Dropbox sends password change notification to some users
In a blog post today, Dropbox’s VP of engineering Aditya Agarwal explained that the online storage company is addressing some key security concerns in the wake of some concerning incidents. Some Dropbox users saw a spike in spam messages to their registered email accounts over the past few weeks, which drove an internal investigation.
The spam emails turned out to be the result of a breach of an employee’s Dropbox account, which contained a project file with some user contact information. The employee’s account info had been stolen from a third-party website that was compromised — which points out the necessity of having password diversity among your web service accounts, rather than using the same password for all of them.
To help protect against future security issues, Dropbox is implementing some policy and technical changes immediately, and also rolling out others over the next few weeks. Two-factor authentication is one of the future changes, similar to what Google has already implemented for Gmail accounts; users will be able to validate password changes with a separate fact or via a cellphone verification pass.
In the meantime, some Dropbox users who have never changed their password or who have an easily crackable password will be getting email reminders to change their password. These emails may appear suspicious, but they are coming from Dropbox (and you should double-check, should you receive one, that you’re directed to a Dropbox reset page). When you pick a new password, you can make it extra secure by using a random generation system like Diceware — endorsed by the makers of 1Password and XKCD alike.
Continue reading Dropbox sends password change notification to some users
Dropbox sends password change notification to some users originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Apple designer Chris Stringer reveals dozens of iPhone prototypes at trial
During the Apple v. Samsung trial on Tuesday, Apple industrial designer Chris Stringer went over the company’s design ethos and revealed a number of prototype iPhone models, some of which he presented in person.
AppleInsider
Fanhattan for iOS adds HBO, NBC, more
Fanhattan is a video aggreggator with an app on the iPad and iPhone, and as of today, that app became a little more useful. The service has added HBO Go, Cinemax, NBC, and CW content to its service, which means that you can now find those videos in the Fanhattan listings and follow the links out of the app to watch them on their respective networks.
Fanhattan will also clue you in when certain shows or movies become available on all of the various streaming networks, so it sounds pretty handy indeed. The app is a free download on iOS right now.
[via The Verge]
Fanhattan for iOS adds HBO, NBC, more originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Verizon Wireless to pay fine for allegedly blocking tethering apps
Verizon Wireless has agreed to pay $ 1.25 million to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to resolve a complaint that it blocked third-party tethering applications on Android phones, the FCC said Tuesday.Apple’s Opening Court Statement Focuses on Samsung’s Radical Shift in Phone Design
While court documents filed in relation to the high-profile U.S. legal battle between Apple and Samsung have yielded a treasure trove of images of prototypes and concepts for iPhone and iPad designs, the court case is just now getting underway. Reuters reports on some of the early developments today, including opening statements from Apple’s lead lawyer outlining how the company will argue that Samsung’s radical shift in phone design was driven by its desire to copy Apple’s ideas for the iPhone.
Apple attorney Harold McElhinny started off by showing slides that featured old Samsung phones from 2006 and compared it to the Korean company’s newer smartphones from 2010.
The key question, McElhinny said, would be how Samsung moved from the old phones to “these phones.”
“As we all know it is easier to copy than to innovate,” he told the court. “Apple had already taken the risks.”
Source: Apple pre-trial court filing
Key to McElhinny’s presentation setting the stage for the trial was evidence in the form of internal Samsung documents showing that the company recognized the design challenges it faced and felt that the iPhone would be “easy to copy”.
McElhinny showed jurors an internal Samsung product analysis which said the iPhone’s hardware was “easy to copy.” Another document prepared by a Samsung executive said the company was in a “crisis of design” due to the iPhone.
Samsung has yet to make its opening statement in the case, but its filings made so far have shown how it will attempt to undermine Apple’s case by arguing that Apple had copied some of its design ideas from others and that it has refused to properly license key technologies controlled by Samsung.
Jurors in the trial face a complex task of weighing the merits of Apple’s and Samsung’s arguments on issues related to patents and trade dress infringement. IDG News Service highlights the instructions given to the jury by Judge Lucy Koh summarizing the basic allegations from each side and offering guidance on how to evaluate the evidence.
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Mountain Lion’s AirPlay Mirroring + Reflection = infinite regress fun
In case you were wondering what would happen if you took Mountain Lion‘s new AirPlay Mirroring capability and mixed it with the third-party AirPlay utility Reflection… well, it’s pretty much exactly what you would expect. Your screen turns into a live example of the barbershop effect, and the only way to get out of the infinite zoom is to quit the Reflection app.
You can see the high-res version of the image on our Flickr page. Might make for an interesting desktop picture.
Continue reading Mountain Lion’s AirPlay Mirroring + Reflection = infinite regress fun
Mountain Lion’s AirPlay Mirroring + Reflection = infinite regress fun originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Apple doesn’t rely on market research, says marketing chief Phil Schiller
In his brief time on the stand at Tuesday’s Apple v. Samsung court proceedings, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller said the company doesn’t rely on “typical” market studies to create its products.
AppleInsider
Inkling now available for iPhone
Inkling is a popular virtual textbook publisher on the iPad, and it’s recently expanded over to the web, allowing students to access their virtual textbooks from anywhere. Now, the company is adding one more platform to its repertoire: the iPhone. The Inkling app is now universal, which means you can browse, buy, and read textbooks from the iPad, the iPhone, or the iPod touch.
I don’t know how much this will add to Inkling’s business. You have to think that most students do their work on a computer or an iPad rather than on the iPhone’s relatively small screen. But then again, I’ve done quite a bit of reading on my phone while out and about, and maybe there’s an audience for academic texts in the same way. If you’re an Inkling user, you can update the app and enjoy the new version right now.
Inkling now available for iPhone originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Remains of the Day: Splitsville
One analyst thinks Apple might split its stock, The Daily splits up with some of its staff, and a writer suggests a few companies with which Apple might want to share a banana split.Amazon Cloud Player Upgraded with Scan and Match, 256 Kbps Audio
Amazon today announced a significant upgrade to its Cloud Player music service, bringing iTunes Match-like “scan and match” technology to assist users in making their entire music libraries available in the cloud. The upgraded service also mirrors iTunes Match in delivering all matched tracks at 256 Kbps, even if the user’s original material is at a lower quality.
New Cloud Player features include:
- Amazon MP3 purchases — including music that customers purchased in the past — are automatically saved to Cloud Player, which means that customers have a secure backup copy of the music they buy from Amazon, free of charge.
- Amazon scans customers’ iTunes and Windows Media Player libraries and matches the songs on their computers to Amazon’s 20 million song catalog. All matched songs – even music purchased from iTunes or ripped from CDs – are instantly made available in Cloud Player and are upgraded for free to high-quality 256 Kbps audio. Music that customers have already uploaded to Cloud Player also will be upgraded.
- Any customer with a Kindle Fire, Android device, iPhone, iPod touch, or any web browser — and soon, a Roku streaming player or Sonos home entertainment system — can play their music anywhere.
Amazon Cloud Player is available in free and paid tiers, with the free tier limited to 250 tracks, although tracks purchased from Amazon do not count against the total. Amazon’s Premium tier costs $24.99 per year and allows users to store up to 250,000 tracks in the cloud, with tracks purchased from Amazon similarly not counting toward that limit. Apple’s iTunes Match service is also priced at $24.99 per year, but currently limits users to 25,000 tracks, excluding those purchased through iTunes.
As part of the upgrades, Amazon is separating Cloud Player from its Cloud Drive service, which offers file storage in the cloud. Users with paid Cloud Drive storage plans will keep their current plan and receive free access to Cloud Player Premium for the remainder of their subscription periods. With the split in Cloud Drive and Cloud Player services, Amazon is also reducing pricing on Cloud Drive storage plans. Beyond the free 5 GB plan, users can choose from paid plans starting at $10 per year for 20 GB and moving up to a maximum of 1000 GB for $500 per year.
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