Month: March 2019

Enlarge / The Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles NV Dodge Ram logo stands on display outside the company's Warren Truck Assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (credit: Anthony Lanzilote/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Issues with the catalytic converters of 862,520 Fiat-Chrysler vehicles are prompting a semi-voluntary recall, according to officials from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

The vehicles in question include:

• 2011-2016 Model Year (MY) Dodge Journey
• 2011-2014 MY Chrysler 200/Dodge Avenger
• 2011-2012 MY Dodge Caliber
• 2011-2016 MY Jeep Compass/Patriot

The recall will be conducted in phases, with owners of older cars being notified first that they can bring their cars in to be fixed. The last phase is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2019. Unlike previous Fiat-Chrysler emissions recalls, these fixes require replacement parts.

Enlarge / Not every Windows 10 user appreciates being a guinea pig for Windows updates. (credit: Andy Miccone / Flickr)

The next Windows 10 feature update, version 1903, looks like it's going to give Windows 10 Home users a little more flexibility about when they install updates. All versions of Windows 10 allow for updates to be deferred, waiting a number of days after each update is released before attempting to install it.

Currently in Windows 10 version 1809, Windows 10 Home users are limited to a delay of just seven days. In the latest preview build of Windows 10, however, this has been raised to 35 days (via Reddit). This means that users nervous about being the first to use each new update can wait a little over a month before installing it.

While most Windows updates are problem-free for most people, issues do crop up from time to time. Generally, these are resolved within a week or two of the initial release, with Microsoft either reissuing fixed versions of the patches or sometimes blacklisting particular hardware or software combinations that have proven problematic. The 35-day delay is almost invariably going to be sufficient to let people wait for these bugs to be shaken out.

Enlarge (credit: Tim Drivas Photography / Getty)

A body cam captured audio of a female New York Police Department officer performing oral sex on her boss, a male sergeant, the New York Post and New York Daily News report. The tryst occurred around midnight in a police car in the 75th Precinct, which covers the easternmost portion of Brooklyn. The two officers were on the clock.

"The officer and the sergeant were getting hot and heavy in their patrol car when the sergeant allegedly removed the officer’s body camera from her shirt," the New York Daily News reports. "He put the camera in her vest but accidentally switched it on. While the camera lens was obscured by the vest, the audio of the sex act was recorded."

The New York Post describes the incident a bit differently, reporting that the woman tucked the body cam in her vest.

Enlarge / The Android Q logo. (credit: Google)

On Wednesday, Google released a preview of the next version of Android, codenamed "Android Q." The final release should happen sometime toward the end of the year, but for now we get a work-in-progress build that will get several new versions throughout the year. The highlights for this release include new privacy and security controls, support for foldables, a share menu that actually works, faster app startup, and more.

This first release only works with Google's Pixel devices, including the Pixel 1, which is technically beyond its support window. Wider device compatibility for some non-Google devices should arrive with the second release.

We will publish a deeper dive into Android Q once we get it installed and have time to read over some documents, but for now, here's a quick batch of highlights from Google's blog post on the subject.

Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto | Getty Images)

Researchers have identified a massive adware campaign that invaded the official Google Play market with more than 200 highly aggressive apps that were collectively downloaded almost 150 million times.

The 210 apps discovered by researchers from security firm Checkpoint Software bombarded users with ads, even when an app wasn’t open, according to a blog post published by the company on Wednesday. The apps also had the ability to carry out spearphishing attacks by causing a browser to open an attacker-chosen URL and open the apps for Google Play and third-party market 9Apps with a specific keyword search or a specific application’s page. The apps reported to a command-and-control server to receive instructions on which commands to carry out.

Once installed, the apps installed code that allowed them to perform actions as soon as the device finished booting or while the user was using the device. The apps also could remove their icon from the device launcher to make it harder for users to uninstall the nuisance apps. The apps all used a software development kit called RXDrioder, which Checkpoint researchers believe concealed its abusive capabilities from app developers. The researchers dubbed the campaign SimBad, because many of the participating apps are simulator games.