New Leaks Suggest iPhone 4S and Sprint iPhone 5 Tuesday Launch

Whoops! New images are adding some strong evidence to the rumormongering that Apple's going to announce the release of the iPhone 5 on Sprint's network come Tuesday. And you can thank Radio Shack for this one.

According to an alleged screenshot taken of a Radio Shack internal inventory page, both a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5 and a 32-gigabyte iPhone 5 are a-coming. It's a bit more a significant bit of evidence than the guessing game that arose from an earlier internal Sprint memo, which told company employees that vacations were blacked out between September 30 and October 15 due to the "possibility of a major phone launch."

Sprint is still allegedly going to be offering the iPhone 5 with an unlimited data plan. There's no indication of how long that the plan might stick around post-launch, as has been the case with other "unlimited" data plans on competing carriers, but the move – if true – is aimed at giving Sprint some kind of competitive advantage against AT&T and Verizon. Sprint, in this case, would sit in the market as the only iPhone carrier with a truly unlimited data plan.

So what does that make of the iPhone 4S?

For those unfamiliar, there's also been talk that Apple's only intending on launching a souped-up version of the iPhone 4 on Tuesday, cleverly dubbed the, "iPhone 4S." New evidence supporting that theory includes new language inside a beta iTunes release (since pulled by Apple) that references an "iPhone 4S" and includes an image of a CDMA iPhone 4.

So what's it going to be? Are the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 the same device and we're all just quibbling over the name? Is Apple actually releasing two separate devices – an upgrade to the iPhone 4 and a slightly bigger, fancier iPhone 5, as a recent leak by Cincinnati Bell might suggest? Are the rumors going to persist until 9:59 a.m. (PST) on Tuesday?

Odds indicate: Yes.

To hear more about the rumored features – both hardware and software – arriving with the new iPhone (or iPhones), be sure to check out our additional coverage of all things iPhone.
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Apple Confirms IPhone 5 Event Next Week, Amazon Shows Off Tablet.

Apple confirmed it will unveil the next iPhone on October 4, and Amazon showed off the Kindle Fire, its new tablet slated to go head-to-head with the iPad.

News Under the Sun is a weekly column rounding up all the events on in the mobile industry. Want the news but don’t want it every day? Subscribe to our weekly Facebook or Twitter page.

Apple Confirms IPhone 5 Event, Release to Follow

Apple invited members of the media to a keynote event on October 4 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time at its own Town Hall Auditorium where it is expected to unveil the iPhone 5. The invitation to the event features the iOS icons for the calendar, clock, Google Maps and phone applications. Beneath them is a tagline that reads, “Let’s talk iPhone.”

Analysts expect Apple to release the device shortly after the October 4 event. Apple reportedly instituted a vacation blackout for employees in the U.S. and the U.K. from October 9 to 12 and again on October 14 and 15. The dates back up earlier reports the company’s AppleCare divisions have been told to prepare for heavy traffic.

Consumers are excited about the upcoming iPhone 5, but Apple is already thinking further into the future. The company’s Xcode developer tool now includes support for Marvell’s quad-core ARM-based Armada XP chips. Apple may use the chips in prototypes of future iPhones and iPads as a placeholder while it designs its own proprietary next-generation processor.

Apple is also expanding so it will have more places to sell its future products. The company opened a Shanghai store and plans to open its first store in Hong Kong this weekend. The iPhone maker has already opened six of its planned 25 stores in China, but construction taking a slower pace than expected in the rapidly emerging market.

Despite growing demand in markets like China, Apple cut iPad orders by 25 percent according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. The report didn’t list the companies affected by the cutback, and Apple would not confirm the news.

Analysts believe Apple cut orders from Chinese suppliers because it plans to build a new iPad plant in Brazil. Foxconn reportedly negotiated a deal to manufacture $12 billion worth of products in the country, starting in December. However, concerns over taxes and labor stalled the closing of the agreement. Foxconn and the Brazilian government are now reportedly discussing opening a smaller plant to salvage the deal.

Amazon Unveils Kindle Fire, Browser Takes Criticism

Amazon announced the Kindle Fire, a full-color, touch screen device for $200 expected to launch on November 15. The Fire, which weighs just under a pound, features a 7-inch multi-touch display, dual-core processor, 8-gigabytes of internal storage and 8 hours of battery life. Amazon’s new tablet is powered by Android and runs the company’s new Web browser Amazon Silk.

Amazon did not reveal much about Silk, a browser powered by cloud-based features, but marketed it as one of the device’s key selling points. However, security firm Sophos said the browser connects users directly to Amazon’s servers, giving the company a record of customer’s browsing history as well as IP and MAC addresses for 30 days. The process leaves users private information on the server and vulnerable to hackers.
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BitTorrent Contributed to Network Decongestion

Erik Klinker, BitTorrent’s Chief Executive Officer, attended the Broadband World Forum that took place in France. As a result, he came with a new solution for an old problem of network congestion because of P2P. A new open-source technology called Micro Transport Protocol or ?TP has already been introduced into the company’s application in order to increase the performance of network by decongesting it.

Most of the information flying around the web is transmitted through TCP, which works by breaking it down and later reassembling at the other end of the network link. However, Klinker explained that this method is obsolete, because TCP defines congestion based on lost packets. He compared the network congestion to driving a car through a school zone and only slowing down after having struck the first pedestrian.

As opposed to TCP protocol, the ?TP technology would detect the network congestion on the early stage and try to fix it, because it was designed in the philosophy of yielding to traffic. BitTorrent promised that ?TP will no longer be the cause of the web congestion thanks to new mechanisms. Mr. Klinker noted that if the company could somehow address the problem of network congestion, it would end up addressing the network cost issue. He also came with a prediction, saying that the worldwide web is going to evolve and develop in the direction of a multimedia network. What is it for the users? A lot more big files at the very least, and you can consider many other advantages.

BitTorrent CEO announced that the company will develop this new direction. BitTorrent has already begun to facilitate transferring large amounts of information from digital devices and gadgets, and it will do much more in the nearest future. Klinker promised that the industry will soon see the company rolling out software that would help liberate media from the above mentioned devices in order to share it easier with family and friends.

Many will agree with Erik Klinker that content doesn’t present any value until it is shared and seen. That’s where it becomes hard for today’s networks in the first place. While the devices at the edge of the network are rapidly increasing in capability, the today’s networks stay the same and are governed by the same old mechanisms.
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Worm Could Break the Web

Mark Bowden, known as Black Hawk Down author, has written a book telling that the Conflicker worm could break the web.

Over 12 million PCs appeared to be infected with the self-updating worm, which got into the core of any PC. Mark Bowden’s recent book called “Worm: The First Digital World War” is telling about how the worm Conficker was discovered, how it is working, and the current programming battle trying to bring down the malware.

The most interesting part is where the book claims that if the malware was used nefariously, it could actually damage the entire world web and everyone sailing in it. In the newspaper interview, Mark Bowden explained that the Conflicker worm controllers were able to use all of the PCs that are connected, turning them into the largest and most powerful cloud ever.

The writer explained that the Conficker botnet was that powerful that it could take over computer networks controlling banking, telephones and security systems. Moreover, it could lay hold on air traffic control and even the web itself. Mark Bowden also believes that Conflicker is powerful enough to overwhelm not just its target of cyber attack, but also root servers of the web itself, which would result in crushing the whole bally thing. As you can understand, a botnet of such a size could also be used as a weapon.

The worm in question can also be used by the hackers for stealing passwords and codes. For example, some guys from Ukraine managed to lease a part of the computers infected by Conficker worm in order to drain American bank accounts. It’s that easy – you write a worm and you are rich. In our digital age the world and dubious money are open for some.

Mark Bowden is known as the author of a few books. His works include Black Hawk Down, Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw and Guests of the Ayatollah. The famous author admitted that he was lucky the creator of Conficker thus far hadn’t considered the idea of taking down the entire world-wide web or, which might be even worse, using the bot to create a weapon of mass destruction. The matter is that it doesn’t mean the malware can’t be used for this by the others, especially after the new book will be distributed among many, including people longing for easy money. It is still not clear what effect the book will have, but its content is interesting at the very least.

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MySQL Website Infected

According to the report of some Internet security outfit, the Mysql.com website has recently been hacked. They warn everyone that the site is currently serving malware.

Security outfit Armorize announced that they have found the intrusion through its site malware monitoring platform known as HackAlert. The latter also sends the Internet users angry emails most days.

It seems that the Mysql.com website has been injected with some script generating an iFrame, which redirects the Internet users to a jaw-breaker “http://truruhfhqnviaosdpruejeslsuy.cx.cc/main.php”. Once you get there, your browser will be tinkered by the BlackHole exploit pack, which is hosted at the abovementioned link. This wonderful pack permanently installs a piece of malware into your computer, and you won’t even notice the action. The matter is that the installation package doesn’t require you to click or agree to anything, so the malware will be integrated into your machine without your knowledge.

Since this kind of malware is still unknown for the most of the security labs, only 9% of anti-virus applications are able to detect and block it. You can imagine the number of the computers that will potentially be infected, turning out to be among the rest 91% of unprotected machines.

Meanwhile, the domain name you reach through the iFrame is located in Germany, but registered to Christopher J Klein from Miami. Meanwhile, the domain that distributes the exploit pack and the malware resides in Stockholm, Sweden.

The security experts are already investigating the problem. For example, Sucuri Security researchers have found out that the website has been compromised via JavaScript malware. In its turn, the malware infects online service via a compromised desktop. In addition, it is able to steal any stored password from the FTP client in order to use that to launch a cyber attack on the website.

Other security experts point out that this hack might be connected to the fact revealed recently by Trend Micro researchers, who announced to discover a denizen of some Russian underground forum engaged into selling root access to a number of the cluster servers of mysql.com, along with its subdomains. The guys ask at least $3,000 for each access. The security company admitted it has notified mysql.com admins of this fact more than a week ago.
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FBI Arrests Suspected LulzSec Member For Sony Hack [UPDATED]

The FBI on Thursday arrested a suspected member of the hacker group LulzSec in connection with a cyber attack earlier this year against the computer systems of Sony Pictures.

Cody Kretsinger, 23, of Phoenix, was arrested and charged with helping LulzSec attack Sony's servers between May 27 and June 2. The group's hack compromised the personal data belonging to one million Sony customers, which the group then posted online.

Also on Thursday, the FBI arrested two other men with suspected ties to the hacker group Anonymous for allegedly crashing a county-run website in California, authorities said.

The arrests were the latest in an ongoing effort by authorities to crackdown on the hacker groups who have exposed widespread security lapses in government and corporate computer systems. In July, authorities arrested 14 suspected members of Anonymous for allegedly bringing down PayPal's website over four days in retaliation for the company suspending payments to the whistle-blower site Wikileaks.

In June, British authorities arrested Ryan Cleary, 19, for his suspected involvement in a cyberattack by LulzSec on the CIA website. He was charged with building a botnet, or a network of remotely-controlled computers to overwhelm websites with traffic.

Authorities say Kretsinger, also known by the online nickname “recursion,” is believed to be a current or former member of LulzSec, which has also taken credit for hacking the website of PBS. He has been charged with conspiracy and the unauthorized impairment of a protected computer, the FBI said.

To carry out the attack, Kretsinger allegedly used a proxy server to disguise his computer's IP address, then obtained confidential information from Sony's network using an SQL injection - a technique used by hackers to exploit vulnerabilities and steal information, according to the FBI. The indictment also alleges that, in order to avoid detection by law enforcement, Kretsinger erased the hard drive of the computer he used to conduct the attack.

Kretsinger was scheduled to appear Thursday before a federal magistrate in U.S. District Court in Phoenix. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Meanwhile on Thursday, authorities also charged Christopher Doyon, 47, of Mountain View, Calif., and Joshua John Covelli, 26, of Fairborn, Ohio, with bringing down the website of Santa Cruz County last December. Doyon and Covelli were allegedly assisting the People’s Liberation Front, which has been associated with Anonymous, in a denial of service attack, which floods a website with so much traffic that it crashes, authorities said.

The attack, which was nicknamed “Operation Peace Camp 2010," was in retaliation for the Santa Cruz police cracking down on a protest last summer outside the county courthouse. The protesters were supporting the homeless and hoping to ban a city ordinance that prohibited camping within city limits, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Several protesters were charged with misdemeanors during the protest, including Doyon, the paper reported.

For the attack against the county's website, Doyon and Covelli were charged with conspiracy to cause intentional damage to a protected computer, causing intentional damage to a protected computer, and aiding and abetting, authorities said. They both face a maximum of 15 years in prison.

Covelli has also been charged with participating in a cyberattack that brought down the PayPal website last December, authorities said.
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