Archive for October, 2014

By October 14, 2014 Read More →

The most hackable luxury cars of 2014

8856128220_21eef475e1_zTechnology always seems to come a long way in a relatively short amount of time. Recently the media has been reporting on ‘hackable’ cars, not in terms of being physically hacked into, but technologically. The ability to hack into a car may not yet be fully possible, but is it only a matter of time?

Does the thought of buying a new luxury car seem less appealing due to the fact that there is a chance that it may be ‘hacked in to’ in the future? This may make it more appealing to buy a second-hand luxury car but, from the study, “A Survey of Remote Automotive Attack Surfaces” some older cars may still be at risk.

We’re all aware of the drawbacks and data security risks of modern technology, but one industry where we don’t tend to think in terms of cybersecurity is the motor trade. “Connected cars” are becoming standard; new vehicles come laden with GPS, Bluetooth and there’s a general trend towards software based management systems. This has led to the study above attempting to highlight the ‘most hackable cars’ on the market.

‘Hackability’ was judged in terms of three key areas: Network Architecture, Attack Surface, and Cyber Physical Features. Roughly, the network architecture is the location, build and design of each of the computers within a car.  The attack surface is any location where a hacker can try to modify, alter or enter anything into the system, such as any accessible ports, or points where malicious code can be entered.  Cyber physical features include how the computer networks, and interacts or measures its environment, such as in collision detection within cars.

The 2006 Ford Fusion illustrated how anyone interested in older model used cars have far less to worry about in terms of connectivity and ‘hackability’. The 06 Fusion scored double minuses in all categories, but more to the point, this score shows how cars have come on technologically in the last eight years. View current vehicle values and see how they’ve changed over time in a 3-year, 5-year and to-date intervals. Compare these values to other vehicles and benchmark financial indices.

The 2006 Prius and the 2006 Range Rover also scored very low, further serving as benchmarks for old car safety. Contrast this with the 2014 Range Rover Evoque and the 2014 Prius which both scored plenty of +’s.

In reality, we tend to err towards technology despite its pitfalls, and it’s not often we’ll get cybercriminals with a laptop invading our car for unknown gain; but the study does provide food for thought. Those who wish to stay on the safe side of technology could probably do well to buy older versions of marks like the Audi A8. A 2005 version of the Audi A8 on Carmony.co.uk can easily sell for a lot less than the 2014 version with very little risk of software malfunction.

By October 13, 2014 Read More →

Unboxing RAVPower FileHub

vlcsnap-2014-10-11-20h36m23s122Gareth takes a look at the RAVPower FileHub a Wireless SD Flash Card Reader, USB Storage Media Sharing, NAS File Server, power bank, Wi-Fi portable hotspot device. This new pocketable device is available from Amazon for £29.99 and manages to not only improve on the basic portable power source but add in some pretty neat hardware features to reduce the contents of your gadget bag. Check the video to see what it’s all about.

A FileHub is a revolutionary device that you can use to: 

  • Transfer files (photos, movies or videos) between your SD card/USB Portable Hard Disk Drive and your Kindle Fire, Android/iOS smartphones and tablets 
  • Transfer files between your iOS and android devices 
  • Move files (photos/Movies/Music) from your mobile device to SD card / USB HDD / Flash Disk
  • A built-in 3000 mah power bank that you can use to charge your mobile devices.

Portable WLAN Hot Spot – Bypass your internet access to your existing Wi-Fi router,so you may access any data in the SD or HDD while surfing the internet simultaneously.(Allow 5 maximum connections at the same time for data sharing,or connecting to the internet service.

Specifications:

  • CPU: Ralink RT 5350 MIPS24KEc 350 MHz
  • WiFi Frequency : 2.4 GHZ Speed: 72Mbps at 20Mhz / 150 Mbps at 40MHZ
  • External Battery Pack : 3000 mah 1.5A Max Input 1A Output
  • SD Card Speed: Read: 3MB/S Write: 3.5MB/S
  • USB Interface: Micro USB 2.0 

Product Notes:

  • Please download AirStor app or Solid Explorer first from iOS or Android app store.(You can also manage filehub by ES File Explorer (Android)/ File Browser (IOS) ) 
  • You have to connect the filehub with your existing Wi-Fi router to have internet service.
  • RP-WD01 only support hard drives with DOS/Windows format.
  • Due to the limitation of Apple iOS system, you can not open the folder in your iPad, so you cannot copy it out to your external storage devices.
By October 9, 2014 Read More →

Unboxing Binatone HomeSurf 844 tablet

vlcsnap-2014-10-07-07h02m40s24Gareth takes a look at a new low end, budget offering from Binatone. Taking a few queues from Apple and Samsung’s similarly sized devices the Binatone Homesurf is a £75 alternative that might suit someone not chasing that high end feel or experience.

Binatone HomeSurf 84 specification:

  • Android KitKat 4.4.2
  • 8” multi-capacitive touch screen
  • Dual core 1.5GHz processor
  • Latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system
  • 1GB RAM and 8GB flash memory
  • Expandable Micro SD storage up to 32GB
  • 0.3MP front camera
  • 2.0MP rear camera
  • High quality loudspeaker
  • Integrated microphone
  • Audio file supports MP3 player
  • Video file supports MP4 player
  • 4 dimensional gravity sensing
  • Battery life 2800 mah

By October 8, 2014 Read More →

Is your Belkin broken?

F9K1113_AC1200_herowb_116It would appear that for some reason Belkin routers can no longer connect to the Internet. As of midnight EDT many Belkin router owners took to Twitter to all point out their Belkin routers were suffering from some sort of fault or demonic possession. At 9:30am PDT Belkin acknowledged the issue and an hour later, issued a workaround. Belkin has not yet revealed the cause of the mass outage. There are many, many annoyed users out there furious at Belkin and their ugly side can be seen on Twitter. One thing is for sure you can take away power, gas and water but don’t meddle with someone’s internet connection.

Update #2: Belkin says all routers should now be fixed.

We have confirmed that the internet connectivity issue is now resolved.

If your service has not yet been restored, please unplug your router and plug it back in after waiting 1 minute. Wait 5 more minutes and the router should reconnect. If you have any further issues, please contact our support at (800) 223-5546.

We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience to our customers. We are taking a number of actions to eliminate this sort of incident from reoccurring

Update #1: Belkin’s official statement.

 

Starting approximately midnight on October 7, Belkin began experiencing an issue with a service configured in certain Belkin router models that causes a failure when it checks for general network connectivity by pinging a site hosted by Belkin. We know this issue has affected select older Wireless-N Belkin router models including F9K1102, F9K1105, F9K1113 and F9K1116. We are continuing to investigate other possible routers that may have been affected. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Until there is a fix in place, we have identified a workaround for customers that are using the F9K1102 and F9K1105 routers to regain internet connectivity. That work-around as well as ongoing updates can be found at our outage status page for more information:http://www.belkin.com/outage

By October 6, 2014 Read More →

ZTE Blade L2 Unboxing

vlcsnap-2014-10-05-13h10m18s252Gareth takes a look at ZTE’s new quad-core smartphone with a 5 inch screen and generous 2000mAh battery. For the low price of £89 on Virgin pay as you go it all sounds to good to be true. 

ZTE Blade L2 specification:

  • Android 4.2 
  • Dual-core 1.3GHz
  • Memory card slot 
  • 5in TFT LCD, 854×480 pixels
  • Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0
  • MicroUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack
  • 5 megapixel with autofocus and LED flash
  • VGA front-facing camera
  • 2000mAh Battery 
  • Size 143 x 72 x 9mm
  • Weight 166g

Posted in: Phones, Videos/Unboxings
By October 2, 2014 Read More →

Making the iPhone 6 more affordable

iphone_6_pricesApple have done it again and have brought users a brand new, larger, handset, however, the only problem is how you make purchasing the iPhone 6 more affordable? As with the launch of any new piece of tech, the cost is substantially high and as such people franticly shop around for the best contract deals available. The only thing is, while you may be able to save the odd pound here and there by researching which network and tariff is best for your budget, there are other ways to make bigger savings to make the cost of the latest handset more affordable.

There is no denying that selecting a contract iPhone 6 or 6 plus will be the cheapest short term option, you don’t have to pay too much up front and you get a gorgeous new phone. Sadly, however, the costs start to sting your bank account when your monthly contract payments go out – new phones are notorious for being quite pricey when selecting contracts, so long term you’ll end out paying a lot more than you expected or would like.

Another option, and probably one of the cheaper in the long run is to choose a SIM only contract. Although this means you pay for the handset upfront, you benefit from being able to move freely between networks and deals without having to deal with the confines of a locked contract. The issue with this decision is most people don’t make it because they feel they can’t afford to spend that much money in one go. If that sounds like where you stumble when purchasing the new iPhone you could turn to Apple’s finance payment plan to help you make that handset obtainable.

The finance package with Apple means you buy directly from the company and then pay back what you owe, with interest, over a select period of months, the most common being 24 months. However, while it definitely sounds a lot more money savvy, you do have an APR rate of 14.9% added onto your repayments, which obviously means you end up paying more than what the handset is worth. This is where you might want to consider a 0% credit card instead, as this option means you can enjoy a long interest free period (maximum of 20 months), and only pay for the handset with no added extras.

By breaking it down and comparing the two options, the latter is more financially sound. When you buy an iPhone 6 (16gb) via Apple finance, you’ll pay £620.54 with repayment costs of £25.86 monthly for 24 months, however, when you buy an iPhone 6 via an interest free credit card, you’ll pay the SIM-free cost of £539.00 and pay back £26.95 monthly for 20 months. Despite the fact that you’ll pay out a little bit more each month if you choose the credit card option, you pay off the handset sooner and essentially make a saving of £81.54; and the saving for handsets with more storage is even greater.

As expected with a new phone, it’s all about shopping around for the best deal, however, that doesn’t restrict you to just what contracts are on offer in the high-street stores. There are many other avenues to research and consider before making a final decision, and weighing them up first and making the right decision can save you money in the long term.

Posted in: Editorial, Phones
By October 1, 2014 Read More →

Alcatel Onetouch POP 7S LTE pops up at Carphone Warehouse

ALCATEL-ONETOUCH-POP-7S-TAB_WHITE_1One company eager to make a name for itself this year it Alcatel. Recently announcing tmy favourite phone of IFA in Berlin, Alcatel are pushing out a entry level 4G  tablet. Based around Android KitKat and costing a tiny £149.99 this shares many of the same specifications of the original Google Nexus 7 whilst also adding an IR Blaster and screen mirror to push the on screen tablet content over to your TV rought out of the box. For those not worried about size, the Pop 7S support voice calls. Here is the full press release:

Alcatel Onetouch unveils the POP 7S tablet to offer super-fast LTE connectivity at a smart price. It is a super slim and light 4G entry-level tablet that adds a splash of colour and is perfect for streaming music, watching TV or browsing the internet.

Sporting Android KitKat 4.4, the POP 7S is a fun and feature-packed POP series tablet that is easy-to-use and easy-to-choose. It offers a customised user interface and wide range of dedicated colourful accessories. 

ALCATEL-ONETOUCH-POP-7S-TAB_WHITE_2

The POP 7S is one of the most competitive LTE 7” entry-level tablets available to the mass market. At 8.9mm thin and weighing only 285 grams it is ideal to be effortlessly carried in any backpack, satchel or handbag. Powered by a Quad Core processor, the POP 7S allows seamless multi-tasking between different activities such as gaming or streaming music and comes equipped with a 3 megapixel rear camera to capture priceless moments on the go.

With Miracast, IR blaster technology and a pre-installed app, the POP 7S will become the TV’s best friend. It allows users to mirror screens, control their TV and personalise their daily TV entertainment. Its full-featured TV guide allows users to choose what they want to watch and makes it easy to share with friends and family through social media. The POP 7S brings a brand new interaction to consumers between their tablets and TV, reflecting ALCATEL ONETOUCH’s design ideology of bringing smart technology to daily life.

Voice call support means that the POP 7S is able to make and receive calls via a Bluetooth phone – Sidekick, headset or loudspeaker. Users can continue to browse while catching up with friends and family about the latest films, favourite music or online games.

Fun and colourful accessories, designed exclusively for the POP 7S include Smart Flip Cases and colourful back covers to truly personalise the new LTE POP tablet.ALCATEL-ONETOUCH-POP-7S-TAB_WHITE_4

The POP 7S is available in store and online from Carphone Warehouse with an RRP of £149.00 SIM free. 

POP 7S features include:

  • 7” 1024 X 600 WSVGA, IPS Display

  • Quad Core 1.2GHz

  • 3 Mpxl back and VGA front cameras

  • 8.9mm thin, 285 grams

dEnuWksnUrCOavpOjEp8YKdg6Lh6LvUOcc2v_irgXi0

Posted in: News, Press Releases, Tablets
https://www.ukmeds.co.uk/surgical-face-masks