Author: kenmay

Millions of Android Devices Vulnerable To New Stagefright Exploit

An anonymous reader writes: Security researchers have found yet another flaw in Android’s Stagefright. The researchers were able to remotely hack an Android phone by exploiting the bugs. According to their estimation, the flaw exposes devices running Android software version between 5.0-5.1, or 36% of 1.4 billion, to security attacks. “I would be surprised if multiple professional hacking groups do not have working Stagefright exploits by now. Many devices out there are still vulnerable, so Zimperium has not published the second exploit in order to protect the ecosystem, ” Zuk Avraham, chairman of Zimperium, the firm which found the first Stagefright exploit told Wired. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Millions of Android Devices Vulnerable To New Stagefright Exploit

Facebook’s Messenger Bot Store Could Be Most Important Launch Since App Store

An anonymous reader writes from an opinionated article on TechCrunch by Tom Hadfield: If Facebook announces the “Messenger Bot Store” at F8, as many predict, it would be arguably the most consequential event for the tech industry since Apple announced the App Store and iPhone SDK in March 2008. Today, Facebook Messenger has 800 million monthly active users — more than 100 times the number of iPhone owners when Apple launched the App Store. In January, TechCrunch first reported rumors of Facebook’s secret Chat SDK for building Messenger bots. If and when Facebook announces a Bot Store, it will mark the “end of the beginning” of a new era: messaging as a platform. Over the summer, The Information broke the news that AI-powered Facebook M would enable Messenger users to make purchases, restaurant reservations, and travel bookings within the messaging interface. A Messenger Bot Store would have far-reaching consequences not only for entrepreneurs and investors, but also developers and designers. Sam Lessin, the CEO of Fin, says the rise of chat-based user interfaces will mark “a fundamental shift that is going to change the types of applications that get developed and the style of service development.” For a time, bots were perceived to be plain-text exchanges and as such were often described as “invisible apps.” As Jonathan Libov at USV points out, “just because the container is a messenger doesn’t mean that all the apps inside are text-based.” Tomaz Stolfa says there is “unexplored potential in blending conversational interfaces with rich graphical UI elements.” If 800 million Facebook users start discovering bots in Messenger after F8, it will vindicate those who have been saying bots are the new apps. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Facebook’s Messenger Bot Store Could Be Most Important Launch Since App Store

Long-lost H.P. Lovecraft manuscrupt found

The Cancer of Superstition , a non-fiction treatise commissioned from author H.P. Lovecraft, was found in a memorabilia collection in a defunct magic shop . Magician Harry Houdini asked Lovecraft to ghostwrite the text for a book project, but died shortly thereafter. Now it goes to auction. The collection bounced around after Beatrice Houdini’s death in 1943 and was never truly catalogued or ‘mined’ in all that time. The papers were never researched or inventoried,” said Potter & Potter president Gabe Fajuri. “In all that time, no one seemed to realise the significance of the manuscript.” Fajuri said the collection was recently bought privately, and when “the new owner began sorting through the mountain of paperwork, he began putting the pieces together, and in the process discovered the manuscript and its significance” From the excerpts, it sounds exactly as you’d imagine a Lovecraft text about superstition to sound (‘superstition is an “inborn inclination” that “persists only through mental indolence”’ etc). There is some debate over the authorship, with S.T. Joshi identifying CM Eddy. If you want it, expect to pay $25,000-$40,000 for it.

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Long-lost H.P. Lovecraft manuscrupt found

Scans of Secret Chamber in King Tut’s Tomb Reveal Unidentified Objects

Late last year, radar scans at King Tut’s tomb revealed the possible presence of a secret chamber. A more detailed analysis of this data shows not just the presence of a hidden room—but also unidentified objects that are comprised of metal and organic materials. Read more…

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Scans of Secret Chamber in King Tut’s Tomb Reveal Unidentified Objects

5 Major Hospital Hacks: Horror Stories From the Cybersecurity Frontlines

the_newsbeagle writes: We don’t often get insider accounts of hacks against major institutions like hospitals because they immediately go into damage control mode. But at a SXSW talk, a couple of experts told tales out of school. The experts, [John Halamka, CIO of the Boston hospital Beth Israel Deaconness, and Kevin Fu, a University of Michigan engineering professor, recounted incidents in which hackers downloaded patient X-rays to China, took down entire networks, fooled Harvard doctors, and more. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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5 Major Hospital Hacks: Horror Stories From the Cybersecurity Frontlines

Intel’s high-end quad-core NUC ships in May for $650

Enlarge / The “Skull Canyon” Core i7 NUC. (credit: Intel) Intel talked a little about its new high-end Core i7 NUC mini PC at CES earlier this year , but today at GDC the company revealed what the final model will look like along with its specs, release date, and cost. The new NUC6i7KYK, codenamed “Skull Canyon,” includes a 2.6GHz (3.5GHz Turbo) 45W quad-core Core i7-6770HQ —not the fastest Skylake laptop chip that Intel can sell you, but definitely one of the fastest. The other main draws are the Iris Pro 580 GPU, which includes 78 of Intel’s graphics execution units and a 128MB eDRAM cache (compared to 48EUs and 64MB of eDRAM in the standard Core i5 NUC we just reviewed ), and the Thunderbolt 3 port which also supports full USB 3.1 gen 2 transfer speeds of 10Mbps. It takes DDR4 memory, M.2 SATA and PCI Express SSDs, and comes with a built-in Intel 8260 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapter, just like the Core i5 NUC. It’s got a good port selection, including a full-size HDMI 2.0 port, a mini DisplayPort 1.2 output, four USB 3.0 ports, a headphone jack, an SD card slot, a gigabit LAN port, and an IR sensor for use with remote controls. The HDMI 2.0 port ought to make some HTPC fans happy, since the standard NUCs are still stuck on version 1.4 and can’t view HDCP 2.2-protected content. And this is all in addition to the aforementioned Thunderbolt 3 port; this will be the first NUC since the original to support Thunderbolt, which opens up possibilities for external graphics cards down the line. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Intel’s high-end quad-core NUC ships in May for $650

Self-lacing Nikes are real, will go on sale later this year

While we’re still waiting for the Back to the Future-styled Nike Mag , the company has unveiled its first “self-lacing” shoe in another silhouette. The Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 senses the presence of the wearer’s heel, and tightens its laces accordingly. Senior Innovator Tiffany Beers led the project, and says once the shoe is on, the wearer can adjust the fit with two buttons on the side to get things perfect. Of course, Nike isn’t stopping there, as famed shoe designer Tinker Hatfield is already looking forward to versions that adjust fit on the fly, as the athlete needs more or less tension. The HyperAdapt 1.0 is set to arrive this holiday season in three colors (including that Nike Mag-like lighting), and will go on sale only to Nike+ members for an unspecified price. Speaking of Nike+ . that app is getting a redesign in June that the company says will make it almost as personal as the fit on those adaptive-laced shoes. One login will tie users to the SNKRS , Run Club and Training Club apps, and provide product recommendations that are individually tailored. Nike is going all out to push purchases with a personal touch, including a “Services” tab that will provide concierge-like access to “Nike+ Experts” to answer all your burning sportswear queries. or book a reservation at a Nike store. This is all a part of Nike Innovation 2016, and sneakerheads can check out the site for other new products on the way. That includes the Air Vapor Max that ditches its foam midsole entirely, relying only on the company’s vaunted airbag technology for cushioning, the new “engineered down to the pixel” KD9 and other products that are part of what Nike is calling an “era of innovation.” The only problem? None of those innovations can make me shoot like Steph Curry (yet), and he’s signed to Under Armour . Source: Nike

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Self-lacing Nikes are real, will go on sale later this year