Google Finds More Malware from it's Own Google Play Store.

Google is hard at work killing more Fake ad networks in some more Apps found on their own Play Store. These directed users to install malware disguised as free applications
Yesterday, the folks over at Lookout divulged their latest find. 32 applications, mostly Russian language, were found to contain what Lookout calls "BadNews" -- a new piece of code that facilitates easy installation of malware onto users phones who have it installed. They estimate that apps containing BadNews have been installed over 2,000,000 times. While this is but a small drop compared to the hundreds of millions of Android devices and 25+ Billion apps installed from the Play store, it's still quite the eye popping number.
BadNews is disguised as an ad network. Besides serving ads for other less popular apps containing the BadNews code, it has the ability to send some of your private data (including your phone number and IMEI) to a server. It also displays fake news messages about app updates and links to actual malware that a user could install outside Google Play. 
The offending applications, distributed across four different developer accounts, have been purged from Google Play. If you think you may have been affected, or are running one of the apps, Lookout's security application can assist in identifying the things you need to remove.
We appreciate a well researched and legitimate look at malware like this news, and don't want it to get buried like the so many FUD stories around the Internet that are speculation with no numbers. For a list of the applications, and a look at how this was discovered, click the source link below. Carry past the break for some further discussion.
Source: Lookout
Now to talk a bit about how and why this happened, and what users could have done differently to protect themselves. To start with, over 2,000,000 people downloaded an application from Google Play, and said "yes" when asked if they wanted to allow the downloaded application to have access to their phone number. We understand that all the app permissions can be confusing, and that often there are legitimate reasons for apps to request permissions to sensitive information. But we have to be diligent and read those permissions, every time, and pass on the apps we think have requests that sound fishy. While this means that we'll likely have to pass on a few apps that are innocent, it also means we won't have some spammy app sending all our contact data off to some server in the Russian Federation. This is the price of having an open application store, and while Google can come back and remove apps that have gone wild after they are found, we have to practice a little care of our own.
The second one is a no-brainer. If you click an ad banner that promises an update to an app that you downloaded from Google Play, or directs you to download and install any files to your phone, you have to say no. This is why it was a big deal when Facebook decided to go rogue and update their app in an unapproved manner, and why many folks were calling for their heads and removal of their app from Google Play for doing so. If you allow things like this to happen, nobody can help you. This time, these apps would have been detected by a security app like Lookout, but next time they may not. Just Say No.
It's relatively easy to write malicious code and inject it into an application that users want. It's not so easy to distribute it from Google Play, and as a result we see convoluted methods like BadNews to get the job done. Be diligent, be safe, and whenever you're in doubt ask for advice in the forums. We may be bickering between ourselves over whether Samsung or HTC makes the better phone, but we all work together when a friend is in need.

Samsung Admits to Posting Fake Reviews Again!

Earlier this week, it was discovered that Samsung Taiwan hired students to post fake negative reviews about HTC’s smartphones on Taiwanese websites. Following the discovery of Samsung’s practices thanks to documents published by TaiwanSamsungLeaks.org, Taiwan’s fair-trade officials started an investigation.
Responding to these allegations, Samsung issued a comment to media outlets, admitting that the company had indeed engaged in such dirty marketing tactics:
HTC said that it regrets its competitors “malicious attacks” and doesn’t rule out a legal action against Samsung.
The Register has some of these anti-HTC comments that were posted by Samsung:
In the cache of forum posts, one user complained that his girlfriend’s HTC One X phone was always on the blink, while Samsung’s Galaxy Note phone was described as far better than HTC’s Sensation XL handset. Another post even asked if anyone who owned a Samsung phone had been given a job promotion.
The whole thing is obviously bad for Samsung from a PR standpoint, but the company has frequently come under severe criticism from press on several occasions:

• During the Samsung-Apple trial, an internal document went public that revealed how exactly Samsung formed its strategy to copy Apple.

• The company flew some bloggers across the world for the launch of the Galaxy Note 2, and then threatened to leave them stranded there if they didn’t promote Samsung’s products during the launch.

• Certain acts in Samsung’s Galaxy S4 launch event were labelled as “shockingly sexist“

Samsung certainly isn’t afraid to take unconventional marketing routes like staging a broadway show for the launch of a product, or launching the same product in a helicopter in a different country. And while employing new marketing tactics is nothing wrong in itself, paying people to badmouth competing brands certainly is, and we wonder if this was a global “initiative” that targeted Apple as well.

Adobe Lightroom Beta Available to the Public see the link:

Adobe has announced the availability of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 beta for Windows and Mac. Adobe Lightroom is a photography workflow application that allows photography enthusiasts and professionals to enhance, organize and share photos.
The Lightroom 5 beta offers a free, public preview of new features and tools that will be offered in the final release, expected later this year. Winston Hendrickson, vice president of digital imaging products, Adobe, says the Lightroom 5 beta offers photographers and enthusiasts many new features including:
° Advanced Healing Brush allows customers to heal imperfections and remove distracting elements;
° Upright tool analyzes an image to automatically level horizons and straighten objects like buildings to correct a keystone effect;
° Radial Gradient tool creates off-center or multiple vignette effects;
° Smart Previews allow customers to edit images without needing the original raw file;
° Video slideshow enables customers to combine still images, video clips and music in a creative HD slideshow;
° Upgrades to the Book module enhancing the ability to create, customize and order elegant photo books using a variety of tailored templates.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 beta is available immediately as a free download on both Mac and Windows at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom5/ .

Rise of the Tablet, Death By Windows 8, Global PC Sales Drop like a Stone.

Ok well maybe not but:
Global PC shipments* plunged 14 percent in the first three months of 2013, according to newly released figures from market research firm IDC.
It's the steepest decline since 1994, when IDC began keeping records for the device. (For rival Gartner's figures, read on.)
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 76.3 million units in the first quarter of 2013, down 13.9 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago, according to IDC. That's far worse than IDC's prediction of a 7.7 percent decline, and the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year shipment declines.
In IDC's own words:
Despite some mild improvement in the economic environment and some new PC models offering Windows 8, PC shipments were down significantly across all regions compared to a year ago. Fading Mini Notebook shipments have taken a big chunk out of the low-end market while tablets and smartphones continue to divert consumer spending. PC industry efforts to offer touch capabilities and ultraslim systems have been hampered by traditional barriers of price and component supply, as well as a weak reception for Windows 8. The PC industry is struggling to identify innovations that differentiate PCs from other products and inspire consumers to buy, and instead is meeting significant resistance to changes perceived as cumbersome or costly.
In short: Windows 8 was a bust, if success is defined as boosting PC shipments. But it's clear that the market currents are larger and more powerful than Microsoft (or any other single vendor) can manage -- nevermind the fact that its radically different operating system has seen slow adoption.
With Lenovo as an exception, PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell have been restructuring to accommodate the market shifts. The hardest hit: whitebox system builders.
Here's a look at how it's playing out across the globe:
The United States market contracted 12.7 percent year over year and 18.3 percent quarter over quarter. Total volume fell to 14.2 million. Quarterly shipments reached their lowest level since the first quarter of 2006.
The Europe, Middle East and Africa market posted a steeper double-digit decline than anticipated in 1Q13. In an already soft market with budget pressures all around, demand is shifting to tablets. Windows 8 and touch-enabled device adoption remains slow.
The Japan market saw some economic improvement thanks to commercial replacement demand ahead of the scheduled end of support for Windows XP next year. Consumer shipments were "very weak," IDC says.
The Asia-Pacific market -- which excludes Japan -- saw a sharp decline in shipments, dropping a record 12.7 percent year over year. It's the first time the region has ever seen a double-digit drop. "Lukewarm reception" to Windows 8 continues. As expected, China is in the driver's seat for this market, and its foot is off the gas.

At the corporate level, Hewlett-Packard remains king -- despite a 23 percent drop in global shipments, year over year, across all regions. (Yes, that's how tough this business has become.)
Lenovo came in second place and "nearly closed the gap with HP" thanks to an impressive, aggressive strategy. It's the only company that grew shipments, posting double-digit growth numbers in the U.S. as the rest of the market moved in the opposite direction. Interestingly, Lenovo saw declines in the Asia-Pacific region.
Rounding out the Top 5 were Dell (down 10 percent worldwide and 14 percent in the U.S., an improvement), Acer (hurting from its bet on netbooks) and Asus ("substantial decline" in EMEA and Asia-Pacific).
And if you're wondering, yes, even Apple saw PC shipment declines "as its own PCs also face competition from iPads," IDC says.
And what about IDC's rival, Gartner? That market research firm also released its figures today, measuring an 11.2 percent decline quarter over quarter and quarterly shipments of 79.2 million units, a bit higher than IDC's numbers -- and therefore the lowest levels since the second quarter of 2009, per its estimates.

According to Gartner's 1Q13 figures, HP and Lenovo are "in a virtual tie" for first place in PC shipments worldwide; Dell filled out the Top 3.
In the U.S., it remains an HP-Dell-Apple world. Only Apple and Lenovo (No. 5 in the U.S.) were among those in the U.S. top five to see PC shipment growth during the quarter. 
More key points of interest from the firm's report:

• The EMEA region saw the steepest decline worldwide: a 16 percent decline, to just 23.3 million units in 1Q13. Why? "Ongoing economic uncertainties" in Southern Europe, plus increasing mobile device adoption.
• The Asia-Pacific market wasn't much better: a 10.3 percent decline, to just 27.6 million units during the quarter. Why? You guessed it: "a fragile economic environment."
• Unlike the consumer PC market, the professional PC market has seen growth, driven by continuing PC refreshes. The professional market makes up about half of all shipments.
• HP "recorded its worst shipment decline since the acquisition of Compaq in 2003," under attack in both consumer and professional segments. Ouch.
• Despite Lenovo's extraordinary growth figures in the U.S., it was Lenovo's slowest growth worldwide since 1Q09.
• The economic recovery is having little impact on PC market conditions.
• U.S. PC shipments totaled 14.2 million units in 1Q13, a 9.6 percent decline from the same quarter a year ago.

*One important note: IDC defines PCs as "Desktops, Portables, Mini Notebooks and Workstations." This includes netbooks but excludes tablets with detachable keyboards. Gartner defines PCs as "desk-based PCs and mobile PCs, including mini-notebooks but not media tablets such as the iPad."