Techmeme: Sennheiser's HeadSetup software makes PCs and Macs vulnerable to MITM attacks due to flawed self-signed TLS certificate, which users should now manually remove (Dan Goodin/Ars Technica)

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November 29, 2018, 9:55 AM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:

Unredacted emails from Six4Three case show Facebook staff seeking to charge devs and advertisers for user data in 2012-2014; Facebook says it decided against it — Internal emails in court filings viewed by The Wall Street Journal provide a window into a document trove a British lawmaker plans to release soon

More: 9to5Mac, Business Insider, ABC News, The Verge, Ars Technica, Engadget, Fossbytes, Telegraph, PYMNTS.com, and CNET

Tweets: @joshconstine, @ashk4n, @ashk4n, @dseetharaman, @kirstengrind, @dseetharaman, @nitashatiku, @joshconstine, @iamjohnburnett, @dseetharaman, and @joshconstine

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Following 2012 IPO, Facebook considered, but rejected, charging devs $250K/year for API access, offering Tinder extended access to users' friends' data

More: Inquirer. Tweets: @ibd_ecarson

Jeff Barr / AWS News Blog:

A summary of AWS launches, previews, and pre-announcements from AWS re:Invent 2018 — As promised in Welcome to AWS re:Invent 2018, here's a summary of the launches, previews, and pre-announcements from Andy Jassy's keynote. I have included links to allow you to sign up for previews, as appropriate.

More: Beyond Search, SiliconANGLE, ZDNet, The Register, and TechCrunch. Tweets: @zseward

Bloomberg:

AWS debuts Amazon FSx for Windows File Server, to sway customers from Microsoft, and Glacier Deep Archive as a cheaper data storage option, coming in 2019

More: AWS News Blog, AWS News Blog, AWS News Blog, TechCrunch, ZDNet, and The New Stack

Tweets: @ldignan, @awscloud, @patrickmoorhead, @ericjhonsa, and @patrickmoorhead

Taylor Soper / GeekWire:

AWS announces DeepRacer, a 1/18th scale radio-controlled car with a cloud environment to train reinforcement learning models, and an autonomous racing league

More: AWS News Blog, TechCrunch, SiliconANGLE, Business Insider, SlashGear, CNET, VentureBeat, ZDNet, VentureBeat, and Business Insider

Tweets: @dinvesting, @awscloud, and @ryan

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Amazon announces new blockchain services: Amazon Quantum Ledger Database, in preview today, and AWS Managed Blockchain

More: CNBC, Cointelegraph.com News, NewsBTC, PYMNTS.com, The Next Web, GeekWire, Blockonomi, ZDNet, TechCrunch, GeekWire, SludgeFeed, The Register, CoinDesk, and SiliconANGLE

Tweets: @kateclarktweets, @iankar_, and @semil

Kate Clark / TechCrunch:

AWS debuts Amazon Elastic Inference, to let users add GPU-powered inference acceleration to any Amazon EC2 instance and reduce deep learning costs by up to 75%

More: AWS News Blog, SiliconANGLE, InfoWorld, and Slashdot

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Amazon launches an automated data labeling service called SageMaker Ground Truth to boost its machine learning toolset, available today

More: AWS News Blog, ZDNet, and VentureBeat. Tweets: @patrickmoorhead

Tom Krazit / GeekWire:

Amazon announces AWS Outposts, in partnership with VMware, to let customers order and run data center hardware seamlessly alongside their cloud servers

More: TheStreet, Amazon Web Services, Inc., cloudcomputing-news.net, TechCrunch, and ZDNet

Shara Tibken / CNET:

Amid worries about demand for iPhone XR, Apple VP of product marketing Greg Joswiak says it's “been our most popular iPhone” every day since it became available — Apple's iPhone XR has been outselling the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max every day since the cheaper, colorful phone hit the market last month.

More: Macworld, Axios, Softpedia News, AppleInsider, TechSpot, SlashGear, The Verge, TechCrunch, Neowin, MSPoweruser, Gizchina, Cult of Mac, USA Today, MacStories, MacDailyNews, Mashable, iDownloadBlog.com, Thurrot, MacRumors, iPhone Hacks, Apple Must, and 9to5Mac

Tweets: @gartenberg, @markgurman, @jimcramer, @shiraovide, @sharatibken, and @ow. Thanks:@iansherr

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:

Sennheiser's HeadSetup software makes PCs and Macs vulnerable to MITM attacks due to flawed self-signed TLS certificate, which users should now manually remove — Poorly secured certificate lets hackers impersonate any website on the Internet. — Audio device maker Sennheiser has issued …

More: Sennheiser, TechCrunch, Engadget, ZDNet, 9to5Mac, Digital Trends, BleepingComputer, The Mac Observer, TechSpot, Threatpost, bit-tech.net, Softpedia News, The Register, Cyberscoop, and CSO

Tweets: @__agwa, @spazef0rze, @dakami, @gayleyoungs, and @alshakarti

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Asana, which provides work management and collaboration software for teams, raises $50M Series E led by Generation Investment Management at a $1.5B valuation — Asana, a service that teams and individuals use to plan and track the progress of work projects, is doubling down on its own project …

More: Telegraph, VentureBeat, Business Insider, Bloomberg, and Forbes. Tweets: @jasonlk. Thanks:@ingridlunden

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:

Google rebrands Project Fi to Google Fi and adds support for iPhones, currently in beta, and the “majority” of Android devices — Looks like the MVNO is here to stay — Three years after it first launched, Google is making its cell service a little more official today.

More: The Keyword, App Store, InvestorPlace, Engadget, 9to5Google, Ars Technica, The Register, SiliconANGLE, The Verge, MAC blog, Android Authority, Engadget, KnowTechie, Insanely Great Mac, The Next Web, Gizmodo, The Tech Report, AppleInsider, Cult of Mac, MacRumors, and Forbes

Tweets: @googlefi, @jonwiley, @shiraovide, @rdrv3, @wired, @thurrott, @ow, @backlon, @dcseifert, and @ow

Joshua Brustein / Bloomberg:

The US Army says Microsoft won a $480M contract for prototypes of AR systems for combat missions and training which could lead to 100K+ headset purchases — Microsoft Corp. has won a $480 million contract to supply prototypes for augmented reality systems to the Army for use on combat missions and in training, the Army said.

More: Engadget, Inquirer, TechCrunch, BetaNews, Forbes, Silicon Republic, Road to VR, Gizmodo, Reuters, CNET, UploadVR, Neowin, GeekWire, Windows Central, SlashGear, Axios, The Verge, and Thurrot

Tweets: @joshuabrustein, @counternotions, @joshuabrustein, @joshuabrustein, @alexeheath, @robertmclaws, @chriscornillie, and @joshuabrustein

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:

Dell says it detected hackers “attempting to extract Dell.com customer information”, such as customer names, email addresses, and hashed passwords, on Nov. 9 — Company says it detected an intrusion at the start of the month, but financial data was not exposed.

More: Dell, Reuters, Threatpost, Inquirer, PYMNTS.com, BetaNews, The Hacker News, SecurityWeek, Digital Trends, Gizmodo, SlashGear, The Register, Boing Boing, Threatpost, Softpedia News, KFOR-TV, CRN, and CNET

Tweets: @nicolecobler, @sai, and @zackwhittaker

New York Times:

Law enforcement authorities, working with Microsoft, have arrested dozens of scammers in New Delhi behind fake PC virus pop-up alert ads over the past month — MUMBAI, India — You know the messages. They pop up on your computer screen with ominous warnings like, “Your computer has been infected with a virus.

More: BBC, CNET, TechSpot, and The Next Web. Tweets: @vindugoel

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

Google Assistant adds Broadcast Replies, notes and lists integration, visual lyrics, and Pretty Please on Smart Displays and Google Home — With the holiday season underway, Google is announcing a slew of new features for Assistant speakers and Smart Displays.

More: Engadget, CNET, VentureBeat, Gizmodo, The Verge, and TechCrunch

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Instagram begins rolling out a tool that describes photos for visually impaired users using AI or user descriptions — They'll know what they're seeing — Instagram announced today that it's rolling out new features that'll make the app easier to use for people with visual impairments.

More: Instagram, Social Media Today, Firstpost, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Search Engine Journal, MSPoweruser, Engadget, Thurrot, and Adweek. Tweets: @mrrossmullen

Sam Kim / Bloomberg:

South Korea charges nine people and two companies with illegally selling Samsung's bendable OLED screen technology to Chinese rivals — - Suspects accused of stealing tech used to bend Galaxy screens — Samsung spent 150 billion won on technology, prosecution says

Tweets: @samkimasia and @pelstrom

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:

DOJ indicts two Iranian nationals for creating and deploying the SamSam ransomware, which crippled Atlanta, caused $30M in losses, and had 200+ victims — U.S. federal prosectors have indicted two Iranian nationals for creating and deploying the notorious SamSam ransomware.

Alex Hern / The Guardian:

In the UK, Facebook exempts news outlets from political ads transparency archive and enforces political ad transparency rules — Social network to act against ‘dark adverts’ with compulsory disclaimers saying who paid — Every political advert on Facebook will now be required to come …

More: TechCrunch, BBC, Facebook Media, Reuters, and Axios

Tweets: @joshconstine and @joshconstine. Thanks:@alexhern

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:55 AM ET, November 29, 2018.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: WBD and the NBA settle a lawsuit and agree to let WBD develop new shows with NBA content and grant rights in parts of Northern Europe and Latin America

Anna Merlan / Mother Jones:

Attorneys for X entered an appearance during the November 14 court hearing about Infowars' auction and asked to be included on future case communications

Michael Gold / New York Times:

President-elect Donald Trump announces he has chosen Karoline Leavitt, who served as his campaign's press secretary, to be his White House press secretary

More News

David Barnard:

How iOS developers game the App Store: naming apps with popular keywords, tricking users to sign up for subscriptions, buying fake ratings and reviews, and more

Tweets: @drbarnard

Sindhu Kashyap / Yourstory.com:

Bengaluru-based vehicle sharing marketplace Drivezy raises $20M Series B led by existing investor Das Capital and others including Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.

More: The Economic Times, @businessline, Inc42 Media, Moneycontrol, VCCircle, and TechCrunch

Matt Leone / Polygon:

Former colleagues of Ken Kutaragi, known as “Father of the PlayStation”, share stories about his abrasive leadership style at Sony before stepping down in 2006

Tweets: @polygon, @thekarachikid, and @lattmeone

DW.COM:

CeBIT, one of the world's largest IT trade shows with up to 850K visitors a year, has been canceled for 2019 facing declining visitor numbers and space rentals

More: CEBIT Press, TSNN Trade Show News, Fudzilla.com, Guru3D.com, and TechRadar.com. Tweets: @cebit

Kate Clark / TechCrunch:

Qualcomm Ventures says it will invest up to $100M in startups building on-device AI, investing between $1M and $10M per deal

More: VentureBeat, Light Reading, Qualcomm, ZDNet, Telecoms.com, PE Hub Blog, and CNET

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:

Amazon says its own services will run 97% of Amazon's “mission critical databases” by year's end and 88% of its databases previously on Oracle by January

More: The Register and CNBC. Tweets: @fscavo

Khari Johnson / VentureBeat:

Udacity says it will lay off 125 employees over the course of 2019 as part of a global restructuring plan and will close its Brazil office, losing 70 staff

Kyle Bradshaw / 9to5Google:

T-Mobile quietly launches T-Mobile MONEY, a mobile banking solution with an app available now for Android and iOS; T-Mobile ended a similar offering in 2016

More: App Store, PYMNTS.com, SlashGear, Android Police, Pocketnow, TechRadar.com, TmoNews, and Android Authority

Earlier Picks

Akanksha Rana / Reuters:

Box reports Q3 revenue of $155.9M, up 20.6% YoY, vs. $154.6M est., a net loss of $40.2M, down from $42.9M a year ago, 90K+ paying customers, up from 87K in Q2

More: Business Wire and ZDNet. Tweets: @levie

Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed News:

Pew survey of 743 US teens: 81% feel social media makes them more connected, 69% say it helps diversify friend groups; 26% say it makes them feel worse

More: Pew Research Center. Tweets: @zck, @margarita, @pewinternet, @pewinternet, @pewinternet, @pewinternet, @pewinternet, @pewinternet, @mims, @katienotopoulos, and @mat

Jessi Hempel / LinkedIn:

Silicon Valley should move past its glowing perception of the Zuckerberg-Sandberg paradigm, where the challenges created by a brash CEO are tackled by the COO

Tweets: @moorehn, @wnd, @danroth, @katies, @mekosoff, @melissagira, @mekosoff, and @kerrymflynn

Ellen Huet / Bloomberg:

Sources: a group of Google workers is campaigning to get recent sexual harassment changes, like ending forced arbitration, applied to its temporary workforce

Tweets: @josheidelson, @techworkersco, and @ellenhuet

Wall Street Journal:

Amazon says it is phasing out sponsored product ads on baby registries, which attach a small “sponsored” label, after some users found them deceptive

More: Quartz, The Verge, Mashable, Engadget, Fast Company, and Telegraph

Tweets: @rolfewinkler, @_lilchen, @slpng_giants, @shiraovide, @carnage4life, @gaberivera, @gregbensinger, @katienotopoulos, @katienotopoulos, @annesaurus, @scottmaustin, @larakiara, @rolfewinkler, @rmac18, and @rolfewinkler

Taylor Soper / GeekWire:

Nintendo says consumers spent $250M on its consoles from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday in the US, led by the Switch

More: Thurrot, Business Wire, The Verge, Neowin, IGN, Ars Technica, TechCrunch, and TechSpot

Larry Cermak / The Block:

Steemit, a social network that rewards users with its own cryptocurrency, says it's laying off nearly 70% of its team, after its currency declined 96%

More: Steemit, CoinDesk, Decrypt Media, Bitcoin Magazine, SiliconANGLE, CCN, Cointelegraph.com News, ETHNews, and The Information

Tweets: @hasufl, @koush, @alexstamos, @chrismessina, @jason, @julianhosp, @howardlindzon, @thestalwart, @hasufl, and @mdudas

Jon Russell / TechCrunch:

LG puts Brian Kwon, head of its hugely profitable home entertainment business, in charge of its struggling smartphone division

More: LG Newsroom and Droid Life