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Download Defense Added To Chrome Browser
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Google has updated Chrome to version 12, adding a new feature that warns users when they’ve downloaded files from dangerous Web sites.
New to Chrome 12 is a tool that flags questionable files pulled from the Web. Chrome now shows an alert when users download some file types from sites that are on the Safe Browsing API (application programming interface) blacklist, which Google maintains.
The messages reads: “This file is malicious. Are you sure you want to continue?” If they wish, users can ignore the warning and install the file on their system’s hard drive.
“This warning will be displayed for any download URL that matches the latest list of malicious websites published by the Safe Browsing API,” said Google last April when it debuted the feature in an earlier edition of Chrome.
Safe Browsing already identifies suspicious or unsafe sites, then adds them to a blacklist. Chrome, Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s Safari all tap into Safe Browsing to warn users of risky sites before they actually visit them.
Jobs Returns To Announce Apple’s New Product
June 8, 2011 by admin
Filed under Consumer Electronics
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Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs returns on Monday to the stage at San Francisco’s Moscone center to unveil what investors hope will be the next source of growth for the world’s most valuable technology company.
Jobs, who has been on medical leave for several months and last took the stage in March to present the iPad 2, will announce the iCloud, a Web-based service that lets consumers stream music they bought to any Apple device, pitting it against rivals Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc.
That expansion into cloud computing is seen as necessary if the company is to stay competitive with increasingly popular open-sourced software, such as Google’s Android operating system, according to analysts and investors.
The iCloud has the potential to make Apple’s iTunes even more powerful, making it tougher for rivals to keep up, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said.
“It looks like Apple will likely offer some base service for free,” Wu said. “Competitors, including RIM, Google, Amazon and Microsoft already have a hard time competing with iTunes as it is, but we believe will likely find it even tougher with iCloud enhancements.”
The Netbook Lives On
Tablets may be the hottest mobile devices on display at this year’s Computex. But netbooks still have a presence at the trade show, and vendors are coming out with several new models that will hit the market this year. Their low cost will continue to drive sales, analysts said.
PC maker Asus, a pioneer of the netbook concept, unveiled two new models at Computex. The Asus Eee PC 1025 C and 1025 CE are Windows netbooks that will launch worldwide in the fourth quarter of this year. Priced at $299, the devices are built with an “instant on” feature that allow users to resume Windows in two seconds from sleep mode.
The other Asus netbook that has caught some attention is the Eee PC X101, which runs Intel’s MeeGo mobile operating system. The device will launch worldwide in July and cost $199. Asus will also be releasing a Windows 7 version of the netbook that will cost between $240 and $250.
Asus’ rival Acer is also showing a low-cost netbook priced at $199. The Aspire One Happy has both Windows and Android 2.3 installed. Users can toggle between operating systems by rebooting the system. Acer launched a version of the device worldwide last month.
Nokia Expects Windows Phone Before EOY
June 3, 2011 by admin
Filed under Smartphones
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Nokia has “increased confidence” that the first of its smartphone devices to run on the Windows Phone platform will ship by the fourth quarter, the company said on Tuesday.
Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop is putting his full weight behind getting a Windows Phone-based product out for the important end-of-year holiday shopping season, in order to help turn around the company’s smartphone fortunes. The company’s teams are aligned around that goal, he said in a statement.
The company won’t reveal ship dates until closer to when the first phones arrive, but the pressure is on to deliver the devices this year, Elop said when the company announced its first quarter results.
Nokia will have several more opportunities to divulge more information shortly. On June 21, Elop will give a presentation at the Connection 2011 Conference, which is organized in conjunction with CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore. He will give an update on the company’s partnership with Microsoft, and set the stage for a number of product and service launches, according to the program.
Windows 8 For Tablets To Be Outed
There is a rumor circulating around the Internet that Microsoft will demo Windows 8 for tablets next week at All Things D and Computex. That said, Bloomberg is said to have cited a source from within Microsoft that confirmed Windows 8 tablet OS will be showcased at these events next week. They went on to say the tablet will be demoed using a Tegra based ARM processor.
Over the years Microsoft has totally dedicated their Windows operating system to x86 based processors, specifically Intel and AMD. However, things have changed as smartphones and tablets use has skyrocketed using non x86 processors. This trend left Microsoft no choice but to join the ARM party or be left totally in the dust. As Microsoft showed off the new features in Windows Phone Mango update this week; they were also in the process of getting the tablet version of Windows 8 out as soon as possible.
Microsoft’s IE Latest Flaw: ‘Cookiejacking’
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A technology security researcher has discovered a flaw in Microsoft Corp’s widely used Internet Explorer browser that he said may allow hackers to steal credentials to access FaceBook, Twitter and other websites.
He coined the technique as ”cookiejacking.”
“Any website. Any cookie. Limit is just your imagination,” said Rosario Valotta, an independent Internet security researcher based in Italy.
Hackers can exploit the flaw to access a data file stored inside the browser known as a “cookie,” which holds the login name and password to a web account, Valotta wrote.
Once a hacker has that cookie, he or she can use it to access the same site, said Valotta, who calls the technique “cookiejacking.”
The vulnerability affects all versions of Internet Explorer, including IE 9, on every version of the Windows operating system.
To take advantage of this flaw, the hacker must first persuade the victim to drag and drop an object across the PC’s screen before the cookie can be hijacked.
That sounds like a difficult task, but Valotta said he was able to do it fairly easily. He built a puzzle that he put up on Facebook in which users are challenged to “undress” a photo of an attractive woman.
“I published this game online on FaceBook and in less than three days, more than 80 cookies were sent to my server,” he said. “And I’ve only got 150 friends.”
Microsoft said there is little risk a hacker could succeed in a real-world cookiejacking scam.
“Given the level of required user interaction, this issue is not one we consider high risk,” said Microsoft spokesman Jerry Bryant.
Skype Gives Asterisk The Boot
The Internet is buzzing with news that Skype is in the process of giving Asterisk the boot by no longer offering Skype for Asterisk starting in July. Skype for Asterisk is proprietary software that was developed by Digium with Skype’s approval. The software was unique in that it allowed Asterisk based systems to join Skype’s VoIP Network. We assume this will not negatively impact current users for the next couple of years.
We wonder if Microsoft had a hand in killing this deal with Asterisk since they have a competing product. One could also assume that Skype wanted to develop a native application and not use Asterisk for SIP implementations. I guess we will need the executives at Skype to fill us in on the details one day.
Windows/ARM Tablet Out By December
May 27, 2011 by admin
Filed under Around The Net
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Analysts around the Internet are saying that Windows based tablets will begin using ARM processors by the end of 2011.
Digitimes is saying that the system performance will mean that the platform will be mainly used for targeting the tablet PC market. Digitimes said that there are several problems which need to be solved with the idea and most notebook makers are wary about it.
Microsoft Rebukes Intel
Microsoft is pouring water on Intel’s assertions that legacy Windows current programs won’t operate on Windows 8 for ARM processors. Yesterday, Intel made the claim and Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky came to the rescue of Microsoft and said that Intel’s statements were “factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading.” Mr Sinofsky went on to say that Microsoft’s development goals were clear and that the technology was still in its demonstration stage. That was an extremely vague statement right? So Microsoft is still working out the kinks.
We also need to say that Sinofsky never gave any hard-core specifics and there was never any clarification as to what Intel’s error was in their statement.
Google SEARCH Goes SSL
Google is finally taking privacy seriously to a degree by offering its users a secure form of searching while using Google Search. Moving forward users will have the opportunity to enable SSL (Secure Socket Layer) for added security. Be advised, the service will only cover the Google search and clicks made through Google to other non-secured sites will be visible.