Microsoft reveals details of Windows 10 usage tracking

The firm listed statistics on how many minutes had been spent by users in total in the Edge browser and the number of photographs which had been viewed in the Photo app.However, some people have questioned whether the data tracking is a threat to privacy.Since Windows 10 was launched, Microsoft has been tracking information about how those with the OS are using it.Until now though, relatively little has been known about what data is being collected.

"Microsoft is deeply committed to protecting our customers' privacy," a spokesman for the company told the BBC."Consistent with all modern services and websites, the Windows 10 information highlighted in the blog on January 4 is standard diagnostic, anonymous analytics that enables us to deliver the best Windows 10 experience possible.

"We are committed to delivering industry leading privacy protection for our customers, as shared in a recent blog from Terry Myerson."

Minutes tracked

The company blog listed a range of figures, including:

44.5 billion minutes spent by users in the Microsoft Edge browser across Windows 10 devices

2.4 billion questions asked to virtual assistant Cortana

30% more Bing search queries per Windows 10 device versus previous versions of the OS

82 billion photos viewed with the Photo app

More than four billion hours spent playing PC games

Microsoft also reported that Windows 10 continued to be the fastest growing version of Windows, outpacing the adoption of both Windows 8 and Windows 7.Security expert Prof Alan Woodward told the BBC he was interested to know the long-term plans for the data.

"[This information] might be collected for one purpose, but how long will it be stored for? What else are they going to use it for?" he said."As soon as it goes outside the EU it's no longer protected by things like the UK's Data Protection Act."Recently, Microsoft announced it would be opening UK data centres for corporate clients in a move the firm hoped would address privacy watchdogs' concerns about "data sovereignty".However, it is not clear where data relating to the company's own operating system is transmitted and stored.

It is possible to increase the privacy controls in Windows 10 by setting the feedback option to Basic, so that activity data is not sent to Microsoft - bar error reports.However, Prof Woodward suggested that users of the new OS may not be fully aware of the range of options and what they do."I've noticed it because I've been installing it a lot recently. The default is for them to track a whole lot of things about usage and send details back to Microsoft," he said."I think some people are walking into it blindfolded, they don't necessarily realise what's going on."

Google removes 13 Android apps from Play store

NEW DELHI: The search engine giant Google has removed 13 malicious apps from the Google Play Store. The company took this step after it was notified by the security researcher Chris Dehghanpoor from Lookout that these apps made unauthorized downloads to the Android devices.

Dehghanpoor explained that these apps try to get the root privileges and when given they copy numerous device files to the system partition that remains untouched even after factory resetting the device.The researcher stated that the apps boosted high download numbers and automatically posted positive reviews on the Play store.

The list of apps removed from the Google Play store includes Honeycomb, Just Fire, Cake Blast, Crazy Block, Drag Box, Tiny Puzzle, Jump Planet, Ninja Hook, Piggy Jump, Eat Bubble, Hit Planet, Cake Tower, and Crazy Jelly.

Nextbit's Robin looks to break the smartphone mold

A new take on the smartphone is hatching next month.

Nextbit, a San Francisco-based startup run by Google and HTC veterans, plans to start shipping its first smartphone, called the Robin, on Feb. 16 to those who've preordered it. On that same day, it plans to unveil its e-commerce store. Preorder sales are ending next Friday.

The company is hoping the Android phone's clever design and heavy focus on cloud storage will help it gain attention in a crowded smartphone field dominated by tech titans including Apple and Samsung."Nothing really stands out anymore," Scott Croyle, Nextbit's chief designer, said on CNET's Consumer Electronics Show stage in Las Vegas on Friday. "Everything feels like a derivative of either the [HTC One] M7 or the iPhone."

For that reason, Croyle said, many people are "hungry" for a fresh look in smartphones and the Robin's spare, square-sided design may fit the bill. Croyle knows a little about smartphone design, having been a key designer behind the look of the HTC One M7. Still, to avoid making another phone that blends in, he said he didn't use design cues from the M7 to create the Robin.

This new SanDisk memory stick will make your phone’s storage problems a thing of the past

IT’S 2016 but two major smartphone issues are yet to be fixed. First of all, there’s never enough storage on most mobile devices whether they’re new iPhones or Android devices. And then there are battery life problems. SanDisk has a new product that aims to fix one of them, and that’s the shortage of memory.

The company has a few popular products that offer users extra memory on the go, and the company updated some of them, announcing new versions at CES 2016 that offer even more storage.The SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick is one of the new products SanDisk is pitching in Las Vegas. We’ve seen it before, but it now comes in a 200GB capacity that retails for $US119.99 from Amazon, Best Buy and from SanDisk.The flash drive lets you transfer files wirelessly from a smartphone or tablet, including both iOS and Android devices, and works with Macs and Windows PCs as well. The SanDisk Connect app handles the transfers using password-protected connectivity and it even supports Live Photos taken on the new iPhone 6s models.

While the wireless stick is something iOS users looking for more storage should check out, Android fans might be more interested in a different kind of SanDisk flash drive, one that connects physically to their smartphones or tablets.That’s the case with the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive 3.0. The product isn’t new, but it’s now available in a 128GB version that retails for $US59.99 on Amazon, Best Buy and SanDisk. Previously, the drive was available which only up to 64GB of storage.

Adware, beware! Microsoft plans to retaliate against software that doesn't behave

The ban targets adware that uses man-in-the-middle (MITM) techniques or changes DNS settings to place ads in users' browsers. The move from Microsoft, which will be in effect from March, comes several months after Lenovo's controversy surrounding the Superfish adware.These methods are used by software writers to intercept users' browsers to inject advertisements. Though they're usually not intended to harm a PC or overtly snoop on its user, they can easily hi-jacked by a malicious actor to snoop on communications or place their own malware.

"Our intent is to keep the user in control of their browsing experience, and these methods reduce that control," said Microsoft in its announcement on Monday.From March 31, any programs that place advertisements in a browser must be a plug-in that can be easily removed by the user. "[Programs] that create advertisements in browsers must only use the browsers' supported extensibility model for installation, execution, disabling, and removal," it said.

Related: Microsoft rolls out surprise Christmas ad showing Apple some love

For example, the Superfish adware could be removed by someone with a Lenovo laptop, but the potential vulnerability would remain behind. Lenovo released a removal tool to address this more efficiently soon afterwards.

"We encourage developers in the ecosystem to comply with the new criteria," said Microsoft's Barak Shein and Michael Johnson. Developers have been given "ample" warning they added in order to get their programs in line with the new rules. If not, Microsoft will detect and remove the programs.Since the Superfish problems, Dell has experienced its own issues with pre-installed software that potentially put users at risk. In the wake of these controversies, PC makers have found themselves under increasing pressure to ensure the security of their pre-loads. These new rules from Microsoft are hoped to push more developers and manufacturers in that direction.

India-China mobile phone industry to hold talks

NEW DELHI: Mobile phone industry players of India and China will deliberate on cooperation opportunities to enhance handset manufacturing eco-system in the country.

"Chinese companies are keen to participate in the 'Make in India' campaign and establish mobile handset & component manufacturing facilities here," Mobile World (Shoujibao) Shenzhen Founder & CEO Wu said in a statement.

The deliberations between India and Chinese firms will take place at first 'China-India Mobile phone and Component Manufacturing Summit' on January 13.

It is being organized by Indian mobile phone industry body Indian Cellular Association (ICA) in association with Mobile World (Shoujibao)-- China's leading mobile industry service platform and technology media.

"This 1st ever China-India Mobile phone and Component Manufacturing Summit is the fructification of the high level visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China during May, 2015," ICA National President Pankaj Mohindroo said.

India has set up a Fast Track Task Force (FTTF) at DeitY under Mohindroo to fulfill the objective to achieve production target for 500 million mobile phones by 2019 and generate employment for 15 lakhs people by 2019.

Touch-free car controls split world's drivers

Germans love the latest wave of touch-free car controls, which respond to the flick of a wrist or the swipe of a hand, as it means no messy fingerprints on their spotless dashboards. Italians, known for an extravagant hand gesture or two, are not so sure.A simplistic stereotype, but it captures the split among the world's drivers over the newest in-car tech on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

Germany's BMW demonstrated a 7 Series car that recognizes five simple gestures, from a finger twirl to the right to raise the music volume and a hand swipe to decline an incoming call.Japan's Pioneer had a minty scent shoot out of a dashboard to revive a driver after a car seat sensor detected a falling heart rate, a possible prelude to nodding off."It's certainly weird, certainly odd and certainly unproven. But Pioneer is not off base to connect one sensory organ to others," said Mark Boyadjis, an analyst at consulting firm IHS Automotive.

Given that drivers have enough to do keeping their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, touch-free controls for some non-essential functions makes sense. But it is not clear all drivers want gesture, eye-tracking or even lip-reading technology."The jury is out" on how widespread it will become, said Jeffrey Owens, chief technology officer for Delphi Automotive, which made BMW's gesture software.

NATIONAL DIFFERENCES

The Japanese, some of the keenest consumers of novelty technology, are likely fans of Pioneer's 'bio-sensing system' that squirts out fragrance, said the company's marketing head Russ Johnston.Enthusiastic visitors to Pioneer's booth at CES suggested cappuccino and peppermint as good wake-up smells, he said.The Japanese were the first to embrace back-up, or reversing, assistance because they did not want to bang their cars, said Guillaume Devauchelle, head of innovation at French auto parts supplier Valeo, who identified cultural preferences as a huge factor in adoption.

"There's no universal solution," said Devauchelle, whose company hired an ethnologist to make sense of different cultures with different tastes. He pointed out Germans' dislike of touchscreens, the risks of gesture control with expressive Italians, and the eager uptake of any kind of new tech by the Chinese.Regardless of national tastes, the market for gesture recognition technology in vehicles - and the cheaper, more prevalent proximity sensing, in which the approach of a hand will trigger a touchable menu screen - is growing rapidly.

IHS Automotive predicts a seven-fold jump in unit sales of such technology to 30.4 million in 2021 from 3.7 million today. But full consumer buy-in is an open question, and cost may keep such features a limited, luxury option.

SAFETY QUESTIONS

Safety experts have cautiously welcomed dashboard simplification, but note gesture control and other such features may actually add to confusion.

"If a driver doesn't know how to use it, will that increase the distraction?" asked Henry Jasny, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in Washington. "There's no proof that it will improve safety."

Automakers are free by law to test an array of options in their cars. The industry has voluntary guidelines that say drivers should complete tasks in a series of single glances taking no more than 2 seconds each, for a total of 20 seconds.

Systems are never foolproof, noted IHS' Boyadjis, who said he once triggered a blaring radio with an innocuous gesture.

Car makers and industry watchers are divided on whether touch-free controls will catch on, or even be overtaken by self-driving cars.

The human-machine interface "will be the differentiator for car makers" after safety systems, said Rainer Holve, head of connected car automotive software for Elektrobit, a subsidiary of German auto supplier Continental AG .

But Boyadjis at IHS is wary of "differentiation for the sake of differentiation."

"BMW has the capacity to throw this arguably unnecessary but innovative product into the 7 Series, not too concerned with the cost... and wait to see if the seed grows," he said. "The rest of the industry is watching."