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TrendTechie

April 18, 2025

Прекратил работу главный торрент-трекер России. Причины неизвестны. Опрос

As of 11:00 PM on April 15, 2025, Rutracker has resumed operations after a significant outage that began around 5:00 PM Moscow time the same day. Users from major Russian cities reported difficulties accessing the site, which has been permanently blocked in Russia since 2016. During the outage, users encountered a "Web Server Down" message due to a 521 error from Cloudflare, indicating a connection termination. The access issues appeared to affect only Russian users, as individuals in Italy and Kazakhstan could still access Rutracker. This incident marks the third occurrence in six months raising concerns about the future of popular web resources among Russians. Rutracker had previously announced its own anti-Russian sanctions in March 2022 but continued to be accessible to Russian users until this outage. In January 2023, Rutracker experienced another outage lasting nearly a full day. The recent issues have been attributed to hosting problems, although some users reported no access issues during that time.

AppWizard

April 18, 2025

N.J. sues Discord, alleging the messaging app leaves kids vulnerable to predators

State officials in New Jersey have filed a lawsuit against Discord, alleging that the messaging platform fails to protect children from online predators and misrepresents its safety features, particularly regarding direct messaging. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin claims that Discord's misleading safety settings have made it a target for predators, exposing young users to risks. Discord has announced its intention to contest the lawsuit, asserting its commitment to safety. The complaint points out that Discord's default settings allow users to receive friend requests from anyone and that its claims about scanning and removing explicit content are misleading. The lawsuit demands that Discord relinquish profits earned in New Jersey and seeks civil penalties, following incidents where inadequate safeguards led to child exploitation. Additionally, a man has been accused of communicating with a 14-year-old victim on Discord after previously assaulting her.

AppWizard

April 16, 2025

Japan orders Google to stop pre-installing Chrome and its other apps on Android smartphones – The Times of India

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) issued a cease-and-desist order against Google for violating Japan's anti-monopoly law by requiring Android smartphone manufacturers to preinstall its applications, which restricted competing search engine applications. Google incentivized manufacturers financially to designate Chrome as the default browser and not to preinstall rival search applications. The order mandates that Google stop these practices, prohibits the requirement for preinstallation of its apps, and requires the company to create compliance guidelines and appoint an independent third party to oversee adherence for five years. Google had agreements with six manufacturers representing about 80% of Android smartphones in Japan. The investigation began in 2023, reflecting a trend of increased scrutiny of big tech firms globally.

AppWizard

April 11, 2025

Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp: Which Encrypted Messaging App Should You Choose

Telegram, a cloud-based messaging platform, stores necessary operational data, including metadata such as IP addresses. In 2024, Telegram updated its privacy policy to comply with law enforcement requests for user data with valid legal documentation, leading to the fulfillment of 900 requests from U.S. authorities affecting 2,253 individuals. The platform has experienced data breaches, including a 2020 incident exposing data from approximately 42 million Iranian users and a 2019 vulnerability that allowed Chinese agencies to identify protestors in Hong Kong. Telegram features public channels without end-to-end encryption and offers secret chats with end-to-end encryption, limited to the device of origin. Automatic message deletion is available with a minimum interval of one day. While the client applications are open-source, the server-side code is closed-source, requiring user trust in the company to protect data. Metadata collection continues despite end-to-end encryption. Telegram operates on a freemium model, with basic features available for free and a paid tier for additional functionalities. The app is available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store at no charge.

AppWizard

April 10, 2025

How Gaming Is Regulated On Android’s App Store

The Google Play Store offers millions of mobile games and enforces strict regulations to ensure user safety and legal compliance. These regulations cover content policies, monetization practices, data protection, technical requirements, and regional compliance. Games must adhere to content policies that prohibit hate speech, excessive violence, and misrepresentation, and must be rated by the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC). Monetization strategies require developers to use Google’s payment system for in-app purchases and disclose pricing and refund policies. Gambling games must have the necessary licenses and disclose odds for loot boxes. Data privacy guidelines mandate clear communication about data collection and user consent. Technical standards require games to function well across devices and be free from security threats. Google employs automated and manual reviews to enforce compliance, with consequences for violations ranging from warnings to permanent bans. Regional compliance is necessary, particularly in areas with strict regulations like China and the EU.

AppWizard

April 10, 2025

Google fixes two Android zero-day bugs actively exploited by hackers

On Monday, Google released an update addressing two critical zero-day vulnerabilities in Android, CVE-2024-53197 and CVE-2024-53150. CVE-2024-53197 was discovered through collaboration with Amnesty International and Benoît Sevens from Google’s Threat Analysis Group, which monitors government-backed cyber threats. Amnesty International previously reported that Cellebrite exploited three zero-day vulnerabilities to access Android phones, including targeting a Serbian student activist. The vulnerabilities allow for remote privilege escalation without requiring additional execution privileges or user interaction. Google plans to release source code patches for both vulnerabilities within 48 hours and informs Android partners at least a month before public disclosure to prepare updates. Manufacturers are responsible for implementing and distributing these patches to users.

AppWizard

April 5, 2025

TikTok avoids a US ban for a second time thanks to Trump’s 75-day reprieve

TikTok has avoided a potential ban in the U.S. due to a 75-day extension granted by President Donald Trump, announced on April 4. This is the second extension for TikTok, which follows an initial deadline set to expire on April 5. The original law required a decision by January 19 regarding the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations or a nationwide ban, a deadline that has now been postponed twice. TikTok, owned by ByteDance, can continue operations without interruption, although negotiations between ByteDance and the U.S. government are ongoing, with unresolved key matters. The situation also involves U.S.-China tariff discussions, with Trump emphasizing the importance of tariffs for national security.

TrendTechie

April 2, 2025

Создателя торрент-сайта и участника группы The Scene приговорили к тюрьме в Дании

A Danish court sentenced a 46-year-old man to nine months in prison for uploading about 74 terabytes of pirated films and shows to torrent trackers SuperBits and DanishBytes. A 48-year-old man received a twelve-month sentence for hosting servers that distributed pirated content linked to The Scene. Over five years, Danish law enforcement has intensified efforts against local torrent sites, convicting over twenty individuals, including uploaders and administrators. The 48-year-old illegally copied content from three streaming services specializing in Danish children's series and possessed 134 terabytes of copyrighted material. He was active in The Scene from November 2021 until his arrest in November 2023. Following the arrests, several factions of The Scene in Denmark stopped producing new content, including DKiDS, which last uploaded on November 21, 2023. Neither convicted individual profited from the distribution, and both had no prior criminal records. The volume of illegally shared content influenced the court's decisions. In summer 2020, a significant operation led to the shutdown of multiple pirate sites, with American authorities arresting key figures from The Scene.

AppWizard

April 2, 2025

Mullvad VPN Enables Multihop In Android App

Mullvad has introduced a multihop feature in its Android application that allows users to route their internet traffic through two distinct servers, enhancing online security and privacy. This feature creates a "tunnel within a tunnel," where data is transmitted through both an entry server and an exit server. By selecting servers in different jurisdictions, users can complicate the tracing of their data. The multihop service provides a higher level of privacy and security, as adversaries would need to execute timing attacks across multiple locations if one server is compromised. Mullvad operates under robust legal protections in Sweden and follows a strict no-logs policy, ensuring user activity is not recorded or retained.

AppWizard

March 26, 2025

US war chat leak: Atlantic releases Houthi chat details from Signal messenger group app

The Atlantic magazine's editor-in-chief was mistakenly included in a Signal group chat that contained a leaked war chart. Senior military leaders and intelligence officials confirmed that the chart did not contain classified information. As a result, The Atlantic decided to publicly release the chart and related communications, citing transparency and public interest.