RaviJoshi

It’s world password day. World Password Day aims to stress on the basic need for strong/solid passwords. With we doing everything online these days, right from banking to shopping to paying utility bills to using government services to lots more; the importance of strong passwords is critical.

However, many people still continue to use weak passwords. Late last year, Microsoft analyzed a database containing 3 billion leaked credentials from hacking attacks and found that more than 44 million accounts were using passwords that were already hacked.

Here’s the full list of the world’s worst passwords as published in the NordPass report. So, if any of these look familiar — go and change them right away !.

12345, 123456, 123456789, test1,

password, asdf, . qwerty, . 1234567890, .

1234567, Aa123456, 1234,. Iloveyou,

abc123, 111111, 123123, Dubsmash, Test,

Princess, qwertyuiop, sunshine, BvtTest123,

11111, 00000,. 000000,. Password1,

Monkey, Livetest, . 55555,. Soccer,

Charlie, asdfghjkl, 654321,. family,

Michael, 123321, Football, Baseball,

q1w2e3r4t5y6,. Jessica, Nicole, Purple,

Shadow,. Hannah,. Chocolate, Michelle,

Daniel, Maggie, . qwerty123,. Hello, 112233,

jordan , Tigger, 666666, 987654321,

Superman, 12345678910, Summer,

1q2w3e4r5t, Fitness, Bailey, zxcvbnm,

Buster, Butterfly, Dragon,. Jennifer,

Amanda, Justin, cookie, basketball,

shopping, Pepper,. Joshua, . hunter,

Ginger, Matthew, abcd1234, Taylor,

Samantha, Whatever, 1qaz2wsx3edc,

Thomas, Jasmine, Animoto, Madison,

0987654321, 54321, . Flower, Maria,

Babygirl, Lovely, Sophie,

The vulnerability — which affects virtually all mobile phones, tablets and some connected household appliances — may also hamper investigations of law enforcement agencies.

Researchers have found a serious vulnerability in LTE/4G mobile communication standard that can help hackers impersonate other phone users, take a streaming service subscription at your expense or publish secret company documents under someone else’s identity.

The vulnerability — which affects virtually all mobile phones, tablets and some connected household appliances — may also hamper investigations of law enforcement agencies because attackers can not only make purchases in the victim’s name but can also access websites using the victim’s identity.

For example, an attacker can upload secret company documents and to network operators or law enforcement authorities, it would look as if the victim is the perpetrator, said researchers from Ruhr-Universitat Bochum public university.

“An attacker can book services, for example stream shows, but the owner of the attacked phone would have to pay for them,” said Professor Thorsten Holz from Horst Gortz Institute for IT Security.

Only changing the hardware design would mitigate the threat.

The team is attempting to close the security gap in the latest mobile communication standard 5G, which is currently rolled out.

“Mobile network operators would have to accept higher costs, as the additional protection generates more data during the transmission. In addition, all mobile phones would have to be replaced and the base station expanded. That is something that will not happen in the near future,” said David Rupprecht.

The problem is the lack of integrity protection: data packets are transmitted encrypted between the mobile phone and the base station, which protects the data against eavesdropping.

However, it is possible to modify the exchanged data packets.

“We don’t know what is where in the data packet, but we can trigger errors by changing bits from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0,” said Rupprecht.

By provoking such errors in the encrypted data packets, the researchers can make a mobile phone and the base station decrypt or encrypt messages.

They not only can convert the encrypted data traffic between the mobile phone and the base station into plain text, they can also send commands to the mobile phone, which are then encrypted and forwarded to the provider – such as a purchase command for a subscription.

The researchers from Bochum used so-called software-defined radios for the attacks.

These devices enable them to relay the communication between mobile phone and base station.

Thus, they trick the mobile phone to assume that the software-defined radio is the benign base station; to the real network, in turn, it looks as if the software-defined radio was the mobile phone

For a successful attack, the attacker must be in the vicinity of the victim’s mobile phone, said the researchers.

• WhatsApp will also not work on a number of Android and iOS phones from 1 February, 2020
• On 31 December 2019, WhatsApp withdrew support for Windows Phones

WhatsApp will stop working on a number of smartphones from today. As updated on the FAQ section of the Facebook-owned messaging app, there are several Android and iOS phones that will not run the app as the company will withdraw support for older versions of OS from 1 February, 2020.

According to the information on WhatsApp FAQ section, Android phones running on Android 2.3.7 operating system and lower as well as iPhones running on iOS 8 and lower will not be compatible with the chat app starting today.

WhatsApp also stressed on the fact that these older versions of Android and iOS operating systems “can no longer create new accounts, nor re-verify existing accounts after February 1, 2020.”

However, the Facebook-owned instant messaging platform will keep the app running for select phones with KaiOS 2.5.1+ OS, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2.

WhatsApp also highlighted that the decision to end WhatsApp support for these Android phones and iPhones will not affect a lot of users.

If you are still using these lower version OS on your phones for using WhatsApp, and don’t want to lose all your chats and information after 1 February, 2020, there is an option to save your chats:

Open the chat you wish to export, and tap on Chats.

-Tap ‘Export Chat’. You’ll then be given the option to download the chat with or without media. Choose your option and export all your chats.

WhatsApp also highlighted that the decision to end WhatsApp support for these Android phones and iPhones will not affect a lot of users.

Here is the list of all the operating systems that will not support WhatsApp from next year:

-Android versions 2.3.7 and older

-iOS 8 and older

If you are worried that you might lose all your important chats once the app becomes obsolete, fret not. Here’s how you can create a backup beforehand to avoid losing chat information:

How to backup chats on Android:

– After opening the app, tap on three vertical dots on the top right corner of your Android phone

– Tap on Settings

– Then click on ‘Chats’

– At the bottom, click on ‘Chat backup’ option. It will show you the Google Drive Settings option

Once you have done these settings, all your chats will get backed up for now and for the future.

How to backup chats on your iPhone:

To backup your chats on iOS, you must turn on iCloud Drive on your iPhone. After that, follow these steps:

– Go to WhatsApp

– Click on the ‘Settings’ option at the bottom right corner

– Tap on ‘Chats’

– Tap on the ‘Chat backup’

– Select the option ‘Back Up Now’ to backup chats to your iCloud Drive

– iOS users can also allow iCloud to automatically store their WhatsApp conversations on the screen

– If you want the app to back up your chats and media automatically, tap the ‘Auto Backup’ option

– Select the backup frequency – Daily, Weekly and Monthly – according to your needs. You can also include media by clicking on ‘Include videos’ option

-And now! Your chats will get saved.

WhatsApp also listed the operating systems that the app supports and recommends users to use the following updated devices:

-Android running OS 4.0.3+

-iPhone running iOS 9+

-Select phones running KaiOS 2.5.1+, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2

Earlier, on 31 December, 2019, WhatsApp withdrew support for Windows Phone operating systems stating that the app, “no longer actively develop for these operating systems, and thus, some features might stop functioning at any time.”

Lead author of the study and Cardiff expert Professor Andrew Sewell called the discovery “highly unusual” and indicated that it could be developed into a universal, broad-based therapy.

Marking a breakthrough in cancer treatment, a new type of immune cell that kills most cancers was discovered by researchers at Cardiff University’s School of Medicine. The team has published their findings in the journal – Nature Immunology. The accidental discovery was made when the scientists were analysing blood samples for immune cells that could fight bacteria. They instead discovered the T-cell, a never-before-seen receptor that only latches on to cancerous cells, ignoring healthy ones.

Serendipity

The lead author of the study and Cardiff expert, Professor Andrew Sewell, called the discovery “highly unusual” and indicated that it could be developed into a universal, broad-based therapy. “This was a serendipitous finding, nobody knew this cell existed,” Sewell told The Telegraph.

The discovery is special as the cell was found to work on most human cancers, such as including lung, skin, blood, colon, breast, bone, prostate, ovarian, kidney and cervical cancer – something no present therapies (CAR-T and TCR-T) can claim, the paper reported.

Also, Sewell did not dismiss the idea that lots of people could have the cancer-immune cells or that most people have the cell, but the “receptor has not activated yet”.

How does it work?

The T-cell attaches to the MR1 molecule on cancer cells. This molecule does not vary in humans, thus allowing the treatment to work across cancer types. Since the treatment can be shared between people, the possibility of banks for the immune cells could be created in the future.

Testing on mice, so far, have yielded encouraging results, and Sewell added that the ‘right people’ are interested in developing the new therapy, which means progress would be “quite fast”. They expect human trials on terminally ill patients as early as November 2020, once it passes laboratory safety testing.

Researchers Lucia Mori and Gennaro De Libero, from the University of Basel in Switzerland, told the BBC that the research had “great potential” but was at too early a stage to say it would work in all cancers.

While a professor of immunology at the University of Manchester Daniel Davis, while acknowledging it as an “exciting discovery for advancing basic knowledge about the immune system and for future new medicines,” added that the research was “not close to actual medicines for patients.”

The first big victim of not upgrading to Windows 10 in time !

The German government is facing a bill of around $887,000 (800,000 euros) for failing to upgrade to Windows 10 ahead of the Windows 7 end of support date last week. German newspaper- Handelsblatt  reports, that the German Federal Ministry is looking to secure at least 33,000 machines still running Windows 7, which involves paying Microsoft a fee per device for a year of extended security protection.

Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 last week, but millions of PCs still run the operating system. While Microsoft won’t be issuing public security updates and fixes for Windows 7, businesses who haven’t migrated to Windows 10 in time can pay for Extended Security Updates (ESU). It’s costly if you still have thousands of machines running Windows 7, just like the German government.

Extended updates for Windows 7 Enterprise, used in most big businesses, is approximately $25 per machine, and the cost doubles to $50 per device in 2021 and again to $100 in 2022. It’s even worse for Windows 7 Pro users, used in smaller firms, which starts at $50 per machine and jumps to $100 in 2021 and $200 in 2022. These costs will vary depending on the volume of PCs in use at a business, and some larger firms can negotiate discounts for thousands of machines.

The German government is reportedly in the middle of an upgrade to Windows 10, but it hasn’t managed to get every PC upgraded in time. Handelsblatt reports that 20,000 of 85,000 machines in Berlin government offices are still running Windows 7, highlighting the issue the German government has.

Microsoft has also started using full-screen notifications for Windows 7 users, alerting them that the OS is no longer supported. The software maker used Windows 7 notifications throughout 2019, so people had a lot of warning about the end of support. Millions of machines are still running Windows 7, though, so we’re bound to see a lot more cases of businesses paying high sums to protect their machines from viruses, ransomware, and more.

Stay updated for Latest News. Thank you..

• WhatsApp is working on three options for activating the Dark Mode: light and dark theme and a third option called ‘Set by Battery Saver’
• The most-anticipated Dark Mode feature is still under development.
• some of the latest WhatsApp updates that were rolled out this week

Whatsapp constantly keeps updating its software to include a slew of features to provide smooth messaging and call experience to its users. Some of the features are still under development while a few have been rolled out as stable updates for both Android and iOS users.

Dark mode: Among all the features, the most anticipated Dark Mode update is still under development. However, the continuous roll-outs in the past weeks to enable a stable Dark Mode feature, suggest that it will be released anytime soon. According to WABetaInfo report, a blog that tracks WhatsApp developments, the Facebook-owned social messaging app is currently working on Battery Saver settings before enabling the Dark Theme. The update came in the Android Beta version 2.19.353.

WhatsApp is working on three options for activating the Dark Mode as spotted by the blog. The first option is the original light theme, the second option is essentially the dark theme and there is also a third option called ‘Set by Battery Saver’. All these options are still under development and it is perfectly fine if you don’t see any WhatsApp related updates on your phones yet. These options are being tested on Android Beta before the release of a stable version.

Battery-saving option: The light and dark theme settings are self-explanatory and will incorporate the light and dark versions of the app. Elaborating on the ‘Set by Battery Saver’ option, the blog spotted that WhatsApp can automatically enable/disable the Dark Theme based on your Android device’s Battery Saver settings. This essentially means that the app would sense the phone’s battery saver settings and consequently turn the app darker when your phone’s battery drops below a certain percentage. However, there is a catch to this update. As observed by the blog, this Set by Battery Saver option is only available to users having Android 9 and lower versions on their phone. The option is not available for Android 10 version users and instead, it would remain as the system default option on the phones running on the latest Android OS. This means that if your Android 10-powered phone is working in dark theme, WhatsApp will be run on your phone in the dark mode automatically without manually changing it. There would also be a light and dark call screen according to the users’ light, dark settings for the app. The update will naturally release only when WhatsApp releases the Dark Mode feature.

However, there is no official release date set for the Dark Mode update by WhatsApp yet, so sit tight until further announcement.

Self-destructing message feature: Although currently available on Android Beta version, this update will automatically delete a message after a particular period of time as set by the user.

Once available, the ‘ Delete Message’ feature will come with a toggle on/off button and users can choose a particular time interval for the messages to automatically disappear. There are five options for time intervals to choose from – 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 1 year. Accordingly, the messages sent to that chat will disappear. For instance, if the user opts for 1 hour time interval, the messages sent post-selection will be deleted after an hour. The feature is not a new feature in the app market. Other social apps such as Snapchat, Telegram already rolled out this feature quite a while back. In fact, WhatsApp is late in following suit.

That’s all . Thank you.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Reliance celebrating the third anniversary of Reliance Jio today
• Under the launch offer, Jio Fiber subscribers will get a free set-top-box and free installation

Co-inciding with the third anniversary of the launch of Reliance Jio’s telecom operations on 5 September 2016, Reliance Jio is launching Jio Fiber broadband services across the country today. It is being expected that Jio Fiber will come up with a launch offer of a free set-top-box, zero installation charges and complimentary plan of 1-2 months.

Jio Fiber plans:

Reliance Jio will announce the detailed tariff of its broadband plans later on in the day but Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman had already announced that monthly plans will begin from ₹700 and go up to ₹10,000 for heavy-duty users. Those in the ₹700 broadband plan will enjoy internet speeds at the rate of 100 Mbps. As you move up the price ladder, the speed will also increase and go up to 1 Gbps.

Using fibre-cable technology, jio fibre is a Triple-play plan offering a bundle of landline, TV and broadband services. All those who buy Jio Fiber broadband connection will enjoy free landline connection with unlimited voice calling for life. Data usage is also likely to be capped.

Jio Fiber launch offers:

To woo direct-to-home and cable TV users, the telecom operator is likely to provide free set-top box with every broadband connection, PTI reported. Those who buy ‘Jio Forever’ annual plans will even get an HD or 4K LED TV and a 4K set-top box absolutely free.

Initially, Jio is keeping installation charges also free of cost. Jio Fiber subscribers will have to pay a refundable security deposit of ₹2,500 to get the router or ONT device.

As part of its launch offer, Jio fibre is also likely to be kept free for the next 1-2 months, according to media reports.

How to apply for Jio Fiber:

Around 5 lakh people have already applied for a Jio Fiber connection. Application process has been kept simple and online. You can apply for a Jio fibre broadband connection as it’s website

Once the services begin in your area, Reliance Jio sales team will contact you to seek identity documents following which you will get a connection.

Jio GigaFiber Broadband OR JioFi Device, Which One Is For You?

Well, this may vary on the different pockets and different needs as per the person. If you’re not a heavy user and just want to surf the internet and browse some of your time on social media like – Facebook, Twitter and so on. Then You can go with the JioFI Device because as for now, Jio Broadband Service is not yet launched in India and till then the decision to go with the JioFI will be a good decision.

If you’re a heavy internet user and didn’t have the patience to wait till the page fully loads or Youtube videos buffers, and you want a blazing fast internet speed that loads the page buffers the videos in no time, Then Jio GigaFiber Broadband will be the best option for you. So, once the same is available on the Jio stores or Jio GigaFiber Broadband Website, Don’t forget to complete the Jio GigaFiber Broadband registration Online.

The new ransomware is believed to have been active since at least July 12.

Highlights :

• The ransomware is dubbed Android/Filecoder.C
• It demands a ransom ranging between $98 to $188
• The malicious app comes from forum posts highlighting adult content

A new family of Android ransomware has been discovered that goes deeper into devices by using SMS messaging, according to security researchers. The ransomware, dubbed Android/Filecoder.C, has largely been distributed through various online forums, including XDA Developers and Reddit. Mostly, the attackers have been spotted luring potential victims into downloading adult content from suspicious links that set the pitch for the ransomware attack and demand a ransom ranging between $98 to $188 (roughly Rs. 6,800 to Rs. 13,000).

Security researchers at ESET have reported the arrival of the Android/Filecoder.C ransomware that is being transmitted through malicious apps. The malicious app links have been spotted by the researchers on some forum posts that were mostly related to porn content.

Once the infected apps are installed, the ransomware, which is believed to be active since at least July 12, attempts to spread via SMS messages that it sends to the victim’s contact list. The messages contain links to the ransomware to increase the interest of potential victims, and each of the links is advertised as an app that uses the photos of the recipient, the security researchers note in a blog post.

The ransomware is also said to have 42 different language versions of the single message template that it chooses depending on the language settings of the infected device. The researchers have also mentioned that once the link available in the sent message is clicked, the malicious app is installed. The app often displays a sex simulator, though it silently spreads malicious messages and implements the encryption or decryption in the background.

“The ransomware has the ability to send text messages, due to having access to the user’s contact list. Before it encrypts files, it sends a message to each of the victim’s contacts,” the researchers said in the post.

Once it completes the message sending process, the ransomware goes through the files available on the accessible storage and then encrypts most of them. The app that brings the ransomware includes hardcoded command-and-control (C2) settings and Bitcoin wallet addresses that are used to process ransom. Also, the attackers use Pastebin as a conduit to dynamically retrieve the information from the source code.

The ransomware is claimed to encrypt various file types, including general text files and images. However, it doesn’t grab typical Android extensions such as .apk and .dex as well as compressed files that are based on .zip and .rar formats.

• 

According to the researchers, the encryption list of the latest Android ransomware looks identical to what was associated with Windows-focussed WannaCry

Instead of completely blocking access to the device, Filecoder.C encrypts specific content and displays the ransom note. It also generates a public and private key pair where the private key is encrypted with an RSA algorithm and a hardcoded value. This enables the attacker to remotely decrypt the private key once it receives the demanded ransom amount from the victim.

Users are recommended to download apps from Google Play  to avoid chances of being attacked. Also, it is advisable to avoid tapping unknown links and keep the devices up to date.

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Intel officially launched 11 new, highly integrated 10th Gen Intel® Core™ processors.

Intel officially launched 11 new, highly integrated 10th Gen Intel® Core™ processors designed for remarkably sleek 2 in 1s and laptops. The processors bring high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) to the PC at scale, feature new Intel® Iris® Plus graphics for stunning entertainment and enable the best connectivity1 with Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) and Thunderbolt™ 3. Systems are expected from PC manufacturers for the holiday season.

Why It Matters: 10th Gen Intel Core processors are foundational to Intel’s journey in enabling uncompromising and workload-optimized PC platforms with performance leadership across all vectors of computing. In addition to performance and responsiveness gains, AI, graphics, connectivity and I/O are optimized on the SoC for a solution that delivers a feature-rich suite of capabilities for OEMs to create laptops for people to watch, game and create more.

Product Line-up:

	Processor Number	Graphics	Cores / Threads	Graphics (EUs)	Cache	Nominal TDP/ ConfigUP TDP	Base Freq (GHz)	Max Single Core Turbo (GHz)	Max All Core Turbo (GHz)	Graphics Max Freq (GHz)	Intel® DL Boost /Intel® GNA
U-Series	Intel® Core™ i7-1068G7	Intel® Iris® Plus	4/8	64	8MB	28W	2.3	4.1	3.6	1.10	√
Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7	Intel® Iris® Plus	4/8	64	8MB	15W/25W	1.3	3.9	3.5	1.10	√
Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7	Intel® Iris® Plus	4/8	64	6MB	15W/25W	1.2	3.7	3.3	1.05	√
Intel® Core™ i5-1035G4	Intel® Iris® Plus	4/8	48	6MB	15W/25W	1.1	3.7	3.3	1.05	√
Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1	Intel® UHD Graphics	4/8	32	6MB	15W/25W	1.0	3.6	3.3	1.05	√
Intel® Core™ i3-1005G1	Intel® UHD Graphics	2/4	32	4MB	15W	1.2	3.4	3.4	0.90	√
Y-Series	Intel® Core™ i7-1060G7	Intel® Iris® Plus	4/8	64	8MB	9W/12W	1.0	3.8	3.4	1.10	√
Intel® Core™ i5-1030G7	Intel® Iris® Plus	4/8	64	6MB	9W/12W	0.8	3.5	3.2	1.05	√
Intel® Core™ i5-1030G4	Intel® Iris® Plus	4/8	48	6MB	9W/12W	0.7	3.5	3.2	1.05	√
Intel® Core™ i3-1000G4	Intel® Iris® Plus	2/4	48	4MB	9W	1.1	3.2	3.2	0.90	√
Intel® Core™ i3-1000G1	Intel® UHD Graphics	2/4	32	4MB	9W	1.1	3.2	3.2	0.90	√

All with integrated Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) and Thunderbolt™ 3

Intel is also introducing a new processor number naming structure starting with this first set of 10th Gen Intel Core processors.

About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. As a leader in corporate responsibility and sustainability, Intel also manufactures the world’s first commercially available “conflict-free” microprocessors. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com and about Intel’s conflict-free efforts at conflictfree.intel.com.

Microsoft to end HEARTS, Spades net games for Windows XP, ME, 7.

Microsoft is ending it’s internet games including Spades, Hearts , checkers and MSN Go from windows version XP, ME, and 7. While these Microsoft internet games services on Windows XP and ME will end on July 31, 2019. They’ll end for Windows 7 on Jan 22, 2020. Microsoft said it’s doing so to invest resources towards more recent technologies.

The company would be focusing on developing and launching its xCloud Xbox streaming service that would be debuting in October, CNET reported on Friday.

“While Microsoft Internet Games services on Windows XP and ME will end on July 31, 2019, services on Windows 7 will end on January 22, 2020,” M. Hamer, Microsoft Agent and moderator from the Windows Gaming Team wrote in a blog post.

With its upcoming October xCloud Xbox streaming service, the software giant would let users play 3,500 games in the Xbox One library and the 1,900 titles still in development on devices like phones and tablets.

According to the post, the company is looking forward to work with its hardware and software partners in investing their resources towards more recent technologies.

“While Microsoft Internet Games services on Windows XP and ME will end on July 31, 2019, services on Windows 7 will end on January 22, 2020,” M. Hamer, Microsoft Agent and moderator from the Windows Gaming Team wrote in a blog post.