Geekly Update - 14 August 2024

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

These scammers messed with wrong guy. After his wife got a fake text message allegedly from the USPS, and fell victim to a scam, security pro Grant Smith hacked them back, and uncovered a global "smishing" operation. In the process, he helped to bring down a widespread fraud campaign.

Ed Bott, Senior Contributing Editor at ZDNET says "You don't have to throw away a perfectly good PC just because it doesn't meet Microsoft's strict Windows 11 compatibility standards." Bott offers tips on how to work around the restrictions and upgrade your Windows 10 PC to Windows 11.

OpenAI has created a tool to detect whether any written content has been created using their ChatGPT app, but they haven't decided to release it yet. ChatGPT uses a form of "watermarking" to add a detectable pattern to it's output. The problem is that the watermarking can be easily removed by asking another tool to rewrite the content.

National Public Data is a public records data provider which specializes in background checks and fraud prevention. In one of the largest ever data breaches, cybercriminals hacked the company and stole personal data of 2.9 billion people, including full names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.

Researchers in Uruguay discovered a technique that allows a hacker to read the text on a victim's screen, by intercepting video signals carried by the HDMI cables that connect the computer to the monitor. The technique is said to have 70 percent accuracy, sufficient to steal passwords and other sensitive information.

The Verge has some advice on buying a printer for your home or home office. Whether you're printing documents, address labels, or coloring sheets for your kids, Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of the Verge says it boils down to "whatever random Brother laser printer that’s on sale."

Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is contemplating a potential breakup of Google following a recent antitrust win which found that Google has created a search monopoly. The tech giant is facing mounting legal challenges from the DOJ, primarily centered around its dominance in search and online advertising. A forced division of Google would be a historic move, designed to curtail its influence within the industry. Possible candidates for the breakup include the Chrome browser and the Android mobile operating system.

You've seen those TV and movie police dramas where the user zooms impossibly far into a photo, revealing details that were not present in the original image. Google's "Zoom Enhance" aims to make that a reality by intelligently filling the gaps between pixels when zooming in. The feature will be available on the Pixel 8 and newly released Pixel 9 Pro smartphones.

Popular Mechanics has a roundup of the best smart locks for your home or rental. The Schlage Encode Smart Wi-Fi Deadbolt Smart Lock was rated Best Overall. The article also has picks for Best Value, Most Versatile, Least Obtrusive, and Best Traditional Key Technology.

And finally, this week's Just Here For The Headline item: Platypus and Chicken Reveal How Chromosomes Balance Between the Sexes.

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