Dumala Blog

Who is rooting your Android?

2012-01-11T02:25:00.000-08:00

With the recent announcement of an easy way to gain root access for Android phones running 2.3.4, to add to the list of similar exploits for earlier versions and 3.0 and beyond, it should come as no real surprise that the bad guys are taking advantage of the relative weakness of the Android OS when compared to iOS devices.

According to the latest FortiGuard Labs report looking at the top five Android Malware Families, there are approximately five times the number of malicious families on the Android OS as compared Apple's iOS. Of course, some of this will be down to market share considerations as Android devices now accounts for 52.2% of global smartphone OS market share whereas iOS on 18% is in third place behind Symbian.

But it does not account for the sheer scale of the Android malware explosion which, according to Axelle Apvrille who is a senior mobile anti-virus researcher at Fortinet, can be attributed to "the way Apple handles iOS application development and distribution. Unlike Android, which makes it fairly easy to place applications for people to download, iOS requires developers to undergo some strict screening from Apple before the application can make it to the Apple Store. That's not to say that Apple is totally immune from being infiltrated by malware - the Eeki banking worm proves that - but it is a testament to why we're seeing so little activity on the iOS platform".

Comparing 2011 to 2010, the FortiGuard Labs researchers noticed a 90% increase in Android malware families year on year. iOS malware families only increased by 25%, although neither figure takes account of actual infection rates or the dangerousness of any particular malware family, so perhaps should be taken with a large pinch of salt.

Those Android rooting vulnerabilities, on the other hand, should be considered totally salt free. Only last month Jon Larimer and Jon Oberheide published a vulnerability for Android platform 2.3.6 that revealed an easy way for hackers and malicious software developers to gain and exploit root access to an Android device. The bad guys are, obviously, taking notice and once they have a method to gain root access to your mobile device the silent downloading of malicious software becomes child's play.

Anyway, the top five malware families for which FortiGuard Labs received the most samples in 2011 were:

Geinimi
Android's first botnet, which sends a victim's geographic location and controls his/her phone remotely. For example, Geinimi can force the infected phone call a given phone number.
Hongtoutou
A Trojan live wallpaper that steals private information such as the victim's subscriber number (IMSI) and automatically visits Websites that the malware directs it to.
DroidKungFu
Another botnet that has multiple capabilities such as remotely installing other malware, remotely starting specific applications and adding bookmarks.
JiFake
A fake instant messenger application that sends SMS messages to premium phone numbers
BaseBridge
A Trojan that sends SMS messages to premium numbers

How secure is Windows 8 photo gesture login?

2012-01-11T02:23:00.000-08:00

How will Microsoft differentiate Windows 8 in an already crowded Windows OS user space? How about, for one, with the use of a photographic gesture security system for logging in? The idea of using a photo to identify and authenticate the user is not without some pretty obvious problems (ambient lighting, bad hair day, forgetting to shave could all screw up your chances of using the computer that day) which is why Microsoft developers have thought outside of the box on this one.

The important part of the 'photographic gesture security system' can be found in the gesture bit. Instead of using a photo of the user, the user instead chooses any photo they like and then selects parts of the image itself to use instead of a password. So, for example, you could tap on your face in a group photo, or draw a circle around the monkey in the top left corner of a wildlife image, or drag a line to connect two people in a photo. The gestures themselves act as your password, whether created using a touchscreen and your finger or a mouse it makes no difference: it is the act of tapping, drawing or dragging within a specific location of the screen that allows you access to the computer.

Now you may think that this is inherently insecure, after all the chances are that the bit of a group photo chosen to be the picture password will be the user him or herself. However, it's not that simple. Someone trying to bypass the security measures would need to know more than just what bit of the picture is being used but also where the start and endpoints of the drawing/dragging process are.

I'm actually all for any kind of login innovation which makes basic computing more secure for the masses, and welcome these early moves by Microsoft to bring something new to the Windows OS from the ITSec perspective. However, some security vendors are already warning that higher levels of authentication may be needed for some users. Steve Watts, co-founder of tokenless two-factor authentication specialists SecurEnvoy, says that the Windows 8 pictorial authentication will rely on the accuracy of the touch screen device, as well as the accuracy of the user's gestures when logging in.

"Some users may also find that the system is far from secure when using their laptop in public places" Watts warns "pictorial login systems can easily be seen in a busy railway or airport café by someone visually eavesdropping your laptop from the next table. Using a mobile phone to authenticate yourself, on the other hand, is a far more secure process, as it uses something you have and something you know, to verify you are who you claim to be. Put simply, if someone shoulder surfs your login using the new Windows 8 security system, then they effectively have access to your computer. So whilst we welcome this alternative to the tired old PIN and password system that has been proven to be less than secure as means of logging in, we feel that the message about tokenless two-factor authentication also needs to be made."

India country profile

2011-01-04T02:45:00.000-08:00

India country profile

The world's largest democracy and second most populous country emerged as a major power in the 1990s. It is militarily strong, has major cultural influence and a fast-growing and powerful economy.
A nuclear-armed state, it carried out tests in the 1970s and again in the 1990s in defiance of world opinion. However, India is still tackling huge social, economic and environmental problems.

Overview

Overview
Facts
Leaders
Media

The vast and diverse Indian sub-continent - from the mountainous Afghan frontier to the jungles of Burma - was under foreign rule from the early 1800s until the demise of the British Raj in 1947.

The subsequent partition of the sub-continent - into present-day India and Pakistan - sowed the seeds for future conflict. There have been three wars between India and its arch-rival Pakistan since 1947, two of them over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
A peace process, which started in 2004, stayed on track despite tension over Kashmir and several high-profile bombings until the Mumbai attacks of November 2008, which police blamed on Pakistani militants. India announced that the process was on pause the following month.

With its many languages, cultures and religions, India is highly diverse. This is also reflected in its federal political system, whereby power is shared between the central government and 28 states.
However, communal, caste and regional tensions continue to haunt Indian politics, sometimes threatening its long-standing democratic and secular ethos.
In 1984 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was gunned down by her Sikh bodyguards after ordering troops to flush out Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
And in 1992, widespread Hindu-Muslim violence erupted after Hindu extremists demolished the Babri mosque at Ayodhya.
Independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, dreamed of a socialist society and created a vast public infrastructure, much of which became a burden on the state.
From the late 1980s India began to open up to the outside world, encouraging economic reform and foreign investment. It is now courted by the world's leading economic and political powers, including its one-time foe China.
The country has a burgeoning urban middle class and has made great strides in fields such as information technology. Its large, skilled workforce makes it a popular choice for international companies seeking to outsource work.
But the vast mass of the rural population remains impoverished.

Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple, New Delhi; said to be the world's largest Hindu temple

Their lives continue to be influenced by the ancient Hindu caste system, which assigns each person a place in the social hierarchy. Discrimination on the basis of caste is now illegal and various measures have been introduced to empower disadvantaged groups and give them easier access to opportunities - such as education and work.
Poverty alleviation and literacy campaigns are ongoing.
Nuclear tests carried out by India in May 1998 and similar tests by Pakistan just weeks later provoked international condemnation and concern over the stability of the region.
The US quickly imposed sanctions on India, but more recently the two countries have improved their ties, and even agreed to share nuclear technology.
India launches its own satellites and in 2008 sent its first spacecraft to the moon. It also boasts a massive cinema industry, the products of which are among the most widely-watched films in the world.

Facts

Overview
Facts
Leaders
Media

Full name: Republic of India
Population: 1.2 billion (UN, 2010)
Capital: New Delhi
Most-populated city: Mumbai (Bombay)
Area: 3.1 million sq km (1.2 million sq miles), excluding Indian-administered Kashmir (100,569 sq km/38,830 sq miles)
Major languages: Hindi, English and at least 16 other official languages
Major religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism
Life expectancy: 64 years (men), 67 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Indian Rupee = 100 paise
Main exports: Agricultural products, textile goods, gems and jewellery, software services and technology, engineering goods, chemicals, leather products
GNI per capita: US $1180 (World Bank, 2009)
Internet domain: .in
International dialling code: +91

Leaders

Overview
Facts
Leaders
Media

President: Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil became India's first female president in July 2007, after being voted into office by members of state assemblies and the national parliament.

President Pratibha Patil

Mrs Patil, the candidate of the ruling Congress Party, was previously the little-known governor of the northwestern desert state of Rajasthan. She drew criticism during the campaign over scandals involving family members, and over controversial remarks.
Supporters hailed her election as a victory for women, but critics wondered how much influence she would have.
India has had several women in powerful positions - most notably Indira Gandhi, one of the world's first female prime ministers in 1966 - but activists complain that women still face widespread discrimination.
Mrs Patil succeeds APJ Abdul Kalam, a scientist and the architect of the country's missile programme.
Indian presidents have few actual powers, but they can decide which party or individual should form the central government after general elections.
Prime minister: Manmohan Singh
Mr Singh became prime minister in May 2004 after the Congress Party's unexpected success in general elections.
The party's president, Sonia Gandhi, the widow of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, shocked her supporters by declining the top post, apparently to protect the party from damaging attacks over her Italian origin.

PM Singh took office after Sonia Gandhi turned down the job

Mr Singh said his priorities were to reduce poverty and to plough on with economic reforms. He stated a desire for friendly relations with India's neighbours, especially Pakistan.
During his first year in office he held together a coalition which included communist allies and ministers accused of corruption. He continued to pursue market-friendly economic policies and oversaw the introduction of nuclear non-proliferation legislation.
But his promised "New Deal" for rural India - an attempt to raise the poorest citizens out of poverty - has still to bear fruit.
Manmohan Singh's government also came under intense pressure after the Mumbai attacks of November 2008, which left nearly 200 people dead and prompted a storm of criticism of security arrangements.
However, Mr Singh's Congress-led coalition scored an emphatic victory at general elections in April and May 2009, coming within 11 seats of winning an absolute majority in parliament.
The emphatic defeat of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) confounded predictions of a close contest.
While still needing the support of some smaller parties, the government looked to be in a much stronger position to pursue economic reforms, particularly against opposition from left.
Mr Singh made his reputation as a finance minister in the early 1990s, under the Narasimha Rao government, when he was the driving force behind economic liberalisation.
When the Congress Party was voted out of office, Mr Singh became opposition leader in the upper house.
A Sikh born in West Punjab, Mr Singh is a former International Monetary Fund official and governor of India's Central Bank. He was educated at Oxford and Cambridge.

Media

Overview
Facts
Leaders
Media

Indian broadcasting has flourished since state TV's monopoly was broken in 1992. The array of channels is still growing.
Private cable and satellite stations command large audiences. News programmes often outperform entertainment shows. Many 24-hour news channels are up and running and more are planned.

Established newspapers are slugging it out with new rivals

Doordarshan, the public TV, operates 21 services including its flagship DD1 channel, which reaches some 400 million viewers.
Multichannel, direct-to-home (DTH) TV has been a huge hit. Five operators - Dish TV, Tata-Sky, Sun Direct, Big TV and Airtel Digital TV - have attracted millions of subscribers. State-owned Doordarshan Direct offers a free-to-air DTH service.
Some industry sources say the number of DTH subscribers could reach 60 million by 2015. The cable TV market is one of the world's largest.
Since they were given the green light in 2000, music-based FM radio stations have proliferated in the cities. But only public All India Radio can broadcast news.
India's press is lively. Driven by a growing middle class, newspaper circulation has risen and new titles compete with established dailies.

Internet use has soared; by late 2008, around 81 million Indians were online (Internetworldstats).
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders says press freedom is threatened by "the violence of political parties as well as religious and separatist groups" (India - Annual report 2008).
The press

Deccan Herald - Bangalore-based daily
The Hindu - Madras-based daily
The Hindustan Times - New Delhi-based daily
The Pioneer - New Delhi-based daily
The Indian Express - New Delhi-based daily
The Statesman - Calcutta-based daily
The Times of India - Mumbai-based daily
The Asian Age - New Delhi-based daily
India Today - New Delhi-based news magazine
Outlook - New Delhi-based news magazine

Television

Doordarshan Television - public TV; operates national, regional, local and satellite services
Zee TV - satellite, cable TV services operated by Zee Group
STAR TV - operates satellite, cable TV services including STAR News, owned by News Corporation
Sony Entertainment TV - commercial channel
Aaj Tak - 24-hour news in Hindi
New Delhi TV (NDTV) - operates NDTV-India and NDTV 24x7 news channels
Sun Network - commercial multi-channel broadcaster

Radio

All India Radio - public, operates domestic and external networks
Radio Mirchi - commercial network, stations in Mumbai, Delhi and other cities, mainly music, operated by The Times Group
Radio City - commercial, FM stations in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities, owned by News Corporation
Red FM - commercial, operated by India Today Group

News agency

Press Trust of India - non-profit, owned by newspaper titles

Jokes From Here And There...

2010-12-10T05:48:00.001-08:00

An elephant was discharged from an hospital after an operation, on the way he met his friend Ant,
the ant said something to the elephant, on hearing that the elephant fainted, what was that? -
It said "I only gave blood for your operation".

Jokes From Here And There...

2010-12-10T05:47:00.001-08:00

Once an hunter was chasing an elephant, the elephant ran into a forest, on the way it met its Ant friend,
Ant : Hey, why are you running?
Elephant : Hunter is chasing me.
Ant (Generously) : You come and hide behind me.
Elephant : ??!

Happy Raksha Bandhan...

2010-08-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

World's weirdest X-rays

2010-08-20T03:10:00.000-07:00

TRS leads, a Telangana thumbs up for KCR

2010-07-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad: If early trends and results of the Telangana by-elections are anything to go by, K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) can stop holding his breath.

His Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has won two seats and is leading in nine others. That is 11 out of 12, if all convert into wins.

The TRS has won the Dharmapuri and Siddipet seats, the latter by a huge margin of 95,000 votes. The party spared no effort to try and win back the 10 seats it had resigned knowing well that any setback would severely dent KCR's standing in the region.

Counting of votes began this morning for the by-elections held for 12 Assembly seats in the Telangana region on July 27.

Elections were necessitated by one BJP, one TDP and 10 TRS MLAs resigning in February this year to bolster their demand for a separate Telangana state.

Andhra Pradesh Congress president D Srinivas who contested from Nizamabad Urban, lost his seat to BJP's Lakshminarayana. The fate of KCR's son K T Rama Rao among others is still being decided. Srinivas' loss will be a big blow to the Congress.

For Srinivas, who fancies himself as a future Chief Minister and has been counting on a win here as a step towards fulfilling that ambition, this is make or break.

KT Rama Rao sought re-election from Sircilla, a seat he had won by a margin of just 171 votes last year.

KCR, the TRS chief and the man whose agitation eight months ago set the stage for the latest unrest in Telangana, said before votes were cast, "Including D Srinivas, all 12 Congress candidates should lose their deposit. Only then will Sonia Gandhi realise the heat of the Telangana sentiment."

This election sees KCR with a new political friend yet again, the BJP. Only a year ago he had joined hands with Chandrababu Naidu for the Lok Sabha 2009 battle and in 2004, had fought alongside the Congress.

Escaped pet tiger found in South Africa

2010-07-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

A tiger kept as a pet which escaped in South Africa has been found after a two-day search with a helicopter, a tracker, and sniffer dogs.

The 140kg (310lbs) Bengal tiger, named Panjo, broke free from the back of a vehicle while being taken to a vet.
He was tracked down at a farm about 50km (30 miles) east of Pretoria and coaxed from his hiding spot by his master's voice, local media said.
Panjo was "stressed out" after his adventure, his owner said.
During the hunt his owner, Goosey Fernandes, had said the tiger was harmless and should be treated like a dog.
But experts said tigers are dangerous and should not be approached.
Tigers are not native to Africa but are found on game reserves.

SRK shares new pics

2010-07-29T05:22:00.001-07:00

Shah Rukh Khan shared this pic of his with co-actor Kareena Kapoor on Twitter. The two actors are currently shooting for their forthcoming movie Ra.One in London.

SRK with SHAKIRA

Sachin Again...

2010-07-29T05:16:00.000-07:00

Sachin hit an unbeaten 202 and Suresh Raina made 120 on his debut as India matched Sri Lanka's scoring spree in the second cricket Test on Thursday.

India, replying to Sri Lanka's mammoth 642-4 declared, carried their overnight total of 382-4 to 589-5 by tea on the fourth day at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Tendulkar and Raina, who came together on Wednesday afternoon with India struggling at 241-4, put on 256 runs for the fifth wicket on a pitch holding no terror for the batsmen.

Read more at: http://cricket.ndtv.com/storypage.aspx?id=SPOEN20100148120&nid=40662&cp

Genelia The Upcoming Star

2010-01-15T01:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Dashera

2010-01-13T05:25:00.001-08:00

Hello Friends,
I wish you a very very happy DASERA to you and your family.
Have a greate year starting with Dasera.

Vote For Telangana

2010-01-11T00:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Telanganites,Please vote in support of Telangana on CNN IBN the results show thatonly 44% are in support of Telangana. Please let all of us contribute& increase it to more than 50%, Pass this to your other friends. http://ibnlive.in.com/conversations/thread/111032.html

Enter My Blog

2010-01-10T04:38:00.000-08:00

Hello , I am Raj....Welcome To My Blog