May, 2019 - Softonic English

These apps are leaving malware all over your Android

These apps were downloaded hundreds of millions of times. Learn what they do, and how to avoid them.

Google recently released its annual Android security report, which covered 2018’s biggest malware trends.

The report found that there are a lot of scammy apps in the Play Store, with the amount of downloaded malware up 100% since the year before.

However, Google downplayed the findings, stating that the bulk of the PHAs (potentially harmful apps) available for download were click-fraud apps.

Yet, it’s hard to ignore the sheer volume of reports about the platform and the security risks lurking inside seemingly harmless apps. The malware program Trickbot was recently found in a large number of devices around tax season.

For Android, we found the worst offenders and the sheer number of downloads these malicious apps had:

Android malware list

The Android malware list just keeps getting longer, proving that Google’s filters need some work.

Here are the latest developments in Play Store malware news:

Aggressive adware

Avast’s cybersecurity team recently found roughly 50 apps in the Play store pretending to be “lifestyle” apps, but install malware on user devices in an effort to get as many clicks as possible.

According to the report, the SDK is easy to spot in the code. However, checking the code for signs of adware is not necessarily something most people know how to do.

If you’d like to see what adware looks like in action, here’s a short clip:

Check Point

Check Point researchers found a code called Simbad in just over 200 Android apps in the Google Play store. They found it had been downloaded a total of 150 million times.

Simbad is an adware code hidden inside a software development kit or SDK. It is designed to install adware on your phone without your knowledge, then displays ads.

Check Point infographic — Infographic courtesy of Check Point

The Check Point investigation found that apps containing the code made it look like the user was clicking on ads repeatedly. The fraudulent clicks are an effort to generate ad revenue, and the activity takes place without the user’s knowledge.

According to Bullguard’s security blog, these are the top 10 downloads from this batch:

Snow Heavy Excavator Simulator – 10 million downloads
Hoverboard Racing – 5 million downloads
Real Tractor Farming Simulator – 5 million downloads
Ambulance Rescue Driving – 5 million downloads
Heavy Mountain Bus Simulator 2018 – 5 million downloads
Fire Truck Emergency Driver – 5 million downloads
Farming Tractor Real Harvest Simulator – 5 million downloads
Car Parking Challenge – 5 million download
Speed Boat Jet Ski Racing – 5 million downloads
Water Surfing Car Stunt – 5 million downloads

You can read the full list here. It might be a good idea to check it out if you have a thing for games that let you drive anything from tractors to emergency services vehicles.

Exodus

It was recently discovered that hackers hid government spyware in plain sight inside Android apps on the Play Store.

While the malicious decoy apps appear to be hidden in the Italian version of the store, this discovery shows that Google’s filters aren’t as airtight as they say.

The government spyware, known as Exodus, could extract passwords, chat logs, contacts, and recordings from rooted phones. It also collects basic details about a phone.

It’s worth pointing out that Google patched a Linux exploit called DirtyCOW back in 2016 to block access.

This means any new or recently-updated phone is immune to the attack, provided you stick with the phone’s built-in security settings. It’s when you start messing around with the customization options that you get into trouble.

Gutstuff

Gutstuff is a trojan targeting crypto investing apps. It is aiming for “mass infections and maximum profits.” How’s that for a corporate mission statement?

How Gutstuff works is through a good old-fashioned phishing attack by way of “web fakes.” Hackers set up apps that look like regular applications such as BitPay, Coinbase, and Bitcoin Wallet, as well as traditional banking institutions like Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Infected users attempting to use one of the applications will be redirected to a fake page. From there, they’ll enter sensitive details so that hackers can steal from their accounts.

Signs that your Android has malware

Look, while Google says that most malware isn’t malicious, it can slow you down.

According to Norton Antivirus, malware is often programmed to perform repetitive tasks that use up your phone’s resources.

If you’ve been racing a lot of tractors or using third-party lifestyle apps, you might notice the following signs:

Your phone is slower than usual
The battery drains faster than normal
You’re seeing more pop-up ads
You’re going over data limits
You’ve noticed apps on your phone that you don’t remember downloading

If you notice malware on your phone, turn your phone on safe mode and uninstall the apps in question. If you’re unsure whether your phone is protected, it might be worthwhile to look into a paid antivirus program from a reputable company. After all, many anti-virus apps are adware themselves.

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Do I need antivirus for Android?

No, but you do need to be careful.

A report from AV-Comparatives found that most Android antivirus apps don’t do anything but take up space. The reason they can get away with this is most malware isn’t a full-on attack. They instead trigger the little stuff like apps that generate pop-ups or collect information about your personal habits.

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Given that most malware apps are a racket, you’ll need to get smart about your security settings and what you choose to download.

Most items in the Google Play Store are vetted by Google’s review system. Most of what slips through the cracks are data harvesting apps or some kind of advertising scam, as we’ve mentioned above.

If you want to avoid these apps, keep your wits about you. If something sounds too good to be true or possibly malicious, it probably is.

League of Legends is coming to mobile

One of the biggest games ever is coming to mobile, but will it be the same game we know and love?

Riot Games is working with Chinese tech company Tencent to bring League of Legends to mobile.

League of Legends has about 150 million users worldwide making it one of the biggest online games ever created.

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The information first came out in a report from Reuters.

Sources say that the game probably won’t be coming out this year. The mobile version also won’t be a port of the main game, but a different game altogether. However, the game still has a feel similar to the original.

The game will have different weapons, runes, and fewer characters.

The move to mobile appears to be an attempt to make more money from the Chinese audience, where the game is quite popular. According to the article, mobile games account for more than half of China’s video game revenue.

We’re excited to see the game come to mobile, we’re just hoping it has the same look and feel of the original game.

Details are very minimal as of now, but we will be sure to keep you updated as they come pouring in!

Linda Hamilton is back to fight in Terminator: Dark Fate trailer

Lower this trailer into the lava, and protect our future.

The future is not set, so we don’t know if “Terminator: Dark Fate” will score at the box office. But you can judge for yourself with the new teaser trailer:

What looks bad?

The Terminator franchise is meant to have three big human characters: John Connor, Sarah Connor, and Kyle Reese. Every Terminator film is meant to revolve around these characters who fight against, or alongside a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger).

This film throws that out the window and instead only features Sarah Connor who only makes a cameo during the trailer. Instead, the clip prominently features new characters who seem incredibly bland. The most prominent new character is a Terminator with human characteristics named Grace. She is going through an existential crisis as she tries to figure out whether she is human or a machine.

Here’s the problem: filmmakers already tried that in “Terminator: Salvation” and it flopped badly.

If this was a film all about Sarah Connor trying to save the world, we’d have high hopes. Sarah is arguably the best character in all of Terminator, and her psyche is one of the most fascinating parts of the franchise.

One of the biggest reasons why people see these films is to see Schwarzenegger in action.

Unfortunately, we see almost zero footage of him at all in this trailer. No motorcycle chases, no shotgunning Terminators away, none of that. This trailer was just as big an insult as a dropkick to the back.

What might be good?

There are three things that might save this film. The first is that James Cameron, creator of the first two Terminator films, is back.

The second thing is that Linda Hamilton is back to play Sarah Connor after nearly 30 years of letting the part go to other actresses. Weirdly enough, the two most prominent actresses who have played her since Hamilton were “Game of Thrones” alums Emilia Clarke and Lena Headey. In the first two Terminator films, Hamilton went from a damsel in distress, to a hardcore badass who is perfectly capable of fighting off cyborgs.

If we get a lot more Sarah Connor than the trailer suggests, we might be okay.

The final saving grace is Schwarzenegger himself. Sure, he was in the awful “Terminator: Genisys,” but all of his action scenes were still pretty cool.

If anyone can save the movie it’s these three. If they can’t make it work, then the series might need to be terminated.

Terminator as a franchise

Let’s go back in time to the early ’90s. You just saw “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” in theaters, and it blew your mind. The story, special effects, action, and even the acting were all incredible.

Fast-forward nearly 30 years later, and that film is still absolutely incredible.

The Terminator franchise hasn’t captured the same lightning in a bottle since. “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” was smart to stick with the main storyline, and some of the action was solid, but it’s otherwise forgettable.

The most memorable part of “Terminator: Salvation” was Christian Bale’s meltdown on set.

VIDEO IS NSFW:

“Terminator: Genisys” was so laughably bad, that it made the second-to-last episode of “Game of Thrones” look like one of the highlights of Emilia Clarke’s career.

If you want to make a good Terminator movie, you need to focus on the following:

* A tight story focused on the Connor family

* Arnold Schwarzenegger as a prominent character

* Huge action scenes that are both creative and fun to watch (come on, even “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” did that right)

* Side characters that add to the main cast rather than take the spotlight

* Next-level special effects

If you get these things right, then you can make a solid Terminator movie. Until then, feel free to lower this stinker of a trailer into the lava.

What is Garena Free Fire and How to Play It: The Complete Guide

This free-to-play battle royale is a ton of fun!

If you like games like Fortnite or H1Z1, then Garena Free Fire is right up your alley. Here’s the real perk: it is completely free to play! Available on both iPhone and Android, Garena Free Fire has all the elements of battle royale games we love from player customization to taunting enemies with emotes.

More and more players are jumping into the game. Between January and March of this year, 73 million more players entered the fray. If you’re looking for the next great battle royale experience, here’s what Garena Free Fire is and how to play it.

What is Garena Free Fire the Game?

Garena Free Fire, or simply Free Fire, is a wildly popular battle royale game available on Android and iOS. The game takes place in the third-person perspective and involves up to 50 players landing on an island by parachute. With this many players involved, stakes are high. You’re forgiven for wondering what Garena Free Fire is and how to play it.

The main objective of Free Fire is to gather as much equipment and weaponry as possible and eliminate everyone else on the island.

The game starts onboard a plane. The players choose locations on the island to drop over as the plane flies; this way, no one needs to land in the same spot. Once on the ground, your primary goal is to find as much medical equipment, weaponry, utility items, and special items as you can.

As players are eliminated, the safe area of the island will decrease. This forces remaining players into closer combat situations so that no one can prolong rounds by hiding far off. The game operates on the last man standing mechanic, where the last player to survive wins the round. Players can also team up and play cooperatively; in this case, the team that survives will win the round.

Tutorial on How to Play Garena Free Fire

Free Fire is an exciting game with a fairly straightforward control setup and graphics that suit mid- to low-spec mobile devices. Having a good handle on the basics of battle royale gaming is always an advantage, but you’ll have even more of an edge with a dedicated guide on how to play Garena Free Fire.

The Basics

Your journey begins on a plane. Looking at your head-up display (HUD), you’ll see a circle around a portion of land on the map. This is the field of play. You are allowed to land anywhere within this area. As soon as you see a place you think would be good to start in, press eject on your screen, and your character will jump from the plane. From here, you can control your direction as you hurtle through the air toward the ground. Steer yourself toward your desired area, and before you fall too far, deploy your parachute.

Once you land, it’s a race to see who can pick up weapons first. Because Free Fire supports up to 50 players in each round, you will likely land somewhere near another player and your first target. You can find your weapon anywhere near where you landed. Weapons are distributed fairly well, and it shouldn’t take you long to find your first gun.

Weapons

There are five classes of weapons in Garena Free Fire. These are launchers, large machine guns (LMG), small machine guns (SMG), melee weapons, and automatic rifles (AR). Each class has a few weapon choices with varying degrees of damage, rates of Fire, reload speeds, and accuracy. The range of weapons is quite wide, you can pick up a pan or a baseball bat and hit your opponents, or you can slice them into obscurity with a katana.

Guns are the best option for early gameplay, however, as you’ll be able to hit targets from further away. It’s always a good idea to have a melee class weapon, though, because you never know when you’ll have to face someone in close-quarter combat.

Characters

You can choose from a decent selection of characters, from musicians to physicists, and almost everything in between. As of the latest update, there are 39 individual characters to choose from. Each character has its own perks and special abilities, apart from Nulla and Primis.

Characters can also use emotes, which are fun gestures that you use to communicate with other players. There are currently over 60 emotes in Garena Free Fire. You can equip your character with up to eight emotes at a time and can change them at any point during gameplay. Emotes are purchased from the in-game store using the in-game currency, diamonds. Before buying an emote, check if any special events offer the emote you want as a prize.

Events

There are numerous events in Free Fire that offer all sorts of rewards.

Daily Task events require you to complete a task to earn a token. Tokens are what you use to purchase other rewards. Remember to collect your tokens once you achieve the Daily Task objective; otherwise, they will be forfeited.

Gacha events mimic the real-life gacha toy vending machine. Here you can get random items from a list of possible rewards. The four lists you can choose from are Mega Luck, Gold, Character Royale, Incubator, and Weapon.

Item sales are not so really events but more special opportunities. Some of the game’s items will be sold at discounted in-game prices. Sales range in length from a day to a couple of weeks.

Top-up Promos require you to top up your diamond loot with a specific amount of diamonds to get a prize. These range from one-time top-ups to more lucrative cumulative events. The first op-up usually awards you with extra diamonds or character skins.

Pets

The inclusion of helpful sidekicks in the form of pets is one way Garena Free Fire sets itself apart from other mobile battle royale games. You can choose between 13 pets as of the latest update, and each pet boasts unique special abilities that can help you in your quest for domination. Pets are obtained from the in-game store.

Kitty

Kitty is a simple cat. Other than looking cute, Kitty has no special skills. Kitty has 6 levels, the last of which introduces players to Detective Kitty. This upgrade comes with a new skin, and occasionally Detective Kitty will find hidden objects and items in the world.

Shiba

Shiba is a dog based on the viral Shiba Inu meme and also the actual dog breed. Shiba has an ability called Mushroom Sense which enables it to find mushrooms around the world. At level 1, Shiba marks mushrooms once every 180 seconds. At level five, this frequency increases to 150 seconds. Shiba is a good companion pet for players that move around a lot.

Mechanical Pup

Apart from looking like an animatronic dog, Mechanical Pup has no skills. Increasing Mechanical Pups levels isn’t really necessary as there are no skills present to increase. Mechanic pup is a good visual companion for players that don’t need much help.

Spirit Fox

This fox comes with the healing power of Well Fed. Spirit Fox grants you an additional 4 health points (HP) when you use a health pack. Upgrading Spirit Fox to level 5 increases the HP given to 7. Spirit Fox is a well-rounded companion suitable for all players.

Robo

Robo is a small, spherical robot with cute cat ears. This companion’s special ability is Wall Enforcement which grants 60 HP protection by increasing the efficacy of the Gloo Walls you build. At level 5, this protection increases to 80 HP. Robo is, therefore, good if you rely on defense rather than attack as your playstyle.

Poring

Poring is a sentient gelatinous blob. It carries Stitch and Patch as its special ability, which increases the durability of your armor and helmet every 3 seconds. It also prevents a level 1 helmet from being destroyed. Upgrading Poring to level 5 increases its effectiveness to every 2 seconds and prevents level 2 armor and helmets from being destroyed.

Ottero

This is a cute otter-like creature in a hoodie and headphones. Ottero comes equipped with Double Blubber, a skill that recovers energy points (EP). When you use a treatment gun or medkit, Ottero increases your EP by 35% of your current HP. When you upgrade Ottero to level 5, this increases to 50%.

Night Panther

Night Panther is another addition to the robotic companion family. Resembling a panther, this companion’s ability is called Weight Training. Useful to any type of player, Weight Training increases your inventory capacity by 15. If you upgrade Night Panther to level 5, your inventory capacity by 30. This is a good choice if you’re the kind of player who collects everything they see.

Detective Panda

Detective Panda bestows Panda’s Blessing on your character. This restores 4 HP with every kill you make. Upgrading Detective Panda to level 5 increases the HP received after a kill to 7. If you initiate battles a lot, Detective Panda is the companion for you.

Falco

Falco is the newest addition to the Garena Free Fire pet collection. Its skill is called Skyline Spree, and it will increase your starting skydiving speed. It also increases the speed you have while parachuting to the ground.

Lobby

In general RPG and battle royale terms, a lobby is the screen you see just before the game starts. This is where you can see the details of the game you’re entering, and often you can see a list of the players. In Garena Free Fire, you can communicate with other players from here. The lobby is also where you make final character adjustments and wait for players to join.

Joining a lobby is easy, but Garena also lets you create custom lobbies so that you can play with your friends. To create a custom lobby in Free Fire, you need to have a Custom Room Card. This functions as a payment for each room you create. You can obtain a Custom Room Card in two ways.

With Diamonds

You can buy a Custom Room Card with 100 diamonds. With the current Garena diamond exchange rate, this is equivalent to about $1 each.

As Guild Rewards

During the guild tournaments, players receive dog tags as rewards for any mode they play in. Dog tags can then be exchanged for a Custom Room Card. You need 1,800 dog tags to get the Custom Room Card, but this isn’t such a massive task if you band together with the players you want to create a room with. You’ll make more dog tags collectively and get a Custom Room Card sooner.

To play the game’s classic mode, you need at least 10 players to join your lobby.

Tips and Tricks

With all of its features and possible specifications, Garena definitely deserves its place near the top of the battle royale food chain. To help you rise to the top quicker and more effectively, we’ve compiled a few tips and tricks to get you playing like a pro.

Keep Moving

Moving targets are easier to kill. As soon as you establish a home base or a camping spot, you’re a likely target. Keep moving across the safe area, and don’t settle down anywhere for long. The objective is to be the last player standing, and this is far easier if no one can catch you or find you.

Sneak Your Way to Victory

Garena Free Fire is all about survival. This game isn’t dependent on kills; all you need to do is be the last player or team alive. Use every opportunity for cover you can find, and don’t linger too long in open areas. If you do choose to camp, pick a spot that gives you an edge as a sniper. This will be somewhere high up and fairly well hidden.

Vehicles

Don’t use vehicles early on in the game. While driving is faster and more efficient than walking or running, it makes you an immediate target. If you are intent on driving around, only use vehicles in safe zones. Avoid open vehicles because you’ll be easier to kill if you’re in a roofless car.

Weapons

You can carry three firearms and a melee weapon at the same time. Choose these weapons carefully. Base your choice of weapons on your primary playstyle. So if you’re a sniper, grab up a few rifles, and if you prefer close-quarters combat and sneaking up on your enemies, use more melee-style weapons.

Get your game on!

The main reason to pick this game up is that it’s free. You can do fairly well in matches with all of the basic weapons and armor available to you without spending a dime. Sure, you have the chance to absolutely dominate the competition if you spend a few bucks here and there. However, you also might buy all that and get killed within the first few seconds.

If you are a fan of battle royale games, this one is a lot of fun, and worth your time.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker photos show Knights of Ren, Luke Skywalker, and more

New “Rise of Skywalker” photos provide clues to the story ahead.

Luke and R2 — Weird green milk does a body good.

New photos from the set of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” show hints that the franchise is moving back in the right direction.

After last month’s trailer hinted at the return of Emperor Palpatine and unveiled the ominous full title of the final film in the trilogy, fans have clamored for more info.

Although the trailer was cool, these photos show that the movie will bring us back to J.J. Abrams’s original idea. You know… before Rian Johnson divided the fanbase with “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

The photos:

Probably the most interesting photo from the set was this one of the Knights of Ren. The films haven’t explained who they are, and what they’re doing. What we do know is that Kylo Ren is their leader, so these guys are probably also super evil.

The main issue is that they have done NOTHING in the movies. In J.J. Abrams essentially gift-wrapped these cool side-characters for us, and Rian Johnson proceeded to ignore them.

Hopefully, this photo means that they will be playing a bigger role, and not just a brief appearance.

For fans of the series, this photo is bittersweet in several ways. Although it is cool to see Lando Calrissian back in the Millenium Falcon, he’s only there because Han Solo is dead.

Although we are glad Lando is back in the picture, we would have loved to see him reunite with Han after all these years. At the very least, we would have wanted to see a reunion with Han, Luke, and Leia, but c’est la vie.

The second sad thing in this photo is that we know that we are not seeing Peter Mayhew behind Chewbacca’s mask. Mayhew died earlier this month, and Joonas Suotamo has played the role since.

Star Wars horse fight — In a world filled with lightsabers, blasters, and Death Stars, you brought a bow and arrow?

This photo showed us a bit more of the new character Jannah, played by Naomi Ackie. Given that her outfit resembles Lando’s, many fans have speculated that she might be his daughter.

When asked about it in an interview with Stephen Cobert, Ackie said, “Lando is a very charming man, so he could have children all over the universe, that’s all I’m saying.”

Kerri Russel — Are they making a Rocketeer movie?

Inside that cool helmet is none other than Keri Russell, playing her character Zorri Bliss in the “Thieves’ Quarter of the snow-dusted world Kijimi.” Beyond that, we don’t know anything about the character. However, the costume does look cool. We also like those two weapons she has in both her holsters. Hopefully, we will get to see her in some cool action scenes with those.

Star Wars bad guys — “Don’t talk to me or my son ever again.”

Domhnall Gleeson returns to the franchise as General Hux, but he’s not alone. Richard E. Grant will be playing Allegiant General Pryde, according to an article from Vanity Fair.

These two characters are NOT related, but they do seem to be working together to take down the Resistance. Maybe we will see General Pryde give a Nazi-esque speech like Hux’s from Force Awakens.

Rey and Chewie are really becoming tight.

In this photo, we see Rey, Chewbacca, and BB-8 racing away in what looks similar to a deconstructed pod racer. Is there going to be pod racing in this movie? Probably not, but it is might be a cool little callback.

Rey vs Kylo — Good thing Kylo doesn’t have the high ground.

As we all expected to see, Rey and Kylo Ren are going to duke it out again. The first time these two fought, they were in a snowy forest in the midst of a blizzard. This time, their tension appears to have melted the ice around them creating a literal and metaphorical wave of emotions.

C3P0 — Whatever happened to his red arm?

Here, we get to see C-3PO get some final touches before his close-up.

Rise of Skywalker — Is that guy on the right trying to do the Bernie?

Ya know, we have seen a lot of photos and footage from this desert planet. We can’t help but think this might be Tatooine from the original films, or maybe Jakku from “The Force Awakens.”

This photo of John Williams with his orchestra means that there will at least be one good thing in this film: the music.

His music is just as synonymous with the franchise as the Jedi and Darth Vader. The projection of Leia in the background of the shot hopefully means that we will get to hear his score “Han Solo and the Princess” harmoniously played once again.

Stars Wars 9 — Are those the Ood from Doctor Who?

Uh, who are these guys?

Well, it wouldn’t be Star Wars without some weird aliens. Actually, the one in the bottom right almost resembles the Tusken Raiders from the first film. This is further evidence that we might be back on Tatooine.

These guys are far from the weirdest aliens we’ve seen in the franchise. Remember some of those guys from the famous cantina scene?

The one we’ve been waiting for…

One of the things fans felt was the most egregious in Last Jedi was the handling of Luke Skywalker.

We were left wondering, “If he just wanted to die, why did he leave a map of how to find him.” Also, giving up is simply not the Jedi way.

Even Mark Hamill didn’t seem like it:

This photo and the actual title of the film both suggest that Luke’s journey is not yet over. Hopefully, we will get to see Luke do some more cool Jedi stuff, and do less alien milking.

I’ve (still) got a bad feeling about this

We’re setting our standards to “low” for this one. The movie looks like it is going to be playing a lot of clean-up from “The Last Jedi.”

What do you think? Are we in for a fantastic finale?

Frame-by-frame analysis of the Rise of Skywalker trailer

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Google left a number of user passwords unprotected for 14 years

Due to an error from 2005, your password might have been left exposed.

Google announced in a blog post that they had stored a number of users’ passwords in plain text for about 14 years. The good news is that Google found no signs of a breach or misuse.

When Google stores passwords, they go through a process called “hashing.” Hashing scrambles a password so that if someone were to get the scrambled version, they would have no idea what your actual password might be. The passwords in question were not hashed and were instead left in plain text.

Google did not clarify how many user passwords were unprotected.

“We take the security of our enterprise customers extremely seriously, and pride ourselves in advancing the industry’s best practices for account security,” wrote Suzanne Frey, vice president of engineering at Google. “Here we did not live up to our own standards, nor those of our customers. We apologize to our users and will do better.”

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How did this happen?

Back in 2005, Google made an error when creating their new password system. Google ended up fine-tuning their hashing system, and those passwords ended up making it to their hashing system. However, the error persisted.

While troubleshooting G Suite customer sign-up flows, Google discovered that the error was still there. A subset of some unhashed passwords remained in Google’s system for a maximum of two weeks at a time. Google has removed the error.

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Should I be worried?

Short answer: not really.

Google did not suffer a breach that led to your password getting stolen by a hacker. The company was careless in how it protected some of the passwords, but they have rectified the problem.

How to play The Sims 4 for free (legally!)

For a limited time only, you can get yourself a free copy of The Sims 4.

The Sims is a franchise that shows us our true colors.

Some of us can play through the game as normally as possible. Some of us need to kill NPCs and steal their money. Some of us need to create art goblins that live in the basement and paint all day. Seriously, that happens:

Although The Sims games are fun, we can’t always justify the cost of the game for what we ultimately get. You can only create a character, a home, and a family from scratch so many times before it gets stale.

Luckily, there’s a way to play The Sims 4 for free through a completely legal method. Hurry up though, this offer ends on May 28, 2019.

How to play The Sims 4 for free

1. Download Origin

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2. Once downloaded, create an EA account if you don’t have one already.

3. Search for The Sims 4 in the search bar.

4. From there, you will see two options. The first is to download the game for free. The second is to buy the newest version with all the DLC for $40. Click on the free option.

5. Download the game. It’s a pretty big file and can take a while.

You’re all set! Now you can play the game for free.

Although the offer is only available for a few more days, you will still have the game forever after downloading it.

What are you waiting for? Follow these steps and start playing!

Ads are coming to WhatsApp

Ads are coming to WhatsApp next year, but they might not be as annoying as you think.

You’re about to hate WhatsApp just as much as you hated the finale of “Game of Thrones.”

Whether you want it or not, in 2020 your favorite messaging app will include ads.

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This was announced at the Facebook Marketing Summit 2019 in Rotterdam.

The ads will be similar to those on Instagram. They will appear as you navigate through the app.

The good news is that they will not be as annoying as you might have feared. The ad will be in the form of a video or photo. You can swipe the ad the go to the advertiser’s page, or just scroll past it.

Also announced: WhatsApp Business, the app for companies, will have new functions including more complex message formats.

These initiatives by Facebook are meant to help monetize the application with more than 1.5 billion active users.

Up until now, WhatsApp was the only app under the Facebook umbrella that did not run advertisements. It was just a matter of time before this happened.

Jobs that won’t be affected by AI

Worried a computer will take your job? Here are some that might be safe.

Alright, so we admit: this is all speculation. Artificial Intelligence definitely could, and probably will, affect everything.

We’re not going to discuss whether or not AI is dangerous or not. Frankly, we find it hard to be overly concerned about the possibility of artificial intelligence destroying all of humanity. Why?

Partially, this may be due to the fact that there are great people like Elon Musk using programs like OpenAI to ensure artificial intelligence benefits humanity. Or, it could be one of a huge number of other reasons including, but not limited to: super-intelligent general AI may never exist, if we all die that’s that, and finally, everyone’s tired of worrying whether it’s reasonable to continue existence as energy-inefficient, carbon-based life forms.

Moral quandaries posed without sufficient data is one of the many things that makes you humans so inefficient in the first place.

So, let’s talk about the…

Jobs that won’t be affected by AI

Sports!

Remember when your parents tried to make you join track, baseball, curling? Well, you shoulda listened!

Sports, objectively speaking, are the most anti-AI job around. The very composition of these competitions necessitates human involvement from the players, because such challenges themselves revolve around people – real people – growing stronger. Getting faster. Developing coordination. Working as a team to beat the others.

Basically, offices can replace a worker with a machine and still be an office. A football team can’t replace their quarterback and be called a football team. At least… not for a long while.

So, the real question is, how will AI change sports?

We believe the most likely effect will be data management (a regular theme for AI, it seems). Coaches will likely use AI-developed metrics to search for new players and design better practice routines to suit their current players. The business side of sports has a number of great needs that AI could fulfill. However, this will not so much change the business as improve how teams operate, furthering what modern technology has already accomplished.

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Art and Creativity

Oof. Danger zone.

Already, many AI programs have been employed to write scripts. It goes like this: someone pours a bunch of screenplays into a processing algorithm to see what the machine spits out. The results can be pretty crazy:

Yeah, that’s a Burger King ad written by AI. The future is bright!

But seriously, there may come a time when artificial intelligence can develop more than just weird ads and will develop great stories with well-rounded character development and detailed worlds. What happens then?

First off, we believe that will take a much longer time than it seems. Modern computers can easily compute “big data,” and string together streams of words based on inputs. Both those things are far removed from the synthesis required for creating a story.

It’s an even more difficult form of the Turing Test. The Turing test judges a machine’s ability to mimic (emphasis on “mimic”) human behavior in such a way that someone conversing with the computer couldn’t tell the robot from a human. Developing a coherent story requires far more than responses to inputs, the process demands true imagination and understanding of plot, character, locations, and theme.

Second, let’s say AI reaches that point. Even then, much of art, by its very definition, revolves around the outer expression of inner human emotion. Unlike a script, a painting often must be judged on the artist’s intent. As with sports, taking people from the equation removes the value of effort and expression, meaning there may always be value in creation.

Music is already under assault by some surprisingly good AI composers, however:

Law Enforcement

Right now, robots are used by police forces for such tasks as bomb disposal and even then, they are remotely controlled rather than autonomous. AI is used for license plate recognition and more, but never for field work.

We expect it will take many years before the general public trusts AI enough to give it a place alongside officers in robotic form. Even when this does occur (which we believe it will), we predict they will only be trusted with nonlethal measures.

After this, it’s possible AI will become the majority of the police force.

Why? An autonomous robot can use nonlethal force without risking its own “life” in dangerous situations a human officer shouldn’t enter without the sufficient protection of a firearm. As the technology and robotics required become less expensive, they will begin to have more functions like facial recognition, evidence management, and so on.

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Therapy

…and psychology, to a lesser extent.

As you may have noticed, aside from jobs that require humans by sheer definition (sports and art), the jobs least likely to be affected by artificial intelligence are those dealing with sensitive human matters. Basically, any job where you wouldn’t want to see a robot working will keep humans around… temporarily.

Therapy relies on a delicate relationship between two people. Unlike movie therapists (who are generally worthless and often tell kids running from real monsters that “it’s all in your head, kid, you’re totes crazy”), real-life practitioners are experts in helping people get to the center of their problems and finding a way to defeat them. We suspect even if a robot could pass as a human, the knowledge that no warm-bodied person is present would make most people ill at ease.

And we’re a long way from robots that advanced.

On the psychology side, however, things could go either way. A robot adept at recognizing body language and speech patterns could use a patient’s data to more reliably provide accurate analysis. The question is: would a visitor be more likely to act natural around a human, or a robot? Humans provide more of a physical presence, but sensitive topics may be easier handled with a friendly robot. Once again, we need more information to decide.

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Ministry

A common phrase in church goes: “If AI takes over pastoral jobs, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.”

Okay, that’s totally not a phrase. But congrats, you’re paying attention!

Many, if not all faiths, rely on a human element due to their belief in a soul or reincarnation. With that idea in mind, what rational churchgoer would want the word of God preached by a soulless machine, no matter how lifelike it seems?

Now, we could talk all day about the ramifications that a “godlike” AI could have on humanity’s belief in a higher power, but we’re not going to. We’re just not.

Termination

This is the end.

Of the article.

If you have a few suggestions for occupations that are AI-safe for the time being, please let us know below! Specifically, do you think robots will take over the dental industry? Yes, that’s a pretty specific question, but we were on the fence about it and thought you might have an idea.

Google Translatotron can mimic your voice

Google’s Translatotron improves speech-to-speech translation and can even mimic the speaker’s voice.

Google Translate is an incredible tool.

It hasn’t had the panache of some of the translating devices, we’ve seen in pop culture sci-fi outings like “Star Trek” and “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” But it’s been getting the job done for years. From travelers in foreign lands to high school kids doing their Spanish homework, Google Translate has made it easier to converse across multiple languages.

Incredibly, Google’s showpiece translation tool is about to get even better with Google Translatotron. Soon, it could be entering realms of existence that have so far only belonged in our wildest imagination.

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Google Translatotron improves speech-to-speech, mimics user’s voice

Speech-to-speech translation is still not a huge thing in today’s world. Google has been trying to push it recently, via its Home Hub assistant, but it hasn’t really caught on with the general public. Most of us are still typing in what we need translating or using Google’s excellent image recognition software to take pictures of text that we want to translate.

The main reason for this is that technology hasn’t quite been good enough, up to now. The way speech-to-speech translation works currently is by:

Listening to the spoken words
Transcribing it into text
Translating the text into the target language
Finally, converting it back into speech.

All these steps take time and the end result is a more regular text-based conversion.

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Google’s new Translatotron is going to change this and will implement true speech-to-speech translation. Translatotron will allow Google to cut out the need to convert sounds into text, which will save time and remove steps were a translation could go wrong.

The other cool feature that Translatotron gives Google is the ability to make the translated speech mimic the voice of the original user. You can find some audio samples of this action here.

How Google Translatotron works — Image via: Google

According to Google, the new feature uses a variety of methods to translate directly from voice and then mimic said voice in its recreations. It’s pretty confusing, but you can find the complete explanation here.

Wrapping up

It isn’t clear when Translatotron will start to be incorporated into Google Translate. The blog post ends by calling it a “start point” for future research on end-to-end speech-to-speech translation systems.

Google sees this as the beginning of something rather than the culmination. It is clear from the audio samples that it is far from a polished feature. Perhaps this is why Google has called it Translatotron, which wouldn’t be out of place in a clunky 1950s era sci-fi outing. It is futuristic, but far from slick.