Tech review: Instagram to notify users of big outages

Instagram is rolling out changes in response to this month’s global outage that left it down for six hours with no explanation to users. The social network is testing a feature to alert its 1.4 billion users when it experiences a technical issue affecting service. Instagram won’t issue an alert every time there is an outage but will do it "when we see that people are confused and looking for answers." As part of this new "Helping you understand what’s going on with your account" initiative, Instagram will also notify users if their account is at risk of suspension for posting unacceptable content. Many Instagram users complain their accounts are disabled without explanation or recourse.

Bad password habits common with kids

Most adults understand the importance of using strong passwords. But their kids? Not so much. Research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that kids ages 8-18 typically "demonstrated bad password habits." They often reused passwords and shared them among friends and created easy-to-crack passwords that "referenced sports, video games, names, animals, movies, titles (such as "princess"), numbers and colors."

Online daters targeted by crypto scammers

As interest in cryptocurrencies grows, related online scams are also increasing. The FBI is warning of a rising trend of online romance scams where criminals gain a person’s trust and persuade them to invest in cryptocurrency. But the "investment" is a scam and any money sent is stolen. In the first seven months of 2021, the FBI says online romance scams resulted in more than $133 million in losses.

Ancestry info firm expands into telehealth

Consumer DNA testing giant 23andMe agreed to purchase telehealth upstart and drug-delivery service Lemonaid Health for $400 million in a bid to make its personalized genetics approach part of patients' primary care. 23andMe was founded in 2006 with the aim of not only selling customers tests that could yield entertaining information about ancestry, but using genetics to change how patients receive health care overall.

— BLOOMBERG NEWS