Every day we wake up, drink some coffee, get ready for work and check on the latest tech. So here’s a handful of stories from around the tech world condensed to fit into that first cup. These are things you need to know before you step foot out of your door (or in front of a webcam) and into the real world this morning.
ChatGPT Scams Are a Now a Thing
The generative AI chatbot is the hottest thing in tech right now and, like most trends, it hasn’t taken fraudsters long to exploit it.
A fake ChatGPT-branded Chrome extension was posted in the Chrome Web Store and caused damage to users who installed it, according to Hacker News.
The Quick Access to ChatGPT claimed to offer users a shortcut to OpenAI’s chatbot, but it had the added function of maliciously hijacking Facebook accounts.
The extension was promoted on Facebook and collected Facebook account data, including cookies, when a user clicked on the link to install. Once the account was hijacked, the malware would expand its network using the stolen data.
From March 3, until it was taken down on March 9, the spoofed extension was downloaded and installed over 2000 times per day.
In 2022, five malware Chrome extensions, including a Netflix player spoof, wreaked havoc on 1.4 million users. A best practice would be to avoid being an early installer of a new extension. Better to allow time for malware to be detected and removed.
Strategies for Resetting Your Internal Clock After Springing Forward
Daylight savings time kicked in over the weekend, stealing a precious hour of sleep from us on Saturday night and forcing us to reset the clock on our coffee maker with eyes still bleary.
Here are a few strategies to get your internal time back on track:
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol and junk food before bed. These all cause sleep disruptions. Alcohol is especially insidious, helping you to fall asleep, but then forcing and keeping you awake after a couple of hours. Caffeine has a 12-hour quarter life, so if you drink your last cup at noon and go to bed at midnight, it’ll be like drinking a quarter cup before you turn in.
- Go outside in the early morning and get some light. This will suppress your production of melatonin and make you less drowsy throughout the day.
- And finally, sleep an extra hour in the morning to cheat daylight savings of its stolen time. If that isn’t practical for your schedule, you might try a 20-minute afternoon nap. But longer naps will leave you feeling even more drowsy and could keep you from nighttime slumber.
These Are Your Best Streaming Options for March Madness 2023
It’s that time of the year again, when the nation’s attention turns to the greatest tournament in sports. The men’s NCAA’s Division 1 Championship begins today with the First Four on truTV. Southeast Missouri State will face Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 6:30pm, and Pitt will play Mississippi State at 9pm, (all times Eastern).
With 68 teams competing in 67 games across the country, from New York to Las Vegas, the Madness is set to begin. Here’s your printable bracket. Here’s the best ways to live stream all the games on CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV (but never, ever on the job):
FuboTV
While FuboTV is rooted in sports, it is oddly not the best choice for March Madness, because it doesn’t carry TBS, TNT or truTV. It was rumored that the Turner Network channels would be returning, but those turned out to be false hopes. FuboTV subscribers will have to scramble to watch the madness.
Paramount+
Paramont+ doesn’t carry any of the Turner network channels either, but you can watch all the CBS broadcasts. Paramont+ comes free with a Wallmart+ subscription, so you could have chips and beer delivered for ‘free’ while you watch the CBS games.
SlingTV
SlingTV’s Blue plan includes TBS, TNT and truTV, but not CBS. You could watch your local CBS station, but who has an antenna anymore?
YouTubeTV
YouTubeTV offers CBS, including the local broadcasts, along with TBS, TNT and turTV. You’ll also get unlimited DVR cloud storage for recording the games you missed. They also offer a 14-day free trial – just sayin.
NCAA.com
Or you can look up the NCAA’s simulcast and see which game is live for you to watch, free of charge. You can cast to your TV from your smartphone or computer or download the channel to your smart TV.
SVB Fallout
The fallout from Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse continued Monday, with a nearly 80% plunge in First Republic shares. This comes after regulators shuttered cryptocurrency player, Signature Bank on Sunday.
Also on Monday, sharp slides in share price triggered halts in trading of multiple banks and brokerage firms, including the venerable Charles Schwab, as well as Western Alliance, PacWest, Zion Bancorp and Bank of Hawaii.
In an effort to stave off panicked withdrawals, the US Treasury and Federal Reserve ensured depositors they will be protected from losses exceeding the FDIC insured limits of $250 thousand.
Analysts warned the action could set a dangerous precedent, overwhelming taxpayer’s ability to backstop troubled banks.
In public comments, President Biden said that bank investors will not see any taxpayer funded bailouts.
“Investors in the banks will not be protected. They knowingly took a risk and when the risk didn’t pay off, investors lose their money. That’s how capitalism works,” he said.
