Even tiny microSD cards have chips that can be hacked

Andrew “bunnie” Huang and Sean “xobs” Cross have discovered a way to hack even the small microSD cards that go inside current smartphones and tablets to increase their storage, as well as other flash-based memory solutions, presenting their findings at the Chaos Computer Congress (30C3). In a detailed blog post on bunnie:studios , Huang explained how the hack works, and why many flash cards are susceptible to being hacked and used for malicious purposes by people who are aware of this particular potentially serious security vulnerability.



Continue reading...

Read More [...]

Posted in 2013 at 02:45AM, December 31

Microsoft Office Web Apps now include live, co-author editing

Microsoft Office Web Apps on SkyDrive and Office 365 are finally catching up with Google Drive. In a blog post on Wednesday, Microsoft's Amanda Lefebvre announced that real-time co-author editing is now possible on Office Web Apps, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The number of potential collaborators that can be working on the same document in Word and Excel is limitless, but there is a 20 co-author limit for PowerPoint presentations.



Continue reading...

Read More [...]

Posted in 2013 at 02:45AM, November 08

Xbox One will offer free, ad-supported streaming through Xbox Music

The Xbox Live Gold subscription is gaining a little bit more value on the Xbox One. Microsoft's Albert Penello confirmed on Twitter that Xbox One owners will not be required to sign up for a subscription to Xbox Music in order to use the service. Much like Pandora, iTunes Radio, or any similar streaming service, Xbox Music will have a free, ad-supported option, matching up with Xbox Music's current offerings on Windows 8.1 and music.xbox.com. This has not been the case on Xbox 360, which does require a paid subscription to access Xbox Music. Microsoft has yet to announce whether or not the free option will be migrating to the 360 as well.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2013 at 02:45AM, November 07

HP looks to hammer the final nail into webOS’s coffin

HP's acquisition of Palm was certainly one of worst buys in recent history — not the worst , of course — and now the company is trying to get something back from its $1.2 billion mistake. Bloomberg reports that HP has started removing some of the sales restrictions that it had placed on its mobile patents recently to entice more potential buyers to scoop them up. HP wouldn't comment on Bloomberg's report but it certainly makes sense for HP to start unloading some of its webOS-related patents since the company has no ambitions to develop its own mobile platform in the future and will instead rely on both Windows and Android for its tablets going forward.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2013 at 02:45AM, October 25