Sony wants you to delay upgrading your old VAIO PC to Windows 10
Sony might not be making PCs anymore, but it’s still on the hook for supporting its older systems — and that’s creating a big problem for Windows 10 upgrades. The electronics giant is warning owners against installing Microsoft’s latest software on older VAIO PCs until it has the drivers needed to get all the hardware working properly. And unfortunately, that’s going to take a while. If your computer first ran Windows 8.1, the Windows 10 drivers won’t be ready until October; if it’s old enough to have shipped with Windows 8, you’ll have to wait until November.
As for a PC that came with Windows 7? Well, you may want to budget for a replacement. Sony is only promising that it will describe “limitation [sic] and issues” this month. To us, that’s shorthand for dropping some or all support. There’s a real chance that certain hardware features will go missing if you install Windows 10, or that you’ll have to endure less-than-ideal performance. We’ve seen some VAIO owners get things working, but they’ve had to use decidedly unofficial methods so far. It’s not surprising that Sony is devoting less attention to PCs than it did when it was still in the business, but that isn’t very comforting if you were hoping to keep that older machine up to date for as long as possible.
Filed under:
Desktops, Laptops, Software, Sony
Source:
Sony
Tags: computer, desktop, laptop, pc, software, sony, update, vaio, windows, windows10
Twitter nixes 140 character limit in Direct Messages
Twitter’s push to make DMs a full on messaging service continues. Beginning today, the 140 character limit for Direct Messages has been lifted in the iOS, Android, Mac apps, Tweetdeck and on Twitter.com. The new limit of 10,000 characters pretty much gives you license to write as much as you want in a message. The company has been expanding Direct Message features to compete with Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Google Hangouts for some time. In January it introduced group chat support to DMs. Twitter had originally planned on removing the 140 character limit in July. But, I guess later is better than never.
Filed under:
Internet, Software
Source:
Twitter
Tags: DirectMessages, DMs, SocialNetworking, Twitter
Lenovo PCs installed custom software even if you wiped them
Samsung isn’t the only Windows PC maker to have hijacked Windows’ update process as of late. Users have noticed that some Lenovo PCs running Windows 7 and 8 (such as the Yoga 3) had firmware that automatically downloaded and installed Lenovo’s own update software on boot, overwriting a Windows system file at the same time. More disconcertingly, this was true even if you wiped the system clean. So long as you were reinstalling a compatible version of Windows in the first place (including Windows 10), those Lenovo apps would inevitably return.
The only reason it’s not an ongoing issue is that Lenovo just recently released an optional patch that removes the offending code. Why? As you might have guessed, forcing a PC to download programs on boot introduces a massive security risk — attackers can spoof the server and install malware whenever you restart your computer. That’s more than a little disconcerting, especially if you thought that Lenovo had already removed vulnerable software from your system.
Lenovo was technically in the clear. It was taking advantage of a little-known feature, the Windows Platform Binary Table, to insert the code. However, Lenovo’s approach was largely unadvertised to users and “not consistent” with Microsoft’s current security guidelines. You might not have known that Lenovo was loading this software in the first place, let alone that it created a security hole. While it’s good to know that there’s a fix, the discovery underscores the problems with letting PC vendors override core Windows functions — in at least some cases, they’re creating more problems than they solve.
Filed under:
Desktops, Laptops, Software, Lenovo
Via:
The Next Web
Source:
Lenovo, Ars Technica, Hacker News
Tags: bloatware, computer, desktop, laptop, lenovo, pc, security, windows
Parallels’ remote PC access works with games and your Apple Watch
Parallels’ Access app just became considerably more useful… even if you’re bent on goofing off. The company has released version 3.0 of its remote access tool, which includes experimental support for playing your PC’s games on your iOS device. If you’re determined to play League of Legends or Skyrim on your iPad, you can create custom touch controls to make the experience relatively enjoyable. The iOS camp also gets a little extra fun through an Apple Watch app that lets you start remote connections from your wrist.
You’ll see plenty of practical improvements for both Android and iOS users, of course. There’s a universal file manager with support for both local and cloud-stored files, and you can transfer large files from your PC to your mobile gear without leaning on a third-party service. You can even look at your mobile photos from the desktop view, in case you want computer-based backups before you get home. As usual, you’ll have to subscribe to Parallels Access to get the benefits beyond the 14-day trial run — it’ll cost you $20 per year if you’re merely curious, or $35 if you’re committed for at least two years.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Gaming, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source:
Parallels (1), (2)
Tags: android, applewatch, gaming, ios, mac, mobilepostcross, parallels, parallelsaccess, pc, remoteaccess, smartwatch, software, windows
Rdio adds free live radio stations to its streaming library
Apple Music has Beats1, and now Rdio has live radio, too. Rdio announced today that in addition to its library of 35 million songs and curated stations, it’s tacking on live broadcast radio with access to “nearly 500 stations.” We haven’t seen a full list just yet, but for starters you can expect 93.9 The Beat in Indianapolis, 95.5 KLOS in LA, 95.5 NASH Icon in Nashville, NASH FM 94.7 in New York and KFOG in San Francisco thanks to Cumulus Radio. Westwood One is also chipping in, which means you’ll be able to listen to 24/7 sports talk and game coverage of events like NCAA March Madness. What’s more, there will be on-demand access to those talk shows (The Jim Rome Show, The Doug Gottlieb Show and others) in what we’d surmise is a podcast-like repository. You’ll be able to stream your local favorites and stations broadcasting in other cities, too.
As you might expect, when you’re listening to live radio, Rdio’s features are still within reach for building your personal library. If a station is playing Punch Brother’s “Movement and Location” for example, you can mark it as a favorite, share it, begin a station based on that tune or view more of the artist’s music. If you’re a paying customer, you can also download the song for unlimited listening later. However, you don’t have to have a subscription to listen to the new live radio feature, though. Basically, Rdio is combining the current trend in music consumption (streaming) with the benefits of broadcast radio to bolster its own catalog of content. It’s also a way for radio stations to gain back some of the listeners that may prefer streaming music while driving down the highway. Rdio says that more stations are on the way before the end of 2015 and folks outside of the US can expect live radio “in a number of international markets.” Unfortunately, there’s not mention of specific locales just yet.
Filed under:
Portable Audio/Video, Internet, Software
Tags: audio, broadcast, live, music, musicstreaming, radio, rdio, streaming, subscription
Blizzard’s ‘Compete’ trademark hints at an eSports service
There’s no question that Blizzard is a cornerstone of the eSports world. StarCraft is so big in South Korea that it’s virtually an institution, and Heroes of the Storm was the first game to get a live ESPN2 broadcast. It only makes sense that the developer would create an eSports service of its own, then — and there’s a fresh hint that it might do just that. Blizzard has filed for a trademark on “Compete,” an online service that would help you “organize and promote” eSports tournaments and ladders. From the sounds of it, this would take the drudgery out of getting a competition off the ground. You’d focus more on the matches themselves, and less on finding out who’s on top.
Whether or not Compete becomes a reality isn’t certain. A trademark only confirms that Blizzard has been thinking about an eSports offering, not that it’s actively working on that kind of product. However, it’s hard to imagine the gaming giant willingly sitting by the wayside as eSports take off. A tournament platform could boost the popularity of Blizzard titles at smaller-scale events, and give it an edge over rival game studios that still make the organizers do most of the hard work.
[Image credit: AP Photo/David Goldman]
Filed under:
Gaming, Internet, Software
Source:
USPTO
Tags: blizzard, compete, esports, gaming, internet, software, trademark
Surviving the Def Con hacker conference
The phrase I saw and heard over and over again while talking to other journalists and security researchers about the Def Con hacker convention was “hostile environment.” Not physically hostile; the attendees and staff were extremely nice. The hostility was digital. The hackers and security researchers are there to present vulnerabilities within the systems we rely on. But there’s a tinge of mischief that permeates the event. Because of that, everyone that attends is fair game for hacking. That meant taking certain precautions that I wouldn’t regularly take while covering an event. And, since it would be my first time covering Def Con (or any hacker conference for that matter), I felt especially vulnerable. Everyone loves to haze the n00bs; that’s just human nature. So here is how I prepared for, attended and (I’m pretty sure) survived Def Con 23. Slideshow-311621
Saturday, August 1st:
It’s the Saturday before Def Con and after chatting with security researchers and getting a very helpful email from Violet Blue, I’ve learned that no matter what, I should get a burner phone. I feel like I’m in The Wire, but without all the killing and awesome dialogue. The phone shouldn’t have my personal information or any of my usual accounts. Also, all wireless communications (WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC) should be shut off.
The recent Android vulnerability disclosures don’t leave me with much confidence in those devices. So I decide to go the route of security through obscurity with the BlackBerry Q10. I also figure that I need to take notes and grab a cheap (and old) Samsung Chromebook I have lying around the house.
Sunday, August 2nd:
I secure wipe both devices. I think. The BlackBerry’s Sure Wipe takes forever so I assume it’s doing a pretty good job at deleting all my personal information and main BlackBerry account. The Chromebook’s Powerwash feature finishes pretty quickly and I’m fairly positive it’s not overwriting my data with zeros. I’m already getting lazy about security.
Then I find out I can’t do an OTA update of the Blackberry. It’s important to keep all your devices up-to-date because vulnerability patches reside in those fancy updates you get that also drop new features. I finally figure out that I need to download a BlackBerry app onto my Mac and update the phone via USB. This ruins my plan to keep these burner devices from connecting to my work machines and adding an extra layer of security to my personal and work accounts. But it’s late Sunday night and I uncheck the box that syncs data between the phone and the computer and go for it.
When both devices are ready, I create burner Gmail and Twitter accounts. The Q10 also gets a burner BlackBerry account. I think I’m ready.
Tuesday, August 4th:
In addition to securing my devices, I also need to protect my credit cards and work gear while it’s back in the room. Wickr is nice enough to give me two Faraday sleeves to keep my cards and iPhone in while back in my room. But I still need to buy stuff while on the show floor. I’ve already been warned to bring cash to Vegas and that I should treat all the ATMs near Def Con as compromised. Still, not having my ID or credit cards with me while walking around Vegas seems like a bad idea. So I stop by a travel store and pick up an RFID-blocking wallet. I’m feeling pretty good about my wallet choice. Later on, not so much.
Thursday, August 6th:
Before I leave the house to catch my flight, I turn off WiFi on all my devices. While Vegas is definitely a hostile environment, it’s good to remember that hackers will also be flying to Def Con and hanging out in the airport. I’ve decided that everyone is a hacker. Even the really nice old couple that talked to me on the plane. Especially them, with their awesome stories socially engineering me to tell them what I do. I know your game!
After landing in Vegas, I immediately go to my room and shut down my iPhone and MacBook Air. The iPhone goes in a Faraday sleeve — the MacBook I just shove in my suitcase under my clothes. Even though I’m staying two miles from Bally’s, where Def Con is being held, I know attendees are staying in the same hotel so no free hotel WiFi for me.
Friday, August 7th:
When I wake up, I tether my MacBook to my MiFi and check in with Engadget home base. I assure them all via Slack that I have not been hacked (they don’t believe me) while I get ready to head to the convention for the day. Then I get the following iMessage from my wife’s account:
My wife has never sent me a message like this and I start to panic. Has my iCloud account been hacked? Has her account been hacked? She’s gonna be super pissed if her account gets hacked. I log in to iCloud and check her phone’s location. Okay, it’s where it’s supposed to be. I unplug my computer from the MiFi and shut it down. I call her and ask, “Did you send me a message that just said ‘Hi Robbie’?” She starts to giggle and says yes.
Very funny.
I feel like I’m being overly paranoid — then I find out later that there are folks spoofing cell towers. So maybe I’m just the right amount of paranoid. I also learn from an attendee whose job it is to build enclosures that keep items safe from wireless intrusion that my fancy RFID-blocking wallet isn’t very good. The words “shit design” are actually uttered. I also noticed during a presentation that a less-than-scrupulous attendee was peeping my keyboard whenever I typed my password. Yeah, I’m adequately paranoid and I change my password.
Saturday, August 8th:
I’ve been unable to get a strong mobile connection with my Verizon MiFi since Friday night. I have no idea why. I do know that tethering my BlackBerry Q10 with T-Mobile works fine. Later in the day, I wander into a talk about spoofing GSM towers, which amplifies my concern about the cell-tower spoofing I heard about the night before.
(Disclaimer: Verizon has acquired AOL, Engadget’s parent company. However, Engadget maintains full editorial control, and Verizon will have to pry it from our cold, dead hands.)
Still, I’ve started tethering my Chromebook to my BlackBerry during sessions. Both devices are burners and I’m connecting directly to the towers (I hope), so I’m feeling pretty safe. Okay not really, but this is why I have these burner accounts. If they get hacked, it’s not that big of a deal.
Sunday, August 9th:
My hotel has free breakfast. I don’t feel like lugging my gear just to grab some complimentary scrambled eggs and lukewarm home-style potatoes. I also don’t feel comfortable leaving all my gear in my room. I’ve declined all housekeeping attempts because I don’t want anyone in my room. An open door is an invitation. So I attach a piece of tape to the door and doorjamb as I leave for food. When I return, the tape is still in place and hasn’t been broken. I’m currently at paranoia level: Howard Hughes.
Today I learn the word “juicejacked.” It’s when someone uses free device charging as a ruse to capture data off a phone. Wall of Sheep has placed a charging station for iOS and Android in its space and people actually used it. Most attendees know not to plug random thumb drives they find lying around into their computers. Apparently, a couple of them forgot that the charging port on their phone is also a data port. I’ll never plug my phone into one of those charging stations at the airport ever again.
Tomorrow, I’ll wipe the Chromebook and BlackBerry before they get access to any home or work wireless network and change all the passwords of accounts I accessed while at the conference. It’s like a shower after a marathon. It was a great experience, but now you just want to get some of the ickiness off of yourself and rest.
As I get ready to board my delayed flight back home, a woman calls her bank and reads off her date of birth and the last four digits of her social security number. A family sits down and they immediately plug their iPad into one of the charging stations. They are having difficulty signing into the airport’s free WiFi. I’m using my computer, but still tethering to the MiFi (Verizon seems to be working at the airport) and while I’ve placed my SIM back in my iPhone, Bluetooth and WiFi are still turned off.
This isn’t my new normal. I’ve taken extreme precautions because of the environment. But, back in the regular world where we’re not surrounded by hackers, there’s very little stopping nefarious folks from exploiting the vulnerabilities found in our everyday technology. The exploits disclosed at the event are shared with the offending companies before being made public. While the hostile digital environment of the event can be taxing, the people I met were incredibly nice and, like most of us, want a more secure world. The reality is that everyone is a target during Def Con so fewer of us will be a target the rest of the time.
Filed under:
Misc, Networking, Internet, Software
Tags: DEFCON, Diary, hacking, Security
Rite Aid to start accepting Apple Pay and other mobile payments
Nearly a year after shutting off support for Apple Pay and other NFC-based payments, Rite Aid has announced that will be changing soon. On August 15th, the drug store is set to begin accepting mobile checkouts at around 4,600 locations across the US. This includes Apple Pay, Google Wallet and, in the future, Android Pay. Last year, Rite Aid along with CVS pulled support for these type of payment solutions due to contractual ties with the Merchant Customer Exchange, a retailer group that has its own wallet system called CurrentC — though it relies on QR codes, which is arguably an outdated method in 2015. Now there’s an excuse to pull out your Apple Watch the next time you’re at Rite Aid, buying shampoo or whatever it is you get there.
[Image credits: Associated Press]
Filed under:
Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple, Google
Source:
Rite Aid
Tags: Android Pay, AndroidPay, Apple Pay, ApplePay, Google Wallet, GoogleWallet, mobilepostcross, Rite Aid, RiteAid
Microsoft built a robotic air hockey table to show off Windows 10
Microsoft is more than a little proud that a version of Windows 10 runs on tiny, embedded PCs — proud enough that it’s willing to make clever devices to show this off. The folks in Redmond have built a robotic air hockey table whose virtual player is powered by a diminutive MinnowBoard Max running Windows 10 IoT Core. It’s simple (it largely depends on an overhead camera to track the puck), but it’s good enough to keep up with at least some shots, as you’ll see in the video below. You aren’t about to buy this table in a store — it’d need to keep up with a ruthless human rival, for starters — but it’s proof that modern Windows can find its way into some very unusual places.
Filed under:
Internet, Software, Microsoft
Via:
Business Insider
Source:
Microsoft
Tags: airhockey, hockey, internetofthings, microsoft, video, windows, windows10
Anyone in the world can buy an Ubuntu phone (but shouldn’t)
If you were dismayed that Canonical’s campaign to launch an Ubuntu-running smartphone crashed and burned, then today might be your lucky day. Spanish smartphone maker BQ has already been selling two Ubuntu devices to Europeans but, from today, it’s opening that offer out to everyone in the world. The Aquarius E5 HD and E4.5 both run the much-feted Linux-based operating system and are available for just €199 ($218) and €169 ($185), respectively.
Of course, there are at least two caveats that we should make you aware of before you grab your credit card and start ordering. Firstly, this is a European handset, so buyers elsewhere should check which bands their local carriers use or face being left with a lemon. Both of these devices support GSM bands 850, 900, 1,800 and 1,900, as well as UMTS 900 and 2,100 — so you’re not going to get any joy if you’re on a CDMA network like Verizon. Then, of course, there’s the fact that when we reviewed this phone and software combo back in July, we advised holding off while the bugs were being ironed out of the system.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Software
Tags: BQ, Global, GSM, Retail, Ubuntu, UbuntuEdge, UbuntuPhone
AIVAnet 