Google launches Compose for TV to help developers create better Android TV apps

andreasc
-
0
Google launches Compose for TV to help developers create better Android TV apps
[ad_1]

With over 150 million monthly active Android TV OS devices in use, Google’s ecosystem is the number one streaming platform worldwide by shipments. That’s one of the reasons the Mountain View company continues to provide Android TV users with many improvements in a timely manner.

Last month Google TV added more than 800 free TV channels for its users to watch in one place. Today, Google announced another important initiative that aims to help developers create Android TV apps easier than ever before.

The alpha version of Compose for TV has been officially introduced earlier today at Google I/O. The latest UI framework makes it easier to develop apps for Android TV, so if you’re a developer, here are some of the key features of Compose for TV:
  • Build apps with less code, making the code simple and easier to maintain
  • Intuitively build your UI. Just describe the UI, and Compose will take care of the rest. As the app state changes, the UI automatically updates.
  • Iterate on existing code and adopt the new framework when and where you want
  • Create beautiful apps that can be easily reused between other form factors, including existing mobile, tablet, foldable, wearable and TV interfaces

Besides Compose for TV, Google revealed the new Android TV Design Guidelines for Android TV. The new guide aims to provide developers with all the tools they need to create TV apps that are visually appealing, intuitive, and immersive. The guidelines have information about everything, including typography, color, navigation, and layout. It should enable developers to create much better TV apps that are easy to use and pleasing to the eyes.

[ad_2]
Source link

Crucial insights and predictions for MSPs

andreasc
-
0
Crucial insights and predictions for MSPs
[ad_1]

How MSPs can prepare for the complex landscape of mobile malware.

Whether a company gives them out or they’re owned by the employees or students, mobile devices are like honey for cybercriminals. And the kicker? Most of these devices are not protected enough.

Just check out the following stats from last year:

  • 18 percent of clicked phishing emails in 2022 came from a mobile device. (Verizon Mobile Security Index 2022)
  • 46 percent of organizations that had suffered a mobile-related security breach in 2022 said that app threats were a contributing factor. (Verizon Mobile Security Index 2022)
  • 9 percent of organizations suffered a mobile malware attack in 2022. (Check Point 2023 Cyber Security Report)

For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), these stats represent more than just figures; they underscore the need for proactive action across their customers’ mobile endpoints.

In this post, we’ll delve into mobile malware trends, gather critical insights, and anticipate future scenarios to prepare MSPs for the complex landscape of mobile malware.

Mobile devices: A new security frontier for MSPs

Understanding Android Droppers: A serious threat to mobile devices

In terms of malware, the most menacing of mobile threats MSPs need to watch out for are Android droppers.

“Mobile Droppers represent the most ‘Trojan’ of all the Trojan Horses,” said Nathan Collier, Senior Malware Intelligence Analyst at Malwarebytes. “Pretending to be an innocent app, like an app you have to pay for on Google Play found free on a third-party app store, tricks the user to allow [the malicious dropper] to enter onto their mobile device.“

Once installed, droppers secretly drop another piece of malware, often more vicious than the dropper itself. This could be any other type of malware, such as HiddenAds or Adware to generate money by ads-per-click. Or even scarier—a backdoor could be placed or a nefarious piece of spyware.

“Droppers can install copies of themselves, and because they can be used to drop software that downloads other malware, they can act as a permanent backdoor into a smartphone.”

According to our 2023 State of Malware Report, droppers accounted for 14 percent of Android detections.

Examples of recent Android malware

iOS isn’t off the hook

While it’s generally harder for malware to get a foothold on iOS, phishing attacks are still a threat. These scams trick users into visiting malicious websites that masquerade as legitimate ones, usually with the promise of a prize or with a request that users install a bogus security app.

“Another trick is a fake ‘You’re infected’ phishing site to install a fake security app,” Collier said. “Although the app you install, often from the Apple store, may be safe, the scammers still get paid-per-click for redirecting to the app.”

The number of phishing sites targeting mobile has shot up by 50 percent from 2019 to 2021. These scams come in all shapes and sizes, like email, banking, and SMS-based (smishing) threats. Some even try to con users into giving up legit two-factor authentication codes.

These scammers often pretend to be big-name companies like Apple, PayPal, or Amazon, making their scams harder to spot.

Predicting the future of mobile malware

Each year, we’re seeing more and more mobile malware, and there’s little evidence that trend will stop.

“Year over year, we have seen an increase of mobile malware since its induction,” said Collier. “As the use of mobile devices increases, so does mobile malware. This is a trend that will continue for the unforeseeable future.”

As an MSP, you need to stay one step ahead of mobile malware to help keep your clients safe. Collier is predicting an uptick in malware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) targeting the financial sector.

“This includes fake banking apps to steal online banking credentials, and fake credit loan apps to trick users into entering highly personal information as you would for a loan application,” Collier said. “More specifically, Android/Trojan.Bankbot and Android/PUP.Riskware.FakeCreditLoan.”

Understanding mobile malware trends and being proactive in defending against them is key, but what options are available for comprehensive combined endpoint protection?

Mobile Device Management (MDM) isn’t the solution

A common misconception that we hear when we talk about mobile endpoint security is that MDM is the solution to all of our mobile malware and phishing woes.

It’s not.

Mobile device management services only secure use of corporate data, but are not designed to counter threats such as malware and phishing on iOS and Android devices.

MSPs should look beyond MDM platforms and toward mobile security products that use a variety of techniques, including behavioral analysis, to detect mobile threats. Some features of a robust mobile threat defense product include:

  • 24/7 real-time protection against emerging threats
  • Advanced antivirus, anti-malware, anti-spyware capabilities
  • Malicious app protection
  • App privacy audit
  • Safe web browsing
  • Block ads and ad trackers
  • Filters suspicious fraudulent texts
  • Spam call blocking
  • Malwarebytes makes mobile device security easy

With Malwarebytes Mobile Security for MSPs, you can monitor and protect your clients’ mobile investments from a single pane of glass.

In OneView, our cloud-hosted security platform made for MSPs, all you have to do to get started is activate the endpoint agent for your clients’ mobile devices.

From there, you set how your mobile endpoints behave by adding a new policy and selecting Web protection and Ad block for iOS and Behavior protection for ChromeOS and Android.

Once you save this policy, you’re set!

MSPs can easily begin protecting Chromebooks, Android, iPadOS, and iOS devices, guarding against the latest mobile threats such as ransomware, malicious apps, and PUPs.

With real-time protection, your customers can also prevent accidental access to harmful websites, safeguard against malicious apps, block unwanted in-app ads, and enable a secure mobile experience for their employees.

The Malwarebytes Mobile Security app on IOS (left) and Android (right)

The statistics don’t lie—phishing and malware pose a big threat to mobile endpoint security in 2023. But with a mobile threat defense solution like Malwarebytes Mobile Security, MSPs can crush threats like these and more. Get a free trial and/or quote below!

Try MSP Mobile Security


[ad_2]
Source link

Google used AI to make a hands-free gaming mouse

andreasc
-
0
Google used AI to make a hands-free gaming mouse
[ad_1]

Google has been doing some pretty cool things with AI, but one of the coolest applications of the technology has to be the newly revealed Project Gameface, a hands-free AI-powered gaming mouse that the company announced at Google I/O 2023.

With the help of a webcam, one could use Project Gameface to play PC games that would normally require a mouse for movement, thanks to the AI tech. It works by utilizing the webcam to scan the face and look for head movements and facial gestures. Those movements and gestures then translate to in-game movements of one’s character.

The controls are rather robust and intuitive too. The Gameface software allows you to set up key and mouse bindings for pretty much everything. Opening your mouth for instance could be set to the mouse’s left click. Though there are all kinds of other movement or gesture options as well. Including smiling, looking left, or raising your left eyebrow. You can even set how prominent those movements or gestures would need to be to relay the input. Which should help the software be more adaptable to the needs of different users.

Project Gameface uses Google’s open-source MediaPipe solution, which links together different AI models to give you an output. The output is “a mesh of 468 points on your face that are then converted into telemetry like mouse movement or clicks,” Google’s Lead AI Advocate Laurence Moroney says.

Moroney states that it runs natively on devices and “one of the most amazing things about the technology is that only needs an input from a webcam.”

Project Gameface is co-designed with game streamer Lance Carr

You might be wondering who Lance Carr is. Well, let us introduce you. Lance Carr is a game streamer who lives with muscular dystrophy. If you’re familiar at all with the disease, then you know it weakens your muscles and can make it more challenging to do almost everything. Including gaming. This is where Google comes in. Lance’s house burned down back in 2021 while on stream playing Diablo II. Along with all his expensive equipment, including the adaptive head-tracking mouse that allowed him to play games.

Google caught wind of the story and reached out to Lance. Work soon began between Google and Lance to co-design Project Gameface. Lance’s hope is that this technology can be given to everybody who could use it to make their lives easier.

Google has made the code for the technology open-source as well, and it’s even available in a preview from today for those who want to check it out over at Google’s GitHub repository.


[ad_2]
Source link

Google abolishes the Bard waitlist

andreasc
-
0
Google abolishes the Bard waitlist
[ad_1]

Google I/O is going on right now, and there’s already been a lot of neat stuff announced. One of the main points of interest was AI, and a lot of this conversation was around Bard. Now, according to the company, Google is getting rid of the Bard waitlist.

If you want to know more about what Google announced at Google I/O, you can check out Android Headlines. For example, Google announced the upcoming Magic Editor feature. This will use AI to make edits to photos that would usually take powerful photo editing software. You can read more about it here.

Google is getting rid of the Bard waitlist

Up until this point, Google limited the number of people who could access Bard. As time went on, more people did gain access to the chatbot. However, it was still limited.

Now, thanks to a Google blog post, that is no longer the case. The company announced that it will be getting rid of the waitlist for Google Bard. This means that just about anyone will be able to use the chatbot. This should be a breath of fresh air for people who have been waiting to use Google Bard. A large number of people have been able to gain access so far, so we will see that number increase.

Google Bard has definitely made some improvements since its first launch, but it is still in the testing stage. So, making it available to the public will give Google access to more feedback.

Google is also expanding the languages that Bard can access. In a tweet, Google said that Bard is available in both Japanese and Korean. The company plans to release Bard to over 40 languages this year. This further increases the amount of feedback that Google could get on its chatbot.

We are going to be seeing Bardt integrated into more of Google’s services as time goes on.


[ad_2]
Source link

Immersive 3D View will soon be available for your Google Maps directions

andreasc
-
0
Immersive 3D View will soon be available for your Google Maps directions
[ad_1]

At today’s IO 2023 event, Google unveiled a range of updates for Google Maps that aim to make navigation and exploration easier and more convenient for users. One of the most significant updates is the new “Immersive View” feature, which will now be available for map routes.

“Immersive View” was introduced at last year’s Google I/O and it provided a 3D-like view of key places and landmarks. However, this year, Google is taking this technology one step further and making it available for entire routes.

It uses computer vision and AI to combine billions of Street View and aerial images into a detailed digital picture that will allow you to see everything you need to know about your route at once. This technology displays all route data at once, such as bike lanes, sidewalks, crossroads, and parking while getting directions. There is also a time slider that shows you how air quality and traffic may change throughout the day.

This experience will launch in the summer in the U.S. and will be expanding to fifteen cities by the end of the year. Some of the cities that will benefit from this will be Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Paris, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Tokyo, and Venice.

Additionally, Google is making this experience available to developers that may want to build this into their own apps by launching a new Aeriel View API which is available starting today. Google is also launching an experimental release of Photorealistic 3D tiles via its Maps API. These tiles use the same 3D map source as Google Earth and outputs a 3D mesh model of real-world images textured with high resolution imagery.


These updates represent a significant step forward for Google Maps and demonstrate the company’s ongoing commitment to making navigation and exploration as easy and convenient as possible.


[ad_2]
Source link

13 Domains Linked to DDoS-For-Hire Services Seized

andreasc
-
0
13 Domains Linked to DDoS-For-Hire Services Seized
[ad_1]

A DDoS-for-hire service is a paid service that allows individuals or organizations to launch a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on a target website or network.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the seizure of 13 domains linked with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) for hire services under Operation PowerOFF.

The seized domains are believed to be reincarnations of services that were taken down in a previous sweep in December 2022. The DOJ stated that booter services have been utilized by hundreds of thousands of registered users to carry out attacks against millions of victims, many of whom are educational institutions, financial organizations, government websites, and other online entities.

The DDoS attacks not only disrupt or degrade their access to the internet but can also cause disconnection of internet services for other customers who share the same connection point with the targeted victim and use the same internet service provider.

More on Op PowerOff

  1. Op PowerOff: World’s largest DDoS-for-hire service seized
  2. Op PowerOff: NCA infiltrates cybercrime market with fake DDoS sites

The FBI opened or reactivated accounts on each of the booter services and paid for subscription plans using cryptocurrency. The agency then conducted tests on the websites by initiating DDoS attacks on computers under their control and monitored the effects of the attacks on victim computers.

The results showed that the websites worked as advertised. The coordinated effort is reinforced by law agencies from The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Serbia, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States of America, in cooperation with Europol.

The DOJ’s Operation PowerOFF is an international effort to dismantle criminal DDoS-for-hire infrastructures worldwide, targeting operators who continue to engage in criminal activities.

The four men who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the operation of booter services are Jeremiah Sam Evans Miller, Angel Manuel Colon Jr., Shamar Shattock, and Cory Anthony Palmer. The FBI’s Anchorage and Los Angeles field offices are investigating the cases of all four defendants who are set to be sentenced this summer.

The seizure of 13 internet domains linked with DDoS for hire services is a significant step in the fight against cybercrime. The DOJ’s efforts to disrupt these illegal services and hold their operators and users accountable demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement officials to protecting victims and preserving the integrity of the internet.

Operation PowerOFF is an ongoing effort by law enforcement agencies from multiple countries to dismantle criminal DDoS-for-hire infrastructures worldwide. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) also recently launched a sting operation as part of Operation PowerOFF, which aims to take down DDoS infrastructure.

  1. Doctor Paid $60k in Bitcoin to Hire Dark Web Hitmen
  2. Cracks down on sites with ties to hack-for-hire groups
  3. Hackers-for-hire APT group found targeting businesses

[ad_2]
Source link

The Best Android phone under $500

andreasc
-
0
The Best Android phone under $500
[ad_1]

Since the Pixel 3a was announced at Google I/O 2019, we’ve looked forward to reviewing the next a-series Pixel every single year. That’s because Google makes the best, cheap smartphone. It uses the same camera (usually) as its flagship smartphone, in a cheaper smartphone. And of course, all of the great software features as well.

Now, over the years, the price has gone up, starting at $349 in 2019 to now being $499 in 2023. Though, we’ve seen quite a few changes, like the addition of 5G, and also let’s not forget about inflation. Even at $499, this is still a really great smartphone. Is it perfect? Of course not. At this price, you’re still making some trade-offs. But are those trade-offs deal breakers? Let’s find out in our review.

Google Pixel 7a Review: Design & Hardware

After getting a redesign last year, so that the Pixel 6a fit in with the Pixel 6 series, the Pixel 7a also gets a slight redesign this year. It’s mostly adding the changes to the camera bar that the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro saw last year. So it looks more in line with the Pixel 7 series.

The model that Google sent to us is the “Snow” model, which is white and silver. The sides and camera bar are silver and made or metal. While the back which is white, is made of plastic. One of the issues that I have with this build quality, is that because the back is plastic, it doesn’t melt into the frame like the glass on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro do. When holding it in the hand, you can really feel it between the plastic and metal.

Despite housing a 64-megapixel camera this year, over the 12-megapixel camera on every other Pixel a-series, the camera bar is not that much thicker than the Pixel 6a’s. Which is honestly, something I really like about this phone. And something I loved about the Pixel 6a. The camera bar on the flagship models are just so thick and in the way.

On the sides, you’ll see antenna bands all around. With the volume and power button on the right side. Just as Google has always done on the Pixel. Now the power button is not a different color, like it has done with previous Pixels. That’s something I really hope that Google brings back.

That new 90Hz display

The front is, well, rather plain. That’s where you’ll find the 6.1-inch FHD+ 90Hz display. Which is one of the upgrades over the Pixel 6a. After Google received a lot of backlash over having a 60Hz display, they decided to make it 90Hz this year. The bezels are rather thick here, but for a flat display, it’s not to bad. And of course the front-facing camera is right in the center.

The display is good, but not great. This is not an AMOLED display, but rather a gOLED display, which is a cheaper OLED display. This is also not as adaptive as LTPO. It does adapt from 60Hz to 90Hz, but not any lower than 60Hz. That’s still a feature that is saved for mostly higher-end phones.

Google Pixel 7a Review AM AH 09

Let’s talk about brightness. It’s not all that great. Can you use it outside? Sure. But it does lag behind the flagships out there. Which is where I really need to remember that this is a $499 phone and not a $899 phone.

For the price, it’s a really good display. However, if you want a slightly better display, I’d recommend the Pixel 7, which is only $100 more.

Google Pixel 7a Review: Performance

Since Google debuted the Tensor chipset in 2021, on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, I had pretty high hopes for it. Just comparing it to what Apple has done with the iPhone and making its own chipsets for basically everything it sells. I thought it would allow Google to have more control, push out updates faster, and make things like the camera even better. I was wrong.

Now, I will admit that we are only two generations in so far, but the Tensor G2 is not a great chipset. On the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro reviews, I complained about how it was slow, and how bad battery life was. Especially when comparing it to other chipsets like the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Which took huge leaps forward last year and this year, respectively. But Tensor? Nope, it’s still really slow.

Google Pixel 7a Review AM AH 27

Despite having more RAM in the Pixel 7a, it doesn’t seem to help the Tensor G2 that much. As an example, I opened Twitter, checked my timeline. Then hoped over to my notifications tab. Then went back over to the timeline, and it had to entirely refresh the entire timeline. Why? I have no idea, but it was likely due to the processor and RAM here. The same thing happens on the Pixel 7, but not the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Which leads me to think this is a Tensor thing.

Why is Tensor so slow? Well, Google is focusing more on artificial intelligence and machine learning with its chipsets, versus performance. I don’t need to have the fastest chipset in my smartphone, but I would like one that is not the slowest either.

Google Pixel 7a Review: Battery Life & Charging

And that leads us into the battery life. Pixel had struggled with battery life for years, even dating back to the Nexus days. But with the Pixel 4 and 5 series, it really seemed to have turned a corner. Then, it went Tensor. With the Pixel 6 and Tensor, battery life has really gone down hill on Pixel phones. And it’s borderline atrocious here on the Pixel 7a.

Keep in mind, I’ve only been using this phone for a week, and a couple of those days were travel days to get to Google I/O, but it struggles just to pass six hours of screen on time. That’s pretty weak. After a couple of cycles, I figured, maybe if I used it at 60Hz, it would be better. After all, it is set to 60Hz out of the box. It was better, but not much better.

I wasn’t expecting Galaxy S23 Ultra type of battery life here, but would be nice to see it at least hit 6 hours consistently. Instead of some days not even hitting 5 hours. Though part of this is due to an issue I’m seeing right now, where YouTube runs in the background until your force stop it. So on one of the battery cycles you’ll see below, you’ll see that YouTube was running for over 7 hours.

So fingers crossed that the next monthly update fixes this, or a YouTube app update fixes it.

pixel 7a battery life AH

Now onto charging. It sucks. The Pixel 7a is still using 18W charging, and Google has the nerve to call that “fast charging”. That’s not fast, it’s the opposite of that. Heck, even the iPhone charges faster than that. What’s even stranger is that every Pixel 7 model has different charging speeds.

Google did add wireless charging, but when you see the speed, you’ll wonder why they bothered. Google only added 7.5W wireless charging. Now if you’re just charging wirelessly overnight, then fine that’s going to be plenty fast. But if you need a quick top up during the day, you better plug it in.

Of course, both of these allow Google to keep the BOM (bill of materials) cheaper, so they can sell it for less. But it’s arguably the worst part of the Pixel 7a experience.

Google Pixel 7a Review: Camera

So this year, Google really upgraded the cameras on the Pixel 7a. Not just the main sensor, but every sensor. So now, we have a 64-megapixel main camera, along with a 13-megapixel ultrawide sensor and a 13-megapixel front-facing sensor. Now on paper, it looks like these are better than the Pixel 7. But not so fast. The Pixel 7’s camera sensors are actually physically larger, than these. Which explains the smaller camera bump here. And that also means that it won’t let in as much detail.

How does it stack up? Pretty well, actually. Now that’s not really a surprise, considering how good Google’s computational photography is. Now, can you tell the difference between a photo shot on a Pixel 7a and a Pixel 7? Most people probably won’t. But if you compare them side by side, you’ll likely notice two things. The Pixel 7a has slightly less detail, and the Pixel 7 has a shallower depth of field. Meaning that the Pixel 7 would have more of that natural bokeh in the background.

With the Pixel 7a, Google did bring over quite a few features from the flagship phones. Like Super Res Zoom, which is not new, but now it does work at up to 8x. Before it was only 6x. And that’s thanks to the new sensor. There’s also Magic Eraser, allowing you to remove objects from a photo, and Photo Unblur, which works on older photos too.

I would have to say that this camera setup is the best camera on any phone in this price range. And you can check out our samples of the Pixel 7a camera in the gallery below.

Google Pixel 7a Review: Software

When it comes to software, Google typically nails it on the Pixel phones. Barring any sort of bugs that we’ve seen in recent years, the software is always the best on any Android smartphone. But bugs are still apparent here on the Pixel 7a. Like YouTube continuing to run in the background all day, draining your battery.

Google Pixel 7a Review AM AH 01

Google has some really nifty features on the Pixel 7a, many of which debuted on the Pixel 7 last fall. Like Direct My Call. This is one of my favorite features, as it allows you to call some 1-800 numbers and see the menu options, sometimes before they even are spoken. The only downside, is that this does not work with every number. But places like Home Depot, Comcast and a few others, it does work.

Another great feature is “Hold for Me”, and it does exactly what you think it does. It will have the Google Assistant sit on hold for you, and alert you when someone is ready to take your call. So now you don’t have to sit on hold for hours when you call Comcast or whoever your ISP is.

Clear Calling has also come to the Pixel 7a. This feature basically will drown out all of the background noise, so whoever is on the other end can hear you. If you’re in a bar with loud music, the caller on the other end will hear you just fine. It’s actually pretty incredible how well this works.

Of course, the Pixel 7a is running on Android 13, which is currently the latest version of Android. Though Android 14 is already available in Beta, with the second beta coming out today. The final release won’t be until August/September, however. But the Pixel 7a will get that update. In fact, it’ll get three Android OS updates and five years of security updates. So, the Pixel 7a should see Android 14, 15 and 16 upgrades.

Should you buy the Google Pixel 7a?

This is a tough question for me. Typically, the a-series is always a must-recommend for me, when people ask what phone they should buy. But this year, that question is pretty tough. Why? Because the Pixel 7 exists. The Pixel 7 is only $100 more and it is usually on sale for $499, making it the same price as the Pixel 7a. And for $100 more, you’re getting better cameras, a better display, better battery life, and better charging, along with a few other things. Making that $100 jump well worth it.

As much as I want to love the Pixel 7a, it’s hard to, because of the price increase. If it stayed at $449, I think this would have been a no-brainer for recommending.

In the end, it is your decision, and you have to decide what features are worth it for you to buy it over a Pixel 7. And that could come down to the colors available, and if the retailer or carrier has stock available. The Pixel 7a is a really good phone, it just needs to be priced further away from the Pixel 7.


[ad_2]
Source link

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, May 2023

andreasc
-
0
Microsoft Patch Tuesday, May 2023
[ad_1]
Microsoft Patch Tuesday, May 2023

Microsoft released updates for two zero-day problems and 40 other newly discovered vulnerabilities in its products on Tuesday.

CVE-2023-29336, one of the zero days, is a Windows “elevation of privilege” bug with a low attack complexity, minimal privilege requirements, and no user input. The attack vector for this problem is local, as the SANS Internet Storm Centre notes.

“Once they gain initial access, they will seek administrative or SYSTEM-level permissions. This can allow the attacker to disable security tooling and deploy more attacker tools like Mimikatz that lets them move across the network and gain persistence”, said Kevin Breen, director of cyber threat research at Immersive Labs.

CVE-2023-29336, as reported by Avast, affects devices running Windows 10 and Windows Server 2008, 2012, and 2016.

The Secure Boot Security Feature Bypass issue (CVE-2023-24932), which is being actively exploited by “bootkit” malware known as “BlackLotus,” is the zero-day patch that has attracted the most attention so far. Being able to load malicious software before the operating system even launches makes a bootkit risky.

According to Microsoft, addressing CVE-2023-24932 requires removing boot managers, an irreversible action that may cause problems with specific boot settings. 

An affected boot policy could be installed on a target device by an attacker who has physical access or administrative privileges. Microsoft assigns a CVSS score of merely 6.7 to this problem, classifying it as “Important.”

Patches Remote Code Execution (RCE) Flaws

Additionally, Microsoft fixed five Windows remote code execution (RCE) problems, including two with significantly high CVSS scores.

CVE-2023-24941 affects the Windows Network File System and can be exploited via the network by sending a carefully crafted unauthenticated request. 

Microsoft’s alert also contains mitigation recommendations. This vulnerability has a CVSS of 9.8 – the highest of any bug resolved this month.

Meanwhile, CVE-2023-28283 is a critical vulnerability in the Windows Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) that allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute malicious code on a susceptible device. 

Although the CVSS for this vulnerability is 8.1, Microsoft warns that exploiting the bug may be difficult and unreliable for attackers.

CVE-2023-29325, a flaw in Microsoft Outlook and Explorer that may be used by attackers to remotely install malware, is another vulnerability patched this month (but has yet to be exploited in the wild). 

According to Microsoft, this flaw can be exploited simply by viewing a specially-crafted email in the Outlook Preview Pane.

EHA

The tech giant also resolved CVE-2023-24955, a remote code execution flaw in SharePoint Server that was disclosed by the Star Labs team at the Pwn2Own Vancouver 2023 exploit contest.

The full list of vulnerabilities that were fixed in the May 2023 Patch Tuesday releases can be found here.

Struggling to Apply The Security Patch in Your System? – 
Try All-in-One Patch Manager Plus


[ad_2]
Source link

Samsung pushes May update to Galaxy S21 FE, S20 FE & more

andreasc
-
0
Samsung pushes May update to Galaxy S21 FE, S20 FE & more
[ad_1]

Samsung‘s May 2023 update is now available for the Galaxy S21 FE, Galaxy S20 FE, and Galaxy A73. These phones join dozens of other models in the party, including the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy S22 series, and all recent foldables. The company will roll out the new SMR (Security Maintenance Release) to more eligible models in the coming days.

The May SMR for the Galaxy S21 FE is currently limited to select Latin American countries. More precisely, the latest update for the last FE phone isn’t available outside Brazil as of this writing. The new firmware build number for the device is G990EXXS5EWD4.

The handset doesn’t seem to be getting anything more than this month’s security fixes, which we will go into detail later in this article. Samsung should expand the rollout to other markets in the coming days.

In the case of the Galaxy S20 FE, Samsung is initially updating the 4G model to the May SMR. The new security update is currently available in Russia with the build number G780GXXU4EWD2, SamMobile reports. Samsung should soon make the update available in other regions while simultaneously expanding the rollout to cover 5G models as well.

It’s unclear if the May update brings any other goodies to the Galaxy S20 FE apart from the latest security fixes. The company hasn’t added the latest changelog to the official update tracker for the phone.

The Galaxy A73, meanwhile, is now picking up a minor update with the May SMR. Once again, Samsung has begun the rollout in Brazil. It comes with firmware version A736BXXS3CWE1 and brings nothing more than the May 2023 security patch to the device.

The OTA (over-the-air) package weighs about 228MB (via). We expect the Korean firm to release this update in more markets soon. The Galaxy A73 wasn’t released in the US. The 2022 mid-range device isn’t getting a successor this year.

The May 2023 update patches several dozen security issues in Galaxy devices

This month’s security update for Samsung Galaxy devices is a pretty big one. It contains patches for more than 70 vulnerabilities across the Galaxy lineup. These include over 50 Android OS flaws that affect devices from other brands as well.

The remaining 20-odd patches are Galaxy-specific. At least six vulnerabilities patched this month were labeled “critical” by Google and Samsung. If you’re using any of the aforementioned Galaxy devices, these security fixes should be available to you in the coming days if they haven’t already. You can check for updates from the Settings app.


[ad_2]
Source link

Snapchat My AI vs. ChatGPT

andreasc
-
0
Snapchat My AI vs. ChatGPT
[ad_1]

Not too long ago, Snapchat released its chatbot My AI to the public, and it’s been in the headlines ever since. While this chatbot is based on ChatGPT, it manages to be its own entity. So, how does My AI compare to ChatGPT? Here’s a comparison between these chatbots to see which one deserves your attention.

If you’re looking for more comparisons, we also have a comparison between Google Bard and Bing AI. It dives into what makes these chatbots different and similar. Also, we have Why Google Bard and Bing AI aren’t proper ChatGPT alternatives. You can read that one here.

Snapchat My AI vs. ChatGPT: Speed

When it comes to speed, My AI is the winner here. ChatGPT has been lapped by several other chatbots including Google Bard. When you type in a query, you’ll see ChatGPT type out each of the words one by one, and the process is a slow one. In the case of My AI, the answer just appears all at once.

For longer answers, you’ll see My AI hesitate for a moment before the answer pops up. Even when it needs to generate longer responses, it takes no more than about 10 seconds. Snapchat’s chatbot is meant to represent a human chatting with you, so it’d be odd seeing all of the words being typed one by one out on My AI.

Snapchat My AI vs. ChatGPT: Conversation Skills

My AI and ChatGPT might be similar, but the former has better people skills. ChatGPT is designed to deliver results in a familiar and humanistic tone. It strives in doing this but, as you can imagine, chatting is My AI’s thing.

ChatGPT is a bit quicker to cut off a conversation than My AI. I started a conversation on both chatbots with “I had a great day today”. Both bots asked how it was great and, after responding that “I had ice cream with my friend”, ChatGPT mentioned that it was great but asked to move on to the next subject. In the case of My AI, it asked what flavor we got. It was more eager to progress the conversation.

There’s another difference in these chatbots’ conversational skills. ChatGPT is really bent on providing tips and advice with all of its answers. This leads to responses that feel rather bloated. I typed “I’m taking up sewing” in both chatbots. My AI responded with “That sounds like a fun and creative hobby! You can make all sorts of cool things with sewing, like clothes, bags, and home decor.”

In ChatGPT’s case, it gave a long list of tips and advice as though I asked for it. That’s not a bad thing, but it just shows that you’re more likely to have a spirited conversation with My AI.

Snapchat My AI vs. ChatGPT: Information

So, ChatGPT isn’t quite the social butterfly, but it excels at being a bookworm. If you’re looking for encyclopedia knowledge, then ChatGPT is the winner. Both chatbots can give you information to questions that you ask, but ChatGPT goes the extra mile.

It’s a lot better at giving you more fleshed-out answers that are more information-rich. When I asked both chatbots why the sky is blue, My AI summed it up in 12 words. ChatGPT gave me several full paragraphs. When I asked why mint makes your mouth cold, much the same happened.

ChatGPT provides more context and it will sometimes include people relevant to the subject in its explanations. My AI’s answers are more concise. It’s like the difference between looking up the definition of a word in the dictionary and just asking your older sibling.

Snapchat My AI vs. ChatGPT: Advice

The story is the same when it comes to giving advice. Again, if you ask My AI for advice on any subject, it will give you an answer that’s short, sweet, and to the point. You’ll get a brief paragraph that reads in a very conversational manner.

As for ChatGPT’s response, it’s a lot more fleshed-out and academic. You’ll get an intro paragraph, a list of tips/steps, and a closing paragraph. ChatGPT wants to cover all of the bases when providing advice.

Snapchat My AI vs. ChatGPT: Written content

One of the most notable features of modern chatbots is the ability to craft written content. Both chatbots can do this. There’s a huge gap in the capabilities between ChatGPT and Google Bard/Bing AI, but not so much with My AI. In fact, ChatGPT and My AI are about neck and neck.

You can use both chatbots to generate all types of content such as stories, eulogies, scripts, code, articles, reviews, poems, song lyrics, and other types of written content. Not only can they both produce this content, but they can do so with a high level of proficiency. If you’re looking to generate written content, then you won’t be let down by any of these chatbots.

So, who won?

The story with chatbots like these is that they’re both so good at what they specialize in that it’s hard to declare an overall winner. My AI is the chatbot you’re more likely to chat with, and that’s its intended purpose. It’s meant to be a friend to chat with when you don’t have anyone to talk to.

This is why its responses are so succinct and colloquial. It’s meant to be your friend, not your personal encyclopedia.

ChatGPT is on the other side of the spectrum. It really goes the extra mile when it comes to delivering you information, extra context, and tips. You’re more likely to use it as a tutor when studying for a test. These are their intended purposes, and that’s what they excel at.


[ad_2]
Source link
1...1,2671,2681,269...1,480Page 1,268 of 1,480