{"id":28303,"date":"2024-04-24T09:02:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T13:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/?p=28303"},"modified":"2024-04-24T09:02:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T13:02:03","slug":"wednesday-newsbytes-scammers-use-ai-voice-cloning-to-steal-30k-from-couple-the-end-of-the-web-as-we-know-it-is-the-clock-ticking-on-tiktok-windows-11-gets-ads-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wednesday-newsbytes-scammers-use-ai-voice-cloning-to-steal-30k-from-couple-the-end-of-the-web-as-we-know-it-is-the-clock-ticking-on-tiktok-windows-11-gets-ads-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Wednesday Newsbytes:\u00a0 Scammers Use AI Voice Cloning to Steal 30K from Couple; The End of The Web as We Know It; Is the Clock Ticking on TikTok?; Windows 11 Gets Ads&#8230; and more"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Wednesday Newsbytes:\u00a0 Scammers Use AI Voice Cloning to Steal 30K from Couple<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">; The End of The Web as We Know It; Is the Clock Ticking on TikTok?; Windows 11 Gets Ads<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">&#8230; and more<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Every day we scan the tech world for interesting news in the world of technology and sometimes from outside the world of technology. Every Wednesday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week&#8217;s\u00a0 &#8216;Wednesday Newsbytes&#8217; informative and interesting!<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/abc11.com\/couple-scammed-scammers-pretending-to-be-their-child-in-horrific-crash-warwick-township\/14641171\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Pennsylvania couple loses over $30,000 to scammers pretending to be their child<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Ultimately, the couple turned over roughly $34,000 to the scammers via so-called couriers who came right to their home<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Police in Bucks County are investigating after a couple was robbed of over $30,000 by scammers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">It happened Saturday at a home in the Hidden Ponds neighborhood of Warwick Township, Pennsylvania.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The husband and wife spoke with ABC Philadelphia affiliate WPVI, describing what happened, but asked not to be identified.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">They say their goal is to potentially save someone else from becoming a victim.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">&#8220;We never thought this could happen to us. We know better, we know better, we know better,&#8221; the woman said. &#8220;If we can save anyone from going through this, that&#8217;s why we decided to do this.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The incident began with a frantic phone call from a sobbing woman claiming to be the couple&#8217;s daughter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Officials say scammers are getting more sophisticated and manipulative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">&#8220;We&#8217;re parents, we know our child, we know the sound of her voice, we know her voice patterns, and we know her cry, and I swear to you that sobbing sounded just like my child,&#8221; the woman said&#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/abc11.com\/couple-scammed-scammers-pretending-to-be-their-child-in-horrific-crash-warwick-township\/14641171\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Read ABC11.com<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/technology\/archive\/2024\/04\/generative-ai-search-llmo\/678154\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">It\u2019s the End of the Web as We Know It<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">A great public resource is at risk of being destroyed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The web has become so interwoven with everyday life that it is easy to forget what an extraordinary accomplishment and treasure it is. In just a few decades, much of human knowledge has been collectively written up and made available to anyone with an internet connection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">But all of this is coming to an end. The advent of AI threatens to destroy the complex online ecosystem that allows writers, artists, and other creators to reach human audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">To understand why, you must understand publishing. Its core task is to connect writers to an audience. Publishers work as gatekeepers, filtering candidates and then amplifying the chosen ones. Hoping to be selected, writers shape their work in various ways. This article might be written very differently in an academic publication, for example, and publishing it here entailed pitching an editor, revising multiple drafts for style and focus, and so on&#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/technology\/archive\/2024\/04\/generative-ai-search-llmo\/678154\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Read more at The Atlantic.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/house-votes-in-favor-of-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-sending-it-onward-to-senate-185140206.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt;\">House votes in favor of bill that could ban TikTok, sending it onward to Senate<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">A revised version of the bill was sent to the House bundled into a foreign aid package.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Saturday that could either see TikTok banned in the country or force its sale. A revised version of the bill, which previously passed the House in March but later stalled in Senate, was roped in with a foreign aid package this time around, likely meaning it will now be treated as a higher priority item. The bill originally gave TikTok\u2019s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, six months to sell the app if it\u2019s passed into law or TikTok would be banned from US app stores. Under the revised version, ByteDance would have up to a year to divest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">The bill passed with a vote of 360-58 in the House, according to AP. It\u2019ll now move on to the Senate, which could vote on it in just a matter of days&#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/house-votes-in-favor-of-bill-that-could-ban-tiktok-sending-it-onward-to-senate-185140206.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;\"><b><u>Read more at Engadget.<\/u><\/b><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2024\/4\/24\/24138949\/microsoft-windows-11-start-menu-ads-recommendations-setting-disable\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 24pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong>Windows 11 Start menu ads are now rolling out to everyone<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Thankfully you can disable these app \u2018recommendations\u2019 very easily.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Microsoft is starting to enable ads inside the Start menu on Windows 11 for all users. After testing these briefly with Windows Insiders earlier this month, Microsoft has started to distribute update KB5036980 to Windows 11 users this week, which includes \u201crecommendations\u201d for apps from the Microsoft Store in the Start menu.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">\u201cThe Recommended section of the Start menu will show some Microsoft Store apps,\u201d says Microsoft in the update notes of its latest public Windows 11 release. \u201cThese apps come from a small set of curated developers.\u201d The ads are designed to help Windows 11 users discover more apps, but will largely benefit the developers that Microsoft is trying to tempt into building more Windows apps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Microsoft only started testing these ads two weeks ago, so it\u2019s surprising to see this \u201cfeature\u201d progress from the Beta Channel to release in such a short period of time&#8230;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2024\/4\/24\/24138949\/microsoft-windows-11-start-menu-ads-recommendations-setting-disable\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Read more at The Verge<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.xda-developers.com\/6-windows-features-going-away-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt;\">6 Windows features that are going away in 2024<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Windows is always getting new features, but it&#8217;s also losing them. Here are some that are going away in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">Microsoft is constantly updating Windows 11, adding all sorts of new features, like Copilot and other AI tools. However, for every feature that&#8217;s added, there are also many times that features get deprecated or removed altogether, often leaving users and fans upset.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\">2024 is going to be a big year for Windows, with Windows 11 version 24H2 bringing big changes, but it&#8217;s also a bit of a bloodbath for existing Windows 11 features. Here are some of the tools and capabilities going away this year. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.xda-developers.com\/6-windows-features-going-away-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Read more at XDA Developers<\/span><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; color: #3366ff;\"><strong><em>Thanks for reading this week&#8217;s Wednesday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful. Darcy &amp; TC<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/donation.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2017\/goodfight2017.png\" alt=\"Help us help you!\" width=\"573\" height=\"136\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Wednesday Newsbytes:\u00a0 Scammers Use AI Voice Cloning to Steal 30K from Couple; The End of The Web as We Know It; Is the Clock Ticking on TikTok?; Windows 11 Gets Ads&#8230; and more Every day we scan the tech world for interesting news in the world of technology and sometimes from outside the world of technology.\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wednesday-newsbytes-scammers-use-ai-voice-cloning-to-steal-30k-from-couple-the-end-of-the-web-as-we-know-it-is-the-clock-ticking-on-tiktok-windows-11-gets-ads-and-more\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4421,1,1426,1670,1680,3766,4372,4221],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28303"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28304,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28303\/revisions\/28304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}