Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 1st Mar 2011 00:28 UTC
It's sad to see that even after all these years, we still have to write articles like this one. It's all over the web right now: a new backdoor Mac OS X trojan discovered! Code execution! Indicative of rise in Mac malware! Until, of course, you actually take a look at what's going on, and see that not only is it not in the wild, it can't really do anything because it's a beta.
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Member since:2005-07-06
You're surprised? before they even made themselves known to the west part of scaring the crap out of people was part of their whole marketing campaign - scare the living crap out of people with an unlikely scenario them ride to the rescue with a product that'll 'stop it from happening'. Given the dishonest and underhanded tactics it wouldn't surprise me if they wrote some malware and virus's themselves simply to ratchet up the paranoia level - tobacco company owning a large share in a company that makes nicotine patches for those trying to give up smoking. Create a problem and provide a solution.
Edited 2011-03-02 09:43 UTC
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 17:52 UTC
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:38 UTC
"The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:30 UTC, submitted by JRepin
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 22:06 UTC
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:45 UTC
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 15:53 UTC
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 22:43 UTC
The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 21:50 UTC
PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:15 UTC
"This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.More News »
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Member since:
2006-01-12
Like politicians, security companies are not to be trusted, and are probably the worst scum in the software industry.
Agreed! They are scum. On the same level as dodgey used car salesmen or garages.
It doesn't matter which OS you use, they will ALWAYS come up with FUD in order to sell their crap.
They rely on people not knowing how to use their systems with security practices in mind.
They don't sell prevention. They sell cures. Because prevention isn't a profitable model! Cures are!
They always use their "Boogie Man" or "End of the World" tone!
Back in 2006, Kaspersky tried to FUD Linux folks...
=> http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/53534
=> http://www.linux.com/archive/articles/53727
As well as OpenOffice...
=> http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/54824
Example from 2008: Mac, Linux, BSD open for attack: Kaspersky
=> http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/264352/mac_linux_bsd_open_a...
We can pretty much presume => Eugene Kaspersky = SUPER SCUM
Can the malware industry be trusted?
=> http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/54886
(If they have to, they'll pull numbers out of the butt to FUD!)
I undermine AV companies by teaching people in my local area of good practices that prevent infection.
For example: I teach Windows users to...
=> Upgrade to Windows XP/7 Professional
=> Apply Software Restriction Policy and set to "disallow" (Whitelist mode)
=> Set Limited/Standard User
=> Password the default Admin-level account.
=> Apply MS's Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit to browsers, Adobe Reader, and certain Windows services.
=> The usual practices like staying updated, only installing from legit sources, making weekly back-ups, only use Limited/Standard user for daily use, etc.
=> Show people examples of social engineering. (The premise being: The more you know, the less likely you'll fall for this nonsense.)
For Linux, I usually have two accounts; One has access to sudo or root privileges. The other does not...I also look into what is standard security practice. (Reading books, asking folks who are more experienced than I am, etc.)
If I had a Mac, I would very likely go here...
=> http://www.apple.com/support/security/guides/
...And become familiar the features or tools in OSX.
The only way to destroy lies and fear is with the truth and knowledge. Teaching people prevention will hurt AV companies at the core level of their business.