Apple iCloud Calendar spam: What’s going on and is there a fix?

Spam is not unique to email. You can get spammy iCloud Calendar invites, too.

Lately, there has been a massive spike in spam iCloud calendar invites, according to several reports as well as users on Twitter. It’s reached the point to where Apple has announced it is working on a fix. In the meantime however, there are workarounds. Here’s what you need to know.

• Apple iPhone 6 Plus ‘touch disease’ flaw: Here’s how to get it fixed

Twitter (@danbruno)

iCloud Calendar spam: What’s going on?

Manu iCloud Calendar users have been getting invitation notifications on their phones, which they can either “Accept” or “Close”. If you close the invite, it goes into your iCloud calendar, where you can then decline the invitation, which removes the event from your view. That said, it informs the spammer that your account is active and thus encourages them to continue sending you spam.

The same thing goes for iCloud Photo Sharing, which has also seen a surge in spam invites, according to 9to5Mac.

iCloud Calendar spam: Is Apple addressing the issue?

Yes. Apple has released an official statement on the issue:

“We are sorry that some of our users are receiving spam calendar invitations. We are actively working to address this issue by identifying and blocking suspicious senders and spam in the invites being sent.”

iCloud Calendar spam: Is there a fix?

There are a couple of workarounds that make it possible for you to hide the spam until Apple comes up with a solution. Well, for iCloud Calendar spam anyway, but for the iCloud Photo Sharing spam, there’s not much you can do. Here are your options for iCloud Calendar spam:

1. Create a new “Spam” calendar in the Calendar application, then move the invite to that new calendar, and delete the calendar, which will subsequently delete the spam invites. When you delete the “Spam” calendar, select the “Delete and Don’t Notify” option that appears so that you won’t notify the spammers about your account being active.

• Launch the Calendar app on your iPhone.
• Tap Calendars at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap Edit in the upper corner of the screen.
• Tap Add Calendar under iCloud.
• Name the calendar “Spam”, and then tap Done.
• Tap Back in the upper corner of the screen.
• Tap on the spam invitation.
• Tap Calendar under the invitation name.
• Tap Spam to add the invitation to the new “Spam” calendar.
• Tap Back in the upper corner of the screen.
• In the main calendar view, tap Calendars at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap Edit in the upper corner of the screen.
• Tap Spam under iCloud.
• Scroll down to the bottom, and then tap Delete Calendar.
• Tap Delete Calendar once more to confirm.

2. Log into your iCloud account on Apple’s iCloud website, then go to the Settings icon, and navigate to Preferences > Advanced > Invitations, and set it so that calendar invites are sent to your email. Your spam filter will then catch the invites and trash them without notifying spammers.

iCloud Calendar spam: Is that it?

Yep. As for iCloud Photo Sharing spam, you can turn off the feature altogether (by going into Settings, then to Photos & Camera, and “Disable iCloud Photo Sharing”). That’s your only option for now until Apple solves these problems.

Android Auto now supports ‘OK Google’ hands-free commands

Android Auto now lets you go completely hands-free, thanks to “OK Google”.

Recently, Google launched Android Auto for your phone – so all you need to enjoy the infotainment experience is the latest version of the app and a phone or tablet mount. With this setup, you can get access to smartphone-like apps and services designed for your vehicle. But now, you won’t even have to tap buttons on your mobile device screen, as the “OK Google” hotword detection has just been included in the Android Auto app.

We haven’t seen an official announcement yet from Google. The feature was actually spotted by Reddit user neo5468, who noticed that the latest versions of the Android Search app and Android Auto app offer a new toggle for OK Google commands while driving. Simply switch it on to get started. If the hotword doesn’t work for you immediately, you’ll have to wait for support to roll out.

• Android Auto update brings car mode to all Android phones

Remember, earlier this year while at Google I/O, Google revealed it was working on enabling hotword support in Android Auto. Previously, you had to press a button on the screen or the steering wheel. The company has also said that it will integrate Waze, but like the OK Google hot detection in Android Auto, that feature has taken quite a while to appear.

Currently, aside from Android Auto, the “OK Google” hotword detection is available for Nexus and Pixel devices, Android Wear watches, Google’s Android and iOS apps, and the Google Home.

Reddit

Uh-oh! Don’t expect a new Moto 360 from Lenovo any time soon

It looks like Lenovo is throwing in the towel when it comes to Android Wear.

The company has confirmed that it will not release a new smartwatch for the launch of Android Wear 2.0, which is expected to launch early next year. Lenovo has already told us not to expect a new smartwatch in 2016, but now it’s not even planning one for Google’s newest wearable platform update, according to The Verge, which spoke to Moto’s head of global product development.

Lenovo apparently doesn’t “see enough pull in the market” to release a new smartwatch any time soon. It claimed wearables do not have “broad enough appeal” for it to continue to build on it year after year, which indicates Lenovo doesn’t want to include smartwatches and other wearable devices in Moto’s annual device roadmap. Remember, CNET reported in September that Android Wear partners have been reluctant to release new hardware because of a lack of consumer interest and the inability to attract the average consumer.

Three out of four wearable devices worn in the US are fitness bands – over half of which are affordable products made by Fitbit. That statistic comes from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech’s May 2016 wearable report, while a more recent report from research firm CCS Insight also found that consumers would rather spend their money on inexpensive fitness bands.

• Google decided not to release Android Wear 2.0 this autumn

Lenovo last updated its Android Wear line with the release of the Moto 360 in 2015, which followed the original model launched in 2014. Also, many Android Wear partners, including LG and Huawei, which usually announce new products at IFA in Berlin, did not update their lines in 2016. Google itself even delayed the launch of Android Wear 2.0 from this autumn to next year.

Android Wear 2.0 is set to be a massive overhaul to Google’s wearable platform, although Google has yet to provide a specific release date for it. We don’t know about you, but all this makes us seriously question the future of Android Wear.

• Android Wear 2.0: What’s new in the major software update?

Oculus Touch controllers: These 53 titles will support them at launch

In a few days, you’ll be able to buy Oculus Touch and use the controllers with a giant selection of games.

Oculus VR has just announced that Oculus Touch will launch with 53 supported titles, including games like The Climb, Job Simulator, The Unspoken, and Kingspray. You can go here to see the full list of titles (they’re also below).

Oculus Touch is a “pair of tracked controllers that deliver natural ‘hand presence’ – the feeling that your virtual hands are actually your own”. The controllers, which were first announced last year, work with the Oculus Rift VR headset. For more information, see our Oculus Touch guide. 

• Oculus Touch controllers: What are they, how much do they cost, and when can you buy them?

Oculus Touch will be available on 6 December. The controller bundle comes with two titles (VR Sports Challenge and The Unspoken), a connector for Rock Band VR, and a second camera. Remember, a third sensor, which releases 6 December, is needed for Touch controllers to room-scale. 

The Rift’s $599 headset package, when combined with the controllers’ $199 price and the extra $79 camera that’s required, makes the full Oculus platform more expensive than the $799 HTC Vive. There’s no word yet on UK pricing.

Which titles will support Oculus Touch at launch?

See the full list below.

• Arizona SunshineVertigo Games
• Bigscreen BetaBigscreen
• Carnival Games VR2K Games
• The ClimbCrytek
• Cosmic TripFunktronic Labs
• CRANGA!: Harbor FrenzyHandMade Game
• Dead and BuriedOculus Studios
• Dead HungryQ-Games
• DEXEDNinja Theory
• Dig 4 DestructionCOLOPL, Inc.
• Enigma SphereYOMUNECO
• Fantastic ContraptionRadial Games and Northway Games
• Final ApproachPhaser Lock Interactive
• Fly to KUMA MAKERCOLOPL, Inc.
• Fruit Ninja VRHalfbrick Studios
• Galaxy GolfLiftoff Labs
• The Gallery Episode 1: Call of the StarseedCloudhead Games
• Gary the GullLimitless Studios
• Grav|Lab: Gravitational Testing Facility & ObservationsMark Schramm
• HoloBallTreeFortress
• Home Improvisation: Furniture SandboxThe Stork Burnt Down
• I Expect You To DieSchell Games
• Job SimulatorOwlchemy Labs
• KingsprayInfectious Ape
• MediumOculus
• Music InsideReality Reflection
• NBA 2KVR ExperienceVisual Concepts / 2K
• Ocean RiftLlŷr ap Cenydd
• Oculus First ContactOculus Studios
• Pierhead ArcadeMechabit Ltd
• PLANNESTricol
• Please, Don’t Touch AnythingEscalation Studios
• Pro Fishing Challenge VROpus
• Proton Pulse PlusZero Transform
• Pulsar ArenaZero Transform
• Quar: Battle for Gate 18Steel Wool Games
• Quill by Story Studio (beta)Oculus Story Studio
• Rec RoomAgainst Gravity
• Rescuties VRmode of expression, LLC
• RipcoilSanzaru Games, Inc.
• Serious Sam VR: The Last HopeCroteam VR
• Space Pirate TrainerI-Illusions
• Sports Bar VRPerilous Orbit and Cherry Pop Games
• Super KaijuDirective Games
• Superhot VRSUPERHOT Team
• Surgeon Simulator: Experience RealityBossa Studios
• theBluWeVR, Inc.
• ToyboxOculus Studios
• The UnspokenInsomniac Games
• Viral EXFierce Kaiju
• VR Sports ChallengeSanzaru Games, Inc.
• WindlandsPsytec Games Ltd
• ZR: Zombie RiotPlaySide VR

High school students open-source Shkreli’s pricey HIV drug

Australian high school students have done “a little Breaking Bad” by synthesizing and effectively open-sourcing the drug famously hiked 5,000 percent in price by “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli. The drug they recreated, Daraprim, is used to treat infection caused by malaria and HIV and without it, many patients would die. “Working on a real-world problem definitely made us more enthusiastic,” said 17-year-old Sydney Grammar student Austin Zhang. “The background to this [drug] made it seem more important.”

Daraprim is a relatively simple compound and typically costs $12.99 AUD ($10) for fifty tablets in Australia. However, Shkreli’s company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, has the exclusive rights to distribute the specific Daraprim formulation (it’s known as Pyrimethamine elsewhere), even though the drug was developed in 1953, and is long out of patent.

To get a new version approved, a company would have to compare it Turing’s FDA-approved product with their permission, which isn’t likely — the company limits sales to doctors and pharmacies, making it difficult to reverse-engineer. Pharma companies would therefore need to go through an onerous approval process that probably wouldn’t be worth it, considering that less than 10,000 Daraprim prescriptions are written in the US per year. (The US uses a “closed distribution” system which differs from most other countries.)

@nedavanovac lol how is that showing anyone up? almost any drug can be made at small scale for a low price. glad it makes u feel good tho.

— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) December 1, 2016

Though the open source Daraprim literally debunks Shkreli’s premise that the drug is “underpriced” (supply and demand aside), it probably won’t directly help anyone. Shkreli himself dismissed the work with a tweet, saying, “how is that showing anyone up? Almost any drug can be made at small scale for a low price. Glad it makes u feel good tho [sic].”

However, that doesn’t mean that the exercise was useless. In fact, the students didn’t just follow a recipe, they actually reverse-engineered the drug, checking their progress using spectral analysis on each new compound.

They also posted the work on Github, letting experts from the Open Source Malaria Consortium (OSM) (endorsed by Bill Gates) provide some help. For instance, the process used to manufacture Daraprim would be dangerous for students to replicate in a small high school lab. “They had to change things as some reagents were nasty and dangerous so some invention was needed on their part,” said Todd.

After achieving a “beautiful” spectrograph, they finished with 3.7 grams of pure pyrimethamine, worth about $110,000 on the US market, and presented the results at a prestigious symposium. The OSM also posted a guide for making the drug that could help anyone else who wanted to try. That’s quite an accomplishment for 16- and 17-year-old students, even if they can’t actually sell it. And they sort of proved that as tempting as it is to hate Shkreli, he’s merely profiting from a US system that’s much friendlier to pharmaceutical companies than other countries.

Via: The Guardian

Source: Open Source Malaria