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Talking about Seniors Gone Wired!

Developers behind the Flashback trojan for the Mac have updated it to exploit a vulnerability in the Java software framework that has yet to be patched for machines running Mac OS X, an antivirus firm warned on Monday.

Flashback.K, as the latest variant is called, is able to hijack Macs even when users don’t enter an administrative password. Instead, it does this by exploiting a critical Java vulnerability classified as CVE-2012-0507, F-Secure researchers wrote in a blog post. Although Oracle released a fix for the security threat in February, a patch has yet to be released for OS X users. That’s because Apple distributes Java updates itself and the company has yet to make one for the specific flaw, or indicate when it plans to do so.

Flashback first surfaced in September as a trojan that masqueraded as an installer for Adobe’s Flash Player. Over the past few months, it has taken on increasingly sophisticated features, including the ability to bypass built-in OS X malware protections and attack code that exploits long-ago patched Java vulnerabilities. The version analyzed by F-Secure is the first known time Flashback has exploited a vulnerability for which no fix is currently available.

Although Apple stopped bundling Java by default in OS X 10.7 (Lion), it offers instructions for downloading and installing the Oracle-developed software framework when users access webpages that use it. Some security researchers have for years criticized Apple for lagging behind Microsoft and Linux distributors in releasing Java updates to its users. F-Secure has recently joined others in counseling Mac users to disable Java on machines that don’t regularly use it. The antivirus provider also has provided instructions for checking if your Mac is infected.

Attacks that exploit CVE-2012-0507 recently went mainstream when they were added to automated exploit kits such as Blackhole. Once it infects a Mac, Flashback changes the contents of some of the webpages it displays.

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Mac Flashback trojan exploits unpatched Java vulnerability, no password needed

It took almost exactly a year, but Philips is finally free of its pesky, money-losing TV problem. As planned, the company transferred its television business into a joint venture with Hong Kong-based TPV Technology called TP Vision — an arrangement that endows TPV with a controlling 70 percent stake. (Philips will still receive royalties on top of whatever it earns through this venture, and plans to sell Philips-branded sets in the US through a separate partnership with Funai.) Though the deal was first detailed a year ago, Philips only announced today that the transaction had closed. Now that it has, the newly formed company will produce Philips-branded TVs in a bid to make it one of the “top three players,” according to TP Vision chief Maarten de Vries. As you’d expect, all of the 3,300 employees that previously fell under Philips’ television division will now be in the employ of TP Vision, and Philips’ various manufacturing sites have been transferred over too. All of that and a healthy dose of rah-rah in the full PR below.

Continue reading Philips transfers TV business to a joint venture with TPV Technology, TPV takes the controlling stake

Philips transfers TV business to a joint venture with TPV Technology, TPV takes the controlling stake originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips transfers TV business to a joint venture with TPV Technology, TPV takes the controlling stake

A number of online retailers listed an Intel 330 SSD over the weekend, which would have been cool except that the drive was supposed to remain in the shadows until given a proper announcement. Some sellers pulled their listings pronto, but not before giving us a good glimpse at the drive’s likely specs. These include the arrival of the SATAIII 6Gbps interface in this budget line, the same 25nm NAND fabrication process used for last year’s 320, and promised sequential read / write speeds of up to 500MB/s and 450MB/s. None of this is especially thrilling, perhaps, when you recall that a similarly-specced SSD, the SanDisk Extreme, topped even the premium Intel 520 in recent benchmarks, but it all starts to make sense when you look at the pricing. SabrePC lists $149 for the 120GB variant, which is a full $40 cheaper than SanDisk’s rival, $60 cheaper than the Intel 320, and only enough to pick up 60GB-worth of Intel 520. There are also 60GB and 180GB flavors, listed at $89 and $234 respectively. Assuming these prices hold tight, and that there’s no repeat of the 320’s firmware issues, this could be a bargain drive worth waiting for.

Update: Amazon UK helpfully lists April 13th as launch day.

Intel 330 SSD leakage hints at bargain price tag, perhaps just $149 for 120GB originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel 330 SSD leakage hints at bargain price tag, perhaps just $149 for 120GB

One of the bigger complaints levied against the original iPad was that, while it was a great device for watching movies or surfing the web, it didn’t do much to “facilitate [content] creation.” Steve Jobs took that criticism to heart, and made apps like Garage Band and iMovie an essential part of the iPad 2.

Now, a new sketchbook app called Paper is targeting artsy tablet owners. Developed by a team of former Microsoft employees who worked on the company’s once-promising, now-dead Courier dual-screen tablet, Paper allows users to draw in a minimalist, user-friendly interface. Want a thicker line with your fountain pen? Just swipe a little faster. To erase, move two fingers counter-clockwise in a circle. The company touts it as ”the easiest and most beautiful way to create on the new iPad.”

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One of the bigger complaints levied against the original iPad…

In the latest round of disputes between pay-TV providers and networks over the millions of dollars we, the customers, are paying for service, Tribune Broadcasting Company (owner of several different broadcast networks nationwide including WGN America — list follows after the break) and DirecTV are going at it. As a result, the 23 broadcast networks under Tribune’s umbrella are no longer available on the satellite service, and there’s no indication when they’ll be coming back. Oddly, DirecTV claimed Thursday it had accepted Tribune’s terms, before the Tribune Company stated no deal had been reached. Now both sides are accusing the other of misleading viewers but no matter who is responsible the facts remain the same — until they settle things you’ll need to get those channels some other way.

Continue reading Tribune stations nationwide including WGN America go dark on DirecTV

Tribune stations nationwide including WGN America go dark on DirecTV originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tribune stations nationwide including WGN America go dark on DirecTV