Google's VirusTotal Security Service Can Now Scan Firmware for Malware

Google's free Internet security service, VirusTotal, which scans the image files of running processes, trigger scans of remote URL content before saving it to disk, and more, has now received a new feature where it can tell if the firmware is infected.

According to Francisco Santos of VirusTotal, antivirus software usually doesn't scan the BIOS of a computer, which means this layer remains unseen and a breach can fly under the radar. In a blog post, the company also gave few examples where attackers have taken advantage of firmware malware including NSA which has been alleged by Snowden's leaks to infect BIOS firmware and Lenovo's service engine among others.

"To all effects BIOS is a firmware which loads into memory at the beginning of the boot process, its code is on a flash memory chip soldered onto the mainboard. Since the BIOS boots a computer and helps load the operating system, by infecting it attackers can deploy malware that survives reboots, system wiping and reinstallations, and since antiviruses are not scanning this layer, the compromise can fly under the radar," writes Santos.

With the new tools, VirusTotal can characterise firmware images as legitimate or malicious. Some of the basic tasks that the new tool will perform include Apple Mac BIOS detection and reporting; strings-based brand heuristic detection, to identify target systems; extraction of certificates both from the firmware image and from executable files contained in it; PCI class code enumeration, allowing device class identification; ACPI tables tags extraction; NVAR variable names enumeration; option ROM extraction, entry point decompilation and PCI feature listing; extraction of BIOS Portable Executables and identification of potential Windows Executables contained within the image, and SMBIOS characteristics reporting.

The company also suggests users to remove private information before performing BIOS dumps and uploading to VirusTotal. The company says that private information could be saved by certain vendors such as Wi-Fi passwords in BIOS variables in order to remember certain settings across system reinstalls.

"If you are on a Mac, DarwinDumper will allow you to easily strip sensitive information by checking the "Make dumps private" option," notes the company. To recall, Google acquired the free Internet security service VirusTotal back in 2012.

Oppo to Invest Rs. 100 Crores to Open Own Manufacturing Plant in India by August

Chinese mobile handset firm Oppo on Thursday said it will invest Rs. 100 crores to start its own manufacturing unit in India by August this year.

"We have long term plan for India. We will invest Rs. 100 crores to start our mobile manufacturing unit by August 2016," Oppo Global VP and President of Oppo India, Sky Li said at the launch of selfie phone F1 and F1 Plus in New Delhi on Thursday.

He said that Oppo has already started its mobile handset production in India at electronic manufacturing services firm Foxconn's plant.

"We expect to grow our business volume significantly. We have sold 40 million handsets in China so far and expect India business to grow similarly. Oppo is looking at producing 10 million handset units per year in India at our own plant. We will continue our relationship with Foxconn as well," Li said.

The company is focusing on mobile photography and launch F1 and F1 Plus around this strategy.

Oppo is positioning F1 as selfie expert which will sell for Rs. 15,990. It has 8-megapixel front camera with a wide aperture lens and a one-fourth inch sensor. Li said that the phone has Oppo's patented 'screen flash' that can shoot clear selfies even in low-light conditions.

"With help of sensor, it can shoot selfies using hand gestures and spoken commands, ensuring stunning selfies in all conditions," Li said.

The F1 also features a 13-megapixel rear camera with a focus time of just 0.1 second. It has Qualcomm octa-core processor chipset, 3GB RAM, and 16GB of inbuilt storage.

Oppo also announced the F1 Plus which will be available in India from April with even more sophisticated camera functions for Rs. 26,990.

"Oppo will further expand its offline channels and is targeting 35,000 sales outlets and 180 official service centers to achieve radical development in India in 2016," Li said.

Ultimate Ears launches waterproof UE Roll Bluetooth speaker for Rs 8,495

After spending the last few months off the radar, Logitech-owned Ultimate Ears has finally launched the UE Roll in India for Rs. 8,495, a super-compact portable Bluetooth speaker that was globally unveiled in June 2015.

The UE Roll's USP is that is waterproof and small enough to take along with you no matter where you go. The shape of the UE Roll also ensures that it produces a 360-degree sound that resonates in all directions.

"Music is made for sharing, connecting and enjoying," said Ashok Jangra, Cluster Category Manager India & South West Asia. "It transforms moments into something special, and we designed UE Roll to be part of those moments. No matter where you are, or what you're doing, UE Roll is there to amplify any experience."

The UE Roll has its own dedicated app for Android and iOS, which can be used to set music-based alarms, remotely turn on the speaker, and pair to other Ultimate Ears speakers to play music together for a louder sound. The company also promises to deliver updates to the app that will add features to the speaker itself.

Logitech's UE Roll speaker is available now, and comes in a handful of colour options, including Volcano (Grey), Atmosphere (Blue), Sugarplum (Pink), and Sriracha (Orange). Ultimate Ears first started out as a producer of high-end custom fitted in-ear monitors for artistes and performers. The company has since expanded its range to include all ranges of earphones and wireless speakers, including the UE Boom 2 which was launched last year.

Highlights of Ultimate Ears UE ROLL portable Bluetooth speaker

• Powerful pint-sized wireless Bluetooth speaker-small and lightweight
  360-degree sound with deep bass
  Waterproof (IPX7 rated) life-resistant shell designed for adventure (Waterproof for up to 30 minutes and a depth of 1 meter)
  Marine-grade bungee cord attaches to you or your bike, backpack, snorkel or whatever
  UE ROLL companion app-tune it, alarm it, Double UP the sound by pairing it to another Ultimate Ears speaker
  Wireless, over-the-air speaker updates.
  Works with Apple iOS and Android devices
  9 hours of battery life

RailTel's Free Public Wi-Fi Service by Google Launched at Mumbai Central

Google, in partnership with the Railways’ telecom wing RailTel, introduced the first public Wi-Fi service at the Mumbai Central railway station. In the future, Wi-Fi services will be provided at Bandra Terminus and Surat stations of Mumbai division. In addition, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Indore stations of Western Railway shall also be covered with Wi-Fi services in the near future.

RailTel will provide Internet services as RailWire via its fiber network, in partnership with Google. Railwire Wi-Fi will be available to any user who has a working mobile connection on a smartphone. The project was announced last September during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Google headquarters in Mountain View.

In an statement, Google stated that even with just the first 100 stations online, this project will make WiFi available to millions of Indians, who pass through railway stations every day, making it the largest public Wi-Fi project in India and among the largest in the world by number of potential users.

Commenting on the launch, Chairman and Managing Director of Railtel Shri R. K. Bahuguna of Railtel said, “Our intent was to fulfill Indian Railway’s vision of providing Railway passengers access to high speed Internet through our Optical fiber communication network. Affordable smartphones have made it possible for the common men to experience the power of Internet. With our partnership with Google, we are very confident of rolling out a robust, scalable service at Railway stations in the near future.”

Speaking at the launch, Rajan Anandan, VP & Managing Director, Google South East Asia and India said, “We’re delighted to launch India’s first high speed public Wi-Fi service in partnership with Indian Railways. Bringing affordable Internet access to millions of people is an important part of making the Internet both easily accessible and useful for more than 300 million Indians who are already online, and the nearly one billion more who are not. By end of this year over 10 million people will be able to enjoy this experience at 100 stations spread across the country.  I would like to thank the Indian Railways for their support and vision to provide a world class high speed public Wi-Fi network at the stations.”

Microsoft Ends Support for Windows 8 on Tuesday

Three years ago Windows 8 was released. But on Tuesday, January 12th Microsoft is ending up with Windows 8 support lifecycle policy. No more update of Service Pack Support will be provided for windows 8 operating system. So, its time to upgrade to windows 8.1 or windows 10 else downgrade to windows7 because the support for Windows 7 lasts until January 14, 2020.However the Windows 8 lifecycle policy, which extended to January 10, 2023. But the Microsoft company  states that Windows 8 customers will have 24 months to move to Windows 8.1 after General Availability in order to remain supported.

Windows 8.1 builds on the foundation of Windows 8, and includes many enhancements and great new features in key areas like personalization, search, the built-in apps, Windows Store experience, and cloud connectivity,” the company states. “Windows 8.1 also introduces new manageability, mobility, security, user experience and networking capabilities for businesses. — Microsoft

According to the above chart, Windows 8 Mainstream support actually ends on January 9, 2018, and the extended support end date on January 10, 2023. This schedule also applies to Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8 Enterprise N, Windows 8 N, Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 Pro N.