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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 16 Issue 31
Volume 16, Issue 31 Atari Online News, Etc. August 1, 2014
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2014
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Fred Horvat
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=~=~=~=
A-ONE #1631 08/01/14
~ EU Focuses on Google! ~ People Are Talking! ~ Atari: Game Over!
~ PSN Breach Settlement! ~ Trend Micro Backs Off! ~ China Gets Xbox!
~ Student Sues Facebook! ~ Arcade Games Restored! ~ New MacBook Pro!
~ Canada, China Tension! ~ Facebook Out, Call 911 ~ Comcast Ups Speed!
-* 10 Facebook Scams To Avoid! *-
-* Google Scraps Its Mysterious Barge! *-
-* Facebook Outage Prompts Twitter Complaints *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Last I looked, I'm still in New England. Tornadoes are rare in these
parts, especially near the coast! However, in a small town just north
of Boston, a tornado hit the area. Fortunately, there were no
casualties, but there were a number of injuries. A lot of damage was
quite obvious, as I watched a number of news reports. Very scary!
So, while we endure more thunderstorms tonight (and more forecast for
the weekend!), let's try and stay dry and out of the severe weather;
and move into this week's issue!
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Xbox Unveiled in China!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" PSN Breach Settlement!
Atari: Game Over Trailer!
And more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
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Microsoft Unveils Xbox in China As It Faces Probe
Microsoft on Wednesday unveiled its Xbox game console in China, the first
to enter the market after an official ban 14 years ago, even as it faces
a Chinese government probe over business practices.
Microsoft is ready to attack China with an exclusive Xbox One deal BGR News
China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce said Tuesday it was
investigating the US technology firm for "monopoly actions" related to its
flagship Windows operating system and Office suite of software.
The day after the announcement of the investigation, Microsoft introduced
its newest Xbox One model to the potentially vast Chinese market ahead of
the official sales launch, which a company representative said would be
September 23.
"We are deeply committed to deliver the very best games and entertainment
experience for fans in China," Yusuf Mehdi, chief marketing and strategy
officer for Xbox, told reporters at an event billed as a chance to
"experience" the Xbox.
The slick presentation at the Shanghai Film Museum included Xbox games
projected onto a big screen on a darkened stage with deafening sound
effects for a crowd of 100 journalists and game developers.
Xbox signs were prominently displayed but Microsoft's coloured square logo
was conspicuously absent.
Microsoft said earlier on Wednesday that it seeks to comply with Chinese
law.
The Xbox One is the first gaming console available for purchase in China
through authorised sales channels since 2000. Illegal machines, smuggled
into the country, are widely available from online vendors and electronics
markets.
China last year set up the country's first free-trade zone (FTZ) in
Shanghai as a test bed for economic reforms, among them allowing foreign
firms to manufacture game consoles for sale into the domestic market
after passing authorities' inspections.
The move has opened up the market to the likes of Microsoft, as well as
Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Wii.
Analysts said Microsoft was targeting high-end users in China with the
Xbox One, but the price - from 3,699 yuan ($600), 50 percent more than
the basic $400 US package - might prevent it from reaching a wider
market.
"It might need a shift in its strategy if it wants to achieve bigger
sales volume after selling to its niche group of users," said Xue
Yongfeng, an analyst with consultancy Analysys International.
The government investigation was unlikely to have significant impact on
sales among indifferent gamers, he said.
"For its core users, the impact won't be particularly big as users who
buy their products don't particularly care about this anti-monopoly
investigation," he told AFP.
Microsoft is in the process of setting up a facility to assemble the Xbox
in one part of the FTZ at Shanghai's Pudong airport. It is cooperating
with China's BesTV New Media, a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group.
It has enlisted powerful partners to help sell the Xbox in China,
including one of the country's top telecom companies and JD.com, the
Chinese equivalent of Amazon.
JD.com has already started taking pre-orders through WeChat - China's most
popular instant messaging platform - and will accept website pre-orders
from Thursday, according to the company.
China Telecom also said it will offer the Xbox through its sales channels
from September.
Sony Agrees To Offer Free Game or PS+ Subscription
as Part of PSN Breach Settlement
A Sony rep sent an email to Game Informer with the companys response to
the settlement:
A proposed settlement has been reached in the class action lawsuits
arising from the April 2011 criminal cyber-attacks on the PlayStation
Network, Qriocity, and Sony Online Entertainment services. Information
regarding the proposed settlement, which is subject to final approval by
the Court, is available in the settlement agreement and other documents
filed with the Court. While we continue to deny the allegations in the
class action lawsuits, most of which had been previously dismissed by the
trial court, we decided to move forward with a settlement to avoid the
costs associated with lengthy litigation. To date, the Sony entities have
received no confirmed reports of identity theft linked to the attacks,
and there is no evidence that anyones credit card information was
accessed. We are glad that the parties are working toward a resolution of
this matter and that our gamers will continue to enjoy our entertainment
services.
It may have taken place back in April 2011, but Sony is still dealing with
the PlayStation Networks lengthy shutdown, with the company now agreeing
to a $15 million preliminary settlement in a class action lawsuit due to
the security breach of 77 million accounts.
As a result of this preliminary settlement, Sony will be offering those
who participated in the Welcome Back program a choice of one free
PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Portable game, 3 free themes, or a 3-month
PlayStation Plus subscription (provided you arent a PS+ member already).
For those of you who didnt participate in the Welcome Back program, Sony
will be honoring claims on a first-come, first-serve basis, with a cap of
up to $6 million. Youll then be able to choose two separate benefit
options or two instances of one PSN benefit option.
However, this settlement appears to only be eligible for those in the
United States, with the final hearing where a judge will assess the
reasonableness of the outcome not scheduled until May 1, 2015. So, nothing
will go into effect until May of next year at the earliest, provided a
judge signs off on it.
If the settlement does go through, this is an example of the letter you
can expect to see:
If You Had a PlayStation Network, Qriocity, or Sony Online Entertainment
Account Before May 15, 2011, You Could Get Benefits from a Class Action
Settlement.
A settlement has been reached with the Sony Entities in a class action
lawsuit about the illegal and unauthorized attacks (the Intrusions) in
April of 2011, on the computer network systems used to provide
PlayStation Network (PSN), Qriocity, and Sony Online Entertainment
(SOE) services.
The Sony Entities deny any claims of wrongdoing in this case, and the
settlement does not mean that the Sony Entities violated any laws or did
anything wrong.
The Class includes everyone in the US who had a PSN account, a Qriocity
account, or an SOE account at any time before May 15, 2011.
There are various benefits, depending in part on what type of account(s)
you had. Benefits you could get (if you qualify) include:
Payment equal to paid wallet balances (if $2 or more) in PSN or SOE
accounts that have been inactive since the Intrusions,
One or more of the following: a free PS3 or PSP game, 3 free PS3 themes,
or a free 3-month subscription to PlayStation Plus (once valid claims
exceed $10 million, class members will still be eligible for one free
month of PlayStation Plus), A free month of Music Unlimited for Qriocity
accountholders who did not have a PSN account, $4.50 in SOE Station Cash
(amounts will be reduced proportionally if valid claims exceed $4
million).
Identity Theft Reimbursement: If you had out-of-pocket charges due to
actual identity theft, and have documentation proving that the theft was
actually caused by the Intrusion(s), you can submit a claim for
reimbursement up to $2,500. Reimbursements will be reduced proportionally
if the total amount payable on of all valid claims would exceed $1
million.
You need to file a claim to be eligible for benefits. Claim forms are
available at WWW.PSNSOESETTLEMENT.COM [TREAT WITH CAUTION -Bertie] or by
calling 1-800-000-0000. The earliest deadline to file a claim is Month 00,
2014, or 60 days after the settlement becomes final and effective.
Even if you do nothing, you will be bound by the Courts decisions. If
you want to keep your right to sue the Sony Entities yourself, you must
exclude yourself from the Settlement Class by Month 00, 2014. If you stay
in the Settlement Class, you may object to the Settlement by Month 00,
2014. The detailed notice, available at the website or by phone, explains
how to exclude yourself or object. The Court will hold a hearing in this
case on Month 00, 2014, to consider whether to approve the settlement,
and a request by Class Counsel for fees, costs, and expenses up to
$2,750,000. You or your own lawyer may appear and speak at the hearing at
your own expense.
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE Gaming Online - Online Users Growl & Purr!
"""""""""""""""""""
Atari: Game Over Trailer: Digging Up Evidence of E.T.s Demise
In 1983 Atari dumped a ton of unsold E.T. video game cartridges in a New
Mexico landfill. Thats s documented fact, but one that is strange enough
that it took on the allure of urban legend. Last year a company excavated
that landfill as part of a documentary on the fall of Atari and the early
80s video game industry. The results have been seen in photos, but now
you can see video, thanks to the Atari: Game Over trailer.
Atari was a pioneering video game company, and the first truly dominant
company in the home gaming market thanks to the Atari 2600 console. But
by the end of 1982 Atari was fractured into uncooperative divisions, and
had failed to follow up the hardware success of its first major console
even as clones and competitors arrived on shelves. Third-party games,
many of which were sub-par titles, flooded the market.
Making things worse was Ataris own ability to churn out undercooked
games, such as the officially licensed Pac-Man home conversion, and most
notoriously the licensed E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial game. E.T. was given
a scant five weeks of development. Shallowly conceived and over-produced,
the title could never hope to sell through its inventory. The game didnt
single-handedly kill Atari or the industry, but it was the focal point
for many problems, and the poster child for the video game industry crash
of 1983.
Atari buried thousands of unsold copies of E.T. in a New Mexico landfill,
and a few months ago a group dug up that site as part of a documentary on
the companys history. This is the trailer.
Some of this trailer is hopelessly mired in hyperbole. Try to process
statements like The dreams of a generation buried underneath the garbage
you can hear it screaming or something and its like opening the Ark of
the Covenant.
But theres a good story here, about the rise of Atari, and the hubris of
the first stage of the video game industry. Hopefully there will be some
understanding about how the companys disorganization and seeming
dominance contributed to its fall.
Atari: Game Over premieres on Xbox Live this fall.
Cambridge Museum's Arcade Games Brought Back to Life
Arcade machines kept in the UK Computer Museum are being restored after
enthusiasts answered a plea for help.
The museum, based in Cambridge, hopes games such as Space Invaders,
Asteroids and Tempest will be brought back to working order for the public
to enjoy.
Organiser Phillip Riscombe-Burton used a games fans' forum to call for
help to fix the machines, which have been out of use for at least
17 years.
Volunteers found temporary fixes for five of the eight machines, he said.
They will continue to work on the games until they are fully restored.
The museum's arcade games include Centipede, Tempest, Xevious and Alien
Syndrome. The museum has 150 working computers, ranging from the 1960s
until the modern day.
The collection also includes 13 arcade games from the 1970s to 1990s,
eight of which needed fixing.
Mr Riscombe-Burton invited forum members to visit the museum, share
knowledge and work on the obsolete machines.
The 29-year-old software engineer, who owns four arcade games, said:
"Meeting up in person is worth weeks and weeks on the forum.
"With arcade repair, it's always like you get an initial fix and then look
at the long-term failures."
Three engineers have taken some of the boards home to continue working on
them.
Museum director Jason Fitzpatrick purchased the arcade games from various
places including American military bases, and loaned them to the
establishment about seven years ago.
"We're not like the average museum," he said.
"You can touch everything and play on everything to see what the
computers are like."
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Google Under European Regulatory Spotlight
Google Inc faces a variety of challenges from European Commission
regulators, in contrast to its experience in the United States where the
Internet search company has largely mitigated regulatory threats.
The following are some of the regulatory issues that Google is contending
with in Europe:
*Android - EC regulators have stepped up inquiries into Google's policies
regarding its Android mobile operating system, which is used in
80 percent of the world's mobile phones. Regulators appear to be focused
on whether Googles mobile policies impede rivals.
*Search - An EC investigation that began in 2010 seeks to address
complaints that Google manipulated its search results to rank its own
services higher than competitors. A proposed settlement, under which
Google has agreed to display rivals' links more prominently, among other
things, is contested by critics who say it lets Google off too easily.
*Right to be Forgotten - Google has scrambled to process tens of thousands
of requests by individuals who want search-result links to unflattering
news articles removed, following a ruling by Europe's top court in May.
Regulators criticized Google for restricting its implementation of the
ruling to European sites rather than to the broader Google.com website.
*User data - Italy's data protection regulator gave Google 18 months to
change the way it treats and stores user data, a response to Googles
controversial move to combine data collected on individual users of its
various online services and to consolidate its 60 privacy policies.
*Taxes - Britain, France and Germany have called for stricter rules to
stop companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon aggressively avoiding
taxes in austerity-bitten Europe. Google has said it complies with the
tax rules of all the countries in which it operates.
Canada, China Tensions Rise On Cyberattack
Tensions are mounting between China and Canada over Beijings alleged role
in a cyberattack at a Canadian science and technology agency, just as the
two countries were looking to smooth relations and organize a bilateral
get-together.
On Tuesday, Canada singled out China for blame over an alleged cyberattack
at the National Research Council, a federal agency that conducts research
and development into technology for eventual commercial use. China
initially called the allegations groundless in a statement issued by
the Chinese embassy in Ottawa, describing Canadas behavior as neither
professional nor responsible.
Chinas ambassador to Canada, Luo Zhaohui, gave a rare interview with
Torontos Globe and Mail newspaper, in which he challenged the Canadian
government to produce the evidence leading Ottawa to publicly shame
Beijing. Show me the evidence and then we can do something to
investigate, the envoy said in an interview published in the Globes
Friday edition.
A representative at the Chinese embassy in Ottawa didnt make Mr. Luo
available for comment and referred a reporter to a statement issued
earlier in the week.
The strain in relations over the cyberhacking allegations comes as a
Chinese government anticorruption investigation that has targeted dozens
of senior officials reaches into Canada. As The Wall Street Journal
reported earlier this week, a billion-dollar oil sands deal involving
the Canadian subsidiary of state-run China National Petroleum Corp. and
Athabasca Oil Corp. is in limbo as the former head of a CNPC Canadian
subsidiary has been caught up in the anticorruption probe and another
executive has left her post. Both companies said they expect the
transaction to close and have declined to comment on the probe.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper now has to juggle the need to
attract Chinese capital and boost exports to the worlds second-largest
economy, while dealing with elements within his Conservative government
that remain suspicious of Beijing.
The government is somewhat paralyzed on what they can do with China,
said Paul Evans, an international relations professor at the University
of British Columbia. Canada still lacks a coherent China strategy, Mr.
Evans said, in part because Conservative Party members and a significant
element of the Canadian population are skeptical of Beijing.
Polling released in June by the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, for
instance, indicate 56% of Canadians oppose a trade deal with China; only
35% suggest China is an important market for Canadian growth; and 31%
held an unfavorable view of China.
Mr. Harper has given conflicting signals on Chinese investment since
taking power. Some Conservative lawmakers in 2012 said they opposed the
planned acquisition by Beijing-controlled Cnooc Ltd. of Canadas Nexen
Inc. The deals approval included a curb on future Chinese investment in
the oil sands.
The Canadian leader is scheduled to travel to Beijing in November to
participate in the leaders summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation group, and Canadian government aides have discussed a
possible bilateral meeting between Mr. Harper and Chinese President
Xi Jinping. The get-together was seen a way to soothe worries in China
about Canadas appetite for Chinese investment after Mr. Harpers
government moved in late 2012 to limit acquisitions of oil sands assets
by Chinese state-owned enterprise.
A spokesman for Mr. Harper declined to discuss the status of the
Canada-China bilateral, first discussed in March at a nuclear security
summit in The Hague, and declined to make an official available for an
interview about Canada-Chinese relations.
Instead, a spokeswoman for Canadas foreign department said in an email
Canada has a mature and frank dialogue with the Chinese on a variety of
levels, without elaborating.
The timing of the blowup over the alleged cyberattack couldnt have been
worse, said Fen Osler Hampson, a fellow at the Centre for International
Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ontario. Canadian Foreign Minister
John Baird was in Beijing on Tuesday on a scheduled visit to promote
Canada as an economic partner, with a meeting planned with his Chinese
counterpart, Wang Yi. Tuesday was the day Canada publicly identified
China as the culprit of cyberattack.
A tentatively news conference in Beijing involving Messrs. Wang and Baird
never materialized. An aide to Mr. Baird said the possibility of a joint
news conference was discussed but never confirmed.
Trend Micro Backs Off Google Play Malware Claims
In a recent press release, Trend Micro made a fairly bold claim about
malware running rampant in the Google Play Store. The release, dated
July 15, 2014, began as follows:
Google Play populated with fake apps, with more than half carrying malware
Potentially evil doppelgangers for the most popular apps are inundating
the Google Play store, with many carrying malware, according to a new blog
post and report by Trend Micro, a global developer of cyber security
solutions.
In the report more than 77 percent of the top 50 apps on the Google Play
store have repackaged or fake apps associated with them. This includes:
100 percent of the apps categorized under Widgets, Media & Video, and
Finance
90 percent of the apps categorized under Business, Music & Audio, and
Weather
Approximately 70 percent of the apps categorized under Games, Books
and Reference, and Live Wallpapers
The Trend Micro blog post points out that creating fake or repackaged
apps contribute to the growth of mobile malware. From the post:
Repackaged applications, which are a category of fake applications, play
a crucial role in the proliferation of mobile malware. Like fake apps,
repackaged apps use social engineering tactics, displaying similar user
interface (UI), icon, package names and app labels as the
legitimate/official version of the apps they spoofed. This is done to
trick users into downloading fake apps and consequently, generating
profit.
This is a striking claim, and if true it would have serious security
implications for Android users. So, I decided to test Trend Micro's
claims.
On every Android device I use, I run Malwarebytes to ensure I'm not using
or writing about a malicious app. For this test however, I also installed
Trend Micro's Mobile Security And Antivirus.
I opted to test apps from the Widget, Media & Video, and Finance category
- seeing as how Trend Micro claims that 100% of those apps have
repackaged or fake apps associated with them. After installing five
widgets from the top 100, I ran both Malwarebytes and Trend's own
software. Neither scanner found a single threat.
I also checked to see if these same widgets had fake versions associated
with them. Not one came up with a fake app on the Google Play Store.
So, what's going on here? Is Trend Micro's research wrong? Where my tests
inaccurate?
To find out, I contacted HCK Partners (which sent out the press release on
behalf of Trend Micro). I shared with them the results of my tests and
asked about the company's claims that Google Play was "populated with fake
apps" of which "more than half" carry malware and that the Google Play is
inundated with "potentially evil doppelgangers for the most popular apps".
In response, they walked back both claims and attempted to clarify the
information in the original release:
Our research isn't saying that this problem exists exclusively on Google
Play because the majority of these problem apps are available in places
other than Google Play. We are now aware that this point wasn't presented
in a clear enough manner, and based on that feedback we have updated our
blog with the following:
Update as of July 17, 2014, 9:08 A.M. PDT:
Note that the fake apps samples we gathered are from third party sources
and none was found in Google Play
The point of our research, in fact, is to highlight the risks around apps
found in apps from sources other than Google Play.
Apparently, the individual who wrote this release was more than a little
overzealous with their charges of rampant malware in the Google Play
Store.
There's a clear disconnect between the subject line of the release,
"Google Play populated with fake apps, with more than half carrying
malware," and the company's follow-up statement, "Note that the fake apps
samples we gathered are from third party sources and none was found in
Google Play".
To state that "77 percent of the top 50 apps on the Google Play store have
repackaged or fake apps associated with them" is significantly different
than saying 77% of Android apps coming from third-party sources contain
malware. And even then, a third-party source could easily include the
Amazon app store. Claims like these need facts and sources. Where were
these fake apps found? Which specific apps were they?
I understand that people make mistakes and companies often make
extravagant claims in press releases. But in this day and age, when a
single claim from a reputable source can be the thing that sways consumers
from one product to another, you better make 100% sure your 100% claim is
100% true before you send it out to the world.
Student Launches Global Lawsuit Against Facebook
Austrian law student Max Schrems appealed to a billion Facebook users
around the world on Friday to join a class-action lawsuit against
Facebooks alleged violations of its users privacy, stepping up a
years-long data-protection campaign.
Schrems, a thorn in Facebooks side who has a case involving the social
network pending at the European Court of Justice, has filed a claim at
Viennas commercial court and invited others to join the action at
www.fbclaim.com using their Facebook login.
Under Austrian law, a group of people may transfer their financial claims
to a single person - in this case, Schrems. Legal proceedings are then
effectively run as a class action.
Schrems is claiming damages of 500 euros (499.91 pounds) per user for
alleged data violations, including aiding the U.S. National Security
Agency in running its Prism programme, which mined the personal data of
users of Facebook and other web services.
The 26-year-old is also seeking injunctions under EU data-protection law
at the court in data-privacy-friendly Austria. Our aim is to make
Facebook finally operate lawfully in the area of data protection, he
said.
Facebook has come under fire before for allegedly violating
data-protection laws.
Most recently, Britains data watchdog began investigating whether a 2012
experiment on unwitting users, in which it tried to alter their emotional
state to see if their postings turned more positive or negative.
The worlds biggest social network, Facebook now has 1.32 billion users.
It posted a 61 percent increase in sales in the second quarter thanks to
mobile advertising, sending its shares to a record high and valuing the
company at almost $200 billion.
Facebook declined to comment on the Schrems case on Friday.
Users from anywhere outside the United States and Canada may sign up to
join the Austrian case, since Facebook runs all its international
operations from Ireland, another EU country. The case relies largely on
the EU Data Protection Directive.Europe in general has stricter
data-protection rules than the United States and considers itself more
privacy-conscious.
But its history of enforcing data protection is mixed, bar a few
high-profile cases such as the ECJs ruling in May that compels internet
companies to remove irrelevant or excessive personal information from
search results.
"We have this habit of pointing the finger at the United States, but were
not enforcing our rights anyway," Schrems told Reuters. "If we can get a
class action through like this, it will send out a huge signal to the
industry overall."
Schrems has had limited success pursuing cases in Ireland, home to the
European or international headquarters of some of the largest U.S.
technology companies, including Microsoft and Google, who employ
thousands there.
His europe-v-facebook group appealed to the Irish High Court to rule on
allegations that U.S. companies helped the NSA harvest private data from
EU citizens after the Irish data watchdog said there were no grounds for
an investigation.
The High Court referred the case to the ECJ.
Schremss Austrian court case relies on EU law for the alleged data
violations, which also include tracking of users on external websites
through Facebooks like button and unauthorised sharing of user data
with external applications.
The claims for damages will have to be assessed under more financially
generous California law, Schrems said, since Facebook says California law
governs its terms of service.
A specialist financier will bear the legal costs if Schrems loses the case
and will take 20 percent of the damages if he wins, meaning users can join
the case at no financial risk.
Schrems himself is not charging a fee but stands to win 500 euros, like
the other claimants.
10 Facebook Scams You Should Definitely Avoid
Would you like to know just how many people have visited your Facebook
page this week, or to be notified when a friend deletes you? How about
changing that boring Facebook blue color of your profile would you be
interested in that?
Of course you want these things. Thats why links to many of the top 10
Facebook scams, shown as article links right in your News Feed, read just
like the above.
The digital security company Bitdefender compiled a list of the 10 most
common scams on Facebook and shared it with The Guardian. The scams are
mostly meta-Facebook clickbait, promising you cool (and fake) services on
Facebook, for Facebook.
A couple of notable variations also appear in the roundup: one for a
Rihanna sex tape (which doesnt exist), and another for what could be
mistaken as free electronics, labeled Unsealed. We are giving them away
for free.
Bitdefender says that clicking on these links will typically lead
Facebookers to external websites where theyll be asked to download and
install nefarious programs. These programs are often viruses or other
forms of malware in disguise that could potentially harm your system or,
worse, hijack your private information. You do not want to click on any
of these links, or download any of these programs, no matter what
Facebook goodies they promise.
Ranked by the percentage of fake link clicks each scam has accounted
for in the past year, you can view the full top 10 below:
1. Total profile views/visitors (30.20 percent) The scam: An app or
software that lets you see either how many views your Facebook profile
has received or who has been visiting your profile. This capability does
not exist.
2. Change your Facebook Color/Colour (7.38 percent) The scam: Facebook
isnt MySpace: You cant change its main colors.
3. Rihanna sex tape with her boyfriend (4.76 percent) The scam: There is
no Rihanna sex tape, nor a Rihanna sex DVD, nor a Rihanna MP4 video.
4. Check my status update to get free Facebook T-shirt (4.21 percent) The
scam: Free T-shirts, especially those shot via cannon, are awesome.
Unfortunately, you probably wont get one via Facebook.
5. Say goodbye to Blue Facebook (2.76 percent) The scam: Again, you are
not going to change the hues of your Book.
6. Unsealed. We are giving them away for free (2.41 percent) The scam: Be
very wary of any giveaways for free electronics (iPhones, iPads, Beats
headphones, and so on) on Facebook. These are generally scams.
7. Check if a friend has deleted you (2.27 percent) The scam: There are
extensions and websites that can help you find out who has deleted you
on Facebook. But you should probably get that recommendation from a
trusted website, and not an easily hacked Facebook friends page.
8. See your top 10 profile peekers here! (1.74 percent) The scam: You
cant see whos been looking at your page. This one is always a scam.
9. Find out how to see who viewed your profile (1.55 percent) The scam:
Ill tell you again: You cant.
10. Just changed my Facebook theme. Its amazing (1.50 percent) The scam:
Do people really hate Facebooks colors or something? Anyway, still
impossible.
By pointing out these bogus, harmful links, Bitdefender is doing a good
service for the public. (Though the company is also plugging a Facebook
app of its own that will alert you of scams in real time.) With it, you
wont have to wait for next years top 10 list to see if that dubious
thing you clicked on that one time was legit or not.
And, of course, if you wish to brave the world of Facebook without
Bitdefenders app, and you do spot in your News Feed any of the links in
the above list (or something strikingly similar), just remember: We all
love Rihanna, but thats no reason to click.
Brief Facebook Outage Prompts Complaints on Twitter
A brief Facebook outage on Friday prompted a flurry of complaints and
comments on Twitter less than two months after a similar incident
affecting users worldwide.
According to the website downdetector.com, the outage began around 1600
GMT, and appeared to last less than an hour.
"Earlier this morning, some people had trouble accessing Facebook for a
short time," the California-based Internet titan said in reply to an AFP
inquiry.
"We quickly investigated and are currently restoring service for
everyone. We're sorry for the inconvenience."
Facebook had yet to pinpoint a cause, but the trouble appeared to be a
technical issue.
During the outage, thousands of users complained they could not access
the world's biggest social network.
Similar to the June incident, Facebook users took to Twitter to vent or
post sardonic comments, many using the hashtag #facebookdown.
"Facebook is Down?! Oh God! Now How the Hell Am I Going to Find Out How
My Friends Feel About Facebook Being Down?!" one user tweeted.
Another wrote "Facebook going down for 15 minutes is proof that today's
generation wouldve survived approximately 8 seconds in the 80s."
A Twitter user with the handle @TheTweetofGod wrote, "#facebookdown.
Please remain calm and do not attempt to interact with human beings."
Facebook Users Dial 911 Over Social Network Outage
Going without the social network prompts people to call 911 only to get
a chilly response.
When Facebook crashes, whats a disgruntled user to do? For some, it
means calling the authorities, apparently.
Such was the case on Friday morning when the popular social network
suffered its second brief outage in two months. Some users in Los
Angeles, after getting an error message, called 911, prompting L.A.
County Sheriff sergeant Burton Brink to shoot off the following tweet:
According to Sgt. Brink, the Crescenta Valley Station in La Crescenta,
Calif. has received several calls from dissatisfied Facebook users
seeking a solution, although the exact number of phone-in complaints had
not be tallied as of press time.
We get phone calls all the time, whether it be Facebook going down,
people getting wrong orders at fast food restaurants, or their cable TV
went out, Sgt. Brink told Fortune. But with Facebook in particular, we
get calls probably because its such a widely-used thing. Of his
now-viral tweet, Sgt. Brink explains it was largely done to prevent more
people from calling about the problem.
That Facebooks FB outage which impacted just some of its users
prompted some people to dial 911 in a panic is comical, obviously, but
the chain-of-events also speaks to the sheer ubiquity of the social
network itself. Since its founding in 2004, Facebook has evolved into
the second-most popular Internet destination in the world, with over
1.3 billion users logging in monthly second only to Google.
Apple Unveils Updated MacBook Pro Notebooks
As anticipated, Apple has boosted both the memory and processing power of
its professional laptop range and has also cut the price of its one
remaining non-Retina display model.
Now, all models with a Retina display come with double the memory and
improved battery life. So for 13-inch models, that means 8 GB instead of
4 GB of RAM as standard and 16 GB in the 15-inch models.
All 13- or 15-inch notebooks also get upgraded to the latest iteration of
Intels Haswell processor, so performance and battery life will also get
an upward push.
However, Apple is keeping prices the same. That means that an entry-level
13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display will cost $1,299 with a 2.6 GHz
dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz,
8 GB of memory, 128 GB of flash storage, and Intel Iris graphics.
For an extra $700, consumers will be able to snap up a 15-inch MacBook Pro
with Retina display boasting 16 GB of memory, 256 GB of flash storage, and
Intel Iris Pro graphics.
If the spec bumps werent sufficiently appealing, Apple has also cut the
price of the flagship 15-inch model which comes with a 2.5 GHz quad-core
Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7 GHz, 16 GB of
memory, 512 GB of flash storage, and Intel Iris Pro and NVIDIA GeForce GT
750M graphics to $2,499.
People love their MacBook Pro because of the thin and light, aluminum
unibody design, beautiful Retina display, all-day battery life and deep
integration with OS X, said Philip Schiller, Apples senior vice
president of worldwide marketing. The MacBook Pro with Retina display
gets even better with faster processors, more memory, more affordable
configurations and a free upgrade to OS X Yosemite this fall.
On Tuesday, the company also confirmed that its last remaining notebook
with an optical drive, the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is slightly thicker
than the Retina display models thanks to its CD/DVD combo drive and which
has a lower-resolution screen, will remain in production.
Describing it as an attractive option for consumers considering making
their initial jump from a PC to a Mac, the laptop has a 2.5 GHz quad-core
Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz and a
500 GB spinning hard drive and while it hasnt had its RAM upgraded (its
stuck on 4 GB), it has had $100 cut from its price tag. It will now cost
just $1,099.
Comcast Revs Up Internet Speeds for Some Customers. Are You Eligible?
What do California, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas all have in common? If you
answered "faster Internet speeds for Comcast customers," you'd be correct.
The cable Internet provider announced Friday that nearly all of its
residential customers in those four states will be receiving increased
Internet speeds.
Comcast said it increased the speed of the three Xfinity Internet tiers
that it offers: "Performance" is now 50 Megabits per second (Mbps), up
from 25 Mbps; "Blast" is now 105 Mbps instead of 50 Mbps; and "Extreme
105" has increased to 150 Mbps.
"We continue to deliver the fastest speeds to the most homes so our
customers can have a terrific online experience," says Eric Schaefer,
senior vice president and general manager of data and communications
services at Comcast, in a statement.
"Whether its streaming video, gaming or just surfing the web, customers
need an Internet provider that can deliver speed and reliability. Plus,
since wireless access is becoming just as important as wired service, we
also include complimentary access to Xfinity WiFi with most of our
Internet service tiers. We currently offer about 3.6 million hotspots
with plans to grow to eight million by the end of the year."
In a statement, Comcast explained that these changes will be phased in for
customers over the next few days, though it noted that those who wish to
receive "more immediate access" can restart their modem to do so. Comcast
will alert customers if they need to upgrade their Comcast hardware to
receive the faster Internet speeds.
Currently, Internet providers are feeling the pressure to boost customers'
speeds. Google is currently working to bring high-speed Internet to
34 cities across the US as part of its Google Fiber initiative. According
to statistics compiled in December of last year by the international
pro-trade group OECD Broadband, the US pales in comparison to other
countries when it comes to Internet speeds. In the US, only 7 percent of
broadband subscribers use fiber connections, which are reportedly 100
times faster than basic broadband connections. Fiber is used by as many
as 30 percent of subscribers in Sweden and as many as 60 percent in
countries such as South Korea and Japan, according to the OECD
statistics.
This comes at a time when Comcast is trying to buy rival broadband
provider Time Warner Cable for a reported $45.2 billion.
"Together, Comcast and TWC will bring millions of consumers the
next-generation of broadband Internet, video, voice, and related
technologies," writes David L. Cohen, Comcast executive vice president
and chief diversity officer in public policy, in an April statement.
Comcast also upgraded the Internet speed for 14 states and Washington,
D.C. back in April, according to PCWorld.
Google Scraps Its Mysterious Unused Barge
Once upon a time, Google had a dream. A floating dream. They wanted a
showroom at sea, housed in a large barge. Unfortunately, this plan
never got off the ground (or, um, sea) and now the Google Barge that
never was is headed off to a sad fate: the scrap yard.
The barge is four-stories high, made of 63 shipping containers. It was
built in Connecticut before heading across the nation to the West Coast.
A similar barge also appeared in San Francisco last year. Google said
the barges would be "an interactive space where people can learn about
new technology." The barge was supposed to head to New York after,
where the technorati could check out different gadgets within it.
But the barge was never finished, and the project was essentially
abandoned, though Google has not disclosed any reason why or provided
further details about the project.
The barge has been sitting in the Portland harbor since last year. This
week, it was moved to Turner's Island Cargo Terminal in South Portland.
There, it will be taken apart. Lance Hanna, the deputy harbor master at
Portland Harbor, told the Portland Press Herald the 63 containers would
be taken apart and sent to be scrapped.
On the bright side, the city of Portland earned $400,000 in property
taxes from the docked barge that did nothing.
=~=~=~=
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