devices

Researchers have warned that smart home technology could be used to aid domestic abuse. They've put together resources for people who could be threatened by abusive partners or former partners. The list comes from University College London and ... follows a New York Times article detailing some of the way domestic abusers have turned smart home tech into a tool to further their abuse. One example is a former partner taking account of a security loophole to continue to access a smart doorbell. That meant they could not only watch video of the partner leaving or returning from the house and monitor ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Allan J. writes: " Dear Dennis, I own a website that is hosted through GoDaddy.com; I signed up for a 5 year contract ($600) which covers my hosting and registrar fees. I own a smartphone, a PC, and a laptop for my work and am ... attempting to sync my email across the devices so that I can view all my messages, regardless of which device I use. I've tried setting this up myself, but my emails automatically download onto one of the three devices at random, and nothing gets synced. When I checked my computer, some emails have been downloaded throughout the day, while other ... (view more)

Three Americans have plead guilty to hijacking more than 100,000 internet-connected devices. The group of infected machines (known as a "botnet") was then used to attack websites using a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) to make websites ... unavailable. While most DDoS attacks are carried out on PCs, this attack in particular targeted weaknesses in smaller devices that use the Internet. This included routers, digital video recorders and wireless cameras. That's a significant point, as the tech security community has generally treated security flaws in such devices as a lower ... (view more)

Users of some Amazon gadgets will have to look elsewhere for YouTube videos, after Google announced it will block the site from the devices. It's a tit-for-tat response to Amazon refusing to stock some Google hardware products. YouTube will be ... blocked from January 1st, 2018 on Amazon Fire TV devices, which include both table-top boxes and HDMI sticks. There's also an immediate block on YouTube on the Echo Show, which is a variant of the 'smart speaker' range that includes a screen. Google had already blocked YouTube on the Echo Show once but Amazon found a workaround. That workaround has now ... (view more)

Microsoft says new Windows laptops could last more than 20 hours of continued use without needing a recharge. Other changes mean its plausible the machines could be permanently connected to the Internet. The difference is all about the processors: ... the part of the computer that actually does the calculations which are at the heart of every computing activity. Usually Windows PCs run x86 processors (or compatible), most commonly produced by Intel and AMD. Now Microsoft is making a fresh attempt at Windows laptops that run the rival ARM processors, which are already used in the vast majority of ... (view more)

One of the key security protections in WiFi has a serious vulnerability, a researcher has revealed. The exploit has to do with the protocol "WPA2" - currently considered the most secure protocol commonly used on WiFi routers and hotspots. Here's ... what you need to know about the WPA2 exploit. What's the problem and what does it affect? Security researcher Mathy Vanhoef has published a demonstration for what he's called "KRACKs," short for key reinstallation attacks. That's a way of exploiting a weakness in WPA2 (WiFi Protected Access II), the security system that is most ... (view more)

The majority of Bluetooth devices could be vulnerable to a malware attack. The attack, dubbed BlueBorne, can reportedly spread to devices without needing any action from the victim. The attack takes advantage of a bug in the Bluetooth technology ... itself rather than a specific operating system. At one point this summer an estimated 5.3 billion devices were at risk, running Windows, Android or Linux, as well as Apple devices running systems before the current iOS 10. Fixing the problem will require patches for specific devices and operating systems. Microsoft has patched the issue already, ... (view more)

Some computers only a few years old are reporting that they not longer support Windows 10. It's a badly-worded blunder for now, but could be the sign of a major security problem down the line. The problem is occurring when some computers try to ... install the Creators Update, the most recent widely-distributed major update to Windows 10. The message received is worded: "Windows 10 is no longer supported on this PC. Uninstall this app now because it isn't compatible with Windows 10." (Source: pcworld.com ) That's an extremely confusing and misleading message in several ways ... (view more)

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)