Your Netgear router may expose your password if you don’t update its firmware
Why it matters to you
Another vulnerability identified in Netgear routers serves as a reminder to make sure the firmware is updated on all of your internet-connected devices.
The security of internet infrastructure devices like routers and wireless access points, along with all kinds of devices that connect through them, has been of particular concern lately. Recent distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have originated in Internet of Things (IoT) devices, for example, and a slowdown in such issues doesn’t seem imminent.
Although Netgear recently released firmware updates to resolve a malicious link exploit in its line of internet routers, yet another issue remains to be tackled. This time around, it’s a vulnerability that can expose the administrator password in certain Netgear routers, as Tom’s Hardware reports.
More: It may be time to turn off your router: Netgear confirms security vulnerability
According to security firm Trustwave, Netgear routers have actually suffered from a couple of security vulnerabilities since April 2016. Although Netgear was contacted by Trustwave on a number of occasions during the ensuing nine months, Netgear didn’t provide a direct response although it did eventually issue a security bulletin covering the issue.
As researcher Simon Kenin indicated on the Trustwave blog Monday, the vulnerability is simple enough that even someone with limited programming skills can exploit it. Kenin describes the bugs as such: “After few trials and errors trying to reproduce the issue, I found that the very first call to passwordrecovered.cgi will give out the credentials no matter what the parameter you send. This is a totally new bug that I haven’t seen anywhere else. When I tested both bugs on different Netgear models, I found that my second bug works on a much wider range of models.”
The two bugs require either physical access to a router or remote access to be turned on. According to Trustwave’s analysis, at least 10,000, and likely hundreds of thousands or even millions of devices, are potentially vulnerable. For Netgear’s part, the company did issue an advisory in June 2016, along with a workaround for the issue, and has since released firmware updates to resolve it.
The bottom line, as usual, is to at least ensure that your router is fully updated with the latest firmware and that you have turned off all features — such as remote access capability — that could open your network up for attack. Conducting research on which internet-connected devices are considered secure should also be added to the list of specifications when making a purchase.
Right now, you can get a Samsung Gear VR Headset for only $48
Virtual reality is the future, and heavy hitters such as Sony, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are betting big on the newfangled tech. If you want a taste of the adrenaline-pumping, 360-degree action that VR has to offer, you can score the latest International version of the Samsung Gear VR Virtual Reality Headset for only $48 on Amazon right now. The headset carries an MSRP price of $100 is currently available for $48 (a 52 percent drop), but only for a limited time. http://amzn.to/2jNQpLu
We got some hands-on time with the new Gear VR back in August and found that it’s the best way to experience virtual reality on your phone. The Gear VR was our favorite product in 2015 because of its promising technology, and it hasn’t failed to impress us since. From the design to the price point, it truly is a headset for everyone, providing an experience unlike anything you can get on your phone, computer, or TV alone.
More: Samsung Gear VR review
The latest model release focused on fixing the small details to make an even better product. It still has the same basic interface and uses the Oculus app store, which now has about 250 games and apps on offer. This version comes with improvements such as a black design that prevents light from bleeding in, meaning you’re less likely to get distracted while using it. The lenses are also larger and now have a separator between them, giving you a slightly larger 101-degree field of view. Even the phone cover is more attractive, so while your phone is snapped in, you won’t look all discombobulated.
More: Fifteen immersive apps and games that make Samsung’s Gear VR a must-have
The only catch is that this International version may have packaging that is in a different language than English, but you can easily figure out how to set it up and get going with a few Google searches. There are no wires or complicated programming required, as you just snap your smartphone into the Gear VR and dive right into you 360 experiences. It’s fully compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S6, and Galaxy S6 edge.
Pick up a black Samsung Gear VR 2016, Virtual Reality Headset (International Version) for $48 on Amazon for a limited time only.
$48 on Amazon
Get Siri-ous about your Super Bowl preparations with Apple’s AI assistant
Why it matters to you
Whether you need to figure out how to get the game on or how to get home, Siri has you covered for Super Bowl Sunday.
Super Bowl Sunday is right around the corner, and the only person readier than you are is Siri.
On Monday, Apple revealed how its famous AI assistant will be helping sports fans gear up for the big game, and suffice it to say that you’ll be more in tune with the action this year than ever before. From team rosters to player comparisons to historical statistics and records, Siri has all the information you need to impress your friends and family with the depth of your football knowledge.
And when it comes to actually watching the game, Apple TV owners have the ability to tune in simply by saying, “Watch the Super Bowl.” So don’t worry about finding the right channel (or even the remote) — Siri has you covered. If you’re not planning on watching from your living room, however, Siri can also tell you where to watch the game, or send you reminders to do things like wear the right team’s jersey.
More: Grace Digital’s SiriusXM Sound Station offers big features in a small package
You can even get granular with Siri, asking things like “Who has more rushing yards this season, Tom Brady or Matt Ryan?” or “What college did Tom Brady play for?” And of course, Apple’s smart assistant knows some things about party planning. You can have Siri remind you to pick up supplies and ingredients in the days leading up to the big game, or make sure you have directions to the nearest sports bar so you don’t miss a second of the action.
And when all is said and done, you can get Siri to take you home — or at least, book a ride that can get you from the festivities to your front door, if you’re not in a condition to drive. And if you need something else, remember to just say, “Hey Siri, What can you help me with?”
Physicists inadvertently discover a way to mass-produce graphene
Why it matters to you
Cheaper graphene will drive research into the wonder material, with implications extending from increased battery capacity to medical breakthroughs, and beyond.
By this point, you’ve almost certainly heard of graphene: the ultra-strong, ultra-versatile wonder material that can seemingly do no wrong. But while graphene has a wealth of potentially transformative use-cases, one problem it has had until now is that it can’t be easily and cheaply mass-produced.
That may have changed courtesy of a breakthrough at Kansas State University, where physicists have inadvertently discovered a way to mass-produce graphene using nothing more complex than hydrocarbon gas, oxygen, and a spark plug.
The method, which has now been patented, involves oxygen and either acetylene or ethylene gas being placed into a chamber, with the spark plug then prompting a contained detonation that produces the graphene in bulk.
More: How graphene will shape the world of tomorrow
Lead inventor Professor Chris Sorensen described the discovery to Digital Trends as “serendipity” striking. “We got lucky,” he said — noting that the discovery was a fortunate byproduct of work being done into carbon soot aerosol gels. Nonetheless, it is a particularly exciting step forward,
“We’ve looked at what other people have achieved with synthetic methods and we feel our method has a number of advantages,” Professor Sorensen said. “The biggest of those is simplicity. All we have to do is to fill a chamber with some oxygen and hydrocarbon, and then use a detonation. We don’t need a catalyst, there are no nasty chemicals, and it looks scaleable. We think it’s a very nice process.”
As noted, graphene has a range of incredibly exciting applications — extending from potentially improving smartphone battery life to acting as a material for future wearable tech, or even detecting cancer in the human body. There are plenty of labs around the world doing this exciting work, and hopefully now they’ll have a ready supply to carry it out with.
“I’m not a graphene physicist, I’m an aerosol scientist,” Sorensen said, self-effacingly. “I feel a bit like I’ve adopted a wolf. The wolf loves me and I love the wolf, so I’m going to keep her, but it’s not my area of expertise. It would be great to license this stuff, and we’re already getting some interest from people about that.”
Get your ax ready: AMD’s new Radeon driver is optimized for barbarian use
Why it matters to you
Radeon-branded graphics cards should see improve performance for a couple betas and five PC games with prior issues.
On Monday, AMD released its newest driver for Radeon-branded graphics cards: Radeon Software Crimson ReLive Edition 17.1.2. It’s optimized for the new Conan Exiles beta from Funcom and Ubisoft’s beta for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. The new driver also fixes issues with five specific games including Diablo III and Watch Dogs 2.
For starters, here are the resolved gaming issues:
Game
Problem
Diablo III:
DirectX 9 caused corrupted smoke or lighting effects.
————–
FIFA 17:
Systems with Hybrid Graphics or AMD PowerXpress configurations experienced a black screen at launch.
————–
Watch Dogs 2:
Systems with Radeon RX 300 cards saw intermittent game crashes after extended periods of play.
————–
Paragon:
Systems with multiple GPUs experienced flickering in profile or store preview pages after changing the graphics settings.
————–
Forza Horizon 3:
Select Radeon GCN-based cards caused crashes or hangs with the game’s Blizzard Mountain DLC installed.
As for all other fixed issues, there are only two. First, AMD addressed an issue with “atidxx64.dll” that caused intermittent or random runtime crashes with some applications. The other issue was related to Radeon WattMan, changing memory clocks, and multiple displays.
“Changing memory clocks with Radeon WattMan with more than one display connected may cause memory clocks to intermittently become stuck at their minimum setting or switch between min and max ranges intermittently causing display flickering,” AMD states in the release notes.
More: Here’s how you can score a free Radeon graphics card based on AMD’s Vega design
That’s it for fixes and improvements. The rest of AMD’s release notes cover the outstanding issues that need to be addressed, and a long, separate list of issues related to AMD’s new Radeon ReLive feature. One problem is linked to Xbox DVR, which AMD suggests users should disable if Radeon ReLive is experiencing issues. Another is linked to Windows 10 apps sold in the Windows Store (UWP), which cause “graphical corruption” during the first few recorded frames after the app is launched.
Here are three outstanding game-related issues with Radeon ReLive:
Game/App
Problem
Battlefield 1:
Radeon cards with 4GB of VRAM or less may cause performance drops and/or UI flickering while recording gameplay.
————–
DayZ:
This game may crash when Radeon ReLive Instant Replay/Recording is active. This feature may not work correctly either.
————–
Vulkan (setting):
PC games with Vulkan set as the graphics API will hang when Radeon ReLive is used to record.
Now here are other issues regarding Radeon ReLive:
- Users aren’t told when they’re running out of disk space while recording.
- Users can’t change recording settings when Instant Replay is enabled.
- The feature may stop working once a second display is “hot” unplugged.
- ReLive may fail to install on systems with APUs. The feature may also hang or fail to record on APU-based systems.
- A long recording session could cause flickering in the overlay or actual recording.
To grab AMD’s new driver for Radeon cards, click on the appropriate operating system below:
Windows 7
Windows 8.1
Windows 10
32-bit
32-bit
32-bit
64-bit
64-bit
64-bit
Flunking the bar: MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar gets boot from N.C.’s lawyer exam
Why it matters to you
This rule may set a precedent for the Touch Bar’s exclusion during other tests.
Apple’s latest MacBook Pro innovation is the Touch Bar, an OLED strip above the keyboard that replaces the static row of function keys with an adaptive display that provides task-specific input options. The Touch Bar is, essentially, a programmable display that creative developers can adapt in a number of ways.
Apparently, the Touch Bar’s very flexibility can be a problem for situations where a MacBook Pro needs to be carefully monitored and controlled. One example is using a MacBook Pro for taking exams, as 9to5Mac reports.
More: Apple’s Touch Bar is like having an iPhone built into your MacBook
Following their years of education, lawyer candidates need to take an exam to practice law. The bar exam is an important step to becoming a lawyer and the Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina is working to ensure that the integrity of the exam is being maintained.
Specifically, MacBook Pro users need to take an extra step, according to a notice issued by the Board: “all applicants who will be using their laptop at the February 2017 North Carolina Bar Examination. If you are planning to use the newest version of the Mac Book Pro with Touch Bar, you will be required to disable the Touch Bar feature prior to entry into the Bar Examination Site.”
The instructions provided don’t actually turn off the bar entirely, but rather switch it to its Extended Control Strip setting. In this mode, the bar no longer responds contextually to how the machine is being used but rather reverts to a virtual facsimile of the old-school function keys. To enter this mode, go to System Preferences, double-click on the keyboard option, open the “Touch Bar Shows” drop-down menu, and choose “Expanded Control Strip.”
According to board staff member Brian Szontagh, “applications are required to disable the Touch Bar because it can compromise Examination integrity and security.” Software provided by developer ExamSoft already is used by the Board to make sure that users can’t access the internet, files, and apps in order to cheat on the bar exam, but that software can’t yet be used to remove the Touch Bar as a potential vulnerability.
It’s likely that other organizations will follow suit in requiring MacBook Pro users to turn off the Touch Bar before beginning an exam. You might want to keep those instructions handy to make sure you can quickly and easily turn off the bar’s context-sensitive capabilities.
Newly created ‘time crystals’ jiggle like Jell-O without requiring any energy
Why it matters to you
They may sound like something straight out of Star Trek, but newly created “time crystals” truly are a scientific marvel. They jiggle like Jello-O, but do so without requiring any energy at all.
Time crystals sound like something that should be powering the Starship Enterprise.
In fact, they’re the focus of a fascinating, albeit mind-bending piece of research recently published in the journal Physical Review Letters. The idea is, at least conceptually, fairly simple: With standard crystals being structures in which patterns of atoms or molecules repeat in space, would it be possible to have that same repeating pattern play out over time?
More: In your face, science! This 3D printed structure shrinks when heated, expands when cooled
Apparently so, as two groups of researchers have been able to show. Professor Norman Yao from the University of California, Berkeley described how to make and measure these crystals, as well as predict the different phases surrounding them.
To create the crystals, researchers at the University of Maryland connected 10 ytterbium atoms and then struck them with two lasers multiple times as a way to keep them out of equilibrium.
If all that sounds a bit too much like hard work, then you can at least consider what the resulting creations look like: They’re essentially crystals that jiggle like Jello-O, but do so without requiring any energy at all. In essence, it’s the perpetually moving, constantly shifting nerdy desk toy we’ve always dreamed of.
“This is a new phase of matter, period, but it is also really cool because it is one of the first examples of non-equilibrium matter,” Yao told the news service EurekAlert!. “For the last half-century, we have been exploring equilibrium matter, like metals and insulators. We are just now starting to explore a whole new landscape of non-equilibrium matter.”
The idea of time crystals was first proposed by the Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek in 2012.
According to Yao, there’s no immediately obvious real-world application for this specific time crystal, although other “phases of non-equilibrium matter” could be useful in quantum computing.
Android 7.1.2 now available in beta for Nexus and Pixel devices
A new version of Android 7.x Nougat is rolling out now!
Android 7.1.2 is rolling out to Nexus and Pixel devices through Google’s beta channel, according to a post on the company’s developer blog.
Called “the next maintenance release” for Android 7.x Nougat, Google says that “refinements,” including “bugfixes and optimizations, along with a small number of enhancements for carriers and users.”
Google says the beta, like all previous versions, is compatible with Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 5X, Nexus Player, and Pixel C devices, with an update forthcoming for the Nexus 6P. The final version of Android 7.1.2 will roll out to the same devices when it is ready “in just a couple of months.”
How to enrol in the Android Beta Program
Android Nougat
- Android 7.0 Nougat: Everything you need to know
- Will my phone get Android Nougat?
- Google Pixel + Pixel XL review
- All Android Nougat news
- How to manually update your Nexus or Pixel
- Join the Discussion
Nextbit acquired by Razer, will cease Robin sales immediately
The story arc of Nextbit continues inside of a bigger company.
Nextbit has announced it is being acquired by Razer, ending its run as an independent startup phone company. As part of the transition, it will stop all sales of its first (and only) phone, the Robin, along with accessories. It will, however, commit to honoring warranties for the next six months, and releasing security updates until February 2018.
Nextbit will continue to operate as an independent division inside of Razer to work on what it knows best — mobile hardware and software. The short blog post on Nextbit’s community page outlines the move pretty succinctly:
Nextbit will operate as an independent division inside Razer, focused on unique mobile design and experiences. To put it simply, we’ll be doing exactly what we’ve been doing all along, only bigger and better.
Razer is known primarily for its lineup of gaming accessories, but more recently for its move into audacious and popular laptops. Acquiring some interesting software technology and a whole bunch of really smart people definitely makes sense if Razer plans to expand its product portfolio to mobile devices.
From Nextbit’s point of view, being acquired by a larger company seemed like an inevitable next step. The Robin was a great phone, particularly as it got on in age and was regularly available for less than $200, but Nextbit never felt like it could carry on selling several generations phones primarily built around a single feature of seamless cloud backup.
The only hope now is that Nextbit doesn’t lose the awesome software and design DNA that made it such a unique company in the mobile space that has become increasingly homogenized over the past few years. What this means for a proper Razer phone or tablet in the future is anyone’s guess.
Google employees in eight U.S. offices stage walkout protests
Google employees are protesting and you can watch it unfold on Twitter.
Google employees in eight separate locations are joining the greater #NoBanNoWall protest, and have walked out of their offices.
Malt Ubl, Tech lead of Google’s AMP project, and other employees have posted images on Twitter using the hashtag #GooglersUnite showing several of Google’s offices with large crowds in the parking lots and on the lawns, and everything looks to be peaceful and lawful.
Simultaneous walk out in 8 Google offices across entire US in support of #NoBanNoWall happening now. #GooglersUnite pic.twitter.com/mxRN1udLK8
— Malte Ubl (@cramforce) January 30, 2017
This follows CEO Sundar Pichai’s internal comments ordering U.S. employees working overseas to return home and Google implementing a $4 million fund to help organizations who assist immigrants.
See it unfold on Twitter
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