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Apple Watch Series 7 Pre-Orders Start Oct. 8

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When Apple announced its next-generation smartwatch last month, it left out one detail: an availability date. Now, that mystery is solved. 

Today, Cupertino announced plans to open pre-orders for the Apple Watch Series 7 this Friday, Oct. 8. In-store availability will follow on Friday, Oct. 15. 

Left to right: Apple Watch Series 3, Series 6, Series 7


Left to right: Apple Watch Series 3, Series 6, Series 7

Starting at $399, the Series 7 offers 20% more screen area than the Series 6 and a 40% slimmer bezel. That equates to a watch with similar dimensions as its predecessor, but more display real estate, Apple says. Its screen is also 70% brighter indoors when your wrist is down, which should come in handy for checking the time.

This is also the first Apple Watch with an IP6X certification, meaning it’s now totally dustproof for improved durability. 

It promises the same 18-hour battery life as the Series 6, but charges 33% faster. Just 45 minutes of charging will take the watch from dead to 80% battery life. And eight minutes on the charger offers eight hours of juice for overnight sleep tracking.

Series 7


The Series 7 in midnight, starlight, green, blue, and Product Red aluminum

The Series 7 will be available in aluminum and stainless steel, in 41mm and 45mm sizes. The aluminum version comes in midnight, starlight, green, a new blue tone, or Product Red color options. The stainless steel version will be available in gold, silver, or graphite. 

As a more affordable alternative, the company plans to continue selling the Series 3 for $199 and the Watch SE for $279. 

Stay tuned for PCMag’s full review of the Series 7. In the meantime, if you’re wondering how it stacks up to the Watch SE and Series 3, check out: Should You Upgrade to the Series 7? Apple Watch Models Compared. To find out how it compares to Samsung’s latest smartwatch, check out: Apple Watch Series 7 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch4: Which Smartwatch Is Best for You?

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Venmo settings to change ASAP: Start by making your transactions private

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Mobile payment app like Venmo and Cash App

Follow these simple steps to protect your privacy on Cash App and Venmo. 


James Martin/CNET

Tens of millions of people use mobile payment apps like PayPal’s Venmo and Square’s Cash App to transfer money directly from their bank accounts to friends, family and merchants. While these platforms offer convenience, they also bring security risks, due in part to their combination of finance and social media. Users can also be targets for hackers looking to drain financial accounts. 

But don’t worry — there are plenty of ways for you to secure your Venmo and Cash App accounts with a few simple settings changes and privacy best practices. Here’s what to do. 

Read more: Venmo’s social payments can get you into trouble. But people like them anyway

Protecting your privacy on Venmo and Cash App: Basic tips

Both payment apps use encryption and fraud detection technology to protect account information. But to better ensure your security, you should take a few extra steps.

Use a randomly generated password

We know — you’re tired of hearing about how you need to use unique, hard-to-guess passwords for every account. But it’s still true, especially when your money’s involved. One easy way to do this is to use a password manager. Our favorites — including LastPass, 1Password and Bitwarden — offer a free tier of service with all of the basics: password storage, strong and secure password generation and autofill capabilities. 

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A password manager can help keep your Venmo and Cash App accounts secure.


Angela Lang/CNET

Beware common scams

Criminals target users of apps like Venmo and PayPal in all kinds of clever ways. There have been reports of hackers posing as Venmo and Cash App support staff, calling or…

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To stop the ransomware pandemic, start with the basics

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TWENTY YEARS ago, it might have been the plot of a trashy airport thriller. These days, it is routine. On May 7th cyber-criminals shut down the pipeline supplying almost half the oil to America’s east coast for five days. To get it flowing again, they demanded a $4.3m ransom from Colonial Pipeline Company, the owner. Days later, a similar “ransomware” assault crippled most hospitals in Ireland.

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Such attacks are evidence of an epoch of intensifying cyber-insecurity that will impinge on everyone, from tech firms to schools and armies. One threat is catastrophe: think of an air-traffic-control system or a nuclear-power plant failing. But another is harder to spot, as cybercrime impedes the digitisation of many industries, hampering a revolution that promises to raise living standards around the world.

The first attempt at ransomware was made in 1989, with a virus spread via floppy disks. Cybercrime is getting worse as more devices are connected to networks and as geopolitics becomes less stable. The West is at odds with Russia and China and several autocracies give sanctuary to cyber-bandits.

Trillions of dollars are at stake. Most people have a vague sense of narrowly avoided fiascos: from the Sony Pictures attack that roiled Hollywood in 2014, to Equifax in 2017, when the details of 147m people were stolen. The big hacks are a familiar but confusing blur: remember SoBig, or SolarWinds, or WannaCry?

A forthcoming study from London Business School (LBS) captures the trends by examining comments made to investors by 12,000 listed firms in 85 countries over two decades. Cyber-risk has more than quadrupled since 2002 and tripled since 2013. The pattern of activity has become more global and has affected a broader range of industries. Workers logging in from home during the pandemic have almost certainly added to the risks. The number of affected firms is at a record high.

Faced with this picture, it is natural to worry most about spectacular crises caused by cyber-attacks. All countries have vulnerable physical nodes such as oil pipelines, power plants and…

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Cyber Insurance Firms Start Tapping Out as …

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A global insurance carrier refuses to write new ransomware policies in France, while insurers rewrite policies. Are we heading toward a day when ransomware incidents become uninsurable?

In early May, global insurer AXA made a landmark policy decision: The company would stop reimbursing French companies for ransomware payments to cybercriminals.

The decision, which reportedly came after French authorities questioned whether the practice had fueled the current epidemic in ransomware attacks, may be just the beginning of a general retreat that will force companies to reconsider their attempts to outsource cyber-risk to insurance firms. Already, the massive damages from one damaging crypto worm, NotPetya, caused multiple lawsuits when insurers refused to pay out on cyber-insurance claims.

AXA’s decision could signal the insurance industry agreeing that ransomware payments spur greater ransomware activity, forcing companies to deal with the direct damages of cyberattacks, said Ilia N. Kolochenko, founder and chief architect at security firm ImmuniWeb SA, in an assessment of the impact of the insurer’s decision.

“On one side, this decision will likely hinder flourishing ransomware business and indirectly incentivize would-be victims to implement better cybersecurity and enhance their cyber-resilience,” he said. “On the other side, the categorical ban will unfairly discriminate against enterprises who adequately care about their cyber defense but nonetheless fall victims to sophisticated attacks or because of their careless suppliers.”

Ransomware payments continue to be a controversial capitulation to cybercriminals. Already, governments have started pressuring companies to not pay ransomware, with the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) warning in October that businesses could be violating US law if they pay groups that have been put on the sanctions list. And almost two years ago, following attacks on many local governments and school districts, a group of more than 1,400 elected local mayors pledged to not pay ransomware groups.

Yet cyber insurance continues to be a popular way to mitigate risk. In the United States, direct cyber insurance premiums…

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