Friday, December 31, 2010
Android Malware Surfaces in Chinese App Markets
A new Trojan horse aimed at Android devices has recently surfaced in China.
Named “Geinimi,” San Francisco firm Lookout Mobile Security says the Trojan is “the most sophisticated Android malware [the firm has] seen to date.”
“Geinimi is effectively being ‘grafted’ onto repackaged versions of legitimate applications,” most of which have been games, the firm says. The apps are then sold in Chinese third-party Android app markets. Affected apps will request permissions “over and above”� those requested by the legitimate version of an app.
“Users should make sure that the program is asking for permissions appropriate to the app,” a spokesperson from Lookout told Wired. “If the program is asking for your IMEI or your location, and it has nothing to do with the app’s function, that’s a big red flag.”
IMEI is short for International Mobile Equipment Identity, the internationally-used, unique identity number used by many phones.
Lookout hasn’t yet established an intent for Geinimi, though the firm claims the Trojan is “the first Android malware in the wild that displays botnet-like capabilities.” The firm claims that it’s “botnet-like” because it hasn’t yet seen the command server communicate back to affected devices, a Lookout spokesperson told Wired.
The firm has evidence that Geinimi is being distributed only through third-party Chinese app markets. Lookout hasn’t seen any Geinimi-compromised apps in the official Google Android marketplace.
Lookout released an update to its own Android antivirus app, which it says will protect users against Geinimi.
Photo: alachia/Flickr
See Also:
- Android App No Malware, Says Google
- Malware Sneaks Into Android Market
- Trojan Malware Delivered by Sneakernet
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/ki89UwrmzoE/
The 19 Most Wired iPhone and iPad Apps of 2010
Apple's iOS App Store hit the ground sprinting two-and-a-half years ago, and it hasn't slowed down. In 2010, programmers unleashed a plethora of high-quality apps for the iPhone and its brand-new big sibling, the iPad.
For Apple's tablet, many of the most impressive apps focused on the reading experience. That's not surprising, because what better to do with that big, beautiful screen? And for the iPhone, we saw some clever apps that made excellent use of the handset's always-on data connection, geo-awareness and camera.
With 400,000 apps crowding the iOS App Store, it's tough to choose what's worthy of a space on your screen. Here are Wired staff's picks for the best iOS apps of 2010. There may be a lot of useless apps out there, but these are worth downloading.
See Also:
- 15 iPad Apps You Should Download Today
- 10 Stellar iPad Apps That Will Blow You Away
- Top Five iPad Comic-Book Apps Reviewed
- GeekDad: IPhone Apps
- Underwire: IPhone Apps
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/hKPTOwoQm7c/
NAO report highlights education success in STEM subjects
Dawinderpal Sahota, Computing, Monday 15 November 2010 at 14:09:00
Take up of Maths and Science subjects on the up, but Department of Education
not meeting its teacher recriuitment targets
The Department for Education has made good progress in improving take up and
achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects,
according to a recent report from the National Audit Office, although there has
been less success in attracting more teachers to these areas.
The report, entitled
Educating
the Next Generation of Scientists, recently published claims that take-up
and achievement in A-Level Maths and GCSE Triple Science has improved, and that
the knock on effect of the success has been that pupil take-up of the three
individual sciences at A-Level has increased by almost 150 per cent in the last
five years.
The NAO claims that there is evidence that pupils taking Triple Science GCSE
are more likely than those studying combined science to choose science subjects
at A-Level and to achieve higher grades. However, by June 2009, almost half of
secondary schools still did not offer Triple Science.
It is often said that qualifications in the pure sciences are a good basis
for a career in IT and technology.
Meanwhile, take-up of Maths A-Level has already exceeded the targets for 2014
set by the Department of Education, but take-up of physics A-Level has increased
only slightly since 2005-06.
The Department is not on course to meet the targets set by the previous
government for recruiting more mathematics and physics teachers by 2014.
?The Department for Education has focused its resources on improving pupil
take-up and achievement in school science and maths, and has made good progress
in areas such as A-Level maths and GCSE Triple Science,? said Amyas Morse, head
of the National Audit Office.
?To make further progress, what?s needed is a more joined-up approach,
bringing together key success factors to maximise successful results and
efficient use of public resources.?
Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2273121/report-highlight-education
Next-generation GPS gadgets
Full story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40758666/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
Hits and misses in five-tech forecast
Full story at http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/12/30/5738564-hits-and-misses-in-five-tech-forecast
The Quest To Find The First Sunrise Of 2011
Where in the United States would you have to go to see the country's first sunrise of 2011? Turns out the answer is, "It's complicated."
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Full story at http://www.npr.org/2010/12/31/132457059/the-quest-to-find-the-first-sunrise-of-2011?ft=1&f=1001
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Stickpecker: Chopsticks You Can Crack Apart Over and Over Again
To the Japanese, the crack of splitting apart a pair of chopsticks is apparently as satisfying as the splitting the membrane-like seal on a jar of instant coffee is to us. More, it signifies the start of a meal, even if that meal is the kind eaten with disposable, takeaway cutlery.
This has led to the slow uptake of a “‘my chopsticks’ movement”, which encourages people to reuse their own sticks, saving trees and so on. And this is why the Stickpecker exists – to bring that satisfying crack to regular chopsticks.
They manage it by putting a pair of magnets into the acrylic shafts. These require a good, hard yank to snap them apart, presumably an adequate placebo for the fulfilling fracture. The design – a stylized woodpecker and tree ? is supposed to evoke the wood that these sticks aren’t made of.
I think they’re cool, and the magnet part definitely sounds like fun to play with. They can be had for �3570, or a jaw-dropping $44.
Stickpecker [Microworks via Book of Joe]
See Also:
- Lightsaber Chopsticks
- Chopsticks for Better Cloning
- The Cat That Eats Noodles With Chopsticks
- Chopsticks, Spoon United
- Folding Baskets Made From Chopsticks
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/cA-kKiITn6U/
Skin Turns iPhone into Polaroid Land Camera
The iPhone is already the spiritual successor to the Polaroid, able to deliver great results, instantly. So instead of wishing that whichever company currently owns the Polaroid brand-name would just make a great new camera already, why not just make your iPhone look like the iconic Land Camera?
Buy this skin, designed by Canada-based Ryan Astle, and you can do just that. The reusable plastic stickers come in a pack of two – one big one for the back, so the subject of your photo can see how retro-serious you are about your snaps, and a little sticker for the bottom panel on the front, adding a fake button on either side of the home button.
Of course, the Polaroid name itself isn’t mentioned, because this might distract Polaroid’s current owner from churning out cynical cash-in crap for long enough for a visit to court. There’s really no doubting what the design is “inspired” by, though, and it can be yours for just $15. The skin will fit any iPhone model, not just the current one.
Photoroid Skin [Infectious / Ryan Astle via Giz]
See Also:
- Polaroid Lives! New Camera Uses Real Instant Film
- Rebel Film Developers Give New Hope to Polaroid Fans
- New, Vintage Polaroid Cameras Sell Out in Hours
- ShakeIt Brings Polaroid Pictures to the iPhone
- Beautiful Polaroid Camera Sculpted in Lego
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/oisxlv5AjZQ/
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