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Enlarge (credit: Akram Kennis / Flickr) Accounts for Google’s Nest line of smart home devices are now covered by the company’s Advanced Protection Program, which traditionally has provided enhanced security for journalists, politicians, elections workers, and other people who are frequently targeted by hackers. Google rolled out APP in 2017. It requires users to have at least two physical security keys, such as those available from Yubico, Google’s Titan brand, or other providers. Typically, keys connect through USB slots or Near-field Communication or Bluetooth interfaces. Once registered, the keys provide cryptographic secrets that are unphishable and, at least theoretically, impossible to intercept through malware attacks or other types of hacking. APP also limits the apps that can connect to protected accounts, although registering Thunderbird to connect to Gmail is relatively easy. Pulling up your account by the bootstraps Once an account is enrolled and each device (including a phone) is authenticated through the physical-key process Google calls bootstrapping, people can use their iOS or Android devices as a security key. That’s usually easier, faster, and more convenient than using physical security keys. Typically, users must bootstrap only rarely after the bootstrapping process, such as when Google detects suspicious behavior. APP also pushes alerts to users’ devices and registered email accounts each time a new device connects. Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments View the full article

Bandcamp has announced that it will be donating 100% of its share of sales to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on this coming Juneteenth and every 6/19 hereafter. In a statement, the company writes that this move is in response to "the ongoing state-sanctioned violence against black people in the US." … More »View the full article

Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande's "Rain On Me" has debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. More »View the full article

When Alec Benjamin sings, people listen. This isn't necessarily because he has something meaningful to say, though I'd argue that Benjamin is a more substantial lyricist than your average lite-pop singer-songwriter. No, the initial reason folks stop what they're doing and pay attention when this guy opens his mouth is because his voice is kind … More »View the full article

The new power menu has way, way more buttons. [credit: Mishaal Rahman ] Android 11 has had four preview releases so far, but they've been stripped of many features that we know are in development and just haven't seen in a public build yet. One such feature is a revamp to the power menu, which has been getting code drops for smart home controls and credit cards for some time now. The near-final design of the new power menu appears to have leaked, thanks to XDA Developer's Mishaal Rahman. Android 11 Android 11 power menu leak shows new smart home integration Google delays Android 11 Beta, announces I/O replacement event for June 3 Android 11 Preview 3 hands-on—Strange changes to Recent Apps and notifications Google makes seamless update support mandatory in Android 11 Android 11 Preview 2 hands-on: More polish and a new install method View more stories Rahman shared two low-res screenshots showing a dramatically different power menu than what Android has typically had. What was just a simple four-option overlay has become a full-screen interface packed with buttons. The usual "Power," "Restart," "Screenshot," and "Emergency" buttons have shifted to the top of the screen, and below that is a carousel of credit cards from Google Pay. Below that are "Quick controls" which are smart home controls that are most likely sourced from the Google Home app. The Quick Controls are the major new feature on the power menu. The screenshots appear to show options for smart lights, door locks, thermostats, cameras, and smart blinds, all of which are products you can currently access through the Google Assistant, the Google Home app, and Google Smart Displays. If you're on a phone and don't want to use voice commands, your only other option is to dig through the Google Home App, which can be cumbersome. This menu, which would be brought up just by long-pressing the power button, would be considerably faster. Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments View the full article

Following Killer Mike’s impassioned speech and offering up their upcoming album, RTJ4, for free to anyone who needs it, El-P shared Run The Jewel’s album closer, “A Few Words for the Firing Squad (Radiation).” The beats roll in and grow as the hip-hop duo get on the mic. “When they got you you feeling like a fox running from another pack a dogs/ Put the pistol and the fist up in the air, we are there, swear to God,” El-P delivers. Meanwhile, Killer Mike’s bars build with intensity as a saxophone comes in. “This is for the do-gooders that the no-gooders, used and then abused/ For the truth-tellers tied to the whipping post, left beaten, battered, bruised/ For the ones whose body hung from a tree like a piece of strange fruit/ Go hard, last words to the firing squad was, “Fuck you too,'” he raps. Run the Jewels previously released “OOH LA LA” and “The Yankee and The Brave.” On Friday, Killer Mike delivered an impassioned plea to protestors in Atlanta to not burn down their own houses in anger following George Floyd’s death. Listen to “A Few Words for the Firing Squad (Radiation)” below. RTJ4 releases on June 5. View the full article

Terrace Martin has teamed up with Denzel Curry, Daylyt, Kamasi Washington, and G Perico for a new track called "PIG FEET" that was recorded in reaction to George Floyd's murder and the protests that have happened across the country over the last few days over police brutality. More »View the full article

Griselda crew member Conway The Machine is prepping a new album called From King To A God -- he teased a tracklist for it featuring Drake and 2 Chainz a couple days ago -- and today he's releasing a new song called "Front Lines" that was inspired by the protests following George Floyd's … More »View the full article

Two Minutes To Late Night is back with another all-star metal cover. Hosted by Jordan Olds as "Gwarsenio Hall" and affiliated with the Brooklyn venue Saint Vitus, the series has been getting one-off bands together for some pretty fun covers during quarantine. A couple months back there was a "Weird Al" Yankovic rendition, … More »View the full article

Oh Sees leader John Dwyer has yet another new project. The one's called Bent Arcana and Dwyer ran down the group's many members on a new Bandcamp page -- one of them is TV On The Radio's Kyp Malone. Their debut album, also called Bent Arcana, is coming out in August. More »View the full article

The Fredericksburg, Virginia screamo monsters Infant Island have been absolutely on fire lately. In the past two months, they've released two convulsive and brilliant records, the EP Sepulcher and the album Beneath. Also, singer/guitarist Alexander Rudenshiold has unveiled another new band called Mattachine and shared their own ferocious first song "More »View the full article

Last night, LL Cool J shared an impassioned video to his social media accounts of him rapping about George Floyd's murder and the protests that have unfolded over the last few days. "For 400 years you had your knees on our necks/ A garden of evil with no seeds of respect/ In America's mirror, all … More »View the full article

This weekend, Run The Jewels will release RTJ4, their hotly anticipated fourth album. The lead-up to the album release has been chaotic. RTJ have been forced to postpone their planned tour with Rage Against The Machine and cancel all the high-profile festival sets that they were going to do. And that … More »View the full article

Beyoncé is the latest star to speak out in the wake of George Floyd's death. In a video posted on Instagram yesterday, she encourages everyone to sign the Justice For George Floyd petition, which Forbes reports is the most popular change.org petition ever in the US. (It looks like it will … More »View the full article

In the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of white cops and the ensuing protests across the country, Billie Eilish has taken to social media to express her support for the Black Lives Matter movement and blast the "All Lives Matter" slogan in a lengthy statement. “I’ve been trying to take this week … More »View the full article