EMC Defenders CTF - Week 3 - Contest 14 - Reversing

I played the EMC defenders CTF with a few of my friends a while back. We sadly couldn't complete all the challenges. All the same it was quite a lot of fun. One of the challenges in Week 3 was reverse engineering a 32 bit Windows executable.
While the challenge finished a while ago, I was poking at it a bit even after the challenge finished and finally managed to get a flag. In this post, I wanted to talk a little bit about the various obstacles that were in the way and how I circumvented them.

The first thing that I noticed was that directly running the executable caused it to terminate. So I started digging into it a bit more and found that there were a couple of checks that the exe performed.

- Check if it was being executed in a 64 bit environment
- Check if it was being run inside a debugger

A quick patch of the JZ to a JNZ bypassed both these protections and we were able to proceed without a problem.

After a while at 4010CF VirtualAlloc was called and a section of memory allocated to write "something into" - we don't know what at this time. The next problem was when a CALL was made at 40110B - which called into this section.

Going to that place in memory showed a lot of weird weird code which did not look right at all. Have a look at the screenshot.

Trying to run this code at this point caused an Access Violation straightaway. So I started single stepping the code, and immediately found that code a little lower down started changing. This meant that this was some kind of self modifying executable - a lot of packers use this trick.

I single stepped up to a point and ran again but it crashed again. Single step again - the next section made sense now. I repeated this for quite a while until the entire section started to make sense. What was happening, was that a small section of code would decrypt the next section. The next section would then run and decrypt the next bit. And so on ... until the entire bit unpacked itself.

Here is a screenshot of a packed section.

..And the same section after it's unpacked.

Single stepping the code until 3D0194 eventually decrypted every single bit of the code.

The unpacked code is at 3D0791 (red highlight in screen-shot above). This is how most packers behave - unpack the code to a different location and run it from there. Notice also all those junk ADD instructions after the CALL - more signs that the unpacking ends here. Lets hop over to 3D0791 now and see what's there.

Look at the last instruction and the red highlighted bit below. There is a CMP with 5A4D there and something happening after that. Hmm. 5A4D = MZ in Ascii. And MZ is the start of an EXE file. So it looks like it's searching for the start of an EXE file in memory. That too probably is what the unpacker has done - unpacked the real EXE file somewhere into memory. Where? We don't know as of now.

The red highlighted bits do have MZ and PE - things which lead us to think that the file's somewhere near.. but the other bits like "This program cannot be run in DOS mode.." .. are nowhere near. So maybe... it's not this bit which is the EXE but somewhere else. Where though?

Lets run the code after this and see what happens. We hit F9 and the code starts looping backward .. each time decrementing the place it searches by 1 (ECX register). Hmm. Meaning.. it's searching for the PE header backward. At some point it is going to find this header. Maybe :)

So I started searching for all occurrences of 4D 5A in memory. We got a hit at 3D0181 and with more text which looks like an EXE.

So I set a conditional break-point just after the CMP to break when ECX = 3D0181.

As expected it breaks. Now EDX is compared to 5A 4D. I'd expected that it would find a match and move on. Strangely the program never found a match and kept crashing. So I looked at what EDX was getting set to when the program broke.

Interestingly it got set to 5A CC and not 5A 4D. In other words the instruction CMP EDX,5A4D was failing.. coz EDX was getting set to 5A CC instead and hence never finding a match. Why?

Well CC in assembly is a software breakpoint .. or INT 3 as is often known. I'd set a conditional breakpoint..right? So the 4D at that point was temporarily overwritten by CC and thus the match failed and the app felt that there was no PE file there at all... when in reality there was. Here's a screenshot of what EDX actually contained.

But we know for sure... that there IS a PE file here. Right? So I edited EDX at run-time (and cheated a bit :)) and made it 5A 4D so that the match would succeed.

Suddenly all the code after all started to make sense...and all the right branches started getting selected, which meant I was on the right track. The biggest hint was that the next CMP which compared against 45 50 (start of PE header) succeeded and I exited the "search for PE header" loop. Which means that the header was found. Nice.

There was more memory allocated at 3D09E4 where the entire EXE was copied into 3D0000. Load Library was then called a couple of times at 3D0A9A and the addresses for a ton of functions in kernel32.dll and user32.dll were obtained.

Then I got bored and tried running it after this point to see if it'd give me a flag.. but nope.. program exited again. Aargh :(. More single stepping. I eventually came up to a call at 3D0D46. This call suddenly called to some code which was quite far from 3D0246... it called to 320A0B. Hmm. Interesting..

Eventually I managed to isolate which function was causing the code to exit. I followed the path 3D0915 - 3D097C - 3D0180 - 3D01130. And then I saw this...

So there's 3 CMP instructions ..comparing 3 different locations on the stack to 16,2 and 7E6 in hex and if they "fail" jumping to the end of the code which is 3D0171 (Screenshot shows 261171 because I wrote this blog over a couple of days and the addresses changed :D... just replace 261 with 3D0 and continue reading).

What is it looking at? Lets convert all those 3 to decimal - and it comes out to 22, 2 and 2022. Hmm. 22-2-2022. 22nd February 2022. And look at the call just before that - GetSystemTime. What'll happen if we change our system date to 22nd Feb 2022 and proceed? Let's try.

No.. that didn't work and the program still exited. So there's something else which is calculating those numbers so there is an exact match. We could sit and play around and possibly find the right match..but maybe..we do not need to and can just patch the 3 jumps. I just toggled the ZF thrice... and passed all the conditions so the program exited normally.

No more changes....and I eventually made my way over to 3D009A where there seemed to be some kind of comparison happening with all the sections of the executable..and the right path chosen when one landed on .bss.. one of the sections.

Then there seemed to be a bunch of junk copied over to 18F5CC. But I looked to be coming closer.

And then finally, there seemed to be an XOR with 5E and a MessageBox popping up with..a FLAG?

Maybe..maybe. Yessss.. Finally :)

Unfortunately I couldn't submit the flag since the contest was long long over. But still... it was nice to finish the challenge :)

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Report details Intel Broadwell-K CPUs, Iris Pro graphics included!!!

The socketed desktop line of Intel's Broadwell processors aren't due until the fourth quarter of 2014, however that hasn't stopped the guys at CPU-World from discovering some new details about the Broadwell-K chips that feature an unlocked multiplier.

Where Haswell-K CPUs didn't include the new Iris line of integrated graphics, instead packing Intel HD Graphics 4600 units, Broadwell-K will pack an Iris Pro GPU. Not only that, but the Broadwell-K CPUs will come with 128 MB of dedicated eDRAM, which in Haswell was only reserved for R-series BGA SKUs for all-in-one systems. With Iris Pro and 128 MB of eDRAM, Broadwell-K's graphics performance is said to be more than 80% faster than Haswell-K's.

As far as core configurations go, Broadwell-K is reported to have a maximum of four cores manufactured at 14nm (as we already know). Turbo Boost will be found in both the Core i7 and Core i5 models, however Hyper Threading is reserved for i7 SKUs only, making eight threads available in the top-end CPUs.

CPU-World also reports that 6 MB of L3 cache will be found in Core i7 Broadwell-K processors, while Core i5s will pack 4 MB of L3 cache. Furthermore, while the LGA 1150 socket will be used for the CPUs, they will require Intel 9 Series chipsets, so current Haswell motherboards will be incompatible.

Desktop Broadwell processors are still some time away, so its possible the specifications could change between now and then, but it's looking likely that the integrated graphics processor will receive a significant upgrade. It's an interesting move by Intel, as K-series CPUs are often used by gamers and high-end system builders who would already be using a discrete graphics card, but the change could still be useful for some.

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What happens if you plug an Xbox One into... itself?!!!

One of the key features of the upcoming Xbox One is the ability to route another HDMI device like a cable / satellite box or even a PlayStation 4 through the console and watch said device using the Xbox One. But what would happen if you were to plug the Xbox One into itself?

As Kotaku recently found out, the results are somewhat beautiful. The publication split the HDMI signal coming from the Xbox One so they could output it to a television and back into the Xbox One for a never ending loop. It’s kind of like what you see when you point two mirrors at each other.

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Google completes upgrading its SSL certificates to 2,048-bit RSA!!!

Google has announced it's completed the upgrade of all its SSL certificates to 2,048-bit RSA or better. Earlier this year the internet search giant had revealed plans to start switching to the new 2,048-bit certificates on August 1st, with the goal of completing the upgrade by the end of the year. "Coming in ahead of schedule, we have completed this process", Google security engineer Dan Dulay said.

The use of 2,048-bit keys will make it very difficult for hackers as well as government agencies to crack the SSL connections that encrypt the company's communication over the internet. Google said that the company is "Happy to support" the deprecation of 1,024-bit RSA and hopes that the upgrade will help the industry to retire the existing encryption technology.

Despite terming the 1,024-bit encryption as weak, the company maintained that the confidentiality of SSL connections to its services from modern browsers was never dependent on 1,024-bit RSA keys due to the use of Forward Secrecy -- a technology that uses different encryption keys for different sessions, making it difficult to decrypt a bulk of messages through a single key.

After revocation of all outstanding certificates, the company has also destroyed the hardware security module (HSM) that contained its 1,024-bit intermediate certificate, letting Google Internet Authority G2 to issue 2,048-bit certificates.

Google has been working hard to tighten its data security ever since the documents revealing NSA's spying operations were made public by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

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Honda, Hyundai and Toyota showcase vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel-cell technology!!!

A number of automakers recently announced plans to produce vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel-cell technology as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional fossil-fueled vehicles. Honda, Toyota and Hyundai have thrown their name into the hat with the latter automaker expected to launch a fuel-cell version of the Tucson SUV in the spring of 2014.

Honda, meanwhile, said they plan to roll out a commercial fuel-cell vehicle in Japan and the US in 2015 followed by a European launch at a later date. It’ll be based on Honda’s FCEV concept car unveiled in Los Angeles on Wednesday with a range of more than 300 miles per full tank.

Toyota on Wednesday also revealed the FVC concept car in Tokyo with a large grill and other openings to allow cooling air and oxygen inside. Hydrogen fuel-cell cards generate electricity used to power the vehicle by combining hydrogen with the oxygen in the atmosphere. The only byproduct of such vehicles is water which comes out of the tailpipe. Toyota said their fuel-cell automobile will also go on sale sometime around 2015.

It’s still unclear at this point which environmentally friendly technology will ultimately stick with consumers. Companies like Tesla are betting the bank that pure electricity will power vehicles of the future while other automakers like those listed here seem to think hydrogen fuel-cell technology is the way to go. Others still are content with hybrid gas / electric vehicles that offer the best of both worlds.

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Valve readying invites for local game streaming beta test!!!

Valve's Steam OS will come along with many features including the ability to stream local games from one Steam equipped device to another. According to a post on the official In-Home Steaming user group on Steam, eligible (and lucky) users will soon be getting invites to try out the functionality.

Beta testing is listed as "coming soon," and those interested are being encouraged to join the Steam streaming group in order to become eligible. As anyone familiar with Valve's betas likely imagined, the first round of entrants will be chosen at random from the group.

We already know that the streaming functionality would likely allow SteamOS full access to native PC games, not to mention that ability for more powerful gaming rigs to host sessions and the ability to continue playing a game on another device.

Many are concerned about latency as well as hardware requirements for the streaming feature set, something Valve suggests is part of running the beta test. "There is a huge variety in home hardware and network configurations, and we would like your help in learning about what works best," says Valve.

The company has also released some graphs displaying the way it expects the service to work for different internet connections. It looks as though Gigabit Ethernet and fast wireless set-ups shouldn't have a problem bringing a solid experience, but slower or busy Wi-Fi networks could introduce some issues.

For eligibility into the beta tests head over to the Steam In-Home Streaming group and for data on system requirements for the streaming functionality, you can check out Valve's home network comparison graphs.

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Liquid metal alloy could allow hobbyists to print electronics at home on any surface!!!

A trio of Chinese researchers claim to have successfully demonstrated a metal alloy that is liquid at room temperature. This means that we might one day be able to use something as basic as inkjet printers to turn out all kinds of homemade electronics that can be printed on virtually any surface.

The concoction is a mix of gallium and indium which, in its liquid state, can be printed on things like paper, t-shirts, plastic, rubber or as The Verge points out, even a leaf. As you can imagine, such versatility could easily pave the way for a whole new segment of wearable electronics but according to Jing Liu, the author of the research paper, there’s far more potential than meets the eye.

Liu points out that it is possible to adapt the alloy to generate a transparent conductive film. Said film would allow 47 percent of light to pass through which could go a long way to making those see-thru smartphone, tablet and watch concepts a reality.

That may be a bit in the future but in the interim, the team believes the alloy can be used to help speed up the process of prototyping and going from a concept to a viable consumer product. And based on how simple the technology is and the fact that no real special equipment is needed, we could see applications in the real world much sooner than other far-fetched ideas and at a much cheaper price.

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AMD is giving away 1,000 copies of Battlefield 4 on Facebook!!!

AMD is giving away 1,000 license codes for Battlefield 4 on Facebook. To enter, all you need to do joinAMD's Red Team then navigate to the Gaming Evolved Facebook page and Like the contest announcement post for your shot at winning one of the game codes.

The company’s decision to give away so many free copies of the game is certainly generous and it may even help to ease some of the tension surrounding their Battlefield 4 bundle. If you recall, AMD announced earlier this month that anyone who purchases an R9-series graphics card would receive a free copy of the game.

The problem, however, is that the offer didn’t apply to individuals that may have already bought the card before the announcement. What’s more, it was later revealed that only some cards from some vendors would actually ship with the title. There are still bundles to be had for select R9-series cards but you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled to make sure they come with the game before you pull the trigger.

As per the rules, contestants must be 17 years of age or older to participate. Those who reside in Florida or New York aren’t allowed to enter and neither can people living in China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. The company promises to randomly select 1,000 winners on December 3. A complete list of rules and conditions can be found on AMD’s website by clicking here.

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Acer's replacement CEO resigns before taking office, founder returns to lead company!!!

There’s quite the management shakeup currently unfolding at troubled PC maker Acer. Just over two weeks ago, longtime CEO JT Wang decided to resign following record losses. He was scheduled to be replaced by company president Jim Wong on January 1 but now, Wong has also resigned.

In a statement on the matter, Acer said the CEO position is being eliminated completely. We are told that former CEO duties will now fall on the chairman or president which is expected to boost the company’s decision making efficiency. In the interim, founder Stan Shih will temporarily return to take over leadership duties until a permanent replacement is named while Wang and Wong will remain with Acer as advisors.

Acer is just one of many PC makers that are feeling the financial effects of declining PC sales worldwide. They’ve traditionally sold products directly to consumers but like others, the increasing popularity of smartphones and tablets will necessitate a change in their business model. Earlier this month, the company revealed they have formed a special committee tasked with revising their strategy led by Shih.

Analysts speculate that part of that new strategy must involve building premium consumer PCs, expanding into new geographic markets or jumping into the enterprise sector. I’d personally like to see Acer dedicate more efforts to their tablet business or perhaps become more serious about their smartphone division as other PC traditionalists like Lenovo are now doing.

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Jury awards Apple $290 million in patent infringement case against Samsung!!!

Apple on Thursday was awarded $290 million in patent damages from Samsung by a federal jury. The judgment brings the total that Apple is owed to more than $900 million in the case which includes a separate verdict from last year.

The six-woman, two-man jury starting hearing the case last week in which Apple claimed Samsung copied technology from the iPhone and iPad. Cupertino argued that Samsung owed nearly $380 million in damages based on lost profits and profit that Samsung earned while selling the offending devices as well as royalties.

Samsung fought back with claims that Apple inflated the value of their patents. They also reiterated the importance of consumer choice and concluded that damages should not exceed $52 million.

The jury ultimately decided that Samsung was guilty of patent infringement on 13 smartphones and tablets which includes features like pinch-to-zoom and bounce back. It was their belief that Samsung didn’t provide the evidence necessary to counter Apple’s claims.

The jury forewoman said the entire panel agreed the ruling would set precedent for future patent laws and if they didn’t award Apple much money, it would only show other companies that it is alright to infringe on patents.

Naturally, Apple praised the verdict and said it showed Samsung that copying has a cost. Samsung, meanwhile, called the verdict disappointing and promised to appeal the decision.

The devices in question are all older models that have long since been replaced.

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HBO Go now supports Chromecast on both iOS and Android!!!

Chromecast has been a popular choice among consumers looking for a cheap way to beam content to the big screen. While Asus revealed its offering in the space with the Miracast Dongle recently, today Chromecast owners are in for a treat with the inclusion of HBO Go support.

The HBO Go apps for both iOS and Android have now both been updated to include the ability to beam Go content to the big screen over Google's $35 dongle. As some have suggested, it has been somewhat of a long wait with HBO Go for Chromecast owners, as there was talk of it being supported back when Google's streaming dongle was released.

When most people ran out and purchased a Chromecast at launch, it was in hopes that future support from the major content providers would eventually come, and now it looks as though it finally has for the most part. With major services like Pandora, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and YouTube all on-board now, the addition of HBO Go rounds out the Chromecast's line-up with pretty much all of the most popular content providers available. For some, it would appear that the only significant omission at this point could be some of the specific sports providers.

You can update/download the HBO Go app for iOS and Android now. Users will need iOS 6 and above or Android 2.3 and above to use the app with Chromecast.

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Half-Life mod Black Mesa approved for sale on Steam!!!

Valve, the original creators of Half Life, are finally recognizing a monumental project by giving the team behind popular mod Black Mesa to sell the title on their Steam platform. If you haven't heard about Black Mesa: Source, then you're definitely missing out. This incredibly well done, fan remake of Valve's popular Half Life title has been free for some time and available to the general public for download.

Black Mesa was born from its creator's love for the title, nothing more. No one told the group behind the HD, Source engine remake to put all their time and effort into breathing new life into the classic, and this project is just another example of why the PC/modding community is an epic place. The finished product is a beautiful homage, and even though a ton of work went into it, the developers behind the project have never once asked for payment from the community. But that will soon change, in a good way.

We aren't exactly sure how much the title will cost, although I would imagine the price point will be set pretty low. The free version will still be available, so it's best to treat the "purchase" of the game more like a donation than an actual transaction. This will allow individuals who are able to pay something a place to give back to the creators of this remake, while still allowing everyone else a chance to play the release.

If you are looking to give a few bucks to a gaming cause, this is definitely worth your support.

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Xbox One teardown reveals standard PC hardware components!!!

Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox One recently found its way to the operating table of teardown specialist iFixit. The team discovered the next generation console uses a number of off-the-shelf hardware components including a standard 2.5-inch hard drive.

Hobbyists, modders and the DIY crowd will be happy to learn that only a few tools are required to fully disassemble the console. The opening procedure is similar to the Xbox 360 albeit much easier and once inside, a no-nonsense modular design allows components like the drives, fan and heatsink to be easily replaced… although I can’t really think of a reason you’d need to replace the heatsink, unless maybe you wanted to watercool the system.

Specifically, the Xbox One ships with a 500GB, SATA II Samsung Spinpoint ST500LM012 hard drive with 8MB of cache. This is in contrast to the proprietary hard drive casing used on the Xbox 360 although replacing the Xbox One’s storage drive could prove difficult as one must open the case and remove the Wi-Fi adapter and system speaker assembly to get to it.

What’s more, the team was unable to determine if the system will recognize an unformatted replacement drive. As such, it might be best to wait until Microsoft enables USB storage support before trying to tinker with the new console.

Overall the Xbox One earned a repairability score of 8 out of 10 (10 being the easiest to repair). The system was docked for having clips instead of screws that make the case more difficult to open and the fact that the HDD is tough to access.

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University in Cyprus becomes world's first to accept Bitcoin payments!!!

The University of Nicosia, which is the largest private university in Cyprus, has announced today that it will accept Bitcoins for payment of tuition and other fees. With the announcement, the Cypriot university has become the first accredited university in the world to accept the popular digital currency.

The university also said it's launching the first MSc degree in digital currency next spring. The program, which will be offered both online and on-campus, is designed to provide better understanding of the technicalities of digital currency. Introduction to Digital Currency, the first class of the degree, will be available for free to everyone.

The initiative to accept Bitcoins is meant to "ease transmission difficulties for certain students" and to build practical knowledge about the field, a university spokesperson told GeekWire. Additionally, they also want the Cyprus government to consider its policy framework for developing the Mediterranean island country into a hub for Bitcoin trading, processing and banking.

For those who are unaware, Bitcoin is a decentralized virtual currency that is not controlled by any central authority. It has been in the news a lot recently, mainly due to its value, which increased drastically after the US government held discussions about the legitimacy of digital currencies earlier this week.

Many outlets have now started accepting Bitcoins for payments and the virtual currency now has a dedicated ATM in Vancouver.

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Adobe opens $9.99 per month Photoshop + Lightroom subscription to all!!!

Adobe’s powerful graphics editing software isn’t exactly known for being cheap. But the company is lowering that entry barrier for a limited time by opening up their subscription-based Photoshop Photography Program to everyone, whether or not they own or have ever owned Photoshop. The deal includes Photoshop CC, Lightroom 5, a Behance membership, and 20GB of cloud storage for $9.99 a month.

The Photoshop Photography Program was first introduced back in September as an attempt to lure existing Photoshop users towards Adobe's new subscription plans. The original offer itself is only open through the end of the year and up until now it has been limited to owners of Photoshop CS3 and higher. The new deal lifts that restriction by letting anyone jump in but sign-ups are only open until December 2.

It’s not a pay-as-you-go service, though. Instead you’d be agreeing to a yearly license and paying for it on a monthly basis at $9.99, although you're allowed to cancel within 30 days of signing up for a full refund.

By comparison, Adobe also offers a stand-alone subscription to Photoshop CC for $19.99, and that doesn’t include access to Adobe Lightroom as a part of the deal. The full range of software under Creative Cloud costs $50 a month, which many professionals who routinely use Adobe products to do business can probably justify, and guarantees them access to a steady stream of updates.

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Building a coding machine becomes fun with the $99 Kano DIY computer!!!

Homebrewed computer kits have done a lot to promote programming, especially in schools and with the younger generation in general. But what if physically building the machine was just as exciting as what you could do with it when you power it on?

That’s the idea behind Kano, the latest product to hit Kickstarter from the London-based company by the same name. The campaign describes the process of building the machine as being as simple as playing with Legos and based on images and videos seen thus far, that looks about right.

The kit includes a Raspberry Pi Model B board, an 8GB SD card preloaded with the Kano OS and Levels, a DIY speaker, Kano keyboard combo with built-in trackpad, a custom clear case for the machine, card mods and stencils, stickers (what kid doesn’t love stickers?), HDMI and Mini-USB cables, a smart power plug with region pins available, a Wi-Fi dongle and illustrated instruction manuals to get you started.

A pledge of just $119 is all that’s needed to get your name on the list for a Kano when they ship in mid-2014. The campaign has already blasted past the initial funding goal of $100,000 and currently sits at more than $478,000 pledged with 27 days remaining.

There aren’t any stretch goals listed just yet but given the overwhelming success of the campaign thus far, I’d be surprised if we don’t see some added incentives show up in the near future.

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Motorola signs deal with 3D Systems to help build their modular 'Ara' smartphone!!!

Motorola has signed a multi-year deal with 3D Systems to help bring Project Ara, the free and open modular mobile hardware platform, to life. The agreement will see 3D Systems create a high-speed 3D printing production platform and fulfillment system for Motorola to utilize.

Specifically, 3D Systems said they plan to substantially expand their multi-material printing capabilities which include conductive and functional materials. Once finished with the development phase, the company will be able to manufacture 3D-printed Ara smartphone enclosures and modules as Motorola’s exclusive fulfillment partner.

In a statement on the matter, 3D Systems president and CEO Avi Reichental noted Project Ara was conceived to build a platform that empowers consumers with customization for a product made by and for the individual.

If you aren’t familiar, Project Ara was unveiled late last month as a collaborative effort with a company known as Phonebloks. The latter was unveiled back in September with the idea of creating a modular smartphone that would allow users to upgrade various parts of their smartphone that may be outdates while still keeping others around that work perfectly fine.

For example, if you don’t need Bluetooth, you can remove that module and install a larger battery block instead. Those interested in taking higher quality photos could install a larger camera module or do away with all of the extras and have a massive battery instead. The idea itself is really groundbreaking but whether or not Motorola can ultimately produce something that consumers are interested in remains to be seen.

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Google sends out developer invites to Chromecast hackathon and Cast SDK showing!!!

While Google has slowly been rolling out major app support for its Chromecast dongle, most recently withHBO Go, independent developers have been left out in the cold in terms of official distribution for their mods.

At this point developers have already had access to a preview build of the Chromecast SDK, but there are restrictions put in place limiting public distribution. Recent reports suggest we could be seeing some changes come to these restrictions kicking off as early as next month.

It looks as though Google has sent out invites to several developers to a Chromecast event described as a hackathon that will take place on December 7th and 8th in Mountain View. Attendees will be able to check out an "upcoming release" of the Cast SDK as well as have the chance to speak directly with Google engineers regarding "best practices," among other things.

Some of the devs invited included Thomas Kjeldsenand CyanogenMod developer Koushik Dutta. You likely remember Dutta from his work with AirCast (a Chromecast mod Google apparently shut down through a software update), according to his Google+ page he won't be "applying to go," because he is "too busy" with Cyanogen.

Either way, it will be interesting to see what the development community will come up with. In the mean time, Google has released an update to the Android Chromecast app that comes along with some time zone and Chromecast MAC address display tweaks, as well as a refreshed design to closely match the company's latest design aesthetics.

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Sprint finishes dead last in Consumer Reports' latest cell phone service survey!!!

The nation’s third largest wireless provider has come in dead last in Consumer Reports’ latest cell phone service survey. According to the report, the company turned in “dismal marks” in 4G reliability, text messaging, value and voice service. A year ago, Sprint finished in second place behind Verizon Wireless.

Sprint is in the middle of a massive overhaul of their network which will ultimately provider better and faster service but in the interim, things are pretty rough. As a result, a number of customers have ditched the carrier over the past couple of years.

A representative for Sprint told CNET that while the Consumer Reports survey is disappointing, it isn’t necessarily surprising. During the past year, Sprint has asked customers to “pardon their dust” so to speak as they build out and upgrade their network.

Part of that new effort is an enhanced LTE network dubbed Sprint Spark. It’s already available in select areas and according to the company, customer satisfaction has improved accordingly among those with access to it.

Elsewhere, Verizon once again topped the charts as the highest-rated carrier while rivals AT&T and T-Mobile received “ho-hum” results. One thing to note, however, is that AT&T was the only carrier of the bunch to earn the top rating for 4G reliability.

The report also found that many consumers are paying for more data than they actually use. A full 38 percent of those surveyed used half or less than half of their monthly allotment of data. This of course isn’t applicable to Sprint and T-Mobile as they continue to offer unlimited data plans.

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MediaFire's new desktop file-sharing client brings 50GB of free cloud storage to Windows and OS X!!!

File hosting company MediaFire is enhancing its service today with the announcement of MediaFire Desktop. Available for both Windows and Mac, MediaFire's new client will allow users to upload files to the cloud from the desktop, along with additional sharing and file management features.

Now available as a free download, the MediaFire Desktop beta comes with a fairly similar feature set as popular competitor Dropbox, but offers more right from the start.

After making a free account, MediaFire Desktop users will be treated with 10GB of storage, with the possibility of up to 50GB of space through referrals and things of that nature. By comparison, Dropbox only offers 2GB of free space, with up to 16GB of free storage through its referral program and other things. MediaFire will also offer premium packs as I'm sure you imagined, starting at $2.50 a month for 100GB (up to as much as 1TB).

MediaFire Desktop will take the form of a handy little cloud folder on your system, where you can drop files that can be accessed through all your device's that have the MediaFire client installed.

Some of its interesting features include the activity window, which is accessible through a toolbar icon and displays your recently uploaded and shared files etc. Another nice add-on comes in the way of the screen capture tool, which allows you to quickly drop screens onto the cloud after annotating them with the usual text, boxes and arrows.

Beyond that, MediaFire Desktop will have deep sharing functionality with Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest all built-in, as well as embedded link sharing and automatic file version tracking.

For more information on the new service and to download the MediaFire Desktop beta for Windows or Mac, head over to the official site now. It will run on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8, and all OS X versions from 10.6 through 10.9.

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Infographic: A timeline of Sony's PlayStation franchise!!!

Last Friday, North America was greeted by Sony's newest console, the PlayStation 4. Launch day saw stores selling out and long lines of individuals eager to get their hands on the next generation of console gaming. According to the company, over 1 million units were sold on day one, making the PS4 "Sony’s fastest-selling gaming hardware yet." Europe and Latin America won't see a release until November 29th, and Sony is hopeful that it can continue to break records and create ample supply to feed a technology hungry gaming community.

To put the latest release into perspective, Westbase Technology has put together a pretty neat infographic that gives us a visual timeline of the Playstation franchise, dating all the way back to Sony's original creation in 1993. Each section showcases the top three games for that console as well as some bits about the console's individual success. The PS4 is obviously just getting started, but it's pretty neat to sit back and reflect on how far Sony has come, and appreciate the predecessors that came before this next generation of console gaming. 

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FCC may allow passengers to make in-flight cellular calls!!!

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is all set to consider allowing the use of cellular services during airline flights, with an open meeting scheduled for December 12 to discuss the proposal. "Modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably, and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules", FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement on Thursday.

At present, in-flight cellular services are banned. But if the FCC has its way, airline passengers will be able to make airborne voice calls and send text messages over cellular networks. Cellular services would still be restricted below 10,000 feet altitude and while landing and takeoff, reports Wall Street Journal. Also, it would be up to the individual airlines to decide whether or not to allow in-flight cellular calls.

The news comes just a few weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) relaxed some of its rules allowing passengers to read articles, watch movies, listen to music and play games from gate-to-gate, provided that the devices are in airplane mode (i.e. without a live cellular connection).

Mobile phones and other devices inside a plane can access cellular services through a small cellular base station installed onboard known as a Picocell, which extends coverage to areas with low signal.

Meanwhile, the Association of Flight Attendants has opposed the move.

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Pogoplug launches $49 Safeplug to anonymize your home's web traffic!!!

Anonymity on the Internet is more of a concern now that ever in the wake of continued spying revelations by the National Security Agency. There are methods like the Tor network to remain more or less hidden online but it can be somewhat complicated to set up and use. To that end, a company called Pogoplugaims to simplify the process with a new product known as the Safeplug.

The adapter connects to your home router and uses Tor to anonymize all web requests that pass through the device, saving you the hassle of having to launch a special browser each time you want to hit the net anonymously. The device routes your traffic through random connections which is said to make it harder to track.

The Safeplug doesn’t require users to install any software on their computer and is compatible with any browser. It’s worth pointing out, however, that the company doesn’t guarantee that all of your traffic will be anonymous all of the time but hey, it’s better than nothing, right? There’s also a built-in ad blocker so you’ll no longer have to use a software solution if you’re concerned about blocking advertisements.

Pogoplug says those using the Safeplug will likely notice reductions in overall Internet speed and page loading times due to the nature of the Tor network and the fact that your traffic is being bounced to computers around the globe to remain anonymous.

The Safeplug is available as of writing for $49 plus shipping through the company’s online store.

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Silk Road mastermind allegedly ordered six murders for $730,000!!!

It’s going from bad to worse for alleged Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht as federal prosecutors in New York recently filed paperwork accusing him of ordering six murders for a total of $730,000. Two murder for hire plots were detailed by authorities when Ulbricht was arrested but the other four jobs are new.

The accusations come as the US Attorney’s Office prepared to argue that Ulbricht should be denied bail. Authorities claim he hired a Silk Road user by the name of “redandwhite” to kill a Canadian citizen that was blackmailing him and three other people living with the target. Much like the other two plots, however, authorities could find no evidence that the murders actually ever took place.

Regardless of whether the hits took place or not, prosecutors believe Ulbricht is a danger to the community simply because he allegedly hired the hits. Attorney Serrin Turner said there is no reason to believe he would not resort to violence in order to protect himself if released which could include intimidating witnesses and trying to recover Bitcoins that he is believed to still be hiding.

Ulbricht’s attorney said his client doesn’t present a risk if set free because he has strong ties to the US and his family. A judge ultimately denied the bail request.

Elsewhere, prosecutors found at least nine fake IDs belonging to Ulbricht. They also claim he was exploring the possibility of becoming a citizen in several Caribbean countries and tried to obtain fake identity documents over the summer.

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Intel Atom SoC roadmap updated, new chips and 64-bit Android tablets on the horizon!!!

Intel still has a lot of work to do to cut in to ARM's hold on the tablet and smartphone market share, but as we head into 2014, the company is pulling out all the stops. Today a new Atom system on a chip (SoC)roadmap detailed Intel's plans for 2014 and 2015, with the goal of increasing CPU performance by five times and GPU performance by 15 times by 2016.

The performance Atom SoC line, currently 'Bay Trail', will be succeeded in late 2014 by 14nm 'Cherry Trail' silicon packing 'Airmont' CPU cores and next-generation Intel-developed graphics. The new, smartphone-specific dual-core 'Merrifield' Atom chips will begin appearing in devices at the start of 2014, with a quad-core variant expected in the second half of the year.

In 2015, tablet and smartphones chips will converge into the one line, codenamed 'Broxton'. Still using a 14nm manufacturing process, Broxton SoCs will feature next-generation 'Goldmont' CPU cores and Skylake-generation graphics units.

Meanwhile, in late 2014, Intel will launch a new Atom SoC codenamed 'Sofia', which is designed specifically for entry-level devices. The 2014 variant will feature an integrated HSPA+ communications chip, while the 2015 model (available alongside the high-performance Broxton chips) will upgrade that to LTE. Initially these communications units will be ARM-based, although in the future they will be converted to x86.

Intel is also hard at work making modifications to Android in preparation for 64-bit Bay Trail-powered tablets. The Atom SoC itself already supports 64-bit instructions on operating systems like Windows 8.1, however Intel wants Android 64-bit ready to compete with devices like the iPad, whose A7 SoCs are already 64-bit capable. The company claims Bay Trail Android tablets could be available for as cheap as $150.

While still a leader in desktop and laptop processors, and featured inside many Windows tablets, Intel has struggled to break into the Android tablet market with their x86-based SoCs. The accelerated plans for 2014 and 2015 look promising, but it remains to be seen if they can capture any significant share of the market.

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Upcoming MMORPG by Ex-Blizzard devs, WildStar to begin beta soon!!!

Let's face the facts, WoW and GW2 are starting to get a little stale. Even with my admiration for the latter, I'm starting to getting frustrated with running dungeons over and over. The upcoming release of Elder Scrolls Online might ease some of the pain, but there is another title, a potential sleeper hit, that you may want to look into.

WildStar is an up-and-coming MMORPG project from Carbine Studios, a subsidiary of NCSOFT that was founded back in 2005 by former members of Blizzard Entertainment. WildStar will be the developer's first project, but consider that the team contains members that are probably very familiar with how MMO's operate.

The Sci-Fi themed title is aimed for a Spring 2014 release, so it's still a little ways off, but Carbine is giving eager/impatient gamers a chance to participate in a Winter Beta. With all of the hype surrounding this release it's a sure bet that the beta will fill up fast, so you'll want to be sure you get your application in as quickly as possible.

As of now, WildStar is set up to be a subscription-based title, much like WoW. However, with Guild Wars 2 having a successful non-subscription release, it will be interesting to see how gamers welcome another pay-as-you-play business model. Perhaps WildStar will change its pricing structure as it gets closer to launch, specifically with rival Elder Scrolls online gearing up to release sometime in 2014.

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A Software Challenge: Why Users Uninstall Apps!!!

Getting an app developed is just the first step in a long journey. One of the more daunting problems facing developers is user engagement; basically, how to get users to install apps and keep them installed. It’s difficult to keep users satisfied beyond that initial app install, and it can be even more difficult to get meaningful exposure in the first place against larger companies that offer a lot of apps that tend to get space on those Top Ten lists.

Editor’s Note:

Different types of uninstalls

A simple uninstall is not necessarily a bad thing, neither does it necessarily indicate that there’s a problem. There’s a catch-22 situation here; is it better to have an app that is completely ignored by the majority of users, or is it better to have an app that is apparently so non-user-friendly that it’s uninstalled immediately?

Apps that don’t offer anything helpful or unique tend to be the ones that are uninstalled the most frequently. People cycle through apps incredibly quickly to find the one that best fits their needs. Engagement and retention are two very different things, as we can see from this measurement from Flurry Analytics, who used a sample of apps used more than 1.7 billion times each week:

One of the easiest ways to increase app loyalty is to look at the data. Developers can take advantage of client-side interaction analytics to figure out what is driving their customer base behavior, and improve their apps in specific ways that speak directly to what their users are looking for. Developers who keep an ear to the ground as far as what their customers are really looking for are going to reap the benefits. There are also several tools out there (both free and paid) that monitor what users are searching for as far when looking for apps at various app stores and via the Web.

Factors that influence app uninstalls

How to reduce the uninstall rate is a question that most developers are actively seeking the answer to. A lot of apps have a naturally limited lifecycle; i.e., apps that are centered around a movie release or an app that tracks a pregnancy, or an app that celebrates a holiday. In addition, apps with limited functionality, for example, “lite” games that only go so far, are uninstalled once the user has mastered all the levels. That isn’t always a bad thing. If the app is engaging enough, developers can get the user to download the next app in their stable of apps, creating a continuous engagement cycle.

There’s really not a one-size-fits-all answer to the question of “why are users uninstalling my app?” But there do seem to be a few common factors that can contribute to this happening:

Lengthy forms: Asking a user who has just installed an app to fill out a lengthy, convoluted form contributes to a poor user experience, especially on a mobile device.

Asking for ratings: Apps that are intrusively pushing for good ratings tend to be uninstalled; these need to be timed quite precisely in order to avoid user burnout.

Collecting unnecessary data: If an app is collecting personal data without a clear demonstrable need – or without consent – the app is more likely to be uninstalled. There’s no need to ask for sensitive data that the app does not need to function properly:

“If apps could announce their information use practices as you enter a relationship with them and when you enter a relationship with me, then at least you could be better informed. This awareness enables you to decide whether you really do want to use the app. Imagine:

• As you enter a contact into your smartphone, you would be informed as to how all the apps on your smartphone would use that information.
• When you add a new app to your Facebook profile, it showed you how the app was going to use your social graph data – an impact assessment.

What this gets back to is a desire for control. An app that tries to be as upstanding as you are would provide better visibility and choice with respect to the use of information about your relationships. Apps that are bad actors will not provide such choice and likely go to great lengths to hide their actual use of the information.”  -  Gartner.com, “I Like You but I Hate Your Apps”

User friendliness: If the app takes more than a few seconds to learn how to use, the majority of users are going to uninstall it.

Is it free? Users are more likely to uninstall an app if they didn’t pay for it, especially if it doesn’t have a clear perceived use. Even if the app only cost .99, users are less likely to uninstall simply because that’s .99 that they will be basically throwing away.  There’s a fine balance to this, since free apps can bring in money from in-app purchases.

Buggy: If an app is full of glitches, eats up too much memory, or crashes all the time, it tends to be uninstalled. Users are rarely forgiving of these kinds of issues.  Being sure to repeatedly test an app on multiple devices and versions of the same operating system can greatly limit the number of issues users encounter. Users are becoming increasingly more sophisticated as far as what they are looking for in their apps:

“A study, carried out online by uSamp, found that freezing (76%), crashing (71%) and slow responsiveness (59%) were the primary bugbears when it came to app problems, with heavy battery usage (55%) and too many ads (53%) also mentioned. Users stressed that performance mattered the most on banking apps (74%) and maps (63%), with the latter no doubt much to the chagrin of Apple, which has had some difficulty with its own maps software on iOS 6.

For almost every respondent (96%) said that they would write a bad review on an under-par app, while 44% said that they would delete the app immediately. Another 38% said that they would delete the app if it froze for more than 30 seconds with 32% and 21% respectively indicating that they would moan about the app to their friends or colleagues in person or over Facebook and Twitter. A considerable 18% would delete an app immediately if it froze for just five seconds, but 27% said that they would persist with the app if they paid for it. Those experiencing bad apps urged developers to fix the problem (89%) first and foremost, followed by offering easy refunds (65%) and a customer service number (49%).”  -  Business Insider, “Customers Hate Freezing Apps”

Unnecessary notifications: Annoying users is defeating the purpose of an app. Sending unnecessary push notifications that merely create an improper noise to signal ratio are annoying. They need to be time effectively so that they are not intrusive or too pushy.

A good user experience is at the core of any good app, and user-friendly apps are the most successful. Judging from the sheer amount of downloads from various app stores (numbering in the billions just from Apple alone); people are obviously very willing to try new apps. However, it behooves developers to take a long-view picture beyond just that initial download and figure out how they can focus on retaining those customers, making them into die-hard fans who will continue to use the app for the long haul. Studying the analytics of app downloads (usually provided within your app store dashboard) will help developers analyze the demographic profiles of the people who are interested in their apps, making for a more targeted marketing campaign and also aiding in future updates of the apps themselves.

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