Archive for July 6th, 2010

Apple responds on iTunes fraud, vaguely confirms said fraud (update)

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Technology

Over the weekend we saw reports of what appeared to be fraud occurring in the iTunes system -- namely, a rogue developer had somehow managed to snag 42 of the top 50 sales positions in the App Store's "book" category with seemingly bogus content. It looked as if there was some correlation between those suspicious sales and word of an increase in iTunes account fraud, but Apple had been mum on the subject over the holiday weekend. We've finally gotten a response from the company, and the folks in Cupertino say that the developer in question -- a gentleman named Thuat Nguyen -- has been chucked out of the Store altogether. Additionally, while they don't explicitly say fraud occurred, they suggest you check with your bank and kill your card if any of your info was stolen... which seems to suggest that something funky happened to some users. Here it is from the horse's mouth:
The developer Thuat Nguyen and his apps were removed from the App Store for violating the developer Program License Agreement, including fraudulent purchase patterns.

Developers do not receive any iTunes confidential customer data when an app is downloaded.

If your credit card or iTunes password is stolen and used on iTunes we recommend that you contact your financial institution and inquire about canceling the card and issuing a chargeback for any unauthorized transactions. We also recommend that you change your iTunes account password immediately. For more information on best practices for password security visit http://www.apple.com/support/itunes.
So it looks like even the walled garden isn't impervious to attacks -- here's hoping the problems were limited to a small group of people. Have any of you guys noticed strange charges on your account? Double check it right now!

Update: Apple pinged our old buddy Clayton Morris with the damage report and claims it's fairly low -- roughly 400 iTunes users were hit, all told. While that's a pretty small percentage of the reported 150 million Apple serves daily, the company said new security measures are in place anyhow: according to Morris, iTunes will ask for the verification code on the back of your credit card "a little more often" from now on.

Apple responds on iTunes fraud, vaguely confirms said fraud (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Banana Vending Machine Gives Japan Yet One More Product You Can Get Without Human Interaction [Japan]

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Technology

Japan sure does love itself some vending machines! From cigarettes to coffee to ramen, you can get all sorts of crazy crap from a machine there. The latest? Bananas! More »



Vending machine - Vending - Business - Opportunities - Food and Drink

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HTC Gold with Windows Phone 7 in November, and more from a rumored UK roadmap leak

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Technology

O, to see what Omio sees. The outlet has obtained what it claims to be "a huge UK mobile phone release schedule for the rest of the year... [from] all the manufacturers" (emphasis its own). So, from where would such an all-encompassing roadmap hail? We don't know, nor can we corroborate any of this, but the details are numerous so let's go through it -- albeit with cautious optimism and a few grains of salt. The biggest phone we can see of this baker's dozen of a lineup is the HTC Gold (sound familiar?), due in November and loaded with Microsoft's mobile OS newcomer Windows Phone 7. Unfortunately, that's all the information provided, but it's certainly enough to entice us. Also in November, we've got Samsung i8700 and Nokia E7 -- the latter being possibly a N8-esque QWERTY slider with AMOLED display and Symbian^3, and the former being a mystery (although Omio takes a gander that its aquatic Greek mythology might suggest a Bada-powered existence).

Going up the list Memento style, October purportedly brings across the pond-ers HTC Vision, the virtually unknown HTC Ace, Nokia N8, and Sony Ericsson's Xperia X8 and Yendo. September's a bit of a yawner -- SE Hazel and a Nokia X2 candybar -- as is August with the X6 8GB and BlackBerry Curve 9300. And July? Nokia E5-00, Sony Ericsson W20, and Samsung i5500. As is usually the case, the more you can wait, the better your options. Now, let's see if this supposed roadmap stays on course.

HTC Gold with Windows Phone 7 in November, and more from a rumored UK roadmap leak originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Award Wallet Tracks Your Frequent Flier Miles, Credit Card Points, and Other Rewards Programs [Saving Money]

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Uncategorized

Free web site Award Wallet keeps track of your various reward programs in one place, covering the gamut of airline, hotel, credit card, shopping, car rental, and dining reward programs. More »



Credit card - Business - Frequent-flyer program - Financial Services - Travel

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Professorial Spy Games Take the Fun Out of Cheating [Cheating]

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Technology

In the eternal arms race that is teachers versus cheaters, the administration of the University of Central Florida has hit DEFCON-1. And they're doing it with technology. More »



University of Central Florida - Education - Florida - United States - Colleges and Universities

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Workaround

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Uncategorized

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Woot To AP: You Owe Us $17.50 For Copying Our Content

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Consumer Interest

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Motorola Charm spotted in the wild, said to be hitting T-Mobile later this month

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Technology

We'd already had a pretty good indication that the Motorola Charm was headed to T-Mobile, but it looks like most doubt has now been put to rest -- TmoNews has what appears to be the first shot of the phone in the wild, and evidence that materials (with the name "Project Basil') are already arriving at T-Mobile stores. Unfortunately, there's not much new information otherwise, but the site's tipster has apparently confirmed that the phone does indeed have a Backflip-like touchpad on the rear and that the screen is around 3-inches. Still no word on an exact release date, but TmoNews says it should be rolling out by the end of the month.

Motorola Charm spotted in the wild, said to be hitting T-Mobile later this month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Takes Third Stab At Showcasing Xbox Live Arcade [Xbox 360]

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Technology

Starting next week there will be a new way — a third way — for Xbox 360 users to browse the 250-some Xbox Live Arcade games offered through Microsoft's console. No, the first two methods weren't good enough. More »



Microsoft - Xbox 360 - Games - Xbox - Video Games

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Global Alarm: North Korea Now Has Flying Traffic Girls [Humor]

Posted by Ry on Jul 06 2010 | Technology

The great thing about North Korea is that you never know what's fake and what's not. I think that the subtitles to this video are a joke, but with the genius of Kim Jong-il, you never know! More »



North Korea - Asia - Kim Jong-il - History - United States

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