INTEL CHIP FLAW: MILLIONS OF ANDROID SMARTPHONES MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED FOR USERS TO STAY SAFE

Millions of Android users may need to purchase a new phone in order to protect themselves against the major chip vulnerability affecting a huge number of devices.
     

Google has updated its products and systems to defend users against the issues, which could allow hackers to steal people’s private information. 

However, a significant proportion of Android smartphones and tablets made by the likes of Samsung and LG are – and will always be – stuck on older, unsupported versions of the operating system, and could therefore remain at risk.

Google has said that Android smartphones and tablets that have the latest security updates installed are protected from the security issues affecting Intel, AMD and ARM chips.

Unfortunately, this implies that any Android smartphones and tablets that are running unsupported versions of the operating system will not be protected.

If this is indeed the case, that would mean that millions of users stuck on older versions of Android will only be able to ensure their safety by replacing their handsets with newer models running current versions of Android.

The Independent has approached Google for comment, and this article will be updated with the company’s response.

Android is notoriously fragmented, because it’s used on a wide range of devices made by different manufacturers.

These companies often make tweaks to the operating system, in order to promote their own products and services. Because of this, it can take a long time for them to release software updates to consumers.

Google phones, like the Pixel and Nexus, on the other hand, run pure versions of Android, which means they receive updates as soon as they’re available.

As of 11 December 2017, more than 20 per cent of Android users were stuck on versions of the operating system that are no longer receiving security patches from Google.

These include KitKat, Jelly Bean, Ice Cream Sandwich and Gingerbread, all of which were released more than four years ago.

Google revealed that there were more than two billion active Android devices in use as of May 2017.

That suggests that potentially hundreds of millions of smartphones and tablets could remain exposed to hackers, and may need to be replaced by their owners if they’re to stay safe.

Cisco Intelligent Proximity: Wireless Content Sharing

             

              

Here's an unusual — and highly targeted — wireless tech that will soon be available in beta. For those who participate in a high-definition videoconference using Cisco Systems telepresence gear, your iOS or Android device can connect automatically when you walk into the room. You can then use Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Content Sharing to grab presentations and other documents you need during the HD video meeting. Conferencing systems such as the Cisco MX200 and MX300 will support the service. The service uses standard Wi-Fi but senses your proximity to the meeting and authenticates your access automatically.

Intel and ARM chips let hackers steal sensitive information

Security researchers on Wednesday disclosed a set of security flaws that they said could let hackers steal sensitive information from nearly every modern computing device containing chips from Intel Corp  Advanced Micro Devices Inc and ARM Holdings.
           

                 

One of the bugs is specific to Intel but another affects laptops, desktop computers, smartphones, tablets and internet servers alike. Intel and ARM insisted that the issue was not a design flaw, but it will require users to download a patch and update their operating system to fix.

             

“Phones, PCs, everything are going to have some impact, but it’ll vary from product to product,” Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said in an interview with CNBC Wednesday afternoon.

Researchers with Alphabet Inc’s Google Project Zero, in conjunction with academic and industry researchers from several countries, discovered two flaws.

The first, called Meltdown, affects Intel chips and lets hackers bypass the hardware barrier between applications run by users and the computer’s memory, potentially letting hackers read a computer’s memory and steal passwords. The second, called Spectre, affects chips from Intel, AMD and ARM and lets hackers potentially trick otherwise error-free applications into giving up secret information.

The researchers said on their website that Intel paid a so-called “bug bounty” to them for disclosing the flaws to Intel but did not state a dollar amount.

The researchers said Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp had patches ready for desktop computers affected by Meltdown. Microsoft said that a “majority” of its Azure cloud services used by businesses had already been patched and protected and that it is issuing a Windows security update.

”We have not received any information to indicate that these vulnerabilities had been used to attack our customers,” Microsoft said in a statement.

Apple did not return requests for comment, and it was unclear whether users of its iOS operating system that powers iPhones and iPads are at risk.

Daniel Gruss, one of the researchers at Graz University of Technology who discovered Meltdown, called it “probably one of the worst CPU bugs ever found” in an interview with Reuters.

               

     

Gruss said Meltdown was the more serious problem in the short term but could be decisively stopped with software patches. Spectre, the broader bug that applies to nearly all computing devices, is harder for hackers to take advantage of but less easily patched and will be a bigger problem in the long term, he said.

Speaking on CNBC, Intel’s Krzanich said Google researchers told Intel of the flaws “a while ago” and that Intel had been testing fixes that device makers who use its chips will push out next week. Before the problems became public, Google on its blog said Intel and others planned to disclose the issues on Jan. 9.

The flaws were first reported by tech publication The Register. It also reported that the updates to fix the problems could causes Intel chips to operate 5 percent to 30 percent more slowly.

Intel denied that the patches would bog down computers based on Intel chips. “Intel has begun providing software and firmware updates to mitigate these exploits,” Intel said in a statement. “Contrary to some reports, any performance impacts are workload-dependent, and, for the average computer user, should not be significant and will be mitigated over time.”

ARM spokesman Phil Hughes said that patches had already been shared with the companies’ partners, which include many smartphone manufacturers.

“This method only works if a certain type of malicious code is already running on a device and could at worst result in small pieces of data being accessed from privileged memory,” Hughes said in an email.

AMD chips are also affected by at least one security flaw. The company said it believes there “is near zero risk to AMD products at this time.”

               

                

                

Google said in a blog post that Android phones running the latest security updates are protected, as are its own Nexus and Pixel phones with the latest security updates. Gmail users do not need to take any additional action to protect themselves, but users of its Chromebooks, Chrome web browser and users of Google Cloud services who have installed their own operating systems will ne

Nanotech Products Hitting the Market

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NanoNews Custom - The Power User option. This service allows you to "create your own" newsletter. You select topics of interest, and the pertinent news and press releases will be sent to you via e-mail. Select daily, twice-weekly, or weekly customized news digests with only "your" news.

NanoTech Transfer - a monthly report that focuses on the inventions, patents and patents pending in the nanotechnology sector. This report draws on the support of the world's leading nanotechnology experts, universities from around the world involved in nanotechnology R&D, and private institutions dedicated to the advancement of nanotechnology.

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Origami inspires super robots

Folding technique used to c

raft artificial muscles that are low-cost, yet strong

Inspired by the folding technique of origami, U.S. researchers have crafted cheap, artificial muscles for robots that give them the power to lift up to 1,000 times their own weight.

The advance offers a leap forward in the field of soft robotics, which is fast replacing an older generation of robots that were jerky and rigid in their movements, researchers say.

“It’s like giving these robots superpowers,” said senior author Daniela Rus, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The muscles, known as actuators, are built on a framework of metal coils or plastic sheets, and each muscle costs around $1 to make, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , a peer-reviewed US journal.

Their origami inspiration derives from a zig-zag structure that some of the muscles employ, allowing them to contract and expand as commanded, using vacuum-powered air or water pressure.



“The skeleton can be a spring, an origami-like folded structure, or any solid structure with hinged or elastic voids,” said the report. Possible uses include expandable space habitats on Mars, miniature surgical devices, wearable robotic exoskeletons, deep-sea exploration devices or even transformable architecture.

“Artificial muscle-like actuators are one of the most important grand challenges in all of engineering,” said co-author Rob Wood, professor of engineering and applied sciences at Harvard University.

“Now that we have created actuators with properties similar to natural muscle, we can imagine building almost any robot for almost any task.”

Researchers built dozens of muscles, using metal springs, packing foam or plastic in a range of shapes and sizes.

They created “muscles that can contract down to 10% of their original size, lift a delicate flower off the ground, and twist into a coil, all simply by sucking the air out of them,” said the report.

Folding technique used to craft artificial muscles that are low-cost, yet strong

Inspired by the folding technique of origami, U.S. researchers have crafted cheap, artificial muscles for robots that give them the power to lift up to 1,000 times their own weight.

The advance offers a leap forward in the field of soft robotics, which is fast replacing an older generation of robots that were jerky and rigid in their movements, researchers say.

“It’s like giving these robots superpowers,” said senior author Daniela Rus, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The muscles, known as actuators, are built on a framework of metal coils or plastic sheets, and each muscle costs around $1 to make, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , a peer-reviewed US journal.

Their origami inspiration derives from a zig-zag structure that some of the muscles employ, allowing them to contract and expand as commanded, using vacuum-powered air or water pressure.

Deep sea exploration

“The skeleton can be a spring, an origami-like folded structure, or any solid structure with hinged or elastic voids,” said the report. Possible uses include expandable space habitats on Mars, miniature surgical devices, wearable robotic exoskeletons, deep-sea exploration devices or even transformable architecture.

“Artificial muscle-like actuators are one of the most important grand challenges in all of engineering,” said co-author Rob Wood, professor of engineering and applied sciences at Harvard University.

“Now that we have created actuators with properties similar to natural muscle, we can imagine building almost any robot for almost any task.”

Researchers built dozens of muscles, using metal springs, packing foam or plastic in a range of shapes and sizes.

They created “muscles that can contract down to 10% of their original size, lift a delicate flower off the ground, and twist into a coil, all simply by sucking the air out of them,” said the report.

Noise Mate Alarm Clock Speaker Review

               

The Noise Mate is an alarm clock speaker with Blueooth and FM radio
It has a rechargeable 2200mAh Lithium-ion battery
While the design is good, sound quality is below average
Bluetooth speakers are a convenient way to share music with people around us. We already have quite a lot of Bluetooth speakers in the market but Noise, the maker of the Noise Play action camera, has gone ahead and added another one to that list. The Noise Mate is priced at Rs 2,999 and isn’t your conventional portable Bluetooth speaker, but more of a Bluetooth-enabled clock radio for your bedside. Does the Noise Mate sound as good as it looks? We tune in for the answer

Noise Mate design and features

At first glance it is hard to tell that the Noise Mate is a Bluetooth speaker, it looks more like a modern bedside clock. The front sports a big seven-segment display which shows the time, current room temperature, humidity, and status of alarms. It shows the time in the 24-hour format and we couldn’t find a way to switch to the 12-hour format. There are metallic mesh speaker grilles on either side of the display. The same covering extends all the way to the back, to what looks like a bass port. The Noise Mate has two 5W driver units with 40mm diaphragms, and an impedance of 9 Ohms

Nokia 9, OnePlus 6, Samsung Galaxy S9 & more: Smartphones to look forward to in 2018

               

There can be no denying the fact that 2017 was a quite a stellar year for smartphones -- bezels packed up their bags and left, dual cameras became ubiquitous, stock Android made its way to budget smartphones and advanced features like facial recognition, artificial intelligence, machine learning and augmented reality made their way out of science fiction books into reality.

                                   

Now however, it is time to look ahead and see what 2018 has in store for us. Foldable displays, even thinner bezels and better screen to body ratios, in-screen fingerprint sensors and advanced artificial intelligence are some of the trends to look forward to this year. And along with the usual suspects like OnePlus, Apple and Samsung, we have the comeback king in the form of Nokia vying for smartphone supremacy.