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Monday, July 27, 2015

Pretty Serious Stagefright Security Flaw Found on Android, Probably Affects Your Phone

This morning, Forbes relayed a potential serious security flaw in Android, first discovered by Zimperium zLabs, that could affect your phone. The flaw is found in Android’s Stagefright, a multimedia tool at a deep system level. According to this research, a simple MMS (multimedia text) sent to your phone could open up your phone to audio/video recording, but also give a hacker access to your photos or Bluetooth. In order to gain that kind of access, they may only need to know your phone number. Zimperium zLabs suggests that some 950 million Android devices are in danger of this bug. Yep, this security bug is actually a pretty big deal. 

They sent several vulnerabilities related to this to Google months ago and Google has already confirmed them and added patches to Android (7 in total to date). The problem is, we don’t know which devices have been patched or not. For one, Google hasn’t even confirmed that its own Nexus devices are patched, so you can imagine (and probably assume) that your Samsung, Motorola, LG, HTC, etc. non-Nexus phone isn’t patched either.

As I mentioned, the vulnerabilities exist in Stagefright and can be accessed by a simple MMS to you or I. That MMS may not even need to be opened in order to do its damage. Some apps, like Hangouts, pre-load (if you will) MMS messages to make them quickly accessible to you, which then allows these vulnerabilities to be exploited without you even knowing. In other situations, if you opened a bad MMS, you would trigger it.

Forbes reached out to all of the major manufacturers and none have commented on the status of their phones. Again, assume they haven’t patched anything.

So what does this mean for you? I wish I had solid advice, but this is one of those situations where a bad MMS could potentially get a hold of information on your phone until it receives a patch. Zimperium zLabs hasn’t posted the full details on this exploit (they may never) and claims to be the only ones who know exactly how it works, if that gives you any sense of peace. Of course, they plan to talk more about it at this year’s Blackhat and DEFCON conferences in Vegas in a couple of weeks.

We’ll share new info as we have it.

Via:  Forbes
Cheers John!

Pretty Serious Stagefright Security Flaw Found on Android, Probably Affects Your Phone is a post from: Droid Life



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Samsung Announces Desktop Monitor With Built-In Qi Wireless Charging

With the introduction of more technology over the past few years, it seems that our desks are becoming more cluttered than they have ever been. We simultaneously need smartwatch chargers, chargers for phones, tablets, and heck, maybe even a charger for Google Glass. The point is, it’s a messy situation. However, thanks to the introduction of a new desktop monitor from Samsung with built-in Qi Wireless Charging, you can begin to fight the clutter. 

The SE370 monitor comes in two sizes, 23.6″ and 27″, featuring one of the most readily available wireless charging standards available directly in its base. Naturally, if you own a Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge, charging your device via this desktop computer monitor will not be an issue.

In terms of monitor specs, it does not sound like the most high-end of models, but does feature 4ms response time, a resolution of 1920×1080, 1000:1 contrast ratio, Windows 10 certification, and plenty of different preset modes for energy efficiency and more power-hungry game settings.

Samsung has yet to provide final pricing or a release date, but does this concept interest you? It certainly is clever, if you ask us.

Via: Samsung Tomorrow

Samsung Announces Desktop Monitor With Built-In Qi Wireless Charging is a post from: Droid Life



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Moto G (3rd Gen) Gets a Quick Early Unboxing

Hey, Motorola, got any plans outside of the Moto G (3rd gen) tomorrow? Hope so!

Thanks to another premature leak by another wireless carrier outside of the US, we know even more about Motorola’s new mid-range offering. Through an unofficial unboxing of sorts, we get a look at the new Moto G’s box, swappable back covers, and front sticker (with specs). 

From the images we have included in this post, we are getting additional confirmations that that the Moto G (3rd gen) will be IPX7 waterproof, come equipped with 4G (hoping that means LTE), 16GB of storage (8GB likely too), 13MP/5MP camera combo, 5″ HD display with Gorilla Glass, 1.4GHz quad-core processor, and dual SIM slots in some countries.

It sounds like a nicely upgraded Moto G. Assuming Motorola does keep that $179 price point we exclusively reported last week, this should be another success story for Motorola globally, in emerging markets.

moto g 3rd unboxing2

The expectation is that Motorola will unveil this phone tomorrow, along with Moto Maker access in select countries, but also make it available immediately.

Via:  Vendas Itabuna Cellular  | HelloMotoHK
Cheers Lucas and Rashad!

Moto G (3rd Gen) Gets a Quick Early Unboxing is a post from: Droid Life



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T-Mobile Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Get Updates With Battery Improvements

T-Mobile is pushing updates to its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge variants this morning, both of which appear to be bug fixers after the 5.1.1 update that arrived a couple of weeks back. And actually, each is listed as including “battery improvements” along with other various fixes. The S6 Edge is also getting a “cocktailbar error fix.” 

The S6 Edge update is rolling out as version G925TUVU2COF8. The regular S6 is G920TUVU2COF8.

To grab the update, head into Settings>About phone>Software update. Each update weighs in at around 103MB.

Via:  T-Mobile [2]

T-Mobile Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Get Updates With Battery Improvements is a post from: Droid Life



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Reminder: OnePlus 2 Arrives Tonight, New Motorola Goodies Tomorrow

As a reminder to kickstart the week, we wanted to make sure you all realized that OnePlus is going to unveil the OnePlus 2 tonight via streamed event that will also be done in VR through a companion Android app. But also, don’t forget that Motorola has goodies to unveil tomorrow morning.

Here are the details. 

OnePlus 2 Event (Today)

motorola event invite

Motorola Event (Tuesday, July 28)

  • Live streamed event starts at 6AM Pacific (9AM Eastern).
  • We will be on the scene with a liveblog and livestream as well.
  • We are fully expecting to see the new Moto G (3rd gen). The new Moto X (3rd gen) could arrive as well, just don’t be shocked if it isn’t. Who knows about a new Moto 360 or new DROIDs.
  • To read up on the latest of the new Moto X (3rd gen) hit up this link.
  • To read up on the latest of the new Moto G (3rd gen) hit up this link.

Any last minute predictions?

#OP2MOTOTOUR

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Saturday, July 25, 2015

Instagram is Rolling Out a New Quick Edit Screen on Android

I went on a hike this morning and took some photos to post to Instagram. As I loaded up the app (v7.3.0), I noticed a new screen that seemed a bit different after choosing/taking a photo. You can see what I’m talking about in the image above (and video below), which appears to be a new quick edit/filter screen. 

In previous builds of Instagram, after you chose or snapped a new photo, you were asked to crop before editing in a screen that listed out filters at the bottom, along with some other controls. In this new screen, you skip right past the edit screen and onto a page that lets you swipe across the screen to quickly adjust filters, before adding comments and tags. If you would like to get deeper into editing tools, an “Edit” button in the bottom left of your photo will get you there. There is also a button for tagging people in the opposite corner.

This new quick posting screen seems to show a handful of nearby locations that you can scroll through as well, along with a simpler caption box.

This update seems to be rolling out via server-side update. We were also able to get one device switched to this new UI after clearing data on the app.

Play Link

Instagram is Rolling Out a New Quick Edit Screen on Android is a post from: Droid Life



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OnePlus 2 Invite Reservation List Now Open, VR Launch App Hits Play Store

Two hours ago (at the time of this posting) on a Saturday, OnePlus decided to open up a registration list for invites to purchase the OnePlus 2. Hopefully, you saw the posting minutes after it went live, because the list is already closing in on 20,000 people.

As many of you know, in order to purchase a OnePlus 2, you will need an invite. This list, is like a back-up for those who don’t have exclusive access to early invites or who don’t feel like participating in OnePlus’ social experiments. Still, this may be the only way that many of you can get an invite, even if it is already 20K people long. 

Keep in mind that OnePlus has said to expect 30-50x the inventory at launch, so this list should run quicker than it did last year.

To put your name in the reservation waiting list, hit up this link and quickly scroll to the bottom.

Screen Shot 2015-07-25 at 8.07.54 AM

On a semi-related note, the OnePlus 2 will be officially unveiled on Monday through a streamed press event. If you took up OnePlus on their free VR cardboard offer, you can stream the event in VR through a recently released Android app. In fact, the app just popped up on Google Play last night. Be sure to grab it below.

Play Link

OnePlus 2 Invite Reservation List Now Open, VR Launch App Hits Play Store is a post from: Droid Life



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