Month: October 2020

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)

A security researcher reportedly logged in to President Trump's Twitter account last week by guessing the password—it was "maga2020!"—and then alerted the US government that Trump needed to upgrade his Twitter security practices.

Security researcher Victor Gevers reportedly guessed Trump's password on the fifth attempt and was dismayed that the president had not enabled two-step authentication. The news was reported today by de Volkskrant, a Dutch newspaper, and the magazine Vrij Nederland. Both reports had quotes from Gevers, while Vrij Nederland also published a screenshot that Gevers says he took when he had access to the @realdonaldtrump account.

Gevers reportedly gained access to Trump's Twitter account on Friday last week. He says he tried passwords such as "MakeAmericaGreatAgain" and "Maga2020" before hitting on the correct password of "maga2020!" Gevers is a well-known security researcher and has been quoted in several Ars articles on other security topics going back to 2017. He is a researcher at the nonprofit GDI Foundation and chair of the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure.

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  The 2020 Polaris Slingshot has an all-new engine and transmission, but it remains for extroverts only. [credit: Jonathan Gitlin ]

The Polaris Slingshot was definitely the most unusual vehicle I reviewed last year. Classified as a motorcycle, this three-wheeler looked like nothing else on the roads. In fact, it would be hard to draw more attention without the help of some sirens and a bullhorn. For 2020, Polaris has substantially revised the Slingshot. Well, on the inside, that is. There's an all-new four-cylinder engine, unique to the vehicle, and an optional automated gearbox for those who want three wheels but only two pedals. But it still looks like nothing else on the road, and as I discovered over the course of a few days, it still isn't the vehicle for you if you want to blend in.

Instead of using a 2.4L Ecotec engine from General Motors, Polaris decided to create its own in-house. It's a 2.0L four-cylinder design called the ProStar, and in addition to being smaller than the old engine, it's also about 65lbs (30kg) lighter thanks to an aluminum block. It's also more powerful, and it likes to rev, too. In SL-spec, it makes 177hp (132kW) at a heady 8,500rpm; we tested the Slingshot R which packs 203hp (151kW) at 8,250rpm. Both SL (120lb-ft/163Nm) and R (144lb-ft/195Nm) are less torquey than the old Ecotec (166lb-ft/225Nm), although that never felt like a problem as there's just that single 20-inch rear tire with which to apply it.

The other major new addition is the AutoDrive automated manual transmission, something the company says has been its most common request from potential customers. It's a five-speed with a hydraulically activated clutch and is the only gearbox available for the $26,499 Slingshot SL. The R offers buyers the choice of AutoDrive ($32,699) or a conventional three-pedal manual option ($30,999). Polaris says that AutoDrive only weighs about 14lbs (6.3kg) more than the regular manual, and at 1,645lbs (746kg) the 2020 Slingshot R is about 100lbs (45kg) lighter than a 2019 model.

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  The special edition comes with everything seen here, on sale in December. Prices not yet announced.

Nintendo's latest surprise announcement hinges on a different anniversary than the usual mascots like Mario, Link, and Pikachu: it's for Fire Emblem, the turn-based strategy series that launched exclusively in Japan in 1990. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the game's first 8-bit adventure is getting the re-release treatment, either as a basic digital version or with a deluxe, physical collection of booklets, maps, and more.

But there's a funny thing about Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade of Light. This 8-bit re-release has some emulation-like tweaks and perks, but this is otherwise not a remake. Up until now, its text-filled Famicom version never got an official translation and release for Western audiences. And unlike the rare cases where Nintendo produced, then shelved, a translated version of a Japanese game, this first Fire Emblem game was never advertised or teased to Western fans.

In any other year, we might look at this delightful throwback to a classic, Japan-only Nintendo game and briefly give the whole thing a thumbs up. But 2020 has been a weird one for Nintendo, so I'm tempted to take a closer look and ask: is this a sign of more unearthed translations to come?

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  The PS5 media remote. While all four of the services at the bottom there will be available on launch day, some other PS4 video services will not.

It seems that many of the video-streaming apps on the PS4 won't be available on the PlayStation 5 at launch. That's a marked contrast to the Xbox Series X, where media apps designed for the Xbox One work seamlessly on the new hardware.

In a blog post this morning, Sony listed "some of the entertainment apps scheduled to hit the PS5 console on day one." Those include:

• Apple TV (new to Sony consoles, and also coming to PS4)
• Disney+
• Netflix
• Spotify
• Twitch
• YouTube

The post also lists a few "additional streaming apps" that are simply "coming to PS5" with no mention of timing, including Amazon Prime Video, MyCanal, Hulu, Peacock "and more." While the wording is a little vague, the implication seems clear that these apps, and others not listed, are part of the promised "more apps to come in the future" and are not expected to be ready for the PS5's Nov. 12 launch. (Sony has yet to respond to a request for comment from Ars Technica.)