Google Maps Updated With Support for CarPlay in iOS 12

Google today updated its popular Google Maps navigation app, introducing support for CarPlay. With iOS 12, third-party mapping apps work with CarPlay for the first time, giving CarPlay users an alternative to the built-in Apple Maps app.

Prior to iOS 12, CarPlay users were forced to use the Apple Maps app as other mapping apps were not supported. Google’s update release notes:

Things we’re excited about: rainbows, puppies, and navigating with Google Maps on Apple CarPlay. Check it out to get the best of Google Maps right in your car’s built-in display!

For CarPlay to work with third-party apps, those apps need to introduce CarPlay support through an update. Google is the first mapping app to have done so, but other apps like Waze and TomTom are expected to debut support for CarPlay in the near future.

CarPlay is available in the Google 5.0 update that can be downloaded from the iOS App Store starting today. [Direct Link]

Related Roundups: CarPlay, iOS 12
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Missing Some Activity Awards on iOS 12? Apple Says They’ll Be Restored in a Future Software Update

If you updated your iPhone to iOS 12 this week and noticed that some Activity Challenge awards are missing, you’re not alone.

In a new support document, Apple has acknowledged that five limited edition awards may be temporarily unavailable in the Activity app after updating to iOS 12, presumably due to a minor software bug of some kind.

They include:

• Thanksgiving Day Challenge 2016
• Mother’s Day Challenge 2017
• Veterans Day Challenge 2017
• Thanksgiving Day Challenge 2017
• China National Fitness Day 2018

Apple is aware of this issue and will address it in an upcoming software update, according to the support document.

MacRumors has been affected by this issue on at least one of our iPhones, with a few awards missing on both iOS 12 and the first beta of iOS 12.1, seeded to registered Apple developers earlier today. There’s a chance the awards could be restored in a subsequent beta version of iOS 12.1 in the days to come.

Of note, the Mother’s Day Challenge award was still visible on another one of our iPhones running Monday’s publicly released version of iOS 12, so it appears that not everyone is affected to begin with.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5, iOS 12Tags: Activity Challenge, ActivityBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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Code in iOS 12.1 Update Hints at Landscape Face ID Support for Upcoming iPad Pro Models

Code in the iOS 12.1 beta released this morning suggests Face ID has built-in support for landscape orientation, according to information shared by developer Steven Troughton-Smith.

A rendering of the upcoming iPad Pro said to be based on leaked CAD drawings
According to Troughton-Smith, landscape support for Face ID has likely been built into the update for upcoming iPad Pro models that are expected to offer Face ID.

Face ID has support for landscape orientation (presumably for iPad only), and iOS 12.1 seems to care a lot more about whether an external display is connected (perhaps due to iPad USB-C rumors; it won’t have the Lighting HDMI adapter as an intermediary for video-out)

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) September 18, 2018

Troughton-Smith says that landscape Face ID requires a different alignment for the front-facing sensors of the TrueDepth camera system, which is why it won’t be available for iPhone models that have Face ID.

From what I gather, landscape Face ID would require a realignment of the front-facing sensors, so you won’t see it on existing hardware https://t.co/gVyB4Hz3pW

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) September 18, 2018

Previous iPad rumors have also suggested Apple would introduce Face ID support for landscape orientation specifically for the new iPad Pro models, because being able to unlock only in portrait mode would be inconvenient with a larger tablet form factor that’s most often used in a horizontal orientation.

Right now, Face ID on the iPhone X and the new iPhone XS and XS Max devices works only in portrait mode, with the devices unable to recognize a face when held in landscape mode.

There has been some confusion over how Apple will implement Face ID in the iPad Pro models, though, as some rumors have pointed towards the inclusion of a new mystery port that’s supposedly a Smart Connector located at the back of the device in leaked cases and CAD drawings.

A rendering of the upcoming iPad Pro said to be based on leaked CAD drawings
According to Japanese site Mac Otakara, which has somewhat of a mixed track record when it comes to rumors, the Smart Connector allegedly works with a new vertically oriented Smart Keyboard. Mac Otakara believes Face ID in the iPad Pro will work only in vertical orientation, but both today’s information and prior hints of horizontal Face ID support suggest that’s inaccurate.

Troughton-Smith shared a few other tidbits he found in the beta. There appears to be code to support an upcoming change to MFi game controllers that will offer up compatibility with clickable thumb sticks, and iOS 12.1 “seems to care a lot more about whether an external display is connected,” which could be related to rumors of a switch from Lightning to USB-C.

Apple’s iPad Pro models are rumored to feature edge-to-edge displays with no Home button, no headphone jack, and a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port. We’re expecting Apple to introduce the new iPad Pros before the end of the year, perhaps at an upcoming event in October.

Related Roundups: iPad Pro, iOS 12Buyer’s Guide: 10.5″ iPad Pro (Don’t Buy), 12.9″ iPad Pro (Caution)
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The Most Expensive iPhone XS Cases You Can Get

The iPhone XS and XS Max are Apple’s most expensive iPhones yet, with the top-of-the-line iPhone XS Max coming in at a cost of $1,449 for 512GB of storage.

If you want to outfit your pricey iPhone with a case that’s just as expensive, we’ve hunted down a list of the most ridiculously priced iPhone XS cases you can get.

Gray’s Alter Ego line of cases available in Titanium, Stealth, Gold, and Aurora start at $1,457. The cases are all made from aerospace grade titanium and offer a minimal design with an X shape that covers the back of the iPhone along with protective covers at each of the corners to protect from drops.

The Aurora version of the Alter Ego case, priced at $2,763 for the XS and $3,000 for the XS Max, features hand-torched titanium to achieve a colorful finish, with each piece offering a unique array of colors. The Aurora and the Gold Alter Ego cases are limited to 100 pieces, while there are 500 of the Stealth edition available. The cases can be purchased from the Gray website.

Gresso, a company that makes high-end titanium sunglasses, also makes titanium iPhone cases and has a new line out for the iPhone XS and XS Max. The Gresso Magnum cases feature an interior cover crafted from flexible, high resistance TPU for protection and an outer shell made of grade-5 titanium for strength and durability. All of Gresso’s Magnum Titanium cases for the iPhone XS and XS Max are priced at $595.

Hadoro is selling a selection of luxury iPhone XS and XS Max cases made from exotic animal skin materials like lizard, stingray, python, ostrich, alligator, and calfskin. The priciest is an 890 euro Alligator Folio Case available in a range of colors.

Luxury brand Louis Vuitton makes a line of super fancy, super expensive iPhone cases like this Eye Trunk for iPhone X and XS, which resembles one of the company’s classic trunks. There’s no iPhone XS Max version just yet, but one is probably in the works. The Louis Vuitton case costs a whopping $1,320.

Luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana also makes iPhone cases and has a line of pricey options that will fit the iPhone X and the iPhone XS. The most expensive is a leather iPhone case with a green rabbit fur bracelet that’s priced at $795, but you can also get a plain logo case in leather with what looks like fur for $675.

Though not cases, Brikk and Caviar are the ultimate experts in super expensive iPhones, and both have debuted iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max devices that feature entire casings replaced with high-end materials.

Caviar’s gold-plated mother of pearl diamond-encrusted iPhone XS is priced starting at $5,420, and there are all kinds of other casing options with carbon bodies, snake skin, alligator skin, gold accents, and diamond accents.

Brikk offers the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max in carbon, ceramic, and gold, with pricing on the carbon models starting at $9,995 and pricing on the ceramic models starting at $12,995.

Have you seen any outrageously priced iPhone XS and XS Max accessories? Would you buy one of these? Let us know in the comments.

Related Roundup: iPhone XS
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Review: Mazda’s CarPlay Support a Welcome Addition for iPhone Users

Back in March, Mazda became one of the last major car manufacturers to announce launch plans for CarPlay support. Mazda’s first announced vehicle with CarPlay is the 2018 Mazda6, with owners of Touring trim and above able to bring their vehicles to a Mazda dealer for a free upgrade starting this month. CarPlay will be available pre-installed in Mazda6 vehicles with Touring trim and above as of November, while Mazda’s 2019 CX-9 is also just starting to roll out with CarPlay available pre-installed.

2018 Mazda6 Signature in Soul Red Crystal
While the general CarPlay experience is consistent across car brands, as it’s driven by your connected iPhone, there are some differences in how CarPlay interfaces with manufacturers’ various infotainment systems and hardware, so it’s worth taking a look at the CarPlay experience in a Mazda. I’ve had a chance to spend some time with a CarPlay-equipped 2018 Mazda6 Signature, and CarPlay is a welcome alternative to the built-in Mazda Connect infotainment system that has garnered mixed reviews over the years.

Mazda Connect

Before we touch on CarPlay, it pays to take a look at Mazda Connect, as that’s the software and hardware CarPlay sits on top of. Mazda has opted for multiple control options in its vehicles, with both an 8-inch touchscreen on the dashboard and a commander knob with associated buttons on the center console. A smaller dial next to the commander knob lets you adjust volume without reaching up to the dashboard, or you can adjust the volume from the steering wheel. Voice control through a button on the steering wheel is also available.

Controller knob and other controls on center console
Touchscreen operation is unsurprisingly straightforward, while the commander knob offers a flexible array of input methods including twisting, rocking, and pressing the knob to navigate around. The cluster of buttons around the knob lets you jump quickly to navigation, music, favorites, the Mazda Connect home screen (or CarPlay home screen if active), or back to the previous screen. Navigating the interface with the commander knob can be a bit clunky at times, particularly if you have to navigate through several menu levels, but overall it’s a satisfactory experience similar to that offered by a number of other manufacturers.

Mazda Connect home screen
One important thing to note is that while the Mazda Connect system includes a touchscreen, it’s locked out while driving in order to reduce distractions, requiring you to use the commander knob or voice to control the system. (The lockout is only while the car is in motion, so the touchscreen does work while stopped at a stoplight, for example.) Mazda is one of the most conservative carmakers in this regard, but forcing users to the commander knob can actually be a detriment in some cases where reaching over to the display for a quick tap would likely be less distracting than using the knob to scroll over to the desired option.

Navigation search menu
A significant part of what makes CarPlay such a welcome addition is that Mazda Connect has a few shortcomings. I found overall navigation of the interface passable but a bit clunky with the commander knob. The user interface layout is decent enough for touchscreen control, but when you’re forced to use the commander knob it can be something of a chore to navigate through the options.

The overall look of Mazda Connect isn’t bad by car infotainment standards, although it could certainly stand to see some modernization, and there are some curious design decisions such as not allowing enough characters to display song titles completely. With a nice, big 8-inch screen, it shouldn’t be the case that song titles are routinely cut off.

SiriusXM Radio interface
Built-in navigation through Mazda Connect also leaves a bit to be desired, as I found the system unable to parse some of the destinations I tried to input by voice and the POI database seemed rather weak, making it difficult to find some destinations.

Navigation search results
In one test trip, the onboard GPS tracking seemed to be improperly calibrated, and navigation was useless as the map continually showed me driving off into the woods. On all other trips, however, the GPS location and directions were accurate, so the problem I experienced may have just been a one-off bug. It’s also an issue I’ve occasionally seen with my iPhone, so maybe there isn’t really that much difference in performance here.

Turn-by-turn directions with simulated road signs for easy recognition
Otherwise, the navigation system performed well with helpful turn-by-turn directions and depictions of road signs at major junctions. A handy optional feature also displays cross streets as you approach you them, even if you don’t have a navigation route running. Another helpful view displays along the right side of the screen which amenities like gas, food, and auto repair are available at upcoming exits.

General map view
Mazda Connect also isn’t known for being speedy, with the most significant chokepoint being at initial boot. Upon starting the car, it took 15 to as much as 40 seconds for Mazda Connect to boot up, display a warning to keep your eyes on the road, and become available to use. Loading directly into navigation can take a few seconds longer. It doesn’t necessarily sound like a huge amount of time, but when you just want to hop in your car and go it can feel like an eternity. Unfortunately, CarPlay doesn’t help with this, as Mazda Connect has to fully boot up before CarPlay can be recognized as available, so you still have to wait.

CarPlay

Once you’re into CarPlay, things work mostly as expected. All of the familiar CarPlay apps are there, and you can navigate through them by touch (with one big caveat discussed below), the commander knob/buttons, or voice.

CarPlay home screen
One important difference for Mazda is that the touchscreen lockout while driving also extends to CarPlay, which means you’ll need to use the commander knob to scroll through highlighted user interface elements. It’s an officially supported input method for CarPlay, but ultimately it’s less convenient for an operating system that’s designed to be manipulated by touch with minimal distraction.

Touchscreen input works fine with CarPlay when the car isn’t in motion, so it’s simplest to get as much set up for your drive as you can before you set out and make adjustments at stoplights. Commander knob ease of use will obviously improve as you spend time using it and muscle memory takes over for some tasks, but it’s rarely going to be as convenient as a direct touch interface.

While the commander knob can be a little inconvenient for navigating the user interface, some frequently used functions like play/pause (press the knob) and back/forward (rock the knob) are simple and intuitive. It’s the more complicated operations that involve scrolling through various UI elements to make a selection that are more cumbersome to accomplish with the knob than a touchscreen tap.

As with the touchscreen lockout for Mazda Connect, Mazda tells me the extension to CarPlay is a “conscious choice” based on its feeling that the knob is less distractive than using a touchscreen while the car is motion. I’m not sure I necessarily agree when it comes to CarPlay, as Apple has put considerable thought into keeping the interface simple enough that you can grab relevant information at a glance and quickly tap what you need.

Apple Maps in CarPlay
Beyond the knob itself, the associated hardware buttons surrounding it do come in handy for CarPlay. The navigation and music buttons make it easy to jump back and forth between frequently used screens, and it hops in and out of CarPlay as needed – such as when you have Apple Maps active while listening to XM radio and the buttons correctly take you to the proper music and maps apps. The system also remembers if CarPlay is active when you turn off the car, and takes you back to it when you start up again.

Apple Maps in CarPlay
One other thing to note is that if your phone is plugged into the car, pressing the talk button on the steering wheel appears to only activate Siri. I was unable to find a way to activate the Mazda Connect voice system while the phone was plugged in, even if CarPlay wasn’t necessarily active.

Some systems like BMW’s offer dual access via the talk button, bringing up Siri with a short press or the onboard system with a long press. Mazda tells me it decided not to offer dual access because its research concluded that customers found it confusing. Changing terrestrial/satellite radio stations is the only thing Mazda Connect’s voice system can do that Siri can not, and that task can also be accomplished in some regard by using buttons on the steering wheel.

Ports and Connectivity

Mazda has been thoughtful with the placement of various ports, helping to keep cords and devices tucked away. Two USB ports (one designated for connecting a phone to Mazda Connect), an Aux port, an SD card slot used for loading maps into the onboard navigation system, and a 12V power port are all hidden away in the center console compartment.

Ports inside center console compartment
The compartment isn’t particularly roomy, as the gearshift, commander knob, and cupholders take up much of the console space, but it lets you keep your phone out of sight. If you prefer to have your phone in a cupholder or the storage tray at the front of the console, there’s a sufficient gap on either side of the console compartment lid to easily run the cable out without pinching it.

Rear armrest with USB ports
In the rear, the middle seatback folds down to offer a pair of cupholders, controls for heated seats (if equipped), and a shallow storage compartment housing a pair of 2.1A USB ports, which is great for keeping the kids’ iPads charged up. Mazda does not, however, offer a Wi-Fi hotspot option to keep those devices connected to the internet.

Wrap-up

With CarPlay adoption growing rapidly over the past several years, it’s become more of a must-have feature for car buyers, so it’s great to see Mazda finally get on board with the technology. I know several Mazda owners who have been waiting patiently for CarPlay support, and while it’s unfortunate there are no signs yet of retrofit availability beyond the current Mazda6, at least those loyal Mazda owners can look forward to it in their next car.

Infotainment systems from car manufacturers across the board are notorious for design and performance that don’t reach the level of polish we’ve come to expect from our smartphones, and Mazda Connect is no different here. The whole Mazda Connect system could use a refresh to modernize the look and improve performance, but once you get familiar with the operation it’s a decent system beyond the issues I had with navigation.

Of course, any shortcomings in onboard systems like Mazda Connect serve to increase the value of CarPlay support, which lets you use the apps you’re already familiar with right on the dashboard and have all of your contacts, music playlists, maps history, and more at your fingertips without needing to rely on incomplete and sometimes cumbersome syncing of data to built-in car systems or audio-only connections over Bluetooth or Aux. And with CarPlay expanding to support third-party maps apps like Google Maps and Waze, even more iPhone owners may be willing to become regular CarPlay users.

The 2018 Mazda6 and the new 2019 CX-9 will be the first Mazdas to get CarPlay support, but it’s reasonable to expect that the rest of the lineup should get it as the new model years are introduced. Unlike some other manufacturers, Mazda isn’t charging extra for CarPlay, so far simply bundling it into all tiers above the entry-level Sport trim. The company has not, however, announced any plans to offer retrofit CarPlay support on any models other than the 2018 Mazda6 that’s currently in the middle of its production year.

The 2018 Mazda6 starts at an MSRP of $21,950, although the minimum Touring trim required for CarPlay begins at $25,700. The new 2019 CX-9 starts at $32,280, with the Touring trim beginning at $35,330 needed for CarPlay.

Related Roundup: CarPlayTag: Mazda
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Apple Using a ‘Device Trust Score’ to Identify and Prevent Fraud on iTunes and App Stores

With the release of iOS 12, tvOS 12, and watchOS 5 yesterday, Apple made some quiet changes to its iTunes and App Store privacy policy on iOS devices and the Apple TV, as pointed out by VentureBeat.

Newly updated language in the iTunes and App Store privacy policy states that Apple is using a device trust score to help identify and cut down on fraud.

Apple says that information about how you use your device, including the approximate number of phone calls or emails you receive is used to compute the device trust score when you make a purchase.

To help identify and prevent fraud, information about how you use your device, including the approximate number of phone calls or emails you send and receive, will be used to compute a device trust score when you attempt a purchase. The submissions are designed so Apple cannot learn the real values on your device. The scores are stored for a fixed time on our servers.

This warning shows up on both iOS devices and the Apple TV, which can’t send emails or make phone calls, so it appears to be blanket wording Apple is using for all of its iTunes and App Store privacy updates.

As VentureBeat points out, it’s not entirely clear how tracking the number of phone calls and emails a person makes offers up better verification for device identity than unique device identifiers, but it’s possible this method can cut down on spam App Store accounts, fake reviews, and other such activities.

Apple’s iTunes Store & Privacy documentation was updated yesterday, and prior to then, it did not include the bit about creating a trust score.

There are few other changes that have been made to the document, and the new section joins a pre-existing policy where Apple says that it collects device information, location information, download and purchase history and other interactions with its stores to prevent fraud.
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Firefox Reality wants to bring the ‘whimsical web’ to VR

Have you ever been surfing the web and found yourself wishing it was pressed up against your face in a pair of VR goggles?

Yeah, neither have we. But this morning, Mozilla officially launched Firefox Reality, a VR-powered web browser that does just that. The phrase “VR web browser” rolls off the tongue well, but what does that really mean?

To get a better idea of what Mozilla has in mind, we visited the company’s office in Portland and went hands-on with Firefox Reality.

VR in the web

We donned an Oculus Go, with controller in hand, and started up the Firefox Reality app. Unsurprisingly, the app launched into a virtual environment (this one was some sort of mushroom cave), with a familiar floating window in front. Mozilla’s vision of browsing the web in VR feels a lot more like an app store than a web browser like Chrome or Firefox.

This home window offers a few different categories for finding VR web content, curated by the folks over at Mozilla. There wasn’t a ton of content at the time, but examples included a VR music video from the band LCD Soundsystem and a few simple VR games. Each of these are, of course, web applications that can be accessed from their URL on any browser, including the one you’re reading this on.

After clicking on one of these websites, you’re given a 2D preview before entering. Mozilla says this view was included to lessen the abrasive effect of jumping around from site to site in VR.

They also showed a meeting place app called Hubs, which was pitched as “Skype in VR.” There’s been many attempts to offer that on other platforms, such as Facebook’s Space app. But unlike Facebook, Hubs is meant to be a more neutral meeting environment where a person doesn’t see all your photos and network connections tied to your account. Mozilla imagines Hubs being used for everything from casual hangouts to business meetings where documents can be exchanged.

That said Mozilla’s offering is limited compared to Spaces. Hubs lets you pick up a pencil and write in three dimensions, but it was far from a polished app.  Mozilla promises that features will continue to be rolled out a steady pace, including important things like bookmarks and links.

Trying to move the needle

A browser that’s used mostly to find VR experiences might seem mundane, but Mozilla thinks there’s more here than meets the eye. You can type or speak directly into the search bar to head right over to a site you know, for example. That kind of browsing feels a bit more like your typical web experience, allowing someone to follow links down any rabbit hole. Mozilla hopes the openness of the web will lead to a boom of new VR content for people to experience.

“The feedback we heard the most was that users were having a hard time finding new games and experiences,” said Andre Vrignaud, the head of mixed reality platform strategy at Mozilla. “This is why we built a feed of amazing content into the home screen of Firefox Reality.”

These new VR-enabled web apps are developed under the WebXR Device API. The adoption of this web standard is what Mozilla and other companies hope will bring web VR to the masses. If VR has a chance of breaking through into the mainstream, it’ll need more accessible tools — and WebXR could be just that.

“We want to bring the full whimsical web to VR,” said a Mozilla representative at the demo. “We want the actual web to be there.”

Moving VR forward won’t be easy for Mozilla. New hardware continues to be released year after year, both in high-end and budget-friendly, but mass adoption in the mainstream isn’t happening. Is a VR-powered web browser going to turn the tide? Probably not — but Mozilla thinks it could at least make it more fun.

Firefox Reality can be downloaded now for free in the Viveport, Oculus, and Daydream app stores.

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Smart sound system will give every car passenger their own wireless audio stream

Seat/Noveto

Does your spouse want to listen to the radio, while your oldest kid fancies the latest Beyoncé album, your youngest hankers after the Frozen soundtrack, and you just want to tune into the latest episode of the brilliant new Friday 13th podcast, “In Voorhees We Trust”? Such disagreements are the stuff that long car journey arguments are made made of.

Fortunately, they could soon come to an end, courtesy of a collaboration between Noveto and Spanish car maker SEAT. Their team-up means that each passenger in a car could soon get his or her own separate audio stream — and with no headphones required.

It sounds impossible, but it’s apparently achievable by using smart technology to beam sound directly from source to ear, courtesy of what is described as the world’s inaugural “dynamic focused sound” system.

“Applying this new technology will enable us to open a world of possibilities for privately owned vehicles, and especially for shared vehicles,” SEAT Digital Officer Fabian Simmer said in a statement. “Being able to share your car and maintain your privacy is certainly a challenge that seems increasingly achievable, with solutions like the one proposed by Noveto which we hope to feature in our vehicles.”

A press release describing the technology made clear its disruptive potential, although it’s sadly short on details about how the smart tech actually works. It’s not short on examples of potential use cases, however — and these range from the “everyone gets their own music” scenario we painted up top to allowing one person to make or receive incoming hands-free phone calls, as other passengers continue enjoying the in-car infotainment system.

Noveto is no stranger to redefining the audio landscape. At this year’s CES event, the company showcased its “My Virtual Headphones” tech, which provides users with a private stream of audio, courtesy of some smart head-tracking. The latest innovation follows in its footsteps, but adds the all-important multiple user functionality.

There’s no word on when Noveto and SEAT’s amazing, argument-resolving technology will arrive for car owners everywhere. With the promise of never again having to listen to Frozen’s “Let It Go” playing through our car speakers, though, we hope it’s very soon!

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A vigilante botnet is taking out crypto-jacking malware

There is a new band of digital vigilantes on the loose and they’re going after mining malware. This isn’t a group of individual hackers though, but a botnet that is being leveraged to take out some of the most pernicious crypto-jacking software in the world. Known as Fbot, the botnet scans websites for a specific piece of mining malware and when it finds it, the botnet takes over the nefarious software and then destroys itself, taking the malware with it.

Crypto-jacking malware has been on the rise over the past couple of years and it even overtook ransomware as a more common attack vector for hackers earlier this year. Typically, the malware is installed via a malicious download or infected website and forces the system it’s attached to mine cryptocurrency. Although not as malicious or as damaging as data theft or encrypting a user’s files, it can wear out hardware by forcing it to run faster and harder than it was designed to do.

Typical anti-malware solutions can help protect against it, but Fbot is going after the source: The sites that distribute this malware in the first place. It specifically targets the crypto-jacking malware known as com.ufo.miner and it’s rather effective at killing it off when it does discover it.

As TheNextWeb explains, the Fbot botnet does appear to be linked to a domain name system, but it uses EmerDNS. That blockchain based DNS is entirely decentralized, so tracking down individual domain name owners isn’t easy. As of now, the creators of Fbot remain as unknown as the developers of the crypto-jacking malware it targets, but their efforts appear admirable.

The researchers who discovered the botnet, Qihoo360Netlab, claim that there appear to be links between this botnet and the Satori botnet which has in the past been used to infect mining hardware. With that in mind, it’s possible that Fbot doesn’t have altruistic aims, but is instead being used to reduce the saturation of the com.ufo.miner in favor of the creator’s own malware.

Regardless of motive though, the end result in the short term is that there should be less crypto-jacking malware to be wary of.

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Google Play rewards system arrives in Japan, no sign of U.S. release yet

Previous rumors that Google was working on a rewards scheme for the Google Play app store have proven to be correct, as Google Play Points has gone live in Japan.

The program has only been made available in Japan — as confirmed by the Google Support page for Google Play Points. Users earn rewards for all of their Google Play purchases, including paid apps or games, books, and movies, and even through in-app purchases or subscriptions.

Users gain points based on a tier system, with the most spend-happy users getting the biggest benefit from the system. At the lowest level, users will gain a single point per 100 yen spent (roughly $0.90), all the way up to the highest tier of rewards, which grants users two points per 100 yen spent. That’s not all though — different tiers will also give bonus points for spending money in specific apps, or for purchasing specific items. Here’s the current list of tiers and benefits, as compiled by 9to5Google.

• Bronze level (up to 249 points):
  • 1 point earned for every 100 Yen spent

• Silver level (250–999 points):
  • 1.25 points earned for every 100 Yen spent
  • 1 300-yen credit for in-app items
  • 1 100-yen movie rental
• Gold level (1,000–3,999 points):
  • 1.5 points earned for every 100 yen spent
  • +1 300-yen credit for in-app items
  • + 2 500-yen ebook credits
  • +2 100-yen movie rentals
• Platinum level (4,000–14,999 points):
  • 1.75 points earned for every 100 yen spent.
  • +1 300-yen credit for in-app items
  • +4 500-yen ebook credits
  • +4 100-yen movie rentals
• Diamond level (more than 15,000 points):
  • 2 points earned for every 100 yen spent
  • +2 300-yen credits for in-app items
  • +6 500-yen ebook credits
  • +5 100-yen movie rentals

These points can be used to purchase items on the Google Play Store or through in-app purchases in the same way you’d use normal funds, or can be used to apply a discount to items. The points last for a year, and must be used within that year or they’re lost. Tiers work slightly differently, and it is possible to go down tiers if you don’t earn as many points as a previous year, and the emphasis is clearly on making people feel they have to spend to keep their level.

Users need to sign up to take part in the service, and as we mentioned, it’s only available in Japan for now. It’s currently unknown whether Japan will be the only region to get this reward scheme, or whether it’s simply being used as a test for later worldwide roll-out. It’s also unknown whether points will be retroactively granted to users, so you may want to hold off on investing in some of the best Android apps until we know more. We have reached out to Google and will update if we hear back.

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