AVG has released its security threats predictions for the new year, and the sophisticated attacks that defined 2013 look to continue. AVG Technologies Australia security advisor, Michael McKinnon, said the The company also highlighted internet vigilantism as a growing force on the web. Public frustration at the lack of penalties for cybercrime should continue to grow as individuals take matters into their own hands. McKinnon sited the Boston bombings as an example of large scale activity by such actors.a>
If there’s to be an explosion of wearable devices and smartwatches in 2014, as So far, a shortage of apps has been a major shortfall of many wearable devices. Some
Glass, Google’s head-mounted, Internet-connected device, won’t be available commercially until sometime in 2014. Even so, there are thousands of Glass “Explorers,” or early adopters, already using the high-tech eyewear on the job. Many are discovering that, in addition to being a geeked-out plaything, Glass can in fact solve everyday business problems, help people be more productive, enhance workflows and deliver other real-world benefits. Here’s a look at some of the practical and innovative ways Explorers are using the $1,500 prototype device in their work - from automotive repair to sports reporting. Josh Cohen is CEO of
In 2006, Mitchell Frost, then a 19-year-old college student at the University of Akron, used the school’s computer network to control the botnets he had created. Authorities say between August 2006 and March 2007, Frost
Jason Fass, the CEO of Zepp Labs, imagines a future for sports where sensors are everywhere: in balls, bats, footballs and in a player’s clothing. It’s hard not to get caught up in this vision. A big part of sports is all about collecting and analyzing data—and sensors can give you more of that data to work with, much more. Improving your own game with 3D visualizations of a golf swing is part of it, too. ”We believe that every ball, bat, racket, club, glove, helmet will be digitally connected,” Fass said. “We are building a company platform to enable those experiences and capture all that data.”
Traditional security defenses that would have failed against sophisticated attacks like the one against Target are still necessary in protecting small businesses, experts say. The Such levels of sophistication used in attacks targeted at specific companies are unlikely to be used against small retailers, which need to build defenses against run-of-the-mill attacks against PCs.
Google says it will again host its Pwnium hacking contest at a Canadian security conference in March, putting $2.7 million at stake to draw researchers who can hack its browser-based operating system, Chrome OS. Dubbed Pwnium 4, the challenge will again pit researchers against Chrome OS, but this year will let them choose between Intel- or ARM-powered laptops. In 2013, Prizes of $110,000 and $150,000 will again be rewarded to individuals or teams who can hack the operating system, with the top dollar handed to those who deliver an exploit able to persistently compromise a Hewlett-Packard or Acer Chromebook—in other words, hijack the device so that it remains under their control even after a reboot.
Corel has pulled a beta version of Corel Painter that gives you the chance to paint artworks by making strokes in the air using your fingers or a "brush." Corel Painter Freestyle is based on the Leap Motion Controller device—which is like a Vague about plans In an email, Corel said:
Michaels, a large U.S.-based arts and craft store chain, said Saturday it is investigating a possible data breach after suspicious activity was detected on payment cards used at its stores. The company opted to come forward without confirming a compromise because of the “widely reported criminal efforts to penetrate the data systems of U.S. retailers,” according to a CEO Chuck Rubin said “it is in the best interest of our customers to alert them to this potential issue” so they can scan payment card statements for unauthorized charges, according to the statement.
Microsoft lost $39 million last quarter selling its Surface tablets, the company acknowledged in filings last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While The difference between
Apple is making internal and external moves to expand its ability to handle Apple CEO Tim Cook has dispatched iTunes and App Store chief Eddy Cue to meet with industry executives to gage their interest in having Apple handle
Traditional PCs were used at historically low rates last quarter to open email, another sign that a longtime task of those notebooks and desktops has been hijacked by mobile devices, an email-centric firm said. According to Movable Ink, while bills itself as an email marketing technology vendor, Americans opened just 35 percent of “brand marketing messages” they received in the last three months of 2013 on a personal computer. That was a record low in Moveable Ink’s tracking, down from 39 percent the previous quarter. Movable Ink’s “brand marketing messages” is a euphemism for what most dub “spam,” whether opt-in promotions or unsolicited junk.
Cybercrime in 2013 was dominated by a core of around 50 active groups, including Russian and Chinese "threat actors" whose activities are only now coming to light, a report from monitoring firm Using an approach that foregrounds the "threat actors" above
Recent massive data breaches Such PIN and chip cards would do what dozens of newer-model
As the Mac celebrates its 30th birthday, Dan Moren looks at where the influential computer has been and what that might mean for where it’s headed.
Yahoo has acquired Cloud Party, a gaming company specializing in virtual worlds, in another deal to give the search giant more engineering chops. Cloud Party provided a multiplayer, three-dimensional gaming platform that could run directly in a Web browser without plug-ins. Players could build their own worlds and avatars and explore immersive environments, similar to the online system Second Life. The company launched in 2011. Now those worlds, or at least the technology they were built on, will be incorporated into Yahoo. Cloud Party CEO Sam Thompson said in
The $930 million in damages Samsung was ordered to pay Apple last year for infringing its smartphone patents is more than some device makers earn in a year, but for Samsung it’s equal to just over 16 days’ worth of profit. The Seoul-based company reported its financial results Friday and said quarterly operating profit from its IT and mobile communications division, which sells primarily phones and tablets, came to $5.1 billion. That works out to roughly $56.6 million per day, so the damages it was ordered to pay Apple in one of their California lawsuits amounts to just over two weeks of profit. For Apple, it’s not much different. The California company is due to report its earnings Monday, but based on its July-to-September quarter, the money it was awarded from Samsung is equivalent to eight days of company operating profit. (Unlike Samsung, Apple doesn’t break out its profits from mobile.)
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed its first lawsuits over counterfeit smartphone apps, charging four men who now face up to five years each in prison. ”These crimes involve the large-scale violation of intellectual property rights in a relatively new and rapidly growing market,” Mythili Raman, acting assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s criminal division, said in a statement Friday. ”While this represents the first counterfeit apps case by the Department of Justice, it exemplifies our longstanding commitment to prosecute those who steal the creative works of others,” she said. The lawsuits, filed Thursday and Friday in the Northern District of Georgia, charge the four men with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. One lawsuit names Kody Jon Peterson, 22, of Clermont, Florida; while the other is against Thomas Allen Dye, 21, and Nicholas Anthony Narbone, 26, both of Orlando, Florida; and Thomas Pace, 38, of Oregon City, Oregon, the DOJ said.
As promised, Netflix now lets you turn off its forced auto-advancing feature when watching streaming TV shows. Huzzah, I say.
A bevy of new security features will lock down your SUV. Including motion detectors!
HP makes some very capable, feature-rich color laser multifunction printers. The HP Color LaserJet Pro M177fw isn't one of them. It actually has impressive output quality, however, its low purchase price brings compromises in speed, features, and toner costs. The M177fw may be attached via USB, 10/100 Ethernet, or Wi-Fi. Setup was easy in my hands-on and the driver dialog is nicely laid out with the ability to create shortcuts for your most often used settings. The HTML management pages for checking on the printer across the network were also easy to use. HP provides capable software for all the MFP basics, as well as the now-usual array of remote and Internet printing options.
Google's Gmail service went down Friday, taking some related services along with it and forcing the world onto services like Twitter to complain. Google later apologized for the error, blaming a software bug on the outage, which affected about 10 percent of its users for a little less than an hour. Gmail, Google+, Calendar and Documents were affected, it said. Users who tried to access Gmail about 11:15 AM PT on Friday received the message at the top of the page: "We’re sorry, but your Gmail account is temporarily unavailable," it read. "We apologize for the inconvenience and suggest trying again in a few minutes." By 12:23 PM, Google said, it had restored service. "The problem with Gmail should be resolved," the company said. "We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better."
Google, Comcast, AT&T and Verizon Communications ranked among the top spenders on U.S. government lobbying in 2013, with Apple and Facebook increasing their lobbying expenses significantly, according to year-end lobbying reports released this week. Comcast ranked
