Remote Kill Switch on your PC

Summary: A feature common in phones will let Microsoft remotely disable malware 

This doesn’t surprise me at all, people tend to forget that Microsoft is well in it’s rights to put something like that in, after all they own it not you, you paid a license to use, NOT own.  In reality, kill switches are nothing new, all recent versions of Windows OS’s have one built in, that’s why you have to activate your version of Windows. (more…)

Internet Censorship Ahoy!

You may have heard people talking/blogging/twittering about SOPA — the Stop Online Piracy Act. The recent SOPA-related boycott of GoDaddy was all over the news, with many people expressing their outrage over the possibilities of SOPA, but when I ask people about SOPA and its sister bill in the Senate, PIPA (Protect IP Act), many don’t really know what the bills propose, or what we stand to lose.

Obviously and it is no secret, that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and other pro-copyright groups, lobby politicians and law enforcers for this and continue pushing very hard. It seems to me, that the industries distribution model is not working anymore, or perhaps the movies they are making are just crap? I have not been to the theater in six years, I find the cost to exorbitant in my opinion. (more…)

Anticipated Android Apps

2011 has almost come to an end, and we’ve already seen some great Android apps come out this year. But 2012, which is just around the corner and it looks like it will be another eventful year for Android. Now that the latest OS version, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), has hit the market, several device makers are expected to release ICS handsets for a ready consumer market. LG is the latest to reveal its plans around ICS, kicking into high hear during the second quarter of next year. Among the first phones to get the upgrade are the Optimus 2X, which made waves as the world’s first dual-core smartphone earlier this year, and the Optimus LTE. Others in the Optimus lineup, including the 3D, Black and Big, will also receive the ICS update by Q3 of next year.

Android’s competition in the mobile and tablet market, Apple has had a long head start in mobile apps over it’s new archival Google. However, new data shows that the number of Android apps has grown 127 percent since August and offerings in Google’s Android Market should outnumber the total for iPhone apps by mid-2012.

2012 has some great apps in store for the open-source mobile platform. (more…)

Useful Android Apps

As Android devices become the status quo and are on the rise, it’s time to consider how best to put your smartphones and tablet PCs to work. Here is a selection of Android apps that I find to be helpful. My favorites are Google Reader & Tasks, as they work in conjunction with Google’s Chrome browser.

With hundreds of thousands of apps, Android Market has the right ones for you. When you download apps, they’re delivered directly to your device—instantly. You can also find your next first-rate read, a hot new album, or a flick from a catalog that includes everything from movie blockbusters and best selling e-books to more than 8 million songs.

Head over to https://market.android.com/ and check them out. (more…)

Android Steals Market

New data on mobile usage shows the number of smart phones continues to grow rapidly, increasing 12% from June of 2011 to 87.4 million in Sept. of 2011, and that the Android platforms continues to grain market share, hitting 44.8%. The data, which shows a three month average for the period ending Sept. 2011 and is based on a survey of over 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers by the comScore MobiLens service, is notable because it once again highlights the growing importance of the Android platform for the mobile strategies of media and entertainment companies. (more…)

2012 Security Threats

Hackers are sidestepping automated security technology and are using social engineering and data mining to orchestrate attacks against prominent individuals and their corporate networks.

This trend has been brought about through advances in network protection and tighter regulation both of which have conspired to make it more difficult for hackers to compromise systems and create widespread disruption.

Traditional techniques such as SQL injection, web app hijacking and unauthorised server access are now being bypassed in favour of more rewarding social engineering practices which yield the data necessary to carry out highly organised systematic attacks.

Five influential security trends to watch in 2012 are:  (more…)

Don’t Fear Tux

The Linux computer operating system turned twenty in August this year. But, despite having reached that fine age (in computer terms), it remains on the fringe, with relatively low usage levels. Mostly, it has suffered from its reputation for being complicated, with many thinking it’s exclusively for geeks and nerds who know each line of code by heart.

But the reputation is undeserved. Linux hardly makes any special demands on users and is far easier then Windows or Mac OS, once you become accustom to the user interface.

Another reason that Linux it is not very popular, is due to the fact that OEM’s, are locked into Windows due to licensing with Microsoft, but that is slowly changing and set to become rather sub-standard now due to Android. (more…)

Bookseller Defends Itself

Microsoft has sued Barnes and Noble for use of Android in the Nook Color. The bookseller has filed a supplemental notice of prior art that contains a 43-page list of examples it believes counters Microsoft’s claim that Nook violates Microsoft’s patents. I posted the PDF and slides at: http://jet-computing.com/patents/barnes-noble/

Instead of focusing on innovation and the development of new products for consumers, Microsoft has decided to invest its efforts into driving open source developers from the mobile operation systems market. Through the use of offensive licensing agreements and the demand for unreasonable licensing fees, Microsoft is hindering creativity in the mobile operation systems market.

The complaint also notes some odd behaviors on Microsoft’s part, such as refusing to explain what patents it was threatening B&N over, unless B&N agreed to sign a non-disclosure agreement. (more…)

Android > Phoney 7

A business that harasses customers will soon lose customers. Microsoft has repeatedly violated this rule by suppressing competition. The result is a huge body of customers/consumers who are ready to bolt at the first sign of an alternative. Witness the avalanche of consumers who have chosen Android/Linux smart phones instead of stupid phones with Microsoft’s stuff on board.

Larry Page commented on that when he discusses Google impressive growth,

“Rather than seeing, for example, Microsoft compete in the marketplace with their own smartphones, they’ve really continued resorting to legal measures to hassle their own customers, right? So it seems kind of odd. And we haven’t seen the details of those total agreements, and I suspect that our partners are making good deals for themselves there.”

Android/Linux is on most smart phones these days and Phoney “7″ is on 5%, the opposite situation we see in the retail shelves of personal computers. The difference is consumers have a choice in smart phones. They soon will have the same choice in all personal computers because the suppliers who are making money using Android/Linux are not beholden to Microsoft and can make personal computers of all kinds to compete with Microsoft’s legacy stuff that’s too bulky, hot, noisy and unreliable. Folks who love Android/Linux on smart phones know there are better ways to compute. That knowledge is spreading quickly. This Christmas we will see Android/Linux taking up lots of space on smart thingies and notebooks and desktops in retail shops.

We all know how popular smart phones have become today and with their rapid development, new and latest mobile phone operating systems are also advancing. Thus, it was not so long ago that the Windows Phone 7 OS came out for the recently released Windows Phone 7 units. But, there is no doubt that the Android OS has been here longer and if we put the Windows 7 OS in comparison with the Android OS, the latter would surely be better. The in fact quite a few reasons that the Android OS seems more competent and is simply still far better even after the release of the Windows 7 OS.

In fact at this time it would seem pointless comparing the Android OS with Windows 7 for smart phones at such an early stage. Windows Phone 7 still actually has to make its place in the market and prove its capability. Thus there is no chance that it could instantly beat the Android OS.

Taking the homescreens of the two OS for instance, Android had always been using the iOS approach for its smart phones where the homescreen could be filled with as many apps as a user could find. Thus in fact the Android phone could even hold up to seven different homescreens each being filled to brink with numerous Android apps, widgets and other useful tools.

The approach Microsoft took for the Windows Phone 7 homescreen was to merely include tiles over the homescreen which themselves would be filled with apps and other such stuff, while they could be updated via the web. This approach does not seem to be too unique; in fact it seems alike what Android has to offer through its widgets. Thus it seems that the OS system by Microsoft is already lacking the innovation needed.

Thus if we begin our further comparison between these OS, there are a lot of factors that make Android the better OS.

* Much more features included in the Android OS:

If we let alone consider the features, the Android OS is in fact overflowing with them and new ones keep on getting developed and are available for the Android users. Even though it is still new, the Windows Mobile 7 OS is at a serious lack of some new and unique features.

* The Android OS is more customizable:

It already seems that the Windows Mobile 7 OS is rather rigid and would not offer the users much flexibility. This means that it could not be matched with the customization options that Android OS users are able to benefit from.

* More apps available in the Android OS:

Having a hundred thousand apps through the Android OS is quite an immense number for Android users to choose from, with new ones regularly being added. When it comes to the Windows Mobile 7, the users would merely have hundred such apps to select from which is quite a minimal number as compared to what the Android OS has to offer. Thus judging from all of this, it is pretty obvious that currently Android is surely the better OS around.I hope basic comparison chart also will help you understand better.

Animals that are kept in captivity for most of there life, often cannot survive out in the real world, as they now have to think for themselves and find their own food. So its understandable, that the freedom that Android brings may be rejected, by those who are not accustom to choice or who are to lazy to responsible for themselves. But have no fear, Apple and Microsoft will save you from the responsibility of choice. For the rest, for you brave open minded souls embrace the power or choice…embrace Android.

BING!…your infected

Search engines from Microsoft and Yahoo! Have once again been caught displaying ads that direct users to malicious content, some that infects them with malware that’s hard to detect and get rid of, researchers said. I see that they put as much thought into who is allowed to advertise as they do in making a stable operating system.

Queries such as “FireFox Download,” “Download Skype,” and “Download Adobe Player” typed into the sites returned links promising to deliver the software requested but instead attempted to hijack people’s computers, GFI Labs researcher Christopher Boyd said in a blog post published Friday. Clicking on the links takes users to pages that look like the software maker’s official site, except for the URL.

“As an example, the fake Firefox file installs a rootkit, runs IE silently in the background attempting clickfraud and also performs Google redirects,” Boyd wrote. Microsoft and Yahoo were in the process of removing the malicious ads, he said.

It’s not the first time widely used search engines have been caught displaying ads intended to harm their millions of users. Ad services used by Google and Yahoo have repeatedly been duped into serving content that punts malware and other threats.

Criminals often go to elaborate lengths to pose as legitimate marketers in an attempt to get links to their toxic wares in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

“Microsoft’s Security Team has identified the source of this malware attack and is blocking those sites from loading additional malware,” the company said in a statement. “We are continuously monitoring our sites to protect customers; and also working with law enforcement authorities to find and prosecute the people responsible for these types of attacks.”

A Bing Forum thread has Wil from Bing telling a webmaster that it can take between 3 and 6 weeks to have a malware label removed from the search results.

This is in comparison to Google which normally can remove a malware label within 24 hours.

I am not sure if this is a special case or if most Malware reviews take 3-6 weeks at Bing. Wil from Bing said:

Your issue is already being reviewed. Malware re-evaluation requests take 3-6 weeks to finalize our review and create a new reputation ranking of the page/site. A representative will get in touch with you for updates.

When you are presented with Malware via Bing, Bing disables the link but does allow the searcher to ultimately visit the page at their own risk. I’d assume 99.999% of those searchers run.

Bing has a detailed post on Malware on their blog with more information.

Malware and hacked sites are a huge issue in search. Google has been very good at handling it for the most part recently and is excellent at removing the malware or hacked label quickly after the site is fixed. Bing takes 3-6 weeks? Well, that seems excessive. Maybe I am reading it wrong?

This is why I tell people to NOT use Internet Explore. If you must continue using Windows unfortunately, then please by all means use ESET NOD32 in conjunction with HitManPro.