Adobe issues emergency patch as more security vulnerabilities are found in Flash

If you’re one of the few people still using Flash Player, then you should heed Adobe’s advice and update it ASAP. The company is urging users to patch its web platform after 23 security vulnerabilities were identified in the current version of Flash, including one that’s already being used in the wild.
"Adobe is aware of a report that an exploit for CVE-2016-1010 is being used in limited, targeted attacks," the company said.
There are four different types of vulnerability that the patch addresses: integer overflow, use-after-free, heap overflow, and memory corruption. The exploit that is already being used in attacks, which Adobe says was discovered by Anton Ivanov of Kaspersky Lab, stems from an integer overflow vulnerability.
Of the other vulnerabilities discovered, Google's Project Zero team and HPE's Zero Day Initiative found eight each, while Alibaba, Tencent, and Microsoft security teams found two each.
Adobe advises users to upgrade Flash Player to version 21.0.0.182 for Windows or Mac and version 11.2.202.577 for Linux.
Flash Player plug-ins bundled with Chrome, Internet Explorer on Windows 10 and 8, and Microsoft Edge browsers will update automatically. Any Windows 7 Flash users must update manually.
Adobe has also released version 21.0.0.176 of AIR Desktop Runtime, AIR SDK, AIR SDK & Compiler and AIR for Android.
Once found on over 800 million cell phones manufactured by 20 handset makers, the constant vulnerabilities that are being discovered in Flash - along with the move toward HTML5 - is causing the platform to slowly die off. Used by 50 percent of websites in 2011, less than 20 percent of sites now feature Flash Content (including ads).

The Lumia 650 may be the last smartphone from Microsoft to feature the famous brand name

Microsoft has launched what could be its last smartphone to bear the Lumia name: the Windows 10-powered Lumia 650. Priced at a budget $199, the device comes in black and white, and will only be available in select markets in Europe from February 18. There’s no word when or if it will launch in the US.
The Lumia 650 features a five-inch, 1280 X 720 OLED screen, has a thickness of 6.5mm and weighs 122 grams (4.3 ounces). Microsoft says the display offers crisp, bright, vivid colors and deep blacks. "It's by far our most beautiful screen ever at this price point,” said Samuli Hänninen, general manager of Microsoft’s phones program management.
The device also sports a 5MP wide-angle, front-facing camera, an 8MP rear-facing shooter, 1GB of RAM, 4G LTE connectivity, a 2,000 mAh removable battery and 16GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 200GB using a micro SD. Microsoft is pushing the Lumia 650 as a “business class” device that offers a cheap way for businesses to get a mobile version of Windows 10 into employees’ hands.

“We designed the Lumia 650 to bring first class to business class; giving our customers the best of Microsoft productivity and security,” Hänninen wrote. “We think professionals and Windows fans alike will love using it every day.”
Slightly surprisingly for a smartphone aimed primarily at business users, the Lumia 650 contains a Snapdragon 212 (probably to keep the price down), which means there’s no Continuum support for using the phone like a PC. It does, however, include preloaded Microsoft Office apps, OneDrive Syncing, Cortana, and other productivity features.
Not only has Microsoft’s phone-based revenue continued to fall drastically, but the company is rumored to be focusing efforts on its upcoming Surface Phone - a rumor based on it relocating the Lumia team into the Surface team. So it really does look as if this may be the last Lumia device we’ll see, and it might not even make it to US shores.

Microsoft working on a "breakthrough" smartphone, strongly hints that it's the Surface Phone

Microsoft’s past performance in the smartphone market hasn’t been particularly impressive. Windows phones made up only 2.6 percent of the worldwide smartphone OS market in the second quarter of 2015, a decline from 3.4 percent in 2013. But now, the Redmond company has confirmed that is working on something that may turn its smartphone fortunes around.
Speaking during an episode of This Week in Tech’s Windows Weekly podcast, Microsoft executive vice president and chief marketing officer Chris Capossela revealed that the company is working on a “breakthrough” new smartphone – and it’s not a going to be another Lumia.
While Capossela didn't specifically say the new device will be the long-rumored Surface Phone, he did strongly hint at it. “With Surface we had a bunch of early misfires, but that notion of a tablet that could replace your laptop. That notion of saying, Hey, Apple wants to sell you an iPad and they want to sell you a Mac, we think there’s one device that exploits the seam between those two devices. We need some sort of spiritual equivalent on the phone side that doesn’t just feel like a phone for people who love Windows.”
Compared to today’s smartphones, the Surface Phone is expected to be much more like a PC. Microsoft will likely ditch the traditionally-used Qualcomm chips for Intel architecture and use a software setup more commonly found in home computers. It’s also rumored that Microsoft will be giving the Surface Phone the ability to run full Windows software, not just apps from the Windows Store market, creating a true PC/smartphone hybrid device.
A Surface Phone would likely utilize Windows 10 Mobile’s Continuum feature that can turn a smartphone into a PC by allowing it to attach to a monitor, mouse and keyboard in order to create a desktop-like experience.
We may have to wait a while before we see the Surface Phone, although some reports say it could be here as early as the second half of 2016. Speaking about the mystery device, Capossela said "I think we have to do more breakthrough work" to make Apple fans "pause before they buy their 17th iPhone.”

Eight Simple Tips to Increase the Battery Life of Your Mobile Device

Most smartphones today pack huge, high-resolution screens, powerful processors and lots of memory to multitask and handle really complex tasks. This also unfortunately means that they struggle to handle a full day's worth of heavy usage, and so power banks are now a must-have accessory.
The same can be said for our laptops, and the need to tether them to the plug point grows as the battery ages. Most of our consumer electronics devices come with Lithium ion and Lithium Poly batteries that are geared for quick recharging, and not for long term life. Often, you're better off replacing your battery instead of upgrading your laptop, because of how quickly the battery ages.
Whether you're using a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, here are some general purpose tips on prolonging its lifecycle and usage between recharge cycles.
1) Keep it cool
Exposing the battery to high temperatures can be more stressful than cycling. According to Battery University, which runs an extensive array of battery tests - cycling, elevated temperature and ageing decrease the performance of your battery over time. Keeping your devices in a cool environment (battery dwelling above 30°C (86°F) is considered elevated temperature) will certainly enhance the lifecycle of your device.

In the testing, capacity dropped to 60 percent when exposed to 60-degree temperature for three months, and 65 percent when the temperature was 40-degrees. For this reason, don't expose your gadgets to heat like leaving them bake in the sun inside a car.
It's also a good reason to worry about heating issues on a smartphone, as it can plunge the battery life quite drastically over time. On a laptop, you should look at using a cooling pad to make sure the CPU vent is being vented away. Exposure to dust can clog vents and make your fans run on overtime, leading to an additional resource burden, so keep the environment clean and dust free.
2) Go for paid apps, instead of free ones
Ad-supported apps reduce battery life by 2.5 to 2.1 hours on average, a study conducted by US-based researchers revealed. To quote the study, a phone's processor is like its brain - and ads eat up a lot of that brain power, slowing it down.
Not all free apps are draining your battery, but if you're seeing advertising on it then assume it comes with a bandwidth and processing burden. Spending a bit on apps might pay off handsomely, considering some apps are available for as low as Rs. 10 on both Google Play and the App Store.

On a laptop, running a local application to do something like text editing will consume less battery than firing up your browser and using an online resource. So, if you're not using it, turn your Wi-Fi connection off - on a Windows PC this is as simple as pressing Fn+F2 on the keyboard. The exact function key can vary, depending on the device manufacturer, so just look for a key with a Wi-Fi symbol next to it.
3) Turn off location tracking
According to a recent news report, the Facebook app drains the battery of iPhone users as it's constantly tracking the user's location using the GPS module. Turning off location tracking for apps that don't need your location will certainly help.


In most Android devices, you can head to Settings > Location, and toggle it off to disable location tracking entirely. The functionality to set app level permissions is only enabled in Android M.
On iOS 9, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and turn it off on a per-app basis, leaving location access on for just important apps, if you really need to.
4) Partial recharges are better than full-depth recharges
Another invaluable trip from Battery University can be explained with the metaphor of a running a marathon. Instead of letting your battery cycle all the way from 100 percent capacity down to zero, keeping the depth of discharge to 50 percent of your battery capacity, between 30 and 80 percent can increase the number of discharge cycles by three times.

Lenovo internalises this principle in its Battery Maintenance settings in the Power Manager bundled with their laptops, which can be customised to power plans that best suit your needs. To optimise for many years of usage, Lenovo recommends you set the charge threshold to start at 40 percent capacity, and stop at 50 percent.
5) Turn down display brightness
This is an obvious tip that applies to both laptops and mobile devices. On most devices, brightness settings are easily accessible, and you can also apply screen dimming techniques through third party apps like Lux, which overlays an opaque graphic to reduce brightness and change the colour cast of the screen.

However, a software layer only saves power on OLED screens, while LCD screens can only save power by decreasing backlight brightness.
Reducing the amount of time your display stays on while inactive can also save a fractional amount of battery life. In Android, this can be accessed in Settings > Display. On iOS, Settings > General > Auto-Lock lets you tweak this setting.
On a Windows laptop, right-click on the battery icon and click on Power Options. Change the setting to Power Saver to maximise battery life - Windows will lower the brightness, and change the standby and other settings to prioritise battery usage instead of performance.
6) Schedule app updates over Wi-Fi or when you are plugged in
In general, anything that is processor or bandwidth intensive is likely to consume a lot of CPU power. For the best standby times it's best to be stationary, and sipping on a Wi-Fi than your data plan. For this reason, it's best to schedule app updates to happen only over Wi-Fi, or if your device supports it, while you are plugged in.

This setting can be accessed in Play Store app on Android. Launch the app, then open the menu by swiping in from the left side of the screen. Go to Settings > Auto-update apps, and select Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only. On an iPhone or iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular, go to Settings > iTunes & App Store and turn Use Cellular Data off.
7) Turn on low power mode
Not all Android phones have battery saver mode, but if you're on Android 5.0 or later (Lollipop) then you are likely have this feature. It automatically kicks in when your battery hits 15 percent, and disables background app refreshes, location tracking, and other syncing activity to save on battery life. With Android Marshmallow, a new feature called Doze puts your phone in deep sleep mode when it's lying unused for a long time. This feature is apparently doubling standby times. Unfortunately, if you're on an older phone, then you won't get the feature.

With iOS 9, iPhones have a Low Power Mode that cuts down on background refreshes, visual effects, and automatic downloads. This can be accessed in Settings > Battery.

If you're using an older Android phone, then your phone's manufacturer might have included its own Low Power mode feature - on Sony phones for example, it's called Stamina Mode, while HTC calls it Extreme Power Mode. There are also third-party apps you can try, though in our experience, the built-in apps are more effective.
8) Discover flight mode
The phone's distance to a cellular tower is known to affect standby time as well. So, if you're in a place with no network, it's best to turn your smartphone into Airplane mode (called Flight mode on some devices) to conserve battery life, rather than let your phone constantly seek a tower.
Follow these tips and you'll find that your phone will last a little longer between recharges - and the fewer recharge cycles you put it through in a day the longer the overall battery life will be.

How to Spot a Fake Online Review

Do you trust online reviews? Now that Amazon is suing more than 1,000 people who allegedly offered to write glowing product reviews for cash, you might reasonably be concerned.
Turns out, deceptive reviews are commonplace online - and so are doubts about them. The research organization Mintel found that 57 percent of surveyed consumers are suspicious of companies or products that only have positive online reviews. And 49 percent believe companies probably give incentives for online reviews.
Fortunately, there are a few good techniques that can help you tell truth from fiction.
Don't trust yourself
A team of researchers at Cornell University created a computer algorithm for detecting fake hotel reviews by analyzing the language used in legitimate and phony write-ups. The computer program, Review Skeptic, is accurate about 90 percent of the time, but humans alone performed poorly at determining the truth teller.
"People are terrible," said professor Claire Cardie, who helped develop the system. "I was very surprised. We just cannot tell the difference much more than chance."
Listen to the language
Beware of extremes - overly enthusiastic or negative reviews are red flags. False reviews tend to use more extreme language to get their message across. So if someone says "It is the most comfortable bed ever," perhaps in all caps, take pause.
Additionally, the Cornell researchers found that when it comes to hotels, fake reviewers tended not to talk about the spatial details - such as the floor or bathroom. Instead, they focused on the reason they were there, such as describing a recent fake vacation or business trip. In practice, this makes sense because someone who has never been to a location might have a tough time describing it accurately.
Junk the jargon
On the flip side, beware of recommendations that read like product manuals. Reviews that repeat the full product name or model number may be an attempt to game the search engine system. And if they use excessive technical or marketing jargon, odds are they aren't providing a genuine review - most real people don't talk like that.
Review the reviewer
Check out the profile of the person providing the review, said Louis Ramirez, senior features writer with online deal site DealNews. If they only write reviews for a particular company, that's a huge warning sign they could have a vested interest in that business. Some sites let people upload pictures of the item they bought, which can help add credibility.
Amazon verifies some of its reviewers, indicating they actually bought the product (although some of the people it's suing allegedly found ways around that). Some other sites only allow posts from people who've made a purchase there. Look closely on the site for their review policies.
Pay attention to detail
If you think about your own experiences with an unpleasant experience or product, you can probably explain exactly why it was bad. Ramirez suggests if you're unsure about a review, put more stock in someone who provides details of why they didn't like a product ("Oh, the battery only lasted four hours") that in someone who complains more generally ("I hated this laptop. It was horrible").