Problems With Chrome? Use Google’s Free Cleanup Tool.

Google Chrome recently overtook Internet Explorer to become the most-used browser on the web. To be fair to Microsoft; however, we should note that Windows 10 encourages people to use the new Edge browser and so it was always inevitable that IE usage would decline. Still, it’s a great achievement by Google and, in my own experience, Chrome is an excellent, fast browser.

 

As with all software, though, things can go wrong. Settings can become corrupted, or you may install an extension that has subsequently been identified as being malware.

 

Probably the most powerful tool to help clean up a Chrome installation is something called the Chrome Cleanup Tool. It’s an official Google release and is free of charge. You’ll find the Windows version at https://www.google.com/chrome/cleanup-tool/ and it’s a download of around 3 MB. The program is malware-free according to VirusTotal and Web of Trust.

 

Although the cleanup tool is very useful, do take heed of the warning screen when you run it. It will clear various settings, including your home page, so don’t use it until you actually have a real problem.

LG Sells Mosquito-Repelling TV In India

In effort to fight Zika, dengue and malaria, LG has released the “LG 32LG52D” TV with “Mosquito Away Technology. According to Reuters, the TV uses ultrasonic waves that are inaudible to humans but cause mosquitoes to fly away. The TV has been released in India Thursday, and will go on sale next month in the Philippines and Sri Lanka, with no plans to market it elsewhere. It is available in two models, priced at 26,500 rupees and 47,500 rupees ($394 and $706). LG says the same technology used in its new TV has been used in some of its air conditioners and washing machines.

 

Source: https://news.slashdot.org/story/16/06/17/1943256/lg-sells-mosquito-repelling-tv-in-india

VDesk for Windows 10: launch programs on virtual desktops

VDesk is a free, open source, program for the Windows 10 operating system that extends a system’s virtual desktop functionality.

 

Microsoft added a virtual desktop feature to Windows 10 that is completely optional to use. It adds options to Windows 10 to create a number of virtual desktops that users can switch between to separate programs from each other.

 

Programs can be moved around between desktops, but there is no option to configure Windows to open programs on virtual desktops (all the time) when they are started.

 

Read the full article here.

Singapore banks adopt voice biometrics for user authentication

Citi is launching voice biometric verification for customers in Singapore to help to cut user authentication time.

 

The bank has already implemented voice biometrics for consumer customers in Taiwan, with Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia to follow soon. The service will be available to all 12 of Citi’s consumer banking markets in Asia-Pacific by 2017.

 

Read the full article here.

Visa to help banks break into mobile payments

Visa has introduced the Visa Digital Commerce App, an issuer-branded mobile commerce product that enables financial institutions to offer their own mobile app to customers. Card management features in the app can help an FI to expand and strengthen its Visa credit, debit and prepaid card offerings, according to a company press release.

 

Through the mobile app, issuers can offer services such as real-time account balance information, card controls, alerts that inform accountholders about recent transactions or fraud concerns, and token services that are intended to bring greater security to contactless payments on NFC-enabled Android smartphones. Visa said that as a hosted service, the app is intended to simplify the delivery of a broad array of card management features and provide a roadmap for issuers to rapidly deploy new features and enhancements.

 

Read the full article here.

Researchers hack phone vibration motor to act as a microphone

On the list of things that might be eavesdropping on your day-to-day conversations, the tiny motor that makes your phone buzz isn’t necessarily the first one that comes to mind. But that is exactly what happens with the VibraPhone — a proof-of-concept device created by two researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to show that the motor in your smartphone or fitness tracker can be re-wired to act as a serviceable microphone.

 

The concept is fairly simple: the motor uses electric current to change a magnetic field that makes the vibrating mass move, like a clunky, low-frequency speaker. A microphone does the reverse by translating sound wave vibrations into electrical current with a magnetic diaphragm. In their research, Nirupam Roy and Romit Roy Choudhury of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign show that the vibration motor can be similarly affected by sound wave vibrations in the air.

 

Now, before anybody starts ripping the vibrating motors out of their phones, TechCrunch is quick to point out that this hack currently requires someone physically take apart a phone and rewire the motor to connect it to the phone’s audio system. But, as Roy explained, it may also be possible hack the power controller chip to collect the necessary voltage information to rebuild an audible waveform. And there’s also the possibility of hijacking the feedback motor in other devices like fitness monitors.

 

Read the full article here.

Got A Lenovo Laptop? You Need To Uninstall The Accelerator ASAP

Some good news, and some bad news. The good news is that Lenovo computers come with a pre-installed program called Accelerator, which helps to speed up certain Windows applications.

The bad news? There’s a serious security vulnerability in Accelerator, which could allow someone to install a program on your computer by disguising it as an updated version of Accelerator.

Lenovo is therefore recommending that you uninstall Accelerator, if it’s present on your PC or laptop.

Read the full article here.

Vysor allows you to mirror multiple Android devices

Google developer, Koush, announced an update to his popular device mirroring app Vysor on Thursday that will enable users to share multiple android screens to a PC, Linux or Mac simultaneously and then grant remote access to the device farm. The new "Share All" feature works just like the original Vysor Share: you plug the Android into the computer via a USB cable, install the visor app and activate it to mirror the Android screen to the computer. However, Share All takes that process a step further by allowing the user to link multiple handsets to a computer and then use it as a shared server which multiple people can remotely access.

 

This could prove a boon for developers. You’d be able to centralize all your various test devices to a single computer and share access to the entire array with the rest of the team.

 

Read the full article here.

Ghacks Deals: Ultimate Java Bundle

The Ultimate Java Bundle is a massive eLearning course that spans 14 lectures and a total of 117 hours of content.

 

It takes you from beginner to pro, and while most of the lessons cover Java, the very last touches base on using the knowledge you gained in previous courses to begin with Android development.

 

As far as lectures are concerned, the course includes an introduction to Java programming, as well as courses for JUNIT, SWING, JSP, or JCreator.

 

Course access is granted for life, and a certification of completion is included on top of that.

 

Read the full article here.