Month: November 2018

Porn Hub Russian Hackers cause Millions of Dollars in Damages

CompuScoop Staff November 28, 2018 3

Alexander J Martin, technology reporter

Cyber criminals based primarily in Russia hijacked ads on Pornhub to infect viewers' computers with malware, causing millions of dollars in damages, according to a US indictment.

The criminals controlled more than 1.7 million infected computers, which were used without their owners' knowledge to secretly load advertisements that they were collecting the revenue from, the US Department Of Justice has said.

Eight men - six from Russia and two from Kazakhstan - have been charged with cyber crimes. Three are awaiting extradition, while the others remain at large.

According to the unsealed indictment, businesses were left paying out more than $29m (£23m) for ads which were never viewed by real human internet users.

Also unsealed were seizure warrants allowing the FBI to take control of 31 internet domains and take information from 89 computer servers to shut down the botnet globally.

Apple’s iTunes Connect announces Holiday Downtime to Developers

Dan Uff November 28, 2018 0

Every year, Apple announces Holiday downtime to its registered developer customers that their employees have time off to enjoy the holidays with their family and friends.

On top of the iTunes Connect page is there annual notice to all registered software developers:

App Store Connect Holiday Schedule: Dec 23–27

Make sure your apps are up to date and ready for the holidays. New apps and app updates will not be accepted December 23 to 27 (Pacific Time), so any releases should be submitted, approved, and scheduled in advance. Other App Store Connect and developer account features will remain available.

Which means that any apps that you may have will not be updated during the said downtime.

Google’s Simple Cell Service now works with iPhones – But at a price!

CompuScoop Staff November 28, 2018 0

CNBC.com: Google's super-simple and cheap cell phone service will now work with a broader selection of devices, including iPhones from arch-rival Apple.

Google Fi (formerly known as Project Fi) is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), which means that instead of just using one of the "big four" carriers, it automatically jumps between several cellular networks depending on which has better service. Fi hops between Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular, and also favors Wi-Fi whenever possible, including for calls and texts.

The main appeal of Google Fi is a simple pricing scheme that, depending on a person's usage habits, can end up being cheaper than any of the bigger carriers. It costs $20 for unlimited calling and texting, and $10 per GB of data. Users get money back for whatever data they don't use, and data usage over 6 GB is free (though Google will throttle speeds after users hit 15 GB). It also has no roaming fees in over 170 locations.

But despite the simplicity and appealing pricing, Google Fi wasn't very useful because it only worked with a very small number of phones, namely from Motorola and Google's own Pixel line.

That changes today, with a few caveats.

Starting today, Google Fi will work with iPhones running iOS 11, as well as many new Samsung, LG, Moto, and OnePlus phones running Android 7.0 or higher.

iPhone use, however, is still in "beta," which means users should be prepared for bugs, and won't be able to use certain features like visual voicemail and international tethering. iPhones also won't be able to make calls and texts over Wi-Fi.

Google first launched the service over three years ago, and as part of today's announcement, it changed its name from "Project Fi" to "Google Fi," presumably signaling a commitment to keeping it alive. Google is notorious for killing or scaling back communications projects, including its Fiber internet service, Project Ara modular phones and its Allo chat app.

To try boost sign-ups, Google is offering free travel gift cards for anyone who buys a new phone through Fi, or service credit for anyone who signs up with an existing phone. The deal will only be available on November 28.

Corel to Buy Parallels in all-cash deal

Dan Uff November 28, 2018 0

“Some consolidation is afoot in the world of business software,” Ingrid Lunden reports for TechCrunch. “TechCrunch has learned from multiple sources that Parallels, the virtualization software specialist with millions of users, is getting acquired by Corel, the Canadian company behind design apps like CorelDraw and productivity apps like WordPerfect that once competed heavily with Microsoft.”

“Employees at Parallels were briefed on the acquisition Tuesday, one source said,” Lunden reports. “Terms have not been disclosed, but we understand it is an all-cash deal.”

“From what we understand, Corel will keep Parallels as an independent product,” Lunden reports. “Corel has changed ownership and gone in and out of being listed publicly a number of times since being founded in the 1980s in Ottawa. It’s now owned by Vector Capital, which is essentially the one buying Parallels. Parallels was originally founded in 1999 with roots in Russia and is currently headquartered in Bellevue, Washington… These days, Corel is ‘highly profitable,’ says Vector, selling software that includes CorelDraw, WordPerfect, WinZip, PaintShop Pro, and WinDVD.”

Read more in the full article here.