Geekly Update - 29 August 2019

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Police are using "reverse location search warrants" in their attempts to solve crimes. In one recent case, FBI agents served Google with a search warrant, asking for location data that would identify any Android smartphone user who had been near the bank around the time of the robbery. Courts say it's legal, but civil libertarians say these "suspicionless searches" are invasive and don't work well anyway.

Google is rolling out a new feature for Google Photos that will let you search your photos by the text in them. Optical Character Recognition technology also enables one to click the Lens button to copy and paste text from screenshots, receipts, and other photos containing text.

Thinking about getting one of those fancy new titanium Apple Cards? Just be sure to keep it away from leather or denim. That rules out putting it in your jeans pocket or wallet. Also, it doesn't get along well with hard surfaces, household cleaners, compressed air, or ammonia.

Nigerian scammers have been using the Internet for decades to steal millions of dollars from the lonely, the greedy, and the careless. The good news is that some of them are being brought to justice. Federal investigators have unsealed an indictment against more than 80 Nigerians involved in online fraud.

Tesla's Sentry Mode will record video of the car's surroundings if it detects that someone is trying to break into or steal the car. But that might not help in situations where a hacker has cracked the encryption of the key fob, and wirelessly unlocked the car. This article from Wired explains how it has happened twice so far.

Some cities are pushing back when it comes to the rollout of 5G technology, but the hands of local officials may be tied by FCC rules intended to speed 5G adoption. Others are concerned about potential health effects of 5G cell sites near their homes.

Windows 10 has had a Ransomware Protection feature since october 2017, but it's not turned on by default. Here's why you should flip that switch as soon as possible.

AT&T employees in Bothell, Washington were caught taking bribes to unlock phones and plant malware. The scheme lasted five years, growing in complexity to the point where a Pakistani man was able to gain access to AT&T internal apps and network. One AT&T employee pocketed more than $400K in bribes.

Breaker 1-9, we have a convoy... Amazon and AT&T both have plans to bring high-speed wireless Internet to rural America. They propose to use the 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service, rather than current 4G or 5G networks.

Antivirus software is supposed to make it harder for hackers and cybercriminals to sneak into your computer. But this week, researchers from SafeBreach reported a security flaw affecting the free version of BitDefender Antivirus 2020 that could allow hackers to entirely take over a Windows computer.

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