Chromebooks by Acer and Samsung

Google announced today the first Chromebooks by Samsung and Acer. According to Google these new devices aren't exactly your typical notebook. They are devices to browse the web, with a notebook form factor...hm... but not a notebook.

Chromebooks will be able boot up in just 8 seconds. And you will be instantly on the web. You won't be storing any data locally but rather in the cloud and it will be accessible every where you go. Even if you destroy your notebook! Um sorry. Your Chromebook.

More interesting is the claim that it will be secure without the need of Antivirus or any type of security software. The OS has been designed from the ground up with security in mind. Will see...

Chromebooks will be available online June 15 in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain with more countries following in the coming months.



Some Specs:
The Samsung Chromebook

• 12.1" 1280x800 Display
• 3.26 lbps | 1.48kg
• 8.5 hours of continuous usage.
• Intel Atom Dual Core
• WiFi & 3G(optional)
• HD Webcam
• 2 USB 2.0 Ports
• 4-in-1 Card reader
• Mini VGA port
• Fullsize keyboard
• Oversized fully clickable trackpad

The Acer Chromebook

• 11.6" Widescreen CineCrystal LED-Backlit LCD
• 2.95 lbs. | 1.34kg
• 6 hours of continuous usage.
• Intel Atom Dual Core
• WiFi & 3G(optional)
• HD Webcam
• HD Audio
• 2 USB 2.0 Ports
• 4-in-1 Card reader
• HDMI port
• Fullsize keyboard
• Oversized fully clickable trackpad

Both product specs are similar to a standard netbook but with a vital component missing. An internal hard drive. I don't know if the specs aren't finalized yet but what would you do with hard drive since saving stuff will be done over the net?

Facebook Security Hole Fixed

Nishant Doshi, a Symantec employee, wrote in a blog entry that Symantec discovered that certain Facebook applications inadvertently leaked access tokens to third parties like advertisers or analytic platforms.

According to an estimate by Symantec there were close to 100.000 applications that enabled the leakage of information. These apps were leaking access tokens to third parties.

This security issue was reported to Facebook by Symantec and Facebook took action to fix the issue on their back-end systems.

Read the blog entry here.

Grow your social network easy!

Found this site today that allows you to get Twitter followers, facebook page likes and Youtube video views for free.

Simply sign-up and you'll get free seeds to spend on getting traffic to your social network!

Follow this link to start!

Microsoft Acquired Skype for 8.5b$

Today Microsoft acquired Skype for a price tag of 8.5b$, Cash! Skype, a leader in peer-to-peer real time communications with 170 million connected users and over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations in 2010, Skype has been a pioneer in creating rich, meaningful connections among friends, families and business colleagues globally.

Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.

"Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world."

Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, and Skype CEO Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Ballmer.

"Microsoft and Skype share the vision of bringing software innovation and products to our customers," said Tony Bates. "Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype's plans to extend our global community and introduce new ways for everyone to communicate and collaborate," Bates said.

Chrome vulnerability found!

Google Chrome users need to be careful these days while browsing the web. A security company named VUPEN Security found a vulnerability in Google's browser Chrome that allowed them to execute code on the targeted system running Chrome.

VUPEN researches bypassed all security features including ASLR/DEP/Sandbox, the bypass doesn't cause crash after execution so it is silent. This vulnerability works an all Windows systems 32bit and 64bit.

Vupen released a demo video showing the exploitation in action.


About VUPEN Security