A major Windows bug — and Microsoft isn’t happy

Yesterday, Monday, Google’s Threat Analysis group disclosed a critical vulnerability in Windows in a public post on the company’s security blog. The bug itself is very specific — allowing attackers to escape from security sandboxes through a flaw in the win32k system — but it’s serious enough to be categorized as critical, and according to Google, it’s being actively exploited. As a result, Google went public just 10 days after reporting the bug to Microsoft, before a patch could be coded and deployed. The result is that, while Google has already deployed a fix to protect Chrome users, Windows itself is still vulnerable — and now, everybody knows it.

Google’s disclosure provides only a general description of the bug, giving users enough information to recognize a possible attack without making it too easy for criminals to replicate. Exploiting the bug also depends on a separate exploit in Adobe Flash, for which the company has also released a patch. Still, simply knowing that the bug exists will likely spur a lot of criminals to look for viable ways to exploit it against computers that have yet to update Flash.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Fingerprint feature handson

Samsung didn't shed many details about the fingerprint scanner on its new Galaxy S5 smartphone, but here is a detail setup and how it works.
First, the basics. Samsung's sensor is on the bottom portion of the screen, not integrated into the home button as originally thought. To unlock the phone with your finger, you swipe along the glowing path about half an inch from the bottom of the phone, going down and over the home button.
Setup took just a few minutes, after swiping your finger eight times along the sensitive portion of the screen to fully read yourprint. You're able to register only three profiles, for your own fingers or for someone else's.
The swiping area seems like it's pretty limited to a narrow, vertical strip. That means your finger has to be more or less vertical to succeed, which also means that you will probably need to hold the Galaxy S5 with one hand while unlocking it with the other. You may chose your index finger.
Scanning for prints worked pretty well, but you may experience some misfires if your finger wasn't correctly aligned or if you moved too quickly. If you do error out, you can also access the phone through a 4-digit backup PIN.
Overall, I like Samsung's approach to biometric unlocking, and it's something I'd use, especially if I were going to buy products through PayPal's fingerprint-scanning verification program. Check out the gallery below.

Mt.Gox site disappears, Bitcoin future in doubt

What was once the world's largest trading platform for bitcoins is now a blank page.
 The Bitcoin-trading website Mt.Gox was taken offline late Monday, putting at risk millions of dollars put there by investors who gambled on the digital currency. The exchange also deleted all of its tweets, and Mt.Gox CEO Mark Karpeles resigned from the Bitcoin Foundation's board of directors on Sunday.



Mt.Gox CEO Mark Karpeles has resigned from the Bitcoin Foundation, the currency's top advocacy group.

 The news frightened Bitcoin investors elsewhere, knocking the price down about 3% to $490 -- its lowest level since November.
 For now, there's no telling what's behind the shutdown. Mt.Gox did not respond to requests for comment.
 However, an unverified document called "Crisis Strategy Draft"

The 100 Best Jobs In 2014

US News has released its list of the 100 best jobs in 2014, and the No. 1 job on the list is: software developer.

The work is meaningful, touching every aspect of our lives. It pays well. It is in demand in all parts of the country and doesn't require a lot of grad school to get started.
Software developers (sometimes called programmers) get paid an average $90,060, with the top 10 percent earning $138,880, according to the latest stats available from the Labor Department.
Plus, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be nearly 140,000 brand-new software development jobs created before 2022,
says the US News study.
If you can't be a software developer, your next bet is computer systems analyst, which is a job that deals with tech design, troubleshooting and analysis. The systems analyst role is morphing into something called a "data scientist," a new job title in huge demand thanks to the big data trend. A data scientist helps companies munch through massive amounts of information — like tweets, news articles and sales stats — to find business insights.
A computer systems analyst earns $83,800 on average, and $122,090 on the high end. Pay for this job will increase as demand skyrockets. The BLS predicts a whopping 24.5 percent growth for this job by 2022.
Both of these jobs are better than being a dentist or a doctor, US News says. In fact, here's the Top 5 best jobs, according to the report:
No. 1: Software developer
No. 2: Computer systems analyst
No. 3: Dentist
No. 4: Nurse practitioner
No. 5: Pharmacist
No. 6: Registered Nurse
No. 7: Physical Therapist
No. 8: Physician / Doctor
No. 9: Web Developer
No. 10: Dental Hygienist

Check out the entire list >

9 Mind-Blowing Facts about the Brain

1. Your Brain is More Active When You Sleep

Night-time is the right time for your brain to process all the activity that has occurred during the day – that's why scientists think we dream (no one is really sure why). Some believe it's a way to process the complex emotions and interactions of our daily lives, others think it's just a way to zero-out information, much like a computer. A recent study showed it may help us alleviate trauma. People with higher IQs tend to dream more, and a nap during the day has proven to make people more energized and focused on their work. Tell that to your boss.

How to reclaim your email when LinkedIn’s Intro shuts down

LinkedIn’s attempt to wedge itself into iPhone users’ emails is being “shut down”—a euphemism for killed—as part of the professional network’s effort to focus “on fewer things.” But LinkedIn’s Deep Nishar said the company is still focused on email, so maybe its Intro product is going away because it was a little creepy. 

Intro launched in October as a way for LinkedIn to go beyond its own walls and be where you spend all your time: your email inbox. Intro placed a card with LinkedIn profile information in every email you received in the iOS Mail app, so if a stranger reached out to you by email, you could see their professional information and add them to your LinkedIn network.


Sounds like an easy way to verify if a stranger’s email is worth responding to, right? Well, security experts took LinkedIn to task for the tech behind Intro—LinkedIn acted as a middleman between you and the sender, rerouting emails to its own server to place the Intro card inside each message.
LinkedIn defended Intro, claiming that all information was fully encrypted and deleted from LinkedIn’s servers immediately. The network also never stored unencrypted email usernames or passwords or read the content of messages that passed between users.
It’s unclear if the controversy influenced LinkedIn’s decision to drop Intro, but Nishar said LinkedIn will “continue to look for ways to bring this kind of functionality to our members through existing partnerships.” It’s notable that Rapportive, a similar LinkedIn tool for Gmail users, was spared the wood-chipper.
If you installed Intro, there’s some bad news: Not only is the tool going away, but you have to uninstall it from your iPhone settings or your email will just stop working. As in, you won’t be able to send or receive emails at all. Removing Intro and restoring your old settings requires a little bit of effort. To uninstall: Settings > General > Profiles > Tap to remove all profiles that start with “Intro.”
Then you have to restore your regular account. Under Settings, tap Mail, then tap the account you want to restore and switch it back on. Remember, you have until March 7 to get your email situation squared away.

HTC UK creates Gramohorn II for HTC One

We’ve seen some crazy speaker ideas in our time but the Gramohorn II designed by Justin Wolter by commission of HTC UK is one of the cookiest. It’s a dock that features two horns (like on an old-timey gramophone, hence the name) that is designed specifically for the stereo BoomSound speakers on the HTC One.

HTC UK is using the Gramohorn II to kick off its “Here’s To Creativity” campaign. Strange that there’s no room for the BoomBass Speaker, but still it’s an interesting design piece, which goes well with the uniquely designed HTC One.

Anyway, there are two versions of the Gramohorn II – a plaster-based and a metal-based. The plaster one gives you a choice of 25 colors and it will set you back £999 ($1600/€1200). There will be 100 pieces made.

The metal one is more premium and comes in three finishes – Silver, Gold and Wheat Penny (all matte). Only 10 pieces will be made of each color, so they are fairly exclusive and have a price to match – £4999 ($8000/€6000).

Official Instagram beta app hits Windows Phone

A earlier promised, the popular photo sharing app Instagram is now available for Windows Phone 8 devices. The app is now ready to download from the Windows Phone Store although it’s still a beta version so you can try it at your own risk.

The application is not a completely finished product. In order to bring it to the market as quickly as possible, the developers have released it without support for video capture and uploading.

There are other missing features too. They include the inability to tag people in photos, as well as view maps from geotagged photos.

To make up for the missing features, Instagram for Windows Phone 8 has been optimized to support Live Tiles with data refresh. More importantly, the developer team will continue to fine-tune the app until it is fully on par with its Android and iOS counterparts at which point the final version should debut.

You can download the Instagram beta app for Windows Phone by hitting the Download link below. Feel free to drop us a line with your impressions in the comments section.

DOWNLOAD

Corel DRAW X3, X4 and X5 crashes on Open, Save As, Export. A.R.M. error.

CorelDraw has been in the graphic design business for a while now. Considering that still X3 was decent compared to 11 and 12 and also that X5 is pretty good considering Corel’s history.

Nevertheless I, and probably you too have to use and maintain it. I had the following problem on a fresh installation of Windows XP SP3: every time I wanted to export, save as or open a drawing Corel Draw X4 would crash regularly with it’s darned Crash Wizard.I tried applying the patches found on the Corel support page but it didn’t help. After some digging I found that it’s a problem related to the Common Dialogue function found in comdlg32.

You must launch regedit (ALT+R or START->RUN and type regedit and press enter) and go to:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\comdlg32]
and change NoFileMru from 0×00000001 to 0×00000000

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ComDlg32]
"NoFileMru"=dword:00000000

If on your computer it’s already 0 it’s worth trying the other way around, just remember to set it back if it doesn’t help.

UPDATE: Users are reporting the same problem of crashing with Corel X5 and Windows XP.

Am I the only one thinking Corel is getting crapier and crapier by the version? Well not really, updating this article now, after some time I feel that x4 is really an improvement over the x3.

UPDATE: Some users reported the same problem on other Windows versions.

I hope this will save your situation. Let us know of your experience in the comments.

Sony Xperia ZR Lets You Shoot Full HD Videos Underwater

Sony's new Android smartphone, the Sony Xperia ZR, has a trait not often seen in today's high-range smartphones: it can be submerged 5 feet deep under water. Bear in mind that, for both devices, this specifically means "fresh water," meaning you probably shouldn't take it with you for that ocean dive, but it's still a very nice feature to have, especially with the summer approaching.

The camera lets you shoot full HD videos, and the device's Exmor RS image sensor lets you take HDR photos and videos, all of which could result in some stunning underwater footage if you're not scared to get a little wet. Sony Xperia ZR will become available globally (in black or white) in Q2 2013 at a yet-undisclosed price.

BlueStack App Player brings Android to the Desktop

BlueStacks App Player lets you run apps from your phone fast and fullscreen on Windows and Mac.

Over 5 million people around the world use top apps like Angry Birds Space, Kik Messenger, Where's My Water and more on their laptops with BlueStacks. It took 10 engineers two years to build the complex "LayerCake" technology that enables this to happen – but you get to experience it free while in beta. You can download App Player now at BlueStacks.com

If you’re not familiar with BlueStacks, the software basically allows you to run Android apps on AMD-powered desktops running Windows 7 or Windows 8.

RUMOR: $1 billion Facebook move for Waze

The latest deal talk in Silicon Valley on Waze is an eye-popping, $1 billion price tag that’s hard to ignore.

Facebook is said to be gearing up to buy its way further into the mobile and location-based space by purchasing the popular social traffic and navigation app, which is based in Israel. The two companies are said to be discussing a deal worth between $800 million and $1 billion, according to multiple reports in the Israeli press. Israeli newspaper CAlcAlist reports that both companies have signed a term sheet, and that Facebook is doing due diligence.

2014 Boston Marathon is coming on

The Boston Athletic Association has vowed that the world’s oldest annual marathon, the Boston Marathon, will be held as scheduled next year. This was after after Monday’s race was interrupted when two bombs exploded near the finish line, leaving three spectators dead and nearly 180 maimed or bloodied.
“The Boston Marathon is a deeply held tradition — an integral part of the fabric and history of our community,” BAA executive director Tom Grilk said Tuesday afternoon in a statement. “We are committed to continuing that tradition with the running of the 118th Boston Marathon in 2014.”

Competitors passed under the Boston Marathon banner at the finish line.

With race officials busy working with federal, state, and city investigators, checking with medical staffers at local hospitals, and helping runners locate their belongings, it was unclear whether the thousands of entrants who were prevented from finishing the race would be offered a place in next year’s race without having to qualify again.

Boston Bombs were pressure cookers hidden in backpacks - Investigators

Investigators believe the bombs at the Boston Marathon were shrapnel-studded pressure cookers, hidden in backpacks and set off by timing devices, law enforcement officials say on Tuesday.

An explosion goes off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15. Two explosions struck the marathon
as runners crossed the finish line on Monday, witnesses said, injuring an unknown number of people on
what is ordinarily a festive day in the city

The disclosure came as authorities pleaded with spectators from the race to send photos and video that may shed light on who set off the blasts, killing three people and injuring at least 176.

FaceBook Home - Coming April 12

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg today unveiled a new way to integrate its network on Android devices. This tool called Facebook Home, involves a rethinking of how Facebook exists on Android phones, Zuckerberg said, putting people first instead of apps.

"You're going to be able to turn your Android phone into a great social device," Mark Zuckerberg said at the unveiling. "Our phones today are designed around apps, not people. We want to flip that around."

Facebook Home will put updates from the social network right on the home screen via a feature called Cover Feed similar to HTC One's live Flipboard-like interface. Content from Facebook takes up the entire screen, with no navigation or "chrome" whatsoever. Apps are still there, accessed through a launcher that is accessible by swiping up.

Another novel feature is Chatheads, a way to

Galaxy S4 vrs HTC One

Running over the entire spec sheet of each phone will take too long - both droids are impressively armed - so instead we'll just list the differences. Here's how one is better than the other and vice versa.

Samsung Galaxy S4 over HTC One

• Bigger screen; works with gloves and air gestures
• Higher resolution camera - 13MP vs. 4MP
• Newer Android version - 4.2.2 vs. 4.1.2
• Multi-window multitasking
• Higher clock speed chipset
• Expandable storage
• User-replaceable battery of higher capacity
• Additional sensors (barometer, thermometer, hygroscope)
• Exclusive software features
• Smaller, thinner, lighter

HTC One over Samsung Galaxy S4

• Brilliant-looking aluminum unibody
• Optical Image Stabilization, image sensor with 2µm pixel size
• HTC Zoe, BlinkFeed
• Front mounted stereo speakers, Beats Audio
• FM Radio

Looking at the two lists above, you'd think the Samsung Galaxy S4 has the upper hand. It's not that simple - not all bullet points have the same weight. For example, we'll take the sleek aluminum unibody over a hygroscope any day of the week. And the megapixel debate for the two cameras will probably take a huge chunk of this article to resolve.

Ashton Kutcher plays Steve Jobs

Here is Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs

A new promo photo for the upcoming independent film about Steve Jobs depicts Ashton Kutcher bearing an uncanny resemblance to the former Apple CEO, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in October 2011.

The image and a deeper synopsis of the flick — titled jOBS was released by the Sundance Institute.

Samsung Galaxy S4 - A quick preview

Number 4 was unveiled few days ago to set a new kind of fever brewing, after briefly easing some of the pre-announcement tension. Carriers are tripping over themselves to secure deals, while customers have been forming mile-long virtual queues at stores already taking preorders. We were impressed at the announcement event, and the S4 looks quite comfortable with the weight of expectations.

Here are some images:

Samsung Galaxy S4 Features at a glance:

• General: Optional 2G/3G/LTE connectivity
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm, 130 g
• Display: 4.99" 16M-color Super AMOLED HD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (441ppi)
• Chipset: Exynos 5410 Octa / Snapdragon 600
• CPU: 1.6 GHz Quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 and 1.2 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 / 1.9GHz Krait 300
• GPU: PowerVR SGX 544MP3 / Adreno 320
• RAM: 2GB
• OS: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)

And the Powerball Winner is ..............

Unfortunately ..........or fortunately there is no Powerball winner for Wednesday night's Powerball drawing. Why?... Lotto officials say no ticket matched all the numbers.

This simple means a bigger jackpot for the rest of you for next drawing on Saturday. The current $320 million jackpot could swell before then. This jackpot is the sixth highest in history, according to Iowa lottery officials, but explain that it could still grow depending on sales at the end of each day.

How much money can you make from your Twitter Favourites?

Swedish company Flattr is attempting to use social 'approval' buttons to allow readers to reward content producers.  Think in terms of Twitter's Favorite button or an Instagram Like. Facebook likes are not yet part of this service though.

The process is simple:

1. Sign up to Flattr and pay in a monthly donation to your account
2. Link up your social accounts to the service
3. Use social as you normally do
4. At the end of the month, your monthly donation is divided up between all the sites you liked or Favorited that month (minus 10% for Flattr)

A slight catch of course is that the blog or user you liked has to be a Flattr member as well.

Flattr is a micropayment system - more specifically, a microdonation system