Geekly Update - 18 February 2021

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Ring video doorbells are getting geofencing. The popular Amazon-owned security devices can now remind users to “arm” them when they leave home, or or disarm when returning.

Keith Gill, the man behind the effort to pump up the GameStop stock price, made millions in the short-lived endeavor, which saw the price briefly jump from $20 to almost $500 a share. Gill is now accused of market manipulation, but he insists he did nothing wrong.

Parler, the Twitter alternative popular with conservatives, is back online a month after Amazon, Apple and Google abruptly pulled the plug on the company in January. It's Web-only for now.

Krebs On Security is reporting that the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has indicted three North Korean hackers responsible for some of the most damaging cybercrime attacks in the past decade. The indictment alleges that the trio were involved in the WannaCry ransomware scheme, and the theft of roughly $200 million from banks and other victims worldwide.

In another score for the good guys, the DOJ may have disrupted a major component of the gross domestic product of Ghana. Six Ghanian persons were arrested and charged with laundering over $50 million in proceeds from fraud schemes including business email compromises, romance scams targeting elderly, and fraudulent small business loans for Covid-19 relief.

Microsoft is rolling out a Kids Mode for the Edge browser that should make browsing safer for young users. Kids Mode works with Bing SafeSearch to keep kids away from “adult” search results, and incorporates a customizable “allow list” that parents can use to limit kids to age-appropriate websites.

LastPass, the popular password manager, is removing the ability to sync passwords between devices in their free version. The lack of that important feature leaves many users looking for an alternative. Not to worry... CNet says Bitwarden is the best free password manager they've found.

Foci is a wearable device that promises to help people who are easily bothered by mental distractions. It uses cognitive biometrics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to track changes in breathing patterns indicative of lost focus, and sends an alert to clear out “brain clutter.”

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University of Cambridge researchers claim that Bitcoin “mining” – the complex computer calculations needed to verify transactions – globally consumes 121.36 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year. That’s more electricity than the entire countries of Argentina, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates.

Researchers at the University of Sussex say a form of ‘nano-origami’ developments could lead to computers capable of operating thousands of times faster than current devices. The researchers discovered that tiny strips of graphene, crinkled in a certain way, can behave like a microchip that’s 100 times smaller than conventional microchips.