Every day, we scan the tech world for interesting news, sometimes from outside the tech world. Every Thursday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s ‘Thursday Newsbytes’ informative and interesting!<\/span><\/p>\n Windows 10 users who don\u2019t want to upgrade to Windows 11 get new lifeline from Microsoft<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Windows 10 users holding out for a Microsoft change of heart may have been granted an extra year of support, but to get it, you may have to do the unthinkable.<\/span><\/p>\n By now, I know it, you know it, and most of the Wi-Fi accessible world knows it: Windows 10 is on the chopping block, with an end-of-support date set for October 14, later this year \u2014 and some users are not happy about it.<\/span><\/p>\n Whether unwilling or unable, a large portion of Windows 10 users feel caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Microsoft’s looming deadline to upgrade to Windows 11. Not only do the increased hardware requirements for Windows 11 render a large number of functioning computers unfit for purpose, but Microsoft’s flagship operating system has something of a soured reputation, leaving even those with viable machines hesitant to adopt it.<\/span><\/p>\n For those users, time is the enemy. Time, and Microsoft. However, the latter is at least offering them a hand in compromise. One more year of additional year of support through its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program (previously costing $30 for individuals), at no monetary cost. Please note: I didn’t use the word “free” for a reason.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Read more at Laptop Mag.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Security warning for over 1.8 billion Gmail users \u2014 implement these critical security steps now<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Lock down your account right now before it’s too late<\/span><\/p>\n Gmail users should be paying attention to two security upgrades they can \u2013 and should \u2013 be making to their accounts in order to protect themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n According to The Daily Mail, Google will soon require Gmail users to activate 2-step verification (2SV) and has already begun sending out emails to alert users that haven’t done so yet to take action. Those who still need to enable the feature have been given a deadline between 15 and 30 days. After that time, they could potentially lose access to their accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s one of a few security measures the search giant is making as part of an update to curtail the flood of (very) realistic looking phishing and spam emails that have been on the rise lately. Though Google has AI filters that will remove most of these unwanted emails, requiring users to enable 2SV is another step to protect them and their accounts from the threats that do manage to get through….<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Read More at Tom’s Guide.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Tech support scammers are forcing their fake phone numbers into real webpages<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n If you need tech support, be careful<\/span><\/p>\n Fake tech support scammers are injecting fake phone numbers into legitimate websites, with major companies like Apple, PayPal and Netflix affected by an emerging type of threat that could put customers’ data at risk, experts have warned.<\/span><\/p>\n The scam is especially deceptive, because it bypasses the usual security checks that savvy Internet users can make like verifying the web address, but injecting malicious phone numbers onto the official sites.<\/span><\/p>\n Online advertising spaces are behind the attack vector, with scammers purchasing Google Ads to pose as major brands.<\/span><\/p>\n Watch out for these fake tech support hotlines<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Click on the ad might lead to the official site, but the scammers use malicious URL parameters to modify the content displayed on the site \u2013 such as displaying fake phone numbers into support sections. Because the browser shows the legitimate domain, users are less likely to be suspicious….<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Read more at TechRadar Pro.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Brave, Firefox, or Tor: you can\u2019t trust your browser to protect you from tracking<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n No browser offers complete protection from fingerprinting. While Firefox, Brave, Tor, or any other browser and tools have their strengths and weaknesses, never have the illusion that you\u2019re untraceable.<\/span><\/p>\n I was looking for a browser and settings combination that makes me private online. But no matter what I did, I was always unique in the eyes of websites.<\/span><\/p>\n Even with all the cookies disabled, ads and trackers blocked, and VPN enabled, do you ever wonder how much other data you expose to the websites you visit?<\/span><\/p>\n It rains. Don\u2019t believe me? Click the button below to see what I mean.<\/span><\/p>\n This demonstration is all local. No servers, no tracking. It\u2019s your own device, telling you what any website can see.<\/span><\/p>\n And it\u2019s just a small fraction of all the data that leaks to websites without you ever clicking \u201cAccept.\u201d I am not a developer \u2013 I vibe-coded this in 5 minutes, including a few dozen data points.<\/span><\/p>\n Every time you visit a website, your device reveals tiny clues about who you are…<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Read more at Cybernews.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n This One Cognitive Skill May Be a Better Predictor of Life Expectancy Than Health Habits<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n A new study shows that among various cognitive abilities, verbal fluency is uniquely linked to longer life in older adults.<\/span><\/p>\n Everyone ages, but some individuals defy expectations and live far longer than predicted. Research has pointed to an unexpected factor that may play a role in longevity: intelligence.<\/span><\/p>\n However, intelligence is a complex trait made up of multiple components, such as memory, reasoning, and verbal ability. In a 2024 study published in Clinical Psychological Science, Paolo Ghisletta of the University of Geneva identified one specific aspect of intelligence, verbal fluency, or the ability to access and use vocabulary, as being linked to longer life.<\/span><\/p>\n Ghisletta\u2019s findings draw on data from the Berlin Aging Study, a long-term project that began shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 (Baltes & Mayer, 1999). The study followed 516 participants, aged 70 to 105, tracking them until their deaths \u2013 sometimes over a span of up to 18 years. Researchers collected detailed information on a wide range of factors, including dental health, stress levels, financial status, and cognitive abilities. According to Ghisletta, this made it a \u201crich and rare data set.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Testing Intelligence in Older Adults<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n For the current study, researchers sampled nine different cognitive tests to understand if different aspects of intelligence might be more closely linked to longevity than others…<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Read more at SciTechDaily.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Thanks for reading this week’s Thursday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful.<\/span> <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Microsoft Tosses New Lifeline to Windows 10 Users (sort of); Security Warning for 1.8 Billion Gmail Users; Tech Support Scammers Inject Their Fake Phone Numbers Into Real Sites… and More! Every day, we scan the tech world for interesting news, sometimes from outside the tech world. Every Thursday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4440,2659,2247,4515,1678,2509,1,1426,4443,1670,4504,1674,4522,4353,3905],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30433"}],"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=30433"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30434,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30433\/revisions\/30434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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