Waymo is issuing a voluntary software recall after one of its driverless vehicles collided with a telephone pole in Phoenix, Arizona, last month, the company said. The vehicle was damaged, but no passengers or bystanders were hurt in the incident.

The company is filing the recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) after completing a software update to 672 vehicles — the total number of driverless-capable vehicles in Waymo’s fleet. The update corrects an error in the software that “assigned a low damage score” to the telephone pole, and updates its map to account for the hard road edge in the alleyway that was not previously included.

This is Waymo’s second recall ever, after two minor collisions prompted a recall of 444 vehicles last February. And it comes at a time of increased regulatory scrutiny of the driverless vehicle industry, in which federal investigators are probing almost all the major companies operating autonomous vehicles in the US.

The incident that prompted the latest recall took place on May 21st in Phoenix. According to local reports, an unoccupied Waymo vehicle was driving to a passenger pickup location through an alley that was lined on both sides by wooden telephone poles. The poles were not up on a curb but level with the road and surrounded with longitudinal yellow striping to define the viable path for vehicles. As it was pulling over, the Waymo vehicle struck one of the poles at a speed of 8mph, sustaining some damage, the company said.

The passenger who was waiting for the vehicle didn’t witness the crash but did recall hearing it. “It never made it to pick us up,” Jericka Mitchell told 12News.

Waymo’s recall isn’t a recall in the traditional sense. It’s not taking its vehicles off the road for repairs or maintenance. Much like Tesla’s software recalls, the company can simply push an over-the-air update to all the affected vehicles and then continue to operate on public roads after the new software and maps have loaded.

“We have already deployed mapping and software updates across our entire fleet, and this does not impact our current operations,” Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna said in a statement. “As we serve more riders in more cities, we will continue our safety first approach, working to earn trust with our riders, community members, regulators, and policymakers.”

Waymo is trying to be proactive about its safety — especially as it relates to incidents in which its own vehicles are clearly at fault. The company is under investigation by NHTSA for over two dozen incidents involving its driverless vehicles, including several “single-party” crashes and possible traffic law violations. Several incidents involved crashes with stationary objects, much like the May 21st crash with the telephone poll.

Let’s be real, having your passwords automatically filled in can be a real time-saver. But it can also be a bit unnerving when your phone seems to know your log-in credentials a little too well.

Love it or hate it, Android’s autofill password feature is here to stay. The good news? You’ve got full control over how it works.

If you have an iPhone and you want to enable and use its incredibly smart password autofill feature, you can learn how by clicking here.

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How to enable autofill on your Android

Here’s how to get a handle on this automatic feature.

 Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.

• First things first, we’re going to swipe down and tap Settings on your Android device.
• Now, scroll down to General Management, tap it.
• Scroll down again to select Passwords and Autofill or Auto Fill Service, whatever your device calls it.
• Under Autofill Services, you’ll see the current active service you’re using to manage your passwords; tap on it.

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Steps to enable autofill on Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

• Now, you’ll get a list of all the available services.
• Selecting Add Service will give you a whole new world of potential apps and add-ons to download and use for password management.

Steps to enable autofill on Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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How to set up and customize your password manager 

• When you have the service you want to use, tap it to make it your active password manager.
• Press OK to allow your phone to trust that service.
• Now, that service is going to fill in whatever password you have it set to fill.
• If you want to go and change the setting on your current service, go back to the active service screen and tap the gear icon next to your current active service.
• This will bring up the settings to whatever service you are using where you can manage specific stored passwords and how they are used.

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Steps to set up and customize your password manager (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Remember, it’s important to use strong, unique passwords for each site and enable two-factor authentication where possible for added security. Also, consider using a password manager to generate and store complex passwords.

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The latest autofill capabilities

As of June 2024, Google has rolled out some nifty new features for Android’s autofill capabilities. The biggest game-changer? You can now sync your passwords across all your Android devices, making it easier than ever to keep your log-ins consistent and secure.

Plus, there’s a new “Suggest Strong Passwords” option that’ll generate ultra-secure passwords for you whenever you’re creating a new account.

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To utilize the new autofill features on your Android device, you can follow these general steps:

• Open your device’s Settings app and navigate to the System section.
• Tap on Languages & Input, then select Advanced to find the Autofill service option.
• In the Autofill service, you should see the Google option. Select it to enable Google as your autofill service.
• To sync passwords across devices, ensure you’re signed in to the same Google account on all your Android devices. This will allow autofill to access passwords saved to your Google account.

For the Suggest Strong Passwords feature, whenever you create a new account or change a password, the autofill service should prompt you with a suggested strong password. You can choose to use this suggestion or create your own.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

At the end of the day, Android’s autofill password feature is all about convenience and security. Sure, it might take a little getting used to, but once you’ve got it set up just the way you like it, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. Just remember to keep your password manager up to date and your device secure, and you’ll be sailing smoothly through all those log-in screens.

How has the Android autofill feature impacted your online experience and what improvements would you suggest for its future updates? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

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Elon Musk had a sexual relationship with a former SpaceX intern, who he later hired onto his executive team, according to The Wall Street Journal. He also had a sexual relationship with a second employee. And a third woman alleged that Musk asked her several times to have his children; she refused. He then denied her a raise and complained about her performance.

One of the women who Musk had a sexual relationship also drew the ire of SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, who accused her of having an affair with Shotwell’s husband. When the woman reported this to HR, HR told Shotwell. “Shotwell told the HR department at SpaceX that she wanted the woman removed from the office of the chief executive,” The Wall Street Journal wrote.

The Journal’s article cites text messages, emails, and other documents. It is based on interviews with more than 48 people, including friends and family members of the women, as well as former employees.

Musk didn’t reply to WSJ’s requests for comment. Shotwell said the WSJ’s request for comment “paint[s] a completely misleading narrative” of what working for SpaceX is like, and that the WSJ story doesn’t reflect SpaceX’s culture. She also said that SpaceX investigates all harassment complaints and responds appropriately.