Google explains why it's not fixing web security in old Android phones

Google explains why it's not fixing web security in old Android phones

You might not be happy that Google isn't fixing a web security flaw in your older Android phone, but the search giant now says that it has some good reasons for holding off. As the company's Adrian Ludwig explains, it's no longer viable to "safely" patch vulnerable, pre-Android 4.4 versions of WebView (a framework that lets apps show websites without a separate browser) to prevent remote attacks. The sheer amount of necessary code changes would create legions of problems, he claims, especially since developers are introducing "thousands" of tweaks to the open source software every month.
Ludwig suggests a few things you can do to avoid or mitigate problems, though. For a start, he recommends surfing with browsers that don't use WebView but still get updates, like Chrome (which works on devices using Android 4.0) and Firefox (which runs on ancient Android 2.3 hardware). Hackers can't abuse the vulnerable software if you're not using it, after all. The Googler also tells app creators to either use their own web rendering tech or limit WebView to pages they can trust, like encrypted sites.
The advice should help if you're either a tech-savvy user or write apps. However, it still hints that quite a few people will remain at risk until those older releases of Android ride into the sunset. Many Android device owners aren't aware of alternatives to the stock Android browser, or can't easily get them (you have to jump through hoops to install Chrome if you can't use the Google Play Store, for instance). Also, there's no simple way to tell whether or not an app is using WebView. The chances of an attack are low if you're careful, but it could take a long, long while before the majority of Android gadgets are truly safe from WebView-related web exploits.
Adrian Ludwig (Google+)

Jon Fingas

Engadget 

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Diplo Thinks Taylor Swift's Fans Are 'Mean-Spirited, Evil Human Beings'

Diplo Thinks Taylor Swift's Fans Are 'Mean-Spirited, Evil Human Beings'

Diplo has more to say about his feud with Taylor Swift in a recent interview with GQ.

“Taylor Swift fans are really crazy,” the 36-year-old DJ told the mag. “They threatened to murder me and stuff. It’s really bizarre, and disgusting. They’re the worst people in the world.” and he said some more mean stuff about all the swifties! ! 

further he said "She has like forty million Twitter fans. Forty million! Yeah. It’s crazy. I’m a fan though. Her powers — she’s big. She’s strong, bro. Taylor Swift is very strategic with her friends and enemies. And I know lots of secrets. I can’t divulge, but I know a lot of stuff about her. And she’s definitely, there’s definitely scary stuff going on. And I’m scared. I’m scared for my life.”

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Twitter doesn't want its biggest users to post Instagram links

Twitter doesn't want its biggest users to post Instagram links

In December 2014, Instagram overtook Twitter's monthly active user number. Well, someone from Twitter must have found that alarming, because the microblogging website is now urging its most prolific users not to tweet out links to Instagram photos. In a screenshot obtained by Mashable (embedded below the fold), you'll see the splash page the company's showing its power users, asking them to post their pictures directly on the website.

A source confirmed to the publication that Twitter unleashed the prompt to a number of notable entertainment, media and sports accounts, in part to remind them that the website does have native photo editing tools and to show them how those work.

Yes, Twitter does have its own photo editor and filters, in case you've been too busy crossposting pictures to notice. They were even launched around the same time Instagram killed off Twitter photo integration. But, and we're sure you'll agree, people still choose to crosspost Instagram content even if they show up as links instead of actual pictures, because, well, it's just more convenient that way. It's unclear if the rest of us will see the same prompt in the future, but for now, Twitter's likely hoping its influential clientele can set an example, so to speak.
Mariella Moon
 Engadget

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Johnny Depp Disses Your Favorite Stars Like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus

Johnny Depp Disses Your Favorite Stars Like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus

Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp basically just insulted pop stars like Demi Lovato,Selena Gomez, and Miley Cyrus because they all got their start acting! In a recent interview, he was asked about actors who launch singing careers, and said that he thinks they're exploiting their fame.

"That whole idea for me is a sickening thing, it's always just made me sick. I've been very lucky to play on friends' records and it's still going. Music is still part of my life. But you won't be hearing The Johnny Depp Band. That won't ever exist," he said.

“The kind of luxury now is, anybody with a certain amount of success, if you have a kind of musical being, you can go out and start a band and capitalize on your work in other areas. I hate the idea, ‘Come see me play the guitar because you’ve seen me in 12 movies'."

In fact, he even dissed actors-turned-singers for distracting people from their music.

"It shouldn't be [that way]. You want the people who are listening to the music to only be interested in the music."

Since he's met One Direction before, we know he doesn't hate young stars, but it definitely sounds like he has a serious beef with singers who got their start on Disney and Nickelodeon. We can think of so many, like Ariana Grande and Bella Thorne, who first broke out in the acting field, and then transitioned into singing projects. But we love their stuff anyway!

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Please don't use these passwords. Sincerely, the Internet

Please don't use these passwords. Sincerely, the Internet

Think you're protected from data breach fallout with your strong passwords? When hackers commandeer computers to create botnets, the damage they cause affects plenty of other users. And their ticket in is often stupid-simple: terrible passwords. SplashData has just released its annual list of the worst of them, and things have changed depressingly little over last year. The most commonly hacked password is still "123456," which edged out a past champion of apathy, "password." Other top picks in the an alphanumeric hall of shame are "12345678," "qwerty," "monkey" and new this year, "batman." According to security expert Mark Burnett, the top 25 passwords (below) represent an eye-popping 2.2 percent of passwords exposed.

The good news is that fewer people are using bad passwords than in 2013, perhaps thanks to some well-publicized data breaches at Sony, Target and elsewhere. SplashData reminds folks to create passwords with eight, mixed characters not based on easy-to-brute-force dictionary words -- even with substitutions like "dr@mat1c." As pointed out by Buffer Open, other methods include pass phrases, mnemonic devices and other memory tricks -- including a gem from XKCD. Since you shouldn't use the same password on more than one site, it's also a good idea to use one of the many password managers out there, like LastPass or SplashID. Those let you access your entire collection of passwords with just a single passphrase -- one that had better be a lot stronger than "123456."

RankPasswordChange from 2013 1 123456 Unchanged 2 password Unchanged 3 12345 Up 17 4 12345678 Down 1 5 qwerty Down 1 6 123456789 Unchanged 7 1234 Up 9 8 baseball New 9 dragon New 10 football New 11 1234567 Down 4 12 monkey Up 5 13 letmein Up 1 14 abc123 Down 9 15 111111 Down 8 16 mustang New 17 access New 18 shadow Unchanged 19 master New 20 michael New 21 superman New 22 696969 New 23 123123 Down 12 24 batman New 25 trustno1 Down 1

Engadget  
Steve Dent

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Ashton Irwin Shaves Off His Beard

Ashton Irwin Shaves Off His Beard

Ashton Irwin has said goodbye to his beard! The 5 Seconds of Summer drummer decided to let his facial hair grow out during the holiday season, but he is now back to his clean-shaven look.

Ash took to Twitter to let us know that he was getting rid of the stubble and posted this post-shave selfie to show off his beardless face. He seems to be a bit sad about it, since naturally he got attached to this fuzzy addition. He even tweeted, #RIPASHTONSBEARD! 

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Is Zayn Malik's Man Bun Still Intact?

Is Zayn Malik's Man Bun Still Intact?

Zayn Malik gave us quite the shock when he decided to cut off his long waves, but maybe we shouldn't be so quick to think his man bun has been sacrificed. Zayn's latest photo shares might be hinting that his style is a combo of long and short hair.

Let's recap, shall we? First, Zayn shared one of his hottest selfies of all time to show off his fresh-from-the-barber new style:

But just as we were freaking out that he had ditched his longer locks forever, the One Directionsinger shared an awesome fan art drawing of his new look: and it shows that though his head is shaved on the sides, he's still got a bun tied up in the back!

Zayn even made the artwork his Twitter profile pic, so does that mean he still has some long hair left? Or is it just an artistic interpretation? 

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Turkey will ban Twitter unless it blocks a newspaper's account

Turkey will ban Twitter unless it blocks a newspaper's account

The Turkish government's love/hate relationship with Twitter is once again turning sour. A court in the country's Adana province is threatening to ban Twitter unless it blocks the account of a newspaper (BirGun) posting leaked documents that expose the truth behind a raid on an Intelligence agency convoy. Twitter and other social networks have agreed to delete individual posts, but that's not considered good enough. BirGun is defying the censorship, and the court believes that the media outlet is interfering with both the investigation and national security as a whole.
Twitter hasn't said precisely how it'll respond, although the company tells the New York Times that it'll "work diligently" to keep its service available to Turkish residents while protecting their rights. Of course, that's easier said than done. Turkey's officials have been looking for reasons to drop the hammer on Twitter, and it's hard to see that paper's account remaining accessible without some severe consequences.
[Image credit: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images]
New York Times

Jon Fingas

Engadget

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Is Apple making an 'iPad Pro' with a stylus?

Is Apple making an 'iPad Pro' with a stylus?

Steve Jobs' famous proclamation that "if you see a stylus, they blew it" may not be as unshakable a mantra as the former Apple CEO imagined. Apple is likely to introduce a stylus alongside a larger version of the iPad with a 12.9-inch display, according to an analyst with a solid track record. KGI Securities' Ming-chi Kuo, in a note reported on by AppleInsider, says his own research alongside numerous Apple patent filings have led him to believe that the pen will arrive in the second quarter of this year.

Kuo says the stylus will probably be an optional accessory so as not to bump up the base price of the "iPad Pro." The analyst expects the first iteration of the stylus to be relatively simple in technical terms, with the possibility for additional sensors to enable "3D handwriting" further down the line. Kuo also thinks the pen will be charged with a Lightning connector, as wireless options have implications for cost and antenna design. It's not clear whether the stylus would be compatible with other iPad models.

"We believe that the stylus could improve the experience of users."
The stylus will be positioned as a way to improve the iPad user experience rather than a major revenue driver in its own right, Kuo believes. "We don't foresee significant sales of an optional stylus in 2015 and forecast unit shipments of 2-2.5 million," he writes. "But we believe that the stylus could improve the experience of users, however, and will likely help Apple develop specific customer groups such as the corporate sector and educational institutions." It's easy to see how an officially integrated Apple stylus could help the company and others develop new productivity-focused enterprise apps, for example, like those it's working on with IBM.

Why should we believe anything Kuo says? Well, the analyst has a knack of predicting Apple product features that eventually come to pass. Ahead of the last iPad event, for instance, Kuo correctly foretold that the iPad Air 2 would feature a laminated screen with an anti-reflective coating; a gold color option; an A8 processor; and a Touch ID fingerprint scanner. None of this required him to go out on a limb, exactly, but he did also nail the event's biggest surprise — the very minor update to the iPad mini. The month before saw him leak accurate Apple Watch information. And earlier in the year Kuo issued a report with essentially the entire spec sheets of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus five months before their official reveal.

All of this is to say that the man tends to be pretty plugged in to what Apple has coming up. This latest report doesn't appear to have much connection to the supply chain, instead relying on Kuo's individual research and Apple's various patents, so there's a chance he could have missed the mark this time. But the prospect of an official Apple stylus seems a lot more believable today — and at the very least, Kuo's report serves as a reminder that we may well see a larger iPad as well as a new 12-inch MacBook this year.

Sam Byford

The Verge 

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Zayn Malik Debuts a Dapper New Haircut

Zayn Malik Debuts a Dapper New Haircut

Stop the presses: Zayn Malik cut his hair! The One Direction singer ditched his shaggy waves and showed off a slicked-back new 'do complete with closely-shaved sides on his Twitter. We nearly fainted after seeing how incredible he looks with the style.

"Thanks for the sick haircut! It's been a year it was well needed," Zayn tweeted to the barber that crafted his sophisticated new style. 

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Sprint snags its first Lumia smartphone

Sprint snags its first Lumia smartphone

Believe it or not, Sprint hasn't had a Lumia-badged smartphone since Nokia (and now Microsoft) got into Windows phones -- you've had to go with HTC or Samsung and forgo a bunch of apps and services. You won't have that problem from now on, since Sprint just picked up the low-cost Lumia 635. It's been available on the carrier's prepaid Boost and Virgin Mobile labels for a little while, but the move gives you truly unlimited data without having to break the bank on either your phone or your plan. You can score a 635 for $168 up front, or $7 per month over two years.
Sprint

Jon Fingas

Engadget 

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5 Seconds of Summer confirm they're set to start their second album

5 Seconds of Summer confirm they're set to start their second album

They've just been nominated for a BRIT award, an accolade which would fit nicely among the various other trophies they won last year.

But Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer aren't going to let their recent fame slow them down, instead using their time to get to work on their second album.

The band took to their official Facebook account on Friday to confirm they're 'ready to write a new record.'

After releasing their hit single She Looks So Perfect in February, they unleashed their debut self titled album in June.

In America, their album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling hundreds of thousands of copies.

They also won one ARIA Music Award, two Teen Choice Awards and three MTV Europe Music Awards, just to name a few.

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