Wednesday 20 August 2014

Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen to launch Swing Copters game soo

Swing CoptersAfter releasing an Amazon Fire TV exclusive Flappy Birds Family, Dong Nguyen is coming with a new game for smartphone users. Dubbed as Swing Copters, the game will be launched tomorrow i.e. August 21 for free in Google Play (and Apple Appstore).
According to a report in Touch Arcade, the Swing Copters is similar to Flappy Bird in principle but instead of going to your right, you will be going up (or at latest trying to) in the new game. Nguyan has confirmed the release on his official Twitter account.
Unlike Flappy Bird, Swing Copters will be coming with an in-app purchase of $0.99 for removing the advertisements from the game, however the ads are unobtrusive and should not be an issue for most users.
While we wait for the release of the game, check out gameplay video from Touch Arcade below.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo getting Android 4.4 update in India

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo KitKat updateMonths after rolling out the KitKat update for the Korean version of Galaxy Note 3 Neo smartphone, Samsung has released the update for Indian consumers. The update is now available over-the-air as well as via Kies application.
495 MB in size, the update includes the usual KitKat goodies like performance enhancements, cloud-print support, UI improvements, updated Hangouts app, improved downloads app and more. The update will also come with Samsung-specific customisations like lock-screen improvements, new launcher settings, improved stability and more.
Among other details, the update carries build number KOT49H.N750XXUCNG6 and the exact Android version number is Android 4.4.2.
To manually check for the update, go to Settings > About Phone > Software update on your Galaxy Note 3 Neo. If you have already updated your smartphone, do let us know about the experience in comments.

Verizon HTC One Max receiving Sense 6


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Good news for you Verizon HTC One Max owners – your phone is being updated to the latest version of HTC’s third-party firmware. That’s right, Sense 6.0 is headed your way through a 613.5MB update that brings your device up to software version 3.09.605.2, includes a revamped BlinkFeed experience, several updated core apps, new font and color customizations and a handful of important bug and security fixes that should improve the performance of your device.
You can go ahead and see if your device is ready for the update by heading to Settings -> About -> Software Updates. If you don’t see it just yet, don’t worry, it’s on its way

Nabi’s Big Tabs are computer-sized, kid-friendly Android tablets

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Nabi has been making portable tablets for kids for a while now, but if you were looking for something larger than about 7″, you’ve been out of luck–until now. The Big Tab HD is a new line of tablets from Fuhu that are both at least 20 inches. There are two models available: the $450 20-inch version with a HD+ display, and a $550 two foot version with a Full HD display. The purpose of these tablets is to educate and entertain children and give the opportunity for interactive learning, all while under the parental control settings native to the Android-based Blue Morpho interface.
In case you’re planning on carting around this monster tablet for fun on the go, think again. The device weighs in at 13 lbs and is almost an inch thick. However, it gets worse. The enormous screen is meant to run off of a 1,650 mAh battery, which will leave you searching frantically for an outlet about as soon as you turn it on.
But it’s not all bad news. The large screen allows for collaborative work amongst family members, 16 GB of storage will be enough to house all the apps from the curated App Zone, and an NVIDIA Tegra 4 chipset to power all of your fun

1Password update brings new features and pricing changes

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A new update to 1Password, the universal, cross-platform storage for all of your account passwords, is being pushed out today. There’s some good stuff and some bad stuff. The good news is that there are new features, but the bad news is that 1Password is switching to a “freemium” style pricing model, which means the app is free to download, but certain features will cost to enable. That means you can pick and choose the features you’d like to download instead of paying a fixed price for all of the features.
In addition to the above changes, 17 new languages have been added in, vaults can be created right through the mobile application (no more desktop version required), and much more. Download links past the break.

Facebook Adds Training Wheels for the Humor-Impaired

Facebook Adds Training Wheels for the Humor-Impaired
Facebook wants to make sure you get the joke, so it's now labeling some posts as "satire." The tags are "almost something out of the Onion itself," said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT. It brings up the question of how Facebook will control itself. If you're going to label stories from the Onion as satire, why not take a closer look at Fox News or CNN or any other site?"
Facebook has begun labeling some of the satirical news articles that appear in users' news feeds with a tag designed to prevent readers from mistaking the content for genuine news.
Originally discovered by Ars Technica, the social network's "[Satire]" tag is apparently part of an experiment that's been under way for a month or so.
"We are running a small test which shows the text '[Satire]' in front of links to satirical articles in the related articles unit in News Feed," Facebook said in a statement provided by company representative Eva Grzesik to TechNewsWorld. "This is because we received feedback that people wanted a clearer way to distinguish satirical articles from others in these units."
The tag originally was observed in the "related articles" box associated with stories from the Onion, but the rules for its application don't seem to be entirely clear. Original posts on friends' feeds don't appear to warrant the tag, nor do the Onion's own official Facebook page or articles from Clickhole, the Onion's new sibling site, Ars Technica reported.
Facebook declined to provide further details.

'Like Moths to a Flame'

"Folks that mistakenly read and forward satire are embarrassed in front of their friends, and some of those embarrassed people have been folks in power that had no sense of humor," Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group, told TechNewsWorld.
"I expect one or two may have given Facebook a 'fix it or else' call, and this is in response to that," he said.
A prime example is the Onion's article purportedly declaring North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un the "sexiest man alive" for 2012, Enderle noted.
That "embarrassed so many in North Korea," he said.
North Korea, in fact, "seems to attract these things like moths to a flame," Enderle added, pointing to an example from earlier this year purporting that North Korea had landed the first man on the Sun.
"Facebook is recognizing that when it comes to retaliation, some of these guys can be a bit draconian," he concluded. The company is "rightly concerned that if they embarrass the wrong person, the response could physically dangerous to Zuckerberg. They are moving, albeit poorly, to mitigate that risk."

'Complicit in Reporting Rumor'

The very idea that Facebook would do something like this is "almost something out of the Onion itself," Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, told TechNewsWorld.
It's not uncommon for sites such as Literally Unbelievable to chronicle occasions on which Facebook users have taken Onion articles at face value, King pointed out.
At the same time, it's been shown that a considerable number of younger consumers identify The Daily Show as a primary news source, he added.
"That's clearly focused on satire and humor, though with a more realistic edge that what the Onion is doing," he said.
Then, too, there's the degree to which many mainstream news sources have become "complicit in reporting rumor as if it were fact," King added.

'The Equivalent of Training Wheels'

"It's an interesting issue, because it brings up the question of how Facebook will control itself," he explained. "If you're going to label stories from the Onion as satire, why not take a closer look at Fox News or CNN or any other site?
"I swear, on a weekly basis I see pieces being reported as honest news-gathering that seem more like editorial opinion pieces to me," he said.

Mobile App Attacks: No Malware, No Problem

Mobile App Attacks: No Malware, No Problem
Attackers increasingly are exploiting the trust users place in brand names and companies they do business with in order to commit fraud without the need to install any malware code. Users have gotten accustomed to accepting excessive permission requests from the apps they download. Typically, they don't have a choice in the matter -- if they want the app, they have to agree to the permissions.


Traditional attack methods, like those used with the recent mobile online banking Trojan Svpeng, involve the installation of malware on the device to steal information and commit fraud.
However, new techniques are emerging that would enable an attacker to compromise a device and steal private information from the owner -- for example, the typical copycat app on a third-party app store. It looks official. It has a corporate logo on it and perhaps a link to the genuine news feed from that corporation.
Once downloaded, it prompts the user to accept a long list of permissions -- for accessing the phone's camera, recording audio, accessing the device's contact list, and a long list of other functions -- many of which offer at least potential access to confidential data.
Of course, there are legitimate reasons a given app might need those permissions to operate -- but they permit access to the same data that malware also would like to get at.
Therein lies the problem. Unfortunately, anyone can download JPGs from a corporate website and wrap them around their own app in order to make it look official. Attackers increasingly are exploiting the trust users place in brand names and companies they do business with in order to commit fraud without the need to install any malware code.
For instance, applications with a billing interface easily can be used to steal financial information without employing malware, and without triggering any antivirus warning.
Meanwhile, users have gotten accustomed to accepting excessive permission requests from the apps they download, since novice software developers often find standard lists of permissions and install them in their code without trimming them.
Part of the problem is the lack of best practices related to types of permissions that are appropriate for different classes of apps. Typically, users don't have a choice in the matter -- if they want the app, they have to agree to the permissions.
This excessive permissions problem is widespread, as indicated by recent security research on popular Android apps. (Most problem apps are in the Android environment, which is the most popular operating system for mobile devices.)
Sixty-eight percent of Android apps examined by security researchers required that the user grant permission to send SMS messages, according to Zscaler research. Of that 68 percent, 28 percent also were able to access SMS, putting them in a position to spy on mobile authentication methods.
Thirty-six percent required that the users grant the app permission to access the device's GPS data, leaving their location unsecure. Forty-six percent of the apps required permission to access the device's phone state.
Ten percent required permission to access the address book, which would put them in position to hijack. Four percent required permission to check the calendar, which would give them insight into upcoming events in the individual's life or where the person might be at a given date and time.

Playing Defense

For corporate users, exposure of data could lead to violations of various privacy requirements, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), or even federal statutes, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), or the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
Meanwhile, out-and-out malware like the recently discovered Svpeng Trojan continues to proliferate and grow more insidious over time. This latest variant locks up the phone completely and demands a US$200 ransom to unlock it, although unlocking without a system erase appears unlikely. It has data-stealing code that may have been included for future use.
Again, there is nothing to stop someone from downloading selected JPGs, creating an official-looking app, and embedding a Trojan in it. The liability of the hoaxed corporation is undefined, but the damage to its reputation and goodwill is easily imagined.
Fortunately, there is a way for corporations to fight the problem, and prevent dangerous apps -- or blatant malware -- from circulating in their names. As it turns out, most such apps are acquired at third-party app stores, which number close to 90.
Some of these online stores are tightly policed and minimize the presence of malware or noncompliant apps. Others are marginally policed or even open to all comers, and anything is likely to be found there.
Services are available that can scan third-party app stores for apps that make inappropriate, unauthorized, or illegal use of corporate brands, as well as look for the presence of malicious or dangerous code by decompiling and analyzing suspicious apps.
There is a pressing need for such services -- 21 percent of financial services firms, which are the most exposed to mobile malware, never scan online app stores, Osterman Research found. On the other hand, 18 percent scan daily. Another 29 percent scan less than quarterly, while 4 percent do it quarterly, 7 percent do it monthly, and 21 percent do it weekly.