A UK weapons company called Drone Defence has sold an anti-drone product to Les Nicolles prison on Guernsey that will use 20 nonspecific "disruptors" to do something to drones that will stop them from overflying the prison and smuggling in contraband. (more…)
OK, I’ll say it: Buying clothes online still sucks. Unless you’re buying something from a brand you already own and know the sizing of, it’s nearly impossible to get the fit right on the first try.
This is why people often buy two sizes and return one, or just skip clothing e-commerce all together and head into the store to try it on in person. The result is either high… Read More
Amazon is going to be adding notifications to its Alexa service, so that skills can provide you with information as it becomes available, unprompted, as opposed to only in response to active voice queries made by a user. The ability to add notifications to skills and devices will be made available through. both Amazon’s software and hardware development kits, but initially it’s… Read More
If otters experience the uncanny valley, this otter-like spycam seems just enough like an otter for them to accept, but not enough like an otter for them to consider a threat. (more…)
DeepMind’s inaugural data-sharing deal with the UK’s National Health Service looks to be coming firmly unstuck. Read More
Between therapy sessions, mental health patients can feel alone. Sunrise Health is a new startup aiming to improve mental healthcare by combining the constant support of group chat, the openness afforded by anonymity, the guidance of professional therapists and the safeguard of artificial intelligence watching for abuse and emergencies. Read More
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so.
Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.
Today's roundup is presented by DigiCal Calendar Agenda from Digibites.
Read More5 new and notable Android apps from the last week (5/9/17 - 5/15/17) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
My Google Home isn't the best at figuring out if me (or someone else) actually says "Hey Google" or "OK Google." Sometimes I'll be watching a video where no one says anything remotely similar to those phrases, and the lights on my Home flip on. But I have noticed that most of the time, the lights turn off a split-second later, as the Home actually realizes that no one called for it (presumably once the voice clip is processed by Google's servers).
Read MoreAlexa can now double-check if you actually said a wake word was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
This baby hippo, Fiona, is getting her teeth checked at The Cincinnati Zoo, and from the looks of it, you'd think she was enjoying a day at the spa. If only human dental visits could be so pleasurable!
Akal Security Inc is the TSA contractor that screens passengers at Kansas City International Airport under a $108m/5 year contract; earlier this month they began abruptly scanning all paper products in carry on luggage, requiring passengers to pull out their books, papers, even post-it notes for secondary inspection. (more…)
United Continental Holdings alerted pilots that access codes to cockpit doors were accidentally posted on a public website by a flight attendant, reports the Wall Street Journal. The company, which owns United Airlines and United Express, asked pilots to follow security procedures already in use, including visually confirming someone’s identity before they are allowed onto the flight… Read More
The U.K. National Cyber Security Center is warning the nation to be on guard for another wave of cyberattacks after Friday’s massive WannaCry ransomware attack. The nation’s National Health Service was severely impacted in Friday’s attack, forcing the country to shut down everything but emergency services in hospitals around the U.K. The National Cyber Security Center was… Read More
For several months, Google has been preparing selfie-generated stickers in Allo. We gave you an exclusive preview of that feature about a week ago. Now, Allo 11 is officially introducing those selfie-generated stickers for everyone, but this update also packs evidence of several other features coming in future updates.
Ransomware may be mostly thought of as a (sometimes costly) nuisance, but when it hinders the ability of doctors and nurses to provide aid to those in need of emergency medical care, then it qualifies as armed robbery.
On Friday, a quickly spreading, nasty piece of malware crossed mountains and oceans to infect more than 70,000 machines around the world in a matter of hours. Among those infected were more than a dozen hospitals in England, a telecom in Spain, FedEx’s offices in the United Kingdom, and apparently, the Russian Interior Ministry. Within half a day, there were instances detected on six continents.
What’s sad is that this was all largely preventable, had more Windows users simply installed the security patch Microsoft released for it two months ago. (Unless you’re one of the 8.45 percent of users still running Windows XP, which hasn’t been supported for three years.)
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Here’s what happened: Unknown attackers deployed a virus targeting Microsoft servers running the file sharing protocol Server Message Block (SMB). Only servers that weren’t updated after March 14 with the MS17-010 patch were affected; this patch resolved an exploit known as ExternalBlue, once a closely guarded secret of the National Security Agent, which was leaked last month by ShadowBrokers, a hacker group that first revealed itself last summer.
The ransomware, aptly named WannaCry, did not spread because of people clicking on bad links. The only way to prevent this attack was to have already installed the update.
Through the ExternalBlue exploit, the malware installed an NSA backdoor payload called DoublePulsar, and through it went WannaCry, spreading rapidly and automatically to other computers on the same network—potentially hundreds at a time.
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“Whereas ransomware such as Locky normally requires user interaction, such as opening a word document, WannaCry has the capability to spread automatically,” AlienVault threat engineer Chris Doman told Gizmodo. “Thankfully a weakness in the method of propagation has allowed researchers to take control of a piece of attacker infrastructure and limit new infections—it could have been a lot worse.”
Unfortunately, it looks like attacks might make some serious bread for their efforts. Researchers combing through samples of the ransomware have already discovered several bitcoin wallets in which thousands of dollars have been deposited. It’s fine to say we shouldn’t negotiate with hackers demanding ransom—though the people who say that almost always do—but when the target is an emergency room, and lives are at stake, there’s really no choice.
If you think you might be vulnerable to WannaCry, or you don’t remember installing any updates over the past month, your first step is to address that issue immediately. As Sean Dillon, the RiskSense security analyst who reverse engineered DoublePulsar, told ThreatPost: “This is the most critical Windows patch since [Conficker],” which is one the largest similar infections to date.
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Despite having been patch nearly a decade ago, the Conficker worm is still in circulation. “I find it everywhere,” says Dillon, adding that WannaCry, too, “is going to be on networks for years.”
The importance of downloading and installing security updates (as opposed to just clicking “remind me tomorrow” for several weeks in a row) cannot be overstated. Just ask the patients of the 16 hospitals in England whose delay in care could have been easily avoided.
One of the biggest problems facing Android is fragmentation. This is brought on by the fact that every smartphone manufacturer installs its own modified version of Android on its devices. This means it takes time and money to update each handset whenever a new version of Android comes out. Do you think Google should require OEMs to use stock Android so that this becomes less of an issue?
Navigating an unfamiliar city can be difficult, and it can be easy miss a turn even when using apps like Google Maps. An update rolling out today to Google Maps is making it even easier to arrive smoothly at your destination by allowing users to see exactly where to turn and what lane to be in using Street View images…
Take a moment to consider all that has transpired in your life and the world since the last time you logged into eMusic. For me, it’s been roughly five years, I think, and among a few other slightly more consequential things, I (like much the rest of the world), have begun consuming music completely differently. But the brand, which re-launched this week with a design and rejiggered… Read More
A ransomware attack seemingly based on leaked NSA hacking tools is spreading like wildfire among unpatched Windows systems worldwide. Early reports suggested it was targeted at the UK’s National Health Service, but it’s clear now that the attack is a global one, with thousands of computers apparently affected in Russia alone. Read More
Ahead of I/O 2017, Google is announcing Project Treble to tackle one of Android’s biggest issues. Starting with Android O, the OS is being re-engineered to make updates easier, faster, and less costly for manufacturers.
25 NHS trusts and multiple doctors' practices in England and Scotland (but so far, not Northern Ireland or Wales) report that they have had to effectively shut down due to a massive Wcry ransomware infection that has stolen whole swathes of the English healthcare system in one go. The infection appears to exploit a bug that the NSA discovered and deliberately kept secret, only to have it revealed by the Shadow Brokers. (more…)
An apparent cyberattack with the motivation of extortion has hit hospitals across England, taking down systems for appointments. Patients are being turned away unless it’s an emergency. Pictures appearing on Twitter showed screens of NHS computers with ‘ransomware’ images demanding payment of $300 worth of Bitcoin, saying: “Ooops, your files have been encrypted!”… Read More
An announcement from a police helicopter on Wednesday near Capistrano Beach, California:
"You are paddleboarding next to approximately 15 great white sharks. They are advising you exit the water in a calm manner. The sharks are as close as the surfline.” From the OC Register:
Selfies are a bit of a pandemic these days; it's almost impossible to get through a day without seeing at least a few on social media. In keeping with that theme, along with Allo's obsession with sticker packs, the 'smart messaging app' can now create personalized sticker packs from just a selfie.
Read More[Update: APK Download] Google Allo can use your selfie to create a personalized sticker pack with machine learning was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
While pawking around in the latest Google Phone 9.0, our resident APK master, Cody, uncovered one unexpected piece of evidence: paws. The animal kind. Cat and dog paws had infiltrated the installation file for seemingly no reason. This of course gave him pawse as he examined all the weird ways in which they could be used then came up empty. But we wouldn't be the Android Pawlice if we didn't have secret informants ready to do the dirty work on the ground and come back with hints and sometimes answers to our investigations.
Read More[Pawcket Dialing] Google Phone 9.0 hides a hilarious Paw Mode easter egg was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Go check out the Google Maps app and you might notice a few things have changed since the last time you poked around. In the last couple of days, Google pushed some changes to the Maps interface that add street view images to the directions screen. It seems there's also another change showing up on more recent versions that will also move around a few widgets on the screen.
When you begin planning a route between two places, the directions screen will now show thumbnails from Street View with every turn in the list Tapping on the image will open up Street View's full 360-degree viewer and direct it to the location of the turn.
Read MoreGoogle Maps gains Street View images for directions and a bottom bar for location info, directions, and more was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Waymo’s lawsuit against Uber, its competitor in the automated vehicle business, is going to trial. Judge William Alsup ruled that Uber could not force the lawsuit over theft of trade secrets into private arbitration. Instead, the trial will play out publicly, with evidence being presented mostly in the open. This is not the scenario that Uber wanted. Waymo, the self-driving car subsidiary… Read More
Google Contacts for Android received its last major update in August, with the web app only reaching visual parity earlier this year. Version 2.0 of the mobile app is now rolling out with a number of changes, including a better account switcher and a redesigned people view.
Keurboom Communications was fined £400,000 by British regulators after making almost 100 million unwelcome phone calls to lines in the UK. The wheeze was to call people late at night and pitch accident compensation claims. The company went into liquidation before anything could be done about it, reports the BBC, but regulators say they plan to recover the fine all the same, and have their eye on company director Greg Rudd.
"The unprecedented scale of its campaign and Keurboom's failure to co-operate with our investigation has resulted in the largest fine issued by the Information Commissioner for nuisance calls," said Steve Eckersley, head of enforcement at the ICO.
Keurboom director Greg Rudd told the Mirror newspaper that he found cold-calling "annoying" but said it was "part of life".
"I don't enjoy receiving them but that doesn't make them illegal," he said. However the ICO said making automatic marketing calls without people's consent was illegal.
I would rather not find out why this happened. It's better to appreciate out of context.
