News Hacking Update : Beware - Worldwide Ransomware Attack May Be Far From Over

The massive ransomware attack that began last week and hit computers around the world should send a "wake-up call" to governments that have kept vulnerabilities secret to exploit them, Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said yesterday in a blog post.

The WannaCry or WannaCrypt ransomware attack deployed a Windows exploit that the National Security Agency had used for its own purposes until it was leaked in April by the hacking group Shadow Brokers. By that time, Microsoft had discovered the bug on its own and issued a security update, but many users with older versions of Windows no longer receive such updates.

As a result, numerous organizations such as the U.K.'s National Health Service have found themselves unable to access vital data because their files were encrypted by the cyberattack, which demanded ransom payments in the Bitcoin digital currency to unlock information.

More than 200,000 victims in at least 150 countries have been hit so far by the ransomware, which has netted the party responsible at least $49,000 in Bitcoin payments, according to recent news reports. Some of the victims have reportedly regained access to their files after paying, although security experts advise against complying with ransom demands.

'Consider the Damage'

Calling for a "Digital Geneva Convention," Microsoft's Smith said the widespread damage caused by the ransomware shows that governments need to treat cyber weapons the same way they treat conventional weapons.

"The governments of the world should treat this attack as a wake-up call," Smith said. "They need to take a different approach and adhere in cyberspace to the same rules applied to weapons in the physical world. We need governments to consider the damage to civilians that comes from hoarding these vulnerabilities and the use of these exploits."

Former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden echoed that criticism on Twitter. ".@NSAGov's choices risked permitting low-skill criminals launch government-scale attacks, and then it happened," Snowden tweeted on Saturday. "There's no waving that away."

"The massive malware attack that hit multiple countries has caused chaos and has shut down vital institutions such as hospitals," U.S. Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) said Friday in a statement. "It is deeply disturbing the National Security Agency likely wrote the original malware."

Lieu, who noted on his Web site that he is "one of only four computer science majors serving in Congress," supports changing the vulnerabilities equities process (VEP) to ensure greater transparency in how the federal government notifies software companies about bugs it identifies. The VEP was established to determine whether the government should withhold or disclose information about computer software security vulnerabilities.

Cybersecurity 'A Shared Responsibility'

A U.K.-based security researcher who goes by the name MalwareTech put a stop to the spread of WannaCry on Friday by registering a domain name he discovered in the ransomware's code. Activating the domain worked as a kill switch for the malware.

As MalwareTech noted in a blog post afterward, the ransomware was written to connect to an unregistered domain and "if the connection is not successful it ransoms the system, if it is successful the malware exits."

Because it's possible for the perpetrators to alter the code to use a different domain, MalwareTech and others warned the ransomware could continue spreading. However, as of this morning, there haven't been any signs of widespread renewed activity.

Europol's European Cybercrime Centre said that anyone hit by ransomware should use the unlocking tools provided at NoMoreRansom.org, a free resource developed by Europol in partnership with the Dutch police and other industry partners.

Microsoft, which on Friday took the unusual step of issuing a custom security update for users whose systems no longer receive regular support, has urged users with older versions of Windows to patch the vulnerability as soon as possible.

"[T]his attack demonstrates the degree to which cybersecurity has become a shared responsibility between tech companies and customers," Smith said in his blog post. "The fact that so many computers remained vulnerable two months after the release of a patch illustrates this aspect. As cybercriminals become more sophisticated, there is simply no way for customers to protect themselves against threats unless they update their systems."

Posted by Unknown Tuesday, May 16, 2017

News Google I/O Update : Google I/O 2017 Is Coming: What To Expect From The Future Of Android And Chrome

Google's annual I/O developer conference kicks off Wednesday, May 17 in California, and continues through the end of the week. We'll be on the ground at the show covering all the breaking news, but before then we're taking a closer look at what we can expect from this year's conference. more

Big products like Android and Chrome will likely get a bulk of the attention, and there will surely be at least a parting note about newer endeavours like virtual reality. So what are we most likely to see at the event? Here's a solid bet.

New details about Android O

It wouldn't be a proper Google I/O conference without an update on one of the company's most popular products, Android. The operating system is due for version 8.0 this year, and Google has already given us a peek of it with the developer preview that launched in March. We know the update will improve battery life on older devices; add picture-in-picture to Android TV products; and let users snooze notifications for 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 1 hour. We're hoping to learn even more about the update at the show.

Then there's the name. For now, the operating system has been unofficially dubbed Android O, following the company's alphabetical naming scheme. But Google has a history of paring the releases with a tasty dessert to make the name a little catchier. So what will the actual name be? Android Oreo? Mmm, Oreos...

A Google Home and Wi-Fi Router in One

Google debuted its artificially intelligent speaker at Google I/O last year, and rumours indicate that we could be seeing an updated version this year. As we said in our official review, Google Home was better at understanding voice requests than the Amazon Echo, but fell short of our expectations because it couldn't do enough.

We suspect that Google will be adding considerably more skills to the speaker this year, including the ability to make phone calls, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. Another rumour we've seen floating around is that Google could debut a new version of the smart speaker that doubles as a mesh Wi-Fi router, according to a CNBC report. The device is rumoured to work exactly like Google Wifi from last year's conference, only this time it would double as a smart speaker.

Chrome gets a major update

A couple of years ago, Chrome was just a tiny blip in the Google universe. Now, it's one of the company's most popular products, and that is in some part due to the increasing popularity of Google Chromebooks.

This year's conference will most likely feature some news about Chrome OS and its ability to run an increasing number of Android apps, at least based on speculation. The expectation for a couple of years now has been that Google will combine Android and Chrome into one operating system unofficially referred to as "Andromeda". One of the key pieces to this is getting more Android apps to work on Chrome.

Nothing about the Pixel 2

Google launched the very first Pixel phone back in October, so it's unlikely that we'll see a new version at Google I/O this year. Google senior vice president of hardware Rick Osterloh has even said in an interview with Android Pit that there will be a second version of the search giant's phone later this year.

The phone "will stay premium" according to Osterloh's interview with Android Pit, and that lines up with other rumours about the device. The most exciting news is Google's recent investment in LG Display, which many believe is an indication the Pixel 2 will have a curved OLED screen. With all of this said, we probably won't learn anything else at the conference.

Google Assistant gets much smarter

Google launched a competitor to Apple's Siri last year called Assistant which we thought was a little too dull to be a truly useful digital assistant at the time. That should change quickly because in April, Google launched a developer preview of Google Assistant SDK, which lets developers build new skills for the platform.

Updates on virtual reality

Google launched its new Daydream VR headset one year ago at Google I/O, so it's unlikely that we'll see any new hardware. Still, it's clear that Google is deeply interested in virtual reality. Since Google Cardboard debuted at the 2014 conference, it's become somewhat customary for Google to update us on where it thinks the future of virtual reality is going.

The company will also likely talk about less exciting products like Hangouts, which recently became an enterprise product. There could also be updates for more consumer-focused Duo and Allo messaging apps, especially since Google just announced it can make custom emojis based on your selfies.

Then there are projects we most certainly won't hear anything exciting about. For example, Android Wear 2 launched at last year's event and is still working its way onto older devices, so we don't expect to hear much news on that front. Also the Chromecast Ultra launched in October, so it's unlikely we'll get any new streaming devices.

We'll be on the ground at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Google's hometown of Mountain View, California on May 17 (May 18 in Australia).

Posted by Unknown Tuesday, May 16, 2017

News OnePlus New Handset Update : OnePlus 5 Image Leak Tips Dual Rear Camera Setup, 8GB RAM, 4000mAh Battery

OnePlus 5 is scheduled to launch this Summer but leaks regarding the smartphone have been popping up online with increasing frequency for quite some time now. Now, fresh renders of the phone have surfaced the Internet and suggest that the dual camera setup at the back might feature a different design than suggested earlier.

As per the leaked renders, posted on Chinese microblogging website Weibo (first spotted by TheAndroidSoul), the phone does seem to sport a vertical dual camera setup as suggested earlier but the design appears to be slightly more refined than earlier leaks. The design on the smartphone, from the back side, seems to be somewhat similar to its predecessor OnePlus 3T but as we still have no leaks about what the front looks like.

Interestingly, the new leak also reaffirms some of the specifications that were earlier suggested for the smartphone. This includes presence of Snapdragon 835 SoC, an impressive 8GB of RAM (quite a few reports continue to point to 6GB RAM), and a humongous 4000mAh battery.

Recently, the smartphone's benchmark performance made its way to the Internet and if the leaked GeekBench scores are to be believed, the upcoming flagship from OnePlus outperforms two other smartphones that also feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC. In terms of multi-core performance, OnePlus 5 was able to outperform Samsung's Galaxy S8 and Sony's Xperia XZ Premium.

Posted by Unknown Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Latest Gaming News Update : 13 Best PC Gaming Headsets 2016

Updated: We've added a triple whammy of gaming headsets! Check out the Sennheiser PC373D in at #2, Turtle Beach 350 Stealth VR in at #4 and Sennheiser GSP 350 in at #8. If you're looking for a more affordable surround sound option, Logitech's G430, in at number #14, might be just what you're looking for.

No PC gamer worth their kill/death ratio would skimp on a decent headset. Arguably more important than a mechanical gaming keyboard or mouse, a worthy pair of cans make the difference between guessing where enemies are and hunting them down like a sonically-enhanced ninja.

Pick the right pair and you'll hear the sound of bullets envelop your ears while explosions rock your eardrums, and dialogue in games takes on a new level of clarity.

Whether you need a USB or 3.5mm headset, a surround sound or stereo pair, or simply one to communicate with friends online, we've picked out the very best PC gaming headsets for your needs.

Sometimes you're prepared to pay a premium for a PC gaming accessory that does the lot, and in the headset category that's the Siberia 840. Following on from the already impressive Siberia 800 (and the H Wireless before that from 2014), the upgraded Sibera 840 now works with Bluetooth and is lag-free within games. It also supports SteelSeries Engine 3 - a gorgeous and user-friendly app that lets you manage and tweak every element of the Siberia 840 - from profiles to equalizer settings and what to show on the OLED display on the side of the accompanying base unit.

All of that is, of course, secondary to the Siberia 840's sound qualities which are nothing less than sublime. Activating Dolby 7.1 surround sound is like dropping you into the game. Enemies' footsteps can be picked out across a room including behind you, leading to some heart-in-mouth moments in shooters like DOOM.

Expectations around any Sennheiser gaming headset are already high considering the brand's expertise in audio equipment. The company's flagship PC 373D doesn't disappoint thanks to its high-end Dolby 7.1 Surround sound that lets you pick out enemies from afar. We went for hours with minimal discomfort wearing the headset, which keeps your head cool using breathable plush velvet ear pads that offer surprisingly decent sound isolation. Our in-game team-mates had no trouble hearing us speak thanks to the noise cancelling microphone, which is decked in a red material that matches the inside of the ear-cup. The PC 373D's design is refreshingly demure, decked in matte black material and free of the ostentatious "gamer" features often found on other headsets. While it may not feature wireless connectivity, a combination of supreme comfort, flawless sound quality and a stellar retractable microphone add up to make one of the best premium gaming headsets on the market.

If you're more interested in the sounds coming out of your gaming headset, rather than glowing LEDs, macro keys and other nonessential extras, then the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless is the headset for you. These stylish cans are a treat for the ears, emitting booming sound that's bass-heavy with fantastically crisp treble at the other end. Whether you're being rocked by explosions in Battlefield or can hear the roar of the crowd in Fifa, they bring games to life and are equally suited to listening to music; You'll be able to pick out parts of your favorite tracks that you never previously thought existed.

 

Stepping out of the soundscape for a moment, the V-MODA Crossfade Wireless feature comfortable memory foam ear cups that don't irritate the ears even after hours of use, and you'll get around 12 hours out of its battery life when connected via Bluetooth. This headset's rugged build quality, funky travel case and optional USB connectivity add up to make it one of the best headsets on the market.

 

With VR headsets like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift making their way into PC gamers' rooms, specially-designed audio headsets for virtual reality were bound to follow. The Turtle Beach 350 Stealth VR is one of the most flexible out there, featuring a generous amount of adjustability thanks to its sturdy headband which can fit over the top of VR headsets worn on even the biggest heads. Sure enough, the 350 Stealth is designed for practicality rather than sharp looks. Its black-and-white color scheme isn't the most exciting design out there, but an abundance of features makes up for that. There's mic monitoring, which allows you to hear your own voice inside the headset, bass boost for booming lows, a detachable noise-cancelling headphone mic, and a groove in the ear cups that lets you tuck the audio cable out of the way. While it's perfectly suitable for owners of PC-based VR headsets, it's quite literally a great fit for PSVR gamers too.

 

Unlike some of its competitors, SteelSeries stresses subtlety in its headset designs. The Arctis continues this trend by flaunting sound quality and comfort over gaudy appearances. 

When you pop an Arctis on your head, the goal is for your audience to see a professional environment rather than, say, a Dorito stain on your chair. The customizable lighting, however, gives you plenty of wiggle room, though, if the monochrome look isn't your thing.

The SteelSeries Arctis comes in three distinct flavors: Arctis 3, Arctis 5 and Arctis 7, each one more expensive than the last. The Arctis 3 is pretty analog protocol while the 5 ships with an external digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and the Arctis 7 is wireless with 2.4GHz connectivity. Each model comes with digital audio control built-in, with an app available for those looking to take this one step further.

The only drawback, then, is a less-than-attractive suspension headband.

 

Quick and easy to setup using an inconspicuous wireless USB receiver that stores inside the headset for transportation, the Razer ManO'War is a user-friendly unit that's primed for surround-sound gaming. Sure, it's a little chunkier than most other headsets, but two soft leatherette ear cups make it comfortable to wear for extended periods. They're easy on the eye too thanks to customizable Chroma RGB backlighting configured through Razer's Synapse software.

Though delivered through software, the ManO'War's 7.1 channel virtual surround sound does a fine job of ramping up immersion in-game. Doom's Imps are no longer somewhere around you – they're breathing down your neck. The ManO'War's range can reach up to 14 meters using the supplied USB extender, and its battery life is capable of stretching to just as many hours.

Arguably one of the most affordable gaming headsets available today, the HyperX Cloud Stinger is designed to give players eSports quality audio at a bargain. While there isn't much to write home about with the red on black plastic design of the headset, the stereo sound is superb. It also feels comfortable to wear for extended play sessions thanks to a set of memory foam earcups. Although this isn't the ultimate gaming headset, it's a great starting point if you're trying to game on a budget.

 

More affordable than Sennheiser's flagship PC 373D while still packing an audible punch, the GSP 350 carries over that headset's stellar 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound and closed ear-cup design. It's equally a suitable for marathon  gaming sessions thanks to its huge comfortable ear cups, with the right cup once again featuring a volume dial. The headset uses a closed-back design with an adjustable split headband, rather than the PC 373D's more solid and thicker continuous band. The GSP 350's noise-cancelling microphone is equally as good and once again mutes when lifted up while blocking out breathing sounds, much to the relief of your in-game team-mates. If you like the look of Sennheiser's flagship gaming headset but can't quite stomach its price tag, this one is a little lighter and slightly less solid, but still superior to many of its rivals.

 

Logitech's flagship gaming headset packs in plenty of bells and whistles, the most useful being its cup-mounted G-keys that provide handy shortcuts to performing actions in-game. In terms of design, The G933 is certainly one of the snazziest headsets around and oozes gamer appeal, and if you're fed up of round ear-cups on headsets then you'll appreciate its large and comfortable ear-shaped ones. Logitech has ran a multi-colored lighting strip all the way down the cup, rather than placing a flashing logo on the side, which in our eyes is more appealing than the small glowing areas on Corsair's and Razer's flagship headsets. On the negative side, this cuts down battery life to around 10 hours. Turning off the flashing goodness will help you eke out a few more,

 

If you're looking for a pair of 7.1 surround sound cans with RGB lighting that won't break the bank, Corsair's latest entry should be high up your list. Its excellent 40-meter wireless range means you can go for a wander without your team-mates' chatter cutting off, and the Void is capable of emitting fist-pumping bass that's powerful without muddying the mix. You can configure its lighting colors using Corsair's intuitive software and even make it dance in tandem with the company's K65 or K70 mechanical keyboards. Unfortunately, there isn't any way for adjusting the fold-down mic so its clarity often suffers, but it doesn't put us off what is a solid and affordable option for surround sound gaming.

 

Here we have a no-frills headset that offers build quality that comes close to pairs that cost almost twice the price. You may have already come across Kingston's HyperX Cloud Revolver headset. Used by a number of eSports teams, its large interchangeable over-the-ear memory foam cups help block out unwanted noise, and the retractable mic allows clear and distortion-free communication with team-mates.

Despite its affordable nature, the Cloud Revolver is ready to rock. Its 53mm drivers have been tweaked to blast out punchy mid-range tones and pounding bass that's best described as in-your-face. Subtle they ain't. There's no surround sound support or RGB lighting to be found here, and you'll have to reach for the Cloud Revolver's braided cable to get to its in-line volume and mic controls. If those factors don't bother you then this value-focused headset comes highly recommended.

 

Looking like something straight out of Quake 2, Asus' Strix 7.1 wireless gaming headset immediately caught our eye thanks to its large black-and-orange ear cups that are decked in a circular pattern resembling an owl's eye. Those oversized ear cups makes them comfortable to wear for extended periods but there's no RGB lighting on them, which on the plus side provides up to 10 hours of continuous gameplay using 2.4GHz wireless to connect.

Asus claims that it provides lower latency than Bluetooth, and while it's difficult to verify that, bullets whizzing past our head in-game synched up pretty well thanks to virtual 7.1 surround sound being blasted into our ears from all directions. Asus' Sonic Studio software provides an easy method of tweaking sound settings, and we found cranking up the (already sufficient) bass in the app's equalizer particularly satisfying for both gaming and listening to music.

 

Aimed at PC and console gamers, using Turtle Beach's Elite Pro feels like sitting down at a command station and gearing up for war. This headset oozes gaming appeal, right down to the subtle orange ruler-type markings on the headset's automatically adjusting headband. It's a funky piece of kit that's reassuringly chunky while remaining supremely comfortable at all times thanks to its gel-infused Aerofit ear cushions. Most importantly, they sound great in the heat of battle. That's down to Turtle Beach's 50mm NanoClear drivers, which do an especially great job of bringing you into the heart of the action in shooters.

If you're particularly hardcore, you might want to shell out for the Tactical Audio Controller. At $199 (around £149) it's not cheap, but it grants an intuitive and fun of adjusting settings such as the game/chat mix, your own microphone level, in-game sounds, and there's also a mute button to cut game sound out completely. It also lets you chop and change between four surround modes (Game, Music, Movie and off), which is a lot easier than fiddling around with controls on the headset itself.

Featuring an eye-catching black-and-blue color scheme, Logitech's G430 is one of the more affordable surround-sound headsets out there. Featuring both Dolby 7.1 and FTS HeadphoneX surround sound, they allow you to detect enemies before they clock you.

They can be worn for hours thanks to their sports-like cloth on the ear cups, which pivot and rotate flat to a 90-degree angle for easier transportation. There's also a noise-cancelling mic that helps to cut out background noise, and you can easily mute yourself using audio controls located on the 2.3-meter cable.

Posted by Unknown Monday, November 21, 2016

Latest Car News Update : Audi R8 V10 Spyder: A Supercar That Anyone Can Drive

 

Audi is a car brand that's seen quite a transformation over the last decade or so, shedding its slightly stuffy image of a car maker that builds solid saloons and estates in favor of a more desirable one thanks to a raft of new model lines.

The original TT played a big part in this, while the likes of the first RS6 estates, with their dirty great V8s shoehorned under the bonnet, were pretty much the quickest way to transport a family of four and their dog over long distances.

Then there's Audi's success at Le Mans, winning five times with the LMP R8 before ripping up the rule book and entering the diesel-powered R10 TDi, which won the endurance event in its first year in 2006.

That same year Audi took the wraps off its most ambitious road car yet, borrowing the name from its race-winning cousin to boot: the R8 supercar.

Cementing Audi's status as a premium car brand, the R8 represented the pinnacle of the company's engineering prowess, and now, 10 years on we have the second-generation model - it'll be coming to the US in Spring 2017.

But with the supercar landscape changing dramatically as hybrid technology is embraced, is there still a place for the likes of the £129,990 R8 V10 Spyder?

Highlights:

The star of the Spyder show is its hand-built, naturally aspirated 533bhp 5.2-litre V10 engine. This stunning piece of engineering shuns turbos and hybrid technology to propel you from a standing start to 62mph in 3.6 secs, and will push onwards to a top speed of 198mph.

Audi has employed the classic supercar trick of positioning the engine in the middle; as a result weight distribution has a slight bias towards the rear axle, which when coupled up with the R8's Quattro all-wheel drive technology, should produce stunning traction and grip.

While those investing in a V10 supercar might not have fuel economy at the forefront of their minds, the engine features Audi's advanced Cylinder-on-demand technology. This sees the engine management system shut down five of the 10 cylinders when you're trundling along in traffic (or posing along the streets of Knightsbridge or Monaco) to improve fuel consumption, but within milliseconds of you hitting the throttle, all 10 cylinders will burst into life to give you the full force of that glorious engine.

While supercars of old had heavy manual gearboxes with just as heavy clutch pedals, not so the Spyder. With its seven-speed dual-clutch S tronic gearbox it's simply a case of pressing the throttle pedal and the gearbox will do the rest, while for those times when you want to move things along a bit faster you can pull up the right paddle behind the steering wheel to shift up through the gears.

Styling:

Compared to the original R8 Spyder, the design has been sharpened up quite a bit, and it's all the better for it. While it may not have quite the same in-your-face styling as some of its rivals, the Spyder's understated and purposeful looks - enhanced by the addition of distinctive sideblades, which shove air into the engine, and make the car's midriff a little wider - give it a certain presence and drama, whether it's parked up or going full pelt.

Going topless:

For purists, a cabriolet is always going to be seen as a compromise over a coupe equivalent - rigidity and stiffness are compromised by lopping the roof off, while the roof mechanism and extra engineering required to add the torsional strength lost by the roof all adds weight. But that's to ignore the sheer thrill of having the roof down, and the howl of the V10 ricocheting off the surrounding buildings and straight back into the cockpit.

Audi's done a stunning job here. The mix of carbon and aluminium makes the Spyder some 55% more rigid than the previous model, as well as being some 25kg lighter. Compared to its hardtop counterpart it's only 125kg heavier, which may seem a lot, but it's impressive given the level of engineering required.

The folding roof mechanism is a masterwork of mechanical dance, taking just 20 seconds from a single press of a button to reveal the sky, while if the urge to drop the roof is so great that you don't want to stop (or, less thrilling, if it starts to rain), this can be done on the move at speeds of up to 31mph.

Cockpit:

While it might not offer quite the same sense of occasion as slipping behind the wheel of a Lamborghini or Ferrari, the R8 Spyder's cockpit is still a very nice place to be, with lots of leather and carbon to deliver a very premium, high-end feel.

The R8 Spyder uses what's been termed Audi Virtual Cockpit, shunning traditional dials for a customisable digital display. Rather than having a multimedia interface (MMI) in the central console and the instrument panel up front, the two are combined into one high-resolution display, with the choice of three views: classic, infotainment and sport.

Google Maps is built in for navigation, while it's easy to partner your smartphone with the Spyder - provided you tick the Audi Smartphone Interface optional extra that is. This enables you to share mobile phone content via USB and display it on the MMI, either via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Another optional extra is the Audi Phone Box, which allows wireless charging simply by placing your phone on the storage compartment, as well as creating a wireless connection via the car's aerial.

Sound system:

If you ever tire of the stunning soundtrack of the R8's V10 engine, then you're in for a treat with the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System. It's an optional extra that will set you back another £1,750, but you get yourself a 16-channel amplifier with 13 speakers dotted round the cockpit (including two in each seat headrest and a subwoofer in the passenger footwell) that will kick out 550 watts. 

The sound quality is stunning - whether you've got the roof up or down, the clarity and depth are mightily impressive.

How it drives:

You'd think a £130,000+ V10 supercar would be intimidating to drive, but that's not the case at all. With the roof up, the gearbox set to full auto and the Drive mode dialled into Normal or Comfort, you've got an incredibly comfortable and cocooned cruiser that will happily demolish those motorway miles, or be quite at home just pootling around town. Find a twisty A-road, drop the roof and change the engine mode to Individual or Dynamic, and the Spyder's Le Mans-winning DNA shines through.

Put your foot down and the Spyder surges forward, with the engine note changing from a deep rumble to a loud howl as it nears its redline. Flick the right paddle behind the steering wheel and the change is seamless, while the snarling crackle that greets this change of gear is incredibly addictive.

This level of performance should be terrifying, but the grip is staggering - the all-wheel Quattro technology that saw Audi dominate the World Rally Championships in the 1980s inspires so much confidence as you travel through a bend that you'd have to do something pretty dramatic to unsettle it.

With all this power you'd naturally want to be able to stop pretty sharpish, and the optional-extra ceramic brakes that our car had deliver incredible stopping power. They can be a bit snappy to start with, but once you've generated a decent amount of heat their stopping power is immense.

Verdict:

The Audi R8 V10 Spyder is an engineering masterpiece. Unlike some supercars that can be hard to live with on a daily basis, the Spyder is a true supercar that you can enjoy every day. It's comfy and quiet when you need it to be, but a flick of the switch will see it transform into a true howling and cackling supercar that will punch you in the back as you climb through the gears at a staggering rate.

The coupe may be lighter and just a bit quicker, but you'll soon forget about that with the roof down and the sound of that glorious V10, just a couple of feet away, screaming through the rev range. The R8 V10 Spyder really does take your breath away.

Posted by Unknown Sunday, November 20, 2016

Latest Car News Update : See The World As A Self-Driving Car Does In Tesla's Latest Video

If you're not already wowed by some of the work going on in self-driving car technology then Tesla's latest video might take your appreciation levels up a notch - it shows a split screen view of what one of these autonomous vehicles 'sees' during a journey.

That includes lane lines, the flow of the road, road signs and streetlights, as well as the in-path objects that need to be avoided. It's an enlightening look at just how complex these systems are and how far they've come in recent years.

The latest clip was shared by Tesla chief Elon Musk on Twitter and follows another similar clip released last month - obviously the company is keen to get as many people comfortable with the idea of self-driving vehicles as it can.

Tesla has already said that from this point on all of its cars will be fitted with the hardware and technology required to make them fully autonomous, but it can't be switched on until all the relevant safety checks have been carried out and it becomes officially legal to take an autonomous car out on the road.

The testing that the likes of Tesla and Google are doing at the moment is covered by special licences and it's going to be a few years yet before governments are going to give the legal all-clear.

These cars also need to be tested out in more extreme conditions and on more demanding routes around the world - tootling through the wide streets of California in the sunshine is all well and good, but until self-driving motors can also get across the Pennines in the snow they'll remain in beta testing.

Posted by Unknown Sunday, November 20, 2016

News Technology Threat Update : Dangerous Backdoor Found In About 3 Million Android Smartphones, BLU Affected The Most

Just a few days ago, a backdoor was discovered in various Android smartphones that was being used to send call logs and text message archives to servers hosted in China. Now, an even more dangerous rootkit has been discovered, with devices from US-based smartphone brand, BLU, being found to be among the most affected.

Security research firm, BitSight has released an advisory about a rootkit found in the Ragentek firmware used in certain Android smartphones, mostly manufactured by Chinese OEMs. The firm carried out extensive tests using a BLU Studio G smartphone, which involved installing a tracking file using the exploit. Since the firmware allows installation of apps with elevated privileges, a compromised device can be used to do a lot of harm.

By monitoring the data transmitted to a couple of domains, BitSight identified nearly 55 smartphone models, which feature the backdoor. Many more devices with unknown identifiers were also discovered. US-based brand, BLU, is the worst-affected with about 26 percent of its smartphones found with this backdoor. The other brands include Chinese vendors such as Doogee, Leagoo and Infinix. BLU is said to be addressing the issue, but no details of the process are available yet.

According to BitSight, requests to the remote servers were largely made from phones used in institutions such as banks, hospitals and governments, where these devices probably were deployed in bulk due to low prices. Network admins or enthusiasts can monitor their traffic for requests to the following URLs to find out whether they have any affected devices in their network:

• oyag[.]lhzbdvm[.]com
• oyag[.]prugskh[.]net
• oyag[.]prugskh[.]com

The recent discoveries about backdoors in smartphones coming out of China will surely raise concerns in the global market, where many of these devices are being sold with local branding as in the case of BLU.

Posted by Unknown Sunday, November 20, 2016

News Gaming Update : A Hidden Trailer In Watch Dogs 2 Proves To Be More Interesting Than Ubisoft’s Entire Catalogue

Watch Dogs 2, the game where you play Marcus Holloway, hacker extraordinaire, has revealed an a mission where you steal a game trailer for an in-game version of Ubisoft.

Ubisoft is the company that is developing Watch Dogs 2 in the first place, but that’s not the interesting part. The trailer, reproduced below, shows off a game that actually looks rather nice. It’s so good, in fact, that many are hoping that this is a teaser for a game that Ubisoft is already working on.

As you can see, the trailer features a game with a vivid colour palette and what looks like a reasonably fleshed out space game. If I’m honest, I’d go so far as to say that the trailer actually looks far more interesting to me than the bulk of Ubisoft’s games.

If Ubisoft is indeed developing the game, I’m in two minds about the outcome. On one hand, I’m excited, on the other hand, I’m terrified; this is Ubisoft we’re talking about after all. If nothing else, the company has a reputation for dumbing down games and it has no pedigree when it comes to multiplayer gaming.

Watch Dogs 2 will be available tonight for PS4 and Xbox One and on PC by 28 November. The PC version is obviously the cheaper one, but given how badly Ubisoft ported the last game, the console version may be the one you’d want to play.

Posted by Unknown Saturday, November 19, 2016

New Technology Update : A Malicious WhatsApp Video Feature Invite Is Spreading Across The Messaging App

WhatsApp recently announced the launch of its video calling feature which has started to roll out for Android, iOS and Windows Phone users. While a number of messaging apps offer this feature, WhatsApp has been a little late, it does however have the biggest user base across the globe.

While the news is welcoming, many users are receiving as well as sharing an unverified link on WhatsApp which is said to be an invite to activate the video calling feature. An invite system was introduced last year on Whatsapp when the voice calling feature was rolled out. It seems that certain scammers are trying to take advantage of this as they have spread a similar looking fake link for the new video calling feature.

WhatsApp has not officially released any links this time to enable any feature, so in case you get any such links, do not visit any of the links. Visiting these links could be harmful and could expose your personal data.

According to a report, the link takes you to what seems to look like an authentic page where it asks you to send the malicious link to other people on your list. It also mentions the existence of group WhatsApp video calling, a feature that is still not officially available on the platform.

If you do happen to get an invite to activate the video calling feature on WhatsApp, do ignore it. To get the feature you just need to update the app to the latest version. In case you don’t see an update, wait for a couple of days as it is rolling out in phases.

Posted by Unknown Saturday, November 19, 2016

New Tech Update : Facebook Fake News Row: Mark Zuckerberg Is A Politician Now

I’ve long suspected that Mark Zuckerberg, who often refers to himself as the “leader” of Facebook, has dreams of high office.

This week, a taster of what that might be like has been knocking at his door in the wake of the US election result.

While Donald Trump’s visit to the White House was an apparently sobering experience about the level of responsibility he’d soon inherit, Zuckerberg has had a brutal political awakening of his own.

Facebook’s “fake news” crisis has had the normally stoic 32-year-old visibly irritated, and that’s because for the first time he is being treated like a politician, rather than just a tech CEO.

With that comes distrust and anger, not to mention disloyalty in the Facebook ranks and what for him must be the growing realisation that it’s impossible to please everyone.

Whether Zuckerberg was right to say fake news had little impact is largely irrelevant. By dismissing it apparently without second thought as “crazy”, he attracted a global pitchfork of people demanding that he at the very least acknowledge the potential role his empire had in Donald Trump’s election win.

That interview, carried out by journalist David Kirkpatrick, also contained one other exchange which should give Zuckerberg some serious food for thought -  and may even represent the biggest threat the network and its leader is yet to face.
 
Checks and balances

Kirkpatrick first laid out the context.

Facebook, he said, was the most influential commercial enterprise ever created, with unparalleled power that is yet to be fully understood.

Zuckerberg himself is a multi-billionaire in charge of a network that has intricate personal data on 1.8 billion people and counting.

“What are the checks and balances that need to exist for this new kind of entity?” asked Kirkpatrick.

“Do you think about that? At the moment it seems like you are the check and balance.”

Zuckerberg’s answer didn’t come close to addressing the question. He said it was about “listening to what people want”, and continuing to give people “the power to share” and to make “the world more open and connected”.

But is he confident the checks and balances are in place to stop Facebook over-stepping the mark?

“I mean… yeah,” he said, peering out into the audience for support.

Even though I was watching via a live stream, I could tell the room took an awkward turn. Kirkpatrick moved on - but the issue won’t.
 
The accountability gap
The exchange had touched upon a problem that surely deserves more attention.

There’s an urgent accountability gap between what technology companies do and what the public is allowed to know.

This isn’t about giving up trade secrets. You can inspect KFC’s kitchen without knowing the Colonel’s secret recipe.

It’s about being able to examine the reach and influence of technology companies, where supremely powerful men, and a few women, are able to control without any genuine scrutiny other than what appears every three months on a company earnings sheet (and even that’s unnecessarily cryptic).

Revealing moments like the one Kirkpatrick summoned from the usually robotic Zuckerberg are few and far between. The depressing accepted reality in technology journalism is that if you give a company a hard time, they’ll shut you out.

And that’s because many major technology companies guard their work with barbed wire, and wrap their executives in cotton wool.

Interactions between big tech and the outside world are orchestrated and engineered to the nth degree. On those rare occasions, even the mildest scrutiny about anything other than the new product being flogged that day is swiftly shot down with tech’s unofficial motto.

“Sorry… but that’s not what today is about.”
 
Unprecedented power

So what, you might think. So what if technology companies want to keep their affairs to themselves -  it’s not a public service or anything.

You might also think that this is a technology journalist throwing his connected toys out of his smart pram -  and for the most part you’d be right, I’m not ashamed to say.

But what Facebook’s challenges over fake news reveal, I think, is that we’re in completely uncharted territory.

Never has any private company had such immediate power over the way we act, feel, think, date, buy, fight - whatever.

And it’s impossible, if you plan on living in the modern world, to avoid Facebook or Google.

Even if you never create a Facebook account, your browsing habits will be logged when you visit pages that contain the Facebook ‘like’ button. Google’s near-$500bn value is made up almost entirely from selling advertising, which is why they’re absolutely everywhere on the internet. It’s the scale that makes the money.

How the internal cogs of these sites work is a complete mystery. My colleague Rory Cellan-Jones’ recent radio documentary into Google summarised that its algorithm was so complex that no single person could possibly grasp how it worked.
 
At odds

This situation, this imbalance, will surely not be able to last much longer. While technology bosses, Zuckerberg in particular, talk about their “mission” to “connect the world”, we do know that under their watch unacceptable things do take place.

Thanks to whistleblowers and investigative journalists, for instance, we know that Google at one time scooped up private wi-fi data from homes as it carried out its Street View trips. We know that Facebook knowingly manipulated News Feeds in an attempt to alter users’ emotions. 

You can see how both of those examples could have seemed harmless -  or at least fascinating - to the engineers involved.

But what they demonstrate is that what may seem a bright idea for the tech sites may be directly at odds for what is good for the users themselves.

One person in agreement with this is Zuckerberg, in 2009 at least. That was when Facebook was at around 200m users, and he posted a video message (in a shirt and tie!) saying how he wanted users to have a bigger say in how the site is governed.

A special section -  FB Site Governance - was set up. Check on it today and you’ll see there have been no significant updates since 2012 - other than to tell people about privacy policy changes.

Soft power

Zuckerberg’s political ambitions, if he has them, are off to a very rocky start. The fake news row was a big test, and he handled it poorly -  dragging out the issue in the news agenda for well over a week.

Had he been thinking like a politician, as he now must, things could have gone differently. The new reality for Zuckerberg is that it’s no longer okay to be an awkward tech nerd. Instead he must deal with his users’ concerns with respect, and not call them “crazy”.

There’s a lot in it for him to get things right. Zuckerberg’s global ambitions will live or die on his ability to be an astute political operator. He already played a bad hand in India, where local businesses said he was harming their chances online.

If Facebook is to hit the potential of connecting the unconnected, Zuckerberg will need to think like a world leader and engage in soft power and openness in order to build, or restore, trust.

And he must stop using “increased engagement” as the key metric for Facebook’s success. What’s popular isn’t always good, and what’s good isn’t always popular.

Zuckerberg’s record on dealing with controversy has been pretty solid, and there’s of course no suggestion he has any bad intentions with Facebook.

But this week has demonstrated that it’s simply no longer enough for Zuckerberg to deny an issue and expect people to blindly take his word for it. Even if he is right, he’ll have to learn how to prove it.

Because the message the public appears to have given Zuckerberg, and perhaps all of Silicon Valley, is that when you’re unfathomably powerful, “no comment” is fast becoming not good enough.

Posted by Unknown Saturday, November 19, 2016

News Google Tech Update : Google Launches Allo In The Play Store; Here Is How To Get Started

Image Credit: Google Play Store

Google has finally launched the much anticipated messaging app by the company, Google Allo. It was previously reported that that messaging app would launch today. Allo is the part of communication platform made in conjunction with Google Duo. Duo was released some time back by the company, and it focused on video whereas Google Allo is focused on text communication along with sending media such as photos, audio messages, stickers and locations.

Google Allo main screen

You can start using Allo by going to Google Play Store and installing it on your Android device. The interface is pretty bare bones but quite functional for a messaging app. When you launch the app for the first time, the app asks you to verify your mobile number similar to how things work on Google Duo. The SMS verification servers seem to be in place for Allo verification. After the verification, the app asks you to set a profile picture and name.

Google Assistant

The app interface is reminiscent to how Google Hangout looks like (but without all the features in Hangouts). Nothing has changed since the leaked screenshots for Google Allo in alpha stage. On launching, you get the first (and only) surprise that Google Allo holds, that is “Google Assistant”, the bot by Google while will replace Google Now in the upcoming update, Android Nougat 7.1. It is a vital part of the experience provided by Google Assistant and a step away from how popular messaging apps work. Google Assistant is what Cortana from Microsoft and Siri from Apple are, but inside a chat window currently. The bot is labelled as ‘Preview Edition’ but in the limited tests that we ran, Assistant left us impressed coming from Google Now as the previous native offering in Android.

Sticker Store, Template replies

While diving into the chat experience, Allo does the basics of sending text, photos shot from the front or back camera, pictures from gallery, stickers and location. You can send 20 photos at a time in Allo from the ten photos limited on WhatsApp. Another small change is that in the notifications area, the app shows smart response as a quick reply to contacts who message you. Machine learning is working full time to suggest bubble shape cards in the chat as appropriate message responses to the conversations. Finally, you can search inside your conversations, as against the searchless realm that Google Hangouts are.

 Incognito Chats

There is nothing new when you dive in the Profile section or the General settings menu, and there are just small things like controlling the notifications, sounds, vibration and to download the media when you receive it. There is no status updates or message that you can set for people in your contact list to read. 

Google Allo turns into Snapchat

 

The reason we mentioned that the chatting experience is different from how it is in the conventional messaging is apps is that you can summon Google Assistant in your private conversations to ask questions, play games or device on dinner options or the movie options. This brings a whole different side to the concept of user privacy and the only remedy seen is the use of incognito chat with other users.

Group conversations

Incognito mode features auto-destruct messages just like Snapchat which expire after a fixed amount of time depending on the settings. Infact, you can turn Google Allo into an almost functioning Snapchat clone except Stories or ability to check who saw your stories.

The summon behaviour is consistent across individual as well as group chats where you can call in Google Assistant to ask questions and suggestions on places nearby. However, you can’t tag Google Assistant in incognito chats. Apart from this nothing much stands out in the latest messaging app by Google, Google Allo.

Posted by Unknown Wednesday, September 21, 2016