Files by Google is getting an all-black dark theme, new audio player features - Android Central

Files by Google is getting an all-black dark theme, new audio player features - Android Central
US Attorney General Barr demands law enforcement “backdoor” access to encrypted data and communications - World Socialist Web Site
Microsoft can breathe again as Windows 10 sees significant uptake in users - The INQUIRER
England vs Australia Ashes live stream: how to watch for free online, mobile, 4K - What Hi-Fi?

Posted: 29 Jul 2019 10:11 AM PDT

Google introduced the Files Go app in December 2017, allowing owners of low-end Android Go devices to transfer files between devices easily and also free up space. Last year, Google decided to rename the app to 'Files by Google' after it became quite popular even outside its target demographic. On August 1, Google announced in a new blog post that the lightweight app is now used by over 100 million people around the world every month.

To make the app even better, Google is adding two new features to it. The first one is an all-black dark theme option, which will help not just to minimize eye strain but also improve battery life if your phone has an AMOLED screen. On phones with LCD displays, however, the dark theme will not have any impact on battery life.

The other new feature is the addition of new controls to the audio player. When you listen to music or watch videos offline using the Files app, you will now be able to skip, rewind, or fast-forward using the new media controls. Both the new features are expected to be rolled out to everyone within the next few days.

Google also revealed that the Files app has helped users delete more than 300 duplicate files and 150 memes from forwarded messages every second. Files by Google is able to find and suggest files for removal thanks to the company's mobile vision technology.

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

US Attorney General Barr demands law enforcement “backdoor” access to encrypted data and communications - World Socialist Web Site

Posted: 25 Jul 2019 10:53 PM PDT

US Attorney General Barr demands law enforcement "backdoor" access to encrypted data and communications

By Kevin Reed
26 July 2019

In a significant escalation of the US government's assault on democratic rights, Attorney General William Barr gave a speech on Tuesday in which he asserted that tech companies "can and must" provide law enforcement agencies with backdoor access to encryption on electronic devices and software applications used widely by people all over the world.

Speaking before an audience of law enforcement officials, Barr expressed the contempt of the entire state apparatus for the public by saying the security risks of backdoor access should be accepted because "after all, we are not talking about protecting the Nation's nuclear codes."

Delivering his speech at the Eighth International Conference on Cyber Security in New York City hosted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Fordham University, Barr said the refusal of "service providers, device manufacturers and application developers" to allow police agencies access to encrypted data "poses a grave threat to public safety."

Barr referred to the current widely implemented data encryption methods as "warrant-proof" because "even with a warrant based on probable cause" police are "prevented from accessing communications in transit or data stored on cell phones or computers." He said this type of encryption is "extinguishing the ability of law enforcement to obtain evidence."

Of course, the attorney general argued that police needed access to encrypted data in order to stop "violent criminals, terrorists, drug traffickers, human traffickers, fraudsters and sexual predators" from operating "with impunity, hiding their activities under an impenetrable cloak of secrecy" by "going dark."

Encryption methods have been deployed aggressively by the giant Silicon Valley tech firms like Microsoft, Google, Apple and Facebook in the years following the revelations of former intelligence officer Edward Snowden that the National Security Agency (NSA) was conducting a massive and illegal operation to collect and store the digital communications of the entire population of the world.

Through arrangements with the telecom corporations, the NSA has been tapping into the international communications trunk lines and satellites and the backbone of the internet to gather the content of data transmissions, email and telephone calls and storing them in massive secret data centers in remote locations in the US. The subsequent proliferation of strong encryption techniques has put a significant dent in this surveillance operation.

Given this reality, it is entirely reasonable for the public to demand that their computers and smartphones be equipped with encryption that prevents the national security state from violating their basic democratic rights. And clearly, Barr's "crime fighting" arguments in favor of cracking encryption are entirely hypocritical since the number one organization operating internationally "with impunity, hiding their activities under an impenetrable cloak of secrecy" is the US government itself.

Data encryption on most consumer electronic devices like smartphones and computers has two forms. The first involves the transmission of electronic or voice and video communications between devices. The most common method used is called End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) where only the users of the information on the sending and receiving ends can read, hear or watch the communications.

The E2EE system prevents electronic surveillance—by the government and telecom and internet companies—from being able to intercept and decipher the communications. With the use of public and private cryptographic keys, correspondents exchange communications intended only for each other. The decryption of the messages can only be accomplished with the appropriate public and private key combinations.

E2EE communications are increasingly being used by smartphone texting apps and voice and video computer communications tools where the "keys" are embedded in the software and encryption is always active. Among the most commonly used smartphone apps that employ E2EE encryption by default are WhatsApp, Signal and WickrMe.

The second kind of encryption concerns the data stored on a device. This encryption involves scrambling the data on the computer, smartphone or tablet such that an invasive action like tethering the device to another computer or removing the storage drive or memory chips cannot allow access to the data by anyone other than the user.

Most smartphones and tablets feature data encryption by default once a PIN (personal identification number) or biometric access such as a Touch ID or Face ID has been set on the device. Some devices require a second step to initialize encryption separately from setting the PIN. The data on Apple iPhones, iPads and Android-based smartphones and tablets are encrypted by default.

Personal computers typically require an additional step to encrypt the contents of the storage drive. This is true for MacOS and Windows PCs, and also requires setting up of security passwords.

Backdoor access means that a special key can be applied to encrypted communications in transit or encrypted data-at-rest enabling a third-party or government agency to read or view the data contents. Most technology experts have responded to the idea of backdoor access by the police as "a terrible idea." Tech experts have consistently argued that backdoors will put millions of people at risk because the special keys created for law enforcement will inevitably be stolen or hacked from the authorities entrusted to protect them.

Barr's speech follows by one month a meeting of senior Trump administration officials—the National Security Council Deputies Committee—which was devoted to the topic of encryption. At that time, a leaked media report revealed that the discussion revolved around whether or not to push for Congressional legislation to make E2EE and device encryption without backdoor access illegal.

Indicating that the Trump administration is now planning to force the issue into the courts, Attorney General Barr went into a lengthy legal argument to justifying the demand for backdoor access. In discussing the Fourth Amendment—which explicitly upholds the right of individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government—Barr said, "our societal response to advances in technology that affect the balance between individual privacy and public safety has been—and always should be—a two-way street."

He then went on to say, "given the frequency with which these situations are now arising, it is only a matter of time before a sensational case crystalizes the issue for the public." In other words, the US Justice Department is in the hunt for a test case in US courts that will bring a ruling that achieves their objective.

Barr also went into the international imperialist collaboration underway with the GCHQ in Britain in devising invasive technical approaches to backdoor access. Something called "Virtual Alligator Clips" has been developed that would allow a technology provider to "respond to a warrant by adding a silent law enforcement recipient to an otherwise secure chat." Another solution called "Layered Cryptographic Envelopes" would "allow lawful access to encrypted data-at-rest on disks or other storage devices."

Barr acknowledged that there were "putative shortcomings" to these ideas and urged further "refinements and alternative proposals" and offered that "through this dialectic we can identify workable solutions." In other words, despite his high-sounding language, the DOJ has no solid technical proposals and is, instead, attempting to strong-arm the tech industry into providing its own solution.

The conflict between federal law enforcement and the tech companies over encryption has been going on for several years. When the FBI—then under the direction of James Comey—demanded in December 2015 that Apple provide backdoor access to the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists, the company refused. The FBI and DOJ then threatened the unprecedented use of the All Writs Act of 1789 to force Apple to help crack open the phone contents.

On February 16, 2016, Apple published a letter to customers where it explained its stance: "The implications of the government's demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone's device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone's microphone or camera without your knowledge."

Of course, no one should accept the claims of the DOJ that the purpose of the drive to break encrypted data is about fighting crime. As was shown by the June 26 meeting at the White House, the entire military-intelligence state apparatus is working on this issue as a matter of national security.

The speech by William Barr should be understood by workers internationally—particularly those in the tech industry—as a threat and significant escalation of the assault on basic democratic by the US government. Within the context of the drive by the Trump administration toward authoritarian forms of rule and Trump's fascistic denunciations of socialism—with the support of the Democratic Party—the working class must be aware of the preparations for a police state that are contained in the demand that the tech industry allow backdoor access to encryption.

Up to this point, the position of Apple has been shared consistently by the majority of the tech industry, except for those with close ties to the state. The giant consumer technology companies—mainly for business reasons and concerns about potential loss of global market share—have not yet compromised on the principle that one single backdoor key to encryption will break the entire system. However, if the DOJ is successful in getting a court ruling that makes strong encryption on consumer electronics devices illegal, it is entirely likely that—especially if such a ruling includes the imposition of significant financial penalties for non-compliance—that the tech companies will reverse their position.

Microsoft can breathe again as Windows 10 sees significant uptake in users - The INQUIRER

Posted: 01 Aug 2019 06:36 AM PDT

Future generations won't understand this slide

WITH LESS THAN six months until Windows 7 officially becomes an ex-operating-system, there's encouraging news for Microsoft from this months market share figures from Netmarketshare.

After a fairly stagnant few months, Windows 10 has seen a significant uptake in users, tantalisingly close to having half the market at 48.86 (3.07).

Perhaps more importantly for Microsoft, Windows 7, which started the year with over 40 per cent market share, has taken a big tumble to 31.83 (-3.55). The company will be hoping that the drop is coming from corporate customers finally getting the message that it's time to update.

Netmarketshare calculates these statistics based on all machines that connect to the internet during a given period.

Other versions of Windows have seen a less severe change. Windows 8.x has actually bounced slightly at 5.92 (0.72) with the vast majority on Windows 8.1. The original Windows 8 is now End of Life and has just 0.63 per cent of the desktop market.

Windows XP continues to be Microsoft's unflushable turd, with 1.68 (-0.13). If you're new to all this, Vista's market share fell out of the top 10 some time ago.

Apple desktops have seen a slight drop this month. The four most recent versions of macOS add up to 8.39 per cent (-0.02), with the vast majority on macOS 10.14 with 5.38 (0.07). As ever though, we remind you that with margins this tiny, we could well see it bounce back next month.

Linux stands alone, with a slight rise to 1.66 per cent (0.11).

Our calculations analyse the top ten operating systems, based on laptop/desktop use. If we remove that filter and look at all devices, including games consoles, maker boards and mobile devices, we see a very different story. The top five by version are Windows 10 (21.12), Windows 7 (13.76) iOS 12.3 (12.58) and Android 8.1 (8.18).

Accounting for fragmentation, Android is still the top dog operating system, but with a narrowing gap (39.11) followed by Windows (38.24), iOS (17.36), Mac OS (3.88), Linux (0.93) and sneaking up at the rear, Chrome OS has 0.17 per cent market share.

This month's figures also show a reassuring rise in security, with 85.37 per cent of data received from encrypted connections. μ

England vs Australia Ashes live stream: how to watch for free online, mobile, 4K - What Hi-Fi?

Posted: 01 Aug 2019 05:25 AM PDT

Forget about Ben Stokes and super overs, it's time to bring the Ashes home. So, whether you're at work, on the move or relaxing on the sofa, make sure you've got an Ashes live stream so that you can be part of the drama.

The little urn goes up for grabs from 1st August 2019 with the wicket all ready for the first over at 11am at England's favoured Edgbaston. The action moves to Lord's for the second Test from 14th-18th August and then up north to Headingley for 22nd-26th August. The fourth Test comes from across the Pennines at Old Trafford during 4th-8th September before heading back to London for the crunch match at the Oval from the 12th-16th September. May the best team win.

Fresh from his starring role during England's World Cup victory, young pace bowler Jofra Archer has been called up to the attack for squad but is set to miss out on the first Test through while recovering from injury with Chris Woakes preferred on his home ground.

The team for Edgbaston includes one-day heroes Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and England's all-time leading Test wicket taker James Anderson. And with Aussies in town, you can strap yourselves in for some serious sledging both at the wicket and with your workmates.

If you're not sure how to watch it all unfold, then read on and we'll tell you how to catch the Ashes in 4K in the UK, from abroad with a VPN, from Australia, from India, South Africa and the US too. And, if watching on screen isn't good enough, then we've even some links where you can still find Ashes tickets.

How to watch the Ashes live stream when away from your country

Booked a holiday and forgotten that the Ashes is on? You'll find that you can't access your usual live stream while you're abroad because you'll be geo-blocked. Don't worry. You can still access your home sports TV package by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and without any shady websites or dodgy streams.

VPNs create a private connection between your device and the internet so that it's not possible for the servers you're accessing to tell where you're accessing them from. All the information passing back and forth stays entirely encrypted.

They're as useful for banking or anything you wish to keep private as much as they are for video streams. So, whether you want to watch the Ashes, enjoy another country's Netflix library or just keep your browsing data private, then a VPN is well worth considering.

There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we'd suggest a paid-for service and would recommend the following:

- ExpressVPN

Which has a 30-day money back guarantee and brings VPN access to smart devices including the Amazon Fire TV Stick, laptops, TVs and both Android and iOS mobiles and tablets. Sign up for an annual plan now and you'll also get 3 months completely free!

- NordVPN

Which comes in at as little as £2.29 per month and features 24/7 assistance

Once you've chosen and installed your VPN of choice, open the VPN app, select the country of origin of the Ashes live stream you'd like to access, then head back to your chosen streaming service, sit back and enjoy one of sport's oldest grudge matches.

Ashes live stream in the UK in 4K

It's Sky that has the rights to air the Ashes in the UK and, while the satellite broadcaster has been unhurried in adding to its UHD content, the excellent news is that Sky is showing the Ashes in 4K live on Sky Sports Cricket, channel 404.

To enjoy the 4K action, you'll need a subscription to Sky Sports and a 2TB Sky Q box. That's the only way to do it. You will not get 4K through either the Sky Go app or other Sky Sports streaming services.

If you're happy to watch the Ashes in HD, then there are other options and you don't necessarily need to sign up to a monthly subscription either. You can catch every ball of England vs Australia this summer on Sky's pay-per-view partner Now TV.

Now TV Sports day passes from £8.99

A day pass for sports on Now TV costs £8.99 but it's worth bearing in mind that Test cricket is supposed to last five days, so the £14.99 weekly pass might be more appropriate. A monthly pass is £33.99 and, such are the dates of the five Tests, that you could cover three of them with a month's subscription.View Deal

Sky Sports Cricket itself is also available in HD without the 2TB Sky Q box. Sky subscribers can enjoy the action on the Sky Go and Sky Sports streaming apps at the same resolution. Should you need to upgrade your package to receive it, then you're looking at an extra £18 per month which is not bad at all, so long as you remember to cancel it again.

Virgin Media will also be showing the Ashes in HD on channels 504 to their Sky Sports package subscribers. It's channel 514 for the SD version.

Likewise, you can watch the Ashes on BT Sports on with the Sky Sports Main event channel bolt-on. It's £36 per month for the HD version which you'll find on channel 437 or £30 per month in SD on 402.

Ashes live stream in Australia

The Australians know what's what and have made sure that the Ashes is free to air on Channel Nine. Aussie's can tune in live on their TVs or use Channel Nine's 9Now web app as well as the 9Now app on iOS and Android to enjoy the live stream over the internet.

Should an unfortunate Aussie have accidentally booked themselves a holiday, then they'll need to use a VPN to access a rightfully theirs free stream. That or head down to a pub. Maybe not such a good idea if they're in England.

Ashes live stream in India

Sony Pictures is in charge of all things cricket TV in India and South Asia with its Sony Six and SonyLiv channels. You can subscribe to Sony Six, available on all satellite and cable networks, and enjoy the 2019 Ashes as well as a host of top sport including NBA basketball, Serie A, La Liga, the Aviva Premiership and much more.

The SonyLiv video-on-demand platform will also air the Ashes as one of the many sports, entertainment and movie shows available on its iOS and Android apps. You can subscribe monthly, yearly or half-yearly to access the content and even pay for the premium version to remove the tiresome advertising.

The first ball of each day is set of 3.30pm IST.

Ashes live stream in South Africa

Those looking to watch the Ashes in South Africa will need to make sure they can receive the SuperSport 2 channel which is carried on the DStv satellite platform that also covers much of sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe among many others.

Subscribers will need to ensure they're on the DStv Premium package to access SuperSport 2 on channel 202 and enjoy the England vs Australia Test series. The action begins at a very convenient midday.

If you're not at home for the afternoon, then you can live stream SuperSport 2 on the DStv Now service which is available as a web stream as well as an app on iOS and Android.

Ashes live stream in the US

Willow TV is the only US TV channel dedicated to cricket 24/7 and, true to form, it has the sole rights to air the Ashes live on TV in the States. Coverage starts at an eyer-watering 3am PST and 6am ET but, such is the nature of cricket that you'll still be able to enjoy a few overs with your cornflakes and along with your lunch.

You can follow the action using the Willow TV app on iOS and Android devices for those at work or on the move. Willow TV is available in SD and HD as part of most sports TV packages or South Asian TV packages on most satellite and cable networks.

Ashes live stream in New Zealand

Fresh from their final, the Kiwis might just be cheering on England this time to make sure the Poms can get one over their noisy neighbours. In New Zealand it's Sky that has the exclusive rights to the Ashes.

Sky subscribers in New Zealand can tune in on TV or catch an Ashes live stream on the Sky Go app. As for those away from home, Kiwi Sky subscribers will need to use a VPN to access their stream if they're trying to watch from abroad.

Ashes tickets 2019

Almost all of the tickets for the 2019 Ashes have already been sold but there are many still available. At the time of writing there are still day seats for Edgbaston, Old Trafford and The Oval. If you're feeling flush then you can buy hospitality packages for Headingley and Lords starting at around £400 per person.

Otherwise, it's a case of keeping a watchful eye on the second-hand market for Ashes tickets and quite probably spending a little more than face value unless you're prepared to go down anyway and try you luck.

One of the safer places to pick up unwanted spares is Stubhub. At the time of writing there are tickets available for most days of all the Ashes Tests with prices starting as low as £35. Well worth a look.

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