ProtonMail makes its free VPN service available to everyone

ProtonMail, the encrypted email created by CERN and MIT scientists, has released a new product in response to the administration’s roll back of Obama-era internet privacy rules. Starting today, you can try out the company’s VPN service, which was in beta testing by 10,000 initial users for a year, by getting it from the official ProtonVPN website. The great thing about it is that it has a free tier that’s free forever. It might not be as robust as the paid ones, but it still routes your connection through multiple encrypted tunnels in three countries.

By offering free options, the company can reach more people, especially now that there’s a lot more interest in using VPN all over the world. In the US, the new FCC chairman and various Senators want to kill net neutrality in addition to nullifying rules that protect user data. UK Prime Minister Theresa May wants to regulate the internet. People in China, Egypt and other places where the internet is heavily censored also need VPNs to get around restrictions, while others need the service to keep their info secure and private.

If you decide to stick with ProtoMail’s service as your primary VPN provider after using it for a while, you can always choose to pay later to help the company continue offering its free services. ProtonMail says it relies on user upgrades to keep the company running, because (in its own fighting words) it doesn’t “abuse user privacy to sell advertisements” like “Google and Facebook.”

Source: ProtonVPN

The Morning After: Tuesday, June 20th 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

On this fine Tuesday morning, we’re ready to ditch SIM cards, declare our favorite games from E3 2017 and check out some (potentially) Earth-like planets.

The rise of the eSIMGoodbye, and good riddance, to SIM cards

Fiddling with a tiny physical card is archaic and frustrating but, as Cherlynn Low explains, eSIMs can alleviate that pain. As an alternative, embedded SIMs integrate the identification technology of the plastic card into the device’s CPU or modem. However, we’re still at least a few months away from seeing the benefits.

They left an impressionOur favorite games of E3 2017

Now that our editors have escaped the confines of the LA Convention Center, it’s time to reflect on what we saw at E3 2017. Favorites included Beyond Good & Evil 2, Anthem, Duck Season (above) and a few others that stuck out on the show floor or during presentations.

Yes, people still playPokemon Go reworks battles with simpler gyms and 20-player raids

A year after it launched Pokémon Go is getting some big upgrades. The game’s awkward gym mechanic is getting a lot of attention to make it less complicated and easier for casual players by ditching the level and prestige systems entirely. Now, when a team controls a gym, its members can install six monsters (no duplicates — sorry Blissey trainers), and challengers will fight them in order based on which one has been there the longest. Fights will wear down a Pokémon’s motivation, which should make it easier to dislodge high-level monsters unless their trainer refreshes them with berries. A bigger change, however, is the pending addition of raid battles that could have up to 20 players at once working together for the chance to capture powerful Pokémon.

No more delays‘Star Trek Discovery’ explores new frontiers on September 24th

CBS’ new Star Trek show finally has a release date: September 24th. While the premiere will air on broadcast TV, the new show’s 15-episode run (split into two parts with the second half launching in January), will only be available on the CBS All Access streaming service in the US — we’ll see if that compels fans to grab a subscription.

Third time is the charmNintendo Switch update makes it easy to find missing Joy-Cons

The v3.0.0 update is now available for Nintendo’s convertible Switch console, and it’s a big one. It adds everything from a helpful locate feature for lost controllers to fixing an issue with a docked Switch accidentally changing the active HDMI input on your TV. Owners can easily add friends from their 3DS and Wii U friends lists now, and also choose to be notified when their friends sign on. For the full list of fixes and tweaks, check Nintendo’s site here.

But wait, there’s more…

• LG’s enhanced G6+ smartphone has more storage and premium sound
• GOP-hired data company leaked information on 198 million citizens
• NASA’s Kepler found ten more Earth-size planets in the ‘Goldilocks zone’
• Google Play’s new feature for Samsung phones isn’t so exclusive
• What’s on TV: ‘Better Call Saul,’ ‘Fargo’ and ‘Silicon Valley’ finales

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t subscribe.

Google Search will help you find your next job

Finding a new job can be tough. With so many recruitment sites to keep track of, it can be difficult to know what’s out there, never mind applying and getting through the interview process. Now, there’s a new way to keep tabs on the work in your local area: Google. An update to Search on desktop and mobile allows you to, well, search for new employment with conversational queries like “jobs near me” and “teaching jobs.” You’ll then see a list of results from across the web, each of which includes the company’s name, the role, the hours and when the job was posted.

If you’re after something specific, you can drill down and filter by category (customer service, management, healthcare), title (nurse, data engineer, barista), and the type of employment (full-time, part-time, contractor, internship). Google will also list your estimated commute, if the job listing includes the necessary information. Half the battle is knowing when a new job has been posted, so you can also save a custom search and request email alerts every time a new opening matches your criteria. Throw in employer reviews and ratings, and you’ve got a pretty robust search tool.

For now, the feature is only available in the US. Google has teamed up with LinkedIn, Monster, WayUp, DirectEmployers, CareerBuilder, Glassdoor and Facebook (yes, Facebook) to power the service, and has published some documentation so that other job providers can make their openings discoverable through the service. Should it take off, we wouldn’t be surprised if Google rolled this out elsewhere. Different countries are ruled by different recruitment sites, but the general model, at least in Google’s case, should work regardless of the region. As my colleague Roberto Baldwin noted, it’s nice to see Google helping people who need a regular paycheck more than an AI speaker or a flashy virtual reality headset.

Source: Google

Samsung Pay now supports HSBC and M&S Bank cards in the UK

In the UK at least, Samsung is awfully late to the mobile payments party. Samsung Pay launched last month well behind Apple Pay and Google’s Android Pay, and almost two years after its debut in South Korea. To make matters worse, it was only available to customers who bank with MBNA, Nationwide and Santander. Today, it’s playing catch-up with support for HSBC, First Direct and M&S Bank cardholders. While welcome, the app is still missing some of the big British money-lenders including Lloyds Bank and Barclays (Android Pay doesn’t have the latter either, mind.)

The service is available on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, the S7 and S7 Edge and the new S8 and S8+. A software update is also rolling out to last year’s A3 and A7, and Samsung is promising support for additional devices “in the coming months.” The big question, however, is why anyone would choose to use this over Android Pay. Samsung’s version does support iris scanning for payment authorisation, which is a neat (and pretty secure) touch. But otherwise, there’s little to separate it from Google’s established service, which comes with handy deals and will follow you regardless of the Android phones you buy in the future.

AR/VR Headset Shipments Forecast to Hit 100 Million Units By 2021, Buoyed By Apple, Microsoft, and Others

Earlier this month at the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple revealed its first big push into the augmented reality and virtual reality spaces, with a new ARKit developer framework and high-performance iMacs with native support for VR content creation.

On Monday, research firm IDC published new data forecasting significant growth in both markets, with dedicated AR and VR headset adoption expected to increase from just under 10 million units last year to 100 million units in 2021.

VR headsets account for much of the device volume so far, with VR headsets powered by a smartphone proving the most popular, according to IDC. The second half of 2016 also saw an increase in volume of Sony PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, and Facebook’s Oculus Rift.

“The next six to 18 months will further stimulate the VR market as PC vendors, along with Microsoft, introduce tethered headsets and high-end standalone VR headsets also enter the market,” said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. “With lower hardware requirements on the PC and lower prices on headsets, VR will be more accessible than ever before. And the introduction of additional motion tracking and hand tracking will help further blur the line between digital and physical reality.”

Although IDC believes VR headsets will continue to dominate the market in terms of volume for the foreseeable future, the firm believes AR will have a much bigger impact on the industry as a whole, in part thanks to Apple’s recent entry onto the scene.

In terms of dedicated devices, AR continues to sit slightly in the background of VR. The reason for this is not that AR is less important, but rather it is harder to achieve. IDC believes VR headsets will continue to lead in terms of volume throughout the forecast, but maintains that AR in general will have a much bigger impact overall on the industry. Consumers are very likely to have their first AR experience via a mobile phone or tablet rather than a dedicated headset, and Apple’s recent introduction of ARKit further supports this.

IDC believes AR headsets will become increasingly popular in markets such as healthcare, manufacturing, field service workers, and design, with commercial shipments to account for just over 80 percent of all AR headsets shipped in the next 5 years. “We believe that many industrial jobs will fundamentally change because of AR in the next 5-years,” said Ryan Reith, IDC program vice president. “These are much more opportunistic markets for dedicated AR headsets than the consumer market.”

Mobile app developers have been sharing early creations using Apple’s new ARKit, suggesting huge enthusiasm for the possibilities for AR on iOS devices. As for VR, Apple’s enthusiasm was clear during its WWDC keynote, with the company showing off the power of its new iMacs through a live demo of VR content creation using a HTC Vive, made possible via a new Metal 2 developer kit that has provisions for external GPUs and VR headsets.

Related Roundup: Apple VR Project
Tags: IDC, ARKit
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Swiss Encrypted Email Provider Launches ProtonVPN With Free Subscription Tier

Encrypted email provider ProtonMail today launched its own VPN service called ProtonVPN, which includes a free user tier in its pricing plan.

The Swiss-based company said it had been testing its VPN service for four months with the help of over 10,000 members of the ProtonMail community, and the group was ready to make ProtonVPN available to everyone starting Tuesday.

The Proton group said they were motivated to create ProtonVPN to combat increased threats to online freedom, such as the recent repeal of Obama-era rules designed to protect consumer internet browsing history, calls by British Prime Minister Theresa May for increased online surveillance, and the attempts by the U.S. FCC to dismantle net neutrality.

“In the past year, we have seen more and more challenges against Internet freedom,” said ProtonMail Co-Founder Dr. Andy Yen, “now more than ever, we need robust tools for defending privacy, security, and freedom online.

“The best way to ensure that encryption and privacy rights are not encroached upon is to get the tools into the hands of the public as soon as possible and widely distributing them,” said Yen. “This is why, as with ProtonMail, we’re committed to making a free version of ProtonVPN available to the world.”

The group says it has worked to make the best possible VPN service by addressing many of the common pitfalls with existing VPNs. Features therefore include a Secure Core architecture that routes traffic through multiple encrypted tunnels in multiple countries to better defend against network based attacks, no logs, as well as seamless integration with the Tor anonymity network. Headquartered in Switzerland, the VPN is also outside of E.U. and U.S. jurisdiction and is not a member of the fourteen eyes surveillance network.

The free tier includes servers in three countries and usage on one device, but bandwidth speeds cannot be guaranteed. The Basic tier costs $4 a month (billed as $48 a year) and includes access to all 112 ProtonVPN servers across 14 countries, high speed bandwidth, and usage on up to two devices, while the Plus tier ($8 per month/$96 per year) offers the highest bandwidth, connection on up to 5 devices, Tor servers, and access to Secure Core data networks hosted in Switzerland, Iceland, and Sweden. The Highest tier ($24 a month/$288 a year) includes a ProtonMail Visionary account.

ProtonMail began crowdfunding in May 2014 and launched in March 2016, led by a group of scientists from CERN and MIT who aimed to deliver an easy-to-use end-to-end encrypted email service with freely available open source code. Earlier this year, the team launched a Tor-based site to make ProtonMail available to users in regions under the oppression of strict state online censorship.

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.

Tags: security, privacy, Encryption, VPN
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U.K. Smart Home Firm Hive Announces First Security Camera

Hive, the U.K. smart connected home company backed by British Gas, today announced the Hive Camera, bringing video to its family of smart devices for the first time.

Similar to the Nest Cam, the Hive Camera enables users to monitor their home 24/7 wherever they are, using an accompanying mobile app. The device features motion and audio sensors that can be set to trigger motion and audio alerts, with automatic video recording also included.

The Hive Camera’s zoom function allows users to get a clearer view of what’s happening at home, with the added ability to trigger noises like a barking dog or alarm to discourage intruders.

In addition, a two-way audio feature allows users to communicate with family members through the camera, enabling parents to soothe a baby in distress, for example.

The Hive Camera will be available in the U.K. beginning June 29 for £129, and joins the growing family of Hive smart products, which now includes motion sensors, smart plugs, door sensors, and smart lights.

The company also says it will soon launch a Hive Leak Sensor, which monitors domestic water supply, and the Hive Active Hub, a more advanced version of its existing Hub with an intelligent audio sensor.

Hive smart devices integrate with Amazon’s Echo speakers so users can dictate actions through Alexa, while the company says it’s working on bringing Apple HomeKit support to its products this year. Hive is also in the process of making its smart products available in the U.S. through a partnership with Direct Energy.

Tags: United Kingdom, Hive
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The Galaxy Tab S3 is now available in India for ₹47,990

The Galaxy Tab S3 goes up sale in India for ₹47,990 ($745).

The Galaxy Tab S3 is the best Android tablet currently available, and starting today, Indian customers will be able to get their hands on the tablet.

The metal-and-glass chassis gives the Galaxy Tab S3 a premium look, and the home button up front doubles up as a fingerprint sensor. The tablet is essentially a flattened Galaxy S7.

When it comes to the hardware side of things, the Tab S3 features a 9.7-inch QXA Super AMOLED display with a 2048 x 1536 resolution, 2.15GHz Snapdragon 820, 4GB of RAM, 32GB storage, 13MP camera, 5MP front shooter, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-C, LTE, four speakers with audio tuned by AKG, and a 6000mAh battery.

Read: Galaxy Tab S3 review

The HDR-enabled display on the Tab S3 allows you to view a wider gamut of colors on streaming services like Prime Video and Netflix, and it comes with a blue light filter that reduces eye strain when viewing the screen at night. Samsung is touting 12 hours of battery life on a full charge, and there’s fast charging for when you need to top up quickly.

When it comes to productivity, the tablet automatically attaches to Samsung’s keyboard cover through pogo pins located at the bottom of the device. And finally, the Tab S3 comes with its own S Pen, which according to Samsung is the “most advanced digital pen” it created to date. Samsung is going to bundle an S Pen with all Tab S3 orders in India.

The tablet will be going up for sale at thousands of retail stores across the country for ₹47,990. Samsung is offering easy EMI options, and customers ordering the tablet before July 31 get a one-time screen replacement for free. Jio subscribers will also be able to get double data offer.

What do you guys think of the pricing of the Galaxy Tab S3 in India? Any takers?

Nokia introduces new connected health products following Withings takeover

Following the news that Finnish smartphone company Nokia had taken over the health product company Withings at the beginning of 2017, the first new products with Nokia branding have now been released.

• Nokia fitness trackers coming 2017 as Withings brand is replaced

While Nokia has already rebranded the existing portfolio of Withings connected health products, two new ones have now joined the lineup: the Nokia Body, a BMI Wi-Fi connected pair of weighing scales and Nokia BPM+, a blood pressure monitor with flexible cuff.

Nokia Body joins the Body+ and Body Cardio scales, and offers weight management for the whole family. The Body scale can store profiles for up to eight different users, and daily weight records can be synchronised for each individual within the newly redesigned Nokia Health Mate app.

You can monitor your BMI data to stay within your weight goals and even get personalised coaching within the companion app to help you achieve them. Nokia Body is available now for £55.

• See all our Withings reviews

The Nokia BPM+ meanwhile is a compact blood pressure monitor that you wear on your wrist to constantly track your blood pressure while on the move. The BPM+ wearable can monitor systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as your heart rate. It’s available now for £115.

The Nokia Health Mate app for iOS and Android is where all your health data is stored, and has now been redesigned. It’s now easier and quicker to navigate around menus within the app and it now comes with eight-week wellness programs to help each individual user achieve their weight goals and overall well-being.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 rumoured for August launch in New York

According to South Korean news outlet Naver (via Sammobile), Samsung will unveil its next phablet, the Galaxy Note 8, on 26 August at an event in New York.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 8: What’s the story so far?

Up until now, we haven’t heard too much with regards to a release date. Initial expectation seemed to suggest it would be unveiled at the IFA trade show in September in Germany, as the company has unveiled phones from the Note series there before.

It’s now claimed by Naver that Samsung has brought the launch of the Note 8 forward because of Apple’s usual launch cycle for the iPhone, which will see the iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus and even iPhone 8 in September.

Samsung was also believed to have been able to mass produce the 6.3-inch Infinity Display on the Note 8 with an embedded fingerprint scanner, but that may now not be the case. The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ didn’t come with an embedded sensor, with the South Korean company instead having to put one on the rear of the phone next to the camera.

The embedded fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy Note 8 is thought to be causing uneven brightness across the screen, so Samsung may scrap the idea until it can execute it properly.

If true, it would then leave the door wide open for Apple to embed a Touch ID sensor in the screen of the iPhone 8, something which has been rumoured several times. Apple will allegedly use a new optical fingerprint sensor technology to be able to put a scanner in the bottom portion of the screen.

• Galaxy Note 8 to be the first Samsung phone with a dual camera
• Galaxy Note 8 said to have 6.3-inch 18.5:9 screen
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8 front panel leaked in video

We’ve heard rumours regarding embedded sensors for both the Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone 8 go back and forth for some time, so we’ll take this one with a pinch of salt for now. However the idea of a late-August release date is very exciting indeed.