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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 18 Issue 01
Volume 18, Issue 01 Atari Online News, Etc. January 1, 2016
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2016
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi!
http://forums.delphiforums.com/atari/
=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1801 01/01/16
~ N. Korea's Red Star OS ~ People Are Talking! ~ Firebee News Update!
~ EA, Steam Servers Down ~ The Internet of Things! ~ Chinese Email Hack!
~ Raspberry Pi Bribe Try ~ Eureka Lite Is Released ~ AVG Breaks Chrome!
~ Bogus Facebook Posts! ~ Bug Sets Prisoners Free ~ Ian Murdock Dead!
-* New Firebee Boards Ordered! *-
-* Where To Sell Unwanted Video Games! *-
-* New Atari Jaguar Controller in Development *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Happy New Year!!
As I was changing the dates of A-ONE's masthead, I was amazed
when I realized that we've been around for 17 years, starting our
18th! I still remember the few phone conversations that Joe
Mirando and I had thinking about breaking away from STReport and
starting our own online magazine. A lot of things have changed
over the years! Surely, we knew that Atari-related news wasn't
going to be abundant. We weren't even sure that we'd be around
for very long, but we managed to do things a little bit differently,
and hung around for awhile.
While Atari-related "news" was almost non-existent, we decided that
our readers (or potential readers) would still be interested in
seeing articles that were newsworthy and entertaining - stuff
that we might not see or hear in the mainstream news outlets. So,
we focused more on that while trying to include anything that
pertained to Atari. And here we are, the beginning of 2016, and
people are still out there using Atari hardware, working on some
software and hardware - and, in general, still enjoy using the
Atari platform.
I still have much of my old Atari computers and software; I just
don't use it any longer. One of these days - if I ever have the
extra space - I'd like to set up one of those machines and play
around with stuff that I enjoyed using for many years, back in the
day! I know, famous last words! But, we'll see!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
FireBee News Update
By Fred Horvat
It was a busy week this week with the FireBee. I realized
something this week that I had missed the passed couple of months
while owning the FireBee that makes a huge difference in using
and getting support. I never clearly stated on
http://www.atari-forum.com/ when asking for help was how I wanted
to use my FireBee! People were offering great suggestions for
what they were familiar with in their own personal use of the
FireBee. This normally is not always how I want to use my
FireBee. This week it made a difference and now has created some
extra work for me on my FireBee. Last week I was discussing my
DIP Switch Settings and how I put Switch #5 to the Off position
to boot into EMTOS and how it has introduced a new problem of the
system not always booting properly. It took me some time to
think through it as others on the forum thought is was the brand
of CF Card I was using.
To get the FireBee to boot back into FireTOS and stop the endless
rebooting I did the following:
1: Checked all the DIP Switch settings and made sure all were set
back to factory settings and made sure that #5+#6 were on. System
still did not start up properly.
2: Shut down and pulled the CF Card out. Booted and still not
working properly.
3: Shut down and removed USB keyboard and mouse and used TT
keyboard and mouse. Booted and still not working properly. TT
Keyboard did not work at the TOS Selection Menu. Strange thing I
noticed was that with no CF, USB, or SD card the system was still
booting into something and would say "Starting Auto Folder" and
then crash. Since the TT Keyboard was not recognized I could not
select what TOS to run.
4: Shut down and put a blank SD card in and started up. TT
keyboard did not work so I attached a USB keyboard and mouse and
selected EMUTOS. System started up into EMUTOS Desktop and was
stable. I shut down and removed the TT keyboard and mouse. Booted
up into TOS404 full and got the Desktop and it seemed stable.
Shut down and put my normal SD and CF cards back in and booted up
normally like I would and selected #1 at the TOS menu for TOS404
for MiNT and the system seems to be working now.
It appears to not be releated to the brand of CF Card I am using
after doing these steps plus the CFs I have been using have been
working great up until I changed DIP Switch #5 to Off. I can get
the FireBee running again but the bug still exists at times.
Instead of doing all the steps above I just boot into EMUTOS once
and then reboot into FireTOS for MiNT and the system runs fine.
My next step is to reflash the firmware and put the original BaS
that came with the FireBee and not the latest version. Iíll see
if that corrects the problem. Another user on the forum Orion
seems to have the same bug with his FireBee that I was unaware of
until it happened to me and someone pointed this out. Now that
it is a known reproducible bug hopefully in a future Firmware
update this can be addressed. Also if Orion or myself find a fix
we can let the other and others know of our fix.
So like I stated at the beginning of this article I not been
specifically clear in what I wanted to accomplish with my FireBee
which this week led me down the wrong path. I looked at many
different sources and listened to many user's opinions. In the
end it was entirely my fault in putting Switch #5 Off and booting
into EMUTOS. Somehow this introduced a new bug into my FireBee.
I had read before that FireTOS is the more general purpose TOS
that offers some backwards compatibility and EMUTOS is the pure
ColdFire TOS. This requires ColdFire Binaries for it to work and
does not give you USB Support by default. It is dicussed here:
http://firebee.org/fb-bin/page?label=fb_selecting_the_os&lng=EN
though the translation in my opinion is not totally clear. Just
too much information and a poor choice on my part. But a great
learning experience for me and others.
As user wongck on the forum so obviously pointed out ìMy advice
is.... seems too late now anyway.... not to try to change too
many things.î Lately thatís what I had done was too many changes
but worse not clearly stating exactly what I want from the
FireBee when asking for assistance on the Forum. It was obvious
to me but not always to othersÖ
Anyway, Happy New Year and until next week.
Firebee News Update, 2 - New Boards Ordered
Medusa Computer Systems has started the order transaction for the
new series of FireBee boards.
The computers will be built, as already the former products by
MCS, at a swiss assembling company. At present we are waiting for
a definitiely day of delivery.
The new FireBee computers can be ordered furthermore. Who likes
to pay by two instalments can presently still make a deposit,
until the completion of the new series. All those who preordered
will be contacted by us in time, before the delivery and asking
for (final) payment, for ordering possible additional requests
like PSUs, CF cards, mini cases right away.
We wish the entire community happy holidays, and will keep you
up to date in the new year.
Eureka Lite
By Francois Le Coat
Happy New Year,
For 30th ATARI ST anniversary, I thought it would be a good idea
to build a lite version of Eureka 2.12, that can run in 1Mb of
memory. So the 2D Graph Describer and 3D Modeller can start on
early ST, STf, STe
etc.
<http://eureka.atari.org/eurklite.zip>
That version fits on a 720Kb floppy drive, and requires 1Mb of
RAM. Eureka 2.12 is a 2D graph visualization and 3D modelling
software.
Enjoy, it's yours =)
--
FranÁois LE COAT
Author of Eureka 2.12 (2D Graph Describer, 3D Modeller)
http://eureka.atari.org/
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Hackers Shut Down EA and Steam Servers!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Rise of the Tomb Raider Coming to PC!
New Atari Jaguar Controller In Development!
And more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Hackers Shut Down EA and Steam Servers Because Itís Christmas
Last week HR reported about a hacking group ìPhantom Squadî that
is planning ruin holidays for the gamers. It looks like the group
has started working on turning their plans into reality ó However,
another group known as SkidNP has also joined the attacks and shut
down Steam servers.
The group Phantom Squad has targeted EA (Electronic Arts) server
with very severe attacks and a number of users of reported
problems in accessing the PSN servers.
EA also confirmed the attacks via twitter and apologized for any
inconveniences.
ìYou may have some difficulty launching games, applications, or
online features. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue as
soon as possible, and we thank you for your patience.î One of the
tweets said.
Right after the announcement from EA, the hacking group stopped
the attacks and also announced the attacks on their twitter
account. The attack lasted 3 hours and jolted the EA server
badly.
The tweets from hackers canít be posted here as twitter has
already suspended their account.
But, this is not the first attack from the group previously they
attacked all the popular games these days i.e. The Old Republic,
Grand Theft Auto 5, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, and Call of Duty:
Black Ops 2. Though, these attacks were small and seemed to have
been carried out for testing purposes only, but results acquired
from those attacks can be used for a bigger attack later on.
Just a few days back the Phantom Squad joined hands with VandaSec
and PhantomSec making the group much stronger.
So, for gamers, a difficult time has already started, just like
last year when LizardSquad launched DDoS attacks on Xbox and PSN
and users were not able to enjoy gaming during the holiday.
It would be interesting to see how leading gaming service
providers cope with these attacks in upcoming days as this is a
just a start and these hacking groups might come hard as the
holiday season progresses.
Steam Servers:
The group targeting Steam server goes by the handle of SkidNP.
Earlier today, gamers using steam service tweeted that they are
facing a worldwide outage.
Rise of the Tomb Raider Coming to PC in January
According to Steam, Rise of the Tomb Raider will be available on
the PC sometime in January.
Although this isn't an official release date, it does correspond
with previous reports. Back in July, Square-Enix announced that
the game would be released on PC in early 2016. Two weeks ago, a
listing on Amazon France had the game set for release on
January 29, 2016. The Baba Yaga DLC is also set to come out in
January, which would coincide perfectly with a PC release date
for that month.
Given all of this information, it's safe to assume the game will
indeed be released on PC in January, though we don't have an
exact day for its release yet.
Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced during Microsoft's Gamescom
briefing in 2014 as a "2015 holiday exclusive" for the Xbox 360
and Xbox One, though some were confused as to whether or not the
game would be coming to other platforms. Shortly afterwards,
Microsoft head Phil Spencer clarified that the game was in fact a
timed exclusive, which meant that it would eventually be released
on other platforms in the future.
In addition to revealing the PC launch window, Square-Enix also
announced that the game would come to Sony's PlayStation 4
console sometime during the 2016 holiday season.
Where To Sell Back Your Unwanted Video Games
Poor Aunt Myrtle. She tried. She really did. But despite her best
efforts, there's just no way you can work up excitement over Just
Dance 2016 when you were hoping for Just Cause 3.
The goood news? Once she has toddled back to Cleveland and you
don't have to worry about hurting her feelings, you have plenty
of options when it comes to getting rid of the game and getting
what you really wanted for Christmas.
Of course, in the best of all worlds, your present came with a
gift receipt, letting you return it with little to no hassle. But
if not, there are still a number of different ways to get cash or
credit for that unwanted title. Getting the most take a little
work, though.
GameStop: Still worth it?
When it comes to game trade-ins, GameStop is the big fish in the
slightly-larger-than-it-was-a-few-years-ago-but-still-pretty-small
pond. You can get cash for your old games, but it's a sucker's
bet. The smarter play ó assuming you intend to purchase another
game at some point ó is taking store credit.
To get the most credit, though, you'll need to complete two steps.
First, spend the $15 to join the storeís PowerUp Rewards program
(you'll also get a subscription to Game Informer magazine, so
it's not lost money). Then, scan the store circulars and online
ads, along with the forums of deal-centric websites like
CheapAssGamer.
PowerUp Rewards members get more for their trades, sometimes
several dollars per title. And in the post-holiday period,
GameStop typically offers extra in-store credits for hot titles.
Get rid of some biggies and you can potentially earn nearly
double the credit you normally would.
Curious about how much you'll actually receive for your title?
GameStop lists what it offers for hot titles and hardware.
Competition has driven up the trade value of several titles.
Many big box retailers that sell games also accept trades-ins as
well. The good news with these outlets is you can also easily see
who's paying what (for in store credit, as none offer cash) before
you bring your games in. Just head to the websites of WalMart.
Best Buy, and Target to get a pretty reliable estimate.
As an added bonus, you can also use the credit you get for games
for any items sold at those stores, so if you're in need of a
spare controller ó or even a new TV ó those unwanted games can
help offset the cost.
If you're a little more patient on when you actually receive the
credit, Amazon's trade-in program is an option worth considering.
The service is pretty straightforward: Enter the titles you want
to dispose of on the site and youíll see their trade value.
Assuming thatís acceptable to you, you print out a free shipping
label, box them up, and drop them off at the nearest UPS location.
A week or so later, your Amazon account will receive a credit in
that amount ó which, as with the brick and mortar kings, you can
use on anything the site carries.
Another delayed gratification option is eBay. And, frankly, if
you're looking for cash, this is your best bet. You have the
ability to set minimum pricing and can even dictate the terms of
payment. The risks, of course, include failing to find a buyer or
being forced to accept a bid for an amount lower than you were
hoping for.
So who's paying what? Prices vary frequently, so you'll need to do
your homework. Here, however, is a look at what a few retailers
were paying out for a handful of hot titles one week before
Christmas:
Call of Duty: Black Ops III (PS4)
GameStop: $20 cash/$25 credit ($22/$27.50 for PowerUp Rewards
members)
WalMart: $25.59
Best Buy: $27
Target: $25
Amazon: $23.77
Fallout 4 (PS4)
GameStop: $20 cash/$25 credit ($22/$27.50 for PowerUp Rewards
members)
WalMart: $30.55
Best Buy: $29
Target: $25
Amazon: $26.55
Super Smash Bros. (Wii U)
GameStop: $20 cash/$25 credit ($22/$27.50 for PowerUp Rewards
members)
WalMart: $23.60
Best Buy: $27
Target: $25
Amazon: $23.87
Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox One)
GameStop: $17.60 cash/$22 credit ($19.36/$24.20 for PowerUp
Rewards members)
WalMart: $29.15
Best Buy: $25
Target: $25
Amazon: $19.67
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
New Atari Jaguar Controller In Development
One of the main criticisms levelled at Atari's Jaguar system is
that the controller is an absolute mess. Waiting in line behind
the lack of decent software, unconvincing 64-bit graphics (even
though it is a true 64-bit system on a technical level) and
poorly marketed CD add-on, the controller takes a lot of
unwarranted flack.
Gamers who have wielded the Jaguar's controller will attest that
it is actually rather comfortable to hold and, contrary to visual
perception, doesn't have much weight. Furthermore, the D-pad is
solid. There are also a lot of fantastic games on the system, but
I digress. Sure, the lack of shoulder buttons on the stock
controller is inexcusable but the Jaguar Pro Controller remedies
that omission.
It appears that Jaguar modder 10p6, creator of the the
Jaguar/Jaguar CD combo the Jaguar PlayOne also has the same
opinion, and has set about creating the ultimate replacement: a
Jaguar/Atari 5200 compatible controller with a built-in 'spinner'
that can be used with titles such as Tempest 2000. Also featuring
a fully integrated keypad, dual analogue sticks, shoulder buttons
and a D-Pad, this could be the ultimate controller for Jaguar
enthusiasts and the peripheral to finally silence the naysayers.
In his own words, 10p6 describes the new controller design:
"The idea of this project is to make a controller for the 5200
and Jaguar that is ergonomic, innovative, functional and very
reliable using off the shelf parts when possible. The case for the
unit will be initially 3D printed, but it has also been designed
so it can easily be duplicated in resin. The keypad is designed to
use a Jaguar Numeric Membrane, or possibly a custom one of the
same size and similar speck.
"Innovative parts of this controller are the analog sticks and
spinner. The sticks are off the shelf parts that are reliable and
functional, and are included to replace the awful 5200 analog
stick, but hopefully could be implemented for Jaguar games.
"The spinner / rotary controller is something that has been done
on the Jaguar numerous times. I did this on a previous controller
where I made a removable spinner that could be placed in the
center of the D-Pad. Even though this was functional and cool, it
was a little impractical; others have done spinners that are
either huge, crammed in an awkward space, or sacrifice a
controller just for rotary control.
"My spinner is innovative as it is located around the D-Pad in a
way that does not effect D-Pad functionality, but allows the
spinner to be easily turned with a thumb or fingers. The hard part
is designing controls that allow the D-Pad to rock, and the
spinner to spin, but not to impede each other. In the photos you
will see I used an approach that makes the D-Pad effectively
appear as a pivot in a large circle, of which the spinner is then
sandwiched between the spinner and the case; this allows the
spinner to have horizontal rotation, while allowing the D-Pad to
have vertical pivot. The notches in the Spinner are designed to
allow a twin photo-interrupter to work.
"This is the same system as used in old ball mouseís. Here it
allows for very accurate rotation, is very reliable, but reduces
friction compared to systems that use mechanical potentiometers.
Not shown on the renders, but included in the finished controller
will be a simple slider switch that locks the spinner in place
when not being used.
"The case is also partially designed (not for a specific screen)
to allow the numeric KeyPad to be removed and replaced with a
touch screen, maybe hooked up to Arduino or Raspberry Pi system
board. This could allow for custom button mapping, electronic
5200 and Jag overlays, video input, handheld games systems,
wireless functionality and so on. Note that this is a big
controller, it is as long as a Lynx 2 and a little wider. It is
designed for comfort and function over design."
There is no solid release date for this new controller as yet,
but the Pro Controller certainly has some competition on its hands.
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Microsoft Pledges To Inform Users of State
Surveillance, Account Hacking
Microsoft has pledged to inform users if their online
communications are being targeted and monitored by government
entities and state actors.
Following the trail blazed by Facebook, Twitter and Google, the
Redmond giant says the firm will notify users if any part of
their Microsoft account - including Outlook.com email and
OneDrive has been "targeted or compromised by an individual or
group working on behalf of a nation state."
Microsoft already tells users when alerts flag up suggesting
accounts have been hacked by third parties, but on Wednesday,
Microsoft Vice President Scott Charney said the company is
willing to take additional steps to protect the personal
information of its users.
The company says the attention of "state sponsored" entities is
dangerous as it is likely government or state-based hackers will
have access to tools and resources beyond your homegrown hacker.
While quick to point out such attention doesn't mean that
Microsoft's own security or systems are necessarily compromised
when an alert is issued, it does mean that users should take
extra precautions if they attract these sorts of characters.
Additional steps to ensure your accounts remain safe can include
turning on two-step verification -- such as linking your account
to your smartphone -- changing passwords regularly and keeping an
eye out for suspicious activity through the "Recent Activity"
page on your Microsoft account.
Another way to keep your personal data and accounts safe is a
simple one -- be wary of opening suspicious emails and both
clicking on links and downloading attachments held within. Known
as phishing campaigns, fraudulent emails which deliver malware
payloads on to victim machines or direct users to malicious
websites are a common tactic used to steal user credentials as
well as compromise their systems and overall privacy.
If Microsoft users receive an alert forewarning them of state
interest in their account, this doesn't automatically mean their
accounts have been hacked. As explained by Charney:
"If you receive one of these notifications it doesn't
necessarily mean that your account has been compromised, but it
does mean we have evidence your account has been targeted, and
it's very important you take additional measures to keep your
account secure.
You should also make sure your computer and other devices
don't not have viruses or malware installed, and that all your
software is up to date."
While Microsoft will not reveal the threat actors behind
state-sponsored attacks or their methods - as the information may
be "sensitive," -- the company will let you know when hacking
attempts come from these sources.
The Redmond giant is not the only company to begin warning users
of state-sponsored attacks in recent weeks. Earlier this month,
Yahoo also joined the cause, pledging to tell account holders
when their data is being targeted by state-based threat actors.
North Korea's Red Star OS (Looks Like Mac OS X)
Spies on Its Own People
North Korea has its own homegrown computer operating system that
looks remarkably just like Appleís OS X, which not only prevents
potential foreign hacking attempts but also provides extensive
surveillance capabilities.
Two German researchers have just conducted an in-depth analysis
of the secretive state's operating system and found that the OS
does more than what is known about it.
Dubbed Red Star OS, the operating system based on a Linux 2009
version called Fedora 11 limits its users to a
government-approved view of the world and has the tendency to
'watermark' files on USB sticks to track userís shuttling
contraband material.
In short, whenever a user inserts a USB storage device containing
photos, videos or other documents, into a computer running Red
Star, the OS takes the current hard disk's serial number,
encrypts that number, and writes that encrypted serial into the
file, marking it.
The purpose of watermarking files is to track who actually has
the particular file, who created that file, and who opened it.
Researchers previously reported this watermarking feature after
analysing Red Star OS, but Florian Grunow and Niklaus Schiess of
German IT company ERNW GmbH currently presented dive into Red
Star OS goes further.
Most of the Red Star's unique features, including its own version
of encrypting files, were designed to grant its makers complete
control over the operating system, making it independent from any
code that could be compromised and exploited by foreign
intelligence services, the duo said as they presented their
findings at the Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg on Sunday.
The researchers analysed the latest ñ third ñ version of Red Star
OS coming out around 2013 and it is clear that software is as
authoritarian as the country that developed it.
"This is a full-blown operating system where they control most of
the code," Grunow said as quoted by Reuters. Moreover, the OS
rigorously resists any changes made by its user and closely
monitors every move of a user.
The Red Star OS provides its own firewall, antivirus system and
web browser point to internal North Korean servers, and even the
encryption is custom-developed.
However, the small program included in the OS constantly monitors
the computer for any changes made to the system files.
As a result, any attempt by a user to tamper with the operating
system's core functions, like disabling antivirus or firewall,
would lead to the computer displaying an error message or
rebooting itself.
Since, there is no sign in the OS of the kinds of cyber attack
capability North Korea has been accused of, Red Star OS is also
designed to crack down on the growing illegal exchange of foreign
media content, including films, music or document files.
At the current, the duo has no information on how many computers
in North Korea are using this operating system, as they found the
OS from a website located outside the country, while visitors to
North Korea say most computers there still use Windows XP.
Cyber Attack Brings Down BBC Website for Several Hours
A cyber attack ó officially known as a ìdistributed denial of
serviceî attack ó took the BBC website and streaming service,
iPlayer, offline on Thursday.
Visitors to the sites were greeted by an error message, ìError
500 ñ Internal Error,î which stayed in place for around three
hours.
The BBC initially described it as a ìtechnical issue.î The press
office tweeted: ìWeíre aware of a technical issue affecting the
BBC website and are working to fix this now. Weíll update you as
soon as we can.î
Explore the heart and soul of what drives some of the top creative
minds in fashion, beauty, and style on their roads to success.
A ìdistributed denial of serviceî occurs when a site is bombarded
with more traffic than it can sustain.
The issue allowed the Twitterati to have fun at the BBCís expense.
#BBCDown was trending Thursday morning in the U.K., alongside
#HappyNewYear. Some alluded to the fact that British navy
submarines carrying nuclear weapons have been instructed that the
BBC ceasing operation may be taken as a sign that Armageddon has
occurred.
Anonymous Hacks Asia Pacific Telecommunity
Against Internet Censorship in Asia
Anonymous hacker collective has attacked the official website of
Asia Pacific telecommunity and defaced it in protest against
growing plans for internet censorship in Asia.
The hackers gained access of the websiteís admin panel (running
Drupal) and from there, leaked all the data stored on the website
along with defacing the site with one of their own pages.
In an exclusive conversation with one of the Anonymous hackers
behind the attack, HackRead was told that:
ìThough, we the Anonymous hackers have conducted this attack
but we would like to mention that we were also joined by hackers
from other groups, you can call it an operation conducted by World
Hacker Team against censorship in Asia.î
During recent years, many Asian countries have increased
censorship following the Chinese governmentís lead. Thailand has
been one of the active countries, but other countries are not far
away. In the last couple of months, Anonymous hacked CAT Telecom
Pcl, the premier telecommunication website of Thailand and
National Police server against Internet censorship.
Recently, Chinaís president (Xi Jinping), in a World Internet
conference, emphasized on censorship being the right of every
country.
In the same conference, the organization responsible for managing
domain names, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers) promised full support in working on the new internet
plan in which Chinese officials will have stronger say on how the
organization works.
ICANN will be taking over IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority) which is currently run by the US government and with
that move Chinese government will be able to monitor the internet
all around the world. This move will certainly make internet
users nervous.
Anonymous, in order to draw the attention of the people, defaced
the Asian community website and left the message on the website
and YouTube for people to ponder on. With that, they also leaked
data like emails, usernames, and hashed passwords on the website.
Though, this will not stop ICANN or the Chinese government from
progressing with their plans but it will certainly create
awareness among the general public regarding the world of
internetís new order.
At the time of publishing this article, the targeted website was
still hacked.
Somebody Offered Money to Raspberry Pi
Foundation for Pre-Installing Malware
The Raspberry Pi is now gaining attention from malware
distributors who want the popular mini-computers to deliver with
pre-install malware.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has made a shocking revelation that
the charitable foundation has been offered money to install
malware onto the Raspberry Pi machines before they were shipped
out to users.
The Raspberry Pi is an extremely simple computer that looks and
feels very basic, but could be built into many geeky projects.
Due to the low-cost appeal of the Raspberry Pi, the Foundation
has sold over 4 million units.
Just Last month, Raspberry Pi unveiled its latest wonder: The
Raspberry Pi Zero ñ a programmable computer that costs just $5
(or £4), may rank as the world's cheapest computer.
Last Wednesday, the Foundation tweeted a screenshot of an email
in which "business officer" Linda effectively asked Foundation's
director of communications Liz Uptonto to install a suspicious
executable file onto Raspberry Pis for which the officer promised
to offer a "price per install."
The email further explained that installing the executable file
would create a shortcut icon on the user's desktop and opening
the shortcut would take the user to the company's website. "Then
this is our target," the email reads.
However, the name of the company represented by Linda was not
revealed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Obviously, the paid-for-malware distributor pitched the wrong
organisation, who declined the offer, describing the company as
"evildoers," but the incident once again raises the question
about this common, widespread issue.
Decade Old Software Bug Sets 3000 US Prisoners Free
A software bug in Washington State Department of Corrections (DoC)
has been handing freedom to the inmates well before their sentence
was due to end ó Each year, over 3200 prisoners benefitted from
this bug since 2002.
All this started when a Supreme Court amended the 1995 law on how
to calculate release date mitigating prisonerís good behavior
against time to be served which then necessitated an update to the
software back in 2002. Once the software was updated against the
Supreme Courtís ruling the software began to calculate incorrect
release dates.
Before the courtís ruling, only time spent by an inmate in a
state prison was considered and not the county jail time for
calculating ëgood timeí.
The error basically occurred due to ìenhancementsî which is an
additional sentence period as a result of the violent nature of
the crime like sexual assault, firearm crimes, weapon usage, etc.
Enhancements, by law, are not to be counted up against a good
time. However, the software did just that. It added the
enhancement as total prison time with the county jail time which
made the software show higher values for any inmate who was to be
given early release against the ëgood timeí.
This bug was originally identified back in 2012 when an assault
victimís family identified the incorrect release of the inmate.
Once they reported this to DoC, the officials asked for a
system-wide update as a priority but for unknown reasons it was
delayed until November 2015 when DoC hired an IT expert who
identified how big the bug was.
55 days on average
According to the findings from the IT experts, on average a
prisoner was released 55 days before his actual date and about
3200 prisoners each year benefitted.
DoC is now tracking down the inmates who benefited to make them
complete their time in prison and is also working on fixing the
bug.
Governor Inslee has hired Robert Westinghouse and Carl Blackstone
and two retired federal prosecutors for reviewing this incident.
Inslee in a statement said:
ìThat this problem was allowed to continue for 13 years is deeply
disappointing to me, totally unacceptable and, frankly,
maddening,î Inslee said.
Microsoft Keeps Backup of Your Encryption Key on
Its Server ó Here's How To Delete It
Have you recently purchased a Windows computer?
Congratulations! As your new Windows computer has inbuilt disk
encryption feature that is turned on by default in order to
protect your data in case your device is lost or stolen.
Moreover, In case you lost your encryption keys then don't worry,
Microsoft has a copy of your Recovery Key.
But Wait! If Microsoft already has your Disk Encryption Keys then
whatís the use of using disk encryption feature? Doesn't
Encryption mean Only you can unlock your disk?
Since the launch of Windows 8.1, Microsoft is offering disk
encryption as a built-in feature for Windows laptops, Windows
phones and other devices.
However, there is a little-known fact, highlighted by The
Intercept, that if you have logged into Windows 10 using your
Microsoft account, your system had automatically uploaded a copy
of your recovery key to Microsoftís servers secretly, and you
can't prevent device encryption from sending your recovery key.
Note: Do not get confuse device encryption with BitLocker. Both
works same but have different configuration options. BitLocker
offers users a choice whether or not they want to backup their
Recovery keys on Windows server.
Why Should You Worry?
If a hacker hacks your Microsoft account, he can make a copy
of your recovery key before you delete it (method described below).
Any Rogue employee at Microsoft with access to user data can
access your recovery key.
If Microsoft itself get hacked, the hacker can have their
hands on your recovery key.
Even Law Enforcement or Spy agencies could also request
Microsoft to hand over your recovery key.
"Your computer is now only as secure as that database of keys
held by Microsoft, which means it may be vulnerable to hackers,
foreign governments, and people who can extort Microsoft
employees," said Matthew Green, a cryptography professor at Johns
Hopkins University.
How to Delete your Recovery Key from your Microsoft Account?
Although there's no way to prevent a new Windows computer from
uploading the recovery key at the very first time you log into
your Microsoft account, you can delete the existing recovery key
from your Microsoft account and generate a new one.
Follow these simple steps in order to remove your recovery key
from your Microsoft account:
Step 1: Open this website and log in with your Microsoft Account
Step 2: You will find list of recovery keys backed up to your
Microsoft Account
Step 3: Take a back of your recovery Keys locally
Step 4: Go ahead and delete your recovery key from Microsoft
Account.
Important Fact: Green also pointed out that even after deleting
the recovery key from your Microsoft account, there is no
guarantee that the key has been removed from the company's
server.
Instant Solution: To solve this issue, Windows users are
recommended to stop using their old encryption keys and generate
a new one without sharing it with Microsoft.
How to Generate a New Encryption key (Without Sending a copy to
Microsoft)?
Sorry for Windows Home Edition users, but Windows Pro or
Enterprise users can create new key by decrypting whole hard disk
and then re-encrypt the disk, and this time in such a way that
you will actually get asked how you want to backup your Recovery
Key.
Step 1: Go to Start, type "Bitlocker," and click "Manage
BitLocker."
Step 2: Click "Turn off BitLocker" and it will decrypt your
disk.
Step 3: Once done, Click "Turn on BitLocker" again.
how-to-install-bitlocker
Step 4: Then Windows will ask you: How you want to backup your
Recovery Key. Make sure to DO NOT SELECT "Save to your Microsoft
Account." That's it.
Congratulations!
Finally, the new Windows device you purchased specially for disk
encryption feature has now enabled the feature, and Microsoft no
longer can unlock it.
Microsoft Failed To Warn Victims of Chinese Email Hack
Microsoft Corp experts concluded several years ago that Chinese
authorities had hacked into more than a thousand Hotmail email
accounts, targeting international leaders of Chinaís Tibetan
and Uighur minorities in particular ñ but it decided not to tell
the victims, allowing the hackers to continue their campaign,
according to former employees of the company.
On Wednesday, after a series of requests for comment from Reuters,
Microsoft said it will change its policy and in the future tell
its email customers when it suspects there has been a government
hacking attempt. Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw said the company
was never certain of the origin of the Hotmail attacks.
The company also confirmed for the first time that it had not
called, emailed or otherwise told the Hotmail users that their
electronic correspondence had been collected. The company declined
to say what role the exposure of the Hotmail campaign played in
its decision to make the policy shift.
The first public signal of the attacks came in May 2011, though no
direct link was immediately made with the Chinese authorities.
That's when security firm Trend Micro Inc announced it had found
an email sent to someone in Taiwan that contained a miniature
computer program.
The program took advantage of a previously undetected flaw in
Microsoftís own web pages to direct Hotmail and other free
Microsoft email services to secretly forward copies of all of a
recipientís incoming mail to an account controlled by the
attacker.
Trend Micro found more than a thousand victims, and Microsoft
patched the vulnerability before the security company announced
its findings publicly.
Microsoft also launched its own investigation that year, finding
that some interception had begun in July 2009 and had compromised
the emails of top Uighur and Tibetan leaders in multiple
countries, as well as Japanese and African diplomats, human
rights lawyers and others in sensitive positions inside China,
two former Microsoft employees said. They spoke separately and on
the condition that they not be identified. Some of the attacks
had come from a Chinese network known as AS4808, which has been
associated with major spying campaigns, including a 2011 attack
on EMC Corp's security division RSA that U.S. intelligence
officals publicly attributed to China. To see the report click
here: http://www.secureworks.com/cyber-threat-intelligence/threats/sindigoo/
Microsoft officials did not dispute that most of the attacks came
from China, but said some came from elsewhere. They did not give
further detail.
"We weighed several factors in responding to this incident,
including the fact that neither Microsoft nor the U.S. government
were able to identify the source of the attacks, which did not
come from any single country," the company said. "We also
considered the potential impact on any subsequent investigation
and ongoing measures we were taking to prevent potential future
attacks."
In announcing the new policy, Microsoft said: "As the threat
landscape has evolved our approach has too, and weíll now go
beyond notification and guidance to specify if we reasonably
believe the attacker is `state-sponsored.'" Requests for comment
from Chinaís Foreign Ministry and the Cyberspace Administration of
China were not immediately answered. The Chinese government
routinely issues strong denials of involvement in all hacking
activities.
After a vigorous internal debate in 2011 that reached Microsoftís
top security official, Scott Charney, and its then-general
counsel and now president, Brad Smith, the company decided not to
alert the users clearly that anything was amiss, the former
employees said. Instead, it simply forced users to pick new
passwords without disclosing the reason.
The employees said it was likely the hackers by then had
footholds in some of the victims' machines and therefore saw
those new passwords being entered.
One of the reasons Microsoft executives gave internally in 2011
for not issuing explicit warnings was their fear of angering the
Chinese government, two people familiar with the discussions
said.
Microsoftís statement did not address the specific positions
advocated by Smith and Charney. A person familiar with the
executivesí thinking said that fear of Chinese reprisals did play
a role given the company's concerns about the potential impact on
customers.
Microsoft said the company had believed the password resets would
be the fastest way to restore security to the accounts.
"Our primary concern was ensuring that our customers quickly took
practical steps to secure their accounts, including by forcing a
password reset," the statement said.
It is unclear what happened to the email users and their
correspondents as a result of Microsoft's failure to alert them
to the suspected government hacking. But some of those affected
said they were now deeply worried about the risks, especially
for those inside China.
ìThe Internet service providers and the email providers have an
ethical and a moral responsibility to let the users know that they
are being hacked,î said Seyit Tumturk, vice president of the World
Uyghur Congress, whose account was among those compromised. ìWe
are talking in peopleís lives here.î
Unrest in Xinjiang, the Chinese region bordering Kazakhstan that
is home to many Uighurs, has cost hundreds of lives in recent
years. Beijing blames Islamist militants, while human rights
groups say harsh controls on the religion and culture of the
Uighurs have led to the violence.
Until Wednesday, Microsoft had rejected the idea of explicit
warnings about state-sponsored hacking, such as those Google Inc.
began in 2012, the former employees said. In the 2011 case, the
company also opted not to send a more generic warning about
hacking. Yahoo Inc and Facebook Inc have been issuing such
warnings for several years, former employees of those companies
told Reuters, including when the principal suspect was a
government. Both companies, along with Twitter Inc, announced in
recent months that they would follow Googleís lead and explicitly
notify users about suspected state-sponsored hacking.
Google said on average it now issues tens of thousands of warnings
about targeting every few months, and that recipients often move
to improve their security with two-factor authentication and other
steps.
Reuters interviewed five of the Hotmail hacking victims that were
identified as part of Microsoftís investigation: two Uighur
leaders, a senior Tibetan figure and two people in the media
dealing with matters of interest to Chinese officials.
Most recalled the password resets, but none took the procedure as
an indication that anyone had read his or her email, let alone
that it may have been accessed by the Chinese government. ìI
thought it was normal, everybody gets it,î said one of the men, a
Uighur ÈmigrÈ now living in Europe who asked not to be named
because he left family behind in China.
Another victim identified by Microsoftís internal team was Tseten
Norbu of Nepal, a former president of the Tibetan Youth Congress,
one of the more outspoken members of a community that has
frequently clashed with Chinese officials. Another
Microsoft-identified victim was Tumturk, the World Uyghur
Congress vice president who lives in Turkey. Microsoft
investigators also saw that emails had been forwarded from the
account of Peter Hickman, a former American diplomatic officer who
arranged high-profile speeches by international figures at the
National Press Club in Washington for many years.
Hickman said he used his Hotmail account on Press Club computers
to correspond with people, including the staff for the Tibetan
government in exile, whose leader Lobsang Sangay spoke at the
club in 2011; Tumturk's World Uyghur Congress, whose
then-president Rebiya Kadeer spoke in 2009; and the president of
Taiwan, who spoke by video link-up in 2007. Hickman said he didnít
recall the password reset. He said he never suspected anything
was wrong with the account, which he continues to use.
AVG Antivirus Broke Chromeís Security,
and Googleís Furious About It
AVG Antivirus has been a popular security suite for more than a
decade. The company claims more than 200 million active devices,
including 100 million mobile installations. Over the past few
years, the company has come under increasing fire for installing
its AVG SafeSearch toolbar without permission, and announcing that
it would sell consumer data to advertisers. Now, the company may
have finally gone too far, thanks to an enormous bug in its AVG
Web TuneUp software that fundamentally broke security for Google
Chrome users.
On December 15, Google Security researcher Tavis Orlandy filed a
bug report with AVG, noting that the software:
ì[A]dds numerous JavaScript APIís to chrome, apparently so that
they can hijack search settings and the New Tab page. The
installation process is quite complicated so that they can bypass
the Chrome malware checks, which specifically tries to stop abuse
of the extension API.î
Orlandy followed up the bug report with a self-described angry
email sent directly to AVG. In it, Orlandy writes:
ìIím really not thrilled about this trash being installed for
Chrome users. The extension is so badly broken that Iím not sure
whether I should be reporting it to you as a vulnerability, or
asking the extension abuse team to investigate if itís a PuP
[potentially unwanted program].
Nevertheless, my concern is that your security software is
disabling web security for 9 million Chrome users, apparently so
that you can hijack search settings and the new tab page.
There are multiple obvious attacks possible, for example, here
is a trivial universal xss in the ënavigateí API that can allow
any website to execute script in the context of any other
domain.î (The relevant code samples can be viewed at the initial
bug report.)
AVG released a broken patch for the problem on December 19, which
Google promptly rejected. The company revised its patch again, but
as of December 28, Google is reviewing the extension to determine
if AVG will be allowed to offer it at all.
A review of the most recent anti-virus comparisons at
AV-Comparatives shows AVGís anti-virus performing at the top of
the heap. The same cannot be said, however, for the foistware that
the company has taken to pushing at its users. A litany of user
complaints have erupted in recent years, most of which say the
same things: AVGís supplementary software ó Web TuneUp,
SafeSearch, and the like ó are security disasters and rampantly
disliked.
The fact that the company now wants to sell consumer data (the
information above is from AVG itself) may just be the last straw
for many users. AVG has traded actual due diligence for pushing
users towards products that donít function while selling the data
of its userbase.
Stop Sharing This Bogus Facebook Post. It Won't Make You Rich
There are always rumors and hoaxes spreading on Facebook.
The latest myth comes in the form of a chain letter. It claims
that CEO Mark Zuckerberg will distribute $4.5 billion worth of
his Facebook shares among 1,000 people who copy and post the
letter. Of course, this is completely bogus - and Facebook has
stated as much -- but that hasn't stopped the hoax from
spreading.
As reported by Tech Insider, it began circulating in early
December, right after Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla announced
that they would give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares to
the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic LLC that will
funnel its earnings into nonprofits "to advance human potential
and promote equality."
Hours after their announcement, the hoax started gaining
popularity.
Here's a version of the status that people are sharing:
Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he is giving away $45
billion of Facebook stock. What you may not have heard is that he
plans to give 10% of it away to people like YOU and ME! All you
have to do is copy and paste this message into a post
IMMEDIATELY. At midnight PST, Facebook will search through the
day's posts and award 1000 people with $4.5 million EACH as a way
of saying thank you for making Facebook such a powerful vehicle
for connection and philanthropy.
Facebook immediately debunked this in an official statement,
reminding users that "not everything you read on the Internet is
real."
Nonetheless, the message resurfaced this week.
Certainly, Facebook and other social networks provide fertile
ground for hoaxes and scams to quickly gain momentum. Every so
often, rumors circulate claiming that Facebook is going to start
charging users or that people can now tell when you've looked at
their profile. Of course, these rumors are all false.
The lesson here is simple. Don't believe everything your friends
share on social media. And, when in doubt, check Facebook's
official page or the site's Terms of Service - they'll protect
you from being duped.
Kim Dotcom Loses Fight Against Extradition to the US
Internet millionaire and Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and his
three associates are eligible for extradition to the US to face
criminal charges over massive copyright infringement on
Megaupload (now-shuttered), the court has ruled citing
"overwhelming" evidence.
On Tuesday afternoon, New Zealand District Court Judge Nevin
Dawson told the court that the United States had presented enough
evidence against Dotcom and his co-defendants and that they
should be surrendered to the US.
US prosecutors want Dotcom, and colleagues Mathias Ortmann, Bram
van der Kolk and Finn Batato to stand trial on charges of
copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering.
"No matter what happens in Court tomorrow, I'll be fine.
Don't worry. Enjoy your Christmas & know that I'm grateful to
have you, my friends," Dotcom tweeted before the court hearing.
The court ruling comes almost three years after the New Zealand
police raided Dotcom's Auckland mansion at the request of the FBI
and in the same year the US government launched extradition
proceedings.
It was a high-profile armed raid, but it has taken almost four
years for the courts to reach a decision on whether to send
Dotcom to America.
Officials say Dotcom's file-sharing service Megaupload served
copyright contents, including music, movies, electronic books,
television programs, as well as business and entertainment
software on 'a massive scale.'
The US government estimates the harm to film studios and record
companies was more than $500 Million (£322 Million).
However, Dotcom and three defendants now have 15 days to appeal
the court ruling.
"Justice was not served today," Dotcom's California-based lawyer
Ira Rothken tweeted, confirming their plans to appeal the US
extradition request in the High Court.
"The @KimDotcom team looks forward to having the US request
for extradition reviewed in the High Court. We have no other
comments at this time," Rothken said.
However, the defendants are allowed to remain out on bail in the
meantime. Although the judge insisted that all the defendants
should be ordered to report to probation every day.
BlackBerry's Pakistan Operations To Continue
After Government Drops Access Demands
BlackBerry won't be pulling out of Pakistan after all. The local
government has rescinded its shutdown order and dropped its
request for access to BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) email
and messaging content. A new post from Marty Beard, BlackBerry's
Chief Operating Officer, revealed that the two reached an
agreement, and that the Pakistani government was able to accept
BlackBerry's position on security.
We are grateful to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
and the Pakistani government for accepting BlackBerry's
position that we cannot provide the content of our customers'
BES traffic, nor will we provide any so-called backdoors to our
BES servers.
BlackBerry looks forward to serving the Pakistani market for
years to come, including introducing new products and services,
and thanks our valued customers in Pakistan for their patience
and loyalty.
Security is something that BlackBerry values, and it is good to
see the company stand firm on its beliefs. BlackBerry says it is
willing to assist law enforcement agencies in investigations of
criminal activities, but the company is not about handing out
back door access to its private information.
R.I.P Ian Murdock, Founder of Debian Linux, Dead at 42
Ian Murdock, the founder the Debian Linux operating system and the
creator of apt-get, has passed away.
Yes, it is very sad to announce that Ian Murdock is not between
us. His death has touched the entire software community. He was
just 42.
The announcement of Murdock death came out via a blog post on
Docker website, where Murdock was working as a member of the
technical staff.
The cause of death is unclear at present, but Murdock tweeted the
same day that he would commit suicide that night. His Twitter
account had since been deleted.
However, at that time, some people speculated that Murdockís
account had been hacked and that the tweets were not by him.
Murdock posted some Tweets on Monday suggesting he had been
involved in a police case and has been beaten by the police and
charged with battery.
However, neither Docker, nor the San Francisco Police Department
immediately commented on Murdockís actual cause of death.
Murdock developed Debian in August 1993 ó and yes the ìianî in
the projectís name is from Ian Murdock.
In the past, He also worked at Sun Microsystems and served as the
CTO of the Linux Foundation.
It is with deep regret that we say goodbye to our great friend,
the most significant contributor to Linux community, our beloved
Ian Murdock.
Rip :(
U.S. Broadband Speeds Tripled in 3.5 Years
In an effort to keep up with an increasingly data-dependent
society, U.S. broadband speeds have tripled over the past 3.5
years.
The Federal Communications Commission's fifth Measuring Broadband
America report, released Wednesday, said average download speeds
increased to nearly 31 megabits per second (Mbps) in September
2014 ó up from 10 Mbps in March 2011.
In recent years, companies like Google, AT&T, and Comcast have
begun offering speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps (or more), elevating
them high above the FCC's redefined broadband benchmark of
25 Mbps.
Rising Internet speeds satisfies customers streaming videos,
playing games, and downloading data every day. Citing recent
Cisco data, the Commission said video traffic currently accounts
for more than 60 percent of Web traffic. That's expected to grow
to 80 percent by 2019.
"[This] report confirms that advances in network technology are
yielding significant improvements in broadband speeds and
quality," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement. "Faster,
better broadband will unleash new innovations and new services to
improve the lives of the American people."
But the U.S. is still lagging behind the rest of the world. We
ranked 25 out of 39 nations in 2013, falling behind countries like
France, Canada, Germany, and Japan, Reuters said.
In the fall, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman launched
an investigation into whether Verizon, Cablevision, and Time
Warner Cable deliver advertised speeds.
And, the FCC in June fined AT&T $100 million for failing to
adequately explain to customers of its "unlimited" data plans how
much their service would be throttled after a certain amount of
data use.
Meanwhile, Akamai's State of the Internet report released earlier
this month suggested that global Internet connection speeds were
up 14 percent in the third quarter ó to a measly 5.1 Mbps.
How Google Is Learning From Past Mistakes With New Version of Glass
Nearly one year after Google pulled sales of its consumer version
of Google Glass, its team is back with plans for a revamped version
of the futuristic eye wear that fixes previous concerns about
privacy and portability.
While no release date has been set, the latest filings from Google
posted this week on the Federal Communications Commission's website
show how the company addressed the biggest concern that dogged the
first edition of Glass -- its camera.
The new plans for Glass include a green light that will turn on
when a user is recording video, according to the FCC filings.
Restaurants, movie theaters and strip clubs had banned the device
over concerns users could surreptitiously use the eye wear to
record video.
"With the first version of Glass, users were shunned and mocked
to the point that owners stopped wearing them," Patrick Moorhead,
an analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, told ABC News. "Google
learned the hard way that users don't want anonymous videos or
photos taken of them and therefore on the new version, they added
a light when the camera is in use."
The filings also show Google has tweaked the design of Glass by
moving the power button to the back of the glasses. Another key
change includes a hinge, making it easier to fold Glass and
presumably slip it into a smaller carrying case that could perhaps
fit into a small bag or even someone's front pocket. The first
edition of Glass required users to carry around a larger hard
case.
The latest plans for Glass are reportedly aimed at business users
instead of everyday consumers. While Google has made some design
tweaks, Moorhead said "size and style aren't as big of an issue"
with the latest version.
Glass went on sale to the public in May 2014 for $1,500. Earlier
this year Google vowed that the public would see a next
generation of Glass. Less than a year later, it appears Google
is making good on that promise.
Glass is a part of Google X. Google X is a subsidiary of
Google's parent company Alphabet.
What Will The Internet Of Things Be When It Grows Up?
An old proverb advises, ìKeep a thing seven years, and youíll find
a use for it.î Well, itís been about seven years since there were
officially more ìthingsî connected to the Internet than people. It
looks like theyíre keepers, and weíve found countless uses for
them.
Now that the Internet of Things (IoT) seems to be firmly embedded
in our lives, 2016 may be that transformational year when it
segues from the ìgee whizî arena into practical, everyday
application ó along with all that entails in regard to
development, policy and standards.
Here are some predictions for the IoT as it matures in 2016Ö
The same material science that is improving the range of the
electric car will increase the duration of battery life for
connected devices. This is a pretty important development, and
will herald a larger number of wireless IP-based devices. And
with this increase in numbers, more ìthingî makers will start to
offer direct-access APIs to their devices on local networks for
other trusted IP-based devices (as opposed to offering exclusive
access only through the cloud).
I am also anticipating the emergence of more natural interactions
between people and ìthingsî in the coming year ó making devices
more usable via voice control and semantic modeling and social
interplay. This will create ìthingî interactions that present
less friction between people and technology, which is a
prerequisite on the march toward IoT ubiquity.
On the visual human/thing-interaction front, we can also expect
hologram technology to accelerate in 2016. A selection of APIs,
SDKs and new gear will emerge next year and really kick off
widespread development of hologram-based ìcardsî and similar
applications.
The IoT is not a revolution in technology, but rather an
evolution.
One sticky development that may arise next year concerns the IoT
and microdrones, as I think smaller form-factor personal drones
will start to appear in 2016 (and like smartphones, theyíll be
equipped with high-quality cameras and streaming capabilities).
With these new IoT devices, people will begin to record,
contextualize, share and store the ìdroneableî moments of their
lives.
Other peopleís privacy will be of significant concern, but will
not stop the spread. Video will be captured and analyzed to create
actionable data thatís cross-referenced with simultaneous or
near-simultaneous contextual events (by time, location, subject
participation, perspective, device density, etc.).
Determining who controls all that data and what is done with it
will lead us down some interesting paths; debates about our
current selfie-mania and mass over-sharing on social media will
pale by comparison. Which leads us toÖ
Policy
Privacy issues will come to the fore as big players around the
world increase their supply of IoT data-collecting devices and
services. Legal jurisdictions will start to impose more rules that
are more favorable to the preservation of consumer privacy by
restricting where and how data can be extracted, moved, analyzed
and traded. I also wouldnít be surprised to see a few class
actions or criminal litigation actions stemming from these issues.
Sadly, I think privacy and security failures by several large IoT
providers in the new year will be a catalyst for this increased
awareness. IoT devices, networks and infrastructure are already
targets for nefarious threat actors, but I think the coming year
will be marked by at least a few dramatic IoT hacks.
As the IoT evolves in industries such as transportation and
healthcare, for example, policies around privacy and security
will become a much more pressing concern. 2016 may be the year
in which widespread foundational legal and administrative
protocols are laid for the IoT. As part of that processÖ
Standards
In 2016, a certifying authority will begin to form so that some
level of trust can be converted and conveyed to boost consumer
confidence as they ìhireî new IoT devices in their lives. This
authority will most likely employ an easy-to-understand
confidence badge certifying that devices comply with a minimum
level of security and data protection.
I also think that a dominant schema will become evident next
year, which will serve as the suggested ìdictionary,î and that
much of the industry will choose to follow it. This schema will
be treated as open source, so individuals and companies around
the world can participate in its evolution.
And at least two more new communications ìstandardsî will emerge
next year (maybe even one from a large retailer building its own
broad IoT platform). Both will seek to gain worldwide acceptance
as ìTHEî standard for connectivity between things, people and
processes, but itís hard to guess at this point whether either
of them will actually fit the bill. SoÖ
Are We There Yet?
The IoT is not a revolution in technology, but rather an
evolution. As such, ìthingsî will continue to evolve in
accordance with human notions about their uses and application.
Currently, there is too much noise for the mass market to really
understand IoT and the value it can bring to their daily lives.
That confusion is augmented by the variety of non-interoperable
products laid out side-by-side on store shelves, and the lack
of a dominant standard. There is still a long way to go before
we can consider the IoT ìmature.î But 2016 may be the year we
get our first real glimpse of what a full-grown IoT will look
like, and itís coming along nicely.
The Internet of Things Is Everywhere, But It Doesnít Rule Yet
In the future, everything will be connected. It wonít just be our
phones that access the Internet; it will be our light bulbs, our
front doors, our microwaves, our comforters, our blenders. You can
call it the Internet of Things, The Internet of Everything,
Universal Object Interaction, or your pick of buzzwords that begin
with Smart. They all hold as inevitable that everything,
everything will be connected, to each other and to the Internet.
And that will change the world.
Juniper research predicted that by 2020, there will be 38.5
billion connected devices. IDC says itíll be 20.9 billion.
Gartnerís guess? Twenty-five billion. The numbers donít matter,
except that theyíre huge. They all agree that most of those
gadgets will be industrialóthe Internet of Things is less about
you changing the color of your lightbulb and more about companies
large and small finding new ways of making their businesses, and
your life, easier and more efficient. But the market for
connecting the devices you use all day, every day, is about to be
huge.
2015 was the year everyone talked about the Internet of Things.
(So was 2014. And 2013.) But unlike before, it was the year
everyone started making plans, laying groundwork, and building
the infrastructure for the day when all our devices are
connected. It wasnít the year those devices took over our homes,
but ó donít look now ó there are suddenly Trojan horses
everywhere.
Did you buy an Apple TV this fall? You now have a Homekit hub in
your house, and if you buy a HomeKit-enabled device itíll be
incredibly easy to set up. Have an Amazon Echo? Try saying,
ìAlexa, turn the lights off.î Actually, that one will only work
if you have a Philips Hue set and youíve already done the work
of setting things up. Itís a whole thing.
Which brings us to the real dilemma the Internet of Things is
facing as we come to the end of 2015: how the hell are all these
things going to work together? Apple has Homekit; Google has
Brillo and Nest; Microsoft has Windows; Samsung has SmartThings.
Thereís Wemo and Wink and Zigbee and Z-Wave and Thread and Iím
not even making any of these up. You can control some things with
your fitness tracker, some with a universal remote, and pretty
much all of them with your phone. Some of the protocols overlap
and support each other; others are more exclusive. But thereís no
simple plug-and-play option, no way to walk out of Best Buy with
something you know is going to work.
Right now, says Frank Gillett, a vice president and analyst at
research firm Forrester, people mostly buy single products for a
single purpose. ìIt works if you have a specific headache,î he
says. ìI want to lock my door, or I want to feed my pet.î He
calls these app-cessories. ìAs a shelf item in an Apple Store or
Best Buy, it works. But if you want to make those things sing and
dance together, forget it.î Even these simple things arenít
taking off yet: his research shows only 7 percent of Americans
partake in even a single smart-home scenario.
Our homes are going to get smarter. But itís going to happen
slowly, Gillett says, at the rate weíd upgrade our homes anyway.
ìNone of us want to go out and do home renovations just to get a
dang smart home,î he says. We wonít run out just to buy a smart
crock-pot or refrigerator, but the next time weíre shopping for
one ó which could be a decade from nowówe might buy the
connected one.
Our smart homes and connected worlds are going to happen one
device, one bulb at a time, not in a single motion. But
companies know they have to get you into their platform with that
first device, or risk losing you forever to someone elseís closed
ecosystem. If you bought a Nest thermostat and plugged it into
your wall, odds are youíre not switching to HomeKit anytime soon.
(Or buying an Ecobee thermostat for upstairs.) The super-cool
August Smart Lock works with HomeKit, but nothing else. Itís not
that theyíre completely mutually exclusiveóyou can just use your
phone to control everythingóbut few things currently work
together in that magical, my-home-just-gets-me way the Internet
of Things has promised. Plus, your phoneís a lousy remote for the
physical world. ìThe idea that weíre going to use our phone to
adjust the light is bonkers,î Gillett says, ìbecause itís a lot
harder to do it that way than hit the switch.î
Itís possible some regulatory body will decide on a set of
standards, or everybody will agree to support everybody else and
redundancy will rule the day and redundancy will rule the day. Or,
maybe more likely, there will be a breakout smart-home product
that finally gives a single platform enough clout to force others
to play nice. That hasnít happened yet, and no one really knows
what itíll be: a smart refrigerator that knows when you need
groceries? A really great security system? There are so many nice
products in the Internet of Things, but nothing mainstream enough
to force the industry forward.
The technology is there. Connected light bulbs, connected tea
kettles, connected fridges and fans and coffeemakers and cars ó
itís all possible. Itís not perfect, but the parts are only going
to continue to get better, smaller, and cheaper. So the question
is no longer, is it possible to connect everything to the
Internet? Yeah, itís possible. The question now: How do we do it
the right way? IoT companies need to set standards, pick both
winners and losers, and come up with ways to make it easier for
everyone to get on board.
In 2016, weíll need to begin grappling with the security concerns
these devices raiseóhaving your Target account hacked is one
thing, your car or home-security camera is another entirely. Weíll
have to understand the sheer volume and intimacy of the data weíre
handing over as we go about our hyper-connected lives, and hold
our leaders and executives accountable for what they do with that
data.
Know this, though: it may be coming like a molasses tidal wave,
but the Internet of Things is coming. Itís not a matter of if or
whether, but when and how. 2015 was about starting to sort out
what these devices will look like, how theyíll work, how theyíll
work together, and how weíll make sure they donít ruin
everything. The tracks have been laid. Maybe itíll be 2016, maybe
the year after, but the train is coming. Itíll have Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth and probably eight other things, and youíll definitely
get a push notification when it gets here.
=~=~=~=
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