Tag: account
Google might delete your Gmail account if you haven’t logged in for two years
Do you have any old Google accounts you haven’t used in a while? You might want to log in and take a look around once every 24 months or so, as Google has announced an update to its policies for inactive accounts. The old policy, laid out in 2020 at the same time it ended free unlimited storage for Google Photos, said that Google might wipe data stored in accounts that haven’t been touched for at least two years, but a blog post written by product manager Ruth Kricheli says that, now, those accounts could be deleted entirely.
The new policy won’t kick in until December of this year at the earliest, so you have some time to remember old login information or for us to get more details on how all of this will work. 9to5Google reports that…
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Your Old Google Account Could Be Deleted Soon
Ever created a throwaway Google account and never used it again? Did you leave the Google ecosystem to find greener pastures elsewhere? If you stopped using a Google account for whatever reason, you should know that Google is now planning to delete it sooner than later.
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How to Use Your WhatsApp Account Across Multiple Phones
Happily, that’s now changed, and WhatsApp has introduced the ability to use the same account on multiple phones. So now you can link another phone as one of up to four additional devices, the same as when you link with WhatsApp on web browsers, tablets, and desktops.
Whether it’s an iPhone or an Android phone you choose to add, each linked phone connects to WhatsApp independently, ensuring that your personal messages, media, and calls are end-to-end encrypted. Just be aware that if your primary phone is inactive for a long period of time, you will be automatically logged out of all your companion devices.
Follow the steps below to set up your additional phone with your WhatsApp account, after which you’ll be able to switch between phones without signing out and pick up your chats where you left off.
- Download and launch WhatsApp on the additional phone you want to use.
- Instead of entering the phone number associated with your WhatsApp account, tap the Link to existing account option to generate a QR code.
- On your primary phone, open WhatsApp and go to Settings -> Linked Devices.
- Tap the Link a device option and scan the QR code using your phone’s camera.
It’s as simple as that. Once the QR code is scanned and the sync is complete, you’ll be able to see all the conversations that you’ve had on your original phone. You’ll also have the ability to send and receive text and voice-based messages, get involved in group chats, and have access to all of the other things that you’re used to doing on your primary phone, just now on your companion phone as well.
This article, “How to Use Your WhatsApp Account Across Multiple Phones” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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A Trigun fan account just turned a queer 2019 sci-fi novel into an Amazon bestseller
All hail Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood, first of their name
’10 MacBooks’ Twitter hacker returns, steals LeVar Burton’s account
The 10 MacBooks hacker has returned to Twitter after some downtime to accomplish one of their biggest gets yet: The official Twitter account of actor LeVar Burton of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Reading Rainbow fame.
For months, Twitter has been plagued by a now-notorious hacker that has been stealing legacy verified accounts belonging to celebrities. And LeVar Burton’s account, with its more than 2.1 million followers, is the latest victim.
Following the hackers usual pattern, Burton’s account has already been locked, so only the account’s followers can see its tweets. The hacker has already posted one of their now-infamous “10 MacBooks” scam tweets, offering too-good-to-be-true pricing for brand new MacBook Pros.
Credit: Mashable screenshot
“Hello twitter family !” reads a tweet posted to Burton’s account from the hacker. “I have a special promotion going on ! I have 10 MacBook Pro’s on sale for $600 each ! On top of that I will be signing every MacBook that is sold , also free shipping is included ! All proceeds will be going to charity ! MY DMS ARE OPENED.”
While the hacker’s scheme is nearly identical to previous hacks, there is one significant new strategy being deployed. The scam tweets are usually accompanied by a generic photo of a MacBook box, but in the tweet posted to Burton’s account, there is a new element: A smartphone propped up next to the laptop box with Burton’s logged-in account opened on the display.
It appears the hacker is trying to use that as proof that the offer is actually authentic, much like how eBay sellers will include their handwritten username on a piece of paper next to the product they are selling in the photo. Reminder: It is a scam.
Burton’s daughter, Mica, confirmed earlier on Twitter that her father’s account had been hacked. Mica Burton also confirmed that the hacker accessed LaVar’s account through a phishing email that likely convinced the actor to login to a malicious website disguised as Twitter.
When Mashable previously reported on the hacker, they had blocked the reporter of the piece from viewing their latest stolen account, which also made it impossible to reply and warn the account’s followers. The same thing appears to have happened here as Mica Burton was blocked by her father’s own account shortly after her tweets announcing the hack.
“Damn either my dads twitter account is still hacked or thanksgiving this year is going to be awkward,” she tweeted with a screenshot of the message from Twitter letting her know she’s blocked.
Unfortunately, the scam does appear to be working out for the hacker. For one, they have continually repeated these same methods, down to the scam tweets, for at least a half a year now. They very likely would have moved on to a new scheme if this one wasn’t turning a profit. Also, in Mashable’s previous reporting on this hacker, we’ve spoken to victims who fell for the scam and had lost thousands of dollars paying for non-existent MacBooks that never arrived.
Twitter has proven to be fairly slow in dealing with these matters. In previous cases, some hacked users had scam tweets being sent out from their accounts for weeks. In some cases, it took months for Twitter to return the account to its rightful owner.
Burton is not the first Star Trek: The Next Generation actor to fall victim to the “10 MacBooks” hacker either. Jonathan Frakes’ Twitter account was hacked and subsequently tweeted the MacBooks scam out in December.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie actress Anya Taylor Joy, rapper Action Bronson, 90s rock sensation Smash Mouth, and comedian Patton Oswalt make up just a small portion of the high-profile Twitter users who have had their accounts hacked by this anonymous bad actor.
However, over the past few weeks, there has been a lull in the hacker’s activity. Perhaps the hacker has been quietly targeting smaller accounts that have been less noticeable. Or perhaps the hacker was affected by Elon Musk’s removal of the blue checkmarks from legacy verified users. As Mashable has previously reported, the hacker would target big accounts by directing them to a malicious phishing website under the guise of going through a process to keep their verification badge.
But evidently the scammer has found a new way to trick some of Twitter’s most followed users into handing over their login credentials.
You’re Nearly Out of Time to Save Your Old Minecraft Account
Minecraft used to have special Minecraft.net and Mojang accounts for purchases and online play, but starting in 2020, Mojang migrated them to Microsoft accounts. In a few months, the migration period is ending, and all remaining old accounts will be gone forever.
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Tim Cook Touts ‘Incredible’ Response to Apple Card Savings Account on iPhone
Speaking on Apple’s quarterly earnings call, Cook said both the savings account and the new Apple Pay Later financing feature help customers to live a “healthier financial life,” adding that he is “very excited about the first days of both of them.”
Apple Card users can now open a high-yield savings account from Goldman Sachs and start earning interest on their Daily Cash cashback balance and other deposited money, with no fees or minimum balance requirement. The account currently offers a 4.15% APY, a rate Apple said was “more than 10 times the national average” as of late March. The account can be set up and completely managed in the Wallet app on the iPhone.
Forbes this week reported that around 240,000 Apple Card savings accounts were opened in the first week, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points on Wednesday, but the Apple Card savings account’s APY remains unchanged for now. It’s unclear if or when Goldman Sachs will increase the account’s APY in response to the rate hike, as many other banks offering high-yield savings accounts commonly do.
Apple’s credit card and the savings account are available in the U.S. only.
This article, “Tim Cook Touts ‘Incredible’ Response to Apple Card Savings Account on iPhone” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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