Google has disabled the use of prepaid credit cards with Google Wallet. The reason for disabling the prepaid cards is to prevent unauthorized access if the phone is lost or stolen. Apparently, debit cards linked to the Google Wallet accounts are still safe. Google is presumably working on a patch that will repair the vulnerability that Wallet Cracker exposed.

There were steps outlined last week that the user of the smartphone could take to plug the gap that allows the PIN to be accessed. This involved changing settings on the Android device such as activating a screen lock feature. I would bet Google would have a patch for the Wallet issue very shortly since the breach is hurting the trust consumers have in the application.

[via AndroidCommunity]

There are still several issues still to be overcome before Android on the N9 is a realistic prospect, however. Currently the battery indicator isn’t working – the N9 says it needs to be plugged in, though it’s clear from the video that that’s already the case – and network connectivity is also non-functional at present.

When we last saw evidence of the hack, OpenGL support was also causing headaches. That’s implicit to the N9′s 2D/3D graphics, and without compatibility in the ICS port using Android on the Nokia smartphone would be less than comfortable.

Still, an early alpha is promised as in the pipeline, and hopefully as more people weigh in on the hack the coveted 3.9-inch MeeGo phone might get a second wind as dual-booting demand flourishes. More on the N9 in its untampered form in our original review.

[Thanks Kevin!]

The N9 was launched to much fanfare last year, though Nokia quickly shifted its attention to Windows Phone and its deal with Microsoft. That’s despite strong reviews – ours included - and a very positive reception to MeeGo itself. Development of the OS has now been pushed over into Tizen, while Nokia has said it will use its own work on MeeGo back in the R&D labs to tinker with next-gen devices.

Where MeeGo lacks the bulk of third-party apps, however, Android does not, and for some the polycarbonate 3.9-inch smartphone would deliver the best of both worlds running each OS. At present, pressing the volume-up button during boot automatically loads up Android rather than MeeGo.

Progress is being partially documented over at Maemo.org, though it seems getting the N9′s hardware to work with the functional Android kernel on the handset has caused the most headaches. There’s also ongoing issues with getting OpenGL to work, without which the whole thing is unusable. Still, we’re hoping efforts continue speedily, as this could be just the excuse we need to give in and grab an N9 ourselves.

[Thanks Steve!]

The group reportedly took advantage of an Internet Explorer vulnerability that had been left unpatched by a Foxconn employee, pulling out sensitive information from the company’s servers and bundling it into a freely-available torrent. Other users were encouraged to access the servers using the disclosed passwords, which could reportedly be used to place fake orders with Foxconn under the names of its vendor partners like Apple, Microsoft, Intel and Dell.

“This is Swagg Security, we aim to to reshape your perspectives, our perspectives, by the inducing of entertainment. A unique approach to spreading a unique philosophy which brings the sought after tranquility. In a way we are “hacktivist”, but in our own views we are Greyhats. We believe there is no reality in hacktivism, even with good intentions. We know those who claim to be “hacktivists” that inside of you, a suppressed part of you, enjoys playing a part in the anarchist event of hacking of an infrastructure. One which at the same time presents a challenge, upon completing reveals an almost unknown feeling of a menacing satisfaction. We encourage not to continue quelling such a natural emotion but to embrace it. Only when embracing what society has taught you to hinder, is when you realize your own identity” Swagg Security statement

Although Foxconn has been in the headlines recently around allegations of worker abuse, with staff said to be underpaid and subject to arbitrary and unfair disciplinary procedures, the hackers claim not to be working on some moral crusade. “Although we are considerably disappointed of the conditions of Foxconn,” the group said, “we are not hacking a corporation for such a reason.”

The security breach is the latest in an increasing number of tech attacks in recent months, with hackers broaching company servers in chase of chaos, private information or even extortion. Earlier this week, Symantec’s Norton Antivirus code, among other data, was released into the wild after attempts to coax a $50,000 payment from the company failed.

[via 9 to 5 Mac]

Although embarrassing for security reasons for the Syrian government, the leak also gives valuable insights into how top-level politicians perceive and are briefed on the west. One document prepared for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ahead of his interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters in 2011 was reproduced by the Foreign Policy blog, and included advice on how to manipulate American perception:

“It is hugely important and worth mentioning that ‘mistakes’ have been done in the beginning of the crises because we did not have a well-organized ‘police force.’ American psyche can be easily manipulated when they hear that there are ‘mistakes’ done and now we are ‘fixing it.’ It’s worth mentioning also what is happening now in Wall Street and the way the demonstrations are been suppressed by policemen, police dogs and beatings” Leaked email from Sheherazad Jaafari

Poor password choice has been blamed for the attack, with some accounts using “12345″ as the sole security. A list of passwords released by Anonymous suggests a huge proportion resorted to a simple string of numbers, while others included “iloveyou” and “GODisgreatand1″.

No official statement has been made by the Syrian Ministry, though it’s likely the accounts have been locked down since the documents were leaked.

[via Ars Technica]

Of course it’s absurd to expect any such complete forfeiture of a set of stolen codes which could so very easily be copied out and duplicated, so who do we look to questioning the logic behind a cash sum trade to hackers such as this? According to LoD, it was Symantec spokesperson Chris Paden, not the FBI or a federal commission of any kind as many news sources are reporting today. Though Paden is on record saying the following:

“The communications with the person(s) attempting to extort the payment from Symantec were part of the law enforcement investigation.” – Paden

A series of emails were sent back and forth between YamaTough and a person claiming to be working with Symantec but whom Symantec has since said was working with a law enforcement group they’d been working with specifically for this job. In the email conversation between the two, pasted in PasteBin for your full reading if you wish, the first mention of a cash transaction is made by DoM in their suggestion of a sale of the codes to the highest bidder. It’s the negotiator, on the other hand, that suggests Symantec purchase it first. In the middle of this negotiation is an interesting moment in which YamaTough is asked to provide a set of guarantees to Symantec for the deal:

“What are the guarantees that we wont come back for more? – NONE ofcourse, you have to trust us on this one, if we were really bad guys we would have already released or sold your code at the time of exchanging emails with you which is almost a month – AND WE KEPT SILENT all that time and stuck to our word given to you.” – YamaTough

At this point the negotiator, whose name is unimportant by the way since it’s almost certainly a placeholder “Sam Thomas”, suggests that $1,000 be sent to YamaTough via PayPal so they can continue negotiations. YamaTough disagrees and says they do not work with PayPal – they’ve been speaking about Liberty Reserve (an offshore group for no questions asked transactions) and Sam returns with an offer of the following:

“We are still looking into Liberty Reserve but we have to figure out how to get our money safely into our Liberty Reserve account through an exchanger.

We will pay you $50,000.00 USD total.

However, we need assurances that you are not going to release the code after payment. We will pay you $2,500 a month for the first three months. Payments start next week. After the first three months you have to convince us you have destroyed the code before we pay the balance. We are trusting you to keep your end of the bargain.” – Sam Thomas

At this point YamaTough sends the following message:

“Say hi to FBI agents,
It’s funny you do not use your corp account anymore =)
We wonder why is that be that way? =)” – YamaTough

And the stories begin to fly on the web that DoM has discovered an FBI link to the Symantec investigation on the situation. While this is happening, Sam notes that “We are not in contact with the FBI. We are using this email account to protect our network from you.” and appears to send no following messages after another offer of $50,000 total. This brings us up to now.

What’s happening now is DoM is releasing the code bit by bit (and perhaps all at once at some point down the line here) and is suggesting the following:

“The real sting sends money and bust the crooks at the cash pickup =) it wasn’t feds – it was slimey Paden UNEMPLOYED =)” – @YamaTough

And thus is the truth of the matter, in this part of the situation anyway: it would have made one whole heck of a lot more sense for the FBI to have set up a real-world drop of cash for code as they would have had the upper hand without a doubt. Instead the situation appears to be that the negotiators that were actually involved took no such precaution for exchange of cash online and are not falling victim to circumstance and hackers with a taste for trade.

For those of you out there using Symantec software: you likely have nothing to worry about. The codes that DoM are releasing are of pcAnywhere and blueprints for old software that has been long-since outdated. Or so Symantec says. The important part of this equation for Symantec is bad PR as well as a possibility that the codes, once analyzed, may prove to be helpful to competing companies as well as hacker groups hoping to gain some insight into their code-building process.

The flaw was first discovered and reported on in January by a blog called Console Cowboys, which revealed that by simply appending a specific code to a camera’s IP address, the password requirement could be bypassed. The blog posted detailed instructions on how to breach Trendnet cameras, resulting in links being posted to various message boards.

Offices, children’s bedrooms, and even someone’s bathroom were viewable among the list of video feeds exposed. A list of 679 web addresses to exposed video feeds were posted to a message board within two days with more listings revealed that were also associated with Google Maps locations.

Trendnet is scrambling to release firmware updates to fix the problem, but estimates that there are 26 camera models that are affected. To see if your camera model could be a spy cam, check out the full list here. Also, be sure to check Trendnet’s download page for firmware updates.

[via PC Mag]

Now, we know the job market is tough right now, but let’s hold on for a minute. Here’s a guy with enough savvy to infiltrate a computer system of a company that brings in $11.7 billion every year, and he can’t get a decent job somewhere? It sounds to us like Nemeth has more than enough skill to land something pretty worthwhile. Instead, he’ll be behind bars until the second half of 2014, and will live under supervised release for the next three years.

Nemeth was accused of gaining access to the company’s internal systems by sending a computer virus to employees. Only one employee needed to open the file for the entire server to be infected. During the investigation, US officials, including a Secret Service agent, posed as Marriott employees and flew Nemeth in for what he thought was a job interview. That face-to-face meeting was enough to seal the deal. According to Marriott, the ordeal cost more than $400,000 in damages to its bottom line.

[via Baltimore Sun]

Anonymous also had a news tip pop up this morning on how they’d intercepted a phone call between Scottland Yard and the FBI, this racking them up another notch in their belt for impressive cuts in the hacking world against major targets. What we’ve got here is what Anonymous billed as “Anonymous hacks Boston Police website in retaliation for police brutality at OWS.” The hack project in this case appears to also have resulted in personal information of confidential informants and tipsters was accessed, as as sensitive data surrounding citizen complaints about drug crimes.

“Statement from BPD regarding BPDNews.com hacking incident: The Boston Police Department is working diligently to restore the function of BPDNews.com, the department’s public safety blog. It is unfortunate that someone would go to this extent to compromise BPDNews.com, a helpful and informative public safety resource utilized daily by community members seeking up-to-date news and information about important safety matters. Our skillful technical staff is focused on rectifying this issue. Detectives continue their investigation into individuals engaging in this type of disruptive and criminal activity.” – Boston Police Department

What Anonymous is noting instead is that this attack comes in part because of what they called brutality against Occupy Boston, and part because of an anti-graffiti paraphernalia bill nearly passed in Boston state senate. This bill would have made it illegal not just to perform vandalism in the state, but to possess any instrument, tool, or device with intent of vandalizing – broadness will get you hit!

“The FBI might be curious how we’re able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now” Anonymous said via Twitter earlier, referring to the incident as “OpInfiltration” and encouraging followers to share copies of the call online.

Ironically, the telephone meeting between the FBI and the UK’s Scotland Yard was intended as an opportunity to “discuss the on-going investigations related to Anonymous … and other associated splinter groups.” Counterparts in Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and France were also invited to participate, though cannot be heard on the recording.

The FBI says it is investigating the leak, and searching for those responsible. However, the leaks may not be over yet; Anonymous warns that further disclosures are incoming today, as part of an ongoing protest against lawmakers.

It’s just as basic as that, when it comes down to it: if you’ve picked up a tablet for the first time, or a smartphone for the first time, and you want to grab some apps, you just head to the market and start downloading like a maniac. The step that exists between here and there that, unfortunately, is the only real level of security that exists for Android today is this: reviews by people like your humble narrator. And I don’t do that many reviews of applications. Consumers must trust in well-known publications to tell them if applications are safe to use or not if they’re on Android, giving them the links they need to find apps that don’t cause havoc on their devices – but they don’t, and therein lies the problem with Google’s system.

Google has provided an awesome system in which developers do not need their permission to publish an application, allowing the open market to thrive and grow rampantly. The bad thing about this is that the warning that are embedded in every download, the gates that Google has actually put up to defend against malicious software, are not working. When a consumer downloads an app, there’s a warning that comes up when they’re about to install which tells them what the app is capable of. Have you seen it? Likely if you’re an average citizen, you’ve pushed right past it and installed with fury.

There’s a South Park episode about this situation, in a way, though it uses Apple and their iTunes user agreement as an example instead. The lesson they teach the character Stan in that episode is that you should always, always read the user agreement before agreeing to it. What the agreement amounts to though, instead of it being there for the consumer to know their rights, is a safeguard for the company that placed it – in this case, Google is not to blame as the text they’ve freely given consumers which says things like “Malicious applications can use this to erase or modify your Browser’s data” has rid them of all legal blame.

NOTE also that this newest attack titled Android.Counterclank has been classified as several things: the first as a malware attack, but the most recent, listed by Lookout Mobile Security, as “an aggressive form of an ad network.” Attaching to your device after it explicitly warned you that it was going to do so – fair deal!

[via Lookout]

“I believe if you buy hardware, you should own it; and ownership means nothing less of full rights to do with it as you wish” Huang says of his involvement with the campaign. “Jailbreaking is helping to make technology better, more secure, and more flexible.”

The original exemptions to the DMCA were pushed by the Electronics Frontier Foundation, which is also working with Huang on this new petition. Agreed in mid-2010, the concession meant that jailbreaking an iPhone, unlocking a SIM-locked smartphone or hacking a device to run a different OS on it fell under fair use. However, they were only covered for a period of three years.

“When one jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that phone interoperable with an independently created application that has not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses” Copyright Office (2010)

That three year period is almost up, meaning soon it could be deemed illegal to modify a device you’ve legitimately paid for. Apple is expected to lead the way in clamping down on such tweaks; the company was less than enamored with the original DMCA amendment, warning users that even though they may be legally protected, jailbreaking an iOS device would invalidate their official warranty.

More details in our SlashGear 101 on Jailbreaking.

[Image credit: Bjørn Molstad]

At the moment there are no other security threats included in the Symantec portfolio of products, as Adi Robertson of The Verge mentions, but if you’ve got pcAnywhere working anywhere in or around your products at the moment, you should certainly shut it down. What hackers and lovers of busting into your computer alike will be prone to do, if they find that you’re using the software, is to slide in undetected on your pcAnywhere connection and lift whatever they please. Wouldn’t want that happening now, would you?

Last week a group of hackers associating themselves with the Anonymous collective let loose a warning that they had possession of the source code for a handful of Symantec products and that they’d let them go public at the drop of a hat. Because of this, we’ll be keeping an eye out for additional threats as they may appear in coming weeks and months. For now though, as Symantec says, you should be perfectly alright with what you’re running.

[via Symantec]

“This is not an attempt to extract information from the website but is instead an attempt to stop access to a service” the official Irish statement said. “There appears to be no damage done to the website.”

The new Irish legislation, “S.I. No. of 2011 European Communities (Copyright and Related Rights) Regulations 2011″, has already been dubbed “SOPA Ireland” and gathered over 32,000 signatures to an online petition protesting the act. “This legislation subverts the democratic process,” the protestors claim, “favors the special interests of corporations over the rights of individual citizens, will destroy the largest growth sector in the Irish economy, and will subject the citizens of Ireland to unwarranted and unintended censorship.”

Under the new legislation, ISPs could be forced to block access to sites that offer content believed to be illegally shared. Its origins are in a High Court ruling from 2010, in which music publisher EMI won a claim that content it owned the rights to was being distributed but, because of the limitations of the Copyright Act as it stood, no actual action could be taken.

The geek who put the hack together goes by DDRBoxman. He took his Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone and output the video to a projector to toss it up in 50-inch size on the wall. To get the touch control interface back the guy uses a Kinect to see where he was touching and activate the content.

The Kinect in question was hooked to a Windows PC and used a custom app to control the touch interface. This doesn’t sound like something the average geek would pull off. It required a custom ROM. I wonder if you have to touch the wall to activate things on the projected interface. It would be better if you could control it with gestures from across the room. See the hack in action below.

[via AndroidCommunity]

The process a powerful piece of development like Siri has to go through to legally connect with an application such as Twitter is prohibitive enough that the iPhone 4S was released with a version of Siri that did not work with more than a few applications. What the future of Siri holds though, is just that: application integration. Before that happens, the hackers are having at it, and solutions like Tweet with Siri are being released so that those of you with the knowhow to modify your device without making it explode are able to have what you want.

Of course jailbreaking is still frowned upon by Apple and if you plan on keeping your warrantee with any group you purchased the iPhone through, you shouldn’t do it, but if you DO want to do it, you’ll be able to add Tweet with Siri soon. The video above should explain it well enough – simply speak and Tweet! This application will be made available by Grooveshark employee Tyler Nettleton, also known as InfectionFX on the web, and will be working through Cydia.

[via TechCrunch]

This month the Megaupload owner and several of his colleagues were arrested and what his prosecutors call a $175 million USD worldwide internet piracy operation was shut down indefinitely. Yesterday he was brought before a New Zealand court after having been taken from a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Virginia. It’s also in New Zealand that the raids are going on now, his $23 million dollar home, one of New Zealand’s most expensive, being emptied of cars, cars, and more cars.

In the collection, for those of you wondering, were such fabulous vehicles as a 2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coup, a 1959 Cadillac convertible, and a lovely Von Dutch Kustom motorcycle. About a dozen high-end Mercedes AMG models were also included in the stash, each of these vehicles having its own vanity license plate. The plates included such gems as EVIL, GOOD, GOD, STONED, MAFIA, CEO, HACKER, and of course, GUILTY.

This should act as a warning, all you would-be kingpins of piracy out there, that your cars are going to get stolen by the police. There’s no way they wont be, just accept it, and check our timeline for the rest of the Megaupload story.

[via USAtoday]

What we’re looking at here is a fellow by the name of Andrey N. Sabelnikov from the Russian Federation who worked most notably with antivirus vendor Agnitum. Once he began his work on this Kelihos operation, he embedded debug codes into the source of the virus which then allowed the software to download and install the Kelihos machine. It’s undoubtably clear that the fellow in question here got his knowhow from working with the firms he’d worked with in the past whose main goal it is to do away with the viruses he now slung. His LinkedIn page also noted that he’d worked for security vendor Returnil between 2008 and 2011, his stint with Agnitum taking place between 2005 and 2008.

Microsoft wrote the following in a US District Court complaint against Sabelnikov:

“Defendant Andrey N. Sabelnikov is an individual residing in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Defendant currently works on a freelance basis for a software development and consulting firm. Prior to his current employment, Defendant worked as a software engineer and project manager at a company that provided firewall, antivirus and security software. [With Kelihos botnet he] used the software to control, operate, maintain and grow the Kelihos botnet, by among other things, infecting innocent users’ computers.” – Microsoft

Harsh words, but certainly not unwarranted. How many hackers do you think studied with the protection agencies they’d hope to bypass in the future? Imagine the ease!

[via Ars Technica]

That number also includes over 150,000 iPad 2 units that had previously been jailbroken running iOS 4.x. According to the Dev Team, newly jailbroken devices automatically check in for available SHSH blobs when the unofficial Cydia app store is opened, keeping a log of how many hacks have been performed.

GreenPois0n Absinthe was released on Friday, a team effort between the iPhone Dev Team and Chronic Dev, taking on the challenge of Apple’s tweaked security in the newer A5 processor. There’s also a reminder for owners keen to keep their jailbreak not to update to a newer version of iOS, until at least there’s a jailbreak solution in place for it. Apple enjoys its cat & mouse game with hackers, working to close off previously exploited loopholes with each successive iteration.

For there is a large population of modification-loving Android citizens out there today, Koush right there in the midst of them, working to bring the most complicated situations down to a couple of taps and the doors open to the public. What you’ll be able to do with this new app store, you hackers you, is download software the same way you’ve been able to thus far from the official app market, but the content will be closer to that which you’ve been downloading from the forums. In this way, the whole situation will be made that much easier for all on-the-go developers.

This app store will appear, if it works out, in future builds of CyanogenMod, and will be pulling tiny bits of profit out of apps that are sold on the new market. All the funds will then go to the CyanongenMod project. Koush has spoken specifically about “one click root apps, emulators, tether apps, Visual Voicemail apps, and more” and we expect the project to move to a real live product somewhere inside 2012, but not anytime soon!

[via Koush]

UPDATE: This attack has been denied in kind by sources we’ve trusted in the past to provide Anonymous-run operations.

What this attack will do is to make their DDoS more widespread than its ever been before, inviting anyone who has a computer to join in on the project with but a few clicks. A DDoS attack is what’s also known as a Distributed Denial of Service, this being the same method used last week to take down the Department of Justice, the MPAA, the RIAA, and Universal Pictures. Anonymous has a large collective of users working all around the world to push the buttons of websites so rapidly and so many times that the pages cannot stay active, thusly their “denial of service” has been attained.

With this attack will come no destruction of Facebook’s stored information, nor will Facebook users have to fear that their information will be shared in any way. Instead they’ve only to fear that they wont be able to see their status updates for a few hours (more than likely, tops), as the Anonymous collective has some fun at their expense. There’s a message held inside the bottom of the video you’re seeing above if you head to YouTube to see it, and I’m not going to reproduce it all here because it’s mostly gibberish, but know this: the files they’re sharing are not something we recommend you download, and we do no support the willful hacking of webpages or DDoS attacks on them at all either.

That said, Anonymous have created a situation here where their name, nameless, has been used to strike fear into quite a few hearts of those that would otherwise dominate the internet world and seek to control it entirely. Have a peek at a short list of Anonymous stories we’ve got below and learn about them, and decide for yourself if the video above comes from them or is, again, another sham aimed at the big kahuna: Facebook.

Users must be on iOS 5.0.1 or this WILL NOT WORK. And for the record – if you update to iOS 5.0.2 when it comes out, you’ll completely lose the jailbreak. Lets thank posixninja, pod2g, and nikias for all their hard work.

They stressed multiple times how difficult exploiting the Apple A5 actually was, so its probably impossible to even count the amount of hours they have spent prior to this public release. Apple will likely release their next incremental update soon, so be sure to snag the jailbreak before then. Good luck!

[via greenp0ison] – Thanks Ben!

It was Tuesday when the flaw was exposed by two rightfully mad customers, with McAfee responding with as quick a fix as they could muster soon after. What this fix does, they say, is to shut down one of the features involved in the exploit down completely and make additional fixes which make the security risk again reduce down “to zero.” As McAfee said this week:

“We have mitigating factors already in place that reduce risk. The patch for the spam issue is now rolling out to customers, and everyone should have the update shortly.” – McAfee

One vulnerability was found in the ActiveX control and allowed attackers to execute their own arbitrary code, the other found in McAfee’s Rumor Technology, this being the one that allowed hackers to turn your computer into a Spam magnet. While these problems appear now to only be affecting SaaS products or business users with the Enterprise version, you should keep your eyes open, consumers, for similar breaks if you know how to look.

The way you’ll be able to make a quick check on if you’ve been affected by this situation, you SaaS product users or business owners with the Enterprise version, is to simply contact your internet service provider and ask if you’ve had unusual traffic spikes lately. You’ll have already noticed that your internet speed has been slow as of late as well – though that could be anything, technically. Stay safe, everyone!

[via SecurityWatch]

It’s not that these kinds of bills won’t ever crop up again, because they certainly will, but it is nice to see that these Senators and representatives can be influenced by the public rather than by those dropping cash on their re-election campaigns. Of course it’s not as simple as all that, but there it is – these bills are essentially toast! The next thing that’ll happen is they’ll be re-written and tried for passage with much less media attention – we can’t let that happen. That said, Lamar Smith had the following to say on the subject today:

“I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products. The Committee will continue work with both copyright owners and Internet companies to develop proposals that combat online piracy and protect America’s intellectual property. We welcome input from all organizations and individuals who have an honest difference of opinion about how best to address this widespread problem.” – Smith

Certainly that would be a problem if that were the case, mister Smith, but you and I know that this is not why the bill has failed you. Former Senator Chris Dodd, in the wake of this decision and certainly in the wake of yesterday’s events with Anonymous, had a bit to say on the subject as well:

“With today’s announcement, we hope the dynamics of the conversation can change and become a sincere discussion about how best to protect the millions of American jobs affected by the theft of American intellectual property. It is incumbent that they now sincerely work with all of us to achieve a meaningful solution to this critically important goal.” – Dodd

This isn’t the last we’ve heard of this subject, I assure you.

[via Ars Technica]

Plug the Raspberry Pi into the TV, using the standard HDMI output, run the AirPlay app, and the iPad can select the cheap computer as a playback option for video. If you’re wondering, the creepy cows are from the infamous cyriak.

Although billed as a low-cost way for students to get to grips with programming and open-source hardware/software, Raspberry Pi is looking more and more interesting to everyone else, too. Back in August it was shown running Quake III, and now it looks like it could make for a capable little A/V streaming adapter too.

The first ten units went up for auction at the start of the month and brought the charity a pretty penny; however regular production has since started, with pricing at the far more reasonable $35.

[via Gizmodo]

According to the Dev Team, all of the “technical hurdles” around the jailbreak have been overcome. What remains is making sure the end package is as bug-free as possible; to that end, and to suit all levels of users and systems in the wild, there will be several ways of actually using the Corona A5 jailbreak tool.

A simple GUI for Mac and PC is promised, along with a command-line interface (CLI) that can be used to guide novices through the process, debug, and set different options along the way. Corona is also expected to be eventually integrated into the existing redsn0w tool, offering a slightly different GUI and broadening compatibility.

As for compatibility, the iPhone 4S running iOS 5.0 (9A334), 5.0.1 (9A405) and the other 5.0.1 variant (9A406) will be supported, along with the iPad 2 on iOS 5.0.1 (9A405). The recommendation for iPhone 4S owners is that they stay on iOS 5.0, if they haven’t already succumbed to the lure of the upgrade.

You can check for yourself with several sites that check the network status of sites, RIAA.ORG is down for the count, Justice.org is no longer, http://universalmusic.com is nowhere to be seen, and the Motion Picture Association of America will be showing no films at the moment. Each of these groups had a part in knocking out Megaupload and certainly had a say in not only SOPA but PIPA as well. For those of you that don’t know, both bills are being heavily reconsidered now due to the massive dissent seen yesterday during the blackouts.

What this appears very much to be is the solidification of the internetization of justice on a grand scale. As AnonDaily reports, Anonymous has taken down 10 sites in 20 minutes and this is therefor the “Largest On Scale Attack Ever” by the group. We’ll see where this leads us in regards to fair sharing and trading of ideas on the internet from here on out, a place where hackers take command of the internet with their ability to knock out any website, no matter who runs it, in no time flat.

The furthest I ever got with my TI-86 was a Mario Brothers port, if I’m not mistaken, and I liked playing Tetris the best. Nothing better than a good ol’ game of Tetris to make your skipping of the science class all the better. This upgrade comes from a Beta of the build that’s been out for some time, this piggy-backing on a TI-83 version of Doom from over a year ago.

This port is packaged with the Ndless program as well, this allowing you to unlock your hardware and perform your own hacks as well. The one thing we’re missing now for this setup is sound – what a world we live in! Someday maybe we’ll play Riptide – someday!

[via Hack a Day]

This guy takes his iPhone 4S, backs it up and saves his backup, then loads it up on his iPod Touch. Seems like a fools errand, yes? As it turns out, the Siri does open, but it can’t do just one whole heck of a lot. It doesn’t process search queries, for one. The dictation feature does seem to work though, so that’s pretty cool.

Another bit that seems to have slipped through the cracks here is that this guy’s iPod Touch is jailbroken. This means that he could easily have tried to trick the whole world into one thing while he’s actually doing something completely different. Prove his theory right and you might actually have yourself a blacked-out iPod Touch when it comes down to it. That said, try it if you like!

[via Cult of Mac]

Google’s justice proved swift, it seems. ”They are no longer working on Google projects” the company spokesperson confirmed to us.

Nonetheless, it’s another embarrassing internet blip for Google, as the company struggles to regain face after a Kenyan startup accused it of raiding its database and using the information to slander the smaller firm. Google said it was “mortified” at the underhand tactics used against Mocality Kenya, launching a full investigation which is still believed to be ongoing.

The OpenStreetMap edits came from the same Indian IP addresses as Mocality Kenya identified, though Google is yet to comment on whether there is any connection between those responsible for each issue.

ReadWriteWeb reports that the vandals have moved and or deleted some map details and has changed the direction of traffic flow on one-way streets. This is the same range of IP addresses that were busted stealing data from a database owned by Mocality. The data in that case was used to call and offer paid placements in a deal said to be with Google and Mocality.

Google is investigating the allegations, and I am sure we will hear more on this. Google can’t be happy that someone is using its IP addresses to commit these acts. Open Street Map has found two accounts that have modified streets in New York, London and other cities since last week. There is an investigation going on, and it seems the vandalism may be very widespread. Open Street Maps claim that there are at least 17 accounts that have accessed its maps from the Google IPs to the tune of 100,000 times in the last year.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

M1 subsequently said that the link “has been removed as we are making some adjustments to this service” and declined to comment further on the changes it was implementing. Fellow Singaporean carriers StarHub and SingTel both confirmed they were in negotiations with the country’s Defense Ministry regarding non-camera models, but would not say if the iPhone was on the list of potential devices.

As is the case with many secure workplace environments, such as R&D labs, Singapore’s military bases refuse to allow photographic-capable devices on-site. The Defense Ministry is believed to require a certificate proving any cellphone has no camera functionality, issued by the carrier, before it will be permitted. Camera-free smartphones have become a niche segment within the industry, with BlackBerry perhaps the best-known option.

Since Apple itself has not stepped into the fray with a non-camera iPhone, Singapore carriers have apparently taken matters into their own hands. It’s unclear whether the modification process is reversible or if the two CMOS sensors in the iPhone 4S – front-facing and rear – are permanently removed.

[via GottaBeMobile]

6pm.com was hewn off and run separately from Zappos back in 2008, focusing on the discount end of the market. The retail site has proved a hit with bargain shoppers, offering up to 75-percent cuts on RRP, though unlike Zappos does not include free two-way shipping, and products have a reduced, 30-day warranty period.

As is the case for Zappos customers, 6pm users’ credit card details have not been leaked. Instead, only the final four digits of registered cards – commonly used to identify the stored card to the shopper on the checkout page – are among the hacked data.

6pm users can reset their password here, and are advised to change the password on other sites they may have registered with using the same credentials. However, those currently outside the US – either international customers or US-based customers traveling – are unable to access the site, both Zappos and 6pm being temporarily closed to international traffic.

“We are cooperating with law enforcement to undergo an exhaustive investigation. Because of the nature of the investigation, the information in this email is being sent a bit more formally, and unfortunately we are not able to provide any more details about specifics of the attack beyond what is in this email and the link at the end of this email, but we can say that THE DATABASE THAT STORES OUR CUSTOMERS’ CRITICAL CREDIT CARD AND OTHER PAYMENT DATA WAS NOT AFFECTED OR ACCESSED.

The most important focus for us right now is the safety and security of our customers’ information. Within the next hour, we will begin the process of notifying the 24+ million customer accounts in our database about the incident and help step them through the process of choosing a new password for their accounts. (We’ve already reset and expired their existing passwords.)” Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos

Zappos has already voided existing passwords, and will direct users to http://www.zappos.com/passwordchange in an email informing them of the security breach. The company is also suggesting that users change their password on other services where they are registered with the same details.

Although a vocal response is expected from shoppers, Zappos has actually decided to shut down its phone support lines and instead rely solely on email to communicate. That’s being portrayed as a time-saving measure: the retailer’s entire headquarters staff are being drafted in to handle customer services messages, and the predicted surge of concerned users would quickly overwhelm the switchboard.

“In order to service as many customer inquiries as possible, we will be asking all employees at our headquarters, regardless of department, to help with assisting customers.  Due to the volume of inquiries we are expecting, we realized that we could serve the most customers by answering their questions by email. We have made the hard decision to temporarily turn off our phones and direct customers to contact us by email because our phone systems simply aren’t capable of handling so much volume. (If 5% of our customers call, that would be over 1 million phone calls, most of which would not even make it into our phone system in the first place.)” Zappos

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

“We are well on our way in terms of progress” the team says, and “hope to give you something to play with soon.” Right now there are only two main outstanding issues to overcome: the camera doesn’t work, and video playback isn’t supported. Work on the latter is apparently ongoing.

That still means there’s plenty to see today, including Angry Birds and some smooth animated fish rendering. Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth – are both supported and functional, but the CM team still isn’t giving a fixed estimate on when TouchPad owners might be able to actually download the new ROM.

[via Engadget]

The duo found that they can listen in on the Bluetooth connection between the devices. RIM left the security token needed to decrypt emails in a place where anyone that knows where to look can find it. Once they had hands on that token, the researchers were able to access all the email and other information they wanted as a privileged user.

The key to allowing the exploit was the discovery of the security token sitting there waiting to be found. The token sits in a place that is world readable while the Playbook and smartphone are in a Bridge session. There are caveats to the attack though. The Playbook has to be running an app that can access the token. A malicious app could also be installed on the tablet to open access to the token.

[via ThreatPost]

“Project Sk8″ uses an unreleased Samsung Windows 8 prototype tablet mounted to the top of the motorized skateboard. From it, riders can control the speed settings (with a choice of slow, medium and fast) and visually keep track of their gestures. Those are spotted by the Kinect, and when you push your hands forward the skateboard moves forward too.

Pulling your hands back slows things down; alternatively you can just fall off. Exactly how useful in the real world all this is, we’re not sure, but it sure beats the bus.

Unfortunately that sort of mod is going to take more than just access to the bootloader information; in fact it will take a fair amount of code tweaking and modification, certainly if all the various hardware elements of Symbian devices are to be enabled for a different platform. Whether there is anybody left with the time, patience and skillset to do that – and, most importantly, for Symbian devices – remains to be seen.

Still, as we said repeatedly during reviews of the E7, N8 and other phones from Nokia over the past eighteen months or so, the company makes beautiful hardware and we’d love to see Android or another platform running on it. Heck, we’d even take MeeGo if it were offered. Nokia is yet to unveil a hardware-QWERTY Windows Phone, so Microsoft’s platform on the sturdy E7 would be something many would covet.

ASUS Italy’s statement attempts to address the battery concerns some have voiced about the Transformer Prime, as well as the GPS issues and the bootloader, though the machine translation leaves things unclear. Problems experienced in overseas Primes “will not affect the units” offered in Italy, it’s suggested, with “battery life [in] line with what was promised.” As for GPS, ASUS Italy argues that the Prime was never intended to be a personal navigator, and so the absence of a dedicated GPS chip isn’t too great a limitation.

Bootloader access, however, is the most controversial part, with ASUS Italy seeming to say that owners should appreciate the lock-down as it has been done for their own good. “The product is guaranteed as it is” the statement says. “Different firmware altering the basic functionality of the product or push the hardware beyond the standard frequencies will void your warranty and may threaten the reliability and proper functioning of the product itself.”

We’ll wait to see what ASUS US says next about the Prime situation, though we’re not sure whether the company’s suggestion that would-be owners “relax” comes across as reassuring or patronizing.

“We see that there was a bit ‘choppy sea of questions about some “hot”. We talk about issues with Prime. It is called the root block. About First it should be noted that the product is not yet available on our territory. So the problems that some (we want to emphasize) users have complained will not affect the units deployed overseas on our territory. Battery life is line with what was promised. Obviously, this parameter depends strongly on the conditions of use and maximum range is always referred to use “light” with all the energy saving features active. On the GPS is wrong to compare a product like Prime to a smartphone. First, because smartphones using 3G connectivity to download the table with the position of the satellites and then more quickly identify the satellites. What you can do even Prime WiFi, but only when it is connected. Secondly, because Prime does not come as Car Navigator, nor do we imagine that users will use it while walking the streets of the city, looking for a street or a shop. For those things are just smartphones. Finally speech root: our position in this regard is simple. The product is guaranteed as it is. Different firmware altering the basic functionality of the product or push the hardware beyond the standard frequencies will void your warranty and may threaten the reliability and proper functioning of the product itself. Basically to respond to some posts on the bulletin board: we do not delete the “post uncomfortable” because we do not have anything to hide. Delete spam, misinformation and the news is not official. Keep them on the bulletin board would be to confirm their content. But it is not. It is incorrect that a user who attends board ASUS Italy will find us to be informed instead of misinformation. We hope with this post that I made ​​clear the misunderstanding.
The staff ASUS Italy”

[via Android Community and via Notebook Italia]

It’s apparently the culmination of a year’s work, and though you may not see the value in using a ‘bot costing several thousand dollars to keep a cat’s fur silky-smooth, it’s a big step forward in domestic telepresence. The Kinect and Wii remotes are used to control Nao’s arms, while the sensor bar and the treadmill track movement; meanwhile the head-mounted display shows Veltrop what the ‘bot can see, as well as moving its head according to his own movements.

Next up is two-way audio using the integrated microphone and speakers, and perhaps some practice so that the cat doesn’t end up clawing Nao to pieces. This video is apparently the second attempt at a remote grooming, and it still includes such painful gems as ”Oh, did I just punch him in the head? Sorry kitty.”

[via Kotaku]