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Facebook Collected 1.5 Million Email Contacts “By Mistake”

Facebook has been under a lot of pressure, and it seems that the company will get into more trouble in the future. The company harvested email contact data from over 1,5 million accounts in the past of the last three years. The hidden act was discovered when a research analyst observed that the social network asked some users to enter their email passwords during account creation, under the claim that their identity has to be verified.

Those who opted to enter their data received a pop-up message which stated that their data was being imported, without asking for permission before the process began. The information was confirmed by a Facebook spokesperson, who noted that the method was used to consolidate social connection between users and recommend potential friends.

It was also mentioned that email password verification was offered as an option for those who created their first Facebook account. While the primary purpose was to limit the number of fake accounts which can be created it was observed that the email contacts were also uploaded to Facebook in some cases.

Facebook collected more than 1.5 million email contacts

People whose contacts were imported will receive an email which explains the situation and the data will be deleted. The spokesperson underlined the fact that the data wasn’t shared with anyone else and users will always have the option to manage the contacts shared with Facebook by visiting the settings page.

With more than two billion active accounts Facebook is without a doubt the largest social network in the world. In recent years, many voices criticized the ads model used by Facebook. Some believe that ads shouldn’t be targeted and the simple act of offering companies the opportunity to provide personalized ads shows that Facebook doesn’t care about the privacy of its users.

Reports published in December 2018 revealed that Facebook allowed companies like Spotify and Netflix to access a more significant amount of user data in comparison to other entities. The company strives to correct all of these flaws, but it is likely that more scandals will surface in the future.

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IoT Hype Might Have Suddenly Arrived to an End, New Study Showed

Vendors and users have predicted that nothing can stop the growth of IoT (Internet of Things), but new reports say otherwise. The Internet of Things (IoT) has been sharply rising for a while now, but the analyses of it show that its backlash is almost here. GlobalData conducted the study mentioned above which shows that venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions activity have been suffering oscillating fortunes from 2014 to 2018.

Venture Capital (VC) funding in IoT space decreased in 2017 in terms of value, although it was achieving growth in previous years, 2015 and 2016. The deal value listed a growth of 8.3% in 2018 again, in spite of its loss in volume. In general, VC deal value increased by 10.4% at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Even so, deal volume decreased at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2014 to 2018, implying a growing average deal size.

Both U.S. and Chinese companies accounted for two positions each of the top five VC funded companies during the inspected period. The U.S. based firms named Magic Leap and Carbon3D both raised $2.8 billion, and the Chinese ones, namely Xiaomi and Horizon Robotics justified for an entire disclosed funding value of $1.2 billion. A Swedish company, Spotify, made it to the top five as well, having a total published funding value of $526 million.

IoT (Internet of Things) might come to an end even before starting, due to lack of investors

Several projects collapse and failure in the last years have made the investors cautious amidst the idealism for IoT technology and its application across distinct areas, Aurojyoti Bose, Financial Deals Analyst at GlobalData​ have reportedly said.

So, what diminished the hype around IoT are the project failures and the security concerns, as shown in the declining VC deal volume between 2017-2018. Still, the rise in deal value but the decline in volume indicates the fact that investors are in search of safe bets and favor investing only in minor but promising companies, Bose added.

While this may be true, M&A volume rose at a CAGR of 5.1% in the reviewed period, with an expansion staying true across all the years, except for 2017. In the meantime, M&A deal value decreased at a CAGR of 38.6% during the analyze. The high M&A deal value in 2014 and 2015 was principal because of big-ticket purchases like the $37 billion acquisition of Broadcom Corporation by Avago Technologies, $16.7 billion purchase of Altera Corporation by Intel, and Google’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest Labs.

The U.S. accounted for the dominant share in M&A deals with more than 50% contribution of deal volume and about 75% share in the total revealed deal value, during years 2014 and 2018, followed by China, UK, and France.

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Canadians Can Grab the 4K Amazon Fire TV Stick at a Discounted Price

The first Amazon Fire TV sticks were introduced in 2014 as a direct competitor to Google’s Chromecast. The digital media player managed to build a strong user base, and Amazon released new and more powerful versions.

The Fire TV Stick 4K was released in 2018 during the holiday season, and it brought some exciting features on the table. One of the best changes comes in the form of the improved Alexa voice remote which now features dedicated physical buttons for the power, volume, and mute functions.

The setup process is streamlined and quite intuitive. Users will have to point the remote at the TV and press the buttons a few times. During this time the remote will identify your TV. After this task is finished, you can forget about the accessory and use your voice if you prefer to do so.

Canadians Can Grab the 4K Amazon Fire TV Stick at a Discounted Price

Users who prefer a physical remote will be happy to learn that it has been fitted with IR blasters, which allow it to perform a variety of additional tasks, among which we can count the switch between several HDMI inputs, controlling a separate sound bar and tracking down a particular channel.

The stick also sports some significant improvements. You can plug it into a free HDMI port while a separate USB cable will have to be connected to a nearby power outlet since the ports present on most TVs do not provide enough energy to use the device properly.

Amazon added plenty of bells and whistles as users can opt between Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HDR 10+ and Dolby Atmos, with the first one being a highlight since this is the only Fire TV device to offer the standard. The 4K functionality renders content in glorious UHD image, and the quality is impressive. Alexa can provide a list of 4K movies selected from several sources, with a focus on choices which allow you to see the content for free.

The promotional package includes the stick and the remote for CAD 54.99 in comparison to the usual CAD 70 price tag.

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Cydia Guide Download for iPhone – iOS 12 Unc0ver Jailbreak and iOS 11 Electra Jailbreak

If you are an iOS user and want to break free from Apple’s grip, to change your iPhone or iPad with the best and most extensive selection of apps, go and download Cydia and install it for making the best of your experience using the phone.

But first, maybe you want to know what features Cydia is offering:

  • The first step for enjoying Cydia, you must use jailbreak;
  • You can download tweaks and mods for making your phone to work as you wish;
  • You can download the modified stock app with updated features;
  • You can download a lot of great games with the new features included;
  • You can download screen records, themes, ringtones, emulators;
  • Take note that most of the tweaks are free, but some of them will charge you;

iOS 12 Unc0ver Jailbreak:

  • First of all, update iTunes on your computer and make sure that you have enough battery on your iPhone.
  • Download then the Unc0ver jailbreak .ipa file on your computer;
  • After that download Cydia Impactor and launch Cydia Impactor;
  • Connect your device and after it’s detected open the location of the .ipa file and drag it into Cydia Impactor;
  • Type your Apple ID details, and after that, Cydia Impactor will sign the file;
  • After the process is finished, open IOS Setting – General – Profiles – add the Apple ID or Unc0ver profile – click on Trust – and wait for Delete Disable Siri to appear.
  • Put your phone on Airplane Mode – Reboot – disable your Wi-Fi and keep your Airplane Mode on;
  • After that tap on the Unc0ver icon from your home screen and then tap Jailbreak Your Device;
  • When Cydia icon appears, your device is jailbroken.

For the iOS 11 Electra Jailbreak:

  • Device onto Airplane Mode, disable Siri – Reboot – Airplane mode is still on – Wi-Fi disconnected – Download Electra .ipa to your computer.
  • Use the link from us to Download Cydia Impactor – Plug in your iPhone or iPad into your computer – open Cydia Impactor – wait for the detection of your device – Open the .ipa file – drag and drop the file into Cydia Impactor – type your Apple ID and let the app do its job;
  • After the install – open General – Profile – tap the Electra Trust – wait for the status to change to Delete – Close Settings;
  • Tap the Electra icon and then Jailbreak. After it’s done, you will receive a message that your device has been jailbroken.

If you want to delete Cydia, download Cydia Eraser, Open it – tap Delete All Data and Unjailbreak Device – Delete All – Reboot, and you have your old iOS version.

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News Tech

Google Maps Update Download Available with Improved Features from Waze

We already know that Google is trying to improve Google Maps by getting some features from Waze. Since Google owns Waze, it is a simple and smarter move to do that. So the more information we have on Waze or Google Maps, the more and better users will be informed about the traffic ahead and other obstacles. The novelty on Google Maps is the fact that the company wants to use the same approach from Waze.

What New Features We Have on Google Maps from Waze?

If you are a Waze fun and haven’t tried Google Maps, maybe now is the time to give it a shot. Now Google Maps have speed limits, speed traps, reports about your current traffic experience, and warning about traffic and accidents ahead of you.  The incident report feature will be rolling out soon in Google Maps, and you will see it once the feature will be brought to your market.

However, Google Maps is a great navigation tool for public transport and daily needs. The device will give you suggestions about the fastest route to your destination, will provide navigation details about trains or buses in case you need to change them. The newest improvement is the features were Google Maps will tell you if a train or bus has available seats. This will be done with the help of other users, by asking them if the train/bus is crowded or not. Improving Google’s algorithms with this question, it improves your future journey as well.

Also, if we look back to last year, a similar feature has been announced for Sydney, and this will probably be the case to more markets in the future. So far, the feature has started to appear on Android and on iPhone from months ago. Google Maps is sending alerts on various users from different regions of the world, like the US, Europe, and Asia.

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