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Dennis Snider

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$2000 for a failing phone?
The new Samsung Galaxy Fold, which was supposed to introduce ground-breaking new foldable smartphone technology, is beset with problems after claims from reviewers and early adopters that the technology is easy to break. There have been reports of dirt getting into the device’s hinge, damaging the screen display, of the device fold leaving a permanent scar across the screen, and one reviewer even found his device snapped along the fold.
Another reported problem is that the screen has a protective film which users have pulled off, thinking it was simply shipping protection. This has led to screen damage or, in some cases, total failure.
There’s no question that folding smartphones have a future; however, in the wake of these reports, many consumers may decide not to take on the perils of early adoption. The first units were shipped April 26, and it’ll be interesting to see whether the problems reviewers have had will be mirrored among the general public.
Samsung says they are investigating all failure reports thoroughly, and will also make sure that customers are made fully aware that they shouldn’t remove the device’s protective film.

Hackers get into Hotmail
Last week Microsoft warned some Outlook, Hotmail and MSN Mail users that between January 1 and March 28 of 2019 hackers may have had access their accounts and read email subject lines; however Microsoft claimed that they were not able to read email bodies or access passwords (the attack only applies to free accounts, not paid Office 365 emails).
However, the hackers claim that they were able to read the body of emails and also that they had been doing so for over six months. Microsoft then admitted that 6% of users had the body of emails hacked and said they had been warned separately; the company maintained the attack only spanned a period of three months.
Both parties agree that the vulnerability was caused by compromised support agent credentials, which allowed the hackers a high level of access and must have belonged to a senior operative. This account has now been quarantined. It is believed that the prime motivation of the hackers was to access iPhone reset emails, allowing them to reset stolen iPhones to factory settings, thereby increasing their resale value.