True Caller hacked, 1 million Indians’ data at risk

Global phone directory app True Caller has been hacked by activist group Syrian Electronic Army (SEA). The hacking group announced this in a post on Twitter, along with an image that showed details of some users of the app.

Syrian Electronic Army broke the news via a tweet saying, "Sorry @True Caller, we needed your database, thank you for it." The hackers openly released True Caller's database host ID, username and password via another tweet.

True Caller app is available on Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Symbianplatforms. The app's databases have access codes to Face book, Twitter, LinkedIn and Gmail accounts of millions of users globally. Reports say that True Caller website went down for a while but is now back online. In June this year, True Caller announced that its user base has touched the 20-million mark, representing growth of 100% in a period of five months. It said that it has 1 million users in India in March.

The Syrian hacking collective revealed that it exploited the TrueCallerwebsite as it is based on outdated Word press platform, which gave them access to the admin panel. Speaking to E Hacking News, the SEA hackers said that they have hacked into the phone directory's servers and downloaded more than seven databases. The biggest database has data worth 450GB.

Syrian Electronic Army is behind several high profile hackings, including those of Associated Press, BBC and The Onion.

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Yahoo! Hack India to be held in Hyderabad

NEW DELHI: Programmers, developers, designers across the industry and student stop technical universities in India will gather at Hyderabad for a two-day hacking event.

Over 1,000 developers across 20 states had signed up to participate in the sixth edition of "Yahoo! Hack India"July 13, of which 250 best hackers have been selected after an entry-level coding challenge.

"These hackers will now participate in the two-day event which brings forth a series of technical workshops, followed by a nonstop 24-hour coding Hackathon on July 13 and 14," a statement said.

For the first time, Yahoo! Hack India is being organized in cyber city Hyderabad. This will be Yahoo!'s first hack event in India hosted outside Bangalore,Yahoo! has its second largest research and development centre.

Due to overwhelming response developers across India in the last five years, Yahoo! had decided to expand this hack events to cover more Indian cities over the next few years.

"This year will see two external hack events by Yahoo! in India, one in Hyderabad and another in Bangalore later in this year. The event brings together programmers, developers, designers across the industry, start ups and students the top technical universities," it said.

"Hackers team up to turn their ideas into a working prototype, or hack, as it's called in just 24 hours. It gives developers a chance to work together and build applications and product ideas scratch using market-leading technologies Yahoo! as well as other technologies, to develop something cool that can potentially solve a real-world problem that impacts Internet users," it said.

The two-day event involves a hacking competition using a great collection of new web tools, services and APIsBSE 0.00 % ( Application Programmable Interface), as well as data around the web.

Yahoo! Open Hack was started as an internal event in 2006 at Yahoo! headquarters in Sunnyvale, US with an aim to bring the Yahoo! developers together. So far, Open Hack has been hosted in seven countries with representation over 30 countries.

The first Open Hack in India was hosted way back in 2007, which was attended by 180 developers in and around Bangalore.

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First look: Google versions of HTC One, Galaxy S4

NEW YORK: Two new Android phones will look and sound familiar to those who have been paying attention to phones. That's because these two devices are replicas of Samsung's Galaxy S4 and HTC's One, except they lack most of the bells and whistles added to the original models. 

And that's a good thing.

The modifications Samsung and HTC apply to Google's Android software are meant to be improvements. But I've complained before about how the changes actually make phones more complex to use. The S4 even has an easy mode for first-time Smartphone users, an admission that the normal mode is too confounding.

Google worked with both Samsung Electronics and HTC to come out with "Google Play" editions of the hit phones. Instead of customized software Samsung and HTC, the Google phones run a pure version of Android, just as it was developed by Google.

Google lets any phone maker use its Android operating system for free. To set themselves apart competitors, phone makers often add their own touches to devices. They rearrange the menu or load additional apps. Wireless carriers also to add their own apps. Before you know it, phones are bloated with features and apps you don't want and can't get rid of.

Consider my experience with the original S4 over the weekend. As I tried to adjust the camera's flash setting, I inadvertently made some postage stamp icon pop up. That activated the camera's dual-shot mode, which snaps a shot of you with the front camera to superimpose over whatever you're shooting with the camera on the back of the phone. I didn't want that, but I couldn't figure out how to get rid of it. My friend couldn't either. So we bagged the shot. Taking photos with a phone is supposed to be fun, not a chore.

With Google's version of the S4, I get a no-frills camera that is easy to figure out. It lacks gimmicks such as dual shots and the ability to combine several images of motion into a single shot. It offers about a half-dozen shooting modes, such as night, action and panorama, rather than the dozen or so on the original S4. But a half-dozen is about a half-dozen more than I need and use.

Google's S4 also lacks the original model's ability to pause video automatically when you look away the screen or to scroll down an article when you tilt your head. Those features may sound cool, but they often don't work properly.

The Google version of the S4 also has alarm sounds that I can actually wake up to. Samsung had substituted those sounds with soft, soothing melodies that I end up incorporating into dreams. I've overslept a few times as a result.

As for Google's version of the HTC One, you don't get a busy home screen filled with news articles and Facebook status updates your phone thinks you want to read. Instead, you get a clean page with few apps. It's up to you to add the ones you want to see and use.

Both Google phones feel spare and minimal, which is great because it makes me feel in control. If I want to constantly know the weather, it's easy to add a weather widget to the home screen of either phone. But it's not forced.

The same goes for apps. I get basic functions such as text messaging and the clock and a range of Google services such as Gmail and YouTube. If I want other apps, I can easily tap the Google Play icon to get them. With the original S4, Samsung tries to steer you into its own app store, as well as its own music and video players. You end up with too many ways to do the same things.

You might think it takes a lot of work to add the apps you want to Google's phones, but it actually takes more work to hide or turn off everything you don't need - that is, if you can at all- with Samsung's and HTC's versions.

Now for the bad news: The Google edition of the S4 sells for $649, while Google's HTC One goes for $599. You can typically get the original models for $100 to $200 through your wireless carrier with a two-year agreement. And unless you're on T-Mobile, your monthly bill won't go down just because you pay full price for the phone elsewhere.

In addition, both Google phones are compatible only with T-Mobile, AT&T and other carriers that use GSM cellular technology, not the CDMA networks used by Sprint and Verizon Wireless. The Google edition would have been great for Verizon customers who still have unlimited data plans. Verizon no longer lets you stay on that plan if you buy a subsidized phone, so you'd have to pay the full price anyway.

The Google phones are also ideal for people who want the latest Android system that Google has to offer. You'll be able to update your phone as Google releases new versions of Android. Normally, phone makers and wireless carriers updates by weeks or months, so you can only read about those new Android features.

There are a few useful Samsung and HTC add-ons that Google does bring to its versions of the phones.

Google's S4 is compatible with Samsung's S-View flip cover. Using a magnetic sensor, the phone detects when the cover is closed and switches to a special mode that gives you the current time and details about who's calling through a small window in the cover. You can answer or reject a call without flipping over the cover.

Google's HTC One, meanwhile, shares the original model's front-facing speakers, giving you great sound when you're watching a movie or listening to music. Both models also have cameras with larger sensor pixels for better low-light shots. Our tests show that the HTC One produces low-light images with less distortion than other Android phones, though images aren't particularly crisp because the resolution is lower.

There are a few things I wish Google would have brought to its phones and to Android in general.

In the original S4, the on-screen keyboard has a row of numerals to type in. With the Google S4, you have to hit a button to get another screen with numerals, then toggle back for the letters. The original S4 also has the ability to run two apps side by side in a split window. That's gone in Google's S4.

Meanwhile, the original HTC One has the ability to make calls, send texts and take photos by sliding icons the lock screen. With the Google version, you have to unlock the screen before getting icons to those functions.

On both phones, Google also adds one feature I could do without: a 360-degree panorama known as Photo Sphere. Neat as it is, it detracts what is otherwise a just-the-basics camera. It would have been better as a separate app for those who want it.

But that's no reason to shun the Google phones. The minimized feel of Google's versions underscores how busy software can detract good hardware. Take away that clutter, and you have excellent phones.

It's a bummer that you can't get the simplified phones through regular channels. You can get them only through Google's online Play store - for hundreds of dollars more.

About the Google phones

The new phones are existing Samsung and HTC phones loaded with Google's version of the Android operating system. That's the version that Google makes, before phone makers and phone carriers load Android up with their own features and apps.

These phones are good options for those who don't all the bells and whistles in the original models. They are cleaner and easier to use. But they are also more expensive, as you have to pay full price through Google's online Play store rather than a subsidized price that wireless carriers offer with two-year agreements.

These phones aren't compatible with Verizon's or Sprint's CDMA networks. If you're on AT&T, you'll be paying more for the phone without any reduction in monthly phone bills. If you're on T-Mobile, though, expect to save $20 a month, or $480 over two years. You're still paying about $70 more overall for Google's S4 and $20 more for Google's One, but it's not the hundreds of dollars you'd be paying on AT&T.

The one-time, upfront cost is $649 for Google's S4 with 16 gigabytes of storage and $599 for the One with 32 gigabytes. Both phones are available in the US only through Google's online Play store, with shipments expected by July 9.

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Infosys is my life: SD Shibulal

Despite the solid performance in first quarter of the current fiscal year, Infosys has adopted a "cautiously optimistic" stance and left its full-year growth forecast unchanged. In the third quarter of the last fiscal also, the Bangalore-based company delivered a surprisingly robust performance, only to slump back in the quarter after that.

Acknowledging the volatility in performance, in an interview with N Shivapriya and Akanksha Prasad, chief executive officer SD Shibulal cautioned against drawing conclusions about a secular trend based on a single quarter's performance. While he described analysts as "experts", Shibulal refused to comment on why they are getting Infosys estimates wrong quarter after quarter. Edited excerpts:

In the last three quarters, including this one, analyst forecasts have failed to get Infosys' performance right. In your view, why is this happening?

Our performance has been volatile in the last few quarters. Even at the end of Q3, we said that a single quarter's performance cannot be taken as a secular trend. This quarter we have done reasonably well and we have not changed our guidance. We have a few challenges which we are trying to address - high quality growth is one of them, plus there are also challenges on the cost side because salary increases will have an impact. We have to mitigate these through various methods. I do not want to comment about why analysts are getting it wrong; they are the experts. I do acknowledge that our performance has been volatile. This is one of the reasons why we are optimistically cautious and have not changed our guidance. Our guidance is a statement of fact and not a statement of hope.

Does this quarter's performance feela vindication for you?

If we look at this quarter, we have achieved 2.7% growth. On constant currency, the growth is around 3.4%, which means we lost around $40 million due to currency volatility for the quarter.

You referred to certain steps the company undertook earlier that are showing results now. What are they?

Part of the overall Infosys 3.0 strategy was to grow the consulting and system integration business, which is now strong. The second aim was to achieve balanced growth. The Business IT Services division was growing below the company's average, so we brought in a lot of focus into that segment. Our target is to bring it on a par with the company's growth rate although as a percentage of the overall revenue it may not increase because other divisions are growing faster.

What is your strategy to win large deals?

We are working on multi-tower solutions and alliancesthe one we have with IPSoft. Since business IT services is price sensitive, we need to ensure that we bring tools, automation, and operational efficiency. It is tough to balance margins and growth, but we have done it for many years and we will do it again.

What are some of the changes you are making?

There have been changes and it is part of the overall strategy. Despite competition getting aggressive and poaching people, in the last two years, we increased our sales force800 to 1,200. It depends on the way you look at the glass - half full or half empty.

For Narayana Murthy, Infosys isa middle child. What is Infosys to you?

For me, Infosys is life. Most of my life has been spent here.

With your term ending in 2015, has the company set in motion the succession planning process?

We have a nominations committee, which has the responsibility for it. They are looking at it.

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Free laptop scheme: UP govt owes HP Rs 900 crore

Four months after the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav began distributing free laptops to students, it now turns out that Hewlett Packard, the supplier, has not been paid for more than 5 lakh laptops it has so far delivered. With a Rs 900-crore bill pending, HP has threatened to stop further supplies till dues are settled, government sources said.

In June 2012, the Samajwadi Party government had announced a budget of Rs 2,721.24 crore for distributing tablets and laptops tomeritorious students of classes X and XII. Of this, while Rs 400 crore was earmarked for tablets, the remaining was to be spent on laptops.

But funds got entangled in red tape and only Rs 312 crore was released into the accounts of district magistrates, who, in turn, are responsible for releasing funds to HP representatives in districts. Even this amount, though, has not been paid in full. "There is no clarity on why there is a in the release of funds. The government has already allocated the funds.that is needed is an order for its release," a senior government functionary said.

So far, UP has taken delivery of 5,19,600 laptops, running up a total bill of Rs 998.41 crore, according to senior government sources. According to the contract inked with HP, the government is liable to pay 90% of the total cost at the time the laptops are delivered. This amount touches Rs 900 crore.

In addition, while 5% will be paid after the company finishes conducting the training and demonstration to teachers and students at tehsil or school levels, the final 5%, the contract mandates, must be settled after a one-year maintenance period.

Of these, 79,491 have been distributed to beneficiaries. HP has also created an additional inventory of 1,41,866 laptops that can be made available to the state government immediately once a purchase order is issued. Though the complete distribution pattern of the computing gadgets had to follow a seven-month delivery schedule, HP has met the delivery targets of ahead of time.

In fact, with the rate of delivery far exceeding the rate at which the gadgets are being distributed, the company has also raised concerns about the availability of storage space for the laptops.

When contacted, HP officials confirmed delivery of more than 5 lakh laptops. They, however, refused to comment on pending payments.

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Your car may soon talk to your mobile

CHENNAI: An entertainment and communication console that seamlessly connects the phone with the car? The mobile phone-enabled 'integrated' system is a given in many high-end luxury cars but after the Ford EcoSport, the trend is now finding converts in mass market cars as well. As the mobile becomes a one-stop entertainment-cum-communication device, car companies are looking at ways to extend that connectivity to the vehicle too.

Not a cheap technology, this has so far been the premise of high-end cars including the just-launched Mercedes-Benz A-Class. But after the Ford EcoSport's SYNC system, more volume car makers are starting to wonder if the technology can come to less pricey brands in India.

Said Kenichiro Yomura, president & CEO, Nissan Motor India: "We are studying that kind of possibility and will definitely try to introduce those sort of features in India. In Japan we have the 'CarWings' (vehicle telematics) system which allows you to communicate between the car and the service centre for example. We provide this option in many models in Japan because scale makes the technology affordable and we are studying to see if it will work for India as well."

Ford and Nissan aren't the only volume car brands that are looking at bluetooth and telematics as the ultimate bells and whistles for car buyers. General Motors India packs in bluetooth, USB port and an MP3 (though no telematics) player as part of its entertainment package for the Sail hatchback and notchback and the Cruze and Captiva. Vehicle telematics is already a favoured option in a number of high-end cars. The Honda CRV and Accord for instance come with bluetooth interface.

Ditto for the Mercedes-Benz A-Class on which the iPhone can be synced seamlessly offering music playback on the head unit, audio streaming and text messages are displayed in the CD display if the bluetooth message access profile (MAP) is supported by the mobile phone.

Said Mercedes-Benz MD & CEO Eberhard Kern: "The bluetooth and phone compatibility option is standard in the A Class and it allows you to play musicyour iPhone and use the contact list to make calls etc. It's a seamless integration of entertainment and communication between the phone and the car."

Car manufacturers have been tying up with software makers to integrate the mobile with the car, making the car an extension of the entertainment-cum- communication devise . Ford for instance is working with Microsoft globally which has powered its SYNC integrated communication and entertainment technology for the EcoSport. Apple reportedly announced at its developers' meet last month that it plans to link its iOS7 mobile operating system with the techentertainment systems of passenger cars.

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See, what makes your Android phone vulnerable to hackers

LONDON: A 'master key' has been reportedly discovered by a security research firm which could potentially give cyber attackers access to almost every Android phone.

According to BBC, security research firm BlueBox has discovered the loophole which is present in every version of the Android operating system released since 2009.

The bug emerges as a result of the way Android handles cryptographic verification of the programs installed on the phone

The report said that Android uses the cryptographic signature as a way to check that an app or program is legitimate and to ensure it has not been tampered with.

Jeff ForristalBlueBox and his colleagues have found a method of tricking the way Android checks these signatures so that malicious changes to the apps go unnoticed.

Forristal said that the implications of this discovery could be 'huge' as it can take over the normal functioning of the phone and control any function thereof.

Security expert Dan Wallach said that in order to catch Android users, malicious hackers would have to get their booby-trapped version of a legitimate application on to the Google Play store.

According to the report, BlueBox had reported finding the bug to Google in February.

Google denied commenting on BlueBox discovery, the report added.

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