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Droidpocalypse? Josh Drake says no.

Dave Farquhar Android, security August 1, 2015July 31, 2015android, apple, demonstration, IOS, os x, podcast, samsung, vulnerability, Windows XP

Josh Drake, the researcher who discovered the Stagefright vulnerability in Android that lets an attacker hack into an Android device by sending a specially crafted picture or video in a text message, was on the Risky Business security podcast this week to talk about it. What he had to say was interesting.

Patrick Gray, the host, tends to be a pretty outspoken critic of Android and isn’t shy about talking up Apple. He tried to get Drake to say Android is a trainwreck, security-wise, but Drake wouldn’t say it. Drake actually went as far as to say he thinks Android and IOS are fairly close, security wise.

So why do we see so many more Android bugs? Drake had an answer.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Expect a rough road ahead for Flash

Dave Farquhar security July 15, 2015July 14, 2015android, apple, breach, chrome, IOS, ipad, iphone, oracle, os x, Patch Tuesday, yahoo

Adobe has patched Flash twice in two weeks now. The reason for this was due to Hacking Team, an Italian company that sells hacking tools to government agencies, getting hacked. Hacking Team, it turns out, knew of at least three unpatched vulnerabilities (also known as “zero-days” or “0days”) in Flash, and exploits for these vulnerabilities were among the things that got breached.

That’s why Adobe is having a bad month.

Dave Farquhar

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Cringely takes on Ashton Kutcher’s movie about Steve Jobs

Dave Farquhar Macintosh, Retro Computing August 25, 2013July 17, 20171990s, apple, Apple Lisa, capitalization, IOS, os x, Steve Jobs, unix, windows nt

Mark Stephens, a.k.a. Robert X. Cringely, wrote last week about his disappointment in Ashton Kutcher’s movie Jobs, about the late Apple co-founder and CEO.

Here’s the most important part of his quasi-review:

[S]omething happened during Steve’s NeXT years (which occupy less than a 60 seconds of this 122 minute film) that turned Jobs from a brat into a leader, but they don’t bother to cover that. In his later years Steve still wasn’t an easy guy to know but he was an easier guy to know. His gut for product was still good but his positions were more considered and thought out. He inspired workers without trying so much to dominate or hypnotize them.

Indeed. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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This week in mobile

Dave Farquhar Android June 16, 2013June 15, 2013android, apple, cisco, citrix, IOS, Jelly Bean, nexus

I have zero intention of doing a mobile roundup every week, but it sure seems like there were a few noteworthy developments in the mobile field this week that are worth mentioning. So, here goes.

Dave Farquhar

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Where Microsoft lost its way

Dave Farquhar Windows June 7, 2013July 9, 20171980s, 1990s, 6502, amiga, android, apple, apple ii, AT&T, atari, atari st, commodore, Digital Research, excel, IBM, IOS, Microsoft Basic, MOS, motorola, motorola 68k, nintendo, sony, unix, windows 8, windows me, xbox, XT

John C. Dvorak wrote an analysis of how Microsoft lost its way with Windows 8 this week.

All in all it sounds reasonable to me. His recollection of DOS and some DOS version 8 confused me at first, but that was what the DOS buried in Windows ME was called. But mentioning it is appropriate, because it shows how DOS faded from center stage to being barely visible in the end, to the point where it was difficult to dig it out, and that it took 15 years for it to happen. He’s completely right, that if Microsoft had pulled the plug on DOS in 1985, Windows would have failed. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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UEFI on ARM illustrates why we still have to watch Microsoft

Dave Farquhar security, Software January 14, 2012March 25, 2025android, apple, Bill Gates, cisco, IOS, Steve Ballmer, UEFI

UEFI is a technology that forces a computer to only load a digitally signed operating system. This has some security benefits, as it makes parts of the operating system unbootable if they become infected, since the viruses won’t be digitally signed by a reputable vendor.

Great idea, right? From a security perspective, absolutely. The more attack vectors for viruses we can eliminate, the better off we’ll be. But Microsoft’s policy on ARM systems shows how it can be abused.

Dave Farquhar

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Microsoft: No x86 apps for ARM

Dave Farquhar Hardware September 19, 2011April 2, 20251990s, acer, amd, ancestor, android, apple, DEC, IBM, intel, Intel Atom, IOS, power savings, Token Ring, unix, vista, windows 2000, windows 7, windows 8, windows me, windows nt, x86

So, The Register reports that Windows on ARM will not have compatibility with apps compiled for x86. Intel has been saying this for a while, while Microsoft has been mum. So now we know.

There are arguments both for and against having an x86 emulation layer.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Microsoft sold 400 million Windows 7 licenses; what does it mean?

Dave Farquhar Software, Windows July 13, 2011March 25, 2025android, apple, apple ii, IOS, os x, piracy, proprietary unix, Steve Ballmer, unix, vista, windows 2000, windows 7, windows 8, windows 98, windows me, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Steve Ballmer announced today that Microsoft has sold 400 million Windows 7 licenses, but anywhere from half to two-thirds of PCs are still running Windows XP and need to get with the program.

He also continues to insist Windows 8 will ship in 2012, which really makes me wonder why those XP users need to switch now. December 2012 is 17 short months away, and XP support runs until 2014. I see little need to rush out now and buy Windows 7, use it for 18-24 months, and then turn around and buy Windows 8. If XP is fulfilling users’ needs, what’s the hurry? Unless Windows 8 is going to be late, as bad as Vista, or both. But none of that can happen, right? (Note: It’s not 2014 anymore, so if you haven’t upgraded from XP, you need to.)

I’m sure the Windows 8 Police will be along to haul me away shortly for insinuating such things. But until that happens, that 400 million figure lets us do some other interesting extrapolation. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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So why are Apple and Google (and Microsoft) tracking us?

Dave Farquhar security April 27, 2011October 29, 2018android, apple, cissp, IOS, iphone, itunes, location tracking, PR, wi-fi

So what are Google and Apple doing with this location data? And Microsoft, now that it’s clear they’re gathering it too (but they claim they aren’t storing it anywhere on the phone).

They aren’t saying a lot, but they’ve said enough to take a pretty good guess. And no, I don’t think the intent is to be evil.
Read more

Dave Farquhar

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