Tech

Dozens of exams declared invalid due to failure of anti-peak software | NOW

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Nearly one hundred exams of the Erasmus University School of Law have been declared invalid because online supervision did not work properly. As a result, it was not possible to check for fraud. Research by fifteen students has had their diplomas withdrawn WE.

Due to the corona crisis, many universities take exams at home by students. Special software from ProctorExam is used to check that there is no fraud during the exam. Among other things, the students are monitored via the webcam, for example to see if they are not leafing through a manual.

Due to an error with the software, the recording of images did not go well for some students, so that it is not possible to check whether or not they have cheated.

That is why dozens of students received an email last week with the message that the exam must be taken again. For fifteen students it means that their diploma has been declared invalid.

In May, after a tour of NU.nl that many universities were able to successfully pass the exams by postponing them or using the surveillance software.

It is not clear why the law students of Erasmus University did go wrong and why the images cannot be checked. The university was not available for comment on Thursday evening.

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Trump not keen on deal between Oracle and TikTok owner | NOW

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Donald Trump doesn’t think the deal between Oracle and TikTok owner ByteDance can go through. The American president told a reporter on Wednesday CNBC. TikTok must be owned by the US government by an American company, because the White House believes that the originally Chinese app endangers the national security of the US.

The American company Oracle confirmed Monday that there is indeed a proposal for a deal with ByteDance with the US government. Trump responded last Wednesday with that he has not yet read the proposal, but that he does not think the deal meets the requirements.

Trump previously made it clear that he does not want ByteDance to remain the owner of TikTok. The deal with Oracle would mainly contain agreements about the processing of TikTok data by Oracle, but the exact content of the proposal is not known.

ByteDance has until September 20 to close a deal with an American company. If that fails, Trump wants to ban the app completely.

Should TikTok be sold, the question is whether the Chinese government will agree. Although the company is not owned by the government, the government may be able to exert pressure not to proceed with the sale. Earlier messages point out that the government of China would rather not have a Chinese company sold under pressure.

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Number of subscriptions to Nintendo Switch Online almost doubled this year | NOW

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Nintendo has gained eleven million new subscribers to its online service Switch Online since January. At the beginning of the year, the company still had 15 million subscribers.

With Switch Online, users can access all online services in their Switch games, among other things. The explosive growth in the number of subscribers is probably due to the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, in which online interaction plays an important role.

Animal Crossing hit the market in March. 22 million copies of the game have now been sold, Nintendo said. Also the success of titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in Pokémon played a role in the growth in the number of Switch Online subscribers.

For Nintendo, such online services are still relatively new, while they are already established at competitors such as Xbox and Playstation.

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Rotterdam-based VR game maker Vertigo sold for 50 million | NOW

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Swedish game company Embracer has bought Rotterdam-based maker and publisher of virtual reality games (VR games) Vertigo for 50 million euros. company Wednesday announced.

Embracer will pay 40 million in cash and 10 million in newly issued shares. This means that it will acquire 100 percent of the Rotterdam company.

Vertigo, known for puzzle and adventure games, among other things A Fisherman’s Tale and the strategy game Skyworld, was founded in 2008 and has focused entirely on virtual reality for seven years. The zombie game Arizona Sunshine is sold to arcades, but the game is also available on VR headsets from Oculus and HTC.

In the game, players can walk along with three others in a post-apocalyptic United States in search of other survivors as hordes of zombies cross the path. Vertigo has sold the game over a million times.

Embracer expects the VR gaming market to experience “substantial growth” in the coming years through the combination of new headsets and games. The company owns six subsidiaries, including THQ Nordic and Koch Media.

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Data from potentially 100,000 customers hardware company Razer leaked | NOW

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Personal data of possibly about 100,000 customers of hardware company Razer are on the street. That is what data security expert Volodymyr Diachenko writes LinkedIn.

The leak was closed on September 9, Razer wrote in a statement.

The information was on an unsecured database that could be found with search engines. This includes names, addresses and phone numbers of customers who made purchases from Razer. There was no payment information in the database.

The number of victims is an estimate based on the amount of emails in the file, Diachenko writes. Victims can email Razer if they have any questions about the incident.

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Facebook accidentally leaks video with news of 4K VR glasses Oculus Quest 2 | NOW

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The new VR headset Oculus Quest 2 has an “almost” 4K resolution and contains a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Processor. This is evident from a video that Facebook accidentally put online on Monday.

The video has since been removed from Facebook’s learning platform Blueprint, but can be viewed on YouTube. The video is probably part of the Facebook Connect presentation next week.

The new edition of the Quest, Facebook’s wireless VR glasses, contains 256 gigabytes of storage capacity. The glasses get 6 GB of memory, more than the 4 GB of the original. In addition, the controllers have received an “ergonomic upgrade”.

The new processor is a significant improvement over the original, which features a much weaker Snapdragon 835 chip. With 2K pixels per eye, the new glasses also have 50 percent more pixels than the first edition.

Games from the first Quest can still be played on the second, according to Facebook.

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Oracle Confirms: Proposal for Deal with TikTok lies with US Government | NOW

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A proposal involving Oracle partnering with TikTok owner ByteDance is under review by the U.S. government, confirms Oracle Monday. TikTok is under fire in the United States because the originally Chinese app, according to the White House, endangers the national security of the country.

With the confirmation, Oracle responds to a statement by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. He said earlier on Monday CNBC that the ministry has received a proposal to make Oracle TikTok’s “trusted technology partner”.

The secretary did not reveal all the details about the proposal, but said Oracle is addressing concerns about US national security. Also, the global leadership of TikTok would be headquartered in the US under the proposal.

Mnuchin also stressed that the deadline for the deal is September 20 and not five days earlier, as President Donald Trump said earlier.

The Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), part of the Treasury Department, will review the proposal this week. Then comes a recommendation to Trump, according to Mnuchin.

Apart from the confirmation, Oracle does not open a booklet about the contents of the deal in its statement. American media reported rather, Oracle will be responsible for processing US users’ data under the deal.

It’s unclear how Trump will respond to the plan the two companies have sent to the ministry. The president previously stated that he only wanted to settle for the sale of TikTok to an American company.

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LG presents a phone with a second screen that can rotate | NOW

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LG has announced the LG Wing, a phone with two screens on top of each other, whose top screen can be rotated 90 degrees.

The LG Wing has a 6.8-inch screen that fills the front in ‘Basic Mode’. This makes the device work like any other telephone. But this screen can be rotated to give the phone a T shape. In this ‘Swivel Mode’, an almost square screen of 3.9 inches appears under the tilted screen.

Apps can be opened on both screens. For example, it is possible to watch a video on the tilted screen, while the bottom screen is used for chatting. According to LG, one screen can be used for the route while driving, and the other to pick up the phone, without getting in each other’s way.

Three cameras are placed on the back of the phone. In Swivel Mode, the lower part can be used as a grip for the ‘Gimbal Motion Camera’. With this function, images are smoothed out if the user wobbles or shakes. For selfies, the device has a pop-up camera that slides up. As a result, the LG has no cuts or screen holes in the screen.

The LG Wing is equipped with a Snapdragon 765G 5G processor and 8 GB of RAM. The device is available in a variant with 128 GB and a variant with 256 GB storage space. There is a 4,000 mAh battery available.

According to LG, the Wing will come to the Netherlands in the fourth quarter of this year. No statements could yet be made about the prices.

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Security region in Gelderland affected by ransomware | NOW

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The North and East Gelderland Security Region (VNOG) was hit by an attack with ransomware on Saturday. As a result, the use of the internal system is limited and e-mail cannot be used.

Essential information that emergency services need is still available, reports the VNOG Sunday. According to the organization, safety is not at stake. The VNOG is a collaboration between 22 municipalities.

It is not yet clear how the VNOG’s systems could be affected by the ransomware. Although the use of the internal systems is limited, the reporting systems such as P2000 and C2000 still work.

Cyber ​​criminals try to lock files on computers and within networks with ransomware (ransomware). A message then informs users that they have been hacked and that they can enter a key to recover everything. A lot of money often has to be paid for this key.

The VNOG is working with specialists and organizations, including the National Cyber ​​Security Center and the police, to find out whether the attackers have gained access to the data and what the exact consequences are. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that all systems can work safely again as soon as possible,” said the VNOG.

It is not yet clear exactly how long the situation will last for the Safety Region. It is also not known who the attackers are.

Companies, schools and government organizations are more often sought after by hackers. In February layers still down the systems of about twenty schools in Limburg.

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Logging in to Fortnite will still be possible for the time being via Apple | NOW

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Players playing the shooting game Fortnite on an Apple device, can still continue to log in using the ‘Log in with Apple’ method for the time being. Apple previously planned to disable the method on Friday, Fortnite creator Epic Games wrote this week.

Epic is now signing up Twitter that Apple has come back to that. “The company previously announced it would disable Sign In with Apple on September 11, 2020, but has now promised a postponement.”

It is not known how long players can still log in via Apple. Epic Games still recommends that people change their accounts so that they can log in differently.

Epic Games and Apple have been in conflict with each other for a month. Epic added its own payment system Fortniteso it wouldn’t have to hand over 30 percent of its in-app purchase revenue to Apple. With that, Epic violated the rules of the App Store, after which Apple Fortnite from the app store.

Epic Games and Apple have now sued each other in the US. Epic wants Apple to impose less strict rules on developers, so that they have to pay less money and get more options in the App Store. Apple claims Epic committed ‘theft’ by breaking the rules.

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