Friday, April 13, 2012

PSA: Fake Angry Birds Space Android App Is Full of Malware (Updated) [Android]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5901691/psa-fake-angry-birds-space-android-app-is-full-of-malware

PSA: Fake Angry Birds Space Android App Is Full of Malware (Updated)There's a fake Angry Birds Space app in the Android Market available on Android phones that infests your phone with malware.

According to Sophos, a digital security firm, the malware hides its "payload" deep inside two .JPEG files. Once installed, it downloads additional malware to your phone, and enlists your phone as part of a botnet. From there, your phone can be used as muscle for any number of hacker ops.

The easy way to avoid getting nailed by fake app malware is to always be sure to check the developer on any app you download. If you've already downloaded Angry Birds Space, take a second to make sure that you've got the right one, and if not, consider securely wiping your phone once you've backed up important data.

Malware happens, but erm, isn't this one that Google's Android Market Bouncer really should have caught? [Business Insider via All Things D]

Update: We originally posted that the fake app was available through the Android Market. That's incorrect. It is only available through third party stores, so if you go through official Android channels for your apps, you shouldn't have any problems.

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HTC One X gets unofficial power management fix, boosts battery life 10 to 20 percent

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/13/htc-one-x-gets-unofficial-power-management-fix/

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Somewhere along mike1986's development of Android Revolution HD, a custom ROM for the HTC One X, he found that something amiss with the smartphone's stock system -- its Tegra 3 power management software didn't function properly. According to the developer, an app known as NvCPLSvc.apk was misplaced in the /system/bin folder, rather than its proper destination of /system/app. Along with the custom ROM, mike1986 has released the fix as a separate bundle, which is detailed in the source below. To apply the patch, users must push the new APK to their handset via ADB, and then alter the file's permissions. Unless you're seriously hindered by your phone's battery life, however, it seems safe to wait for an official update from HTC. On the upside, users report an battery life increase in the neighborhood of 10 to 20 percent once with the fix in place, and we can only hope that all users will soon benefit from similar gains.

[Thanks, Nitin]

HTC One X gets unofficial power management fix, boosts battery life 10 to 20 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mozilla tests out opt-in system for plug-ins in latest Firefox nightly build

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/13/mozilla-tests-out-opt-in-system-for-plug-ins-in-latest-firefox-n/

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Plug-ins bogging down your web browsing? Then it looks like you could soon have another option to cut through the clutter right in Firefox. The latest nightly build of the browser includes a new feature that lets users turn off all plug-ins by default and then click on each to enable them (something that, we should note, can already be done through third-party add-ons). While that functionality is still in the early stages, Mozilla's Jared Wein says that they're now working on adding the ability to remember plug-in settings on a per-site basis, and hope to have the feature ready for the release version of Firefox 14 (currently due out in July). In the meantime, you can get an early look at the feature in the latest nightly build available at the source link below.

Mozilla tests out opt-in system for plug-ins in latest Firefox nightly build originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG renames Optimus LTE to Optimus True HD LTE, disses Samsung's HD Super AMOLED

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/13/lg-renames-optimus-lte-to-optimus-true-hd-lte-disses-samsungs/

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While the Optimus LTE's already made its way to South Korea, Japan and the US (in the guise of the Spectrum and the Nitro HD), LG's decided to give this dual-core handset a new name ahead of its Hong Kong launch at the end of this month. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Optimus True HD LTE. Alas, the "true HD" part here doesn't actually mean the phone's getting 1080p resolution on a 4.5-inch panel (which would be 490ppi; yet Toshiba's actually done it!); but we were told that 'tis really just a dig at Samsung's HD Super AMOLED technology -- you know, the magic behind that 4.65-inch screen on the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S II HD LTE.

Simply put, LG doesn't think that 1,280 x 720 on PenTile counts as HD due to the lower number of sub-pixels; and while it's at it, the company also criticized AMOLED's over-expressed colors and higher power consumption in "normal user environment" -- for the latter, LG showed that its AH-IPS has a more consistent power consumption across varying levels of overall whiteness. You can see the relevant slides after the break.

Of course, we've already expressed (twice) how much we like the HD Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy Nexus. The clearness issue now is much less noticeable when compared to the original Super AMOLED; but as for color accuracy, many of us are indeed deceived by the vibrancy that we naturally enjoy -- except when you need to inspect photos, of course. Regardless, we're pretty sure that it's only a matter of time before Samsung strikes back with a, ahem, "true HD" Super AMOLED (Plus) panel -- hopefully in time for the upcoming Galaxy S III.

Continue reading LG renames Optimus LTE to Optimus True HD LTE, disses Samsung's HD Super AMOLED

LG renames Optimus LTE to Optimus True HD LTE, disses Samsung's HD Super AMOLED originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon CloudSearch brings A9 to devs and businesses

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/amazon-cloudsearch-brings-a9-to-devs-and-businesses/

Amazon CloudSearch brings A9 to devs and businessesAmazon certainly isn't the first to offer hosted search services for third parties, but its model might make it the simplest option. Businesses or devs looking to create custom search indexes need only to upload what they want to make searchable and Amazon takes care of the rest -- including deciding how much hardware to provision based on index size and traffic. Using the company's A9 search engine, CloudSearch can quickly whip up complex query tools, including support for Boolean functions. For more details check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Amazon CloudSearch brings A9 to devs and businesses

Amazon CloudSearch brings A9 to devs and businesses originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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