Tech

The operator of a critical US pipeline that provides the East Coast of the country with nearly half of its gasoline and jet fuel reportedly shelled out $5 million ransom to hackers, clearing the way for the pipeline to function normally again. According to reports in the US media, Colonial …

The price of Bitcoin has crashed after Elon Musk confirmed his electric car company would no longer accept it as payment. The billionaire posted a statement on Twitter saying Tesla will stop accepting Bitcoin as payment due to concerns about the environmental impact of the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin, the world’s largest …

Alphabet Inc’s YouTube on Tuesday announced a $100 million fund to pay content creators who make hit videos on its new short-form video feature Shorts, as YouTube aims to court more influencers. The fund will launch in the coming months and pay creators this year and 2022, YouTube said. The …

America’s biggest gasoline pipeline is unlikely to resume significant operations for several days due to a ransomware cyberattack that Washington on Monday blamed on a shadowy criminal network called DarkSide. The attack on the Colonial Pipeline between Houston and New Jersey, which provides nearly half the fuel to the U.S. …

The value of dogecoin dropped sharply in early U.S. hours on Sunday, after Tesla chief and cryptocurrency supporter Elon Musk called it a ‘hustle’ during his guest-host spot on the “Saturday Night Live” comedy sketch TV show. Dogecoin was quoted as low as $0.47 on crypto exchange Binance, down 28% …

Remnants of China’s biggest rocket landed in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, with the bulk of its components destroyed upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, according to Chinese state media, ending days of speculation over where the debris would hit. The coordinates are given by state media, citing the China …

The operator of the system, Colonial Pipeline, said it had shut down its 5,500 miles of pipeline, which takes refined gasoline and jet fuel along the East Coast. A cyberattack forced the shutdown of one of the largest pipelines in the United States, in what appeared to be a significant …

Two-factor authentication, or as Google calls it two-step verification, is a popular security feature that adds another layer of security to the authentication process. Users who have configured two-factor authentication use a secondary authentication option, such as a code that is sent via SMS to a linked mobile device or …

Debris from a Chinese rocket is expected to fall back to Earth in an uncontrolled re-entry this weekend. The main segment from the Long March-5b vehicle was used to launch the first module of China’s new space station last month. At 18 tonnes it is one of the largest items …

Epic Games said on Monday it was seeking to block Apple Inc’s removal of “Fortnite” from its app store and has asked a judge to prevent any retaliatory action against its other games in the store. The videogame maker also said Apple will terminate all of Epic Games’ developer accounts …

Hang on a minute? The latest Xbox Series X reports had told us that the new Xbox console was going to be cheaper than the Sony PS5 when released in November 2020. Those reports had been based on unsubstantiated comments from Reddit poster Dusk Golem, who apparently has been hearing …

President Donald Trump ordered ByteDance on Friday to divest the U.S. operations of its video-sharing app TikTok within 90 days, the latest effort to ramp up pressure on the Chinese company over concerns about the safety of the personal data it handles. “There is credible evidence that leads me to …

Facebook announced on Thursday a new online resource for voters that’s intended to facilitate voting by mail and limit the spread of election-related disinformation ahead of the November presidential election. The move comes as US President Trump has intensified attacks on mail-in voting and made unfounded claims that it could …

Apple Inc on Thursday removed popular video game “Fortnite” from its App Store for violating the company’s in-app payment guidelines, prompting developer Epic Games to initiate legal action against the iPhone maker. The move came after Epic Games enabled a direct payment feature on the Fortnite app, which Apple said …

The U.S. National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation have exposed a sophisticated Russian hacking tool, they said on Thursday in a rare public report offering new insight on Russia’s arsenal of digital weapons. The NSA and FBI said that Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, known as the GRU, was …

Facebook Inc and Snapchat owner Snap Inc held talks to buy Dubsmash, the Information reported on Wednesday, putting a spotlight on pop video apps at a time when Microsoft Corp is trying to work out a deal to buy rival TikTok. Facebook and Snap were no longer in deal talks, …

Twitter Inc rolled out its new long-awaited Application Programming Interface (API) software on Wednesday, nearly a month after the social media company delayed the platform’s launch following the hack of several high-profile accounts. The API platform provides broad access to public Twitter data that users have chosen to share, according …

Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it removed 7 million posts in the second quarter for sharing false information about the novel coronavirus, including content that promoted fake preventative measures and exaggerated cures. Facebook released the data as part of its sixth Community Standards Enforcement Report, which it introduced in 2018 …

Twitter Inc has approached TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to express interest in acquiring the U.S. operations of the video-sharing app, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as experts raised doubts over Twitter’s ability to put together financing for a potential deal. It is far from certain that Twitter …

Facebook has deleted a post by President Donald Trump for violating its policy against spreading misinformation about the coronavirus. The post in question featured a link to a Fox News video in which Trump says children are “virtually immune” to the virus. Facebook said Wednesday that the “video includes false …