Vivaldi is a pretty prominent mobile browser, and it typically gets new updates. A new feature that came with Vivaldi 5.7 is the ability to play videos in the background. This was a pretty sought-after feature, and it’s now available.
Vivaldi is one of the more popular mobile browsers on the market. It’s not as popular as Chrome, but it’s still able to stay relevant as a neat alternative. An important part of the app’s regular feed of updates that the app gets. There are always new features being added to the app.
Vivaldi 5.7 lets users play videos in the background
It gets pretty annoying if you’re watching or listening to a video, but you need to pause it because you’re switching tabs or apps. There are those times when you need a video to play in the background. This is why Vivaldi 5.7 will be really popular among its users.
The company sent out a blog post detailing all of the new features that came with the new update. With the update, the browser will let you play videos even when you minimize the app. You have to enable the feature because if you don’t, the videos will pause when you switch apps.
Now, the blog post did mention that it also works while watching YouTube videos. We all know that YouTube charges for the ability to play videos in the background. Well, even if you’re not a YouTube premium subscriber, you’ll be able to play videos in the background.
You’re not only allowed to play YouTube videos in the background, this feature works on any site that has a video playing. If you’re using the Vivaldi browser, you can keep an eye out for this update.
A lot of services with video host them on their own apps, but Vivaldi 5.7 might cause people to actually log into the services using the browser more. It’d make sense, as background video playing is a really popular feature.
IKEA has launched a brand-new experience for customers called Lilla Äventyret, an AR game that lets you learn about sea life. The experience is meant as a way for IKEA to interact with its customers, and was developed to be a fun experience for the whole family, according to IKEA’s marketing manager Helena Gouiveia.
IKEA partnered with Meta and Warpin to create the experience. Using an Instagram filter that lets you explore parts of the store to discover facts about sea life, and even take selfies with various sea creatures. Though it is a game, it’s also intended to be educational. So anyone from kids to adults can learn about ocean-related concerns.
To access the game, store visitors will need to scan a QR code using their phone’s camera. Afterwards, they can move around the store and use the AR feature at various departments.
The AR game is only available at certain IKEA locations
While the educational game may sound like fun, there is a caveat. It’s not available everywhere. In fact it’s only accessible in a very limited number of stores. Specifically those in Sweden.
Lilla Äventyret is available in 21 different IKEA stores throughout the country. With the limited access though, it unfortunately means anyone outside of Sweden won’t be available to check out the experience. But if you are near one of the select locations in Sweden that has this experience, it can be a neat way to make the shopping trip more fun. Especially for families that want to augment the experience for their kids.
To get started, visitors will need to make sure the Instagram app is installed on their mobile device. Then scan a QR code using their phone’s camera. This will let them download the required Instagram filter, which they can then activate inside the Instagram app.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro launched in China back in December, but that was the Chinese model. The global variant arrived to global markets quite recently, and I received it early, and spent some time with it at this point. This is basically Xiaomi’s new flagship, as the rumored Xiaomi 13 Ultra did not launch. It may launch at some point later this year, but that’s just a wild rumor. As far as we know, at the moment, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is Xiaomi’s heavy-hitter for 2022. That being said, let’s get down to its review, let’s see what the Xiaomi 13 Pro has to offer.
This smartphone comes with truly powerful specs. It has Qualcomm’s latest flagship, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, on top of having a top-of-the-line display. The variant we got to review also has a ceramic backplate, while the phone is water and dust resistant. Leica’s lenses are included on the back, and a powerful camera setup. Does that translate into a great, smartphone, though? Well, that’s what we’re here to find out. Let’s get to it!
Table of contents
Xiaomi 13 Pro Review: Hardware / Design
The Xiaomi 13 Pro is made out of metal and ceramic. It has an aluminum frame, and a ceramic backplate, in this case. A variant with a silicon polymer backplate is also available, though, but not globally, only in China. The overall shape is exactly what you’re used to when it comes to modern smartphones. Its front and back sides curve towards the aluminum frame on the sides, proportionally. There is a curved display on the device, with a centered display camera hole. The bezels are quite thin, by the way.
It features three cameras on the back, with Leica lenses
On the back, you’ll notice a squarish camera island in the top-left corner. Leica branding is also included in there, as Leica’s lenses are used here. The Xiaomi 13 Pro includes three cameras on the back. Xiaomi’s branding can be found towards the bottom of the backplate, while all the physical buttons sit on the right-hand side. This handset even has an IR blaster at the top, which is not unusual for Xiaomi phones. So you can use it to control your TV or some other appliances, if you want.
The phone feels really good in the hand
The phone feels great in the hand, actually. It doesn’t cut into your hand, or anything of the sort. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is quite slippery, though, and this black ceramic variant that we got does attract a lot of fingerprints. It does feel undeniably premium, however. The phone does actually feel a bit smaller in the hand than it actually is, even in the silicone case that is included in the box. I’ve used similarly-sized devices lately, plenty of them, so the difference is noticeable. I didn’t feel like the phone is as large as it is, so I was surprised when I check out the dimensions.
When it comes to weight, it stands at 229 grams, at least this ceramic variant does. The polymer back model weighs less, 210 grams. Overall, Xiaomi did a really good job design-wise. The phone feels exactly as it should feel, without any crazy design ideas/implementations. Using a case may be a good idea due to its slippery nature, and the fact it attracts fingerprints like nobody’s business.
A see-through silicone case is included in the box
Xiaomi does include a case in the retail box, with the Xiaomi 13 Pro. Well, at least our variant got it, but we believe that every single model comes with this case. The case itself is nothing fancy, a regular see-through silicone/gel case. That’s somewhat standard when it comes to Chinese flagship smartphones these days, and it’s always nice to see. This case offers a good level of protection, and it’s great to have until you get something else, if you even want to do that. Many people stick with cases like these.
Xiaomi 13 Pro Review: Display
The Xiaomi 13 Pro features a 6.73-inch QHD+ (3200 x 1440) LTPO OLED panel. This display is curved, and it supports HDR10+ content. It also comes with Dolby Vision support, and can get very bright if needed, it goes all the way up to 1,900 nits of peak brightness. It can also show up to 1 billion colors, and has a centered display camera hole. All in all, Xiaomi used an excellent display, and there’s not much more you can ask for.
The display gets immensely bright when needed
This display is plenty bright, even in direct sunlight. Do note that the only way you’ll get remotely close to its top brightness is in auto mode, so don’t try to get there manually. The display is tuned to fullHD+ mode by default, and even in that mode it’s plenty sharp, so there’s really no need to go all the way up. Considering you paid so much for the device, you may want to, and that’s completely understandable.
It’s also well-optimized
This panel feels really good to use. The content is smooth, as the 120Hz refresh rate kicks in, and even the touch response is really good. Its touch sampling rate is not anything crazy, by the way, it’s 240Hz, but that’s not something many of you care about either way. The phone is great for gaming regardless. The viewing angles here are great, and the colors are vivid. You also get granular controls in the settings, so you can tweak it any way you want. It’s an outstanding panel that can stand side-by-side with the best out there. It’s also great for consuming multimedia. And yes, the blacks are very deep, as you’d expect out of a proper AMOLED panel.
Xiaomi 13 Pro Review: Performance
Xiaomi used top-of-the-line hardware here, and that includes the most performance-oriented hardware, the SoC, RAM, and storage. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC fuels the phone, Qualcomm’s most powerful processor. Xiaomi also utilizes LPDDR5X RAM in this phone, along with UFS 4.0 flash storage. The Xiaomi 13 Pro comes in a number of different flavors, but it includes up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 flash storage. That is the variant that we got to test, by the way.
Gaming is a piece of cake for the Xiaomi 13 Pro
The Xiaomi 13 Pro is one of the best-performing devices out there, there’s no doubt about that. Its powerful hardware internals are backed by really good software provided by Xiaomi. I never felt like I was waiting on the phone to catch up, regardless of what I was doing. Multitasking was a breeze, as was launching apps, consuming multimedia, taking pictures, and so on. Even if you run graphically-intensive games, that’s not a problem at all. Xiaomi also implemented VC liquid cooling, on a rather large surface, so the phone is really good at dissipating heat as well. It will get warm, as all flagships do under heavy load, but it’ll never get too warm, nor will that affect the performance. At least it did not for us.
There are no performance-related oddities to report. Well, I did stumble upon a few software-related ones, but I’ll leave that for the software section. It’s nothing serious though, some minor things that are barely worth mentioning.
Xiaomi 13 Pro Review: Battery
The Xiaomi 13 Pro includes a 4,820mAh battery on the inside. In addition to that, it supports immensely fast wired and wireless charging. 120W wired charging is supported, in addition to 50W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, the charger is included in the box, with the phone. You do not need to buy it separately, you do get a 120W charger here.
You can fully charge this phone in 19 minutes
In case you’re wondering how fast its charging is, well, it’s truly blazing fast. You can fully charge the phone via a wire in about 19-20 minutes, while Xiaomi says you can do the same via wireless charging in 36 minutes. I could not test wireless charging via an official wireless charger, so I’m not going to comment on that.
The battery life is excellent
That being said, let’s talk about battery life, shall we? Let’s just say you’ll be happy with its battery life, even if you’re a power user. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 handles power consumption like a champ, while Xiaomi also used a decent battery size here, and optimized the phone well. I was regularly getting over 7 hours of screen-on-time with plenty of juice left in the tank. You can really go the distance with this phone, especially if you’re not gaming a lot on it. The point is, the Xiaomi 13 Pro battery life should not worry you, at all.
Xiaomi 13 Pro Review: Camera
Xiaomi spared no expense when it comes to camera hardware on the Xiaomi 13 Pro. The phone comes with three 50-megapixel cameras, including a 1-inch sensor on the main camera. What it doesn’t have is a periscope camera, but we’ll come to that. The Xiaomi is using Sony’s IMX989 sensor, the same on that it used in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, and the same one Vivo implemented. That That 50.3-megapixel main camera has a 1.6um pixel size, OIS support, and an f/1.9 aperture. There is also a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera (115-degree FoV), and a 50-megapixel telephoto unit (f/2.0 aperture, 75mm telephoto lens, 3.2x optical zoom). Leica lenses are included on all these cameras, by the way.
Great camera hardware, but no periscope camera
As I said, there is no periscope telephoto camera here, which is a shame. The Vivo X90 Pro doesn’t have it either, only the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, as far as newer flagship phones are concerned. What’s interesting is that the Vivo X90 Pro+ has it, but it only launched in China. Now that we cleared that up, let’s talk about the cameras themselves. The hardware itself is not really all that useful without great software, is it. Well, Xiaomi did a good job here, but not the level I expected, to be quite blunt. I reviewed the Vivo X90 Pro just before the Xiaomi 13 Pro, which is ideal, as I already had a great starting point for this review.
When it hits the shot just right, the results are outstanding
Just to be clear, the camera performance of this phone is really, really good, but in some situations, it needs optimizing. When the phone nails a shot, you’ll be amazed. It’ll be crisp, with that creamy bokeh effect that makes it look like it was taken with a DSLR. The shutter if quite fast, even in low light, and overall the images are well-balanced. When you get into more demanding situations, however, it’s obvious further tweaking is needed. You’ll see all that in the camera samples I’ll include below. Before we start, please do note that most shots I took with the phone were with auto HDR (base setting), and with ‘Leica Authentic’ option, as ‘Leica Vibrant’ looked a bit too saturated to be, in some shots. I preferred the look of ‘Leica Authentic’ more of then than not.
Xiaomi needs to optimize HDR performance
Those specific cases include some HDR situations, and some low light situations. The phone struggles, at times, to balance out images in HDR situations, and yes, HDR was on (auto mode), and I tried retaking almost every shot with tap to focus. In any case, what I said here especially goes for indoor shots when the sun is the brightest. If you check out the two examples below, you’ll see what I’m talking about. The Vivo X90 Pro did a much better job at balancing out the two images than the Xiaomi 13 Pro did. That goes for both the bright light on the Android figurine, and the colors on the display of the OPPO Find N2 (plus the figure in the back).
Xiaomi 13 Pro vs Vivo X90 Pro (indoor HDR) sample 1:
Xiaomi 13 Pro vs Vivo X90 Pro (indoor HDR) sample 2:
That doesn’t happen always, though, not at all. The Xiaomi 13 Pro can truly do a great job in most cases, even with HDR. That’s why I mentioned optimization several times thus far. This phone needs a camera update that will work out the kinks in that aspect, and it’ll do a much better job, even in such demanding situations.
Low light performance is great, but high dynamic range can be an issue
Another problematic aspect is low light, but only in certain situations. If you take a look at the gallery below, you’ll see some examples. In one of those, the Xiaomi 13 Pro failed to balanced out the shot of a tree, which sits next to a tree light. The light is way too harsh, and it doesn’t look all that great, the same goes for the chandelier image. The same goes for the image of a car wash, where plenty of light sources are included (it wasn’t nearly as bright). It usually does a good job with noise, while details in low light are hit and miss, it all depends on the scene. Most of the time, however, they’re really good.
Most of the time, the phone did a really good job camera-wise
Up to this point, it seems like things aren’t that great, but I just wanted to highlight some pain points before we get down to the good. I had, generally, a good experience with the camera. If you check out the gallery below, you’ll see camera samples from various situations in which the phone did a great job. Some of those are tricky HDR shots, so, as you can see, the phone can nail a shot. It can actually do an outstanding job. It does great during the day, as it offers plenty of details, and balances shots out nicely. It does great with macro shots too. The same goes for low light, as long as you’re not facing very demanding high dynamic range situations. If Xiaomi manages to improve HDR camera processing… well, the Xiaomi 13 Pro will be a force to be reckoned with.
The ultrawide and telephoto cameras do a good job. The quality does slip a bit in low light, but that’s the case with all cameras out there. The main camera is the one to use in low light situations, and there’s no way around it. The selfie camera is really good, whether you want a realistic shot, or a highly processed one, it’s up to you. The video recording is also quite good, but not to the level of the iPhone 14 Pro (Max) or the Galaxy S23 Ultra. When there’s challenging light in the scene, some distortion is noticeable.
Xiaomi 13 Pro Review: Software
Android 13 comes pre-installed on the Xiaomi 13 Pro, and on top of it you’re getting Xiaomi’s MIUI 14 skin. If you’ve used MIUI 13, you know exactly what to expect here. There’s really not that much different about it in terms of functionality and looks. Xiaomi did issue many optimizations here, cut down on some bloat, and more. As a result, the company promised up to 60% better performance compared to MIUI 13. Is that something we’re getting here? Well, there’s no way to measure it, but the phone is fast, immensely fast.
MIUI 14 is smooth and very responsive
Its overall great performance definitely has much to do with the hardware, but Xiaomi apparently did a good job optimizing the software. MIUI 14 is very functional, and packed with tons of features. Ranging from the company’s themes and wallpapers, various gestures that you can utilize, and floating windows option, to a number of pre-installed apps from the company that you can use. One of those apps is dedicated to security, the other to customization, there’s also one for Xiaomi’s official forums, and so on. Some apps you can uninstall, others not so much. The point is, the OS works really well. I did stumble upon a couple of small bugs during my testing, but it’s really nothing major.
I barely had issues with it
At one point, the OS simply froze up, and I had to wait a couple of seconds before it decided to take my input. I’ve also seen a couple of app crashes, and at one point I had to wait for the fingerprint scanner to appear on the screen (a couple of seconds). Other than that, everything ran really smoothly, and I really don’t have any major complaints here. If stock Android is your thing, you probably don’t really like MIUI to begin with. If you don’t care all that much and want a customizable OS that works really, really well… MIUI is a good choice. It also has a really good image and video editor baked in, and it allows you to duplicate apps via the ‘Dual apps’ feature. It also doesn’t really kill off apps in the background nearly as aggressively as before, though that habit is still there.
Xiaomi 13 Pro Review: Should you buy it?
The Xiaomi 13 Pro is, without a doubt, a true flagship. It’s a great smartphone in many ways, though it’s not perfect. The camera performance still needs tweaking on the software side of things, while MIUI 14 will need another update or two to squash a couple of bugs. Other than that, this phone is outstanding. The display is bright, vivid, and quite responsive. The design is great, the phone not only looks premium, but it feels great in the hand. It offers really good battery life with blazing fast wired and wireless charging, and more. It really doesn’t miss in a lot of ways, and it will certainly be appealing to many people.
You should buy the Xiaomi 13 Pro if:
You appreciate premium build materials
You want the latest and greatest specifications
You want a 1-inch camera sensor in a smartphone
You are a heavy user, and need good battery life
You need some of the fastest wired & wireless charging options on the market
You hate OEMs who don’t include chargers with their phones
A new leak just showed us what the Sony Xperia 10 V will look like. The design has been revealed by TheTechOutlook outlet, which partnered up with @OnLeaks. As per usual when it comes to @OnLeaks, this design is based on CAD renders.
This is what the Sony Xperia 10 V will look like
If you take a look below the article, you’ll not only see images of the device, but also a video that shows the phone from all angles. These CAD-based renders have been processed to give you a better look at the actual design.
Considering @OnLeaks’ track record, these are probably accurate. The design is actually something we expected, it’s not out of the ordinary for Sony. The phone has rather thin bezels, though its top and bottom bezels are thicker than the side ones. That’s because this phone doesn’t have a notch or a hole punch, its front-facing sensors and selfie camera sit in the top bezel.
The phone has flat sides, and a side-facing fingerprint scanner. That scanner doubles as a power/lock key, while the volume up and down buttons are also placed on the right side.
Its front and back sides are also flat, and so is the phone’s display. There is an oval camera island placed in the top-left corner of the phone’s back. Three cameras sit inside it, and they’re vertically-aligned. Sony’s logo sits in the middle of the backplate.
It will include front-facing stereo speakers
The source claims this handset will include front-firing stereo speakers. That’s not something we see in phones often, let alone mid-range phones. Speaking of which, this will be a mid-range device.
There is an audio jack included at the top of the device, while a SIM card tray is accessible from the left. Its display will measure around 6.1 inches, and the device itself will measure 153.3 x 68.4 x 8.5-9.4mm.
We still don’t have the spec details, but it will be a mid-range phone. Its predecessor, the Xperia 10 IV, arrived in May last year, the Xperia 10 V may follow in May this year, or close to that month.
Ever since Apple introduced emergency satellite connectivity with the iPhone 14, Android chip manufacturers like Qualcomm and Samsung have been racing to develop their own versions. Now, MediaTek has entered the game with its new MT6825 chip, which promises to bring two-way satellite messaging to Android devices using non-terrestrial networks that meet the open R17 NTN standard.
Unlike Apple’s solution, which relies on proprietary technology, the MediaTek 6825 chip can link any device to satellites, leaving the implementation of the service up to the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). For instance, Bullitt, a British telecommunications brand, has partnered with MediaTek to integrate the MT6825 chip into its Bullitt Satellite Connect platform, enabling satellite communication on smartphones such as the Motorola Defy 2 and the CAT S75.
In terms of specs, the Motorola Defy 2 and CAT S75 are essentially the same phones with different names. Both boast a 6.6-inch 120Hz FHD+ display with Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, Mil-Spec 810H certification, IP68 and IP69K ratings, MediaTek Dimensity 930 chipset, a 5,000 mAh battery, 15W charging, a 50MP + 8MP (wide) + 2MP (macro) rear camera setup, and an 8MP selfie shooter.
“Our solution can basically be added to any form of 5G or 4G phone, from entry-level all the way to flagship,” said Finbarr Moynihan, vice president of corporate marketing at MediaTek.
Advantages and limitations of using this technology
One of the major advantages of the MediaTek 6825 chip is that it uses the 3GPP Release 17 mobile broadband standard, which enables low-bitrate connections between ground devices and geostationary satellite networks already in orbit. This allows phones to send texts and short bursts of data through satellites, without the need to point their phones up in the sky. However, since geostationary satellites orbit the Earth at a distance of over 23,000 miles, text messages will take longer to relay back and forth.
Samsung has announced the introduction of Message Guard protection against zero-click exploits for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series.
Samsung has announced the introduction of Message Guard for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series. It will be gradually rolled out to other Galaxy smartphones and tablets later this year.
Message Guard works on images received in messages by the apps “Samsung Messages” and “Messages by Google” and basically acts like a sandbox.
A sandbox in computing is a virtual habitat designed to provide a secluded environment to screen certain files or programs without giving any malware a chance to spread outside of the sandbox across the rest of the “playground”.
Samsung’s Message Guard is a sandbox that aims to protect your device by limiting exposure to invisible threats disguised as image attachments that arrive in messages received by Samsung Messages and Messages by Google. The plan is to release a software update at a later date to let Samsung Message Guard protect you across third party messaging apps as well.
How it works
When an image file arrives as an attachment to a message, the file is put in the sandbox and inspected. The file is processed inside the controlled environment of the sandbox to establish that it will not pose a threat to the device if it is released outside of the sandbox. This prevents malicious code from running amok or accessing your files. It does this silently in the background so the user doesn’t have to do anything and might not even notice it’s there.
Samsung Message Guard covers the following image formats: PNG, JPG/JPEG, GIF, ICO, WEBP, BMP, and WBMP.
Zero-click
Zero-click malware is defined as malware that does not require any user action or input to infect a device or system. Zero-click exploits are files that hide malicious code which do not require user interaction to be executed.
Zero-click exploits typically depend on vulnerabilities in software running on the device, such as the messaging app or the software on the device that renders the image. Such a vulnerability could be used by an attacker to craft a malicious image that automatically executes the malicious code embedded within it.
Samsung Knox already protects against such attachments in audio and video form, behind the scenes. With Message Guard, Samsung says Galaxy users will be protected against exploits in image form too.
Needed?
Samsung states in the announcement that there has been no sign of such attacks on Samsung Galaxy smartphones, but it wants to anticipate potential threats and develop preemptive security measures. This is by no means far-fetched if you look at the methods that Pegasus used against iMessage, although those are highly targeted attacks on people in high-level roles.
Would you like us to list the reasons why we think this is not something we’ve been waiting for? OK then, here goes:
The Android Operating System is already based on sandboxing, so we don’t see how this is adding any extra protection.
There is no indication that this type of protection has been or ever will be needed.
At best it will be providing a false sense of security because it says it offers protection (against a non-existent threat).
At worst it will stop people from installing actual protection against threats that actually exist, because they think they already are under maximum protection.
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Samsung‘s One UI 5.1 update is rolling out to the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Galaxy Z Flip 3 in the US. The latest One UI version brings a host of new features and improvements to the devices. The February 2023 Android security patch is also part of this update.
Samsung debuted One UI 5.1 with the Galaxy S23 series earlier this month. But, even before the new flagships reached their early buyers, the company rolled out the new One UI version to older Galaxy devices. The Galaxy S21 series picked up the update in international markets over a week ago. Samsung also released an update for the phones in the US a few days ago. The release only covered factory-unlocked units and brought nothing more than the February SMR (Security Maintenance Release). It is now seeding One UI 5.1 to the carrier-locked units.
The latest update for the carrier-locked Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra in the US comes with the firmware build number G99*USQU5EWAI (via). As of this writing, the update is rolling out to users on Xfinity Mobile and Comcast networks. Samsung should widely release the new One UI version for these phones over the next few days. Since the February SMR is bundled here, there will not be a separate security update. But for unlocked units, which recently received a security update, One UI will arrive as a separate release.
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Flip 3 are also getting One UI 5.1 in the US
The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 also received the One UI 5.1 update in international markets on the same day as the Galaxy S series. And call it a coincidence or not, but the US versions of all of these phones are now getting the new One UI update together again. The rollout for the foldable duo is live for carrier-locked units on Xfinity Mobile’s network. The new firmware versions are F926USQU2FWAC and F711USQU3FWB1, respectively. Users on other networks or those with unlocked units should also get this update in the coming days.
One UI 5.1 brings new camera features, improved multitasking, new gestures, Samsung Notes collaboration, English support for Bixby Text Call, and much more goodies. The February SMR, meanwhile, contains more than 50 vulnerability patches, including five critical ones. All of these new features and vulnerability fixes will be available to all Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and Galaxy Z Flip 3 users in the US within the next few days. Samsung will also update other eligible devices to One UI 5.1 soon, including the Galaxy S21 FE. We will let you know when the rollout begins.
Security researchers at Bitdefender have discovered a new malware that targets Facebook and YouTube users. Dubbed S1ideload Stealer, this malware campaign steals saved login credentials from infected devices and tries to hijack the user’s social media accounts. It also uses the device to mine cryptocurrencies.
According to Bitdefender’s Advanced Threat Control (ATC) team, the threat actors behind this campaign use social engineering and Facebook and YouTube comments to trick users into downloading the malware on their computers. They push a legitimate, digitally-signed executable in archives (.zip files) that mostly come in adult-themed names.
The executable itself is named similarly. But it doesn’t contain what those that download it are expecting. Instead, it loads malicious code the moment they click on it.
S1ideload Stealer relies on DLL sideloading techniques to avoid detection by the computer’s antivirus and other defense systems, hence that name. Once the malware is active, it connects to the command-and-control (C2) server to allow the threat actors remotely push commands to it.
As detailed by Bitdefender, the malware can download and run a headless Chrome browser in the background. It opens various Facebook posts and YouTube videos to artificially boost views without the victim’s knowledge.
This malware can also deploy a stealer to obtain saved login credentials. And if it gets access to a Facebook account, the malware can analyze whether the account manages any pages or groups, pays for ads, or if it has a linked business manager account.
This helps the attackers determine how valuable an account is, so they can execute commands accordingly. Last but not least, S1ideload Stealer can download and run a cryptocurrency miner. The attackers use the victim’s device to mine BEAM cryptocurrency.
S1ideload Stealer infected hundreds of users last year
The S1ideload Stealer malware campaign has been active since at least last year and infected hundreds of users. Bitdefender says it “detected more than 600 unique users infected with this malware” in the last six months of 2022, i.e. between July and December.
As anyone would do, the security firm encourages users to avoid downloading executable files from unknown sources. Always make sure that you are aware of what you are installing on your computer.
“Bitdefender products detect S1deload Stealer in all execution stages. We encourage users to never click on EXE files downloaded from untrusted sources. Additionally, users should never ignore alerts from security software,” a Bitdefender researcher said in a blog post (via). If you want to dive into all the technical details about this malware campaign, you can read Bitdefender’s whitepaper here.
The ethical hacker reportedly works for the Dutch security organization, the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure (DIVD).
Amsterdam’s cybercrime police arrested three individuals suspected of launching ransomware attacks against businesses in the Netherlands and worldwide. The suspects are allegedly involved in hacking, issuing threats, stealing data, laundering money, and extorting. These criminals extorted small and large businesses worldwide after hacking into their networks, generating €2.5 million.
Suspects Details
The detainees are all young males aged between 18 and 21. They were arrested on January 23rd, 2023 and are accused of stealing the private information of tens of millions of users from their targeted networks and blackmailing the victims for ransom.
The 21-year-old hailed from Zandvoort and was in contact with an 18-year-old suspect from Rotterdam; the third, also 18, was arrested in Naaldwijk. One of the suspects is an ethical hacker who works for the Dutch security organization, the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure (DIVD).
The accused are detained in restrictive custody and can only contact their lawyer. The accused arrested in Zandvoort had 45,000 euros in cash and 550,000 euros worth of Bitcoin. Reportedly, the accused used Bitcoin to launder €2.5 million.
Stolen Data
According to Dutch media, thousands of businesses were targeted, including online stores, social media networks, training and educational institutions, software firms, hotels, and critical infrastructure and services-related entities.
Moreover, the accused damaged property worth millions of euros. The stolen data includes names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, credit card numbers, passwords, bank account details, license plate numbers, passport data, and citizen identification numbers. The victims paid large sums to the hackers, sometimes as much as €700,000.
Investigations
The investigation was launched in March 2021 by the Amsterdam Police Cybercrime Division after receiving a report from a prominent Dutch firm. The firm reported that its computer systems had been hacked and a trove of data had been stolen.
Dutch police noted that private and sensitive data had been stolen, and national and international businesses had become victims of hacking and data theft.
One of the victim organizations is Ticketcounter, which sells amusement park and zoo tickets online. Troy Hunt of HaveIbeenPwned also tweeted about the Ticketcounter data breach on March 1st, 2021.
I’ve spent a bunch of time talking to Ticketcounter over the last week, and this is a really tough situation for them. The exposed database was human error; one bad mistake made in August last year that’s now come back to bite them nearly 7 months on. https://t.co/u4xrMZDpGZ
Other victims include a reputed educational institution and a meal-delivery service. Further probing revealed that the hackers had invaded the computer systems of their targets and sent a threatening email, asking the victims to pay a ransom in Bitcoin; otherwise, they would destroy the company’s digital infrastructure or leak the data online. Many victims paid the ransom.
“According to what we know so far, the demand ranges from more than €100,000 to €700,000 and, in addition, the stolen information has often already been sold online,” investigators revealed.
Dutch Police Tackle Cybercrime
Although cybercrime in the Netherlands, like any other country, has increased in recent years, Dutch authorities are known for playing a major role in tackling it locally and globally. In fact, Dutch police were behind the shutdown and seizure of the infamous and one of the largest dark web marketplaces Hansa.
Back in April 2020, Dutch authorities took down 15 DDoS-for-hire services. It took them merely one week to complete the operation. Most recently, in October 2022, Dutch police were even able to successfully trick the Deadbolt ransomware gang into sharing decryption keys.
The group also announced launching a cyber war against the Russian government.
Hackers hacked and defaced at least 32 Russian websites and uploaded a video showing the Kremlin on Fire. The incident happened on the anniversary of the Ukraine invasion. The exact number of defaced websites is still unknown; it is also unclear how the hackers defaced them.
A group of hackers going by the online handle of “CH01” took responsibility for the attack, stating that it was to show solidarity with the “entire civilized world, in order to restore justice and the triumph of the forces of light and goodness.”
More Context
In its messages on the Telegram app, the hackers called Russia a dictatorial regime that invaded a “strong and independent Ukraine.” In a message translated from the Russian language via the Telegram translation bot, the hackers said:
Hacker group CH01, in solidarity with the entire civilized world, in order to restore justice and the triumph of the forces of light and good, on the anniversary of the terrorist invasion of dictatorial Russia in a strong and independent Ukraine, we declare cyber war to the dictatorship and totalitarianism and idiocy of Putin’s criminal regime.
CH01
The hackers also played a song by a renowned Russian rock band from the 1980s called Kino, whose lyrics were freedom-based. A QR code is also part of the video that redirects to a Telegram channel, where the hackers claimed responsibility for the attack. CH01 has created a Twitter account and posted a video on the social media app, too.
As Ukraine’s invasion by Russia marked its anniversary, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a statement claiming that this will be the year of their “invincibility” and “victory.”
This is not the only cyber attack that Russian cyber infrastructure has suffered on the anniversary of the Ukraine invasion. On February 23, 2023, Anonymous hacktivists hacked into several radio stations across Russia and defaced the ongoing transmission with announcements about fake missile alerts.
