Weekly Tech Round-Up
This week: a serious banking app glitch prompts an investigation, Fortnite raises the price of V-Bucks, researchers use drones and AI to help farmers fight weeds, plus an app pick for busy news readers and a reminder about buying supported devices.
🏦 Banking App Glitch Exposes Other Customers’ Transactions
An investigation has been launched after some customers using Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland apps were able to see other users’ transactions on their accounts.
The glitch meant some people could view charges and payments made by other customers. A spokesperson for Lloyds Banking Group, which owns all three banks, apologised for the issue and said the incident had been resolved.
It is not yet clear exactly how many users were affected. One woman said she was able to see the accounts of six different users on the Bank of Scotland app, including some National Insurance numbers, over a 20-minute period.
Source: BBC News
🎮 Fortnite V-Bucks Price Rise Announced
Epic Games says it is raising the price of Fortnite’s in-game currency, V-Bucks, to “help pay the bills” because the cost of running the game had “gone up a lot”.
The developer announced that from 19 March the price of V-Bucks will increase, while bonus currency rewards will also be removed from the game’s main battle pass.
However, Epic says players will see a decrease in the cost of the battle pass itself, the optional seasonal pass that unlocks special cosmetics.
Although Fortnite is free to play, it is estimated to generate billions of dollars every year, mainly through subscriptions, passes and other microtransactions. The increase means players will get fewer V-Bucks for their money.
Source: BBC News
🚁🌱 Drones and AI Could Help Farmers Tackle Weeds
Some of the latest technology could be used to help farmers tackle one of their oldest problems.
Researchers at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, are using drones and AI to scan fields and identify weeds.
Fighting weeds can be difficult and time-consuming for farmers, and it is hoped the new technology will save time and reduce the need for large-scale chemical spraying.
The study is currently being carried out on university-owned land, but it will soon be trialled on working farms.
Source: BBC News
📰 App of the Week: The Commuter
This week’s app of the week is The Commuter.
The app is designed to make news more digestible for people who are constantly on the move. It aims to help users keep up with the daily news cycle without feeling overwhelmed by endless walls of text.
It is free to download on iOS and Android devices:
📱 Buy Smart: Check Device Support Before You Buy
You do not need to buy the latest or most expensive smart device in order to stay secure. But if possible, avoid buying devices that are no longer supported by the manufacturer, or whose support period will end soon.
Once a device is out of support, it can become easier to hack and may even stop working properly over time.
Think of the support date as a kind of “use by” date for your device, so you know how long it is still safe and practical to use.
Quick tip: before buying a phone, tablet, smartwatch, router or smart home gadget, check how long the manufacturer promises security updates.
