We probably know that Lenovo was already aware of this situation like it already took them some time to be aware of it and come up with the solution to fix this problem so they already came up with the official Superfish uninstallation tool that will help to remove the program and the security certificate like we already mentioned in the previous post. Of course, many of the antivirus programs had already detected this as Adware that easily and even Windows Defender or Security Essentials is one of the detectors out there. How did Microsoft come up with the new anti-virus definiton database in addition to improved security for their services?
Unfortunately, when it comes to Firefox, the security certificate system is different than the one in other browsers and there may be some chance that the Superfish security certificate may still remain intact for Firefox but I don't know if this is true or not.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
Lenovo systems affected by adware
I don't care about the computer brand as know as I can recognize certain of them such as Acer, Lenovo, Dell, Alienware, HP and so on but this is wrong for Lenovo to violate their customers' privacy with the adware in their computers. Thankfully, Lenovo is aware of this and they have decided to discontinue shipping Superfish which is the culprit of this security problem as reported by various antivirus brands. Also, the new version is on the way that doesn't inject ads as the current version has the ability to steal your private data if you happen to be using it. It may be either easy or challenging to uninstall Superfish when possible until the new version comes out.
Another problem is that Superfish has the ability to install its own security certificate fooling the device as well as decode encrypted data sent between you and the other subject that can pose a serious security problem. This may allow the man-in-the-middle attack which many IT security enthusiasts already know the concepts all along.
While IE and Chrome are not safe like that, Firefox happens to be safe thanks to its independent certificate repository and the worse thing is that that security certificate is NOT removed alongside Superfish should you decide to uninstall it.
Another problem is that Superfish has the ability to install its own security certificate fooling the device as well as decode encrypted data sent between you and the other subject that can pose a serious security problem. This may allow the man-in-the-middle attack which many IT security enthusiasts already know the concepts all along.
While IE and Chrome are not safe like that, Firefox happens to be safe thanks to its independent certificate repository and the worse thing is that that security certificate is NOT removed alongside Superfish should you decide to uninstall it.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Windows 10 Event at Microsoft Operations Pte Ltd
Note that this is not the first time I went to visit Microsoft Operations Pte Ltd for something. The previous one was due to the fact that I got to collect the Tech Elite T-Shirt as the prize and this time, it was about the upcoming Windows 10. All the features were pretty known to me as seen in the Windows 10 Live Stream although there were certain things I didn't know of such as the concern about enforced upgrade to Windows 10 for enterprises which could be a problem if left unprepared. Thankfully, the enterprises have higher control as stated by Microsoft that they can choose to block the automatic upgrade to Windows 10 once finalized because going for automatic upgrade to Windows 10 while in beta phase is going to be a wrong and bad idea.
This came to me from Singapore Windows User Group Facebook page and nobody knows who made this group. Sure, Mr. Desmond Tan inherited that group but even he isn't sure on who made that. There were demonstrations he did like the Continuum, Cortana, Start Menu and even other enhancements done to Windows 10 as well. Hmm, will I be beta-testing Windows 10? I don't know honestly when. And, as of present time, Cortana is still at beta phase for US English and there may be British English which is what the local English in my country is based on but the thing is, the local English is still not in Cortana so there may be difficulties in her understanding that.
Of course, most of the group members are pretty much working in the company and Raffles Place is seriously full of people going to work dressed up in business outfits and there are some of us who are still students all along attending this according to the way the communication goes.
Lastly, there was an Instagram photo-taking session during the break. All you had to do was to get photo-taken holding the Surface device and then use your Instagram account to enter the respective hashtags with the photo of that so that people will be able to see it and you will get the movie tickets for that. There might be some animated movies I wanted to watch the last time but too bad I missed them and that was a shame for me as a nerd.
This came to me from Singapore Windows User Group Facebook page and nobody knows who made this group. Sure, Mr. Desmond Tan inherited that group but even he isn't sure on who made that. There were demonstrations he did like the Continuum, Cortana, Start Menu and even other enhancements done to Windows 10 as well. Hmm, will I be beta-testing Windows 10? I don't know honestly when. And, as of present time, Cortana is still at beta phase for US English and there may be British English which is what the local English in my country is based on but the thing is, the local English is still not in Cortana so there may be difficulties in her understanding that.
Of course, most of the group members are pretty much working in the company and Raffles Place is seriously full of people going to work dressed up in business outfits and there are some of us who are still students all along attending this according to the way the communication goes.
Lastly, there was an Instagram photo-taking session during the break. All you had to do was to get photo-taken holding the Surface device and then use your Instagram account to enter the respective hashtags with the photo of that so that people will be able to see it and you will get the movie tickets for that. There might be some animated movies I wanted to watch the last time but too bad I missed them and that was a shame for me as a nerd.
UK universities ban smartwatches for exams
In addition to watches with calculator support, even smartwatches and other gadgets will be banned from usage for exams lest it attracts technical cheaters or something which is kind of a good move. Google, Apple and other companies should have gotten aware of this flaw and especially for smaller devices that can be attachable to something that forms a watch like the Ipod Nano with something that forms that for instance. There's one thing schools forget, the smartbands, because they're freaking gadgets as well.
Unfortunately, certain smartwatches are trying to be disguised as normal watches which can pose difficulties for the invilgilators as if all kinds of watches should be banned. The workaround for that more clocks will be placed on the walls of the exam rooms in case you need to know what time is it while you're taking exams. Even worse is that there may be halls used for examination as well that there should be additional LED displays for time in addition to traditional clocks as the halls are really big compared to small exam rooms in which the clocks can be seen easily.
So after knowing this kind of news, you should know that smartwatches are not allowed in the exam centers probably due to the fact that certain kinds of communications may be transmitted such as pictures, videos, mails, messages and other stuffs that look like technical communications.
Unfortunately, certain smartwatches are trying to be disguised as normal watches which can pose difficulties for the invilgilators as if all kinds of watches should be banned. The workaround for that more clocks will be placed on the walls of the exam rooms in case you need to know what time is it while you're taking exams. Even worse is that there may be halls used for examination as well that there should be additional LED displays for time in addition to traditional clocks as the halls are really big compared to small exam rooms in which the clocks can be seen easily.
So after knowing this kind of news, you should know that smartwatches are not allowed in the exam centers probably due to the fact that certain kinds of communications may be transmitted such as pictures, videos, mails, messages and other stuffs that look like technical communications.
App in the UK that tracks children's phone use?
This unknown new app as stated as a news in Neowin is said to be tracking children's phone use. It may be useful to see what indecent things they have done on the phone whether it's theirs or maybe their parents and especially when they are using the phones or tablets for hours straight. However, the indecent thing about the app is the privacy violation we already know of ever since two years ago and this is some kind of the app people in UK SHOULD AVOID! If the device is the parent's one that is used by his/her children, why can't the parent inspect the goddamn device in a standard way? WHY USE THAT APP that simplifies that inspection?
What about home computers that are used by multiple users? What about the game consoles and other stuffs? Laziness is kind of fine but I think that it should be the proper time that YOU CHECK EVERYTHING for children's usage to see if anything is CHANGED. How about you monitor the goddamn home like it's a freaking extraordinary home surveillance camera you're using while you're at work? Do you really want to watch them non-stop while you're away?
BETTER STILL, if that mobile device is yours whether you're a parent or whatever, that mobile device is 100% personal and in fact, you should stick to checking it for any undesirable changes done by the children in a traditional way.
You know, there's Parental Control feature that can be handy for whatever device you have for family use but if your entire family is at an adult age, that feature may be kind of pointless because most of home devices belong to one specific owner. In fact, there can be a home surveillance camera which may look kind of simple to see what the children are doing whether they are guests or maybe the family members of yours and especialy that that camera is cloud connected. That may be something to install in a living room but not the bedroom as some of the rooms may need to be used as changing room as well. That should also be something to keep track of, not that bullshit mobile app.
What about home computers that are used by multiple users? What about the game consoles and other stuffs? Laziness is kind of fine but I think that it should be the proper time that YOU CHECK EVERYTHING for children's usage to see if anything is CHANGED. How about you monitor the goddamn home like it's a freaking extraordinary home surveillance camera you're using while you're at work? Do you really want to watch them non-stop while you're away?
BETTER STILL, if that mobile device is yours whether you're a parent or whatever, that mobile device is 100% personal and in fact, you should stick to checking it for any undesirable changes done by the children in a traditional way.
You know, there's Parental Control feature that can be handy for whatever device you have for family use but if your entire family is at an adult age, that feature may be kind of pointless because most of home devices belong to one specific owner. In fact, there can be a home surveillance camera which may look kind of simple to see what the children are doing whether they are guests or maybe the family members of yours and especialy that that camera is cloud connected. That may be something to install in a living room but not the bedroom as some of the rooms may need to be used as changing room as well. That should also be something to keep track of, not that bullshit mobile app.
Samsung Smart TV - Privacy violation and ads in third-party apps and videos
The truth for Samsung is that they are taking privacy very seriously for customers when it comes to Smart TVs but what about the Android services and apps they have made? The recent concern for the customers was that the privacy was compromised when watching something on Samsung Smart TV which wasn't the first time things happened like that. The previous time was that LG Smart TVs did the same privacy violation stuffs and that LG was aware of the issue. It's the same for Samsung in which there will be a patch that will fix the privacy violation issues as well as the annoyance of the ad-appearances in every third-party apps and videos.
So, did they screw up or what before they got aware of these issues? And even then, there was another previous news indicating that regardless of the brands, the Smart TVs are eyeing on you and your actions and I don't know if this issue is completely fixed for LG and Samsung Smart TVs. The more sensitive ones are probably the Android-based Smart TVs and Set Top Boxes as we still can know that there are some remaining security flaws out there.
So, did they screw up or what before they got aware of these issues? And even then, there was another previous news indicating that regardless of the brands, the Smart TVs are eyeing on you and your actions and I don't know if this issue is completely fixed for LG and Samsung Smart TVs. The more sensitive ones are probably the Android-based Smart TVs and Set Top Boxes as we still can know that there are some remaining security flaws out there.
Monday, February 2, 2015
US tech giants demanded for source code by China
It may be good that people including us know what the Great Firewall of China is in general which may affect the way people in China use technology and especially for the fact that certain US-made online services like Facebook, Twitter, etc. are censored again in China in favor of the Chinese equivalents like Baidu, Weibo, Sina and so on. However, despite on how great the national firewall is, there are still technical flaws in terms of cybersecurity as if this kind of cyber-war is still going on like two nations spying on each other in addition to spying on their people. Either way, it's a bad thing and that's not the proper way to detect bad guys like that although there are already groups of baddies we know of in general.
What will piss the US tech giants off is that they were told to surrender the source codes like what happened to them the last time. This is kind of wrong and bullshit although serious piracy is a serious problem in China and especially for the huge amount of unoriginal products made there that are plagued with bugs and inferior-ass features. Sure, people around the globe are already worried about their privacy being compromised by the spying agencies and various companies we know of that better alternatives may be the reasons to keep themselves safe.
What will piss the US tech giants off is that they were told to surrender the source codes like what happened to them the last time. This is kind of wrong and bullshit although serious piracy is a serious problem in China and especially for the huge amount of unoriginal products made there that are plagued with bugs and inferior-ass features. Sure, people around the globe are already worried about their privacy being compromised by the spying agencies and various companies we know of that better alternatives may be the reasons to keep themselves safe.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)