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BetaNews.Com (11 non lus)

CeBIT: UK Prime Minister backs development of insane-speed 5G networks

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 11:36pm CET par Mark Wilson

Mobile users are just getting around to upgrading their handsets to take advantage of 4G networks, but this simply is not fast enough. UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, spoke at CeBIT announcing that the country will join forces with Germany to develop the successor to 4G -- the uninspiringly-named 5G. The PM announced a deal with Germany which will help to push forward with the development of a mobile broadband network that will offer download speeds up to 1,000 times those currently available on 4G.

To put this kind of speed in perspective, as the Prime Minister explained, an 800MB movie (or any other type of file for that matter) could be download in a single second. One second. For the best part of a gig of data. On a mobile device. Who is going to say no to that? Ultimately, the adoption rate will be determined by the costs involved -- mobile tariffs, suitable handsets, data charges, and coverage -- but before any of this becomes an issue, 5G needs to be, well, invented really.

In the UK, King’s College University in London and the University of Surrey will join forces with Germany's University of Dresden to help ensure that neither country gets left behind in the digital race. Cameron is keen for the UK to become the "most digital nation" in the G8 and has to help convince anyone who has doubts, he also pledged a big chunk of funding for the "internet of things".

Toasters, refrigerators and other everyday devices connecting to the internet is already a reality, and by boosting funding to the tune of £45 million, Cameron is keen to be seen investing in what many think of as "The Next Big Thing". The Prime Minister is certainly talking the talk: "see the Internet of Things as a huge transformative development - a way of boosting productivity, of keeping us healthier, making transport more efficient, reducing energy needs, tackling climate change".

Researchers at Gartner have predicted that by 2020, there will be 26 billion devices connected to the internet of things. Let's just hope someone comes up with a better name long before then!

Image Credit: asharkyu / Shutterstock
Discover the answer to life, the universe and everything 30 years on

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 10:04pm CET par Mark Wilson

Gamers of yore will remember the delight that could come from playing a text-based computer game. Forget pushing polygons around the screen as fast as a GPU's legs can pump, these were games where words were king. Back in 1984, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game took the gaming world by storm and now, thirty years later the BBC has resurrected the classic title in an exclusive online version that's free for anyone to play.

This accessible and hilarious sci-fi classic translated well into a game, and whether you missed it the first time around or you like the idea of reliving the mid-80s, warm up your keyboard and prepare to type your way to victory -- and immense frustration. This is not the first time the game has been revived, but this time around there is an HTML5 version to enjoy and there are some comedic touches right from the start. The game developers decided to replace the $, % and ^ symbols with symbols for the Altarian Dollar, Flanian Pobble Bead and the Triganic Pu, "not because they are needed in the game, but just because we felt like it."

As was the case with the 20th anniversary edition, the 30th birthday release has been tarted up with a few sparse graphics -- but don't expect to see anything to rival Titanfall! It is described as a "wonderful piece of interactive fiction", and this is a very fitting description. It's a game that simply has to be experienced, and you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t go and test it out this very instant!

To revel in a little nostalgic gaming, head over to the BBC mini-site for the game, and you can get started straight away. If you would like to be able to save your progress, you'll need to create an account with the BBC (which is free). We found that the game didn’t play nicely with all browsers -- Chrome seemed to have trouble, for instance -- but it's worth persevering if you do run into a problem. Just bear in mind the introductory caution: "A word of warning. This game will kill you frequently. It's a bit mean like that."
Apple releases iOS 7.1, fixes bugs, adds extra features

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 6:54pm CET par Wayne Williams

The first big update to Apple’s mobile operating system is currently rolling out to users now. The update includes various improvements and bug fixes.

Among the additions are support for CarPlay, and enhancements to Siri, iTunes Radio, Calendar, and Accessibility. There’s also a new camera setting which can automatically enable HDR on iPhone 5s.

To make use of CarPlay you’ll need to buy a compatible vehicle, so few users will get much out of that inclusion for a while. With the Siri updates you can now manually control when the voice activated assistant listens to you. Hold down the home button, speak, and release it when you’ve finished -- just like using a walkie-talkie. There are also now more natural sounding voices for UK English, Australian English, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese.

The iTunes Radio improvements include adding a search field above Featured Stations, and you can buy albums direct from Now Playing. You can also subscribe to iTunes Match directly from your device to listen to the service ad-free.

Calendar tweaks include the ability to display events in month view, and country-specific holidays have been added for numerous locations.

Other changes include iCloud Keychain support for additional countries, improved TouchID fingerprint recognition, better iPhone 4 performance, and interface refinements.

The update will appear automatically, ready for installing, or you can manually check for it by going to General> Software Update.
Netflix expands ISP list for its monthly naughty and nice roundup

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 6:53pm CET par Alan Buckingham

Every month video streaming service Netflix trots out its results list for speed tests of US internet service providers, ranking each in descending order. There was a recent stir of controversy, as Comcast took a sudden nose-dive in the standings. This came, rather coincidentally, just before Netflix paid up for better service. In fairness, the deal was already in the works during the drop-off, so it was at best a negotiation tactic.

With that mess now in the rear-view mirror, Netflix announces it is expanding the list of ISPs that it plans to track and include on its monthly shame and fame list.

"We expanded the list to provide insight into the performance of many of the smaller providers in the US and to give credit where it is due. For example, Midcontinent, a regional cable provider in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, takes second place in the expanded rankings", says Joris Evers of Netflix.

The service also took the opportunity to tweak its new cable partner just a bit, stating "we do expect to see Comcast's performance improve in the rankings next month when we release March data".

The data is culled from more than 44 million Netflix customers worldwide, as the company also tracks ISPs in Mexico and The Netherlands, among other places. It's a bit of a wake-up-call for providers, as Neflix is calling out anyone who isn't living up to standards.

Image Credit: Lisa S. / Shutterstock
Google turns users into sleazy salespeople with paid Google Apps referrals

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 6:15pm CET par Brian Fagioli

Nowadays, things tend to spread virally, thanks to the internet and social media. If you discover something cool, you will share it with friends and followers. People like to share videos, pictures and even apps. With the exception of advertisements masquerading as real suggestions, people share discoveries for the sake of sharing -- it is a nice gesture.

Once a financial incentive comes into play, a suggestion becomes tainted. For example, a salesman on commission may be genuine in their suggestions, but since their pay is dependent on the sale, you can never be 100 percent sure. Sadly, Google announces that it is turning users into sleazy commissioned salespeople with paid referrals. Will you sell your soul for $15.00?

"For those of us who use Google Apps, the ability to access all of our documents from anywhere on any device and being able to seamlessly collaborate with colleagues or customers across the world, are impressive moments. These are moments we want to share with friends and colleagues because the more the people in our networks use Google Apps, the more seamlessly we can collaborate with them -- whether it's video conferencing via Hangouts, working together on Docs or sharing calendars. Best of all, it means we can all begin to experience a new way of working", says Prajesh Parekh, Google Apps Marketing.

Parekh further explains, "many of the millions of Google Apps customers learned about tools like Hangouts, Drive and Gmail for business from their customers, friends and networks. To help continue the momentum, we’re launching the Google Apps Referral Program. The referral program makes it easy to share Google Apps with your network and show them how they too can use these tools at work. To show our appreciation, we’re offering a $15 referral bonus for each new Google Apps user you refer".

While I am a fan of Google Apps and I do suggest them to people, I take umbrage with being paid to suggest it. Google is a company that makes much of its money from advertising, but turning users into tools of said advertising is just plain wrong. Like I said, it taints the suggestion and makes money a top focus. It makes the entire thing feel cheap. I predict that we may see tons of spam from users trying to earn referral money, which may hurt Google more than help.

Will you take advantage of the program? Tell me in the comments.

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Skype for Windows 8 adds cross-device syncing, requires Windows 8.1

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 6:06pm CET par Nick Peers

Microsoft has unveiled an update to its Windows chat app with the release of Skype for Windows 8 v2.6. Version 2.6 unveils one major update, support for syncing read chats and picked-up calls across multiple devices.

The new feature means that users can switch from their Windows 8 device to another platform and be sure that any chat updates or picked-up calls made on the secondary platform are now acknowledged by the Windows 8 app too.

This means in practical terms that users can leave their Windows 8 devices running Skype in the background without becoming annoyed by calls continuing to ring even after being picked up on another computer or mobile.

Synchronizing chat history and read messages has also been added to Skype for Windows 8 -- this feature is part of the "enhanced Skype chat experience" that began rolling out to other platforms last month. This is achieved by implementing push notifications of any updates from one device automatically to the others. Not only does this make it easier to stay up to date, it also allows users to quickly and easily review past chat histories on any device, not just the one that the chat originally took place on.

More improvements for multi-device usage have also been outlined going forward. First, Skype has promised to make sure that notifications will only be received on the device actively being used, bringing an end to the annoying chorus of chimes as a new message is relayed across all the user’s logged-in devices.

Also planned is keeping the user’s Favorites contact list in sync, thereby saving time and hassle having to recreate it each time Skype is installed on a new platform.

Skype for Windows 8 v2.6 is available for free now -- note that users require Windows 8.1 to run the app. Also available are Skype for Windows 6.14 and Skype for Mac 6.14 for desktop users, plus Skype for iPhone 4.17, Skype for iPad 4.17, and Skype for Android 4.4.
PaaSLane optimizes Java and .Net applications for the cloud

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 2:48pm CET par Ian Barker

We reported on Cloud Technology Partners' migration tool PaaSLane entering its public beta phase back in October and how it can cut the time and cost spent on moving to the cloud.

From tomorrow (March 11) the product becomes generally available with new and enhanced features to enable users to rapidly assess applications and speed up cloud migrations.

PaaSLane 2.0's new features include full .NET support with more than 200 specific rules, including rules for Microsoft Azure and Apprenda CloudFoundry. There’s a redesigned reporting interface including the ability to drill down into alert detail. There are also interactive charts and the ability to export reports in Excel and PDF formats.

"In the past two years the use of public cloud for enterprise workloads has skyrocketed. Many enterprises are looking at what it will take to migrate mission critical applications from expensive datacenters to agile cloud environments, and this is where PaaSLane shines," says Ben Grubin, Director of Product Management at Cloud Technology Partners. "However, the challenges of migrating existing apps to the cloud have led to many failed migrations, delays, or deployment of apps with significant code-level issues. PaaSLane can tackle the assessment of existing Java and .NET apps with ease, quantifying factors such as coding errors, hardcoded dependencies, security, and scalability problems, along with several other factors could quickly derail a cloud project. PaaSLane helps overcome these issues by leveraging source code inspection and a built-in cloud platform knowledgebase driven by extensive research to identify and resolve issues quickly, accelerating application migration and cloud optimization".

Faster uploads to Amazon Web Services are now available thanks to parallel uploading technology. PaaSLane also allows continuous optimization for evolving cloud platforms as it delivers real-time intelligence on changes that effect an application.

Grubin says that the product appeals to larger companies with many applications, system integrators supporting migrations and to smaller companies with just one or two critical apps. It can be integrated into the development lifecycle for any size of organization.

You can sign up for an instant free trial on the PaaSLane website.

Photo Credit: Roland IJdema/Shutterstock
Pre-order an Xperia Z2, get a Sony Bravia TV for free

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 1:36pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Smartphone penetration continues to rise in markets across the globe, as vendors compete to get more attractive devices, at increasingly lower price points, in consumers' hands. Meanwhile, the premium market is becoming a niche, as indicated by the ongoing drop in average selling price. The consumerization of smartphones also means sellers have to get creative, or at least attempt to, to get buyers to shell out a hefty sum.

Mobile operators have bundled smartphones with accessories and other smart devices in order to attract buyers. For instance, my Nokia Lumia 920 came with a free pair of Nokia Purity HD headphones. Now, Vodafone's UK arm is using a similar strategy, giving those who pre-order a Sony Xperia Z2 a free Sony Bravia TV.

The interesting offer does not extend throughout the pre-order period, as Vodafone UK says only the first 3,000 pre-orders are eligible. The mobile operator does not specifically mention which model of the Bravia lineup is part of the deal, only that it is a 32-incher.

The terms of the deal also state that, in order to qualify, those who are eligible have to pay their first monthly bill and claim their Bravia TV from Sony -- between May 8 and July 8 -- after registering on the Japanese maker's site.
Closing the time to protection gap with threat forecasting

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 12:47pm CET par John Pirc

The dominant theme at this year’s RSA Conference in San Francisco was actionable security intelligence, a term which can mean different things to different people. For example, do bad IP addresses, DNS fast fluxing information, and geolocation constitute security intelligence? Additionally, do malware campaigns and adversary tracking count as security intelligence?

The answer is yes for both questions, but it is important to note that these are not the only high-level indicators that can be considered security intelligence. The key challenge is understanding how to "apply" security intelligence in such a way that it is actionable. The following may be considered provocative and even go against the grain of opinion in Silicon Valley: In most approaches to security, there is too much emphasis on the adversary and not enough on understanding the attack surface.

Pirc’s Law of Adversarial Disruption

The image above visually represents Pirc’s Law of Adversarial Disruption (is based on the Law of Disruption), which is my assertion that there is a rapidly expanding innovation gap between the adversary and traditional product-based security best practices. Further, this gap can only be disrupted by the application of new data-driven approaches that provide enterprises with actionable security intelligence and better visibility into their unique risk profiles. This is a key issue that security professionals face in our race to keep up with the adversary. Over time, cyber criminals have been able to re-invent themselves due to increased connectivity, social engineering, and the various applications that enable them to conduct campaigns and operations against a multitude of targets across every industry vertical. The security industry is preoccupied with the adversary and some believe that taking out a cyber criminal’s supply chain or trying to build a better version of "Anonymous" through white hat cyber vigilante groups will solve the problem. These tactics may help, but they won’t solve the problem. Attribution and traceability will eventually catch cyber criminals, but once their methods of attribution are uncovered, cyber criminals will move on to something more advanced. That amounts to a lot of work for little gain and also takes the focus off defending assets.

I’ve yet to attend a security conference where I haven’t heard the quote from Sun Tzu’s Art of War: "Know thy Enemy". After years of focusing on the threat landscape, there is still one thing we need to know better than the enemy… ourselves. You can’t properly defend your infrastructure if you are not intimately familiar with your attack surface, and few enterprises fully understand the full scope of the attack surfaces within their own organizations. Enterprises continue to buy and deploy tier 1 security products (antivirus, NGFW, IPS, SWG, SIEM, etc.) because these products are listed as security best practices. In order to defend against most of today’s threats, we first have to know what they are, and then we have to propagate that information across various security products. Some security vendors are quick to respond, while others are not so quick. This, however, is a shotgun approach to security that will likely solve only about 70 percent of an enterprise’s risk. Enterprises definitely need these technologies, but what about the other ~30 percent? This is where actionable intelligence can be used to offset the risk in the change window indicated in the image. We can never be 100 percent risk free, but by utilizing actionable security intelligence, we can begin to close the gap of time to protection and disrupt the adversary.

Threat Forecasting

We must take a sniper’s approach to identifying risk and closing the gaps. This requires a move from static risk analysis to variable risk analysis. How does variable risk analysis apply to threat forecasting? It removes the ambiguity and reduces the signal-to-noise ratio by tailoring security that is prescriptive to a specific environment. First, threat forecasting requires an in-depth understanding of your attack surface. The ability to clearly identify your attack surface is a fundamental of good security hygiene: again, how can you defend what you don’t know? Further, threat forecasting utilizes threat intelligence about known and unknown exploits and malware and maps it to your attack surface.

At this point, we have a lot of information, but it still only provides half the picture, and it’s difficult to discern what is actionable. To close the gap and understand which threats are a clear and present danger to your organization, you must be able to identify which of the possible threats targeting your attack surface are capable of bypassing the security products deployed in your network. Once you have this knowledge, you will have actionable and prescriptive intelligence that will not only reduce the time-to-protection gap, but will also greatly reduce risk.

This is a quick overview of the power of threat forecasting and the impact actionable security intelligence can have on your overall security efficacy.

Call to Action

As security professionals we need to challenge the status quo of security best practices. Additionally, we need to close the gap on time to protection by utilizing actionable security intelligence that matches our attack surface. Without any changes, we will continue to be like lemmings marching off a cliff.

Image Credit: watcharakun/Shutterstock

NSS Labs' Chief Technology Officer, John Pirc is a noted security intelligence and cybercrime expert, an author and a renowned speaker, with more than 15 years of experience across all areas of security. The co-author of two books, "Blackhatonomics: An Inside Look at the Economics of Cybercrime" and "Cyber Crime and Espionage", Pirc has been named a security thought leader from the SANS Institute and speaks at top tier security conferences worldwide. Pirc’s extensive expertise in the security field includes roles in cybersecurity research and development for the Central Intelligence Agency, Chief Technology Officer at CSG LTD, Product Manager at Cisco, Product Line Executive for Security Products at IBM Internet Security Systems, Director of McAfee's Network Defense Business Unit and, most recently, Director of Security Intelligence at HP Enterprise Security Products, where he led the strategy for next generation security products.
Cybercrime industry refines its techniques to steal data

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 12:24pm CET par Ian Barker

Last year saw a number of credit card data breaches that made the headlines. A new report says that this shows how well the "deep web" of cybercrime is serving its customers.

McAfee Labs Threats Report for the fourth quarter of 2013 says that not only did Point of Sale (PoS) attacks like that on Target steal large numbers of records they point to a refinement in criminal technique.

The attackers used point-of-sale malware that's available to buy off-the-shelf in the cybercrime community and made straightforward modifications allowing them to target their attacks. What's more they had an efficient mechanism in place to sell on the stolen data including an anonymous, virtual-currency-based payment system.

"The fourth quarter of 2013 will be remembered as the period when cybercrime became 'real' for more people than ever before," says Vincent Weafer, senior vice president for McAfee Labs. "These cyber thefts occurred at a time when most people were focused on their holiday shopping and when the industry wanted people to feel secure and confident in their purchases. The impact of these attacks will be felt both at the kitchen table as well as the boardroom table”.

Other findings of the report include an increase in the use of malicious signed binaries, the number on McAfee Labs' database having tripled last year. The company says that the misuse of code signing is eroding user trust in the use of security certificates.

The report also explores the relationship between mobile malware and apps that "overcollect" user data and mobile device telemetry. Although most tracking is benign, 82 percent of mobile apps track when you use Wi-Fi and data networks, when you turn on your device or your current and last location. In addition 80 percent of apps collect location information and 57 percent track when the phone is used.

Ransomware continues to be a problem too, McAfee Labs recorded a million new samples, doubling the number between Q4 2012 and Q4 2013. There were also 2.47 million new mobile malware samples in 2013, 2.2 million new master boot record attacks and a 70 percent increase in the number of suspicious URLs.

You can read the full report as a PDF on McAfee's site and in the meantime, let's be careful out there.

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Windows Phone users do crave popular apps, no matter what apologists, fanboys say

Publié: mars 10, 2014, 12:02pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

Whenever a pundit brings up apps as an irrefutable argument for Windows Phone weaknesses, platform fanboys and apologists quickly point out they could not care less about whatever the Store is then lacking. They may also say that there already are good alternatives available, and major titles -- that are popular on Android and iOS -- are not really that important, when you have live tiles to look at all day. Basically, such an argument is, therefore, a pathetic excuse to bash their beloved platform.

Instagram? "No, thanks, that is for hipsters". Candy Crush? "I do not need that lame game on my Windows Phone as there are better ones available". "Oh, and you are an iPhone/Android fanboy for mentioning this!". You get the gist. But after we get off the comments train, we see that whenever Windows Phone gets a popular app, it quickly rises to the top of the Store. Yes, these users, of which I am proud to be one, do crave major titles, just like everyone else.

Facebook launched Facebook Messenger last week on the platform and, even though it may be lacking certain features that Android and iOS users get, the app is, at the time of writing this story, the second-most popular free title in the US Store, and the best performer in "New+Rising". Its ranking may vary depending on the region, but it is shaping up to be one of the biggest app wins for Windows Phone this year.

You may be wondering why that is the case, when Windows Phone already integrates Facebook Messenger in the Messaging and Microsoft-baked Facebook apps. Is that not good enough?

Having a dedicated tool for the job is much better than going through hoops to get to what you want. It can also offer many more features, and the latest ones without having to wait for an OS update, and a more tailored user experience for its purpose, and that is what Facebook Messenger does very well.

If we look at Instagram in the same regional app store, we can see it is still at the top of the free apps list more than three months after its arrival. Based off every story I have read until Instagram launched, its popularity should come as a huge, huge shock to everyone, because, well, apologists and fanboys bashed those who ever said it is important and users want it.

Yes, Instagram too has been enjoying its fair share of knock-offs and good third-party clients on Windows Phone, but it was not until the real deal came that the service took off and its real importance to platform users became apparent. More benefits will be visible in the long run.

But these are really major titles on all platforms which offer them. Waze, on the other hand, is more of a niche app in comparison. It offers crowdsourced navigation information, and does not have as many users as either of the other two. Yet Waze, which launched alongside Instagram, is in the top free navigation apps in the US Store, right after Nokia's powerful HERE suite that is, in part, offered on every Lumia Windows Phone out-of-the-box. Also, there have been no popular third-party Waze clients in Store, so its success story is more impressive than that of Facebook Messenger or Instagram, which already enjoyed some traction and appeal before their official arrival.

Right after Facebook Messenger, in the New+Rising category in the US Windows Phone Store, is CloudSix for Dropbox. This is a great third-party Dropbox client, developed by the man who is also responsible for the best third-party Instagram and Vine clients on the platform. I am willing to bet if Dropbox officially launches on Windows Phone it will quickly become one of the most popular apps in Store, as the service is hugely popular on rival platforms and has seen great success so far.

Fanboys and apologists are a vocal bunch who will quickly try to spin any story that suggests apps are instrumental to Windows Phone's success, just as their Android and iOS counterparts will do the same when it comes to the weaknesses of their favorite platforms. Looking only at those biased responses that spread FUD, and placing any faith into their relevance, gives us a heavily skewed perspective. We might as well live in the dark ages.

Outside of the comments section, the bulk of Windows Phone users reveal the truth about how much apps matter to them, and how much they need popular titles to finally arrive and make them feel rewarded by their choice of smartphone. Simply look at what happens with the Store whenever we get some tasty crumbs in order to see the real picture.

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