Snapchat – Jupiter Broadcasting

Google today provided an update on its plan to remove Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) from Chrome, which the company says will improve the browser’s security, speed, and stability, as well as reduce complexity in the code base. In short, the latest timeline is as follows: Block all plugins by default in January 2015, disable support in April 2015, and remove support completely in September 2015.

For context, Google first announced in September 2013 that it was planning to drop NPAPI. At the time, Google said anonymous Chrome usage data showed just six NPAPI plugins were used by more than 5 percent of users, and the company was hoping to remove support from Chrome “before the end of 2014, but the exact timing will depend on usage and user feedback.”

While NPAPI usage has continued declining since then, the drop has not been as quick as Google hoped. The latest usage data (for October 2014) shows the following launch percentages:

Silverlight (11 percent of Chrome users, down from 15 percent)
Google Talk (7 percent of Chrome users, down from 8.7 percent)
Java (3.7 percent of Chrome users, down from 8.9 percent)
Facebook Video (3 percent of Chrome users, down from 6 percent)
Unity (1.9 percent of Chrome users, down from 9.1 percent)
Google Earth (0.1 percent of Chrome users, down from 9.1 percent)

The above six are part of a small number of popular plugins currently whitelisted and allowed by default in Chrome (Silverlight is primarily used by Netflix users, but the company is slowly shifting to HTML5). In January 2015, Google plans to remove the whitelist, blocking all plugins by default.

Users will still be able to allow NPAPI plugins for specific sites by clicking on the “Plug-in blocked” message in the URL bar and choosing “Always allow plug-ins on [website].” Here is how that looks:

In April 2015, this will no longer be an option as NPAPI support will be disabled by default in Chrome and Google will unpublish extensions requiring NPAPI plugins from the Chrome Web Store.

Tumblr Overtakes Instagram As Fastest-Growing Social Platform, Snapchat Is The Fastest-Growing App | TechCrunch

With 1.35 billion active monthly users, Facebook continues to be the world’s largest social network by some margin, but when it comes to picking up new users, it appears to have reached a saturation point. Research out today from the Global Web Index notes that Tumblr’s active user base in the last six months grew by 120%, while Facebook’s grew by only 2%.

And in overall member growth, Pinterest took the lead with 57% growth while Facebook’s member base grew by 6%.

Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and even Google+ all grew faster than Facebook.

A More Efficient Solar Panel Can Be Made With Old Blu-Ray Discs

A group of researchers at Northwestern managed to make more efficient solar panels based off of the patterns on Blu-ray disc. They began by cutting off the edges a Blu-ray copy of the 1992 Jackie Chan flick _Police Story 3 _and opening up the disc. (It’s actually not a bad movie, especially for those of you into Hong Kong capers.) The researchers were after the quasi-random nanostructure that encode the data on the disc. _IEEE Spectrum _explains why the way data is stored on Blu-ray makes it relevant to solar panels, especially compared to other DVDs.

The researchers then used the open face of the Blu-ray disc to make a mold that was stamped over solar panels, giving the panels the same nanostructure pattern as the original disc. The Blu-ray-patterned solar panels ended up being 12 percent more efficient than smooth ones.

Black Friday / Cyber Monday Subreddit

The largest subreddit dedicated to Black Friday!

HashKey: a dedicated 1-key keyboard for the hashtag by Ben Gomori — Kickstarter

We’re finally giving the hashtag its own key. The HashKey is the world’s first one-key USB keyboard – dedicated solely to the hashtag.

The post Jackie Chan that Solar Panel | Tech Talk Today 98 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

SnatchedChat | Tech Talk Today 74

chris — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 10:00:13 +0000

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13 gigabytes of stolen images from Snapchat but Snapchat themselves are not to blame. The Linux Foundation is working on open source drones. Apple Pay is facing headwinds & our Kickstarter of the week sparks quite the debate!

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Snapchat images stolen from third-party Web app using hacked API [Updated] | Ars Technica

An alleged cache of about 13 gigabytes of stolen images from Snapchat—some of them apparently of nude, underage users of the “ephemeral” messaging platform—was posted online Thursday night, many of them to the image-sharing site 4chan’s /b/ discussion board. However, the threads linking to the images have largely been shut down by 4Chan over concerns of trafficking in what could be considered child pornography. Over 100,000 user images and videos were in the cache, according to 4chan discussions.

According to 4Chan posters, the files were moved by the operator of the site SnapSaved.com—a site that was operating as a web-based SnapChat viewer—from the original server to a non-indexed site, where they were discovered. The original poster on the leak has said he will not be sharing the contents in both a comment on 4Chan and in a “release” posted on Pastebin.

The leak was apparently caused by SnapSaved.com (which has apparently been offline for several months; the link is to the developers’ Facebook page). SnapSaved was a Web-based client built for Snapchat that allowed users to access “snaps” from a Web browser. However, the service, which according to DNS records ran on a server at the hosting company HostGator, apparently kept all images received or sent by its users without their knowledge.

Snapchat does not publish its API for third-party developers, but it has been reverse-engineered.

Linux Foundation Launches Open Source Dronecode Project

“The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and collaborative development, today announced the founding of the Dronecode Project. The Project will bring together existing open source drone projects and assets under a nonprofit structure governed by The Linux Foundation. The result will be a common, shared open source platform for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Founding members include 3D Robotics, Baidu, Box, DroneDeploy, Intel, jDrones, Laser Navigation, Qualcomm, SkyWard, Squadrone System, Walkera and Yuneec. Dronecode includes the APM UAV software platform and associated code, which until now has been hosted by 3D Robotics, a world leader in advanced UAV autopilot and autonomous vehicle control. The company was co-founded by Chris Anderson, formerly editor-in-chief of Wired”

Many Retailers Hesitant About Offering Support for Apple Pay

Though Apple is launching Apple Pay with a number of high-profile retail partners including Macy’s, Disney, Whole Foods, Sephora, Walgreens, and Staples, among others, there’s a long list of retailers who have decided not to offer Apple Pay in their stores.

Walmart and Best Buy, for example, have been two high-profile companies that have vocally opted out, and The Daily Dot has compiled a list of several other retail outlets that have no current plans to support Apple Pay. Clothing store H&M said that it has no plans to accept Apple Pay at this time, as did high-end retailer Coach.

A Bed, Bath & Beyond spokesperson said the company was “unable to participate,” while a spokesperson for retailer Belk also said “we don’t have the capability to accept Apple Pay right now,” suggesting the store has not adopted payment systems with NFC capabilities.

Sears, Kmart, and Publix have also said they won’t be accepting Apple Pay, as has gas company BP, though BP stations may be able to accept Apple Pay in 2016.

Some fast food restaurants aren’t on board yet either, including Pizza Hut and Chipotle, while others, like KFC, are “looking into the prospect of accepting Apple Pay” but have no timetable for support.

The list of merchants not on board with Apple Pay is considerable, but contactless payments are growing in popularity and with the help of Apple Pay, the adoption of NFC systems may accelerate even faster. According to Apple, more than 220,000 retail stores across the United States will be able to accept Apple Pay.

Apple Pay is expected to roll out in October as an update to iOS 8. iOS 8.1, with hidden Apple Pay settings, has already been seeded to developers for testing.

Wells Fargo employee emails CEO asking for a raise — copies 200,000 other employees

Tyrel Oates, a 30-year-old Portland, Oregon-based employee of Wells Fargo, shot to Internet fame after emailing the company’s CEO John Stumpf (and cc’ing 200,000 other employees) to ask for a $10,000 raise… for everyone at the company.

The Charlotte Observer reports:

Oates proposed that Wells Fargo give each of its roughly 263,500 employees a $10,000 raise. That, he wrote, would “show the rest of the United States, if not the world, that, yes, big corporations can have a heart other than philanthropic endeavors.”

In an interview Tuesday, Oates…said he has no regrets and that he has received many thank-yous from co-workers who told him they shared his views.

And, at least as of Tuesday afternoon, he said he’s still employed by the company, where he processes requests from Wells Fargo customers seeking to stop debt-collection calls.

“I’m not worried about losing my job over this,” Oates said.

Kickstarter of the Week: Boxie: A speaker with a built-in LED light-show by Michael K.

An elegant, synchronized light-show built into a great sounding speaker. Place Boxie on your desk or in a bookshelf and see the music.

The post SnatchedChat | Tech Talk Today 74 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

ZFS Turntables | TechSNAP 143

chris — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 17:54:54 +0000

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2014 starts out with a bang, the NSA spying catalog is leaked, back doors are running wild, and thieves use a simple USB drive to steal thousands of dollars.

Then it’s a great big batch your questions, and our answers!

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NSA Spy tool catalogue

Der Spiegel displays the NSA’s 50 page catalogue of spy tools and “Tailored Access Operations”
Many of the digital weapons are \”remotely installable\”
While others require physical access to the device, called an \”interdiction\”
The malware is installed into the hardware, usually intercepted sometime between leaving the manufacturer and arriving at the customer
The malware is often persistent, meaning it will survive upgrades, and sometimes even reflashing the BIOS or firmware
Some of the implants were new hardware, they provided the NSA with RF communications with the target system, allowing them to control or reinfect the system, or exfiltrate data
The attack against Dell servers, known as ARKSTREAM reflashed the BIOS from a USB stick (so as not to require the attacker to have any technical skills) to implant the infection
The NSA has nearly complete backdoor access to Apple\’s iPhone
EFF: Everything we know about the NSA Spying
One case involved Julian Assange\’s current home at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where visitors were surprised to receive welcome messages from a Ugandan telephone company. It turned out the messages were coming from a foreign base station device installed on the roof, masquerading as a cell tower for surveillance purposes
The program also targeted hard drive manufacturers: Western Digital, Seagate, Maxtor and Samsung
Responses:
Dell
Juniper
Cisco

Thieves use USB sticks to compromise ATMs

The attackers physically cut holes in the ATM to be able to access the USB port, then once they had infected the machines with their own code, they patched the holes to avoid discovery
Once infected, the thieves just had to approach the ATM and enter a 12 digit code to get access
“Analysis of software installed onto four of the affected machines demonstrated that it displayed the amount of money available in each denomination of note and presented a series of menu options on the ATM\’s screen to release each kind”
The mastermind behind the attack designed it such that it required two-factor authentication, to ensure that the mules with the USB sticks could not ‘go rogue’
The researchers added the organisers displayed \”profound knowledge of the target ATMs\” and had gone to great lengths to make their malware code hard to analyse.
However, they added that the approach did not extend to the software\’s filenames – the key one was called hack.bat.

FreeNAS Mini from iXsystems

Canadian Federal Departments consider banning USB devices

After a number of incidents where USB sticks have been lost or stolen, the Canadian government is considering banning USB devices
A week-long investigations led security officials to conclude it was “impossible to assess [the] compromise” related to the loss of the device
Nor was it clear who was telling the truth about the number of hands the one small device passed through: Employees pointed fingers at each other, with none knowing where the USB key ended up
Another USB key that was neither password protected nor encrypted was found on a downtown Ottawa sidewalk by a Good Samaritan. It contained protected information — albeit out-of-date details — of a federal project
File servers are behind firewalls, support auditing and stronger access control, and are a better solution
However, since any unsophisticated user can easily use a USB stick, they tend to get used to circumvent IT policy

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The post ZFS Turntables | TechSNAP 143 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.

Jails vs VMs | TechSNAP 110

chris — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:17:14 +0000

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A security breach become a lesson for us all. We’ll make some lemonade from a bad situation, and arm you with what you need to protect your self.

Plus Demonoid users get phished, a batch of your questions, and much much more.

On this week’s TechSNAP.

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BSDCan Live, May 17th and 18th

Name.com Security Breach

Name.com is a domain name registrar
usernames, email addresses, passwords, and credit card account information may have been accessed by attackers
Name.com claims to use strong cryptography on the passwords and credit card information
Specifically 4096bit RSA encryption for the credit card data, with the key stored at a separate remote location which was not accessed
No details on how the passwords were ‘encrypted’. A twitter update says they were ‘hashed and salted’ but word on the algorithm/implementation
According to the email sent to Name.com users, the attack appears to have been an attempt to steal the domain of one specific large Name.com customer
Special steps are being taken for customers who no longer have access to the email address that their account is tied to

Demonoid users get an email claiming the site is back, turns out to be malware

“In July 2012 the popular semi-private BitTorrent tracker Demonoid suffered a huge DDoS and hacker attack”
Demonoid’s servers in the Ukraine were later seized by authorities
This week, a site called D2.vu appeared claiming to be the resurrection of the site
Former users of Demonoid were informed of the sites return via email, suggestion the person running the new site had access to the original members database
The site was found to be serving malware and was shutdown by the hosting company
TorrentFreak tracked down some information on the the owner of the site, who appears to be chinese and own a number of other chinese sites
It is unlikely that the return of the site was real, because it was hosted on a single low power virtual server, rather than a series of dedicated servers
The hosting company suggests that the malware may have actually come from the ads embedded on the page, but it seems more likely that the site was a large phishing scam
If you got such an email, and signed up or attempted to login to the site, it is suggested that you change any passwords that are the same anywhere else
If you recall a previous episode of TechSNAP, an attacker used the combined databases from a number of different hacked sites including LinkedIn and Gawker, to compromise more than 1000 paypal accounts of users who used the same password

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The post Jails vs VMs | TechSNAP 110 first appeared on Jupiter Broadcasting.