Tech News Weekly (Video)

Equifax finally updated its site to explain how the company was hacked, saying that criminals took advantage of the Apache Struts CVE-2017-5638 vulnerability. Ars Technica says this bug was fixed in March, but Equifax had not updated its Web applications.

Facebook is feeling the heat with the Russian ads inquiry that aims to determine to what degree Russian campaigns were able to utilize Facebook's ad network to stir unrest in the United States ahead of the Presidential Election. The US Federal Election Commission is considering regulatory changes to rules that would require companies like Facebook to disclose who paid for these kinds of ads.

Google has confirmed October 4th as the date for the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL. According to MadeByGoogle.com/AskMore and a billboard in downtown Boston, the next Google-made phone will be released, or at least teased, before you can order the iPhone.

Also, iPhone X fans have mixed feelings about the notch in the display, Magic Leap is looking to secure more money for its product that no one has seen, Samsung launched a $300 million automotive fund, and Snapchat has animated Bitmoji AR!

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

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Josh Constine from TechCrunch explains why Facebook won't let you advertise on your disaster videos. Serenity Caldwell from iMore has some thoughts on why the iPhone X is so expensive and who might need it. And Liz Segren, staff writer at Fast Company, is here to discuss her controversial article on the ex-Googlers who are coming for our bodegas. Plus, JacksFilms strikes again with the most amazing iPhone X parody ever. "It comes in two colors: You Can't and Afford It."

Host: Megan Morrone

Guests: Josh Constine, Serenity Caldwell, and Liz Segren

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Apple held its big event in the Steve Jobs theater at the new Cupertino campus and showed off the Apple Watch 3, the Apple TV 4K, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and the premium iPhone X.

Zack Whittacker of Zero Day says the Equifax site many are using to put alerts or freezes on their accounts is vulnerable to a cross-site scripting attack, which could leave you vulnerable to malicious code.

The Department of Transportation released new self-driving vehicle guidelines. The full report, which is available online, focuses on cars with level 3 to 5 on the Society of Automotive Engineers scale.

Also, Google is in hot water with Yelp again, Samsung says its foldable Note phone is coming next year, and the NES Classic will get another release next Summer.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

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It's the moment Apple fans the world over have been waiting for, an event to see the launch of the 10th anniversary iPhone, the first event to take place at Apple's mega-spaceship campus in Cupertino in the Steve Jobs Theater. Expect a full refresh of the iPhone lineup, a new Apple TV, a new Apple Watch, and Airpods.

Amazon has higher resolution video in its sights as well, and it looks like an upcoming refresh of the Amazon Fire TV lineup will bring 4K HDR 60 frames per second video to the TV. The cubical set top box will not only handle the increased image quality, but it also has far field microphones on board to make it yet another Echo device in your home.

A few months after the European Commission issued a $2.7 billion antitrust fine against Google for what it deemed as abuse of its search dominance in online shopping results, Google is appealing the filing in the lower EU courts. At least for now, Google has not sought to sidestep compliance with the original order that would place penalties on the company if they didn't comply.

Also, PewDiePie gets a bit too loose lipped on a live stream, the SNES Classic will be better stocked than the NES Classic was, and Russ Pitts talks about Take This, his non-profit that offers tools and hope to those in the gaming industry suffering from depression.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Russ Pitts

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Yesterday, Iain Thomson told us about the then-breaking news involving a historically bad leak of information after Equifax was hacked. A day later and that hangover feeling isn't gone.

Thousands have taken to the streets in Togo to protest the West African nation's president. And now the Togolese authorities have blocked internet access and texting.

Two factor authentication is key to protecting and securing your accounts online. 2FA via SMS is better than nothing but still has its own flaws. Hackers can hijack SMS codes, many times by social engineering with a carrier call, in order to authenticate as you. The top four US mobile carriers today announced a newly formed coalition called the Mobile Authentication Taskforce to take a look at the current system and its weaknesses, and devise something new in its place.

And Sam Machkovech from Ars Technica is here to talk about Destiny 2, The Fractured But Whole, and PAX West.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

Guest: Sam Machkovech

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A judge in Massachusetts dismissed the case against Techdirt that was brought by Shiva Ayyadurai, a man who claimed that he invented e-mail in the late 1970s. Techdirt had criticized Ayyadurai's claims on its site to the point that the non-inventor of email called it libel. The judge sided with the small but influential TechDirt in the 15 million dollar case.

Amazon is on the prowl for a location to drop its second north american headquarters into. Amazon is looking to support up to 50 thousand employees in the facility when all is said and done, so the deal brings its share of incentives for whatever city is selected. And Amazon is coming out early with the news as it's looking to lock in whatever incentives it can from state and local communities to make it even more worthwhile.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple will experience extended supply shortages on the new iPhones that might extend into the holiday season. The new phone iPhone 8 won't come with TouchID and sources say that's what's causing the holdup. Apple reportedly had intended to include the fingerprint sensor, but had to abandon it for new facial-recognition technology.

Also, Facebook has a Tinder-like feature in a limited trial, Star Wars and Marvel will become exclusive to Disney's upcoming streaming service, and Iain Thomson from The Register discusses the monumental hack of Equifax.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

Guest: Iain Thomson

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Starting in the summer of 2015, a Russian company began buying facebook ads to the tune of 100 thousand dollars to stir political uncertainty. As part of an investigation that started earlier this Spring, Facebook found 3,300 ads on its network that did this, all pointing back to the same Russian company.

In other bad Facebook news, an analyst at Pivotal Research Group says Facebook is claiming to reach people who don't exist.

The New York times reports that those sneaky Red Sox used an Apple Watch to steal signals during baseball games against the New York Yankees.

Plus, Brad Sams from Petri.com is here to talk about the next Microsoft Surface Event.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

Guest: Brad Sams

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Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and other tech companies have responded now that our President has decided to rescind DACA protection. Apple's Tim Cook sent a letter to employees saying they will advocate for a legislative solution.

WhatsApp will soon charge large scale businesses by offering ways to reach their customers with important and useful information, like flight times and delivery confirmations. Small and medium sized business will have access to a free app integrating similar tools and features so they can better communicate with their customers.

Xiaomi announced its partnership with Google for the Android One program with the release of the Mi A1. The phone has a dual camera, 2x optical zoom, and a 5.5 inch display. It's available in 40 markets and will cost around 234 US dollars.

Plus Rovio is going for an IPO, Verizon wants all your data in exchange for Lady Gaga tickets, and we go hands-on with the Essential Phone.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

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Does Nest know when you've been sleeping? We'll find out on September 20.

How small social networks helped Harvey victims.

Mikah Sargent from iMore joins us to talk about our favorite Alexa skills.

And pour one out for the $400 WiFi juicer.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Mikah Sargent

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Apple sent out invitations for its big event on September 12th. Let's Meet at Our Place, said the invites to the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple Campus.

Robotics company Zipline has begun to use its drones to deliver blood to Rwanda's blood transfusion centers. The FCC.gov site allows pretty much anyone to upload any file to their site which can then be made accessible via the FCC.gov domain. The public API that literally anyone can get allows those who know what to do with it the ability to throw pretty much anything on the .gov website. So, executables, PDFs, mp4 files, which I'm sure you can imagine gets sticky when you consider that this might be a malware artist's dream.

BBC reports that Zipline will soon expand into Tanzania, making it the largest drone delivery company in the world. IFA 2017 is under way in Berlin right now which means an avalanche of hardware announcements.

Plus, two new Star Wars toys from Sphero.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

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