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The British action game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice leads the field with nine nominations. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2varE6b v

Epic Games' popular Fortnite has been down for several hours amid server problems. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2GQtiPQ v

When I downloaded a copy of my Facebook data last week, I didn’t expect to see much. My profile is sparse, I rarely post anything on the site, and I seldom click on ads. (I’m what some call  a Facebook “lurker.” ) But when I opened my file, it was like opening Pandora’s box. With a few clicks, I learned that about 500 advertisers — many that I had never heard of, like Bad Dad, a motorcycle parts store, and Space Jesus, an electronica band — had my contact information, which could include my email address, phone number and full name. Facebook also had my entire phone book, including the number to ring my apartment buzzer. The social network had even kept a permanent record of the roughly 100 people I had deleted from my friends list over the last 14 years, including my exes. There was so much that Facebook knew about me — more than I wanted to know. But after looking at the totality of what the Silicon Valley company had obtained about yours truly, I decided to try to better...

W hen Simone Landrum felt tired and both nauseated and ravenous at the same time in the spring of 2016, she recognized the signs of pregnancy. Her beloved grandmother died earlier that year, and Landrum felt a sense of divine order when her doctor confirmed on Muma’s birthday that she was carrying a girl. She decided she would name her daughter Harmony. “I pictured myself teaching my daughter to sing,” says Landrum, now 23, who lives in New Orleans. “It was something I thought we could do together.” But Landrum, who was the mother of two young sons, noticed something different about this pregnancy as it progressed. The trouble began with constant headaches and sensitivity to light; Landrum described the pain as “shocking.” It would have been reasonable to guess that the crippling headaches had something to do with stress: Her relationship with her boyfriend, the baby’s father, had become increasingly contentious and eventually physically violent. Three months into her pregnancy, he...

British data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica is at the centre of a controversy in India, the United States and Britain after two newspapers reported on Sunday that the company harvested personal data about Facebook users beginning in 2014.  How does that matter, what does it entail and should you be worried? All these answers and more, explained right here.  Cambridge Analytica is an offshoot of SCL Group, a government and military contractor that says it works on everything from food security research to counter-narcotics to political campaigns. SCL was founded more than 25 years ago, according to its website.  >> What does this firm do? Cambridge Analytica helps political campaigns reach potential voters online. The firm combines data from multiple sources, including online information and polling, to build “profiles” of voters. The company then uses computer programs to predict voter behaviour, which then could be influenced through specialis...

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg told United States lawmakers that his personal data was also harvested and sold by Cambridge Analytica and he intends to initiate legal action against the British firm accused of stealing personal information and using it for political purposes. Zuckerberg replied “yes” when asked if his personal data was included in the information sold to the “malicious third parties” by the lawmakers during a testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Cambridge Analytica compromised personal information of approximately 87 million users, half a million of whom were from India. The American people are concerned about how Facebook protects and profits from its users’ data, lawmakers said. Beginning this Monday, Facebook has started to notify those users whose data have been breached. Responding to a volley of questions, Zuckerberg, 33, said it would take some time to work through all the changes the company needs to make. “But I am commit...

Investigation agencies have identified more than 30 overseas bank accounts linked to diamond merchant Nirav Modi in various countries, two of which have been frozen in Belgium. It is learnt that the two Belgian accounts have a total balance of ₹26 crore in foreign currency. They were frozen on India’s request in view of the Punjab National Bank fraud cases. Letter rogatory Through a Mumbai special court, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday got an approval to send a letter rogatory (judicial request) to the United Kingdom. The CBI has sought information related to the case from the United Kingdom and has also requested for the freezing of another account linked to Mr. Modi with the Barclays Bank, which is said to have deposits worth more than ₹9 crore. “Over 30 such bank accounts have been identified so far and efforts are under way to freeze them, disallowing the accused from withdrawing the funds that are currently under investigation,” said an official. As pa...