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Silicon Valley, Technology news and Blog. Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as utensils or machines, and intangible ones such as software


Google Pledges to Resolve Ad Privacy Probe with UK Watchdog

Google has promised to give U.K. regulators a role overseeing its plan to phase out existing ad-tracking technology from its Chrome browser as part of a competition investigation into the tech giant.     The U.K. competition watchdog has been investigating Google’s …


Criminal Organizations Hire Hackers to Look for Targets

Ransomware cases are on the rise worldwide and criminal groups based in Russia are suspected of being behind some of the biggest recent attacks. Michelle Quinn reports on the changing world of ransomware.Camera: Matt DibbleProduced by: Michelle Quinn …


Insect-Tracking Drones to Boost Rare Bug Conservation in New Zealand

A “swarm” of bug-tracking drones and tiny radars are being developed to help conservation of rare insects in New Zealand.  The new tag-and-track technology is being developed at the University of Canterbury on New Zealand’s South Island. Researchers hope it could lead to a deeper understanding …


Biden Administration to Review Trump Ban on TikTok, WeChat, Other Apps 

Former president Donald Trump’s executive order that attempted to ban Chinese video app TikTok has been replaced by the Biden administration, which has implemented its own executive orders to review several Chinese apps for possible national security and privacy risks. President …


Biden Replaces Trump Ban on TikTok, WeChat, Other Apps 

Former president Donald Trump’s executive order that attempted to ban Chinese video app TikTok has been replaced by the Biden administration, which has implemented its own executive orders to review several Chinese apps for possible national security and privacy risks. President …


Senate Passes Bill to Boost US Tech Industry, Counter Rivals

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill Tuesday that aims to boost U.S. semiconductor production and the development of artificial intelligence and other technology in the face of growing international competition, most notably from China. The 68-32 vote for the bill demonstrates …


Pipeline Executive Felt Cornered by Ransomware Attack

The top executive for the biggest fuel pipeline operator in the United States told lawmakers he felt like he had no choice but to pay off hackers after a ransomware attack shut down operations along the East Coast. Testifying Tuesday before …


Internet Outage Hits Major Websites

A number of major websites could not be reached early Tuesday following an outage at the cloud services company Fastly.The affected sites included news agencies CNN, the Guardian and the New York Times, streaming platform Twitch, and the U.K. government’s …


US Snatches Back Ransom from Colonial Pipeline Hackers

U.S. law enforcement officials say they have hit back at the Russian-based criminal network that caused gas pipelines to shut down across parts of the country last month, seizing much of the multimillion-dollar ransom payment before it could be used.The …


China Blocks Several Cryptocurrency-related Social Media Accounts Amid Crackdown

A slew of crypto-related accounts in China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform were blocked over the weekend, as Beijing stepped up a crackdown on bitcoin trading and mining. More actions are expected, including linking illegal crypto activities in China more directly with the country’s criminal law, according to …


Microsoft Says ‘Tank Man’ Image Blocking Due to Human Error

Microsoft Corp. blamed “accidental human error” for its Bing search engine briefly not showing image results for the search term “tank man” on the anniversary of the bloody military crackdown in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.Users in different parts of …


Global War on Ransomware? Hurdles Hinder US Response

Foreign keyboard criminals with scant fear of repercussions have paralyzed U.S. schools and hospitals, leaked highly sensitive police files, triggered fuel shortages and, most recently, threatened global food supply chains.Escalating havoc caused by ransomware gangs raises an obvious question: Why …


Millions of Nigerian Twitter Users Blocked as Ban Takes Hold 

Millions of Nigerians struggled Saturday to access Twitter, a day after authorities suspended the service in response to the company’s deletion of a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari for violating its terms of service.The Twitter ban took effect Saturday morning. …


Nigeria Suspends Twitter Over President’s Deleted Tweet

Nigeria’s government said Friday it was suspending Twitter indefinitely in Africa’s most populous nation, a day after the company deleted a controversial tweet President Muhammadu Buhari made about a secessionist movement.It was not immediately clear when the suspension would go …


US Law Enforcement Eager to Dig Into Your Car Data

Do you know how much data your car is collecting? VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports on how law enforcement agencies in the U.S. are among those eager to dig into the automobile data gold mines. Camera: Veronica Balderas Iglesias   …