Our last edition of WIG for April is filled with news link coverage on topics such as Microsoft has issued a new version of the security update pulled on Patch Tuesday, Google Glass has now been hacked, Apple has added a ‘download later’ option for iTunes purchases, and more.
Weekly News Links
- Windows 8.1 Start button may not offer actual Start menu
Windows 8 users hoping for a return of the traditional Start button and Start menu in Windows 8.1 may be disappointed. - Windows 8.1 may make it easier to customize the Start screen
The latest Windows 8.1 build dims the Start screen to focus on a single app tile and offers a wider array of tile sizes, says blog site WinBeta. - Microsoft issues new version of patch pulled on Patch Tuesday
Microsoft has issued a new version of a patch after an earlier version caused some users’ machines to suffer the blue screen of death. - Android notebooks? Yep, Intel says, and they’ll only cost $200
Dadi Perlmutter, Intel’s chief product officer, also tells CNET that devices running Intel’s mainstream Core line of processors could sell for as low as $399 to $499. - Android keyboard Kalq quicker than Qwerty, say scientists
It’s hard to type fast and not make any spelling mistakes, but scientists reckon they’ve solved that with a new keyboard for Android tablets. Kalq is a keyboard calculated to have you typing 34 percent faster. - First Firefox OS phones arrive Tuesday for developers
Geeksphone began selling two phones, the Keon and Peak, starting this past Tuesday. These lower-budget models are geared for programmers building Web apps for Mozilla’s open-source OS. - First-ever Braille smartphone could hit stores this year
Touch screen transforms images and text into touchable patterns, enabling users to interpret facial expressions, maps, and graphics. - For your robot-building needs, $45 BeagleBone Linux PC goes on sale
The market for cheap single-board computers is becoming one of the most surprisingly competitive spaces in the tech industry. On the heels of the million-selling Raspberry Pi, a variety of companies and small groups started creating their own tiny computers for programmers and hobbyists. - As Schmidt speaks of caution, Google Glass gets hacked
Not long after Google’s Eric Schmidt talks of how apps for Glass will require Google’s approval, a renowned hacker/developer gains access to the gadget’s operating system. But just what might that mean? - Twitter may soon tell you what’s going on nearby, right now
A report from AllThingsD suggests that Twitter is developing tools that will let users see what’s going on nearby in real-time. - Facebook tests ‘presence dots’ in News Feed to push messaging
Why navigate to the sidebar to start chats when you can message your online friends right from the News Feed? - Google pushes more chat, collaboration features onto Drive
Cloud storage providers continue to try to outdo each other by adding as many collaborative features as possible. - Chicken meets egg with Facebook, Chrome WebP support
The problem with introducing a new protocol or file format on the Web is being the first mover. Browser support for a new technology is only half the story; Web sites also have to use the same technology. Making that first move can be tricky, as Facebook and Google are now discovering with the WebP image format. Attempts to use the new format are generating user complaints. - New Chrome extension can open Office docs
Following in the footsteps of Chrome OS, Google brings the ability to directly open MS Office files to its latest browser beta with an extension. - Apple adds ‘download later’ option for iTunes purchases
For those trying to buy large sets of music, movies, or TV shows, Apple now offers an option to download them at a later time with iTunes via the cloud. - Tech Giants Should Focus More on Women, Says Microsoft Researcher
Large companies, including Microsoft, should try to bring more women into the IT industry, as they will soon represent the main market for the tech market.
Security News
- Twitter ‘rolling out two-factor authentication soon’
Twitter two-factor authentication could be here sooner rather later with internal tests thought to be already underway. - New Java security hole affects desktops and servers
Adam Gowdiak, who has made a name for himself by finding flaws in Java, has reported a new vulnerability. Security issue 61, according to Gowdiak’s tally, affects current versions of Java SE 7, including the very latest release version 1.7.0_21-b11. - WordPress cache plugins enabled remote PHP execution
The popular WordPress caching plugins WP Super Cache and W3 Total Cache, with around six million downloads between them, have both been found to have a vulnerability that allows remote users to use them to execute arbitrary PHP on the server. - Viber flaw bypasses lock screen to give full access to Androids
Just to pile onto the spate of recently revealed smartphone hijacking methods, a new flaw in Viber allows hackers to more easily bypass Androids’ lock screens than these previous finger-twisters. - More “BadNews” for Android: New malicious apps found in Google Play
The family of Android malware that slipped past security defenses and infiltrated Google Play is more widespread than previously thought. New evidence shows it was folded into three additional apps and has been operating for at least 10 months, according to security researchers. - Why LivingSocial’s 50-million password breach is graver than you may think
LivingSocial.com, a site that offers daily coupons on restaurants, spas, and other services, has suffered a security breach that has exposed names, e-mail addresses and password data for up to 50 million of its users. If you’re one of them, you should make sure this breach doesn’t affect other accounts that may be impacted. - 55% of net users use the same password for most, if not all, websites. When will they learn?
A study by Ofcom, the UK communications watchdog, has unearthed some appalling statistics which reveal just how badly the general public treat password security. - The update jungle: PC owners have to watch 24 sources for fixes
The average UK computer user has to keep their eye on 24 different update mechanisms to keep their PC up to date. That’s the result that comes from Secunia’s latest Security Report for the UK which looked at the state of security and the software installed on computer systems. - Hackers favor authentication-based attacks, report shows
A suitable password replacement could disrupt or defeat 80% of these attacks, report concludes. - China accounts for 41 percent of global computer attack traffic
Perhaps there’s something in China’s allegations that the United States is just as bad. A new security report points the finger at China as the main source of malicious computer attacks — and puts the United States in second. - How Not to Install an ATM Skimmer
Experts in the United States and Europe are tracking a marked increase in ATM skimmer scams. But let’s hope that at least some of that is the result of newbie crooks who fail as hard as the thief who tried to tamper with a Bank of America ATM earlier this week in Nashville. - Lost+Found: Java tweaks and iPhone certificates
Too small for news, but too good to lose, Lost+Found is a compilation of the other stories that have been on The H’s radar over the last seven days: Java tweaks, iPhone certificates, Pwn2Own hacks, arms attacks, Nmap summer of code, and DDoS reports. - This Crappy Game Is The Most Shameless Abuse Of In-App Purchases You’ll Ever See [Video]
The game in this video is called Super Monster Bros By Adventure Time Pocket Free Games. I bet you’re itching to play it. Sadly, though, you can’t. Apple’s already yanked it from the App Store. You probably didn’t want to play it anyway, though: it has to be the most shamelessly abusive example of in-app purchases that mortal mind can comprehend. - Google outlaws Android app updates that don’t come from its Play store
Doing what Facebook did in March will now considered a ‘dangerous’ act for Android developers. From now on, apps listed on the Play store can only be available through that channel. - Facebook’s latest mobile acquisition: It’s all about your data
The social network’s intentions, noble or otherwise, are to increase the pool of application makers who build Facebook hooks into their apps. - Free Software Foundation attacks DRM in HTML video
In cooperation with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others, the free-software organization calls on the W3C to keep DRM out of Web standards.
TinyHacker Links
- Useful Photo Editing Tools for Windows 8
Some great photo editing apps for Windows 8. - Learning to Use Windows 8 Through Apps
Three apps that make it easy for new Windows 8 users to find their way around the OS. - Take the LastPass Security Challenge
LastPass users, make sure that you do this at least once: Go to Tools in your LastPass extension, and click on Security Check. That’ll show you the strength of your passwords, whether or not you are using duplicate passwords on different sites and much more. Useful way to review the security of your logins. - avast! Internet Security 8 – Is worth buying?
Many people use the free avast! antivirus because… well, it’s free. What about the commercial products sold by avast!? Is avast! Internet Security 8 any good, is it worth buying? - Remote Desktop Connections from OS X Mountain Lion to Windows PCs
Earlier versions of Mac OS X were able to establish remote desktop connections to Windows PC’s using the free Remote Desktop Connection tool from Microsoft but this tool does not work on OS X Mountain Lion. Here are a few free alternatives you can use instead; they also work with Windows 8 devices. - Does the Chromebook actually sell? How many people are buying it?
How well is the Chromebook doing in the market?
How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap
- What’s the Difference Between 127.0.0.0 and 127.0.0.1?
- How to Enable a Guest Access Point on Your Wireless Network
- HTG Explains: Why a Windows Password Doesn’t Protect Your Data
- Hacker Hat Colors Explained: Black Hats, White Hats, and Gray Hats
- HTG Explains: Why Does Chrome Say PDF Files Can Harm Your Computer?
- How to Select a Battery Backup for Your Computer
- What Custom Android Launchers Are and Why You Might Want to Use One
- HTG Explains: What the DMCA Is and How it Affects the Internet
- 5+ Ways to Install Android Apps on Your Phone or Tablet
- How to Use Your Android Device as a Mouse, Keyboard, Joystick and More
Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side
- Desktop Fun: World Maps Wallpaper Collection Series 2
- Hang on to Your Seats, Another new Security Hole has been Found in Java
- All Editions of Ubuntu 13.04 Available for Download (List of Direct Download Pages) – Updated
- Horsehead Nebula Sculpted in Dust (Caught in Amazing Infrared View)
- Protect Yourself from Spam with Free Disposable Email Addresses
- How Much Money is There on Earth?
- Connected, but Alone? How Technology is Changing Human Connections and Communication
- How to Enable Startup View For Quick Access To Your Music in the Modern Music App
- Automatically Download New Songs When Your Purchase Them on Another Device in the Modern Music App
Daily App Downloads
- Gravity Duck is a Challenging Gravity-Flipping Platform Game
- Triple Town is a Fun and Addictive Town-Building Puzzle Game
- Satisfy Your Gaming Sweet-Tooth with Candy Crush Saga
How-To Geek Weekly Trivia Roundup
- What Was The Only Desktop Version Of Windows Codenamed After A God?
- What Caused 7 Million Americans To Disappear In The 1980s?
- FAA Regulations Require All Commercial Aircraft Have What Anachronistic Item?
- After Exposure To Factory Waste, French Bees Were Found Producing What?
- Which Computer Component Derives Its Name From Greek Mythology?
- An Accidental Spill Of What Led To A 30 Year Oceanographic Study?
- What Was The World’s First Theme Park?
One Year Ago on How-To Geek
- Delete Cookies in the Five Most Popular Web Browsers in Windows
- How to Recover Accidentally Deleted Bookmarks in Chrome & Firefox
- The Best Tips and Tweaks for Getting the Most Out of Firefox
- View and Delete Stored Passwords in Firefox
- Clear Your Browser History Automatically When Firefox Closes