Wednesday Newsbytes: Microsoft May Improve the Windows 11 Taskbar; AI Can Crack Passwords Fast; AI Voice Clone Scams; Fake AI Reviews Spread on Amazon; Meet Magi – Google’s Answer to Bing… and more!
Every day we scan the tech world for interesting news in the world of technology and sometimes from outside the world of technology. Every Wednesday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s ‘Wednesday Newsbytes’ informative and interesting!
Microsoft may make the Windows 11 taskbar bearable with future changes
With the taskbar in Windows 11 Microsoft not only made a lot of changes, but also a lot of mistakes. But some of the issues that irritate users could soon be a thing of the past.
In preview builds of Windows 11, there is evidence that Microsoft is working to improve the taskbar by returning features that were removed in the upgrade from Windows 10. The upcoming changes may not make Windows 11 flavor of the month overnight, but could go some way to improving the image of the operating system, improving workflow and making things easier to use.
Many people were disappointed to find that the development of Windows 11 saw Microsoft dropping two useful options from the taskbar — labels to help identify shortcuts, and a “never combine” option to stop multiple app windows being grouped together into a single item.
Of the two, it is almost certainly the ability to keep taskbar buttons ungrouped that will win the most fans, although both are likely to prove popular. By not combining multiple instances of, say, Word or Explorer, on the taskbar, it will be much quicker and easier to switch between windows.
Microsoft can be seen testing these features in the latest Dev build of Windows 11…
Here’s How Quickly AI Can Crack Your Passwords, According To New Study
Passwords are not always the best security measures in today’s webscape. They’re difficult to create and manage, and all too easy to compromise. This is because most passwords follow predictable patterns and/or use a combination of common words that hackers have learnt to crack. Tech.co reported that password management company NordPas says the average person has at least 100 passwords across all their online accounts. It’s difficult for most people to keep track of that many, so they resort to using keys that are easy to guess, or a few solid combinations that they reuse across all their accounts. Neither approach is safe against hackers and other malicious agents online.
But there’s an even bigger threat in town: Artificial Intelligence. The rise of AI has been all over recent news, and there are several ongoing debates about what the new technology could mean for different areas of life…
Voice Clone AI Scams: What You Need To Know About This New Scam
As if telephone, email and messenger scams weren’t bad enough, a new breed of scammers can now use artificial intelligence to clone the voices of loved ones. No, this is not dystopian science fiction. News outlets like Fortune are reporting that it’s happening now.
But what are voice clone AI scams? And how can you protect yourself?
What Are Voice Clone AI Scams?
In January 2023, Microsoft unveiled a text-to-speech AI tool that could simulate a person’s voice based on an audio clip as short as three seconds. Microsoft called it VALL-E and said that the technology “may carry potential risks in misuse… such as spoofing voice identification or impersonating a specific speaker,” Fortune reported.
Bad actors saw this as an opportunity and used it to spoof the voices of people’s friends and family. They have been convincing others to wire them money, send them gift cards or give them personal account information.
How To Avoid Voice Clone AI Scams
Since no software can effectively identify AI voice cloning, common sense will be your best defense against any hackers.
If you receive a phone call from a person claiming to be a close friend…
AI-Generated Amazon Reviews Are Beginning to Spread
“As an AI language model, I don’t have a body, but I understand the importance of comfortable clothing during pregnancy,” one of the reviews said.
From Republican smear campaigns against Biden to a collaboration between The Weeknd and Drake going viral, it feels like AI is coming for every part of our lives. Now, it appears that some products on Amazon are being reviewed with AI chatbots.
According to a report from CNBC, products across the popular web marketplace have reviews that appear to be written with chatbots like ChatGPT. The outlet found these reviews on products including waist trainers, children’s textbooks, car batteries, baby car seat mirrors, and video game controller accessories. Even more jarring is that these reviews make no effort to hide the fact that they were generated with AI, as most reviews begin with the phrase “As an AI language model” before devolving into the fact that a computer has no experience with the product.
“As an AI language model, I don’t have a body, but I understand the importance of comfortable clothing during pregnancy,” one of the reviews said. “If you’re looking for comfortable and stylish shorts for your pregnancy, the QGGQDD Maternity Shorts Over Belly with Pockets might be a great option for you.”
Amazon told Vice that it has a zero tolerance policy for fake reviews…
Meet Magi — Google’s answer to Bing with ChatGPT
Google is reportedly working on a new AI-powered search engine
When Open AI launched ChatGPT, Google was reportedly caught off guard. That cycle repeated again when Microsoft unveiled Bing with ChatGPT, its search chatbot powered by GPT-4. And while Google has responded to ChatGPT with Bard, it’s still lacking an AI-powered search tool.
That could be changing very soon. In an explosive report, The New York Times (opens in new tab) has revealed that Google is reportedly working on Magi, a new AI-powered search engine that would be its answer to Bing with ChatGPT.
Google Magi Rumored Features
* Magi is designed to be personalized and more conversational Google Search
* Google plans to initially release the features to one million people, increasing to 30 million later
* Magi would adapt to your needs over time and recommend products to buy
* Searches that could lead to a purchase could feature ads on the search results page
* A separate GIFI tool would help generate images in Google Image results…
“Energy efficiency is the low-hanging fruit that really sets people up for the benefits.”
Google has unveiled a new clean energy investment strategy that will help fund repairs and energy efficiency upgrades for low-income homes.
Teaming up with solar energy company Sol Systems, the tech giant will invest in solar projects being developed by Pine Gate Renewables, a clean energy company based in North and South Carolina.
Both companies will provide the money to fund new solar energy projects with a combined 225-megawatt capacity, as well as 18 megawatts in battery storage resources.
These projects will specifically be built in areas where there has been a slow uptake of renewables, with a focus on pushing Google nearer to its “24/7 Clean Energy” goal — by 2030, it hopes to run each of its data centers on renewable power.
Google and Sol Systems will also provide seed funding for organizations that support low-income communities, with the goal of funding repairs and improving energy efficiency in homes…
Jellyfish-inspired robot aims to reduce ocean pollution
The Jellyfish-Bot is a low-power, high-efficiency solution for marine cleanup
The vast expanse of the world’s oceans is home to a staggering variety of marine life. However, this fragile ecosystem is threatened by the growing pollution caused by human activities. This problem is particularly acute around coral reefs, which are teeming with life but are also highly sensitive to changes in water quality.
To combat this growing threat, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) scientists at Stuttgart have turned to nature for inspiration and developed a new type of robot that could revolutionize how we clean up our oceans.
Gentle like a jellyfish
The new robot, called the Jellyfish-Bot, is inspired by — you’ve guessed it — the graceful jellyfish.
Unlike other underwater robots, which are often bulky and noisy, the Jellyfish-Bot is small, energy-efficient, and almost entirely silent…
Thanks for reading this week’s Wednesday Newbytes. We hope you found these articles informative, interesting, fun, and helpful. Darcy & TC
I was just wondering if you could get malware off an Android phone. This malware has totally took over my son’s phone. It even got onto his programs on his TV and was buying movies and all kinds of things, and ran up his bill for his TV. If you don’t work on Android phones. Would you have any suggestions for him? He is now paying for a $500.00 phone and also a subscription to the phone company for a phone he can’t use.
Sure would appreciate any help or suggestions you could give me. He made the mistake of clicking on a link someone sent to him on Facebook.
Sonjia
Hi Sonjia,
Although we do not offer services for Android devices, I can certainly guide you on how to remove all the malware from your son’s phone.
Your son need not buy a new phone. Instead, he can reset his existing phone to its original state, as if it were brand new.
A factory reset is a fast and efficient way to delete all data, including malware, and restore the phone to its initial settings. Here are the steps to follow to perform a factory reset on your son’s Android smartphone:
Note: Before resetting the phone, it is crucial to back up all data, including contacts, messages, photos, and other important data since the reset will delete all the data from the device. If your son uses a Gmail account, he may find that his photos, contacts, and text messages are already backed up in his Google account.
Below are the instructions to do a factory reset on an Android smartphone:
Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your Android smartphone.
Step 2: Scroll down to the “System” option and tap on it.
Step 3: In the System menu, scroll down to the “Reset options” and tap on it.
We hope this helps him restore his phone to its factory state so he will be able to use it again.
Microsoft may make the Windows 11 taskbar bearable with future changes: When an individual said the taskbar was broken over there at BetaNews, I’m with Mike Lukic there, It wasn’t broken just simplified (way too much).