Google Assistant In Chrome Can Now Automatically Change Your Passwords If They’ve Been ‘Hacked’

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May 6, 2022

Google Assistant In Chrome Automatically Change Passwords

Keeping your online passwords secure should now be easier than ever, thanks to Google’s new Chrome for Android update.

A year ago, the search giant announced during Google I/O 2021 that the Google Assistant would offer to change compromised passwords automatically, and now the company is seriously delivering on that promise.

With the release of a new version 101 of its Chrome for Android, Google would be gradually rolled out the feature in the US.

Screenshots of this new security feature allegedly surfaced on Twitter. Google said the feature uses its “Duplex on the Web” technology, which was originally used to automate tedious tasks like booking movie tickets online.

Google Assistant being able to change breached passwords >>>>> pic.twitter.com/Dfcnvhs1S5
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) May 3, 2022

As per the source materials, Google Assistant in Chrome will display a prompt for permission to automatically change your password. This prompt will be displayed if the password you just used is found to have been stolen in a data breach. It will then ask for confirmation to allow the Google Assistant to change your password — specifically; it generates a new password that the user can accept or reject.

You will then be taken to the impacted website, where you can enter a new password manually or use the password provided by Chrome’s password manager. For the time being, this feature is only expected to work with a few websites.

It may take a few days to reach all devices. At the moment, it is unknown if it is also available for the Chrome app on iOS. Google promises the feature will become available on more sites and more countries in the coming months.

AMD Ryzen 5000C: Chromebooks Are Said To Be Faster And More Durable Than Those With Intel

By

Adwaith

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May 5, 2022

AMD has introduced the Ryzen 5000C, an APU series designed for Chromebooks. The new Chromebook processor should increase the battery life in addition to the CPU speed.

The Ryzen 5000C comes with Zen 3 microarchitecture — offer includes four models with up to 8 cores and 16 threads. The SoC has 16 MB L3 cache and supports DDR4-3200 and LPDDR4X-4266 memory. Up to a Vega 8 is used as the integrated graphics unit, i.e. an older architecture with up to 512 shader units. The new chips are manufactured at 7 nanometers and have a TDP of 15W.

The Ryzen 7 5825C is the best proposition, with 8 cores and 16 threads operating at 2 GHz base to accelerate up to 4.5 GHz. Onboard 20 MB of L2 + L3 cache and a Vega 8 GPU clocked at up to 1, 8 GHz.

Then there is the Ryzen 5 5625C with 6 cores and 12 threads operating at clock rates of 2.3 GHz (base) and 4.3 GHz (boost). The L2 + L3 cache is equal to 19 MB, while the integrated Vega GPU counts 7 Compute Units up to 1.6 GHz.

Ryzen 3 5425C is a quad-core with 8 threads with frequencies of 2.7 GHz (base) and 4.1 GHz (boost). On board, AMD has inserted 10 MB of L2 + L3 cache, as well as a Vega GPU with 6 Compute Units operating up to 1.5 GHz.

Finally, the offer is completed by the Ryzen 3 5125C, a dual-core with 4 threads that it runs at 3 GHz. The L2 + L3 cache is 9 MB, while the integrated GPU is limited to just 3 Compute Units up to 1.2 GHz.

In terms of battery life, a Chromebook with a Ryzen 5 5625C should last an enormous 94 percent longer than one with a Core i5-1135G7. Chromebooks with the Ryzen 5000C should last up to 13 hours.

The first devices with the new AMD processors include the HP Elite C645 G2 Chromebook, which should be available in the current second quarter of 2022, and the Acer Spin 514 Chromebook from the third quarter.

Google Buys Startup Raxium And Its MicroLED Technology

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Avinash A

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May 5, 2022

Google acquired the firm Raxium, a five-year-old startup from California that specialized in the development of microLED displays.

Google’s take over of Raxium intends to improve displays for its own hardware portfolio and could be the key to building a new generation of headsets for augmented, virtual and mixed reality. Google previously acquired eyewear maker North and is said to be hiring engineers to build an augmented reality operating system. However, Google is not specific in the announcement about the takeover that has already taken place.

MicroLED technology can also be used for televisions and wearable technology. Some suggest that this market could exceed 1,000 million dollars in turnover by the year 2026.

The Information had previously reported on Google’s intention to buy. Accordingly, Raxium is said to be working on a process (monolithic integration) with which the microLEDs can be manufactured in a similar process to processors, which should make production cheaper than before.

“The team at Raxium has spent five years creating miniaturized, cost-effective and energy-efficient high-resolution displays that have laid the foundation for future display technologies. Raxium’s technical expertise in this area will play a key role as we continue to invest in our hardware efforts.” — Google Senior Vice President of Devices and Services, Rick Osterloh, commented in a post announcing the deal.

Compared to a Super AMOLED display with around 50 µm per pixel, a Raxium microLED should only measure 3.5 µm. The efficiency should exceed the previous best value in the industry by a factor of five.

Ryzen 7000: AMD Reveals Roadmap For Zen 4 Desktop And Laptop Processors

By

Sabarinath

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May 5, 2022

AMD has presented a new processor roadmap, which for the first time includes the Ryzen 7000 for multiple segments — CPUs with the code name Raphael are planned for the desktop segment, while Dragon Range and Phoenix appear for gaming laptops.

What they all have in common is the Zen 4 microarchitecture, including support for (LP)DDR5 memory.

Raphael follows the current Vermeer alias Ryzen 5000 as pure CPUs without an integrated graphics unit. The processors are designed for the new AM5 socket with the LGA 1718 version, with AMD’s roadmap confirming DDR5 as well as PCIe Gen5 and variants with a TDP of 65 watts and higher.

The manufacturer did not provide any information on the core number. Raphael is scheduled to appear in 2022.

With Dragon Range and Phoenix, two versions for gaming notebooks are planned for next year as a potential successor for AMD Ryzen 6000 Mobile, whereby the SoCs are categorised based on the TDP — Dragon Range is designed for 55+ watts, Phoenix for 35 to 45 watts.

While Dragon Range is listed with DDR5, AMD explicitly lists the more economical LPDDR5 in Phoenix. Whether these are really different designs remains to be seen. Dragon Range and Phoenix should both have an integrated graphics unit with RDNA2/3 technology. There are still no exact details about the graphics unit of the mobile solutions.

The inevitable war between Intel Core 13th Gen and Ryzen 7000 will see the semiconductor giants become the most competitive in recent years. While Intel is already past the innovation phase and will simply be building on the monumental success of Alder Lake with this year’s release, AMD is leaning heavily on Zen 4, and so far, it looks like it’s worth the wait.

Apple Sues ‘Stealth’ Startup Rivos For Hiring Apple Ex-Employees To Steal Silicon SoCs Trade Secrets

By

Adwaith

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May 4, 2022

Apple filed a lawsuit against Rivos, a RISC-V startup that has hired several former senior Apple employees.

According to the lawsuit, Rivos allegedly stole Apple’s Silicon Socs trade secrets by hiring over 40 specialized SoC engineers who previously worked for Apple.

Rivos is a “stealth” startup that has mostly eluded public exposure since its inception last year.

According to Apple’s indictment, Rivos began a campaign in June 2021 to target Apple employees with access to proprietary and classified information about SoC designs. Apple got wind of this and sent Rivos a letter informing it of the former Apple employees’ confidentiality obligations.

Some of the employees had taken gigabytes of SoC specifications and design files in their final days of employment at Apple, the lawsuit states.

They used USB storage media to make backups. Also, according to Apple, they used Airdrop to transfer files to personal devices. Others stored data about existing and future Apple SoCs in their cloud storage. An employee reportedly made a full Time Machine backup of his entire Mac onto his own external drive. According to the lawsuit, some employees deleted information or their Apple devices to cover their tracks.

Apple is asking for an injunction against these former employees so that it can block them, preventing them from exploiting the stolen data. Clearly, the company is also asking for compensation for the damage caused in addition to the benefits obtained with the material stolen from Apple.

Why choose Poland for IT Outsourcing in 2022?

By

Jenna Jose

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May 4, 2022

Many companies choose IT outsourcing as it helps companies save on development costs and quickly find the necessary resources for IT development. While there are many benefits to IT outsourcing, it can be quite difficult to choose the right country for outsourcing nowadays.

There are an impressive number of IT centres around the world that provide a variety of software development services at different prices. And Poland, like other Eastern European countries, has become an active player in the IT services outsourcing market.

Why Choose Poland For IT Outsourcing

For starters, Poland has a relatively significant pool of available manpower for the IT industry since the country’s institutions annually graduate thousands of highly skilled specialists — you can find some of them at createit.com — capable of addressing the most difficult problems in the shortest amount of time.

Also, the salaries of IT specialists in Poland are significantly lower than in countries with more developed economies — for example, in the USA, Great Britain or Germany. Apart from that, Poland has a stable growth in the information technology market annually — approximately on average by 5-10%.

As you can find, numerous computer and computer component manufacturers have selected Poland as a location for their solutions.

Hewlett-Packard was one of the first to open its plant in Poland, which today produces a wide variety of computer equipment. Dell followed Hewlett-Packard, with the company’s management deciding to close its factories in Ireland and relocate its entire European manufacturing facility to Poland.

In recent years, Poland has increasingly been favoured over well-known IT outsourcing countries such as India or China. By the way, preference is given to Polish programmers even despite the fact that the price of software development in Poland is often much higher than in India.

Poland’s major technological centres are Wroclaw, Krakow, Warsaw, Poznan, and Lodz. Warsaw, Poland’s capital, was named one of the top ten IT cities in terms of a start-up environment and FDI performance. The country is ranked 40th in terms of ease of doing business and boasts one of the most BPO, SSC/GBS, IT, and R&D service centres in Eastern Europe.

The Polish IT sector is heavily focused on the foreign market. JavaScript, Java, and Python are the most popular programming languages. Fintech, energy, and automotive are the most popular industries among Polish software engineers.

Microsoft Edge Replaces Safari As Second Most Popular Desktop Browser

By

Vishak

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May 3, 2022

Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browser has jumped from third to second place on popular desktop browsers — according to the platform Statcounter.

10 percent of desktop users seem to use the Microsoft browser. This places Edge just ahead of Apple’s Safari, which is currently at 9.62 percent. Mozilla Firefox currently has a 7.87 percent share. At 66.58 percent, Google Chrome remains number one.

It looks like Edge’s popularity will increase further as, Microsoft and Cloudflare teamed up to integrate a VPN, Microsoft Edge Secure Network, into the browser.

Microsoft has pushed hard, often unethically, for more people to move to Edge. If users missed their one chance to engage with a new program, switching to a different default browser in Windows 11 had been an arduous process. However, Microsoft recently released an optional update that made the switch as easy as pressing a button. There were also the annoying pop-ups that hindered Chrome from downloading while using Edge.

It should be noted that different market research companies use different data collection methods. Netmarketshare, for example, has ranked Edge at number two for over a year. Still, the favourite of all, in all the statistics, is still Chrome.

More Than 50 Titles, Including Tomb Raider: Embracer Buys Eidos, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix Montreal For $300 Million

By

Anu Thomas John

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May 3, 2022

The Swedish publisher, Embracer Group, will acquire the Eidos, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix Montreal studios and an extensive catalog with more than fifty titles, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief and Legacy of Kain sagas.

In total, around 1,100 people work at the three affected studios. Embracer is paying $300 million for the entire package. The acquisition is expected to be completed by September 2022 at the latest.

In the press release, Embracer Group emphasizes games such as Tomb Raider and Deus Ex. “Embracer has been particularly impressed by the studios’ rich portfolio of original IP, housing brands with proven global potential such as Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, as well as demonstrating the ability to create AAA games with large and growing fan bases. There are compelling opportunities to organically grow the studios to maximize their commercial opportunities.”

After the takeover, the company will employ around 14,000 people worldwide, of which around 10,000 are directly involved in game development. Around 230 new games are said to be in production at the moment, around 30 of which Embracer believes have something like AAA status.

In recent years, Embracer Group has repeatedly bought smaller and larger studios. In the meantime, Gearbox Software (Duke Nukem, Borderlands), 4A Games (Metro Exodus), Warhorse (Kingdom Come Deliverance), Piranha Bytes (Gothic, Risen and Elex) as well as the board game manufacturer Asmodee and the comic publisher Dark Horse belong to the group.