Those who have yet to return their faulty Galaxy Note 7 are literally playing with fire.
Two incidents this week illustrate just how seriously Note 7 owners ought to take the threat of the phone’s faulty battery. One example comes from a St. Petersburg, Florida man who left his new Note 7 charging inside of his Jeep while unloading furniture. He returned to find the car consumed in flames. The aftermath is pretty devastating. Fox 13
The aftermath of a Jeep that was completely engulfed in flames from what was likely a Note 7 catching fire.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google today continued its campaign to tighten the screws on unencrypted web traffic as it outlined the next steps it will take with Chrome to warn users of insecure connections.Starting with Chrome 56, which is currently scheduled to ship in stable format on Jan. 31, 2017, the browser will mark sites that transmit either passwords or credit card information over HTTP connections as "non-secure."The move will be "Part of a long-term plan to mark all HTTP sites as non-secure," Emily Schechter, a product manager in the Chrome security team, said in a post to a company blog Thursday. The plan, Schechter continued, "will take place in gradual steps, based on increasingly stringent criteria."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
U.S. authorities have arrested two suspects allegedly involved in dumping details on 29,000 officials with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.Andrew Otto Boggs and Justin Gray Liverman have been charged with hacking into the internet accounts of senior U.S. government officials and breaking into government computer systems.Both suspects were arrested on Thursday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.Boggs, age 22, and Liverman, 24, are from North Carolina and are allegedly part of a hacking group called Crackas With Attitude.From October 215 until February, they used hacking techniques, including "victim impersonation" to trick internet service providers and a government help desk into giving up access to the accounts, the DOJ alleged.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Kuna is a smart home security camera in a stylish outdoor light that detects and allows you to interact with people outside your door. The security device includes HD live and recorded video, two-way intercom, alarm, smart motion detection alerts to your phone, and more. Easy 15 minute installation with no batteries to replace so you have continuous protection around the clock. Be protected at all times - Access HD live video with its 720P wide angle camera, communicate via its two way intercom from your mobile device, or activate its 100 dB alarm siren. Smart light control lets you turn on or off your lights remotely, or program a schedule for when you're away. Access live video or review & download events for 2 hours free or up to 30-days on an optional subscription plan, starting as low as $4.99 per month. This Kuna security light averages 4 out of 5 stars from over 330 people (read reviews), and its typical list price of $199 has been reduced 20% to $159. See the discounted Kuna Smart Home Security Light and Camera on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University say they have developed an open source algorithm that can help spot social media frauds trying to sway valuable community influence.+More on Network World: Star Trek turns 50!+“Given the rise in popularity of social networks and other web services in recent years, fraudsters have strong incentives to manipulate these services. On several shady websites, anyone can buy fake Facebook page-likes or Twitter followers by the thousands. Yelp, Amazon and TripAdvisor fake reviews are also available for sale, misleading consumers about restaurants, hotels, and other services and products. Detecting and neutralizing these actions is important for companies and consumers alike,” the researchers wrote in a paper outlining their algorithm known as FRAUDAR.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
There are some interesting industry dynamics going on in the cybersecurity market. Just a few months ago, Symantec bought Blue Coat taking a private company public and forming a cybersecurity industry colossus in the process. Now two other historical cybersecurity powerhouses are heading in the other direction and going private. When the Dell/EMC deal was approved this week, industry veteran RSA became the security division of the world’s largest diversified private technology company. Not to be outdone, Intel and partner TPG are spinning out McAfee as an independent private company.The good news for both companies is that the market for cybersecurity products and services is quite healthy, and large customers are looking for enterprise-class security vendors with integrated product suites, managed/professional services, and business process experience to partner with. Cybersecurity vendors like Cisco and IBM that fit this description are doing quite well in the enterprise so McAfee and RSA (as well as Forcepoint, Palo Alto Networks, Symantec, Trend Micro, and a few others) could join this exclusive club. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If the next Apple announcement is like this, it should be broadcast on Cable TV so viewers can fast forward through the many boring parts. A GEICO insurance commercial would have been a relief from the tedium of watching Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and Phil Schiller shoveling superlative adjectives on features copied from Android phone makers and other product companies.Apple isn’t selling innovation. It’s selling its annual iPhone annual upgrade plan, which costs users twice as much over a three-year period, in order to turn around declining sales. Apple’s innovation engine has stalled at producing features that drive users to upgrade, so Apple is resorting to a financial gimmick.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
To push more websites to implement encryption and to better protect users, Google will start flagging plain HTTP connections as insecure in its popular Chrome browser.The plan will go into effect in January with the release of Chrome 56 and will roll out in stages. Chrome 56 will display a "not secure" indicator before HTTP URLs in the browser's address bar, but only for those web pages that contain password or credit card form fields.Transmitting such sensitive information over HTTP is dangerous because the data can be intercepted by man-in-the-middle attackers on public wireless networks or via compromised routers, for example.In later Chrome releases, the HTTP warnings will be further expanded. First, HTTP pages will be labeled as "not secure" when accessed in the browser's privacy-oriented Incognito mode. Eventually, Chrome will show the warning for all HTTP pages and will switch the security indicator to the red triangle now used for broken HTTPS connections.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Intel believes untethered headsets could be a new class of PCs in the future, and the company may develop chips dedicated to those devices.The chipmaker previewed its virtual and augmented reality plans last month with Project Alloy, a Microsoft HoloLens-type headset that can mix images from real and virtual worlds. Project Alloy will be available for PC makers to replicate, but Intel may also see a market for mixed reality headset chips.Project Alloy is a prototype headset running on Microsoft's Windows Holographic platform, and it could support other VR and AR platforms in the future.The Alloy design and specifications will be open-sourced early next year. PC makers have expressed interest in making headsets based on the design.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Based on an extensive review of publicly reported internet of things (IoT) device vulnerabilities, the Online Trust Alliance (OTA) today announced that all of the problems could have been easily avoided.
"In this rush to bring connected devices to market, security and privacy is often being overlooked," Craig Spiezle, executive director and president of the OTA, said in a statement today. "If businesses do not make a systematic change, we risk seeing the weaponization of these devices and an erosion of consumer confidence impacting the IoT industry on a whole due to their security and privacy shortcomings."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google plans to acquire API management vendor Apigee in a US$625 million deal that will give the search giant secure and multilanguage API tools used by companies bringing more and more of their services online.The deal, announced Thursday, gives Google access to tools that allow company back-end systems to communicate with mobile and web apps, Diane Greene, senior vice president of Google's cloud business, said in a blog post.APIs are "vital for how business gets done today in the fast-growing digital and mobile marketplace," she wrote. "They're the hubs through which companies, partners, and customers interact, whether it's a small business applying online for a loan or a point of sale system sending your warranty information to the manufacturer."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
An interventionBots are quickly infiltrating our personal lives and are now beginning to make their way into the enterprise. Inherently more complex than Siri reading you the weather or performing a Google search on IMDB, the enterprise can be a tough nut for bot tech to crack. It has taken some time for technologists to identify the best places to start looking to bot assistance or intervention within the enterprise. The good news is that there are several enterprise tasks that are ripe for bot intervention, and fortunately for end-users they are some of the most painful employee responsibilities within large organizations. Unit4 Chief Architect, Claus Jepsen, details where bots can be most handy.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
When I was offered a review unit of the Acer TravelMate P648-MG-789T notebook, it was touted as the “industry’s first notebook with Tri-Band 802.11ad Wireless from Qualcomm”.Sure thing!, I thought, as I always enjoy trying out things that are new, especially ones that are an industry first.But then I went back and looked up 802.11ad - aka “Gigabit Wireless”, aka “60Gig”, and realized that this technology has been touted for about two years without much movement in the space from vendors. At CES earlier this year, Acer announced it was coming out with this notebook, and it’s finally here.Whoo-hoo?Here’s the thing - 802.11ad technology utilizes the 60 GHz wireless spectrum - it’s aimed at short range, high-volume data transfers, especially in smaller spaces. This also gives you some higher bandwidth than you’d get with an 802.11ac system, but you’re also limiting the distance between the client and the receiver in order to get that benefit.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Historically, the Monday after each new iPhone launch begins with a press release from Apple where the company boasts about how many new devices it sold over the weekend. And more often than not, each new iPhone release enjoys a more successful launch than the previous launch.But with the iPhone 7, Apple has decided to switch things up. For the first time in history, Apple not be releasing weekend launch sales figures for its new iPhone. In a statement provided to CNBC, Apple explained the rationale behind its somewhat surprising decision. Specifically, Apple believes that its weekend launch sales press release has become outdated, primarily because supply is always an ongoing issue. In other words, even if the iPhone 7 sells out, and Apple believes that it will, sales figures don’t provide a truly accurate or representative gauge as to the true demand for the device.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
An agreement to send Canadian authorities passenger name record (PNR) data for flights from the European Union cannot be entered into in its current form, a top European Union judge has said.That's because parts of the draft agreement are incompatible with EU citizens' fundamental privacy rights, according to Paolo Mengozzi, Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU, in a legal opinion issued Thursday.His opinion, on a case brought by the European Parliament, is only advisory, and it still remains for the CJEU to make a final ruling on the matter.But if the court follows his advice, it could disrupt the European Commission's plans for a new directive on the sharing of PNR data among EU member states and with other countries. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple yesterday announced a whole raft of useful improvements in the Apple Watch Series 2, but the biggest thing it got right may have been what it didn’t change. And while the company addressed many of the issues surrounding its smartwatch, one key limitation remains. First, let’s look at what Apple did to improve the Apple Watch:
Made it water resistant to 50 meters, so you can swim and sweat and shower in it (don’t try this with one of the fancy leather bands)
Upgraded the CPU to run 50 percent faster and the GPU to run much 100 percent faster
Upgraded the display to be twice as bright, critical for use in direct sunlight
Added new Siri integrations so you don’t have to mess with the tiny screen and fussy buttons as much
Built in GPS, so runners and hikers can use it without being tethered to an iPhone.
Introduced a Nike version that appears designed specifically for runners.
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Apple made it too easy on parody video producers, meme generators and comedians this week in announcing its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus smartphones and boasting of its "courage" in ditching the standard 3.5mm headphone jack in favor of a proprietary Lightning one.Jacksfilms, whose video had racked up more than 400K views as of Thursday morning, goes after Apple and its courage to sell $160 earphones that you need to charge, a typically out-there musical performance by Sia and Apple's special new dongle...
The Challenge accurately pokes fun at the "mini hair dryers" that are the new Apple AirPods...To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Over the past few years most organizations have significantly increased their reliance on the Internet, primarily due to the outsourcing of utility applications like email, unified communications, ERP, CRM, etc. to SaaS providers. Cloud-based applications provide IT organizations with an agile and cost effective means for expanding the range of services they provide and delivering new productivity tools requested by teams, departments or lines of business.Despite this growing adoption of cloud services, many enterprises have resisted connecting their remote offices directly to application providers over the public Internet. This is due to the fact that direct access at every branch introduces compliance issues. The only way to mitigate these is by creating extensive security policies at each location. Imagine having 3,000 sites with each requiring its own set of policies that need to be set-up and maintained. This is the definition of a management nightmare.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Most users lock their computer screens when they temporarily step away from them. While this seems like a good security measure, it isn't good enough, a researcher demonstrated this week.Rob Fuller, principal security engineer at R5 Industries, found out that all it takes to copy an OS account password hash from a locked Windows computer is to plug in a special USB device for a few seconds. The hash can later be cracked or used directly in some network attacks.For his attack, Fuller used a flash-drive-size computer called USB Armory that costs $155, but the same attack can be pulled off with cheaper devices, like the Hak5 LAN Turtle, which costs $50.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here