Category: Internet


BlackBerry, iPhone, Gmail users at risk: WikiLeaks

Filed under: Android, Apple, Blackberry, Cybersecurity, Exploit, Google, Hackers, Internet, Mobile, RIM, Security, Technology, Telecom by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
December 2, 2011

WikiLeaks is out with yet another explosive expose. It has released 287 files of numerous companies containing details of mass surveillance.

Speaking in London, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said more than 150 organisations worldwide were selling information obtained by monitoring people’s mobile phones and computers.

“Today, we release over 287 files, documenting the reality of the international mass surveillance industry. An industry which now sells equipment to dictators and democracies alike, in order to intercept entire populations. 9/11 has provided a license for European countries, for United States, Australia, Canada, South Africa and others to develop spying systems that affect all of us,” Assange said.

He added that iPhone, Blackberry and Gmail users were at risk.

The whistleblower website has in the past released classified US documents on the Iraq and Afghan wars as well as controversial details of US diplomatic cables.

 

 

Source: IBNLive Tech

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Wi-Fi-Connected Laptop Hurts Sperm, Study Suggests

Filed under: Computers, Internet, Laptop, Macbook, MiFi, Technology, WiFi, Wireless by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
November 29, 2011

A computer with a wireless Internet connection hurts sperm, but not because the machine can heat up your lap, a new study suggests.

The findings showed that sperm cells collected in lab dishes and placed beneath a laptop with a wireless Internet connection for four hours had less motility and more DNA damage than sperm placed in another room, away from electronic devices but kept at the same temperature.

“It is well-known that increased temperature may decrease sperm quality, and the use of portable computers on the lap increases scrotal temperature,” the researchers wrote in their study.

But the findings suggested it wasn’t the temperature beneath the laptop that was affecting sperm; instead, the radiation from the laptop was slowing the swimmers, according to the study.

Laptops emit radiation

The researchers in Argentina and Virginia used semen samples from 29 healthy men, whose average age was 34. The laptop was set to download and upload information over the course of the experiment, so the wireless connection was actively being used. The temperature under the laptop was held constant at 77 degrees Fahrenheit by an air-conditioning system.

Wireless Internet connections use radio-frequency electromagnetic waves. When the researchers measured the radiation coming from a laptop wirelessly connected to the Internet, they found it was at least three times higher than an unconnected laptop, and seven to 15 times higher than radiation in a general setting, according to the study, though the levels varied over the course of the experiment, depending on the flow of information coming to or from the computer.

There was no difference between the sperm samples held under the laptop and those kept away from it in terms of the percentage of sperm that were dead at the end of the experiment, according to the study.

Still, sperm motility and having undamaged DNA are important for fertilizing an egg.

“We speculate that keeping a laptop connected wirelessly to the Internet on the lap near the testes may result in decreased male fertility,” the researchers wrote in their conclusion.

Why sperm cells are vulnerable

Sperm cells are different from other cells in the body — their DNA is highly condensed into a small area, the researchers noted. This could make them more vulnerable to the effects of such radiation.

It’s plausible that the magnetic and electromagnetic fields produced by the radio waves damage molecules in sperm called phospholipids, which are a needed to keep membranes within a sperm cell intact, the study researchers wrote.

It is not known whether all laptop computers might have the same effects as those seen in this study, nor is it known what other factors might heighten or lessen the damage, the researchers wrote in their conclusion.

“However, we cannot discard the possibility that damage to sperm is caused by the low radiation produced by the computer without Internet connection,” they wrote, and this possibility should be studied further.

The study was published online Nov. 23 in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Pass it on: Radiation from wireless internet connections might damage sperm cells.

Source: Yahoo! News

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Smartphone scams: Owners warned over malware apps

Filed under: Android, Applications, Cybersecurity, Droid, Exploit, Hackers, Internet, Malware, Mobile, Trojan, WiFi by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
November 6, 2011

Get Safe Online says that there has been an increase in smartphone malware as the market has grown.

Criminals are typically creating Trojan copies of reputable apps and tricking users into installing them.

Once on the phone, the app can secretly generate cash for criminals through premium rate text messages.

Get Safe Online, a joint initiative between the government, police and industry, said it was concerned that users of smartphones, such as Android devices, were not taking steps to protect their devices.

Get Safe Online said fraudsters are designing apps which generate cash secretly in the background without the owner realising until their monthly bill.

A typical scam involves an app designed to send texts to premium rate services without the user knowing.

Apps can appear to be bona fide software or sometimes masquerade as stripped down free versions of well-known games.

Rik Ferguson, a hacking researcher with internet security firm Trend Micro, said: “This type of malware is capable of sending a steady stream of text messages to premium rate numbers – in some instances we’ve seen one being sent every minute.

“With costs of up to £6 per message, this can be extremely lucrative. The user won’t know this is taking place, even if they happen to be using the device at the same time, as the activity takes place within the device’s back-end infrastructure.”

Online banking

Another major security firm, Symantec, recently warned in its annual threat assessment that Android phones were at risk and that it had found at least six varieties of malicious software.

Minister for Cyber Security Francis Maude said: “More and more people are using their smartphone to transmit personal and financial information over the internet, whether it’s for online banking, shopping or social networking.

“Research from Get Safe Online shows that 17% of smartphone users now use their phone for money matters and this doesn’t escape the notice of criminals.”

Tony Neate, head of Get Safe Online, urged people to check their phone’s security.

“Mobile phones are very personal. I have talked to people who are never more than a yard away from their mobile phone. Because of that attachment, they start to think that they are in a way invincible.

“It’s the end user that picks up the tab – it’s your phone that incurs the costs. Whether you have pay-as-you-go or a monthly account, that money is going to come from the account and go to the criminal.”

Source: BBC News

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Mozilla blocks McAfee Firefox extension, citing “explosive crashes”

Filed under: Applications, Cybersecurity, Exploit, FireFox, Internet, Mozilla by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
October 5, 2011

Mozilla has taken the rare step of blacklisting a McAfee extension for the Firefox browser.

The Firefox add-ons page for McAfee ScriptScan displays a large red X and notes that the add-on “causes a high volume of crashes.”

Mozilla’s advisory says, “Users are strongly encouraged to disable the problematic add-on or plugin, but may choose to continue using it if they accept the risks described.”

The bug report for the issue goes into greater detail. The report is titled “Blocklist McAfee ScriptScan for Firefox and McAfee SiteAdvisor due to explosive crashes,” and it notes that two separate bugs highly correlated with the two add-ons caused 3,432 and 6,691 crashes in the week ending September 28. The issues reportedly affect users of Firefox 6.0.2 and the just-released Firefox 7.

A comment in the bug report, dated September 28, suggests that the problem is even worse than those numbers would suggest:

We had 1555 processed crashes on 6.* yesterday, with the 10% throttling rate, this means that roughly 15,000 crashes happened during a single day with this signature!

The list of blocked add-ons includes an entry for McAfee SiteAdvisor from last March. Three Microsoft products, including the Bing Bar, were blocked in October 2010 at Microsoft’s request, to address security issues.

This isn’t the first time that McAfee’s add-on has been flagged for performance or reliability issues. An IBM TechNote from 2008 reports that an earlier version of ScriptScan “causes a four to seven seconds delay in rendering pages” from IBM’s WebSphere application. In that case, according to IBM, McAfee acknowledged the performance issues with the tool.

A support thread at Mcafee.com acknowledges the current issue and says “McAfee is aware of it, has a bug filed and is working with Mozilla to address the problem.”

This sort of incompatibility isn’t surprising. Mozilla’s decision to shift to a rapid-release schedule plays havoc with the makers of browser add-ons. On October 1, Symantec updated its Norton Toolbar and Norton Vulnerability Protection add-ons for Firefox. That followed a “minor product update” on September 20. A separate support note advised “This patch is necessary to prepare your Norton 2012 Product for the upcoming Firefox 7 compatibility update that we will release to Norton Products at a future date.” The Firefox 7.0 Compatibility Patch was released on September 27.

Source: ZDNet

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World’s First BitTorrent Certified Digital TV Launches

Filed under: Internet, OpenSource, Technology, Torrent by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
September 3, 2011

The world’s first Digital TV with ‘BitTorrent inside’ will be presented to the public tomorrow at the IFA trade show for consumer electronics in Berlin. The TV is manufactured by Vestel and uses technology from BitTorrent Inc. that allows consumers to find, download and play their favorite digital media directly on their television.

Early 2011 BitTorrent Inc., the company behind the popular file-sharing client uTorrent, launched a new all-in-one ecosystem for BitTorrent-certified products codenamed Chrysalis.

By using a certified application users can search for files that are shared on BitTorrent, download these files, and play them directly on their computers, TV or mobiles devices. Everything is bundled into one system and downloaders don’t have to worry about conversion, codecs or file-formats.

Today BitTorrent Inc. and TV manufacturer Vestel announce the launch of the first digital TV that will come with this built-in BitTorrent support. By embedding BitTorrent technology directly into the the TV hardware the two companies hope to appeal to a wide audience of people who are looking for an even more simple way to enjoy downloaded content in their living room.

“Consumers want all types of personal media and Internet content in their living rooms and the TV remains the most desired device for consuming this digital media, regardless of source,” Vestel’s Hakan Kutlu said commenting on the announcement.

“BitTorrent certification helps our TV line meet this consumer demand and ensures that Vestel products remain at the forefront of technology innovation and adoption,” Kutlu adds.

The first BitTorrent certified TV will be demoed tomorrow in Berlin, Germany at IFA, one of the world’s largest consumer trade shows.

Aside from convenience, the main reason for BitTorrent Inc. to develop the new BitTorrent ecosystem is to simplify the downloading process for less tech-savvy people. Right now, many people drop out after installing a BitTorrent client because they find it too complicated to download and play content.

“The world of digital media has become unnecessarily complex and results in an increasingly fragmented consumer experience. People want access to their entire content library – personal media, Internet files, and artist approved content – regardless of source, media type, or file format,” BitTorrent’s chief strategist Shahi Ghanem said.

BitTorrent told TorrentFreak that more certified devices running Chrysalis software will be announced this fall. Two years ago BitTorrent already partnered with device makers such as Netgear and D-Link to bring BitTorrent to set-top boxes and NAS devices, but these don’t run on Chrysalis yet.

BitTorrent’s efforts to simplify the user experience and become more integrated into devices doesn’t mean that the development of uTorrent will stagnate. The Chrysalis project has replaced the former mainline BitTorrent client, but uTorrent will continue to be developed separately. And with more than 100 million active users a month, that is probably a wise decision.

Source: TorrentFreak

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Chromebooks are dead, they just don’t know it yet

Filed under: Computers, Internet, Laptop, Notebooks, Technology by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
August 31, 2011

When Google first announced the Chromebook, there were two basic reactions. For many people, the reaction was, “Why would I need this?” After all, they already have the Chrome browser on their laptop and desktop computers. Their tablets already have built-in browsers and their own application ecosystem. Sure, the Chromebooks are small and light with great battery life, but you can buy a netbook with a fully-featured OS for the same price.

On the other hand, you also have early tech adopters like me who can’t wait to get their hands on the latest gadget. Chromebooks are new and different; the browser IS the operating system, and applications are available as browser plugins. But when all is said and done, why would I want to switch to a Chromebook when my MacBook Air runs OSX and Windows and is at least a pound lighter?

There is the matter of complexity, of course. There are a lot of people who simply do not need a full-blown computer in their lives. Many people are quite satisfied to surf the web, send email, use Facebook. They don’t need Microsoft Office, they don’t play World of Warcraft. For them, a Chromebook would be perfect.

 

Source: ZDNet

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Windows 8 To Offer Both Desktop, Tablet Interface

Filed under: Applications, Computers, Internet, Microsoft, PC, Tablets, Technology, Windows by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
August 31, 2011

Users of the coming Windows 8 operating system will be able to switch between a traditional desktop PC user interface and a tablet-friendly look patterned after Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform.

Some industry observers clearly have been worried about the dumbing down of the next Windows OS release. However, users who highly value the full-blown desktop experience will have the full set of PC capabilities at their fingertips, said Steven Sinofsky, the president of Microsoft’s Windows division, writing in a blog.

“If you want to, you can seamlessly switch between Metro style apps and the improved Windows desktop,” Sinofsky wrote. “Essentially, you can think of the Windows desktop as just another app.”

Windows 8 tablet users who prefer Windows Phone’s Metro-style UI for accomplishing tasks on the fly will never even need to see the platform’s desktop version.

“We won’t even load it — literally the code will not be loaded — unless you explicitly choose to go there,” Sinofsky said.

Moreover, the new Metro-style UI “is much more than the visual design — [it is] fast and fluid, immersive, beautiful, and app-centric,” Sinofsky said. And tablet users who do not need the full-blown Windows desktop experience won’t have to comply with its more stringent memory, battery life and hardware requirements, he added.

The Innovator’s Dilemma

Microsoft has to negotiate an innovator’s dilemma with Windows 8, said Al Hilwa, director of applications software development at IDC.

“They have to create a product which is appealing to an apparently large segment of the user population who loves a simpler touch-first approach to computing, while maintaining Window’s existing user-base that is comfortable with the precise control a keyboard, a mouse and a file-oriented interface provides,” Hilwa said.

Just how Microsoft will go about accomplishing the delicate balancing act of having both Windows 8 user interfaces operating together harmoniously remains unclear right now. However, more concrete details are expected to emerge at Microsoft’s Build conference for developers beginning Sept. 13 in Anaheim, Calif.

The bottom line is that Microsoft will need to ensure that both user segments remain happy with Windows 8, Hilwa said. The software giant also will need to “maintain two parallel application development models until these begin to blend more naturally down the road,” he added.

The Ribbon Users Love To Hate

Already featured in the 2007 and 2010 releases of Microsoft’s Office business productivity suite, the ribbon is one design element that some Office users love to hate. This helps explain this week’s flurry of negative comments about the addition of a ribbon to the new file management tool for Windows 8.

Still, Sinofsky pointed out that the addition of a ribbon will enable the platform’s designers to create an optimized file manager that positions the most frequently used commands at reliable, logical locations.

“The flexibility of the ribbon with many icon options, tabs, flexible layout and groupings also ensured that we could respect [Windows] Explorer’s heritage,” Sinofsky said.

What’s more, the Windows Explorer ribbon provides for a much more reliable and usable touch-only interface than pull-down-menu or context-menu designs could provide, Sinofsky said. Though some critics have complained about the additional screen real estate that this feature would occupy, Sinofsky said users would be able to display the Windows Explorer ribbon in either an open or minimized state.

Source: NewsFactor

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SkyDrive client app coming for Windows, iOS, Mac, and Android too?

Filed under: Applications, Internet, Microsoft, Technology by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
August 28, 2011

A few days ago we just told you about a potential official SkyDrive app might be coming for Windows Phone, and today we’ve received tips pointing to possible SkyDrive client apps being developed for other platforms too. LiveSide reader Nikhil Jain left us a tip in the comments saying that a SkyDrive client for Windows, iOS, Mac, and Android is also in development, in addition to the Windows Phone app. While Nikhil didn’t mention any sources, after doing a bit of digging we found an interesting Microsoft job postingfor the Windows Live Devices & Roaming Experience (DRX) team which seems to confirm Nikhil’s claims. Here’s an excerpt from the job posting:

The Windows Live DRX team produces the SkyDrive client applications that fuel our customers thirst for stable, secure and available online storage. DRX is building experiences to deliver all of your content from the cloud and your devices to any of your devices anywhere anytime. Our team develops clients for Windows, Windows Phone, iPhone, Mac and Android. We are looking for developers that are looking for their next challenge to build the highly distributed platform and multi-platform clients for the SkyDrive suite of products delivered through Windows Live and Windows.

For those of you who doesn’t know what the Windows Live DRX team do, they’re best known (or so they say) for developing Windows Live Mesh for the Wave 4 release back in 2010. If the DRX team is now working on SkyDrive client applications (for both Windows and other platforms), does that mean these “SkyDrive client applications” are actually some form of Windows Live Mesh? If you recall, the cloud-based “synced storage” component for the current Windows Live Mesh has one major shortfall – it is not integrated with the actual Windows Live SkyDrive in any way. Would this news also mean the synced storage for Mesh will finally be integrated with the actual SkyDrive?

If we trace back to the history of Windows Live Mesh, you might remember that the origin of Windows Live Mesh – which happens to be called Live Mesh – had a vision of being able to run across a variety of platforms and devices, including mobile, Mac, Xbox and Zune. The following video (thanks Avatar X!) from the Microsoft keynote during the 2008 Web 2.0 Expo might give you a good reminder of what Live Mesh could’ve been like:

 

 

Source: Liveside.net

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Microsoft quietly finding, reporting security holes in Apple, Google products

Filed under: Android, Apple, Applications, Exploit, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Security, Windows by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
August 26, 2011

Researchers at Microsoft have been quietly finding — and helping to fix — security defects in products made by third-party vendors, including Apple and Google.

This month alone, the MSVR (Microsoft Security Vulnerability Research) team released advisories to document vulnerabilities in WordPress and Apple’s Safari browser and in July, software flaws were found and fixed in Google Picasa and Facebook.

The MSVR program, launched two years ago, gives Microsoft researchers freedom to audit the code of third-party software and work in a collaborative way with the affected vendor to get those issues fixed before they are publicly compromised.

The team’s work gained prominence in 2009 when a dangerous security hole in Google Chrome Frame was found and fixed but it’s not very well known that the team has spent the last year disclosing hundreds of security defects in third-party software.

Since July 2010, Microsoft said the MSVR team identified and responsibly disclosed 109 different software vulnerabilities affecting a total of 38 vendors.

More than 93 percent of the third-party vulnerabilities found through MSVR since July 2010 were rated as Critical or Important, the company explained.

“Vendors have responded and have coordinated on 97 percent of all reported vulnerabilities; 29 percent of third-party vulnerabilities found since July 2010 have already been resolved, and none of the vulnerabilities without updates have been observed in any attacks,” Microsoft said.

This week’s discoveries:

  • A vulnerability exists in the way Safari handles certain content types. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause Safari to execute script content and disclose potentially sensitive information. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability would gain sensitive information that could be used in further attacks.
  • A vulnerability exists in the way that WordPress previously implemented protection against cross site scripting and content-type validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to achieve script execution.

Source: ZDNet

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TouchPad’s Lesson: Tablets Cost Too Much

Filed under: HP, Internet, Tablets, Technology, WiFi by Ryan Boese — Leave a comment
August 21, 2011

Sure, HP’s TouchPad fire sale could take sales away from low-volume tablet makers and further solidify Apple’s market share. Then again, maybe those low-volume tablet makers — HP included — have been hurting themselves with a pricing structure that isn’t attractive to most consumers.

After dropping the TouchPad’s price to $99 for the 16Gb model and $149 for the 32GB variation, HP has sold an estimated 350,000 units this weekend. That’s comparable to launch weekend sales for Apple’s tablet. Granted, HP’s tablet is discontinued and on clearance, but it shows that many consumers are willing to forget about the iPad, if the price is right.

Here’s the problem with the current system: many entry-level tablets cost somewhere around $500 and that’s the same price as the iPad. I’m guessing most consumers that decide to spend a $500 on a tablet will opt to get an iPad. If other manufacturers want to be competitive with Apple’s tablet, which is in many ways the definitive device on the market, they need to give consumers a reason to pick up their device instead.

That hasn’t really been done until now.

HP offering its discontinued tablet for a one-fifth the cost of Apple’s tablet seems to have registered with many price-conscious and deal-hunting consumers.

Sure, I get that everyone likes a deal, myself included. (I picked up a TouchPad at my local BestBuy yesterday.) Obviously, HP’s price drop is a unique situation that other tablet makers probably don’t want to emulate, but maybe more thought should go into the tablet designing process than “let’s make
something like the iPad, that costs the same amount as the iPad.”

If nothing else, the fire sale shows that there is a lot of consumer interest in tablets and a lot of missed opportunities by other tablet makers. There are some tablet options under the $300 price point, but not too many that are mainstream.

Source: PC World

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