Technology

The ransomware business is booming this year and could be bringing in billions for some of its top players, according to a report released by the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN (via The Record). The report analyzed the massive growth in ransomware payments in the first half of 2021 by looking at suspicious activity reports from financial institutions and was even able to estimate how much some hacking groups were making by analyzing blockchain transactions linked to their wallets. The report found that reports of suspicious ransomware-related transactions totaled around $590 million from January 2021 to June 2021. One of the most shocking numbers in the report is that the top 10 hacking groups have trafficked around $5.2 billion worth of Bitcoin over the past...

The Google Pixel 6 phones will ditch Snapdragon chips for an in-house design, and Qualcomm is clearly feeling a little hurt about it. Qualcomm couldn’t help but throw some shade at Google — in the form of a red flag meme on Twitter (via 9to5Google). In August, Google revealed its Tensor chip, which will make a proper debut at the Pixel 6 event on Tuesday. This marks the end of an era where Pixel phones — and most of Google’s earlier Nexus line — relied on Snapdragon SoCs. The red flag meme started as a way to identify silly “warning signs” when dating but has since evolved to the point where it can apply to almost anything. Qualcomm came up with this questionable take on the meme, implying that Google’s choice to swap out the Snapdragon for the Tensor was a poor decision. “We’v...

Apple has removed Quran Majeed, a popular app for reading and listening to the Quran, from the App Store in China, the BBC reports. The company reportedly removed the app at the request of government officials, a somewhat surprising move given Islam is a protected religion in the People’s Republic of China. Quran Majeed is available for free and “recognized by 25 million Muslim users around the world” according to the app’s developer Pakistan Data Management Services. The app’s removal apparently had nothing to do with its religious content, “according to Apple, our app Quran Majeed has been removed from the China App Store because it includes content that is illegal,” the developer told the BBC. The developer says it’s now attempting to resolve the issue with China’s Cyberspace Administra...

Games that use blockchain technology or let users exchange NFTs or cryptocurrencies won’t be allowed on Steam, according to a rule added to Valve’s “What you shouldn’t publish on Steam” list. The change was pointed out by SpacePirate, a developer working on an NFT-based game, who said that the change was because the company doesn’t allow game items that could have real-world value. But Steam could also be avoiding controversy with the move. Looking at a Wayback Machine capture of the rule page from late August, there are only 12 rules and no mention of cryptocurrencies or NFTs. The new rule is also missing from other documents — it currently doesn’t show up on the Joining the Steamworks Distribution Program page. Steam’s point of view is that items have value and they don’t all...

Netflix has fired a leader of the trans employee resource group who was organizing the upcoming October 20th walkout. The employee, who is Black and currently pregnant, asked not to be named for fear of online harassment. They have been encouraging trans employees and allies to walk out of work in protest of Netflix’s handling of the Dave Chappelle special The Closer. “All these white people are going around talking to the press and speaking publicly on Twitter and the only person who gets fired is the Black person who was quiet the entire time,” says a former employee in an interview with The Verge. “That’s absurd, and just further shows that Black trans people are the ones being targeted in this conversation.” The employee was terminated on suspicion of leaking metrics to the press relat...

The White House is expected to announce Friday that the US is reopening its land and air borders to vaccinated foreign nationals on November 8th, Reuters reported. As part of COVID-19 restrictions, non-essential travelers from more than 30 countries have been barred from entering the US since March 2020. This latest news comes as the White House announced Tuesday that the US was ending restrictions at the borders and ferry crossings with Mexico and Canada for foreign nationals vaccinated against COVID-19. Canada began allowing vaccinated US visitors into the country for non-essential travel in August. Travelers seeking to enter Canada will be required to fill out a questionnaire using the ArriveCAN app and need to demonstrate a quarantine plan in case they don’t meet Canada’s requirements ...

Nintendo has announced the price and release for its upcoming Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription tier, which adds Nintendo 64 games, Sega Genesis games, and bundled access to the new paid Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Happy Home Paradise DLC. It’ll cost $49.99 per year for an individual subscription or $79.99 for a shared family membership. The service will officially launch on October 25th. Those prices are a big jump from the regular Switch Online subscription, which costs $19.99 per year for a single membership or $34.99 per year for a family subscription. The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription tier offers the same benefits as the standard Switch Online service — including online multiplayer, classic NES and SNES games, cloud saves, and other perks....

These days, it is way too easy to be pulled from your work by notifications and other distractions. In order to help you keep your attention where you want it, Apple has added new Focus features to iOS 15. The idea is to keep you “in the moment” by filtering out apps or notifications that you don’t want popping up during specific times. The nice thing is that you can create different profiles to keep you from being disturbed, depending on whether you’re at home, at work, getting ready for bed, driving, or for any other activity. When you first start to set Focus up, it can seem a little daunting. There are a lot of choices, and a lot of ways you can tweak it. In fact, it may take a while before you get the combination of settings that works best for your lifestyle. But in the end, it will ...

Roku has replaced its Streaming Stick Plus, long one of the top recommendations for an affordable 4K streaming player, with the new Streaming Stick 4K. The name is different, but the hardware looks practically identical on the outside — not that design has any significance in this case. Like its predecessor, the 2021 model plugs into an HDMI port behind your TV and is forever hidden away from everyone watching entertainment on the screen. What’s more important are its upgraded capabilities: the new device is faster, offers improved Wi-Fi performance, and adds support for Dolby Vision and HDR10 Plus. (The older stick was released before Vision settled into must-have status.) And it costs the same $49.99 as before. You can also buy the Streaming Stick 4K Plus, which bundles the same exact ha...

Nintendo is working to fix a bug in recently-released Metroid Dread that could halt your progression if you’re unlucky enough to encounter it, the company has announced. According to a support page the bug causes the error message “The software was closed because an error occurred,” forcing it to close unexpectedly. Nintendo says the patch will be released before the end of the month. Until this patch is released, however, players will need to avoid triggering the bug, which can apparently occur near the end of the game if the player “destroys a door while a map marker for that specific door is displayed on the map.” Thankfully, that means recovering from the crash when it occurs is fairly simple. Here’s what Nintendo says you should do if your game crashes: “Restart the game and, before p...

Smart lighting upstart Govee has added Light Bars to its newest Immersion TV LED Kit (model H605B) to harmoniously extend the backlight to the left and right of 55- to 65-inch TVs. The additions nearly double the illuminated area — and the price. The jump from $79.99 to $149.99 makes the new Immersion Kit a more considered purchase. But if you liked the older Immersion TV LED kit (model H6199) as much as I did, then you’re going to love the upgrade. Verge Score 8 out of 10 Good Stuff Extends backlighting to sides for deeper immersion Great value for money Works with any content on display unlike the Hue Play Box Bad Stuff Light Bars not wall mountable Adding stickers to your expensive TV is no fun Backlighting can be distracting for some I should first confess to my bias for responsive bia...