Twitch says no passwords were leaked in security breach

No Twitch passwords were exposed in the livestreaming service’s recent major security breach, according to the company. In an update on the incident, Twitch said it’s confident systems that store hashed login credentials weren’t accessed, nor were ACH/banking details. Twitch previously noted it doesn’t store full credit card numbers.

After reviewing information in the exposed files, Twitch says the breach “only affected a small fraction of users and the customer impact is minimal.” The leaked information mostly contained source code repository documents and a subset of payout details for streamers.

Twitch previously disclosed that someone was able to gain access to its servers due to a configuration change error. It fixed the issue and took measures to shore up its systems. “We take our responsibility to protect your data very seriously,” Twitch wrote. “We have taken steps to further secure our service, and we apologize to our community.”

The ABCs of Big Oil: How Big Oil Killed Our Political Imagination

On The ABCs of Big Oil, a new podcast miniseries produced in collaboration with Drilled, my co-host Amy Westervelt and I have been exploring the oil and gas industry’s infiltration of grade school curricula to promote the false idea that humanity needs fossil-fueled capitalism to survive. This week, we’re moving on up…

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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Morpheus Could Explain Some Crucial Lore in Matrix Resurrections

Of the many mysteries revolving around The Matrix Resurrections, the situation with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s new incarnation of Morpheus has been particularly interesting because of what it suggests about the direction the new movie’s story may take.

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How To Open Multiple Apps At Once On Windows 10

We all have different applications and tools we use for work or school. For example, as a writer I might have a word processor open along with an image resizer tool and also my browser to do my research and to make my posts. These are the same apps that I open on a daily basis for work.

The obvious way to launch these apps would be to click them one by one whenever the computer is turned on or when I need to start work, but what if there was a more efficient way of launching these apps? What if with a single-click, you could actually launch all these apps at once?

If that sounds like a power user move you’d like to learn, it’s actually not that difficult. All you need to do is create a batch file that you only need to run once and it will open all the programs you need at once. Here’s what you need to do.

Step 1 – Get The File Locations

  1. Click the Windows Key and look for the program you want to add to your batch file
  2. Right-click it, go to More and select “Open file location”
  3. Right-click on the file in the File Explorer window and select Properties
  4. Under the Shortcut tab, look for Target an copy the text inside of it
  5. Click OK

Step 2 – Creating A .bat File

  1. Open Notepad
  2. At the top of Notepad, type “@echo off” (without quotes)
  3. On the next line, type “cd” (without quotes) and paste the text after it
  4. Bring the last part of the path name with the “.exe” to the next line and add “start” (without quotes) in front of it
  5. Repeat the steps above for all the programs you want added to the batch file
  6. Hit enter to create a line break and type “exit” (without quotes)
  7. Your Notepad contents should look something like the screenshot at the top
  8. Once all the file paths to the programs are added to Notepad, go to File > Save
  9. Under “Save as type” select “All Files”
  10. Choose a name for the file and make sure you add the “.bat” extension
  11. Click Save
  12. Now whenever you want to open all those files at once, simply double-click the .bat file and it will run them

How To Open Multiple Apps At Once On Windows 10

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

How To Download And Install Older Versions Of macOS

OS updates are a good thing because it usually signifies security improvements, new features, bug fixes, and all that jazz. Apple has typically announced a new major macOS update once a year (not counting smaller updates in between), but sometimes these updates aren’t necessarily a good thing.

For example, those on older hardware might find that while they are eligible for the update, their computer might end up feeling sluggish and slow after updating. Or maybe there are changes made to the UI that some users just aren’t a fan of, or maybe there could be some major bugs or app incompatibility issues with the new build.

Thankfully though, if you want to go back to the previous version of macOS, or an even older version of macOS, it is possible, and here’s how to do that.

Things You Should Know

  • If you happen to own an M1 or any M-series chipset, old versions of macOS will be incompatible as they were written for Intel’s x86 platform in mind
  • The oldest version of macOS you can downgrade to will be the version your Mac came with, so for example if you bought an iMac that came with OS X Lion, in theory that would be the earliest version you can reinstall
  • Restoring Time Machine backups could be tricky if you’re trying to restore a backup made on a newer version on an older version of macOS (for example restoring a backup made on macOS High Sierra on OS X El Capitan)

Downloading macOS

If you’ve decided to download an older version of macOS, these are the options that you’ll be able to find from the App Store:

Preparing Your USB Drive

After you’ve downloaded the version of macOS you want to downgrade to, you might be tempted to just click on the installer and let the installation begin, but unfortunately it’s not that simple as you will need to create a bootable USB drive.

Before you proceed, make sure that you have all your important files backed up to an external drive or to the cloud so that you don’t lose those files in case something goes wrong during the installation process.

Apple recommends that users have a USB drive that has at least 14GB of free space and that it has been formatted as Mac OS Extended. To do this:

  1. Connect your USB drive to your Mac
  2. Launch Disk Utility
  3. Click on the drive on the sidebar to the left and then click Erase
  4. Give the drive a name, select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) under Format
  5. Click Erase
  6. Give it a minute or two and it should be done

Keep in mind that this essentially wipes your USB drive of all data, so make sure that the USB drive you plan to use doesn’t have anything important on it.

Create A Bootable USB

Now that your USB drive has been formatted properly, you’ll now need to make sure it is bootable.

  1. Connect your USB drive to your Mac
  2. Open the Terminal application
  3. Type in the command lines below (as shown on Apple’s support page) depending on which version of macOS you’re trying to install. Also remember to change MyVolume to the name of the USB drive you’re using:
    • Big Sur – sudo /Applications/Install macOS Big Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume
    • Catalina – sudo /Applications/Install macOS Catalina.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume
    • Mojave – sudo /Applications/Install macOS Mojave.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume
    • High Sierra – sudo /Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume
    • El Capitan – sudo /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia –volume /Volumes/MyVolume –applicationpath /Applications/Install OS X El Capitan.app
  4. Once you’ve entered the command line, hit Enter
  5. Enter your admin password if prompted and hit Enter again
  6. Enter Y to confirm you want to erase the USB drive
  7. You’ll be prompted that Terminal wants to access files on the removable volume, click OK to allow
  8. Once Terminal says it’s done, you can quit the app and remove the USB drive

Installing macOS From Scratch

Once all the necessary files have been copied to your USB drive, it’s time to begin the installation. Once again, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that you should make sure everything is backed up to an external drive or the cloud before you begin the installation process, just in case something goes wrong and you lose your files.

Also, make sure your computer has access to the internet. According to Apple, the bootable installer doesn’t download macOS from the internet (you already did that previously), but rather it needs an internet connection to get the firmware and information specific to your Mac model.

Now insert your USB drive to your Mac and turn off your computer.

Apple Silicon

  1. Turn on your Mac and continue to hold down the power button until you see the startup options window
  2. Select the drive containing the bootable installer and click Continue
  3. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the macOS installation

Intel

  1. Turn on your Mac and immediately hold the Option (Alt) ⌥ key
  2. Release the key when you see a dark screen that shows your bootable volumes
  3. Select the volume containing the bootable installer and press Enter
  4. Select your language if prompted
  5. Select Install macOS (or Install OS X) from the Utilities window
  6. Click Continue and follow the instructions to complete your macOS installation

How To Download And Install Older Versions Of macOS

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

DOJ Asking Supreme Court To Halt Texas Abortion Law

The controversial law effectively bans abortion in the state.

Writer Claims Drake Threatened To Quit TV Show If His Character Stayed In Wheelchair

A law firm warned the drama series that the future rap star would leave the show unless his character walked again.

Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack price is a big hike over standard subscription

After making us wait a few weeks for details, Nintendo today announced pricing for Nintendo Switch Online and its Expansion Pack, which adds playable Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games to the service. The new pricing might elicit sticker shock in those used to Nintendo Switch Online’s standard pricing of $20 a year because gaining access to the Expansion Pack … Continue reading

EU effectively subtweets Apple on the USB-C iPhone

Today the European Union released a public statement on their intent to require USB-C for all smartphones, tablets, cameras, and more. “The European Commission tried to bring companies on board via voluntary agreements, which partially worked.” said Anna Cavazzini, Chair of the EU Parliament’s consumer protection committee. “However, not all companies have agreed, and that is why the Commission has … Continue reading

Steam bans games that allow cryptocurrency and NFT trading

Steam will no longer allow games that enable NFT (non-fungible token) and cryptocurrency trading through the blockchain. Steam’s onboarding page for Steamworks users and partners now states that they shouldn’t publish “applications built on blockchain technology that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs” on Steam. The rule was added at some point after October 6th, according to a version of the page cached by Google.

Some developers have spoken out about the rule. SpacePirate Games, the studio behind a sci-fi action-adventure title called Age of Rust, said Valve was booting blockchain games off of Steam “because NFTs have value.” Some puzzles in Age of Rust, which is in development, will reward players with NFTs as achievements. “Steam’s point of view is that items have value and they don’t allow items that can have real-world value on their platform,” SpacePirate said. The developer plans to publish the game elsewhere.

It’s unclear how many games already on Steam will be affected. Searching for “NFT” and “crypto” turns up 14 and 64 results respectively. Not all of those necessarily allow real-world trading though. Crypto Mining Simulator, for instance, lets you pretend you’re mining cryptocurrency, which sounds like a barrel of laughs.

Engadget has contacted Steam for more details about this rule, including why it was brought in. NFT scams do exist, and unless you know what you’re doing, it’s not hard to get burned on crypto trading. That said, Valve does allow people to exchange virtual goods for Steam Wallet funds through the community market, so SpacePirate’s belief that Steam doesn’t permit items with real-world value doesn’t entirely hold water.