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Microsoft wins ruling against Motorola over texting

Sunday, May 27, 2012 // by Saurabh // Labels: , , , // No comments:



A German regional court ruled in a hearing on Thursday that Motorola Mobility(GOOG.O) infringed Microsoft(MSFT.O) patents by offering the option on its mobile phones to send a longer text in a batch of several messages.


"We're pleased the court agreed today that Motorola has infringed Microsoft's intellectual property, and we hope Motorola will be willing to join other Android device makers by taking a license to our patents," Microsoft said in a statement, referring to Google's Android operating system for mobile phones.


Motorola, which was recently bought by Google, said: "We expect a written decision from the court on June 1 and upon review, will explore all options including appeal."


The two companies are fighting each other in courts across the globe, as are several other makers of devices including Apple (AAPL.O), over the intellectual property of software features offered in the latest smart phones and gadgets.


In another case, the same regional court in the city of Munich on Thursday rejected a complaint by Microsoft against Motorola Mobility's use of a software feature called programme localisation.


Motorola Mobility, in turn, is currently suing Microsoft in the U.S. over features in the Xbox gaming console.

Facebook to lift ban on under-13s joining social network site?

Friday, May 25, 2012 // by Saurabh // Labels: , // No comments:



Facebook may relax a ban on children under the age of 13 joining its site after finding that many kids, some with their parents' permission and help, were already using it. 


"There is reputable evidence that there are kids under 13 who are lying about their age to get on to Facebook," Sunday Times quoted Simon Milner, Facebook's head of policy in Britain as saying. 


"Some seem to be doing it with their parents' permission and help," Milner said. 


If the decision to lift the ban is implemented, a flood of new users are likely to sign up to the social network, which floated on the stock market last week for USD 105 billion last week. 


The number of people with profiles - currently estimated at 900 million active users - would probably hit the iconic one billion mark, meaning that more than one in seven people in the world would be an active user of the site. 


However, Milner said the decision to allow children to create profiles was still at a very early stage. 


Milner said he will launch a debate about the minimum age in Britain when he appears next month at Wellington college, Berkshire. 


"We have a strict under-13 rule because of legal issues in America," he said. 


"We apply the same rule all over the world. But a lot of parents are happy their kids are on it. We would like to hear from people what the answer might be." 


Supporters of the minimum age believe it helps shield children from cyberbullying and inappropriate contact with adults. 


Past surveys in the UK have suggested that one in three British children has been the victim of abuse on the Internet. 


The poll, commissioned by charity Beatbullying in 2009, also revealed that girls are up to four times more likely to face online bullying than boys, Daily Mail reported. 


Some school bullies have even set up Facebook groups allowing dozens of people to band together to abuse classmates, it said. 


Facebook has responded to criticism in the past by adding a number of safety features to the site to attempt to combat online bullying.

Microsoft‘s social network So.cl now open to all

// by Saurabh // Labels: , , // No comments:



Microsoft has opened up its So.cl social networking service to the general public, which lets users share and comment on interesting search results and connect with "like-minded" people. 


It is targeted at students and had earlier been restricted to invitees at universities and schools in the US. 


The service integrates with Facebook and is being pitched as an "experiment" rather than a rival to other networks. 


Microsoft revealed that the product was developed by its Fuse Labs unit as a "research project... focused on the future of social experiences and learning." 


Members are invited to create "collages of content" using the firm's Bing search engine technology and external links, which they can, then share with others. 


Users can then identify people who are interested in the same topics, monitor their associates' feeds and take part in "video parties" during which members watch online videos together, commenting on them via chat function. 


Members can sign in using their Facebook login details, however, their So.cl activities do not show up on Facebook's pages unless the option is activated. 


The move to open up the service to the general public was taken over the weekend with little fanfare, prompting some analysts to speculate that Microsoft only had limited ambitions for the project. 


"The fact that So.cl is targeted at students echoes Facebook's beginnings and has made many assume it is a Facebook clone," the BBC quoted Eden Zoller, principal analyst at technology consultants Ovum, as saying. 


"But So.cl is, as Microsoft stresses, an experiment designed to be a layer on existing social networks. 


"Microsoft is being sensible in positioning So.cl in this way - the opposite approach of Google, which entered social networking all guns blazing with a full on service, and is having modest success," Zoller said. 


Zoller added that the project could also help Microsoft further improve Bing's search capabilities. 


A study by Comscore suggested that Microsoft had a 15.4 percent share of the US search market in April compared with Google's 66.5 percent lead. 


Earlier surveys have suggested that the gap is even wider in the UK and parts of Europe.


Microsoft's SOCL

Beware: Hacked websites can now infect your Android smartphone

Thursday, May 10, 2012 // by Saurabh // Labels: , , , // No comments:



Quick Heal's malware analysis team has discovered a malicious software that targets Android smartphones through hacked websites. This adds further credibility to our predictions about the growing threat of mobile malware. This new malware, known as NotCompatible, gets downloaded automatically when an Android user visits a hacked website. A hidden iframe present at the bottom of the hacked page aids the ‘Update.apk’ download to begin (fooling the system into believing that it is downloading a system update).




The process of downloading dangerous malware simply by visiting a website is known as a ‘drive-by download’ – a phenomenon that has been afflicting PCs for a long time so we are well aware of it. However, this is the first time such an incident has been found on an Android device, so the cause for concern is genuine. If hackers can master this technique the threat potential imposed will be immense since it will be a drastic change from their regular social engineering techniques to trick victims.


Interestingly, once the download is completed a notification appears on the device prompting the user to install the program. By default, Android devices only allow applications from the native app market, Google Play, to get installed. But this setting can be changed by going to ‘Settings’, then going to ‘Applications’ and then checking the box next to ‘Unknown sources’. Doing so allows the device to install apps from non-market sources – a process known as ‘sideloading’.




If a user unwittingly allows this installation, his smartphone will get infected and could then potentially act as a TCP relay proxy and provide private network access to the source of this malware. This can adversely affect enterprise networks and personal networks. However, the websites that are hacked and are carriers of this malware see very little traffic as of now so the chances of coming across them are quite low. Nevertheless, this could possibly be a test-run by malicious parties to check the efficiency of this technique and if that is true, Android users everywhere need to be extremely cautious.


Quick Heal advises that Android owners uncheck the ‘Unknown sources’ option so that non-market apps never get installed on their device without their knowledge. Additionally, they should also visit trusted websites only and not click on links that take them to unknown webpages as these could be carrying all kinds of potential threats. Users of Quick Heal Mobile Security are protected from this threat as it detects the malware as Android.Notcompatible.A.

Microsoft: ‘iCloud might not be enough for you’

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 // by Saurabh // Labels: , , , , , // No comments:



News and Articles
We covered the release of Microsoft’s new SkyDrive for Mac and updated iOS apps last month, and today the company is once again trying to convince iCloud users to make the switch. On the Office for Mac blog and SkyDrive blog, Microsoft posted a video today titled “iCloud not enough? Try SkyDrive,” alongside the following three reasons to choose its cloud service over Apple’s:




Access files and Office docs, anywhere:


With iCloud, you can only access certain files across devices—like iWork files or photos you take on your iPhone.


With SkyDrive, you can access or manage any file from anywhere. It doesn’t matter whether the file is a document, photo, video, PDF, or anything else—just drag files to theSkyDrive folder on your Mac and they’ll automatically be available on youriPhone, iPad, or PC. If you don’t have your devices with you, you can still access, view, or edit any file by signing in to SkyDrive.com on any browser.


Share and work together with anyone:


With iCloud, you can only collaborate with people who have the right software.


But with SkyDrive, you can share any type of file—even big ones up to 2 GB—with anyone. SkyDrive works seamlessly with Office. Anyone you share with can view or edit Word,PowerPoint, or Excel files using Officefor Mac, Office for Windows, or withOffice Web Apps in their browser (it’s free!).


Your notes, everywhere:


With iCloud, you can access notes across your devices but can’t share them.


SkyDrive and OneNote, both free, are integrated so you can take notes, track to-dos and lists all in one place, and share your lists with friends and family so they can coordinate shopping or other tasks you’re working on together. You can share and keep your lists automatically updated from any device.


Microsoft also linked to a page with instructions for moving from iDisk to SkyDrive.

When Facebook Apps cease to be ‘Cool’

Monday, May 7, 2012 // by Saurabh // Labels: , , , // No comments:


Articles
Have you ever wondered why certain ads show up in the right hand corner of your Facebook page? A closer look at these ads and you will be surprised at the volumes they speak about your lifestyle choices – be it exclusive shoes from an e-retailer or a self-development course! How does it all happen?


The Unique Facebook ID (UID) is a number assigned to each user – this being the most public part of the Facebook profile. Anyone with a browser can look up a person’s name with the UID even if that profile is set to be private. For others, it reveals all the information they have set to share with “everyone” like, age, occupation, photos, location etc.


Apps are considered to be an important way for Facebook to extend the utility of its network and converting it into a hub of activity. They are also a growing source of revenue beyond advertising for Facebook itself.


Here are a few examples to help you understand the working of the apps and how your information is used.
  1. Applications like FarmVille or Texas HoldEm Poker when given access to, request for permissions and data elements like your friends’ data (email address, current location, sexual preference, status updates, birthdays etc.) So even if you never connect your Facebook account to a single app, dozens of them may still have access to your profile information via your Facebook friends.
  2. When you keep your location up-to-date on Facebook it just gets scarier with the “Maps” feature which can be used for geotagging. It gathers data from a user’s location like, IP address, location, type of browser used or pages visited. This data is collected, even when a friend has GPS on and tags you in a photo that is being uploaded from a mobile phone.
  3. If you have to you have to RSVP on Facebook to an ‘Invite’ for a party or an event hosted by your local club and you click “Attending”, your plans are aired to your entire network – whether you realise it or not!
    4. “Sponsored Stories” are an effect of your ‘RSVP’ activity. Every time you like a brand or respond positively to a public event, companies can let your friends know that you are attending an event with hopes of getting a positive response from them too. Your information thus becomes available for brand ambassadorship!
  4. You find that your friend has read an article that interests you through the Washington Post Social Reader. The moment you click that link, the app requests for permission before reading the article. The working of this app doesn’t require for prompts before sharing the activity. So once you start clicking, your activity is reflected on others mini-feed. Thus, even without direct access your reading habits are exposed for anyone to access.
  5. You have given access to “My Calendar Birthdays” and you have liked your bank’s Facebook page. Under your Facebook list of family members is included your mother, whose profile is searchable under both her maiden and married name.
Put the two together and any cyber crook can use this information to steal online identities, from bank accounts to email inboxes and social profiles. This not only puts your accounts at risk but it can also be used to spread spam and other malware to your friends accounts.


This provides ample opportunity for the data brokers to gather data from Facebook profiles and compare it with public browsing habits, creating a mine of data that can give any ad firm or a cyber crook a field day!


How do you prevent this? Have extremely conservative privacy settings – remove applications that you don’t use and edit the settings for the ones that you do. If any application requests for data that you are not comfortable sharing revoke that access. If access is required for that app, remove it. You can also have Internet Security software with parental control features would allow or block access to only specific sites.


In the attempt to have an overly social experience of making the world a smaller place to live in, what we have actually ended up with is, a situation where the boundary between what is sacredly private and personal and what is public, is heavily blurred. A situation that demands users to be educated on the implications of privacy policies and what it means to make personal information public.

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