Snowden says GCHQ's Smurf programs can tap, hack, and control any smartphone
In an interview with BBC Panorama, Edward Snowden made further revelations about the capabilities of government agencies. Having blown the whistle on the NSA, Snowden has also shed light on the activities of the UK equivalent, GCHQ.
In tonight's interview, the former NSA contractor spoke of the agency's "Smurf Suite" -- a collection of tools that can be used to intercept and control smartphones, even if they're turned off. Named after the blue cartoon characters, the Smurf tools can be deployed via encrypted text message without alerting the handset owner.
How to Install Android 6.0 Marshmallow on Nexus 5, 6, 7, 9 using Windows PC or Mac
Google has released Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the latest iteration of its mobile operating system. The update will be rolled out over the air for a number of handsets starting from Nexus 6, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2013), and Nexus 9, but you can speed up the process by using the factory images.
As you might be familiar, factory images need to be installed on your device manually. In case you don't remember the procedure, here's how you can get the latest flavor of Android on your device.
How to move or resize windows with the keyboard
It’s easy enough to size or position windows with the mouse, but keyboard shortcuts can be quicker and more convenient.
On Windows 7 and later, pressing Win+Left or Win+Right snaps the current window to the left or right half of the screen.
Edward Snowden would be willing to go to jail... if the US government would speak to him
Currently in exile in Russia, Edward Snowden recently joined Twitter to give him a public platform to communication with the world. With global interest in surveillance and privacy, the NSA whistleblower still conducts TV and newspaper interviews, and in a BBC interview he reveals that he would be willing to serve prison time.
He has even offered his freedom to the US government... but no one has responded to him. Praised and vilified in just about equal measure, Snowden faces prosecution under the Espionage Act for leaking documents about the activities of the NSA.
Premium HDMI Cable Certification Program ensures 4K support, prevents counterfeiting
Since HDMI cables are digital, it is arguably pointless to invest in "premium" variants from so-called high-end brands like Monster. With that said, there is value in buying something that is well-made. Not all cables are capable of handling UHD 4K content, however, so some HDMI cables are better than others (always buy high speed rather than standard speed as the price difference is negligible).
Apparently, both counterfeit and misleading cables are an issue, as the Premium HDMI Cable Certification Program has been created. This will ensure that cables being marketed as HDMI 2.0 and 4K Ultra HD are truly capable of their promised performance.
Samsung Galaxy S7 will have Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip
Samsung is going to start using Qualcomm’s processors again with its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S7.
If you cast your mind back to the start of the year, that was when news first emerged that Samsung was abandoning Qualcomm CPUs for the Galaxy S6, with the phone maker deciding to exclusively use its own Exynos chips (previously, Samsung had used both Exynos and Snapdragon).
As fulltime CEO, Jack Dorsey wants to make Twitter 'great' and impact the world
He has been interim CEO for some time now, but today Jack Dorsey has been officially appointed as CEO of Twitter. Three months after Dick Costolo stepped down from the role, Dorsey is now the head of not only Square, but also Twitter, bringing to an end months of rumor and speculation.
As one of the founders of the company, Dorsey has an unrivalled knowledge of where Twitter comes from, what is at its heart, and where it should be heading. The board of Twitter is due for an overhaul, and one of the first announcements is the appointment of Adam Bain as COO, but there are almost certainly more exciting announcements on the horizon.
Microsoft announces a string of events for new Windows 10 devices
We already knew there was a Microsoft event tomorrow in New York City and BetaNews will be there to help bring you full coverage. The event kicks off at 10am EDT and you can watch it numerous ways, including right here.
However, that's just a prelude to a couple of weeks of other events around the world. Microsoft plans to showcase new devices from a number of OEM partners -- one per day (mostly) beginning October 7th.
IT pros love hybrid cloud but struggle to track consumption
According to a new survey 79 percent of IT pros are pursuing a hybrid cloud strategy and one third will grow their cloud services by more than 50 percent in the coming year.
The figures come from cloud consumption management specilalist Cloud Cruiser which surveyed IT professionals who attended the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Summit held in San Francisco and New York City in April and July.
WinRAR will not get 'useless' security patch to fix 'vulnerability'
Usually when a security firm finds a vulnerability in an app or a program, and notifies the developers, a patch is issued in a matter days, sometimes even hours.
Not when it comes to WinRAR. The guys over at RARLab have been reached out to by both Vulnerability Lab and Malwarebytes about a vulnerability which, they say, on a danger scale of 1 to 10 is a 9.2.
HP announces new open source network OS
With the volume of network traffic growing exponentially, large web-scale organizations need to scale their data centers to new levels. These organizations need scale and flexibility for their data centers to meet increasingly complex business and technology requirements.
To provide developers with the ability to accelerate innovation, avoid vendor lock in and protect their investment, HP together with a community of like-minded companies, today announced the launch of the OpenSwitch Community along with a new open source network operating system (NOS).
FireLayers and Check Point bring security to enterprise cloud apps
As more employees use their personal devices for business, corporate data is increasingly put at risk from sophisticated malware.
To foil these attacks, real-time protection company FireLayers and security specialist Check Point Software Technologies today announced their joint Extend Perimeter Security solution, which spreads security to cloud applications and provides enterprises with protection from zero-day threats and malware distribution.
How to fix Windows 10's blurry font problem
If you change the DPI scaling to make text, apps and other items easier to read on your Windows device, you may have encountered the problem of blurry fonts in Windows 10.
The issue is caused by Microsoft using a different scaling method to the one it used in previous versions of Windows (stretching back to Vista), and mostly affects the Windows font and dialog boxes.
Iconmedia WebAnimator Plus is a powerful animation creator [Review]
Flash used to be a core part of the internet, because for a time it was the only practical way to produce animations on websites.
It was also easy to use which made it attractive to designers and advertisers and at one time it seemed almost every site was decorated by Flash banners and adverts. But the arrival of HTML5 and CSS3, plus worries about security vulnerabilities, means that Flash has been on the decline for some time.
8 big reasons Apple should let Mac OS X onto the PC
As an IT professional by day, it's a question that has confounded me for some time. I've tossed it around in my technical circles, trying to get a feel for what true reasons exist for Apple's double standard when it comes to not allowing OS X onto other platforms -- but gladly allowing Windows to run natively via Boot Camp.
How come Apple doesn't allow PC users to install and run OS X on the hardware of their choice?
Most Commented Stories
Betanews Is Growing Alongside You
Only a fool still uses Windows 7
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.