iOS update attempts to put location tracking controversy to rest
Apple on Wednesday released the iOS 4.3.3 update, the biggest of changes having to deal with the location database that has made the company a target of a good deal of criticism as of late. As part of the changes in the new software, a user can now choose to have the database deleted altogether.
"The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it's maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location," Apple said in a Q&A last week. It stated that a bug was causing the file to continue being maintained even after location services was turned off, and would be fixed shortly.
As Sony struggles to get PSN back up, new details emerge
With the PlayStation Network expected to be back up within a matter of days, Sony's statements to a US House subcommittee seem to point the finger on responsibility back at hacktivist group Anonymous, which initially denied involvement.
PlayStation chief Kazuo Hirai told Congress in a letter that the company was a victim of a sophisticated attack. As part of the hack, a file was planted on the company's servers named "Anonymous" with the words "We Are Legion." He said the company understood the full scope of the attack by April 25, but could not rule out the compromising of credit card data.
Amazon tablet appears set for late 2011 release
Evidence seemed to build that Amazon is in the process of building an Android tablet on Tuesday as DigiTimes reported sources said electronics maker Quanta had received orders for such a device.
Amazon's tablet, which is believed to run on Android, would likely be the next-generation Kindle as opposed to a separate device. Gdgt's Peter Rojas said last week that he expected Amazon to do something similar to what Barnes & Noble has done with the new Nook.
Free Android tethering apps now blocked by nearly every US carrier
Android users who have been depending on free tethering are finding themselves blocked out of such apps, as most major US carriers have made moves to block access. Tests by several technology sites and blogs indicate most of these apps now fail to work, or are being made harder to find.
While the apps have not disappeared from the Android Market, attempting to download them to your device results in the message "this item is not available on your carrier." Both AT&T and T-Mobile had been blocking access to these apps for some time now, however Verizon has begun to also block such downloads.
Sony Online Entertainment also hacked, credit card data stolen
Sony disclosed on Monday that the continuing investigation into the hack of the PlayStation Network had turned up new problems: its Sony Online Entertainment multiplayer game service was also hacked, and credit card data and bank information obtained.
Monday's news just adds insult to injury for the Japanese company: at a press conference on Sunday PlayStation chief Kaz Hirai disclosed that the credit card details of nearly 10 million PSN users may have been compromised, and today the company admitted that the "encryption" of the credit card data it claimed existed earlier was nothing more than a weak hash algorithm.
New Mac OS malware threat masquerades as antivirus software
Mac users are once again being warned about malware targeting the operating system, although its spread looks limited and requires interaction by the user in order to be installed. Called "MACDefender," the malware is currently being spread by malicious websites claiming the user's computer is infected.
JavaScript in the page's coding downloads a zip file automatically, which if a user has the option within Safari to automatically open 'safe' files after downloading would decompress and open the installer. The user then must proceed through the installation process which will place a Trojan horse on the user's computer.
Despite Sony's claims, PSN hackers may have credit card numbers
The question of whether or not PlayStation Network users' credit card information had indeed been compromised was still unanswered Friday, closing in on two weeks after the breach had occurred. On the one hand, Sony was telling customers it had "no evidence" of the data being taken, but press reports suggest otherwise.
Trend Micro senior security researcher Ken Stevens tweeted that a purported database with PSN users' personal data was apparently up for sale on the web. "The hackers that hacked PSN are selling off the DB. They reportedly have 2.2 million credits cards with CVVs," he tweeted on Thursday.
Verizon iPhone ate into Android dominance, NPD says
Research firm NPD Group said Thursday that the introduction of the iPhone on Verizon did help Apple to eat into at least some of the Android platform's dominance of the smartphone industry in recent quarters. Additionally, the higher sales made Apple the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the United States.
The iPhone 4 was the best selling phone in the United States, followed by the iPhone 3GS, the Motorola Droid X, HTC Evo, and the HTC Incredible. The fact that the 3GS -- now a nearly two year old device -- still is one of the top selling smartphones in this country goes to show that rumors of Apple's downfall in this sector may be greatly exaggerated.
Death by Facebook: MySpace bids expected, Friendster transitions
Bids are expected to be received for social networking site MySpace by the end of the week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. News Corp, which acquired the site in 2005 for $580 million, is said to be seeking bids of at least $100 million for the site.
At least a half-dozen companies are said to be considering bids, including several equity firms and Criterion Capital Partners LLC, owners of social networking site Bebo. The structures of the deals are not known although it is said that some include News Corp retaining a small stake.
Delicious' death sentence commuted by YouTube founders
Preventing what would have been a shutdown of the service, Yahoo said Wednesday that it had sold popular social bookmarking site Delicious to YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. The two entrepreneurs are returning to tech under their new venture called AVOS, based out of San Mateo, Calif.
Yahoo acquired Delicious in 2005, looking to integrate the service's social aspects into its own web offerings. However, amid increasing competition the company overall began to struggle, and last December Yahoo undertook a major restructuring, meaning the shuttering of several acquired brands.
With PSN still down for sixth day, Sony admits data loss
The worst fears of many PlayStation Network users were realized on Tuesday, as Sony finally admitted that the hack of the online service last week did indeed involve some type of data loss. The disclosure marks the first time since the debacle began that the public got a clear picture of what the hackers were after.
Sony said it believed at a minimum information including name, address, e-mail, birthday, and PSN login information were obtained. It also said that it was possible that both purchase history and also credit card information may have been compromised as well, although not the security code. An outside security firm was hired to investigate what happened.
Report: YouTube said to be prepping movie rental offering
In an effort to stay ahead of current trends in digital content, YouTube is said to be preparing an online movie service
Facebook aims for more private liking with 'Send' button
Aiming to give Facebookers a more private method of sharing content they find across the web, the social networking site on Monday introduced the 'Send' button. Simply put, it's like the 'Like' button but giving the capability to share content to an individual friend or a Facebook group.
Groups have become an integral part of sharing content among small groups of people since the platform was introduced last October. Use of the feature has exploded, and the the company says 50 million groups have been created. The send button seems to be an effort by Facebook to promote Groups even more.
Sony: Can't say if PSN hack put personal info at risk
With the PlayStation Network outage now in its fifth day, concerns have begun to mount that the hack that took the online gaming network offline may have involved some type of data loss. Sony representatives continued to stay mostly mum, only willing to confirm that an "intrusion" had indeed happened.
In an interview with IDG News Service, Sony Computer Entertainment spokesperson Satoshi Fukuoka said that the company had not determined whether or not sensitive information had been compromised. Fukuoka said that if the company did find evidence of such an issue, users would be notified "promptly."
With PlayStation Network still down, Sony admits it was hacked
Nearly three days after Sony's Playstation Network online gaming service went offline, Sony has finally admitted that the service was compromised by hackers. As a result, the company disabled the service Wednesday evening to investigate the matter, an official statement indicated.
"An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services," spokesperson Patrick Seybold said. The service outage was done "to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward," he continued.
Ed's Bio
Ed Oswald is a freelance journalist from the Reading, PA area. Although he has written across a variety of subjects, Ed’s passion and focus has been on technology and gadgets. His work regularly appears on tech news sites BetaNews, PCWorld, and Technologizer, and has been syndicated to eWeek, Time’s Techland blog, VentureBeat and the New York Times.
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