack than me, Gunga Din.

    I’m beginning to think that Microsoft won’t ever fix this NIC problem. If it decides to pass on a solution, I hope Microsoft just comes out and says it, instead of burying the decision and doctoring old documentation to cover it up. It’d be nice if Microsoft would identify the offending NICs as well. Let’s hear it for transparency.

    Old snoops will out

    This month marked a re-re-re…-appearance of the snooping patches KB 2952664 for Win7 and KB 2976978 for Win8.1. You remember the Microsoft Party Line:

    This update performs diagnostics on the Windows systems that participate in the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program. The diagnostics evaluate the compatibility status of the Windows ecosystem, and help Microsoft to ensure application and device compatibility for all updates to Windows. There is no GWX or upgrade functionality contained in this update.

    Poster Bill C has a good take on the claim:

    They say they will not do GWX again, OK, but the real question is what WILL they do?

    We’ve seen, over and over again, that the Customer Experience Improvement Program settings have no bearing on these patches’ increased telemetry. If you’re even remotely tempted to install either of these “important,” checked patches, see @PKCano’s AskWoody KB article on the subject, AKB 2952664.

    ProTip: Microsoft has no incentive to improve Win7. None. Unless you’re offered a clearly identified security patch, you don’t want it, checked or not.

    Delta updates going away

    Remember the Win10 “delta” updates? The ones that bricked many machines last October?  Now comes word that the experiment didn’t work. Or, at least, there’s a better alternative. Mike Benson, on the official Windows IT Pro blog, says:

    We plan to stop shipping delta updates. Beginning February 12, 2019 Microsoft will end its practice of creating delta updates for all versions of Windows 10. Express updates are much smaller in size, and simplifying the cumulative options available will reduce complexity for IT administrators.

    Bogus prompt for Win10 1703 updaters

    @PKCano reports:

    Updating my 1703 VM today (CU KB4338826, IE11 Flash, MSRT and C++) when I  got a popup saying “Your Windows Update is not working properly. You need the Update Facilitation Service. Click OK below.”

    Oh, no you don’t! I clicked on the “X” and closed the box – it was not then listed in the downloaded updates.

    A quick note for those who install Win10 patches manually

    There are several Servicing Stack Updates this month. If you are going to install the Win10 updates manually, make sure you install the Servicing Stack Update first:

    There’s no new SSU for Win10 version 1703. At least, not yet.

    Obviously, it’s much too early to install the July patches — unless you want to join the ranks of the unpaid beta testers.

    Thx to @PKCano, @BillC, @abbodi86, @NibbledToDeathByDucks and many more

    Microsoft yanks buggy Office 2016 patch KB 4018385, republishes all of this month’s patch downloads

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    Microsoft yanks buggy Office 2016 patch KB 4018385, republishes all of this month’s patch downloads

    As reported yesterday, the July 2018 Windows and Office patches teem with bugs. We’re just beginning to see the fallout.

    The July 3 non-security Office 2016 patch KB 4018385 is officially yanked. If you don’t recall KB 4018385 — a small patch in a sea of Office fixes — the original KB article describes it thusly:

    When you insert a 2D chart (for example, a column, bar, scatter, line, area, or bubble chart) that contains many values into a worksheet, some gridlines at the bottom of the chart are not displayed. After you install this update, gridlines can be drawn normally in a chart with a wide range of data and logarithmic scale. When you work with a chart that contains filtered content in an Office 2016 application, the Office 2016 application may crash. This issue occurs if you install the update KB4018319.

    In other words, non-security patch KB 4018385 is a fix for a bug introduced in the April Office 2016 security patch KB 4018319. As Susan Bradley warned three months ago:

    Be aware that issues have been reported [for KB 4018319] by users with issues opening or saving a .xls or .xlsx/.xlsb file with charts embedded. At this time the only workaround is removing the updates.

    So what we’re seeing is a non-security patch for a bug in three-month-old security patch that crashed Office … and the new non-security patch also crashes Office. That’s progress.

    The KB 4018385 article now states:

    Notice

    This update is no longer available. It was removed because it causes Office 2016 to crash when you work with charts. There is currently no fix available for this issue. The workaround is to uninstall the KB 4018385 update.

    Plus ça change.

    In a completely different part of the world, all of the July security patches have been updated in the Microsoft Catalog. As of late afternoon yesterday, all of the 2018-07 patches were given a new “Last Updated” date of July 13, except for a few stragglers dated July 12. You may recall that all 129 of the patches were originally posted on July 10, Patch Tuesday.

    No official reason given for the change, but Susan Bradley has a likely explanation:

    A support case was opened and the word came back that this primarily impacts those with virtualization/VMware. If you aren’t running that, you won’t be impacted.

    Although I do prefer witp’s explanation:

    I think time travel of patches is the most probable cause.

    With a hat tip to James Gleick.

    Struggling with a bug in this month’s patches? Let’s do the time warp again on the forum.

    Plex adds support for podcasts, debuts personalized mobile apps

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    Plex adds support for podcasts, debuts personalized mobile apps

    At CES in January, TechCrunch broke the news that media software maker Plex was planning to expand its service with the addition of new media content, starting with podcasts. Today, it’s making good on that promise by launching support for podcasts into beta, along with a whole new look and more customization options for its Plex mobile apps.

    While Plex got its start as a software application for organizing people’s home media collections, it’s been expanding over the past couple of years to add new features in support of cord cutters who want to watch TV via their antenna, and record those shows. It also acquired the streaming news startup Watchup in order to add a dedicated news hub within its app.

    Earlier this year, the company spoke of its ambitions to continue adding more types of content to its media center software, including audio and video podcasts, followed by digital, web-first and other longer-form creator content. (It had originally expected to add podcasts in Q1 2018, so this nearly-June launch is a bit of a delay.)

    The larger goal, on Plex’s part, is to organize all your media content in one place – from live and recorded TV to your personal media collections of music, photos, and videos, and your news and information – including, now, your favorite podcasts.

    The feature, live today in beta, is available on the Plex web platform, Roku, and iOS and Android, with other device support coming soon.

    You can browse and search across Plex’s podcast library, filter podcasts by categories, or click into a title to see the details, episode lists, and related podcasts. To follow that podcast, you click the “Add to My Podcasts” button. This will add the podcast to your “On Deck” dashboard, as well.

    If the podcast you like isn’t in the Plex catalog, you can add it by entering the feed URL, and Plex will treat it as if it is – it will retrieve all its metadata, related podcasts, and make it searchable. (That’s useful because Plex’s catalog isn’t as robust as others at launch.)

    The feature also includes the standard media controls you’d expect, like forward and back and support for variable speed playback, as well as a “mark as played” option, all available through Plex’s upgraded media player. That option can help you transition to Plex’s podcast platform from another app, as you won’t have to lose your place, in terms of what you’ve listened to, and what you’ve not. And it lets you continually mark off any episodes you may have caught elsewhere, or just otherwise want to skip.

    Your listening progress is also synced across Plex’s suite of apps.

    The feature wasn’t perfect in brief testing, but it was in a pre-launch state, and today it’s only arriving in beta – so it’s too soon to speak to how well it performs as a publicly facing product.

    In a few weeks, Plex will roll out a handful of other features for podcasts, including smart downloading with granular controls for managing the episodes you want to keep on a per show basis (e.g. keep the last three); additional metadata for richer show pages and better discovery options; and podcasts import and export (OPML) so you can move your current subscriptions more easily into Plex.

    Along with the launch of podcasts, Plex is updating its mobile apps, too, to offer better customization options.

    Now, if you want to listen to your podcasts and news while you’re on the go, on mobile, you can configure the app to show that media on your home screen. Or, if you use the app more for casting your videos to your living room TV, you could bring those favourite shows to the front of the experience instead. And so on.

    On this new, customizable home screen you can re-order you content, remove any of its sections (like “Recently Added” or “On Deck,”), or add new ones from elsewhere in the app, including across servers (like Plex Cloud or your local server such as your home PC.)

    Plex has also added tabs at the bottom of the screen for switching between your media type (e.g. movies, TV, podcasts, etc.), which are fully customizable, too. You can even customize the default source for each media type.

    The addition of podcasts to this more personalized media experience makes sense not only because of how popular podcasts have become, but also because many are tied to the shows you watch – they’re creator commentaries, roundtable discussions, fan chats, critic reviews, and more. It’s easy to imagine, then, moving from watching a show on the TV then heading out and launching the Plex app to listen to the podcast discussing the last episode.

    That’s the vision Plex has, at least. However, even with these additions, Plex’s software overall still caters more to the DIY crowd – those who want set up their own antenna, rather than pay for an online TV service like YouTube TV or Sling. And it hasn’t yet solved the problem of media that’s all over the place – favorite shows and movies are strewn across services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon, and it’s hard to know where the things you want to watch reside. Those are still challenges Plex could attack in the future, by becoming a hub that jumps you into streaming catalogs, too.

    It’s unclear how well Plex’s expansions have been working to attract new users and paying subscribers.

    The company doesn’t break out the latter figure. and it still claims today the same 15 million registered users it had at the beginning of the year. Becoming a podcast player could help bump that number up, though, and introduce more people to Plex’s software, as a result.

    Podcasts are in beta on web, mobile and Roku, and the mobile apps are rolling out starting today.

    Plex News launches to keep cord-cutters informed for free

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    Plex News launches to keep cord-cutters informed for free

    Plex has continued to grow beyond its simple media playback roots, and today it adds another new feature that brings something extra to your library of video, music and pictures: news. Plex News builds on the acquisition of Watchup earlier this year by using a machine learning-powered system for finding news from 190+ publisher partners (including CNN, CBS and Al Jazeera) that it presents to you — for free. The ad-supported service is ready for you to personalize, but it can also use that AI brain to monitor what you like and get smarter about finding related content — which may be linked to recent privacy policy changes.

    According to Plex, its sources include local news feeds covering over 80 percent of US markets. This means if you’re cutting cable and don’t want to put up an antenna, it can probably help you stay abreast of local issues like kids falling down wells or whatever.

    Along with a feature like Plex Live TV & DVR, it makes it easier to live in the ecosystem as a full-on media replacement without losing much compared to a traditional cable setup. The feature is rolling out to all Plex users (whether or not they pay for Plex Pass access) on Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Android Mobile and iOS, with other platforms set to follow.

    Fortnite servers go down after new season launch

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    Fortnite servers go down after new season launch

    Season 5 of Fortnite went live this morning, and it looks like Epic Games is having trouble dealing with the deluge of players diving into the new Battle Pass challenges. The developer has taken servers down while it investigates issues associated with logging in, game services, and matchmaking. The Fortnite status page says there’s a “major outage.”

    Right now you can’t launch the PC game at all, while other versions are citing wait times of up to 40 minutes or more before eventually returning login failures. Epic’s on the case, but the downtime will be disappointing for anyone hoping to find that llama this evening.

    Update July 12th, 11PM ET: Epic has tweeted that servers are back up, although the status page remains unchanged.

     

    The 10 Best Free Movie Streaming Sites

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    The 10 Best Free Movie Streaming Sites

    Although streaming movies for free might sound synonymous with piracy, there’s a bevy of free, legal streaming content on the internet. In fact, there’s almost an overabundance of streaming services.

    Whether you’re looking for movies or television shows, finding streaming video is totally feasible. It just requires you to search in the right places. With that in mind, here are the best free movie streaming sites to check out.

    What to Expect From These Streaming Sites

    There’s a ton of free and legal video online, and as such you’ll find a real mix of content. A healthy portion of the movies available to stream for free are public domain works. Because these films have lapsed in ownership and fallen into common property, many sites host such video treasures. These are the sorts of films Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) used to watch and comment on.

    But it’s not just B-movies available to stream online. Rather, many big budget releases can also be found. Often, these are ad-supported. Like watching a movie on television, you’ll have to sit through limited commercials. Nevertheless, movies are usually presented uncut. Just don’t expect to see the latest releases.

    Instead, you’ll mostly see movies dating back anywhere from a few months to many years. Additionally, you can find some original productions, such as the Snatch TV series on Crackle. Need help figuring out what to watch next? These sites will help you find what to watch next.

    1. YouTube

    It’s no surprise that YouTube ranks among the best free movie streaming sites you can find. There’s a ton of free films to pick from, including many public domain films from channels such as the aptly titled Public Domain Films and Public Domain Cinema. Furthermore, sites such as Popcornflix host full movies via YouTube.

    There’s a fantastic mix, from gems like Plan 9 From Outer Space, to action movies such as Recoil with Danny Trejo and Steven Austin, cult classics including Curse of the Puppet Master, and more. You may have to dig for what you most want to watch, but for those with patience, YouTube is a treasure trove of free, legal streaming cinema.

    2. Crackle

    Boasting a solid array of syndicated content and original productions, Crackle is a must for any film buff. Its rotating selection varies, but you’ll find quality movies such as action comedy Hot Fuzz, gothic horror flick Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the masterful 1988 remake of The Blob, Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School, and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

    Aside from films, Crackle features television shows such as Blue Exorcist, Seinfeld, and even original programming like its Snatch original series. With its robust lineup of movies and shows, we think Crackle is one of the best free Roku channels.

    3. Viewster

    Although it’s anime-centric, there’s a mix of movies you can find on Viewster. Notably, Viewster features a robust line up of documentaries, films like Street Fighter II, and Lily C.A.T. Plus, you can legally stream shorts and television series including Murder Princess.

    4. Vudu Movies on Us

    While Vudu is best known for its digital video rentals and sales, the Vudu Movies on Us section makes it one of the best free movie streaming sites. With a comprehensive array of movies such as Bull Durham, Showgirls, and Return of the Living Dead, it’s a fantastic service.

    Vudu Movies on Us operates in a similar way to Crackle by providing full, uncut movies with limited commercials. Through hosting films with ads, Vudu is able to offer free movies and TV shows.

    You still need to register for a Vudu account to use this service, but it’s totally worth doing so. Moreover, you can use your account to activate digital copies of movies and shows, as well as buy and rent movies from Vudu.

    5. SnagFilms

    For a free Netflix alternative, check out SnagFilms. With unique categories such as “Before they were stars” and “Athletes & their triumphs,” SnagFilms specializes in fresh content. The library of more than 2,000 videos includes films, shows, and documentaries. Additionally, there’s a portion of original comedy shorts.

    There’s a fantastic classic movies category as well. Don’t expect a ton of well-known fare, but for under the radar movies and more, SnagFilms is a gem.

    6. PopcornFlix

    Like Crackle, PopcornFlix presents full movies with limited ads. Here, you’ll find a range of movies in a rotating selection, from Sunset Boulevard and A Clear and Present Danger to Murder on the Orient Express and There Will Be Blood.

    Flicks are segmented into categories such as popularity, genre, new arrivals, and staff picks, making PopcornFlix easy to use. With a beefy lineup and excellent navigation, PopcornFlix is an awesome choice for free, legal movie streaming.

    7. Tubi TV

    Providing free movies and shows, Tubi TV is a fantastic service. Here, you’ll be able to view newer movies including Lords of Salem, A Most Wanted Man, and Bulletproof Monk, as well as older titles such as sci-fi cult classic The Running Man.

    Helpfully, Tubi TV offers a “Leaving Soon” category so you can stream movies and shows before they become unavailable, and thus prioritize your streaming queue. You will need to register to watch mature content, but creating an account is painless enough.

    8. Pluto TV

    Because Pluto TV features a live TV section, it’s easily one of the best free movie streaming sites. You can stream from the likes of Pluto Movies, Fox Sports, and specialized channels like Classic Movies and Horror 24/7. Plus, there’s an on-demand video library for instant movie watching.

    With the live television aspect, Pluto TV is a must-have for cord-cutters.

    9. Classic Cinema Online

    As the name suggests, Classic Cinema Online focuses on older, classic content. Even its website aesthetic captures a decidedly retro vibe with a backdrop of red theater curtains. You can find classics such as Casablanca, Jane Eyre, and The Wasp Woman.

    However, the inclusion of movies such as Muscle Beach Party does call into question the definition of “classic cinema.” Nevertheless, Classic Cinema Online is pure gold for old school movies.

    10. Veoh

    On Veoh, you’ll be able to stream tons of movies and shows. There are a lot of older films, such as Nosferatu. It’s akin to YouTube in that Veoh hosts user-submitted content and videos from established sources like CBS.

    Since Veoh boasts a solid filtering system, you can select options such as language and video length to find what you want to watch. Veoh ranks as one of the alternatives to YouTube. Just beware of the popups.

     

    Nintendo reportedly closes ‘unpatchable’ flaw in new Switch units

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    Nintendo reportedly closes ‘unpatchable’ flaw in new Switch units

    Nintendo has been ramping up its anti-piracy measures ever since a Switch hacking team discovered a vulnerability that allow people to run arbitrary code on all current consoles. In fact, it already gave the Switch hardware an overhaul to get rid of the flaw. While the updated console (codenamed “Mariko”) hasn’t hit the market yet, the gaming giant might have released patched units in the interim. According to Switch hardware hacker SciresM, some retail units already come with Nvidia Tegra chips that are protected against the security exploit called fusée gelée or “frozen rocket.”

    SciresM was the same person who warned users that playing pirated games online on the Switch can get users banned from the Nintendo network. He believes that Nintendo patched the console’s Nvidia chip with a system that prevents the USB recovery error hardware hackers were previously able to take advantage of.

    Kate Temkin, who was part of the team that discovered fusée gelée, said the patched consoles are most likely different from Mariko, because they ship with firmware 4.1. The overhauled consoles support the newer firmware 5.0. That means these stopgap units aren’t truly unhackable unless users update their software, since firmware 4.1 is vulnerable to other exploits.

    Smart Home Security Camera Sends Footage to Wrong Person, Is Maybe Not So Smart After All

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    Smart Home Security Camera Sends Footage to Wrong Person, Is Maybe Not So Smart After All

    Internet-connected devices are known for having their fair share of security issues—especially when it comes to cameras. But here’s a new one: the BBC reported this week that a smart home security camera started sending video clips to the wrong person.

    The BBC first caught wind of the problem shortly after one of its employees purchased an internet-enabled camera made by Swann Communications and started receiving video footage that showed the inside of someone else’s home. The company claims the problem is a one-off occurrence but there’s been at least one other instance of the issue reported.

    The BBC staffer, Louisa Lewis, reportedly first purchased her security camera in December and didn’t have any issues with it until last week, when she started getting notifications from the device. The Swann camera typically alerts the user when it detects movement, so Lewis checked to see what was going on. What she saw, per the BBC, was a stranger’s kitchen:

    “I was out and I had a couple of alerts,” she recalled.

    “Naturally, I looked at my phone only to see the video was not of my home.

    “At first I ignored it – I thought it must be an error – then I had several other alerts, at which point I thought I had better get in touch with Swann.”

    The short video clips, which downloaded directly to her phone, offered a surprisingly intimate albeit brief glimpse into someone else’s life. In one shot, it showed a man and a woman walking past the camera. In the other, a child’s voice was audible in the background.

    When Lewis contacted Swann about the issue during the weekend, she was told nothing could be done about the issue until Monday. Once it was finally addressed by the company’s staff, Lewis stopped receiving clips from the unrelated camera.

    Why exactly did the mix up happen? A spokesperson for Swann told the BBC the issue was the result of a human error. All cameras are given a security key which allows the device to securely transmit footage from the camera to a Swann server and be retrieved on a smartphone or other device. In this case, two cameras were given the same security key, which resulted in the footage being sent to Lewis.

    Swann also blamed the family, noting that they ignored a warning prompt that informed them the camera was already paired to another account. But at the end of the day, the issue stemmed from Swann producing duplicate keys—not the family failing to understand the company’s mistake.

    The spokesperson for the company said “no further data was breached or accessed by additional third parties,” and said it was a “one-off” occurrence, but that may not be the case. There has been at least one other reported incident of a person receiving footage from a Swann camera that doesn’t belong to them.

    On Twitter, a user going by The Obscure Brewer and identified by the BBC as Tim Lane reported receiving footage from a pub. Swann said it was investigating the situation but claimed that the issue was likely the result of both the pub and Lane registering their products with the same username and password.

    That explanation seems…suspicious, at best. You shouldn’t be able to register a device with a username that is already in use, for one. And, even if that is possible, what are the odds that a person selects the exact same login information as someone else? That just doesn’t seem to check out.

    One way or another, it seems like Swann has some security issues it needs to sort out. Though given there are tens of thousands of unsecured, internet-connected cameras that you can tap into at any time, the company isn’t alone.

    You can now talk to your Samsung fridge

    TechGuru
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    0
    You can now talk to your Samsung fridge

    Samsung is expanding the number of smart fridges it is producing and has added voice support so you can now talk to the refrigerator.

    The Family Hub 2.0, which builds on the original model released last year, includes a 21.5-inch LED touchscreen. At CES 2018 this week, the firm revealed the screen and smart home settings will be included in ten refrigerator models going forward.

    The touchscreen allows family members to post messages and notes to others, share photos, and look at shared calendars. Included in the latest update to the Family Hub is the ability to create profiles for different people: avatars or personal pictures can be used.

    If opening the fridge door is too much effort the internal cameras on the fridge allow for its contents to be viewed in real-time. Images of products captured by the camera can also be used to add items that may need reordering to a shopping list, and ordered online.

    As well as the expanded range of models, Samsung has included “advanced voice technology” within the hardware. “Users can issue voice commands to learn the weather and time, add products to shopping lists and order groceries online, manage to-do-lists as well as calendar schedules, in addition to controlling various other apps,” Samsung said in a statement. Voice recognition technology could play a large role in the firm’s 2018 plan.

    Samsung had a difficult time in 2016 with the Galaxy Note 7 battery problems and its exploding washing machines. The issues saw the South Korean company’s third quarter profits drop by as much as 30 per cent compared to the previous year. It has hinted that voice recognition and AI technologies will play a big part in its future models.

    In increasing the functionality of the fridge models Samsung says it is working with Spotify, iHeartRadio, LiDL, Glympse, and more to create apps and different functions for the fridge. In many ways, the additions, which include a “morning briefing” of news content, are similar to the home assistant efforts of the Amazon Echo and Google Home devices.

    The updates to the Family Hub refrigerators are one of a number of connected home products Samsung is launching at CES, in Las Vegas. It is also introducing new Wi-Fi connected ovens, hobs, and range hoods. “Users can remotely start, control and turn off their ovens, as well as monitor their cooktop and range hood from their smartphone,” the firm says. It is also launching a new four-in-one washer and dryer.

    The latest addition to the Samsung refrigerator range, is the Family Hub multi-door fridge freezer.

    You may be able to remember how many eggs you have left in the fridge, but are
    you sure they’ll last until next week? Now you don’t have to. Three Wi-Fi-connected cameras built into the 550-litre Family Hub and a companion app let you check your supplies and digitally track your food’s expiry dates for updates on when to restock. An integrated 21.5-inch tablet can display a calendar, messages and recipes. Use the entertainment system to listen to music or watch TV shows. The current model is available at a retail price of £4,500.

    Roblox responds after young girl’s game character is ‘gang raped’ online

    TechGuru
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    0
    Roblox responds after young girl’s game character is ‘gang raped’ online

    The following article discusses themes including rape and sexual assault that some readers may find distressing.

    The makers of online game creation platform Roblox have responded after a mother shared details of her daughter’s character getting ‘gang raped’ online.

    Amber Peterson wrote a Facebook post about the incident, stating: ” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My sweet and innocent daughter’s avatar was being VIOLENTLY GANG-RAPED ON A PLAYGROUND by two males.

    “A female observer approached them and proceeded to jump on her body at the end of the act. Then the 3 characters ran away, leaving my daughter’s avatar laying on her face in the middle of the playground.

    “Although I was immediately able to shield my daughter from seeing the entire interaction, I am shuddering to think of what kind of damage this image could have on her psyche, as well as any other child that could potentially be exposed to this.

    “I urge you to take another look at the security settings on all of your devices and closely supervise your child if you allow them to continue playing games with online platforms such as Roblox.”

    Peterson’s post has since gone viral and she has since been doing interviews on US news.

    A spokesperson for the game, which is rated age 7+ by EU ratings board PEGI, told Sky News: “We were outraged to learn that Roblox‘s community policies and rules of conduct were subverted.

    “We have identified how this bad actor created the offending action and are putting additional safeguards in place to reduce the possibility of this happening again in the future. In addition, the offender was identified and has been permanently banned from the platform and we have suspended the game.

    “We have zero tolerance for this behaviour. Our work to ensure a safe platform is always evolving and remains a top priority for us.”

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