Credit card transaction rates

Audio player loading… Cybersecurity researchers have spotted new versions of a known Point of Sale (PoS) malware (opens in new tab) that blocks advanced features to be able to steal credit card data. The team from Kaspersky observed the Prilex PoS malware versions 06.03.8070, 06.03.8072, and 06.03.8080, in the wild. These versions were released in November 2022, and prevent the terminal from accepting contactless credit card transactions. Contactless transactions, made possible due to near-field communication (NFC) chips found in both PoS terminals on one end, and credit/debit cards, smartphones and smart watches on the other, exploded in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic. The technology allows consumers to purchase goods and services without actually inserting their credit cards, making it almost impossible for hackers to steal the data via PoS malware. Swiping away the data However to work around this issue, the threat actors deployed a new … [Read more...] about This PoS malware blocks contactless payments to steal credit card data

Once a week we dip into the reader mailbag and answer your tech questions. This week we’re looking at mobile credit card processing for Android, resizing hard drive partitions, and tethering your Android phone to your laptop. Mobile Credit Card Processing for Android Dear How-To Geek, I am an independent business owner that does all of my work in the field. I currently can only accept cash and checks as payment from my clients. I think being able to accept credit cards would help expand my business. I was wondering what the best, most secure and cost effective app for Android is that will allow me to accept credit cards over my phone? Sincerely, Seeking Better Business Strategies Dear Seeking, Since we don’t use mobile credit card readers around the HTG office, this would be a great time for readers with field experience to sound off with their Android-based solutions. That said, we can point you in the right direction. While there are a smattering of credit … [Read more...] about Ask HTG: Smartphone Credit Card Apps, Resizing Partitions, and Android Tethering

Too funny: In a freak series of seemingly random events, a Switch owner's pet fish accessed his eShop account and added funds to it using his credit card. The crime was caught on video during an unsupervised live stream. Hundreds of viewers watched as the little fish stole their owner's identity while he was gone. The entire heist started as an experiment to see if fish could complete Pokémon Scarlet and Violet unassisted. To do it, Japanese YouTuber "Mutekimaru Channel" set up a webcam focused on his fish bowl. Motion-tracking software monitored the fish as they swam across an overlaid grid populated with controller inputs. If a fish paused or changed direction, the correlating controller input registered in the game. Mutekimaru had done this experiment before. In 2020, his fish successfully completed the test, finishing Pokémon Sapphire in about 3,195 hours — something an actively playing human could do in around 30. However, this time around, things did not go as quite as … [Read more...] about Pet fish commits credit card fraud on owner using a Nintendo Switch

President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled fresh efforts to slash credit card late fees and drive down the prices that Apple Inc and Google parent Alphabet Inc charge on mobile app stores. The move is part of a larger policy drive to promote competition in consumer markets, officials said. Speaking at the White House , Biden also called on lawmakers to ban "junk fees," which he said jacked up costs for consumer services such as accommodation, concert tickets, mobile plans and air travel, in which officials said air carriers can charge family members extra to be seated next to young children. Read Also Google may soon let users translate text within images in Chrome Google plans to add Microsoft 365 integration to ChromeOS "The bottom line is these unfair fees add up. It's a basic question of fairness," Biden told reporters. Biden has been beating the drum on inflation, criticizing Republicans who now control the House … [Read more...] about google: President Joe Biden moves to slash US credit card fees, app charges

Why it matters: It's a sad truth that graphics cards and motherboards can fail for one reason or another. Providing they're still covered, this is the time to take advantage of their warranties. But which manufacturers create the most reliable hardware, and which are the quickest at carrying out warranty repairs? A major PC retailer in Switzerland has given us an idea by publishing their warranty claim statistics. Reddit user GaoHAQ (via VideoCardz ) posted the GPU and motherboard defect rate for each brand that Swiss retailer Digitec sold over the last two years. That timeframe is an important factor as it covers the height of covid-19 and the cryptomining craze, which could somewhat skew the warranty case duration stats, though it's still an interesting read. Starting with the GPU warranty score—how often a product from a particular brand had a defect in the first 24 months—the most reliable company is Dell. That doesn't come as much of a surprise as Dell only makes … [Read more...] about Retailer reveals most reliable graphics cards and motherboards, warranty process times

Table of Contents What to Look for in a Capture Card in 2023 Best Overall Capture Card: AVerMedia Live Gamer 4K Best Budget Capture Card: Elgato HD60 S+ Best Internal Capture Card: Elgato 4K60 Pro MK.2 Best External Capture Card: NZXT Signal 4K30 Best 4K Capture Card: AVerMedia Live Gamer Bolt Best Capture Card for Streaming: AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo Update, 01/20/2023: We’ve reviewed our recommendations and are confident these are still the best capture cards you can buy. What to Look for in a Capture Card in 2023 A capture card has two jobs it must accomplish to be effective. Essentially, it has to capture an incoming audio-visual signal and then either store it or send it along to somewhere else. In some situations, you’ll want the capture card to both record footage and send the signal to an application or AV output at the same time. When using a capture card, the source of the audio-visual signal is going to be a game console. While consoles … [Read more...] about The Best Capture Cards of 2023

Audio player loading… Sony has rolled out its new PS Plus gift cards at retailers but has somehow managed to botch the job. In the runup to its revamped PS Plus service, Sony seemed to be pulling its PS Now and old PS Plus gift cards from stores. With the rush to snap up cards and stack them for discounted subscriptions , the move to whip them off retailers' shelves made sense. Now that the overhauled PS Plus has rolled out, the gift cards are popping up on online storefronts. But Sony has either done a really shoddy job of it or hasn't given retailers the proper info because the listings are causing some serious confusion. God help any hapless parents striking out into unfamiliar gaming territory to buy one. Spotted by Push Square (opens in new tab) , the new cards seem to be a combination of straight-up PS Store credit, gift cards explicitly for PS Plus membership, and PS Store gift cards that are clearly supposed to be for additional membership tiers … [Read more...] about New PS Plus gift cards are a confusing mess

Compared to the first 22 days of 2021, the major crime rate in Democrat-run Chicago is already up 97 percent this year, reports Wirepoints. Compared to those same 22 days last year, crime is up 61 percent. Another great American city utterly destroyed by unchallenged Democrat rule under Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Chicago is what happens to a society when Democrats get everything they want– when the left gets their Utopia. More from Wirepoints : Major reported crimes in Chicago in 2022 were 41% higher than in 2021 and 33 percent more than 2019. Versus the pre-George Floyd baseline of 2019 murder, robbery, theft, motor vehicle theft and shooting incidents for Chicago in 2022 were all up notably. But it’s worse than that. New major-crimes data for Chicago is out, covering the first three weeks of 2023. And what a three weeks it’s been. The numbers show that overall reported major crimes through January 22 in the new year are 61% higher than the same span in 2022, and 97% … [Read more...] about Nolte: Democrat-run Chicago Year-to-Date Crime Rate Up 97% Compared to 2021

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The European Central Bank is set for another large interest rate increase to fight painfully high inflation even after the U.S. Federal Reserve slowed its pace, a divergence that underlines Europe’s later start and could speed the euro’s rebound from recent lows against the dollar. ECB President Christine Lagarde has made clear that a rate hike of half a percentage point is in the offing at the bank’s meeting Thursday “and possibly at the one after that, and possibly thereafter.” The Bank of England also was expected to go big with a half-point hike Thursday, contrasting with the Fed’s decision Wednesday to slow its pace to a quarter-point. The ECB started raising rates in July, four months after the Fed did, and from lower levels – including below zero for one of its key benchmarks. That means Europe’s bank may have further to go before it feels rates are high enough to cool off inflation – even though economic growth has slowed. Officials said at … [Read more...] about EU Central Bank Set to Outdo U.S. Fed with Interest Rate Hike

The abacus, sextant, slide rule and computer. Mathematical instruments mark the history of human progress. They’ve enabled trade and helped navigate oceans, and advanced understanding and quality of life. The latest tool propelling science and industry is AI computing. AI Computing Defined AI computing is the math-intensive process of calculating machine learning algorithms, typically using accelerated systems and software. It can extract fresh insights from massive datasets, learning new skills along the way. It’s the most transformational technology of our time because we live in a data-centric era, and AI computing can find patterns no human could. For example, American Express uses AI computing to detect fraud in billions of annual credit card transactions. Doctors use it to find tumors , finding tiny anomalies in mountains of medical images. Three Steps to AI Computing Before getting into the many use cases for AI computing, let’s explore how it works. … [Read more...] about What Is AI Computing?