Apple allowed spyware posing as anti-malware tool into its Mac App Store

Malarie Gokey/Digital Trends

One of the top paid utilities in the Mac App Store that claims to protect your Apple computer against malware is actually spyware in disguise that does just the opposite. The app, Adware Doctor, retails for $5 on Apple’s online storefront, and security researchers discovered that the malicious app actually collects your browsing history across the Safari, Chrome, and Firefox browsers and sends that data to a China-based server.

Originally, the app was posed as Adware Medic, sharing a similar name to the AdwareMedic app that was acquired by Malwarebytes, forcing Apple to remove the copycat. However, after it changed its name to Adware Doctor, Apple allowed the app back into the Mac App Store, and the app has garnered a number of likely fake five-star reviews. Security researcher Patrick Wardle with Privacy 1st claimed that he notified Apple about the app’s malicious behavior, according to a report on 9to5 Mac. Apple removed the app after numerous tech publications reported on the app’s behavior on Friday, September 7.

In addition to sending your browsing history to China, Adware Doctor also has access to your iTunes search history as well as other apps that are installed on the Mac. Because it poses as an app designed to scan your Mac for malware and spyware, Adware Doctor was able to overcome the sandbox protections on the Mac. Wardle discovered that the app requested universal access on first run, which gave it access to information found from within other apps, like browsing history data on Safari. Apple claims that the release of MacOS Mojave this fall will bring new privacy protections designed to prevent apps like Adware Doctor from accessing Safari browsing history.

However, Wardle noted that the app does actually clear your browser of adware, and the app’s data collection stopped a few days ago, PCMag reported. 9to5 Mac reported that the server in China is now offline, but there’s still a chance it could resume operation.

Adware Doctor’s entry in Apple’s official Mac App Store should be cause for concern for consumers. Even if the app is highly rated — Adware Doctor came with more than 6,000 positive reviews — users should always research an app and the developer before installing anything from the internet, regardless of where it comes from. This incident follows an earlier report this week of a rogue Chrome browser extension. A fake extension was uploaded to Google’s Chrome webstore after the original developer was hacked, allowing the hackers to gain access to its users’ logins to other sites and services.

According to Malwarebytes‘ director of Mac and mobile Thomas Reed, the firm has worked with Apple numerous times in the past to remove fake apps, but these apps will reappear as a new version with a new name before long. “It’s blindingly obvious at this point that the Mac App Store is not the safe haven of reputable software that Apple wants it to be,” he said.

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A.I. bests experts at predicting deaths from heart disease

An artificial intelligence algorithm has bested experts at predicting patient deaths from heart disease. In a study published recently in the journal PLOS One, researchers from the Francis Crick Institute make yet another case for using A.I. to inform medical diagnoses.

“We’ve shown that you can give a computer someone’s medical records … and predict how likely a patient with heart disease is to die,” Andrew Steele, a Crick researcher and first author of the paper, told Digital Trends. “Traditional models get experts to select the most relevant variables for making these kinds of predictions, but we did just as well without telling the computer … the most important or relevant things to take into account.”

In their study, Steele and his team worked with researchers from the Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to test whether a self-taught model could outperform experts at predicting deaths from coronary artery disease.

The model created by Steel and his colleagues was compared to expert predictions, which take into account some 27 variables, including age, gender, and physical ailments. The Crick algorithm was tasked with finding patterns and useful variables from list of 600. With access to 80,000 anonymized patient health records, the A.I. was able to outperform medical experts and identified new variables that doctors had overlooked.

“They say that making predictions is hard, especially about the future, and building these models can be difficult and time-consuming,” Steele said. “The great advantage of A.I. is that, done right, you can just throw all the data in and let the computer work out what’s relevant, which could save future researchers a lot of time.”

To be sure, the A.I. performed just fractionally better than its human counterparts. Given two randomly selected patients, the algorithm could predict which patient would die first just one percent more often than medical experts, Steele said. So we aren’t exactly talking about a breakthrough.

We are, however, talking about small steps toward more accurate and effective diagnoses. As we’ve written about before, A.I. has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by supporting physicians with the more meticulous and data-driven part of the job.

“I think at first these systems are going to be assisting rather than replacing doctors,” Steele said. “Doctors already use tools to, for example, check your risk of a heart attack in the next few years before prescribing certain drugs. A.I. will help us develop more of these tools for different conditions, and help doctors and patients make better decisions. In the longer term, I think we’ll see A.I. systems making recommendations for how to treat a patient, and we’ve already got computers interpreting things like scan results. But, for now at least, a human doctor is very important in understanding the output of these models, and helping patients make decisions based on them.”

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PNY storage essentials from flash drives to SD cards are on sale today

Bring along important files and documents wherever you go.

Amazon is offering up to 30% off a selection of PNY storage essentials, from SD cards to flash drives, with prices starting as low as $7.99. This deal is part of the site’s Deals of the Day, so we can expect these prices to last through today only.

If you’re on the hunt for an SD card, this sale includes options like a PNY Elite Class 10 64GB card for $17.99 or a 128GB version for $34.99. Both cards offer a transfer speed of up to 95 Mbps and are suitable for saving 4K footage from devices like DJI’s Mavic 2 Pro drone.

A flash drive can net you 128GB of storage for much cheaper however — $21.59 as opposed to the SD card’s price of $35. Various storage sizes are offered so you can find the best fit for your needs.

Any iOS users out there will also want to check out PNY’s 64GB Duo Link USB + Lightning Flash Drive. It’s down to its lowest price ever of $34 today and includes connectors to plug it into both your computer and your iOS device so you can easily transfer files between them. When not discounted, it can be found for around $50 on average.

Head over to Amazon now to see the rest of what’s on sale and make your selection before the day ends!

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Use these NBA 2K19 tips and tricks to help you dominate the courts

Move up and down the court with the intent to win.

With NBA 2K19 being the model of consistency in simulation sports gaming, the game can be scary for those who haven’t been playing for several years. Don’t worry if that person is you — we’ve got you covered.

We’ve gone and compiled a list of tips and tricks that’ll help you give up fewer points, score more points, and work your way toward the ultimate prizes and honors in professional basketball. Join us straight ahead.

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• Offensive tips
• Defensive tips
• MyCareer tips

Offensive tips

Every single possession counts in a game of basketball. Keep these tips in mind when the rock is in your hands.

Master your shot (or find a better one)

NBA 2K19 features a new shot meter this year. It’s vertical and it’s simple: Hold the shot button to start the meter up, and release it once the green bar fills to the top. A less-than-perfect shot won’t always miss, and perfect shots don’t always go in, so don’t stress too hard about this. Just try and stop the bar as high as you can.

If you’re having trouble with the new shot meter, note that you can go back to the old system that was based on animation timing. In that one, just hold the shot button and then release it the moment the ball is about to leave your player’s hands.

One last thing with shots: you can actually change your shot animation. Not only do some shots look flat-out cool, but they can also be more natural for you to execute. Find the one you like and practice it until your thumbs go numb.

Don’t abuse the turbo button

Speed is an important measure in basketball, but as you might guess, it’s not wise to hold the turbo button all game. The biggest reason is that it spends precious stamina, and that means your players are less accurate and less effective overall. It also lessens your precision when trying to make subtle moves to get around defenders.

To avoid having to bench your stars for long breathers, let off of the turbo button. You really should only be using it in fast break scenarios or if you’re caught out of position and need to race to the open man.

Use bounce passes for safety

Pressing the pass button and nothing more will let you make a basic pass to the nearest teammate while pushing the left stick in a direction will let you quickly dish it out to whoever’s in that vicinity. This alone might not be enough.

There are many different passing variations in NBA 2K19, but the one you should master first is the bounce pass. This is a low-risk pass that makes it harder for defenders to jump into the passing lane and steal the ball. Just make sure you don’t try to pass it to someone on the other side of the court.

Limit your contested shots

Don’t force your shots. There will be tons of times in NBA 2K19 where you’re just not open, and that’s OK. In these scenarios, just pass the ball to your teammates and see if they can’t do anything better with it. At the least, it takes pressure off of you to try and find a better position to make the play. That’s not to say you should never attempt these shots — after all, a late-game buzzer-beater might necessitate this desperation move.

Know your player’s limitations

Take some time to learn the pros and cons of the player you’re using. Check out their attributes and ratings to see where they excel and do your best to put those players in the best places where they can make an impact.

Lebron James can beat anyone to the point. Stephen Curry can drain three-pointers like it’s nothing. But don’t you dare go to the wing with Blake Griffin.

Take the easier shots

I can’t stress this enough — take the easy shots. Sure, a behind-the-back no-look alley-oop to a cartwheeling Kevin Durant sounds nice, but it’s also foolhardy and dangerous.

Instead, why not just mosey into the paint and go for a much safer layup? It’ll count for two points all the same, and you won’t have a scoreless possession. Of course, if you find yourself off to a 20 point lead, rack up all the style points you want.

Call for or set picks and rolls

There are many tools in basketball designed to help someone get open. We could go over the many concepts and plays available to you, but the very first thing you must learn is how to call a pick.

It’s a simple affair: tap L1, and you’ll be able to move a nearby teammate into a guarding position so as to disrupt your defender and allow you to make a move around him. This is probably the most common tactic in all of basketball, and that’s because it’s extremely effective. Learn it and use it when you just can’t work past your man.

In game modes where you are playing off-ball offense, you can spring your AI teammates by walking up to the side of the defender and holding the Circle button. Just pray that your teammate takes the pick when it’s available.

Defensive tips

It’s not all about scoring points — you have to prevent your opponents from scoring them, too. Digest these tips on the other side of the ball to keep the other team from running away with the game.

Square up and strafe for better defense

When it comes time to keep up with your man, you might think the turbo button will keep you safe. That is wrong. Hold L2 instead, and watch as your player gets low and squares his shoulder to the ball carrier. You’ll find it easier to control your man as you look to try and match the movements of the ball carrier, and you can even use the right analog stick to put your hands in the way of a shot or into a passing lane to attempt a block, steal, or contested shot. The L2 button will be your best friend on defense.

You will still need to get comfortable with that turbo button if you’re on offense and suffer a fast break rebound, but for the most part, this is how you follow your assignment.

Get back on the fast break

Speaking of fast breaks, don’t lollygag on the turn of possession. If your teammate misses a shot and you can’t get the rebound, start running down to the other end of the court. And when you make the shot, don’t sit around celebrating when the point guard is about to take the ball right back in the other direction.

Box out on rebounds and free-throws

And speaking of rebounds, make it easier on yourself. The defense will be in a better position to rebound the ball more often than not. When you are, hold L2 to box your guy out, and either pave the way for your players to grab it or go and get it yourself (especially if you’re the center).

Don’t leave your man open

Not sure what your assignment on any given play or in any given defense is supposed to be? NBA 2K19 has visual aides turned on for most difficulty levels. On defense, you’ll see a blue arrow directing you toward the man you’re supposed to pick up.

It’s especially important to pay attention to this indicator when you’re playing zone defense, as the man you’re supposed to be guarding changes constantly. If you find yourself away from the play, just press the X button to switch to the player closest to the ball.

Go for well-timed steals

Forcing turnovers is an important part of basketball. The classic steal is one of the most exciting defensive plays because of it. Just press Square to put your hand out and go for the ball.

Be careful, though. If you spam the steal button you risk being called for a reach-in foul. Try and only go for the steal against a player who doesn’t have great handling, or while they’re in the act of passing the ball. Even just one or two stolen possessions can be the difference between winning and losing the game.

MyCareer tips

Don’t squander your opportunity to take your superstar to new heights. Follow these few basic tips to maximize your potential.

Go to a bad team

There’s a little inside joke in sports drafts: no one wants to go to the worst team. Often than not, that team is usually the one ahead of the pack in the draft order as they ranked lowest in the previous season. It could also be the one with the most money to throw around, as bad teams usually have more cap space to work with.

Against all of the lessons you’ve been taught in life, we’re here to tell you that this is not a bad thing in NBA 2K19. Going to a bad team can have its benefits for a star on the rise. You’re likely to get more playing time, which means you’ll get more chances to prove yourself, which means you’ll become a starter faster, which means you’ll make more money. Your dream might be to play alongside Lebron James on the Lakers but think about how much money you could make if you were tasked with pulling a franchise like the Detroit Pistons out of mediocrity.

You can still go to a team that has superstars on it and make out OK in the long run (especially when some of those older guys start retiring), but don’t even think about joining one with a star at the same position as yours unless you like riding the pine.

Only buy what you need

If you’re not going to be spending any real money in MyCareer, then it’s important to be smart with your VC. (On the flipside, if you’re not interested in grinding for the VC, then be smart with your real money.)

Especially in the early going, you’ll want to use every point of VC you get to improve your character’s ratings and abilities. The shoes, tattoos, jewelry, haircuts, and all that other stuff will tempt you for sure, but there’s no sense in being a well-dressed basketball player who can’t exactly play basketball.

Go for the badges you want early

Go through the list of possible badges you can earn and identify the ones you think will benefit your character the most. When you find those badges, equip them and level them early. Aside from raw attribute points, badges offer you the most significant source of improvement (and you won’t even need to spend any VC to get them).

Choose the most lucrative sponsorships (and do them)

Don’t gloss over sponsorships as some sort of side game that doesn’t mean anything. Sponsorships can net you more VC per game, a bonus on big, nationally televised games, and free gear. This is especially important if you aren’t spending real money on VC, as the grind to improve your character is brutal otherwise.

To that end, pay close attention to the choices you make in MyCareer. Each choice and action will get you more fans, more media exposure, or alter the chemistry between you and your teammates, all of which will factor into both your player and sponsorship contract negotiations.

Get out there and score

It’s time to hit the courts and show everyone what you’re made of. Combine everything you’ve learned here with more advanced skills you’ll learn along the way, and you’ll scoring baskets and winning games so much that you’ll be challenging Michael Jordan’s championship ring total.

NBA 2K19 is out now for folks who bought or pre-ordered the $100 20th Anniversary Edition, which also comes with a sizable amount of VC, MyTeam packs, and more.

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If you don’t mind waiting, however, you can snag the standard version of NBA 2K19 starting Sept. 11 for $60.

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I ran into LG’s Cloi robot at the airport in South Korea. Here’s what happened

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Kim Wetzel/Digital Trends

Kim Wetzel/Digital Trends

Kim Wetzel/Digital Trends

Kim Wetzel/Digital Trends

Kim Wetzel/Digital Trends

Cloi, the airport robot, is staring at me patiently, her large robot eyes blinking.

The approximately four-foot-tall automaton doesn’t seem flustered or annoyed that I don’t have my plane’s gate number readily available when it requests it. Nor does it flinch when I touch its “stomach,” where the robot’s computer touchscreen is located. Not that it’s supposed to, but Cloi reminds me of a robot Pillsbury Doughboy, and I was hoping it would grab its tummy and giggle. No luck.

I retrieve my boarding pass from my pocket and give Cloi (LG Electronics, its creator, spells it CLOi, and it’s pronounced like the name Chloe) the information it’s requesting. Almost immediately, a map appears on the screen showing me the correct path to my gate. Entranced and enchanted by Cloi’s cute blinking eyes, I peel my eyes away from its (her?) robotic gaze.

LG’s Cloi Airport Guide Robot, with its blinking eyes, roaming body, and futuristic form, is a hit at Incheon International Airport.

There’s a crowd gathering around me, waiting their turn with the robot, so I quickly memorize where I’m supposed to go, and then wave good-bye. I hang back and watch as a family opt to use Cloi’s built-in camera to take a family pic. A few minutes later, a woman changes the language of the bot to English (Cloi can speak basic phrases in English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese, in a feminine voice) and then gets instructions for where to find the nearest bathroom.

There’s no doubt about it: LG’s Cloi Airport Guide Robot, with its blinking eyes, roaming body, and futuristic form, is a hit at Incheon International Airport, the largest airport in South Korea and the primary gateway into the capital, Seoul.

But is Cloi a novelty or a bona fide helper? I mean, Incheon is full of computer screens and other signage telling people where to go; it’s about the easiest international airport to navigate (it’s been voted as one of the world’s best airports, according to Skytrax). And, I don’t need a robot to take a selfie for me — I can do that with the phone in my pocket.

For LG’s robotics initiative, which oversees Cloi’s development, the answer to that question doesn’t really matter — at least, not yet. For now, it’s about the advancement of technology, as well as good fun. After all, who doesn’t like a talking, moving, helping robot to remind us of sci-fi flicks we watched as kids?

Real-life Rosie the Robot

Cloi debuted at CES 2017, along with a cleaning robot that is currently scrubbing floors at Seoul’s city hall, just like Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons. (The model I saw at the airport is different from the one LG showed off at CES 2017.)

The Cloi lineup expanded at CES this year, with the announcement of serving, shopping, and porter robots, although they have yet to make a public appearance in action. But the point of the robotic initiative, according to LG, is to showcase what the bots can do down the road.

“As an important part of our future growth engine, LG is committed to expanding its portfolio of robots that can deliver real convenience and innovation in our customers’ lives,” Rye Hye-jung, head of the smart solution business division for LG’s Home Appliance and Air Solutions Company, told Digital Trends in January. “We will continue to develop a wide range of products across commercial and home robots while seeking new opportunities to contribute to the advancement of the robotics industry.”

The LG bots do have their limitations — Cloi the home robot famously got stage fright during LG’s press conference at CES 2018 — but that doesn’t mean they aren’t cool.

Cloi embodies what most of us probably thought the future would be like when we were kids: robots running around, doing our bidding for us.

Possibly more than any other robot, Cloi embodies what most of us probably thought the future would be like when we were kids: robots running around, doing our bidding for us. But as the technology becomes more advanced, the reality of a full-fledged mechanical robot seems almost antiquated, as companies are creating smaller pieces of technology to assist us through things like phones and smart speakers.

Still, actual moving robots, if they ever were to become mainstream, would provide that last bit of automation lacking in our homes and offices. It’s cool to be able to start your washing machine from an app on your phone, but how much cooler would it be to have a robot load your laundry into the machine, take it out and put it into the dryer, and then fold those clothes and put them away? Now we’re talking.

Observing Cloi at work

Although I was on a press trip for LG (its global headquarters is in Seoul) when I ran into Cloi at the airport, our meeting at Incheon was total happenstance. The robot makes the rounds, offering assistance to passengers who look lost. I wasn’t lost, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to interact with the bot in its intended environment (and not under the supervision of its LG overlords).

Kim Wetzel/Digital Trends

I saw Cloi near the ticketing desk, pausing in front of people and asking if it could be of assistance, and then I saw it again as I wandered the terminal looking for my gate. I have no idea how the bot snuck through security with all that metal and technology running through its wires.

But I discovered that Cloi was mostly used as a large, expensive camera for taking selfies. The bot had a healthy group of followers who were easily entranced by its robot-ness.

Maybe I should stop comparing real-life robots to the ones I’ve seen in movies. We’ve all seen Terminator and what can happen.

I’m sad to report that while I enjoyed my interaction with Cloi the robotic airport employee and watching it in action, I came away wishing for more of a robust experience. Maybe I was hoping it would take my hand and say something like, “Come with me if you want to live.” Or, more suited for the airport, “Come with me if you want to find the way to the secret luxury lounge with free wine, massages, and Michelin-starred food.”

Maybe I should stop comparing real-life robots to the ones I’ve seen in movies. Because we’ve all seen Terminator and what can happen when technology takes over.

At this time, the Cloi robots are in concept form and are not available to purchase. If they do become available, I’ll hold out for Cloi the Laundry Sorting, Folding, and Putting the Clothes Away robot. And in the meantime, I’ll continue to look at those airport screens to figure out how to get to my departure gate.

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Apple Permanently Bans ‘Infowars’ App From the App Store

Apple has removed the Infowars app from the App Store, just a day after controversial Infowars radio show host Alex Jones was permanently banned from Twitter.

Apple confirmed the app’s permanent removal to BuzzFeed late on Friday, but instead of giving a specific reason for taking action now, Apple simply cited its own general App Store guidelines, which prohibit content that is “offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, or in exceptionally poor taste.”

Early last month, Apple removed the entire libraries of five Infowars podcasts from its Podcasts platform and said it had chosen to do so on the grounds that it does not tolerate hate speech.

At the time, the tech giant defended its decision not to remove the Infowars app, saying that the App Store is a place for “all points of view” as long as apps are respectful to users with differing opinions. However, Apple also noted that it continues to monitor apps for violations of its guidelines and will remove them if necessary.

Apple’s initial stance struck some observers as odd, given that the Infowars mobile app allowed users to live stream the same programs that were removed from the Apple Podcasts platform. The app’s continued availability also allowed it to benefit from the publicity surrounding Apple’s removal of the podcasts.

However, that’s no longer the case, and as of Friday evening, searching for the app within the App Store only returns apps related to Infowars, while the official app is nowhere to be seen.

Apple’s removal of the Infowars app follows Twitter’s decision on Thursday to permanently suspend Alex Jones and Infowars. The social media network said the suspension was based on new reports of tweets and videos posted that violate its abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts’ previous violations.

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.

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Engineered sand could remove nasty toxins to produce drinkable water

Water is one of our most underappreciated resources. For people with steady access to this life-giving liquid, it’s absence can seem like a distant dystopian nightmare. But some 783 million people lack clean water worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, and even in the United States, parched communities suffer from prolonged droughts.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are working on a low-cost solution to make better use of the water at hand. They’ve engineered sand, coating the grains in compounds that react with and help destroy organic pollutants found in stormwater. The solution could be used to help support local sources of potable water for water-stressed communities.

“In all but the most arid places, enough rain falls within the city limits to provide the water we drink and use in our homes,” David Sedlak, a civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley who advised on the project, told Digital Trends. “Unfortunately, we cannot build reservoirs in a crowded city and rain barrels are too small to hold all of the water that we need. To capture the rainwater that falls in our cities, engineers have developed new approaches for infiltrating rainwater into the ground, where it can be stored in groundwater aquifers.”

The problem is that a lot of rainwater drains off rooftops, sidewalks, and parking lots, which pollute it with organic gunk and chemicals, and make it utterly unusable.

Sedlak and graduate student Joseph Charbonnet developed what they hope may provide a low-cost solution for decontaminating stormwater for drinking and household use. Coating sand in two kinds of manganese that react to form manganese oxide produces engineered sand thatbinds to chemicals like herbicides and pesticides and pulls them out of the water.

“If we are going to treat [water] as it infiltrates into the ground, we need to apply technologies that are simple, inexpensive, and do not require a lot of oversight,” Sedlak said. “Rainwater is typically introduced to aquifers by allowing it to percolate through sand. We have invented a new way of coating the surface of sand grains with a thin layer of manganese oxide.”

The research team’s idea is to add an engineered sand to current water reclamation basins, where standard sand is currently used. The stormwater would then be partially decontaminated as it percolates through the sand and into an aquifer. During rainy months, the aquifer would replenish, providing a source of water through the dry season.

The Berkeley team’s engineered sand doesn’t remove all contaminants, meaning it would need to be used in conjunction with other types of purification systems to make it potable. Sedlak pointed to the complementary work at the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure, where they create materials to remove toxic metals and pathogenic microbes.

A paper detailing the research was published last month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology,

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Incredibly ambitious Ocean Cleanup project is launching this weekend

Big problems call for equally big solutions. That maxim will be put into practice this weekend when a multimillion dollar project called The Ocean Cleanup launches a giant floating vessel aimed at removing the largest accumulation of plastic in the world from a stretch of ocean referred to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The brainchild of 24-year-old Dutch inventor Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup is a foundation that develops technology for extracting plastic pollution from our oceans. It has been working toward this goal for several years now, but Saturday marks the day the initiative begins in earnest. That’s when the organization will unleash its giant 2,000 foot, U-shaped passive collection system, intended to gather up garbage consuming around 600,000 square miles of ocean between California and Hawaii.

Using just this one trash collector, the goal is to extract around 50 tons of plastic from the ocean each year. This will then be removed from the water, and shipped off for recycling. Eventually, the goal is to have an entire fleet of similar vessels, capable of pulling a combined 14,000 tons of plastic from the oceans every year.

The Ocean Cleanup

To mark the launch of the first trash-collecting leviathan being towed towed through the San Francisco Bay, underneath the Golden Gate Bridge on its way to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the organization is hosting a press conference on Pier 41. The event is being livestreamed at 11 a.m. PT on Saturday for anyone interested in viewing the start of what should be a transformative mission.

“The reason that we are livestreaming the event is that we want to share this important moment with as many people as possible,” a spokesperson for The Ocean Cleanup told Digital Trends. “Six years of testing and developing has led up to this. During this time, the Ocean Cleanup has evolved from a sketch on a paper napkin by a 16-year-old to an organization that has raised millions, and has more than 80 staff. This is a unique moment in history, and we are finally starting this ambitious project.”

Will it work as planned? We’ll have to wait and see. One thing that’s for sure, though, is that there’s no shortage of ambition on display here. If that can be translated into results, then the world’s oceans are about to become a much cleaner, less trash-filled place.

How to change your Google background

Google’s app design is fairly plain, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. One way to spice it up is by changing the Google search background (and adjacent components). Listed below is also a way to change the new tab page in the newest version of Chrome.

Before doing any of this, you’ll of course want to make sure you have the Google Chrome browser. It won’t work with Microsoft Edge or Firefox. Then again, it’s the best browser you can download anyways, so you should probably install it anyways.

Step 1: Head to your Appearance settings

Open up Chrome and look in the upper right corner of your browser window for three dots. Click these to open up the the primary Chrome drop-down menu. Toward the bottom of the drop-down, you will see an option to go to “Settings.” Select this, and you’re on your way.

In a new browser tab for all your Chrome settings, you’ll see that it’s divided into various sections. Take a look at the second section, which should be called “Appearance.” This is where you can control what your Google window looks like. The first option in this setting should be “Themes.”

Changing your theme will automatically change your Google background to match, so this is the option you want to select. With no theme picked, you should see an open to “Open Chrome Web Store.” Select this.

Step 2: Pick your theme

Chrome should now take you directly to the Chrome themes section. Here you can browse the many, many available themes for your Google experience, divided by broad content type. The primary image that you see is typically the image that will appear as your Google background, so you can use this as a guide.

Each section shows only the top rated images for that content type, but you can take a closer look by choosing “Select All” if you find a section you like.

Once you select a theme, make sure to check out its preview images and reviews. Note that most themes extend their colors and patterns throughout the browser window and browser tabs, so take a look at the full appearance. Checking the “Related” tab will show you more themes by that particular developer.

If you find something that you like, just click on the “Add to Chrome” button in the top right corner.

Step 3: Add it to Chrome

The theme should be automatically added and enabled. You can watch your browser tabs change along with the theme, and if you head to a new Google search page or open a new tab, you should be able to see the primary image. A notification will pop up at the top of the window to let you know that the theme has been enabled. This notification also includes an “Undo” button for reversing the theme if you want to make a quick change.

See if you like the overall theme — sometimes you may like the image, but not like what the theme does your tabs or other colors that it adds throughout the browser. In this case, hit the undo button on the notification, or head back to “Appearances” in “Settings” and revert to the default theme there. You can choose and disable as many themes as you want as you look for the right one!

Using a custom image

Maybe the themes aren’t cutting it for you this time, and you would rather have a customized background of some family photos or an amazing nature scene you shot. You can do this too, but it will take an extra extension.

Head over to the Chrome Web Store and download the Background Image extension. Add this free extension to your Chrome browser. Now you have the ability to choose a downloaded image to put up as your Google background. This image will not affect your tabs or other browser components, and it’s a great way to personal the background with a beloved photo if you can’t find a theme that you like.

In addition, you can also swap out the photo for your blank new tab page in Google Chrome, which can add some more personality to the Chrome browsing experience.

This is a feature only available in the newest version of the Chrome browser, so you’ll want to make sure you have that downloaded

All you need to do is click the “Settings” gear at the bottom right corner of the screen. From here, you’ll have the option of either uploading your own image or one of Google’s stock photos.

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Dozens of iPhone Apps ‘Constantly’ Sending Location Data to Data Monetization Firms

Dozens of popular iPhone apps are sharing the location data of millions of mobile devices with third-party data monetization firms, according to a group of security researchers called GuardianApp (via TechCrunch).

The apps in question are mostly news, weather, and fitness apps that require access to location data to work properly, but then share that data to earn money.

According to security researchers, the apps send both precise location and other sensitive customer data to data monetization companies “at all times, constantly” sometimes without customers being aware of the location data collection. The information is used for purposes like creating databases for ad targeting.

Researchers used tools to monitor network traffic to discover apps collecting Bluetooth LE data, GPS longitude and latitude, WiFi SSIDs, accelerometer information, battery charge percentage, location arrival/departure timestamps, and more.

While the apps say that personally identifiable information is not included in the data collection, one of the researchers, Will Strafach, told TechCrunch that latitude and longitude coordinates can provide information on a person’s home or work. Many customers who agree to provide apps with location data may not be aware of the extent of the information being collected and shared.

Apps that were found to be collecting location info and sending it to data monetization firms include ASKfm, NOAA Weather Radar, Homes.com, Perfect365, C25K 5K Trainer, Classifieds 2.0 Marketplace, GasBuddy, Photobucket, Roadtrippers, Tapatalk, and more, with a full list available on the site.

The data is being sent to companies that include Reveal, Sense360, Cuebiq, Teemo, Mobiquity, and Fysical. These companies denied wrongdoing, suggested customers were able to opt out at any time, and said that developers are required to inform customers about the data collection.

Some of the apps in question do indeed have clear data collection notices when opening them up for the first time, but data monetization firms do not make sure apps are following disclosure policies and not all do.

“None of these companies appear to be legally accountable for their claims and practices, instead there is some sort of self-regulation they claim to enforce,” said Strafach.

iPhone users who want to avoid having their location data shared with data monetization firms should be wary of the third-party apps they install that are using location services. Limiting ad tracking in Privacy settings by going to Privacy > Advertising is recommended.

GuardianApp also suggests users use a generic name for router SSIDs and turn off Bluetooth functionality when Bluetooth is not in use.
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