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If you use gaming video streaming site Twitch, you’ll want to be careful what you click on. A new piece of malware spread through Twitch’s chat feature will attempt to bleed your Steam account dry, according to The malware spreads through messages posted to Twitch chat that try to entice users into entering a weekly raffle. Click on the link, and a Java program will open up a phony raffle entry form. Once you fill out and submit the form (which, according to F-Secure, doesn’t actually get sent anywhere), the malware goes to work. It installs and runs a Windows binary that can gain access to your Steam account and add friends, accept friend requests, trade items, and sell items in the market at a discount.
New car-pool services sold by ride-sharing companies including Uber and Lyft are illegal in California, according to state regulators. Recently Uber, Lyft and Sidecar began rolling out a new type of service that lets their customers share their rides with strangers picked up along the way to their destination, then split the fare. Each company has its own brand name—UberPool, Lyft Line and Sidecar’s Shared Rides—but essentially they work the same way. Right now, they’re only available in San Francisco. They may not be for long. This week the California Public Utilities Commission sent essentially the same warning letter to each of the companies, telling them that the new service violated state law. Charging individual fares to passengers when multiple people are being transported in the same car is against the law, the letter said.
I write some weird sentences in this industry. Here's one: It's 2014, and In order to explain how Atari's approach to RollerCoaster Tycoon World has sharpened, I'm going to start by referencing something totally unrelated: 2K's sports games. 2K has an uncanny ability to focus on the
Between the release of the
I guess some game called "Destiny" came out this week? But that can't be right. My handy list of "Important PC Releases" says that...well, certainly no game called "Destiny" came out. Odd. This is gaming news for the week of September 8, 2014. SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute is funding its very own game jam in Mountain View from October 17-19. Termed "
Fabrix sells software for cloud DVRs and video on demand
If you want to look like a badass carrying a Harley-Davidson Windows Phone—sorry, you’ll have to move to Europe. But a number of other cheaper Windows Phones are coming to the States. On Thursday, Microsoft highlighted a number of smaller, cheaper Windows Phones heading to the United States, from manufacturers such as Blu and Archos. Microsoft’s recent goal has been to push out midrange and cheap Windows Phones, and this plays right into that strategy. The most intriguing model, though, is reserved exclusively for Europeans: the New Generation Mobile (NGM) Harley Davidson Edition. Microsoft’s said previously that Italy is one of the markets where Windows Phone is selling well—at times, even better than the iPhone. And that’s led NGM to release a Harley-branded phone that includes dual SIMs, Windows Phone 8.1 and a 5-inch HD (1280×720) display with Gorilla Glass. Inside there’s 8GB of storage with a 32GB MicroSD card, plus a 8-megapixel rear camera. It will be sold for 249 euro in October.
A year is a long time in smartphone technology today, so remember if you can the changes that have taken place over the last decade. In 2004, Apple had only just started working on development of its iPhone and no one outside the company knew about it, Samsung was focused on the South Korean market, and the hottest thing in wireless was the success of the I-mode mobile Internet service in Japan. As I watched Apple’s launch of its new iPhones and smartwatch this week, I was reminded of a trip I took exactly a decade ago to the ITU’s Telecom Asia expo in Busan, South Korea. As Tokyo correspondent for IDG, I was used to seeing advanced phones in Japan but some of the handsets in South Korea looked positively futuristic. Recalling those phones, it’s amazing to think how technology has changed in the last decade, and how smartphones have changed our lives.
Many employers are now on board the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) bandwagon, allowing their workers to use from their own smartphones and tablets at the office. It's a big convenience for you, the employee, but can be a major headache for the company. Supporting multiple devices means supporting multiple operating systems, which means additional training for IT, and thus greater costs. Even worse, if an employee puts the wrong app on their phone or visits the wrong website, the company's network could be compromised, and sensitive data along with it. So if you want to continue using your personal device at work, be a good corporate citizen. Follow these rules, or risk losing your mobile freedom. Or your job.
One of the major gripes of those who buy Android phones is all the bloatware and inconsistent updates that wreck an otherwise "pure Google" experience. Motorola is taking that term and running with it, as The
How many times have you clicked an email address on a webpage instead of copying it only to accidentally start Outlook or another desktop mail client? Who uses desktop mail clients anymore? Well, I do, but that's another story. Many people these days are just keeping all their email in web-based services like Gmail, Outlook.com, and Yahoo Mail. When you click an email address your browser is handing off responsibility for a special kind of link, called But it doesn't have to be that way. In most modern Windows browsers you can turn a webmail account into your default email program. The only drawback is that setting a webmail service as your default is not system wide, meaning you have to set your preferred mail service as the default in each separate browser you use.
HTC's device—if Bloomberg's claims are accurate—would challenge market leader
Acer is busting out the glitter for its latest wearable, a giant pink sombrero dubbed the “Selfie-Hat.” The You can even buy one yourself, but only by appointment at the fashion show.
If you preordered an Apple, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon began taking orders for the new phones, which hit store shelves Sept. 19, at 12:01 a.m. Pacific/3:01 a.m. Eastern. The process is the same as it always was: Stay awake (or wake up insanely early) and spend an hour trying to get through the ordering process without punching your computer in frustration. But this year, preordering the iPhone was especially infuriating. The Apple Store was reportedly down for up to two hours in some parts of the country—same for Sprint and T-Mobile. Verizon and AT&T’s sites were spotty. Some customers preordered without a problem, while others couldn’t add the phone to their carts. Verizon and Sprint were battling each other for your