WhatsApp is now letting users turn on disappearing messages for all chats by default.
Prior to Monday’s update, users had to manually enable ephemerality for each new chat with another individual. WhatsApp is additionally also giving users the option to have their messages disappear after 24 hours or 90 days, in addition to the seven-day period it originally introduced the feature with last year.
In a new Christmas trailer, Apple TV+ suggests shows and films that it recommends for viewers over the festive period. The content featured includes Swansong, The Morning Show, Ted Lasso, and, of course, A Charlie Brown Christmas. All this content is available to subscribers now or will be becoming available shortly.
A significant number of customers have reportedly found it difficult to get an expected rebate back from carriers on various products, including the iPhone 13 and Apple Watch. One of those was Bloomberg News’s Mark Gurman. In his latest Power On newsletter, he described the issue and the various ways some people had resolved it., which is likely to be useful to others.
My struggles with the rebates process started with the Apple Watch. I had purchased the Apple Watch Series 7, which came out in October, and submitted a request to T-Mobile for its $100 rebate. Several weeks after my submission, to my surprise, T-Mobile’s promotion website said that my claim was denied because the product wasn’t activated during the promotion window. This, of course, was false. Multiple hourlong phone calls with T-Mobile customer service didn’t resolve the situation, nor did messages sent to the company’s support team over Twitter. Ultimately, the issue was only fixed after talking to T-Mobile at the corporate level. We figured out that my rebate was denied because the fine print of the deal—depending on how you read it—requires the opening of an entirely new phone number.
In a new program called Verizon Custom Experience, the company is automatically opting customers in to track their data. But you can opt out.
A new program innocuously titled the “Verizon Custom Experience” is sold to users as a way for the company to “personalize our communications with you, give you more relevant product and service recommendations, and develop plans, services and offers that are more appealing to you.” To accomplish this, all a Verizon subscriber needs to do is… allow the company access to all the websites you visit, apps you use, as well as see everyone you happen to call and text.
Security researcher ‘Nusenu’ has uncovered hundreds of Tor servers belonging to an entity tracked as KAX17.
Grouping these servers under the KAX17 umbrella, Nusenu says this threat actor has constantly added servers with no contact details to the Tor network in industrial quantities, operating servers in the realm of hundreds at any given point.
KAX17’s focus on Tor entry and middle relays led Nusenu to believe that the group, which he described as “non-amateur level and persistent,” is trying to collect information on users connecting to the Tor network and attempting to map their routes inside it.
The New York Times writes how the U.S. government has traced ransomware payments to an address in Federation Tower East in Moscow, Russia.
That this high-rise in Moscow’s financial district has emerged as an apparent hub of such money laundering has convinced many security experts that the Russian authorities tolerate ransomware operators. The targets are almost exclusively outside Russia, they point out, and in at least one case documented in a U.S. sanctions announcement, the suspect was assisting a Russian espionage agency.
QUICK TIP ALERT: For all you audiophiles out there, get better Apps Music quality with High Efficiency AAC in your iPhone settings.
Learn how in this mini-segment from Mac Geek Gab 902.
Oftentimes we find ourselves relying upon technology to help maintain family harmony. Listen as John and Dave share a few of your (and their!) examples of just how this can work, and they solve a few problems along the way. If you’re a long-time MGG listener, though, you know that’s not all you get in this episode! Quick Tips and Cool Stuff found are peppered in, as well as a few extra hints and tips from your two favorite geeks. Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things!
In macOS Monterey you can now use Disk Utility to manage your APFS snapshots.
Learn more in this mini-segment from Mac Geek Gab 902.
Find More In The Mac Observer Article
QUICK TIP ALERT: Rotate your iPhone when in the calculator to access a scientific calculator!
We have tons for quick tips this week on Mac Geek Gab 902.
