Bluetooth Security

In any wireless networking setup, security is a concern. Devices can easily grab radio waves out of the air, so people who send sensitive information over a wireless connection need to take precautions to make sure those signals aren't intercepted. Bluetooth technology is no different -- it's wireless and therefore susceptible to spying and remote access, just like WiFi is susceptible if the network isn't secure. With Bluetooth, though, the automatic nature of the connection, which is a huge benefit in terms of time and effort, is also a benefit to people looking to send you data without your permission.

Bluetooth offers several security modes, and device manufacturers determine which mode to include in a Bluetooth-enabled gadget. In almost all cases, Bluetooth users can establish "trusted devices" that can exchange data without asking permission. When any other device tries to establish a connection to the user's gadget, the user has to decide to allow it. Service-level security and device-level security work together to protect Bluetooth devices from unauthorized data transmission. Security methods include authorization and identification procedures that limit the use of Bluetooth services to the registered user and require that users make a conscious decision to open a file or accept a data transfer. As long as these measures are enabled on the user's phone or other device, unauthorized access is unlikely. A user can also simply switch his Bluetooth mode to "non-discoverable" and avoid connecting with other Bluetooth devices entirely. If a user makes use of the Bluetooth network primarily for synching devices at home, this might be a good way to avoid any chance of a security breach while in public.

Still, early cell-phone virus writers have taken advantage of Bluetooth's automated connection process to send out infected files. However, since most cell phones use a secure Bluetooth connection that requires authorization and authentication before accepting data from an unknown device, the infected file typically doesn't get very far. When the virus arrives in the user's cell phone, the user has to agree to open it and then agree to install it. This has, so far, stopped most cell-phone viruses from doing much damage. See How Cell-phone Viruses Work to learn more.

Other problems like "bluejacking," "bluebugging" and "Car Whisperer" have turned up as Bluetooth-specific security issues. Bluejacking involves Bluetooth users sending a business card (just a text message, really) to other Bluetooth users within a 10-meter (32-foot) radius. If the user doesn't realize what the message is, he might allow the contact to be added to his address book, and the contact can send him messages that might be automatically opened because they're coming from a known contact. Bluebugging is more of a problem, because it allows hackers to remotely access a user's phone and use its features, including placing calls and sending text messages, and the user doesn't realize it's happening. The Car Whisperer is a piece of software that allows hackers to send audio to and receive audio from a Bluetooth-enabled car stereo. Like a computer security hole, these vulnerabilities are an inevitable result of technological innovation, and device manufacturers are releasing firmware upgrades that address new problems as they arise.

Latest Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 955 CPU

It’s been 3 weeks I last touched this blog, sorry everyone. I’m back now after a few busy and hectic weeks, though I’m suppose to enjoy my holidays.

Anyway, let’s take a look of the latest Intel processors, Pentium Extreme Edition 955
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The speed for this Dual Core CPU is clocked at 3.46GHz, which is currently the highest speed for desktop computer. It is utilizing a faster FSB (Front Side Bus) too, at 1066MHz.

As I mentioned is an earlier post, saying Intel Processors are able to go beyond 4GHz by utilizing the latest 65nm process technology, this processor is manufactured using 65nm technology instead of 90nm that most of the new desktop processors are using. The lower the process technology means lower processor’s power requirements and more processors can be produced in a silicon wafer, hence, lower the manufacturing cost.

Using 65nm process technology, 955 is operating at 1.20 - 1.33V operating voltage range while drawing a power of approximately 130 watts.
As compared to the last CPU Intel released, Pentium Extreme Edition 840 that runs on 3.2 GHz, Pentium Extreme Edition 955 doubles the amount of Level 2 (L2) cache from 2MB to 4MB (2MB for each core) !

Seagate Barracuda 750GBSeagate Technology has just announced the release of the world’s first 750GB desktop hard drive. The first shipments of this huge capacity internal hard drive was yesterday (April 26, 2006). The external model with the same capacity will be released this coming Monday, May 1, 2006.

Seagate’s latest 750GB harddisk is part of the new Barracuda 7200.10 family which currently having 2 models ST3750640AS and ST3750840AS. Barracuda 7200.10 harddisks are built on perpendicular recording technology, a new technology that increases data density while decreasing moving parts for a more dependable drive.

Google's bid on Wireless Spectrum

Google confirmed Friday that it will bid on wireless spectrum, the first step toward the establishment of the company's long-rumored wireless network.
Google will file a bid with the FCC on Monday for a portion of the 700-MHz band, which the FCC is auctioning off. The bid does not include any partners, Google said.
According to the bidding rules – assisted by Google and public interest groups earlier this year – the winner of the auction must allow any consumer to download any software they wish onto the mobile phone, and to use and device they can on the wireless network. The rules go into effect if the reserve price of $4.6 billion is met.

Analysts have said previously that actually building the network could cost an additional $17 billion.
"We believe it's important to put our money where our principles are," said Eric Schmidt, chairman and chief executive of Google, in a statement. "Consumers deserve more competition and innovation than they have in today's wireless world. No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction are American consumers who likely will see more choices than ever before in how they access the Internet."

FireFox 3 is more Vulnerable than IE7 : A report

Microsoft today published a report that evaluates the security performance of Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox through a detailed comparative look at vulnerabilities. The “Web Browser Vulnerability Analysis” report finds that over a period of three years, Internet Explorer proved to have fewer vulnerabilities than Mozilla Firefox. The report research, conducted by Jeff Jones, Security Strategy Director in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group, examines in detail the volume and severity of vulnerabilities in the two browsers and includes these key findings:

• Microsoft has fixed 87 total vulnerabilities (across all supported versions of Internet Explorer) while Mozilla has fixed 199 vulnerabilities in supported Firefox products
• Internet Explorer experienced a lower volume of reported vulnerabilities across all categories of severity (high, medium, low)

For most people, their web browser is central to their interaction with the Internet, connecting to global web sites and helping them consume online services providing everything from booking flights to banking services to online shopping. This reality makes browsers a key tool when evaluating the security experience of users as the browser interprets Web content and programs delivered from around the world.
Over the past few years, there has been much discussion of the need for improvements in browser security, but few hard data studies performed to support assertions concerning the security of available browsers.
I've just finished up and posted for download a vulnerability analysis of Internet Explorer and Firefox, including fixed and unfixed vulnerabilities, that covers roughly the past three years since Firefox first released.
As usual for these, I want to post one chart as a teaser to get you to go look at the full report. In this case, I'm choosing one that looks at alternative upgrade paths. Let's say you deployed Firefox 1.0 and then Firefox 1.5 came out - did you upgrade immediately or did you wait until support for Firefox 1.0 was ending? (... or maybe you're still using 1.0... tsk tsk) Same question for 2.0.

Danish Electric Car Scientists Extend Range of ZAP Xebra to 152 Miles With New Battery Management Technology

Lithium Balance Develops Battery Management Technology for ZAP
Electric car scientists at Lithium Balance in Copenhagen and ZAP of California announced results of their latest tests of a new battery management system for lithium batteries, reporting that the Xebra pickup traveled 152 miles on a single charge.



Electric car scientists extended the range of an electric car by five times to 152 miles using lithium-ion batteries and a proprietary battery management system. California's ZAP and Denmark's Lithium Balance plan to offer an upgrade for the ZAP Xebra pickup in the near future.


Since January, ZAP and Lithium Balance, formerly Eco Tech A/S, have been collaborating on the development of the new battery management system. ZAP has acquired the exclusive distribution for the technology for integration into its electric vehicle development.
Two Xebra electric vehicles are being used for testing the Lithium Balance battery management system at facilities in Copenhagen. In July, a similar test resulted in a distance traveled of 100 miles per charge.
Lithium Balance's new system helps maximize the efficiency and performance of lithium batteries. The overall system is smaller and lighter, increasing the energy density by eight to ten times compared to the lead acid batteries that are common in today's electric cars. Lithium Balance claims the new system also improves the safety and reliability of large-scale lithium battery packs for automotive applications.
ZAP is currently marketing the Xebra electric sedan and pickup through a global distribution network of auto distributors, dealers and service centers. The Xebra is a unique 'city-car' designed to provide an energy efficient alternative for commuters, multi-car families, businesses and government fleets.

Tough new rules for solar car race

A Dutch team's solar-powered car in the 2003 World Solar Challenge. The new rules mean the car must be built to allow the driver to sit upright and get in and out unaided (File photo). (AAP: Steve Strike)

The World Solar Challenge for cars powered only by sunshine is on this weekend in Darwin, and for the first time in its 20-year history, organisers are making it tougher, demanding that today's sun-fuelled contraptions conform to the designs of more conventional cars.

They have been years in the making. Now these solar prototypes are going through final adjustments before Sunday's race.
Cars of every weird and wonderful shape will showcase the latest in solar technology as they travel from Darwin to Adelaide.
But with solar power almost verging on mainstream, race director Chris Selwood says organisers have set a new challenge by redefining the car.

"We've taken 25 per cent of their solar cells away from them so their power generation capacity is cut by a quarter," he said.
"We've given them an aerodynamic disadvantage by telling them that the driver should sit in a normal, upright seating position and not laying down in the car as they have in the older cars, and certain practical things, like the driver has to get in and out of the car unaided."

The tougher rules make it unlikely this year's race will set any speed records, which is just as well because for the first time, drivers have to contend with the Northern Territory's new 130-kilometres-per-hour road limit.
And in keeping with the green theme, organisers have included a Greenfleet category for cars powered on alternative fuels like canola oil, hydrogen and ethanol derived from sugar cane.
One team is confident it won't have to refuel at all during the 3,000-kilometre trip. New Zealander Cam Feast says his team, Bios Fuel, has developed a revolutionary car that runs on waste oil and water
"If you just took waste oil and water and you poured it into an engine, it will blow up, basically. It will blow the injectors off," he said.
"What Steve has worked out is a way of bonding the structures of the waste oil and the water so that they actually bond together, and then can be used to burn and create energy in an engine."

He says he is literally burning up waste.
"What we're doing is taking this waste stream, taking the energy from that and converting it to fuel," he said.

For Wireless USB, the Future StartsNow

Universal serial bus technology has made it easier to connect peripherals to PCs than prior methods, such as serial and parallel ports. USB lets users attach peripherals and other devices—such as digital cameras, game controllers, hard drives, printers, and scanners—without having to install individual drivers or use expansion cards, all without rebooting the computer. However, USB requires connections via cables, which can become a jumble when many devices are involved. And the cables limit the distance over which users can connect devices. To address this issue, a number of companies—including Alereon,Belkin International, D-Link, Fujitsu, Gemtek Technology, Hewlett-Packard, Icron Technologies, Intel, Lenovo, LSI Corp., Realtek Semi-conductor, Samsung, Staccato Communications, Synopsys, and Wisair—are beginning to release products based on wireless USB (WUSB). “There is significant interest among both computer and con-sumer-electronic vendors to move from wired to wireless peripheral connections,” said Brian O’Rourke, principal analyst for market research firm In-Stat. The use of consumer electronics with computers in home-entertainment systems has created a market for WUSB products, which offer easier implementation and communication of multimedia between devices than wired USB provides, said Synopsys product marketing manager Eric Huang. Moreover, the technology would let users move around with connected mobile devices beyond the reach of cables. The initial WUSB products will be dongles and hubs, but vendors will release computers and devices with built-in WUSB capabilities later this year, Huang predicted. Proponents believe large-scale WUSB sales are just over the horizon. As Figure 1 shows, In-Stat estimates there will be 4 billion USB-enabled devices worldwide by 2011, with 503 million, or 12.6 percent, using WUSB. This year, In-Stat predicts, out of 2.5 billion USB devices, only 3 million, or 0.1 percent, will be WUSB-enabled. However, the technology is new and faces potential problems once widely implemented, said Rob Enderle, principal of the Enderle Group, a market-research firm.


HERE COMES WIRELESS USB

HP, Intel, Lucent Technologies(now part of Alcatel-Lucent), Microsoft, NEC, and Royal Philips Electronics developed USB, which debuted in 1995 as an interface to connect peripherals to computers.
Several companies formed the Wireless USB Promoter Group in February 2004 to define the WUSB 1.0 specification, with the help of about 100 other members. The group completed the work in May 2005. The USB Implementers Forum(USB-IF; www.usb.org) now supports and promotes wired and one wireless flavor of the technology, whose current versions are USB 2.0 and WUSB 1.0. The USB-IF has a Certified WUSB(CWUSB) program that verifies computers’ and devices’ compliance to the WUSB approach that the forum supports. CWUSB lets systems transmit USB wirelessly via ultrawideband radio technology. However, vendors such as Icron that don’t use CWUSB provide a type of wireless USB that works with Wi-Fi as well as UWB.

Device that will scan text, recognize and translate it, and speak it aloud.

If you've been following along, you've noticed that Hewlett-Packard is aggressively trying to make money from innovations from its HP Labs. We had the color-matching technology for makeup users and the drug injections using printer technology.

Now the world's largest PC-maker is licensing some of its scanning technology to help create a device that will scan text, recognize and translate it, and speak it aloud.

Mouscan, a South Korean company, along with HP, said Friday that it will be using HP's scanning technology for its Voiscan product, which is expected to go on sale next year. Voiscan eventually will be sold to people with sight impairments, foreign-language students and international travelers.
The scanning technology isn't exactly new for HP. It used it for a product called CapShare, a handheld scanning device that output images to a PC. That product, introduced in 1998, was discontinued a few years later because it was just a portable scanner.

But now, by combining the scanning technology with Mouscan's ability to optically recognize text, translate it and vocalize it, you have a new device about the size of a cell phone with a lot of cool potential. Imagine you're a traveler trying to read a foreign-language article, document or even a menu. You just wave the Voiscan over the document for a few seconds and it quickly organizes the text and begins reading it aloud. It also can output to another device so you can see the translation.

This is nifty for travelers as well as students trying to pick up another language, by presenting a quick way of understanding a foreign language and seeing how it's used every day. The last scenario is for vision-impaired people, who will be able to gain information about printed documents that are not in braille.
It starts with HP's technology, which is able to piece together a document by waving a scanning device over it. Give it a couple seconds and several good passes and the image is assembled.

I'm still unsure how the whole thing will come off. The key will be the speed and accuracy of the translation. I've tried some free online translation programs, and they're not always right or even close to capturing the exact text. But if Mouscan can put it all together, I think they could have a real winner.