Russian hacker behind massive data breach pleads guilty
Vladimir Drinkman has pled guilty and admitted his involvement in what the Justice Department calls “the largest such scheme ever prosecuted in the United States.” He and the four other defendants in the case are accused of breaking into corporate computers — including those owned by NASDAQ, 7-Eleven, JCP, JetBlue, Dow Jones, Visa Jordan, Diners Singapore and Ingenicard — and stealing over 160 million credit card numbers from as far back as 2003. The hack ultimately caused losses amounting to $300 million, not including the damage caused to people whose identities have been stolen. Drinkman was caught during a trip to Amsterdam in 2012 and was sent to the United States to stand trial. He originally pled not guilty earlier this year but has obviously changed his tune in front of Chief Judge Jerome Simandle in a New Jersey district court.
According to the Department of Justice, the hacker group would monitor the victims’ computer systems for months and then use the SQL database vulnerabilities they spot to infiltrate their networks. In most cases, they’d even leave a back door open in case they need to get into the network again later on. They would then use the security hole to slip in “sniffers,” malware that collect and pilfer customer data, such as SS numbers and other identifying info in addition to credit card details, from the computers. Finally, they’d save those details to computers around the globe and then sell them to shady online entrepreneurs who then sell them on forums, in turn.
Drinkman and his colleagues were reportedly very careful and talked through encrypted channels to avoid detection during the course of the hacks, even using security software to add a layer of protection. They also altered the victims’ network settings to prevent the computers from logging their actions. Those measures obviously failed Drinkman, though, and he now faces up to 30 years in prison. He might get a lesser term for pleading guilty, but we won’t know for sure until he’s sentenced on January 15th, 2016.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under:
Misc
Source:
Department of Justice, Reuters
Tags: hack, law, security
HTC One A9 rumored to launch in November with modest specs
Also known as the HTC A9 Aero, the rumored device keeps making headlines across the web as more rumors and leaks keep surfacing. Today we take a look at one murmur coming straight from veteran leakster Evan Blass (@evleaks). He calls it the HTC Ona A9 (also dubbed Hima Aero), and his supposed specs change everything we thought we knew about the phone.
Previous rumors suggested the handset would be a high-end smartphone with powerful components, including a 5.2-inch QHD screen, 4 GB of RAM and a 3500 mAh battery, all powered by a powerful Mediatek 10-core Helio X20 SoC. If you are to believe Blass, this phone will be leaning more towards the middle of the spectrum.
HTC One A9 (Hima Aero): SD617, 5″ FHD AMOLED, 2GB/16GB, 13MP/4UP OIS BSI, 2150mAh, microSD, fingerprint, metal, ~7mm, 6 colors. November.
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 15, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Evan’s sources seem to think this phone will come with a Snapdragon 617 chipset, a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, a 13 MP camera, an Ultra Pixel front shooter, a microSD card support and a 2150 mAh battery. It ‘s also apparent it will come in 6 available colors and measure in at only 7 mm of thickness.
These specs are nothing to write home about, that’s for sure. But if Evan Blass ends up being right, this could be a very good offer for those who really want a good-looking, well-built phone without all that power. Not to mention, you can avoid those increased price tags high-end specs usually come attached with.
Alleged images of the A9 Aero.
Likely the most interesting bit of news is that the phone might be launching in November. That’s still a while, but HTC does have an event coming in September 29th. While we don’t know what it is all about, we are hoping to hear a bit more about the HTC One A9.
Stay tuned to Android Authority to learn more! And don’t forget to hit the comments to let us know what you think about this rumor. Were you hoping for the A9 to be a super high-end phone, or do you think there is more room in the market for a mid-end phone with a strong build?
Alleged specs for HTC’s upcoming One A9 shared online
On Tuesday, the very popular Evan Blass shared information regarding HTC’s upcoming handset: the One A9. This was originally believed to be a flagship to revive HTC during the holiday season, but the specifications from Blass prove otherwise. The most notable item on the alleged spec sheet to discredit the flagship rumors is the use of the Snapdragon 617 processor. Although new, the Snapdragon 617 belongs to Qualcomm’s mid-tier series.
Here are the specifications provided by Blass:
- 5-inch Full HD (1920×1080) AMOLED display
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor
- 2GB of RAM
- 13MP / 4UP cameras (with optical image stabilization)
- 16GB of internal storage (with microSD card slot)
- 2150mAh battery
Blass also notes that the One A9 will have a fingerprint scanner, measure about 7mm thin, and come in six colors. The handset will apparently be available in November.
Source: Evan Blass (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: Alleged specs for HTC’s upcoming One A9 shared online
Snapchat debuts Lenses and a pay-for-replay option
Snapchat is getting wild wilder. The service launched a new feature today called Lenses that places animated graphics over user content. Want to puke rainbows, look like a zombie, or have bulging eyes? Those things and much more are possible with Lenses. It activates when pressing and holding on your face prior to taking a Snap.
The other item included with Snapchat’s update is an expansion to Replay. Rather than continuing to limit users to one Replay per day, Snapchat is introducing a pay-for-replay method. Users can now purchase an additional three Replays for $0.99 that are good for one use. Snapchat’s explanation for the price is that “They’re a little pricey — but time is money! ;)”
I love the new @Snapchat pic.twitter.com/oRil1Huiq0
— IAMFRESH™ (@OfficialFresh07) September 16, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
These photos make me laugh so hard oml thanks @camerondallas @Snapchat pic.twitter.com/vSy4cNUwbc — Alyssa Mullen (@alyssamullen58) September 16, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
@Snapchat ive been crying rainbows for an hour now pic.twitter.com/Un3BD1ZWmA
— toe knee (@tonishells) September 16, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
So, yes, people are really enjoying Lenses. And they’re also upset about extra Replays carrying a price:
@Snapchat wtf is this.. snapchat was my favorite app until you did this bullshit pic.twitter.com/3h3NmEA90n
— ®aeyonce (@raaee_) September 15, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Source: Snapchat
Come comment on this article: Snapchat debuts Lenses and a pay-for-replay option
iOS 8 Adoption Hits 87% Ahead of iOS 9 Release
Apple’s iOS 8 is installed on 87% of iOS devices a year after its release, according to new numbers shared by Apple on its App Store developer page. The new numbers come on the eve of the launch of Apple’s newest mobile operating system, iOS 9.
iOS 8 adoption has been somewhat slower than iOS 7, with iOS 8 hitting 72% adoption in January 2015. iOS 7 was at 80% adoption at the same point. Additionally, iOS 8 reached 81% adoption in late April, only growing 6 percentage points in a little over four months.
Comparatively, the latest version of Android (5.1, aka Lollipop) sits at a 5.1% adoption rate. However, Android updates often take a long time to propagate to customers, partly because cell phone manufacturers and cellular carriers must bake in their apps and interfaces into the operating system.
According to mobile analytics firm Mixpanel, iOS 9 currently holds a ~1.04% adoption rate, which includes public beta testers and developers. That number will likely increase dramatically as the operating system will push to iOS users tomorrow, September 16.
Google will match your donations to migrant and refugee relief
As you’re no doubt aware, Europe is facing a crisis: it’s struggling to accommodate scores of migrants and refugees coming to the continent in search of a better life. If you’re wondering how you can help, you’ll be glad to hear that Google is making things easier. It just launched a campaign that will see it match donations until it raises a total of €10 million ($11.3 million) toward migrant and refugee relief. Any money you send will be distributed to four nonprofits (Doctors Without Borders, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and the UN) providing food, security and shelter to those in need. Google’s effort won’t solve everything, but it’s worth checking out if you previously felt powerless to help.
[Image credit: AP Photo/Selcuk Bulent]
Via:
Google Official Blog
Source:
Google
Tags: charity, doctorswithoutborders, donation, donations, google, humanitarian, InternationalRescueCommittee, migrants, refugees, relief, savethechildren, un, unitednations
What’s on your HDTV: ‘Furious 7’ Blu-ray, ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Forza’ and ‘Destiny’
Week one of NFL action is done, but there’s plenty of things on the schedule other than sports. Later tonight Apple CEO Tim Cook is stopping by Stephen Colbert’s Late Show stage, while FX takes the wraps off of its new series The Bastard Executioner. We’ll be avoiding an emotional viewing of the Furious 7 Blu-ray by playing Forza Motorsport 6 instead, although gamers can also opt for the new Destiny expansion or a round of Pro Evolution Soccer. On streaming, The Mindy Project finds a new home on (ad-free) Hulu, while Netflix has a Keith Richards special lined up. Andy Samberg hosts the Emmy Awards Sunday night and oh yeah, some show called Doctor Who is back. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed)
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLMKk4lSYoM-z1SfH9OFuYysEMd8FEdS4i
Blu-ray & Games & Streaming
- Furious 7
- The Big Bang Theory (S8)
- Love & Mercy
- Spaced Invaders
- Blind Chance (Criterion)
- Homeland (S4)
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Forza Motorsport 6 (Xbox One)
- Pro Evolution Soccer (PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One)
- Destiny: The Taken King (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3)
- NHL 16 (PS4, Xbox One)
- The Elder Scrolls Online: Imperial City (PS4, Xbox One)
- Bedlam (PC)
- I Can’t Escape: Darkness (PC)
- Inside My Radio (Xbox One)
- Skylanders: Superchargers (9/20)(PS3, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U)
Tuesday
- The Mindy Project (season premiere), Hulu, 3AM
- Big Blue Live, PBS, 8PM
- America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Labor Games (series premiere), TLC, 8PM
- Inside the NFL (season premiere), Showtime, 9PM
- Dancing with the Stars: First Dances, ABC, 9PM
- From Dusk Till Dawn, El Rey, 9PM
- Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
- Zoo (season finale), CBS, 9PM
- The Bastard Executioner (series premiere), FX, 10PM
- Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris (series premiere), NBC, 10PM
- Public Morals, TNT, 10PM
- Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 10PM
- A Season with Notre Dame football, Showtime, 10PM
- The Agent, Esquire, 10PM
- Startup U, ABC Family, 10PM
- Wags, E!, 10PM
- Drunk History, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- Punk’d, BET, 10:30PM
- Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Tim Cook), CBS, 11:35PM
Wednesday
- Unsung: Yoyo, TV One, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Young & Hungry, ABC Family, 8PM
- Kevin from Work, ABC Family, 8:30PM
- America’s Got Talent (season finale), NBC, 9PM
- A Wicked Offer, CW, 9PM
- Dating Naked: Playing for Keeps (season finale), VH1, 9PM
- NFL: Undrafted, CBS, 10PM
- The League, FXX, 10PM
- The Jim Gaffigan Show, TV Land, 10PM
- South Park (season premiere), Comedy Central, 10PM
- Catfish, MTV, 10PM
- Twinning, VH1, 10PM
- Moonbeam City (series premiere), Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- Impastor (season finale), TV Land, 10:30PM
- You’re the Worst, FX, 10:30PM
- The Exes, TV Land, 11PM
Thursday
- Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood, NBC, 8PM
- WWE Smackdown, Syfy, 8PM
- The Beauty and the Beast, CW, 8PM
- Boom!, Fox, 8PM
- NFL: Broncos/Chiefs, CBS, 8:25PM
- Cosby: The Women Speak, A&E, 9PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
- Mat Franco’s Got Magic, NBC, 9PM
- Documentary Now!, IFC, 10PM
- Review with Forest Macneil, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, (season finale) FX, 10PM
- Dominion, Syfy, 10PM
- Graceland (season finale), USA, 10PM
- Married, FX, 10:30PM
- Geeks Who Drink, Syfy, 11PM
Friday
- Keith Richards: Under the Influence, Netflix, 3AM
- Think It Up, CBS/Fox/NBC, 8PM
- Cold Justice (season finale), TNT, 8PM
- Masters of Illusion, CW, 8PM
- Cold Justice: Sex Crimes, TNT, 9PM
- Strike Back, Cinemax, 10PM
- Z Nation, Syfy, 10PM
- Continuum, Syfy, 11PM
- Black Jesus (season premiere), Cartoon Network, 11PM
Saturday
- College football: Cal/Texas, Fox, 7PM
- Cedar Cove (season finale), Hallmark, 8PM
- Ungodly Acts, Lifetime, 8PM
- College football: Stanford/USC, ABC, 8PM
- Doctor Who (season premiere), BBC America, 9PM
- Blunt Talk, Starz, 9PM
- Mythbusters, Discovery, 9PM
- Survivor’s Remorse, Starz, 9:30PM
- Ferrell Takes the Field, HBO, 10PM
- Steve Rannazzisi: Breaking Dad, Comedy Central, 11PM
- The Half Hour, Comedy Central, 12 & 12:30AM
Sunday
- Singapore F1 GP, NBC Sports Network, 7:30AM
- The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, Fox, 8PM
- Sunday Night Football: Seahawks/Packers, NBC, 8:20PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Fear the Walking Dead , AMC, 9PM
- Ray Donovan, Showtime 9PM
- Project Greenlight, HBO, 10PM
- Masters of Sex, Showtime, 10PM
- The Strain, FX, 10PM
- Naked & Afraid, Discovery, 10PM
- Doll & Em, HBO, 10:30PM
Filed under:
Home Entertainment, HD
Tags: DoctorWho, ForzaMotorsport6, hdpostcross, listings, MustSeeHdtv, TheMindyProject, video
CBS All Access can now be streamed to your Android TV
Android TV is Google’s home for streaming all your media right to your TV. Today, Google is adding a new partner.
Starting today, CBS All Access is available for Android TV. If you’re a subscriber of the service, you can now stream CBS content and the live CBS network right to your Android TV enabled set-top box. With the service, subscribers can choose from thousands of episodes from current seasons, previous seasons in addition to classic shows.
If you want to become a member, a 7-day free trial is available and then the service will cost $5.99 per month. Members will be able to watch their favorite content on all their favorite devices including the big screen. You can sign up at their website.
Come comment on this article: CBS All Access can now be streamed to your Android TV
Select Best Buy locations to include Verizon and AT&T stores
In the near future you might find a Verizon or AT&T store right inside your local Best Buy.
Recent reports suggest both Verizon and AT&T are working to bring mini locations inside Best Buy retail stores. Now don’t get too excited, this will only be coming to select Best Buy stores, likely a small amount initially. You may be thinking, but the two are competing against each other? Correct they are. They will also be competing against Samsung Experience shops already present in many Best Buy stores. Each will have their own section providing consumers hands-on experience with the newest devices and gadgets.
Best Buy will go about this by charging both carriers rent and perhaps a small percentage of overall sales. From what we have heard so far, it looks like the carriers will also have to hire their own employees. The idea is to have many products and services all in one building providing a hassle free experience for consumers. As for the carriers, expanding their influence in more locations is always a good thing. Essentially, it’s steeling part of Best Buy’s crowd.
According to AT&T, the implementation could begin as early as this month. While Verizon will start a bit later. We’ll keep a close eye.
Source: AT&T
Come comment on this article: Select Best Buy locations to include Verizon and AT&T stores
Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook may soon get a ‘dislike’ button
If you’ve ever stumbled across a somber post on Facebook that seems a tad too inappropriate to ‘like’, there may be another option sometime soon. In a Q&A session earlier today, co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the Facebook team is working on adding a ‘dislike’ button to its posts. Not only that, the new button may soon launch as a test sometime relatively soon.
Zuckerberg explains:
People have asked about the ‘dislike’ button for many years, and probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it.
Simply adding a new button to users’ posts isn’t that easy, though. The CEO has expressed his concerns that Facebook could potentially turn into a place where users could go to up and downvote every post they see, similar to how Reddit operates. He says:
That doesn’t seem like the kind of community that we want to create: You don’t want to go through the process of sharing some moment that was important to you in your day and have someone ‘downvote’ it.
Instead, users can think of the ‘dislike’ button as a way to express empathy to their Facebook friends. Zuckerberg says the dislike interaction is surprisingly complicated to create, but the social network as a whole will soon begin testing the feature before a wider rollout takes place. There’s no word as to when we’ll see a wider rollout of the ‘dislike’ button, but it looks like it won’t be too much longer until some users get to use the widely-requested feature.
AIVAnet 