Question of the day

Why would you ever put "Delete" as the first option for installed Java applications on a phone?

I just had the opportunity to play with a Nokia 6280 the other day. The only thing that really surprised me was the fact that "Delete" was the first option for installed Java applications. Why would Nokia do that? Was I just using a phone with a crappy firmware? I really hope so...

PayPal Phishing

You thought phishing attacks were losing ground? Not at all! I've just received a phishing message, so I thought I'd check it out.

1. The message pointed me to the following URL (I intentionally split it here):
   
   http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LaSV66fNtDg.kAUoJXNyoA;
   _ylu=X3oDMTE2ZHVuZ3E3BGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMw
   RzZWMDc3IEdnRpZANGNjU1Xzc1/SIG=148vsd1jp/EXP=113854
   4186/**http%3a//r-h-enterprises.com/.confirm/index.
   php?MfcISAPICommand=SignInFPP
   
   So much for trusting Yahoo, this looks like an open redirect.


2. The landing page looks like a "standard" phishing page, imitating Paypal pages by including logos and links. A bit of background check (whois) on r-h-enterprises.com shows nothing suspicious, so the server was probably hacked and a hacker installed the phishing scripts.


3. And now for the funny part... you can get a listing of the /.confirm directory on the site (there's no index file), and thus you can easily gain access to the "bag of phish" containing email addresses, passwords (are they the passwords for the email accounts? or for paypal? who knows...), and of course card numbers, pins, cvv codes, and the rest of the goodies. The card list is here: (again, a space was added)
   
   http://r-h-enterprises.com/.con firm/cards.txt
   
   So the phisher didn't bother to keep it private, they shared it to the entire world.

Conclusions:

• NEVER enter your card number, PIN, or other sensitive information on any non-SSL enabled site. ALWAYS check the "lock" icon to make sure the SSL certificate is valid.


• ALWAYS check the URL in the address bar to make sure you are visiting the right website.


• ALWAYS use Firefox for browsing the web. It is less vulnerable to address bar hijacking attacks, and shows the address on a yellow background whenever you are visiting a secure site.

Google Maps added smooth zooming

Finally! Google Maps has added smooth zooming features. The zoom is not "quite" smooth yet, still it's better than nothing. Check it out.

BlackBerrys to get WiFi this year, too

I was just saying that WiFi is the key for the expansion of Mobile Web 2.0 software... Nokia, Sony-Ericsson and Motorola have already announced or released WiFi phones, and now it's time for Blackberry.

Link

WiFi is the key...

... to wide-spread adoption of Mobile Web 2.0 software. The presence of WiFi features in mobile will get people free internet access through public hotspots, instead of paying large bills to the operators. In turn, the operators will lower the prices for the paid services (3G/UMTS/HSDPA) and this will open the way to a new round of mobile applications that can concentrate on providing enhanced functionality, while downloading all the data needed using the internet.

Major phone manufacturers have released this year a few phones with WiFi, and more are coming soon. I'm not talking about Windows Mobile-based PDA/smartphone hybrids, that have had WiFi for some time, I'm talking about "normal-looking" phones. Nokia has the 6136, E60, E61, E70, N80, N91, N92, N93 coming this summer, Sony-Ericsson has the P990, Motorola has the A910 and has just announced the Q.

Currently, the prices for internet access set by the mobile operators are quite high, around $0.5-$1/MB, with flat rates around $50-$100/month. They probably consider it a premium service, especially if it goes through a fast connection — EDGE/234kbps or 3G/UMTS/384kbps are usual these days in GSM networks in Europe. I'm sure this will change soon, even if low-mid-end phones don't get WiFi yet — high-end phone owners are the ones using most internet features and paying the most for them.

What do you get when you search for Google on Google?

After following a referrer in my web server logs, I noticed this: Search for "Google" with the language set to English but cr=countryRO (only pages in Romania). Guess who's #3 in the results, immediately under Google.ro?

Google Maps satellite imagery update

As expected, Google has updated Maps to contain the latest high-res satellite imagery available in Google Earth v4. Many places of the world are now available in high-res, for example Dubai, Manila or South America. Mobile GMaps was also updated to support the new images.

Link

Google testing More Info button in SERPs

Google is testing a new "Click for more information" button in search results. Clicking on the "+" button will expand the search result with a few lines containing more information and a Search Site form. See the screenshots below.

Searching for "Google":

Google Earth expanded:

Google expanded:

Search results for "hotels":

Note: In case you're wondering about the "Save" and "History" links, those are added by the Customize Google Firefox extension.

Nokia merging with Siemens?

This just in.

Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG are expected to announce Monday that they are combining their phone equipment units in a deal valued at $31.5 billion, according to a media report Sunday.

But wait a minute... wasn't the mobile division of Siemens sold to Benq a year ago? Well, phone equipment units are much more than just mobiles, Siemens has a strong position in landline phone equipments here in Europe. Although this is announced as a merger, the new business will be based in Finland and Nokia will control the board.

Mobiles of the future

Just look at these phone ideas... They were created by some design students in London sponsored by Nokia. If that's how phones will look in 2015, I just hope there will still be around some of the "ancient" models like the N-Series.

Link