Trojan Found Using Image File

A Trojan file for the OS X on the Mac has been found.  Right now, the threat is benign because the backend server where commands are send to and from is down. Still, it does mean that the threat of this and future malware is very real (Macnn).

Essentially, the image file is a real app that will try to install itself but will require admin permission.  It could mean that the user will be prompted to enter a password for their account.

The Macnn does try to point out and sell that the threat is low but I think it's overdoing it.  Threat is a threat no matter what it is supposed to do, damage or not.  This Trojan and others all depend on element of social engineering and lack of smart computing practice.

I did read a post a few weeks ago regarding such threats.  Best line of defense is to think before you click.  Second, for general day-to-day use, your account does not need to be an admin level account.  Without it, such malware would not no where to install itself on your Mac.

Want To Get Rid of A Murderous Dictator and His Chemical Using Army? There's An App For That

This pic says it all.  Not sure what iPad app the guy is using to fire the mortar.  Maybe it's Angry Birds.  More speculation here at MacDailyNews.

Mobile: Google's Gutsy Move To Tether Google Glass To Android, Paving Way for Future of Wearable Device Data Access

Source:  Phandroid.

As you know by now, Google Glass is a very neat idea but also controversial because of the privacy nature of the device.  However, unlike what stuff like Facebook is doing, Google is actually advancing technology and a potentially useful device in society.  But this isn't about privacy here now.  It's about the technology itself.

See, Glass need a data plan to work.  Carriers are more than happy to accommodate user's hunger for data. As long as you pay a separate plan for it.  Stupid right?  Because they won't just let you tether it off your mobile devices, your Android smartphone.

Until now.  Google made a gutsy move by releasing an app that would allow Glass to tether to the smartphones running Android.  In the latest Glass update, you can pair Glass to the dedicated app on your device and have it pull information that way.

Neat.  It's a tether to an app so carriers cannot object, right?

We'll see.  In the future, devices like watches and other wearable gears will essentially work the same way.  I'm glad that Google, someone huge that carriers cannot ignore or make go away, is doing this.  By going after the carriers now even before they're ready, say making users add an extra $10 or $20 just to tether their weable devices, maybe Google can do enough so that users are trained with the idea that they can just tether outer devices to their phones without paying extra for it.

It'll be interesting to see how this play out.  As soon as Apple releases its own wearable devices, even iOS and Mac users will benefit from this move.

Each Year, I Say This Year's iPhone Is The Perfect One But I Always End Up Upgrading The Follow Year

There is something about Apple's method of upgrading its iOS devices that has made me upgrade each and every single year since the original iPhone except for the 3GS.  What is it about each year's upgrade that compelled me to do this?  And it's not just me.  Others I know as well.

Granted that for those locked into contracts, I get that your upgrade cycle might be different.  Of course, you can still upgrade like I do by buying the iPhone outright from Apple or your carrier, paying for the full price.  I do this by convincing myself that I'm worth it.  And for the most part, I'm frugal and I hardly splurge.  On top of that, my $30 T-Mobile plan likely has your $70+ plan beaten.

Still, once the iPhone 4 came out, I have said to myself, "5 megapixel camera.  That's good enough.  And it's retina display.  How much better can it be for the next one?  What? 4S?"

I think it over and this was even before the 4S is close to being out.  I loved my iPhone 4.

Then the 4S.  Crap. Siri.  8 Megapixel but better lens too.  Siri.  Wow.  The promise of a digital assistant with artificial intelligence.  I gotta get that.  Plus, like my mom said about the iPhone 4S, "it's Steve Jobs' last iPhone".

Then the iPhone 5.  Bigger screen.  Even better camera without upping the pixel count.  This is too much of a draw.  The disappointing thing was that the battery life did not improve.  Oh well, still, lighter, runs all of the latest and greatest of iOS 6.  GPS turn-by-turn was awesome even though Apple Maps was doing more damages to buildings than giant Japanese monsters ever dreamed of.  Plus, I had a couple of friends who I was trying to convince to get into Apple's ecosystem.  And the more I told them about the virtues of Apple's ecosystem and pointed out the bad things about it, I was convinced of upgrading by my own arguments.  So, I upgraded it.

Now, the iPhone 5s.  Boy.  Not a whole lot to write home about right now if you only follow the tech and financial blogs.  But if you truly were spend a bit of time going over the iPhone 5s introduction, you'd realize that the iPhone 5s may actually be Apple's most "forward looking" device and not a Steve Jobs-less reality distortion field at work.

A newer innovative camera system to make it one of the best on the market - even better than some point-and-shoot cameras.  Forget the 64-bit architecture and what it means for the future but its M7 coprocessor is just waiting for the right apps to take advantage of it.  Then there's the ability to take advantage of the newly redeveloped UI in iOS 7.

Now, I'm not all that drawn to the new color schemes with the silver, space gray, and gold.  So, that would not convince me one bit.  Nor is the slight improvement in the battery life.  Yes, we did get an improvement from 8 hours under LTE use in the iPhone 5 to 10 hours in the 5s, over all, I was expecting much more.

Sounds like a draw, right?  I got some of what I want and some stuff that left me wanting in the 5s.  Well, in the grand scheme of things, we are still talking about a whole new mobile experience if you're willing to look at what the future Apple is offering with the 5s.

There is one thing that sort of pushed me over to upgrading to the iPhone 5s:  it's that my iPhone 5 is limited to only 16 GB.  It's not where nearly enough.  I have had to compromise my mobile experience by deleting apps or not installing some apps because I just don't have the space for them.

I'm planning on ordering the 64 GB version come midnight Friday this week.  I think with the new camera, iOS 7, 64-bit chip with the M7 coprocessor, and more storage, I see the beginning of a new dawn of a whole new mobile experience.

As for iPhone 6?  New form factor.  Bigger screen a possibility.  128 GB storage.  iOS 8.  And who knows what new camera or battery experience, I don't know.  I think we may be visiting this upgrade issue again.

Siri Still Needs Work - Does Not Deserve To Be Out Of Beta

Lots of chatter this weekend about No more beta references about Siri on Apple's digital assistant's page. Frankly, I had always assumed that Siri will stay in perpetual beta because of the nature of the service and its on-going learning process.

So with Apple giving the official work, I thought there was only one way to find out.




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Still Undecided About iPhone Event, Post-Jobs Apple

I'm willing to give Tim Cook the benefit of the doubt. It's why I am undecided about last week's iPhone 5s and 5c event. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm still iffy on the Cook era so far in areas of innovation, Apple's influence on mobile, and Apple's role as a technology leader.

Here is the thing. We elect president to a four-year term in the United States. Through all the crap that cable TV says about this and that, the American electorate doesn't make its final judgment until the whole term had nearly been served. And Cook is still early in his term.

So, I'm still digesting the 9-10 iPhone event. It was rather boring. Nothing that left us on the edge of out seats as we sat at our desks reading the live blogs. Even so, there is much to look forward to.

If not for leaks, Touch ID, new colors, iOS 7, and even the 64-bit A7 with the M7 coprocessor would have brought some excitement to Appledom. And let's not forget there at iOS features, less well known ones like iBeacon that could be sleeper.

Also, the idea of Touch ID being used for more than unlocking your phone and uses beyond iTunes purchases and extended to general purchases is something that will excite all mobile warriors, even the Wall Street types as will.

There could be things Apple is working on that won't immediately get on translate to more revenue or instant "wow" factor. Apple doesn't also do technologies for tech sake.

I'm okay with the Cook administration for now because the building blocks for a bright mobile future, Apple's vision of it, should be pretty bright.


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64-Bit Versus 64-Bit - Impact on Mobile

Apple announced this week that they are going with a new chip in their iPhone 5s, the A7. That was somewhat expected. What was not expected was that the chip would be 64-bit.

While there was some controversy about whether going from 32-bit to 64-bit in the PC market was really beneficial to the end user, Apple had indicated that iOS 7 had been built to take advantage of the 64-bit chip architecture in the A7.

I'm sure some of that is true but there is likely some embellishment as well.

But not to be outdone, Samsung also announced that 64-bit chips are also on its roadmap.

My question is this: is Android 64-bit ready? If not, is Google working on that?

A quick Google search showed that Android is indeed not far behind Apple in the 64-bit race. However, one note of interest is that many of our apps on the PC, including Apple's OS X, are still running as 32-bit apps. And the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit started almost ten years ago and we are not quite there yet. (The Verge)

However, Apple could hold a greater advantage because of its ironclad hold on its own ecosystem and software and hardware development. Even so, it remains to be seen what kind of mobile experience and UI improvement is felt by the average mobile warrior.

One thing for sure. iOS, Android, Chrome OS, or other non-Windows OS, we are still a way off from seeing performance parity with desktop/laptop if ever.






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone