devices

Android phones from a variety of companies have reached business employees with malware already installed according to researchers. How and why it got there is not yet confirmed. The report comes from Checkpoint, a security company. It says it was ... examining devices used by staff at two businesses: one a "large telecommunications company" and the other a "multinational technology company." (Source: checkpoint.com ) While it's not unusual to find malware on employee phones during some checks -- that's partly the purpose of hiring services such as Checkpoint. ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gord F. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently installed Windows 10 on my PC. Everything has been working fine for over a year, however, all the sudden my Logitech webcam 300 stopped working with Windows 10. I thought perhaps I may ... need to reinstall the driver, so I went to Device Manager to locate the webcam but it is not there anymore. Instead, I see an 'Unknown device' and if I double click it, it says: 'The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28) This operation requires an interactive windows station'. I have absolutely no idea what that means. I tried ... (view more)

Bogus Android apps have helped hackers seize control of more than a million Google accounts in the past few months according to a security company. The apps have also been posting fake online reviews in the names of victims. The attack involves ... malware that's been dubbed "Gooligan." It's particularly concerning because of the sheer amount of personal data a hacker could theoretically access if they can use somebody's Google accounts, such as their email messages and any files stored on Google Docs and Drive. The malware affects devices running versions 4 and 5 of the ... (view more)

A Harvard lecturer has warned Congress that only government regulations can prevent serious consequences from security attacks on the "Internet of Things." Bruce Schneier says there's little market incentive for buyers or sellers to fix a problem, ... should a problem arise. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the growing number of devices that can now be connected to the Internet, making them "smart devices". Rather than just computers and phones, the Internet of Things covers everything from thermostats to cars, often with the Internet connection allowing users remote ... (view more)

Google says a set of security flaws on Android devices may not be as serious as initially feared. It says 90 percent of devices should be largely immune from what's been dubbed the "Quadrooter" exploit. A security research company found the problem ... in software which works with processors manufactured by Qualcomm, which are used in an estimated 900 million Android devices. The bugs affect the communication between different actions (known as processes) running on the phone at the same time. The name of the exploit (Quadrooter) comes from the fact that there are four ... (view more)

Belgian computers are most exposed to hacking according to a new study, with the US in 14th place. It's all because of millions of computers having open, unsecured connections to the Internet. Research firm Rapid7 looked at the full range of data ... connection services on the Internet beyond just the more familiar HTTP that most users use while browsing the web. These include FTP (file transfer protocol) SSH (secure shell for remote connections), and SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol), used for many email services. To carry out the research, the company embarked on the massive task of ... (view more)

Two government agencies are investigating the way smartphone manufacturers and wireless carriers issue security updates for devices. They say they are particularly worried about older devices being left unpatched. It's a rare joint probe by both the ... Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). While the FCC usually handles issues relating to the Internet and smartphones, the FTC usually only gets involved in cases of misleading advertising or unfair contracts. That may suggest officials are exploring whether companies have overstated the security their ... (view more)

A printer that never runs out of ink and a washing machine that never runs out of detergent are now finally available. The devices automatically replenish themselves (sort of), thanks to a link to Amazon. The devices, from Brother and General ... Electric respectively, are among the first to take advantage of Amazon's Dash technology. Dash was first announced on the first of April last year, causing many readers to think it was an April Fool's Prank. In its original incarnation , Amazon Dash was a branded push button that could be stuck anywhere in the home, whereby users would press the ... (view more)

Microsoft claims 200 million devices are now running Windows 10. Independent estimates suggest the figure may be credible, but a variety of factors make it hard to label the number as a clear success or failure. The 200 million figure is said to be ... based on devices connecting to Windows Update. It represents the number of different devices that have connected - and thus shown they are switched on and running the system - at least once over a one-month period. (Source: windows.com ) Independent Estimate Suggests 164 Million While it's impossible to independently verify the statistics, the ... (view more)

Microsoft plans to show off a range of new Windows 10 devices on October 6. A $20,000 wall-mounted giant tablet may be the most eye-catching of the rumored products. The official release about the event in New York City contains no details other ... than the fact that "[Microsoft has] some exciting news to share about Windows 10 devices." However, the most plausible theory is that the company plans to unveil or update information on a wide variety of non-traditional computing devices, with the idea being to promote Windows 10 as a versatile system. Surface To Come In Diverse Sizes The ... (view more)