As more and more people are using Google Chrome and its functionalities to browse the net and to organize information, cybercriminals are setting their minds on exploiting this environment to spread malware and steal users’ information. The story is simple: Google Chrome users receive an unsolicited e-mail which announces that a new extension of their favorite browser has been developed to facilitate their access to documents from e-mails. An apparently unsuspicious link is provided, and the recipients are advised to follow it in order to download the new extension. Once they click the link, they are redirected to a look-alike of the Google Chrome Extensions page, which, instead of the promised extension, provides them with a fake application that infects their systems with malware. Although the sham application has the same description as that of an original Google Chrome Extension, the first sign the more inquisitive users will get about it not being what they were looking for should be the fact that instead of the expected “.crx” extension, it features a flamboyant “.exe” tail. Identified as Trojan.Agent.20577 the application modifies the Windows HOSTS file in an attempt to block access to Google and Yahoo webpages. Every time users want to access them and write “google.[xxx]” or “[xx].search.yahoo.com” in the web browser, they will be redirected to another IP: 89.149.xxx.xxx . This allows the malware creators to intercept the victims’ calls to reach the respective sites. In this way, the credulous users will be redirected to the cybercriminals’ own malware-laden versions of those sites.
Apple Inc has accepted distribution of Opera Software’s Internet browser for its iPhone after a long review, opening a new and potentially lucrative market it has so far closely guarded. There are numerous versions of Apple’s own browser on App Store, but Norway-based Opera is the first rival to get access to iPhone. Opera applied on March 23 for its mobile browser to be distributed on iPhone, and it was available for downloading to consumers early on Tuesday, three weeks later. Usually the review process takes up to one week, developers say. Analysts have said the decision was difficult for Apple — whose application store is the only way to distribute software for iPhone users — as its Internet browsing function is key to the success of the iPhone.
If you visit www.live.com today, you will no longer be redirected to Bing.com, but instead you’ll be taken directly to Windows Live Home. No surprises there as Windows Live Home finally takes its rightful place. Although do remember that Windows Live Home is due for a major revamp coming up in Wave 4, and it will also become the “Today” page for Hotmail too.
Mind reading may no longer be the domain of psychics and fortune tellers — now some computers can do it, too. Software that uses brain scans to determine what items people are thinking about was among the technological innovations showcased Wednesday by Intel Corp., which drew back the curtain on a number of projects that are still under development. The software analyzes functional MRI scans to determine what parts of a person’s brain is being activated as he or she thinks. In tests, it guessed with 90 percent accuracy which of two words a person was thinking about, said Intel Labs researcher Dean Pomerleau. Eventually, the technology could help the severely physically disabled to communicate. And Pomerleau sees it as an early step toward one day being able to control technology with our minds.