Chrome is the most secured browser – new study
Google Chrome offers more protection against online attacks than any other mainstream browser, according to an evaluation that compares exploit mitigations, malicious link detection, and other safety features offered in Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Firefox.
The 102-page report, prepared by researchers from security firm Accuvant, started with the premise that buffer overflow bugs and other security vulnerabilities were inevitable in any complex piece of software. Rather than relying on metrics such as the number of flaws fixed or the amount of time it took to release updates, the authors examined the practical effect protections included by default in each browser had on a wide class of exploits.
Their conclusion: Chrome is the most secured browser, followed closely by Microsoft IE. Mozilla's open-source Firefox came in third, largely because of its omission of a security sandbox that shields vital parts of the Windows operating system from functions that parse JavaScript, images and other web content. Read more...
Google’s Schmidt strikes Carrier IQ off Xmas card list
Google chairman Eric Schmidt has criticised Carrier IQ and added that the company doesn't work with the controversial software maker.
"Android is an open platform, so it's possible for people to build software that's actually not very good for you, and this appears to be one," Schmidt said, according to Reuters.
Late last month an Android app coder published what he described as conclusive proof that millions of smartphones were secretly monitoring key presses, the mobiles' geographic locations and messages sent to users. Read more...
Espionage network exploiting Adobe Reader flaw
Adobe warned users of its Reader software earlier this week that hackers were using a critical vulnerability in the program to enable "limited, targeted attacks." Today security firm Symantec provided details of the compromise, which appear to have been well-funded efforts aimed at stealing secrets from specific industries and government agencies in the United States and United Kingdom.
The attacks used crafted emails designed to look like personal communications to specific managers or executives at the targeted organization, the company states in its brief analysis. Once the PDF attachment is opened, a Trojan -- dubbed "Sykipot" by Symantec -- infects the system using the vulnerability. Once a system is compromised, it communicates with a network of command-and-control servers hosted on at least a dozen and perhaps more than 50 domains. Read more...
German court issues injunction against Apple products
A German court on Friday ruled that Apple's iPhone and iPad devices infringe a Motorola patent and issued an injunction against sales of the products in Germany, in the latest move in a long series of legal battles between the companies.
However, Apple can appeal the ruling, requesting a stay of the injunction in the meantime, according to Florian Mueller, who has been closely following patent lawsuits in the mobile industry. Mueller is a patent expert who sometimes does consulting work for companies including Microsoft.
Apple did not reply to a request for comment about its intentions.
Should Apple make the appeal but the court decline the stay, Motorola must post a €100 million ($134 million) bond before the court will enforce the injunction, Mueller said. He posted the ruling, issued in German, on his blog. Read more...
New tiny circuit may lead to smaller, more powerful devices
Researchers have developed one of the smallest electronic circuits, which could pave the way for smaller and more powerful mobile devices.
Scientific teams from McGill University and Sandia National Laboratories said they've built a circuit that has two wires that are separated by the distance of 150 atoms. The circuits are built at a 15 nanometer level.
Researchers and industry analysts say the tiny circuit could lead to computer chips that produce less heat, along with more powerful and even smaller devices.
"Smaller circuits, if they can be brought cost-effectively into production, mean smaller chips and [systems on a chip]," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. "Our devices, like phones, tablets, PCs and living room devices, can either do a lot more and provide a better experience or use even less power and become even smaller than they were before." Read more...
Huawei restricts business in Iran, no longer seeks new customers
Huawei Technologies will limit its business activities in Iran and no longer seek new customers there, it said Friday, after an October report said the Chinese company was building a surveillance system in the country to help police track people's locations via their mobile phones.
"Due to the increasingly complex situation in Iran, Huawei will voluntarily restrict its business development there,"
it said in a brief online statement. The move includes limiting its business activities with current customers, although Huawei will continue to provide services to the existing communication networks it was contracted to build. Read more...
Impact of hard drive shortage to linger through 2013
Hard disk drive supply shortages in the wake of Thailand flooding will continue to affect consumers, computer system manufacturers and corporate IT shops into 2013, according to market research firm IDC.
"I think the most painful period will occur now through February of next year. We expect the situation will improve, but it won't feel as if things are back to normal until 2013," said John Rydning, an IDC analyst who follows the hard disk drive market.
Rydning said supplies will increase to the point where it will be possible to meet "immediate demand" in the second half of next year, but distribution channels, online retail sites and system manufacturers will continue to feel the affects into the following year.
This week, Lenovo sent an email to its corporate IT customers telling them it is out of a number of hard disk drives, including the highly popular 7,200-rpm models. Read more...
Why Google+ will become Google’s only product
I finally understand Google's überstrategy for dominating the future of online everything.
Here it is: Coalesce all of its best products into a single super product that marginalizes smaller rivals to the point of irrelevance and clobbers Facebook with total superiority.
That single super product is Google+.
Why features beat products
The most important distinction in Silicon Valley is this: Is it a product or a feature?
Venture capitalists have to be experts in this distinction, because an IT tool that can't stand on its own as a viable, marketable product usually isn't worth investing in.
Digital cameras were among the hottest categories of consumer electronics gadgets from the late 90s until fairly recently. A point-and-shoot, pocket-size digital camera was a hot product. Read more...
Stop Telling Women Not To Do Startups
Ever want to punch a blog post in the face? Well, that’s how I feel every time I see a headline that attempts to crystallize some universal truth about iffy “in tech” topics like women in tech, African Americans in tech, teens in tech, etc.
Because nothing says link bait like “taking on a controversial topic” stupidly, using gross generalizations. The latest in this series is a post by Penelope Trunk, who is either a master at extrapolation or seems to have seriously conflated the word “women” with “Penelope Trunk.” I remember being a young TechCruncher reading her first post, “Women Don’t Want To Run Startups Because They’d Rather Have Children” and thinking “Wow, this seems deliberate.”
The sad part is that Trunk, who lives in Wisconsin, seems to have never talked to any other women ever. “Women are not complaining about the lack of VC funding in the world.” Ha. Oh yes they are, all the time, to me. Read more...
WebOS Open-Sourced; New HP Tablets May Be in the Works
No one can blame you if you haven't heard of WebOS. But just like how iOS powers the iPad and Android powers the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire, WebOS is what's under the hood of the HP TouchPad -- the iPad-size tablet that HP sold off in a $99 fire sale not too long ago.
The fact most of Android is open-source is one of the big things that's made it so popular, with app developers and hardware manufacturers. Because the programming code is out there on the Internet, for anyone to download and do what they want with it, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble were able to make their e-reader tablets without asking Google's permission. Meanwhile, hobbyists like the ones behind CyanogenMod have created "custom ROMs" of Android, which are now being used by projects and startups like Republic Wireless.
Now, HP has announced it's making its WebOS code open-source. Will the open-sourcing of WebOS revitalize HP's failing project? More importantly, what does it mean for you? Read more...