Our final edition of WIG for April is filled with news link goodness covering topics such as Google Drive for Linux is in the works, 1 in 5 Macs is harboring some type of malware, Hotmail accounts were being hacked for $20 apiece, and more.

Weekly News Links

• Ubuntu tablets, smartphones coming in 2013
  Canonical, the company behind Linux-based open source operating system (OS) Ubuntu, is reportedly in talks with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to manufacture Ubuntu-based tablet and smartphone devices. These products are expected to be available in the market by next year.
• Mozilla phone will go on sale this year
  The first smartphone to run Mozilla’s ‘Boot to Gecko’ operating system (OS) reportedly will go on sale later this year. Brazilian blog Ztop reports that Mozilla will release its debut smartphone through operator Telefonica Vivo.
• Firefox 12 released – can now update itself
  Mozilla has announced the official release of Firefox 12. In the latest release, Mozilla has included the previously announced update service for Windows that spares users the User Account Control (UAC) pop-up.
• Firefox 3.6.x reaches end of life
  As expected, the 3.6.x branch of Mozilla’s open source Firefox web browser reached its end of life on Tuesday 24 April – no further updates, including security updates and critical fixes, will be made available for the series.
• Theming update planned for Ubuntu 12.10, codenamed Quantal Quetzal
  Ubuntu 12.10, which is scheduled for release in October, will be called Quantal Quetzal. Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth announced the codename in a blog post this week that also shed some light on the feature roadmap for the next major version of the popular Linux distribution.
• Microsoft Office 15 to support ODF 1.2
  Microsoft has told attendees at the ODF Plugfest in Brussels that the next versions of Microsoft’s Office products, Office 15 and Office 365, will support Open Document Format (ODF) 1.2.
• Google Drive for Linux Is on the Way
  The Google Drive launch has been one of the big announcements of the week, but it was a fairly unequivocal disappointment for one vocal category of users: Linux users are justifiably miffed that the new cloud storage service doesn’t support the free and open source operating system.
• Google Drive comes to Chrome OS
  Chromebooks previously suffered from storage systems that were small and isolated from the cloud. But now the browser-based operating system is integrated with Google’s online file sync service.
• Who owns your files on Google Drive?
  Google Drive’s terms of service do indeed allow you to own your own files, but grant the company a license to do as it wants with your uploaded content.
• Lawmakers push to keep Facebook passwords private
  Co-author of new bill says proposal designed to “nip in the bud” a problem attending the rise of social networking.
• Firms spend $17.7B on IT security software
  Demand from small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and advanced persistent threats were key growth drivers for the global security software, which saw revenue hit US$17.7 billion last year.
• Conficker remains biggest threat to enterprises
  The Conficker worm is the largest threat to enterprises, and the worm continues to spread mostly due to weak or stolen passwords and vulnerabilities which require security patches, a report reveals.
• Online forums hacked and misused on a large scale
  Online forums have, for some time, apparently been the target of hackers who inject additional code. However, the attackers aren’t interested in publishing cool slogans or political messages, they’re looking for money. They steal Google traffic from the forums and exploit this traffic via ads.
• 1 in 5 Macs has malware on it. Does yours?
  One in every five Mac computers is harbouring some kind of malware, a new study from the experts at Sophos has revealed.
• Microsoft patches major Hotmail 0-day flaw after apparently widespread exploitation
  Microsoft quietly fixed a flaw in Hotmail’s password reset system that allowed anyone to reset the password of any Hotmail account last Friday. The company was notified of the flaw on April 20th and responded with a fix within hours—but not until after widespread attacks, with the bug apparently spreading “like wildfire” in the hacking community.
• Hotmail hacked for $20
  The whitec0de.com blog reports that, for $20, a member of a hacker forum offered to crack any Hotmail account within a minute – and that he kept his word. Apparently, the hacker found out about a critical vulnerability in Microsoft’s email service on a security forum, and the hole allowed him to change the passwords of arbitrary Hotmail users.
• Android trojan steals keystrokes using phone movements (Updated)
  Computer scientists have devised an attack that logs phone numbers, Social Security IDs, and personal identification numbers entered into smartphones by monitoring the devices’ integrated motion sensors.
• New Flashback variant making the rounds
  Flashback.S installs itself without a password and then deletes files and folders to mask its presence, a security company announces.
• TVs and Blu-ray players vulnerable to DoS attacks
  Security researcher Luigi Auriemma has discovered a vulnerability in the latest firmware of some of Samsung’s network-connected TVs and Blu-ray players that allows attackers to cripple a device. The devices listen on port 55000, where they receive control packets from iOS and Android smartphones.
• Backdoor in industrial networking hardware
  The Rugged Operating System (ROS), an operating system created by the developers at RuggedCom, contains an undocumented backdoor. RuggedCom specialises in industrial grade networking equipment for “harsh environments” and recommends its switches and servers for use in power plants, oil refineries, military environments and traffic monitoring systems.

Random TinyHacker Links

• Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 was Launched
  A new version of Microsoft Security Essentials is available. Microsoft decided to skip version 3.0 and launch version 4. What’s new in terms of important features is not known. The interface is almost identical and the configuration options look pretty much the same. Most probably Microsoft has spent effort mostly on improving its protection engine.
• Is it worth using the Safely Remove Hardware icon?
  Does this still make sense when using USB memory sticks or external hard drives? Learn from this tutorial + benchmark.
• Using Your Windows Phone as a Wireless Hotspot
  How to use internet sharing on a Windows Phone and have your phone act like a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.
• The Complete Tutorial to Windows Speech Recognition
  The Speech Recognition in Windows has become pretty awesome yet few people know about it, let alone use it. 7 Tutorials has published an awesome series of tutorials which takes you through all the basics needed to get you started.
• Learn about your Gmail habits
  A pretty cool tool was invented to get detailed stats about how you use Gmail.
• Everything You Really Wanted To Know About Google Search
  Ever wonder how Google manages to search the entire web and return results in half a second? Well, Robert H from Munich did, and Mountain View’s head of web-spam, Matt Cutts, talks you through it.
• Safe Gaming (Infographic)
  To frag or not to frag, that is the question.
• Funny infographics on the state of the web, by Oatmeal
  Six other funny infographics available like the one shown here.
• Help Two Authors Pick a Title for Their Next Book
  Even though it is not related to technology, some friends of ours need your help to pick a good title for their next book. Simply vote for the title you like best.

Super User Questions

• Is there a way to make my hard drive inaccessible to everyone but me?
• How safe is the password manager in browsers?
• How does the desktop application of Google Drive work?
• Can I sync network folder with a Google drive?
• TrueCrypt container in Google Drive
• Google drive with proxy authentication
• How to add a 2.5″ drive to a desktop computer case?

How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap

• How to Set a Custom Logon Screen Background on Windows 7
• The Best Tips and Tweaks for Getting the Most Out of Firefox
• Desktop Fun: Cities at Night Wallpaper Collection Series 2
• How to Batch Rename Files in Windows: 4 Ways to Rename Multiple Files
• How to Turn Your Windows 8 Laptop into a Wireless Access Point
• Ask the Readers: What Are Your Three Rules for Computer Newbies?
• How to Supercharge Your Media Center Streaming Experience with Navi-X
• Ask HTG: Increasing Wi-Fi Connectivity, Calibrating Your Monitor, and Executing Computer-based Pranks
• How to Easily Customize Your Windows Explorer Context Menus with FileMenu Tools
• How to Sync Files & Fetch Unsynced Files with SkyDrive

Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side

• The Outernet [Humorous Image]
• Reasons Why People Update Their Software [Humorous Chart]
• Carrying a Love of Windows Just a Bit Too Far [Humorous Image]
• Google Rolls Out Google Drive; 5GB of Free Storage Linked to Your Google Account
• Scooby-Doo Vs. Doctor Who
• A Summary of Facebook’s Newsfeed [Humorous Chart]
• Star Wars by the Numbers
• Tower Station at the Martian Waterfalls [Wallpaper]
• Super Mario Summary – Single Screen Style Online Game
• Healthy Eyes in a Digital World [Infographic]

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

• How to Set Up Firefox to Use Google Apps for Opening Everything
• How to Make Firefox 4 Look Like Firefox 3
• How to Enable Flashblock in Chrome (And Make it 5000% More Secure)
• How to Use SkyDrive’s 25 GB as a Mapped Drive for Easy Access
• The 10 Most Ridiculously Awesome Geeky Computer Pranks

How-To Geek Comics Weekly Roundup

• Conducting an ‘Idiot-Proof’ Check
• A Scaled Back SKU of Windows
• Not the Followers He Wanted
• The True Cost of Perversion
• The Origin of Pay-Per-Click
• Incompatible Signs
• More Room Than He Uses

How-To Geek Weekly Trivia Roundup

• Who Coined The Term “Battery” To Describe An Electrical Storage Unit?
• After Whom Is The Linux Operating System Named?
• What Early PC Had An Unofficial “Sound Card” Driven By Excessive Radio Interference?
• What Is The Only Other Body In Our Solar System With Surface Liquid?
• What Does the Acronym “LCD” Stand For?
• What Are Temporary Environments Used For Security and Code Testing Called?
• What Term, Commonly Used To Denote Speedy, Is Also a Legitimate Scientific Measurement?