Cloudflare released a threat report for DDoS of Q1 2023, showing that cyber threat actors use VPS-based attack vectors instead of compromised IoT (Internet of Things) devices.
DDoS is an abbreviation for Distributed Denial of Service attack in which threat actors send multiple requests that a web server cannot handle, making the server unavailable for usage.
2023 started with attack campaigns targeting banks, airports, healthcare, and universities. Pro-Russian Telegram-organised groups mainly conducted these attacks, like Killnet and AnonymousSudan.
Other threat actors who perform hyper-volumetric DDoS attacks are on the rise, with one of the attacks ranging to a maximum of 71 Million requests per second which is higher than Google’s highest recorded request of 46 million. However, Neither Killnet nor AnonymousSudan was responsible for this hyper-volumetric attack.
Cloudflare requested organizations to take preventive measures to protect their businesses from threat actors. Another powerful attack that Cloudflare handled and mitigated was an attack on a South American Telecommunications provider.
The attack reached a maximum of 1.3 Tbps (Terabits per second) which did not last more than a minute. The attack analysis showed traffic originating from the US, Brazil, Japan, Hong Kong, and India as a multi-vector attack involving DNS and UDP traffic.
As per Cloudflare reports, further analysis of the attack revealed that it was part of a broader campaign that includes multiple Terabit-strong attacks from a 20,000-strong Mirai-Variant botnet.
VPS for Increased Power
Older methods of DDoS involved using a large number of botnets that are usually IoT devices like security cameras or other small devices.
This usually accounts for hundreds of thousands or millions of devices which is enough to disrupt their targets. However, these devices must be exploitable to craft the attack.
Modern DDoS attacks use virtual private servers that amount to just a fraction of the devices used in the older methods. These servers are powerful to generate multiple requests, allowing attackers to conduct a DDoS attack much simpler and more efficiently.
2023 began with Internet disruptions due to shutdowns, cyclones, eartquakes, power outages, cable cuts, cyberattacks, technical problems, and military action. Learn more about what we observed in the first quarter of 2023 in our latest overview. https://t.co/QJ6ukHl4dT
Virtual Private Servers were introduced to help businesses create high-performance applications, which are now a haven for cyber threat actors.
Threat actors gain access to these vulnerable servers and pivot their way into management consoles using leaked API credentials.
As per reports from Cloudflare, “Cloudflare has been working with key cloud computing providers to crack down on these VPS-based botnets. Substantial portions of such botnets have been disabled thanks to the cloud computing providers’ rapid response and diligence. Since then, we have yet to see additional hyper-volumetric attacks — a testament to the fruitful collaboration“.
Furthermore, the reports said 16% of their surveyed customers had faced a Ransom DDoS attack which seems to be low. However, this accounts for a 60% increase compared to previous reports.
Two majorly targeted industries were Broadcast media and Non-profit organizations. Also, Finland has the highest traffic from which HTTP DDoS attacks originated, and Israel was the most targeted country.
Cyber attacks above 100 Gbps have increased by 6% Quarter on Quarter. DNS-based attacks became the most popular. Cloudflare has released a complete analysis of the Q1 2023 DDoS attack vector.
Cloud computing has become increasingly demanding for all businesses, and most are migrating to cloud environments. Unfortunately, threat actors are also rising since technological advancements create additional space for attackers to conduct malicious activities.
Sextortion, the act of blackmailing individuals for cash in return for not leaking sensitive imagery and videos, has been a problem for many years. Sometimes it’s done by criminals, other times it’s by people known to the target. The imagery may be stolen from online cloud storage, leaked from a server, or obtained by compromising a PC with malware. The end result is the same: blackmail, and the threat of sending the images to friends and family, or just dumping them online.
A sub-industry of sorts has grown up around the sextortion marketplace. Companies which can supposedly help you remove sextortion content or shut down blackmailers, offer to help those in need of assistance. These organisations may be contacted by the victims directly (for example, via adverts or search engine results) or they may make contact by another method.
The FBI believes at least some of these entities may be involved in sextortion attacks themselves. However you stack it up, these supposed businesses have no real way to get material taken offline and kept offline. Unless the people holding on to the stolen content are somehow chased offline forever, there’s nothing stopping them from putting it back or reconnecting with their target.
The whack-a-mole technique, and how “help” can make things worse
This is somewhat similar to those mugshot sites, which scrape mugshots and place them online along with the details of the person in the photograph. They offer to take them down, for a price, but more often than not once the victim pays up the images reappear on a related site and they’re back to square one.
As the FBI notes, law enforcement assistance is free (and there’s slightly more chance of the people responsible getting into trouble for their actions). Here’s some examples provided by the FBI with regard to what bogus assistance looks like in practice, and how the “assistance” can make things worse:
A company solicited multiple payments totaling $5,000 from a juvenile sextortion victim after coercing the victim with threats of reputational harm, falsely indicating the victim would be unable to go to college or get a job and the victim’s parents would lose their jobs. The victim contacted the company for help after being sextorted via social media.
A juvenile sextortion victim contacted and hired a company for $2,000. When the victim declined to pay for additional services, the company told the victim the sextortion perpetrator asked for $5,000. At that point, the victim paid for the additional services, for which the company charged him an additional $3,200.
A company representative contacted the mother of a juvenile sextortion victim and offered to locate the sextortionist in exchange for $1,500. The representative also discouraged the victim’s mother from seeking assistance from law enforcement. It was not clear how the company representative knew about the sextortion or how they obtained the contact information for the victim’s mother.
Here at Malwarebytes, we’ve seen numerous examples of sextortion help advertised online which may (or more likely, may not) be of use to the person being targeted. Back in 2019 we spotted an ad making some bold claims about “keeping explicit images off the internet”. Sure, it might be legitimate, or it could just as easily be designed to suck someone in still further from a problem they can no longer escape. There’s never any real way to know for sure, and this is a primary reason why your first port of call should be law enforcement.
How to spot a sextortion assistance scam
The FBI has some recommendations when dealing with sextortion scams where anything assistance related is concerned. Supposed business entities may lean into your sense of fear, shame, and desperation to get the problem “solved”. In other words, they’ll act in a manner very similar to those performing the extortion in the first place. Signs to watch out for:
A company representative contacts you and offers assistance services for which the company charges fees;
The company advertises sextortion assistance in exchange for fees;
You are asked to pay the fees before the assistance services are rendered;
The company requires you to sign a contract for their services;
The company representative discourages you from contacting law enforcement or tells you contacting law enforcement is not the best way to get help;
The company uses high-pressure or scare tactics in an effort to secure your business; or
The for-profit company claims to be connected to government or law enforcement officials.
Malwarebytes tips for dealing with sextortion
We have many tips for all aspects of romance and sextortion attempts, and here’s some of the main things you can do to help yourself avoid sextortion fraud:
Don’t panic. If a scammer tells you they have compromising images of you and they show you no evidence of the images, they probably don’t have any. Offering “proof” such as a password or phone number of yours just means they’ve got that data from a breach, and doesn’t mean they have access to your computer or webcam.
Don’t engage: report. If you’re shown evidence of stolen images, report to your local authorities and the FBI as soon as you can. Never engage with the sextortionist.
Be cautious about what you say to someone online. When asked certain questions, be vague and never give specifics. Remember that online, people can pretend to be someone they’re not, and can even look and sound like a different person with today’s technology.
Personalize your security and privacy settings. Lock down your accounts as much as you can, and keep as much hidden from public view as possible.
Data is typically forever. Remember that once you send something to someone—whether they’re a stranger, a romantic partner, relative, or friend—you have no control over where it goes next.
Malwarebytes removes all remnants of ransomware and prevents you from getting reinfected. Want to learn more about how we can help protect your business? Get a free trial below.
Xiaomi has officially confirmed the Xiaomi 13 Ultra camera sensors. Before we get into it, do note that the phone will launch on April 18, in both China and globally. And yes, Xiaomi will livestream the event.
These are the camera sensors the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will use
For the main camera, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will retain a 1-inch camera sensor from the ‘Pro’ model. That is Sony’s IMX989 sensor, which is also used by the OPPO Find X6 Pro and Vivo X90 Pro, in addition to several other phones.
Three other cameras will be included on the back, and in all three cases we’ll get the Sony IMX858 sensors. 3x and 5x telephoto shots will be an option, and considering a periscope telephoto camera will also be available, crazy zoom shots will also be a possibility.
Xiaomi also teased advanced noise-reduction features and improved HDR. So, we’re getting a wide-angle main camera (1-inch sensor), an ultrawide unit, a telephoto camera, and a periscope telephoto camera.
Leica lenses will also be a part of the package
On top of that, each of those cameras will utilize Leica’s lenses. Needless to say, this does sound very promising. The Xiaomi 13 Pro had an outstanding camera setup, and capabilities, but the ‘Ultra’ could take things to a whole new level.
Some rumors even indicated that the main camera will utilize a variable aperture. Xiaomi didn’t mention anything regarding that thus far, but it would be an amazing addition if true. It would make this camera even more versatile, and enable it to adapt to pretty much every scenario.
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra will utilize the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, and a 6.73-inch QHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. 90W wired charging will also be on offer, as will 50W wireless charging. Android 13 will come pre-installed with MIUI 14, and more.
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Data recovery has become an essential aspect of our digital lives, as the risk of data loss due to hardware failures or accidental deletion is omnipresent. The demand for reliable data recovery solutions has skyrocketed, which has led to the development of numerous software options. One of the best data recovery software for PC, available for free download in its full version with crack, offers a comprehensive solution for recovering lost or deleted files. This software stands out due to its user-friendly interface, fast recovery process, and wide range of supported file formats, making it an indispensable tool for both individual users and businesses alike.
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How to recover data from corrupted USB
In today’s digital era, data recovery is a crucial aspect of maintaining the integrity of our files and the information they hold. One common occurrence that many people face is the need to recover data from a corrupted USB drive. With the right approach and tools, this issue can be mitigated and your valuable data can be retrieved. Let’s explore some effective methods to safely recover data from a corrupted USB.
In the digital age, data storage and recovery have gained paramount importance. Losing crucial data from a corrupted USB drive can be incredibly frustrating and disrupt personal or professional lives. Luckily, there are several methods to recover data from corrupted USB storage devices, ensuring that important files aren’t lost forever. This article aims to provide guidance and solutions on how to retrieve data from a corrupted USB drive while minimizing the risk of additional data loss.
One of the most common problems faced by digital users today is data corruption on USB drives, which can lead to the loss of valuable information. Fortunately, there are several effective methods to recover data from a corrupted USB. In this article, we will explore various techniques to safely retrieve your lost files and discuss how to prevent future data loss. By understanding these approaches, you will be well equipped to handle any potential data corruption scenario and safeguard your important data.
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WhatsApp is a popular messaging app that allows users to communicate with their contacts in a convenient and simple manner. Recently, WhatsApp has been experimenting with new useful features that are appearing first for users on the beta version of the application, one of them being the ability to easily manage and edit contacts directly within the Android app.
This new feature enables users to add or edit contact information directly within the WhatsApp application, without having to navigate to their phone’s contact list. This can be especially useful for users who frequently add new contacts or need to update existing ones. The feature is easy to access and simple to use, making it a valuable addition to the WhatsApp experience.
This feature was first reported on by Wabetainfo after some users reported seeing a new contact UI that allows the same customization options as the system’s default Contacts app. This functionality is now available to a subset of users on versions 2.23.8.2, 2.23.8.4, 2.23.8.5, and 2.23.8.6, but it will be rolled out to a larger audience in the near future.
Wabetainfo
To access the feature, users simply need to open the WhatsApp application and navigate to the chat screen. From there, they can tap on the menu icon located in the top right corner of the screen and select the “New Contact” option. This will bring up a form where users can enter the contact’s name, phone number, and any other relevant information. Once the information has been entered, users can save the contact directly within the app.In addition to adding new contacts, users can also edit existing ones within the app. To do so, they simply need to navigate to the contact they wish to edit within the chat screen and tap on the contact’s name. This will bring up a menu of options, including the ability to edit the contact’s information, such as their name or phone number.
The ability to add and edit contacts directly within the WhatsApp application is a useful feature that simplifies the process of managing contacts for Android users. It eliminates the need to navigate to the phone’s contact list, which can be time-consuming and inconvenient. The feature is easy to access and simple to use, making it a valuable addition to the WhatsApp experience. With this new feature, users can easily add and update their contacts directly within the app, ensuring that their communication stays streamlined and efficient.
With improved protocol support, various bug fixes, and several enhancements, Wireshark has released version 4.0.5. On March 3, 2023, the most recent version of Wireshark 4.0.4 was made available; this is the second upgrade of this year.
The open-source packet analyzer Wireshark is free to use. It is employed in developing software and communications protocols, network troubleshooting, analysis, and education.
Wireshark is one of the most extensively used tools for analyzing network protocols and serves a variety of tasks.
According to the Wireshark team, official 32-bit Windows packages are unavailable for Wireshark 4.0 and later.
“We do not ship official 32-bit Windows packages for Wireshark 4.0 and later. If you need to use Wireshark on that platform, we recommend using the latest 3.6 release”, Wireshark.
“If you’re running Wireshark on macOS and upgraded to macOS 13 from an earlier version, you will likely have to open and run the “Uninstall ChmodBPF” package, then open and run “Install ChmodBPF” to reset the ChmodBPF Launch Daemon.”
There are different operating systems for which the Wireshark packet analyzer is accessible, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and BSD.
DIS dissector shows an incorrect state in the packet list info column. Issue 18967.
RTP analysis shows incorrect timestamp error when timestamp is rolled over. Issue 18973.
Asterisk (*) key crash on Endpoint/Conversation dialog. Issue 18975.
The RTP player waveform now synchronizes better with audio.
Vulnerabilities Fixes:
Most Linux and Unix vendors supply their own Wireshark packages. You can usually install or upgrade Wireshark using the package management system specific to that platform.
A list of third-party packages can be found on the download page on the Wireshark website. Wireshark source code and installation packages are available.
Download:
You can Download the latest version of the application from the link here.
In the last 12 months France was one of the most attacked countries in the world, and a favourite target of LockBit, the world’s most dangerous ransomware.
This article is based on research by Marcelo Rivero, Malwarebytes’ ransomware specialist, who monitors information published by ransomware gangs on their dark web sites. In this report, “known attacks” are attacks where the victim opted not to pay a ransom. This provides the best overall picture of ransomware activity, but the true number of attacks is far higher.
Between April 2022 and March 2023, France was one of the most attacked countries by ransomware gangs. During that period:
France was the fifth most attacked country in the world.
The government sector was attacked more often than in similar countries.
LockBit dominated the last twelve months, being used in 57% of known attacks.
There were almost twice as many LockBit attacks in France than either the UK or Germany.
In July 2022, La Poste Mobile, a mobile carrier owned by French postal company La Poste, suffered a LockBit ransomware attack, severely impacting its administrative and management services. After successfully reducing the ransom demand from $1.4 million to $300,000 in a five day negotiation, La Poste Mobile’s negotiator announced on July 11, “Management doesn’t want to pay anymore … it has reconsidered its decision.” LockBit published the data it had stolen on its leak site, describing it as “the private information of more than a million and a half people in France.”
The La Poste Mobile page on the LockBit leak site
In August 2022, attackers demanded $10 million after a ruthless assault on the Center Hospitalier Sud Francilien (CHSF), a 1000-bed hospital near Paris. The disruption to CHSF’s computer systems resulted in patients having to be sent elsewhere, and surgeries having to be postponed.
A few months later, in mid-November, French defense and technology group Thales confirmed a data breach affecting contracts and partnerships in Malaysia and Italy. As with so many attacks in France in the last twelve months, the perpetrators used LockBit ransomware.
France is a prime target
In the 12 months from April 2022 to March 2023, France was a globally significant target for ransomware, and the fifth most attacked country by known attacks.
Known attacks in the ten most attacked countries, April 2022 – March 2023
Given the disparity between the USA and the rest of the world in terms of number of attacks it would be easy to conclude that ransomware is, first-and-foremost, a USA problem. It is not. The size and nature of the US economy means that it has many more targets for ransomware gangs than the other countries in the top ten.
We can account for the difference in the size of countries’ economies by dividing the number of known ransomware attacks by a country’s nominal GDP, which gives us an approximate rate of attacks per $1T of economic output. On that basis, the difference between France and the USA is far smaller than the total number of known attacks would suggest. And while France and Germany suffered nearly identical numbers of known attacks, France appears to suffer a much higher rate of attacks per unit of economic activity than its neighbour.
The ten most attacked countries between April 2022 – March 2023, ordered by attacks per $1T GDP
The size of the countries in the top ten also vary enormously, and we can try to account for that by dividing known attacks by the size of each country’s population. On that measure, again, the differences between countries are far smaller than a simple count of known attacks suggests.
In all the variations of our top ten, English-speaking countries occupy at least three of the top five positions, which suggests that ransomware gangs have a slightly bias for English-speaking targets. France sits just below the Anglosphere in a cluster of four advanced European economies suffering nearly identical rates of attacks per capita.
The ten most attacked countries between April 2022 – March 2023, ordered by attacks per capita
By any measure, France is one of the most attacked countries in the world, and its organisations are prime targets for ransomware gangs. Unusually, government targets accounted for a significant proportion of those organisations in the last twelve months. It was the country’s third most attacked sector, accounting for 9% of known attacks. By comparison, over the same twelve month period, 4% of known attacks in the USA and 3% of known attacks in Germany affected their government sectors, while just 20 miles across the English channel, the UK experienced none at all.
Known ransomware attacks by industry sector in France, April 2022 – March 2023
As is often the case, the reasons for this are not obvious. It is possible that this simply reflects the larger footprint of government in France—government spending accounts for a larger proportion of the economy in France than in either the UK or Germany. However, the difference is only a few percentage points.
Ransomware gangs often operate from the safe havens of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent states, which can make it tempting to ascribe nationalistic or geopolitical motivations to their activity. However, the truth is they are businesses that choose targets that are easy to infiltrate and likely to pay substantial ransoms.
Unfortunately, the most likely explanation for the high proportion of government sector targets among the known attacks in France is that government institutions were easier targets in France than elsewhere.
LockBit’s hunting ground
The most dangerous ransomware in the world right now, is LockBit, and LockBit loves France.
In 2022, LockBit was used in 31% of known attacks globally, 3.5 times more than its nearest competitor, ALPHV. (You can read much more about why LockBit is the number one threat to your business in our 2023 State of Malware report.) As you’d expect, given its global preeminence, LockBit was also the most widely used ransomware in France, Germany, and the UK in the last twelve months.
However, LockBit dominates in France in a way that it doesn’t in its European neighbours. Between April 2022 and March 2023, LockBit accounted for an absolutely enormous 57% of known attacks in France. Over the same period, it accounted for 20% of known attacks in the UK and about 30% in Germany.
LockBit recorded 62 known attacks in France in the last twelve months, but no other gang registered more than seven. In the same period LockBIt was responsible for 33 known attacks in the UK while six other gangs also got into double digits.
Ransomware with two or more known attacks in France, April 2022 – March 2023
LockBit’s outsized contribution to France’s misery is most clearly seen by highlighting its contribution on a month-by-month basis. The number of monthly attacks in France has been highly volatile, showing far larger variation than the UK, despite its proximity and the similarity of their economies and populations. That volatility is almost entirely down to how many or how few LockBit attacks occurred each month. In the last twelve months only one other gang has registered three known attacks in a single month (Royal in March 2023), while LockBit has matched or exceeded that figure eight times, and exceeded ten attacks in a month twice.
Monthly ransomware attacks in France with LockBit highlighted, April 2022 – March 2023
The reasons for this aren’t clear, but it may simply be that as the 800lb gorilla in the ransomware ecosystem, LockBit is best placed to exploit opportunities outside of the Anglosphere. Like a lot of ransomware, LockBit is sold as a service and attacks are carried out by independent criminal gangs, referred to as “affiliates”, which pay the LockBit gang 20% of the ransoms they extract. The French economy is large enough to provide a fertile hunting ground for cybercriminals. It is possible that some of LockBit’s 100 or so affiliates have decided to specialise there.
Conclusions
In the last 12 months, France was a globally significant hunting ground for ransomware gangs, and the country with the fifth highest total of known attacks. Within France, the government sector was over represented, suffering a higher proportion of known attacks than the government sector in the USA, Germany, and the UK. Much like the education sector in the UK, the French government sector should be alarmed that with an entire world of targets to choose from, it has attracted a disproportionate amount of attention.
France attracted enormous attention from gangs using LockBit, the most dangerous ransomware in the world. There were almost twice as many known LockBit attacks in France than in either Germany or the UK. In all, LockBit was used in 57% of known attacks in France, while the next most used ransomware, Vice Society, accounted for just 6%.
France does not so much have a ransomware problem as a LockBit problem.
Detect intrusions. Make it harder for intruders to operate inside your organization by segmenting networks and assigning access rights prudently. Use EDR or MDR to detect unusual activity before an attack occurs.
Stop malicious encryption. Deploy Endpoint Detection and Response software like Malwarebytes EDR that uses multiple different detection techniques to identify ransomware, and ransomware rollback to restore damaged system files.
Create offsite, offline backups. Keep backups offsite and offline, beyond the reach of attackers. Test them regularly to make sure you can restore essential business functions swiftly.
Don’t get attacked twice. Once you’ve isolated the outbreak and stopped the first attack, you must remove every trace of the attackers, their malware, their tools, and their methods of entry, to avoid being attacked again.
Malwarebytes removes all remnants of ransomware and prevents you from getting reinfected. Want to learn more about how we can help protect your business? Get a free trial below.
The ASUS ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate are official, with the company having announced the phones on April 13. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks or so using the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate as my daily driver, and if you’d like to see how that panned out you can read about it in my review here.
This is ASUS’s latest and greatest smartphone and it’s an absolutely insane powerhouse of a device. Built around mobile gaming just as all ROG Phones are, complete with the latest specs and features. This post is designed to leave nothing on the table, and tell you all there is to know about the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate.
Whether you’re considering buying one or not, you’ll know every important detail about this phone. Which might even help you decide if the device is right for you in the first place.
What is the ASUS ROG Phone 7?
It’s ASUS’s latest gaming smartphone. Packed with some of if not the most powerful hardware components of any phone on the market. It’s catered towards gamers, and the features reflect that.
How many models are there?
ASUS has made two models of the device this year. Not too unlike it did with the ROG Phone 6 series. Though it has changed things ever so slightly.
There’s the standard ROG Phone 7 and then the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate which is essentially the Pro model this year. But there’s not really much of a change in terms of specs. The only real difference is the back design. The ROG Phone 7 comes with an RGB ROG Eye logo and the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate replaces that with the ROG Vision display. The Ultimate model also replaces the small light bar that the regular model has with the AeroActive Portal.
There is a chance ASUS will come out with at least one additional model down the line. Officially the company has said it has nothing to share about that at this time. But if it follows last year’s path, we could see something like the ROG Phone 7D.
What are the specs of the ASUS ROG Phone 7?
Usually the specs are different, even if only slightly, on each of the models ASUS ends up launching. But this year, the specs are entirely the same. Right down to storage options. This wasn’t true just a couple generations ago. Where the ROG Phone 5 and ROG Phone 5 Pro had less storage and RAM than the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate.
Here’s what you can look forward to with the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate:
Platform (Processor): 3.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 740
Storage: 512GB of UFS 4.0
RAM: 16GB LPDDR5X
OS & UI: Android 13 with ROG UI and Zen UI
Display: 6.78-inch 1080p (2440 x 1080) 165Hz AMOLED – HDR10+ certified, 720Hz touch sampling rate, 23ms touch latency, peak brightness of 1500 nits, 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
IP Rating: IP54
Rear Camera: 50MP Sony IMX766 main sensor, 13MP Ultrawide sensor, 5MP macro sensor
Front Camera: 32MP OV32 Quad Bayer sensor
Back Cover: RGB ROG Eye Logo (ROG Phone 7) / ROG Vision Display (ROG Phone 7 Ultimate)
Speakers: 5-magnet Super Linear front-facing speakers tuned by Dirac
Battery: Dual 3,000mAh batteries for a total capacity of 6,000mAh
Charging: 65W
Colorways: Phantom Black and Storm White (ROG Phone 7) / Storm White (ROG Phone 7 Ultimate)
Dimensions: 173 x 77 x 10.3 mm
Weight: 239g
Does the phone have expandable storage?
The phone does not have expandable storage. And while that might seem like a bad thing to those that are used to having it on phones, it’s not really needed. Both models of the device have 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. That’s a lot of storage and most people are going to struggle to fill all that. It’s not impossible to use up all that space, but it’s unlikely many users would run out of all that room.
So in the end, expandable storage would just make the phone cost more. And with 512GB at hand, plus all of the other specs that make the phone cost what it will, expandable storage becomes unnecessary.
When does the phone launch?
ASUS hasn’t confirmed a US or North America launch date yet. But it did confirm that it will be sometime in Q2. So you’re probably looking at sometime closer to Summer, perhaps in June or July.
What will the phone cost?
This will obviously depend on which model you go with. The ROG Phone 7 will start at $999. ASUS hasn’t confirmed US or North America pricing on the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate at this time. But with the $999 baseline price for the standard model, the Ultimate is probably going to be somewhere around the realm of $100 to $300 more. This is partially because of the ROG Vision display and the AeroActive Portal, and partially because it comes with the AeroActive Cooler 7 attachment.
This accessory is optional on the ROG Phone 7 and does not come in the box. Everything else about the two phone models is the same. All of that said, the ROG Phone 6 Pro from last year was $1,299. It’s possible ASUS could keep this price point for the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate this year.
Will the ASUS ROG Phone 7 work on all networks?
In the US it will work on AT&T and T-Mobile. This also means it will work with services like Google Fi. It will not work on Verizon. You’ll need to check the networks in your region to see if the phone is compatible. It’s also worth noting that you may need to do some tweaking to get it working on AT&T. This had to be done with the ROG Phone 6 Pro, which initially worked but then stopped working after a few months.
Are there any accessories for the device this year?
There are a few accessories, but there are technically less than what was available for last year’s models and previous years. There’s no new version of the ROG Kunai gamepad this year. At least not right now. You’ll get a slim shell case in the box with both phones.
And then there’s the AeroActive Cooler 7 as an optional accessory if you don’t have the Ultimate model, which it comes in the box with. Other optional accessories include a tempered glass screen protector and drop protection case from DevilCase which will fit both phones.
And that’s basically it. Keep in mind that if you want a controller, the ROG Kunai 3 will work with this new phone and function as it should. However, it does not quite fit properly since it wasn’t designed for this new phone. You could also use something like the Razer Kishi V2 which is our personal favorite mobile controller.
And as for headphones, there’s loads of options both new and old.
Does the ROG Phone 7 have a 3.5mm audio port?
It does have this port and it’s in the same spot as it’s been on every ROG Phone model over the years. The phone also still comes with the bottom and side-facing USB-C ports. And if you’re using the AeroActive Cooler 7, there’s a 3.5mm audio port on the bottom of that so you can plug your wired headphones into it instead of plugging them into the port on the phone itself. This way the cord for your headphones is facing downwards instead of coming out of the side of the phone while you’re holding it in landscape mode playing games.
Are the AirTriggers still present?
The AirTriggers are still there and honestly, these will likely never go anywhere. It’s been a signature feature of the ROG Phone since the beginning and they work so amazingly well now with all of the ways you can interact with them.
Don’t expect ASUS to ever cut these from the device feature list.
Has the camera improved?
Kind of? This is really a yes and no answer. The sensor for the main camera that ASUS is using in the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate is the same sensor that was used in the ROG Phone 6 series. But it does come with a few new features for pictures and video recording.
So while the hardware isn’t different, the new features can enhance the experience of using the camera, and the software feels like it’s improved. The photos might look better to you. That being said, the camera is still the same camera. So the experience will be pretty similar.
Overall the photos on the ROG Phone 7 series are just fine. The phone takes decent pictures and you aren’t really buying this phone for the camera quality anyway. ASUS knows this and continues to choose to focus on the gaming-centric features. If you end up buying one of these devices, just go into the purchase knowing that the camera won’t be as good as something like the Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy flagships. And you’ll be a happy camper.
Is the cooling better than last year?
The cooling is definitely better and has noticeably improved. So much so that in my review I mention that I don’t think the AeroActive Cooler 7 is needed. You can comfortably game on the device for a few hours without the phone getting excessively warm. And this is mostly thanks to the improved vapor chamber compared to last year.
This is a big step up for gaming on the go and it means you can easily leave the AeroActive Cooler 7 at home if you just don’t want to pack it or if you don’t have room.
Although, there are still definite benefits to using the cooler attachment. For one, it drops the temps of your device by a significant amount. And that will help with performance by helping to prevent things like frame rate dips. It also has a built-in subwoofer for enhanced audio. While I wouldn’t call this a true subwoofer, it definitely improves the lows in the audio levels and the sound of your games is noticeably improved.
Plus it has a built-in kickstand if you want to play with a Bluetooth controller.
Samsung may be looking to poach another expert from a rival semiconductor firm. The South Korean tech giant is reportedly in talks with Zhao Guo, co-founder of Chinese fabless semiconductor company Biren Technology, to join its GPU team. It recently hired semiconductor experts who have previously worked with two of its biggest rivals in the industry: Qualcomm and TSMC. Guo has previously worked with Qualcomm too.
Zhao Guo is a senior-level semiconductor talent who has been integral to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon team in the past, particularly in the GPU area. He reportedly led the development of the company’s Adreno GPU architecture for five generations.
Most recently, Guo teamed up with a bunch of like-minded people to found Biren Technology. Founded in 2019, the new company expectedly specializes in GPUs.
Like many other Chinese tech companies, including Huawei and ZTE, Biren Technology was also severely affected by the recent US sanctions. It had to modify its products and make them less powerful to ensure continued business with some of its partners, including the manufacturer SMC.
It Looks like some of the co-founders of the company are now considering leaving for other opportunities. And, Zhao Guo may be headed to Samsung.
Samsung may soon add another expert to its semiconductor talent pool
Samsung hasn’t been as successful in the non-memory semiconductor business as in some other areas. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors have historically performed better than its Exynos solutions. Its chip fabrication process has also been inferior to TSMC’s.
The company tried developing its own custom Mongoose CPU cores but that didn’t work. It is now using stock ARM CPU cores but has teamed up with AMD to bring Radeon graphics to mobile.
Last year’s Exynos 2200 is the only Samsung processor to feature AMD graphics so far (Xclipse 920 GPU). However, the two companies recently extended their partnership, so they are just getting started. In the meantime, the Korean firm is bolstering its semiconductor talent pool with the strategic hiring of industry experts.
Last month, it roped in a veteran semiconductor engineer who worked for TSMC for almost two decades. It is now looking to hire another semiconductor expert.
All of this is coming at a time when Samsung’s quarterly profits have declined a staggering 96% to hit a 14-year low. The company is on its way to registering its first loss from the semiconductor business since 2008. But, despite these difficulties, it doesn’t plan to scale back investments.
It wants to continue the planned investments in the semiconductor business in the coming years. These hirings are likely part of the plans. Hopefully, Samsung will be able to turn the tide soon.
Google Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers in the world, and the team behind it is committed to continually improving its performance. In a recent blog post, they outlined several ways in which they’re making Chrome faster than ever before.
Google states that the improvements to Chrome’s performance have been achieved through a number of optimizations made to the browser’s underlying code. These optimizations include enhancements to the way Chrome handles JavaScript, which is a programming language commonly used on the web. Google claims that these enhancements have made JavaScript run up to 30% faster on Mac and Android devices.In addition to the JavaScript optimizations, Google has also made changes to how Chrome manages its memory usage. According to the company, these changes have resulted in a substantial reduction in memory usage on Mac and Android platforms. This means that Chrome should now run more smoothly on devices with limited RAM, such as older smartphones or low-end computers. This is evidenced by the results of Apple’s Speedometer 2.1 browser benchmark which saw saw a 10% increase over the course of three months, thanks to improved features and efficient pointer compression.
Google
These performance improvements have been made possible by advancements in hardware and software technology, which have allowed the company to optimize Chrome’s code more effectively. The company also claims that it will continue to work on improving Chrome’s performance in the future, with the goal of providing users with the best possible browsing experience.
The improvements to Chrome’s performance on Mac and Android devices are a significant step forward for the popular web browser. By reducing page load times and memory usage, Google has made Chrome a more efficient and effective tool for users who rely on it for their daily browsing needs. With further improvements planned for the future, it is clear that Google is committed to maintaining Chrome’s position as one of the top web browsers available today.
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