On behalf of the WordPress security team, I am announcing that we are invoking point 18 of the plugin directory guidelines and are forking Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) into a new plugin, Secure Custom Fields. SCF has been updated to remove commercial upsells and fix a security problem.

On October 3^rd, the ACF team announced ACF plugin updates will come directly from their website. This was also communicated via a support notice in the WordPress.org support forum on Oct 5th.  Sites that followed the ACF team’s instructions on “How to update ACF” will continue to get updates directly from WP Engine.  On October 1^st, 2024, WP Engine also deployed its own solution for updates and installations for plugins and themes across their customers’ sites in place of WordPress.org’s update service.

Sites that continue to use WordPress.org’s update service and have not chosen to switch to ACF updates from WP Engine can click to update to switch to Secure Custom Fields. Where sites have chosen to have plugin auto-updates from WordPress.org enabled, this update process will auto-switch them from Advanced Custom Fields to Secure Custom Fields.

This update is as minimal as possible to fix the security issue. Going forward, Secure Custom Fields is now a non-commercial plugin, and if any developers want to get involved in maintaining and improving it, please get in touch.

Similar situations have happened before, but not at this scale. This is a rare and unusual situation brought on by WP Engine’s legal attacks, we do not anticipate this happening for other plugins.

WP Engine has posted instructions for how to use their version of Advanced Custom Fields that uses their own update server, so you have that option, though the WordPress Security Team does not recommend it until they fix the security issues. You can uninstall Advanced Custom Fields and activate Secure Custom Fields from the plugin directory and be just fine.

There is separate, but not directly related news that Jason Bahl has left WP Engine to work for Automattic and will be making WPGraphQL a canonical community plugin. We expect others will follow as well.

Arduino Nicla Sense Env is a new sensor module with temperature, humidity, and gas (TVOC, NO2, O3) sensing that follows the launch of the Arduino Nicla Sense ME (Motion & Environment) module over three years ago (2021). The implementation of the new module is quite different since the ME module relies on Nordic Semi nRF52832 Cortex-M4 microcontroller and Bosch SensorTech motion and environmental sensor, but the new Nicla Sense Env module is made of parts from Renesas namely the RA2E1 Cortex-M23 microcontroller, the HS4001 humidity and temperature sensor, the ZMOD4410 gas sensor for TVOC and indoor air quality, and the ZMOD4510 gas sensor for NO2, O3, and outdoor air quality. Arduino Nicla Sense Env (ABX00089) specifications: MCU – Renesas RA2E1 Arm Cortex-M23 entry-line microcontroller (not accessible or programmable by the user) CPU core – Arm Cortex-M23 core up to 48 MHz Memory – 16KB SRAM Storage – 128KB flash Sensors [...]

The post Arduino Nicla Sense Env module features temperature, humidity, and gas sensors from Renesas appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.

Millimeter Wave (mmWave) radar technology, recognized for its high accuracy, privacy-centric capabilities, adaptability, and flexibility, is increasingly becoming a critical tool in privacy-oriented sensing applications. These applications range from presence and fall detection to sensitive monitoring of breathing and heartbeat.

To empower developers worldwide to adapt mmWave radar for more responsive automation, we are now excited to introduce two new mmWave Sensor Kits designed to meet diverse needs:

• MR60BFD2 60GHz mmWave Fall Detection Sensor Kit with XIAO ESP32C6

• MR60BHA2 60GHz mmWave Breathing and Heartbeat Detection Sensor Kit with XIAO ESP32C6

Priced at $24.9, both kits utilize the same hardware platform but are equipped with specialized pre-set algorithms tailored for distinct motion detection tasks—fall detection and breathing & heartbeat monitoring, respectively.

Key Features of the New mmWave Sensor Kits

These kits leverage 60GHz mmWave technology to offer reliable detection capabilities:

• Presence and Fall Detection: Detects subtle motions, accurately identifying human activities such as standing, walking, or falling.

• Presence, Breathing and Heartbeat Monitoring: Captures minute displacements caused by heartbeat and chest movements, providing invaluable data for health monitoring.

Each kit features a mmWave Sensor Module with:

• Light Level Sensing
• Customizable WS2812B RGB LED
• Support for Extended Grove Sensors/Actuators

Powered by the XIAO ESP32C6, these kits come with pre-flashed ESPHome firmware and support multiple wireless protocols, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, and Thread. They are designed for easy no-code integration with Home Assistant via ESPHome, allowing users to customize detection zones and analytics. P.S. A 3D printing enclosure file is available for free download as a reference design to fit in your application.

Why Choose mmWave Sensors for Your Projects?

High Resolution and Accuracy: Essential for applications requiring precise detection and differentiation of human movements.

Non-contact and Non-invasive: Ideal for continuous monitoring without disturbance, crucial for healthcare and home environments.

Operational in Various Conditions: Functions effectively regardless of lighting conditions or physical barriers.

Privacy Preservation: Does not capture identifiable images or videos, ensuring privacy while monitoring.

Real-Time Processing: Supports immediate data processing for quick responses to detected emergencies.

Flexible Integration and Wide Coverage: Easily integrated into existing systems, enhancing capabilities without significant modifications.

Expanding Your Toolkit

If you’re a long-term supporter of Seeed, you’re likely familiar with our mmWave Sensor Series. We have prepared a comparison guide to help you select the best mmWave sensors for your projects.

Seeed Studio mmWave Sensors in Comparison

Product Model	Operating Frequency	Transmit Power	Motion Range	Presence Range	Detection Angle	Operating Voltage	Pins Spacing	Size (WxH)	ESPHome Support	Category	Availability	Notes
Seeed Stduio MR60FDA2	60GHz	/	6m	3m	120x100°	5V	2.54mm	30x48mm	Native Firmware Support	Sensor with XIAO ESP32C6 as the MCU	$24.9 at Seeed Webstore	New Release
Seeed Stduio MR60BHA2	60GHz	/	6m	1.5m	120x100°	5V	2.54mm	30x48mm	Native Firmware Support	Sensor with XIAO ESP32C6 as the MCU	$24.9 at Seeed Webstore	New Release
Seeed Stduio mmWave Human Detection Sensor Kit	24GHz	8dBm	5m	4m	90×60°	4.5-6V	2.00mm	35x30mm	Github	Sensor with XIAO ESP32C3 as the MCU	$26.99 at Seeed Webstore	In Stock
Seeed Studio 24GHz XIAO	24GHz	/	6m	4m	60×60°	5V	2.54mm	22x18mm	Guide	Module	$4.49 at Seeed Webstore	In Stock
Seeed Studio MR24HPC1	24GHz	8dBm	5m	4m	90×60°	4.5-6V	2.00mm	35x30mm	Github	Module	$6.9 at Seeed Webstore	In Stock
Seeed Studio MR24HPB1	24GHz	10dBm	12m	5m	90×60°	4.5-6V	2.00mm	35x30mm	Github	Module	$19.9 at Seeed Webstore	In Stock
Seeed Studio MR24BSD1	24GHz	6dBm	2.75m	1.5m	40×40°	4.5-6V	/	45x26mm	/	Module	$28 at Seeed Webstore	Out of Stock
Seeed Studio MR60BHA1	60GHz	6dBm	0.5m	1.5m	20×20°	4.5-6V	/	35x30mm	Github	Module	$45 at Seeed Webstore	Out of Stock
Seeed Studio MR60FDA1	60GHz	6dBm	6m	3m	60×60°	4.5-6V	/	35x30mm	Github	Module	$37 at Seeed Webstore	Out of Stock

Reserve your mmWave Sensor Kit today and enhance your automation systems, whether for smart homes, healthcare, safety monitoring, elderly caring, security, or caregiving.

MR60BHA2 for Breathing, Heartbeat and Presence Detection MR60FDA2 for Fall and Presence Detection

Notes at the end.

Hey community, we’re curating a monthly newsletter centering around the beloved Seeed Studio XIAO. If you want to stay up-to-date with:

 Cool Projects from the Community to get inspiration and tutorials
 Product Updates: firmware update, new product spoiler
 Wiki Updates: new wikis + wiki contribution
 News: events, contests, and other community stuff

Please click the image below to subscribe now!

The post Meet Two New mmWave Sensor Kits for Presence, Fall, Breathing & Heartbeat Detection, Compatible with Home Assistant appeared first on Latest Open Tech From Seeed.

It's been a few months since our last major update for Auth, and we're very happy about all the love that it has received so far.

From LinusTechTips picking Auth as the best 2FA app to CERN's recommendation, we're grateful to be at the receiving end of praise.

We are now here to showcase v4.0, that comes with some major improvements.

Changelog

Here are the highlights of what has been added since v3.0.

Sharing

You can now easily share specific codes with your team, with temporary links that are end-to-end encrypted.

These links will be valid only for the duration that you've chosen. Ente will pre-compute the codes for this duration, and share those within the link, end-to-end encrypted.

Your 2FA secret / seed phrase is not shared, and remains secure on your device.

Notes

Auth now supports notes within codes.

You can attach any text (upto a maximum of 500 characters), to provide more information about your accounts.

Like with everything else, your notes are preserved end-to-end encrypted.

Trash and recover

You can now trash codes that you don't need.

These items will be moved to a separate section within the app, under the "Trash" header.

You can recover codes from here, in case of accidental deletions, or delete them permanently.

App lock

You can now further protect your codes with a custom lock screen that supports PINs and passwords. So you can protect your co with either of these, instead of your device lock screen.

CLI

Starting this release, Ente's CLI will support accessing your data on Auth.

This means you can go ahead and script a workflow that works for you. You can find more information on using our CLI to export your data from auth here.

Flatpak

Last but not the least, Auth is now officially available on Flathub!

If you like what we're doing, please support us on ProductHunt.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud computing and AI, businesses need ways to optimize performance, reduce costs and stay ahead of the competition. Enter Arm Neoverse – a game-changing architecture that’s reshaping the future of AI data centers and AI infrastructure.

Arm Neoverse has emerged as the go-to choice for industry leaders looking to drive innovation while minimizing total cost of ownership (TCO) in their AI data centers. With its unmatched performance, scalability, and power efficiency, Arm Neoverse is redefining what’s possible in modern computing environments.

Cloud Giants Lead the Way

It’s not just hype – major cloud service providers are already harnessing the power of Arm Neoverse:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) with Graviton
• Microsoft with Cobalt
• Google with Axion

These trail-blazers recognize that Arm Neoverse delivers the critical performance and efficiency needed to meet today’s most demanding workloads. But the benefits of Arm aren’t limited to the cloud. 

Bringing Arm to Your Data Center

Enterprise customers can now leverage Arm technology on-premises, thanks to trusted OEM partners like HPE and Supermicro. As AI capabilities become increasingly central to enterprise applications, Arm-based solutions offer a path to consolidate outdated x86 servers onto fewer, high-performance, power-efficient machines.

We understand that considering and adopting new technology can seem daunting. That’s why we’ve created a comprehensive guide to help you navigate your Arm Neoverse journey. Our guide addresses common concerns, showcases real-world success stories, and provides a clear path forward for enterprises looking to harness the power of Arm for their AI data centers.

Ready to accelerate your AI data center dreams? Learn how Arm Neoverse can transform your infrastructure and propel your business into the future of AI-driven computing.

Don’t just keep pace – lead the AI revolution with Arm Neoverse.

The post How Arm Neoverse can Accelerate Your AI Data Center Dreams appeared first on Arm Newsroom.

Matrix Live

Dept of Clients 📱

Extera

OfficialDakari reports

Hello, everyone!

During this week, a few things happened in Extera. Here is what changed:

• Animations. Now, Extera has some animations in it. Member drawer opening/closing animation or navigating animation.
• More material design. We made emoji&sticker pack settings use Material Design too.
• A lot better threads! Threads are now really nearly usable. They now have different routes too.
• Message menu in material design. Deleting and reporting messages form has Material Design too.

Our server got some changes too:

• Federation is now happening through Cloudflare WARP.
• We've got Git instance!

Also, we've started actively working on Extera Music (name is subject to change) - our alternative front-end for YouTube with playlists and a lot of cool things.

Nheko (website)

Desktop client for Matrix using Qt and C++17.

Nico announces

Nothing much interesting to say currently, but one thing might be interesting to Nheko users:

We noticed that http/3 increases the CPU usage of Nheko a lot (by 10-20x!) and makes the connection in general unstable. We use libcurl in the backend and depending on your distribution http/3 might get enabled by default. In my case this meant even when idle Nheko was using 10% or more CPU. The next release will disable http/3 by default for this reason. In my case this brings down CPU usage to 0.5% again, which is a noticeable improvement to battery life.

Why the CPU usage increases this much with http/3 has a multitude of reasons (and isn't libcurl's fault, but more related to how http/3 works as well as some crypto library shenanigans). I won't go into the details there, but feel free to discuss this in #nheko:nheko.im. Specifically we were hoping for http/3 to improve the reconnection logic and make roaming between IPs a better experience. So far the opposite seems to be the case, but if you have any suggestions on what we could improve, they are very welcome!

Dept of Widgets 🧩

NeoBoard Widget v1.20.0 (website)

milton announces

Version 1.20.0 of NeoBoard is a small incremental update following 1.19.1 after a short month with a presentation at The Matrix Conference. This version brings the following updates:

Disable Grid During Presentation

We made the Presentation Mode easier to use by disabling the grid automatically when starting to present, and restoring it after presenting. Of course if you need it, you can still toggle it back on during presentation.

Small Screen Improvements

We also tweaked the bottom toolbars a bit: Some of the less important buttons are now hidden automatically so NeoBoard remains usable even when the available screen space is narrow. Enlarge the window, and they will reappear. 🪄

While we were at it, we also fixed an alignment issue in Safari, so we have the same experience on all platforms.

You can get the full release notes here and here's a reminder that you can always try it now: just add NeoBoard as a widget to one of your rooms by following these instructions.

We invite you to try all of this and would love to get some feedback at #nordeck:matrix.org.

Dept of SDKs and Frameworks 🧰

Elm SDK (website)

A more consistent alternative to the matrix-js-sdk, written in Elm.

Bram announces

Zoooom! 🏎️ The Elm SDK now supports all spec versions, including the new version 1.12!

With this patch update, support now includes version 1.12 - but don't worry, old (even deprecated!) spec versions remain supported. The Elm SDK adapts its communication to whatever your homeserver supports, so you can safely update your Elm library without needing to wait for your homeserver to update. This design makes the SDK nearly trivial to update to the latest spec version - and hence very fast. Zoooom!

Dept of Ops 🛠

etke.cc (website)

Your matrix server on your conditions

Aine [don't DM] says

Synapse-Admin: Bugfixes & Improvements

A while ago, we at etke.cc announced our Synapse-Admin fork, and this week we are here with the fork news again.

No significant changes were made this week (however, MAS users will like the-next-big-thing, even tho it's a workaround), this is more maintenance release with small QoL improvements:

• Better handling of restricted homeservers config
• Better federation page UI - now with icons!
• Fix avatar sorting - apparently, the avatar field's sorting in the user's list was broken after the React-Admin upgrade

Source code

Dept of Bots 🤖

communitybot plugin for maubot (website)

wreck announces

quick reminder for the uninitiated: the communitybot plugin is a maubot plugin to aid administrators of communities on matrix! it supports community management controls to make it easy to add new rooms to your Space, track inactive users, redact files or offensive messages in some or all of your rooms, and keep out the ne'er-do-wells.

with the latest update for the communitybot plugin for maubot, you can now have your bot subscribe to public ban lists by having your bot join their room (like the CME banlist, included in the config by default!). when subscribed, the bot will automatically ban malicious/spam accounts when they join any of your rooms. this is read-only functionality, so if you're interested in publishing or defining your own policy lists, you will still be better served by a project like Draupnir.

which begs the question: who should use this? the answer, as well as suggested community structure, are now in the readme. feel free to join #dev:mssj.me to discuss further or get help!

Matrix Federation Stats

collected by MatrixRooms.info - an MRS instance by etke.cc

Aine [don't DM] reports

As of today, 10152 Matrix federateable servers have been discovered by matrixrooms.info, 3118 (30.7%) of them are publishing their rooms directory over federation. The published directories contain 22188 rooms.

Stats timeline is available on MatrixRooms.info/stats

How to add your server | How to remove your server

Dept of Ping 🏓

Here we reveal, rank, and applaud the homeservers with the lowest ping, as measured by pingbot, a maubot that you can host on your own server.

#ping:maunium.net

Join #ping:maunium.net to experience the fun live, and to find out how to add YOUR server to the game.

That's all I know

See you next week, and be sure to stop by #twim:matrix.org with your updates!

With Halloween just around the corner, we’ve got the perfect project to make your decorations more fun and interactive. All you have to do is take the Arduino UNO R4 WiFi and Modulino nodes included in your Plug and Make Kit to create an awesome jack-o’-lantern that will light up and cackle with evil laughter when someone walks by! 

Connect it to Arduino Cloud and you’ll be able to check on it and even remotely trigger some spooky surprises. 

This is an easy project that anyone can do, and we’ll walk you through the steps to make it happen.

A step-by-step guide to make spooky super simple

This project is a great introduction to making interactive things. You won’t just be setting up some store-bought props, you’ll be creating technology and bringing your pumpkin to life!

To get started, you’ll need:

• Plug and Make Kit (including UNO R4 WiFi, Modulino Pixels for the glowing eyes, and Modulino Distance to trigger the action when someone approaches)
• An MP3 module and a small speaker for the creepy sounds
• A microSD card to store your sounds (feel free to use the ones we provide, or record your own!)
• A powerbank to keep everything running
• A pumpkin (you can carve out a real one, or you can 3D print one like we did – using this model by Damien Dozias)

The Modulino Distance sensor detects when someone approaches your jack-o’-lantern, and that’s when the magic begins. The Modulino Pixels light up the eyes, syncing with the spooky sounds played from the MP3 module. Everything is controlled with an UNO R4, and thanks to Arduino Cloud, you can even control the pumpkin remotely, change the sounds, and keep track of how many people you’ve scared.

All the code and details are ready for you to download from Arduino’s Project Hub. We’ve also created a template that will help you set everything up quickly. This template automatically uploads the code to your UNO board and creates a custom dashboard so you can monitor and control your creation. Just follow the link to get started!

Unleash your creativity!

Sure to make a lasting impression on your trick-or-treating visitors, this project offers you the chance to have fun while actually learning a lot about electronics, coding, and the Internet of Things (IoT). 

Why just buy interactive objects when making your own is so rewarding? So grab your tools, start building, and give your Halloween the high-tech twist it deserves!

As always, we highly encourage you to customize the project with your own ideas: with the UNO R4 WiFi and Modulino nodes included in the Plug and Make Kit, you have all the tools you need.

For example, you could use Modulino Buttons to change scary sounds locally, or make your scary jack-o’-lantern even smarter. It can check the weather from an online forecast and change the LEDs’ color to let you know if it’s going to rain, help you use your smartphone to monitor the temperature outside in real time via Arduino Cloud… and much more! 

Be sure to share your scary creations with us: upload them to Project Hub or email creators@arduino.cc to get in touch. 

The post Make your scary Halloween pumpkin smart with the Plug and Make Kit! appeared first on Arduino Blog.

Firefly has released a Rockchip RK3576 SoM and development board called the Core-3576JD4 Core Board with a SO-DIMM edge connector and the AIO-3576JD4 carrier board respectively. The core board or the SoM is built around an octa-core 64-bit processor with a Mali G52 MC3 GPU and a 6 TOPS NPU, so it can handle demanding AI tasks while maintaining low power consumption. The AIO-3576JD4 is a full-fledged carrier board with a wide range of on-board interfaces, like dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, MIPI-CSI, HDMI 2.1, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, USB Type-C, a Phoenix connector for serial, dual-row pin headers (SPI, I2C, Line in, and Line out), an M.2 socket for 5G, a mini PCIe for 4G LTE, an M.2 socket for WiFi 6/BT 5.2, and a third M.2 socket for SATA/PCIe NVMe SSD expansion. RK3576 AI SoM and dev board specification Core-3576JD4 specifications SoC – Rockchip RK3576 CPU – Octa-core  CPU [...]

The post Firefly introduces Rockchip RK3576 SoM and All-in-One carrier board compatible with NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano and Orin NX modules appeared first on CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.