Apple makes it insanely simple for iPhone owners to become organ donors

As part of Apple’s ongoing mission to be a "force for good” in the world, the company is encouraging iPhone users to register as organ donors, courtesy of an upcoming software update for its Health app.

The update will give users an easy sign-up button, which Tim Cook says he hopes will help ease the longstanding shortage of donor shortage. Cook says that the problem became apparent to him when Steve Jobs had to endure an “excruciating” wait for a liver transplant back in 2009. During that time, Cook even offered to donate his own liver to his boss, only for Jobs to turn it down.

The software update to allow Apple users to easily enroll in a national donor registry will arrive with iOS 10 when it arrives this fall.

Read Luke Dormehl's article at http://www.cultofmac.com/436589/apple-makes-it-insanely-simple-for-iphone-owners-to-become-organ-donors/.

BEWARE: ATM skimmer caught in the wild by a real security engineer

Whoda thunk it? Tourist/cybersecurity expert Benjamin Tedesco was hanging out in Vienna when he walked up to an ATM. Because he trusts no one he decided to give the reader a little tug and came away with a working skimmer designed to look exactly like the card slot on the original machine.

“It pays to be paranoid,” he said — and he’s right.

Tedesco pulled off the skimmer and took some pictures of it and will try to reverse engineer it when he heads back home (presumably with the credit card data still on it). Some Reddit users have spotted the pinhole camera that the hackers used to grab PIN codes, as well, a feature that lets full cards be stolen in seconds.

Again: Any time you use an ATM, please check it. There are triggers in place that are supposed to prevent the installation of tools like these, but sometimes they don’t work and hackers are getting craftier. Always tug, rub and pull ATMs in the wild — even if it feels weird.

Read John Biggs' article and see the video at https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/24/atm-skimmer-caught-in-the-wild-by-a-real-security-engineer/.

Facebook puts friends above publishers in “News Feed Values” and ranking change

After the conservative trends fiasco, Facebook is pushing itself to a new standard of transparency. The company is publishing a formal “News Feed Values” document that details how it decides what shows up in your feed — a common question amongst users.

Those core values are that friends and family come first, that the feed should inform and entertain, that Facebook is a platform for all ideas, that authentic communication beats spam, that you have the controls to hide or highlight what you want, and that Facebook will keep iterating to improve the experience.

Facebook is also making a feed ranking change today that literally puts its primary value that “Friends and family come first” into practice. The News Feed will now show posts from friends higher up in the feed than posts from Pages like news outlets. Pages should expect a decline in reach and referral traffic, especially if they rely on clicks directly to their posts rather than re-shares by their followers.

While the News Feed is ranked by a computer algorithm, Facebook’s Adam Mosseri explains “News Feed is a system that’s designed and built by people, those people have values, and those values are reflected in how we make decisions on a regular basis.” By publicly solidifying those values, users may gain faith that Facebook doesn’t have ulterior motives when deciding the best content to show them.

Read Josh Constine's article at https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/29/facebook-news-feed-change/.

Dear millennials: Instagram doesn't owe you anything

Opinion

It's time to stop freaking out about your Instagram feed.

Yes, Instagram has started rolling out its new algorithmic-based feed, which may make posts appear "out of order." Yes, it's a big change and yes, people are freaking out about it.

But they shouldn't. Complaining on social media about an Instagram update is about as pointless as expecting your iPhone battery to last all day.

Read Karissa Bell's opinion at http://mashable.com/2016/06/03/stop-freaking-out-about-instagram-already/#jpZWiDVH.Oqx

Instagram now has more than a half a billion users

Instagram has reached a new milestone.

The photo sharing app now counts more than 500 million monthly active users, up from 400 million in September, Instagram announced Tuesday.

Of those, more than 300 million people use the app every day, according to a statement from the company.

Read Karissa Bell's article at http://mashable.com/2016/06/21/instagram-500-million-users/#iEcSjP8y55qX

Hover Camera is a personal drone for selfie lovers

If you’re done with selfie sticks and are looking for what comes next in the narcissistic world of self-photography, look no further than Hover Camera, a new “personal” drone that gives you a different — more aerial — view of you and your life.

Hover Camera is a tiny foldable drone that hovers around you, controlled by a compatible smartphone app, snapping 4k video and photos via a 13-megapixel camera. It is seriously portable, and made of carbon fiber so durable, too. Most impressive for those with young kids or pets around, its wings are enclosed and out of reach of hands, which probably makes it one of the safest drones around.

The device has been developed by U.S.-Chinese company Zero Zero Robotics for the past two years and is intended to go on sale over the next few months. There’s no confirmed price for Hover Camera right now, but Zero Zero Robotics CEO and founder Mengqiu Wang told us that the final cost will be sub-$600. The plan is to make it available in China and the U.S. first, before later going in sale in Europe and other parts of the world.

Read Jon Russell's article and see a short video at https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/27/hover-camera-is-a-personal-drone-for-selfie-lovers/.

Seven tips on keeping your phone safe while traveling

You may not think of it this way, but the phone in your pocket is really an extension of you -- it contains everything from personal photos and videos to critical contact information.

It's also valuable data that cyber criminals can exploit. This means you need to make sure your phone is protected. While your device can be compromised anywhere, you may expose yourself to additional risks while on a trip.

"When you're traveling, you may do some things differently than you'd do at home," said Michael Kaiser, executive director for the National Cyber Security Alliance or NCSA, a nonprofit public-private partnership that promotes safe and secure use of the internet.

For instance, Kaiser said you might be tempted to use an unprotected Wi-Fi network to save on roaming charges if you're traveling abroad. And you may not consider the risks of sharing your location via apps or pictures you post on social media.

"You might not want to share with the world that you're in Hawaii for the next two weeks and no one is at your house," he said.

You are in luck, NCSA has put together tons of tips that can help you be more secure online. Here's a summary of the tips most relevant to mobile devices to help ensure you don't become a victim of cybercrime while on vacation.

1. Clean up your device
2. Turn on password or biometric protection
3. Turn off location tracking on apps and manage privacy settings
4. Backup your data
5. Beware of public Wi-Fi hotspots
6. Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you're not using it
7. Turn on "find my phone" and remote wiping

Read Maggie Reardon's complete article at http://www.cnet.com/news/seven-tips-on-keeping-your-phone-safe-while-traveling/.