Recently, we also made a little post about some malware that has been infecting some Android based phones through downloads of games like Angry Birds: Space and even Instagram. In some ways it’s a little strange that hackers have moved more from PC based systems to put their efforts in to infecting smartphones, but not unexpected with the huge trend and boom in mobile internet usage. 

A Finnish security firm called ‘F-Secure’ have been following the growing malware and trojan usage in smartphones and trying to protect against it, in their Q1 Mobile Threat Report they stated;

“Since its debut, Android has quickly claimed significant market share in the mobile market. Unfortunately, such popularity (amongst other factors) makes Android a lucrative target for malware authors. New families and variants of malware keep cropping up each quarter, and this trend shows no sign of slowing down. In Q1 2011, 10 new families and variants were discovered. A year later, this number has nearly quadrupled with 37 new families and variants discovered in Q1 2012 alone. A comparison between the number of malicious Android application package files (APKs) received in Q1 2011 and in Q1 2012 reveals a more staggering find — an increase from 139 to 3063 counts. This growth in number can be attributed to malware authors crafting their infected or trojanized applications to defeat anti-virus signature detection, distributing their malware in different application names, and trojanizing widely popular applications.“

It’s also been reported that 34 of the 37 different types of malware that are infecting Android based phones are designed primarily to steal money from the users that are infecting. This is a worryingly high number, it means that if you do get infected with one of the malware, it’s most likely one that will take your money. 

Image courtesy of Forbes. Graph showing the profit motivated malware taking over the non-profit motivated malware.

 The good news (if any) is that you’re only likely to find these malware infested apps in third-party stores. If you stick to the Google Play (Android Marketplace) store then you should be mostly fine, there are some instances of infected apps making their way on to the official store but if you’re aware and keep your eye open you shouldn’t be able to spot things before they get too bad. There are anti-virus apps for your Android phone available on the store, F-Secures one is available for example so if you’re worried about getting infected you should probably install one.

Well, apparently there was a bit of beef between Apple and Google, some sort of personal issues that haven’t been resolved (in some ways apparently Android was a copy of iOS and that didn’t sit too well with Mr. Jobs.) But it seems that Apple could be coming back with their own maps app, it’ll be introduced into iOS 6 (if reports about it are anything to go by) which could end Googles spell at the top of the maps app market share. Apple are reported to be doing this also because of the amount of ad revenue Google makes from iOS apps and they want to try and stop this. It’s all a bit complicated and personal, but I guess they know what they’re doing.

Image courtesy of Forbes. 3-D Mapping that will apparently be introduced to iOS6

It’s said that Apple will go about this by utilising some of the 3D and mapping software companies that they have bought out over the last few years – the image above that was produced by C3 3D mapping (C3 Technologies are one of the companies that Apple have took over and will be part of the 3D mapping) shows crazy realism, so if it’s anything to go by it already looks much better than Google maps (in a way).

One problem that could be encountered are the dependencies on hardware. You’re going to need a really powerful mobile device to be able to render 3D maps, without it it’ll just come out really blocky and like a huge static image that is too laggy to move. I’m sure Apple will come up with a way to resolve this, most probably with the upcoming iPhone 5. All that can be said really is the competition between these companies is causing innovation – which is always a good thing. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of innovations will be made through this little blood feud between the two companies. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gSmunh6NIQI

This is a feature of what the C3 3D Mapping capabilities are – it’s crazy realistic and looks fantastic if they can get it right.

The mobile version was released with a little criticism, it didn’t seem that it worked too well on the mobile devices and seemed to be quite laggy and limited (it was kind of expected though since it was on a mobile platform) but since it was just to be played on the PC. However, that has changed, even the console gamers can experience their own Minecraft world on their Xbox 360 console!

Image courtesy of webpronews.com

As of the 9th of May (two days ago at the time of writing this) the game was released live into the Xbox Marketplace at a cost of 1600 Microsoft points. There is also a trial version available for those of you who want to try the game before buying and the trial version gives a lot in terms of gameplay for those who are wanting to try it first.

Unlike the PC version, the XBOX version offers tutorial at the start of the game and teaches you a little bit about the Minecraft world before you jump straight in. It teaches you about building a house and surviving your first night – pretty much all the basics that you’ll need to play. In fact, looking at videos and such for it there are quite a lot of good features, there are a few bad too.

Good features include the tutorial, there is also a crafting menu that makes crafting seem a whole lot easier on the Xbox and faster, the controls seem to really be able to fit the controller too and make it seem natural. You get a lot of what you get in the PC Minecraft so for a freshly released, incomplete game so it is worth it if you’re a Minecraft fan. Oh! And you start with a map too, which is always helpful. 

As for the negatives, you can’t yet sprint in game, which is kind of limiting. The map is also a set size, you get one full map, you can’t go over the edges so the map is still quite limited. There’s also no experience or hunger bar in the Xbox version (something that is hopefully implemented in later versions)  but will put the hardcore players off a bit who really like that part of the game.

Image courtesy of Kotaku. Minecraft: Xbox Version crafting menu.

If you’re a Minecraft fan on PC and want to play it on something alternative, you should check out the Xbox version. It runs really smooth and really well for it and works great for those who have a bad PC. Make sure you check it out on the Xbox Marketplace!

Image courtesy of Forbes, Google driverless car.

The car is marked with a red number plate and an infinity symbol on the back, it will be a self-driving car however will have the option for it to be overridden so the owner can take complete control. A car seeming somewhat in the not too distant future, but could it really be the future of driving? Personally, I could think of so many problems with these cars but what do you think?

“I felt using the infinity symbol was the best way to represent the ‘car of the future’.” Department Director Bruce Breslow said. “The unique red plate will be easily recognized by the public and law enforcement and will be used only for licensed autonomous test vehicles. When there comes a time that vehicle manufacturers market autonomous vehicles to the public, that infinity symbol will appear on a green license plate.” Google themselves seem very optimistic about the car and so they should be, it is a brilliant engineering feat to get to where they are now. 

With Google being issued their license, it won’t be too long until other manufacturers are issued their own and the race to get the first driverless car on the market will belong. Let’s just hope that the rush to get a car out there doesn’t result in some fatal mistakes and design flaws. 

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

 There are plans currently set for some stores within the US that Microsoft will launch a plan for the Xbox and Kinect – a plan offered will be a 4gb Xbox with Kinect and 2 year Live Gold Membership for $99 and $15 a month (set for a two year contract). Additionally it’s said that there may be a choice to get sports packages and such for streaming on to your Xbox within the  cost. 

So, good deal or bad deal? As you will know, companies such as O2 offer the same sort of offers for phones and the cost of the contract is usually a little bit higher – this is no different. Those who are willing to do it will pay around $50 more than those who buy it outright – but those who do it get the additional bonus of not having to pay outright. There will of course be a fee for those who want to terminate the contract early however – it has not been announced what that fee will be yet. 

It is an old console now, almost seven years old in fact but with the new Xbox not expected until 2014 or later, Xbox users will have to hold on and for those who need a new console this could be what they’re looking for. However, there are better deals on the market if you don’t want Kinect so you can expect that people will choose them over this contracted deal. 

If it becomes popular in the US stores it’s selected to be promoted in then you can be sure that it will make its way across the US and into Europe – especially the way people are spending money currently and the way contracted buying is increasing it could be seen that this does increase in popularity. So, is it just a marketing ploy or are Xbox sales really dropping? I guess we’ll find out. 

Image courtesy of Forbes - Skyrim scenery

There aren’t really all that many details about the game – as it’s only in early development that is quite expected. One question that people are asking is that are Bethesda going to be able to make the leap from predominately making single-player rpgs to making mmo’s? There is such a big difference between the two that it may pose quite a big challenge to the company. 

So, let’s get to what we do know about the game! It’s said that it will be set 1000 years before the events that took place in Skyrim (for those that have played the Elder Scrolls series you’ll obviously be able to find the links between games). Since all of the Elder Scrolls series have been quest driven it’s quite plain to see that the MMO will be able to follow traditional sets, so it can be concluded that the game will follow a quest driven path. It’s also said that there will be three factions that battle it out in a huge open-world PvP style. The combat in the Elder Scrolls games also seem to directly relate to those in MMO counter parts so we could see the battle and fighting mechanics being ported over because they are so similar. 

Other questions are being raised about how the game will be marketed whether it will be a free-to-play like the upcoming Guild Wars 2 or whether it will be more on a P2P model such as the upcoming Tera Online. Either way Bethesda will have to market properly to be able to fall into the MMO market as it is such a harsh and unforgiving category for game makers to go in to – if it doesn’t turn out to be a popular game then they could stand to lose a lot of money. 

There is no specific date for release however it is speculated and some-what announced that it will be released sometime in 2013, so we’ll be able to bring you more news about the game when we find out more about it and when more about it is released. 

Image courtesy of BBC. Samsung Galaxy S3 White Model

Before getting in to all of the nitty gritty about the phone it’s worth mentioning a couple of things. The release of the HTC One X so far may rival the S3, it has a couple of negative reviews but so far everything about the One X has been positive and it could see itself up there with the Galaxy S3. Also, the iPhone 5 is expected later this year and with new benchmarks set by Samsung it will be exciting to see what Apple – the Galaxy S2 was voted the best Smartphone of 2011 so with it’s competition it will be interested to see if the Galaxy S3 can do the same for 2012. 

So, let’s get in to it. First up – the massive screen. It has a 4.8 inch SUPER AMOLED screen, half an inch bigger than the S2 which had a 4.3 inch screen (which was massive in itself). It’s also a tiny bit bigger than the afore mentioned One X which has a screen size of 4.7 inches and huge compared to the current 3.5inch iPhone. It’s clear Samsung have been listening to their fans, especially with the Samsung Galaxy Note (a monster of a phone/tablet) being so popular with its screen size. 

It is also running ‘Exynos 4 quad-core processor‘ at 1.4 GHz. The processor is developed by Samsung itself and is impressive, the One X offers a little more oomf in its processor (only a little tiny one, however) so you’re definitely going to get the speeds you need for it. Samsung also said that the way the processor is designed it will give maximum usability for less power consumption – so those worried that it will eat the battery can rest easy. 

It has a front facing and back facing camera. The back being 8MP, so nothing really new there (it was expected that it would have a 12mp or more), some people may be a little let down with the camera but it is a good one nonetheless. It also has a 1.9mp camera on the front which will come in handy for those of you using it – the back facing camera will of course be able to record in full 1080p etc which is pretty much the standard for smart phones now.

Image courtesy of BBC. Galaxy S3 Blue and White Models

 It will come running Androids latest version ‘Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0′ (4.0.4 to be precise) and will also offer a 16, 32 and 64gb model. There is room for a microsd card for those wanting to use those too so there is no shortage of space, with the 64gb model and a microsd card you could easily get 100gb+ of storage which is quite unnecessary for a phone but hey-ho! Samsung also have ties with Dropbox so the phone will net you a 50gb Dropbox storage that you can use with your phone, so memory isn’t really a problem. 

There are also a couple of additional neat features. ‘S-Voice‘ as Samsung are calling it is a sort of toned down version of Apples Siri in a way, it will execute basic commands using voice – quite standard on a lot of phones now. You can also connect the phone wirelessly to your TV for whatever purposes you need that for. 

There isn’t really any news on the battery life expectancy yet but you can probably assume it will be within the 6-10hours that are standard for most devices, anything less will be a little bit of a let down. The phone will be available in ‘Pebble Blue’ and ‘Marble White’ colours (the blue albeit looks more like the standard black that comes with a phone but without the matte finish). You can expect it to hit shops in Europe by the end of the month!

For those who don’t know what torrents are – it’s basically just file sharing. Files such as films and music are put into a file format known as torrents, downloaded and then you have the files. Now, most of the time these torrent sites are illegal and share copyrighted material, hence why the powers at be what to have them shut down as they drain billions a year away from legal means. The Pirate Bay has already been blocked in some countries such as Belgium.

Image courtesy of geekosystem

The site was launched in 2003 by a couple of Swedish friends and the site quickly grew in popularity to become one of the more dominant torrenting sites out on the web and they’ve faced some pressure before too. In 2009, Swedish courts ruled the founders guilty for aiding people to get copyrighted and pirated material, after an appeal in 2010 the ruling was upheld yet the site still runs and grows day by day.

In 2011 it was also asked in the UK that ISP’s voluntarily block the website themselves but they stated they would only do so after a high court ruling. Sky, Everything Everwhere, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media will block the website within coming weeks/months. BT have said they are still making the decision whether they block the website or not.

This shift in security has been here for a long time, the war on piracy has been no different. However, blocking a single website (which even if the main domain is blocked, there are still many, many work-arounds to get onto the website that will make no difference to it’s usage at all, so they’re not really completely blocking it per-se) will do nothing against the war on piracy as there are thousands of websites out there and if one was to be taken down, the files would simply get mass re-uploaded elsewhere.

Image courtesy of Nintendospin

Well, it’s become apparent that SONY will also make a similar styled game where they will gather up their characters and allow players to pit them off against each other. This will get the die hard SONY fans excited for the huge range of characters available between every game made on the SONY base.

Although there isn’t much that has been revealed, they say you can expect characters such as Kratos, Colonel Radec from Killzone, Sly Cooper and more. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if some characters from games like Final Fantasy, the Uncharted series and maybe even Crash Bandicoot made an appearance into the game, it’ll surely get those who love the classic and new games involved. 

There isn’t all that much information on the game as of yet other than it is being developed by Superbot Entertainment, it is yet revealed whether it will be release on the Playstation 3 or the ‘Orbis’ however at this moment in time the latter seems more likely. It will offer a lot more variation compared to it’s Nintendo counter-part in terms of character balance and fit and in some ways it could be possible that it’ll bring back players that had lost faith in the console.

When more gets released about the game, there will be a follow up post giving as much information as we can, for now hopefully just the news that a game of this calibre is in production!

Image courtesy of Forbes

CISPA has passed it’s first hurdle, managing to get through the House of Representatives voted 248 to 168 in favour. This could very well be the start of the downfall in consumer privacy on the internet if it continues to grow and pass bills – what is most worrying is that SOPA and PIPA didn’t manage to get where CISPA is now.

Basically, to put it in an over-dramatic sense for those of you who don’t know what CISPA is – it pretty much gives the right for Facebook, eBay, Google, whatever parties you play at – to give your personal information away willy nilly to the government. So, your address, your bank details, anything these companies have on you can just be given to the government. What’s worse about this is that it will bypass any privacy laws in place if it needs to – so if there is a law stating your bank details are private and cannot be given out, CISPA will bypass this law.

This really undermines a lot of laws and protection acts that are in place – if it keeps growing and gets more backing then essentially the internet could start being a different place. This could start a string of protests once again – it wasn’t all that long ago that SOPA caused the ‘blackout’ response from websites like Wikipedia and Reddit and these could very well come around again. 

This won’t be the last we see or here about CISPA, even if it was to get pushed to one side another bill of similar tastes would pop-up in it’s place. In some senses it’s quite disgusting to see how much the powers at be want to control places like the internet, but alas it will always be this way. We’ll bring as many updates as we can about the CISPA bill and how far it progresses.