10 Gbps USB 3.1 specification completed

The specification for 10 Gbps USB 3.1 has been finalized

10 Gbps USB transfer speeds are a step closer following completion of the new specification by the USB 3.0 Promoter Group.

First floated back in January and now going under the moniker of SuperSpeed USB 3.1, the specification promises a doubling of throughput performance compared to USB 3.0.

"The USB 3.1 specification primarily extends existing USB 3.0 protocol and hub operation for speed scaling along with defining the next higher physical layer speed as 10 Gbps," says Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman.

The announcement enables vendors to begin the work of incorporating support for USB 3.1 into their chip designs and while there is no definite time-frame for the arrival of USB 3.1, it's expected that these devices will start appearing on the market late in 2014.

While the predicted USB 3.1 transfer speed matches existing Thunderbolt technology at 10 Gbps, Thunderbolt has four lanes, so connect four Thunderbolt devices and technically you’re capable of transferring data at a rate of 40 Gbps.

Thunderbolt2 is also on the way with Intel recently announcing that it will become available by the end of the year with transfer speeds of up to 20 Gbps.

One definite advantage that USB has over its rival is that its use is far more widespread, and the boost in speed will certainly be welcomed by consumers. Whatever way you look at it, the future looks bright for transfer speed demons

6-inch Nokia Lumia 1520 to ship with massive 3400mAh battery

Your awesome smartphone’s awesomeness is often tempered by its somewhat-less-than-awesome battery. Nokia has decided that it’s going to make sure that isn’t a problem with the Lumia 1520, which will reportedly ship with a 3400mAh battery.

That’s 200mAh more than the Galaxy Note 3, and it’s even larger than the battery in the Droid Razr Maxx. It’s bordering on tablet territory, really. Of course, so is a 6-inch smartphone.

Yes, that might make the Lumia 1520 a tad on the heavy side compared to other phones on the market. Will people mind? Probably not. It’s hard to imagine anyone being surprised by a slightly-heavy 6-inch device. People will buy the Lumia 1520 because of its size–and perhaps in spite of it, if they’re looking for a device with really great standby time.

We’ll find out for sure whether the 3400mAh battery is part of the 1520′s spec sheet on September 26. That’s the date Nokia recently slapped on invitations to the tech press. The big reveal is set to go down in New York, though plenty of other details about the new Lumia have already been leaked.

The biggest Lumia yet is expected to ship with a muscularSnapdragon 800 processor, 32GB of internal storage, a full 1080p HD display (that can squeeze in more tiles than any other  Windows Phone), and a 16MP/5MP rear-facing PureView camera.

Many of these details have come from @evleaks, who’s repeatedly proven him or herself to be a highly accurate source of pre-reveal information. It all adds up to make the Lumia 1520 a seriously interesting phone… to some !!!

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Android Malware discovered in Google Play, already downloaded millions of times

Lookout has posted on their blog to inform Android users of the new malware family, named 'BadNews' that has been lurking in Google's Play Store.

According to Google Play statistics, the malware has been downloaded millions of times and can be found in 32 apps across four different developer accounts.

Marc Rogers, Principal Security Researcher at Lookout, wrote on the blog to say, "We have notified Google and they promptly removed all apps and suspended the associated developer accounts pending further investigation.

The Android malware poses as advertisements with the ability to, "send fake news messages, prompt users to install applications and sends sensitive information such as the phone number and device ID to its Command and Control (C&C) server," Lookout states.

About half of the infected apps are in Russian and BadNews was recorded as sending AlphaSMS, premium rate SMS fraud in the Russian Federation, to infected devices.

The servers have been noted in Russia, Ukraine, and one in Germany. Lookout inform Android users to make sure the Android system setting 'nknown sources' is unchecked to prevent dropped or drive-by-download app installs and to download a mobile security app, like Lookout's.

A recent annual report, published by mobile security company NQ Mobile, has estimated that Android Malware has more than doubled worldwide last year with nearly 33 million devices infected, from 11 million in 2011.

32 apps infected with malware found on Google Play store

COMPANIES WARNS APP DEVELOPERS TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THIRD PARTY CODE THEY USE IN APPS

Google has once again come under fire from security experts over its laissez-faire approach to its Play app store.

Security researchers at Lookout found 32 apps on Google Play that were infected by malware called BadNews.

The malware sends messages to premium rate text numbers. It is designed to lay dormant for weeks after being downloaded to avoid detection.

Premium rate malware is prolific in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Experts have warned that despite stronger regulation and monitoring, Western European and North American based criminals could still attempt to replicate the malware.

The malware specifically targeted Android owner in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and a number of other Eastern European customers.

Lookout said it was difficult to estimate how many handsets could have been infected before Google finally removed the apps. It estimates between two and nine million infected apps may have been downloaded.

Amongst the apps BadNews was found in were recipe generators, wallpaper apps, games, and porn apps.

All of the infected apps were released by four separate accounts. They have since been suspended.

According to Lookout, the infected apps tricked users into installing what was described as an update for either Skype or popular Russian social network Vkontakte. It then started stealing credit by sending texts to premium rate numbers.

The firm also said it was concerned that many of the developers had included the code in their apps willingly. Lookout said many had been convinced BadNews was little more than a advert network.

It urged developers to be more careful about the third party code they use in their apps.

In the past, major security companies – including Russian firm Kaspersky – have criticised Google for putting its users at unnecessary risk.