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Light stored as sound on a microchip

A potential breakthrough in computing has been made by Australian researchers, as they have managed to use photons to process data (rather than electrons) in a microchip - using acoustic waves from their interaction to store data for short periods.

TechSpot have a more detailed explanation:
https://www.techspot.com/news/71026-scientists-can-now-store-light-sound-waves-computer.html

The researchers needed this acoustic technology because photons move really, really fast. By converting the photons into sound waves using a "photonic microchip," they can slow down the data enough for their circuitry to actually process it.

The technology passes in various pulses of light which interact and produce minute vibrations inside the chip. This acoustic buffer allows the computer to better control the information being processed by several orders of magnitude. By passing in signals of different bandwidths at the same time, the scientists can also vastly increase the performance of the computer.
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If you'd like to read the research paper, follow this link:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00717-y
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by Ian, Sep 19, 2017 at 9:26 AM

CCleaner Compromised to Distribute Malware for Almost a Month

Version 5.33 of the CCleaner app offered for download between August 15 and September 12 was modified to include the Floxif malware, according to a report published by Cisco Talos a few minutes ago.

Floxif is a mundane malware downloader that gathers information about infected systems and sends it back to its C&C server. At the time of writing, there is no evidence that Floxif downloaded additional second-stage payloads on infected hosts.

Cisco Talos security researchers detected the tainted CCleaner app last week, on September 13, while performing beta testing of a new exploit detection technology.

Researchers identified a version of CCleaner 5.33 making calls to suspicious domains. While initially, this looked like another case where a user downloaded a fake, malicious CCleaner app, they later discovered that the CCleaner installer was downloaded from the official website and was signed using a valid digital certificate.

Cisco Talos believes that a threat actor might have compromised Avast's supply chain and used its digital certificate to replace the legitimate CCleaner v5.33 app on its website with one that also contained the Floxif trojan.

It is unclear if this threat actor breached Avast's systems without the company's knowledge, or the malicious code was added by "an insider with access to either the development or build environments within the organization."

Avast bought Piriform — CCleaner's original developer — in July this year, a month before CCleaner 5.33 was released. Avast did not respond to a request for comment in time for this article's publication.

On September 13, Avast released CCleaner 5.34 that does not include the malicious Floxif malware.
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Read the full story at Bleeping Computer.

Official Statement from Piriform:

We recently determined that older versions of our Piriform CCleaner v5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud v1.07.3191 had been compromised. We resolved this quickly and believe no harm was done to any of our users. This compromise only affected customers with the 32-bit version of the v5.33.6162 of CCleaner and the v1.07.3191 of CCleaner Cloud. No other Piriform or CCleaner products were affected. We encourage all users of the 32-bit version of CCleaner v5.33.6162 to download v5.34 here: download. We apologize and are taking extra measures to ensure this does not happen again.

Issue Summary: Our new parent company, the security company Avast, determined on the 12th of September that the 32-bit version of our CCleaner v5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud v1.07.3191 products, which may have been used by up to 3% of our users, had been compromised in a sophisticated manner. Piriform CCleaner v5.33.6162 was released on the 15th of August, and a regularly scheduled update to CCleaner, without compromised code, was released on the 12th of September. CCleaner Cloud v1.07.3191 was released on the 24th of August, and updated with a version without compromised code on September 15. The compromise could cause the transmission of non-sensitive data (computer name, IP address, list of installed software, list of active software, list of network adapters) to a 3rd party computer server in the USA. We have no indications that any other data has been sent to the server. Working with US law enforcement, we caused this server to be shut down on the 15th of September before any known harm was done. It would have been an impediment to the law enforcement agency’s investigation to have gone public with this before the server was disabled and we completed our initial assessment. Between the 12th and the 15th, we took immediate action to make sure that our Piriform CCleaner v5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud v1.07.3191 users were safe—we worked with download sites to remove CCleaner v5.33.6162, we pushed out a notification to update CCleaner users from v5.33.6162 to v5.34, we automatically updated CCleaner Cloud users from v1.07.3191 to 1.07.3214, and for users using Avast Antivirus, they received an automatic update.

We are continuing to investigate how this compromise happened, who did it, and why. We are working with US law enforcement in their investigation. A more technical description of the issue is on our Piriform blog at: www.piriform.com/news/blog. Again, we sincerely apologize for this and are committed to making sure nothing similar happens again. We encourage any user of the 32-bit version of CCleaner v5.33.6162 to download the latest version of Piriform CCleaner found here: www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/standard.
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http://www.piriform.com/news/releas...eaner-cloud-v1073191-for-32-bit-windows-users
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Views: 199 / Likes: 1 / Replies: 8

by V_R, Sep 18, 2017 at 10:37 AM

Bluetooth Virus Warning - BlueBorne

A new type of exploit has been discovered which can spread to many different devices via Bluetooth, without connecting or having any interaction from the user. This exploit could spread very quickly now that details have been made public, as it would only take a few seed devices for a virus to spread en-mass.

Ars Technica have a detailed article which includes some example videos of the exploit in action:
https://arstechnica.com/information...s-of-devices-to-attacks-no-clicking-required/

Microsoft and Apple devices have already been patched, as long as you're using the latest versions (and up to date with security patches). However, Android and Linux devices are particularly vulnerably - especially if you're using a non-Google Android phone (i.e. Samsung S7/S8).

You could download the Blueborne scanner for your Android phone and it'll tell you if you're vulnerable - plus it will scan for other BT devices in range that are also susceptible:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.armis.blueborne_detector&hl=en_GB
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by Ian, Sep 14, 2017

Google to appeal €2.42 billion EU Anti-Trust fine

It's not a surprise to hear that Google are appealing their €2.42 billion fine from the EU, with regard to anti-competitive behaviour via their price comparison tools:

In June the EC judged that Google had given the service “an illegal advantage by abusing its dominance in general Internet search” — accusing it of promoting Google Shopping in organic search results while simultaneously demoting rival services — issuing a record-breaking €2.42 billion (~$2.73BN) fine for the antitrust violations.

It’s that decision which Alphabet/Google will be hoping to overturn, buoyed by the fact that earlier this month Europe’s top court, the ECJ, ruled that a lower court should review an earlier failed antitrust appeal by Intel, pertaining to a 2009 €1.06BN EC ruling.
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Read more at TechCrunch:
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/11/google-files-to-appeal-2-73bn-eu-antitrust-fine/
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by Ian, Sep 12, 2017

Shuttle XPC nano NC03U Barebone

MadShrimps have a review of the Shuttle XPC nano NC03U Barebone, a tiny Kaby-Lake based PC that may be a good fit for HTPCs or minimalist users. It uses less than 20W of power at full load, which is extremely impressive:

When placing the NC02U and NC03U head-to-head, we can find a similar looking chassis on the outside, but what is on the inside matters: we are now dealing with the latest Kaby Lake-U 7th generation of Intel CPUs with an updated iGPU, DDR4 RAM support for improved performance, while the power ratings do remain the same. The unit does only weight 0.4 kg and can be mounted in three different ways (horizontally, vertically via the supplied stands but also in the back of the display thanks to the VESA mount) and we do get software support for Windows 10 64-bit platforms but also Linux 64-bit.
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Read the rest here:
http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/article/1001026/Shuttle-XPC-nano-NC03U-Barebone-Review/
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by Ian, Sep 5, 2017

Cortana and Alexa to work together.

Microsoft and Amazon have announced that their voice assistants (Cortana and Alexa, respectively), will work together in the near future. If you've got a Windows 10 PC and use Amazon Echo, this could be good news.

By the end of the year, you'll be able to tell your Windows 10 PC "Hey Cortana, open Alexa" and talk to Amazon's personal assistant. Or if your Echo is in earshot, you'll be able to tell it "Alexa, open Cortana" to talk to Microsoft's assistant instead. Microsoft and Amazon are working together to ensure that their voice-driven digital assistants will be able to work together in a surprising collaboration.

Both companies have reach in areas the other does not; Microsoft says that there are some 145 million monthly active Cortana users on Windows 10 PCs, while Amazon has found success selling its Echo speakers into living rooms and bedrooms. With this partnership you'll be able to take advantage of Alexa's easy online shopping from your PC or Cortana's stronger calendar integration on your sofa.
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Read the rest here:
https://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2...er-in-surprising-microsoftamazon-partnership/
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Views: 327 / Likes: 0 / Replies: 1

by Ian, Aug 31, 2017

Best CPUs of all Time

[H]ardOCP have published an article which aims to chart the five best CPUs of all time, of course this isn't about current raw performance, it's about their impact on the market at the time:

What are you thoughts? Did you have any of the processors on this list?

All of the CPUs on this list are ones that were not only good overclockers, and somewhat of a value, but highly influential CPUs in their own right. These set the bar for how we judge value in overclocking and are shining examples of what performance, after a little tuning, looks like. Many of these CPUs were relevant far past the manufacturers' intended lifecycles and powered many gaming rigs and personal workstations for many years. CPUs like the Core i7-2600K and the Core i7-980X power many gaming rigs to this day. Equipped with modern graphics cards, these outstanding CPUs will continue to do so for some time to come. That said, the CPU market is heating up again and we may have a very different list if we revisit this topic in a year or so. Only time will tell.
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Read the rest here:
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2017/08/25/top_5_best_cpus_all_time
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by Ian, Aug 29, 2017

Vive up for sale?

Bit-Tech are reporting that HTC are considering selling off Vive division - aka the makers of the popular Virtual Reality headset. Could this be a good thing or a bad thing? Who knows. There is growing interest in the VR headset market and Vive is arguably the current leader (outselling the nearest rival, Oculus Rift).

Anonymous sources 'familiar with the matter' are now telling Bloomberg that HTC is 'working with an adviser as it considers bringing in a strategic investor, selling its Vive virtual reality headset business, or spinning off the unit.' While a move to sell the division may seem confusing, given HTC's focus of late, it could be an attempt to save it: If HTC as a whole continues to make a loss on the smartphone market, its debts could drag the Vive down with the sinking ship.
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Read the rest at Bit-Tech:
http://bit-tech.net/news/tech/peripherals/htc-may-sell-its-vive-arm-report-claims/1/
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by Ian, Aug 25, 2017

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