Friday, August 01, 2014

Take a look at HP's luxury smartwatch

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/01/HP-gilt-smartwatch-michael-bastian/

Despite their utility, smartwatches remain a geeky niche item thanks to a certain lack of je ne sais quoi. However, HP is partnering with a retailer called Gilt to build an Android and iOS compatible smartwatch that may finally tick the style box, thanks to US designer Michael Bastian. He'll take care of the design, which will feature a circular, 44mm stainless steel case and three swappable bands: black rubber, brown leather, olive green nylon and a limited edition black.

Bastian says the design cues came from luxury automobiles, namely interior features like the dashboard and trim. Meanwhile, HP will will add the watch's smart features, which will include notifications like email, text and calls, along with user controls for music and other apps. HP will also supply the software, meaning the watch may be platform agnostic and not tied to Android Wear, for instance. It'll reportedly arrive this fall, but there are no other details like the type of display, memory or pricing -- but we imagine it will be in the "if you have to ask" category.

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Via: Hypebeast, Fashionista

Source: Gilt

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New malware can live inside any USB device undetected

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/31/badUSB-malware/

USB Stick Key on KeyboardUSB Stick Key on Keyboard

It turns out that the stalwart USB thumbstick, or any universal serial bus device, isn't as trustworthy as once thought. A pair of security researchers has found we need to worry about more than just malware-infected files that are stored portable drives, and now need to guard against hacks built into our geek-stick's firmware according to Wired. The proof-of-concept malware Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell have created is invisible and installable on a USB device and can do everything from taking over a user's PC to hijacking the DNS settings for your browser. Or, if it's installed on a mobile device it can spy on your communications and send them to a remote location, similar to the NSA's Cottonmouth gadgets. If those don't worry you, perhaps that the "BadUSB" malware can infect any USB device -- including keyboards -- and wreak havoc, will. What's more, a simple reformat isn't enough to disinfect either, and the solution that Lell and Nohl suggest goes against the core of what many of us are used to doing.

The duo says that the only way around BadUSB is to more or less treat devices like hypodermic needles; trusting only those that have been used within our personal ecosystem and throwing away any that've come in contact with other computers. Hopefully you don't have a ton of untrustworthy Porsche sticks laying around.

[Image credit: Getty Images]

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Via: Gizmodo Australia

Source: Wired

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Thursday, July 31, 2014

10 Malware Removal Apps Tested, Malwarebytes Comes out on Top

Source: http://lifehacker.com/10-malware-removal-apps-tested-malwarebytes-comes-out-1614046598

10 Malware Removal Apps Tested, Malwarebytes Comes out on Top

A recent test done by the independent antivirus research group AV-TEST—whose tests we've mentioned in the past—took a look at the performance of today's most popular malware removal applications. Most of the applications showed excellent performance, but only Malwarebytes—a free download—managed a perfect score.

AV-TEST sought to answer an important question: can anti-malware software completely clean up and repair a Windows system after an attack?

It's a worst-case scenario many users have experienced: Malware defeats the security barriers of their system and becomes embedded there. Is it even possible, in the aftermath of such an attack, to restore the Windows system to its previous condition? It ought to work with the help of antivirus software or clean-up tools. But how effectively do these first responders do their job?

The good news is that overall each application was very effective at providing cleanup and repair to Windows machines, which is important if you think someone has broken into your machine or downloaded some suspicious plugins.

Each application was put through a rigorous endurance test that lasted a total of 10 months. During this time several different malware families were tested repeatedly and the malware even underwent constant evolution along the way. All of the samples used were already known to the removal applications, so the primary purpose of the test was efficiency in detection, complete removal, and restoration. Tests were also conducted on antivirus software, but keep in mind there's a difference between antivirus and anti-malware.

10 Malware Removal Apps Tested, Malwarebytes Comes out on Top

In the end, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free scored a cool 100% in total system repair. The paid apps Bitdefender Internet Security 2014 came close in second with a score of 99.4%, and F-Secure Internet Security 2014 tied with Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 at 97.8%. The next best scores for free applications came from AVG AntiVirus Free 2014 and Avast! Free Antivirus 9.0.

Remember, it's important to keep in mind that these were tested for malware removal and not for virus protection. We can show you what we think are the best desktop antivirus applications, and if you're curious to see how antivirus apps ranked at AV-TEST, click the link below to read more.

17 software packages in a repair performance test after malware attacks | AV-TEST

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The World's Fastest Network Lets You Download a Movie In .2 Milliseconds

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-fastest-network-lets-you-download-a-movie-in-1614039292

The World's Fastest Network Lets You Download a Movie In .2 Milliseconds

Danish researchers just created the Usain Bolt of networks. A team from the Technical University of Denmark used a single multi-core optical fiber to transfer 43 terabits per second, making it the world's fastest fiber network . I'd say it makes Google Fiber look like 1996 AOL dial-up from a decrepit rural phone line, but that comparison is too kind to Google Fiber.

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LG's first big 4K OLED TV may have a non-ridiculous price tag

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/31/lg-65-inch-4k-oled-tv/

If you're set on an OLED Ultra HDTV instead of LCD, you can now put a price and date on your idealism: LG's 65-inch 65EC9700 4K model will reportedly ship in September with a sticker price of $8,999. Apart from those deep OLED blacks, the model also features passive 3D, Miracast/MHL and nearly invisible bezels. The first 4K OLED models, including that one, arrived earlier this year at CES, but so far none have hit stores. We also haven't seen any pricing, other than for a few exotic models like LG's $30,000 curved 77-inch UHDTV. Though the 65-inch model is far more reasonable, according to HD Guru, the lowest possible price (UPP) set by LG is $6,999 -- still more than double LG's 4K LCD model.

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Source: HD Guru

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