zimmie
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Apple using hashes to flag & evaluate emails to hunt down child abuse images
The system is a bit more robust than a simple hash like MD5 or SHA1. It's similar to how modern antivirus works, which can identify modified versions of previously-seen malware pretty consistently. These image matching techniques work pretty reliably across scaled images and with a certain amount of noise added (though big changes decrease match confidence).randominternetperson said:One thing that's interesting about Apple's approach is that it actually tips off the users that someone is on their trail. But not sending the message with the offending/illegal content, they are letting a savvy scumbag know that the jig is up. I'm surprised that the authorities wouldn't prefer a more transparent system. I'm sure they are especially upset about this coming to light. Isn't it trivially easy to alter the hash for an image? Changing a single pixel is enough. I don't know how sophisticated child pornographers are, but I'm sure they are already figuring out how to avoid this net.
If you're interested in more information about how this works, the term to look up is CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material). That's the technical term which the NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) and others have used for well over a decade. Cloudflare has a neat article up about how this type of image matching works:
https://blog.cloudflare.com/the-csam-scanning-tool/
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This dongle can upgrade you to wireless CarPlay for cheap
CarPlay is a pretty simple protocol. It's basically an extension of iPod Accessory Protocol 2. The car first sends a list of capabilities to the phone. This includes things like the dimensions for each display, the safe display area within each overall display area, and the types of user events it supports (Touchscreen? Dial and buttons? Hey Siri?). The phone then sends one or more AVC video streams and zero or more iAP2 text streams (track name, artist, upcoming turn street name in navigation, &c.) to the car, and the car sends a stream of user events to the phone.
It sounds like this box just starts the wireless handshake, then once a phone connects and asks for capabilities, it establishes a wired connection and relays the messages back and forth.
I find it very unlikely Apple even *could* break this without breaking all existing Wireless CarPlay units.
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Apple releases macOS 10.15.3, iOS 13.3.1, iPadOS 13.3.1, tvOS 13.3.1, watchOS 6.1.2
Recommend them for what? They are worse than worthless for non-business users on macOS. At least on iOS, they aren't actively harmful, but they also couldn't do anything meaningful.bluefire1 said:I wish Apple, despite all of it security features, would recommend one or more security programs such as Malwarebytes or Norton.
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How to export your Apple Card monthly transactions
Most credit card processors explicitly forbid cash discounts in their terms of service. They require the merchant to charge everybody the same price for the same item. The goal is to hide the extra cost of credit transactions.maestro64 said:
Actually it is the people who pay interest on the card who is paying for all the cash back incentives. Think about that, those paying interest are the one who can lease afford it and they somehow thinking getting some cash back some how helps. They are just getting back a small portion of the interest they pay, the rest of us who pay off their cards each month benefits.larryjw said:
You should be aware that the perks of "elite" cards are paid by someone -- in particular, the retailer whose product you purchased with the card (maybe you if the price is hiked because of the cost of the plastic). I spoke to one retailer and asked why they don't take American Express. He said he can't afford to pay for American Express customer's airline tickets.jcs2305 said:This is good news for some folks here at AI. I remember seeing comments of people upset that they were not able to export their Apple Card data into Quicken and the like. I really like this card.. just wish it would match the cash back % of some other cards. I would like to make this my only card, but the cashback isn't there yet. Hopefully that will change as the service matures.
Most cards charge retailers 2% to 5% to process the transaction, American Express being on that high side. Also do not think retailer are not passing this cost on to every purchase. They do have some control over the selling price of an item and they roll up all their operating costs into the overall cost of the purchases item not everyone takes it out of their profits. I use to only buy with cash or ATM card thinking this was somehow saving me money. Then someone clued be in about above and the fact I am still paying the higher cost of the others using their CC and I do not get to use someone else's money for 30 days. If someone is willing to give me a Cash discount I take it every time, is some time 10% to 20% they will know off their service just to avoid a CC or Check transaction.
Yes, lots of merchants still offer such discounts (or go the other way and charge a credit card fee; this is also generally forbidden by card processor agreements). They get away with it because the card processors operate on very thin margins, so they can't really afford to check thoroughly. -
Apple researching HomePod-like audio for future MacBook Pro
"Sonic holography" has been a thing since the 70s or so. It's pretty cool. Gives you the perception of a wider soundstage without the physical distance between speakers to support it. I have a Carver C-4000 preamp (and an M-400 cube!) from the 80s which can do some pretty amazing things.
