Tag: your-smartphone

US carriers partner on a better mobile authentication system

Two-factor authentication ( 2FA ) via SMS and a smartphone provides a heavy dose of additional security for your data, but as the US government declared last year, it’s not without its flaws. To fix that, the big four US mobile operators, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T have formed a coalition called the Mobile Authentication Taskforce to come up with a new system. Working with app developers and others, they’ll explore the use of SIM card recognition, network-based authentication, geo-location, and other carrier-specific capabilities. The idea is to marry current 2FA with systems that “reduce mobile identity risks by analyzing data and activity patterns on a mobile network to predict, with a high degree of certainty, whether the user is who they say they are, ” according to the news release. The problem with SMS authentication is that skilled hackers have successfully hijacked SMS codes in the past, often simply by contacting the carrier and impersonating the victim. It also falls apart if thieves grab your smartphone along with your PC, gain access to your phone via malware, or just steal a glance at a 2FA message on your lockscreen. Through strong collaboration, the taskforce announced today has the potential to create impactful benefits for US customers by helping to decrease fraud and identity theft, and increase trust in online transactions. The system will be an open one that can work the four carriers and others. “We will be working closely with the taskforce to ensure this solution is aligned and interoperable with solutions deployed by operators, ” said Alex Sinclair, CTO of mobile industry group GSMA. The goal to improve 2FA security sounds like a noble one, but Congress, at the urging of carriers and ISPs, recently eliminated certain customer privacy protection rules. As such, consumer protection groups might have concerns about 2FA systems that could be used by operators to track customers, for example. The new system is supposed to arrive for “enterprises and customers in 2018, ” the group says. In the meantime, if you’re still not using two-factor authentication (SMS or otherwise), you really, really should be . Source: AT&T

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US carriers partner on a better mobile authentication system

Verizon will test 5G wireless in 11 cities by mid-2017

Verizon isn’t going to let AT&T’s 5G plans go unanswered. The carrier (and our corporate overlord) says it will pilot the gigabit-class wireless in 11 cities by the middle of 2017, including major urban hubs like Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami, Seattle and Washington, DC. These will be “pre-commercial services” offered to specific customers, so don’t expect to try extra-fast cellular data in your neighborhood. Instead, this is about investigating “scenarios and use cases” before Verizon is ready to ask for money. It’s not certain when you’ll see honest-to-goodness paid service, although Verizon has been aiming for sometime in 2017. However, any widespread deployment is likely to be contingent on a formal 5G standard, which doesn’t exist yet — and that’s not including the necessary hardware . You might not want to get too excited, then. While 5G may well usher in an era where your smartphone data speeds are as fast as a fiber optic line, the technology is still very much in the early stages. Source: Verizon

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Verizon will test 5G wireless in 11 cities by mid-2017

WiGig will bring superfast WiFi to devices next year

The WiFi Alliance has finally certified ” WiGig , ” a high-speed, 60 GHz standard otherwise known as 802.11ad. Using beamforming, it can yield speeds of up to 8 Gbps, or nearly 1GB per second from a distance of up to 10 meters. As many as 180 million devices using the standard, like routers, laptops and smartphones will arrive by the end of next year, the group said. It also unveiled the first five certified WiGig products from Intel, Dell and Qualcomm, among others. The WiFi Alliance notes that the new standard operates in the “less congested” 60 GHz spectrum, which should aid speeds. It says that manufacturers can implement “handoff” technology so that your phone and router will automatically switch to 2.4 or 5 GHz WiFi if you leave the room, for instance. Samsung, among others, has already released uncertified WiGig devices. 8 Gbps is around three times faster than the best 802.11ac routers can do right now. However, in the real world, most current devices can only hit 600 Mbps or so, less than a fifth of the theoretical maximum in some cases. In theory, 802.11ad should be faster, thanks to the beamforming and distance limitation, but you’ve essentially got to be in the same room as the router to benefit from such speeds. Of course, your smartphone or laptop would have to support the standard too, not just the router. Qualcomm’s WiGig video from CES 2016 Nevertheless, if the new standard can do even 20 percent of the promised speeds, it’ll be useful in a lot of cases. If you usually work from the same room and transfer files around your network, for instance, you’ll no longer need a wired gigabit connection. And folks with Google Fiber or other high-speed internet services should get faster wireless speeds — my router and smartphone combination limits me to 200 Mbps, for instance, while my laptop gets 1 Gbps via wired ethernet. The first mobile device to carry the standard is the Dell Latitude E7450/70, and both Intel and Qualcomm have certified router solutions. Expect a flood of devices to carry the standard soon, including smartphones, tablets, and notebooks. By next year, many will probably factor the standard into their “buy” decisions. Source: WiFi Alliance

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WiGig will bring superfast WiFi to devices next year

Xiaomi’s foldable electric bicycle costs just $460

Xiaomi may not yet have a drone that can carry people , but at least it has an electric bicycle now, and it’ll only cost you 2, 999 yuan or about $460/£307. The Mi Qicycle is the second product from the Xiaomi-backed startup, iRiding, who released the premium 19, 999 yuan (about $3, 000/£2045) Qicycle R1 just back in March. This time round, iRiding is able to slap Xiaomi’s “Mi” brand on its latest ride to target the mass market. While the Mi Qicycle weighs a total of 14.5kg (almost twice that of the carbon fiber-made R1), it can be folded into half its size for easier storage. It comes with a 3-speed hub plus a 250W motor which offers pedal assist, and that’s good for up to 45km (about 28 miles) on a single charge. Since the Mi Qicycle is a smart bike, there’s Bluetooth connection for your smartphone’s companion app to check on the bike’s status, ride stats and GPS navigation. It also has its own little display on the handlebar to show you the time, speed, distance, dynamic power and battery charge, as well as to let you toggle between these modes: “Fitness, ” Power-saving, ” “Balanced” and “Extra power.” And as you’d expect, the bike has a front light and a red brake light at the back. As with many of the best products from Xiaomi, chances are you won’t be able to buy the Mi Qicycle outside of China. If you’re lucky enough to live there or know someone who does, then you can already head over to Xiaomi’s Mijia app to back this bike’s crowdfunding campaign. Source: Xiaomi

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Xiaomi’s foldable electric bicycle costs just $460