German scientist cracks secret mobile phone code

A German computer scientist has cracked the secret algorithm used to maintain privacy in the conversations of cell phone users.

Karsten Nohl worked with a team for the last five months and finally cracked the code used to encrypt calls using GSM technology.

The findings can allow anyone to listen to private phone conversations.

Speaking at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin he said his conclusions proved that security of GSM, the most used mobile technology in the world, was "inadequate".

"We are trying to inform people about this widespread vulnerability," the BBC quoted Nohl as saying.

The expert added: "We hope to create some additional pressure and demand from customers for better encryption."

However, the GSM Association (GSMA), which created the code, said Nohl''s work would be "highly illegal" in Britain and many other countries.

A spokesperson said: "This isn''t something that we take lightly at all."

But Nohl insists that he spoke to lawyers before releasing his work publicly and said it was "legal".

Talking about his study Nohl said: "Any cryptographic function is a one way street…You should not be able to decrypt without the secret key".

To break the code Nohl and others computer networks to look through "every possible combination" of inputs and outputs. Nohl pointed out there were "trillions" of possibilities.

All the outputs are now listed in a vast table.

Nohl explained: "It''s like a telephone book - if someone tells you a name you can look up their number."

The codebook, a "beefy gaming computer and 3,000 dollars worth of radio equipment" would enable anyone to decipher signals from billions of people around the world using GSM technology, he stated.

The GSMA says the technology would remain unaffected by the new research, since there had been "a number" of such studies describing how A5/1 algorithm could be broken but "none to date have led to a practical attack".

The spokesperson added: "All in all, we consider this research, which appears to be motivated in part by commercial considerations, to be a long way from being a practical attack on GSM.

Facebook ‘makes loneliness worse’

Whilesocial networking sites like Facebook are keeping people more connected than ever, loneliness is still a problem, especially among young people.

In fact, young people are worried more about loneliness than the elderly, according to a new survey by the Samaritans. 21 per cent of those aged between 18 and 24 said that it was one of their main worries, compared with 8 per cent of over-55s.

Leanne Rivers, the co-director of the Samaritans’ Central London branch, said that the explosion of social networking sites had added to the problem.

“Social networking has not helped because it is a remote contact. Some young people don’t have any real friends,” Times Online quoted Rivers as saying.

“They are completely surrounded by people, but they can still be lonely because they are not able to make lasting bonds,” Rivers added.

The trend has been highlighted by a new website, uSocial. net, which offers visitors the chance to purchase friends on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter

What happens to your email account after you die

Saving that parting e-mail from your first love in your inbox? Well, chances are, after you pass away, your spouse and the entire family will know about the long held secret.

This is because web email services like Hotmail and Gmail do not let users specify what should happen to their messages when they die.

In fact, email services owned by Internet giants like Google and Microsoft have a policy of keeping your data after you die and letting your next of kin or the executor of your estate access it.

These services can hold tens of thousands of messages.

Accounts with Google''s Gmail can hold up to 7GB - or roughly 70,000 emails with a small to medium picture attached to each and they archive the messages you''ve written as well as received.

When it comes to deleting the data, Microsoft''s Hotmail will remove an account if it is inactive for 270 days, while Gmail leaves the responsibility to the next of kin.

Of the top three providers, only Yahoo! refuses to supply emails to anyone after the user has died. The user''s next of kin can ask for the account to be closed, but cannot gain access to it.

A Yahoo! spokesperson said the only exception to this rule would be if the user specified otherwise in their will.

Meanwhile, social-networking site Facebook has recently publicised a feature called memorialisation that lets the family of deceased users keep their profile page online as a virtual tribute.

MySpace, on the other hand, says it addresses the issue of family access to sensitive data on a "case by case basis".

A spokesperson for MySpace could not rule out letting a user''s next of kin log into their profile - potentially giving them access to private messages. (ANI)

India’s first Android tablet PC - ‘Adam’ - to be unveiled at CES next month

Next month's Consumer Electric Show (CES) in Las Vegas, US, will likely witness the unveiling of India's first Google Android OS-based touchscreen tablet PC, developed by a Hyderabad-based startup - Notion Ink, which was founded in February this year.

Designed and developed by six IIT graduates and an MBA, the Indian Android device, dubbed Adam, will expectedly be a ground-breaking product that will draw a gigantic customer base. As per the media reports, Notion Ink's 'Adam' - developed in partnership with National Institute of Design (NID), Bangalore - features a writable 10.1-inch touchscreen from Pixel Q, is powered by NVIDIA's Tegra T20 chipset.

The other notable features of the 770-gram device include 32GB data storage; Bluetooth; Wi-Fi connectivity; 48 hours standby battery; and a 3-megapixel digital camera with auto focus, and video recording.

The 'Adam' will be available for less than Rs 14,000 ($300) in India, and for less than $400 (Rs 18,800) in the US.

Talking about the unveiling of the 'Adam' at the forthcoming CES, Rohan Shravan, Notion Ink founder and director Creatives, pointed the Android usage issue on PC, and said in a blog: "There are lots of issues for Android to be used on the big screen. We are going to fix it, but will not showcase in CES this time. There are going to be a lot of User Interface changes in the final product."

Chinese author Mian Mian sues Google over copyright issues

Chinese novelistMian Mian has suedGoogleover its plan to create an online library.

And now a Beijing judge has told the author to hold settlement talks with the search giant.

After a two-hour hearing, the court ordered both sides to talk but did not set a deadline for reporting back, according to the author''s lawyer.

Mian Mian is seeking damages of 61,000 yuan (or 8,950 dollars) and a public apology, reports the BBC.

She filed the lawsuit in October after Google scanned one of her books, ‘Acid House’, into its library.

Google said it had removed the book as soon as it learned of the lawsuit, but had no further comment on the case.

And Mian Mian is not the only writer who has complained about copyright issues raised byGoogle''s online library.

The China Written Works Copyright Society is also looking for compensation for other Chinese authors whose work is included in the project.

In France, a court ordered Google to stop digitising French books without the publisher''s approval.

In the US, Google agreed a 125 million dollar settlement with American authors and publishers - although this is still waiting for final court approval. (ANI)

New online virus threat comes via banner ads

Cologne, Germany - Recently, criminals managed to place a doctored banner ad carrying a virus on the homepage of the New York Times, a mainstay of American journalism.

The fact they could do so is bad enough. Worse: it's not an isolated case. It's becoming more and more common for unsuspecting computer users to accidentally pull Trojan horses and other damaging programmes onto their computer via these ads.

"They're becoming more popular," says Frank Felzmann of the German Federal Office forInformation Security (BSI). The first wave of these new viruses came to light at the start of 2008, says Christiane Ruetten of c't, a Germancomputer magazine. Since then, a variety of attacks like the one on the New York Times have been recorded.

Like any standard virus attack, the goal is usually malicious. Sometimes it's to bring as many computers as possible under the control of someone with a botnet network for distributing spam. Others are looking to steal a little money from the owners of the hijacked machines, perhaps by smuggling in a programme to steal information about online banking.

And how are they doing this? Usually they lodge their programme into the source code of a banner ad put up by a law-abiding company by accessing its flash data.

"It's packaged with a script that means that all a user has to do it look at the website to get routed to a malicious site," explains Candid Wueest of Symantec, a producer of security software. Like an online version of a drive-by shooting, a Trojan is introduced into the system that easily.

Other viruses have to coerce users into actually clicking on the banner, which means they get a warning telling them their computer is infected with "this or that number of dangerous programmes," says Felzmann.

"Then, some advertising for a fee-based programme, so-called scare or rogue ware, pops up." In a best-case scenario, those programmes are useless. In a worst case scenario, the programme doesn't install helpful software, but instead a programme which goes on to download yet another Trojan.

What can a person do? The first step is developing a healthy mistrust of banner ads with unheard of products. Felzmann advises avoiding programmes with names like Antivirus-Doctor '09 or Removal Tool 2010, since they could be the work of swindlers.

"The manipulated banner ads I've seen had no connection to well-known products," said Ruetten.

Safety minded computer users won't just avoid dubious computer tools, but will take the more important step of protecting their computer.

"Even Mac users aren't 100 per cent secure," warns Frank Ackermann, an IT security expert with the industry association eco. That means keeping the operating system, software like Flash Player, the browser, the anti-virus programme and the firewall all up-to-date.

Additionally, even if it means having to click a few extra times or limiting the function of some websites, it's always advisable to switch off functions like ActiveX, JavaScript or Flash, says Ackermann, because all are standard targets for criminals.

Another option is to make sure a person's computer is set so ads can only activate upon the customer's request and only after the request is verified separately. (dpa)

Mumbai City to get second cable bridge

Mumbai’s first cable-stayedbridge — the Bandra Worli sealink — has become the latest landmark for the city. If things go as planned, the city will soon have another cable-stayed bridge.

Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd. (MMOPL) that is building the Verosva-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro line is now building a 39-metre high (about 10-storey high) cable-stayed bridge over the Jog flyover, in Andheri (East). The flyover is on the Western Express Highway.

“The Jog flyover is already built at a great height and we had to provide additional clearance over it,” said a senior official of MMOPL. “The height made it necessary that we construct a cable- stayed bridge.”

The 175-metre long cable-stayed bridge will allow the metro line to glide 6.5 metres above the 13 metre high flyover. The bridge will consist of two cable spans, which will hold the bridgetogether.

Construction of the Rs 16-crore bridge has already begun and is expected to be complete by April 2010. The bridge is being constructed with the help of VSL, a Switzerland-based company specializing in construction of cable-stayed bridges.

A cable-stayed bridge is built with one or more columns — called towers or pylons — with cables supporting the bridge’s deck. Cable-stayed bridges help minimise the construction of columns on land and are generally used where there are obstacles.

The need for a cable-stayed bridge over the Jog flyover was felt as the flyover had become an impediment to the construction of the elevated metro line.

MMOPL is building the Rs 2,356 crore Versova Andheri Ghatkopar Line, the first metro line in the city, which is expected to be complete by December 2010.

The upcoming bridge will be much smaller than the Bandra-Worli sealink, which is 5.6-km long. Vidyasagar Setu, built over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, is the longest cable-stayedbridge in India and one of the longest in Asia. It links the city of Howrah to its twin city of Kolkata.

Google reportedly planning to launch its own mobile

New York, Dec 27 - Google reportedly hopes to strengthen its presence in the world of mobiletelephony with plans to introduce its own high-tech phone sometime in 2010, according to press reports.

Reports by the Wall Street Journaland other outlets cite sources close to Googlestating that the company, known primarily for its online search functions, is expected to release a phone dubbed Nexus One that runs Google's Android operating system.

However, the company hopes to sell the phone directly to consumers, skipping mobile service providers, which often package their services with hardware from other companies. That means

customers will either have to use their existing mobile phone contract with the Nexus or arrange for a new one.

The new phones will reportedly be manufactured by Taiwanese phone maker HTC, reported TechCrunch, a technology blog. HTC already produces several phones that use Android.

With Google in the lead, the two companies developed Android, which relies primarily onGoogle's online services for mobile internet functions. However, until now, Google has always relied on

other companies, like HTC, Samsung or Motorola, to provide network support and hardware.

Google recently reported in a blog entry that it was letting some of its employees test a newmobile device, but provided no further details. The company is seen by many to be one of the up-and-coming players in the mobile phone market. Google believes it can leverage its strong position in online advertising to similar strengths within the mobile market. (dpa)

Opera upgrades browser to block Chinese users from Facebooking

Beijing, Nov. 25 : Chinese Internet users would no longer be able to access Facebook, as the web browser Opera has upgraded itsChinese version closing a loophole that allowed users to access websites banned by the government.

Mobile users of the Opera Mini browser were asked to upgrade to a Chinese version at this weekend, BBC reports.

Opera confirmed that it had started directing users of the international version of the mobile browser to the Chinese version on 20 November.

"The difference between the Chinese and the international version is that the former connects to compression servers within China..... benefits are higher speed, lower costs and an overall improved mobile web browsing experience," the firm said in a statement.

Earlier, traffic ran over Opera servers bypassing the so-called Great Firewall of China, making the browser popular with Chinese users.

The company was not prepared to discuss the "background for this decision".

Chinese bloggers had a plenty of speculation on the firm’s decision.

"Let me guess what has happened here. The Chinese government has put pressure on Opera to close down that free access. And like most companies, they complied," wrote blogger Carsten Ullrich. (ANI)

Now, glass toaster that lets you see your bread as it browns

London, Dec 26 : Burnt toast may soon be history, thanks to a glass toaster.

The revolutionary toasterlets a person see his/her bread as it browns, reports The Times.

The device working: bread is placed between two sheets of heated glass and cooked in full view so a person can eject his/her slice at the right moment.

Melinda Hart, of the product developer Inventables, said: “This idea is based on a transparent heating glass technology.” (ANI)