Archive for March 2013
GOOGLE PLAY STORE ALLOWS APPS THAT STEAL PERSONAL DATA
Malicious apps masquerading as system optimisers are getting through Google's security protocols. Two samples detected by McAfee called DroidCleaner and SuperClean claim to make your device faster by optimising settings and clearing caches. Both apps display fake progress bars while they steal SMSes, photos, contacts, files, GPS coordinates and your IMEI and phone number. They can also be used to allow attackers to execute commands remotely. More importantly, the malware can later be used to attempt to steal passwords by throwing up fake login pages on infected devices. The malware has been seen attempting to steal Dropbox and Google credentials, though other services could be targeted just as easily. Any user name and password typed into this page will be sent to the remote attacker while the user sees only an error message.
ALSO SEE: BOOST YOUR GRAPHICS PERFORMANCE
Tag :
Snippets
BOOST YOUR GRAPHICS PERFORMANCE
You can cajole up to 40 percent more 3D performance from your Nvidia graphics cards without installing additional drivers or dangerous overclocking. Keep in mind that you will be sacrificing image quality for the boost in performance. Changes can be made through the Nvidia system control panel. To open the control panel, right click on the desktop and click on 'Nvidia system settings'. Now under the section '3D settings', click on the tab 'Program settings' and find your 3D game. Change the settings as follows.
* Anisotropic filtering: 16x
* Antialiasing - transparency: Off
* Triple buffer: Off
* Energy Management mode: select maximum power
* Maximum number of pre-rendered single images: lowest value
* Multi-display acceleration: single-display-power mode
* Texture filtering - anisotropic scan optimization: Off
* Texture filtering - negative LOD bias: Clamp
* Texture filtering - power: quality
* Texture filtering - tri-linear optimization: On
* Texture filtering - anisotropic filter optimization: Off
* Threaded optimization: On
* Vertical synchronization: Automatically off
* PhysX: CPU
save and close the Nvidia control panel once you're done so that all settings are accepted.
ALSO SEE: HP TO TRY ANDROID
Tag :
Tips and Tricks
HP TO TRY ANDROID
HP, which hasn't had a smartphone or tablet in its lineup since cancelling the entire WebOS family, has reportedly decided to re-enter the market with a line of Android devices. The company's first attempt will be a premium tablet powered by Nvidia's recently announced Tegra 4 CPU, with smartphones following next year. If the project does go ahead, HP will have to compete with a number of rivals, including Apple and Samsung, who have been selling tablets for years. No launch date or other specifications are known yet.
Tag :
Snippets
ATTACKERS COULD TURN YOUR HOME AUTOMATION GADGETS INTO WEAPONS
A hacker who goes by the name Daniel B has demonstrated how a seemingly innocuous home automation product can be turned into potentially lethal weapon. The Belkin WeMo, an Internet-connected electric outlet was designed to allow users to turn devices on and off via their smartphones, and also to check whether dangerous appliances have been left on by accident. Daniel B has posted a video to YouTube detailing how he managed to gain root access to WeMo device and switch it on and off enough to cause appliances such as coffee makers to become dangerous. He postulate that malware could soon start scanning home networks for such devices and infect them, granting remote access to any attacker. Someone with malicious intent could then use the capability to start fires, or at least destroy electric appliances.
ALSO SEE: NOKIA PROMISES NOT TO SPY
Tag :
Snippets
NOKIA PROMISES NOT TO SPY
Users of the Nokia Browser bundled with its latest phones might be happy that the app compresses data being sent and received in order to save on carrier charges, but should also be aware that their secure HTTP traffic is decrypted on the way to enable this compression. The fact is not disclosed in the privacy statement or user agreement and affects any data that users enter on a secure site including bank details, usernames and passwords, etc. Nokia says its servers do not store copies of pages that users visit or any data entered, and that appropriate security measures are in place, but this definitely makes Nokia's servers an inviting target for attackers. Compression is not a new browser feature but HTTPS traffic is usually untouched.
ALSO SEE: GRAND THEFT AUTO V DELAYED
Tag :
Top Buzz
GRAND THEFT AUTO V DELAYED
Rockstar has announced that the release date for the next game in the GTA franchise-Grand Theft Auto V- has been delayed. The new release date, according to the company, is September 17, 2013. This is a four-month delay from the originally planned release date.
The company says the delay was required as, "GTAV is a massively ambitious and complex game and it simply needs a little more polish to be of the standard we and, more importantly, you require." Rockstar has also announced that it will be showing off the box art for GTAV a bit later.
While this has led many conspiracy theorists to contemplate the idea that Rockstar may be getting ready to launch the game on next-gem consoles, Rockstar itself has denied any of this. The company says that the delay is mostly because the developers wanted to polish the game some more. This is likely true, as open world games are notorious for having bugs that developers couldn't even think of, thus leading to situations like The Elder Scrolls games.
ALSO SEE: SAMSUNG TO SELL TIZEN PHONES
Tag :
Gaming News
SAMSUNG TO SELL TIZEN PHONES
Samsung has confirmed that it will bring a phone running the Linux-based Tizen OS to market as early as the first quarter of 2013. Tizen is supported by Samsung and Intel, and could give the Korean giant a bargaining chip against Google in the future. Samsung is now the biggest smartphone maker in the world, thanks to its line of devices powered by Google's Android OS. The device's name, specifications as well as Tizen's exact features and capabilities are still unknown. Samsung has previously experimented with Bada and Windows Phone.
ALSO SEE: MEGAUPLOAD RETURNS WITH A BANG
Tag :
Snippets
MEGAUPLOAD RETURNS WITH A BANG
Exactly a year after Megaupload was taken offline and its charismatic founder Kim Doctom arrested in a dramatic raid on his New Zealand mansion, a successor has launched. The new Mega.co.nz promises to frustrate authorities and potentially be impervious to snooping thanks to the use of end-to-end encryption designed to shield Mega itself from knowing what users have uploaded and thus being accused of facilitating piracy. Without being able to identify the content of files, Mega cannot be made to delete them or hand over user identities. Users receive an encryption key at the time of registration. If they wish to share uploaded files, the key must also be passed on. Any agency that wants to prove a file infringes copyright must therefore also have that key, after which Mega will comply with removals. Free members get 50 GB of storage, while paid plans go up to 30 Euros per month for 4TB.
ALSO SEE: VALVE UNVEILS STEAM BOX PROTOTYPES
ALSO SEE: VALVE UNVEILS STEAM BOX PROTOTYPES
Tag :
Snippets
VALVE UNVEILS STEAM BOX PROTOTYPES
A prototype for Valve's 'Steam Box' console was showcased at CES 2013. The prototype, dubbed Piston, is made by Xi3, and is designed specifically to support Steam and its Big Picture Mode on TVs. The piston is modelled on Xis's X7a computers. While the company wouldn't talk about the machines's price, we think it'll cost around the $900 mark, as the X7a computer is priced at $999. This could be a major turn-off for gamers, as a new Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3 is much less expensive than the Piston.
It is possible that Valve would be heavily subsidising the cost of the consoles, and would depend on introducing more gamers to its digital distribution platform Steam to make a profit instead. Valve has promised to reveal more information in the coming months.
ALSO SEE: KNOW YOUR COMPUTER'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION
Tag :
Gaming News
KNOW YOUR COMPUTER'S ENERGY CONSUMPTION
For diagnosing energy consumption, type 'cmd' in the search field of the start menu and then click the file 'cmd.exe' with the right mouse button and select the context command 'Run as administrator'. After confirming the User Account Control prompt with 'Yes', type the command 'powercfg/energy' in the window and press the [Enter] key. Windows will now audit the system behaviour for 60 seconds. In the meantime, you can go on working. Subsequently, the result is saved by default as a file with the title 'energyreport.html' in the currently open folder which you see in the command prompt. Optionally, you can also define a custom target file with the parameter '-output'.
ALSO SEE: MANAGE USER ACCOUNT SPACE
Tag :
Tips and Tricks
