July, 2014 | CompuScoop.com

Oracle Ends Java Support for Windows XP

Dan Uff July 7, 2014 0

WindowsXPLogo By: TechWorld.com and InfoWorld.com:

Windows XP hold-outs pay attention. If you run the Java runtime on XP, it looks as if the current version is about as good as it gets. The next version, 7u65 and 8u11, due to ship in the middle of July, will not support or run on XP.

Oracle hasn't announced this so much as sneaked out the information on its Java support site.

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"As of April 8, 2014 Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP and therefore it is no longer an officially supported platform," says the text.

Sure enough, checking the operating system list for JDK 7 and JRE 7 certified system configurations, Windows XP is now missing from a list that contains Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

According to Danish security firm Heimdal, which first noticed the issue after being tipped off by partners, XP users will be able to download and install the new version of Java but it won't load correctly. Oddly, when the firm tried to confirm this with Oracle it got no reply.

Techworld asked Oracle for a comment and was met with a similarly chilly silence. It seems that the firm has made its position as clear as it wants to and that's the end of the matter.

"Windows XP still accounts for approximately 20 percent of the PC's in use, according to global market data. Of those XP users some 82 percent also use Oracle Java according to our intelligence. . This means that millions of PC users, who still run Microsoft XP, are being left in the dark with a piece of software that is known to be very vulnerable," said Heimdal's CEO, Morten Kjaersgaard.

Java had experienced 131 CVE reports in 2013, more than in XP itself, meaning that running Java on the latest version (Java 7 update 60, 7 June) represented a huge risk going forward, he said.

"This is a huge security problem."

Given that vulnerabilities for this version will accumulate over time, XP users determined to continue using Java should disable and then de-install all versions on their computers as soon as possible.

Techworld already recommends that consumers don't use it on any version of Windows because its atrocious track record for vulnerabilities and exploits. Java has for some time been bad news for any Windows user who doesn't genuinely need it in the first place.

"Our attempts to get this verified by either Oracle in Germany or Denmark, has simply led to a "no comment", lack of answers to our emails with direct questions, or a reply that Java hasn't been supported for XP since 8th of April," Kjaersgaard told Techworld.

So now you know. No new Java.

T-Mobile

FTC: T-Mobile made millions in Bogus Charges

Dan Uff July 1, 2014 0

AP: T-Mobile USA knowingly made hundreds of millions of dollars off its customers in potentially bogus charges, a federal regulator alleged Tuesday in a complaint likely to mar the reputation of a household name in wireless communications.

In its complaint filed in a federal court in Seattle, the Federal Trade Commission claimed that T-Mobile billed consumers for subscriptions to premium text services such as $10-per-month horoscopes that were never authorized by the account holder. The FTC alleges that T-Mobile collected as much as 40 percent of the charges, even after being alerted by other customers that the subscriptions were scams.

"It's wrong for a company like T-Mobile to profit from scams against its customers when there were clear warning signs the charges it was imposing were fraudulent," said FTC Chair Edith Ramirez in a statement. "The FTC's goal is to ensure that T-Mobile repays all its customers for these crammed charges."

The Federal Communications Commission has launched a separate inquiry into T-Mobile's billing practices, which could result in fines if it finds any wrongdoing.

The practice is often referred to as "cramming": businesses stuff a customer's bill with bogus charges associated with a third party. In this case, the FTC says T-Mobile should have realized that many of these premium text services were scams because of the high rate of customer complaints. In some cases, the FTC says, as many as 40 percent of customers demanded refunds in a single month on certain services.

The FTC said one way for consumers to try to prevent fraudulent charges is to ask their providers to block all third-party businesses from providing services on their phones.

T-Mobile did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, T-Mobile US, Inc., is a publicly traded company. According to its website, Deutsche Telekom AG maintains a 67 percent ownership in the company's common stock.

Sprint Corp., the third-largest cellphone carrier, is in talks to buy T-Mobile US Inc., according to published reports. Analysts believe such a link-up would face stiff opposition from the same regulators who blocked AT&T from buying T-Mobile in 2011.

Apple announces Q3 FY14 Conference Call

Dan Uff July 1, 2014 0

AppleConCall201402

Apple revising in-store photos inspired by TV Ads

Dan Uff July 1, 2014 0

AppleStorePhotos Apple is starting to revamp its in-store photo wall showing their hardware as its being used by people. Before, it just showed photos of various devices the company offered.