October 30, 2013

Report: NSA broke into Yahoo, Google data centers


WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, the Washington Post reported, citing documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Left: This undated photo provided by Google shows a Google data center in Hamina, Finland. The Washington Post is reporting Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, that the National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world. The Post cites documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with officials. (AP Photo/Google)



According to a secret accounting dated Jan. 9, 2013, NSA sends millions of records every day from Yahoo and Google internal networks to data warehouses at the agency's Fort Meade, Md., headquarters. In the last 30 days, field collectors had processed and sent back more than 180 million new records - ranging from "metadata," which would indicate who sent or received emails and when, to content such as text, audio and video, the Post reported Wednesday on its website.

The new details about the NSA's access to Yahoo and Google data centers around the world come at a time when Congress is reconsidering the government's collection practices and authority, and as European governments are responding angrily to revelations that the NSA collected data on millions of communications in their countries. Details about the government's programs have been trickling out since Snowden shared documents with the Post and Guardian newspaper in June.

The NSA's principal tool to exploit the Google and Yahoo data links is a project called MUSCULAR, operated jointly with the agency's British counterpart, GCHQ. The Post said NSA and GCHQ are copying entire data flows across fiber-optic cables that carry information between the data centers of the Silicon Valley giants.

White House officials and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the NSA, declined to comment, the Post said.
At Yahoo, a spokeswoman told the Post: "We have strict controls in place to protect the security of our data centers, and we have not given access to our data centers to the NSA or to any other government agency."

In a statement to the Post, Google said it was "troubled by allegations of the government intercepting traffic between our data centers, and we are not aware of this activity." Getting free access to Google's data center traffic means the NSA has bypassed Google's "gold standard" security, the Post said.

The MUSCULAR project documents state that this collection from Yahoo and Google has led to key intelligence leads, the paper said.

Source: http://apnews.myway.com//article/20131030/DA9OKF003.html

October 22, 2013

Find Out Who’s Eating Your Bandwidth With These Tips




On Windows
Click….wait. Click….wait. Click….ARG! Sound familiar? That’s the sound of someone running out of Internet bandwidth.


Click….wait. Click….wait. Click….ARG! Sound familiar? That’s the sound of someone running out of Internet bandwidth.

A lot of things can drain away the capacity of that pipe that connects your computer to the Internet. It could be other people or devices on your network, or it could even be malicious applications or services running on the PC itself. The problem can get so bad that some people will toss out their computer and buy a new one.
It doesn’t have to be that way. While the problem could be coming from anywhere, it isn’t impossible to troubleshoot if you know where to look, what tools to use, and what to do when you find the culprit. In this article, I’m going to give you a hand and walk you through the process of tracking down that bandwidth hog and shutting him down.

Track Down The Bandwidth Bandit Via Your Router

You could start just about anywhere when it comes to isolating the bandwidth hog on your network or inside your computer, but in order to grab at the low-hanging fruit, it’s best to start with your network. A few of the solutions below can focus in on a culprit quickly and resolve your problems immediately. So why waste time troubleshooting your own computer before canceling out the external issues as a possibility?
The first and quickest way to check what’s connected to your Internet through your router is the DHCP Client table. Each router is a little different, so you may need to search for which menu the table comes under. For Linksys, it’s typically under the “Status” Tab, and then the “Local Network” menu item.


stolen-bandwidth1
Next, just click the “DHCP Client Table” button, and that’ll take you to a list of all clients that are currently logged into your network. Are there any there that you don’t recognize? If so, there could potentially be a neighbor that’s drawing out much of your bandwidth.


stolen-bandwidth2


All you have to do to put an end to it is click on the “Delete” button to the right of that client. Just be careful not to inadvertently delete one of your own clients, because to reconnect to the network with that device, you may need to re-enter your security password again. Not a big deal, just a hassle.

Use Third Party Utilities To Unravel Bandwidth Problems

Another option is to turn to software tools that can reach out and monitor devices on your network. One of those utilities is a free app called Capsa, which Matt actually mentioned in his Guide to Home Networking.
Capsa is really impressive, and it’s hard to believe that it’s free software. Running Capsa, you can see traffic on your network and associated data transfer rates to and from the various hosts, which you can find under the “Protocol” tab once you press “Start” on the main welcome screen.


stolen-bandwidth3


This is even better organized on the IP Endpoint tab, which lines up all of the hosts in one area and then in the lower pane, shows you all of the remote IP connections of the host you selected in the top pane. By the way, this is a great way to check out what your kids are up to on your network without actually installing monitoring software on their computer.


stolen-bandwidth4


Capsa is by far my favorite. This is similar to using another bandwidth monitoring app I covered recently called NetworkMiner, except that Capsa is less about network hacking and packet sniffing, and more about monitoring your network for activities and different traffic protocols. Either application would serve you well, though.

Find Malware Or Software That Is Dogging Down Your Internet

The other possibility is that it isn’t anything on your network at all that’s causing the bandwidth crunch, but instead something running right inside of your PC itself. Old computers are notorious for getting infected with little applications called “bots” that quietly run in the background, connect to some remote server, and silently send out spam emails to hundreds or thousands of email addresses a day. That’s just one example. Malicious software can consume your bandwidth in many different ways.
The way to identify those issues is by reviewing all of your network connections and identifying any that look unusual. You can do this by clicking Start -> Run and typing “CMD” and pressing Enter. When you get the command window up, type “netstat -o”.


stolen-bandwidth5


This shows all open network connections on your computer. Depending on what you have open, this list can take a while to finish, and could scroll off the screen, so you might even append a “>>network.log” to the end of the command to log it to a text file.
Keep an eye on any strange http or IP addresses in the third column, and note the PID for those from the list. To identify that application, open up Task Manager (start->run->”TaskMgr”) and go to the services tab.


stolen-bandwidth6


Locate the PID on the list to find the problem child. If you see any PID value that has lots of open network connections and it’s related to a service you don’t recognize or that you didn’t realize was running on your computer, stop the service and see what happens to your Internet performance. This is a good way to stumble upon a bandwidth hog with just a little bit of work.
By the way, if you didn’t know, you can also see the PID values of each process running on your computer by going into the Processes tab, clicking the “View” menu item, select columns, and check off the box for PID.


stolen-bandwidth7


You’re bound to find the culprit between services and processes that have open network connections!

Hone In On The Culprit With The Windows Resource Monitor

In fact, while you’re in the Task Manager, to get to another bandwidth troubleshooting tool, click on the “Performance” tab, and then click on the “Resource Monitor” button at the bottom.


stolen-bandwidth8


The resource monitor is one of the most powerful tools available in your network troubleshooting arsenal, in my opinion.


stolen-bandwidth9


Just one quick glance at the send/receive bandwidth values under the Network panel shows me that Kaspersky is really the biggest bandwidth consumer at the moment, followed closely by Chrome. This could indicate that the antivirus software is performing a database update. What you shouldn’t see at the top of the list is some executable file that you’ve never heard of.

Reclaim Your Bandwidth By Removing Malware

Stopping benign software from clogging up your bandwidth is one thing, but removing malware from your computer is a whole different story. That’s why we dedicated an entire guide to malware removal and published a detailed article on the steps to take after discovering malware. Once you managed to rid yourself of  the nasty hijackers, you might struggle with the malware leftovers, like changed Internet or browser settings. All this can be fixed, but if you don’t ever want to go through this experience again, read up on our common sense tips to avoid catching malware in the first place.


Kinds of Malware

Take Your Bandwith Into Your Own Hands

As you can see, there are plenty of tools and tricks to track down the offender and recover that precious bandwidth. You don’t need to suffer silently. You can fight back.
Have you ever used any of the tips or tools above to identify a bandwidth thief on your network or computer? Share your own experiences and advice in the comments section below!

Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/find-out-whos-eating-your-bandwidth-with-these-tips/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=2012-10-22

October 16, 2013

HTC One Max Review (from Engadget.com)

HTC One Max review (Engadget.com)


HTC One Max review


The debate around giant smartphones is over. Manufacturers like Samsung, Sony and LG have amply demonstrated that it's possible to build a pocketable, phone-like device with a screen bigger than five inches. Now it's HTC's turn. But instead of re-imagining the much-praised One for this new category of device, HTC's designers have mostly just cloned it, while adding a drop of Miracle-Gro to produce a 1080p panel that measures 5.9 inches diagonally, versus the One's 4.7 inches.
The result is the One Max, a product that carries over some good things from the One while also finding room for a few notable extras like a fingerprint scanner and expandable storage. At the same time, it also introduces some major snags -- not least of which are the its intimidating size and weight. The job ahead of us is to somehow find the upper body strength to weigh it all up.

HTC One Max review

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39 Photos

Hardware

We need to kick things off with an unfortunate disclaimer: The device we're looking at here was not final, but rather a very late-stage factory sample -- one of the first units off the assembly line. HTC gave it to us on the premise that it was worthy of being reviewed, so we expected it to be virtually immaculate. It didn't quite turn out that way.
Our sample unit is coming apart at the seams. The removable back cover doesn't fit properly; the power button often jams; there's a visible gap between the display and the bezel on the right-hand side, and the optional $90 Power Flip Case looks as if it was designed for some other phone, because its front flap fails to fully cover the One Max's enormous display. As a result, this review can't be considered final until we get a chance to play with an actual in-store device and post an update, which we hope to do when the One Max officially launches in the UK at the end of this week. We're still waiting to hear from HTC on SIM-free pricing, but one retailer as it on sale at £600 ($952) in the UK. We've also been told that tariff pricing on Vodafone UK will come to £19 on the 3G £47 tariff or free on the £52 4G equivalent tariff -- making the One Max slightly more expensive than Sony's Z Ultra and barely any cheaper than Samsung's Galaxy Note 3.

Build quality and design

HTC One Max review it's time to work those arms
Even forgetting about the build quality issues and starting with a clean slate, it's hard to find much good to say about the HTC One Max's design. The One's singular, expertly crafted block of anodized aluminum has been replaced by an undignified white polycarbonate band that keeps the aluminum back and front sides of the phone joined together -- kind of like elastic holding up saggy underwear. The result is even less One-like than the One Mini, which also has a white band but wears it better due to the fact it has a neater, non-removable back.
Perhaps this is why we feel a pang of guilt about the One Max's design woes. Having badgered HTC for the past two years to include microSD expansion, the company has finally given us what we want -- and this loss of build quality comes as a direct result. We refuse to take all the blame, however, since Sony has managed to deliver microSD slots in its latest phones without having a removable back cover. We wish HTC had managed something similar here.
And then there's the issue of size. Samsung's Note 3 (151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3mm) and Sony's Xperia Z Ultra (179.4 x 92.2 x 6.5mm) offset their big screens with tiny waistlines or bezels, but the One Max makes no such effort: its front-facing BoomSound speakers sit loud and proud along the top and bottom of the display, bringing the length to 164mm (around 6.5 inches). The curved back panel, so elegant as part of the smaller One, brings the thickness to 10.3mm along its spine, which feels every bit as thick as it sounds.
HTC One Max review
HTC has thankfully retained the lovely etched metal volume rocker from the original One. It's also applied the same design to the power button, which it's sensibly moved to the right-hand side of the device, leaving the hard-to-reach top edge for just the IR transmitter and 3.5mm headphone jack. Even so, one-handed operation should be considered unlikely -- verging on impossible -- due to the fact the Android notifications pull-down can't be reached with a thumb, and the phone's 7.65-ounce weight (217g) makes it seriously unwieldy. (In comparison, the Note 3 weighs 5.93oz and the Xperia Z Ultra hits the scales at 7.48.)
Turning the handset around, we see a set of pogo pins (which you use to attach the power case), the f/2.0 lens belonging to the 4MP "UltraPixel" camera, the flash module and, just underneath, the square-shaped fingerprint scanner -- which deserves a few paragraphs all its own. You can detach the spring-loaded back cover with a tiny lever on the side of the phone, and upon doing so, you'll have access to the aforementioned microSD slot and a micro-SIM slot as well.
The battery is non-removable, since the Max takes advantage of the same pyramid-style component design we've enjoyed on the One, Butterfly series and Windows Phone 8X. Finally, like most large smartphones, it doesn't come with a stylus in the box, but HTC will offer one outside Europe and the US. Don't worry, you're not missing much here. It's just one of those typical capacitive pens that lack pressure sensitivity, and bizarrely, it doesn't work on several other phones -- not even the One.

Fingerprint scanner

HTC One Max review it's time to work those arms
So, this scanner works. Just about. You have to be really careful to swipe your fingers in a "natural" manner and direction during the software's training process (the scanner asks you to swipe each finger four times) -- in other words, not the way it's shown in the instructions. After a few days of practice, we got the process down to a couple of seconds and we achieved a hit rate of 80 to 90 percent -- not enough to remove the occasional time-wasting failure, which sends you to a password login screen.
A big part of the frustration is that you can't really see or feel the scanner to position your finger on it properly. If you change your grip on the phone, or if you put it in a case, you have to guess at a way to adjust your swipe to hit the scanner at exactly the right angle. Equally, it's not obvious how the thing works -- it doesn't technically "scan" an image of your fingerprint, but instead measures the capacitance of your skin to create a unique signature. HTC points out that this should minimize security fears, because it says it's impossible to create a law enforcement-style print from the capacitance signature, and much like the Touch ID component on the iPhone 5s, your fingers don't get stored in the cloud.
HTC One Max review it's time to work those arms
HTC approaches its fingerprint reader in a unique way compared to Touch ID; you can store up to three fingers (or other parts of your body, we presume) and you can assign a quick launch shortcut to each individual digit. Thus, you could swipe your thumb to open the camera, left index finger for messaging and perhaps your right pinky for Gmail. You can also choose to have your fingers simply open to the home screen, if that's all you need. This additional customization is a nice touch, though we'd like the Max to store even more fingers.
Overall, the fingerprint scanner could work better; it's not quite as intuitive as Apple's Touch ID, and we'd happily have given it up in exchange for something more useful, like optical stabilization in the camera module. (More on that in a bit.)

HTC One Max
Dimensions 164.5 x 82.5 x 10.29mm (6.48 x 3.25 x 0.41 inches)
Weight 7.65 ounces (217g)
Screen size 5.9 inches (373 ppi)
Screen resolution 1,920 x 1,080
Screen type Super LCD 3
Battery 3,300mAh (non-removable)
Internal storage 16/32GB (around 10GB free on 16GB model)
External storage MicroSDXC, up to 64GB
Rear camera 4MP stills (1/3-inch sensor, f/2.0 lens with 28mm equiv. focal length)
Front-facing cam 2.1MP stills, 1080p video
Video capture 1080p
NFC Yes
Radios HSPA+ (EMEA and Asia: 850/900/1900/2100 up to 42 Mbps, Sprint and Verizon 850/900/1900/2100 up to 14.4 Mbps); 3G CDMA (Sprint and Verizon: 800/1900); LTE (EMEA and Asia: 800/900/1800/2100/2600; Sprint: 1900; Verizon 700)
Bluetooth v4.0 with aptX
SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
CPU 1.7GHz quad-core
GPU Adreno 320
RAM 2GB
Connectivity MHL, microUSB 2.0, USB OTG, WiFi Direct, DLNA, IR
WiFi Dual-band, 802.11a/ac/b/g/n
Wireless Charging No
Operating system Android 4.3 (with HTC Sense 5.5 skin)

Display and audio

HTC One Max review it's time to work those arms
At last, some good news. HTC's Super LCD 3 panel is still the best in its class, and the best on the whole market if, like us, you prefer the natural colors of an LCD display to the over-saturated appearance of an AMOLED panel. The Xperia Z Ultra's display, which is one of Sony's best efforts so far (and a very good panel in general), is left behind in terms of viewing angles, contrast and outdoor visibility, if not color accuracy.
Paired with the BoomSound speakers, which we believe to be feedback-equipped NXP circuits inside expanded speaker boxes, the HTC One Max delivers a perfect video-watching experience. Nothing comes close except perhaps the One, which also offers great entertainment despite the smaller screen.
Headphone output from the One Max is nice and vibrant, and it doesn't lack volume even with relatively high-impedance cans. Fortunately the whole Beats gimmick has disappeared, this being HTC's first release since it announced that it's parting ways with Dr. Dre and his outfit. If you want a certain equalizer setting, which is effectively all Beats ever provided, there are numerous apps that facilitate it -- even Spotify now offers EQ options.
Finally, a quick but important caveat: before you invest in the $90 Power Flip cover, make sure it will accept your headphones. The wide 3.5mm plug on our AKG K551s wouldn't push all the way in, rendering them unusable.

Camera

HTC One Max review it's time to work those arms
If you haven't already heard about HTC's "UltraPixel" technology, the rudiments of it are simple: by crowding fewer pixels onto the sensor, it's possible to get superior performance in low light -- but at the expense of high-res images that can be cropped and zoomed. The addition of an f/2.0 lens and some low-strength optical image stabilization in the original One gave it competitive imaging, albeit not in the same league as a camera-focused phone like the Xperia Z1 or Lumia 1020.

HTC One Max sample stills

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39 Photos
With the One Max, HTC really should have improved the OIS to ensure its new phone stayed relevant. Instead, it removed OIS completely, leaving us with a predictable, middle-of-the-road UltraPixel camera that fails to stand out among the ever-improving competition. It's not bad at stills, especially if you're comparing it to another non-stabilized camera such as on an iPhone, but nor is it anything special. Comparing the low-light shot below with an equivalent image from the HTC One, there's barely any noticeable difference -- the HTC One's stabilization apparently didn't kick in to allow a longer shutter with reduced ISO and noise, so the One Max wasn't left at a disadvantage.
DNP HTC One Max review if it doesn't work, you can always hit someone with it
DNP HTC One Max review if it doesn't work, you can always hit someone with it
Next up, a quick comparison of a night-time shot, which shows how much further ahead the Lumia 1020 is in terms of camera technology. In this instance, the Lumia's advantage stems partly from its OIS, which allowed the shutter to stay open more than twice as long without introducing shake, but also from the impact of pixel blending, since the Lumia reduces noise by producing a 5MP still from a 41MP original -- something the Xperia Z1 can do too.
HTC One Max review
HTC One Max review
As 20MP and even 40MP sensors become more common, the act of pinch-zooming into a photograph to reframe it or show someone a particular part of a scene will become more common, and that just isn't possible with a 4MP UltraPixel image. If HTC had found room to increase the sensor size and the resolution up to 6MP or 8MP, we'd be a lot more excited about it.
HTC One Max review
One strong point of HTC's offering is its camera app, which is extremely fast and intuitive to use. Snapping off a photo feels instantaneous, and holding the shutter button shoots up to ten full-res shots per second. That speed is also apparent with the smooth HDR capture and processing, which takes two exposures and overlays them. Finally, just as on the One mini, the Max also offers the option to lock exposure and focus.
Video quality was bog-standard. The lack of OIS really hurts here, because it means that camera shake will consume a large and unfair portion of the available bit rate. This bit rate averages a healthy 2.7 MB/s (21.6 Mbps), so the resulting footage isn't awful, but you can see how it breaks down slightly in our sample video when we point it at the flowing water of the River Thames -- hand-shake coupled with the detail of the waves was too much for it. The quality of the audio recording isn't as good as on the original One, however, possibly due to the patent dispute with Nokia forcing a change of spec, and wind noise was noticeable in our recording. Finally, we wanted to test autofocus speed, but -- as you'll see from the clip -- a bug somehow prevented this from working while a video was being captured. Hopefully HTC will be able to fix this before the official launch.

Software

HTC One Max review SW
While the hardware alone will struggle to convince the masses, the One Max attempts to make up for it with its software, and we'd say it's a job almost well done. As the number suggests, Sense 5.5 -- based on Android 4.3 -- is essentially a beefed-up version of the UI that helped popularize the One, packing some new features as well as significant enhancements. The most obvious change is that the home screen now offers an extra line of icons both vertically and horizontally, but that's as far as it goes in terms of making use of the larger display -- there's no particular feature that enhances single-hand usage, nor is there a multi-window mode to allow true multitasking. Compared to the likes of the Vivo Xplay, Sony Xperia Z Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Oppo N1, we feel that with the One Max -- which is heavier than the aforementioned devices -- HTC missed a big opportunity to make its large form factor more usable or unique.
On the bright side, Sense 5.5 on the One Max gives us a sneak peek at what to expect when the One and One mini receive software updates of their own. One of the handier features is the "Do not disturb" mode, which can be toggled from the pull-down shortcuts tray to block calls and mute notifications (you can also add contacts to an exceptions list). BlinkFeed, a feature that's either loved or loathed by users, aims to please a wider audience by supporting RSS feeds (the XML links of which can be added from browsers), as well as Google+, keyword-based custom topics, multiple regions in the same feed, read later and offline reading. But if you insist, you can now simply turn off BlinkFeed with the top-left button on the home screen editor page (pinch anywhere on a home screen to toggle).
HTC One Max review SW
We're most impressed with the new Gallery app, which now offers a more intuitive interface for both browsing and creating video highlights. Like before, you can browse photos by automatically generated events or by albums, but now you can swipe horizontally to jump from one category to another, instead of having to pick from a drop-down menu. What's gone is the Friends category (which, to be honest, we barely used), but in return you gain a page that shows all your online HTC Shares, so that you can better manage your 250MB of storage space as well as comments, which is itself a new feature. With each HTC Share taking up about 30MB to 50MB of space, we'd still prefer a larger storage option in order to have more permanent cloud content -- it's more fun than having plain clips on the usual video sites. (As an aside, Max users will all receive 50GB of free storage space on Google Drive.)
Folks who are familiar with Sense 5 will need to get used to the new video highlights editor in Sense 5.5, but once you get the hang of it, it'll become your new time-waster. On top of the new interface that lets you preview the assembled clips without going full screen, there's now a new theme engine that can time its video transitions according to the beat of either the default theme music or your own music tracks. As a bonus, your video highlights can now go beyond the old 30-second limit if you use your own music, plus there's also an option to sort the clips in chronological order, something we needed badly in Sense 5. With these enhancements, we indulged ourselves in spending more time playing with different combinations for our video highlights.
Last but not least, you'll find several familiar apps bundled with Sense 5.5, including SenseTV to go with the One Max's infrared blaster, the self-explanatory Kid Mode, the driver-friendly Car app UI, Stocks and Polaris Office 5. What used to be Notes is now Scribble, which has lost sync capability with Evernote (apparently users prefer using Evernote's own app, anyway), but gained some themes and drawing effects.

Performance and battery life

HTC One Max review it's time to work those arms
Very little has changed in the processor department since the advent of the One, which means the One Max is very much a mid-cycle addition to the family rather than a new flagship. It sticks with the tried-and-true Snapdragon 600, which mostly retreats into the background and only very rarely provides any cause for complaint. Compared to Snapdragon 800 devices like the LG G2, Xperia Z Ultra or Galaxy Note 3, the primary difference is in the load times for games and other big applications. Even on a relatively simple game like Wordament, the One Max's load time was at least a couple of seconds longer than that on a Snapdragon 800 phone.

HTC One Max Xperia Z Ultra Galaxy Note 3
Quadrant 2.0 11,973 18,966 21,360
Vellamo 2.0 2,568 2,957 2,501
AnTuTu 4 26,059 N/A 35,788
SunSpider 1.0 (ms, lower is better) 1,173 431 1,103
GFX Bench 2.7 HD Offscreen (fps) 15 23 26
CF-Bench 29,137 31,702 24,653
Call quality and stability was fine on both EE and Vodafone networks in London. Reception strength was, if anything, slightly better than on some other devices. The One Max was able to get a reliable bar off EE LTE even in spots where our Xperia Z1 was occasionally forced to revert to HSPA+. And even with this single bar of reception, we managed 17Mbps down and 5Mbps up, which is pretty good. On Vodafone's HSPA+ network, we got 4.3Mbps down and 1.1Mbps up with a couple of bars of reception, which is on a par with other phones containing the same SIM in the same location.
As for battery life, we have something to celebrate: on an HSPA+ network, the 3,300mAh battery easily gave us enough juice for a day of heavy use. After 10.5 hours of calls, camerawork, gaming and lots of WiFi downloads, we still had 27 percent remaining. On a day of light use, with just a few calls and a bit of gaming, and with no charging overnight, the phone still had 14 percent of battery after 40 hours of use. This was partly helped by the default Power Saver setting kicking in when the battery indicator turns yellow -- this feature clocks down the CPU, reduces screen brightness, turns off vibration feedback and turns off the data connection while the screen is off. Add the 1,200mAh battery cover (shown above) and you should easily make it through two days without issue, provided you can stand lugging the thing around for that long.
Finally, on our standard looped-video rundown test, with WiFi on (but not connected) and data coming in over HSPA+, the phone lasted 12 hours and 50 minutes -- quite a feat considering the size of the screen. It's worth pointing out that the LG G2, with its Snapdragon 800 chip and a 10 percent smaller battery, managed 16 hours in the same test. Then again, it does have a significantly smaller screen. (Note: we'll update this post soon with the One Max's battery life on LTE, to allow for a cleaner comparison with the Note 3.)

Wrap-up

HTC One Max review it's time to work those arms
Big though it may be, the One Max is still overshadowed by our expectations. It should have taken things further than the One, but instead it merely attempts to cash in on the One's reputation by allowing HTC to claim that it has a "family" of One devices -- devices that in reality have little in common with each other beyond their superficial appearance. The One Max should have had a better, optically stabilized camera; it should have future-proofed itself with a Snapdragon 800 processor; and it should have been physically more manageable -- perhaps with a 5.5-inch touchscreen to compensate for the size of the BoomSound speakers, and definitely with a thickness of less than 10mm.
Why did none of this happen? Well, we actually put these questions to HTC -- one of the most open and friendliest manufacturers in this business -- and on some points it simply didn't have an answer. On other points, the implicit answer seemed to be that the One Max is a mid-term addition rather than a new flagship, perhaps primarily designed to cater for an Asian niche, and so it was never going to be the target of big investment. By contrast, the phone does require a big investment from the customer, given its premium price, so we can't recommend it over the Note 3 or the Z Ultra.
Then again, if the build quality issues we experienced get fixed in the retail unit, and if HTC can somehow improve the design of its Power Flip Case, the One Max should still attract a few buyers. It will especially appeal to someone, such as a frequent flyer, who wants a big screen and big battery specifically for the purpose of consuming video and music, at the expense of other requirements. If that's you, and if you can find the One Max for a decent price, it's worth taking a look.
Richard Lai and Brad Molen contributed to this review.Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/15/htc-one-max-review/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000589

October 15, 2013

The Best Android Antivirus Apps -PCMAG


Android is the most popular operating system on the planet. It powers everything from handsets in Korea, to Kindle Fires in Oslo, to video game consoles in New York. But on the Internet, success encourages attacks. That's why we've assembled this list of the best Android security apps for 2013.


What We Look For
The great news for Android security is that when it comes to malware, detection rates are sky-high. At PC Mag, we use the testing results from independent labs to evaluate malware. According to AV-Test, the average detection rate in August was 95.2 percent. Which is great, because the number of malicious apps is exploding.
With detection rates so high, we look to other issues for a big part of our evaluations. Design and ease of use, for instance, are critical. Extra features, like back up, call-blocking, anti-theft, and so forth are great features that really help users. Additionally, we look at how security apps impact user experience, such as how long it takes to complete a malware scan.
We also look at how those features are implemented. For instance, most security apps will remotely lock your device but unfortunately some allow you to continue to interact with your device even when it's locked. That's something our readers should know before they make a purchase.


Do You Need Security?
The question of whether or not security apps are "worth it" is one I go over a lot in my head. While all the reports that I see indicate that Android malware is rising, it's usually limited in how it can attack devices. It wasn't long ago that a security expert told me that Android security was a success story compared to the madness of PC security in the 1990s.
But there are some indisputable benefits to security apps. Theft and loss, which are by far the most common and most immediate threats to your phone and its data, can be drastically reduced. And if malware seems too unlikely to be a threat, remember that simply being on a phone or a tablet doesn't make phishing emails (or SMS, or Facebook messages, and so on) any less dangerous.
These days, you wouldn't use a Windows computer without AV software simply because of the risks out there. Android isn't as tasty a target (yet), but security apps will keep you from becoming a target and will give you valuable tools that just make owning an Android better.

FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP
avast!
avast! Mobile Security & Antivirus (for Android)

Free
avast! brings an enormous kitchen sink app, with extensive anti-theft tools, more remote SMS commands than anyone else, and top-tier malware protection. While its lockscreen is not as secure as I'd like, the price plus the sheer number of features make it an easy choice for those who want great protection without breaking the bank. Read the full review ››


bitdefender logo
Bitdefender Mobile Security and Antivirus 1.2.3 (for Android)

$9.95 per year
Bitdefender's mobile security app is a pragmatic product, with a reasonable annual cost and carefully pruned list of features. It uses a unique cloud-based scanning system, and can scan your entire phone in about ten seconds. While it also scans each app upon download, it can't perform scans without an Internet connection. A recent update added support for Bitdefender's Clueful app reputation service. Read the full review ››



Lookout Security & Antivirus Premium (for Android) 8.13

$29.99 per year, $2.99 per month
Lookout gets a lot of points in my book for being entirely mobile, and focused on good user design. They also have great detection scores, and are very responsive—sometimes updating their app to address new Android threats before Google has the chance to close a vulnerability. Read the full review ››



Kaspersky Mobile Security (for Android)

$14.95
Kaspersky delivers a solid product with their mobiles security offering. It provides the full slate of anti-theft tools, new privacy settings, top-rated malware protection, and some unique features that allow you to keep some information hidden on your device. I particularly liked the app's secure lockscreen, and the ability to perform either a full system restore or to simply remove personal data. Read the full review ››



Trend Micro Mobile Security & Antivirus 3.0 (for Android)

$29.99 per year
Trend Micro seemed bent on not only delivering quality malware protection, but more options than any other service. The app has good malware scores, anti-theft features, SMS/call blocking, and some parental controls among others. Interestingly, when wiping the device you select how much to remove from the phone but trigger the wipe remotely. However, it lacked a spy cam feature and its lockscreen left me concerned. Read the full review ››


Norton logo
Norton Security antivirus

$29.99 per year
This app works with Norton 360, giving you total protection for all your devices. It has high scores for malware detection, includes call and sms blocking along with the typical list of features. Unfortunately, a remote system restore was not among the anti-theft options. Read the full review ››


McAfee Antivirus & Security

$2.99 per month, $29.99 per year
I was very impressed by McAfee's detection scores and numerous extra features, which includes robust backup options for premium subscribers. With it you can back up your SMS messages, call log, contacts, and the media files on your device. I also liked the fine-grain controls for wiping my device with McAfee and the different profiles for controlling access to apps. Besides a problematic lockscreen, McAfee is a very strong mobile security app. Read the full review ››


bitdefender
Bitdefender Anti-Theft

$3.95 per year
If you don't want to pay for the malware protection of Bitdefender, but you do want the anti-theft features, Bitdefender Anti-Theft will let you secure your phone at a bargain-basement price. Using a webportal or extensive SMS commands, this app will keep you in control if of your phone even after it has been stolen. Read the full review ››


android logo
Android Device Manager

Free
Google's take on Apple's excellent Find My iPhone, Android Device Manager offers baseline security for your Android device. It's not as complete as other products however, and won't allow you to lock a device, activate the camera, or message your lost phone. It's good, but more of a compliment or back up for an existing solution. Read the full review ››


LastPass Password Manager Premium
LastPass Premium Password Manager

$1 per month
With LastPass, you can create and manage unique, complex passwords to make yourself just a little more secure. Best of all, premium account holders can sync their passwords between mobile devices and their computers. The interface is outdated, and a bit tricky to get the hang of, but it's an invaluable service. Read the full review ››

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2425153,00.asp