Infected On The Phone

 As I was already talking about phones on the other post, here another look at our mobile friends. While classics from the last century like Final Fantasy I and II make their way to the iStore, smart phone developers prepare for a leap into the other direction. Yes. Yes, that is the future.

Apparently there was a lot going on at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Microsoft kicks their old Windows Mobile out - not that a lot of people were using it - and announced their new Windows Phone 7. Wait. I thought it was new, so why already a 7 at the end? Ridiculous you say? Why yes, it is. But a good promotion because it makes you think of Windows 7, which had quite the reputation lately.

Microsoft is somehow pulling an apple move here, though. For WinPho7 [speak: WIN, FOO'!] will come with a lot of restrictions for the phones it might run on. Well, a little compatibility is better than none I'd say, but then again we already have an iPhone. Also everyone else seems to go open source.

Google's Android is on the way into the western civilisations and has been open source from the start. According to Google, phones equipped with their little robot already sell over 60,000 copies a day in the East.

Nokia has their nice and new Maemo and we thought that would stay for a while, but BEHOLD! They dropped it. And so did Intel with the Moblin platform. Why would they do that? To collaborate with one another and mix in the Linux Foundation for their new idea: MeeGo.

What sounds like a Wii game is not only a collaboration of two (or rather three) heavy-weighters, but also a lucrative deal for smart phone developers and mobile service providers. Not only will MeeGo be very easy to handle regarding hardware restrictions, but it will come with an iStore like online store, in which not only Nokia and Intel can sell their stuff, but also providers and cell phone fabricators. With the recent sell of the 10,000,000th song on Apples iTunes and the success of their iStore I can see the dollar signs in everyones digifected eyes already! Yes, digifected. I said it.

Besides the fact that Symbian is the old market master for smart phones it's not really up to date with the others you might think, but BEHOLD! ...wait..didn't I say that before? Anyways, Symbian has made their OS completely open source and a new version 3 will probably be around later this year.

And let's not forget Bada by Samsung, which is also new and open source! Sooo...who will be the big players in the future (aka next year)?

- Googles Android (open source)

- Samsungs Bada (open source)

- Nokia/Linux/Intel's MeeGo (open source)

- Nokia/Symbian's Symbian 3 (open source)

- Apples iPhone

- Microsofts Windows Phone 7

That's a lotta open source by big players! I guess you all already know that open source is good, but if you don't: It is good.

Let's see what the zombies will go for next year...

QuickNews! A Zombie Choice To Make!

If you live in Europe and run Windows with your automatic updates on, you may have already noticed this when your computer starts up:

»An Important Choice To Make: Your Web Browser!«

This does not only sound like a slogan from the next Obama campaign, but it doesn't look too official, either. And it doesn't look too professional. Maybe a virus? Malware? Is this legit? Yes, yes it is indeed.

This funky [read: fugly] new message is due to our friend, Windows update KB976002. It enables us to choose our browser if we were not smart knowledgeable enough to know that there are other choices besides Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Why would they do that? Well, let's look at the site it sends us to.

http://www.browserchoice.eu/

Well, that looks rather...awful? Anyways, in the Terms of Use we see two things. First: Yes, this site is made by Microsoft. [you can only see the imprint in countries where it is required by law, like Germany] Second: Why this page is bugging us.

»BrowserChoice.eu was designed in accordance with a competition law decision issued by the European Commission in December 2009.«

Yeah, they have been forced to.

But why does Microsoft do it this way? By making this look awful, not legit and showing no transparency on where this comes from and why it is bugging me, Microsoft has pretty much ashamed itself. Or wasn't it their fault? Did the European Commission tell them to make it ugly, so people wouldn't be brainwashed by the Microsoft CI like good digizombies? Or did they just not want to spend their costy designer's time on making this look pretty, because they have been forced to? I f that is the case - cheap move Microsoft, very unprofessional.

If you have a different default browser than IE - like I do - chances are you will never see this.

Zombies East Of Africa

It was only a question of time. Viruses, worms, trojans and malware already made the jump from computer systems to portable devices like smart phones. Now rootkits are here. Unlike the above mentioned rather unnerving elements, rootkits prove to be a serious security threat. »Security? I'm not saving important data on my iPhone!« you may say. But besides the fact that there are people that have lots of sensitive data on their mobiles, that is not the point here. Think about what your cell knows about you:

- Calls.

- SMS, maybe emails.

- Appointments.

- Names, numbers and adresses.

- It goes where you go.

- It hears what you hear.

In business conferences you have your phone with you. It has a microphone and sending capabilities. Rootkits are able to access all of your phones features including WiFi, calling, speakerphone function and GPRS. Imagine someone listening in on confidential business conferences, tracking your every step. Imagine someone turning on your camera function and speakerphone while you're at home with your life partner. You see what this could mean now, yes?

Our ongoing digizombiefication has lead us to taking our phones everywhere and giving them enough power to run dangerous apps. We created the perfect spies for everyone who wants to get to us.

Flexispy is a small firm that has already incorporated a similar technology in their spyphone products. In case you want to »catch cheating wives or cheating husbands, stop employee espionage, protect children, make automatic backups, bug meetings rooms and check babysitters« or whatever reason they give to make this seem legal. Oh, wait, bugging meeting rooms? I wonder why their office is located in the Republic of Seychelles...

So far Flexispy, the mentioned rootkits and malware spread over pirated games on P2P networks like Doomboot.A-Q and Cabir all have one thing in common so far: They have to be executed/clicked/acknowledged to be installed. So far.

The danger of civil mobile trojans is not too big so far, since they can't spread on their own. What is available to the military can only be rumored so far, but they definitely have an interest here.

Of course there are anti-virus tools for your smart phone available. F-Secure, Symantec, Kaspersky, SimWorks and others all have their fingers on this emerging market, but none of them are able to detect full-blown rootkits right now. And with MetalGearA, mobile trojans armed to disable such security apps have been out for years now, too.

Next time you are in a meeting and someone asks you to turn your cell off, don't just put it in silent mode. Shut it off. No one will be listening right now, but it is hard to say when right now ends and the future begins.

The End Is Nigh

The digitalisation of modern life takes overhand. Humans become more and more dependent on electronics and computers, slowly turning into mindless internet zombies. Boffins believe it is inevitable that soon just the loss of their beloved broadband connection will turn the shambling masses into a raging horde of panicking, bloodthirsty maniacs. And we can't stop it.

I will not try to stop you. I will not try to calm you down. I will not try to scare you.

My mission is this: providing you with cutting edge information about the comming digital apocalypse. And entertain you while I'm at it. Because if there is nothing we can do to avoid our demise, we might as well laugh.

If it is new, I will post it. If it is advanced I will post it. If it is just plain funny, I will post it.

This is my mission. I will do what is within my possibilities to achieve it.

I am Naphtha and this is my manifesto. 

Maybe you can stop me, but I will just rise again, for I am part of this undead horde.