Netgear is launching a second model of its Orbi mesh router with support for Wi-Fi 6, following up on a high-end model released last fall. This new version, eloquently named the RBK752, is more of a midrange model, offering slightly decreased performance at a slightly decreased price. This is still an Orbi router, though, so it’s still expensive: $450 for a router and satellite. The high-end model, the RBK852, offers the same bundle for $700.
While cheaper, this new model is still a fairly capable mesh system. The RBK752 is a tri-band system, meaning it has a radio dedicated to serving as a wireless link between the units, and it offers four user-facing streams of connectivity with a theoretical maximum speed of 4.2Gbps. That’s down from eight streams and 6Gbps on the RBK852.
The Orbi system has consistently received high marks for its reliability and performance. It comes with some downsides, though: the mesh nodes are significantly larger than those from competitors like Eero and Nest, making them harder to hide around the house. These particular models are also a lot more expensive: you can get a Wi-Fi 5 mesh system for half the price, though it’d be a less future-proofed.
Netgear is formally launching the RBK752 today, though it’s been rolling out to stores over the last month or two. Additional satellites will be available for $280, and there’ll be a $600 bundle with a router and two satellites. An important note for existing Orbi owners: you can mix and match Wi-Fi 6 Orbi units — so the RBK852 can connect to the RBK752 — but you can’t link one of these newer Orbi units to the older Wi-Fi 5 Orbi units. That won’t matter for new buyers, but it means existing owners won’t be able to improve their system by adding in a newer unit.
In addition to the new Orbi model, Netgear also recently launched a new Nighthawk router designed to sit in the middle of its lineup. The RAX50 is a six-stream Wi-Fi 6 router with support for full-width 160MHz streams for higher performance. It’s available now for $299.
Mac users are now exposed to a new “EvilQuest” ransomware that encrypts files and causes multiple issues to the operating system. Malwarebytes has analyzed the ransomware today, which is being distributed through macOS pirate apps.
The malicious code was first found in a pirate copy of the Little Snitch app available on a Russian forum with torrent links. The downloaded app comes with a PKG installer file, unlike its original version.
By examining this PKG file, Malwarebytes discovered that the app comes with a “postinstall script,” which is typically used to clean up the installation after the process is completed. In this case, however, the script implements a malware to the macOS.
The script file is copied to a folder related to the Little Snitch app under the name CrashReporter, so the user won’t notice it running in the Activity Monitor since macOS has an internal app with a similar name. The set location is: /Library/LittleSnitchd/CrashReporter.
Malwarebytes notes that it takes some time before the ransomware starts working after it’s installed, so the user won’t associate it with the latest app installed. Once the malicious code is activated, it modifies system and user files with unknown encryption.
Part of the encryption causes the Finder not to work properly and the system crashes constantly. Even the system’s Keychain gets corrupted, so it’s impossible to access passwords and certificates saved on the Mac. A message on the screen says the user must pay $50 to recover its files, otherwise everything will be deleted after three days.
There’s still no way to get rid of malware after it has encrypted the files, so users should keep an updated backup of everything.
The best way of avoiding the consequences of ransomware is to maintain a good set of backups. Keep at least two backup copies of all important data, and at least one should not be kept attached to your Mac at all times. (Ransomware may try to encrypt or damage backups on connected drives.)
Although the ransomware is only included with pirated apps for now, Apple must fix this security flaw as quickly as possible since this malicious code can be included in more apps.
Season 4 of Call of Duty Warzone and Modern Warfare has quickly gained momentum after launching earlier this month. A new season meant fresh content in the form of new Operators, weapons, a Battle Pass, and in-game changes. Today, June 30, Activision and Infinity Ward rolled out another substantial update, dubbed Season 4 Reloaded, injecting more content and adjustments.
An increased player count of 200 players for Battle Royale Quads, along with a new multiplayer map, and a deadly sniper rifle are the most significant additions. A new update also means Call of Duty fanatics looking into the updated game files to predict future in-game changes or events.
Apart from a few underground bunkers unlocking, nothing much has appeared on Verdansk during the last month. Now, new information has emerged hinting at the addition of a feature in Warzone that is popular across other battle royales. According to ModernWarzone, a credible Call of Duty leaker on Twitter, a train is coming to Warzone in the future.
Just like in Apex Legends, a train might be coming to Call of Duty Warzone
The Call of Duty leaked recently tweeted out the new intel after the Season 4 Reloaded update hit servers. The information from ModernWarzone is based on updated game files. In his tweet, he assures the upcoming introduction of a train in Infinity Ward’s battle royale.
“Based on the new info from tonight’s update ofModernWarfare, we can pretty much confirm the upcoming addition of a train inWarzone“. According to him, this train will be stacked with loot. Predictably enough, it also has the potential to send players to the Gulag or back to the lobby as well.
🚨Breaking 🚨
Based on the new info from tonight’s update of #ModernWarfare, we can pretty much confirm the upcoming addition of a train in #Warzone 🚂
The train will feature loot throughout similar to the one in #ApexLegends. 💰
Navigating trains are a fan-favorite feature of other battle royale games out there. Apex Legends has a train stacked with sweet loot that navigates across a portion of World’s End. PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds also has similar loot carrying trains that transit across Vikendi.
After the initial Season 4 update, leaks shed light on potential map changes in Warzone. Enthusiastic leakers had found the mentions of a new interior for Verdansk’s Stadium and a train in the game files.
ModernWarzone also thinks the upcoming Warzone train might be the basis for a multiplayer map. However, he hasn’t specified a time frame for the upcoming addition.
Looking like this will also be a multiplayer map for #ModernWarfare.
Currently, train tracks are laid out on a portion of the Warzone map, constituting a route. Moreover, with navigating trains being a popular feature of other battle royales, the addition of a train in Warzone seems feasible.
The new update has just gone live today, and more information from the game files will unfold as always. For now, nothing remains concrete, as ultimately Infinity Ward and Activision are the ones who decide to pump new content into the game with timely updates. Meanwhile, we’ll keep you posted with further developments.
There's a new 'EvilQuest' Mac ransomware variant that's spreading through pirated Mac apps, according to a new report shared today by Malwarebytes. The new ransomware was found in pirated download for the Little Snitch app found on a Russian forum.
Right from the point of download, it was clear that something was wrong with the illicit version of Little Snitch, as it had a generic installer package. It installed the actual version of Little Snitch, but it also installed an executable file named "Patch" into the /Users/Shared directory and a post-install script for infecting a machine.
The installation script moves the Patch file into a new location and renames it CrashReporter, a legitimate macOS process, keeping it hidden in Activity Monitor. From there, the Patch file installs itself in several spots on the Mac.
The ransomware encrypts settings and data files on the Mac, like Keychain files, resulting in an error when attempting to access the iCloud Keychain. The Finder also malfunctioned after installation, and there were problems with the dock and other apps.
Malwarebytes found the ransomware to work poorly and was not able to get instructions on paying the ransom, but a screenshot found on the forums where the malicious software originated suggests it's meant to prompt users to pay $50 to recover access to their files. Note: anyone infected with this ransomware or any ransomware should not pay the fee, because it does not remove the malware.
Along with the ransom activity, the malware may also install a keylogger for monitoring keystrokes, but what the malware does with the functionality is unknown. Malwarebytes says that its software for Mac is able to remove the ransomware, detected as Ransom.OSX.EvilQuest. Encrypted files will require a restore from a backup, though.
Similar ransomware was found in other pirated apps, and Mac users can avoid it by staying away from pirated apps and untrustworthy websites and forums that offer illicit downloads.
Most of our readers are probably familiar with Google's Opinion Rewards app, which earns you Play Store credit (or actual cash, if you're on iOS) for answering surveys. They're usually based on things like your recent location history or Google service use, which can bother those with a strong interest in privacy. Still, it's proven to be popular: The app just reached 50 million installs on the Play Store.
Many of us have earned a few bucks (if not tens or hundreds) through the Opinion Rewards app, though Android Police's Stephen Schenck remains at a lifetime zero for both surveys and credit. While anyone that's used the app can tell you the surveys themselves can be inconsistent, it's still a cheap and easy way to trade a bit of privacy and time for a weekend movie rental or free game.
Sleep tracking has been an intended feature for the Apple Watch for the last five years, Apple VP of technology Kevin Lynch has revealed in an interview, with its inclusion in watchOS 7 and iOS 14 being a sign Apple is keen to do more with its years of research on the subject.
A long-rumored feature of the Apple Watch, the added sleep-related functionality intends to make a night's rest better for its users, including encouraging users to set a daily routine before they go to bed. While it is an expansion of Apple's existing Bedtime feature in iOS, the move from a simple sleep-time metric to something more advanced has been on the cards for quite some time.
In an interview with CNET, Lynch confirmed sleep tracking has been on the product roadmap of the Apple Watch since its original debut. Apple has been conducting sleep research for many years, including using EEGs for measuring sleep compared to an Apple Watch, but only now is it becoming a bigger thing for Apple to present to users.
On the subject of the Wind Down feature, which helps set the bedtime routine, Lynch explains the establishing of a routine is important to sleep quality. "Many sleep apps show information about REM cycles and other data like that, and we've looked a lot into that," said the VP.
While studies using EEGs allowed for the monitoring of electrical activity in the brain during sleep, Lynch admits "we've learned a lot about how the main thing here is really about duration," rather than actions. While movement of limbs may be treated as an input for monitoring via an Apple Watch, Lynch suggests "it's not an complete picture of what's going on inside your brain."
Apple's decision to limit the data it provides to users is based on the results of those studies, and that it didn't provide seemingly useful data to users. "It can be overwhelming and stressful to look at that data," he proposes about tracking results from sleep analysis apps. "You can't really coach yourself to have more or less REM stages."
Sleep tracking setup on an iPhone
Believing it wasn't the best approach, Apple instead looked at how users prepared to sleep as a more actionable process. A routine "will result in people getting a better night's sleep, which then has secondary effects of perhaps your REM stages sorting themselves."
To further take away stress of needing to improve sleep, the tracking in the Health app will avoid nudging the user with negativity, instead opting for positive reinforcements where possible. The anxiety of going to sleep can "actually cause more problems," Lynch suggests, with people "already well aware that they haven't been getting enough sleep."
Much like other health-related elements in the Apple Watch and elsewhere, Apple doesn't intend to see any of the sleep data generated by its users. The internal studies, which relied on "thousands of people," were instrumental in creating the machine learning models used for the analysis, which is performed only on the user's iPhone or Apple Watch.
"We treat the data that's being collected on a user's device with a high level of sensitivity around privacy," Lynch claims. Even so, there is always the possibility Apple could open up some form of public study into sleep similar to its existing heart and hearing projects, possibly to determine links in sleep-related conditions.
Google is hosting a virtual smart home developer event on July 8th in lieu of its cancelled Google I/O conference, the company has announced, promising to cover “new and upcoming features for smart home developers and users.” The online Works with “Hey Google” Smart Home Summit, as the event is catchily titled, includes a 45 minute keynote, a series of developer sessions and a panel featuring Google and other companies in the smart home industry.
The keynote, which will be presented by Google’s Product Management director of the Smart Home Ecosystem Michele Turner, will go over Google’s new smart home API features along with their benefits for developers and users. Although it’s developer-focused, previous Google I/O keynotes have introduced new smart home products and services. Google says it will use the summit to “share our recent smart home product initiatives.”
The Galaxy S10 line has a few tricks you should learn.
Angela Lang/CNET
Samsung's Galaxy S10 lineup may have launched in March 2019, but the Galaxy S10, S10 Plus and S10E are still available and more affordable than ever. It may be tempting to get the newer Galaxy S20, but there's not much the S20 can do that the S10 can't.
After unboxing your shiny new phone, there's a whole lot to learn about the device. For starters, they all run Android 10 with Samsung's latest One UI custom skin, which mixes Google's improvements with Samsung's. The update adds gesture-based navigation and better privacy controls, but there's so much more to learn.
Below you'll find 10 tips and tricks we've come up with to help you get the most out of your Galaxy S10 phone.
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1. Save your eyes and battery with night mode
Night mode sure is nice to look at.
Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET
Take advantage of the dedicated night mode on the Galaxy S10 to help ease the strain on your eyes and save battery life.
Night mode turns system apps and other areas of the interface black, making it easier to look at your phone's display at night or in dimly lit environments. Night mode can be enabled in Settings > Display > Night mode. You can set it to on at all times, or create a schedule for the device to auto-enable Night mode based on your location.
2. Change these settings... trust me
We rounded up 12 settings you should take a look at changing after setting up your Galaxy S10. There's a fancy new gesture navigation feature you'll surely want to take a look at.
3. That new message can wait
You can snooze alerts, removing them from the notification shade for a set amount of time by pausing them. Slowly swipe in either direction on an alert until you see a settings icon and a bell. Tap on the bell, then select the amount of time you want to snooze the alert for.
Snoozing alerts is a lot like snoozing your alarm in the morning.
Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET
4. Force-close apps
The S10's app-switching interface has been tweaked, with app cards placed horizontally. Tap on the app switcher button to view recently used apps. Force-close an app by swiping up on the preview. Unlike iOS, you can't swipe on multiple apps at the same time. Thankfully, there's a Close All button along the bottom of the screen.
Force quitting apps on the S10 is a breeze.
Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET
5. Use two apps at the same time
To use more than one app at a time, navigate to the multitasking view and find one of the apps you want to use in split-screen mode. Tap on the app's icon, then select Open in split-screen view.
The first app will minimize to the top of the display until you launch the second app you want to use.
Using two apps on the screen at the same time is incredibly useful.
Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET
6. So long, Bixby
Oh, did you hear? The Bixby button on the side of the S10 can be used to open something other than Bixby. This doesn't mean you completely ditch Bixby, but you can at least get some use out of the button.
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7. Turn your phone into a wireless charging pad
The Galaxy S10 can wirelessly charge another device via a feature called Wireless PowerShare. To turn your S10 into a wireless charging pad, open the Quick Settings panel and tap on Wireless PowerShare. Just make sure your phone has over 30 percent of its battery left.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
8. Digital Wellbeing keeps tabs on your device usage
Google's Digital Wellbeing initiative has expanded beyond the Android makers' own Pixel($125 at Amazon)phones. Open the Settings app and select Digital Wellbeing from the list to enable and customize the stats tracker. This should help you cut back on the amount of time you spend staring at your phone.
9. Use a Secure Folder for added privacy
If you have certain apps, contacts, photos or emails you want to have behind another layer of security, enable Samsung's Secure Folder. To create your secure folder, open Settings > Biometrics and security > Secure Folder and follow the prompts.
Keep your info even more secure with a special folder.
Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET
10. Use more than one account with messaging apps
For those who have to manage a personal and business account in an app like Snapchat or Facebook, you can use the S10's Dual Messenger feature. Open Settings > Advanced features > Dual Messenger, and then select the app you want to enable the feature for. After answering a few prompts, you'll have a second installation of the app that you can use.
Google Photos will no longer backup images and videos saved from folders created and managed by social media apps by default (via Android Police). Previously, Google’s photo backup platform would automatically upload all images saved to your Android or iOS device, including those files stored in folders created by apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Now, Google says that feature is turned off, and you’ll have to toggle it on for specific apps or run manual backups on specific folders.
Google is citing the surge in image sharing happening since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “People are sharing more photos and videos due to COVID-19. To save internet resources, backup & sync has been turned off for device folders created by messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messages, and Kik. You can change this anytime in settings,” reads a support page detailing the change.
Google is stressing that any photos already backed up and organized via social media apps are unaffected by the change, and that you can still go to individual folders within the Google Photos app and turn on the “back up & sync” feature. Google has a handy guide here for finding your existing social media-related images and videos on Google Photos, for running manual batch backups, and for turning on the automatic backup feature. Some of the affected platforms include Facebook's family of apps, the default Messages client on Android, Snapchat, and Twitter, among others.
The iPhone 12 is getting an awesome upgrade to its video abilities, if a new leak is to be believed.
That feature is the ability to record in 4K at 120fps or 240fps. The claim comes from YouTuber EverythingApplePro, based on findings by leaker Max Weinbach within the beta of Apple's newly released iOS 14. Confirmation from Weinbach's insider at Apple says that these are indeed present in order to test them before the iPhone 12 is released around September this year.
Currently, the iPhone 11 series and the iPhone SE (2020) can record 4K at a maximum 60fps and 1080p at up to 240fps. This means that the new video features are likely tied to the more powerful A14 Bionic processor expected to debut on the iPhone 12.
It's expected that these 4K video features will be exclusive to the higher-specced iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max models, rather than the basic iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Max.
This four-model series is a first for Apple, as is the variation in sizes. The series will start at 5.4 inches for the iPhone 12, go up to 6.1 inches for the iPhone 12 Max and iPhone 12 Pro, and cap out at 6.7 inches for the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The design is thought to feature a similar notch to the iPhone 11 series, albeit smaller, and with flat sides instead of curved ones, harking back to the iPhone 5S and earlier straight-sided iPhones.
The standard iPhones will likely come with a main and ultrawide lens camera combination, much like the iPhone 11. The iPhone 12 Pros will get those two cameras plus a telephoto lens and a LiDAR depth sensor. The LiDAR camera, which first appeared on the iPad Pro (2020) is a first for iPhones, and will hopefully make Apple's already excellent special photo effects and AR applications work even better.
Before then, we are slowly learning more about Apple's newest mobile operating system, iOS 14, thanks to the recently launched beta. The beta contains Apple's latest and greatest software features like customizable widgets, a new type of input called Back Tap and other refinements that could make the iPhone 12 an even bigger upgrade when it launches this fall.
Apple developers have supposedly started receiving their Apple ARM transition kits, and now a few benchmark numbers of those dev kits have also appeared in the wild. Spotted by 9to5Mac, benchmarks for the Developer Transition Kit seemed to have surfaced on Geekbench, despite strict confidentiality clauses in the developer agreement that forbid running benchmarks.
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A lot of eyes are going to be on any benchmarks released for the new A12Z Bionic CPU intended for macOS. While Apple showed it off at WWDC, it didn’t really showcase its performance in super tangible ways. Most estimates regarding its performance have been based on the A12Z Bionic chip found in the latest iPad Pro. But rumors suggest the chips aren’t identical. Unfortunately, Apple hasn’t gone into details on structural differences between the CPUs either.
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There are a few caveats to these new numbers available on Geekbench. It appears the dev kits are only running on four cores instead of the rumored twelve that will be available in the product when it ships, and I’m assuming those four cores are the performance-dedicated cores (the product, when it ships, is rumored to have eight of twelve dedicated to performance).
If true, then that could partly explain why the dev kit scores are lower than the iPad A12Z’s: Geekbench is factoring in the four power-efficient cores on the iPad’s A12Z, whereas the Apple silicon dev kit is lacking those cores. The top score for Apple’s new silicon at the time of this writing is 844 for single-core and 2958 for muti-core, whereas a 4th-gen iPad Pro scored 1118 for single-core and 4726 for multi-core. The iPad A12Z is also running at a higher frequency, 2490 MHz, compared to the dev kits’ 2400 MHz.
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9to5Mac says that the dev kits are running Geekbench 5 non-natively via Rosetta 2, which could explain the ‘VirtualApple’ moniker listed under the Processor Information section—but it’s odd Geekbench 5 is running via Rosetta 2 as there is already an ARM version of it for the iPad. However, the iPad runs iOS on ARM, so it’s possible that Geekbench 5 still needs to run through Rosetta 2 because there isn’t a macOS ARM version of the benchmark software yet.
Beyond the iPad, the closest thing we have to compare to the alleged dev kits at the moment are Intel cores, specifically an Intel core i5-1038NG7 (4-core, 2000 MHz) from mid-2020 MacBook Pro. According Geekbench 5, one of the highest single-core scores is 1244, and one of the highest multi-core scores is 4526. That Intel core is running 400 MHz less per core than the Apple ARM dev kits, and has the same number of cores, yet its performance is leaps and bounds ahead. Again, this could be because Geekbench 5 is not optimized for Apple silicon on macOS. Or it could be because of the difference in how Apple ARM and Intel processors execute instructions.
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Future Apple ARM processors are supposed to be souped-up versions of the A12Z, allegedly 12-cores with eight performance-dedicated cores, which will definitely help Apple silicon compete against Intel and AMD. Judging by these numbers it will need those additional cores. The first ARM Macs should appear by the end of this year, but Apple is still going to roll out new Intel models even after it starts the transition, and your Intel devices should be supported for at least five years from now. So if you’re thinking of getting a macOS device it might be smart to get it now.
Know something about the performance of Apple’s new A12Z chips. You can reach me via email atjnelius@gizmodo.comor contact us anonymously viaSecureDrop.
Apple Watch will add support for native sleep tracking with watchOS 7, tying it together with new features like Wind Down on iPhone and iOS 14. In new interviews following WWDC, Apple VP of technologies Kevin Lynch offered more details on the strategy behind the company’s implementation of sleep tracking with Apple Watch.
Speaking to the Independent, Lynch explained that Apple spent “a lot of time learning about the science of sleep” before adding sleep tracking to Apple Watch. The goal of Apple’s implementation is simply to help people get to sleep and avoid distractions before bed:
Lynch explains that the focus, “Is really about getting enough sleep and the main thing about that is the difficulty of going to bed. There are so many things in the world to distract us and occupy our attention. Supporting people in managing that transition is where the magic is.”
One of the differentiators between Apple Watch’s native sleep tracking app and third-party apps is the amount of data presented to users. Many third-party apps offer details on things like deep sleep and sleep stages, but Apple’s app forgoes that strategy:
“In our testing, what we’ve found is that it’s very difficult to understand what’s going on in your brain from a device that’s not reading the electrical signals of your brain,” Lynch explains. “In any of these adventures we go on when building things here we ask, what will make the most difference for people that, from a mainstream perspective, will be easy, helpful and empowering.”
In a separate interview with CNET, Lynch elaborated a bit more on the testing Apple did before concluding that the duration is the most important sleep data point to track:
“Even in our studies, we had people wear EEGs on their heads, so we got insight into the electrical activity of their brain, in addition to what we’re able to sense on the wrist with Apple Watch,” Lynch says. “And we’ve learned a lot about how the main thing here is really about duration.”
Lynch also said that Apple wants to avoid causing people anxiety about the amount of sleep they get but rather providing recognition when the goals are achieved:
“There could be anxiety that people have about going to sleep, and that anxiety itself can actually cause more problems in terms of going to sleep,” Lynch says. “Many people are already well aware that they haven’t been getting enough sleep, and so we’re not adding to that, but we are positively acknowledging when you have achieved your goals.”
And of course, Lynch emphasized that privacy is at the forefront of Apple’s implementation of sleep tracking — unlike some of the competition.
Companies like Fitbit have used anonymized user data for years to study demographic sleep patterns and improve observations on sleep, but Apple doesn’t plan to do that. Instead, Apple has been building its machine learning models from data collected through internal studies.
“And that takes a long time. So we’ve been working on this for a while,” Lynch says. “We treat the data that’s being collected on a user’s device with a high level of sensitivity around privacy. … Apple is not seeing your sleep data.”
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