John Deere To Pay $99 Million In Monumental Right-To-Repair Settlement
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Drive: Farmers have been fighting John Deere for years over the right to repair their equipment, and this week, they finally reached a landmark settlement. While the agricultural manufacturing giant pointed out in a statement that this is no admission of wrongdoing, it agreed to pay $99 milli … ⌘ Read more
[$] LWN.net Weekly Edition for April 9, 2026
Inside this week’s LWN.net Weekly Edition:
Front: TPM attacks; arithmetic overflow protection; Ubuntu GRUB changes; kernel IPC proposals; fre:ac; Scuttlebutt.
Briefs: Nix vulnerability; OpenSSH 10.3; Sashiko reviews; FreeBSD testing; Gentoo GNU/Hurd; SFC on router ban; Quotes; …
Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more. ⌘ Read more
Iran Demands Bitcoin For Ships Passing Hormuz During Ceasefire
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Financial Times: Iran will demand that shipping companies pay tolls in cryptocurrency for laden oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz (source paywalled; alternative source), as it seeks to retain control over passage through the key waterway during the two-week ceasefire. Hamid Hosseini, a spokespers … ⌘ Read more
Apple and Lenovo Have the Least Repairable Laptops, Analysis Finds
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Apple earned the lowest grades in a report on laptop and smartphone repairability released today by the consumer advocacy group Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund. The report, which looks at how easy devices are to disassemble and how easy it is to find repairability … ⌘ Read more
CIA Reportedly Used Secret Quantum Tool To Find Downed Airman in Iran
alternative_right quotes a report from the New York Post: The CIA used a futuristic new tool called “Ghost Murmur” to find and rescue the second American airman who was shot down in southern Iran, The Post has learned. The secret technology uses long-range quantum magnetometry to find the electromagnetic fingerprint of a human heartbea … ⌘ Read more
Russian Government Hackers Broke Into Thousands of Home Routers To Steal Passwords
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: A group of Russian government hackers have hijacked thousands of home and small business routers around the world as part of an ongoing campaign aimed at redirecting victim’s internet traffic to steal their passwords and access tokens, security researchers and … ⌘ Read more
Supreme Court Wipes Piracy Liability Verdict Against Grande Communications
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Following on the heels of the landmark Cox v. Sony ruling, the Supreme Court has vacated the contributory copyright infringement verdict against ISP Grande Communications, ordering the Fifth Circuit to reconsider its decision in light of the new precedent. […] The order … ⌘ Read more
New Revelations Reignite Crypto Scandal Involving Argentina’s President Milei
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: President Javier Milei of Argentina promoted a cryptocurrency last year that quickly skyrocketed in value then cratered just as fast, costing investors millions of dollars and setting off a scandal and an investigation. Mr. Milei said he was simply highlighting a … ⌘ Read more
New Jersey Cannot Regulate Kalshi’s Prediction Market, US Appeals Court Rules
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that New Jersey gaming regulators cannot prevent Kalshi from allowing people in the state to use its prediction market to place financial bets on the outcome of sporting events.
A three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Ci … ⌘ Read more
Germany Doxes ‘UNKN,’ Head of RU Ransomware Gangs REvil, GandCrab
An anonymous reader quotes a report from KrebsOnSecurity: An elusive hacker who went by the handle “UNKN” and ran the early Russian ransomware groups GandCrab and REvil now has a name and a face. Authorities in Germany say 31-year-old Russian Daniil Maksimovich Shchukin headed both cybercrime gangs and helped carry out at least 130 acts of computer … ⌘ Read more
Copilot Is ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only,’ According To Microsoft’s ToS
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: AI skeptics aren’t the only ones warning users not to unthinkingly trust models’ outputs – that’s what the AI companies say themselves in their terms of service. Take Microsoft, which is currently focused on getting corporate customers to pay for Copilot. But it’s also been getting d … ⌘ Read more
‘Cognitive Surrender’ Leads AI Users To Abandon Logical Thinking, Research Finds
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: When it comes to large language model-powered tools, there are generally two broad categories of users. On one side are those who treat AI as a powerful but sometimes faulty service that needs careful human oversight and review to detect reasoning or factual fl … ⌘ Read more
Tech Companies Are Trying To Neuter Colorado’s Landmark Right-to-Repair Law
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Today at a hearing of the Colorado Senate Business, Labor, and Technology committee, lawmakers voted unanimously to move Colorado state bill SB26-090 – titled Exempt Critical Infrastructure from Right to Repair – out of committee and into the state senate and house for a vote. … ⌘ Read more
Perplexity’s ‘Incognito Mode’ Is a ‘Sham,’ Lawsuit Says
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Perplexity’s AI search engine encourages users to go deeper with their prompts by engaging in chat sessions that a lawsuit has alleged are often shared in their entirety with Google and Meta without users’ knowledge or consent. “This happened to every user regardless of whether or not they signed up for a Perplexity … ⌘ Read more
EPA Flags Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals As Contaminants In Drinking Water
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: Responding to public health concerns about microplastics and pharmaceuticals in the nation’s drinking water, the Trump administration for the first time has placed them on a draft list of contaminants maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA announced the move Thurs … ⌘ Read more
Amazon Imposes 3.5% Fuel Surcharge For Many Online Merchants
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Amazon will start charging sellers who use its shipping services a 3.5% “fuel and logistics” surcharge later this month, joining the ranks of shipping companies raising prices as the war in Iran pushes oil prices higher. The fees take effect on April 17 for customers of the company’s Fulfillment by Amazon … ⌘ Read more
Google Announces Gemma 4 Open AI Models, Switches To Apache 2.0 License
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Google’s Gemini AI models have improved by leaps and bounds over the past year, but you can only use Gemini on Google’s terms. The company’s Gemma open-weight models have provided more freedom, but Gemma 3, which launched over a year ago, is getting a bit long in the tooth. Starti … ⌘ Read more
Group Pushing Age Verification Requirements For AI Sneakily Backed By OpenAI
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: OpenAI hasn’t been shy about spending money lobbying for favorable laws and regulations. But when it comes to its involvement with child safety advocacy groups, the company has apparently decided it’s best to stay in the shadows – even if it means hiding from the people ac … ⌘ Read more
Sweden Swaps Screens For Books In the Classroom
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: In 2023, the Swedish government announced that the country’s schools would be going back to basics, emphasizing skills such as reading and writing, particularly in early grades. After mostly being sidelined, physical books are now being reintroduced into classrooms, and students are learning to write the old-fashioned way: by … ⌘ Read more
Robotaxi Outage In China Leaves Passengers Stranded On Highways
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: An unknown technical problem caused a number of robotaxis owned by the Chinese tech giant Baidu to freeze on Tuesday in the middle of traffic, trapping some passengers in the vehicles for more than an hour. In Wuhan, a city in central China where Baidu has deployed hundreds of its Apollo Go self-drivin … ⌘ Read more
Russia Goes After VPNs As ‘Great Crackdown’ Gathers Pace
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Russia is going to further clamp down Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which are used by millions of Russians to get around internet controls and censorship, Russia’s digital minister said. In what has been cast by diplomats as Russia’s “great crackdown,” the authorities have repeatedly blocked mobile internet and … ⌘ Read more
Global Ban On Digital Duties Expires After Stalled Talks At WTO Meeting
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: A global ban on taxing digital streaming and downloads across national borders expired on Monday, after members of the World Trade Organization concluded an annual meeting without agreeing to extend it. U.S. representatives had pushed to extend the ban, which prevents the … ⌘ Read more
US Paves Way For Private Assets To Be Included In 401(k) Retirement Plans
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: The Trump administration on Monday issued a long-awaited proposed rule to open up retirement plans to alternative assets, paving the way for private equity and cryptocurrencies to be added to 401(k) accounts. The measure, announced by the U.S. Department of Labor, is intended to eas … ⌘ Read more
AI Data Centers Can Warm Surrounding Areas By Up To 9.1C
An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Scientist: Andrea Marinoni at the University of Cambridge, UK, and his colleagues saw that the amount of energy needed to run a data centre had been steadily increasing of late and was likely to “explode” in the coming years, so wanted to quantify the impact. The researchers took satellite measurements of land su … ⌘ Read more
After 16 Years and $8 Billion, the Military’s New GPS Software Still Doesn’t Work
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Last year, just before the Fourth of July holiday, the US Space Force officially took ownership of a new operating system for the GPS navigation network, raising hopes that one of the military’s most troubled space programs might finally bear fruit. The GPS Next- … ⌘ Read more
Judge Allows BitTorrent Seeding Claims Against Meta, Despite Lawyers ‘Lame Excuses’
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: In an effort to gather material for its LLM training, Meta used BitTorrent to download pirated books from Anna’s Archive and other shadow libraries. According to several authors, Meta facilitated the infringement of others by “seeding” these torrents. This we … ⌘ Read more
Tech CEOs Suddenly Love Blaming AI For Mass Job Cuts
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Sweeping job cuts at Big Tech companies have become an annual tradition. How executives explain those decisions, however, has changed. Out are buzzwords like efficiency, over-hiring, and too many management layers. Today, all explanations stem from artificial intelligence (AI). In recent weeks, giants including Google, Amazon, … ⌘ Read more
OpenAI’s US Ad Pilot Exceeds $100 Million In Annualized Revenue In Six Weeks
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: OpenAI’s ChatGPT ads pilot in the United States has crossed the $100 million annualized revenue mark within six weeks of launch, a company spokesperson said on Thursday, pointing to robust early demand for the AI startup’s nascent advertising business. […] While roughly 8 … ⌘ Read more
AV1’s Open, Royalty-Free Promise In Question As Dolby Sues Snapchat Over Codec
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: AOMedia Video 1 (AV1) was invented by a group of technology companies to be an open, royalty-free alternative to other video codecs, like HEVC/H.265. But a lawsuit that Dolby Laboratories Inc. filed this week against Snap Inc. calls all that into question with claims … ⌘ Read more
Iran-Linked Hackers Breach FBI Director’s Personal Email
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Iran-linked hackers have broken into FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email inbox, publishing photographs of the director and other documents to the internet, the hackers and the bureau said on Friday. On their website, the hacker group Handala Hack Team said Patel “will now find his name among the list of succes … ⌘ Read more
Judge Blocks Pentagon’s Effort To ‘Punish’ Anthropic With Supply Chain Risk Label
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: A federal judge in California has indefinitely blocked the Pentagon’s effort to “punish” Anthropic by labeling it a supply chain risk and attempting to sever government ties with the AI company, ruling that those measures ran roughshod over its constitutional rights. “Not … ⌘ Read more
Apple Gives FBI a User’s Real Name Hidden Behind ‘Hide My Email’ Feature
An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Apple provided the FBI with the real iCloud email address hidden behind Apple’s ‘Hide My Email’ feature, which lets paying iCloud+ users generate anonymous email addresses, according to a recently filed court record. The move isn’t surprising but still provides uncommon insight into … ⌘ Read more
Vizio TVs Now Require Walmart Accounts For Smart Features
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Prospective Vizio TV buyers should know there’s a good chance the set won’t work properly without a Walmart account. In an attempt to better serve advertisers, Walmart, which bought Vizio in December 2024, announced this week that select newly purchased Vizio TVs now require a Walmart account for s … ⌘ Read more
Researchers At CERN Transport Antiprotons By Truck In World-First Experiment
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Physics World: Researchers at the CERN particle-physics lab have successfully transported antiprotons in a lorry across the lab’s main site. The feat, the first of its kind, follows a similar test with protons in 2024. CERN says the achievement is “a huge leap” towards being able … ⌘ Read more
Brazil’s UFO Capital Marks 30 Years Since ‘Alien Encounter’
Thirty years after the alleged 1996 “ET of Varginha” encounter, debate continues to rage over the events that happened in Brazil’s self-styled UFO capital. An anonymous reader quotes an excerpt from the Guardian: The skies over this far-flung coffee-growing hub went charcoal black, the heavens opened and one of Brazil’s greatest mysteries was born. “ … ⌘ Read more
Stephen Colbert To Write Next ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movie
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: Stephen Colbert already has a new job lined up for when he ends his 11-year run as host of “The Late Show” in May – the comedian and well-known J.R.R. Tolkien superfan announced he will co-write and develop a new film in the blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” franchise. Colbert joined “LOTR” director Peter Jackson … ⌘ Read more
AI Economy Is a ‘Ponzi Scheme,’ Says AI Doc Director
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Vanity Fair: Focus Features is releasing The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist in theaters on March 27. If you’re even slightly interested in what’s going on with AI, it’s required viewing: The film touches on all aspects of the technology, from how it’s currently being used to how it will be used in the near future … ⌘ Read more
Hong Kong Police Can Demand Passwords Under New National Security Rules
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Hong Kong police can now demand phone or computer passwords from those who are suspected of breaching the wide-ranging National Security Law (NSL). Those who refuse could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $12,700, and individuals who provide “false or misleading informatio … ⌘ Read more
Self-Propagating Malware Poisons Open Source Software, Wipes Iran-Based Machines
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A new hacking group has been rampaging the Internet in a persistent campaign that spreads a self-propagating and never-before-seen backdoor – and curiously a data wiper that targets Iranian machines. The group, tracked under the name TeamPCP, first gained visib … ⌘ Read more
Intuit Beats FTC In Court, Ending Restrictions On ‘Free’ TurboTax Ads
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: An appeals court invalidated the Biden-era Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to punish Intuit for allegedly deceptive ads that pitched TurboTax as free. Under then-Chair Lina Khan, the FTC determined in 2024 that the TurboTax maker violated US law with deceptive advertising and ordered … ⌘ Read more
Trump Administration To Pay French Company $1 Billion To Stop Offshore Wind Farms
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: The Trump administration will pay $1 billion to a French company to walk away from two U.S. offshore wind leases as the administration ramps up its campaign against offshore wind and other renewable energy. TotalEnergies has agreed to what’s essentially a refund of its … ⌘ Read more
Bipartisan Bill Seeks To Ban Sports Betting On Prediction Market Platforms
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and John Curtis (R-UT) introduced (PDF) a bill on Monday that could prevent prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket from allowing users to wager money on sports events or play casino-style games. This bipartisan bill would not apply to Fa … ⌘ Read more
Mark Zuckerberg Is Building an AI Agent To Help Him Be CEO
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Wall Street Journal: Mark Zuckerberg wants everyone inside and outside his company to eventually have his or her own personal artificial-intelligence agent. He is starting with himself. Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta Platforms, is building a CEO agent to help him do his job (source paywalled; alternative … ⌘ Read more
Reddit Is Weighing Identity Verification Methods To Combat Its Bot Problem
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Engadget: There could be one more step required before creating an account and posting on Reddit in the future. According to Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, the social media platform is exploring different ways to verify a user is human and not a bot. When asked by the TBPN podcast how to c … ⌘ Read more
White House Unveils National AI Policy Framework To Limit State Power
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: The Trump administration on Friday issued (PDF) a legislative framework for a single national policy on artificial intelligence, aiming to create uniform safety and security guardrails around the nascent technology while preempting states from enacting their own AI rules.
The six-pronged out … ⌘ Read more
Oregon School Cell Phone Ban: ‘Engaged Students, Joyful Teachers’
An anonymous reader quotes a repot from the Portland Tribune: There was plenty of uncertainty and debate about the effectiveness of a cell phone ban decreed (PDF) by executive order last summer. But at least in Estacada, the policy has earned two thumbs up, including approval from a “grumpy old teacher.” Jeff Mellema is a language arts teacher at E … ⌘ Read more
As OpenClaw Enthusiasm Grips China, Kids and Retirees Alike Raise ‘Lobsters’
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Fan Xinquan, a retired electronics worker in Beijing, has recently started raising a “lobster,” hoping that the AI agent he has been training can help organize his specialized industry knowledge better than chatbots like DeepSeek. “OpenClaw can actually help you accomplish many pra … ⌘ Read more
EU Cloud Lobby Asks Regulator To Block VMware From Terminating Partner Program
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: A lobbying trade body for smaller cloud providers is asking the European Commission to impose interim measures blocking Broadcom from terminating the VMware Cloud Service Provider program, calling the decision a death sentence for some tech suppliers and an illegal … ⌘ Read more
Google Details New 24-Hour Process To Sideload Unverified Android Apps
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Google is planning big changes for Android in 2026 aimed at combating malware across the entire device ecosystem. Starting in September, Google will begin restricting application sideloading with its developer verification program, but not everyone is on board. Android Ecosy … ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Considers Legal Action Over $50 Billion Amazon-OpenAI Cloud Deal
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Microsoft is considering legal action against its partner OpenAI and Amazon over a $50 billion deal that could violate its exclusive cloud agreement with the ChatGPT maker, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Last month, Amazon and OpenAI signed several agreements, includi … ⌘ Read more