‘Slender Man’ trailer is proof some things shouldn’t leave the internet

I suppose it’s better that the first internet-inspired meme to hit theaters will be the Slender Man instead of Grumpy Cat (whose movie was straight to video, chumps!), but creepy copypasta from the internet’s teenage days sounds like a terribly thin base for, y’know, a feature-length production. But some industry exec’s kid probably got spooked from a Slender Man thing once and idea-strapped Hollywood decided to spend money adapting web-bred spoopiness into a horror flick. Behold, the trailer for Slender Man.

It looks…well, like a lot of the low-budget horror the film industry craps out in hopes of scoring the next Paranormal Activity. Slow tracking shots of woods with haunting music, lost girl, spooky shadows, desaturated hospital shots, quickly-edited monochrome clips of disturbing things like maggots and artificial insemination (?). And then, at the end, a shadow of the titular tall boy himself.

Why not mine the dregs of late-2000s SomethingAwful forums for film ideas? (Aside from two imaginative preteens claiming that the Slender Man pushed them to attempt murder back in 2014.) Sure, the sinister character inspired a lot of connected fiction (a la Lovecraft) and a few video games, but like Jaws, Slender Man is spookiest when he’s a creeping menace humming in the background of lo-fi content: The collaborative culture around the character is scarier than the figure alone. We’ll have to see whether that terror holds when he’s CGI’d onto a high-definition theater screen.

Source: IGN (YouTube)

Opera update keeps sites from hijacking your browser to mine bitcoin

Did you know that your browser can be tricked into mining cryptocurrency like BitCoin without your knowledge? Apparently, there are scripts floating around out there on various servers and website plugins that can hijack your web browser and use its CPU for mining purposes, even after the browser window is closed. Yikes. Opera version 50 releases tomorrow at 10 AM CET, and it includes with cryptocurrency mining protection built right into its ad blocker software.

As TechCrunch notes, this isn’t the most efficient way for folks to mine cryptocurrency, but it could be useful at scale. There are already extensions for Chrome and Firefox that block the scripts, but this is the first time a major browser enables it by default with an ad blocker. Opera added the feature in its beta release candidate for the current browser a few weeks back.

Via: TechCrunch

Hisense’s latest 4K TVs will include Amazon Alexa

We’ve found the running theme for TVs at this year’s CES: built-in voice assistants. Hisense has revealed that some of its 2018 4K TVs will include Amazon Alexa, letting you control both the set itself and your smart home. You can change inputs, stream online radio or turn on your lights without budging from the couch. Hisense isn’t saying much about the TVs themselves, but it does note that a 100-inch laser TV will be one of those receiving the Alexa treatment.

You should hear more about Hisense’s lineup by the time CES kicks off. However, it already notes that it’s making “significant investments” in voice control, including a remote control, a mobile app and already-announced Alexa gear including an air conditioner and dehumidifier. Like most of its immediate rivals, it’s making a big bet that AI helpers will be important across much of its product line — TVs are just the star attractions.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

Source: Hisense

Samsung SmartSuits help speed skaters train for the Winter Olympics

Samsung has never been quiet about promoting its partnerships with the Olympics (which extends to the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea), but now it’s trying out new gadgets in the sports world. The company’s Netherlands branch is sponsoring two Dutch short track racers and equipping them with SmartSuits — a new sensor-packed outfit intended to augment their training.

Each SmartSuit has five sensors that feed live body position metrics down to the millimeter back to the national coach’s Galaxy S8 smartphone. There, a custom app ingests the data and calculates each racer’s body position as they make turns on the ice. The coach can use the app to send a vibrating buzz to the suit’s wrist — say, as a prearranged signal to adjust position.

These are training-only suits, so you won’t see the Dutch skaters don them in PyeongChang when the Winter Games start on February 9th, 2018. They’re tailor-made for each athlete, so don’t expect them to show up in retail anytime soon — though tracking your own metrics to improve your own fitness would be a lot more useful than the NFC-packed ‘Smart Suit’ concepts that Samsung was promoting at CES last year.

Via: SamMobile

Source: Samsung

Intel says memory security issue extends beyond its own chips

That major security flaw attributed to Intel chips might not be so Intel-specific after all. After hours of silence, Intel has posted a response denying some of the claims about the exploit, which is believed to revolve around identifying content in an operating system kernel’s protected memory space. The chip giant shot down reports that the issue was unique to its CPUs, noting that it’s working with AMD and ARM (not to mention multiple OS makers) to create a solution — sorry, you’re not safe because you have a Ryzen rig. It also reminded people that the performance hit of the fix would be “workload-dependent,” and shouldn’t be noticeable for the “average computer user.”

The company also asserts that this isn’t a flaw, but rather “software analysis methods” that could potentially grab sensitive info from computing devices. It doesn’t appear to have the ability to corrupt, delete or modify data, Intel added, although that wouldn’t be much comfort if someone took sensitive material. There have been “no instances” of people abusing the vulnerability, Intel chief Brian Krzanich told CNBC.

True to rumors, Intel and other firms had planned to reveal the issue “next week,” or just in time for firmware and software updates that would address the problem. It only piped up sooner because it wanted to address reports.

It’s not shocking that Intel would try to get ahead of the issue in this way. If this really had been an Intel-specific issue, it would have been a serious blow to a company trying to fend off rising competition from AMD and Qualcomm. At the same time, it’s far from reassuring to hear that potential attacks can affect even more systems than first thought, and that few people if any would completely avoid a slowdown (however slight). Like it or not, the device you’re using right now is almost certainly affected by this, and certain users (particularly server operators) are bound to notice it.

Source: Intel Newsroom

Apple nabs murder mystery series starring Octavia Spencer

Apple set a $1 billion budget to secure new original shows back in August and have quietly secured several star-laden productions since. The tech giant just acquired another series, and it’s timely. Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures, The Help) will star in Are You Sleeping?, a show based on Kathleen Barber’s novel of the same name about a woman whose father’s grisly murder is explored in a true crime podcast.

Are You Sleeping? will pry into our societal obsession with true crime media like podcast Serial and show American Crime Story. Naturally, the former’s creator and producer Sarah Koenig will consult on the series, according to Variety. Are You Sleeping? is created and written by Nichelle Tramble Spellman (The Good Wife, Justified) and produced by Reese Witherspoon’s company Hello Sunshine.

That makes the second Witherspoon-involved production snagged by Apple after it bought a TV drama written and created by her and Jennifer Aniston back in November. Aside from that show, Apple secured an anthology series produced by Steven Spielberg in October and a series from Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore last month.

Via: 9to5Mac

Source: Variety

ConnectSense Debuts New HomeKit-Compatible Smart In-Wall Outlet

Ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show that’s set to take place next week, ConnectSense has introduced its latest HomeKit-compatible product, the Smart In-Wall Outlet.

ConnectSense first released a HomeKit-enabled dual-plug Smart Outlet back in 2015, and is now following it up with an in-wall version.

The Smart In-Wall Outlet is installed in a home in place of a traditional outlet, allowing anything that’s plugged in to be controlled via the ConnectSense app, the Home app, or Siri, much like other homeKit products.

Fans, lights, and other appliances can be plugged into the Smart Outlet, which is designed to connect to a home’s Wi-Fi setup. There are two connected outlets available, each of which can be controlled individually. The outlet offers a quick and easy way to make any product smart, and it provides power monitoring features along with plug detection.

ConnectSense says that in addition to in-home use, the Smart In-Wall Outlet is designed to operate in commercial environments like office buildings, airports, universities, and more, with both 15A and 20A options available.

The Smart In-Wall Outlet will be available for purchase later in 2018. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Tags: HomeKit, ConnectSense, CES 2018
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Apple Working on ‘Are You Sleeping’ TV Show Starring Octavia Spencer

Apple has yet another new original television show in the works, which will star Octavia Spencer, known for her work in movies like “Hidden Figures,” “The Help,” “Gifted,” and “The Shape of Water.”

According to Variety, the upcoming series is a drama called “Are You Sleeping,” which is based on a novel by Kathleen Barber.

Image of Octavia Spencer via Variety
Described as a psychological thriller, the book focuses on a podcast that reopens a murder case, similar to the popular “Serial” podcast. The novel explores how the reopening of the murder case impacts the victim’s daughter and disrupts her life. Sarah Koenig, who created and produced the “Serial” podcast, will consult on the series.

“Are You Sleeping” was written by Nichelle Tramble Spellman, and the series will be produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Chernin Entertainment/Endeavor Content.

Apple is also working with Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine on an as of yet untitled “morning show drama” that will take a look into the “cutthroat world” of morning TV.

Along with these two TV shows, Apple has picked up two additional shows, including a revival of 1985 Steven Spielberg sci-fi series “Amazing Stories” and an untitled space drama developed by Ronald D. Moore, known for “Battlestar Galactica.”

Apple has been heavily pursuing original content since June of 2017, which is when it hired former Sony executives Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht to form a new video unit. Van Amburg and Erlicht, who produced shows like “Breaking Bad,” “The Crown,” and “Better Call Saul,” are running Apple’s video programming efforts on a worldwide scale under iTunes chief Eddy Cue. Since June, Apple has made multiple high-profile TV-related hires and has opened an office at The Culver Studios in Los Angeles.

It’s not yet clear when the first of Apple’s original TV shows will premiere, but it’s possible at least one of these will be ready in time for a 2018 debut.
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Intel Memory Access Design Flaw Already Addressed by Apple in macOS 10.13.2

A serious design flaw and security vulnerability discovered in Intel CPUs has reportedly already been partially addressed by Apple in the recent macOS 10.13.2 update, which was released to the public on December 6.

According to developer Alex Ionescu, Apple introduced a fix in macOS 10.13.2, with additional tweaks set to be introduced in macOS 10.13.3, currently in beta testing. AppleInsider also says that it has heard from “multiple sources within Apple” that updates made in macOS 10.13.2 have mitigated “most” security concerns associated with the KPTI vulnerability.

The question on everyone’s minds: Does MacOS fix the Intel #KPTI Issue? Why yes, yes it does. Say hello to the “Double Map” since 10.13.2 — and with some surprises in 10.13.3 (under Developer NDA so can’t talk/show you). cc @i0n1c @s1guza @patrickwardle pic.twitter.com/S1YJ9tMS63

— Alex Ionescu (@aionescu) January 3, 2018

Publicized yesterday, the design flaw in Intel chips allows normal user programs to see some of the contents of the protected kernel memory, potentially giving hackers and malicious programs access to sensitive information like passwords, login keys, and more.

Full details on the vulnerability continue to be unavailable and under embargo, so it’s not yet clear just how serious it is, but fixing it involves isolating the kernel’s memory from user processes using Kernel Page Table Isolation at the OS level. Implementing Kernel Page Table Isolation could cause a performance hit on some machines.

According to The Register, which first shared details on the vulnerability, Windows and Linux machines will see a 5 to 30 percent slowdown once a fix is in place. It appears Macs may not be hit as heavily, as no noticeable performance slowdowns have been reported since the launch of macOS 10.13.2.

Ionescu also says that performance drop on a system with PCID (Process-Context Identifiers), available on most modern Macs, is “minimal,” so most users may not see an impact on day-to-day Mac usage.

Tag: Intel
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Intel Claims Security Flaw Also Impacts Non-Intel Chips, Exploits Can’t Corrupt, Modify or Delete Data

Intel this afternoon addressed reports of a serious design flaw and security vulnerability in its CPUs, shedding additional light on the issue that was uncovered yesterday and has since received extensive media coverage.

In a statement on its website, Intel says that it planned to disclose the vulnerability next week when additional software patches were available, but was forced to make a statement today due to “inaccurate media reports.”

According to Intel, the issue is not limited to Intel chips and the exploits in question do not have the potential to corrupt, modify, or delete data. Despite Intel’s statement, Intel chips are more heavily impacted, and it’s worth noting that Intel makes no mention of reading kernel level data.

Intel and other technology companies have been made aware of new security research describing software analysis methods that, when used for malicious purposes, have the potential to improperly gather sensitive data from computing devices that are operating as designed. Intel believes these exploits do not have the potential to corrupt, modify or delete data.

Recent reports that these exploits are caused by a “bug” or a “flaw” and are unique to Intel products are incorrect. Based on the analysis to date, many types of computing devices — with many different vendors’ processors and operating systems — are susceptible to these exploits.

Intel says it is working with several other technology companies including AMD, ARM, and operating system vendors to “develop an industry-wide approach” to resolve the problem “promptly and constructively.”

As outlined yesterday, the design flaw appears to allow normal user programs to see some of the contents of the protected kernel memory, potentially giving hackers and malicious programs access to sensitive information like passwords, login keys, and more. Fixing the issue involves isolating the kernel’s memory from user processes using Kernel Page Table Isolation at the OS level.

Despite reports suggesting software fixes for the vulnerability could cause slowdowns of 5 to 30 percent on some machines, Intel claims performance impacts are workload-dependent and will not be noticeable to the average computer user.

Intel has begun providing software and firmware updates to mitigate these exploits. 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.

Intel goes on to say that it believes its products are “the most secure in the world” and that the current fixes in the works provide the “best possible security” for its customers. Intel recommends that users install operating system updates as soon as they are available.

For Mac users, Apple has already addressed the design flaw in macOS 10.13.2, which was released to the public on December 6.
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