Our last edition of WIG for July is filled with news link goodness covering topics such as Google is testing a new layout design on its search results page, Microsoft’s new Office Web Apps are available to try out, a new Android malware is tricking users with real Opera Mini, and more.

Weekly News Links

Image courtesy of Google.

• Google packages web apps for the desktop
  As part of Chrome 22.0.1207, which was released to the browser’s Development Channel on 16 July, Google’s developers have added a new implementation of the packaged apps feature to the browser that allows web applications to be distributed offline more easily. You can view a video about packaged apps here.
• Firefox Add-ons Cross More Than 3 Billion Downloads!
  Mozilla Add-ons has achieved a new record with the crossing of the 3 billion downloads threshold. That’s almost half of the world’s population and more than the number of people on the Internet today.
• Firefox Beta For Android Brings Tablet Support
  With the recent refresh of Firefox Beta for Android phones, the open source organization has also released a new update for tablets, which aims to match the look and feel of its brother.
• Did Apple kill support for Safari 6 on Windows?
  If you were one of the few that used Safari on Windows, it would appear that Apple has killed support for the browser on Windows based machines. If you navigate to Apple’s page, you will see that there are no download links for the new browser.
• Ubuntu developers: Web Apps will be far from being simple web links
  Ubuntu’s Christian Giordano explains that Ubuntu Web Apps are not oriented to become mere web links, “Web apps will be far from being simple web links”, “in the coming months you will see how these will beautifully blend in the user app mental model”.
• Mint’s Cinnamon desktop integrated into Fedora
  The Fedora project’s package repositories now include the Cinnamon desktop interface initially started by Linux Mint founder Clement Lefebvre.
• Fedora 18 to support UEFI Secure Boot
  With two votes against, Fedora’s nine person Engineering Steering Committee has approved a proposal outlining how Fedora 18 (scheduled for release in November) will support UEFI Secure Boot.
• Microsoft’s New Office Web Apps Now Official
  Following the launch of a preview flavor of Office 2013 recently, Microsoft has made the preview of its new Office Web Apps on SkyDrive and Office 365 Preview available for testing.
• Microsoft to Keep Yammer Service Free Following Acquisition
  The company was interested in Yammer’s social features for enterprises, which will be integrated into its own offer in the area, Office 365. These services are currently offered for free for business workers, though a series of tools and features that come along with the social networking come with a specific cost for IT departments interested in taking advantage of them. This so-called “freemium” model will remain in place even after the aforementioned purchase is completed, David Sacks, CEO of Yammer, told Wired.
• YouTube breaks records with 4M Creative Commons videos
  Even though it launched its Creative Commons video library just a year ago, YouTube is now hosting more Creative Commons videos than any other company worldwide.
• YouTube gently prods users to go by their real names
  The online video service takes a swipe at nasty commenters and cleans up its image by encouraging users to use their real names and link to their Google+ profile.
• Twitter to release tool that exports users’ tweet history
  Following the path of Facebook, Twitter’s CEO says the company is developing a new feature that will let users download all tweets they ever posted to the social network.
• Google redesigns the display of its search results page
  Moving search tools from the sidebar to under the search field, Google continues the major revamp of its search engine. You can see a screenshot here.
• Windows 8 with Support for Low-Power Graphics Hardware
  Packed with support for a far wider range of graphics than previous platform releases, Windows 8 will deliver great visual experiences even when loaded on low-power hardware, Microsoft promises.
• Google shows ISPs how to build a superfast network
  As some broadband providers grumble about the cost of network upgrades and threaten data caps on subscribers, Google shows them, through its Kansas City Google Fiber project, how to offer subscribers 1Gbps broadband service at an affordable price.
• OAuth 2.0 editor resigns and takes name off spec
  After working for three years as lead author and editor for OAuth 2.0, Eran Hammer has resigned from the role, left the working group and withdrawn his name from the specification, saying “OAuth 2.0 is a bad protocol.
• Google oops: Did not delete Street View data as promised
  Company says that it still retains “a small portion” of personal user data that it had agreed to scrub.
• Android comes under fire from game developers on piracy
  Dead Trigger developers say the recent price drop of their game in the Google Play Store is because of the “piracy rate on Android devices that was unbelievably high.”
• Congressional Privacy Caucus takes aim at data brokers
  The caucus, made up of both Democrats and Republicans, has requested information from companies that collect, analyze, and sell consumer information.
• Laws on Wi-Fi sniffing still up in the air, say specialists
  Legal and tech specialists debate whether open Wi-Fi networks should be fair game for sniffing, but they agree that the law is currently unclear on the issue.

Security News

• Microsoft account to enforce stricter password controls
  If you are one of the lucky ones, you may have seen the new Metro-style Microsoft account page. Well the update doesn’t simply involve a new look, but it appears the update also brings some new features.
• Facebook virus warning: Massive children charity scam
  Cybercriminals have developed a custom piece of malware that injects itself into your Facebook session and prompts you to donate to a charity for sick children. The scammers’ goal is to make off with your personal data, especially your credit card number.
• Twitter malware warning: It’s you on photo? or It’s about you?
  A new piece of malware is spreading on Twitter by getting users to click on a link that allegedly features a photo of them. There is no such photo on the other end.
• Scam sites lure victims with fake YouTube-to-mp3 converters
  Want to access the music tracks of YouTube.com videos on your iPod but don’t want to pay? You’re not alone. Recently, a crop of websites have popped up offering to convert the audio from videos to .mp3 files that you can then download at no charge. Sounds great, right?
• Bogus Google Files site earns revenue through premium rate SMS micro payments
  Security researchers from AegisLab have stumbled upon a bogus Google Search themed web site, offering downloads of multiple files in exchange for a SMS sent to a premium rate number.
• Warning: Battery-saver app on Android is malware
  Cybercriminals have created a fake battery-saving app for Android that is really malware in disguise. The idea is to harvest e-mail addresses for spamming users at a later time
• Warning: New Android malware tricks users with real Opera Mini
  Cybercriminals have created a new variant of the OpFake malware for Android that comes bundled with a legitimate version of the Opera Mini mobile browser. This helps trick users into thinking that nothing is wrong as they can simply use the real software as expected.
• New Mac malware spies on you via Adium, Firefox, Safari, Skype
  A new Mac OS X Trojan referred to as OSX/Crisis silently infects OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and OS X 10.7 Lion. It then spies on the user by monitoring Adium, Firefox, Microsoft Messenger, Safari, and Skype.
• Microsoft warns of Oracle holes in Exchange and SharePoint
  Microsoft is warning that its Exchange and SharePoint server products may be affected by security holes that Oracle patched in its most recent Critical Patch Updates last week.
• Oracle’s file converter holes endanger many server services
  Some of the holes that Oracle closed last week affect more than just Oracle software, because Oracle’s Outside In library is used in many other products to convert files of different formats.
• Microsoft: Update Java or kill it
  Microsoft is offering advice on how to protect yourself from Java-based malware. The instructions are simple: either update it, disable it, or just uninstall it completely.
• Google’s anti-malware Bouncer too tolerant
  Security researchers from Trustwave’s SpiderLabs have tested the tolerance level of Google’s anti-malware Bouncer. The researchers initially uploaded a benign app to the store and then gradually updated it with malicious routines over time.
• Malware infects three-quarters of the world’s top banks
  Eighteen of the top 24 banks in the world have malware problems, security firm Lookingglass said this past Wednesday. Even three-year old worms that have long had patches and fixes to address them continue to infect the PCs of banks, including Conficker, found in the IT deployments of 10 of the top 24.
• Mahdi malware creators add new features
  Researchers find new version of the malware and a possible Flame connection and offer a tool for checking if your computer is infected.
• Significant rise in number of SQL injection attacks
  Cloud hosting service FireHost reports that the number of registered SQL injection attacks rose by 69 per cent in the past quarter.
• Mid-2012 malware: new flavours, same ice cream
  While 2011 was dubbed as “the year of the hacktivist” in some media circles, 2012 was billed as “the year of cyberwar”, to be accompanied by an explosion of Android malware. But what’s actually happened?
• So you have a strong password. Is that enough? The psychology of password creation would suggest we are not necessarily safe from Brute Force Attacks.
  
• Lost+Found: Password games, DDoS ads and smartphone worries
  Too short for news, too good to lose; Lost+Found is a round up of useful security news. This time: memorise passwords like you ride a bike, buy DDoS attacks like you buy bread, expert knowledge in form of a fairy tale, a trojan app store, and a sniffer dog that barks up the wrong tree.
• Power strip or network hacking tool? It’s both, actually
  Pwnie Express drew a lot of attention earlier this year with its Pwn Plug, a stealthy, small computer loaded with network hacking tools disguised in an innocuous, white power brick that resembles an air freshener—albeit one with Ethernet and USB ports. Now, with funding the company has created an even stealthier tool for testing and cracking networks: one disguised as a power strip.
• ATM Skimmers Get Wafer Thin
  It’s getting harder to detect some of the newer ATM skimmers, fraud devices attached to or inserted into cash machines and designed to steal card and PIN data. Among the latest and most difficult-to-spot skimmer innovations is a wafer-thin card reading device that can be inserted directly into the ATM’s card acceptance slot.

Random TinyHacker Links

• The 5 Ring Circus Begins
  An infographic with everything you need to know about the Olympic Games, from the origins of the event to the modern-style games.
• Looking for Free Internet Security Suites?
  Check out this short roundup: The Best Free Internet Security Suites for Windows
• The Evolution of PC Games
  From the earliest text-based adventures to the latest modern shooters, Reverse Enginears has created a stunning musical composition featuring only sounds and music from PC games.

Super User Questions

• Why are websites suddenly asking me about cookies?
• Some websites don’t work WITH the www. prefix
• How can I block social share buttons in webpages?
• Can’t get rid of Ask Toolbar in Windows 8
• How can I always run the command prompt as administrator?
• What does it mean to say that a process is using 75% of a CPU’s resources?
• Can I download the OS X Mountain Lion update and share it with my family?
• Why is my mouse pointer twitching?
• Does the size of a monitor impact game performance?
• Why upgrade to solid state hard drive on desktop computer?

How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap

• Browser Slow? How to Make Google Chrome Fast Again
• Build a $35 Media Center with Raspbmc and Raspberry Pi
• How to Create a Secretly Disguised Folder Without Extra Software
• Ask the Readers: How Do You Transfer Large Files Between Computers?
• How to Edit the Windows Context Menu the Easy Way
• How to Hide Zip Files Inside a Picture Without any Extra Software
• Desktop Fun: Abstract Textures Wallpaper Collection Series 2
• HTG Explains: Why The Internet Is Running Out of IPv4 Addresses and Why IPv6 Is Important
• The Best Websites for Downloading, Renting, and Purchasing Audiobooks
• How To Embed Files Inside Other Files Using Steganography in Windows

Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side

• 18 Household Tips and Tricks to Help Out with Everyday Life
• The Problem with Ladies Armor in most RPGs
• 10 Possible Future Products from Apple [Humorous Images]
• Warning! Do not Feed the Internet! [Humorous Image]
• Scientists Create an Ultra Secure Subconcious-based Password System
• Star Trek: The Next Generation Released in HD with Stunning Results
• When The Matrix Meets The Office [Video]
• Adventures with College Wi-Fi [Humorous Image]
• Download the Default Wallpaper for Windows 8 Final (Gold) Release
• 70 Years of Gotham City Villains

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

• The Beginner’s Guide to Shell Scripting: The Basics
• The Beginner’s Guide to Shell Scripting 2: For Loops
• The Beginner’s Guide to Shell Scripting 3: More Basic Commands & Chains
• How To Improve Your Cygwin Console With Mintty
• From the Tips Box: Halting Windows Automatic Reboot, Enabling Unity Menus in Chrome, and Tabbed PuTTY Windows

How-To Geek Comics Weekly Roundup

• The Baker Street Irregulars and Advertising
• A Poor Decision for a New Game
• The Client’s Problem is Our Problem
• Having Children Through Outsourcing
• Why She Loves Shopping Lists
• His Preferred Style of Working
• The Check is in the Internet

How-To Geek Weekly Trivia Roundup

• Swingline Introduced a New Product As The Result Of What Movie?
• Which Game Company Buried Over 5 Million Games In The Desert?
• Players Have Collectively Spent Over 6 Million Years Playing What Game?
• Which Classic Boardgame Has Been Solved For All Possible Outcomes?
• Which Comedy Group Can We Thank For the Naming Origin Of Spam Email?
• Which Cartoonist Coined The Name For Stegosaurus Tail Spikes?
• The V In DVD Stands For What?