New Android Spyware Threat Disguises Itself as Google+ App

Security researchers from Trend Micro warn of a new information stealing Android trojan that disguises itself as an app for Google's new social product Google+.

This latest threat is a variant of a recently discovered trojan called ANDROIDOS_NICKISPY which is able to record phone calls.

This new version stands apart from the rest because it is capable of answering incoming calls if the phone's screen is turned off and if the calls originate from a number predefined by the attackers.

"From the looks of it, the developer of this app went for the more real-time kind of eavesdropping as well, apart from the one ANDROIDOS_NICKISPY.A used, which involved recording calls," the Trend Micro researchers write.

"The 'auto-answering' function of this malicious Android app works only on Android 2.2 and below since the MODIFY_PHONE_STATE permission was disabled in Android 2.3," they add.

In addition to phone call answering and recording, the trojan has a full set of spyware features, such as stealing text messages and call logs or monitoring the GPS location.

ANDROID_NICKISPY.C installs a large number of services, all of them bearing the Google+ logo. It also installs itself as an application called Google++ in an attempt to confuse users.

The services are called MainService, AlarmService, SocketService, GpsService, CallRecordService, CallLogService, UploadService, SmsService, ContactService, SmsControllerService, CommandExecutorService, RegisterService, CallsListenerService, KeyguardLockService, ScreenService, ManualLocalService, SyncContactService, LocationService, EnvRecordService.

The increasing sophistication and prevalence of Android malware reinforces the need of antivirus products for such devices. Fortunately, there are several free solutions from vendors like AVG, Lookout, BitDefender or Symantec that users can choose from.

According to a recent report from Lookout, Android users are twice and a half more likely to encounter malware now then they were six months ago. Furthermore, one in three users are likely to encounter web-based threats while using their devices.

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Intel Z77 Motherboard Lineup for Ivy Bridge Processors Revealed

Together with the launch of its first Ivy Bridge processors, Intel is also expected to release a series of new LGA 1155 motherboards based on the Z77 PCH (platform controller hub) that will offer native support for USB 3.0.

No less than 11 LGA 1155 models will be introduced in the first half of 2012, two of them belonging to the company's extreme performance series.

These are the DZ77RE and DZ77GA and both feature “Max-OC” support (whatever that might mean), are two-way SLI and CrossFireX compatible and use the standard ATX form factor.

The DZ77RE however will also get support for the Thunderbolt interconnect, making it one of the first motherboards to integrated this technology.

Intel's remaining 2012 LGA 1155 solutions in the Media and Executive series are less exciting than the two top models, but one has to appreciate the fact that Intel plans to release no less than nine such boards using various form factors such as ATX, micro-ATX, mini-ITX as well as thin mITX.

Furthermore, most of these will be built around the advanced Z77 chipset, only two models being designed to use the lower-end Z75 PCH.

As many of you know, the Z77 is Intel's most advanced 7-series platform controller hub and it features native support for quad USB 3.0 ports, integrated graphics support, Intel's Smart Response technology, as well as six SATA ports (two of these of the 6Gbps variety).

The most distinctive feature of the chipset when compared with the rest of Intel's Ivy Bridge PCHs is its capability to split the 16 PCI Express Gen 3 lanes available from the CPU into a pair of x8 links or into a single x8 link and dual PCI Express x4 slots.

The first 22nm Tri-gate Ivy Bridge processors are expected to arrive in March or April of 2012, and will replace the current Sandy Bridge chips launched at the start of this year. (via Donanim Haber)

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Google+ Moving Away from Early Adopters to 'Early Mainstream' Users

Unsurprisingly perhaps, but Google+ is moving away from the early adopters crowd to a more mainstream group of users, according to new research. Of course, this trend is unavoidable, but this is happening a little over a month after Google+ launched.

Granted, Google+ is not exactly mainstream yet, but it is becoming more popular with what Experian Hitwise, the company doing the research, calls 'early' mainstream users.

"Using the Experian Hitwise sample of over 10mm Internet users in the U.S., combined with our New Mosaic segmentation system launched this summer, its possible to visualize the adoption of Google+," Hitwise writes.

"Careful analysis of the Mosaic segments since launch; reveal that in just over six weeks, we’ve moved from innovators to early adopters to early mainstream users visiting the new social network," it says.

When Google+ first became available, it was a quick hit with what Hitwise calls the "Colleges and Cafés" and the "Status Seeking Singles" crowd. Those falling into these categories were a lot more likely to visit Google+ than anyone else. 

This peaked two weeks after Google+ launched, but since, visits from other groups of users are becoming more likely to the point that these early adopters are no longer the ones visiting the site the most.

These days, the average Google+ visitors falls into either the "Status Seeking Singles" group or the equally interestingly named "Kids and Cabernet" group.

Perhaps it's best to explain how these groups are defined. Colleges and Cafés are recent college graduates who still frequent the same places and interact with the same type of people they did in college.

On the other hand, the group that is more likely to visit Google+ now, Kids and Cabernet, is described as "Prosperous, middle-aged married couples living child-focused lives in affluent suburbs."

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Google Analytics Changes the Criteria for What Counts as an User Session

Google is making a slight change to what counts as a session for visits measured by Google Analytics. The change is small, but will affect some visits and will most likely alter the data reported for most websites.

"Beginning today, there will be a small change in how sessions are calculated in Google Analytics. We think this update will lead to a clearer understanding of website interactions," Google said.

Until now, Google Analytics would end a session for a visitor in three cases:

• More than 30 minutes have elapsed between pageviews for a single visitor.
• At the end of a day.
• When a visitor closes their browser.

The first two cases remain intact, but the third one has been changed to make it more specific and detailed. A session will end: 

• When any traffic source value for the user changes. Traffic source information includes: utm_source, utm_medium, utm_term, utm_content, utm_id, utm_campaign, and gclid.

When any of the events listed happens, the next page view from that visitor will count as a new session. 

Google says that the change makes a session more similar to how a visit is defined. Notably, if a user arrives at your site, even within a short time span, from two different sources, for example, once from a search result, the other time from a link on another site, these will count as two different sessions.

This will make it easier to see what traffic comes from where and how different sources generate sessions. Google also says that not counting browser restarts as two different sessions is a more accurate measure.

On the whole, the change may result in an increase in the number of sessions a site sees. However, the change will be of about one percent in most cases, according to Google's own testing.

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Download Firefox 6 Final Today

Mozilla has wrapped up the development process of Firefox 6 and is already offering downloads of Firefox 5’s successor. However, the launch of Firefox 6 Final has yet to be announced officially, as the bits have not started being offered to the public. 

Instead, the open source browser vendor is serving Firefox 6 Final through its FTP servers, at least at the time of this article. I don’t doubt that this will change soon enough, but for now, users can grab Firefox 6 via the link at the bottom of this article. 

As I told you earlier this week, Mozilla was planning to launch Firefox 6 on August 16th, 2011. For all I know, that date continues to be the official release deadline for the latest major iteration of Firefox browser. 

Unofficially though, the fully-fledged Firefox 6 Final is already available for download in all supported languages. Mozilla had started populating the Firefox 6.0 Release folder on its FTP servers even before I began writing this, and the bits are live as the article went public. 

It’s important to note that early adopters will not see any differences between Firefox 6 Final and Firefox 6 Beta Refresh 5. 

Of course, our readers, and Mozilla testers, already know that Beta Refresh 5 was actually the Release Candidate (RC) of Firefox 6. 

With the documentation accompanying Firefox 6 releases yet to be updated, users who access it will come across a range of Beta references, but they need to understand that since Firefox 6 Final hasn’t been announced officially, the resources accompanying the Build have also not been refreshed. 

The Release Notes for example still mention Firefox 6 Beta, but it provides users with an idea of what the browser brings to the table, including new Address Bar functionality, new Web Developer menu, enhanced Firefox Sync, boosted browser startup times, and support for WebSockets, EventSource / server-sent events, window.matchMedia, etc. 

Firefox 6 Final for Windows is available for download here.

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Google+ Games Launches with Angry Birds, Zynga Poker, Dragon Age Legends

Google has made the inevitable announcement, Google+ is getting a Games section. There have been plenty or rumors about this and the feature was pretty much a given, but Google has only now made it official.

It's rolling out the Games section of Google+ to all users gradually, but it may be a few days, at least, until you see the Games button next to the Circles one on Google+.

"Today we’re adding games to Google+. With the Google+ project, we want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web. But sharing is about more than just conversations," Google+ head Vic Gundotra writes. 

"The experiences we have together are just as important to our relationships. We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life," he explained.

Google+ Games is launching with only a few games from handpicked developers, but you'll see some very popular titles in there, including Angry Birds, Zynga Poker, Bejeweled, Dragon Age Legends and classics such as Sudoku.

Google will add more games in time and will allow more developers to publish them, but it will be a gradual roll out.

The company is also taking a few lessons learned the hard way by Facebook and applying them to the Games section. 

All notifications, achievements, shares and everything else related to games are only available in the Games tab, regardless of where they come from, your friends or the games themselves.

Nothing gets into your main stream, so it's easy to just ignore the entire thing until or unless you decide you want to play something yourself.

Sharing and the social aspect of games is still important, you'll be able to share your high scores and get invites from your friends, but everything is contained within the section.

Google+ Games is not available to all users yet, but Google says it's rolling out soon. And if the game selection is not enough, more are coming, keep in mind that the entire Google+ is only six weeks old.

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Apple iPhone 5 Event Kicks Off September 7th, Claims Japanese Source

A Japanese source that has previously pinpointed Apple product announcements with accuracy claims to have learned of a special Apple event scheduled for September 7th (the report said September 8th for Japan time), with the highly anticipated iPhone 5 being the centerpiece of the show.

The report in question was picked up by rumor site MacRumors which “confirmed” with Japanese site Kodawarisan that the September 7 date was not a guess.

 Rather, the intel came from “a source in the know”, according to the Mac-centric site reporting heavily on rumors and speculation.

To further add credibility to the Japanese report, they note that Kodawarisan correctly pinpointed the launch date of a new Mac mini computer in 2009.

However, it should be worth noting that Apple generally invests few resources in keeping Macintosh upgrades a secret.

Most of the times, the general public learns of their upcoming availability through part numbers moving back and forth between the assembly lines, retailers, and even Apple’s own outlets.

The iPhone, however, is a different thing altogether. Apple engineers may accidentally forget a prototype unit on a bar stool from time to time, but it’s the company’s highly-enforced policy to keep the iPhone business under the tightest wraps possible.

It is this fact alone that leads us to believe Apple will be very careful not to leak its iPhone 5 announcement plans until the few days leading up to the actual event.

Then again, the Cupertino company does have to make preparations ahead of time.

The upcoming Apple event will not only feature an iPhone announcement, but also an iCloud announcement, and perhaps will see some new iPods debut as well.

iOS 5 will also be a big part of the show.

If there’s one thing that can confirm an Apple event, it’s the invitations Apple sends to the media every year.

We’ll wait for those to start flying around and then we’ll get your hopes up in a proper manner

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Apple Threatened Intel to Abandon Their Chips If Power Consumption Wasn't Improved

Apple has reportedly threatened Intel to move away from using their processors in future ultra-portable notebook designs, such as the MacBook Air, if the chip giant doesn't do anything about decreasing the power consumption of their processors.

According to the Mac Rumors website, which cites Greg Welch, director of Intel's Ultrabook group, this threat was a real wake-up call for the company.

To make sure that it doesn't loses Apple's business, Intel has recently announced a sharp revision in its product roadmap and outlined that future mobile processors will be built to fit inside a 15W TDP.

This is a dramatic change when compared to today's mobile CPU as the regular voltage models usually have a thermal design power of 35W.

To put things in perspective, the 15W TDP announced is even lower than that of Intel's current ULV (ultra-low voltage) chips, which have a power draw of 18W.

To further improve on its processor designs, Intel also plans to introduce a configurable TPD technology in its upcoming Ivy Bridge and Haswell chips.

This will enable the CPUs to surpass their maximum TDP for small amounts of time by increasing their operating frequency in order to complete heavy tasks in less time, quickly returning to an idle state when the extra power is no longer needed.

Furthermore, the configurable TDP technology will also come with a special docked mode, which will allow the processor to exceed the system's TDP consistently when installed in a special dock with extra cooling.

According to the latest findings from IDC and Gartner, Apple commends about 5% of the global computer market share, but in the US this value has reached 10.7% in the second quarter of 2011, which represents a 11.6% growth over Q2 2010.

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New Windows 8 “Revealed” Video Released

A new video boasting to reveal Windows 8 to the public, but actually failing to deliver on that promise, is now available on YouTube. 

As the hunger for Windows 8 details grows to insatiable levels, Microsoft continues to keep mum on the next major iteration of the Windows client. 

The software giant has pointed to the BUILD Windows conference in mid-September 2011 for the first deep insight into Windows 8. 

Michael Palermo, Microsoft Developer Evangelist, which is featured in the new Windows 8 Revealed video, provides no actual information of the successor of Windows 7. 

All his answers to Windows 8 questions do nothing more but mention the upcoming BUILD event. In fact, the entire Windows 8 “bait and switch” video is more of an advertisement for InterfaceTT than anything else. 

I guess it’s a bit funny, albeit frustrating, the way that Palermo actually dodges answering Windows 8 related questions, him and InterfaceTT’s Spike Xavier looking like they’re having a blast. 

But then again, BUILD has turned into something of a “promise land” for developers, customers, early adopters, etc. looking to find out more about Windows 8. 

The conference has already been sold out, even before Microsoft posted the agenda. The software giant even canceled the pre-sessions which were supposed to be a sort of prelude to the event, all scheduled for September 12. 

While those attending BUILD will be able to register as early as September 12, the conference will debut on September 13 with the opening keynote address. 

The Redmond company is expected to share a pre-release Build of Windows 8 at BUILD, although it is unclear whether Microsoft will offer a Milestone 3 (M3) pre-Beta release, or the fully-fledged Beta. The software giant has yet to confirm anything about BUILD, except that it will be a Windows 8-centric event.

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Fix Windows 7 SP1 Intermittent Crashes "0x0000007E"

A fix from Microsoft Support is designed to resolve an issue that causes Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 computers to crash intermittently. 

The software giant has confirmed the problem, and revealed that affected customers get the following stop error message: "0x0000007E."

 Not only the plain vanilla, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms can experience this glitch. It appears, that Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 can also crash intermittently.

According to the Redmond company, the full error message reads: “Stop 0x0000007E (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4) - SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED”

“The parameters in this Stop error message vary, depending on the configuration of the computer,” Microsoft explained. 

The software giant has already identified the source of the problem, and provided details to customers in a knowledge base article. 

“This issue usually occurs on a file server, and does not occur when Server Message Block (SMB) Version 2 is disabled,” Microsoft said. 

“This issue occurs because of a race condition that is triggered when a NULL lease handle is accessed after the lease spinlock is released.”

In addition to accessing details about the crashes, Windows users can also grab a hotfix from Microsoft Support. 

The software giant stresses that Windows 7 customers can come across "0x0000007E" stop error messages that are related to other problems. In this regard, the KB 2528614 hotfix might not end up resolving some Windows 7 crashes. 

At the same time, there are bound to be customers with Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 crashing machines that will recognize the symptoms from this article and who will surely benefit from the hotfix offered by Microsoft. 

The company is not providing a manual workaround or an update. According to the software giant the plan is to integrate KB 2528614 hotfix into Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

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