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Google reportedly fixed the latest round of Stagefright vulnerabilities in Android, pushing its latest over-the-air (OTA) update to Nexus devices. Last week, researchers warned of Stagefright 2.0 vulnerability that affected more than one Billion Android devices dating back to the latest versions of the Android operating system. The Stagefright bugs allowed hackers to take control of affected Android devices by sending a malicious audio or video file. In April, Zimperium researchers disclosed the first Stagefright vulnerability that allowed hackers to hijack any Android smartphones with just a simple text message ( exploit code ). As promised, Google on Monday pushed a patch that fixes the holes in Stagefright media playback engine used by Android to process, record and play multimedia files such as PDFs. The patch fixes 30 vulnerabilities in total, which includes: 14 critical vulnerabilities in Stagefright library 5 Remote Code Execution bugs 8 Eleva...

Do you hear the same as me? Is Facebook planning to Launch Satellite? Yes, it's True. Facebook has revealed its secret plan to launch a $500 Million Satellite by 2016 in order to provide Free or cheap Internet access in the developing nations. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an announcement that the social network partnered with French satellite provider Eutelsat Communications to beam free Internet to several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Internet-by-Satellite The plan is part of Facebook's Internet.org project that has been criticized for net neutrality issues in some countries, particularly India, where businesses believes that the plans could give Facebook and its partners unfair benefits in developing Internet markets. Facebook has been exploring ways to provide the Internet to hard-to-reach places and this latest initiative to use Satellite technology for providing affordable Internet is part of the Facebook initiative to connect the...

We are back with our last week's top cyber security threats and challenges, just in case you missed any of them ( ICYMI ). THN Weekly Round Up is The Hacker News efforts to help you provide all important stories of last week in one shot. We recommend you read the full story ( just click 'Read More' because there's some valuable advice in there as well ). Here's the list: 1. Quantum Teleportation — Scientists Teleported Quantum Data over 60 Miles While the world is battling between Quantum computers and Encryption , the NIST Scientists have set a new record in the field of " Quantum Teleportation "... …by successfully Teleporting a small amount of data (qubit) inside light particles over a distance of 60 Miles (100 km) through a network of optical fiber – the record which is four times faster than previous one. To know how the Quantum Teleportation works and how the researchers able to reach this record, Read More … 2. Pirate Bay co-fo...

Has anyone ever heard about a " Vigilante-style Hacker ," who hacks every possible system to make them more Secure? No. It's not funny, neither a movie story: Reportedly, someone is hacking thousands unprotected Wi-Fi routers everywhere and apparently forcing owners to make them more Secure. Security firm Symantec has discovered a new malware, dubbed " Linux.Wifatch " a.k.a " Ifwatch ," infected more than 10,000 vulnerable ' Internet of Things ' devices, and spreading quickly. However, Linux.Wifatch not only removes malicious backdoor but also encourages users to update their weak passwords. How Does Linux.Wifatch Work? Once a device is infected, the Linux.Wifatch malware connects to a peer-to-peer network that is being used to distribute threat updates. Linux.Wifatch's code does not deploy any payload for malicious activities, such as to carry out DDoS attacks , rather it detects and remediates the known ...

Less than a month after Apple suffered one of its biggest malware attacks ever, security researchers have discovered another strain of malware that they claim targets both jailbroken as well as non-jailbroken iOS devices . Last month, researchers identified more than 4,000 infected apps in Apple's official App Store, which was targeted by a malware attack in which some versions of software used by developers to build apps for iOS and OS X were infected with malware, named XcodeGhost . And Now: Researchers from a California-based network security firm Palo Alto Networks have discovered new malware that targets Apple's iOS users in China and Taiwan. Capabilities of YiSpecter Malware Dubbed YiSpecter , the malware infects iOS devices and once infected, YiSpecter can: Install unwanted apps Replace legitimate apps with ones it has downloaded Force apps to display unwanted, full-screen ads Change bookmarks as well as default search engines in Safari S...

Google is eager to release the latest version of its mobile operating system, Android 6.0 Marshmallow , to some of its Smartphone and Tablet lineup. The latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow update brings a whole host of new features, including Doze mode, App permissions, Google Now on Tap, "Do not disturb" setting, and easier volume controls, among other features.  Read: You can check out the key new features of Android 6.0 Marshmallow here. Along with the newly launched Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P , Google is also releasing its latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for its existing Nexus devices – Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 9 and Nexus Player – starting today. But, When will Your Smartphone Get Android 6.0 Marshmallow? Google Nexus devices are the first ones to get Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Android 6.0 Marshmallow for  Motorola: Motorola also confirmed Friday to issue Android 6.0 Marshmallow software updates for a number of its smartph...

"Alphabet is about businesses prospering through strong leaders and independence. In general, our model is to have a strong CEO, who runs each business, with Sergey and me in service to them as needed." With this, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin combined all Google products and services under one roof - ALPHABET . Revealed in their Google Investor's Blog , the newly formed Public Holding Company ALPHABET would be taking place at the closing of business on October 2, 2015. From now on Google would be the subsidiary of Alphabet and owning all of the outstanding capital stock of Google. Moreover, by implementing a holding company reorganization the " Alphabet Merger " will close today. Until now, the ticker symbol used by Google in the stock market was " GOOG " and " GOOGL " (on NASDAQ), which are kept same even after the merger. This makes Google Class C Capital Stock and shares of Google Class A Common Stock bei...

In the past, The Hacker News (THN) reported about various activities surrounding Drones. Whether it was the development of the first backdoor for drones ( MalDrone ), or Weaponized drones getting legal , or Drones hacking smartphones . And now the reports depict... Security Researcher has showcased a method that can be used to hack and hijack Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) , more commonly known as DRONES . Senior AV researcher at HP Security Research Oleg Petrovsky demonstrated scenarios of cyber attacks targeting the flight controller of drones with analysis explaining how drones could become victims of cyber attacks. Petrovsky has analyzed configurations and controllers for various popular multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to discover the weaknesses present in the already implemented cyber attacks. The research focuses on the flight controllers which is a microprocessor and comprises of: Input/Output Pins Multiple sensors onboard An acceler...

Shocking! Adblock Extension that blocks annoying online advertising has been sold... ...And more shocking, the most popular " Adblock Extension ", with more than 40 million users, quietly sold their creation to an unknown buyer ... ' Michael Gundlach ', the creator widely used Adblock Extension refuses to disclose the name, who purchased his company and how much it was sold for, just because buyer wishes to remain anonymous. After watching a popup message (as shown) on their browsers this week, the Adblock users are literally going crazy. " I am selling my company, and the buyer is turning on Acceptable Ads, " Gundlach said. Holy Sh*t! NSA Buys Adblock? The ' Anonymous buyer ' conspiracy has caused concern for Adblock users and they have raised number of questions on social media sites, such as: Should I trust AdBlock Extension anymore? Who owns the Software I have installed? Is it NSA? Also, reportedly, Michael Gun...

This week, three high-profile data breaches took place, compromising personal and sensitive details of millions of people. Telecommunication giant T-Mobile Crowdfunding website Patreon US brokerage firm Scottrade In T-Mobile's case, its credit application processor Experian was hacked , potentially exposing highly sensitive details of 15 Million people who applied for its service in the past two years. The stolen data includes home addresses, birth dates, driver's license number, passport number, military I.D. numbers and – most unfortunately – the Social Security numbers, among other information. Patreon Hack Hits 2.3 Million Users In Patreon's case, hackers managed to steal almost 15 gigabytes' worth of data including names, shipping addresses and email addresses of 2.3 Million users . In a post published late Wednesday, Patreon CEO Jack Conte confirmed that the crowdfunding firm had been hacked and that the personal data of its users h...

If your Social Security number gets hacked in any data breaches, including recently hacked T-Mobile , then there's a way to prevent hackers from misusing your identity (i.e. identity theft ). The solution here is that you can institute a security freeze at each of the three credit bureaus, Equifax , Experian , or TransUnion . Once frozen, nobody will be allowed to access your credit report, which will prevent any identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name. Because most creditors required to see your credit report before approving a new account. But, if they are restricted to see your file, they may not extend the credit or open a new account in your name. However, there are some disadvantages of doing so. 1.   Cost The cost of a security freeze differs by state (check yours here ). However, it is often free for already affected people, but the issue is – if you want to let anyone check your credit, you will need to pay a fee every time to ...

If you applied for financing from T-Mobile anytime between 1 September 2013 and 16 September 2015, you have been HACKED! – even if you never had T-Mobile service. T-Mobile's credit application processor Experian was hacked, potentially exposing the highly personal information of more than 15 million people in the United States. The stolen information includes names, addresses, phone numbers and – most unfortunately – Social Security numbers . The massive data breach was first discovered in mid-September and has now been confirmed by T-Mobile CEO John Legere . According to Legere, Hackers successfully obtained Millions of people's private information through Experian, one of the world's largest credit check companies that process T-Mobile's credit applications. Both customers and people who submitted to a T-Mobile credit check ( but either canceled or never activated their T-Mobile service ) between September 1, 2013, and September 16, 2015, are most at ris...