Google launches Science Journal app for Android users

As said, Google has been giving us lot of surprises starting from making project Ara available to public. This time, it has launched a new Science Journal app mainly targeting students and kids.

What is Science Journal?

The Science Journal app is developed with the aim of helping the students to perform some basic experiments on the phone itself. As said, it is developed with kids being the target users. This way the app would help the students and kids to go ahead with their science projects and innovations.

For example, the app records basic data like speed of the vehicle in which you are travelling, intensity of light present in the environment you are (indoor or outdoor). It can also record the data of the accelerometers of your device. You will be able to manually enter and save data in the form of charts and graphs. The app also has a feature to record your voice so that you will be able to take notes when required.

Making app better

Google has collaborated with Exploratium(laboratory for public based in California) to work on getting the app even more better. Exploratium has provided with some lab kits for app which contains sensors which would enable users to conduct experiments.

This is really a cool idea from Google towards providing a helping hand for students to innovate.

New malware hits android, uses masquerading technique

Android has been hitting the news since past a year or so. Now, android devices have a loop hole found in them. Security firm Zscalar has discovered a new malware that is capable of monitoring texts, browsing history and banking information. The malware, masquerades as an update for Chrome browser. This malware is hosted on webpages and is designed to look as a page of Google or officially belonging to android.

The malware is designed to monitor the the call logs, browsing history, text messages and banking information. Once this malware is installed, it sends the logs to a remote control server. Whats even more shocking is that this malware can find out whether your device has an anti virus installed or not. Also it can terminate such apps and evade detection. Once the malware has entered your device and you open the play store, a popup would be generated asking you to enter your credit card details. If you enter the details, these details would further be forwarded to some remote server which is still not known.

Although, the malware can be easily removed on factory reset of your device.

Google faces antitrust charges for Android from EU

It's always not good between Google and EU these days. Google has to now face antitrust charges from EU stating that it is violating competition by unfairly favoring it's services (maps and search) on Android devices over it's rivals.

Google's products such as maps, mail, search comes pre - installed in devices running Android and device manufacturers have to agree with this if they want to get a licence to the software. The European Union had been studying this and thus here comes the result. If any of these things is unbundled from the agreement with the manufacturers in Europe, it would be a major setback for Google. 

Google also faces  antitrust charges on another front. European Authorities had charged Google for unfairly dominating the market position to favor it's services and there are chances that it would be fined upto $7 billion.

The Federal Trade Commission, Washington is also probing on whether Google broke the U.S. antitrust laws to boost its services. Canadian authorities have closed the probe on this but have said that they would continue to monitor the company.

How easy is it to crack your android?

Much has been written and debated on whether iPhone is better than your android, whether iphone is difficult to crack down. Recently, there had been a battle between Apple and FBI where in Apple won it for time being. In this case, FBI managed to crack an iPhone without any help from Apple which made Apple to take FBI to court. Keeping this aside, questions arise in the mind of android users on whether their device is safe or not.

Android needs to still work on security

Experts from North Caroline State University had issued a report on Mashable explaining the various ways in which your phone can be cracked. After going through the post, it is clear that there is no clear answer. This also meant that unless the user enables a password lock and encrypts it contents (microSD as well), the device is secured meaning that hackers or security agencies can use Brute Force method as the only tool to gain access to your device.

In iPhone, you can enter wrong password not more than 10 attempts after which all the contents of your device will be automatically erased. In Android, the data will be erased after such 30-40 failed attempts. It is said from many reports that custom apps can write data onto Android device that is managed by a third party on a rooted device. This can be done by using an image to fool the fingerprint scanner. Just using the unencrypted microSD card will do the job as well.

This life saving feature is truly amazing: Android N developer preview

If you are in an emergency situation (medical emergency), think of the situation where your phone would be your life saver. Seems like a dream right?Nope. Android N has a new feature added into it that would do so.

In the Android N developer preview, Google has added an option to include medical details and personal contact information (also your medical emergency contact). When you guys setup a new phone on N developer preview, you would be asked to add these information (although this is optional). You can add your name, birth date, address and medical info like blood group, medications, allergies and a contact which comes in handy in such emergencies. This way the responders can use the emergency button on your phone (locked phone). 

If you have not done it in the beginning, you can find it in settings > User at any time in the future. This feature is surely a welcoming feature in Android N. Hope that Google would bring this feature to the consumer version.

New attack hit android and iOS devices, can the steal crypto keys of your device

Last time I talked about mazar virus that hit Denmark and other European nations. This time there is another report on an attack that can steal your crypto keys. 

Well, if guys don't know where you use the crypto keys here it is. Crypto keys are used to protect your pay accounts, wallets and many of the high value assets. So how is this done?

The exploiters use the side-channel attack that is based on Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm. This algorithm is used because it is faster than other crypto systems. It can be done when cryptographic operations are being done and by measuring the electromagnetic radiations. This way full extraction of data can be done. The attacker can perform such actions by measuring them using a simple magnetic probe, or using an USB cable of your phone and a USB sound card. It is said that researchers were able to fully extract the secret keys from OpenSSL.

The researchers from Tel Aviv university and University of Adelaide have published (separately) on how to extract the ECDH keys from a standard laptop. Although, this uses sound emitted by devices rather than the electromagnetic emanations that is used in the case of mobile phones.

New Android malware hits Denmark

The mazar malware has started to spread across Europe and this time, it has hit Denmark. As reported by Heimdal Security, the virus has been spread across 100,000 phones in Denmark and has stated that it is difficult to say how much damage been caused by the malware.

The virus operates through text messages wherein once installed, it would send all web traffic by creating a malicious proxy. This would allow the attackers to access sensitive details from the user's web activities. 

The virus is said to have its source from SMS. You would get an SMS stating something and if you fall for it, then that would the end of your privacy. Users have to just ignore those messages which asks you to follow a link. It is also said that phones running on kit kat are the ones affected. Much older versions are also said to be victims of this virus.

Although, many security firms have worked on it, only 3 of them have detected this virus. It is only Heimdal that has shared it's results with public.

Google kills a hacker bug, patches critical flaws

Yet again a news on security flaws in Android. Google has fixed a serious bug on Android that could remotely be exploited by email, MMS or link on a webpage which contains specially crafted media file. Also, Google patched seven critical flaws in their February patch for nexus devices that would affect the mediaserver service of the Android Operating System. The flaw would mean that your device could be remotely hacked when the mediaserver processes the files delivered by either email or MMS or through a webpage. The flaws affect Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Android 5.0 Lollipop and Android 4.4.4 Kitkat.

Google has also announced some equally serious bug in Broadcom Wi-fi driver that would allow the hacker to remotely corrupt the OS kernel and gain access to the device.

So overall, the February update has addressed 13 security bugs that included seven critical, five highly severe and two moderate. 

New android ransomware using clickjacking to gain admin privilages

Now, another news on Android malwares and this time, it is on ransomwares. Hackers have found a way to get administrative privilages using these.

File-encrypting ransomwares have now targeted the Android devices. One such technique is the clickjacking technique that tricks the users to grant admin privilages. Clickjacking is a malicious technique of tricking the user to click something and thus getting access to the computer thereby revealing confidential information of the user's device. A clickjack will take an embedded form of code that has the potential to execute without the user's knowledge (like clicking a button that shows that you can download a file but executes some other function). 

As stated by pcworld, the ransomware applications targeting Android has been less significant due to its restrictions in application permissions. It is also stated that Android devices running on (atleast) 5.0 lollipop are protected from these ransomwares. But, most of the devices still run older versions of Android (older than lollipop). 

It's advised to all users to download applications only from trusted venders (or on Play Store which is highly recommended) to prevent any such ransomwares on your devices.

Amazing drone display enters Guinness

Recent CES 2016 saw the unveiling of the new technologies that included drones as the future of aviation and technology. Yuneec electronic aviation had developed a done with the help of Intel 6th generation processors. A drone display that used 100 drones was conducted that has entered the Guinness book of records. Here is the link of that video
https://youtu.be/mOBQXuu_5Zw

Lenevo to phase out motorola

Lenevo's acquisition of Motorola in 2014 will now result in disappearance of Motorola brand name from the smartphone market.
In his interaction at the CES 2016, Motorola Chief Operating Officer Rich Osterloh said that Motorola beans would be phased out this year. However, lenevo would use the Moto brand name for it's high-end smartphones and the Vibe brand name for its budget phones.

Google patches critical flaws in Android

Again you heard of the security flaw in Android. Last time, Google has fixed some security flaws which included the core part of the system. This time also, it include the core of the system.

Google has fixed a dozen security vulnerabilities of which 5 are rated critical.This time, Android 5.0 and later are the versions affected.

You might think that you would have heard this on this vulnerability before. That's because month after month, the "mediaserver" service remains the most problematic component of Android. Google has copied and pasted almost every word from the same text every month for every component affected.

The critical vulnerability affects the core part of (Android) software which has got the access to permissions that the third-party apps do not have. Another flaw that exists in handling of bluetooth and Wi-Fi handling of the Android software. Other flaws include those that affect the kernel.

While it's a good news that Google's own security team discovered the flaw, it's surely not good to hear that the most popular mobile operating system has been affected by critical flaws.

Android N:Google may use online pool to name the new version

With Android Marshmallow (6.0) released and Android N undergoing development, much is anticipated on the name that must be given to it. In his recent visit to India, Google CEO Sunder Pichai was asked on why an Indian Dessert name was not given. Reacting to it, Sunder said that he would conduct an online poll to decide on it.

Yes.Google has decided to conduct an online poll to decide on the name. This is a good news for android fans across the world as many of them have been suggesting names in many online portals from the time Google started naming its OS versions after desserts. This way Google is indirectly making its users to contribute to their favorite platform.

So far, the following names have been getting a lot of traction from across the world: Android Nankhatai, Android Nutella, Android Nougat, Android Nut Brittle, Android Nerds.

Google patches crticial vulnerabilities in android

Any news on vulnerability would surely be like the striking of the thunder. Chill...This time its not a news on any new vulnerability discovered.

Google has released a new patch of security fixes for its Nexus devices that would fix the flaws which enabled the attackers to compromise the android device via spam mails, web pages and MMS messages. Firmware updates are being rolled out for supported Nexus devices and the patches will be added as part of Android Open Source Project. The updates address five vulnerabilities in which 1 is rated as critical, 2 rated as high and 2 rated as moderate.

A handful number of flaws were located in the OS' media processing components that handle audio and video file playback parsing. One of the critical vulnerabilities is said to be located at a core part of the OS (mediaserver) that can be exploited with the privileges that third-party applications are not supposed to have. Attackers would trick the users into playing specially crafted media in their browsers or using MMS messaging.

Another critical vulnerability is the privilage escalation of Android kernel. This allows the applications designed by attackers to execute code at the root level. This vulnerability has been patched in the updated.

Google Photos will now free up your storage space

Storage has become a major issue nowadays as people want more and more storage space to store their data. When it comes the matter of personal details such as snaps and videos, 32GB or 64GB of space is just not enough for people to record their day to day activities. Just then Google launched it application Photos, an application that would store pictures and videos on cloud and access anywhere.Now, an update to the application would free up the storage space in your android device on just one click.

On Tuesday, Google announced in its Google+ page that a new 'Free Up Space' button has been added to the Settings menu of the Google Photos application on android. When you click on this button, you will be prompted to delete all the copies of photos and videos that have been backed up by the application. The update also gives SD-card enables devices the ability to delete photos and videos from SD card.

In addition to this, Google is rolling out a website feature which will allow users to downgrade the photos uploaded in "Original Quality" to "High Quality" from their browsers. This feature is already present in the the Photos application for android devices

This is a welcoming move by Google as it would save a lot of storage space of the device.

iOS apps more vulnerable than android apps

Application written for iOS are more vulnerable than those written for android. As attackers are moving to application based threats, this vulnerability (has the potential for security problems in the future) can be the budding for the future attacks.

According to report from mobile application security vendors Checkmarx and AppSec Labs, the average mobile app has nine vulnerabilities of which 40% were critical and highly severe compared to 36% from android.

The researchers carried out tests on hundreds of applications of all type (that included banking, utilities, gaming and security). Major banking applications had vulnerabilities such as faulty authentication and data leakage. The most common vulnerability was the leakage of personal and other sensitive details. The authentication and authorization vulnerabilities were found to account for 23% of the total which takes the second place in the list. Other vulnerabilities included disclosure of technical information such as application logs and input validation handling.

Although there is assumption that iOS devices are more secure than android, it proved to be wrong from this report. What actually happens in iOS is that iOS has more restrictive controls over what developers can do and strict application sandboxing. If any vulnerability is found, the application would be immediately removed from the Apple App Store. 

New Android update to fix critical vulnerabilities

Recent vulnerabilities allowed an hacker to enter your device through an email, MMS or either using web browsing. Android now has released an update that would fix this vulnerabilities. A total of 23 vulnerabilities including two critical issues would be fixed in this update. The update would also fix a vulnerability discovered in the Stagefright library.

The patch covers the bugs reported by Trend Micro, System Security Lab and the internal security team. Although, the big question would be on how long would it take to patch all the vulnerabilities for every device. 

Social Apps are the worst battery eaters

Next time you blame your phone for the battery, think of it before you start the blaming game. Yes, your phone's battery eater is none other than the social apps that you have installed in it. AVG has released a report on the apps that eats up your battery, performance and the data. There are a number of familiar faces in the report.

What AVG did was that it  anonymously collected data from its anti-virus and the cleaner apps from the users in US, UK and Australia. It then ranked those apps based on the data collected from the apps installed in the devices. Here are the worst battery eaters and performance drainers based on the analysis that are started by the user.

It is also shocking that Snapchat is eating up a lot of battery when compared to Facebook(due to its simultaneous use of WiFi, GPS and the phone's camera).

However, the worst apps are those which run at start-up(not started by the user).Here is the list of such apps.

It is clear that Facebook consumes a lot of battery in this category of apps, the worst in this category.

AVG has recommended the users to clean their browsing history and cache files regularly. Also, it is advised for the users to spend a limited time on these apps. They must not forget to keep their devices up to date.

OnePlus to start building phones in India

Looks like the Digital India movement is paying off to India.Yes,it is. Chinese smartphone company OnePlus has announced that it would open a manufacturing plant in India by the end of 2015. 

The production facility is planned to be setup at the Siri City Integrated Business City in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The 30,000 square feet production facility would support a production capacity of 500,000 units per month allowing  the company to pursue a more aggressive marketing and retail in the country.

The goal  of the company is to improve the supply of handsets to the country thereby allowing faster and  more frequent sales. The company would now not need to ship the handsets from its main manufacturing plant and it would result in a lot of savings. The first batch of the smartphones manufactured in India is expected to be available by the end of the year. Although, delay can to be expected as setting up of the company would itself take time.

Time to move on to Marshmallow

Google recently announced android Marshmallow at its annual I/O expo that place in US and since then, a number of beta versions have been released. Finally, a final build would be coming up in the new Nexus devices 6P and Nexus 5X. Android Marshmallow would fix many of the bugs from the lollipop 5.0, the most notable one is the security and the power management.
Here are the notable features that would be in the latest Android Marshmallow

1. App Permissions
   Google has officially confirmed that users can reject or approve app permissions from individual apps and the individual functions within the app. While you want to install an app from the Play Store, you wont be hit with a bunch of permissions to which you are forced to agree(else you cannot install the app).You can install the app and when you want to use a feature of an app, you would be asked for the permission(you can grant permission only at that particular instance).Later, you can revoke that permission
   
2. Fingerprint Scanner
   Google has gone standardized to include a built-in support for fingerprint authentication.This means an extra security for your phone wherein your app can be accessed only on your authorization.
   
3. Battery Optimisations
   We have faced serious battery issues on devices running on Android Lollipop. This issue has been taken into account by developers. Now, Android M will use onboard sensors to detect when the phone has been unused for a while and would go into specially made low-power sleep mode.This would close all the unwanted background processes that eats up the battery.
   USB Type-C has also been given with rapid charging.
   
4. Android RAM Manager
   The android RAM manager would now be shipped with Android M which would monitor your phone's RAM and shows more detailed background of the apps.
   
5. Adaptive Storage
   This feature allows the system to an external storage devices(a microSD card) and treat it as an onboard storage.
   
6. Google Now
   A lot of attention has been given to the Google Now feature to make it smarter, faster, more responsive and accurate. The new Google Now feature understands the context like never before(Ex:If you have a route setup in the Google Maps and you just say "How far is it?", Google Now would understand that you need the distance of the current destination) meaning that you need not have to be specific from now on. .