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Trump's Cybersecurity Pick Already Hacked?

Photo by Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Cropped from original

There are only two days left until the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know we’ve been following the news of Trump’s plans for cybersecurity and Internet privacy—and what those plans mean for you—pretty closely. Unfortunately, until last week, we didn’t have much to go on as far as what Trump plans to do to ensure US cybersecurity; we were only able to see what he planned not to do, at least when it came to following recommendations put forward by the outgoing Obama administration.

Last week, however, Donald Trump named Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City and CEO of security consulting firm Giuliani Partners, to head up his cybersecurity team. Giuliani formed the company in 2005 in response to reports showing that cybersecurity threats would only increase, and since then has been offering services such as penetration testing to corporate clients.

At first glance, it seems like good news that Trump has appointed someone with over 10 years of experience in the field to head up his cybersecurity expert team. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that Giuliani’s experience in corporate cybersecurity will translate to keep the government—and the country—safe from cyber threats.

In fact, many industry experts in cybersecurity haven’t even heard of Giuliani Partners (or Giuliani Security and Safety, its subsidiary) and have expressed scepticism that the former NYC mayor has the skills to deal with the sort of cyber threats the US is likely to encounter. In the wake of the announcement, some security researchers decided to visit Giuliani Partners’ websites—and found a number of vulnerabilities, which they published on Twitter late last week.

This week, if you try to visit giulianipartners.com or giulianisecurity.com, you won’t find those vulnerabilities. You won’t find much of anything: both websites are currently offline, although the Wayback Machine offers an older cached version of the giulianisecurity.com site. It’s possible that after the sites’ vulnerabilities were publicized the companies chose to pull them in order to shore up their security, although some are speculating that the nation’s newest cybersecurity leader has already been the victim of a hack.

Of course, Giuliani wouldn’t be personally working as a White Hat hacker for the US government in his new role, but it is concerning that someone taking over as head of the country’s cybersecurity team doesn’t have stronger ties or a better (or any) reputation among top security experts.

Trump’s Cybersecurity Pick Already Hacked? was originally published on Liquidum Blog

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Cybersecurity experts on Giuliani: 

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Super Mario Run is finally coming to Android - AndroidPIT

It's been out on iOS for a while now, and Android users are clamoring for the official Android release of Super Mario Run. The wait is almost over!

Woo-hoo, the release date for Super Mario Run on Android is coming soon! What are you playing until March?

[liquidumapps]

How—and why—you should use a VPN any time you hop on the internet

We'll show you how to protect your online privacy as governments around the world, including the U.S., step up their online surveillance efforts.

As threats to your online privacy get bigger, using a VPN like Rocket VPN is more important than ever. 

[liquidumapps]

LG G6 Incorporates Heat Pipes to Disperse Heat, Undergoing Rigorous Testing | Droid Life

Thanks to recent events surrounding the Galaxy Note 7, many companies are taking every precaution they can to ensure that the phones they ship won’t end up as hand grenades. This, of course, is a good thing. According to the latest out of Korea, LG is going the extra mile in testing the upcoming G6, …

The overheating issue that plagued the Note 7 is making other companies take serious steps to disperse heat in their handsets. Take a look at what LG is testing.

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Time for a snack! Today is National Popcorn Day. What do you like on your popcorn?

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Trump's Cybersecurity Pick Already Hacked?

Photo by Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Cropped from original

There are only two days left until the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know we’ve been following the news of Trump’s plans for cybersecurity and Internet privacy—and what those plans mean for you—pretty closely. Unfortunately, until last week, we didn’t have much to go on as far as what Trump plans to do to ensure US cybersecurity; we were only able to see what he planned not to do, at least when it came to following recommendations put forward by the outgoing Obama administration.

Last week, however, Donald Trump named Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City and CEO of security consulting firm Giuliani Partners, to head up his cybersecurity team. Giuliani formed the company in 2005 in response to reports showing that cybersecurity threats would only increase, and since then has been offering services such as penetration testing to corporate clients.

At first glance, it seems like good news that Trump has appointed someone with over 10 years of experience in the field to head up his cybersecurity expert team. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that Giuliani’s experience in corporate cybersecurity will translate to keep the government—and the country—safe from cyber threats.

In fact, many industry experts in cybersecurity haven’t even heard of Giuliani Partners (or Giuliani Security and Safety, its subsidiary) and have expressed scepticism that the former NYC mayor has the skills to deal with the sort of cyber threats the US is likely to encounter. In the wake of the announcement, some security researchers decided to visit Giuliani Partners’ websites—and found a number of vulnerabilities, which they published on Twitter late last week.

This week, if you try to visit giulianipartners.com or giulianisecurity.com, you won’t find those vulnerabilities. You won’t find much of anything: both websites are currently offline, although the Wayback Machine offers an older cached version of the giulianisecurity.com site. It’s possible that after the sites’ vulnerabilities were publicized the companies chose to pull them in order to shore up their security, although some are speculating that the nation’s newest cybersecurity leader has already been the victim of a hack.

Of course, Giuliani wouldn’t be personally working as a White Hat hacker for the US government in his new role, but it is concerning that someone taking over as head of the country’s cybersecurity team doesn’t have stronger ties or a better (or any) reputation among top security experts.

Trump’s Cybersecurity Pick Already Hacked? was originally published on Liquidum Blog

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The Samsung Explosion Cause Is...

Officially, the results of Samsung’s months-long investigation into the Galaxy Note 7 overheating (and exploding) problem are being released next week. But you don’t have to wait until next Monday; a Korean outlet has leaked the final report findings and we now know the cause of the Note 7 explosions.

We originally speculated that the issue was caused by third-party chargers, but as more incidents were reported, it became clear that wasn’t the case. Most people then assumed the Note 7 batteries were faulty, until Samsung switched battery suppliers and issued replacement Note 7s that started exploding, too. Once it became clear that the supposedly safe models were afflicted with the same issue, Samsung took the extreme step of completely shutting down production of the Note 7 and issuing a total recall for all Note 7s worldwide.

It’s great that a phone manufacturer is so safety-conscious, but of course it was frustrating for everyone who loved their Note 7 and had used it for months with no problems—especially once Samsung sent out a final over-the-air update that would effectively brick the few devices remaining in the wild.

We’ve been waiting since December and today we finally know what it is that sent the Galaxy Note 7 up in smoke.

It turns out, a fatal combination of a hardware and software issue are behind the cases of spontaneous phone combustion.

An official source told Korean outlet Chosun that the Note 7’s design didn’t allocate enough space to allow the battery room to expand once it grew warm. There was also a software failsafe designed to detect overheating and shut down power to the phone, but this software didn’t work.

Now that Samsung has determined why the Note 7s kept exploding, no doubt they’ll devote plenty of time and resources to fixing it in future models. The heat-check software will most likely be the easier fix, but the design issue is tougher. With the industry pushing toward more features, longer battery life, and thinner phones, something has to give. In the case of the Note 7, which was loaded with a ton of tech-heavy features like the S Pen and an iris scanner, it was the extra space needed for safety that Samsung gave up. Going forward, we’ll be watching closely to see what Samsung decides to compromise on, at least until new breakthroughs can extend battery life with the same size or even smaller batteries.

Get the full story on Pocketnow for more details from the report.

The Samsung Explosion Cause Is… was originally published on Liquidum Blog

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Did you miss it? We now know what made the Galaxy Note 7s explode.

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This innovation could prevent phone batteries from catching fire and exploding

Researchers from Stanford University created a lithium-ion battery with a built-in fire extinguisher that can stop batteries from burning up in 0.4 seconds.

We’d feel safer knowing our smartphone had this fire extinguisher tech on board. Would you be more likely to buy a phone with this type of battery?

[liquidumapps]

Turn your Android phone into a makeshift Nintendo Switch

With a bluetooth controller and wireless video casting accessories, you can easily bring your favorite Android games to the big screen, Nintendo Switch style.

Can’t wait to get your hands on the Switch? Good news: with a few accessories, you can get the Nintendo Switch experience now with your Android smartphone.

[liquidumapps]

The best smartphones with replaceable batteries - AndroidPIT

Take a look at our list of the best smartphones with replaceable batteries. Find the right one for you.

Replaceable batteries are getting a bit tougher to find, but they’re still out there. If being able to swap out your battery is important to you, check this list before you buy your next phone.

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5 Android apps you shouldn't miss this week! - Android Apps Weekly

Welcome to the 174th edition of Android Apps Weekly! This week we talk about changes to Hangouts, Adobe's talk-to-edit app, and more Android apps news!

Stay up to date with the best Android apps of this week.

[liquidumapps]

The Samsung Explosion Cause Is...

Officially, the results of Samsung’s months-long investigation into the Galaxy Note 7 overheating (and exploding) problem are being released next week. But you don’t have to wait until next Monday; a Korean outlet has leaked the final report findings and we now know the cause of the Note 7 explosions.

We originally speculated that the issue was caused by third-party chargers, but as more incidents were reported, it became clear that wasn’t the case. Most people then assumed the Note 7 batteries were faulty, until Samsung switched battery suppliers and issued replacement Note 7s that started exploding, too. Once it became clear that the supposedly safe models were afflicted with the same issue, Samsung took the extreme step of completely shutting down production of the Note 7 and issuing a total recall for all Note 7s worldwide.

It’s great that a phone manufacturer is so safety-conscious, but of course it was frustrating for everyone who loved their Note 7 and had used it for months with no problems—especially once Samsung sent out a final over-the-air update that would effectively brick the few devices remaining in the wild.

We’ve been waiting since December and today we finally know what it is that sent the Galaxy Note 7 up in smoke.

It turns out, a fatal combination of a hardware and software issue are behind the cases of spontaneous phone combustion.

An official source told Korean outlet Chosun that the Note 7’s design didn’t allocate enough space to allow the battery room to expand once it grew warm. There was also a software failsafe designed to detect overheating and shut down power to the phone, but this software didn’t work.

Now that Samsung has determined why the Note 7s kept exploding, no doubt they’ll devote plenty of time and resources to fixing it in future models. The heat-check software will most likely be the easier fix, but the design issue is tougher. With the industry pushing toward more features, longer battery life, and thinner phones, something has to give. In the case of the Note 7, which was loaded with a ton of tech-heavy features like the S Pen and an iris scanner, it was the extra space needed for safety that Samsung gave up. Going forward, we’ll be watching closely to see what Samsung decides to compromise on, at least until new breakthroughs can extend battery life with the same size or even smaller batteries.

Get the full story on Pocketnow for more details from the report.

The Samsung Explosion Cause Is… was originally published on Liquidum Blog

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Today is the day to appreciate your squeaky buddy! Happy Rubber Ducky Day from Liquidum!

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Fix Facebook's Battery Drain

The life of a smartphone user sometimes feels like a race against the clock; you spend the day watching your battery level drop, balancing your phone use against how long you’ll need to wait before you can plug back in. When every minute counts, any sudden higher-than-usual battery drain can leave you with a dead phone.

We’ve talked before about which apps have the biggest effect on your battery life, and Facebook and its companion app Messenger are always right at the top of the list. If you use these apps regularly, you may have noticed that lately they’re sucking up even more juice than usual. It’s not just your imagination; Phandroid reports that there’s been an issue this week with Messenger and Facebook draining huge amounts of battery just running in the background.

Luckily, there’s an easy fix: manually close the apps by opening your recent apps menu and swiping to close them. Facebook has already fixed this issue in its servers, so when you restart the apps they should run as normal.

Of course, even when they’re running as expected, Facebook and Messenger use a whole lot of battery, so try to avoid letting them run in the background when you don’t need them, and if you don’t use them very often, you might want to consider uninstalling to save your battery life. You can also give your battery life a boost by running our app Battery Time to help your battery charge last longer.

Fix Facebook’s Battery Drain was originally published on Liquidum Blog

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If you haven’t done this yet, go restart Facebook and Messenger now to fix the battery drain bug.

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Android's progress lives and dies by Samsung

Google makes Android, but Samsung increasingly *owns* Android. And that's a problem for updates.

In theory, the Android ecosystem isn’t tied to any one manufacturer. In practice, things are different.

[liquidumapps]

Stable Nougat OTA now hitting Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, starting with beta users

Samsung is now kicking off its stable Android 7.0 Nougat update, starting with those that enrolled in the Galaxy Beta Programme.

Great news if you’ve been waiting for Nougat on your S7: the update is rolling out now.

[liquidumapps]

Verizon will force you off of unlimited data plans if you use more than 200GB

It seems we have to have these moments once per year, but Verizon has once again made another move to force more people off their unlimited data plan

If you have an “unlimited” Verizon data plan, it’s only unlimited until you try to use it. Has Verizon forced you to give up your unlimited data plan?