Instagram Launches New ‘IGTV’ Video Hub for Longer-Form Content [Updated]

Instagram today announced the launch of IGTV, a new video streaming service that’s designed to compete with YouTube. The news was shared during a live broadcast from Instagram’s headquarters in San Francisco.

With the launch of IGTV, which is mobile first and built with smartphones in mind, content creators on Instagram can now upload videos that are as long as one hour to Instagram, up from a single minute.

IGTV focuses on full-screen vertical video, with the ability to interact with other users while watching videos. Anyone can upload IGTV content to Instagram starting today.

Longer-form video content on the social network can be discovered through the IGTV section of the Explore Tab, with Instagram highlighting popular videos from well-known Instagram users. Instagram is also releasing a standalone IGTV app that’s going to launch in the next few weeks.

In the upcoming IGTV app, content will begin playing as soon as it’s opened, which Instagram says is meant to be “just like turning on the TV.” You’ll be able to watch content from people you already follow on Instagram, with the new app also suggesting content based on your interests.

IGTV has channels that are based around creators. When you follow a creator, their content will be displayed for you to watch.

Instagram today also announced that it now boasts 1 billion monthly active users, giving it a huge user base for the new IGTV video service.

Update: The new IGTV app is now available for download from the iOS App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: Instagram
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AMC Launches ‘Stubs-A-List’ MoviePass Competitor for $19.99 Per Month, Launching June 26

AMC today announced the upcoming launch of a new movie-watching service that’s designed to compete with MoviePass, allowing AMC customers to watch several movies per week for a monthly fee.

While MoviePass permits customers to watch one movie per day for $9.95 per month, there have been questions about its long-term sustainability. AMC’s “Stubs-A-List” offering will let customers watch three movies per week for $19.95 plus tax, which it claims is a “sustainable price.”

MoviePass does not permit customers to watch more than one movie per day or to rewatch movies they’ve already seen once, both features that are included in the Stubs-A-List program.

Stubs-A-List can be used at all AMC, AMC Dine-in, and AMC Classic theatres in the United States, with other perks that are not available through MoviePass. Customers can book tickets online in advance, including at AMC Theatres with reserved seating, and it includes IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, Prime, and Big D movies.

Movie tickets can be purchased at AMC Theatres, on the AMC website, or through the AMC Theatres app, available for iOS and Android.

AMC’s new offering also includes all of the benefits of its AMC Stubs Premiere program, with “VIP service levels” at theatres, no online ticketing fees, and discounts on food and beverages, such as free upgrades on popcorn and soda.

Stubs-A-List will be available starting on Tuesday, June 26.

Tag: MoviePass
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Car Consortium That Includes Apple Announces Digital Car Key Specification for Smartphones

The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), an organization that includes Apple, today announced the publication of a new Digital Key Release 1.0 specification, which is a standardized solution designed to let drivers download a digital vehicle key onto their smartphones.

Described as an organization focused on enabling seamless mobile device-to-vehicle connectivity, the CCC’s new Digital Key Release specification is available to all member companies.

In addition to Apple, this includes charter member companies Audi, BMW, General Motors, HYUNDAI, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Samsung, and Volkswagen, plus core members like ALPS ELECTRIC, Continental Automotive GmbH, DENSO, Gemalto, NXP, and Qualcomm Incorporated.

The new Digital Key specification, which uses NFC, was developed to create a “robust ecosystem” around interoperable digital key use cases. It will let drivers lock, unlock, start the engine, and share access to their cars using smart devices like the iPhone with reliable user authentication methods.

It is a secure system that lets vehicle manufacturers transfer a digital key implementation to a smart device using a Trusted Service Manager infrastructure that leverages NFC distance bounding and a direct link to the secure element of the device. This kind of technology has a wide range of uses, such as car sharing and car rentals, along with key-free operation.

Given the interest in the initial release, the CCC has begun work on a Digital Key 2.0 specification that will offer a standardized authentication protocol between a vehicle and a smart device, ensuring interoperability between different smart devices and vehicles. The Digital Key 2.0 specification has a target completion date of Q1 2019.

Several car manufacturers, such as Audi, already offer Digital Key services to their customers, while others, like Volkswagen, plan to implement the feature in the near future.
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Brother launches Work Smart series of compact, connected printers for home

Brother MFC-J895DW

The newest printers from Brother are small on both size and price — on Tuesday, June 19, Brother International Corporation announced the Work Smart Series, a line of connected budget printers for casual users and home offices. The series includes four models priced from about $80 to $130: the MFC-J491DW, the MFC-J497DW, the MFC-J690DW and the MFC-J895DW.

Brother says the new inkjet line is designed with a mix of features in a more compact design. All four new printers include a built-in scanner along with copy and fax functions. The full series includes wireless connectivity, allowing the printer to handle files from both a desktop computer and a smartphone. That connectivity works for prints as well as receiving scans using compatible apps. The highest priced model, the J895DW, also includes near field communication (NFC) to send prints and receive scans from a mobile device that’s also equipped with NFC and uses Android OS 4.4 or later.

Designed for home use, Brother says the new printers are more compact than earlier options. Ink for the new series is available in a standard capacity as well as high-yield, along with compatibility with automatic ink replacement with Brother Refresh and Amazon Dash Replenishment. All four also include a USB 2.0 connection for wired communication.

The $130 model, the J89DW, uses a 150 sheet tray and has an Ethernet cable along with that NFC. Both that model and the $120 J690DW have a 2.7-inch color touchscreen, slots for scanning SD cards, a manual feed slot, and faster color prints at 10 pages per minute. The J491DW and J497DW use smaller 1.8-inch touchscreens. The J690DW is the only option in the series with a photo tray. Across the series, the printers have a 12 page per minute print speed for black and white prints.

“These all-in-one printers offer a lot of functionality without taking up a lot of space,” Phil Lubell, senior director of B2C product marketing at Brother, said in a press release. “The new Work Smart Series delivers the quality expected from Brother along with reliable printing in a compact size, without compromising on connectivity, mobile device printing or paper handling.” 

The new Work Smart printers are available beginning today both online and in-stores.

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Goodbye, MSN: Microsoft rebrands news service, releases app on Android and iOS

On Wednesday, June 20, Microsoft announced the launch of Microsoft News — the new name for its news engine that runs MSN.com, Microsoft Edge, Windows 10, and more. In addition, the company also released its newly revamped Microsoft News app, formerly known as the MSN News app, for iOS and Android.

Whether you’re on a desktop or your smartphone, Microsoft News allows you to customize the news you receive. You can personalize your feed by selecting specific interests to follow and it also prioritizes your chosen topics all via the Microsoft Edge Start page.

In terms of changes to the interface, the Microsoft News app has been designed to include more of a modern look. The update also offers a few new features to allow for a better overall user experience.

For starters, users have the ability to tailor the app to their interests the same way they would with the desktop version. In your news feed, you can now follow categories such as world news, fitness, personal finance, lifestyle, and more. There is the option to follow local news options for top cities as well. All of your preferences also sync across the app and web.

When it comes to the interface, Microsoft News has a new dark theme mode available along with continuous reading for a smoother experience. You can also configure breaking news alerts to your device in order to stay on top of what is currently happening.

Microsoft News pulls content across more than 1,000 publishers and 3,000 brands. On a daily basis, the news team receives over 100,000 pieces of content which is then scanned by Microsoft’s artificial intelligence to determine its popularity, topic, and how timely it is. From there, it moves on to 800 editors all across the world to curate the stories on MSN.com and on the new mobile app.

Microsoft isn’t the only company to give its news app an overhaul. At this year’s Google I/O, the tech giant unveiled its redesigned news app — Google News — which replaced the Google Play Newsstand app.

As with Microsoft News, Google’s news app also provides a customized user experience. But rather than going through the process of choosing specific topics manually, it uses activity from your Google account to curate your content.

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• There’s a whole world outside Windows, and Microsoft finally gets it

Goodbye, MSN: Microsoft rebrands news service, releases app on Android and iOS

On Wednesday, June 20, Microsoft announced the launch of Microsoft News — the new name for its news engine that runs MSN.com, Microsoft Edge, Windows 10, and more. In addition, the company also released its newly revamped Microsoft News app, formerly known as the MSN News app, for iOS and Android.

Whether you’re on a desktop or your smartphone, Microsoft News allows you to customize the news you receive. You can personalize your feed by selecting specific interests to follow and it also prioritizes your chosen topics all via the Microsoft Edge Start page.

In terms of changes to the interface, the Microsoft News app has been designed to include more of a modern look. The update also offers a few new features to allow for a better overall user experience.

For starters, users have the ability to tailor the app to their interests the same way they would with the desktop version. In your news feed, you can now follow categories such as world news, fitness, personal finance, lifestyle, and more. There is the option to follow local news options for top cities as well. All of your preferences also sync across the app and web.

When it comes to the interface, Microsoft News has a new dark theme mode available along with continuous reading for a smoother experience. You can also configure breaking news alerts to your device in order to stay on top of what is currently happening.

Microsoft News pulls content across more than 1,000 publishers and 3,000 brands. On a daily basis, the news team receives over 100,000 pieces of content which is then scanned by Microsoft’s artificial intelligence to determine its popularity, topic, and how timely it is. From there, it moves on to 800 editors all across the world to curate the stories on MSN.com and on the new mobile app.

Microsoft isn’t the only company to give its news app an overhaul. At this year’s Google I/O, the tech giant unveiled its redesigned news app — Google News — which replaced the Google Play Newsstand app.

As with Microsoft News, Google’s news app also provides a customized user experience. But rather than going through the process of choosing specific topics manually, it uses activity from your Google account to curate your content.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Flipboard’s latest update makes it easier to stay on top of all things tech
• The Google News App fuels your interests, provides a balanced perspective
• Google News receives a major overhaul, replaces Google Play Newsstand
• Windows is back on your phone, and this time it’s a good thing
• There’s a whole world outside Windows, and Microsoft finally gets it

An all-in-one botnet is on the rise packing a scary buffet of attacks

pwstudio/123RF

A new “complicated” botnet called MyloBot is on the rise packing the largest arsenal to date, targeting Windows-based PCs to steal data, shutting down networks, and more. Discovered by Deep Instinct, the underlying malware can evade detection, deliver numerous payloads, and even delete other malware discovered on target PCs. 

Although Deep Instinct’s report doesn’t say how PCs obtain the malware, it sits quietly on the target PC for 14 days to avoid detection locally and from network-based scanning. After that, MyloBot shuts down Windows Defender and Windows Update, blocks specific ports in the Windows firewall, and shuts down and deletes any running application listed in the “%APPDATA%” folder. 

The end result is a PC under complete control by the hacker(s), which then joins a growing network of internet-connected PCs, aka a botnet. MyloBot connects directly to the hacker’s command-and-control servers that download additional payloads depending on the current attack. Thus, MyloBot serves as a botnet-as-a-service gateway designed for any hacker with any kind of attack in exchange for the right price. 

“This can result in the loss of a tremendous amount of data, the need to shut down computers for recovery purposes, which can lead to disasters in enterprises,” says Deep Instinct security researcher Nipravsky. “The fact that the botnet behaves as a gate for additional payloads, puts the enterprise in risk for leak of sensitive data as well, following the risk of keyloggers / banking trojans installations.” 

To avoid detection, MyloBot uses a method called code injection where hackers can inject malicious code into legitimate Windows processes to cause havoc without being detected. Another method is called process hollowing, a method of launching a Windows process in a suspended state but replacing its data stored in memory with malicious code. MyloBot can even execute code from memory so there’s no evidence of foul play on the PC’s local storage. 

Given MyloBot attempts to serve as an all-in-one botnet, it will seek out the competition on target PCs. During the installation process, it scans local folders where malware typically reside, and terminates and deletes any competing malware it finds, giving it full control of the target PC in order to grow its army of “zombie computers.” 

Nipravsky says MyloBot is powered by individuals residing on the dark web: A portion of the internet where you should never traverse. That said, this all-in-one botnet that seeks out and eliminates the competition is believed to be fueled by money, as the bigger the MyloBot botnet-as-a-service grows, the more money the hackers will stuff in their pockets. 

“The dark web plays a critical part in the spread of malware: Its rather simple accessibility of services and knowledge has made it easy for any attacker to gain much more abilities in minimum effort,” Nipravsky writes. 

Currently the malware isn’t widespread, but its command-and-control servers came online sometime around the beginning of 2016 at the very least. The author(s) behind MyloBot is/are unknown for now, but evidence leans toward a well-resourced operation powered by someone who “knows what they’re doing.” 

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• U.S. claims North Korea has been silently infiltrating networks since 2009

An all-in-one botnet is on the rise packing a scary buffet of attacks

pwstudio/123RF

A new “complicated” botnet called MyloBot is on the rise packing the largest arsenal to date, targeting Windows-based PCs to steal data, shutting down networks, and more. Discovered by Deep Instinct, the underlying malware can evade detection, deliver numerous payloads, and even delete other malware discovered on target PCs. 

Although Deep Instinct’s report doesn’t say how PCs obtain the malware, it sits quietly on the target PC for 14 days to avoid detection locally and from network-based scanning. After that, MyloBot shuts down Windows Defender and Windows Update, blocks specific ports in the Windows firewall, and shuts down and deletes any running application listed in the “%APPDATA%” folder. 

The end result is a PC under complete control by the hacker(s), which then joins a growing network of internet-connected PCs, aka a botnet. MyloBot connects directly to the hacker’s command-and-control servers that download additional payloads depending on the current attack. Thus, MyloBot serves as a botnet-as-a-service gateway designed for any hacker with any kind of attack in exchange for the right price. 

“This can result in the loss of a tremendous amount of data, the need to shut down computers for recovery purposes, which can lead to disasters in enterprises,” says Deep Instinct security researcher Nipravsky. “The fact that the botnet behaves as a gate for additional payloads, puts the enterprise in risk for leak of sensitive data as well, following the risk of keyloggers / banking trojans installations.” 

To avoid detection, MyloBot uses a method called code injection where hackers can inject malicious code into legitimate Windows processes to cause havoc without being detected. Another method is called process hollowing, a method of launching a Windows process in a suspended state but replacing its data stored in memory with malicious code. MyloBot can even execute code from memory so there’s no evidence of foul play on the PC’s local storage. 

Given MyloBot attempts to serve as an all-in-one botnet, it will seek out the competition on target PCs. During the installation process, it scans local folders where malware typically reside, and terminates and deletes any competing malware it finds, giving it full control of the target PC in order to grow its army of “zombie computers.” 

Nipravsky says MyloBot is powered by individuals residing on the dark web: A portion of the internet where you should never traverse. That said, this all-in-one botnet that seeks out and eliminates the competition is believed to be fueled by money, as the bigger the MyloBot botnet-as-a-service grows, the more money the hackers will stuff in their pockets. 

“The dark web plays a critical part in the spread of malware: Its rather simple accessibility of services and knowledge has made it easy for any attacker to gain much more abilities in minimum effort,” Nipravsky writes. 

Currently the malware isn’t widespread, but its command-and-control servers came online sometime around the beginning of 2016 at the very least. The author(s) behind MyloBot is/are unknown for now, but evidence leans toward a well-resourced operation powered by someone who “knows what they’re doing.” 

Editors’ Recommendations

• New malware will crash your PC if you try to thwart its digital coin mining
• Hackers modify ransomware to deliver a Coinhive cryptocurrency-mining payload
• Cryptojacking is the new ransomware. Is that a good thing?
• Patch your Windows 10 PC, now! Hackers are exploiting a zero-day flaw
• U.S. claims North Korea has been silently infiltrating networks since 2009

Intel’s hyperthreading blocked on OpenBSD amid hints of new Spectre-like bugs

The maintainer of open source Unix-like operating system, OpenBSD, has announced that it will disable hyperthreading on Intel CPUs because of security concerns. It claims that simultaneous multithreading creates a potential new attack vector for Spectre-like exploits, and plans to expand its disabling of multithreading technologies to other chip manufacturers in the near future.

The problems presented by exploits like the original Spectre, its variants, and follow-up bug discoveries are worrisome. They allow for data theft at a level close to the hardware itself, which is why it will take a full hardware refresh to fully expunge them from consumer systems. While patches and firmware upgrades can mitigate them, new exploits built around similar attack vectors are appearing all of the time and the actions of the OpenBSD maintainer suggests that new Spectre-like flaws may be set for reveal in the near future.

“SMT (simultaneous multithreading) implementations typically share TLBs and L1 caches between threads,” reads the post by OpenBSD maintainer Mark Kettenis. “This can make cache timing attacks a lot easier and we strongly suspect that this will make several Spectre-class bugs exploitable.”

With that in mind, OpenBSD’s latest version disables hyperthreading on compatible Intel CPUs. That’s just the start though, as OpenBSD will also disable multithreading capabilities on CPUs from other manufacturers in the near future.

What’s most interesting about this announcement though, is that it hints at the possibility of new, Spectre-linked bugs. As The Register points out, Kettenis doesn’t give much validation for why this drastic step has been taken, but another post on Seclists discussing it suggests we may learn more on June 27. While there has been some suggestion that the performance impact from disabling hyperthreading shouldn’t be dramatic, if a problem with such technologies is extended to other hardware manufacturers and other operating systems, it could be much more impactful. Intel and AMD have recently entered what some are calling a new core war, where top-tier CPUs are touted for their ever-growing numbers of cores, and with multithreading, much larger thread counts too.

If multithreading was to become a technology that was problematic for security with existing hardware, that could dampen the marketing efforts of both companies considerably. Perhaps AMD even more so, as its Ryzen CPUs are built upon the foundation of strong multithreaded performance thanks to higher core and thread counts than their Intel counterparts.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Microsoft News now official, rolling out to everyone on iOS and Android

Meet the refreshed platform powering all of Microsoft’s news services across devices.

Microsoft today unveiled its latest news venture, appropriately under the banner of Microsoft News. The refreshed platform, Microsoft says, will power all of its news content across its news apps on Android and iOS, as well as MSN on the web and the News app on Windows 10.

Microsoft has been telegraphing this refresh for a while. The first major step came when the MSN News apps for Android and iOS saw a design overhaul in January, bringing a much more modern look on mobile devices. Last week, Microsoft took things a step further by rebranding both apps under the Microsoft News moniker for beta testers. Now, the overhauled design and new name are rolling out to everyone across both platforms.

The News app on Windows 10 and MSN on the web will keep their names, but Microsoft News now will be the “news engine” that powers both. From Microsoft:

Microsoft News represents the ways we keep people informed across the web, phone and PC, using our long-tested approach of curating news via publishing partnerships, human editors, and AI. We work with more than a thousand premium publishers and more than 3,000 brands in all major global markets – like USA Today, The New York Times, FOX News, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Le Monde, Die Welt, El País, BBC News, Kyodo News, and many more – to aggregate the best news, videos, photos and other content and deliver it, for free, to people all over the world.

Going forward, you’ll be able to personalize the news experience across both the mobile apps and MSN, selecting what interests you. Microsoft will be curating feeds with a mixture of AI and editors, leveraging the AI to scan and process the type of content and deciding what’s important or fresh. From there, a team of more than 800 editors around the world will curate top stories throughout each day.

You can check out the refresh now at MSN.com, as well as the refreshed apps on Android and iOS.

See at Google play See at the App Store