"Script kiddie"—no hacker worth his salt wants to hear the term used to describe him. Anyone with modest computer skills can cause modest havoc using other people's code fragments, scanners, and infiltration tools, but this is little more than knowing how to point a gun in the right direction and pull the trigger. It lacks art. True hacking requires a deep knowledge of computer and network security, an ability to navigate around obstacles, and the willingness to be careful enough to always hide one's tracks. The script kiddies, they might be easy targets for the feds, but the true hackers? Shadows are their home.
The Anon-affiliated hackers who broke into the private intelligence company Stratfor to release e-mails and steal credit cards certainly didn't think they were script kiddies. In an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) just after the December 2011 hack, one of the Statfor hackers (sup_g) spoke to an unidentified chatroom member (CC-3) about the accomplishment.
2. iOS Smokes Android in HTML5 Drag Race
Apple's iOS handles HTML5-based games as much as three times better than Google's Android in HTML5, according to a new study from Spaceport. The report specifically measured how many images could be moved around the screen at a time while maintaining a rate of 30 frames per second. The researchers tested on the latest versions of iOS, Android and BlackBerry Tablet OS, the operating system found on Research In Motion's PlayPook.
3. Linux Loses Flash Player - but Does Anyone Care?
Adobe has been a fickle friend to Linux in recent times. Not only did the company put the brakes on mobile Flash last year, but it also put Linux users on a roller-coaster ride for 64-bit Flash and it pulled the plug on AIR for Linux. The latest affront? Coming soon, there will be no more standalone Flash Player for Linux. Instead, Linux users who want Flash will have to do it through Chrome -- unless, of course, they happen to choose from among numerous alternative players out there. Is it the worst of times -- or the best of times? Or does it just not matter?
4. Google Play replaces Android Market and unifies Android content services
Google has gradually been ramping up its content distribution channels for Android. Over the past two years, the platform has gained dedicated stores for purchasing electronic books and movies. Google also provided its own music locker and streaming service. The search giant is now streamlining all of these into a unified service for purchasing, syncing, and streaming media content.
The new cloud-based media platform is called Google Play. The company characterizes it as a comprehensive digital entertainment service that can handle all of the user's content needs. The Google Play store has already launched on the Web and Google is also taking the opportunity to overhaul the manner in which users obtain and consume media on the Android platform.
The traditional Android Market will be replaced with a Google Play application. Android's official video, music, and e-book applications will be rebranded and tweaked to fully integrate with the Google Play services. Google says that users will always be able to access their previous purchases through the service and easily get their purchased content onto new devices.
We were really impressed when Google Music launched last year. It offered great device integration from the start and a nice hassle-free syncing and streaming model that has continued to work very well. If the new Google Play service can build on that success, the convenience might really appeal to users. We will see how it stacks up later today when we take a closer hands-on look at the Google Play user experience.
Microsoft launched its Windows 8 Consumer Preview at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Wednesday. The OS features a user interface similar to the one found on the Windows Phone mobile OS. It was designed to work on mobile devices, desktop PCs and all-in-one devices. Users can store settings and files in the cloud for access from any Windows 8 device. The OS also introduces charms, which speed up navigation around the OS. Windows 8 also has a high level of built-in security and a factory reset and refresh.
6. All the latest on the unmasking of LulzSec leader "Sabu," arrests (updated)LulzSec mastermind "Sabu" was identified today as 28-year-old Hector Monsegur, who has been working with the FBI since being arrested last summer and pleaded guilty to computer hacking crimes. We're digging into court documents and planning detailed coverage of the story, but no one site can cover every aspect. So we're going to keep an updated list of the top stories and happenings throughout the day. (We'll put new links at the top.)
CSO describes an FBI official's claim that "We're chopping off the head of LulzSec," but says LulzSec is pretty small compared to the overall Anonymous movement. There's no reason to believe "that the hacktivist element of Anonymous will fall apart because of this," one security company executive notes.
The Guardian has posted the full text of some of the documents from the indictments against LulzSec members. The paper also has an analysis of the court papers, detailing Monsegur's cooperation with the FBI. The story notes Monsegur providing the FBI advance notice of attacks, which the FBI apparently allowed to proceed. "The FBI even provided its own servers for members of hacking collectives to use."
WikiLeaks tweeted a link to LulzSec chat logs from last August, saying the text shows "FBI informant Sabu tried to entrap anonymous hackers with $ for info."
Gawker has posted a story saying Monsegur was arrested on Feb. 3 in New York City by NYPD for attempting to pass himself off as an FBI agent.
Self-appointed Anonymous spokesman Barrett Brown told the New York Times that he received advance warning of the FBI raid on his home in Dallas, and that he hid his laptops to avoid them being found. Brown promised that "Anonymous will go forward as usual. So will I. We hired an army of lawyers last January. We are prepared for a big slug-out."
Fox News kicked it off this morning with an exclusive look into the FBI raid on Monsegur's New York apartment last June. Monsegur had normally been cautious, but slipped up one day when he "logged into an Internet relay chatroom from his own IP address without masking it." Fox News notes that "All it took was once. The feds had a fix on him."
7. Microsoft releases SQL Server 2012
Microsoft on Tuesday announced the RTM of SQL Server 2012, the latest version of the company's widely-used relational database server platform, which will launch to the general market on April first.
The trend in SQL Server this time around is "Big Data," the enterprise buzzword that seems to be gradually encroaching on the cachet of "cloud." In short, Microsoft is positioning SQL Server 2012 as the way businesses can take advantage of the unfathomably large amounts of data created every year --1.8 zettabytes of information (aka 1.8 trillion gigs,) for example, was created in 2011 alone.
"It’s more scalable, more reliable and delivers greater performance than ever before. It also includes Power View, our industry-leading business intelligence functionality," said Ted Kummert, corporate vice president of the Business Platform Division in Microsoft's Server and Tools unit. "Power View provides users with a powerful interactive capability that transforms the exploration of any data, anywhere, into a more natural, immersive experience. Ultimately this encourages better decision-making – a significant benefit, with massive implications in today’s era of big data."
When SQL Server 2012 is released on April 1, Microsoft is expected to release several new data warehousing solutions, which include a major software update, new half-rack form factors for Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse appliances, and SQL Server Fast Track Data Warehouse reference architectures for the new SQL Server platform.
Tomorrow, Microsoft is hosting a virtual launch event where the new features of SQL Server 2012 will be covered in greater depth, and experts will be available to field questions live online.
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