Getting a Shell on any Android Device

November 18th, 2013, 01:54 Posted By: wraggster


If you’re an Evil Customs Agent or other nefarious Three Letter Agency Person, you’re probably very interesting in getting data off people’s phones. Even if the screen is locked, there’s a way around this problem: just use the Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a handy way to get a shell on any Android device with just a USB cable. The ADB can be turned off, though, so what is the Stasi to do if they can’t access your phone over ADB? [Michael Ossmann] and [Kyle Osborn] that involves a little-known property of USB devices.
USB mini and micro plugs have five pins – power, ground, D+, D-, and an oft-overlooked ID pin. With a particular resistance between this ID pin and ground, the USB multiplexor inside your phone can allow anyone with the proper hardware to access the state of the charger, get an audio signal, mess around with the MP3s on your device, or even get a shell.
To test their theory, [Michael] and [Kyle] rigged up a simple USB plug to UART adapter (seen above) that included a specific value of resistor to enable a shell on their test phone. Amazingly, it worked and the thought of having a secure phone was never had again.
The guys went farther with some proprietary Samsung hardware that could, if they had the service manual, unlock any samsung phone made in the last 15 years. They’re working on building a device that will automagically get a shell on any phone and have built some rather interesting hardware. If you’re interested in helping them out with their project,they have a project site up with all the information to get up to speed on this very ingenious hack.

http://hackaday.com/2013/11/17/getti...e/#more-107824

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King of Fighters '97 sneaks onto iOS, Android devices

November 18th, 2013, 01:25 Posted By: wraggster

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Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet reaches AT&T on November 22nd for $400

November 16th, 2013, 23:50 Posted By: wraggster

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Nathan Myhrvold's $500 Cookbook Now an $80 iPhone App

November 16th, 2013, 23:34 Posted By: wraggster

Nathan Myhrvold's six-volume foodie encyclopedia, Modernist Cuisine, writes reader SmartAboutThings, is one of the most expensive cooking encyclopedias, the original six-volume version retailing for $500, with the two-volume addition that followed after that selling for $115.
"Now, Nathan and his team have transformed their huge food encyclopedia into an iPhone/iPad app. It's not just a digital book, but rather an expensive $80 interactive app that can do more than just provide recipes. The interactive digital cookbook is the fruit of a development team of 10-15 people that have worked over nine months on the project. The app contains 37 technique videos, 416 recipes and 1,683 photos."

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mode...mt=8?at=11l4Kw

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Battlefield 4 Commander app now free on iTunes

November 16th, 2013, 20:26 Posted By: wraggster

Controlling the flow of combat in Battlefield 4 just became a bit more convenient thanks to the launch of the iOS Tablet Commander app.

While the app won't be of much help in a straight up firefight, it does allow players to take control of the game's Commander mode from the comfort of the nearest iPad. Using touchscreen controls, the app allows would-be generals to scout the entire map at once, direct teammates on where to go, and call in airstrikes, either from Cruise missiles or nearby attack helicopters.

Since the app fundamentally changes the way Battlefield 4 is played, virtual commanders will not find themselves ranked as usual at the end of a match. Instead, they'll be competing directly with the other team's commander. If there is no commander on the other team, just pat yourself on the back every time you ruin someone's day with a few hundred pounds of precision-guided explosives.

The Battlefield 4 Tablet Commander app can now be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store. Developer DICE claims that an Android version of the app will be available soon.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/15/ps...ree-on-itunes/

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20 Android Tablets form an Interactive Photo Collage

November 16th, 2013, 10:50 Posted By: wraggster


You might not have a small army of unused tablets lying around, but if you did, you should try turning them into what Minn calls a “Giant Interactive Photo Array Display:� A Giant IPAD. Har har.
[Minn's] first step was to hit eBay, hoping to find a score of low-priced, broken-yet-easily-repairable tablets. The only ones available (and for cheap), however, were resistive touch screens with narrow viewing angles. After waiting patiently for nearly half a year, [Minn] hit the capacitive touch jackpot: snagging a pile of 10″ and 7″ Android tablets. The frame is custom made to provide a solid surface for mounting and enough depth for the tablets to fit correctly. Rather than form his own brackets to hold each device, [Minn] re-purposed some IKEA cupboard handles, screwing them into the MDF backboard and clamping the tablets to them with bolts that press against the case. An adhesive rubber bumper stuck to the top of the bolts prevents any damage.
Providing power to the diverse collection required another custom solution; two 5V 10A supplies and one 9V 16A supply fit into an accompany box safely deliver the needed juice. [Minn] chose an app that will grab photos from cloud storage so he can update the collection without having to dig around inside the frame. See the result in a video below! Want to try this project but only have one tablet to spare? The in-wall tablet mount might help.

http://hackaday.com/2013/11/15/20-an...photo-collage/

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Watch your back: two-faced YotaPhone to launch in December

November 16th, 2013, 00:48 Posted By: wraggster

The YotaPhone, an Android phone with two screens, is set for an international launch in December.
The Russian maker of the phone, Yota Devices, told TechCrunch that the device, which has spent years in development, would see a worldwide launch ‘before Christmas’, following a partnership with manufacturer Hi-P earlier this year.
The YotaPhone, which hasn’t received a pricetag yet, features a dual-core 1.7GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and a 1800mAh battery. It will run on Android 4.2 ‘Jelly Bean’.
What makes the phone stand out, however, is its Janus-like design – on the front of the phone is a 4.3-inch 720p colour touchscreen, which is supplemented by another 4.3-inch grayscale e-ink touchscreen on the back.
The low-power electronic paper display is designed to be used for important information – with details able to be displayed even after the battery for the handset dies. It can also be used to display messages and notifications for easy viewing.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...ecember/032457

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Samsung working on 'three-sided Galaxy smartphone'

November 16th, 2013, 00:35 Posted By: wraggster

Samsung plans to release a Galaxy smartphone in 2014 with a three-sided display.
Bloomberg reports that two people ‘familiar with the plans’ have revealed that the users will be able to read messages from ‘any angle’ on the new device.
The smartphone will allegedly use an upgraded version of Samsung’s Youm technology.
At this year’s CES, Samsung unveiled a prototype of a phone with a wrap-around screen on one side. This device was expected to be the unveiled when the rumours of a curved Galaxy smartphone started to make the rounds.
As it turned out, Samsung released the Galaxy Round, which has a curved body rather than a screen that wraps around one side.
It now looks like 2014 will be the year that we see something more similar to the Youm prototype make its way to consumers.
The people close to the matter said Samsung plans to have each side of the display operate independently.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...rtphone/032468

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BBM comes to iPad and tackles the iPhone and Android glitches

November 16th, 2013, 00:34 Posted By: wraggster

Bug fixes include addressing Android battery drain and iPhone performance improvements.
The hugely successful BBM – which recently recorded an overall 80 million active users – has been rolled out for iPad and iPod.
The extension onto the tablet gives the messaging service access to more users, possibly expanding its already monstrous user-base.
BlackBerry has also announced a number of updates for iPhone and Android.
A number of bugs have been reported for both platforms including glitches on the iPhone version such as missing contact names and display, and high battery usage on Android.
Both platforms now benefit from a ‘telll your friend’ feature, which helps users connect with friends on BBM using a brand new sharing tool. Friends can also be easily added to groups by inviting them by email.
BBM v1.0.4 for iPhone and BBM v1.0.2 for Android are available from today from the App Store and Google Play.
Check out the top 15 reactions from around the web from the launch of BBM.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...litches/022841

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Gameloft unleashes GT Racing 2 with Mercedes-Benz

November 16th, 2013, 00:33 Posted By: wraggster

Players have the opportunity to win tickets for the AMG Driving Academy with an in-game competition.
Gameloft – ME award winning games publisher – has today announced the release of GT Racing 2: The Real Car Experience.
The launch of the next installment in the GT Racingfranchise was support by Mercedes-Benz who partnered up with Gameloft, introducing four if its most prestigious cars into the game, including the Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG, SLS AMG Coupé and the SLS AMG GT3.
The first GT Racing has been downloaded 50 million times since its release in 2010, and its predecessor no doubt hopes to match and beat that number with the same aim, to become the most realistic automotive racing experience ever on a device.
Next month, Gameloft and Mercedes-Benz will offer fans the chance to compete in an in-game event for the chance to win tickets for the AMG Driving Academy, taking the cars out of the game and onto the real track.
Dr. Jens Thiemer, head of brand communications at Mercedes-Benz Cars, said: “Gaming is a medium which has experienced vast growth and is now firmly embedded in all sectors of society, thanks to smartphones, tablets and game consoles.
“As such, games provided an ideal means of appealing to young and modern target groups in an emotional and well-aimed manner.�
GT Racing 2: The Real Car Experience is available now for free from the App Store and Google Play.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...es-benz/022843

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MGS4 producer's stealth game Republique now aiming for a December release

November 16th, 2013, 00:19 Posted By: wraggster

Metal Gear Solid 4 producer and Halo 4 creative director Ryan Patton's upcoming crowdfunded stealth affair Republique is gunning for a December release.Aside from recruiting established voice actors, Patton's Seattle-based studio Camouflaj has grown to about 25 people.

"While we still don't know the official street date just yet, the game's probably going to be coming out in December," Patton told Red Bull UK.Originally set for June on iOS, PC and Mac, Republique was quite the success on Kickstarter in May 2012 where it acquired $555,662 along with the vocal talents of ex-Metal Gear Solid leading man David Hayter and Mass Effect's beloved FemShep Jennifer Hale.Elsewhere in the Red Bull interview, Patton teased a couple of other unannounced Metal Gear veterans in Republique's cast. "We actually have two other cast members from Metal Gear on the game that we haven't announced yet, meaning this is kind of a family affair in a way," he said.Patton also noted that Hayter getting replaced by Kiefer Sutherland in Metal Gear Solid 5 was really bumming the actor/screenwriter out. "Kojima's got all these strange reasons and jokes, and that [sic] the press thought this was all a joke, and that David would be back. But what's even more painful for David is that this isn't a joke," he explained. "He's had to repeatedly say to fans that, no, he's not in the next Metal Gear game. He's having to go out of his way to really say he's not a part of the next game, so it's kind of like a terrible infinite loop for him." Poor guy.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...cember-release

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Apple pushes out iOS 7.0.4 update

November 15th, 2013, 00:16 Posted By: wraggster

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Personalize your Kindle cover or skin with vacation photos at no additional cost

November 15th, 2013, 00:15 Posted By: wraggster

If a regular ol' Kindle accessory doesn't express your personality as well as you'd like,Amazon has announced a new service that looks to oblige. Customers can now personalize an Amazon Origami cover along with a smattering of other covers and skins with a library of images, logos and patterns or by uploading their own photo masterpieces. That collection also includes comic, movie and TV artwork from the likes of Breaking Bad and Peanuts -- just to name a couple. The best part? There's no additional charge. Covers and skins are available for Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HDX and a few older models. Can't wait to get started? Hit that source link to begin crafting your very own.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...cId=1001426901

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Football Manager Handheld 2014 released

November 15th, 2013, 00:12 Posted By: wraggster

Sega's released Football Manager Handheld 2014 on the App Store and Google Play.On both it's £6.99.The iOS version is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, but is optimised for iPhone 5.The Android version requires 2.2 and up.The iOS version of Football Manager Handheld 2014 features cloud saving, so you can continue a single career on multiple iOS devices.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-2014-released

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Tim Green: Is KitKat the first 'real' Android OS?

November 14th, 2013, 23:32 Posted By: wraggster

Everything about the new version is designed to make you do one thing: search.
Back when Google first unveiled Android on October 22, 2008, I must admit I was a little confused.
Two reasons for this. One, I'm not too clever. Two, I'd launched ME to report on the simplistic world of premium rate services, ringtones and Java games.
You didn't have to be Sergei Brin to navigate the business fundamentals in that market.
From a content provider's perspective it was simple: make a product, get the content manager of O2 pissed, wait a month to get your product live on O2 Active, then sit back and wait for the £8.37 to roll in.
Then Apple came along and, although its content project was very different in execution, its fundamental offering was the same as the operators': give us your product and we'll host and sell it for you.
The differences being, everything worked, you could make tons of money and Apple execs don't drink.
Why did Apple want to do this? Ultimately, to sell $600 phones at a 40 per cent profit margin.
Simple.
And then suddenly, Google appeared with its mobile OS.
Why? It wasn't selling phones like Apple. Or data bundles like O2.
And it wasn't selling expensive software like Microsoft when MS was making Windows the default platform for PCs.
Of course, the answer was there all along in Google's own mantra about "organising the world's information".
Google had observed that phones were turning into handheld computers, and it foresaw the urgent need to bring its data gathering and indexing into that realm so it could keep selling ads.
Android was the answer.
In the intervening five years though, things got a little muddied. Google bought Motorola (which made people think it wanted to be a vertically integrated company like Apple – wrong in my opinion) and it supported an app store.
Now, in a way, you could see apps as the very antithesis of Google's search mission: apps take users away from the web, right?
But Android wouldn't have prospered without an app store – such is the pull of the concept for users. Google knew that. It had to have one.
Now, with KitKat, I think we're beginning to see Android as Google must have envisaged it back in 2008.
Why? Because search is embedded deep into so many facets of the new OS.
Here are four:
1. The voice dialler
Click on the phone icon in KitKat, and you don’t get a keypad, you get a search box. You see a list of recent calls and get an option to open up the dialler – but you also get a search option. This will help you find local businesses.
2. App Indexing
Make a search on your phone and the results will not only display web results, but also relevant results from within any app you have installed. Google gives the example of a recipe search that would link to a cookery app. Click on the link to open the app.
Developers are being encouraged to index their apps with Google search. I imagine they'll do so when they start to see their competitors' products come up in results. And Google will be able to add more behavioural data to sell back to advertisers.
3. Building Google Now into the launcher
For the unfamiliar, Google Now comprises widget-like cards that give you relevant information about nearby places of interest, traffic, currency, flight times and so on. Google tracks your behaviour to make these cards more relevant.
Google Now used to be an app, but now it's built right into the left of the home screen. Or you can swipe up to reveal it.
4. Turning all of the home screen into a search app
Well, kind of. The ArsTechnica site dug into the code and revealed that “the wallpaper, the icons, the widgets, and the app drawer — are all drawn by the Google Search app.�
It describes this as effectively 'doing a Facebook Home'.
And it concludes by saying that "Google wants to change the way you use your phone from an app-centric device to a device that revolves around its core product."
And there it is. For all the hundreds of thousands of apps in Google Play, what Brin and Page really want is for you to SEARCH SEARCH SEARCH.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...roid-os/022826

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Sprint's HTC One Max pegged for November 15th release by Best Buy

November 14th, 2013, 01:38 Posted By: wraggster

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Samsung launches Galaxy Core Plus with curious step backwards in specs

November 14th, 2013, 01:36 Posted By: wraggster

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Apple reportedly spending $10.5 billion to upgrade its manufacturing

November 14th, 2013, 01:35 Posted By: wraggster

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The Second Operating System Hiding In Every Mobile Phone

November 14th, 2013, 01:30 Posted By: wraggster

"Every smartphone or other device with mobile communications capability (e.g. 3G or LTE) actually runs not one, but two operating systems. Aside from the operating system that we as end-users see (Android, iOS, PalmOS), it also runs a small operating system that manages everything related to radio. So, we have a complete operating system, running on an ARM processor, without any exploit mitigation (or only very little of it), which automatically trusts every instruction, piece of code, or data it receives from the base station you're connected to. What could possibly go wrong?"

http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/13/...y-mobile-phone

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LGC 2013: Mobiles will never catch up with PC

November 14th, 2013, 00:57 Posted By: wraggster

Graphics and technology specialist ARM says there are misconceptions among mobile developers

Smartphones may be rivalling consoles in terms of graphics but they will never catch up to the power of PCs, says ARM.

The technology firm's developer community manager Gemma Paris discussed some of the perception issues in mobile development during London Games Conference 2013.

"Some developers think that mobiles will catch up with PCs, but we won't because they're completely different devices when it comes to the power they use," she said.

"Mobiles will catch up with PS3 and Xbox 360 by 2015 or 2016 - that was actually revealed at GDC earlier this year - but we will never catch up with PC."

Paris also said there is some confusion among studios trying to port games between smartphones and PCs.

"Most developers don't understand that most mobile GPUs use architecture that is very different to desktops and consoles," she said. "They could port their games between the two, but it means designing things a little differently. We want to help, to show them why it's so different."

http://www.develop-online.net/news/l...ith-pc/0185952

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