ZTE is getting a reprieve on its ‘death sentence’ today, as the US government has begun to ease the seven-year ban on American companies doing business with the Chinese company.
It’s a limited repeal of April 15’s Denial Order against the Shenzhen-based company , according to an authorization order put out by the US Department of Commerce.
This means ZTE will be able to fix existing networks and equipment, work to disclose cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and support phones already in the marketplace with software updates. ZTE also has the power for a limited transfer of funds.
Today’s Commerce order not only limits ZTE in the scope of what it can do (it can’t make and sell new smartphones, for example), but it also expires on August 1. That gives ZTE less than a month to fix and update software on existing equipment.
The end to the seven-year ban for ZTE seems to be in sight, however. US President Trump tweeted in May that he and China’s President Xi were working to get ZTE ‘back to business, fast’.
Trump’s series of tweets about ZTE didn’t end in ‘Sad’, which is good news for the company and its partners, including US partners. In 2017, firms like Qualcomm, Broadcom, Intel, and SanDisk made up some of the 200 US suppliers that procured $2.3 billion (about £1.7b, AU$3b) of goods, software and technology from ZTE.
The authorization order may be the first of many stages for bringing ZTE back to life, with the final hurdle launching new smartphones, like the ZTE Axon 9. The company confirmed the ZTE Axon 7 sequel earlier this year, but now it can’t make use of equipment from US companies as part of the seven-year ban.
It’s all the result of shipping devices containing US-made components to a heavily sanctioned Iran and North Korea under a prior CEO. For this, ZTE pleaded guilty and paid a fine of $1.19 billion (about £876m, AU$1.6b), but it didn’t make all of the necessary personnel changes, which resulted in April’s Denial Order.
It’s a conspiracy theory that’s been nurtured for a long time: someone mentions taking a holiday in the vicinity of their phone and the next thing you know, they’re being shown ads about flights and hotel accommodation on Facebook.
People have believed that their phones have secretly been listening to them to gather data for targeted advertising, building a myth that a bunch of computer science academics at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, decided to look into.
While they found no evidence to suggest that phones are doing any eavesdropping on conversations, what they found instead was just as creepy.
A whole new conspiracy
The year-long study looked at several thousand apps and whether they were secretly using the phone’s microphone to record audio. 17,260 popular Android apps were monitored on 10 Android handsets using an automated program that notes what media files get sent out from each app. The apps included Facebook and over 8,000 apps that send information to the social media giant.
As Gizmodo reports, there wasn’t a single instance when the apps turned on the phone’s microphone or sent out any audio files. Instead, some apps were making screen recordings and sharing those with third parties.
As an example, Gizmodo cites GoPuff – a junk food delivery app – recording user interactions with the app and sending them to a mobile analytics company called Appsee.
While it might be common practice for developers to use analytics companies to monitor and improve app performance, GoPuff’s privacy policy makes no mention of it. When the researchers contacted the developer, GoPuff reportedly updated its privacy policy to specifically mention Apsee [sic] being handed over Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
The scientific method
Like all good scientists, the research team has admitted that the study has its limitations and makes no definitive claim that apps may never secretly eavesdrop; just that there was no evidence of that happening.
The academics admit that automated systems can’t replicated human interactions, so results may vary when used by a real person. And, unlike humans, the program is unable to sign into apps and could well have missed some audio files processed locally on the device that were sent out.
Either way, we know it’s possible that apps like Facebook can find ways and means of accessing user information, and this study may just further justify the current social climate around issues of personal data and user privacy.
It’s not long to wait now to see who will be the eighth and final team to make the Russia 2018 World Cup quarter-finals – Colombia vs England is the last of the round of 16 ties, it couldn’t be more tense and you can watch a free Colombia vs England live stream from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Colombia vs England – when and where
This huge World Cup 2018 round of 16 game sees Colombia vs England on July 3 at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, which holds nearly 45,000 people.
It’s today’s late game at Russia 2018, so 9pm local time. That’s 7pm BST or 1pm if you’re reading this in Colombia. Elsewhere, you’ll need to tune in at 2pm ET, 11am PT or 4am AEST in Australia Wednesday morning.
England started the 2018 FIFA World Cup given a very slim chance of getting very far in Russia, but that 6-1 Panama destruction and a Harry Kane hat-trick suddenly made them a very real threat in many peoples’ eyes. Whether or not talisman James Rodríguez is available, Colombia are no one-man team either, with the likes of Juan Cuadrado and Radamel Falcao bringing the star power.
The last time it was Colombia vs England at a World Cup finals was twenty years ago, when Darren Anderton and, yes, a David Beckham free kick gave England a 2-0 win. But here at Russia 2018, it could easily be a different story. We just don’t know which way this one is going to go.
Keep reading to discover how to live stream Colombia vs England – and, indeed, every World Cup 2018 match – no matter where in the world you are. Below we’ll tell you exactly how to watch on your TV, mobile device and it doesn’t have to cost you a thing.
Use a VPN to watch the World Cup 2018 from anywhere for FREE
You don’t have to miss a single minute of World Cup soccer – even if the country where you are isn’t broadcasting certain games. Because every second of action is being shown somewhere (the UK, for example, is televising every game for free – see below), you can simply use a VPN to login to a region that is broadcasting the game. And it’s really easy to do:
1. Download and install a VPN We’ve tested all of the major VPN services and we rate ExpressVPN as the absolute best. It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services and ranks amongst the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox and PlayStation. So for a one-stop shop, you can’t go wrong with Express – but there are more fantastic VPN options out there as well:
The best 3 VPNs for streaming sports online 1. ExpressVPN: the best all-round VPN for streaming, comes with 30-day money back guarantee and/or 15 months for the price of 12 2. VyprVPN: a 40% discount and blazing speeds make VyprVPN a great choice for 4K – and during the World Cup, it’s giving you the chance to win a PS4 + FIFA 18 3. IPVanish: supports up to 10 devices, so great on the go and has 25% off for the World Cup
2. Connect to the appropriate server location Simply open the VPN app, hit ‘choose location’ and select the appropriate location – it’s super easy to do. If in any doubt, just head straight to the UK.
3. Go to the broadcaster’s live stream orTVPlayer.com If you know exactly what station you’re hoping to catch the game on, then you don’t need us any longer – head straight there. If you’re not sure, just stick with TVPlayer.com in the UK. It will be showing all the games for free. You don’t even have to sign up.
Want to record the game and catch it in your spare time. TVPlayer Plus carries a £5.99 monthly fee but let’s you ‘record’ up to 10 hours of TV to watch at your leisure. And you can take advantage of its 14-day free trial, too.
How to stream England vs Colombia live in the UK
We’re guessing you probably know this by now, but kick-off is at 7pm BST and you can watch via television, online or the ITV Hub app for mobile devices – ITV has the rights to show this one on TV.
If you’re out of the country, on your summer hols perhaps (what were you thinking?) and want to get the UK broadcast, then it’s very easy to download and install a VPN and then head over to TVPlayer.com to watch.
How to watch Colombia vs England: US live stream
Fox Sport is the official US broadcaster for World Cup soccer in the US and it’s 2pm ET / 11am PT kick-off for Colombia vs England. If you don’t have cable, you could always grab a free trial to another streaming service like Sling and Fubo and watch on there.
The alternative is to use a VPN service to grab a live stream from another country’s coverage. Scroll up and check out our instructions above.
How to live stream Colombia vs England in Canada
In Canada, CTV won the rights to show the FIFA World Cup 2018. That means cable users can watch on TV, online or via the CTV Go app.
Logging in to another nation’s broadcast is also a great option using a VPN following the instructions above.
How to watch England vs Colombia: live stream in Australia
Great news for Australians, along with Socceroos games, the semi-finals and finals, free-to-air SBS now has the rights to show all of the World Cup 2018 games, too. Not so great news – in the AEST time zone, kick-off is at 4am.
And don’t worry if you’re out of the country and want to catch that SBS (or UK broadcast) as using a VPN will let you watch as if you were back at home.
How to watch England vs Colombia: New Zealand live stream
Unlike in the UK, you have to pay to watch the World Cup in New Zealand. Sky Sports have the rights locally.
If you don’t have Sky and don’t want to subscribe just for the FIFA World Cup, then you could go for a VPN instead and tune into free coverage from another country.
Exclusive World Cup competition with VyprVPN
Win a PlayStation 4 + FIFA 18 with VyprVPN If you’ve decided that a VPN is the best way to catch your chosen World Cup live stream but can’t quite choose between the hundreds of providers out there, then our exclusive competition may sway you. VyprVPN has clearly got a case of football fever and is giving away a PS4 Slim (1TB) with a copy of FIFA 18 to one lucky winner.
You won’t find this competition anywhere else on the web – it’s strictly exclusive to TechRadar readers – and if you don’t take the top prize, five runners up will receive a free year of Vypr VPN instead. All you need to do is head to the competition page, complete the entry form and you’ll be in the prize draw (full terms and conditions can be found on the competition page). It’s an open goal!
Where else can I watch the World Cup using a VPN
A VPN will enable you to watch every 2018 World Cup fixture from literally anywhere – even if it isn’t being broadcast in that country. So that obviously includes all the competing countries and anywhere else on Earth you might be: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uruguay and many more!
How to stream all the online action straight to you TV
The ability to live stream all the football to your phone or tablet is undeniably useful – you don’t have to miss a single goal, even if you’re out of the house. But if you want to stream the World Cup from the internet to your TV, then picking up a streaming box might be useful. Check out our guide to the best streaming media players, where the likes of Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire are all included.
