Thursday, August 30, 2018

WhatsApp Chats Backed Up To Google Drive Are Not End-To-End Encrypted


Backing up your WhastApp chat history up to Google Drive has certainly a useful feature, especially if you foresee yourself switching from one Android device to another. That said, be warned that chats backed up to the Drive is not back-to-back encrypted.

According to ZDNet, this is not the first time that WhatsApp has warned that backups are not encrypted. But it is a warning worth repeating considering the useful nature of being able to back up your chat history. This is especially important now that WhatsApp and Google have announced that backups won’t count to your Google Drive storage quota starting 12 November 2018

WhatsApp will also permanently delete of any backup that hasn’t been updated for a year or more. So if you’d like to keep your chat history intact, you’ll have to make another backup as soon as you can before that date.
While your WhatsApp conversations will not be as safe in Google Drive as they will in your phone, you can still make it harder for those who intend to snoop around where they don’t belong. Just make sure you enable two-factor authentication for your Google account.

Starbucks Korea to test paper straws next month


SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- Starbucks Coffee Korea Co. said Thursday it will test paper straws at its stores in South Korea next month to replace plastic ones as part of its efforts to protect the environment.

Starbucks Coffee Korea said the two-month test operation is set to begin Sept. 10 at 100 stores in Seoul and other major cities before expanding the introduction of the paper straws to all of its stores throughout the country in November.

The straws, developed by the coffee chain operator, will be provided in two colors, white and green, both of which received food safety approvals from the United States and South Korea. The company said it will choose one color for official adoption after the trial period, reflecting customers' preference.

The latest decision is part of Starbucks Coffee Co.'s broader move to eliminate single-use plastic straws from its 28,000 stores worldwide by 2020. In a statement last month, the global coffee giant said it expects the move will eliminate more than 1 billion plastic straws per year from all of its stores.

In June, the U.N. Environment warned plastic waste causes a plethora of problems when it leaks into the environment.

Plastic -- when discarded in landfills or in the environment -- can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, according to the U.N. environmental agency.

Around 180 million plastic straws are used at the coffee chain in South Korea every year, according to Starbucks Coffee Korea, the joint venture between Starbucks Coffee International Inc. and South Korean retail giant Shinsegae.

In line with the move, the company will also remove all plastic straws and stirrers that consumers can freely take at its stores and instead provide one straw per ice drink and also introduce wooden stirrers to replace plastic ones, it said.

Starbucks Korea also plans to introduce strawless lids in November.

Cold beverages accounted for more than 50 percent of its total sales as of last year, up from 37 percent five years ago, it said.

Loob, La Kaffa settle out of court over Chatime dispute


KUALA LUMPUR: Loob Holding Sdn Bhd of Tealive and La Kaffa International Co Ltd of Taiwan of Chatime have resolved their disputes arising from their one-time franchise relationship of the latter’s bubble tea brand.


In a joint statement issued on Thursday, both parties have reached an out-of-court settlement to amicably resolve all their disputes.

“In a settlement agreement executed yesterday, both parties have agreed to withdraw all proceedings in Malaysian courts and arbitration in Singapore,”  they said.

The statement said this settlement should not constitute nor be deemed nor treated by any party as an admission of any allegation and/or liability.
 
“Parties have come to an agreement in resolution of their disputes, in which the decision has also been made to stop all court or any other enforcement actions against each.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Facebook Is Removing Posts Cross-Posted From Twitter


Facebook has stopped third-parties from being able to post on behalf of the logged-in user since 1 August 2018. Alongside this, it also revoked permission to do so for previously allowed entities, like Twitter. But now it looks like Facebook is going a step further, by scrubbing all posts that were previously cross-posted from Twitter as well.

Facebook’s actions was reported by TechCrunch via a reader who discovered this, and who also found no info on the matter on Facebook’s Help Center. The publisher has since confirmed this with the social media service directly.
Others who also discovered the deletion of posts were few, and those who did were noted to be light users on Facebook, and as such noticed missing posts more easily. Heavier users who shared stuff often or are frequently tagged by friends are less likely to notice, considering the volume of posts that will go by.
The most egregious part of this whole thing is probably the fact that Facebook users were not informed of this before it happened. It doesn’t look like there’s any public announcement that it will be part of the plan to remove third-party access either. Since the Facebook update merely prevents third-parties from posting on Facebook in the future, there’s no reason to think that previous posts made in this manner will also be removed.
Until Facebook makes an official statement, all we can do is wait and see. If you do a lot of cross-posting from Twitter to Facebook, it may be a good idea to check if your tweets are missing on Facebook as well.


Yahoo And AOL Are Still Scanning Emails For Advertising Data

Two months ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google was letting third-party developers into Gmail accounts’ emails. Google has responded to these reports, saying that emails will only be accessed third-parties if the users permit them. Today, we’ve learned that Yahoo and AOL are scanning emails for data that can be sold to advertisers.

According to Mashable, the Wall Street Journal has another report that points to Oath, owner of both Yahoo and AOL, pitching to advertisers a service that analyzes over 200 million Yahoo Mail inboxes and the rich user data within. The pitch suggests that AOL users’ emails will also be included.
In the wake of privacy concerns after the whole Cambridge Analytica episode, Oath, a Verizon subsidiary, seems to be going the opposite direction of Google and a number of other tech giants. Instead of assuring users that their data will be safe, Oath seems to be digging its heels in, and even doubling down on scanning emails for ad targeting.
The reports further states that Doug Sharp, Oath’s Vice President of data, measurements, and insights said email scanning has become one of the company’s most effective methods for improving ad targeting. He went on to say that this is part of a trade-off users make to use the email service, and it doesn’t seem like paying users are exempt from having their emails scanned either.
Of course, there is the extra step you can take to opt out of letting your emails be scanned for ad data. But, as Sharp points out, if you haven’t already done so then you probably don’t really care. It’s an extremely blunt thing for a corporate person to say, but it’s hard to deny that he has a point.

Prototype Of The First Generation Apple iPhone Is Being Sold On eBay

First generation Apple iPhones are pretty much a dime a dozen in the online auction block, but a prototype of Apple’s first mobile device is far harder to come by. One model recently went up for bid on eBayAccording to 9to5Mac, the seller of the purported iPhone prototype claims that the device is a working unit that was “handmade in Cupertino, California” back in 2006. The back of the phone does provide a rundown of its radio signal bands, as well as the version of the phone. On top of that, the phone also runs “multiple testing software” that includes the first generation of Apple’s iOS.


The current bid for the prototype is now sitting at US$31100 (~RM128000), and still climbing. On a side note, the owner of the phone said that this isn’t even the highest price that the prototype has garnered. When he first posted the phone up for bid in 2015, it fetched a final bid of US$61100 (~RM252000). Unfortunately for him, the sale never went through.

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