Saturday, 5 September 2015

Bundle Up For A Whole New World Of Internet Savings


Bundle
If you have been searching for a whole new way to receive your vital entertainment services from your local provider, there is an excellent new solution that may just be what the doctor ordered for you. There is a whole new breed of service providers currently operating on the international market place who have introduced an amazing new solution, known as service bundling. If you're in the mood to save major money on your monthly bills, this is an arrangement you need to know more about today.

What Is Bundling, And What Is It All About?

Bundling is an amazing new system that allows you to include all of your TV and Internet services on one convenient bill. This new arrangement of TV and Internet bundles allows you to pay for everything in a tidy and convenient fashion, free from the hassle of having to keep track of several bills from several different service providers. The formula is a simple but effective one: Several services, one service provider, one bill, one low price. It's an excellent recipe for success.

Best of all, you can receive all of your bundled services for one special low price. In many cases, you can pay for everything via a monthly automatic payment. It's easy to see why this excellent new arrangement is guaranteed to appeal to millions of people, and why it is quickly becoming the standard method of TV and Internet service delivery all across the world.

Who Needs Bundling, And Why Do They Need It Now?

You may well be asking yourself at this point, "Who needs bundling?" You may already have an arrangement with your present service provider that you're more than happy to continue on with. Fair enough, but you should be aware that the new system of bundling is presently spreading clear across the whole of the industry, leading to fantastic savings and a whole new level of customer loyalty.

As a result, more and more companies are adopting this arrangement. At the close of your present commitment, your own provider may well offer you an excellent bundling deal that you would be a fool to pass on. So, if you're ready to get up to speed with the 21st century's most convenient and effective method of saving money, bundling is the service solution that you should be requesting today.

Thursday, 3 September 2015

Facebook Tests a Human-Powered Digital Assistant M


Facebook_M
In the traditional times, we used to have a secretary for managing our everyday tasks efficiently. But the technological advancement is going through such a rapid pace that it is hard to keep things organized with an assistant. Some major tech firms like Apple, Microsoft and Amazon are eagerly working towards making life much easier with focus on developing advanced digital assistant.

These digital will possess the capability to make it extremely easier and smooth to complete everyday tasks without facing any undue stress or hassle.

Now the social media giant Facebook is looking at the prospect of bringing such digital assistant for its billions of users spread all across the world.

Facebook testing new digital assistant named M


Facebook had recently announced that it is testing a relatively new service for its Messenger app. This new service is named as M, which essentially happens to be a digital assistant which is aimed at helping users perform simple tasks such as making reservation or ordering products and other actives with ease and grace. Once the testing phase is completed then this new service will be incorporated within its Messenger chatting app. Face Messenger app is high popular messaging app, which is used by more than 700 million active users throughout the globe.

With the help of the digital assistant M users will be able to text as well dictate question to the M, which will respond according to the users input. It can be even to asked to purchase some items from the internet or to book reservations at popular dining places or it can even recommends places which can be explored by the users.

Facebook to get stiff competition from other Digital Assistants


Facebook is arriving in the digital assistant M service after warming the bench for a long time within which Apple, Microsoft and Google had brought their powerful digital assistant. Apple already offers embedded Siri a digital assistant which works by voice processing and assists users in performing various daily tasks. Similarly Microsoft offer Cortana digital assistants in a range of devices which makes life quite easier and simpler for the users.

Google rides on the Google Now and Amazon offer Echo which performs the similar kind of services with ease and simplicity. It will be hard for the users to switch to another digital assistant or even take use of it when they already have Digital Assistant running on their phone, tablet or laptop.

More start-ups riding on the wave of digital assistant


Some start-ups like Magic and Operator are also working developing digital assistants by taking a new human powered approach and integrating it within their apps. The human powered approach allows them to fulfill users request with the help of real customer service representatives. While Facebook approach in developing its digital assistant is hybrid of two major approaches i.e., use of algorithms and real customer representatives which helps M in delivering much better and intelligent results. As of now Facebook M is in beta phase and a small group of people is testing it.

Parallels Can Help You Put Windows on Your Apple Mac


Parallels
Loved Windows and wish if someone can bring it in your Mac laptop? Now there is a company, which is listening to your wishes, and it has brought brand new software, which will offer such exquisite features. Parallels had recently announced its new version of software, which can effectively bring the most loved features of the Windows 10 Os on the Mac devices. This software has been named Parallels 11 and it comes loaded with the capability of running full version of Windows OS on the Mac computers without the need of any rebooting.

Features of Parallel 11

The earlier versions of the Parallels had supported the Windows 10 but this one brings a whole range of new features. Parallel 11 signature feature is the Coherence mode wherein Mac users can easily run the elements of the Windows OS alongside the Apple’s OSX. This wasn’t possible in the earlier versions and this feature is aimed at providing the best of features of both the OS on a single platform in a redefined manner.

Apple’s Siri is only limited to its range of iPhone and iPad devices and it has yet to make its appearance on the Mac series of laptops. But Microsoft had already brought its Cortana digital assistant onto the Windows laptop from along with the Windows Phone platform. Parrallel 11 best feature is the bringing of Cortana on the Mac laptops. This voice controlled assistant can be brought alive wither by going through the Windows taskbar or by just saying “Hey Cortana” on the Mac.

Cortana woks amazingly on Mac

On putting Cortana under limited test in the Mac laptop, this feature happened to work amazingly well without any glitches. Users can easily call up the Cortana and conduct searches, set reminders, check out the weather and traffic conditions as well as hearing some jokes , all of it on their Mac. As usual, the response wasn’t completely perfect as it gives on the Windows laptops but it was extremely good for most of the normal tasks.

Parallels brings huge improvement in software with new version

Parallels latest version of its software is well defined and subtle with the aim of making the task of switching between the two major computer OS i.e. Windows and OSX a breeze. Parallel 11 allows the users to see both the Windows Action Center as well as the Apple’s Notification Center at same time without any hindrance. Users will be surprise to find how well both the Os are working in coherence by just looking in the Apple dock, which will be listing out all the open Windows programs and the Windows taskbar.

Furthermore, Parallels also brought the Mac’s “Quick Look” feature, which allows users to preview by just hitting the spacebar in the Windows mode. One small feature, which is worth mentioning is that right-click on the file resulting in opening of file in Mac works well in the Windows also. Parallels 11 will be made available at a price of just $80 and it will also support the upcoming Apple’s OS called El Captain.

Web Address Explosion is Bonanza for Cyber-Criminals

Cyber_Crime

Explosion in Internet Addresses

According to an industry study which had been published recently, an explosion in various new Internet addresses has developed opportunities for criminals misusing shady domains like zip. kim. or party. The attackers are on the prowl of new domains like urging users in downloading malware and divulge personal data or spam their friends and a liberalisation of the Web had increased the number of top level domains tenfold in the last two years.

An investigation of tens of millions of websites had been conducted by enterprise security company Blue Coat and found that the most dangerous top level domain – TLDs were .zip, .review and country, while the safest new ones were .london, .tel and .church.

Blue Coat mentioned in its study that TLDs ideally would all be run by security-conscious operators who diligently review new domain name applications and reject those which do not meet a severe set of criteria and the reality for several of these new neighbourhoods is that this does not occur. The body which tends to manage the Web identifiers, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - ICANN, had launched an initiative in order to expand the number of TLDs to encourage competition and choice online.

Generic Top-Level Domains

Initially there were only six not including country codes like .com, .edu, .gov, .mil, .net and .org. Enterprises interested in selling new TLDs had to pay $185,000 by way of fee to internet industry regulator – ICANN and demonstrate that they had the potential of running a registry.

They are presently in the process of introducing more than a thousand new web address endings which is known as generic top-level domains. The extent of the global Web domain name sales market seems to be hard to determine since several sales are private and sought-after domains tend to change hands for millions of dollars though more vague ones could be had for about 99 cents.

The world’s largest accredited registrar of domain names, - GoDaddy (GDDY.IN) had made sales of $1.4 billion last year and was worth at $3 billion in an earlier public offering this year. This year, Bain Capital had bought Blue Coat for $2.4 billion in an indication of strength of demand for cyber security technology.

Unscrupulous Operators on the Lookout of Hold Companies to Ransom

Law firm Hugh James clarifies that the cyber squatters tend to buy addresses alike those of well-known companies or which they expect that the companies may need in the future. The cyber criminals then expect to sell the web address for an overstated sum or profit from the extra web traffic resulting from well-known brand appearing high in online searches, boosting their own advertising revenue.

Around 198 cybersquatting disputes have been registered over the last eight months in comparison to the 48 in the first eight months after the new naming system had been introduced. This comprise of Red Bull which had challenged the use of `redbull.vodka’ and Laura Ashley had challenged the use of lauraashley.email. Tracey Singlehurst-Ward, Senior Associate at Hugh James had stated that, `businesses are being forced to spend time and money in these disputes. Tech-savvy, though often unscrupulous operators are on the lookout to hold established companies to ransom.

Tuesday, 1 September 2015

Samsung Smart Fridge Leaves Gmail Logins Open to Attack

Smart_Fridge

Samsung Smart Fridge – MiTM attacks on Connections

Security researchers have identified a possible way of stealing user’s Gmail identifications from Samsung smart fridge. At the recent DEF CON hacking conference, Pen Test Partners have discovered the MiTM – man-in-the-middle, weakness which enabled the exploit at the time of the IoT hacking challenge. The hack was against the RF28HMELBSR smart fridge, a part of Samsung’s line-up of Smart Home appliances that is controlled through their Smart Home app.

Though the fridge gears SSL, it tends to fail in validating SSL certificates thus enabling man-in-the middle attacks on most of the connections. Internet connected devices are designed to download Gmail Calendar information to on-screen display. Security shortcomings would mean that hackers who tend to be on the same network could possibly steal Google login information from their neighbours.

According to a security researcher at Pen Test Partners, Ken Munro, `the internet-connected device is designed to download Gmail Calendar information on its display and it seems to work the same way like any device running a Gmail calendar. User or owner of the calendar, logged in, can make updates and those changes are then seen on any devices which a user could view the calendar on

Fridge Fails to Validate Certificate

The fridge fails to validate the certificate while the SSL is in place and hence the hacker who tend to access the network where the fridge is on, probably through a de-authentication and fake Wi-Fi access point attack, can man-in-the-middle, the fridge calendar client and steal Google login information from the neighbours.

Since the fridge has not yet been in Europe, the UK based security consultancy fell short of time at DEF CON in trying to interrupt communications between the fridge terminal and the software update server. Efforts were made to mount a firmware-based attack through a customer updates was not successful but they had more safety when it pulled apart the mobile app and discovered the possible security problem in the process, though was not confirmed.

Name of a file that was found in a keystore of the mobile app’s code indicated that it comprises of the certificate which was used to encrypt traffic between the mobile app and the fridge.

Working on IoT Security/Hacking Research

The certificate had the correct password though the information to the certificate seemed to be stored in the mobile app in an obscured manner.

Then the next step would be to find out the password and use the certificate data in order to confirm to the fridge and send commands over the air to it. Pedro Venda of Pen Test Partners adds that `they wanted to pull the terminal unit out of the fridge in order to get physical access to things such as the USB port and serial or JTAG interfaces, but were unable to do so since they had run out of time. The MiTM is sufficient enough to expose a user’s Gmail information’.

 The team at Pen Test Partners are working on more IoT security and hacking research. It had published research that revealed Samsung’s smart TV’s failure to encrypt voice recordings sent through internet, in February. Samsung had informed that they were looking into the issue and stated that `at Samsung they understand that the success depends on consumer’s trust and the products and services provided. Protecting consumers’ privacy is the top priority and will work hard each day to safeguard valued Samsung users’.