It appears that not even the iconic Windows logo is safe from malware anymore, as some cybercriminals managed to successfully hide malicious code inside it.
Cybersecurity experts at Symantec claim to have spotted one such campaign using a process of hiding malicious code in otherwise harmless images, otherwise known as steganography.
It is usually done to avoid detection by antivirus programs, as such solutions rarely detect images as malicious.
Going after governments
In this particular case, the group engaged in steganography attacks is called Witchetty, a known threat-actor allegedly strongly tied to the Chinese state-sponsored actor Cicada (AKA APT10), and also considered part of the TA410 organization that has targeted US energy providers in the past.
The group kicked off its latest campaign in February 2022, targeting at least two governments in the Middle East.
What’s more, an attack against a stock exchange in Africa is allegedly still active. Witchetty used steganography attacks to hide an XOR-encrypted backdoor, which was hosted on a cloud service, minimizing its chances of detection. To drop webshells on vulnerable endpoints, the attackers exploited known Microsoft Exchange ProxyShell vulnerabilities for initial access: CVE-2021-34473, CVE-2021-34523, CVE-2021-31207, CVE-2021-26855, and CVE-2021-27065.
"Disguising the payload in this fashion allowed the attackers to host it on a free, trusted service," Symantec said. "Downloads from trusted hosts such as GitHub are far less likely to raise red flags than downloads from an attacker-controlled command-and-control (C&C) server."
The XOR-encrypted backdoor allows threat actors to do a number of things, including tampering with files and folders, running and terminating processes, tweaking the Windows Registry, downloading additional malware, stealing documents, as well as turning the compromised endpoint into a C2 server.
Last time we heard of Cicada was in April 2022, when researchers reported the group had abused the popular VLC media player to distribute malware and spy on government agencies and adjacent organizations located in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Turkey, Israel, India, Montenegro, and Italy.
The rise of low-code could soon see it topple more "traditional" forms of operations, new research has claimed.
Mendix's 2022 State of Low-Code found a rise in low-code adoption from 77% in 2021 to 94% this year, with four in 10 businesses now using low-code for mission-critical solutions in their business operations.
The report cites a Gartner projection which places low-code or no-code applications at 70% by 2025, up from 25% in 2020.
Should I use low-code?
Mendix outlined several benefits of low-code, many of which were most notable at the height of the pandemic.
When business ground to a halt and economies froze, many businesses were faced with incredibly tough decisions. One in nine businesses surveyed said that they would have had to face reputational damage or look at cost-cutting measures like rising prices or losing staff had they not adopted low-code.
As such, 69% saw no-code evolving from a crisis technology to a core technology that they intend to integrate into their businesses in order to obtain greater control over things like cost. Key areas for low-code include IT, production engineering, product design, and quality control.
Beyond the fintech and insurtech adoption of low-code, public sector entities have been seen to embrace the technology, too. The Mendix research indicates that “improved, centralized, and standarized citizen ID authentication; improved access to services; and improved planning and management of budget and physical resources” have all played out as part of low-code, the effects of which can ripple onto other businesses that have dealings with the public sector.
Traditionally an in-person experience, retail has been digitized, largely due to the pandemic. Developing the right software can be timely and costly, however some retailers have used low-code to develop things like digital shopping pickup which has allowed them to adapt more quickly and remain competitive.
“The way we run our businesses has fundamentally changed in the last two years," noted Mendix CEO Tim Srock. "It is now absolutely critical to digitalize operations and engage with customers and employees through different modalities and touchpoints”. In summary, low- and no-code solutions have enabled established companies to evolve, and for younger companies to step up to the table, which are all crucial steps in a time of economic pressure.
Anker’s new flagship pair of earbuds is jam-packed with features that could very well rival Apple's AirPods Pro 2.
Called Liberty 4, the buds are part of Anker’s Soundcore audio devices brand. They'll house some of the same features as the AirPods Pro 2, including active noise canceling via HearID ANC and spatial audio. Unique to the Liberty 4 is a heart rate monitor nestled in the right earbud, something that was supposed to be present in the Apple earbuds but was, apparently, cut.
As it’s described, you must first activate the heart rate sensor via the Soundcore app; no other accessory is needed. Soundcore claims the sensor can measure blood oxygen levels with a little red light turning on when it's doing this. The company does admit the feature is meant for general health and fitness use rather than being a proper medical device, so it may not be the most accurate.
Features
Expanding on the other features, the Liberty 4’s spatial audio should make users feel like they’re totally surrounded by music. The feature is helped further by built-in gyroscopes for dynamic head tracking. That way, no matter how you turn your head, the sound quality stays consistent.
HearID ANC (Adaptive Noise Canceling) differs from typical noise canceling features because it adjusts relative to the surrounding environment, according to Soundcore. HearID ANC will be more prominent in noisy environments like public transportation and less so in quiet places. And, thanks to HearID, you can create customized equalizer profiles via the official app for specific types of audio. Also present are Music and Movie Modes, which as the names suggest, are specific audio configurations for their respective content.
Playtime is estimated at nine hours on a single charge, with a maximum of 28 hours when used with the wireless charging case. However, battery life drops depending on what feature you have activated. According to Soundcore, turning on HeadID ANC drops playtime to seven hours, and if you add spatial audio on top of that, it goes down to five hours.
Missing info
The Liberty 4 looks pretty good on the surface, but we have some questions.
For starters, there’s not much information regarding the speakers. What's known is that each bud houses “two dynamic drivers” that Soundcore claims can produce “crisp sound" with a “deep bass.” And looking at the product page, there is a certification for LDAC, a Sony-created audio codec that ensures a high-quality sound feed over a wireless connection.
But the most glaring omission is the IPX rating to denote water resistance. While the earbuds aren’t explicitly fitness devices, it’s not hard to imagine people putting them on before going on a run. It would be great to know how the Liberty 4 earbuds stand up against sweat and rain. We will update this story if Soundcore returns our inquiry.
All that said, you can purchase a pair of Liberty 4 earbuds from Soundcore’s website for $149.99 ($100 cheaper than the AirPod Pro 2). The only available color is Midnight Black with the Cloud White version shipping out sometime before October 20.
If the Liberty 4 earbuds piqued your interest, check out TechRadar’s best earbuds of 2022. We put together a list that includes the top-performing models and the more affordable options.
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Oracle NetSuite is unconcerned about chasing the leaders of the pack in sub-markets like CRM, despite its stake in these areas, the firm’s GVP of Strategy has said.
In conversation with TechRadar Pro at SuiteWorld 2022, Jason Cowan answered questions around the company’s ability to compete with Salesforce in the CRM market, as well as single-product vendors in other segments covered by its platform.
“At the end of the day, the core to Salesforce is CRM and the core to NetSuite is the ERP financials,” he told us. “I don’t think that means we need to chase Salesforce, to create a best-of-breed CRM. We can have a very compelling offering for a lot of industries, without saying we have to win in every market.”
Greatness in ‘suiteness’
Although NetSuite is a powerhouse in the ERP market, it plays second fiddle to Salesforce in CRM specifically. Equally, Salesforce is fast expanding outwards beyond CRM - into areas like ecommerce, analytics and so forth - in such a way that may have implications for NetSuite.
However, Cowan is confident that, by leaning into its heritage in finance, its strength in the cloud and relationship with Oracle from an infrastructure perspective, NetSuite will continue to grow its market share.
At SuiteWorld, NetSuite has still been eager to highlight its recent investment in CRM. In particular, the firm launched a new CPQ service designed to make it simpler to configure, price and quote products to a high degree of accuracy. But the real emphasis is on finance and accounting.
“We’ve invested in our CRM, with new sales dashboards and additions like CPQ, which is probably one of the largest CRM upgrades we’ve made. [But our primary focus] is on empowering finance teams by improving visibility and insight into cash flow, spend and profitability.”
The same message was echoed earlier in the week by James Chisham, VP International Product, who explained that NetSuite “couldn’t possibly do everything”.
“We can’t be all things to all people. That’s very difficult to achieve,” he told TechRadar Pro. “If we look at financials as the backbone of what we do for our customers, building on that is super important. It’s about improving those processes, taking away some of the pain and manual effort.”
Both executives also suggested that NetSuite derives a significant advantage from the interconnectedness of its product suite, an attribute described by the company as “suiteness”.
“What we’ve always tried to do is use the power of our suite in a joined up way. And separately, we’ve always been happy to have a rich ecosystem of partners that fills any gaps for us, covering off areas we don’t cover,” added Chisham.
The key to deepening this value proposition, according to Cowan, will be to lean into themes like data visibility, machine learning and UI enhancement in the months ahead. Although he was unable to supply us with specifics, the suggestion was that NetSuite has a few tricks up its sleeve yet.
Security experts have once again highlighted how it’s almost 2023 and we’re still holding on to the password as our number one cybersecurity measure.
Despite a continued stream of headlines concerning businesses suffering tremendous losses due to poor cyberhygiene practices, most employees are still being reckless with their sensitive data, sharing them with other people, or simply keeping them around for everyone to see.
Research from Yubico surveying more than 16,000 employees in different industries, and in eight countries found over half (59%) still rely on usernames and passwords as their primary method of authentication.
Multi-factor authentication
The company's State of Global Enterprise Authentication Survey 2022 found that not only do people rely mostly on passwords, but 54% also admitted to writing down, or sharing their passwords, as well.
At the same time, almost a quarter (22%) consider passwords the most secure method of authentication. More than half (54%) said they aren’t required to go through regular cybersecurity training, while 57% admitted using a corporate device for personal matters.
Truth be told, some are aware of the dangers posed by over-relying on passwords. Almost two-thirds (61%) think their organization should upgrade to multi-factor authentication, rising to four in five (79%) among vice presidents.
These days, many companies are tackling the challenge of authentication, trying to send the passwords to the eternal hunting grounds and move on to better things. In early June this year, Apple introduced the passkey, a new authentication method described by the company’s Darin Adler as a “next-gen credential that’s more secure, easier to use, and aims to replace passwords for good”.
Passkeys use “powerful cryptographic techniques and the biometrics built into the device” to keep accounts safe, Adler explained, with users simply needing to use TouchID, or FaceID, to authenticate to a new web app, mobile app, or service in order to create a passkey.
Earlier this month, Microsoft introduced a new feature to Windows 11, which warns users when they type out their passwords in certain apps, such as the Notepad, for example.
Google Chrome extensions are set to see another year of support for enterprise use following the company’s decision to postpone their deletion from the Chrome Web Store until January 2024.
The announcement on the Google Chrome Developers blog offers a stay of execution for sweeping changes to the Chromium engine that privacy advocates say will neuter web browser extensions designed to block advertisements.
But no such reprieve is being offered to personal Chrome users, who Google say will be subject to extensions built on the existing Manifest V2 (MV2) API being temporarily phased out in a series of “experiments” next year.
Google Chrome’s phased API changes
Though the new enterprise policy will give businesses more time with extensions critical to their workflow, Google Chrome extension developers have less time to adapt to the browser’s adoption of the Manifest V3 (MV3) API.
From January 2023, Google says that it will no longer highlight MV2 extensions on the Chrome Web Store, as it looks to “raise the security bar” on the platform.
Then from June 2023, MV2 extensions will no longer be able to be published with their visibility set to public. Extensions already public on the store will become “Unlisted”. This is an especially egregious change, as it means they’ll be undiscoverable to new users, while still being functional for enterprises.
Google is also warning developers that their MV2 extensions may still stop working at “any time” following the release of new Chrome versions next year.
January 2022 will also see Chrome 112 allow a gradual phase-out of Manifest V2 in Canary, Dev, and Beta versions of the browser. While in June, Chrome 115 will allow this phasing out of MV2 to occur in Stable versions of Chrome - the version with the largest consumer user base.
Central to the controversy is WebRequest, an API critical to blocking web content such as advertisements, and which Chrome’s implementation of MV3 will remove.
“Content blocking is one of the most important use cases for extensions, and we are committed to ensuring that Firefox users have access to the best privacy tools available,” Mozilla said.
Apple Watch deals can save you some serious cash on the high-end smartwatch, and we're holding out for some even better discounts on the Watch 7 over the next few weeks as well. That's because the new Series 8 will shortly take centre stage, pushing previous generations further down the price bracket and offering up some excellent Apple Watch prices for the rest of us.
We're making sure you're always on top of even the most fleeting Apple Watch sales, with price comparison technology bringing you all the web's lowest prices just below. You'll find all the best discounts across the current lineup here, updated every half hour. We've been tracking these savings for years now, so we're also rounding up all the retailers we regularly check for the heaviest savings further down the page as well.
The Apple Watch 7 has had a few months on the shelves now, and so is primed for some major discounts. However, we'd also keep a close eye on sixth generation and SE Apple Watch deals for even bigger savings and record low prices. We're rounding up all the latest offers on all these models, to make sure you're getting the best value for money possible whatever your budget.
You'll find today's best Apple Watch deals below, comparing prices for every model, including the Apple Watch 7, the Series 6, the Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch 5, and the Apple Watch Series 3. You can also look forward to upcoming bargains during the 2022 Amazon Prime Day event.
The all-new Apple Watch 7 was unveiled in October of last year and includes a 70% brighter Always-On display, faster charging, and 20% more screen area, making it easier to use and read. The design also got a refresh with softer and more rounded edges and new sizes of 41mm and 45mm. The Apple Watch 7 still includes all the nifty features of the Series 6 smartwatch, such as blood oxygen monitoring, an ECG app, and activity tracking.
While the Series 7 is Apple's latest and greatest smartwatch, we've already seen impressive Apple Watch 7 deals, so you should never have to pay the full retail price.
The Apple Watch 6, debuted in September of 2020 with an introductory price of $399 / £379 - the same baseline costs as the 2019 Series 5.
The feature-rich Apple Watch 6 comes with a few key upgrades over the Series 5 - namely a new blood oxygen monitor (with accompanying app) and a brand new S6 dual-core processor, which Apple claims is 20% faster than last year's model. Aside from these key upgrades, the always-on display is back, but it's been drastically improved with some neat new controls for notifications, allowing you to interact without fully waking up the watch.
You're also getting the latest watchOS 7 as standard with both of the new Apple Watches, which is bringing a few new fitness features, and a unique family sharing app that allows activities to be tracked across groups.
The Apple Watch SE was released in 2020 alongside the Series 6 as a more affordable alternative, coming in at a starting price of $279 / £269.
The key features include the latest watchOS 7, which will enable this device to access many of the new upgrades the more expensive Series 6 is rocking, but at a more affordable price point. Internally you're also getting the same altimeter, gyroscope, and accelerometer as the Series 6 - enough for all the main fitness apps, but you're missing out on the brand new blood oxygen monitor.
All in all, this watch is definitely more stripped down than the fancier Series 6, but considering you're getting roughly the same amount of power on tap as the Series 5 at a lower price point and the new watchOS 7 - it's excellent value and one of our favorite Apple Watch deals.
The Apple Watch 5 was released in 2019 with a starting price of $399 / £399 / AU$649 for the 40mm size and cost $429 / £429 / AU$699 for the larger 44mm size.
The Series 5 smartwatch now features an Always-on Retina display - fixing one of the users' biggest frustrations with the previous models. The dimmed display will now display your current watch face at all times, lighting up when the watch detects the same wrist motion that would previously trigger the screen to wake. It also includes new location features like a built-in compass and an updated Map app.
On release, many users started reporting a decrease in battery life quality in the Series 5, an issue that didn't seem to improve by switching off the always-on display. This has since been resolved with the release of watchOS 6.1, suggesting that the battery-saving features of the always-on display weren't the issue at fault.
Thanks to the Apple Watch 6 and SE release, it's difficult to find deals on the Series 5, so if you see the smartwatch on sale, then we recommend taking advantage before it's too late.
While the Apple Watch 3 was released back in 2017, it still remains a top-tier device in terms of fitness and longevity, with run and cycle tracking onboard and a water-resistant casing for swimming, plus the heart rate monitor on the underside. And the LTE version comes with cellular connectivity so you can use it independently from your phone.
You will be losing some of the design benefits of the newer models by opting for this cheaper Apple Watch price. The smaller screen and case size doesn't hold you back, but there's a much nicer option on the market with the latest chassis designs. The watch itself is slightly thicker and runs on an older processor that won't have you blitzing through apps quite as quickly.
Nevertheless, the Apple Watch 3 still stands as a strong smartwatch solution, especially if you're looking for something cheaper to use for fitness or music only. It's far more affordable than the later models while still offering the latest software, and, thanks to Apple's continued support, it's generally found at most retailers. Essentially, Apple Watch deals will center around this essential feature set that offers amazing value for money.
Apple's hardware often comes with a high price tag, and the Apple Watch doesn't fall far from the tree. That said, if you're looking for a smartwatch to work with your iPhone, no other brand comes close to offering the functionality of Apple's own timepiece.
While the Apple Watch price is still higher than many other brands, you're paying for integration with a massive number of apps you're already using on your iPhone. Plus, with all the Apple Watch deals happening and the recent software updates to older models, you can easily grab a great bargain.
Apple Watch deals from phone carriers
If you're looking for an Apple Watch deal with a Cellular plan, a phone carrier like Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile could be your best option. Purchasing an Apple Watch from a carrier allows you to make monthly payments, and you can typically find discounts, especially if you have an existing phone plan with them.
Apple Watch band/strap deals
Bands are not one-size-fits-all-budgets
Wide variety of sizes, colors and prices
Incredibly easy to slide onto your Watch
Can't use normal watch straps
Official Apple Watch bands are pricey
Your Apple Watch literally isn’t complete without the best deals on Apple Watch bands. They make the geeky smartwatch stylish enough to show off to late adopters.
In fact, you’re going to want multiple cheap Apple Watch straps simply because more elegant bands are far from ideal for the gym. Vice versa, Sport Bands don’t cut it at the fancy dinner table.
Everyday in the news, we see new cheap Apple Watch bands trying to become the de facto alternative to the more expensive, official Apple Watch bands, and they’re usually just as good. Trust us, buying a trio of third-party, lookalike Apple Watch bands for the price of one official strap is a relief after paying so much for the smartwatch itself.
The Vivo Y73t launched in China on September 29 and will go on sale starting from October 21. This handset is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC and packs a 6,000mAh battery.
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new malware strain that infects Windows and Linux endpoints of all sizes and uses them for distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and cryptocurrency mining.
Experts from Lumen's Black Lotus Labs say the malware is written in Chinese and uses China-based command & control (C2) infrastructure.
They called it Chaos, and say it is built on Go. It is able to infect all kinds of devices, from those running on x86 infrastructure, to certain ARM-based devices. In a nutshell, everything from home routers to enterprise servers is at risk. Apparently, Chaos is the next iteration of the Kaiji malware, another strain that was able to mine cryptocurrencies and launch DDoS attacks.
Kaiji returns
"Based upon our analysis of the functions within the more than 100 samples we analyzed for this report, we assess Chaos is the next iteration of the Kaiji botnet," they said. It expands by looking for known, unpatched vulnerabilities, as well as SSH brute-force attacks.
What’s more, it can use stolen SSH keys to infect an even greater number of endpoints.
Whoever the threat actors are, they’re not limiting themselves to a specific industry, though: "Using Lumen global network visibility, Black Lotus Labs enumerated the C2s and targets of several distinct Chaos clusters, including a successful compromise of a GitLab server and a spate of recent DDoS attacks targeting the gaming, financial services and technology, and media and entertainment industries – as well as DDoS-as-a-service providers and a cryptocurrency exchange," the researchers said.
"While the botnet infrastructure today is comparatively smaller than some of the leading DDoS malware families, Chaos has demonstrated rapid growth in the last few months."
When it comes to geographies, though, Chaos does seem to have a preference. Even though there are bots everywhere, from the Americas, to the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), most of its victims are based in Europe.
Oracle NetSuite has announced a new service that promises to alleviate common headaches for small businesses around shift management and resource allocation.
At SuiteWorld 2022, the company offered a first look at SuitePeople Workforce Management, a service designed to automate the time-consuming shift management process, building out shift patterns based on predicted demand.
The new service also provides a simple way to monitor the number of hours worked by employees and automatically calculates wages on that basis, before passing that information on to payroll.
SuitePeople Workforce Management
Although attendance tracking and shift management are neither sexy nor groundbreaking, NetSuite hopes that, by folding the various functionalities into a single dashboard and leaning on the strength of its broader platform, it can help customers manage human capital more effectively and increase profitability as a result.
This is especially important in the current environment, the company says, with businesses across the globe struggling under the dual pressures of rising inflation and interest rates, and a drop-off in the appetite for spending.
“In a tight labor market, organizations need to elevate the management of their workforce to be competitive,” said Evan Goldberg, NetSuite founder and EVP.
“With SuitePeople Workforce Management, organizations can quickly adjust staffing to align with changing business conditions. They can also ensure they accurately pay their employees and meet compliance requirements.”
In addition to supporting core shift management processes themselves, the new service also gives managers access to data points on sales, wages and forecasts, equipping them with the information necessary to make strategic decisions around resource allocation.
The automation of the wage calculation process, meanwhile, is said to minimize the risk of payroll errors and save employees a significant amount of time that would otherwise have been spent on manual reconciliations.
SuitePeople Workforce Management will become available in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in early 2023 and will come to the UK and Ireland a few months later.
Alienware has revealed its upcoming flagship prebuilt desktop, the renewed Aurora R15, designed to house some powerful hardware – just be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for it.
The company is being rather vague in disclosing what kind of graphics card will be in the Aurora R15. According to the announcement, the Aurora R15 is designed to support a GPU from NVIDIA’s recently announced GeForce RTX 40 Series. Alienware even name-drops the 4090 model GPU. The company also mentions support for graphics cards belonging to the AMD Radeon RX 6000 series and GeForce RTX 30-Series. Given the wording, it’s leading us to believe that the Aurora R15 may have different models based on different graphics cards. We reached out to Alienware for clarification. This story will be updated if we hear back.
Alienware also announced its new 34-inch curved Gaming Monitor and a Tenkeyless Gaming Keyboard to make up a full computer setup. All three devices will launch in the United States and Canada later this year. The exact date has yet to be revealed.
The Aurora R15
Mysterious GPUs aside, Alienware did reveal some concrete details. The desktop will house the latest “13th Gen Intel Core K-series” processors, formerly known by their codename of Raptor Lake. Like the graphics card, the exact CPU model is unknown, but we can at least expect a good performance. Even the slowest of the Raptor Lake processors have a maximum turbo frequency of 5.1 GHz. For memory, it will be a DDR5 4800MHz RAM of yet-to-be-determined size.
For cooling, the Aurora R15 has multiple solutions. It’s outfitted with a 240mm liquid cooling system and five different 120mm fans. Across the chassis, there will be two exhaust fans on top, one in the back, and two intake fans at the front. On the side are hexagonal air vents for additional cooling. And if that isn’t overkill, the computer’s motherboard will have its own “voltage regulator heatsinks.”
All this hardware will, as you can imagine, require a lot of power. Feeding this beast will be a 1350W power supply, which was apparently designed to support the aforementioned RTX 4090 GPU, according to Alienware. Price tag for the Aurora R15 hasn’t been revealed. Considering the fact the desktop will have some powerful tech, it's safe to say that it won't be cheap. To give an idea of what it could be, the currently available Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 desktop starts at $1,299.99 and that uses NVIDIA’s old 30-series GPUs.
Monitor and keyboard
With a computer that strong, you'll need a monitor to match and it appears the Gaming Monitor ($1,099.99) is up to the task. The QD-OLED (Quantum Dot) display outputs at a resolution of 3440x1440 pixels and has a 0.1ms response, vital for intense gaming moments. There’s nothing worse than losing a game because your monitor couldn’t keep up. Other features include a 165Hz refresh rate alongside Quantum Dot technology for deep blacks plus wider color coverage. For those long gaming sessions, the monitor has been TUV-certified for ComfortView Plus to reduce bluelight and protect against eye strain.
The Tenkeyless Keyboard ($129.99) appears to be a regular gaming keyboard complete with the typical RGB lights, but underneath the surface is a pretty robust device. Its name is a reference to the fact that it lacks a numeric keypad allowing it to be more compact. The keycaps themselves are covered in two layers of a plastic called PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) for increased durability. Inside the keycaps are a series of CHERRY MX Red switches that have a gold layer for easier cleaning and protection against corrosion.
Pretty strong showing for a flagship computer. We can't wait to see this thing in action.
Cybercriminals have been observed using SEO poisoning to distribute a new malware loader which tries to infect the target endpoint with a dozen malware families.
Researchers from Kaspersky discovered that for many people, typing the keyword “software crack” into Google brings up multiple websites distributing this new malware loader, some of which have even made it to the famed first page of the search results. The loader in question is called “NullMixer”, and is designed for the Windows operating system and apparently, it installs all kinds of password stealers, viruses, backdoors, banking trojans, crypto miners, you name it. The only thing seemingly missing is ransomware.
Among the malware families installed this way are Redline Stealer, Danabot, Raccoon Stealer, Vidar Stealer, SmokeLoader, PrivateLoader, ColdStealer, Fabookie, PseudoManuscrypt, and others.
Baiting with cracks
The attackers chose “software crack” as their main keyword, researchers believe, due to the fact that people looking for cracks will usually ignore warnings coming from their antivirus programs and install the executable files anyway.
According to Kaspersky, NullMixer has so far tried to infect more than 47,000 endpoints protected by its security solutions. The victims were located all over the world, including the U.S., Germany, France, Italy, India, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, and Egypt.
The researchers were also baffled by the number of malware families being installed via NullMixer. It’s not exactly subtle. Devices that fall victim to this attack will become significantly slower, have windows popping up for no reason, and will showcase numerous other symptoms of infection. Kaspersky suspects that NullMixer could actually be a demonstration, showing other malware operators what it’s capable of doing, until one decides to use it for their own distribution efforts.
As things stand now, the best way to eliminate NullMixer from a compromised device is via a Windows reinstall.
Amazon has upped its Fire TV game considerably with today’s announcement of the Omni QLED series 4K TVs. The new sets, which will be available in 65- and 75-inch screen sizes, bring features typically found in higher-priced TVs such as Quantum Dots and full-array local dimming, and also come with a new Fire TV Ambient Experience that allows for artwork and photos to be displayed when the set is not in use.
Quantum Dots on the Omni QLED sets will allow for an enhanced color range to be displayed with high dynamic range (HDR) sources, while the full-array local dimming backlight (up to 96 zones on the 75-inch model) should result in deeper, better detailed, and more uniform blacks – a shortcoming of the company’s previous Fire TV Omni series sets.
Amazon’s new TVs also support Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive, both of which work to bring out greater detail in dark HDR images when viewed in regular lighting conditions.
The Fire TV Ambient experience appears to be Amazon’s variation on the “gallery” modes found on TVs like Samsung’s The Frame and models from other brands that let the set display art and personal photos when you're not watching video. A gallery of 1,500 images will be available, with collections from both The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and The Art Institute of Chicago.
In addition to art and photos, Alexa Widgets can be added to the screen that show news, weather, notes, calendars, sports scores, and more.
Alexa Widgets on the new Fire TV QLED models display useful info like calendars, shopping lists, weather, and more.(Image credit: Amazon)
In accordance with the eco-friendly initiatives that Amazon announced at today's press event, the new Omni QLED TVs feature both presence and ambient light sensors that switch the Fire TV Ambient experience feature on and off based on whether someone is in the room.
Like the company’s earlier Omni Fire TVs and its Fire TV Cube, which also just got a serious revamp, hands-free Alexa voice control lets you direct many of the set’s functions including volume up or down and search, while a What Should I Watch feature gives personalized viewing suggestions. The Omni Fire TV QLED models can also be used as a smart home hub, with voice commands available to launch Alexa routines for home control.
Amazon’s Omni Fire TV QLED sets are available for preorder from the company today for $799 (65-inch) and $1,099 (75-inch).
Analysis: Amazon really wants Fire TV to be your smart home’s digital hearth
While the performance enhancements Amazon is bringing to its latest line of Fire TVs make them in some ways more competitive with the best 4K TVs (though adding a mini-LED backlight for increased brightness and finer shadow detail handling, such as budget competitors like TCL and Hisense offer in their latest sets would have been a plus), the company’s real end-game here is to install Alexa at the center of your home.
Echo speakers and Show devices (which, according to the company, are used as TVs, with up to 70% of owners tapping them for video-viewing) scattered around the home are one way to rope us into Alexa world, but big-screen TVs like the new Omni QLED models are where the real action is at, with features such as What Should I Watch allowing Amazon’s AI to forge a personal relationship with family members, and get to learn their preferences. Alexa Widgets with info such as calendars and notes add to Amazon’s data harvest, putting the company in a similar position to Apple and Google when it comes to being a go-to for personal communication and organization.
Beyond that, the new Fire TV Omni QLED 4K sets come as a pleasant surprise and show that Amazon is serious about improving the quality of its TVs, which up to now have been mainly cheap, entry-level offerings. With additional enhancements, Amazon could potentially own the budget TV space – something I’m sure it intends to do.
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Sometimes it's easy to forget that we have the greatest power source in the universe merrily burning away a mere 150 million kilometers above us.
With blackouts, increasing energy bills and controversy over fossil fuels becoming more and more widespread, why did just 5% of global electricity come from solar power in 2021?
On a domestic level, cost and complexity are the twin barriers to powering our homes with sunlight. But they're no longer as insurmountable as you might think.
The heart of the system is Bluetti tech's EP600 power station, with form as simple and striking as its function. Traditionally this kind of kit comes encased in the same sort of injection molded, ruggedly masculine plastic as power tools, but the Bluetti model resembles nothing so much as a handcrafted piece of designer luggage. No terminals or wires, just nice rounded corners and a subtly stenciled logo.
(Image credit: Bluetti)
Just plug a solar panel (either one of Bluetti's own or your model of choice) into one end and your home appliances into the other. That's it. The EP600's 6000W bi-directional inverter takes care of the rest and is powerful enough for pretty much any domestic use.
So that's power. Now let's talk storage. As a wise man once said, the sun can't shine all the time, so the second part of the puzzle is the Bluetti B500.
No mysteries here either. It's just a battery. A massively capacious battery with 99.9% MPPT for the highest charge efficiency. It stacks seamlessly under the EP600 and can hold almost 50kWh worth of juice.
There's more. Fifteen more to be exact. You can stack a total of sixteen B500 batteries under the EP600 power station, storing up to 79.3kWh, or enough energy to run a standard home for around three days.
That's a lot of episodes of 'The Walking Dead'. But you don't need to be preparing for disaster to make the most of your very own fully expandable solar powered power grid.
(Image credit: Bluetti)
Protection against blackouts and brownouts, reducing your energy bills and cutting a few toes off your carbon footprint are just a few of the other reasons to take the step towards energy independence.
And, if you're more of a rolling stone, the EP600 weighs in at just 40kg. Not exactly pocket-sized but it'll fit nicely into your campervan for the ultimate mobile home experience.
Drive electric? A B500 in the boot can extend your range considerably, adding around an extra 150 miles depending on your make and model.
Wherever you are, you can manage everything from your smartphone via Bluetti's bespoke app (available on Google Play and the App Store).
And the sticker price for the power of the sun?
The latest price for an EP600 power station and a pair of B500 stackable batteries is only £8,100, €8,999 or $8,650, available to pre-order from here soon (included is an impressive ten year warranty).
With solar power now within the economic reach and technical grasp of domestic users, we think things are about to change.
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Google has set out plans to overhaul the formatting of its search engine results pages, with a view to surfacing a broader selection of content types.
Presented at this year’s Google Search On event, the update will see images and video content blended directly into results, as opposed to featuring under separate tabs or in dedicated box-outs.
Speaking to TechRadar Pro and other press ahead of Search On 2022, Google’s VP Engineering, Rajan Patel, explained the goal is to “organize results to better reflect the way people explore topics.”
(Image credit: Google)
Multimedia makeover
Beyond the ability to highlight relevant resources across a range of formats, Google says the update will also mean results that appear further down the rankings are likely to become more valuable.
“There are so many questions where a range of results can be helpful, and there are so many ways you might branch off. So we’re making it easy to scroll down the page and find all the different paths you could take,” said Patel.
“Traditionally, people’s mental model with search is that the further you go down the results, the less relevant they get. This is to some degree a feature of ranking systems, not a bug. But if you think about all the queries with no right answer, finding new avenues to explore can be incredibly useful.”
Inevitably, a change of this magnitude will have publishers and website owners wondering about the potential impact on their own ranking position. In response to a question from TechRadar Pro about the ramifications from an SEO perspective, Patel reiterated a now-familiar message:
“We find the most useful content is authentic to users, high-quality and topical. With these changes, we’re looking to surface more authentic content in different formats. You’ll start to see richer, visual content surface more in Search over time.”
The update will also affect the way advertisements are positioned and presented in search results, he added.
“Our goal is to create a coherent experience across search and ads. For users, we have one coherent experience across search, so if we limited all these changes to just organic results, the experience wouldn’t feel so coherent.”
Asked to clarify whether Google will introduce multimedia ads to results, in conjunction with the new format, Patel declined to confirm or deny. “We don’t have anything specific around that to announce at this time, but expect coherence,” he told us.
The new-look results pages will come to US-based users on mobile platforms in the coming months, but the change will be extended to other regions and Google Search for desktop in due course.
Samsung Galaxy S23+ is expected to be unveiled early next year. Ahead of the official launch, the renders of the handset have surfaced online. The Samsung Galaxy S23+ is tipped to come with a rear camera design that's identical to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The smartphone is seen carrying a triple rear camera setup in the leaked images.
If you're a big fan of Amazon products, like Ring, Echo, Alexa, Fire, Halo, Kindle or any of the many other sub-brands the online retail giant has, today is going to be a big day for you.
At 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm BST, which is 2am AEST tomorrow if you're in Australia, Amazon is hosting its big annual product launch – judging by previous years, we're probably going to see a deluge of new products.
New gadgets in the Echo family of smart home hubs, Ring line of smart cameras, Fire range of TVs and tablets, Halo series of fitness trackers, and possibly Kindle ereader line might show up. We also often see some weirder devices, like the Astro robot or Echo Loop smart ring, and software like Halo membership and the games streaming service Luna.
It's going to be a bumper event full of both serious and seriously strange gadgets, and judging by previous events, we could see anything upwards of two hours' worth of new device information.
Amazon could also try to start the excitement for 'Prime Day 2' as it's being called, a pre-Black Friday sales event that kicks off on October 11. Some of the products we're about to see could get discounts if they've launched in time.
Whether you're just interested in the new speakers or home hubs Amazon offers, or want to see all the bizarre and whacky new gadgets that will show up, we've got you covered.
TechRadar is going to be following along with the launch event, and has experts on all different product categories following along to give you some top-notch insight. So in the build-up to, during, and after the event, you can use this live blog to keep on top of everything.
Plus, expect some expert analysis in spin-off articles and opinion pieces too, so check back to TechRadar throughout the day for our notes.
Welcome to our Amazon September launch event live blog!
If you're reading this when it's been posted, there's still half a day until the Amazon event kicks off, so you don't need to start scrambling to find the live stream link just yet. In fact, at the time of writing this post, one isn't even available online yet.
But perhaps it's worth telling your speaker 'Alexa, set an alarm for [whenever the event is in your time zone]' so you don't miss it.
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Almost a hundred apps across the Android and iOS ecosystems have been discovered engaging in advertising fraud, researchers have claimed.
The apps, 80 of which were built for Android, and nine for iOS, have more than 13 million downloads between them, and include games, screensavers, camera apps, and more - some with more than a million downloads.
Research from cybersecurity firm HUMAN Security found that by targeting advertising software development kits (SDK), the unknown threat actors were able to compromise these apps for their own personal benefit, in multiple ways: by pretending to be apps they’re not; by rendering ads in places where users wouldn’t be able to see them; and by faking clicks and taps (keeping track of real ad interactions and faking them later).
Evolution of Poseidon
The campaign, which HUMAN dubbed Scylla, is still ongoing, meaning at least some of the apps are still up and running. “These tactics, combined with the obfuscation techniques first observed in the Charybdis operation, demonstrate the increased sophistication of the threat actors behind Scylla,” the researchers say.
The Charybdis operation the researchers mention is an older campaign, out of which Scylla evolved. Charybdis itself evolved from an even older campaign, called Poseidon, leading the researchers to conclude that the threat actors are actively developing these apps and that new variants are bound to appear.
HUMAN says it “worked closely” with both Google and Apple to have all of the identified malicious apps removed from the respective app repositories.
However, that doesn’t mean the threat is completely gone - users who have downloaded these apps in the meantime are still vulnerable, and will remain so until they remove them from their endpoints.
The company urges users to go through the entire list of apps found here and make sure they remove any apps they might have installed.
Samsung is set to launch a new cashback credit card, which offers a 10% discount on its products year-round.
However, unfortunately for the majority of our readers, the card is only set to be available in India.
Launched in partnership with India's Axis Bank and Visa, the Samsung Axis Bank Credit Card will see the South Korean giant go up against the likes of Amazon, which also offer cashback cards aimed at selling their own products.
What will consumers get?
In addition to the discounts on Samsung products, cardholders will also be able to earn rewards on spending at partner merchants and other perks such as airport lounge access, and a 1% fuel surcharge waiver.
The new card is set to have no minimum transaction amount and no limit when it comes to Samsung purchases.
In addition, the new card is to come in two main versions: "Signature" and "Infinite".
The signature version will have a monthly cashback limit of 10,000 rupees ($123) annually, while Infinite’s will have a limit of 20,000 rupees ($246).
Signature is set to have an annual fee of around $6, while Infinite will have a fee of around $60.
Why the move?
Though Samsung devices are still popular in India, its market share in the region has dropped significantly since its peak.
The South Korean consumer tech giant currently has 16.3% percent share of smartphone sales in the region, falling behind Chinese rivals as of late.
Xiaomi, Realme, and Vivo now boast shares of 20.4%, 17.5%, and 16.9% respectively as of writing, according to IDC.
However, Samsung isn’t the only consumer electronics giant attempting to make inroads into the payments space.
Apple announced new payment services for iPhone with the launch of a new array of services at WWDC 2022, including Apple Pay Later, a potential competitor to services like Klarna, which enables consumers to split the cost of purchases into four equal payments over six weeks, without incurring interest or late fees.
Stage Manager, one of the most fundamental changes to the iPad platform since Apple's tablet launched more than a decade ago, is now set to come to more iPad Pros than just those running Apple's latest custom M1 silicon.
Apple announced the expanded access for Stage Manager in a brief statement, which TechRadar obtained from an Apple representative, on Tuesday. The company also noted that external display support through M1 iPads "will be available later this year."
It's been almost five months since Apple unveiled Stage Manager at WWDC 2022 as part of iPadOS 16. Unlike the other platforms unveiled that day, including iOS 16 and watchOS 9, iPadOS 16 remains in beta, possibly waiting for new iPads that may or may not arrive next month.
Stage Manager adds the ability to manage multiple app windows - up to eight - in a series of adjustable, if not wholly customizable - configurations. It takes the iPad's earlier multi-window capabilities to the next level and makes it a closer cousin to macOS Ventura. It's a powerful, if imperfect, update, but good enough that some were frustrated that Stage Manager was limited to iPads running Apple Silicon M1 chips.
That changes with the latest iPadOS 16.1 beta (beta 3). When we asked Apple about the update, they sent us this statement:
"We introduced Stage Manager as a whole new way to multitask with overlapping, resizable windows on both the iPad display and a separate external display, with the ability to run up to eight live apps on screen at once. Delivering this multi-display support is only possible with the full power of M1-based iPads. Customers with iPad Pro 3rd and 4th generation have expressed strong interest in being able to experience Stage Manager on their iPads. In response, our teams have worked hard to find a way to deliver a single-screen version for these systems, with support for up to four live apps on the iPad screen at once."
As noted, there will be limitations. Instead of eight apps, Stage Manager on these tablets will be limited to four apps (just one more than you can run on an iPad without Stage Manager).
If you have one of these older iPad Pros and are running the latest iPadOS 16 beta, you can see Stage Manager in action. Just keep in mind that you'll need to sign up for Apple Developer access to download the build to your device. Plus, betas can be unstable and you wouldn't want to put iPadOS 16.1 Beta 3 on any system you rely on to get real work done.
Apple's comment about external display support implies that there may be a delay until later this year for the ability to connect another display to your M1 iPad and run the Stage Manager through it as a full-screen, full-resolution experience. This doesn't apply to non-M1 iPad Pros because they do not support the external display feature.
As for when iPadOS 16 steps out from backstage to become a full-blown, public OS like its platform brothers and sisters, that's anyone's guess. Keep watching TechRadar for the latest updates.
Skullcandy is coming back to the world of gaming with three new headsets: the SLYR, SLYR Pro, and the PLYR headphones; all of which are aimed at varying levels of gamers.
It’s been about 10 years since Skullcandy launched its last gaming headset, the PLYR 2, a device the company doesn’t officially sell anymore. Since then, gaming headsets have evolved dramatically, which means Skullcandy has its work cut out for it. The solution, at least according to the announcement, is to offer headsets that have a wide range of functionality for multiple platforms at a decent price.
Each pair of headphones is currently available for purchase on Skullcandy’s online store and are compatible with PC, mobile devices, and gaming consoles.
Features and specs
First, you have the SLYR ($59.99)headset. Compared to the other two, this device is the more barebones model. It's a basic set of entry-level headphones; great for people who just want to plug in and listen. It houses two 50mm drivers that Skullcandy claims deliver a wide “frequency range and rich, detailed sound.” There’s also an extending microphone plus mute and volume controls on the cups. So, a pretty basic headset with no bells and whistles.
The SLYR Pro ($99.99), as the name implies, adds substantially more. It comes with a Clear Voice Smart Mic that filters out backward noise to maintain clear audio with the help of AI. Gamers can calibrate their audio via a combination of Skullcandy’s Enhanced Sound Perception hearing test and the new Skull-HQ app. In the app, you’ll also be able to adjust the mix between the game and voice chat so you can have one louder than the other, and manage the audio equalization. For its battery, the SLYR Pro will last you, according to Skullcandy. 24-hours. It also has fasting charging.
For the PLYR ($129.99) headset, it's hard to see what warrants that extra $30 price tag. If you take things at face value, the PLYR headset has two unique features: Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and a built-in Tile feature, which is a type of tracking technology. Using the Tile app, you can have the PLYR headset “ring” so you can locate it if it's lost. However looking through the specifications for each headset, all of them have Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. Plus the SLYR Pro has the same Tile tracking feature embedded within.
We reached out to Skullcandy to clarify what makes the PLYR stand above the SLYR Pro. Plus, we asked how people can download the Skull-HQ app for controlling audio. It's not publically on any online app store, as far as we can tell.
Decent headphones
Looking at everything, Skullcandy’s new headsets look potentially solid, even if two of them are a little too similar for our liking. But the question remains: will this be enough for Skullcandy to stand toe-to-toe (or ear-to-ear) with gaming headset industry titans? Probably not, but then again, these headsets are more entry-level and for gamers who don't want to mess around with the settings too much. On that front, they look good enough.
But if you’re in the market for something beefier, be sure to check out TechRadar’s best gaming headsets. We really like the Arctic Nova Pro from Steelseries. They come with low latency and spatial audio built-in. Just be prepared to pay a pretty penny.
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Cybercriminals are trying to distribute new information-stealing malware by presenting it as gaming cheats and hacks.
According to cybersecurity researchers from Cluster25, the malware, dubbed “Erbium”, is a malware-as-a-service, meaning whoever pays the monthly fee, gets to use all of its features.
Right now, the tool is being distributed as a game crack, but that could change at any time, should another threat actor rent it out, or go after a different type of victim.
Cheaper than RedLine Stealer
When it comes to features and prices, Erbium is similar to the infamous RedLine Stealer in its abilities, but is available for a fraction of its cost.
The researchers are saying it can steal information stored in popular browsers (passwords, cookies, payment data, autofill information, etc.), data from cryptocurrency wallets (Atomic, Exodus, Electrum, and many others), two-factor authentication codes from a number of tools (Trezor Password Manager, EOS Authenticator, Authy 2FA, Authenticator 2FA), as well as grab screenshots, take Steam and Discord tokens, and Telegram authentication files.
At the same time, it is quite cheaper than RedLine, reprotedly only costing $100 for a monthly subscription, or $1,000 for a yearly license. While this still might sound like a lot, it costs roughly a third of what RedLine charges, and it is also worth mentioning that the price of Erbium rose from $9, signaling not only strong demand but also its rising popularity.
The hacking community has also praised Erbium’s creators for all their hard work and the fact that they’re listening to and implementing the community’s feedback.
Speaking of the creators, Cluster25 did not determine who the authors are, but did find Erbium being promoted on Russian-speaking forums this past summer.
At the same time, endpoints in the US, France, Colombia, Spain, Italy, India, Vietnam, and Malaysia, were found compromised.
JioPhone 5G will reportedly be priced in India between Rs. 8,000 and Rs. 12,000. The upcoming handset from Reliance Jio will reportedly be available in multiple variants, with different screen sizes and specifications, according to a report by Counterpoint Research.
Infinix Zero Ultra 5G launch will be launched on October 5 globally. The smartphone has been tipped to come with a 180W Thunder Charge system, a 200-megapixel main camera, and a MediaTek Dimensity 920 SoC.
Everything about the Apple Watch Ultra is bigger. It has a bigger and brighter display than the Apple Watch 8, a bigger battery, bigger (and more) buttons, and it has a bigger capacity to handle the rough and tumble world of outdoor activities.
It can also take a punch, or at least a series of whacks, from a small sledgehammer. In a recent video spotted by MacRumors, YouTuber TechRax joyfully smashes the new $799 / £849 / AU$1229 Apple Watch Ultra to bits. It's a rather unrealistic durability test of the beefy 49mm wearable, but if you watch from beginning to end, you will glean some hard (in a good way) Ultra truths.
It would be unfair to call the Apple Watch Ultra a ruggedized version of the Apple Watch 8 (or really any generation). It's not simply a toughened exterior. It's a completely redesigned Apple Watch. At 49mm, it's 5mm larger than the biggest Apple Watch 8. Naturally, it's also heavier. The titanium case helps it put on an additional 23 grams over the aluminum 45mm Apple Watch 8. The Ultra even outweighs the stainless steel Apple Watch 8 by almost 10 grams.
Unlike the Apple Watch 8's curved glass face that blends smoothly with the aluminum case, Apple gave the Ultra a no-nonsense, completely flat sapphire crystal display surrounded by a solid lip of titanium.
The watch looks and feels strong and, apparently, it is.
TechRax starts his test by dropping the watch from a four-foot height onto concrete, which, unsurprisingly, the Apple Watch Ultra handles well. Sure, there were some small scratches on the titanium body but I have yet to see a scratchproof Apple product.
The tests continue in a similarly less-than-scientific fashion with TechRax dropping the Apple Watch (by now, it must've suspected something was amiss) into a jar of screws and nails. TechRax then shook the jar, after which the watch emerged mostly unscathed, though the orange band was getting dirty.
Perhaps frustrated that he was getting nowhere, TechRax took out a small sledgehammer, put the watch on a pristine white table, and gave it three sharp whacks.
Nothing happened. No scratches. No cracks. No malfunctions.
It's worth pausing here to think about what this may mean in the real world of Apple Watch Ultra use.
Ultra strong
A while back, I was wearing my Apple Watch 7 while clearing out crawl space. I was lifting heavy timber and other debris out of what was essentially a pit filled with coarse sand and dirt. At one point, my watch got caught between a wood support beam, some grit, and a heavy beam in my hand. The Ion-X glass screen ended up with a huge, disfiguring gouge.
Based on what I've seen here in this video, I think the Apple Watch Ultra might hold up considerably better under similar conditions or, for instance, when you're climbing a mountain and your wrist slams into the rock face.
TechRax, however, wasn't satisfied. He then hammered the watch 12 more times. The table underneath the watch cracked, but the watch remained unscathed. Mostly. Unfortunately, even with no visible damage on the outside, the Apple Watch Ultra stopped working.
That's when TechRax went to town, repeatedly hitting the watch face until it shattered. He then flipped the watch over and hit the sensor-filled back until it, too, cracked.
With each hit, I winced a little, as TechRax needless ruined a perfectly good and, normally, highly rugged Apple Watch Ultra.
Perhaps TechRax walked away satisfied, but I was a little sad for the Watch Ultra, which survived what should have been the worst of a beating, only to have the sadist come back at it and beat the watch into submission.
Potential Apple Watch Ultra consumers should take from this an incontrovertible fact: this is one very tough smartwatch.
