Netgear admits its routers are vulnerable to remote attacks
Several Netgear routers, including some of most popular models on Amazon, have been vulnerable to remote attacks for months. According to Wired, a security researcher named Andrew Rollins discovered the flaw and notified the company about it way back on August 25th but didn’t get a reply. He went public with the information after waiting for over three months, prompting Homeland Security to issue a warning a few days ago. Now, the company has finally admitted that it’s aware of the problem, named all the affected devices and released patches for some of them.
Based on Netgear’s announcement, there are 11 affected devices.
- R6250*
- R6400*
- R6700*
- R6900
- R7000*
- R7100LG
- R7300
- R7900
- R8000*
- D6220
- D7000
The company already issued patches for the R6250, R6400, R6700, R7000 and R8000, but you’ll have to install them manually since Netgear doesn’t have a means to push an over-the-air update. It’s unclear why the company isn’t done putting patches together for the other models — Rollins told Wired that it’s making Netgear look incompetent as the flaw is “not that hard to fix at all.”
In case you’re using any of the models that has yet to be patched, you may want to take Homeland Security’s advice. The flaw is pretty easy to exploit, after all, and a hacker could easily take control of your computers to make them part of a botnet. DHS pointed to a blog post by computer science researcher Bas van Schaik for a temporary fix, though it mentioned a much easier option you can take: stop using your router until a patch is available.
Via: Wired
Source: Netgear, Homeland Security
DaVinci Resolve Video Editing Suite Update Brings Touch Bar Support and More
Blackmagic Design today announced a new update to its professional video editing and color correction software, DaVinci Resolve, featuring Touch Bar support on compatible MacBook Pros.
The 12.5.4 update brings context sensitive tools to the OLED keyboard strip that dynamically change based on the current task. For example, on the Media page, users can instantly add the current clip to a bin, switch between icon and list view, display clip attributes, search media and show metadata simply by tapping on the Touch Bar.
When editing video, the Touch Bar is context sensitive and displays commands based on whether the media pool, source viewer or timeline are selected. Customers can quickly switch between trim modes, navigate the timeline and perform different types of edits without ever having to use the mouse or pull down menus.
Colorists can use the Touch Bar to do everything from adjusting primary sliders and color wheels, to changing mid tone detail, saturation, tint and more. The Touch Bar can be used to save or wipe gallery stills, toggle viewer modes, work with split screen mode to compare shots and even use multi touch gestures to adjust multiple color parameters, such as printer lights, at the same time.
The update also brings support for Rec. 2100, a superset of Rec. 2020 that defines high dynamic range (HDR) formats. New sliders have been added to control Dolby VisionTM analysis data, while support has been added for Grass Valley HQ and HQX codecs on Mac, among other additions.
The DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio 12.5.4 update is now available for download from the Blackmagic Design website for all current DaVinci Resolve users.
Tags: Touch Bar, DaVinci Resolve
Discuss this article in our forums
Recording industry writes Trump on the eve of tech CEO visit
According to multiple reports, on Wednesday a number of high-profile tech execs will visit President-elect Donald Trump. The list includes Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, Tim Cook, Sheryl Sandberg, Jeff Bezos, Brian Krzanich and a number of others. Before that meeting goes down, however, the “music community” consisting of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and friends decided this was the time to speak up. In a letter (PDF) to Trump, the industry made its case for how valuable music is, and how that value (for their member companies) is being siphoned away by tech companies that don’t do enough to make sure every note is paid for.
What they may have forgotten to mention is how common these letters are. This isn’t even the first letter from the industry to Trump, after members of the RIAA’s National Advocacy Committee wrote him at the end of November insisting that he take a look at the state of copyright. That’s not special treatment either, as the RIAA wrote Obama frequently, to congratulate him on appointing some of its lawyers to positions in the Justice Department in 2009, and in 2010 in favor of the (later rejected by the EU) Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
This time, as Billboard explains, instead of just piracy, it’s also focusing things like the consent decrees that govern industry licensing through ASCAP and BMI, and the “value gap” between what different services like Spotify and YouTube pay for music.
While there are many with concerns they’d like to have addressed by the Trump administration, it seems like this letter was really for publicly addressing those tech execs. If the RIAA wanted Trump to read its letter, they could’ve just had Kanye hand it to him when they had their meeting today.
Source: RIAA
Wall Street wants algorithms that trade based on Trump’s tweets
President elect Donald Trump’s ability to move the stock market with a tweet became readily apparent yesterday after an early morning tweet about Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet program caused the company to lose $4 billion in market value. While that’s a major loss for the company, it actually presents an opportunity for traders on Wall Street, some of whom have already started looking for ways to easily cash in on the volatility Trump brings to the market.
The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016
As Politico reports today some traders and hedge funds are not only keeping a close eye on Trump’s twitter feed — they are already working on ways to plug that feed directly into their computer trading models.
“There are people diligently working to create algorithms for Trump’s tweets,” Zachary David, a senior analyst with consulting firm KOR Group told Politico. “And if he continues to increase the size of the data set then we’ll likely see full automation sooner than later.” But having an algorithm interpret natural language is a complex task (just ask Apple’s Siri engineers), further complicated by Trump’s use of irony and sarcasm that can be difficult to parse for meaning. (Take his frequent usage of “Sad!” for example.) And a wrong call from the algorithm could lead to a big hit in some fund manager’s portfolio.
On the other hand, the market also tends to correct itself, as it did after Boeing’s stock took a dive following Trump’s tweet about the high cost of Air Force One. In that case, Boeing’s stock bounced back to a new high, but if that pattern holds it will present another clear opportunity for savvy traders to swoop in, buy Trump-depressed stock at a discount and then profit off of the correction.
Source: Politico, The Guardian
Slack now has built-in video calling
Slack’s quest to become a do-it-all chat app continues. The company is trotting out video calling support in the Mac, Windows and Chrome versions of its client, making it easy to see a coworker or catch up with a friend. Anyone can start a one-on-one chat, while those on paid plans can have calls with as many as 15 people at once — handy for virtual meetings where your voice isn’t enough. This isn’t exactly a revolutionary feature by itself, but Slack adds its signature emoji responses to let you raise your hand or offer approval without interrupting the discussion.
You can still tell the app to default to using third-party video services like Google Hangouts, so you’re not locked into Slack’s software.
The feature should reach desktop users in the “next few days.” Mobile users aren’t left completely in the lurch, but they won’t get the full experience, unfortunately. They can join an active video call, but only on the audio side. There’s no mention of whether or not video calls are coming to mobile, but that’s likely given Slack’s tendency to mirror features across platforms whenever it can.
The upgrade isn’t exactly coming out of left field. Facebook already has a Slack competitor in Workplace, and Microsoft has been signalling that it’s eager to take on Slack with a Skype upgrade. Video calling could keep you from considering rival apps, whether it’s just for video chats or for a wholesale switch.
Via: The Next Web
Source: Slack
Asus ZenPad 3 8.0 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Unlike last year’s 8-inch ZenPad S, the Asus ZenPad 3 settles for a more plasticky build. But don’t be fooled, the tablet features specs as good as those on Apple’s iPad Mini 4. This gives you an option to sacrifice on build quality if your budget’s tight, while keeping decent performance.
It retails in Singapore for S$499, which converts to about $350 in the US, £280 in the UK and AU$470 in Australia respectively. It’s currently not available in the US, but there’s a cheaper 2GB RAM version being sold in Europe.
While I’m not a fan of the less than luxurious plastic rear, the textured surface does make for a very good grip. This tablet will not easily slip out of your hands, compared with say the smooth metal rear of the iPad Mini. The 7.9-inch, 2,048 x 1,536 pixel screen is bright and crisp, which makes watching videos on it a treat.
Powered by Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the tablet runs a heavily customized version of Google’s mobile operating system. Asus has loaded plenty of its own tweaks into the system, which can result in a very frustrating experience if you prefer the stock Google OS. Right from the get go, I was prompted to update a total of at least 18 Asus apps, which doesn’t sound very fun.
Asus ZenPad 3 8.0 is an affordable premium…
See full gallery
1 – 4 of 6
Next
Prev
The power button is located on the right side along with the volume controls, and is easy enough to reach. On the rear you’ll find an 8-megapixel camera, and if you like taking selfies, there’s a front 2-megapixel shooter just for this.
Key Specs
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 650, 1.8GHz
- 4GB RAM
- 4,680mAh embedded battery
- 4G support
- USB Type-C port
Meant as an entertainment device, the ZenPad’s dual speakers are located at the front towards you, so you’ll get a pretty good audio experience when playing games or watching videos. While I was initially worried about blocking the speakers with my fat palms, that wasn’t the case.
The ZenPad 3 8.0 is a pretty good tablet to grab if you want a value tablet, but bear in mind it’s currently only sold in select countries in Asia. If you’re traveling to this part of the world and want to buy gadgets, this could be something worth considering.
The front-facing speakers are located at the edge, but your hands aren’t likely to block them.
Aloysius Low/CNET
Tesla is working on a fix for jerks parking at Superchargers
What’s a Tesla owner to do when they roll up to a Supercharger station and every terminal is occupied by a fully-charged car? That’s a question CEO Elon Musk needs to find an answer to. He recently acknowledged the issue on Twitter and said that the company “will take action,” as spotted by Autoblog. What that will look like isn’t clear at the moment.
Tesla has already announced that starting January 1st, customers won’t get free unlimited charging with a new vehicle purchase — a decision that’s also helping the forthcoming Model 3 hit a lower price point. It might also keep charging stations from getting even more crowded. If Musk can figure out a way to get reusable rockets to Mars, coming up with a way to stop jerks from treating charging stations like parking meters should be comparatively easy.
Via: Autoblog
Source: Elon Musk (Twitter)
‘Overwatch’ unleashes Winter Wonderland event
The latest themed event for Overwatch is here, as “Winter Wonderland” has settled in for its run through January 2nd. Players of Blizzard’s team-based shooter are getting an update on their consoles and PCs that brings loot boxes filled with over 100 cosmetic items available only for a limited time. There’s also a special Brawl mode for the event focused on ice-spraying hero Mei. The 6v6 Mei’s Snowball Offensive replaces her weapon with a single-shot snowball gun, that needs to be reloaded at snow piles located around the level, while her Ultimate ability upgrades it for semi-automatic fire.
Beyond the cosmetic and game mode changes, the update also brings several other highly-anticipated tweaks for the game. The ability to party up with random players you encounter using the “Stay as Team” feature is now widely available, along with new abilities for Symmetra. Recently-added hero Sombra also has a new “Boop” unlockable voice line, and there’s a slew of bug fixes noted in the official changelog.
As usual, all of these updates are free, however, anyone obsessed with the collectibles might buy loot boxes instead of waiting to earn a few chances just by leveling up.
Source: Play Overwatch, Changelog
‘Apple Support’ App Launches in U.S. App Store
One month after debuting in the Netherlands, Apple’s specialized Apple Support app has gone live in the U.S. App Store, reports TechCrunch. The app gives Apple users an easy way to get support for their devices on the go.
The app is designed to mimic Apple’s dedicated support website, providing a list of Apple devices owned by the user and giving them access to documentation for those devices. The app also allows users to schedule repairs in an Apple retail store or natively chat with Apple’s support staff. Once they conclude their chat session, users can see their recent support history.
The Apple Support app was first rumored last November, when Sonny Dickson debuted screenshots of the app early in its development.
Apple Support is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Tag: Apple Support
Discuss this article in our forums
AIVAnet 