Archives 2023

With just three days of 2023 to go, Netflix has launched a late contender for the best of 2023 lists: Pokémon Concierge, which launched yesterday on 28 December, is getting rave reviews. The only negative: with just four episodes of less than twenty minutes each, there isn’t enough of it.

The series is a decidedly chill take on the global phenomenon: according to the blurb, “when Pokémon need a break, they head to a peaceful resort to relax, looked after by a team of Pokémon concierges”. One of those concierges is newcomer Haru, who has to learn how to care for the likes of Pikachu, Eve, Magikarp and Dragonite. 

Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) suffered a legal setback as it failed to block a California law requiring social media giants to publicly disclose their content moderation practices. The company had sued the state in September, arguing the law violated its First Amendment rights and placed an undue burden on its operations.
As per a report in news agency Reuters, a US district judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the transparency requirements, while substantial, were justified and well within the bounds of free speech protection.
“Reporting on content moderation practices does not unfairly silence social media companies. In fact, it empowers users with crucial information to make informed decisions about where they engage online,” the judge said.
What is California law
As per the California law, social media companies are required to submit semi-annual reports, detailing their content moderation policies, the number of flagged posts and how they were handled. The move is seen as a landmark effort to hold social media platforms accountable for their decisions in shaping online discourse.
X, which remained tight-lipped about the ruling, may face consequences for refusing to comply with the law’s reporting requirements.
Problems for X in Europe
Recently, the microblogging platform faced scrutiny in Europe after being investigated by the EU under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The investigation stems from concerns about its handling of misinformation and harmful content following the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The European Commission announced that it has opened an investigation into the matter after warning the company in October.
“Following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, we have indications of X/Twitter being used to disseminate illegal content & disinformation in the EU,” wrote Thierry Breton, commissioner for internal market of the European Union in a post on X.

A team of researchers has discovered a vulnerability in Apple SoC that was used to target iPhones running on iOS versions up to iOS 16.6. The hackers used iMessage to initiate an attack and then used flaws in the chip to bypass hardware-based security protections, a report said. Apple plugged the flaw with subsequent updates.
According to a report by cyber security firm Kaspersky, the flaw in the SoC played a critical role in the recent iPhone attacks, known as Operation Triangulation to gain complete control over the targeted device and access user data.
How hackers targeted victims
The hackers first sent a malicious iMessage attachment to the target and the entire chain is zero-click, which means that it does not require interaction from the user. These types of attacks also don’t generate any noticeable signs or traces.
The 0-click iMessage attack subsequently led attackers to leverage the hardware vulnerability to bypass hardware-based security protections. They also manipulated the contents of protected memory regions, thereby, obtaining full control over the device.
“This is no ordinary vulnerability. Due to the closed nature of the iOS ecosystem, the discovery process was both challenging and time-consuming, requiring a comprehensive understanding of both hardware and software architectures,” said Boris Larin, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky’s GReAT.
“What this discovery teaches us once again is that even advanced hardware-based protections can be rendered ineffective in the face of a sophisticated attacker, particularly when there are hardware features allowing to bypass these protections,” he added.
The team said that this unknown hardware feature may have been intended to be used for debugging or testing purposes by Apple engineers or the factory, or it may have been included by mistake.
How researchers found the flaw
Since this feature is not used by the firmware, the researchers say that they have no idea how attackers knew how to use it – which made it significantly challenging in its detection and analysis using conventional security methods.
The researchers resorted to extensive reverse engineering, to analyse the iPhone’s hardware and software integration. They particularly looked at Memory-Mapped I/O, or MMIO, addresses, which are critical for facilitating communication between the CPU and peripheral devices.

Prepare for a celestial spectacle as NASA’s Juno spacecraft gears up for an unprecedented rendezvous with Jupiter’s fiery moon, Io, on Saturday, December 30. This close encounter, at a mere 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) from Io’s tumultuous surface, marks the closest any spacecraft has ventured to the moon in over two decades, promising a deluge of groundbreaking data.

Leading the scientific charge is Juno’s principal investigator, Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, who anticipates a wealth of insights into Io’s volcanic dynamics. “By combining data from this flyby with our previous observations, the Juno science team is studying how Io’s volcanoes vary,” Bolton explains. The team aims to unravel the mysteries of Io’s eruptions- how often they occur, their intensity, the fluidity of lava flows, and their connection to Jupiter’s magnetosphere’s charged particles.

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This daring flyby is just the first act, with a second ultra-close encounter scheduled for February 3, 2024, where Juno will once again approach within 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of Io’s surface. The spacecraft has been diligently monitoring Io’s volcanic activity from varying distances, providing unprecedented views of the moon’s poles and executing close flybys of other Jupiterian moons, Ganymede and Europa.

“With our pair of close flybys in December and February, Juno will investigate the source of Io’s massive volcanic activity, whether a magma ocean exists underneath its crust, and the importance of tidal forces from Jupiter, which are relentlessly squeezing this tortured moon,” Bolton affirms.

Entering its third year of an extended mission, Juno is on a quest to uncover the secrets of Jupiter’s origin. The spacecraft will not only scrutinize Io but also explore the ring system housing some of Jupiter’s inner moons. During the Io flyby, all three of Juno’s cameras will be in action:

1. Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM): Collecting heat signatures from Io’s volcanoes and calderas.

2. Stellar Reference Unit: Capturing the highest-resolution images of Io’s surface to date.

3. JunoCam Imager: Providing visible-light color images.

This December 30 flyby marks Juno’s 57th orbit around Jupiter, where the spacecraft and its resilient cameras will endure one of the solar system’s harshest radiation environments. Notably, NASA predicts that Io’s gravitational pull will alter Juno’s orbit, shortening it from 38 to 35 days following this flyby. With another close encounter on the horizon in February, Juno’s orbit is set to shrink further to an impressive 33 days. The cosmos is poised to reveal its secrets, one orbit at a time.

Microsoft has said that it has disabled Windows app installer protocol handler after multiple financially motivated hackers abused it to infect Windows machines with malware. The company has explained how cybercriminals distributed malicious software since mid-November 2023.
Microsoft also said the vulnerability could have been exploited to ransomware distribution with packages delivered using websites accessed through malicious advertisements for legitimate popular software.
“Since mid-November 2023, Microsoft Threat Intelligence has observed threat actors, including financially motivated actors like Storm-0569, Storm-1113, Sangria Tempest, and Storm-1674, utilising the ms-appinstaller URI scheme (App Installer) to distribute malware,” the company said.
How attackers targeted the flaw
Microsoft says that the attackers exploited the vulnerability to circumvent security measures that would otherwise protect Windows users from malware. These include Defender SmartScreen anti-phishing and anti-malware components as well as built-in browser alerts that caution users against executable file downloads.
At the beginning of December 2023, Microsoft observed a hacking group distributed fake software like Zoom, Tableau, TeamViewer and AnyDesk by a method called search engine optimisation (SEO) poisoning, which is essentially spoofing legitimate software downloads.
These options were presented to users who searched for a legitimate software application on Bing or Google. Spoofing or impersonating is a popular social engineering tactic to target users.
Users who click the links of these impersonated apps were presented with the desktop App Installer experience. If the user clicks “Install” in the desktop App Installer, the malicious application is installed and eventually runs additional processes and scripts that lead to malware installation.
How to protect yourself
While Microsoft has already disabled the protocol that was exploited, users must always be vigilant on the platform that is offering the software to download. One must also keep an eye on the URL and check for spelling mistakes on the software. Always download software from official websites.

Vivo Y28 5G is expected to launch in India soon. The phone is said to succeed the Vivo Y27 5G, which was unveiled in July this year. The purported smartphone is likely to come with upgraded features over the preceding model. The phone has been recently spotted on several certification sites where some key specifications were hinted. Now a report has shared leaked promotional images that show the design and colour options of the Vivo Y28 5G. The report also suggests the RAM and storage configurations and the price of the upcoming handset.

A report from Appuals suggests that the Vivo Y28 5G will launch in India soon in Crystal Purple and Glitter Aqua colourways. The report does not mention an exact launch date but suggests that the handset will be available for purchase in the country in three RAM and storage options. As per the report, the Vivo Y28 5G will start at a price of Rs. 13,999 for its 4GB + 128GB, while the 6GB + 128GB  and 8GB + 128GB options are likely to be priced respectively at Rs. 15,499 and Rs. 16,999.

Further, the report states that the company will extend an additional 2.7 percent discount on the aforementioned prices. Vivo will also reportedly offer an instant discount of Rs. 1,500 during the purchase of the Vivo Y28 5G. Customers may also have an option to buy the phone with an EMI starting as low as Rs. 31 per day.

Leaked Vivo Y28 5G promotional image
Photo Credit: Appuals

 

Meanwhile, a promotional image shared in the report shows the design of the Vivo Y28 5G. A dual rear camera setup is seen on the handset with separate circular units arranged vertically on the top left corner of the back panel. A circular LED flash appears to be placed below the second camera. The volume rocker and power button are seen on the right side of the handset.

A MySmartPrice report claims that the Vivo Y28 5G was recently spotted on Bluetooth SIG and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) websites. The listings have suggested that the phone may carry a 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chipset paired with a Mali G57 MP2 GPU. The handset is expected to include a 50-megapixel main camera sensor. It is also said to pack a 5,000mAh battery.

The Vivo Y27 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6020 chipset, paired with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of inbuilt storage. The phone ships with Android 13-based FuntouchOS 13 and features a 6.64-inch full-HD+ (1,080 x 2,388 pixels) LCD panel.

In the camera department, the Vivo Y27 5G comes with a 50-megapixel primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor alongside an LED flash unit at the back. The front camera houses an 8-megapixel sensor placed in a waterdrop-style notch at the top of the display. It is backed by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 15W wired charging support via a USB Type-C port. It gets 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC (region dependent), GPS/ A-GPS, FM Radio and OTG connectivity. For security, the phone carries a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Although the Vivo Y27 5G hasn’t been launched in India yet, the 4G variant of the model was introduced in the country in July this year. The Vivo Y27 4G is currently priced in India at Rs. 12,999 for its 6GB + 128GB option. It is offered in Burgundy Black and Garden Green colour options. The phone carries a  MediaTek Helio G85 SoC and packs a 5,000mAh battery with 44W wired fast charging support.

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Broadcom has confirmed it will end VMware’s channel program in a move that has some existing partners worried about whether they will continue to get the same service.

In its place will be Broadcom’s Advantage Partner Program, which has been confirmed to be available on an invite-only basis.

It’s that time of year again, the armpit of the holiday season: Christmas Day is done and New Years Eve is still some days away, nobody knows when the bins are supposed to go out and every day feels like Sunday. That means it’s the perfect time to stream Slow Horses on Apple TV Plus. It’s not just one of the best shows on Apple TV, although it is. It’s one of the best shows on any streamer.

The Season 3 finale went live on 27 December and delivered a delicious and very stressful end to what’s been a spectacular season; the third season is currently sitting at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and has attracted tons of five-star reviews, part of a pattern that saw the second season get 100% and the first 95%. 

Samsung is all-set to launch its Galaxy S24 series phones next year at its Galaxy Unpacked event. The lineup is expected to include three variants — Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra. And, ahead of the official announcement, the European pricing of all the three handsets have surfaced online.
Galaxy S24 series price leaked
GalaxyClub has reported that Samsung is expected to price the Galaxy S24 series similar to the Galaxy S23 series.However, the report mentions that the Galaxy S24 Ultra may see a minor price increase over the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
According to the report, the Galaxy S24 with 128GB storage will be priced at €899 and the 256GB variant is speculated to cost €959.
The Gaalxy S24+ is speculated to launch at €1149 and the variant with 512GB may cost €1269.
Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, will be slightly more expensive compared to the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The report mentions the price of 512GB S24 Ultra as €1569.

Galaxy S24 series: Expected specs
The base S24 is expected to feature a 6.2-inch AMOLED 2x FHD+ display, a 50MP main camera with 8K video support, up to 30x Space Zoom, 8GB RAM, and storage options ranging from 128GB to 256GB. It is speculated to boast a 4,000mAh battery that charges to 50% in 30 minutes.
The S24+ model is speculated to share a similar camera system but offers a larger 6.7-inch AMOLED 2x QHD+ display, a 4,900mAh battery (65% charge in 30 minutes), 12GB RAM, and 256GB or 512GB storage choices.
The flagship S24 Ultra may feature a titanium body, a superior camera system including a 200MP main lens, 10x quad telephoto, and 100x Space Zoom, a 6.8-inch AMOLED 2x QHD+ display, and a 5,000mAh battery. All three models support up to 2,600 nits of display brightness, IP68 water resistance, and may incorporate Samsung’s Gauss generative AI system, processing on-device GAI with the latest Snapdragon chipset.

With the Apple Vision Pro due to go on sale in the coming weeks, we’re looking forward to properly testing it – but the rumors and leaks have already started around what Apple might do for a follow-up to the mixed reality headset.

As per market research firm Omdia (via The Elec and MacRumors), the Apple Vision Pro 2 is in line to get displays that are brighter and more efficient than those in the current model. They’ll also reportedly be using more advanced micro-OLED technology.