Android smartphones being shipped with pre-installed ‘Cosiloon’ malware: Report

According to Avast, thousands of Android smartphones are being shipped with adware pre-installed, including the devices from manufacturers like ZTE and Archos. Interestingly, the majority of these devices are not certified by Google. The malware is named 'Cosiloon' creates an overlay to present an ad over a webpage within the users’ browser. Avast claims that the adware has been active for at least three years, and is difficult to remove as it is installed on the firmware level and uses strong obfuscation. Whats scarier is that thousands of users are affected, and in the past one month the latest version of the adware is found in around 18,000 devices located in more than 100 countries including Russia, Italy, Germany, the UK, as well as in the U.S. The company says that it is in touch with Google who is aware of the issue and is also taking steps to mitigate the malicious capabilities. Google is working on fixing the malware's app variants on Android smartphones using internally developed techniques. Though there is Google Play Protect, the malware comes pre-installed which makes is harder to address. Google is reaching out to firmware developers to bring awareness to these concerns and encourage in taking steps accordingly. It is also unclear how ...

Huawei MediaPad M5 WaterPlay with 8-inch display, eSIM, dual rear-cameras passes through the FCC

Huawei is busy prepping to launch the MediaPad M5 tablet as the device is now spotted passing through the FCC. According to the FCC listing, it sports an 8-inches display, support for eSIM. The tablet has passed through the FCC Huawei MediaPad M5 wp; the WP might stand for WaterPlay so, it might be introduced as Huawei MediaPad M5 WaterPlay. Since it has water in the naming, it is fairly obvious that the tablet is waterproof so that would fit nicely into Huawei’s WaterPlay lineup. In terms of camera department, the tablet might feature a 13MP camera+2MP camera with bokeh effect even after taking the picture and an 8MP front camera. It also packs Harman/Kardon audio, and a fingerprint reader embedded in the home button. It sports an 8-inch Full HD display, packs 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. It will have a 4980 mAh battery too. The chipset details are unknown for now since it is expected to come with eSIM support. It measures 8mm thickness and weighs 310 grams. The tablet is expected to be launched in August, and it comes in silver-grey, champagne gold. In Japan, the tablet will be part of Docomo Dtab series, while in other places it may be ...

PayPal is now integrated as payment solution within Gmail, YouTube, Google Pay and Google Store

PayPal and Google already work together to allow users to pay via PayPal in-store, online and in-app with Google Pay and on Chrome mobile web at millions of online merchants using their PayPal accounts. Today both the companies are extending their partnership across Google ecosystem.  As a part of this partnership, users in the U.S. who add PayPal to any one of Google’s services will be able to pay across the Google ecosystem, and anywhere PayPal is supported as a payment method. It is available as a payment option across Google services like Gmail, YouTube, Google Pay and Google Store, including where Google offers peer-to-peer payments, without the user needing to log in again. Bill Ready, COO, and EVP, PayPal said: PayPal and Google Pay share common goals of creating simple payment solutions across our platforms that enable people to shop more seamlessly. We look forward to continued collaboration that helps increase conversion for merchants and gives users the flexibility, security and speed that digital payments can offer. Source

President Trump orders ZTE to pay $1.3 billion for sanctions, change management for ban to be lifted

Back in April, US Govt has banned ZTE for violating the terms of a sanctions settlement. The company was caught illegally shipping goods to Iran, the U.S said the officials. ZTE then responded and said the verdict is unfair and threatens the survival. However, Earlier this month, American President Donal Trump Tweeted and pledged to reverse course saying that President Xi of China and him are working together to give ZTE a way to get back into the business, fast. Senator Schumer and Obama Administration let phone company ZTE flourish with no security checks. I closed it down then let it reopen with high level security guarantees, change of management and board, must purchase U.S. parts and pay a $1.3 Billion fine. Dems do nothing.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2018 ...but complain and obstruct. They made only bad deals (Iran) and their so-called Trade Deals are the laughing stock of the world! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2018 This move from President Trump drew criticism from many government officials as this was the second time ZTE broke US law. However, Trump in a series of Tweets announced course action for ZTE to get the ban lifted. The company now requires purchasing U.S. parts; this move is confusing ...

Apple iOS 12 said to include new NFC features beyond payments

Apple's WWDC 2018 event is about to kickstart on June 4th where the company will be introducing the iOS 12. But before the official announcement, it is now revealed that iOS 12 will be giving some third-party developers full access to the NFC chip inside iPhones for additional features beyond just payments.  The report further says that Apple wants users to use iPhone in many more contactless interactions beyond just Apple Pay payments including hotel door key or as a virtual transit card for easier transportation. Going back in time, Apple with iOS 11 started going down this road by adding the CoreNFC framework which will allow apps to use the NFC chip as an arbitrary scanner of RFID tags. The only drawback to this NFC API is that the app must be in the foreground and the app must present a specific system modal sheet to start scanning. It is also reported that Apple is in the final stages of this feature and is already experimenting with these features in the Apple Park. Apple employees are already using their iPhones to gain access to Apple Park buildings. Some hotels already support ‘contactless’ activation of iPhones as a door key, by using low energy ...

Weekly Roundup: Samsung Galaxy J6, J8, A6, and A6+, HTC U12+, Vivo Z1, Razer Blade laptop and more

This week Samsung has introduced J6, Galaxy J8, A6, and Galaxy A6+ smartphones in India. Huawei's Honor brand has launched the Honor 7A and 7C smartphones in India. LG has announced the Q7, Q7+, and Q7α. Let's take a look at the more stuff that happened this week in our weekly roundup. Samsung has launched the Galaxy J6 and Galaxy J8, the company’s latest smartphone in the ‘J Series’ in India, as expected. The Galaxy J6 and J8 have  5.6-inch and 6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED 18.5: 9 Infinity 2.5D curved glass displays. The J6 is powered by an Octa-Core Exynos 7870 14nm SoC, while the J8 comes with Snapdragon 450 with up to 4GB of RAM. Both the phones run Android 8.0 (Oreo) with Samsung’s own UI on top. The Samsung Galaxy J6 and J8 come in Black, Gold and Blue colors. The Galaxy J6 is priced at Rs. 13,990 for the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version and the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage version costs Rs.16,490. It will be available starting from May 22nd exclusively on Flipkart as well as Samsung Shop, Paytm Mall with cashback and Rs. 1500 cashback on ICICI bank cards as well as one-time screen replacement offer.  The Galaxy J8 is priced at Rs. 18,990 and will be available from ...

Meizu M8c with 5.45-inch 18:9 display, Snapdragon 425 announced

Meizu has announced M8c, the company's latest budget smartphone and the successor of last year's  M5c in Russia. It has a 5.45-inch HD+ 2.5D curved glass screen with 18:9 aspect ratio, is powered by Snapdragon 425 with 2GB of RAM, runs Android 7.0 (Nougat), comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel camera on the front. It has a polycarbonate body, features a hybrid dual SIM slot and packs a 3070mAh battery. It doesn't have a fingerprint sensor. Meizu M8c specifications 5.45-inch (1400 x 720 pixels) HD+ 2.5D curved glass display with 450 nits brightness, 1000: 1 contrast ratio 1.4GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 425 Mobile Platform with 500MHz Adreno 308 GPU 2GB RAM, 16GB / 32GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 7.0 (Nougat) 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, f/2.2 aperture 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture Hybrid Dual SIM (nano+nano/microSD) Dimensions: 146.4x 70x 8.5mm; Weight: 140g 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS + GLONASS 3070mAh battery The Meizu M8c comes in Black, Blue, Red and Gold colors, starts at 9,990 rubles (US$ 160 / Rs. 10,900 approx.) in Russia and is expected to go on sale in other countries soon. Source