Software week in review for June 13
Last week was all about Apple's WWDC. This week saw some follow-up on iOS 8's features, but the big news was games: watching the World Cup and the video games announced at E3 for 2014 and 2015. Read on for our recap, and to get the latest reviews from our editors in your inbox, subscribe to our weekly newsletters.
World Cup
Olé, olé, olé! The World Cup kicked off Thursday. Find out how to stream the games, follow along on your phone, or play onscreen with our app picks.
If you download a World Cup app from Google Play or another store, beware of scam apps. Some are trying to score your information; others are just annoying.
Kaspersky reports that people visiting the World Cup in Sao Paulo may be using unsecured Wi-Fi connections and public phone chargers that may swipe info or install malware. Your best bet -- in Sao Paulo or anywhere else -- is to avoid public chargers and use a VPN when connecting to Wi-Fi.
More than 60 World Cup-related websites have been taken down by Anonymous' DDoS attack, which is to protest the billions spent on the event.
Google has posted some ways you can use its services to keep up. For example, Google Maps Street View shows you inside the stadiums, and a search on "World Cup" will pull up the game schedule. Google's also teaming up with ESPN to show video highlights.
New releases, new features
Ruffle your feathers -- Angry Birds Epic (iOS, Android) has landed, promising a "fantasy Piggy Island" (anyone else picturing Ricardo Montalban with an oinker?).
If you've ever said "I need a bigger Like button," you have your wish. Facebook Messenger 6.0 (iOS, Android) lets you hold the Like button to make a Big Like. Also, you can now record 15-second in-line videos without leaving the app.
On Thursday Malwarebytes released new Windows security software called Anti-Exploit. Whereas Anti-Malware (Windows, Android) stops malicious software from deploying its attack, Anti-Exploit looks for exploit-like behavior and blocks the delivery system.
Not satisfied with Beats or Spotify? Amazon now offers Prime Music (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android), a $99-per-month streaming music service with more than 1 million tracks.
A new version of Skype for iPhone came out this week. Skype 5.0 has updates to the design and the messaging options.
A week after Apple announced that iOS 8 will support third-party keyboards, popular Android app SwiftKey has gone freemium -- download the app for free and pay only for extra themes. See also CNET's photo guide to using SwiftKey on Android.
Twitter has started using Bing translation for its iOS app.
The New York Times released version 2.0 of its Crossword app, and some persnickety cruciverbalists are not pleased.
Over at Yahoo Tech, CNET alum Rafe reports on KeyMe, an iOS app that lets you take photos of your keys to get new keys cut.
Apple WWDC follow-up
Before WWDC, rumors flew about iOS 8 supporting a split screen for iPad, which was not demonstrated at the conference. But now a developer video shows the feature in action.
Wondering how iCloud Drive compares to other storage services? CNET breaks down the dollars.
With OS X Yosemite, you'll be able to pick up iPhone calls on your Mac. Jessica Dolcourt explains why this is awesome.
See the hidden features of iOS 8 that Apple hasn't shown you, and what we might see in the new iMacs coming next week. (video)
Product designer Scott Hurff puts iMessage for iOS 7 and iOS 8 side-by-side to show what's gotten better.
At Wired, Mat Honan explains why notifications are about to rule the iOS interface.
Ars Technica looks at how Apple's opening up iOS to third-party extensions and the security challenges that raises.
It looks like iOS 8 will use a random address when searching for a Wi-Fi connection, which would block nosy marketers from tracking your location.
Coming attractions
Firefox 30 just came out this week (Windows, Mac, Android), but there's already a sneak peek of Firefox 31 for Android. It includes an API called Firefox Hub that lets you add panels to your homepage.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, aka E3 2014, unleased dozens of new game announcements. Check out our roundup of the PC games you can look forward to this year and next.
Facebook already tried building one Snapchat competitor, Poke, which is now kaput. This week Team Zuckerberg accidentally released and then withdrew take two, called Slingshot. The company says it'll be out soon.
Google is poised to release a health platform called Google Fit at its developer conference, I/O, which starts June 25.
Like Apple's recently announced Handoff feature, Google Nearby will allow interactions between enabled devices. The functionality is allegedly coming soon, perhaps at I/O.
Threats and remedies
Who was exposed or attacked this week?
TweetDeck, which had a vulnerability that let pranksters script pop-up messages.
Gmail, which until this week had a bug that could have exposed every user's email address.
Evernote, which was hit by a DDoS attack.
Feedly, also hit by a DDoS attack.
Netflix, which saw a small number of user accounts leaked. You're probably fine, but it's never a bad idea to change your password.
In better news:
Hackers use crappy passwords, just like you and me.
Twitter took top honors in security and privacy in an audit by the Online Trust Alliance.
Project Un1c0rn is creating a searchable public database of sites with security issues.
How to...
Share some but not all of your photos when you hand someone your phone.
Install a Chrome extension with an easy button to close overlay pop-ups.
Get your kids off their screens and to the table with the DinnerTime app.
Install Snap on BlackBerry for unlimited Android app access.
Listen to Amazon Prime Music on Your Mobile Device. Read a page a day via email with Dripread.
