Section: Computers, Security  The Malwarebytes Corporation, makers of the excellent anti-malware software of the same name, have discovered that a Chinese rival has been stealing from its database of malware samples and flagging a specific keygen code for the Malwarebytes software using the exact same naming scheme. When Malwarebytes confronted the vendor, IObit, about the theft, the company denied it and claimed it was just a technical glitch and that Malwarebytes was being malicious by spreading rumors. However MB ran a test on the shady software, called Security 360, by adding definitions for a fake rogue anti-virus program to its data base. Security 360 almost immediately added the fake definitions to its own database and used an almost identical naming scheme.
"So we dug further. We accumulated more similar evidence for other detections, and we soon became convinced that this was not a mistake, it was not a coincidence, it was not an isolated event, and it persisted presently in their current database. They are using both our database and our database format exactly." The company reported in a blog post. "During the course of our investigation, we uncovered additional evidence that IObit may have stolen the proprietary databases of other security vendors as well. We are in the process of contacting these vendors."
Malwarebytes intends to pursue legal action against IObit. This incident is a good reminder to always stick with well known security apps like MalwareBytes, Spybot Search and Destroy, AVG, AdAware and others. Never download a security app you've never hear of or one you see advertised in a pop up or spam message. Malwarebytes is one of the best anti-malware apps around. It's fast, easy to use, powerful and doesn't hog system resources. It supports multi-drive scanning which includes networked drives. There is a free version available but for real-time protection (which prevents malware infections from ever happening) and the ability to schedule regular scans, spring for the paid version, which is just $24.95. The protection and piece of mind are worth it! Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Email / IM, Smartphones  Here in the US, Sony Ericsson isn’t high on my list of phones to check out. Primarily, their inexpensive phones make the trip across the pond and the American public has yet to really embrace them as a quality brand. That may change with the new XPERIA X10 which is due to become a flagship Android phone for the brand. All isn’t perfect yet, though.
Slashgear was received by Sony Ericsson and shown the ropes of this phone due in Q1 of 2010. There is much to brag about, from the custom UI skin that overlays Android 1.6 (that was something to brag about up until last month, now it seems a bit dated with 2.0 in the wild - no word if the X10 will get the update), an 8.1 megapixel camera, a snappy 1 GHz Snapdragon chipset, and a 480x854 capacitive touchscreen. What is most interesting about the device are it’s two customized apps by Sony Ericsson: Timescape and Mediascape. As described by Slashgear: Timescape handles events, with a single view of tumbling panes each detailing the most recent changes, updates or events. SMS or email messages, calls, voicemails, photos, Twitter or Facebook updates and calendar entries are all pulled together into one dangling stream, and you can tap each pane to see it completely; hitting the Infinity symbol in the top corner then pulls together related information from all across the phone and online. Mediascape, meanwhile, works in a similar way to Timescape but for audio, video and still image content. Three tabs show photos, audio and video, with the top half of the screen having draggable bars showing local content (split into rows by most recent, most played, etc.) while the lower half has online content. Sony Ericsson are working with content providers and carriers to develop this latter content; right now, the XPERIA X10 has access to YouTube video and online galleries, but there's the potential for carrier-provided streaming music, PlayStation Network integration or third-party services. We'd particularly like to see Spotify integration too.
It was clear the demo Slashgear got was on an unoptomized software so the apps were sluggish to respond. One of the fun things about Android is the manufacturers ability to create a branded feel of the OS by using skins. It looks like Sony Ericsson may be onto something here and offered more Android phones would follow in 2010. Read: [Slashgear] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Business News, Gadgets / Other, Miscellaneous Kmart's Black Friday flyer was released today on the Black Friday.info website and it seems to have a few good deals and doorbusters for those looking to get some great prices on their gadgets for Christmas. Kmart will open its doors at 6 am on Black Friday. For five hours only, you can buy the Magellan Roadmate 1220 for the low price of $84.99. The TomTom XL32SS will be on sale for $99.99 on both Friday and Saturday. Other 6 am to 11 am doorbuster deals include the Delstar 7 inch wireless netbook for $119.99 and a Sylvania portable DVD player for $49.99. If you are a fan of Cobra products, one of their radar detectors and two way radios are priced at fifty percent off. If you know anyone that wants a small 2 GB stick mp3 player that holds about 1000 songs, you can pick one up on Black Friday for only $9.99. Get $50 in store savings on the Samsung SL40 digital camera and pay only $79.99. The Panasonic Class 42 inch plasma television is being sold for $549 while the Magnavox DVD/VCR combo is priced at just $49.99. Read [Black Friday.info] Full Story » | Written by Heather Wood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
FROM GAMERTELL - The 2009 Toys ‘R Us Big Toy Book ad, which was available in the Sunday, November 1, 2009 paper and can also be viewed on Facebook or your iPhone, features four DS bundle deals. It also offers a $10 gift card with a purchase over $75.
MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile, Features, Originals The successful launch of the Palm Pre, Palm’s darling of a phone running the “revolutionary” webOS was supposed to save Palm. Launched on June 6 in the US, the Pre was off to a fast start, depending on who you asked. The Pre continues to be sold on one network, Sprint, while it’s application catalog fills out. The question now becomes, did the Pre save Palm? That was the question poised to me by our Robert Nelson who was standing next to me when the phone was announced at CES last year. Both of us left with a sense of hope and excitement about the new phone and about the webOS. Where are we now? Robert says, “To me, I think it has gone stale. It almost seems that Palm is back on life support. But at the same time, I like the Pre (of course, that could just be the fan boy in me).” My take is two parts: I agree with Robert the gloss has faded a bit on the Pre. I attribute that to an unappealing design, at least for me. I am edging closer to despising key’d phones, the split second it takes to slide out the keypad or worse, reorient the device is far too long for me. The Pre doesn’t live on the now network, it lives on the, wait for it, slide out, network. So it’s clear I am not a big fan of the hardware on the Pre. That’s a personal call and one that I may be on my own with it; I can deal with that. I have the same problems with the Moto Droid and the slew of Android phones with slide out full-size keyboards. A phone store clerk explained it to me like this: the teens and 20 year olds love the slide out, the 30 and up crowd digs the slider phones. Test that one out, I’ve found it to be a decent predictor. Part two is this, while the Pre hasn’t saved Palm, the webOS will. The OS is fun, simple, brilliant in some ways. I think the Pixi will do well, assuming it gets off Sprint in record time. I think the phone after Pixi will do even better. There is much competing operating systems could learn from webOS. While it still could use some polishing around the edges, it works and works well. There is no question in my mind that the webOS can compete with Android for most people. Competing with the iPhone OS isn’t the problem, it’s the Santa’s sack of apps that is getting harder to get around. What is your take, did the Pre do enough good for Palm? Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile We knew it was too good to be true. We knew Verizon couldn’t keep it’s mitts off the phone and tweak something to make it less fun. The good news is unlike most of Verizon’s disabled phone, this one can be fixed by throwing money at it. $15 per month to be exact. Thanks to the geniuses at Verizon, if you wish to access Exchange mail on your Droid phone you’ll need to cough up another $15 per month. This is the case for accessing work email on a Microsoft Exchange server as well as accessing GMail via the Exchange platform. If this seems a bit harsh to you, you’re spot-on. Verizon’s response to criticism on this is to point out Droid is designed as a non-corporate phone. A consumer oriented phone like this, isn’t expected to go into Exchange servers, or so the thinking goes. Tilting the phone as a non-business phone is odd to me. Horse hockey is what I say. From InfoWorld: “Verizon offers three data plans for Droid customers: $30 month on top of your voice plan’s rate for non-Exchange usage, $45 per month on top of your voice plan’s rate for Exchange usage, and $50 per month total cost for a data-only plan (whether or not you use it to access Exchange). Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney notes that the requirement to get the $45 “smartphone plan” for corporate e-mail usage applies to any smartphone, such as the BlackBerry—not just to the Droid.” Contrast that with AT&T’s iPhone and BlackBerry smartphone plan that adds $30 on top of voice and includes Exchange access. AT&T does have a business plan that mirrors Verizon’s at $45 per month. While realizing it’s tough being a carrier these days, profiling data is a bad idea. Data costs the same whether it is a movie streaming, Exchange email or surfing the net. Verizon should not penalize users based on what data they consume. Maybe, it’s just $15 a month but it bugs me. How about you? Read: [InfoWorld] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks Looking at the above image it is hard not to see the similarities between the Barnes & Noble Nook and the other ebook reader which comes courtesy of Spring Design. That other ebook reader is called the Alex reader, and although many initially thought it was a copycat of the Nook, it seems that is the opposite. Based on a recent press release, Spring Design, on behalf of the Alex reader have filed an intellectual property lawsuit against Barnes & Noble and the Nook. The suit is claiming that “Barnes & Noble misappropriated trade secrets and violated the parties' non-disclosure agreement when it copied Alex' features into its recently announced Nook e-book.” "Spring Design unfortunately had to take the appropriate action to protect its intellectual property rights," said Spring Design Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Eric Kmiec. "We showed the Alex e-book design to Barnes & Noble in good faith with the intention of working together to provide a superior dual screen e-book to the market."
Otherwise the details of the lawsuit are pretty light at this point, but I am sure this is not the last we will hear of this story. It should be interesting to see what the outcome will bring, but either way it should mean some good press for both readers alike. That said, despite look, the Barnes & Noble Nook does have one nice feature that the Alex reader does not. The Nook already has a built-in book store, where the Alex reader was noted as being in discussion “and enlisting major content partners.” Read [Business Wire] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Accessories, Cellphones, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile, Computers, Netbooks  Redfly makes a small, instant on netbook-size device that brings your small phone screen to a bigger screen complete with larger keyboard. Redfly has worked with Windows Mobile phones for some time and now the company announces BlackBerry support. For users that needs more than the small keyboard and screen a phone offers, this could be a life-saver.
Available in both 7” and 8” models, the Redfly connects to your WinMo or BB smartphone allowing you to bang out emails even faster. Browsing the web is also possible, though reviewers were not so happy with the results. Redfly can be used with the BlackBerry Bold 9000, BlackBerry Curve 8900 and BlackBerry Tour 9630. We’d suggest this device for those who travel often and could use just a little more space. We’d love the device to be a lot thinner (think Macbook Air thin) a bigger keyboard and a bit more upscale look. If you are going after business class, you can’t look like economy. That’s just my opinion though. There is a contingent that believes this is the wave of the future. Palm thought this but was ahead of the curve and pulled the program before launching. As our phones become more powerful and capable, connecting to them seems logical. To get on the wave, you’ll need $200 or $250 for the 7” and 8” respectively. Or you can try to win one from Crackberry here. Read: [Brighthand] Image credit: Brighthand Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile We have recently seen reports of the BlackBerry Bold 9700 begin delayed here with T-Mobile in the US, but that is not the case north of the border with Rogers. The newly listed BlackBerry Bold 9700 will set potential users back $299.99, which comes with the standard three-year contract. Of course, there are options for those that prefer to avoid a little bit of that contract. You can also choose to pay $499.99 or $549.99 to go with a two year or one year contract. One other notable change includes the older model BlackBerry Bold, which has been lowered in price from $299.99 down to $249.99. Still no sign of the white model just yet though, but maybe that is still set to be listed later today. Product [Rogers] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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