Technology - Google News

New iPhone Hack Shock For 1 Billion Apple Users As Attacker Is Revealed - Forbes
The Alienware M15 Is An Awesome Gaming Laptop, And It's $350 Off - Forbes
Google Photos can now search for text in your pictures -- here's how - CNET

New iPhone Hack Shock For 1 Billion Apple Users As Attacker Is Revealed - Forbes

Posted: 31 Aug 2019 09:28 PM PDT

Apple users are still reeling from the shocking disclosure by Google's Project Zero team that a number of "hacked websites" have been used to attack iPhones for two years. And every single up-to-date iPhone has been vulnerable. Now, two days later, those same 1 billion users face further damning revelations.

I reported the news on Friday [August 30], and said at the time that the clear implication is that the attack targeted a particular geographic or demographic, which, along with the clear sophistication and scale involved, points in the direction of a nation state sponsored threat actor.

Now, according to TechCrunch, "sources familiar with the matter have said that the websites were part of a state-backed attack—likely China—designed to target the Uighur community in the country's Xinjiang state."

The fact that a nation state is implicated in a mass targeting of Apple's "locked down" devices against a section of its population, and seemingly escaped notice or censure for two years or more, is a devastating shock to the Apple community. If China can do this, then others can as well. And the solid sense of security has been shattered.

The news was disclosed just as Apple confirmed its September 10 launch date for the upcoming iPhone 11, and the scale of the revelations have put a massive dent in the usual gloss of its annual event. The nature of the hack also shines a light on Apple's approach to software development and penetration testing and patching. And, to many's surprise, the Cupertino giant has been found wanting.

As soon as Google disclosed that the hack "indicated a group making a sustained effort to hack the users of iPhones in certain communities over a period of at least two years," the implication was that either China or Russia were likely targeting an ethnic minority within their respective domains.

And China was always the most likely culprit. The authorities in Xinjiang, where it's reported that as many as 1 million members of the minority Muslim Uighur population are interred in "retraining camps," have been at the forefront of the use of surveillance technology to monitor and oppress the population. This has included smartphone monitoring, facial recognition and citizen scoring.

TechCrunch cited a source claiming that "the websites also infected non-Uighurs who inadvertently accessed these domains because they were indexed in Google search, prompting the FBI to alert Google to ask for the site to be removed from its index to prevent infections."

There have been no confirmations from Google or law enforcement that the sites did indeed target Uighurs, and some criticism that Google did not clarify any of this at the time of the disclosure. There are two reasons this would have been helpful. First, it would be a siren call to those potentially impacted to check their devices, change passwords and watch for compromises. Second, it would ease the concerns of the majority of the 1 billion iPhone users who—as things stand—could have been hit by the attack. Yes, only "thousands a week" were attacked. But which "thousands?"

"There was no target discrimination," Google said of the hack, "simply visiting the hacked site was enough for the exploit server to attack your device, and if it was successful, install a monitoring implant." In a heartbeat, the researchers had pricked the bubble of Apple's supposed security superiority.

Google's research team "was able to collect five separate, complete and unique iPhone exploit chains, covering almost every version from iOS 10 through to the latest version of iOS 12. This indicated a group making a sustained effort to hack the users of iPhones in certain communities over a period of at least two years."

For those whose devices were infected, "the attackers were able to get highly privileged access to core parts of the iPhone operating system." An attack could access photos and messages, steal login credentials and banking passwords, even access location information. And those passwords could have stored in the system, not scraped as a website was being accessed.

Now we are being steered in the direction of the Uighurs, the reference to location information has added significance. We know from multiple data breaches from Xinjiang, that the authorities are tracking the locations of the population.

Despite this narrowing down of the attack, Apple still has the problem that this will undermine confidence in the security of the brand. So severe is this disclosure, so damaging and intrusive the nature of the vulnerability, that it will leave users asking questions about how such a serious range of flaws could have been left open.

The other two question this raises, of course, are that if these exploits were in place for two years before being found, what else is out there that we don't yet know about? And was there any similar hack in place that targeted Android devices that either hasn't been found or hasn't been disclosed?

More serious questions. Still a dire lack of serious answers.

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The Alienware M15 Is An Awesome Gaming Laptop, And It's $350 Off - Forbes

Posted: 01 Sep 2019 02:00 AM PDT

A great gaming laptop can make the gaming experience a whole lot better -- but they can also often be a little expensive. Dell, however, has launched a number of great deals on gaming laptops on Amazon, making now a great time to buy a gaming laptop if you're in the market for one. Perhaps the best deal is for the Alienware M15, which is currently a hefty $350 off.

Alienware M15

Alienware

The Alienware M series of laptops has long offered top-tier specs and excellent performance, which is exactly what gamers need. When it comes to the laptop's design, the computer offers a 15-inch display, and there are plenty of ports for connectivity, including three USB 3.1 ports, a Thunderbolt 3 port, an HDMI port, a Mini DisplayPort, and more.

Of course, it's perhaps what's under the hood that's even more important. The Alienware M15 boasts an 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, along with a hefty 16GB of RAM and two hard drives -- one 128GB solid-state drive and one 1TB hybrid drive. When it comes to graphics, the computer boasts an impressive Nvidia GTX 1070 Max-Q graphics card, which is a pretty powerful GPU.

There are other things to love about the laptop too. The display comes in at 15.6 inches, which should be more than big enough for most gamers who want something nice and immersive. And, as mentioned, this variant of the Alienware M15 is available for $1,499.99 -- which is $350 off the normal price.

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Dell G5 15-inch Laptop

Dell G5 15

Dell

There are other gaming laptops on offer too. Perhaps you would prefer something a little more budget-friendly, and in that case we recommend the Dell G5 15-inch laptop, which is available for $150 off its normal price.

The Dell G5's design is a little more traditional in terms of design, but it still offers a nice, big 15.6-inch display with three USB 3.1 ports, a HDMI port, a Mini DisplayPort, and more.

As usual, it's what's under the hood that's more important than design. The laptop offers an 8th-gen Intel Core i5, along with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD. The device also offers an Nvidia GeForce GTC 1050 Ti, which again, should be more than good enough for most gamers.

The Dell G5 15 usually comes at $849, but for a limited time it's available for a pretty affordable $699.

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You might instead be looking for a laptop with an even larger 17-inch display, in which case it's worth considering the Dell G7 17-inch laptop. The laptop offers a similar design to the Dell G5, but this variant includes a 8th-gen Intel Core i7, along with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB solid-state drive, which is a solid spec-sheet. The graphics card on the device sits in at an Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti. Safe to say, this is a great laptop for those that want something relatively large.

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Google Photos can now search for text in your pictures -- here's how - CNET

Posted: 01 Sep 2019 06:00 AM PDT

samsung-galaxy-note-10-plus-13 — Don't lose your mind searching for that screenshot you took.
Angela Lang/CNET

Scrolling through 2,567 photos to find the precise picture you want can be a nightmare. Now, a new feature in Google Photos will let you search for pictures that have text in them so you can quickly find what you're looking for. You can even copy and paste the text when you find it.

The new tool makes it easier to find a recipe you saved, a funny meme you screenshotted or your bank account number. You can also use it to pinpoint a photo that you took of a Wi-Fi password, business card or phone number.

Google Lens powers this search feature. The company's image-searching software is available in Google Photos for Android and iPhone ($999 at Amazon). It's still rolling out, however, so if you don't see it yet, keep checking daily (and make sure the app is updated).

Here's how to use the Google Photos search tool to find your photos.

1. Open the Google Photos app.

2. Tap on the search bar and type what you're looking for. For example, if you took a screenshot in Yelp or Google Maps of a coffee shop you want to try, just type coffee or the name of the business.

3. Once Google has spotted the image for you, tap on it.

4. Tap the Google Lens button on the bottom of the screen. It's a square with a dot in the center.

5. Google will highlight all of the text in the photo. Tap on the words you want to copy.

6. Select Copy text.

7. Now you can paste the text wherever you need, like in the messages app or in a browser.

Ready for more Google tips? Check out this enormous arrow for the directionally challenged in Google Maps and how to urn it on now.