Weekly Tech Wrap-Up 4-8-2023

Weekly Tech Wrap-Up 4-8-2023

Last updated: April 15, 2023 

Weekly Tech Wrap-Up 4-8-2023, a consecutive Apple-centric week due to the release of iOS 16.4.1 to fix the Weather app and Wi-Fi issues, and to patch zero-day flaws in all of Apple’s major operating systems. Today, we look back at this week’s ten most engaging stories from the Tech Help Knowledgebase social media feeds. We order the story summaries below by user engagement (posts with the most likes, shares, clicks, hashtag clicks, and detail expands) and by the number of impressions they received. Stories are in descending order with the most engaging story first. Our human-curated social media feeds include links to technology news, how-to and help articles, and video tutorials for common issues.

Stories curated for our feeds are from our staff writers or culled from third-party sources that produce content related to the categories covered by our site. See the summaries and links below for this week’s top stories by user engagement. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to interact with our feeds.

Top 10 Most Engaging Stories This Week

1. 10 Essential Mac Hacks (CNET)

10 essential Mac hacks that can help you save time and make your work more efficient. The hacks include using Spotlight to launch apps and search for files, creating custom keyboard shortcuts, and more. The article also provides step-by-step instructions for each hack to help Mac users get started.

2. iOS 16.4.1 Rumored to Launch Soon for iPhone Amid Weather and Wi-Fi Issues (MacRumors)

According to MacRumors, Apple is planning to release iOS 16.4.1 either this week or next to fix issues with WeatherKit and Wi-Fi passwords in iOS 16.4. Update: Apple ended up releasing iOS 16.4.1 on Friday, April 7.

3. Apple Releases Updates to Address Zero-Day Flaws in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Safari (The Hacker News)

Apple has released emergency security updates to address two new zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in attacks to compromise iPhones, Macs, and iPads. Researchers from Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) discovered the actively exploited vulnerabilities. The updates address the vulnerabilities in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Safari.

4. Western Digital investigating MyCloud data breach affecting Mac desktop drives (Macworld)

Western Digital has confirmed that it suffered a network security incident on March 26th which resulted in a breach and some system disruptions in its business operations. The company identified that an unnamed third party unlawfully accessed several computer systems to steal data. The extent of the compromised data remains undisclosed, but the impact on the My Cloud storage service leaves users unable to access their files online.

5. Post, a publisher-focused Twitter alternative, launches to public (TechCrunch)

“Post,” a new social media platform, has launched its public beta, offering a Twitter alternative that pays publishers via microtransactions. The platform aims to create a more sustainable model for journalism by incentivizing high-quality content through a pay-per-view model. Users can tip writers for their posts, with payments made using Post’s own cryptocurrency.

6. Ransomware as a service? Windows users can still fight back. (Computerworld)

The article discusses the threat of ransomware as a service (RaaS) and how Windows users can fight back. Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to a device or system until victims pay a ransom. RaaS kits are available for purchase on the dark web, making it easier for attackers to launch ransomware attacks. However, users can make it harder for attackers to succeed by implementing Attack Surface Reduction rules in Windows 10 and 11, among other tweaks.

7. ChatGPT Has a Big Privacy Problem (Wired)

Italy’s data protection authority has ordered a block on the access to OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model for entities operating in the country, citing concerns about user privacy. The regulator argues that the model’s access to user data could violate GDPR, which requires companies to obtain explicit user consent before collecting and processing their data. The ban, however, is not specific to GPT-3 and applies to all AI language models that can learn from user interactions.

8. Experts warn of fast-encrypting ‘Rorschach’ ransomware (The Record)

A new ransomware variant called Rorschach has been discovered, which is capable of encrypting files at an incredibly fast rate. Rorschach employs a hybrid encryption technique, which combines both symmetric and asymmetric encryption methods to encrypt files. It also has the ability to avoid encrypting files in certain folders and only encrypts files that are of a certain size or type. Rorschach is currently distributed through phishing campaigns and exploit kits.

9. What’s new in Chrome 112: Google finally killed Chrome apps for good (Android Police)

Google Chrome 112 offers a handful of new features and preps some bigger design changes coming to the browser later this year. Some of the new features include turning off the browser’s custom share sheet on Android, further privacy settings for the Topics API on Android, and a new settings pane that allows users to set up their ad preferences as part of the Topics API.

10. Perplexity is a lightning-fast, totally free ChatGPT app you can use on your Windows PC and iPhone (Windows Central)

Perplexity is a new AI chat app that can run on both Windows PC and iPhones, which uses the GPT-3 language model to generate responses to user inputs. The app claims to be lightning-fast and completely free to use, and it also offers a range of customization options for users. Perplexity’s creators hope that the app will be useful for developers and researchers who want to experiment with GPT-3 language models without having to pay for expensive APIs.

Thank you for visiting Tech Help Knowledgebase to read the Weekly Tech Wrap-Up 4-8-2023, a summary of this week’s ten most engaging stories. If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter @techhelpkb and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep in the loop.