PC Review - Computer News and Reviews

Swiftpoint Z Mouse

Bit-Tech take a look at the Swiftpoint Z - a £199 (!), high-end, customisable mouse. It even has an OLED screen built in:

Overall, this is a mouse that really does push the boundaries of mouse design without simply adding more buttons or lighting effects. I feel a little strange even thinking of it as an actual mouse - it isn't. it can do so many things that it is almost like having a mouse, joystick, gamepad, and half a keyboard in one hand. Even after around 80 hours of use, I am still trying to master some of the features, and I think the more you get used to it, the more applications you will be able to find for it - it forces you to think of new ways of approaching how you interact with the desktop, your applications, and your games, which isn't something you can say for many peripherals.
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Read the review here:
http://bit-tech.net/reviews/tech/peripherals/swiftpoint-z-review/1/
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by Ian, Oct 18, 2017 at 4:16 PM

Severe flaw in WPA2 protocol leaves Wi-Fi traffic open to eavesdropping

This looks to be very serious, especially if you're on Android or Linux.

We discovered serious weaknesses in WPA2, a protocol that secures all modern protected Wi-Fi networks. An attacker within range of a victim can exploit these weaknesses using key reinstallation attacks (KRACKs). Concretely, attackers can use this novel attack technique to read information that was previously assumed to be safely encrypted. This can be abused to steal sensitive information such as credit card numbers, passwords, chat messages, emails, photos, and so on. The attack works against all modern protected Wi-Fi networks. Depending on the network configuration, it is also possible to inject and manipulate data. For example, an attacker might be able to inject ransomware or other malware into websites.

The weaknesses are in the Wi-Fi standard itself, and not in individual products or implementations. Therefore, any correct implementation of WPA2 is likely affected. To prevent the attack, users must update affected products as soon as security updates become available. Note that if your device supports Wi-Fi, it is most likely affected. During our initial research, we discovered ourselves that Android, Linux, Apple, Windows, OpenBSD, MediaTek, Linksys, and others, are all affected by some variant of the attacks. For more information about specific products, consult the database of CERT/CC, or contact your vendor.

The research behind the attack will be presented at the Computer and Communications Security (CCS) conference, and at the Black Hat Europe conference. Our detailed research paper can already be downloaded.

Our attack is especially catastrophic against version 2.4 and above of wpa_supplicant, a Wi-Fi client commonly used on Linux. Here, the client will install an all-zero encryption key instead of reinstalling the real key. This vulnerability appears to be caused by a remark in the Wi-Fi standard that suggests to clear the encryption key from memory once it has been installed for the first time. When the client now receives a retransmitted message 3 of the 4-way handshake, it will reinstall the now-cleared encryption key, effectively installing an all-zero key. Because Android uses wpa_supplicant, Android 6.0 and above also contains this vulnerability. This makes it trivial to intercept and manipulate traffic sent by these Linux and Android devices. Note that currently 41% of Android devices are vulnerable to this exceptionally devastating variant of our attack.
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https://www.krackattacks.com/

More:

An air of unease set into the security circles on Sunday as they prepared for the disclosure of high-severity vulnerabilities in the Wi-Fi Protected Access II protocol that make it possible for attackers to eavesdrop Wi-Fi traffic passing between computers and access points.

The proof-of-concept exploit is called KRACK, short for Key Reinstallation Attacks. The research has been a closely guarded secret for weeks ahead of a coordinated disclosure that's scheduled for 8 a.m. Monday, east coast time. An advisory the US CERT recently distributed to about 100 organizations described the research this way:

US-CERT has become aware of several key management vulnerabilities in the 4-way handshake of the Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) security protocol. The impact of exploiting these vulnerabilities includes decryption, packet replay, TCP connection hijacking, HTTP content injection, and others. Note that as protocol-level issues, most or all correct implementations of the standard will be affected. The CERT/CC and the reporting researcher KU Leuven, will be publicly disclosing these vulnerabilities on 16 October 2017.
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https://arstechnica.com/information...l-leaves-wi-fi-traffic-open-to-eavesdropping/
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Views: 184 / Likes: 1 / Replies: 9

by V_R, Oct 16, 2017

Bitcoin soars above $5,500

Bitcoin (a digital cryptocurrency) has reached an all-time high value of just over $5,700 this week, having started the year at less than $1000. More and more people appear to be piling on to the bitcoin train, although it is still widely used as an investment, rather than a true currency.

The Guardian have an article covering some of the recent developments and high-level discussions that will impact Bitcoin in the future:

The cryptocurrency rose by more than 8% to $5,243 having started the year at $966. Bitcoin has soared by more than 750% in the past year and is worth four times as much as an ounce of gold.

But the price has been volatile. The digital currency plunged below $3,000 in mid-September after the Chinese authorities announced a crackdown. Beijing ordered cryptocurrency exchanges to stop trading and block new registrations, due to fears that increasing numbers of consumers piling into the bitcoin market could prompt wider financial problems.
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Read the rest here:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/12/bitcoin-price-5000-cryptocurrency-gold-bubble
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by Ian, Oct 14, 2017

No more Windows Phone

Microsoft have officially given up on Windows Mobile, with an announcement that there will be no more development - only bugfixes and security patches:

Microsoft's difficulties in the mobile market are no secret, but for a time the company looked as if it was keeping Windows Mobile as a going concern regardless. Through 2016, Microsoft produced new builds for the Windows Insider program and added new features to Windows Mobile. At around the time of release of the Windows 10 Creators Update in April this year, that development largely ground to a halt. Windows Mobile, which already lacked certain features that were delivered to Windows on the PC, had its development forked. PC Windows development continued on the "Redstone 3" branch (which will culminate in the release of the Fall Creators Update later this month); Windows Mobile languished on a branch named "feature2."
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ArsTechnica have a great article on the rise and fall of Windows Mobile:
https://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2...ally-dead-a-sad-tale-of-what-might-have-been/
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by Ian, Oct 10, 2017

Kaspersky denies involvement in NSA data breach

Kaspersky have hit the headlines again, with allegations that confidential documents were stolen from an NSA contractor's home computer by Russian agents. These files were allegedly targeted by hackers after being identified by the AV software. Kaspersky have robustly denied the allegations:

The report may well be true, but, for now, there's no way to independently confirm it. The report is based on unnamed people the publication says had knowledge of the matter, and it provides no evidence to support its claim. What's more, the lack of detail leaves open the possibility that, even if Kaspersky's AV did help Russia home in on the highly sensitive code and documents, the disclosure was the inadvertent result of a software bug, and no one from Kaspersky Lab cooperated with the attackers in any way. Also lost in the focus on Kaspersky Lab is the startling revelation that yet another NSA insider managed to sneak classified material outside of the NSA's network and put it on an unsecured computer. More of this analysis will follow.
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Read the rest here:
https://arstechnica.com/information...ms-kaspersky-helped-steal-secret-nsa-secrets/
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Views: 272 / Likes: 0 / Replies: 3

by Ian, Oct 6, 2017

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

Google have officially announced the second generation of Pixel smartphones, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL. There are a fair number of changes from previous versions, including an IP67 rating (can survive 1m of water for 30 mins) as well as a highly rated camera module.

As expected, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have a few differences between one another.

The most notable difference can be found on the front. The smaller Pixel 2 sports a 5.0-inch OLED 1,920 x 1,080 display with a more traditional 16:9 aspect ratio, while the Pixel 2 XL goes the more modern route with its 6.0-inch 2,880 x 1,440 P-OLED display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. There’s a noticeable amount of bezel on the top and bottom of the Pixel 2, whereas the 2 XL has very slim bezels around its screen.

Also, due to the difference in size, the Pixel 2 comes with a much smaller 2,700 mAh battery while the Pixel 2 XL sports a 3,520 mAh cell.
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Android Authority have more here: http://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-2-xl-804237/
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by Ian, Oct 4, 2017

"Loihi" AI Chip from Intel

Intel have unveiled their new AI chip, called "Loihi". It's based on nueromorphic technology, meaning that it mimics the structure of a brain, which should help solve certain types of problem more efficiently:

Intel has been exploring neuromorphic tech for awhile, and even designed a chip in 2012. Instead of logic gates, it uses "spiking neurons" as a fundamental computing unit. Those can pass along signals of varying strength, much like the neurons in our own brains. They can also fire when needed, rather than being controlled by a clock like a regular processor.

Intel's Loihi chip has 1,024 artificial neurons, or 130,000 simulated neurons with 130 million possible synaptic connections. That's a bit more complex than, say, a lobster's brain, but a long ways from our 80 billion neurons.
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Read more at Engadget:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/26/intel-loihi-neuromorphic-chip-human-brain/
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Views: 335 / Likes: 0 / Replies: 0

by Ian, Sep 28, 2017

Intel i9-7980XE and i9-7960X CPU Reviews

We've got a roundup of reviews for the new Intel i9-7980XE and i9-7960X CPUs (18 and 16 core respectively). These are at very top of the high-end market, designed to compete with AMD's Threadripper series. You'll need deep pockets to buy one, as they'll cost just shy of £2,000:

Anandtech: The Intel Core i9-7980XE and Core i9-7960X CPU Review Part 1: Workstation

ExtremeTech: Intel Core i9-7980XE Review: Reclaiming the Desktop Performance Crown

TechSpot: Intel Core i9-7980XE & 7960X Review

HotHarwdare: Intel Core i9-7980XE And Core i9-7960X Review: Intel Attacks AMD Threadripper

ArsTechnica: Intel Core i9-7960X review: It beats Threadripper, but for a price

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Views: 444 / Likes: 0 / Replies: 0

by Ian, Sep 25, 2017

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