With Apple's Homepod finally on the market, the trifecta of voice assistants from Amazon, Google, and Apple is complete. However, with more devices on the market, there are higher chances hackers will find vulnerabilities and steal your information. Jason Glassberg, co-founder of Casaba Security and self-proclaimed "ethical hacker," joins Cheddar to discuss how to protect your device from hackers.
Glassberg says if a hacker can gain access to your smart speaker, he or she could order the doors to unlock, intimidate loved ones (especially children) with verbal threats via the speaker, or simply record everything you say. He suggests making sure you buy a brand new device (not a used one on the internet) so you can avoid past owners having access to your information.
Plus, which companies are more vulnerable to a hack? Glassberg says Sonos and Bose are the weakest links. Researchers have found simple internet searches turn up results on ways to hack smart devices.
Pernilla Sjöholm, star of the Tinder Swindler on Netflix and founder of IDfier, explains how she went from fraud to co-founder of her own company. Watch!
DJ X, alongside Molly Holder, Senior Director of Product Personalization, takes us inside Spotify's A.I. DJ and how it's the best new way to listen to music.
Skype users are scrambling to find an alternative after Microsoft shut down the pioneering internet phone service which let people make cheap long distance calls and chat with other users. Google Voice lets users make calls from a smartphone or a desktop web browser but it's only available to people in the U.S. Viber users can call phone numbers but can't get a number to receive calls. Zoom offers phone options too. You could get a number from a low cost virtual carrier or try other internet phone services. Microsoft says some Skype features will migrate to Teams, but its Teams Phone feature is only for businesses.
Amid a backdrop of ongoing tariff uncertainty, more and more gamers are facing price hikes. Microsoft raised recommended retailer pricing for its Xbox consoles and controllers around the world this week. Its Xbox Series S, for example, now starts at $379.99 in the U.S. — up $80 from the $299.99 price tag that debuted in 2020. And its more powerful Xbox Series X will be $599.99 going forward, a $100 jump from its previous $499.99 listing. The tech giant didn’t mention tariffs specifically, but cited wider “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” Beyond the U.S., Microsoft also laid out Xbox price adjustments for Europe, the U.K. and Australia. The company said all other countries would also receive updates locally.
