Vulnerability lets attackers hijack iOS apps' web requests over WiFi (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/vulnerability-lets-attackers-hijack-ios-app-web-requests/

Be careful which WiFi hotspots you use -- Skycure has just revealed a web-based exploit that lets attackers hijack a iOS device on the same network through its mobile apps. The technique intercepts some apps' attempts to cache a web status message, redirecting the request to a hostile server; after that, an intruder can stealthily inject malware from any location. Thankfully, there are already some solutions at hand. Victims can uninstall apps to scrub their devices clean, and Skycure has released app code that prevents the web caching from taking place. It may be a while before iOS users can assume that their apps are safe, but we wouldn't expect the vulnerability to remain for long.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile

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Via: The New York Times

Source: Skycure

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Virgin Media's SmartCall app lets you make WiFi calls with landline minutes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/virgin-media-smartcall-app/

Those of you with long memories will recall that Virgin Media announced a WiFi calling platform way back in November 2012. Nearly a year later, and the company is finally offering the system to Android and iOS users. Virgin Media SmartCall is an app that lets you make calls while roaming and charge them to your home package,cutting the cost of getting in touch with your nearest and dearest. It'll also let you make international calls through the app, and you'll be charged as if you were making the call from your domicile. Either way, nice to know that someone's looking after your wallet in these straightened times, eh?

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Source: Google Play, App Store

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Researchers beat fiber optic broadband speeds using visible LED light

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/researchers-report-10gbps-data-transmission-with-visible-led-lig/

High speed data is already being transmitted by visible light to the moon, so why not in your living room, too? After the Fraunhofer Institute showed off 3Gbps speeds with LED lights, researchers from five UK universities have managed to transmit data at 10Gbps using micro-LEDs with a technique they've coined "LiFi." The team was able to crack the barrier by combining 3.5Gbps streams in each of the red, green and blue frequencies that make up white light. Such a technique could one day work with existing light bulbs, promising higher speeds than current WiFi and increased security -- since visible light can't penetrate solid objects like walls. In addition, a single bulb could theoretically provide connectivity for up to four devices. For now, such devices are confined to the lab, but given the torrid pace of development, don't be surprised if your data connection is soon a click of the switch away.

Filed under: Wireless, Science, Internet, Alt

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Source: BBC

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Compromised Adobe account tally rises to include at least 38 million users

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/compromised-adobe-account-numbers-rise-38-million/

It seems that the initial report of 2.9 million compromised user accounts from Adobe's security breach earlier this month was a mere drop in the bucket. Krebs on Security reports that at least 38 million active users were were impacted by the incident and that the swiped source code included the Photoshop line of offerings in addition to Acrobat Reader and ColdFusion. If you'll recall, the breach nabbed encrypted credit card info as well as a then unknown number of user ID and log-in credentials alongside the aforementioned code. Adobe claims that all customers with a stolen ID have been contacted and that no "unauthorized activity" has been seen with any of the compromised log-ins. Of course, it will take some time to determine the full extent of the damage, but for now, the creative software giant's push to subscription-based releases is sure to take a bigger hit.

Filed under: Software

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Source: Kebs on Security

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Firefox 25 now official with guest browsing on Android

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/firefox-25-now-official/

If you regularly share your Android gadgets with others, you'll be glad to hear that Mozilla has officially released Firefox 25. The finished web browser lets Android users run guest sessions, which hide personal info while friends borrow a device. Mobile surfers also get a mixed content blocker to prevent attacks on partially unencrypted websites. As for the desktop version? It's not getting quite as substantial an upgrade, although the software now supports advanced sound effects through Web Audio. Whichever Firefox client you prefer, you'll find your relevant update at one of the source links.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile

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Via: The Mozilla Blog

Source: Google Play, Mozilla

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CHART: Chip Kelly's Offense Has Not Revolutionized The NFL Because He Stopped Doing What Worked

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-chip-kellys-offense-has-not-revolutionized-the-nfl-because-he-stopped-doing-what-worked-2013-10

One of the big storylines entering the 2013 season was how Chip Kelly's high-powered Oregon offense would translate to the NFL and whether it was going to change the game at the professional level. After an impressive win over Washington in week one, the Eagles have gone 2-5 and the offense is struggling to score points.

The biggest issue is that Kelly has either abandoned the running attack or other teams have stacked the line of scrimmage and are forcing the Eagles to throw the ball more. During Kelly's final season at Oregon, his offense averaged 81.4 plays per game. But more importantly, 64.7% of the offense was running plays.

In the Eagles' first game under Kelly, things looked a lot like Oregon with 77 offensive plays and 63.6% of those running plays. However, in the seven games since, the Eagles are averaging just 66.4 plays per game and they are running the ball just 41.5% of the time. Kelly needs to figure out how to get back to the running attack or his stint in the NFL will be a short one...

Data via Pro-Football-Reference.com

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Bullet-Stopping Cellphone Saves Gas Station Clerk Held at Gunpoint

Source: http://gizmodo.com/bullet-stopping-cellphone-saves-gas-station-clerk-held-1453962433

In what's some fantastic news for both HTC and anyone who keeps their cellphone in their shirt pocket, a Florida gas station attendant's life was saved when his dearly departed smartphone became a martyr during a recent holdup.

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A smartpen to rival Livescribe: the $150 Equil JOT that lets you use any paper

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/equil-jot/

While Livescribe's offerings might be popular among those who wish to marry their pen and paper habits with the digital world, the eponymous smartpen does require users to scribble their notes on Livescribe-approved dot paper. If you'd rather use your own precious Moleskines or all you have on hand is a water-stained cocktail napkin, you'd be out of luck. Equil has a solution to that, however, in the form of the JOT smartpen, which lets you use any paper you want.

The JOT system comprises two components: A Bluetooth receiver and the pen itself. Equil even provides a handy pen carrying case that houses both items together in a special magnetic smart cover similar to the one Apple sells for the iPad. Using a combination of "infrared rays and ultrasonic waves," the receiver is able to triangulate the position of the pen as long as it remains within line of sight. Don't worry about the sort of paper you use either, as you can easily calibrate it to fit any size surface with either the Equil Note or Equil Sketch app, both of which are free from the App Store. We should note that the Equil JOT only works with Apple devices with Bluetooth LE support, which includes hardware that runs iOS 5 and up plus OS X Lion or above.%Gallery-slideshow102349%

Filed under: Peripherals

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Source: Equil, Equil Note (App Store), Equil Sketcb (App Store)

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Amazon's Matchbook service now live, works with over 70,000 books for $3 or less

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/amazon-matchbook-live/

Amazon's Matchbook service, which offers e-book versions of hard copies of books like Amazon's Autorip offers digital versions of physical music, is now live. The service supports over 70,000 books at launch with digital equivalents costing $3 or less. The service recognizes purchases from as far as 1995 (when Amazon first started selling books), and their digital versions come with all the bells and whistles readers have come to expect from the Kindle service: Whispersync, X-Ray and more. Of course, Amazon's promising that there's "more being added every day" to the list of available titles, so don't lose all hope if you don't see your favorite authors/publishers/etc. listed.

Filed under: Software, Amazon

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Source: Amazon

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This flame is made of pure water

Source: http://front.kinja.com/this-flame-is-made-of-pure-water-1453720981/@jesusdiaz

Scientists have invented a new low-cost method to create a safe welding flame using water as its only fuel. Called the Safeflame, the device splits water in oxygen and hydrogen, recombining them both outside of the torch's mouth to create fire. And the only byproduct is water.

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Scientists Smash the Li-Fi Data Record, Achieving Speeds of 10Gbit/s

Source: http://gizmodo.com/scientists-smash-the-li-fi-data-record-achieving-speed-1453923218

If the hype is to believed, Li-Fi could be the next Wi-Fi. And if that's the case, then we're excited—because a team of researchers has just smashed the record for visible light data transmission, pushing it to a staggering 10Gbit/s.

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ARM report claims the always-connected 'Internet of Things' is already here

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/28/arm-internet-of-things/

The Internet of Things (IoT) is finally here. Or at least, that's what a recent report by the Economist's Intelligence Unit wants us to believe. Sponsored by ARM, which certainly has a vested interest in the matter, the 32-page paper states that the industry is at last catching on to the idea of connected devices after more than a decade of slow progress. After surveying 779 senior business leaders from 19 different industries around the world, the Economist revealed that a staggering 75 percent of businesses are already exploring the space. In fact, only 6 percent of those interviewed think of it as hype, and 94 percent believe IoT will have a significant impact in the next three years.

However, the IoT phenomenon still has a long way to go before widespread consumer adoption takes hold. Most businesses are still just experimenting with IoT either in research or internal operations and the "internet of things" mantra remains laced with jargon that might not sell well to the general public. The report also notes the dearth of IoT-skilled workers, a general lack of investment and the need for open standards before more consumers can embrace it.

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Source: ARM

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Huawei overtakes LG in smartphone market share during Q3

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/28/huawei-overtakes-lg-in-smartphone-market-share-during-q3/

Need proof that China is a crucial smartphone market? Strategy Analytics is more than happy to oblige. It just posted third quarter global market share estimates showing that Huawei has overtaken LG since the Q2 report, claiming third place with 5.1 percent of sales. This isn't the first time that the Chinese phone maker has reached such lofty heights, but it comes even as LG produced stellar results; Huawei just happened to grow faster. Researchers attributed the rise to strong sales of its higher-end Ascend P6 and the mainstream G610, particularly in Huawei's home country.

Otherwise, it's a familiar story. Samsung is still ruling the roost with 35.2 percent share, while Apple held on to the second-place spot at 13.4 percent. Huawei also isn't guaranteed to maintain its position when LG is likely to get a fourth quarter sales boost from the G2. However, it's evident that smartphone designers shouldn't get too comfy -- it doesn't take much to change the status quo.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, HTC, LG, Blackberry, Lenovo

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Source: Strategy Analytics

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Motorola's 'Project Ara' modular smartphone setup switches out hardware like apps

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/motorola-project-ara-modular-smartphone/

We were intrigued by the Phonebloks concept phone that teased the ability to switch out a handset's components the way most users change ringtones, and now Motorola is putting its resources behind it. In what Motorola calls Project Ara, the advanced Technology and Products group is working with Phonebloks creator Dave Hakkens on an "endoskeleton (endo) and modules." Announced this evening on the company blog by Paul Eremenko, the company says it's already "done deep technical work" and is opening the process up to the community and volunteers (aka Ara Scouts, sign up here) to begin designing hardware modules. Its stated goal is to do for hardware what it says Android has done for software: create a vibrant third-party developer ecosystem, lower the barriers to entry, increase the pace of innovation, and substantially compress development timelines."

Suggestions for modules include the phone's CPU, display, extra battery, external sensors or anything else one can think of. The timeline currently points to a Module Developer's Kit (MDK) release this winter, while those volunteers can expect an exclusive discount when the product launches and the 100 most active are getting free phones. Hakkens has described his design as a "phone worth keeping" -- with the ability to upgrade piece by piece and (hopefully) never experience obsolescence again we'd call this idea a phone definitely worth building.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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Source: Motorola

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Olympus' $700 Stylus 1 compact tempts enthusiasts with 28-300mm constant f/2.8 lens

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/29/olympus-stylus-1-compact-camera/

After watching Sony rejuvenate its compact lineup with the RX-series, Olympus is having a go as well with its latest effort, the Stylus 1. It looks to be a step up from last year's Stylus XZ-2, bringing a more DSLR-like form factor and new 1.44 million dot EVF. The fixed lens is also markedly improved, thanks to a constant f/2.8 aperture over the 28-300mm (35mm equivalent) 10.7x zoom range and a close-focusing 2-inch macro distance. While it carries the same smallish 1/1.7-inch, 12-megapixel sensor as the Stylus XZ-2, it's gained the fast touch AF system from the Olympus PEN ILC series. Other features include a 3-inch, 1.04 million dot tiltable touchscreen viewer, a hybrid control ring for functions like focus or shutter speed, WiFi sharing with a smartphone app, and 1080/30p HD video with 240fps slo-mo at 320 x 240. It'll be up for grabs in December for $700, so if you're thinking of slipping one in your pocket instead of (or along with) your smartphone, check the gallery of press shots below. %Gallery-slideshow102341%

Filed under: Cameras

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Source: Olympus

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