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BetaNews.Com (24 non lus)

Microsoft launches new Transparency Hub, details content removal requests

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 11:48pm CEST par Mark Wilson

typerwriter_transparency

In the post-Snowden age, transparency reports are all the rage. After the privacy debate that followed the NSA surveillance revelations technology companies fell over themselves to publish everything they could about government data requests. Microsoft has already released transparency reports, but today unveils a new Transparency Hub.

This is designed to be a central resource through which a variety of reports can be accessed, including the Law Enforcement Requests Report and U.S. National Security Orders Report. Data for the first six months of 2015 is now available, and there is a new section dedicated to Right To Be Forgotten-style requests for data removal.

The Microsoft Transparency Hub is also home to details about workforce demographics and othe company statistics, but the government data requests section is the one that most people will be interested in. There has been a slight increase in the number of requests compared to the second half of 2014, up from 31,002 to 35,228. Microsoft says that just 3 percent of requests from law enforcement agencies resulted in the disclosure of customer content.

The Content Removal Requests Report is where we find out about the requests Microsoft has received asking for content to be removed. Details are provided in three areas:

Requests from governments such as claims of violations of local laws or our terms of service;
Requests from European residents for links to online content about them to be removed from Bing under the European Court of Justice’s 2014 "Right to Be Forgotten" ruling; and,
Requests from copyright owners to Bing claiming infringement of protected works.

By far the greatest number of requests (165) came from China, and it is somewhat surprising to learn that Microsoft received a mere 186 requests in total in the first six months of 2015. Action was taken in 89 percent of cases.

Microsoft's Deputy General Counsel & Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, John Frank said:

This inaugural release of our Content Removal Requests Report is very much a V1, much like the inaugural releases of our Law Enforcement Requests Report and U.S. National Security Orders Report were. Like those two reports, we expect to improve upon the information we’re providing today, adding additional detail and additional categories of information in the future.

We also expect that our new Microsoft Transparency Hub will continue to evolve as we gather here reports on a variety of other topics and seek to provide our customers with a better understanding of how Microsoft works to improve transparency about these types of requests and about our own activities around the world.

Photo credit: Syaheir Azizan / Shutterstock

Adobe Flash zero-day vulnerability surfaces one day after security updates

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 9:50pm CEST par Alan Buckingham

opps mistake cloud security

Yesterday Adobe rolled out its monthly security patches, something all users should pay attention to given past history. Flash, Reader and Acrobat all received fixes, presumably remedying the current batch of problems plaguing the software. The problem is, nothing ever seems fixed in the world of Adobe.

To that end, a zero-day exploit has already been discovered by the folks at security firm Trend Micro. Yes, that didn't take long and Adobe didn't fix this one.

"Trend Micro researchers have discovered that the attackers behind Pawn Storm are using a new Adobe Flash zero-day exploit in their latest campaign. Pawn Storm is a long-running cyber-espionage campaign known for its high-profile targets and usage of the first Java zero-day we’ve seen in the last couple of years", Trend explains.

The latest targets were foreign affairs agencies which received email purporting to be news reports -- "Suicide car bomb targets NATO troop convoy Kabul" and the like. The web sites hosting the links are similar to those responsible for earlier attacks on NATO and the White House.

Trend Micro points out that "Foreign affairs ministries have become a particular focus of interest for Pawn Storm recently. Aside from malware attacks, fake Outlook Web Access (OWA) servers were also set up for various ministries".

The security firm has notified Adobe of the problem, but so far no fix has been announced. The best way to alleviate the problem is by uninstalling Flash from your computer -- you need it increasingly less these days.

Photo Credit: doomu/Shutterstock

Buggy Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10549 released to Fast ring

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 8:51pm CEST par Mark Wilson

Microsoft Cityman Windows 10 Mobile flagship

Hot on the heels of a new desktop build, Microsoft has now released Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10549 to Fast ring Windows Phone users. While there are a fair number of improvements and new features, there is also a serious problem for anyone upgrading from Build 10536 -- although there is a work around.

So that’s the bad news, what's the good? Riding the current wave of interest in diversity, this build includes diverse emoji; a recognition of the fact that there are many hues of skin color. There are improvements to the messaging app -- although no Skype integration just yet -- and to Cortana, but that's not the end of the story.

Lumia 1020 owners will be pleased to find that Lumia Camera is no longer uninstalled by the preview build, and there are a number of bug fixes for everyone else as well. A problem with the keyboard vanishing has been addressed, and the Windows Camera app is now less crash prone. Call-blocking now works, vibrate-only alarms make a re-appearance, and problematic screenshots have been fixed. Other fixes include pinch-to-zoom in Maps now working, and SD card based apps launching properly.

But what of that awkward upgrade bug? Gabe Aul says that it was a last minute discovery, and rather than delay the release, the team wanted to push the build out anyway. Upgrading from Build 10536 will result in a black screen, but there are no issues upgrading from Windows Phone 8.1 -- so you can downgrade and go that route:

Go back to Windows 8.1 first using the Windows Device Recovery Tool.
Once you’re on Windows Phone 8.1, install the Windows Insider app, choose the Fast ring, and reboot your phone.
After that the build should download and install on your phone.

This is not the only problem with the build. Aul warns that some apps may be 'missing' post installation and will need to be restored by performing a reset. Calling through Skype for Business, WhatsApp and other apps will not be possible until the apps are uninstalled and reinstalled. There are also issues with notifications.

Line introduces Letter Sealing message encryption feature

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 8:35pm CEST par Barclay Ballard

Line-Letter-Sealing

As the battle between privacy and security heats up, one instant messaging service has definitively announced which side of the divide it falls on.

Line, which is estimated to have more than 200 million monthly active users, has launched a new end-to-end encryption feature called "Letter Sealing" for use across both smartphone and desktop platforms.

Using a similar approach to security protocols implemented by the likes of WhatsApp and iMessage, Letter Sealing uses a private key stored on the user’s device to encrypt messages, making it impossible for the content to be disclosed to a server or third party. Both participants in a chat must have Letter Sealing activated for their correspondences to be protected, but users can easily turn the feature on by going to Settings in any version later than LINE 5.3.0.

Line has implemented a number of security features in the past, including Hidden Chat and Passcode Lock, and software engineer JI believes that the latest addition could provide a valuable service to users.

"Letter Sealing is functionally different from existing methods", he explains. "One key difference is that with Letter Sealing, encryption is performed by the sender instead of the server. This technically prevents any possibilities of messages being decrypted and re-encrypted, and also makes sure messages are never exposed in plain text on the server. Additionally, the message keys used to exchange messages are safely stored on the devices of the sender and recipient instead of the server. This eliminates the possibility of a third party, including the LINE servers, from removing the seal on messages".

While privacy advocates are sure to be pleased about Line’s new security protocol, some national governments have argued that encrypted messages could enable terrorists to communicate undetected. Both the FBI and UK Prime Minister David Cameron have argued that encryption poses a threat to national security, but others see their concerns as a smokescreen to impose restrictions on individual liberty.

New AI product combines human and machine intelligence

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 6:34pm CEST par Ian Barker

Machine learning

A number of major companies including IBM, Microsoft and Amazon have launched new machine learning platforms in the past year.

But data enrichment company CrowdFlower believes that to be effective and commercially viable machine learning needs more training and better data.

It's using the Rich Data Summit to launch its new AI product that combines machine learning and human-labeled training data sets to create predictive models which can be applied against new data. With this capability data scientists will be able to reduce the cost and increase the speed with which they enrich their data, without sacrificing quality.

"The industry has been having the wrong debate about human-versus-machine intelligence," says Lukas Biewald, chief executive officer and founder at CrowdFlower. "Human intelligence and machine intelligence aren't in competition; they're natural complements that reinforce each other. Humans' great strength is the cognitive ability of the brain, which brings into play context, meaning and judgment, and machines' great strengths are consistency and speed. By combining the best of human and machine intelligence into a single platform like CrowdFlower, the result is more data and higher quality data delivered faster and at lower cost. Data scientists who feed their machine learning platforms with high quality large scale human-labeled data sets can make the transition from interesting science experiment to a commercially viable business process generating millions of dollars of value for their company".

With AI, CrowdFlower customers will be able to apply a predictive model against new data sets. For rows of data that fall below a customer-defined confidence level, units can be routed to human contributors to complete enrichment tasks such as sentiment analysis or data categorization. By combining machine and human intelligence in a single platform, CrowdFlower can intelligently assign data enrichment tasks to either humans or a machine based on the customer requirements for scope, quality and cost.

The product is built to be interoperable with both open source and commercial machine learning solutions such as scikit-learn, Google Prediction, IBM Watson, and Metamind. The company plans to partner with other machine learning solutions so data science teams can make their own choice and avoid vendor lock-in.

AI will enter private beta this year with general availability expected in the first quarter of 2016. You can find out more on the CrowdFlower website.

Image Credit: art4all / Shutterstock

HP and 3M join forces to fight visual hacking

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 6:33pm CEST par Brian Fagioli

1515_Business_Cafe_Laptop_RGB

If you are like me, you do a lot of work on the go. Not a day goes by where I am not typing away on my laptop in a public place like Starbucks or on a bench. Unfortunately, this opens me up to visual hacking. In other words, devious people can simply glance at my laptop to see what I am doing. If you work with sensitive information, this is a huge problem.

According to a recent 3M-funded study, 90 percent of visual hacking attempts are successful. Luckily, HP has teamed up with 3M to fight this visual hacking scourge. Rather than use clunky screen covers, the computer manufacturer will integrate the 3M technology directly into the laptop display. Whoa.

"With more and more PCs being used in public places, visual hacking -- the act of collecting confidential information by looking at someone else's screen -- is a paramount security risk in today's business environment. We're working with 3M to deliver world-class solutions that not only protect the privacy of the individual user, but also provides security for valuable company assets", says Alex Cho, vice president and general manager, Commercial PCs, HP.

Hewlett-Packard explains, "the planned commercialized product from the HP and 3M relationship is an innovative technology that integrates the privacy function directly into the notebook display, creating an on demand electronic privacy solution. This innovative display technology is intended to give customers a secure solution to keep on-screen data protected and out of sight".

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As someone who has used 3M display covers in an office setting, I can confirm that they work well -- people have difficulty seeing your screen at angles. The problem, however, is that it impacts the quality of the screen. Because of this, it can be frustrating to have on all the time. This means removing the plastic, storing it, and adding it back when working on something sensitive.

This new solution, however, solves this dilemma. The technology is activated with an on/off button, meaning you have nothing extra to worry about forgetting at home or in the coffee shop. Securing your screen is just a button-push away. How cool is that?

HP will add this technology to some laptops in mid-2016.

Adobe and Dropbox team up for easier PDF management

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 6:01pm CEST par Sead Fadilpašić

Dropbox PDF Adobe

Adobe and Dropbox have announced a partnership, bringing stronger integration between the two products which will surely be beneficial for users on both sides.

The new partnership means people using Adobe products will be able to save files directly to their Dropbox folders, while those going into their cloud locker first will be able to edit PFF files directly in the cloud.

The integration might not mean much for the desktop user who already has it the easy way, but iOS and Android users will have reasons to feel jolly.

"As the inventor of PDF, Adobe brings over 20 years of experience with secure digital documents", said Kevin M. Lynch, senior vice president and general manager of Adobe Document Cloud at Adobe. "The requirements of our customers have constantly evolved over time; today, mobile has become the rule and people expect to complete work quickly and simply wherever and whenever they need. Our work with Dropbox, as our first file sync and share partner, will help Adobe Document Cloud customers and people around the world be more productive with the documents at the center of their daily lives".

Users anywhere in the world can take advantage of the new feature starting today, adding their Dropbox account in Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader on desktop.

The iOS integrations between Acrobat Reader and Dropbox will be available in the coming months, Adobe says, with Android and web integrations to follow sometime next year, in 2016.

Apple faces $862 million bill as iPhone and iPad chips infringe patents

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 5:28pm CEST par Mark Wilson

apple_logo_glass_building

A jury has decided that Apple infringed on patents owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The A7, A8, and A8X processors used in iPhones and iPads since 2013 included technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's licensing arm.

US District Judge William Conley had previously indicated that Apple could be hit with a bill of up to $862.4 million, but it is now down to the jury to determine the levels of damages that must be paid. The chips feature efficiency-improving technology, and can be found in some iPads as well as the iPhone 5s, 6, and 6 Plus.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is well-versed in patent cases, having already used the same patent to sue Intel back in 2008. Apple also faces a second lawsuit covering the A9 and A9X processors used in the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, as well as the iPad Pro.

Presiding over the case, Judge Conley scheduled the trial to proceed in three phases: liability, damages, and finally, whether Apple infringed the patent willfully, which could lead to enhanced penalties. No timetable has been set out, and it is not clear if Apple would take the same action as Intel and settle out of court.

Photo credit: TK Kurikawa / Shutterstock

Hear the recordings Google stores of the voice commands you've said to your phone

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 4:50pm CEST par Mark Wilson

dismantled_old_phone

OK Google, Siri, and Cortana all make it possible to control a phone simply by speaking to it. In the case of Google, what you might not be aware -- it's hardly something the company shouts about -- is that recordings of every command, question, and request are stored online.

Listening back through these could well be interesting, embarrassing, perhaps even nostalgic. You can step back in time and remind yourself of trips abroad, fun nights out, and the like, but you might also be concerned about privacy. If you would rather these recordings were not stored online, you can delete them; here's how.

Pay a visit to the Voice & Audio Activity section of your Google account and you'll probably find a lengthy list of recordings stretching back months. Just as with Google Voice, when possible Google will provide a transcript of what was said, but there's also a Play button that can be used to listen back to your direction requests, Google searches, and random recordings that have been made for seemingly no reason.

If you feel uncomfortable having all of this audio saved, you can manually work through the list and delete any of the more personal (or incriminating) recordings. You can speed up deletion of everything by hitting the hamburger menu, selecting Delete options and here you can opt to delete everything in one fell swoop.

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You can opt to turn off Voice & Audio Activity (just visit Settings), but this may not have quite the effect you would expect, as noted by Alex Hern. Google says:

Pausing Voice & Audio Activity may limit or disable features such as using "OK Google" to start a voice search and reduce the accuracy of speech recognition across Google products that use your voice.

Note that this setting does not affect storage of information by Google products (like Voice) that can be used to store your audio or voice inputs. Google may also continue to collect and store audio data in an anonymized way.

Let us know if you find anything interesting as you browse through your archive.

Photo credit: cagi / Shutterstock

USB Killer can fry any computer in seconds -- watch it in action

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 4:47pm CEST par Wayne Williams

USB Killer

Just as sharing floppy disks in the 1990s carried the risk of infecting your PC with a virus, so sharing USB flash drives carries the same risk today. Fortunately you can easily protect against that kind of threat by disabling autorun and also installing a decent anti-virus program.

However, a Russian security expert has created a new, far more dangerous USB stick, which doesn’t carry a virus, but rather a deadly charge of power which can fry any device with a USB port in a matter of seconds.

USB Killer v2.0 works by drawing a small electrical charge from the host device, and storing it in an internal capacitor. When it reaches 220 volts, the USB stick sends the charge back into the host device, and then starts the process all over again. This power surge, naturally, fries the internal components killing the target device stone dead. Nasty.

USB Killer v2.0’s designer, who goes under the pseudonym of Dark Purple, shared details of his device on a Russian IT and computer science blog called Habrahabr, and even included a terrifying video showing it at work.

Dark Purple points out that while the device can fry a motherboard, the hard disk and data on it is unlikely to be damaged. So that’s okay then.

Time is crucial in dealing with cyber security threats

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 4:41pm CEST par Ian Barker

Security time bomb

Of 430 security and risk professionals surveyed, 55 percent were dissatisfied with the length of time it takes them to contain and recover from attacks.

This is according to information security training and analysis organization SANS, which has released the results of its latest report into data center and cloud security.

According to the survey, 59 percent of organizations are able to contain attacks within 24 hours, leaving many open to prolonged and increased damage as attacks spread laterally through data centers and clouds. 37 percent take up to 8 hours to contain attacks and 17 percent report taking more than a week.

"When it comes to limiting damage and preventing data breaches, time continues to be the biggest challenge for security and risk professionals," says SANS analyst Dave Shackleford. "Most respondents said they use traditional tools to monitor traffic between datacenters and internal or external clouds, and are unhappy with the level of visibility and containment speeds they get. If our security stance is going to improve, we need better visibility, the ability to make configuration changes faster and to contain attacks more quickly".

Other findings include that 44 percent of enterprises reporting breach information have had sensitive data accessed by attackers, these same respondents were among those using traditional security tools in their data centers and clouds. Multiple attacks are common too with 28 percent of organizations having experienced up to six data breaches in the past 24 months.

The results show that 37 percent of organizations use distributed cloud and data center computing systems. But security seems to be losing ground in the move to distributed computing, 44 percent of respondents said their biggest challenge was that cloud providers don't offer the visibility needed to protect users and data. In addition 19 percent say cloud providers don’t give them the security support they need and 49 percent have no formal cloud security strategy in place. Making matters worse is the lack of effective security controls available and in use. While 75-100 percent of respondents are using traditional tools in data centers, that number drops off to less than 35 percent in the cloud.

You can find the full report on the SANS website and there's an infographic summary of the findings below.

SANS infographic

Image Credit: razihusin / Shutterstock

IT professionals express doubts over IoT security

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 4:12pm CEST par Ian Barker

Internet of things

According to a new survey, 64 percent of consumers are confident they can control the information access of Internet of Things devices, but 78 percent of IT professionals say security standards are insufficient.

The findings come from the 2015 Risk/Reward Barometer of global cyber security association ISACA and suggest a major confidence gap about the security of connected devices between the average consumer and cyber security and information technology professionals.

More than three out of four US consumers (83 percent) consider themselves to be somewhat or very knowledgeable about the IoT, and have an average of five IoT devices in their home. Smart TVs top the list of most wanted IoT device to get in the next 12 months, with internet-connected cameras, connected cars and wireless fitness trackers also ranked highly.

However, the survey of IT and cyber security professionals reveals that there's an aspect to the IoT that exists below the radar of organizations. 50 percent believe their IT department is not aware of all of their organization's connected devices, things like connected thermostats, TVs, fire alarms and even cars. The likelihood of an organization being hacked through an IoT device is medium or high according to 74 percent of those asked. Also 62 percent think that the increasing use of IoT devices in the workplace has led to a decrease in employee privacy.

"In the hidden Internet of Things, it is not just connectivity that is invisible. What is also invisible are the countless entry points that cyber attackers can use to access personal information and corporate data," says Christos Dimitriadis, international president of ISACA and group director of Information Security for INTRALOT. "The rapid spread of connected devices is outpacing an organization’s ability to manage it and to safeguard company and employee data".

The survey suggests that some of the fault lies with device manufacturers. 77 percent of professionals say they don't believe that manufacturers are implementing sufficient security measures in IoT devices. A similar proportion (78 percent) don't think current security standards sufficiently address the IoT and believe that updates and/or new standards are needed. Privacy is also an issue with 88 percent believing that device makers don't make consumers sufficiently aware of the type of information the devices can collect.

Whilst consumers are generally less concerned than the professionals, 89 percent of US consumers say it's important that data security professionals hold a cyber security certification if they work at organizations with access to consumers' personal information.

You can read more on the results on the ISACA website and there's a summary of consumer attitudes in infographic form below.

Photo credit: Odua Images / Shutterstock

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10565 introduces support for nested virtualization

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 4:10pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

Windows 10 Insider Preview build 10565 Hyper V Nested virtualization

Even though Windows 10 was officially released months ago, development has not stopped at Microsoft. The software giant is actively working on new updates as part of its Windows-as-a-service strategy, employing the help of Windows Insiders to test all the major changes.

One such change is support for nested virtualization, a feature that allows users to run virtual machines inside virtual machines. While Microsoft has initially kept quiet about its availability, a version is actually part of Windows 10 Insider Preview 10565, which was released earlier this week.

The preview for nested virtualization support comes "in preparation" of the first public preview for Hyper-V Containers. Given that it is not ready for prime time, Microsoft says that this new feature has lots of known issues and functionality is not complete. And it only works with Hyper V at this stage; this eliminates third-party virtualization programs like VMware right now.

You can see the nested virtualization feature in action in the screenshot at the top of the article. To demonstrate it, on a Windows 10 system, Microsoft created a Windows 10 virtual machine, which, in turn, powers another Windows 10 virtual machine.

Obviously, this is not a feature aimed at average users. But it comes in handy in certain scenarios, like software testing. Of course, you need a very powerful machine to smoothly handle all the extra load. To learn more about what's in the preview, check out Microsoft's TechNet blog post.

ESET 9 ships with new banking and payment protection

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 4:08pm CEST par Mike Williams

ESET 9

ESET has released the latest editions of its consumer security tools, ESET NOD32 Antivirus 9 ($39.99) and ESET Smart Security 9 ($59.99).

Smart Security now includes Banking & Payment Protection, a secure and isolated browser which uses multiple techniques to protect online financial transactions from attackers.

A new reputation-based system should help block access to malicious URLs and cloud-based files.

Enhanced botnet protection now checks network communications for signatures which may indicate malware, and immediately alerts you to any suspect traffic.

Usability improvements include a redesigned interface, smarter installation, and "a completely new licensing framework that simplifies product purchases and activations".

This looks like a solid and worthwhile update to us, although generally average testing results -- ESET scored 11th/ 20 in AV-Comparatives’ August 2015 Real-World Protection Test -- suggest it might take more to win over the uncommitted.

30-day trials of ESET NOD32 Antivirus 9 and ESET Smart Security 9 are available for Windows XP -- 10.

Instart Logic helps eCommerce sites gear up for the holiday season

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 3:08pm CEST par Ian Barker

eCommerce global

The holiday season is peak selling time for online businesses, so it's imperative that websites optimize their shopping experiences to acquire first-time visitors as customers.

Cloud application delivery specialist Instart Logic is launching new performance solutions designed to optimize website experiences for retail and e-commerce sites.

A new One Time Cache solution helps sites acquire first-time visitors with fast, personalized experiences, while User Prioritization allows companies to optimize revenue by predictively prioritizing users during peak traffic times. The new capabilities are the start of a family of features using predictive algorithms and big data to improve website performance and user experience.

"The holiday shopping season offers eCommerce websites a once-a-year opportunity to convert new visitors to customers and to optimize revenue from loyal customers," says Manav Mital, CEO of Instart Logic. "Instart Logic is helping eCommerce companies leverage software technologies like predictive algorithms and big data to improve business performance during the most important time of the year".

One Time Cache allows sites to predictively pre-load dynamically generated web pages and serve them from cache to first-time visitors. By avoiding the round trip back to the customer's origin it improves performance by between 30 and 50 percent for first-time visits to a retailer's website.

User Prioritization predicts which users are likely to be the most valuable and prioritizes those users at peak traffic times. By controlling the percentage of end users who are able to access the site and prioritizing certain higher-value buyers above others, companies can increase revenue under unexpected loads. Being able to control and manage the flow of web traffic during peak times allows for a dramatically improved user experience, improving customer retention and revenue.

More information on Instart Logic's solutions is available on the company's website.

Photo Credit: Nonnakrit/Shutterstock

iPhone 6s camera isn't the best there is, but that's fine

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 1:38pm CEST par Mihaita Bamburic

iPhone 6s

No matter which flagship smartphone you get, you are very likely to be happy with its camera quality. According to DxOMark, this year's crop of premium handsets from Apple, Google, LG, Motorola, Samsung and Sony is extremely close in terms of photo and video quality.

But, while other makers have shown major improvements in this area over their previous efforts, Apple seems to have stagnated with its new iPhone 6s, which is no more better than last year's iPhone 6 despite having a new rear-facing camera. (DxOMark has not yet tested the iPhone 6s Plus phablet, but it is unlikely to be significantly better than its predecessor either.)

DxOMark's testing places the new iPhone 6s on the same level as iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Xperia Z3+, and below Sony's Xperia Z5, Samsung' Galaxy S6 edge and LG's G4. Even the Huawei-made Google Nexus 6P fares better, which is not something you get to say every day as Google-branded devices have typically had lousy cameras.

This goes to prove that, when we are talking about camera quality, having more megapixels does not make it any better. Last year's generation of iPhones showed up with 8 MP shooters on the back, but still performed better than almost all competitors.

The new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s make the transition to 12 MP sensors on the back, but their photo and video scores (83 and 80, respectively) are identical to their predecessor's based on DxOMark's testing. But how much does that matter?

Well, not much to be honest. DxOMark places iPhone 6s' camera in 10th place with an 82-point average. However, it is only two points away from reaching the third place on the podium, and matching Nexus 6P with its 84 points. It would take a bit more to match Galaxy S6 edge and its 86 points or Xperia Z5 with its 87 points, but let's face it, there is not much that separates most entries in the top 10.

If you want to read more about how iPhone 6s' camera fares in real-life conditions, check out our review of Apple's flagship smartphone here.

Scores

FBI and GCHQ investigate Dridex malware after millions stolen from bank accounts

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 12:39pm CEST par Mark Wilson

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An investigation spanning the US and Europe is under way after tens of millions of dollars was stolen from bank accounts. The thefts are believed to have been facilitated by a strain of malware known variously as Dridex, Bugat, and Cridex, enabling a group known as Evil Corp to siphon off funds.

The malware has been known of for some time, but law enforcement agencies have only just started to make significant inroads that could thwart the activities of the botnet. An arrest has now been made in connection to the malware which hijacked online banking login pages on infected computers. After stealing usernames and passwords, taking money from accounts was a simple task.

Europol, the FBI, GCHQ, and the UK's Computer Emergency Response Team are working together to fight what has been described as the worst cyber-attack ever seen. It was thought that agencies had managed to stop the botnet in its tracks, but now there are fears that attacks are starting up once again.

Mike Hulett from the UK's National Crime Agency said:

This is a particularly virulent form of malware and we have been working with our international law enforcement partners, as well as key partners from industry, to mitigate the damage it causes. Our investigation is ongoing and we expect further arrests to made.

Dridex is believed to target small to medium-sized businesses rather than individuals or large organizations, and it was spread through emails crafted to fool finance departments.

The US Department of Justice has just released details of an arrest that was made in August:

Andrey Ghinkul, aka Andrei Ghincul and Smilex, 30, of Moldova, was charged in a nine-count indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Pennsylvania with criminal conspiracy, unauthorized computer access with intent to defraud, damaging a computer, wire fraud and bank fraud. Ghinkul was arrested on Aug. 28, 2015 in Cyprus. The United States is seeking his extradition.

The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team has set up a page detailing the tools that can be used to check for and remove the malware.

Photo credit: wk1003mike / Shutterstock

Apple's no longer court monitored in ebook antitrust case

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 12:37pm CEST par Barclay Ballard

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Apple’s e-book division will no longer be overseen by a court-appointed monitor after the US Justice Department ruled that the company had made improvements to its antitrust compliance program.

Despite the positive outcome for Apple, the Justice Department was critical of the company’s "challenging relationship" with the appointed monitor Michael Bromwich, claiming that the iPhone maker "never embraced a cooperative working relationship".

Apple claims that Bromwich disrupted working practices by requesting meetings with high-ranking individuals that were not related to the ebook business and submitted excessive bills. The technology giant also went to court several times in an attempt to remove Bromwich as monitor.

Back in 2013, Apple was found to be conspiring with five book publishers in an attempt to thwart the rise of competitors like Amazon. Penguin Group, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, Hachette Book Group and Macmillan were all found culpable of working with Apple to rise e-book prices and subsequently settled the allegations.

However, Apple disputes the court’s version of events, claiming that its actions actually encouraged competition. The company may yet appeal the decision of the US Supreme Court which states that it must pay a $450 million settlement claim.

Even with the legal wrangle continuing, Apple will be pleased that it is no longer being monitored as part of the antitrust litigation. The US Justice Department agreed with Mr Bromwich’s assessment that in spite of the lack of cooperation, Apple had implemented the required changes to its antitrust compliance program.

Photo credit: TK Kurikawa / Shutterstock

Hillary Clinton wants Edward Snowden to stand trial

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 11:32am CEST par Mark Wilson

hillary_clinton

Hero or villain? Opinion is very much divided about Edward Snowden. For Hillary Clinton there is no question -- he is a villain who broke US law and should face trial. The NSA contractor became a topic for discussion between Clinton and Bernie Sanders at last night's presidential debate, and the two candidates had slightly differing views of how he should be treated.

Snowden has said that he would be willing to serve time in jail, going as far as offering himself up to the government. He says that he has received no response -- something that would apparently be very different if Clinton succeeds in her presidential bid. While Clinton is taking a hard line, Sanders offers more leniency.

Edward Snowden used his position to expose the secretive surveillance being carried out by the US government. While this has sparked a global debate about privacy and security, Clinton is ready to come down on him. Hard. She said:

He broke the laws of the United States. He could have been a whistleblower, he could have gotten all the protections of a whistleblower. He chose not to do that. He stole very important information that has fallen into the wrong hands so I think he should not be brought home without facing the music.

Sanders recognizes the fact that laws have been broken, but adds that "Snowden played a very important role in educating the American public" and this should be taken into account. He would still like Snowden to face trial, but believes the sentencing should reflect the good that came out of blowing the whistle, as well as the bad.

Photo credit: JStone / Shutterstock

BlackBerry Priv will be expensive

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 11:24am CEST par Darren Allan

BlackBerry Priv

The rumor mill has put a price tag on the upcoming BlackBerry Priv handset, and this smartphone won’t be cheap.

That likely won’t come as a surprise though, given the noises that have already been made about this being a premium phone, and BlackBerry’s chief executive John Chen has even previously said that the device will have a top-end price tag.

And according to GSM Arena, which spotted a post by Chinese leaker Leaksfly on Weibo, the Priv will weigh in at CNY 3,999, which is around £410 or $630. Of course, the price in pounds is likely to be much closer to that dollar figure than a direct translation from Chinese currency.

The BlackBerry Priv (which stands for privacy -- and also, rather confusingly, for privilege by all accounts) is expected to be released in 2016, and will run Android rather than BlackBerry OS in a move to attract more users.

We’ve already seen official pictures and it looks to be a very smart device, a slim slider phone which allows the user to slide the display up to reveal a full physical keyboard.

Essentially it’s the last throw of the dice for BlackBerry smartphones. If this one doesn’t work using Android as a springboard, it’s hard to see how the company will push forward on the mobile front.

How to jailbreak iOS 9 with Pangu

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 10:41am CEST par Mark Wilson

jailbreak_ios9_pangu

As with every previous version of iOS, it had to happen -- jailbreak instructions for iOS 9 have been released. Rumors have been circulating for a little while that a group called Pangu was on the verge of releasing a jailbreak tool, and now it's available.

Pangu Jailbreak for iOS 9 cracks open iOS in next to no time, opening up the possibility of installing apps and applying tweaks that would not otherwise be possible. Whether you're rocking a new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus, or you have an iPad or older handset the whole process can be over in less than five minutes. Here's what you need to do.

It should go without saying that before starting to jailbreak your iOS device, you should make sure that you back up everything important, you know, just in case. The process should be trouble-free, but obviously this is software not supported by Apple. Basically, you're on your own!

The availability of Pangu 9 was excitedly announced on Twitter to a rapturous reception:

We are very excited to announce the release of Pangu 9, the first untethered jailbreak tool for iOS 9 ([t.co]).

— PanguTeam (@PanguTeam) October 14, 2015

iDownloadblog has tested out the tool and verified that it works as it should.

Grab yourself a copy of Pangu Jailbreak
Disable Find My iPhone, Passcode and Touch ID, and enter Airplane mode
Connect your device to your computer and run the Pangu tool
Follow the on-screen instructions and you'll be guided through entire process

Check out the video for further clarification:

Google street view goes across the US from coast to coast

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 4:00am CEST par Alan Buckingham

google-maps-street-view

Have you ever driven across the country? It's an adventure everyone should experience, going from the big city of New York to the majesty of Yosemite and even taking an opportunity to follow the path of Jack Kerouac. You obviously can't see everything so you need to plan the journey wisely.

If you miss things along the way then Google may be able to help. The company is boasting its Street View images that take you from the East to West coast and show you what is in between.

The journey begins in northern California traipsing through the Redwoods, then Liberty Mountain in Kansas, Cane Creek in Kentucky, Ringing Rocks in Pennsylvania and Hidden River in New York.

"Many of these sights come from our partners participating in the Trekker Loan Program, who are adding imagery from their region for the world to explore. Today, we invite you to discover five new collections across the country, from California all the way to New York", Google announces.

You can check out all the imagery now right from your computer. Or you can get out there and begin traveling and exploring for yourself.

Are you the ultimate System76 superfan? Win a trip to its headquarters in Denver!

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 3:04am CEST par Brian Fagioli

System762

OK, so you consider yourself a Linux expert. You are constantly promoting open source while trying to convert your friends and family from Windows and OS X. If you are really down with the Linux movement, you may have bought a computer pre-loaded with a Linux-based operating system such as Ubuntu. If you did, there is a good chance you chose a System76 -- one of the best sellers of such machines.

I've got to ask you though, are you the ultimate System76 superfan? Do you love the company's computers? If so, you might be able to win a two-day trip -- including airfare and hotel -- to its headquarters in Denver. You will get to celebrate the launch of its Skylake-powered offerings (including playing with them). Sounds amazing, right? Here is how to enter.

System 76 lists the following.

Use #system76fan and #contestentry in social media to show why you should win a trip to System76 headquarters. Facebook posts must be submitted on the System76 FB page in order to be seen. Each individual post must include the hashtag #system76fan to count as an entry. Please include #contestentry in your posts. One submission per social post. Unlimited entries can be submitted.

The company lists Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram as eligible social media sites. However, when it comes to Facebook, you must post on the official System76 timeline. But wait, what exactly are you posting on social media? The computer-seller lists the following submission types.

A link to your product review
A blurb in social
A vine
Your fan story video
A link to social posts you’ve created in the past
A link to responses in other’s social posts or reviews
A link to an article you wrote
Plus more as detailed in the below video...

The easiest way to enter, and how I would recommend, would be to record a YouTube video about why you love System76. Then, tweet a link to @System76 on Twitter, including the #system76fan and #contestentry hashtags.

You can learn more, including reading the full rules here. If you enter, please share a link to your submission in the comments below.

10 can win a trip to see the new Skylake products. Tag posts w/ #system76fan #contestentry [t.co] pic.twitter.com/zQ5RIHzLtp

— System76 (@system76) October 5, 2015

Acer brings Predator X34 34-Inch Curved IPS Gaming Monitor with NVIDIA G-SYNC to USA

Publié: octobre 14, 2015, 2:20am CEST par Brian Fagioli

Acer Predator X34 Straight On Game

PC gaming is in a really wonderful place right now. Both AMD and Intel have released respectable processors -- the former's APU's are a great value, the while the latter's Skylake offerings are powerhouses. AMD's discrete graphics cards are on another level -- the 300 series are powerful, while the Fury X and Nano are game changers. Nvidia's offerings are great too -- what a fantastic time to be a gamer!

If you are a fan of Nvidia's cards, you have no doubt heard of G-Sync -- its version of AMD's FreeSync. It allows the graphics card to transmit to a special monitor to reduce choppiness and tearing -- you should have smoother movement. Today, Acer announces its curved Predator X34 gaming monitor featuring G-Sync is coming to the USA. If you have a compatible card, you will want this 21:9 display!

"This beautiful display provides exceptional picture quality with a high 3440x1440@60Hz resolution, a 100,000,000:1 max contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness and 1.07 billion colors. The 100 percent sRGB provides the highest color accuracy and color space reproduction required by gamers, design professionals and photo enthusiasts", says Acer.

Charlotte Chen, Acer America product manager says, "we believe the Predator X34 offers one of the smoothest, most thrilling game experiences available today. NVIDIA G-SYNC technology and up to 100Hz overclocking deliver extremely sharp moving pictures, while 14W stereo audio enhanced with DTS Sound enrich gameplay with powerful sound effects".

Make no mistake -- curved displays are not a gimmick. Actually, they contribute to overall immersion for both gaming and watching movies. Hell, a wide curved display like this is great for things like large Excel sheets too. In other words, it is good good for gaming, multimedia, and getting work done too.

Acer Predator X34 Front View Right Angle

In addition to the amazing specs, the Predator X34 features an integrated USB 3.0 hub. Even cooler? It has customizable "underglow", which is LED lighting along the bottom edge. You can change the colors to match your computer and accessories.

predator-x34-ksp3-highlight-1

Even if you want the Acer Predator X34, you probably won't be getting it. Why? It costs $1,299. If you are a hardcore gamer with no budget, buying this is a no-brainer. For the rest of us, however, the price is probably too much. With that said, a monitor can be a good investment -- it can travel with you through many years and multiple PC builds and buys.

Would you spend $1,299 on a display? Tell me in the comments.