AT&T Unlimited Elite plan subscribers must now pay more per month

andreasc
-
0
AT&T Unlimited Elite plan subscribers must now pay more per month
[ad_1]

If you’re still subscribed to the now discontinued Unlimited Elite plan on AT&T, you will have to start paying more for your bill every single month.

That’s likely the last thing consumers want to hear, but such is the way of things in the ever-changing landscape of the wireless industry. AT&T officially says the price increase is to “continue to deliver the great wireless service you expect.” But it wouldn’t be surprising if this move was to try and force subscribers onto the new plan. Last year, AT&T officially replaced the Unlimited Elite plan with the Unlimited Premium plan.

This new plan was mostly the same, save for a couple of changes. It lost the free Max (previously HBO Max) subscription for one. But it also gained additional data for the hotspot in the form of 10GB more. So all-in-all, a good deal according to AT&T. Unless you don’t use the hotspot but do use the Max service often.

Luckily AT&T didn’t require subscribers to move off of this plan. But it does seem content with charging more to those that stay with it.

AT&T Unlimited Elite plan subscribers will pay more per line

The one good bit of news about this change is that it isn’t happening today. According to the report from Phone Arena, AT&T is implementing these plan increases at the start of the August bill cycle. That being said, the August bill cycle won’t be the same for everyone. So whenever that is for you, that’s when your bill will start costing more.

Here’s how the increase in price breaks down. Subscribers will be paying $2.50 more per month per line. So if you only have one line on one of these plans, your bill is only going up by $2.50 a month. But if you have 5 lines, then your bill will increase by $12.50 a month. Everything else stays the same. There is also a way to sort of offset these increased monthly costs. If you don’t already have autopay set up for your account, doing so will shave $10 off your monthly bill. Something we’d highly recommend doing if you can since it could save you money.


[ad_2]
Source link

Samsung suffered a 95% drop in profit in Q2 2023

andreasc
-
0
Samsung suffered a 95% drop in profit in Q2 2023
[ad_1]

It has been a terrible first half of 2023 for Samsung, at least financially. Declining prices of memory chips have hit its earnings hard. The Korean firm’s operating profit dropped to a 14-year low in the first quarter of the year. The Q2 2023 profit didn’t see any significant uptick.

According to Samsung’s latest quarterly earnings report, it made KRW 60.01 trillion (approx. $48.8 billion) in consolidated revenue in the second quarter of the year. That’s a relatively healthy figure and just a six% drop from the KRW 63.75 trillion it generated in the previous quarter.

Even when we compare it with Samsung’s revenue for the same period last year (April to June 2022) when the company’s earnings were on the other end of the spectrum, it isn’t a massive drop. The Korean behemoth made KRW 77.2 trillion in Q2 2022, which means a 22% decline this year.

However, Samsung has struggled to convert its revenue to profit at a healthy rate. Its operating profit for Q2 2023 was just KRW 670 billion (approx. $522 million). That’s a profit margin of just 1.1%. More importantly, Samsung’s Q2 profit has dropped a staggering 95% annually from 2022. It took home KRW 14.1 trillion last time around.

The operating profit of KRW 670 billion this past quarter may be slightly better than what Samsung made in the first quarter (KRW 640 billion), but it’s far, far off from what the company usually makes. A 95% drop in quarterly profit in just a year is worryingly bad for a conglomerate as big as Samsung. And the company itself is to blame here, at least in some part.

Over-reliance on the memory chip business hit Samsung in Q2 2023

For years, the semiconductor division has been Samsung’s cash cow. To put that into perspective, almost 60% of the company’s total Q1 2022 profit (KRW 8.4 trillion out of KRW 14.12 trillion) came from semiconductors. Unfortunately, the chip industry has been suffering from huge price drops lately, and the Korean biggie is feeling the heat.

Samsung’s chip division posted a consolidated revenue of KRW 14.73 trillion in Q2 2023, but it still ended up losing KRW 4.36 trillion from this business unit. On the bright side, the Korean firm sees the market gradually moving toward stability in the second half of the year. It remains to be seen if the company’s semiconductor division will return to profitability in the third quarter.

Nonetheless, Samsung needs to find ways to improve its earnings from other business divisions. Despite being the world’s largest smartphone company, stiff competition in the Android space never allowed it to keep big margins. It earned KRW 3.04 trillion (approx. $2.4 billion) from mobile and network businesses in Q2 2023. Time will tell whether the newly launched Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 foldables help Samsung improve that figure in the third quarter.


[ad_2]
Source link

Google’s Play Store changes should improve the quality of apps for the Galaxy Z Fold 5

andreasc
-
0
Google’s Play Store changes should improve the quality of apps for the Galaxy Z Fold 5
[ad_1]
In an effort to get Android app developers off their keisters to optimize their apps for Android tablets and other large-screened devices, Google announced in the Android Developers Blog that it has updated the Google Play Store in order to help those with tablets, foldables, and Chromebooks more easily find  “high-quality large-screened apps.” 
One change involves putting video banners on the listings of optimized games. Google says that this will allow users “to get a sense of gameplay in an immersive way.” The listing of these games has also been changed to include a multi-column layout that brings the content of the listing higher up on the page.
Optimized games will get a video banner and a multi-column layout - Google's Play Store changes should improve the quality of apps for the Galaxy Z Fold 5

Optimized games will get a video banner and a multi-column layout

Another change made by Google involves ranking apps that follow Google’s new large screen app quality guidelines. The change will help Google promote apps that look better and are resized for larger screens, aren’t letterboxed, and support both landscape and portrait orientations. Google says that “Apps and games that adhere to our large screen app quality guidelines will now be ranked higher in search and Apps and Games Home.” Curated Android app collections will take all of these things into account as will Editor’s Choice in determining which apps to feature to users.

Google has also added a rail to the left side of the Play Store on Android devices sporting larger screens. This places menu items closer to users’ thumbs, especially in landscape mode. Google adds, “…we’ve moved the Top Charts and Categories sections to Apps and Games Home. On tablets and Chromebooks, we’ve made the Kids experience a primary tab, since these devices are often shared with children.”
The Play Store will add a rail to the left side on large-screened Android devices bringing items closer to users' thumbs - Google's Play Store changes should improve the quality of apps for the Galaxy Z Fold 5

The Play Store will add a rail to the left side on large-screened Android devices bringing items closer to users’ thumbs

And on large-screened devices, Google has changed the search experience by showing search results and app details side-by-side which means that users don’t have to switch back and forth between pages when looking for new apps.

Search results on large-screened Android devices will be side-by-side with app details - Google's Play Store changes should improve the quality of apps for the Galaxy Z Fold 5

Search results on large-screened Android devices will be side-by-side with app details

The changes will be rolling out over the “coming weeks” and Google says that this is “just the beginning of our journey in creating a tailored Play Store experience for large screens.” Developers who don’t want to optimize their apps to look and work better on large-screened Android apps will, in theory, miss out on having their apps promoted compared to apps that have been optimized to meet Google’s standards.


[ad_2]
Source link

Ivanti Mobile Management Software Zero-Day Under Active Attack

andreasc
-
0
Ivanti Mobile Management Software Zero-Day Under Active Attack
[ad_1]

Organizations using the Ivanti EPMM mobile management software must update their systems immediately as hackers have started exploiting a zero-day vulnerability.

Ivanti Mobile Management Software Zero-Day

According to a recent advisory from Ivanti, the vendors have detected active exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability in their Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) (formerly called “MobileIron Core”) mobile management software.

As stated, the vulnerability, CVE-2023-35078, is an authentication bypass flaw that allows an unauthenticated, remote adversary to infiltrate target servers and access the stored PII data and other restricted functionalities. The flaw has received a CVSS 10.0.

Ivanti confirms that the vulnerability affects all existing EPMM versions (Version 11.4 releases 11.10, 11.9, and 11.8, and older, including the EOL versions). Thus, it urges users to upgrade to the latest patched release to receive the patch.

Norway’s NSM Confirmed Suffering The EPMM Exploit Impact

As stated in the advisory, Ivanti noticed a “limited number of customers” to have suffered the impact following the exploitation. However, things do not seem as trivial as the advisory suggests since the impacted customers have started disclosing the impact they suffered.

The latest disclosure comes from the Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM). First, the NSM confirmed facing a cyberattack against the Department’s Security and Service Organization (DSS) due to a zero-day exploitation of software they used. While the organization initially hesitated to disclose the name of the software, the recent update confirmed that the incident happened due to the exploitation of CVE-2023-35078.

Besides confirming the exploit, NSM confirmed that the software update closed the vulnerability, confirming that the patch works. NSM also urged all known software customers to update their systems immediately to avoid potential threats.

Until the time of writing this story, Norwegian NSM remains the only Ivanti EPMM customer to have disclosed the impact. Yet, given how such exploitations quickly turn into devastating supply-chain attacks, as happened with the SolarWinds and the recent MOVEit incidents, it won’t be wrong to expect a growing list of Ivanti zero-day affectees too.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


[ad_2]
Source link

Samsung releases multiple promo videos for Galaxy Watch 6, Tab S9

andreasc
-
0
Samsung releases multiple promo videos for Galaxy Watch 6, Tab S9
[ad_1]

Samsung launched seven new Galaxy devices at its Unpacked event yesterday. The company unveiled two foldables, three tablets, and a couple of smartwatches. Shortly after the event, it began releasing promo videos showcasing these products and their key features. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 got themselves a handful of promo videos. Samsung has made similar videos for the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series as well.

To begin with, we have the official unboxing videos of the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Samsung has packed its latest flagship tablet in a minimalist box likely made of recycled materials. You get the tablet up top, with the S Pen, USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable, SIM ejector tool, and the Quick Start Guide underneath it. The tablet has a magnetic stripe on its back to magnetically attach the S Pen when not in use.

The video goes on to showcase the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra’s design before diving into its bright and vivid display. Samsung then highlights the newly added IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. This year’s models are the first in the lineup to feature an official IP rating. The promo video then touches on the Dolby Atmos-powered quad-speaker setup, S Pen, battery, and color variants of the device.

The Galaxy Watch 6 unboxing video follows a similar pattern. After going through the in-box items, Samsung showcases the new wearable’s design and key components such as the microphone, speaker, optical heart rate sensor, infrared temperature sensor, and the bigger and sharper sapphire crystal display. Customizable watch faces and bands, advanced health features, and the iconic physical rotating bezel (Classic model) are other highlights.

Galaxy Tab S9 and Galaxy Watch 6 get more promo videos

Samsung has made more promo videos for the Galaxy Tab S9 and Galaxy Watch 6. The company is trying to entice potential buyers by showcasing what the new devices can do and how they can help you be more efficient and healthier. The smartwatch video features South Korean professional soccer player Son Heung-min who currently plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

If you’re looking to buy any of the seven new Galaxy devices Samsung unveiled yesterday, the company is currently taking pre-orders for all of them. It will open general sales in most countries on August 11. Here are some of the best pre-order deals on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Tab S9, and Galaxy Watch 6 that you can grab today.


[ad_2]
Source link

European Union wants to be a major player in semiconductor market by 2030

andreasc
-
0
European Union wants to be a major player in semiconductor market by 2030
[ad_1]

The semiconductor market might soon have a new player besides the United States, Taiwan, and China. The Council of the European Union has approved its “Chips Act” bill that aims to make the continent a powerhouse in the semiconductor market by 2030.

The United States and China are currently the biggest players in the chip market. Both governments have approved multi-billion dollar plans to ramp up chip production and reinforce innovation. China is the biggest chip consumer in the world, supplying most of it from Taiwan, the same controversial island it claims to own. As chips are becoming more strategic, Europe is also entering the market.

The EU Chips Act is basically a roadmap for semiconductor development in the continent, attracting investments and amplifying R&D. This bill finally aims to protect Europe from any disruptions in the chips supply chain.

European Union is entering the semiconductor market to compete with China and the US

The Chips Act bill will mobilize €43 billion in public and private investment, which €3.3 billion of it comes from the EU budget. Europe hopes to increase its market share from 10% to at least 20% by 2030. The semiconductor market cap is also expected to reach $1 trillion in 2030.

“The Chips Act aims to reduce the EU’s vulnerabilities and dependencies on foreign actors. This will improve the EU’s security of supply, resilience, and technological sovereignty in the field of chips,” The European Council states.

Chips are today used in almost everything we use, including home appliances, cars, planes, smartphones, etc. The smartphone you’re now using contains nearly 160 chips. If you own a hybrid EV, roughly 3500 chips can also be found on it. As of 2020, Europe produced 10% of the world’s chips, and 27% of those went to the automotive market.

Taiwan currently produces over 60% of the world’s chips. Over 90% of the most advanced chips are also produced on this small island. The rising tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan have made countries focus on in-house chip production to reduce the impacts of a supply chain crisis in case of war.


[ad_2]
Source link

SolarWinds Platform 2023.3 Released – What’s New!

andreasc
-
0
SolarWinds Platform 2023.3 Released – What’s New!
[ad_1]

SolarWinds announces the release of SolarWinds Platform 2023.3, which includes new features and platform upgrades.

Further, the release notes detail the issues that were resolved in the version. The company announced end-of-life plans for modules based on Orion Platform 2020.2.6 and earlier.

New Updates

  • Support for OpenSSL 3.0
  • In the Configuration Wizard, IIS Centralised Certificate Store can be used for the website.
  • AlertStack cluster lifetime was added to automatically close alert stacks after 7 days.
  • Modifiable WorldWide Map API key support for WorldWide Map updates.
  • SolarWinds Platform Maps updates support for dynamically showing the SolarWinds Platform Map on group details views depending on the group name variable.

Fixes Available

The Buffer Overflow Vulnerability tracked as CVE-2022-37434 with a ‘Critical’ Severity Range has been specifically included in this release.

“zlib through 1.2.12 has a heap-based buffer over-read or buffer overflow in inflate in inflate.c via a large gzip header extra field”, the company explains.

Only applications that use inflateGetHeader are affected. Some popular apps may include the affected zlib source code but may be unable to call inflateGetHeader.

The Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability tracked as CVE-2020-7656 with a ‘High’ severity range has been included in the release.

Particularly, SolarWinds Platform 2023.3 includes 10 medium-severity vulnerabilities in the SolarWinds platform, including third-party CVEs.

To Install or Upgrade

To begin an upgrade, including options to pre-stage the installation files, go to Settings > My Deployment to initiate the upgrade.  The SolarWinds Installer upgrades your complete deployment (including all SolarWinds Platform products and scalability engines).

You can obtain the installation file for new installations from the product page at https://www.solarwinds.com or via the Customer Portal.

In addition, SolarWinds recommends that you upgrade to the most recent version of your products as soon as possible.

Keep yourself informed with the latest news on Cyber Security by following us on GoogleNews, Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook.


[ad_2]
Source link

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 could have looked very different

andreasc
-
0
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 could have looked very different
[ad_1]

Samsung just took the wraps off of its latest Galaxy foldables, and they look, well, familiar. Let’s face it, Samsung basically recycled the design of the Galaxy Z Fold 4. However, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 prototypes show that this phone could have looked pretty different.

Speaking of this device, Samsung just held its latest Unpacked event. If you’re looking for more information on this phone, you can click here. Are you thinking of ordering this phone? Well, you can pre-order this phone from Best Buy or from Samsung.com.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 prototypes show a different design

While Samsung used a similar design for the Galaxy Z Fold 5, it doesn’t mean that the company didn’t work on making it look different. There was still a lot of planning that went into the final design.

Ray Wong posted a video to Twitter showing off four different prototypes that could have been the phone we see today. What’s most noticeable about these prototypes are the different aspect ratios. We know that, compared to most other foldables on the market, the Galaxy foldable phones are taller and thinner.

People are waiting for Samsung to get with the program and make a phone with a wider outer display that you can better use as a phone. Well, it looks like the company at least considered that. The outer display of the final version is a slender 23.1:9.

In the video, we see that the prototypes were actually wider than the final version. The first one is basically the same as the final version with a 23:9 ratio. The second one has a 22:9 aspect ratio, while the third has a more standard 21:9 aspect ratio.

The fourth one is interesting because it’s almost the exact aspect ratio as the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The Ultra has a 19.3:9 aspect ratio and the prototype has a 19.5:9 ratio. If the company has stuck with that design, then it could basically feel like you’re using a Galaxy S23 Ultra that folds.


[ad_2]
Source link

FraudGPT AI malware is made for sophisticated attacks

andreasc
-
0
FraudGPT AI malware is made for sophisticated attacks
[ad_1]

That’s just what we needed, a smarter form of malware. FraudGPT is a new AI malware tool that is made for rather sophisticated attacks. It follows WormGPT, which has a similar purpose.

FraudGPT is a new AI malware tool that can seemingly do a lot of damage

FraudGPT is now being advertised in various dark web marketplaces and Telegram channels, it has been reported by TheHackerNews. Rakesh Krishnan, a Netenrich security researcher, said the following: “This is an AI bot, exclusively targeted for offensive purposes, such as crafting spear phishing emails, creating cracking tools, carding, etc.”.

This particular malware has been around since at least July 22 this year, and it can be purchased for a $200 a month subscription, $1,000 for six months, or $1,700 for a year.

The author states that this tool can be used to write malicious code, create undetectable malware, find leaks and vulnerabilities, and more. There have been over 3,000 confirmed sales and reviews, unfortunately.

This could take Phaas to a whole new level

Needless to say, tools like these can do a lot of damage. They can take the phishing-as-a-service (Phaas) model to a whole new level, and a lot more than that.

Krishnan also said the following: “While organizations can create ChatGPT (and other tools) with ethical safeguards, it isn’t a difficult feat to reimplement the same technology without those safeguards”.

It’s important to use common sense when it comes to tech. The vast majority of malware that circulates out there cannot touch you if you don’t allow suspicious apps and webpages special access to your phone via permissions. That’s just one example, of course. Simply be careful, that is all, and also avoid installing apps from unofficial app stores. That is always a good idea, unless you completely trust the developer you’re grabbing the app from, of course.


[ad_2]
Source link

Fake Games Deliver Redline, Realst Malware On Windows, Mac

andreasc
-
0
Fake Games Deliver Redline, Realst Malware On Windows, Mac
[ad_1]

Heads up, gamers! If you receive access codes for seemingly lucrative blockchain games, beware! A new malware campaign targets gamers via fake blockchain games, delivering Redline stealer on Windows systems and Realst malware on Mac devices. The threat actors aim at stealing cryptocurrency wallets via these malware attacks.

New Malware Campaign Infects Mac With Realst, Windows With Redline Stealer Via Fake Games

The security researcher with the alias “iamdeadlyz” shed light on a new malware campaign in his post. As described, the researcher found numerous fake blockchain games delivering macOS and Windows devices with Realst malware and Redline Stealer, respectively.

Specifically, the threat actors behind this campaign promote fake blockchain games on social media platforms, offering access codes. Interested gamers need to download these games via the provided access codes, which covertly help the attackers sort their targets and avoid encountering security researchers.

Some of these fakes game projects include Destruction, Evolion, Olymp of Reptiles, and Brawl Earth, whereas the researcher also found RyzeX, Dawn Land MetaWorld, and WildWorld following the same pattern.

Alongside infecting Windows systems with Redline Stealer, they also targeted macOS devices with a new malware that grabbed the researcher’s attention. The researcher named it “Realst,” given its Rust-based coding.

Regarding Realst, the researcher described it as an infostealing malware targeting various web browsers for cryptocurrency wallet extensions. The malware even scans Telegram to exfiltrate desired information. While the supposed game asks the user for the password to “install” the game, in the background, the malware transmits the stolen data to the C&C. These details include the stored passwords, device’s information, geolocation, and screengrabs (if granted permissions).

The researcher shared a detailed technical analysis of the campaign in his post.

Following his research, SentinelOne also presented its detailed analysis, analyzing various malware samples it found associated with this campaign. They also found the malware utilizing AppleScript spoofing to trick Mac users into typing their device’s passwords.

This campaign typically targets cryptocurrency users. Therefore, users, especially those who like blockchain games, should remain cautious while interacting with messages (particularly game invites) from unknown sources.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


[ad_2]
Source link
1...1,0571,0581,059...1,482Page 1,058 of 1,482