First use of Android 'Master Key' vulnerability discovered
Security specialist Symantec is reporting the first malicious use of the Android 'Master Key' vulnerability that allows hackers to inject malicious code into apps without invalidating the digital signature.
The vulnerability was discovered earlier this month but Norton Mobile Insight has now detected its first use in the wild. Mobile Insight harvests and analyzes Android apps from marketplaces around the world and has discovered the infection labelled Android.Skullkey in two applications from China. These are legitimate apps used to make appointments with doctors.
wpTorrent app brings BitTorrent downloads to Windows Phone 8
Despite being one of the main means of downloading pirated content and, therefore, a threat to Microsoft's profits (and that of many other big companies), the software giant just accepted a BitTorrent client on Windows Phone Store. Surely, popular service providers Netflix, Pandora, Spotify and the like are not too pleased about this decision, especially after releasing apps for the tiled smartphone operating system.
The BitTorrent client in question is called wpTorrent, and, judging by the number of features it touts, all the basics are covered. Users can discover and find files via RSS feeds and search engines and download content straight to their handsets (even when the device is locked).
Open Hardware Monitor lets you track PC temperature, fan speeds, voltages and more
Whether you’ve been overclocking your PC, are worried about a specific device, or just wondering why your system has been so unstable recently, getting a better understanding of your computer’s inner workings can be very useful. And grabbing a copy of the Open Hardware Monitor is a great place to start.
The program is free, open source, and surprisingly easy to use. Unzip and launch it, and a simple tree view immediately displays temperatures, fan speeds, voltages, CPU load and more.
Mobility management and security is getting a little less messy
Security and management in the mobility space, at least since the dawn of the iPhone, has always had a "figuring it out as we go along" quality to it. So far we’ve gotten away with it; even though the potential for significant security breaches via mobile devices has always been there, and even though compliance with best practices in mobility is a rare thing, I’ve seen no evidence that they are a significant source of actual breaches. The real problems are what they always have been: SQL injection, weak passwords, social engineering, and so on.
In the meantime, the market for products to manage and secure mobile devices has been maturing. Of course management and security should be closely-intertwined, if not run by the same products. That can be difficult when the major products don’t include more than trivial management capabilities and very little is compatible cross-platform.
Internet Explorer has the worst phishing catch rate of all major browsers
A new report by security research firm NSS Labs looks at the comparative performance of popular browsers when it comes to blocking phishing attacks. Over a 12-day test period the average phishing catch rate ranged from 96 percent for Firefox 19 to only 83 percent for Internet Explorer 10.
Of the other big three, Chrome 25 scored 92 percent, Safari 5 managed 95 percent, and Opera 12 scored 89 percent. Chrome, Firefox and Safari all make use of Google's Safe Browsing API so it's unsurprising that they scored within a few points of each other. Microsoft uses its own SmartScreen technology in IE, whereas Opera uses a combination of blacklists from Netcraft, PhishTank and TRUSTe.
Google extends its cloud printing service to Windows
Google has updated its Cloud Print service, adding full support for Windows (XP, Vista and 7, anyway) and making it easier to share printers.
Cloud Print was first made available in 2011, and essentially allows you to access your printers from phones, tablets, PCs and more, wherever you happen to be. The service has previously been accessible via Chrome, but this new release makes it available to any Windows desktop application.
New Nexus 7 pops up at Best Buy for pre-order
The next-generation Google Nexus 7 surfaced at Best Buy, with complete specifications, price and photos. Interested buyers can pre-order the new tablet, which is available in both 16 GB and 32 GB storage trims, and, presumably, receive it after the search giant officially unveils its latest slate (which should not be too far away).
According to the details revealed by the US retailer, the new Nexus 7 arrives with some pretty impressive hardware under its dark-colored shell, and runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean (which, like the slate, has yet to be officially announced by Google). The price? Well, the 16 GB version runs for $229.99, while its 32 GB counterpart goes for $269.99.
SwiftKey Cloud brings trending phrases, sync and backup to your swipe-friendly keyboard
Typing is just so passé; swiping is very much where it's at these days. SwiftKey's latest Android beta adds interesting new cloud features that can be tested for free during the beta phase. What’s new? Backup and sync options mean that dictionaries can be synchronized between multiple devices, and upgrading your phone need not result in having to start from scratch.
But perhaps the most interesting feature is the introduction of trending phrases. Whether you're writing in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese, SwiftKey analyzes trending topics on the likes of Twitter to help bolster its dictionary and provide better suggestions.
BZR Player can handle over 480+ audio formats
The PC world is packed with audio players of every type, which makes it difficult for smaller contenders to stand out from the crowd. Andreas Argirakis has done better than most with his BZR Player, though, thanks to a very simple strategy: he’s implemented support for just about every audio format you’ve ever heard of, and many more you haven’t, meaning the player now supports more than 480 file types in total.
The program doesn’t just open the regular formats, then: MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG and so on. It also handles all kinds of game and hardware-specific formats, with the supported list including "Baldur’s Gate -- Dark Alliance", "Bio Hazard 2", "Conflict -- Desert Storm 1 & 2", EA formats, Nintendo GBS, NSF and NSFE files, and the list goes on.
YouTube announces Geek Week -- Dr Who and cosplay fans rejoice!
Geeks looking for their fix of programming have something of a treat in store thanks to YouTube’s upcoming Geek Week. The video site has teamed up with the UK's Channel Flip and the US channel Nerdist to showcase over 100 of the geekiest, most sci-fi packed channels known to man. It will also be "unveiling new videos, series premieres and creative collaborations".
YouTube Geek Week runs from August 4-10, starting with Blockbuster Sunday which will kick things off with a look at the icons and heroes of geek culture.
Apple’s Q3 flat earnings show how much it needs new products
For the past decade, Apple has posted year-over-year revenue growth every quarter. The company announced its Q3 2013 earnings yesterday, posting revenue of $35.3 billion. While that beats the $35 billion posted in the same quarter a year ago -- it’s a tight 1 percent growth this time around.
Apple also reported a net profit of $6.9 billion, down from a net profit of $8.8 billion in the same quarter last year. However, average sale prices are lower now, at $581, compared with $608 a year ago.
Still using Office 2010? SP2 is here
When I left IT little more than a year ago, my company still rocked Office 2007. Of course, computers were still running Windows XP and web browsers had only recently migrated from Internet Explorer 6 to IE 7. Now, with the addition of SP2 to Office 2010 business may be ready to make the move onto this platform.
"Today, we released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for the Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 set of products. SP2 provides key updates and fixes across our servers, services and applications including security, stability, and performance enhancements and provides better compatibility with Windows 8, Internet Explorer 10, Office 2013, and SharePoint 2013", says Microsoft's Chris Schneider.
Flipboard magazines flip to web browsers
If you are unfamiliar with Flipboard, it is a service which aggregates your favorite online news sources and social media accounts. It then displays the data in a magazine-like layout, including page-turning animations. In addition to personal use, Flipboard also allows users to create "magazines" which can be shared publicly with the world. These are an aggregate of various sources on a specific topic (skiing, cats, technology, and more). Unfortunately, people with whom you shared your magazines were required to have a Flipboard account and access the mobile app -- until today.
Flipboard announces that magazines can now be shared with anyone using a modern browser (an account is not required). "The Web magazines are supported in desktop browsers IE9+, Safari, Chrome and Firefox in 11 languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese, French and German", according to the company. Is this worth flipping out over?
Apache releases OpenOffice 4
The Apache Software Foundation has announced the release of Apache OpenOffice 4.0, a major update with plenty of interesting new features and enhancements.
The most obvious interface addition is the sidebar, a Lotus Symphony-sourced panel which provides quick access to options most relevant to the current editing task (setting fonts, text style and alignment in a text box, tweaking brightness, colors and contrast for an image, and more).
PlanForCloud helps forecast more than $1 billion in cloud spending
Forecasting enterprise cloud costs can be hard to do well but is essential to businesses who want to implement cloud solutions effectively. RightScale announces today that its PlanForCloud product has helped companies forecast $1 billion in cloud spending since its launch last year.
By analyzing data from more than 9,500 cloud deployments, PlanForCloud has revealed a number of interesting trends. For example 70 percent of cloud spending goes on servers, 18 percent on storage and only 6 percent on data transfer, with a further 6 percent accounted for by other costs such as transaction charges and support.
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