Cisco planning a shed off of 5,500 jobs Not the rumored 14,000

So the economic downturn is still causing damages in most blue chip companies. The rumored news of Cisco planning to lay off a whopping 14000 of its employees is seriously not a pleasant news to behold. So according to a tech news site, CRN, they rumored that Cisco is making plans to reduce headcount in a few weeks.

This latest news is really huge, considering that Intel corporation had earlier announced of its plans to do same, in equally large scale. Well the 'rumor' has it that Cisco cited reason for it as a result of global economic effects on enterprise business low patronage of its Routers and Switches which constitute the bulk of what Cisco produce.

Though Cisco has always maintained that it is majorly a software based company with its range of software based products and services being rolled out consistently. According to the news source,CRN, one of the analysts interviewed said that if the rumored lay off was true, that would be a bit of a catch-up, as the company is moving away from hardware.

He went ahead saying, "I do not think that they are going to be done after this." The tech site went further to say that the company has already offered many early retirement packages to the employees. This news was flying around before Cisco came out to announce the actual number of employees to be laid off on Wednesday press conference. 

Cisco denied ever releasing or leaking any documents concerning the number of employees to be laid off being carried on on most tech news sites.
CRN reporter Mark Haranas also denied that the information came from Cisco, and added that his report said that the cuts would come over the next few weeks, suggesting Cisco could still add to its total beyond what was disclosed.

In trying to calm things down a bit, Cisco Chief financial Officer, Kelly Kramer said that "We are going to continue to do acquisitions, and we will continue to hire to get the right people” this year despite the restructuring.So according to her, Cisco had added about 1,600 employees through acquisitions in the fiscal year that ended July 30, and hired employees mostly focused on the company’s software and services businesses.

Sounds from your Hard drives now make systems vulnerable?

Is it time to re-adjust the type of Hard drive one uses? Going by the research result coming out from Isreal, PCs can actually be hacked with the help of the sound coming out from the hard drive.

So it may not just be enough to have a strong password to protect one's system from hackers but now sounds from one's hard drive and the cooling fans make the system vulnerable to hackers.

Great! According to PC world, Researchers have found a way to steal a PC’s data by using the mechanical noise coming from the hard disk drives inside.
It’s not a very practical hack, but the scheme has been designed for “air-gapped” systems, or computers that have been sectioned off from the Internet.
The researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel have been studying how to use sound to extract information from air-gapped computers.

In June, they showed that even a PC’s cooling fans can be controlled to secretly transmit data, including passwords and encryption keys.

In a new paper, the researchers found that a PC’s hard disk drive could also generate enough noise to do the same. They did this, by manipulating the drive’s internal mechanical arm, to generate binary signals.

Typically, the mechanical arm only reads and writes data within the hard drive. But when in use, it also creates a good deal of sound at different frequencies -- which the researchers decided to exploit.


They developed a piece of malware called “DiskFiltration” which can infect a Linux-based PC to control a hard disk drive’s operations. To record the emitted noise, the researchers placed a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone nearby to log and decrypt the signals.

They found that their hack could transmit enough 0s and 1s for a stream of data, including passwords. However, the transmission rate is quite slow at only 180 bits per minute, and the range is only effective at up to six feet.
Nevertheless, the method is covert.

A hacker could infect an air-gapped system with a USB stick, and then secretly extract the data, by simply recording the nearby sounds.

To prevent this kind of hacking, owners of air-gapped owners can consider using solid-state drives, which have no moving parts, the researcher said.

Microsoft reduces Windows 10 roll-back grace period

This is surely a drastic change of mind from Microsoft on their I changed-my-mind grace period extended in windows 10 from the initial 30 days to a shorter period of 10 days confirmed by the company.Users who upgraded to Windows 10 were able to roll back to the preceding Windows as long as they did so within 30 days.

To make that possible, Microsoft stored the older operating system in a special folder on the device's drive, consuming up to 5GB of storage space. After the grace period expired, the folder's contents were deleted.
With last week's Anniversary Update, aka version 1607, the 30 days were reduced to 10.

Microsoft said that the behind-the-scenes change had been triggered by data gleaned from the voluminous telemetry it collects from Windows 10 devices.

"Based on our user research, we noticed most users who choose to go back to a previous version of Windows do it within the first several days," a spokesman said in an email. "As such, we changed the setting to 10 days to free storage space used by previous copies."

Meanwhile, since the grace period for the free upgrade of windows elapsed on July 29, it is expected that the retail prices for an upgrade will be between $110 and $200.

Apple watch 2 to come with much faster Processor, GPS and some other features

So much improvement for a watch from apple, going by the rumors and prediction for the next apple watch 2 release, which promises to be a really well  built watch with improved processor, GPS, Barometer and some other great features.

Well according appleInsider, a well connected analyst by name Ming-Chi Kuo, from his note, said that he believes Apple is planning to launch two new Apple Watch versions in the second half of 2016, both of which offer moderate improvements over their predecessor.

The first unit will be an iterative upgrade on the original Apple Watch and is expected to sport the same aesthetics, but with improved intervals like a TSMC processor built on the 16nm process. Waterproofing should also be slightly improved.

A second version, dubbed "Apple Watch 2," is also expected to share the same general design as current models, but will include a GPS radio and barometer for improved geolocation capabilities.

A higher capacity battery will be included to power the advanced components, but its size will prohibit Apple's usual generational device slimming.

IoT Becomes Ever Close With Microsoft Windows 10 Smart-home Centerpiece Deal

This is a huge news to the world of technological innovation, with IoT, life can get really interesting, so according to PC world, Microsoft wants to put Windows 10 at the center of smart homes. The company wants users to be able to tell the operating system's Cortana voice assistant to switch on a light, open a door, release food for a cat, and even check the contents of a refrigerator.

For Windows 10 to be successful, the OS will have to work with a wide range of smart home and IoT devices, and that goal has taken a big step forward thanks to a recent agreement between standards bodies the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) and the Thread Group. The two organizations will work together on improving interoperability between smart home and IoT devices.

This means devices running Windows 10 will be able to connect with most smart home products and program home automation tasks based on events or times of the day.
The new alliance will see the major IoT standards-settings groups working together to make it easy for devices to discover and communicate with one another.

"As members of OCF, we are very excited by this development and look forward to moving closer to a world where smart home devices ‘just work’ together regardless of brand or make,” a Microsoft representative said in an email.

The alliance will benefit smart-home customers, with less guesswork involved in getting devices to work together. The alliance between OCF and Thread Group will help Windows 10 devices natively support and communicate with products from companies like Nest Labs, an Alphabet company.
Multiple IoT standards have hurt interoperability between devices, and the alliance gets rid of the fragmentation in standards that's threatening the IoT and smart home markets.

Founders of the Thread Group include ARM, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Nest. The OCF brings together security, discovery, and connectivity tools from the Microsoft-backed AllSeen Alliance and the former Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC), with key members including Intel, Samsung, and Dell. The OIC was renamed OCF.

Microsoft's plan is to integrate OCF protocols -- which are due to be released in 2017 -- into Windows 10. The integration will ultimately bring the Thread Group protocols and network transports to Windows 10.

Users could then automate tasks using a Windows PC, mobile device, Xbox console, or Raspberry Pi 3. Users will be able to create profiles and assign actions for smart home devices. For example, users could establish a specific profile in Cortana like "activate smart home," which would trigger actions like switching on lights and air conditioning.

Microsoft will have to incorporate Thread APIs into its plans for OCF tools. Microsoft has already released an open-source bridge to connect OIC tools, called IoTivity, with the AllSeen Alliance's AllJoyn APIs. It will help AllJoyn devices talk to OIC-compatible IoT devices.

Source : PCworld

Popular apps with weak encyption is always a disaster, ask Turkey coup plotters

Morning after coup attempt

 When a developer forgets to give maximum attention to the encryption of apps keeping storage of sensitive data of its users, then what happened in Turkey is obviously the result in a very scale.

According to the Guardian, "Turkish authorities were able to trace thousands of people they accuse of participating in an underground network linked to last month’s failed military coup by cracking the weak security features of a little-known smartphone messaging app.

Security experts who looked at the app, known as ByLock, at the request of Reuters said it appeared to be the work of amateur software developers and had left important information about its users unencrypted.

A senior Turkish official said Turkish intelligence cracked the app earlier this year and was able to use it to trace tens of thousands of members of a religious movement the government blames for last month’s failed coup.

Members of the group stopped using the app several months ago after realising it had been compromised, but it still made it easier to swiftly purge tens of thousands of teachers, police, soldiers and justice officials in the wake of the coup." In case you want to  Read more at The Guardian

Dropbox Paper, the latest in the line of Dropbox Innovations

Dropbox is certainly innovating, with the latest release, Dropbox Paper, which allows users to collaborate or brainstorm on documents in real time.

The app which was previously limited to certain users, has been made public for anyone to try. "We built Dropbox Paper to help fast-moving teams create collaborative docs and share important information. It’s a big part of how we’re reimagining the way people work together.

We originally launched Paper to a limited number of teams in private beta. And now we’re excited to open up the beta so anyone can sign up—without the waitlist.

Plus, we have new Paper mobile apps for iOS and Android that you can use for on-the-go access." writes Christina Cacioppo of Dropbox blog. You can join the beta at dropbox.com/paper . and download at the Play store or the App store.

According to her, "Early Paper users have already created over a million docs and given us a ton of useful feedback. With that input, we’ve made improvements like enhanced tables and image galleries; desktop, web, and mobile notifications; and powerful search to help you quickly find the docs you need.
And our new mobile apps let you get project updates, make edits, and respond to feedback—any time, anywhere."



Source : Dropboxblog.

Blackberry Re-invention continues with DTEK50, fully Android

 







Blackberry making great efforts to bounce bank on smartphone sale is really commendable, given the latest blackberry and only their second complete android phone. Tagged by Blackberry as the worlds most secure android phone, really came with some cool and powerful features. 

DTEK50 as it is called, has a DTEK software for security features to stave off malwares and some other security bridges.It has a 5.2-inch, 1080p display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor, 3GB RAM, 13-megapixel camera, and 2,610mAh battery. The 8-megapixel front camera also includes a flash for taking selfies. 

It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow with BlackBerry's software features, such as the Hub. The software is similar to the software on the Priv released last year. 

According to The Verge, BlackBerry says that it has modified Android with its own technology originally developed for the BB10 platform to make it more secure. The company is also committing to rapid updates to deliver security patches shortly after they are released.

Star Trek to have another film release

Paramount pictures announced that, the sci-fi space saga Star Trek, which arrived in 2009 at the hands of JJ Abrams, is getting a fourth entry to its franchise, Paramount Pictures has announced.
The new film will be the fourteenth overall film for Star Trek's cinematic adventures, and will see the return of Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as George Kirk, father of Chris Pine's Captain Kirk.

"In the next instalment of the epic space adventure, Pine's Kirk will cross paths with a man he never had a chance to meet, but whose legacy has haunted him since the day he was born: his father," Paramount said in a statement.

The new series will be broadcast starting January 2017 on CBS in the US and Canada. For everyone else around the world, Netflix announced this week that it would be airing the new series in 188 countries, in a deal that also secured access to the entire back catalogue of 727 episodes.


Source: gadget360

NASA’s Kepler discovers 100+ Exoplanets During Its K2 Mission

If more life supporting planets are discovered, what next for earth and her inhabitants, well according to NASA, An international team of astronomers has discovered and confirmed a treasure trove of new worlds using NASA’s Kepler spacecraft on its K2 mission.

Among the findings tallying 197 initial planet candidates, scientists have confirmed 104 planets outside our solar system. Among the confirmed is a planetary system comprising four promising planets that could be rocky.

The planets, all between 20 and 50 percent larger than Earth by diameter, are orbiting the M dwarf star K2-72, found 181 light years away in the direction of the Aquarius constellation. The host star is less than half the size of the sun and less bright. 

The planets’ orbital periods range from five and a half to 24 days, and two of them may experience irradiation levels from their star comparable to those on Earth. 

Despite their tight orbits, closer than Mercury's orbit around the sun, the possibility that life could arise on a planet around such a star cannot be ruled out, according to lead author Crossfield, a Sagan Fellow at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

The researchers achieved this extraordinary "roundup" of exoplanets by combining data with follow-up observations by earth-based telescopes including the North Gemini telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, the Automated Planet Finder of the University of California Observatories, and the Large Binocular Telescope operated by the University of Arizona.

Both Kepler and its K2 mission discover new planets by measuring the subtle dip in a star's brightness caused by a planet passing in front of its star.  
In its initial mission, Kepler surveyed just one patch of sky in the northern hemisphere, determining the frequency of planets whose size and temperature might be similar to Earth orbiting stars similar to our sun. 

In the spacecraft’s extended mission in 2013, it lost its ability to precisely stare at its original target area, but a brilliant fix created a second life for the telescope that is proving scientifically fruitful. Continue reading at NASA.gov

Opera mini browser sold for $600m

A Chinese consortium has bought the Opera Internet browser for $600 million (EUR 543 million or roughly Rs. 4,030 crores), its Norwegian developer said Monday, after a public share offer for the company failed. 

The Chinese consortum led by Golden Brick Silk Road will only purchase the mobile and desktop versions of opera mini browser, plus performance and privacy apps and a stake in a the chinese venture, but not the advertising, games and television units, said Opera Software Head in a statement to the Oslo stock exchange, according to gadgets 360. 

It was reported before that the $1.2billion public offer, though it was reported that it had not yet received regulatory approvals by the deadline of July 15. Opera CEO was quoted as saying in the daily Dagens Naeringsliv, "It wasn't that the approvals weren't given, just that it didn't happen before the deadline''.

Reacting further, Opera says its light, quick browser is used by more than 350 million consumers worldwide and would see a higher number of people use it once it enters the chinese market, considering that Golden Brick Silk Road Fund comprises Beijing Kunhun Tech that specialises in mobile game and Oihoo 360 that specialises in cyber security. 

Well, Opera is certainly a very sleek browser but still ranked fourth behind Google Chrome, Apple's Safari and Android Browser for the mobile ones, in the monthly rating released last month by NetMarketShare. All the best to Opera and the new buyer, hope it makes opera even much better for both mobile and desktop versions.

Pokemon certainly attracting 'Interrests', server DDOS attacked!

OurMine, a hacking group has come out to take responsibility for recent complaints by Pokemon players of the servers outage, this hack group that had attacked and compromised the social media accounts of many celebrities said on monday that they were responsible for the server outage. 

They attacked Pokemon Go's login servers with a distributed denial of service attack (DDOS), ths making many of the players frustrated as they were unable to login to the game according TechCrunch. 

According to the group, "No one will be able to play this game till Pokemon Go contact us on our website to teach them how to protect it!" the group wrote in a post on its website. An OurMine member told TechCrunch that he or she is part of a three-person group of teenagers and that the team is trying to spread the word about security.

The group said that it is promoting stronger security and that "if it did not hack celebs and DDoS popular games, someone else would. We don't want other hackers attack their servers, so we should protect their servers," the OurMine member explained. To read  my earlier post on how ddos works, go DDOS.