Samsung needs to fix this NOW - March 17, 2023

[RILEYISMYNAME]

 

 

NEWS SOURCES:

 

MAINS

 

HOW TO LOSE YOUR PHONE IN 90 DAYS

Major security flaw in Samsung’s Exynos modems, found in phones, cars

Google’s Project Zero found 18 vulnerabilities (reported in Dec 2022); “four vulnerabilities allow an attacker to remotely compromise a phone at the baseband level with no user interaction” https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2023/03/multiple-internet-to-baseband-remote-rce.html

Samsung Semiconductors provided list of affected chipsets https://semiconductor.samsung.com/support/quality-support/product-security-updates/

Affected devices include many Samsung phones, Google Pixel 6 and 7 series phones, and some cars.  CARS. https://lmg.gg/T6DFR

Most devices don’t have patches after 90 days, one of four patched in Google’s March 2023 security update, but not available to 6’s yet, apparently https://twitter.com/maddiestone/status/1636469657136959488

If you have an affected device, turn off Wi-Fi calling and VoLTE until update is available

 

HEY SIRI, ARE YOU SELF-AWARE?

Apple is testing natural language generating features for Siri

https://www.macrumors.com/2023/03/16/apple-siri-language-updates/

Voice assistants have taken a hit in a post-chatbot world https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/technology/siri-alexa-google-assistant-artificial-intelligence.html

Currently only enabled for telling jokes on Apple TV https://9to5mac.com/2023/03/16/apple-testing-siri-natural-language-generating-chatgpt/

However the code appears to exist across most Apple devices https://lmg.gg/h8slw

Mark Gurman says no ChatGPT for Apple https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/1636032015781842947

 

 

SKYNET IS AMASSING FORCES

Tons of AI stuff happened this week

Midjourney v5 can do hands now https://twitter.com/TheCartelDel/status/1636262759947210753

Google slaps generative AI into Workspace https://workspace.google.com/blog/product-announcements/generative-ai

https://youtu.be/6DaJVZBXETE

before Microsoft follows suit with Copilot https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-365-copilot-uses-ai-to-automate-everyday-tasks-in-multiple-apps-151133434.html

GPT-4 got a human to solve a CAPTCHA for it https://twitter.com/YosarianTwo/status/1635780666632687617

^from OpenAI’s Technical Report on GPT-4 https://cdn.openai.com/papers/gpt-4.pdf (editor: search ‘captcha’

 

 

QUICK BITS

 

THIS MF(I) RIGHT HERE…

Apple might not be allowed to limit third-party USB-C compatibility with iPhone, AirPod

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apples-rumored-plans-for-usb-c-on-iphone-15-could-break-the-law

Rumours suggest MFI (Made For iPhone) USB-C cables In mass production https://twitter.com/VNchocoTaco/status/1630423052487098368

Description of MFI https://lmg.gg/qxJBm

EU research dossier https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10713-2022-INIT/x/pdf

Article going through multiple clauses https://www.laptopmag.com/news/is-apple-breaking-the-law-made-for-iphone-usb-c-lockdown-could-be-illegal-under-new-eu-rules

Clause in question https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Rqg73kwvEWjjoVTPLFvy9e.png

 

 

CABLE TV 2 DROPPED

YouTube TV price increased $8/month

Now more than double launch price https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/16/23643448/youtube-tv-price-increase-8-cable-pricing

Announced in a tweet https://twitter.com/YouTubeTV/status/1636405345810780163

4k add-on decreasing $10, but 4K is limited and sometimes upscaled 1080p https://lmg.gg/27IhW

actually gaining market share vs traditional cable https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/youtube-hulu-live-tv-market-share-as-streaming-war-escalates-1235180802/

 

CHECKINPOX SPREADING

Meta launching verified in US

https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/17/meta-launches-paid-verification-on-instagram-and-facebook-in-the-us/

Join the waitlist today! https://about.meta.com/technologies/meta-verified/?utm_source=meta.com&utm_medium=redirect

 

FIRE SALE

Razer released a $100 piece of tempered glass you can use as a mousepad

https://www.xda-developers.com/razers-first-tempered-glass-mouse-mat/

It comes in two colors and is $100 https://www.razer.com/gaming-mouse-mats/razer-atlas/RZ02-04890100-R3U1

HOW IS WHITE ALREADY SOLD OUT? https://www.razer.com/gaming-mouse-mats/Razer-Atlas/RZ02-04890200-R3U1

Don’t bash people over the head or start fires with it (EDITOR: scroll down to “CAUTION” section and grab the warning images there) https://www.razer.com/gaming-mouse-mats/razer-atlas

Joke: Selling Razer Windex for $50

 

57 VARIETIES ENTER, 1 LEAVES

Heinz X Fortnite: condiment maker wants to “raise awareness for soil degradation”

https://www.eurogamer.net/heinz-launches-tomato-awareness-campaign-in-fortnite

There’s also a teaser video on this page https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/03/16/heinz-challenges-gamers-confront-soil-degradation-fortnite

 

[sladewatkins]

Left this on the video itself and sent it out on Twitter, but wanted to share it here as well for awareness:

 

Quote

US folks: please note that you most likely won't be able to turn off VoLTE as the major carriers (AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile) all  require it here. We don't have 2G or 3G networks to fall back to anymore. Best you can do is turning off Wi-Fi calling or switching to another phone not affected by the vulnerabilities if possible.

 

[CurryMantou]

What's with all the CW references in last night's episodes? Did something happen to the network that films in BC?

[Zetheos]

I went to learn more about the the "GPT-4 hiring a TaskRabbit worker" story after hearing it on TechLinked, and it's a lot more gray than how it's being presented everywhere online. The paper lists it as "an illustrative example of a task that ARC conducted," which seems to imply both that it happened and that it was successful, but their conclusions are that "it [is] ineffective at autonomously replicating, acquiring resources, and avoiding being shut down “in the wild,”" (emphasis mine). It kind of paints the headlines and news articles (including the one in the TechLinked video) as kind of alarmist. I encourage everyone to have a read for themselves, though, as the relevant section is only a page and a half (search  2.9 Potential for Risky Emergent Behaviors).