US looking to re-establish technological edge, focus on cybersecurity

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 13, 2015 6:50 PM CDT

As part of the US Defense Department's "Better Buying Power 3.0" initiative, the government wants to see closer relationships forged with the private sector. The main goal of the program is to make sure the US doesn't lose a technological edge over foreign adversaries, as the DoD dumps money into new R&D efforts.

A major effort will focus on keeping next-generation weapons technology and defense systems secure from cyberattacks - something that is of major concern, especially from China, Russia, and other countries with sophisticated cyber militaries.

"It includes the industrial base that supports us and their databases and their information," said Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, in a statement. "It includes what we hold in government. It includes the logistics support information, the sustainment information, the design information, the tactical information. Everything associated with the product is a potential point of attack. And we are under attack in the cyber world, and we've got to do a better job protecting our things."

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Apple Watch should help boost interest, sales of rival smartwatches

Michael Hatamoto | Wearable Computing & Fashion | Apr 13, 2015 3:45 PM CDT

The Apple Watch has drawn intense media attention and interest from consumers, but people not interested in spending $349 - or more - have plenty of alternatives they can choose from. The overall smartwatch market is still extremely small, but with a growing number of vendors stepping up to release products, there is great hope that consumers will begin adopting wearables in the future.

"Apple (has) left room for the competition with their fairly high price," said Nick Spencer, senior practice director of ABI Research, in a statement published by CNBC. "I think this enables the consumer scenario of, Apple has launched a smartwatch, therefore I need one, but don't want to pay $349, so I'll buy a (cheaper) Android watch instead."

There were more than 5 million smartwatches shipped in 2014, with Samsung selling 2.15 million units - and no other competitor selling more than 1 million - and those numbers are expected to accelerate in 2015. The launch of the Apple Watch, however, has brought new attention to the smartwatch market, and could help bring even more attention to the market.

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SOUL Electronics introduces its Bluetooth Run Free Pro earbuds

Michael Hatamoto | Audio, Sound & Speakers | Apr 13, 2015 2:09 PM CDT

Consumer electronics company SOUL Electronics has introduced the Run Free Pro, Bluetooth-powered in-ear headphones designed for athletes. The waterproof in-ear unit also includes wind noise reduction technology to help eliminate wind interference, which often times can ruin audio quality.

The custom design is guaranteed to stay in your ears using an interchangeable lock system, so athletes and active users don't need to worry about earbuds falling out. The Run Free Pro uses Bluetooth 4.0 and is now available with a $129 MSRP.

"The Run Free Pro exemplifies an audio accessory that perfectly complements hitting the streets for a run or sustaining an active lifestyle," said Jerry Lai, Marketing Manager at SOUL Electronics. "This means as someone is running and, often times, earbuds will fall out, the lock will securely keep the earphone body tight and in place. We wanted to create more products for the fitness and active lifestyle, with the goal to maintain the same SOUL Electronics brand identity."

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Europol, FBI successfully shuts down Beebone malware

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 13, 2015 12:38 PM CDT

The Europol Cybercrime Centre and the FBI teamed up to bring down the Beebone botnet, a custom operation that installed malware on unknowing victims. At least 12,000 machines were infected - with an estimate up to 100,000 zombie PCs - hijacked by cybercriminals. The malware was used to collect stolen passwords and download third-party applications onto victim PCs, officials noted.

"The fact that it [the malware] is complicated suggests that it could be used for more targeted attacks," said Paul Docherty, director of Portcullis Security, recently told the BBC. "If those responsible were able to harness similar difficult-to-detect code they could potentially move the point of attack from home users to corporate users or other entities which typically hold large amounts of sensitive, valuable data."

The polymorphous malware utilized its unique ability to change its "shape" so it was better able to evade cybersecurity defenses - and continue hijacking new users.

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Star Citizen's first-person shooter combat explained in great detail

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Apr 13, 2015 12:35 AM CDT

Roberts Space Industries has taken to its website to provide a very in-depth article on how the first-person side of Star Citizen will work, teasing that there will be three different stances, as well as having your breathing impact gameplay.

First, the three different stances will include: lowered stance, ready stance, and ads stance. RSI explains that having three different stances means "that the game will have a more realistic system of weapon handling, which will immediately impact gameplay. Star Citizen's three stances are Lowered, Ready and Aim Down Sights (ADS). The Lowered stance trades the ability to fire for maneuverability. The Ready stance slows a soldier's movement while making reactionary fire and aiming a lot faster and more accurate. The ADS stance is the most accurate, but has the slowest movement and most restricted visibility of the three stances".

Not only that, but breathing will have a big part to play in the Star Citizen first-person shooter mode, which is "simulated in order to make first person combat a much deeper and more tactical experience than many familiar FPS titles". A big part of this is stamina, which is "a resource you will need to manage" according to RSI. The developer continues: "Performing actions such as sprinting, vaulting, mounting, climbing and breath control (detailed below) will lower your stamina. Low stamina will have several temporary knock-on effects, such as drastically reduced sprint distance, diminished ability to aim properly, and even a reduced amount of time that breath can be held".

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Deus Ex: Mankind Divided to be a 'real challenge' to hardcore players

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Apr 12, 2015 10:25 PM CDT

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was revealed last week, but now the full marketing campaign is beginning to ramp up, with Game Director Jean-François Dugas, teasing Deus Ex fans through his Twitter account.

Dugas was asked if Deus Ex: Mankind Divided would be ghostable, to which he replied that it would, and for the first time in a Deus Ex title, even during boss fights. Dugas said: "As always and even on boss side, finally!". Ghostable means you can play through the entire level, including boss fights, without being seen - providing the true stealth side of Deus Ex.

He continued, adding that the boss fights from Deus Ex: Human Revolution are coming back, which has fans excited. Dugas continued, when he was asked if Mankind Divided would be as hard as the original Deus Ex from 1999, where he said: "We'll have the 'Give me Deus Ex' again. Not exactly like the 1999 mode but you should expect a real challenge". When asked if the same team members from Human Revolution are working on Mankind Divided, Dugas replied with "For the most part, yes".

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Rockstar says 4K is a real 'eye opener' for Grand Theft Auto V on PC

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Apr 12, 2015 9:13 PM CDT

Grand Theft Auto V unlocks for PC gamers across the world in a little under 24 hours now, so after multiple delays, it doesn't even feel like it's happening - but it is, and in a big way.

Rockstar Games sat down with PC Gamer recently to talk about the game and how it runs at 60FPS, 4K and more. PC Gamer asked if GTA V on the PC was "locked at 60FPS", to which Rockstar replied: "The target framerate for the PC build of the game is 60fps, when you start up GTA 5 for the first time it chooses settings to maximise the framerate and visual quality on your PC. These are simply recommendations though, and players can change these to whatever they want. We will never be able to guarantee the framerate when someone decides to push their texture, shader or post-fx quality to a level that their PC can't support. That said, if your monitor and PC support it you can choose to run at even higher framerates".

PC Gamer also talked about 4K, asking "GTA 5 supports 4K resolution on PC - how much of a big deal do you think 4K will be for players? Do you think it'll transform the way they experience that world?" Rockstar's reply is pretty exciting, with the developer saying: "4k is an eye opener when you see if for the first time, it really does make you look at the world differently and in greater detail as you would expect. That said, you could probably say the same thing about a lot of the other high-end graphical options and ultimately it will be personal preference which particular resolution and graphical settings that each player decides to settle on".

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Apple Stores aren't stocking the hot new Retina MacBook

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | Apr 12, 2015 6:18 AM CDT

Apple has had a big few days, with the Watch pre-orders opening up and the launch of its new Retina-capable MacBook. The new Retina MacBook is reportedly not being stocked at many Apple Stores, leaving consumers furious.

Apple Stores in the US are reportedly not stocking the new MacBook, which seems to be limited to online purchases, for now at least. MacRumors has taken a look at multiple Apple Stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, which all resulted in the new Retina MacBook being unavailable at all locations, "at least on launch day" they reported.

The new Retina MacBook has seen its shipping times already expand, with custom models shipping in 3-4 weeks as soon as orders became available. The new 12-inch Retina MacBook starts at $1299, featuring a super-slim design, a single USB-C port, a redesigned keyboard and an all-new butterfly mechanism, Force Touch trackpad, fanless architecture and an all-day battery.

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NSA boss now wants 'front door' access to your PC

Anthony Garreffa | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 12, 2015 3:12 AM CDT

The NSA has virtually got unrestricted access to most users data, but that doesn't stop the US spy agency from wanting more. NSA chief Michael Rogers has now called for a "front door" encryption key that would provide the NSA with access to your data, but the key would be broken into multiple parts so that no one agency or person could easily get in.

This method would theoretically stop thieves from getting in and taking your data, but it would let government officials access your data at any time, if they have 'permission'. The White House is considering the move, along with others like letting courts order the creation of mirror accounts, so that US agencies can access any and all messages as they arrive, or so that they can back up the data as it's unencrypted. President Obama is considering these new policies, where he should receive a report by the end of the month, with the possibility of a new policy revealed shortly after.

Rogers' solution isn't a one key fits all scenario, with fellow institutions like the National Institute of Standards and Technology against the idea. They note that any door that is introduced would arrive with security holes, even if a split key is created. US agencies like the FBI and NSA don't like widespread encryption because it works so well, but it only works as long as there are key holders that won't just provide the key when asked, or requested.

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Google is indexing files from some private network-connected HDDs

Anthony Garreffa | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Apr 12, 2015 1:00 AM CDT

An investigation that CSO Online conducted has found that if you do not have your network-connected HDDs configured correctly, your files could be ending up in the wrong hands.

Their report stated that some personal cloud devices with external HDDs connected to routers with FTP enabled have been indexed by Google, which has seen personal files found on the Internet, and on search results. This includes very personal data such as emails, journal entries, passports, tax records, financial statements, mortgage documents, passwords, private photos and more.

The organization was able to map a family's personal and financial history all the way back to 2009 just by searching their name as their data was archived on a Western Digital HDD that they had connected through a Linksys WRT1900AC router. But when the family was warned about this, it was too late. The family noted: "I simply could not figure out how someone got the [card] info minutes after I'd activate them. My system was clean and secured more than the average person," said one member of the family. Now I know. [It's not] difficult when my backups were public and being indexed on Google".

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