We cover the latest from the IFA consumer electronics shows where the next major mobile devices are being showcased, the big new virtual reality backer & the Sony bump.

Plus we’ll discuss the inaccurate Linux security story floating around the net & more!

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Show Notes:

• Driving the news: IFA 2014

IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) is an annual consumer electronics show held in Berlin, Germany, which often serves as a launching platform for smartphone and tablet manufacturers. Think of it as a mini-Mobile World Congress. Last year’s IFA hosted the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Gear, among others. This year’s event officially runs from Sept. 5-10, but we’re expecting many of larger announcements to be made in the couple of days before IFA officially begins.

The Galaxy Note Edge is a flagship phone with an entirely new kind of curved display | The Verge

Samsung has introduced the Note 4, a 5.7-inch phone with a 1440p SuperAMOLED display coming in October.

The Note Edge is, on paper at least, only the slightest variation on the new Note 4. It has the same metallic design. It has the same 16-megapixel camera, the same heart-rate monitor, the same processor, the same memory, the same software. It even has a Quad HD, 2560 x 1440 display like the Note 4, though this one is slightly smaller at 5.6 inches rather than 5.7.

It’s on the right side of the phone’s front face that a sharp difference appears between the two models. The screen starts to slope downward, falling off toward the edge and wrapping around the side. It’s as if two screens have been connected to each other at an acute angle, but there’s only one display here. The asymmetry of the phone feels a little odd, like I chipped part of the right side off by accident, but it doesn’t really hurt the aesthetic appeal of the phone. It’s still very comfortable, the metal body both solid and dense, and I like the way the screen curls under my right thumb. (If you’re a lefty, using the Note Edge in one hand is going to be terrible — but then again using a Note in one hand is already terrible.)

Sony announces its latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z3

You’ll find a 5.2-inch, 1080p display, a 20.7-megapixel camera and waterproofing. (Same as the Z2)

Sony has also added a new, wide-angle 25mm lens (to fit more into a shot) and extra-high ISO 12,800 light sensitivity.

A 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 processor instead of the 2.3GHz chip you saw in the Z2.

Price and carries will be annouced in the fall.

• A closer look at Sony’s Xperia Z3 flagship

Samsung and Oculus partner to create Gear VR, a virtual reality headset that uses the Note 4 (hands-on)

Samsung’s getting in on the virtual reality action, announcing Gear VR at IFA 2014 today in Berlin, Germany. Gear VR is a virtual reality headset with a removable front cover where Samsung’s newly announced Note 4 slips in, acting as the screen. Paired with adjustable lenses built into the headset

• Built in Camera
• No wires (that means no PC to drive it too)
• Touch Pad
• Good build

The only information on availability is “this year,” and there is no price just yet; it’ll be available for purchase online and through “select carriers.” Considering how low-tech Gear VR is, and the fact that Samsung’s pushing a product into a market that doesn’t really exist just yet, I expect the company will aim as low as possible in terms of pricing.

When you do get one, it comes with a 16GB microSD preloaded with a variety of “360-degree videos and 3D movie trailers from major studios” (that’ll go into the Note 4, naturally). Oh, and you’ll need a Note 4 (not a Note 4 Edge — just the Note 4), as Gear VR is built to work with only that device.

Linux systems infiltrated and controlled in a DDoS botnet

Akamai Technologies is alerting enterprises to a high-risk threat of IptabLes and IptabLex infections on Linux systems. Malicious actors may use infected Linux systems to launch DDoS attacks against the entertainment industry and other verticals.

The mass infestation of IptabLes and IptabLex seems to have been driven by a large number of Linux-based web servers being compromised, mainly by exploits of Apache Struts, Tomcat and Elasticsearch vulnerabilities.

Attackers have used the Linux vulnerabilities on unmaintained servers to gain access, escalate privileges to allow remote control of the machine, and then drop malicious code into the system and run it. As a result, a system could then be controlled remotely as part of a DDoS botnet.

A post-infection indication is a payload named .IptabLes or. IptabLex located in the /boot directory. These script files run the .IptabLes binary on reboot.

The malware also contains a self-updating feature that causes the infected system to contact a remote host to download a file. In the lab environment, an infected system attempted to contact two IP addresses located in Asia.

“We have traced one of the most significant DDoS attack campaigns of 2014 to infection by IptabLes and IptabLex malware on Linux systems,” said Stuart Scholly, senior VP and GM, Security Business Unit, Akamai.