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Researchers at Caltech have built a bipedal robot that combines walking with flying to create a new type of locomotion, making it exceptionally nimble and capable of complex movements. Part walking robot, part flying drone, the newly developed LEONARDO (short for LEgs ONboARD drOne, or LEO for short) can walk a slackline, hop, and even ride a skateboard. Developed by a team at Caltech's Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST), LEO is the first robot that uses multi-joint legs and propeller-based thrusters to achieve a fine degree of control over its balance. A paper about the LEO robot was published online on October 6 and was featured on the October 2021 cover of Science Robotics. "We drew inspiration from nature. Think about the way birds are able to flap and hop to navigate telephone lines," says Soon-Jo Chung, corresponding author and Bren Professor of Aerospace and Control and Dynamical Systems. "A complex yet intriguing behavior happens as birds move between walking and flying. We wanted to understand and learn from that." "There is a similarity between how a human wearing a jet suit controls their legs and feet when landing or taking off and how LEO uses synchronized control of distributed propeller-based thrusters and leg joints," Chung adds. "We wanted to study the interface of walking and flying from the dynamics and control standpoint." Bipedal robots are able to tackle complex real-world terrains by using the same sort of movements that humans use, like jumping or running or even climbing stairs, but they are stymied by rough terrain. Flying robots easily navigate tough terrain by simply avoiding the ground, but they face their own set of limitations: High energy consumption during flight and limited payload capacity. "Robots with a multimodal locomotion ability are able to move through challenging environments more efficiently than traditional robots by appropriately switching between their available means of movement. In particular, LEO aims to bridge the gap between the two disparate domains of aerial and bipedal locomotion that are not typically intertwined in existing robotic systems," says Kyunam Kim, postdoctoral researcher at Caltech and co-lead author of the Science Robotics paper. By using a hybrid movement that is somewhere between walking and flying, the researchers get the best of both worlds in terms of locomotion. LEO's lightweight legs take stress off of its thrusters by supporting the bulk of the weight, but because the thrusters are controlled synchronously with leg joints, LEO has uncanny balance. "Based on the types of obstacles it needs to traverse, LEO can choose to use either walking or flying, or blend the two as needed. In addition, LEO is capable of performing unusual locomotion maneuvers that even in humans require a mastery of balance, like walking on a slackline and skateboarding," says Patrick Spieler, co-lead author of the Science Robotics paper and a former member of Chung's group who is currently with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech for NASA. LEO stands 2.5 feet tall and is equipped with two legs that have three actuated joints, along with four propeller thrusters mounted at an angle at the robot's shoulders. When a person walks, they adjust the position and orientation of their legs to cause their center of mass to move forward while the body's balance is maintained. LEO walks in this way as well: The propellers ensure that the robot is upright as it walks, and the leg actuators change the position of the legs to move the robot's center of mass forward through the use of a synchronized walking and flying controller. In flight, the robot uses its propellers alone and flies like a drone. "Because of its propellers, you can poke or prod LEO with a lot of force without actually knocking the robot over," says Elena-Sorina Lupu (MS '21), graduate student at Caltech and co-author of the Science Robotics paper. The LEO project was started in the summer of 2019 with the authors of the Science Robotics paper and three Caltech undergraduates who participated in the project through the Institute's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. Next, the team plans to improve the performance of LEO by creating a more rigid leg design that is capable of supporting more of the robot's weight and increasing the thrust force of the propellers. In addition, they hope to make LEO more autonomous so that the robot can understand how much of its weight is supported by legs and how much needs to be supported by propellers when walking on uneven terrain. The researchers also plan to equip LEO with a newly developed drone landing control algorithm that utilizes deep neural networks. With a better understanding of the environment, LEO could make its own decisions about the best combination of walking, flying, or hybrid motion that it should use to move from one place to another based on what is safest and what uses the least amount of energy. "Right now, LEO uses propellers to balance during walking, which means it uses energy fairly inefficiently. We are planning to improve the leg design to make LEO walk and balance with minimal aid of propellers," says Lupu, who will continue working on LEO throughout her Ph.D. program. In the real world, the technology designed for LEO could foster the development of adaptive landing gear systems composed of controlled leg joints for aerial robots and other types of flying vehicles. The team envisions that future Mars rotorcraft could be equipped with legged landing gear so that the body balance of these aerial robots can be maintained as they land on sloped or uneven terrains, thereby reducing the risk of failure under challenging landing conditions.

When it comes to games such as chess or Go, artificial intelligence (AI) programs have far surpassed the best players in the world. These "superhuman" AIs are unmatched competitors, but perhaps harder than competing against humans is collaborating with them. Can the same technology get along with people? In a new study, MIT Lincoln Laboratory researchers sought to find out how well humans could play the cooperative card game Hanabi with an advanced AI model trained to excel at playing with teammates it had never met before. In single-blind experiments, participants played two series of the game: One with the AI agent as their teammate, and the other with a rule-based agent, a bot manually programmed to play in a predefined way. The results surprised the researchers. Not only were the scores no better with the AI teammate than with the rule-based agent, but humans consistently hated playing with their AI teammate. They found it to be unpredictable, unreliable, and untrustworthy, and felt negatively even when the team scored well. A paper detailing this study has been accepted to the 2021 Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS). "It really highlights the nuanced distinction between creating AI that performs objectively well and creating AI that is subjectively trusted or preferred," says Ross Allen, co-author of the paper and a researcher in the Artificial Intelligence Technology Group. "It may seem those things are so close that there's not really daylight between them, but this study showed that those are actually two separate problems. We need to work on disentangling those." Humans hating their AI teammates could be of concern for researchers designing this technology to one day work with humans on real challenges—like defending from missiles or performing complex surgery. This dynamic, called teaming intelligence, is a next frontier in AI research, and it uses a particular kind of AI called reinforcement learning. A reinforcement learning AI is not told which actions to take, but instead discovers which actions yield the most numerical "reward" by trying out scenarios again and again. It is this technology that has yielded the superhuman chess and Go players. Unlike rule-based algorithms, these AI aren't programmed to follow "if/then" statements, because the possible outcomes of the human tasks they're slated to tackle, like driving a car, are far too many to code. "Reinforcement learning is a much more general-purpose way of developing AI. If you can train it to learn how to play the game of chess, that agent won't necessarily go drive a car. But you can use the same algorithms to train a different agent to drive a car, given the right data," Allen says. "The sky's the limit in what it could, in theory, do." Bad hints, bad plays Today, researchers are using Hanabi to test the performance of reinforcement learning models developed for collaboration, in much the same way that chess has served as a benchmark for testing competitive AI for decades. The game of Hanabi is akin to a multiplayer form of Solitaire. Players work together to stack cards of the same suit in order. However, players may not view their own cards, only the cards that their teammates hold. Each player is strictly limited in what they can communicate to their teammates to get them to pick the best card from their own hand to stack next. The Lincoln Laboratory researchers did not develop either the AI or rule-based agents used in this experiment. Both agents represent the best in their fields for Hanabi performance. In fact, when the AI model was previously paired with an AI teammate it had never played with before, the team achieved the highest-ever score for Hanabi play between two unknown AI agents. "That was an important result," Allen says. "We thought, if these AI that have never met before can come together and play really well, then we should be able to bring humans that also know how to play very well together with the AI, and they'll also do very well. That's why we thought the AI team would objectively play better, and also why we thought that humans would prefer it, because generally we'll like something better if we do well." Neither of those expectations came true. Objectively, there was no statistical difference in the scores between the AI and the rule-based agent. Subjectively, all 29 participants reported in surveys a clear preference toward the rule-based teammate. The participants were not informed which agent they were playing with for which games. "One participant said that they were so stressed out at the bad play from the AI agent that they actually got a headache," says Jaime Pena, a researcher in the AI Technology and Systems Group and an author on the paper. "Another said that they thought the rule-based agent was dumb but workable, whereas the AI agent showed that it understood the rules, but that its moves were not cohesive with what a team looks like. To them, it was giving bad hints, making bad plays." Inhuman creativity This perception of AI making "bad plays" links to surprising behavior researchers have observed previously in reinforcement learning work. For example, in 2016, when DeepMind's AlphaGo first defeated one of the world's best Go players, one of the most widely praised moves made by AlphaGo was move 37 in game 2, a move so unusual that human commentators thought it was a mistake. Later analysis revealed that the move was actually extremely well-calculated, and was described as "genius." Such moves might be praised when an AI opponent performs them, but they're less likely to be celebrated in a team setting. The Lincoln Laboratory researchers found that strange or seemingly illogical moves were the worst offenders in breaking humans' trust in their AI teammate in these closely coupled teams. Such moves not only diminished players' perception of how well they and their AI teammate worked together, but also how much they wanted to work with the AI at all, especially when any potential payoff wasn't immediately obvious. "There was a lot of commentary about giving up, comments like "I hate working with this thing,'" adds Hosea Siu, also an author of the paper and a researcher in the Control and Autonomous Systems Engineering Group. Participants who rated themselves as Hanabi experts, which the majority of players in this study did, more often gave up on the AI player. Siu finds this concerning for AI developers, because key users of this technology will likely be domain experts. "Let's say you train up a super-smart AI guidance assistant for a missile defense scenario. You aren't handing it off to a trainee; you're handing it off to your experts on your ships who have been doing this for 25 years. So, if there is a strong expert bias against it in gaming scenarios, it's likely going to show up in real-world ops," he adds. Squishy humans The researchers note that the AI used in this study wasn't developed for human preference. But, that's part of the problem—not many are. Like most collaborative AI models, this model was designed to score as high as possible, and its success has been benchmarked by its objective performance. If researchers don't focus on the question of subjective human preference, "then we won't create AI that humans actually want to use," Allen says. "It's easier to work on AI that improves a very clean number. It's much harder to work on AI that works in this mushier world of human preferences." Solving this harder problem is the goal of the MeRLin (Mission-Ready Reinforcement Learning) project, which this experiment was funded under in Lincoln Laboratory's Technology Office, in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force Artificial Intelligence Accelerator and the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The project is studying what has prevented collaborative AI technology from leaping out of the game space and into messier reality. The researchers think that the ability for the AI to explain its actions will engender trust. This will be the focus of their work for the next year. "You can imagine we rerun the experiment, but after the fact—and this is much easier said than done—the human could ask, 'Why did you do that move, I didn't understand it?' If the AI could provide some insight into what they thought was going to happen based on their actions, then our hypothesis is that humans would say, 'Oh, weird way of thinking about it, but I get it now,' and they'd trust it. Our results would totally change, even though we didn't change the underlying decision-making of the AI," Allen says. Like a huddle after a game, this kind of exchange is often what helps humans build camaraderie and cooperation as a team. "Maybe it's also a staffing bias. Most AI teams don't have people who want to work on these squishy humans and their soft problems," Siu adds, laughing. "It's people who want to do math and optimization. And that's the basis, but that's not enough." Mastering a game such as Hanabi between AI and humans could open up a universe of possibilities for teaming intelligence in the future. But until researchers can close the gap between how well an AI performs and how much a human likes it, the technology may well remain at machine versus human.

Tesla says it delivered 241,300 electric vehicles in the third quarter even as it wrestled with a global shortage of computer chips that has hit the entire auto industry. The Palo Alto, California, company's sales from July through September beat Wall Street estimates of 227,000 sales worldwide, according to data provider FactSet. Third-quarter sales rose 72% over the 140,000 deliveries Tesla made for the same period a year ago. So far this year, Tesla has sold around 627,300 vehicles. That puts it on pace to soundly beat last year's total of 499,550. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a note to investors that the pace of electric vehicle deliveries in the U.S. and China has been strong for the past month or so. That means an "eye-popping growth trajectory heading into 4Q and 2022 for (CEO Elon) Musk & Co." Still, Ives estimated that the chip shortage will knock 40,000 vehicles from Tesla's annual delivery number. He estimates the deliveries to be at least 865,000 vehicles, with a bull case of around 900,000. "In a nutshell, with chip shortage headwinds, China demand still recovering from earlier this year, and EV competition coming from all angles, Tesla's ability to navigate these challenges this quarter have been very impressive," he wrote. In the third quarter, the smaller Model 3 sedan and Y SUV led the way with 232,025 sales, followed by the larger Models S and X at 9,275. Tesla said it produced 237,823 vehicles for the quarter.

Researchers at Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya in Barcelona have recently developed Baby Robot, a robotic toy that could be used to enhance the motor skills of toddlers. This system, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, can interact with toddlers in ways that encourage them to move around, either to try grasping the robot or to run away from it. "Our study first emerged as a university project," Alba M. G. García and Eric Cañas, the two master's students who carried out the study, told Tech Xplore. "We were living together while completing an MSc in artificial intelligence in Barcelona. One of the subjects we were taking, called "Cognitive Interaction with Robots," and delivered by our lecturers Anaís Garrell and Cecilio Angulo, gave us the perfect opportunity to have a bit of fun during COVID-19 lockdown measures." The main objective of the recent study conducted by García and Cañas was to develop a system that could enhance classical 'crawling toys," toys that many toddlers and babies play with while they are still crawling or as they are learning to walk. The researchers wanted to make crawling toys more interactive and entertaining, by giving them the ability to react to a toddler's behavior, instead of just having them randomly repeat a set of predefined movements. Baby Robot is essentially a car-like toy with a small camera and some sensors integrated in it. The robot's movements are planned by a series of computer vision algorithms that can detect a toddler, calculate a robot's relative position to it and plan movements that will increase a toddler's levels of engagement with the toy, while also avoiding collisions with other objects. First experimentation with the prototype. This video also shows the limitations of the cheap chipset it mounts. Delays between each action are due to the board limitations, which is both calculating its actions and sending images to an external PC. These problems would solve by either updating to a more powerful board or updating to a camera with a more luminous lens, that would allow capturing images with a low motion blur while Baby Robot is moving, so movement and processing steps could overlap, in order to produce a fluid movement. Credit: Cañas et al. "With the information collected by the robot, the algorithms compute the current state of the play session and how the robot should behave to motivate the baby to chase it (i.e., coming closer, escaping, demanding its attention, etc.)," García and Cañas said. "Meanwhile, the robot can connect to an external device (such as a PC or a smartphone), not only for delegating some computations if needed, but also to stream the play session or even record it." Baby Robot has numerous advantages over existing crawling toys. The most noteworthy is that it is based on computer vision techniques that allow it to respond to a toddler's movements instead of performing random movements that are unrelated to a toddler's behavior. As a result, the robot allows toddlers to experiment more as they play, while also encouraging them to practice their motor skills. García and Cañas evaluated their robot in a real-world environment, comparing how a group of toddlers in kindergarten interreacted with it to how they played with conventional toy cars. This experiment was organized by their lecturer, Garrell, who reached out to a pedagoue and arranged for them to visit a kindergarten to conduct their evaluation. Interestingly, they found that the toddlers played with Baby Robot longer than they played with the conventional crawling toys. In addition, the robotic toy appeared to enhance the children's mobility skills over time. "During our experiments, we observed that the engagement of the babies that were playing with the Baby Robot toy substitute significantly increased, leading them to be in movement 3.1 times longer and to travel 4.4 times more meters than those in the control condition," García and Cañas said. "This finding opens an interesting line of research about how crawling toys could process the baby's feedback and motivate them to have longer and more efficient crawling sessions, as well as how computer vision can help to achieve this." So far, Baby Robot has proved to be a very promising toy for increasing the motor skills of toddlers. The researchers are thus considering whether to approach toy manufacturers who could make the system they developed accessible to the public. "We have thought several times about associating with a toy manufacturer, but we have not taken the first step yet," García and Cañas said. "Getting support from a toy market expert would allow us not only to transform our prototype into something that babies could actually play with, a resistant and approved toy, but also to develop more solid studies about how our robot improves a baby's crawling sessions." One of the reasons why García and Cañas have not yet approached a toy manufacturer is that their current prototype was built using very cheap components. As a result, it might not yet be ready to be presented to potential investors. "We broke by accident a 60€ board while experimenting, since then, we decided to prototype it with the cheapest components we could find," García and Cañas said. "We thus ended up using lightweight and accessible products -without cost optimization, the total cost of the hardware does not surpass 70€-, but being able to experiment with more powerful boards or more luminous cameras would really improve the experience." As the robot is designed for toddlers, the researchers are also weary of the fact that is should be safe for children. Before the toy is commercialized, it would thus need to undergo a series of tests, which they are not currently able to fund. "You cannot give to a toddler a toy that is full of visible wires that could end in its stomach," García and Cañas said. "For this reason, in our experiments, we have managed to simulate its behavior using other remotely controlled toys that were already approved for babies. However, the most appropriate experimentation would require an expert manufacturer to build a resistant case that would let infants play directly with Baby Robot, rather than a surrogate version of it." In the future, García and Cañas would like to find investors interested in supporting their efforts to develop a whole line of computer vision-powered toys. These would include robots for children at other stages of development, such older infants and primary school students. In addition, the researchers hope to carry out new pedagogic studies that could help to fine-tune their toy's behavior. Baby Robot's design allows it to produce lights, colors, sounds and cute facial expressions presented on a small screen. While these interactive elements can enhance a toddler's experience while playing with the toy, the team did not implement them in their prototype yet, as they preferred to specifically investigate the effects of its reactivity to the toddler on the resulting playtime. "In future studies, we would like to progressively include the rest of the stimuli in order to observe how each one of them affect the baby engagement separately," García and Cañas said. "Nevertheless, to be really conclusive, these further studies would require the inclusion of a toy manufacturer that could build a safe case for the toy, in order to directly experiment with it instead of surrogates."

in its first big move to expand into a software company, General Motors is introducing a new software platform it created called Ultifi. The automaker will begin putting Ultifi (all-tee-fy) on some internal combustion and electric vehicles starting with the 2023 model year with the hope that it helps boost consumer loyalty to GM cars and opens up new channels to revenue beyond car sales. "Ultifi is a big, big step in our software strategy," Scott Miller, GM's vice president of software-defined vehicles said Wednesday. "Today, cars are enabled by software, with Ultifi, cars will be defined by it." Last week, Alan Wexler, GM's senior vice president of innovation and growth, announced that GM has a new business model that extends beyond the hardware of building cars, to becoming a software platform innovator. Wexler said GM's vehicles will merely be a platform to deliver GM-developed software to offer consumers services beyond driving. Those services can then be used in their homes and other areas of their lives. Wexler called GM's new business model, "a potential game-changer for delivering subscription services that create recurring revenue." Ultifi is the first step in GM's new business model, Miller said. It builds on GM's current vehicle intelligence platform (VIP). Think of VIP as a smartphone and Ultifi as the operating system that provides the functions. Ultifi holds the potential for more cloud-based services, faster software development and new ways GM can increase customer loyalty. "At our core, we're going to make great cars, trucks and vehicles," Miller said. "What we're talking about is adding a platform with Ultifi. (Customers) will love it when they buy it, but they'll love it even longer as it gets better. When the next new thing comes out they can add it to their vehicle and not have to go buy a new car so this improves the relationship with them." Similar to software on a smartphone, Ultifi can provide regular updates and let customers choose from a variety of over-the-air upgrades, personalization options and apps. For example, imagine a camera inside your car that recognizes your face and starts the engine for you. Or, the camera can detect if there's a child in the back seat. Miller said those services would not be subscription. Another example would be a weather forecast with the ability to close a vehicle's windows if it's parked in an area where it's expect to rain, Miller said. Or an alert that warns drivers of specific icy spots on roads. GM will open Ultifi up to allow third-party developers to create content for it and there will be the chance to add subscription offerings, for added revenue for GM. But Miller declined to say how much revenue GM expects it will generate. A GM spokesman said the automaker will discuss revenue in more depth next week, most likely at its Investor Day on Oct. 6. But Miller said GM will work out a revenue sharing formula with third-party software providers, noting, "They're not going to come to our platform for free, but we're not going to give up our platform for free either, so that's a solvable issue we'll address in the future." A customer will buy a car with Ultifi on it and then choose various plans with it or levels in terms of the number of upgrades they will get, the kinds of services and software or apps they want to access. "The key thing about Ultifi is we like to call it continuous integration," Miller said. "We're separating the software from the hardware so we can continuously upgrade apps. It will allow us to be very agile and constantly learn how to make it better."

You've probably heard a lot about NFTs in recent months. Record-breaking sales have skyrocketed, as millionaires and billionaires worldwide open their pockets for digital treasures with giant price tags. To recap: an NFT, short for non-fungible token, is essentially a piece of data that verifies ownership of a digital item—from famous artwork or a clip of an NBA game-winning shot, to the original code used to create the World Wide Web. They are created and recorded using blockchain technology. In addition to bragging rights, each NFT is unique and cannot be directly exchanged. Copies may be made, but the blockchain authenticates the NFT, showing who owns the original—which makes their purchases all the more valuable. So, why do people buy NFTs? Reasons can be similar to purchases of valuable objects in the physical world. "Why do people collect baseball cards? Why do people collect wine? Why do they collect art? You can collect [NFTs] because it's a hobby, and you can collect because some people look at it as an investment," said Dr. Merav Ozair, a FinTech professor at Rutgers Business School and Blockchain expert. "The uses of NFTs go above and beyond the hype," she added. "Will everything be worth millions of dollars? Probably not. But I think the trend will be that everything is going to be NFTed [one day], because that's the power of authentication... We are moving to the digital world in everything that we do." Looking at auction prices for some of today's biggest NFT sales can feel pretty distancing for most. But Ozair stresses that the NFTs should be approachable for everyone. "There are NFTs that are not that expensive. You just have to look for them," she said. "You can [create] NFTs yourself and sell something, and I hope that NFTs will eventually have the power to democratize society... [For example] if you're taking a video and posting it on Facebook or Instagram, you can NFT it and immediately monetize it. And maybe it will not be worth thousands of dollars, but you can make a little bit of an income." So far, giant sales have dominated headlines. Here are some of the NFT purchases that have reached the thousands, millions and beyond. $69 million: 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days' In March, Christie's announced that the NFT for "Everydays: The First 5000 Days," a digital work of art by artist Beeple, née Mike Winkelmann, sold for over $69 million—the third highest price for any living artist. The winning bidder was MetaKovan, the founder and financer of Metapurse. According to Christie's, "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" is a compilation of 5,000 digital images that Beeple created and posted online for 5,000 days straight, starting in May 2007. "I almost look at it now like I'm a political cartoonist," Beeple explained in the Christie's Lot Essay. "Except instead of doing sketches, I'm using the most advanced 3D tools to make comments on current events, almost in real-time." $6 million to raise climate change awareness: 'Ocean Front' Also in March, another NFT for a Beeple work sold for millions. "Ocean Front" was purchased by Justin Sun, Founder of TRON Foundation and CEO of BitTorrent, for $6 million. The NFT was part of the Open Earth Foundation's Carbon Drop collection, which auctioned off 8 unique, carbon-negative NFTs inspired by Earth and the climate crisis. All proceeds were to go towards the nonprofit's efforts, which include helping to spread awareness and transparency about the realties of climate change in the digital space. Beeple celebrated "Ocean Front's" sale on Twitter, writing "SIX MILLION DOLLARS for climate change. THIS is what we need to enact real meaningful change." $5.4 Million: Original Code for the World Wide Web At the end of June, the NFT of the original code used to create the World Wide Web (WWW) was sold for $5.4 million at Sotheby's auction house. The NFT was offered by WWW code creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee himself. "The process of bringing this NFT to auction has offered me the opportunity to look back in time to the moment I first sat down to write this code thirty years ago, and reflect on how far the web has come since then, and where it could go in the decades to come," said Berners-Lee in a statement. Also in the press release, Oliver Barker, Chairman Sotheby's Europe, added, "While the source code to the web itself is a digital artifact that has existed since 1990, it is not until the emergence of NFTs that something like this could ever have been harnessed for sale." Nearly $400K: LeBron James top shot clip In April, the NFT of one of the most coveted moments minted by NBA Top Shot was sold at auction for nearly $400,000. The moment—a highlight of LeBron James dunking on a fast-break with a finishing move reminiscent of the late Kobe Bryant, who had died less than a month earlier—was secured for $387,600 through Heritage Auctions. It's a record for a Top Shot auction. $11.8 million: 'CryptoPunk' Another Sotheby's June auction sold the NFT of "CryptoPunk 7523" for almost $11.8 million. According to Sotheby's, "CryptoPunk 7523" is one of nine Alien Cryptopunks, created by Larva Labs in 2017. But #7523 is the only one that wears a medical mask, which has served as a symbol amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

New cybersecurity research from Florida Tech has found that the smartphone companion applications of 16 po[CENSORED]r smart home devices contain "critical cryptographic flaws" that could allow attackers to intercept and modify their traffic. As Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as connected locks, motion sensors, security cameras and smart speakers become increasingly ubiquitous in households across the country, their surging po[CENSORED]rity means more people are at risk of cyber intrusions. "IoT devices offer the promise of security with connected locks, alarms, and security cameras," computer engineering and sciences assistant professor TJ O'Connor and students Dylan Jessee and Daniel Campos write in their paper, Through the Spyglass: Toward IOT Companion App Man-in-the-Middle Attacks. "However, attackers can leverage the immature but pervasive nature of IoT to spy on and surveil victims." O'Connor leads Florida Tech's cybersecurity program and directs the IoT Security and Privacy Lab (pictured above), which has produced eye-opening research into privacy flaws in internet-connected cameras. This summer he was named head coach of the inaugural U.S. Cyber Games team. The research O'Connor and his students conduct often highlights the troubling vulnerabilities of consumer IoT devices, and their latest paper continues that focus. Subjecting 20 devices to a host of "man-in-the-middle" attacks wherein perpetrators seek to intercept communications between parties, allowing for the theft of login credentials, spying or other nefarious activities, the researchers found that 16 device vendors failed to implement security measures, thus enabling the attacks. "We hypothesize that the distributed communications architecture of IoT introduces vulnerabilities that allow an attacker to intercept and mani[CENSORED]te the communications channel, affecting the user-level perception of an IoT device," they wrote. "We apply this (attack) against a broad array of smart home device vendors to conceal malicious users, suppress motion reporting, modify camera images, unlock doors, and mani[CENSORED]te history log files." The IoT devices that showed this vulnerability were: Amazon Echo, August lock, Blink camera, Google Home camera, Hue lights, Lockly lock, Momentum camera, Nest camera, NightOwl doorbell, Roku TV, Schlage lock, Sifely lock, SimpliSafe alarm, SmartThings lock, UltraLoq lock and Wyze camera. Devices from four vendors—Arlo, Geeni, TP-Link and Ring—were found not to be susceptible to the attacks the researchers carried out. "While our work uncovers pervasive failures, vendors can take measures to improve confidentiality and integrity in smart home devices and their applications," the researchers wrote. The researchers disclosed the vulnerabilities to the affected vendors and Apple prior to the release of their work. As highlighted by the researchers in their paper, vendors must implement stronger server-side cryptographic implementations to prevent these attacks. Several vendors have begun implementing these recommendations, including Wyze, which updated its companion application prior to the researchers' presentation of their findings at the Cyber Security Experiment & Test Workshop in August. The work was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. Dylan Jessee, a cadet in the university's Army ROTC program, led the effort to identify the vulnerabilities. Jessee hopes to branch into the Army's cyber career field after commissioning. The paper, "Through the Spyglass: Toward IOT Companion App Man-in-the-Middle Attacks," is available at https://research.fit.edu/iot

Google is updating critical features for the millions of drivers who depend on its technology to help them get around. The tech giant announced the upcoming changes Thursday to Google Assistant and Android Auto driving modes and a new automaker, Honda, will have Google technology installed in its vehicles. Google said that drivers using Google Assistant on Android phones will soon see a new dashboard they say will reduce "the need to fiddle with your phone while also making sure you stay focused on the road." Instead of scrolling while driving, Google said drivers could tap to see who just called or sent a text and have access to several apps to listen to music with the new dashboard. The dashboard will also include a new messaging update where drivers can say, "Hey Google, turn on auto-read," to hear their new messages read aloud when they come in and respond by voice. These new changes for drivers are apparently part of what Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet, said in a blog earlier this year to make its technologies "universally accessible and useful." For example, users of Android Auto, Google's smartphone app for vehicles, via their Android phones will now be able to see music, news, and podcast recommendations from Google Assistant and they can set which app launches whenever Android Auto starts. Those Android Auto users will soon be able to play games appearing on the vehicle's display with a new feature called GameSnacks while they're waiting or parking. Additionally, Android Auto and Android phone users can make contactless payments for gas using Google Pay. This feature is available at more than 32,000 gas stations across the U.S., including ExxonMobil, Conoco, 76 stations and Phillips 66. On Thursday, Google announced that Japanese automaker Honda will be the latest to have Google built-in technology in its vehicles beginning in 2022. Honda, which announced in April it's aiming to sell only electric vehicles in North America by 2040, will join the likes of Ford, General Motors, Polestar, Renault and Volvo that will have its future vehicles released with default Android operating systems. The Polestar 2 and Volvo XC40 Recharge are among the current models with Google's built-in tech.

The Redmond-based firm does not stop working on improving its security systems, among which, of course, is Windows Defender. In this way, what is intended is to be able to protect Windows 10 users in the most effective way. In fact with the passage of time, the company itself has been introducing important changes in this section. Thus, this is a security alternative that has become one of the favorites for a growing number of users. In this way it does not stop sending new improvements for its protection software integrated in the operating system, as we constantly check. As proof of all this we will say that Microsoft introduced a tamper protection method in Microsoft Defender ATP earlier this year. With all this, what is achieved is to protect the security program against the changes that malware can make in the most important security features. To say that a limitation is included here in the changes that are not made directly through the application, that is, through malicious software, as we mentioned. Of course, we will say that at first Microsoft made this functionality only available to its Insiders since last 2018. In fact, at the moment it continues testing it so that it can be improved and refined. Avoid altering Windows Defender We tell you all this because from now on, this tamper protection function is starting to reach all Windows 10 users. Of course, we must bear in mind that this new implementation is being carried out gradually, by What we do not have yet, we will receive at any time. This is also something that we can activate or deactivate from the Windows security application depending on our needs. At first the function will be shown in Windows Defender as enabled by default for all home and business users. However, if for whatever reason we do not want it to be operational, we can also do without it. With all this, what is wanted is to avoid unwanted and malicious changes in the security settings of the devices. This is something that certain malicious codes sometimes carry out, which deactivate some Windows Defender functions in order to access the computer and its data. Therefore, we will show you how to access this new function, either to activate or deactivate it. The first thing we do is open the Configuration application through the "Win + I" key combination. In the new window we click on the "Update and security" option, where we opt for "Windows Security". After clicking on the "Open Windows Security" button, we select "Anti-virus and threat protection". Among the options that we find here, we must place ourselves in the so-called "Antivirus configuration and threat protection / Manage configuration". It will be then when on screen we see the controller that will allow us to activate or deactivate the new function “Protection against alterations”.

VPNs are big business, and getting bigger, but the prospect of buying a subscription and setting one up can be daunting for a first-timer. However, that’s not your only option. Increasingly, web browsers are offering their own in-browser VPNs (or services described as such). But are they really the same, and how much protection do they offer? Opera is establishing a niche for itself as a pioneer in online security, willing to experiment, take risks, and introduce new privacy features long before the bigger players. It was the first mainstream browser to launch a built-in VPN, offering it for both desktop and mobile devices. “Opera introduced our free, built-in no log browser VPN more than three years ago,” an Opera spokesperson told TechRadar. “We saw the rising demand for VPN services: people wanted to protect their online lives better. We decided to help them with this.” “We are a non-default browser that people have to make a choice to download and use, that’s why we try harder to innovate and offer the best features, as soon as we can” Opera doesn’t charge for its VPN, instead providing it free as an incentive for people to make the switch from rival browsers. “Our browser’s revenue comes from other, unrelated sources such as agreements with the world's most po[CENSORED]r search engines,” the spokesperson explained. “The reception has been great. People value the fact that our VPN, is no log, free and unlimited. Unlike, for example, Firefox, the Opera browser continues to grow its user base and is now the preferred choice of more than 300 million people worldwide on PC and smartphones.” Opera is clearly confident, and its service is certainly easy to use (our colleagues at Tom’s Guide have found that it works particularly well with Netflix), but is it really a VPN? Some would argue no. When is a VPN not a VPN? In September 2019, Mozilla debuted an experimental tool called Firefox Private Network (FPN). It's currently available free for testing to US desktop users, but may well be a paid-for product when it’s released in the near future. Although it works just like Opera’s tool, Mozilla stopped short of actually calling it a VPN, so we asked why it made the distinction. “Firefox Private Network was built to ensure the best possible performance and privacy,” a Mozilla spokesperson told TechRadar. “As opposed to a true VPN, which is a piece of software that works on the OS level of a device, the Firefox Private Network is a secure, encrypted path to the web for the Firefox browser using Cloudflare as a proxy” Because FPN only protects web traffic going through the browser, Mozilla believes ‘proxy’ a more appropriate term. By this measure, Opera’s offering is also a secure proxy, only anonymizing browser traffic. Proxies are useful tools for keeping your everyday browsing private – particularly when you’re using a public Wi-Fi hotspot – but it’s important to be aware of their limitations compared to a ‘true’ VPN. A proxy won’t secure any data sent and received by other applications, including (but not limited to) email clients, media apps, and messaging apps. With online services increasingly urging users to use their own apps rather than a web browser, this is important to bear in mind. It’s also important to know who is providing your browser’s proxy, where the organization is based (different countries have different data privacy laws), and what logs it keeps. Reassuringly, Mozilla is particularly transparent about this. “FPN was carefully built by Mozilla’s team of designers and engineers, making sure you get the best possible performance and privacy, tightly integrated with the Firefox browser,” its spokesperson told us. “And true to our commitment to privacy, the data Cloudflare processes for the Firefox Private Network is subject to Mozilla’s privacy policy. All proxy data will be deleted within 24 hours.” Still, if you want to make sure all your internet traffic is encrypted and anonymized, you'll need to investigate a premium standalone VPN service. Proxies vs VPNs ExpressVPN is one of the world's biggest VPN providers, and currently ranks top in our guide to the best VPNs. “We are glad to see that a growing number of companies share our view that VPNs are an essential online privacy and security tool,” Harold Li, vice president of ExpressVPN, told us. “We have also been working with Mozilla since 2018 to offer Firefox Lite users a free seven-day trial of ExpressVPN – helping to educate users about the risks of public Wi-Fi while equipping them with tools to protect themselves” However, while he agreed that while browser-based proxies can be useful, he also noted that they don’t protect all internet traffic. He also observed that dedicated VPN services can also invest more in their products, offering services like 24/7 live customer support, premium bandwidth, reliable content unblocking, and state of the art hardware for speed, stability and securityy. For example, ExpressVPN’s servers run on RAM only, not hard drives, which guarantees that all software and data on the server is erased on every reboot. That's not something most browser developers will be able to provide - and certainly not for free. However, there is one company with the resources... What about Chrome? There are certainly plenty of third-party proxy extensions for Chrome (both free and paid), but there’s no sign of Google implementing a proxy or VPN of its own. With over 60% of the global browser market in September 2019 according to StatCounter, Google certainly doesn’t need to dangle a carrot to tempt new users – but it could if it wished. It already provides a VPN for customers of its Google Fi mobile phone service, though that’s out of necessity. Google doesn’t control its own mobile network, so it piggybacks on infrastructure belonging to Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. Each of these companies has its own security and privacy policies, making it a nightmare for Google to create a standard set of privacy policies, so it chose to get around the issue by installing a VPN on each phone. Data is encrypted and sent to a remote server before it goes to any of those three ISPs, meaning they are unable to see what it is, or where it’s come from. That’s not a cheap service, but it proves that Google is prepared to bolster its services with privacy tools when it must. And if proxies become standard with all other browsers, it might feel compelled to follow suit. Earlier this year, Google followed the example set by Mozilla and Opera by giving Chrome users the ability to block third-party cookies (despite its insistence that doing so will only cause advertisers to use shadier methods like fingerprinting to track web users). A true in-browser VPN would be a major asset for Google, particularly if Chrome's po[CENSORED]rity starts to wane as users become frustrated by its infamous RAM-guzzling) and would let it leapfrog other browsers that only offer a proxy. Whether users would trust a VPN provided by Google is another matter, but we certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility of one appearing in Chrome in the next couple of years.

Did you know the American Humane Association monitors over 1,000 productions each year to protect animals in movies, television shows, and other videos? They have a bunch of requirements companies have to meet to show the "No Animals Were Harmed" badge in their end credits. Thank goodness there isn't a similar association devoted to stopping bloggers from beating dead horses, though, because Microsoft once again broke Windows 10 with a cumulative update. The company released the KB4517389 cumulative update to Windows 10 on October 8. It didn't take long for people to start reporting problems: Windows Latest noticed complaints about the update breaking the Start menu on October 12, and by October 13, it had discovered that the update also made the Edge browser unusable. (Which isn't exactly new where Edge is concerned, but we mean it literally here.) Some users have also had problems with installing the update in the first place. None of this comes as a surprise. The last several cumulative updates have borked Windows 10 in various ways: KB4515384 broke Windows Desktop Search, KB4517211 prevented some people from being able to print, and KB4524147 broke the Start menu. Those are just some of the most recent examples; we've had to write similar reports throughout most of 2019. Not all cumulative updates have serious issues, but enough of them have to make us skeptical of any new release. That might help explain why Microsoft pushed the next major update to the now-appropriately-titled Windows 10 November 2019 Update. The company said earlier this month that it was planning to release this major update on October 8. Instead, it released KB4517389. It honestly feels like the update was supposed to be a consolation prize, but instead it raised even more questions about how people are supposed to trust Windows 10 updates not to have severe problems at launch. We know that many people have probably installed the KB4517389 without a single problem, making these issues the exception, not the rule. But that doesn't change the fact that Microsoft has steadily eroded any faith Windows 10 users might have had in updates that fix bugs, include vital security updates and are otherwise supposed to improve their experience. We'll stop beating these dead horses when Microsoft stops delivering them to the 900 million systems running Windows 10.

If we are used to using voice assistants, with Siri we had a great lack since it was not compatible with Spotify, the most po[CENSORED]r streaming music platform on the market. With the arrival of iOS 13 and if we can control it and not only from our smartphone. Official support reaches all users, thus offering us greater compatibility, now it will be easier to start the reproductions, change the song or even the playlist. This novelty comes to satisfy a large number of users who had realized this need and had informed both companies. Siri and Spotify are also compatible with AirPods The compatibility of Siri and Spotify reaches the po[CENSORED]r assistant and also the AirPods, the most po[CENSORED]r Apple headphones. Through the AirPods microphone itself we can give orders to the Apple assistant to work with Spotify and thus avoid the need to take out the mobile or look at our Apple Watch. An entire ecosystem compatible with the idea of providing its users with the needs, a function especially useful for athletes, who once started the exercise tasks will not need to use the mobile phone, nor to check statistics, nor to control the music that they are listening. This compatibility does not remain only in the AirPods, it extends and reaches other products such as the HomePod, which is really useful while we are doing tasks at home, avoiding distractions and making us do our best only in what we are doing. In turn, the arrival at CarPlay has also been confirmed, a priority for virtual assistants, since while driving, being able to use the commands allows us, here, to concentrate on what is really important. Spotify wants to remain king Given the abysmal competition with which we are in the market, Spotify is making wise decisions, how to incorporate your accounting with Siri and offer its users the needs they demand, as was the case with the Android widget. The continuous offers and promotions of the platform in student or family plans are other strong points to compete with Amazon or Tidal services, among the great variety that is making its appearance due to the success understood.

The vulnerabilities extend this time to Asus and GIGABYTE, where both companies have already been informed of their vulnerabilities in their lighting control software of both brands respectively. Aura Sync and AORUS Graphics Engine must be patched in up to 4 versions to prevent any attacker from escaping privileges through such control software. Six vulnerabilities and five affected products It has been the SecureAuth company that has made both discoveries and made them known to both companies with enough time for these vulnerabilities to be patched and corrected. In the case of Asus, the communication between the two companies occurred in November 2017, where Asus subsequently recognized the problem. Thus, on March 26 of this year the company launched a new review of Aura Sync informing that the problems were corrected, but it was not until May when SecureAuth checked the improvements, where only one of the three problems was corrected. The case of GIGABYTE is more flagrant, since upon being informed the company's technical support team responded to SecureAuth that GIGABYTE is a hardware company, not being specialized in software. Even so, they requested technical details to verify the vulnerabilities. Shortly afterwards, their response perplexed SecureAuth engineers, since GIGABYTE responded that according to their PM and engineers, their products are not affected by the vulnerabilities described. To put this in perspective, SecureAuth reported that Asus Aura Sync 1.07.22 and earlier versions install two vulnerable drivers, while in the case of GIGABYTE this extends to its Application Center software 1.05.21 and later at the same time as AORUS Graphics Engine (1.33 and later), the XTREME Engine utility (v1.25 and earlier) and OC Guru II (v2 .08). To be specific, in the case of Asus the security errors found correspond to CVE-2018-18537, CVE-2018-18536, CVE-2018-18535, through the GLCKIo and Asusgio drivers. In the case of vulnerability CVE-2018-18537 with a simple proof of concept or PoC a system failure can be achieved, while in the case of CVE-2018-18536 a possibility of reading and writing data from and to IO ports, which could be used by the attacker to execute code with elevated privileges. Vulnerability CVE-2018-18535 also exposes a method of reading and writing but through MSR (specific controls of the CPU architecture with features such as debugging, monitoring or monitoring program execution). That can produce blue screens of death in the worst case. GIGABYTE is not far behind with 3 other vulnerabilities In the case of GIGABYTE the affected drivers are GPCIDrv and GDrv where it was discovered that they can receive system calls from the user's processes without privileges, even with a low level of integrity, so Windows validates them as a trust code. Vulnerability CVE-2018-19320 gives the attacker full control of the system, so it is the most serious of those registered, and can even block the system. The second vulnerability (CVE-2018-19322) allows the attacker to increase his privileges on the system, where at least SecureAuth has managed to restart the affected computer. Finally, the CVE-2018-19323 vulnerability causes BSOD, since the exploit executed filters the pointer of a kernel function and prevents KASLR protection. Neither Asus nor GIGABYTE have reported again if they have finally corrected the vulnerabilities, so yesterday they were published publicly after being notified for more than a year.

Researchers have discovered a vulnerability in the Windows 10 update wizard that allows attackers to gain system privileges. This failure in the Windows 10 update wizard already recognized by Microsoft itself, makes it possible for an attacker to end up creating an account with full user rights, thereby obtaining access to take control of the device, and even delete or install what that you want “A locally authenticated attacker could execute arbitrary code with elevated system privileges. After successfully exploiting the vulnerability, an attacker could install programs, view, change or delete data, or create new accounts with full user rights, ”explains Microsoft. In case you don't know what the Windows 10 update wizard is, it is a pop-up window that guides you through the whole process of updating a version of Windows 10. In principle, those users with Windows 10 version 1803, which is April of 2018, they are the ones with the highest risk since they are guided by the assistant until the most recent update of May 2019. That does not mean that if you have the Windows update May 10, 2019 you are safe, since the computers are also vulnerable to attacks as long as this update tool has been previously installed manually. Microsoft has already released a new version of the update wizard that no longer includes this vulnerability, so if you have been using the wizard to guide you through the installation processes, you should install it again. For the attendees that are already standard, we will have to wait to see if with the November update of Windows 10 the bug is already resolved, which is most likely.

Microsoft released its preliminary version Build 18999 (20H1) for its Windows Insider program and whose main novelty is that it allows you to answer calls from any Android phone from the PC (Windows 10). The new feature is called Calls or Calls, and is integrated into Your Phone, the Microsoft application to link the phone with a Windows 10 computer, and keep track of notifications from notifications to photos. The objective is that the user, from his PC, can answer and make calls, as well as reject them with a personalized message or send them to the mailbox, in addition to accessing the call history and transferring them from the computer to the phone. Microsoft indicated that the function will also be implemented in version 19H1 or newer. The new Windows 10 update is expected to arrive in the first half of 2020 for the end user. It is worth mentioning that virtually any Microsoft client can join the Windows Insider program to obtain preliminary builds of Windows 10 and provide comments for improvement.

One of the things that Instagram users like least is that their web client, which is the one used to access the service from a computer, is not exactly complete. For that reason, a good number of extensions are often used in developments such as Google Chrome. But, it seems, the company intends to improve this version. We show what you are working on. The fact is that the restrictions that exist, since from the browser it is only possible to use the option I like and comment on images, will be terminated. As has been known, Instagram has very advanced work to bring the direct messages offered in its mobile application to the web client, so it will take an important step when it comes to increasing its usefulness and, in addition, sure that More than one is grateful to be able to manage these contents when your Windows 10 or macOS computer is in front of the screen. Control your posts on Instagram: how to archive them and nobody to see them A recognizable and proven interface Even, an image has been published of how the interface of this new function could be, where the resemblance to Facebook Messenger is more than evident, so everything indicates that this development of the company on which it depends will be used and, therefore, stability from the outset would be very high. An example that demonstrates this is that on the left side is where the list of active conversations will be and, in the right area, would be the content of these. At the moment all the options that will exist are not known, such as file sharing or group creation. For this we will have to wait a little longer. A detail that is positive is that, at the top of the Instagram interface for a computer, always based on a web client, it will make a shortcut icon that will take the user to the messages automatically and that, in addition, It will have the function of showing in a small circle the amount of notifications that are pending review. That is, the basics are present. Arrival of this novelty for Instagram From what it seems some testers of the company are already using the new functionality, so the development is quite advanced. This means that in a short time, the web version of Instagram will include access to direct messages. Therefore, it will be given a new dimension due to a greater commitment to the mentioned functionality. The case is that in a few months -as much- this novelty is expected to be a reality. Will it outperform others like Facebook messaging or WhatsApp itself?

As we informed you just a few days ago, a problem was detected in Windows 10 related to USB Type-C devices that caused the computer to shut down or go into hibernation in a much slower way than we are used to. In fact, this is something that Microsoft itself admitted claiming it was working on a solution. More specifically, the Redmond-based firm said that simply shutting down a computer with Windows 10 and compatible with USB Type-C devices could extend the shutdown of the device in more than one minute under certain conditions. This came because Windows 10 October 2018 Update does not work well with the software interface of the mentioned connector due to an error in its implementation. This means that if we are turning off the PC and a USB Type-C device is being connected or disconnected, the process could get quite long. It is also true that the error is not a big problem, since the computer and the USB device will continue to function normally after the restart, but it is something that should be corrected. Well, as we know now, the firm has just released a new update for Windows 10 in which Microsoft says that this error has been resolved in the May 2019 Update or 1903 version. Therefore, the company advises the affected users to install this recent version of the system as soon as possible, since it corrects the problem of slow shutdown, although for the moment it has not been confirmed if it also plans to correct this same error in 1809, that is, on Windows 10 October 2018 Update. Thus, what is also achieved is that a greater number of users finally decide to install on their computers the most modern and updated version of the operating system, one of Microsoft's main objectives for a long time. Other fixes included in the new Windows 10 update But this bug that we are referring to has not been the only one that has been solved in the new update, but other elements have been patched. We say this because in the new cumulative update of Windows 10, KB4501375, released for version 1903 of the system, other problems that had not been solved until now have been solved. For example, some users were reporting that some screenshots taken in Windows 10 1903 were somewhat yellowish, and apparently this is an error that came because the F.lux functionality that is running in the background, had some problems with the May 2019 Update, since the color profiles of this feature are not loaded when the system is restarted with the quick start option. In fact this is something that was recognized as an error and users were advised to disable this quick start to avoid faulty screenshots. However, in this recent update, this is a bug that has already been corrected, as is the case with the custom view error in the Event Viewer of the operating system, among others, as a redirection problem between Microsoft Edge and the Internet Explorer 11.

Hard Disk Sentinel (HDSentinel) is a multi-OS SSD and HDD monitoring and analysis software. Its goal is to find, test, diagnose and repair hard disk drive problems, report and display SSD and HDD health, performance degradations and failures. Hard Disk Sentinel gives complete textual description, tips and displays/reports the most comprehensive information about the hard disks and solid state disks inside the computer or in external enclosures (USB / e-SATA). Many different alerts and report options are available to ensure maximum safety of your valuable data. The software monitors hard disk drive / HDD status, including health, temperature and all S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology, built in most hard disks, solid state disks and hybrid drives (SSHD) today) values for each disks. Also it measures the disk transfer speed in real time which can be used as a benchmark or to detect possible hard disk failures, performance degradations. Article created by „neowin”.

GPU-Z is a lightweight system utility designed to provide vital information about your video card and graphics processor. At launch, it automatically scans your system and reports the card name, GPU, release date and transistors, BIOS version, ROPs, memory type, and memory size. Main Features: Supports NVIDIA, AMD, ATI and Intel graphics devices Displays adapter, GPU and display information Displays overclock, default clocks and 3D clocks (if available) Includes a GPU load test to verify PCI-Express lane configuration Validation of results GPU-Z can create a backup of your graphics card BIOS No installation required, optional installer is available Support for Windows XP / Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8 / Windows 10 (both 32 and 64 bit versions are supported) GPU-Z 2.18.0 changelog: Added support for NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, RTX 2060 Mobile (TU106-B), Quadro RTX 5000, Quadro RTX 6000 Added Hotspot temperature monitoring for AMD Radeon VII Vega 10 & Vega 20 Hotspot no longer disabled by default Updated PCI vendor database to add new companies and remove unused entries Ensure "Sapphire" vendor name doesn't get displayed on PCPartner OEM cards Fixed crash on startup during BIOS parsing on older NVIDIA cards (GeForce 500) Fixed GPU-Z hang during splash screen on some systems Fixed system crash on some AMD systems during BIOS read Article created by „neowin”.

Nvidia put a fork in its now infamous GeForce Partner Program, citing recent negative commentary as the primary reason for the abrupt cancellation. The statement is the company’s first official response to the alleged foul play that was first brought to light back in March , with several outlets reporting that the program puts an unfair burden on its partners to align their gaming brands exclusively with Nvidia. Several AIB partners rebranded many of their AMD-based graphics cards a short time later, with Gigabyte dropping its Aorus moniker from its RX580 Gaming Box and Asus renaming its entire AMD GPU lineup. AMD made a direct respons to the surging reports of the implications, giving more credibility to the claim that the GPP could be having an effect on how vendors brand their respective gaming products. Nvidia claimed in its blog that it’s shutting down the GPP because it would prefer to cancel the program “rather than battling misinformation.” The company further dismissed the allegations of wrongdoing by claiming that the program was quite transparent, and that no bad blood existed between Nvidia and its AIB partners: With GPP, we asked our partners to brand their products in a way that would be crystal clear. The choice of GPU greatly defines a gaming platform. So, the GPU brand should be clearly transparent – no substitute GPUs hidden behind a pile of techno-jargon. Most partners agreed. They own their brands and GPP didn’t change that. They decide how they want to convey their product promise to gamers. Still, today we are pulling the plug on GPP to avoid any distraction from the super exciting work we’re doing to bring amazing advances to PC gaming. Although the cancellation of the Nvidia GPP may give those who already believe that the Green Team is pure evil all the confirmation they need that the program was indeed toxic, the surge of negative press coverage over the ambiguity of the published guidelines could just be enough of a headache for Nvidia to throw in the towel, and one could hardly blame them.

SEATTLE – At its annual Build developer conference, Microsoft showed off a few new features that will enhance Windows 10. Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president for Windows, detailed updates to Sets and Outlook. Sets, which will likely be a major part of the next update to Windows 10, is a way to organize windows with tabs, like how you already manage web browsing. For example, you might keep a few browser tabs, a PowerPoint presentation and an image editor open in one window if you were putting together a presentation. Additionally, entire Sets will be stored in the Windows Timeline so that you can pull up every app involved in a project. You can see our hands-on with sets from the build showfloor here . Microsoft is trying to entice developers into building Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps for the Microsoft Store, and we now know that those apps will work with Sets from the start. However, the company is also promising that your favorite Win32 programs and web apps will also be supported in Sets. Belfiore said on stage that Sets will be available "when we think that it is great," stating that it needs developer support to make sure that programs work with it. Additionally, Microsoft 365 will support Adaptive Cards, a feature that allows for interactions within conversations. The big focus is Outlook, where Microsoft is using these cards to introduce payments. With Microsoft Pay, users will be able to quickly pay their bills directly from their inbox. Program manager Charles Morris paid a bill in Outlook in just a few clicks, but it required the developer to create an adaptive card for it. Invoice partners supporting Adaptive Cards include Sage, Intuit, Stripe and Wave. Morris also showed an example were a form sent in an email from Github could be filled out in an email, without navigating to the actual site. Belfiore also suggested that the next Insider Build will put web pages in the Alt+Tab menu, making it easier to access specific web tabs you had open. Microsoft also took some time to announce new windows 10's phone-syncing features , including a “Your Phone” app that will let you connect your smartphone to read text messages, view photos and check notifications. This article originally appeared on Laptop Mag. Image Credit: Microsoft

Mai jos aveti o lista care se aplica doar utilizatorilor de Windows XP alg.exe - daca apartine userului SYSTEM atunci este OK, altfel poate fi virus csrss.exe - daca apartine userului SYSTEM atunci este OK, altfel de cele mai multe ori este virus explorer.exe - daca apartine userului vostru de calculator, atunci este OK lsass.exe - daca apartine userului SYSTEM atunci este OK, altfel de cele mai multe ori este virus svchost.exe - daca apartine userului SYSTEM atunci este OK, si NETWORK SERVICE altfel este virus spoolsv.exe - daca apartine userului SYSTEM atunci este OK, altfel de cele mai multe ori este virus smss.exe - daca apartine userului SYSTEM atunci este OK, altfel de cele mai multe ori este virus System - daca apartine userului SYSTEM atunci este OK, altfel de cele mai multe ori este virus Atentie Svchost.exe este un proces ce sustine in spate mai multe servicii de Windows, de aceea acesta apare de mai multe ori, dar numai sub cei 2 (doi) utilizatori: SYSTEM si NETWORK SERVICE altfel v-ati ales cu un virus. Indiciu Toate procesele amintite mai sus pentru a fi autentice si legitime se afla in folderul C:\Windows\system32. Restul de procese pe care le puteti gasi in Task Manager pot fi: programe de startup servicii instalate o data cu alte programe (gen antivirusi, procese de Update la diferite soft-uri, etc) sau virusi care in general sunt programe puse la startup dar nu apar in system tray ca icoane (acolo jos langa ceas).