A few reports coming in over the past day describe occurances where Spotify's free streaming service on desktop computers is pushing malware-filled advertisements to users without their input.
According to a user posting on Spotify Community, the malware causes ads to launch "and keep on launching" the computer's default browser to different sites lined with viruses (via The Next Web). Multiple macOS and Safari users have confirmed the issue to be happening on Apple systems.
There's something pretty alarming going on right now with Spotify Free. This started a several hours ago. If you have Spotify Free open, it will launch - and keep on launching - the default internet browser on the computer to different kinds of malware / virus sites. Some of them do not even require user action to be able to cause harm.
I have 3 different systems (computers) which are all clean and they are all doing this, all via Spotify - I am thinking it's the Ads in Spotify Free. I hope this has been noticed and Spotify staff are fixing it - fast. But it's still puzzling something like this can actually happen.
It's not clear yet what's causing the issue, but multiple confirmations of its connection with Spotify Free have surfaced on Twitter, with users reporting that malware ads have appeared on both Mac and Windows platforms. Spotify has responded to a few users on Twitter and appears to be looking into the issue, but has yet to make an official announcement.
One Mac user was running OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 on a mid-2014 MacBook Pro when the ads in Safari began popping up.
Since no official fix for the problem has come from the company, many users are resorting to simply uninstalling the free Spotify player from their desktop for the time being. The streaming service faced a similar issue five years ago, where advertisements popped up on Windows machines and installed fake antivirus software onto the computer.
Spotify eventually commented on the problem, saying "we sincerely apologize to any users affected. We'll continue working hard to ensure this does not happen again and that our users enjoy Spotify securely and in confidence."
As he has done over thepastfouryears, Apple CEO Tim Cook has shared a tribute to the late Steve Jobs, touching on the importance of remembering the Apple co-founder and former CEO today, which marks the fifth anniversary of his death on October 5, 2011.
"Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." Remembering Steve and the many ways he changed our world. pic.twitter.com/ONAuEoq3uU
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 5, 2016
Since his death, Jobs' founding and presence at Apple has only become more scrutinized by the public after a string of films and documentaries aimed to depict his life and decisions during both his time at Apple and his years away from the company. Prior to his death in 2011, Tim Cook took the reins of the company as CEO on August 24, 2011, introducing the iPhone 4S, iOS 5, Siri, and iCloud to the public on the day before Jobs passed.
In previous years, Apple also updated its website to remember Jobs, creating a two-minute slideshow of his various keynote presentations and most famous audio clips on the one year anniversary of his death. In the days following his passing, Apple started posting "Remembering Steve" comments from fans on its website. The company noted that well over one million submissions came in for the project, all from well-wishing fans in the wake of Jobs' losing battle with pancreatic cancer.
I know many of you are thinking of Steve today, as we mark five years since his passing. His presence remains strong here at Apple, and his influence is still felt profoundly all around the world.
Personally, I think of Steve every day. His memory is an inspiration and source of strength for me, both in my job and in my personal life. I think of the bold risks he took as an innovator and a leader, and I think of the ordinary conversations we would have almost every day about our company, our customers, our families and friends. They are memories I will cherish forever.
More than ever, our daily lives are shaped by the products and ideas Steve brought to life. I wish he could see how popular and powerful iPhone photography has become. And I know he would love the magic and emotion of our new Memories feature in Photos on iOS 10.
Apple, the company he built and later rescued, is in many ways Steve’s most enduring legacy. He believed deeply that Apple should inspire us to do the best work of our lives, creating products that enrich the lives of others.
Steve made Apple’s values very clear. He showed us how to focus on doing a few things extremely well, and to set the bar incredibly high for ourselves. He demanded that we always strive for simplicity, in our products and our approach. And he knew that by being collaborative within Apple, we could achieve things no other company could do. We owe all of Apple’s success over the past two decades to those basic principles.
Steve also taught me that life’s great joy is in the journey, not in any particular occasion or event. It’s not about shipping or selling or winning an award. The real joy is in getting there.
Steve was a special, unforgettable person. Thank you for being a part of his legacy, and for joining me on this journey as we carry it into the future.
Desjardins members can use Apple Pay with Visa credit or prepaid cards or Interac debit cards. Desjardins said its MasterCard cards will be supported in 2017. Eligible cards can be added to Apple Pay by tapping the "Add Credit or Debit Card" option in the Wallet app on iPhone 5 and later running at least iOS 8.1.
Apple Pay continues to expand to additional banks and countries, with New Zealand, Japan, and Taiwan reportedly set to launch the mobile payments service in the near future. Last year, Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey said Apple is "working rapidly" to expand the service to additional countries in Asia and Europe.
Apple's valuation rose 5% to $178.1 billion, ahead of tech rivals like Google, Microsoft, and Samsung, despite iPhone sales declining for the first time this year in line with the company's first revenue decline since 2003. Apple's brand value has steadily risen since 2002, when it was worth $5.2 billion, according to the study.
Apple shows how ecosystems drive value. Analysts have often pointed out that “Apple has superior products.” While true, this opinion undersells the brilliance of Apple’s functionally integrated model. Its software, hardware, and touchpoints are connected not just by beautiful design aesthetics, but by a level of interoperability that justifies the Apple premium and discourages defections to another platform. And the more data you share, the more personal it becomes—adding new devices is painless and the thought of switching increasingly unpromising. Apple is the Alpha of Cohesiveness in full effect.
However, perhaps more reflective of its recent declines, Apple did not make Interbrand's list of the top growing brands in 2016:
Coca-Cola, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and GE were the only companies outside the technology industry to make the top ten, which also included IBM and Amazon. Coca-Cola's brand value dropped 7% to $73.1 billion, continuing its decline since Apple overtook it for the top spot in 2013, according to Interbrand.
Interbrand is one of several brand rankings released each year, with others including Forbes and BrandZ. Apple has consistently performed well in these studies over the past decade as its revenue has ballooned on the strength of iPhone sales. Apple remains the world's most valuable company with a $611 billion market cap.
One of the instrumental executives who oversaw the rise of Beats By Dre as a brand, chief marketing officer Omar Johnson, has announced that he is leaving the company on November 1 (via Fast Company).
Johnson didn't give a specific reason as to why he is leaving the company, but his departure date will mark six years since he came onboard in 2010.
Back then he was vice president of marketing before being named CMO in 2012, two years before Apple would come in and acquire the brand for $3 billion.
Working with the ad agency R/GA, Johnson helped craft some of the most well-known Beats By Dre advertisements, fueling its "transition from a curiosity to a constant presence in pop culture."
An example of one of the ads Johnson helped create
Although his departure from the company wasn't explained, Beats co-founder and current Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine commented on the announcement, describing Johnson as "one of the most talented marketing executives" he's ever met and an instrumental factor in what Beats By Dre eventually became.
In an email, Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine said, "Omar Johnson is a one of the most talented marketing executives I've ever met and we couldn't have built Beats without him. He has my support in his future endeavor."
After Johnson leaves, his former "right-hand man" Jason White will become executive vice president of marketing at Beats. Before he's gone for good, Johnson is said to focus on putting the finishing touches on two new global brand campaigns that will be debuting soon.
Feral Interactive announced today that the popular open world, third-person action game Mad Max is coming to the Mac on October 20, 2016.
Originally developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, the game features an original story set within the universe of Mad Max.
Players take the role of lone warrior Max and must fight for survival against The Wasteland's savage factions by engaging in melée combat and vehicular combat.
Following the theft of his Interceptor, Max teams up with the gifted mechanic Chumbucket to build the ultimate survival vehicle, the "Magnum Opus". Players can design, customize and upgrade their vehicle by choosing from different car chassis and a myriad of upgrades including mounted weapons, armor and engines in order to escape to the Plains of Silence.
As they navigate The Wasteland, gamers will encounter a huge variety of enemies, in a gigantic post-apocalyptic open-world with a range of immersive locations, many of them remnants of the world before the apocalypse.
Originally debuting on console and PC last year, Mad Max was praised by reviewers for its car combat mechanics and graphics, although some criticized the story as well as the melee combat's more repetitive elements.
The minimum system requirements for Mad Max are an Intel i5 3.2 GHz CPU with at least 8GB RAM, 2GB or better graphics card, and Mac OS X 10.11.6 or later. The game also requires an NVIDIA 680 or AMD R9 290 series graphics card or better.
Further information is available at Feral's mini-site for the game.
Yahoo secretly built a custom software program to search all of its customers' incoming emails for specific information at the behest of U.S. intelligence authorities, according to people familiar with the matter.
Reuters spoke to three former Yahoo employees who revealed the existence of the custom code, apparently written in compliance with a classified U.S. government demand. The program scanned hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts for the NSA or FBI, said the former employees and a fourth person with knowledge of the events.
Surveillance experts say the revelation represents the first case to surface of a U.S. internet company agreeing to an intelligence agency's request by searching all arriving messages, as opposed to examining stored messages or scanning a small number of accounts in real time.
According to two former employees, Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer's decision to obey the directive did not sit well with some senior executives and led to the June 2015 departure of Chief Information Security Officer Alex Stamos. Stamos now holds the top security job at Facebook, which incidentally just completed the rollout of end-to-end encrypted privacy features for its hugely popular Messenger app.
"Yahoo is a law abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States," the company told Reuters in response to the claims, but stopped short of denying them. It declined any further comment. The NSA referred questions to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which also declined to comment.
According to Andrew Crocker, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, it's likely the request invoked Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the bulk collection of communications for the purpose of targeting a foreign individual. But rather than having a non-U.S. target, every single person with a Yahoo email inbox was placed under surveillance, regardless of citizenship.
Speaking to The Intercept, Crocker said the Yahoo program seems "in some ways more problematic and broader" than previously revealed NSA bulk surveillance programs like PRISM or Upstream collection efforts. "It's hard to think of an interpretation that doesn't mean Yahoo isn't being asked to scan all domestic communications without a warrant or probable cause. The Fourth Amendment implications of that are pretty staggering."
It's unclear what data Yahoo may have handed over to the authorities, if any, and if intelligence officials had approached other email providers besides Yahoo with the same kind of request.
Contacted by The Intercept, an Apple spokesperson said: "We have never received a request of this type, and if we were to receive one, we would oppose it in court." The spokesperson also pointed to a section from a recent public letter by CEO Tim Cook, which he said was still accurate:
Finally, I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will.
Facebook, Google, and Microsoft separately said on Tuesday that they had not conducted such email searches. "We've never received such a request, but if we did, our response would be simple: 'No way'", a spokesman for Google said in a statement. Twitter also said it has never received such a request.
In related news last month, Yahoo revealed that "state-sponsored" hackers had gained access to 500 million customer accounts in 2014. The revelations come at a sensitive time for the company as it tries to complete a deal to sell its core business to Verizon for $4.8 billion.
Update: Yahoo has disputed parts of the Reuters report, saying that "the article is misleading" and that the email scanning outlined in the report "does not exist on our systems."
“The article is misleading,” Yahoo said in a statement. “We narrowly interpret every government request for user data to minimize disclosure. The mail scanning described in the article does not exist on our systems.”
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Facebook has announced that the rollout of cryptographic features for its massively popular Messenger chat service has completed, bringing end-to-end encryption to the largest messaging network in existence.
Back in July, the social network company said it was testing the privacy feature on a limited basis which would eventually be rolled out to all 900 million users of the app. On Tuesday, Facebook told Wired that rollout had finished.
Messenger now implements the same highly regarded cryptographic Signal Protocol that the company's WhatsApp platform uses to encrypt messages, but the Messenger app needs to be updated and the feature turned on for it to work.
A new "Secret Conversations" option can now be found at the top-right of the app's New Message screen, provided that users have enabled the option from the Me profile settings screen.
The encryption protocol covers one-to-one text chats and stickers used within threads, but does not currently support the use of videos and GIFs.
Messenger users who update the app will also get to use a new Snapchat-style option that erases messages after a specified duration.
Messenger is free on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Apple has discontinued the third-generation Apple TV, removing it from its online store. Additionally, links to the Apple TV 3 now reroute to the fourth-generation Apple TV. Apple confirmed it was discontinuing the device in an email to employees and educators obtained by 9to5Mac.
The Cupertino company will continue to fulfill backlog orders for the device, but is now putting its attention behind the newer fourth-generation device. In early September, it was reported that Apple had begun phasing out the Apple TV 3, pulling it from its brick-and-mortar stores
The Apple TV 3 was released in 2012 and given a spec bump the following year. In fall 2015, Apple announced the long-awaited fourth-generation Apple TV, including support for Siri, the brand-new tvOS, and the App Store.
Apple is still selling refurbished versions of the Apple TV 3 for $59. The fourth-generation Apple TV can be purchased from Apple's online and retail stores in two configurations: 32GB for $149 and 64GB for $199.
Popular accessory maker Twelve South has come out with a line of merchandise to promote the brand, ranging from T-shirts and cups to a candle that's been causing quite a stir on the Internet over the last couple of days.
Made from soy wax, Twelve South's candle promises to deliver a "New Mac" smell, as in the smell you get when you take a whiff of a freshly opened and unboxed MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or other Mac product.
According to Twelve South, the "New Mac" candle features notes of mint, peach, basil, lavender, mandarin, and sage, which somehow magically combine to mimic the smell of a new Mac.
If you think you've seen everything, here's a new one... Ever open up a new Mac box and smell it? (or is that just us?) We took that scent - and literally bottled it. Meet the New Mac Soy Candle. No kidding. It's kind of awesome.
Twelve South is pricing its New Mac candle at $24, and it's been so popular with Apple enthusiasts that it's temporarily sold out. The company expects to have more available for purchase later this month.
Twelve South's merchandise page also features a water bottle, coffee mug, t-shirt, drink cooler set, and hat, all ranging in price from $14 to $29.
At its media event today in San Francisco, Google announced a few new pieces of hardware, mainly centering around the company's artificial intelligence initiatives and the confirmation of a new pair of smartphones called the Pixel and Pixel XL.
Additionally, the company revealed the new Chromecast Ultra streaming dongle, a VR headset called Google Daydream, and gave more details about its connected smart home hub device, Google Home. Bits and pieces of information on the Pixel smartphones and Google Home have surfaced online over the past few weeks, correctly predicting most of today's announcements.
Google Assistant
The company started off by providing details on its artificial intelligence platform, called Google Assistant, which the company says is like "your own personal Google." The assistant can perform normal tasks like playing music, performing search queries, and providing navigation directions, as well as carrying on a normal conversation with the user. The company showed this by providing an example of a user asking for directions, then inquiring about restaurants at the destination's end, and finally setting a reservation at one.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai also discussed a few intelligent updates coming to the company's search system, including improvements to image descriptions, better translation fueled by machine learning technology, and more human-like text-to-speech abilities. Pichai said that the assistant will "constantly get better" as the company introduces it to more and more users, which it's started doing with the recent launch of Google Allo.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.1 update to public beta testers, one week after seeding the second public beta and one day after seeding the third beta to developers. It's been two weeks since Apple released macOS Sierra to the public.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the 10.12.1 macOS Sierra beta through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.
Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and macOS Sierra betas. Betas should not be installed on a primary machine due to the potential for instability.
macOS Sierra 10.12.1 appears to focus mainly on bug fixes and performance improvements to address issues that have surfaced up since macOS Sierra was first released. It also includes album support in Photos for the new Portrait feature in iOS 10 on the iPhone 7 Plus.
macOS Sierra is a major operating system update that introduces features like Siri support, cross device copy paste, improved iCloud functionality, the ability to unlock a Mac with the Apple Watch, an Optimize Storage option, and more.
Apple today seeded the second beta of watchOS 3.1, Build 14S464, to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first beta and three weeks after releasing watchOS 3 to the public.
watchOS 3.1 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone. watchOS 3.1 requires an iPhone running iOS 10 to install.
watchOS 3.1 appears to focus on bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements rather than outward-facing changes, as no new features were discovered in the first beta. We'll update this post with anything new that's found in the second beta.
watchOS 3 brings a new interface to the Apple Watch, with a dedicated App Dock and instant launch apps. There are new Activity sharing features, a "Breathe" app guides you through daily deep breathing sessions to cut down on stress, and there are new Reminders, Find My Friends, and Heart Rate apps.
Three new watch faces are included, and an SOS feature can automatically call emergency services. A revamped Messages app makes it easier to reply to incoming texts, plus there's a new "Scribble" feature for writing replies on the Apple Watch face with a finger.
Apple today seeded the second beta of tvOS 10.0.1, Build 14U66, to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the first tvOS 10.0.1 beta and three weeks after releasing the tvOS 10 update.
Designed for the fourth-generation Apple TV, tvOS 10.0.1 can be installed by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, downloading and installing the software via iTunes or Apple Configurator. Once a beta profile has been installed on the device through iTunes, new beta updates will be available over the air.
No obvious outward-facing features were discovered in the tvOS 10.0.1 beta, so it's likely it focuses on bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements to address issues discovered since the release of the first version of tvOS 10.
Single sign-on, a feature that will allow Apple TV users to sign in once with their cable credentials to access all live cable content included in a cable subscription, does not appear to be in this beta and will be introduced in the future.
tvOS 10 brings improved search, expanded Siri capabilities, a new dark mode, a Continuity option for using the iPhone for text input, automatic download of universal apps, easy access to live TV, and more.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 10 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first iOS 10.1 beta and three weeks after releasing iOS 10 to the public.
Registered developers can download the new iOS 10.1 beta, Build 14B67, from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile is installed.
iOS 10.1 includes a new "Portrait" mode for the iPhone 7 Plus that allows it to use the two built-in cameras to create shallow depth of field portrait photos with blurred backgrounds.
To achieve the look, the image signal processor in the iPhone 7 Plus uses images from the wide-angle camera to create a depth map, dissecting the different layers of the photo to decide what to blur. It works on people, pets, and objects, but does require good lighting to achieve the proper effect.
The update also likely includes bug fixes and other under-the-hood improvements to address issues that have been uncovered since iOS 10 was released.
iOS 10 has been described by Apple as the "biggest release ever" for iOS users, with features that include a redesigned Lock screen, a Siri SDK to allow third-party apps to integrate with Siri, and a completely overhauled Messages app with stickers, a full App Store, Digital Touch, Bubble Effects, and more.
Other features include a dedicated "Home" app for HomeKit users, new facial and object recognition capabilities in Photos, and redesigned Maps and Apple Music apps.
Apple has also released a second beta of Xcode 8.1 for developers.
What's new in iOS 10.1 beta 2:
Messages - The Messages App Drawer has been tweaked. There are no longer dots to represent each app installed, and there's a new scroll bar at the bottom.
Split-View - It's no longer possible to drag and drop stickers when using Split View mode on an iPad that supports it.
Apple has added The CW to the universal search function on the fourth-generation Apple TV, less than a week after the app launched in the United States.
The CW app allows Apple TV owners to watch new episodes of shows on the network for free, with ads, with no cable authentication or login required. Only five episodes from the most recent season of each show are available to watch, with no archived content available from past seasons.
Apple TV universal search has also expanded to five additional countries, namely Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, for iTunes movies and Netflix. Meanwhile, in Australia, universal search now supports regional video on demand services ABC iview and Plus7, a few months after support for Stan was added.
For those unfamiliar with universal search, it's a feature that allows users to conduct Siri voice searches or text-based searches to find TV and movie content across a wide range of channels. At launch, universal search only supported a few channels, but Apple has been rapidly expanding the feature to encompass additional channels.
Apple TV universal search is available for a wide number of apps in the United States, but the feature is limited to iTunes and Netflix in Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In some other countries and regions, only movies in iTunes are supported.
Yahoo today announced the rebranding of its core mobile app to "Yahoo Newsroom," where users can engage in conversations and social interactions about news relevant to their interests. The app makes it easy to discover new and breaking stories through a range of topics the company is referring to as "Vibes." Yahoo describes each Vibe as a "forum where you read, react, and debate topics that you care about."
With every Vibe followed, the app's newsfeed "will adjust to include the stories and conversations that matter most to you," and the more the app is used, more user-specific content will appear for each person. Users can also post articles into various Vibes, along with their opinion on the subject, so other users can comment and begin a discussion.
What’s exciting about this experience is that it empowers our community of hundreds of millions of global users to participate in and help shape the conversation. You can now post articles from around the web – with your reactions – directly into specific “Vibes” to spark a discussion. Yahoo’s personalization technology ensures that people who share your interests will see your posts and be prompted to join the conversation.
The company hopes that Yahoo Newsroom encourages users to participate in discussions on a wide range of topics while being "free from social pressure" that might be present in other communities. Yahoo says its new app is specifically aimed at exploring the Vibes curated for you with "people that share your interests, not 'friends' on social media."
Ultimate Ears today updated its iOS and Android apps with a feature called "Party Up" that lets users connect "more than 50" of its Bluetooth speakers at once (via TechCrunch). When synced together, every speaker can be simultaneously controlled from a single mobile device, with the music selection and volume synced together across every speaker. Additionally, the company's UE Boom 2 speaker is gaining Siri integration with today's update, making it "quicker, easier, and more convenient than ever to keep your party going."
After updating the app, users can find the new setting by swiping right-to-left on the home screen. In this new Party Up section of the app, guest speakers will appear at the bottom of the screen, called the drawer, and all users have to do is drag and drop each speaker they want to sync up into the middle of the screen. Similarly, to remove a speaker from the party, drag and drop it back into the drawer.
PartyUp is an exclusive UE App feature that lets you wirelessly connect 50+ speakers and take your music where no other portable bluetooth speaker can go. Caves. Mountains. Lakes. Rooftops. You name it. So grab your speaker and your friend’s speakers, and take the party to a new level. Wherever. Whenever
With our brand new and improved UE App, growing the party has never been so easy and fun. Simply download the UE App to join and amplify your Party. So no matter how big your party gets, you can connect 50+ UE BOOM, UE BOOM 2 and UE MEGABOOM wireless speakers at the same time. #PartyUp
Ultimate Ears says the UE Boom, UE Boom 2, and UE Megaboom can all participate in the new Party Up feature, but the company's smaller Bluetooth speakers - the UE Roll and UE Roll 2 - are not supported. In its tests, Ultimate Ears engineers have said to reach up to 140 connected UE speakers, although it's not likely the company's "50+" statistic is accounting for users to have that many speakers in one place simultaneously.
UE Boom and Megaboom users can try out the new Party Up mode today by downloading the update to the UE Boom iOS app on the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
A few reports coming in over the past day describe occurances where Spotify's free streaming service on desktop computers is pushing malware-filled advertisements to users without their input. 
One of the instrumental executives who oversaw the rise of Beats By Dre as a brand, chief marketing officer Omar Johnson, has announced that he is leaving the company on November 1 (via 
