Weekly Tech Wrap-Up 7-22-2023, a week in which Apple’s lack of notifying Google about a Chrome exploit, malicious Chrome extensions, hidden iOS 17 features, and Google adopting the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol captivated our readers the most. Today, we look back at this week’s ten most engaging articles from the Tech Help Knowledgebase social media feeds. We order the summaries below by user engagement — the stories our users interacted with the most. Articles 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. Apple employee didn’t tell Google about exploit found in Chrome | 9to5Mac
An Apple employee found a zero-day exploit in Google Chrome while participating in a hacking competition in March. The exploit was never reported to Google by the Apple employee, and it was only fixed in a recent update to Chrome. Zero-day exploits are vulnerabilities in software that are unknown to the software vendor, and they can be exploited by attackers to gain control of a computer system. It is concerning that the Apple employee did not report the exploit to Google because it could have allowed Google to fix the vulnerability sooner and prevent attackers from exploiting it.
2. If you’re one of the millions who installed these malicious Google Chrome extensions, delete them now | TechRadar
Several malicious Google Chrome extensions are redirecting users to adware sites. Chrome users have downloaded the extensions millions of times. The extensions are still active on some users’ browsers. Google has removed them from the Chrome Web Store, but users must still manually remove them from their browsers.
3. 5 Hidden iOS 17 Features and Settings You Need to Know About | CNET
iOS 17 has several hidden features and settings you may not know about. These include the ability to automatically delete verification code texts and emails, access to Apple Maps offline, crop photos using zoom, cross-fade between songs in Apple Music, and interact with certain home page widgets. These features are available in the public beta of iOS 17. Analysts expect the release of iOS 17 later this year.
4. Google is adopting MLS for its end-to-end encryption in Messages | The Verge
Google announced that it will adopt the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol for its Messages app. MLS is an end-to-end encryption (E2EE) system allowing Google Messages to communicate securely with other messaging apps that support MLS. For example, users of Google Messages will be able to send and receive encrypted messages with users of other messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram. The adoption of MLS by Google Messages is a significant step forward for the adoption of E2EE messaging. E2EE messaging is important because it ensures that only the sender and recipient of a message can read it, even if an eavesdropper intercepts the message in transit.
5. Nearby Share makes your Windows PC and Android phone closer than ever | Windows Central
Nearby Share allows users to share files, links, and other content between their Windows PC and Android phone using a short-range wireless connection. It is similar to Apple’s AirDrop feature. Nearby Share is available on most Android phones running Android 6 or later, and it is also available on Windows 10 and Windows 11. It provides a convenient way to share files between your phone and PC. Encrypted transfers also make it a secure way to share content.
6. Linux is cool now – but why? | TechRadar
TechRadar discusses why Linux is becoming more popular. Several reasons exist like the increasing popularity of Linux-based devices like the Raspberry Pi and the Steam Deck and the growing number of high-quality Linux distributions available. Linux is becoming more user-friendly thanks to the efforts of the Linux community.
7. Social Media is broken. Can we fix it? | Max DeMarco
Most people agree that social media is broken. We need to find new solutions. This important 25-minute documentary embarks on a journey to discover more about a new invention called Nostr (short for Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relay) and how to improve people’s understanding of Nostr.
8. Google Chrome 115 Released with 20 security fixes | Tech Help Knowledgebase
Google released Chrome 115 this week with 20 security fixes. Chrome 115 also includes a new Search side panel and more. We recommend our readers update their Chrome installations as soon as possible.
9. The Pros and Cons of Google Chrome’s Enhanced Safe Browsing Mode | CNet
Google Chrome’s Enhanced Safe Browsing Mode is a feature that helps protect users from malicious websites. It does this by checking websites against Google’s list of known dangerous websites and blocking those that phish for users’ personal information. Enhanced Safe Browsing Mode some pros and cons. On the pro side, it can help protect users from malware and phishing attacks. On the con side, it can sometimes block legitimate websites and slow down the browsing experience. Overall, Enhanced Safe Browsing Mode is a useful feature that can help protect users from malicious websites. However, it is important to know the potential drawbacks before enabling it.
10. iOS 17: How to Get Siri to Read Web Articles to You | MacRumors
Apple’s virtual assistant Siri can now read web articles aloud to you in iOS 17. This feature is available on iPhone and iPad devices. To use it, open a web article in Safari, then hold down the side button or the top button and say, “Hey Siri, read this to me.” Siri will then begin reading the article aloud to you. You can also control playback by pausing, rewinding, or fast-forwarding.
Thank you for visiting Tech Help Knowledgebase to read the Weekly Tech Wrap-Up 7-22-2023, 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.
Henry Irvine, Contributing Technology Writer, translates more than a decade of internet technology experience in product and customer relationship management into practical help and how-to content. Look for him on Bay Area trails, music venues, or sausage shacks when he’s not writing. Don’t call him Hank if you see him. Seriously. Hank on Twitter
