Iranian Hackers Targeted Obama Administration

Iran military hackers known as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards tried to hack email and social media accounts of Obama administration officials in the move allegedly linked to the arrest of an Iranian-American businessman in Tehran.

According to the reports, people working on Iran policy were targeted in the cyber attacks, including personnel in the State Department’s Office of Iranian Affairs and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Journalists and academics also suffered.

A surge in hacking attacks was noticed after the landmark international agreement this past summer that was supposed to ease severe economic sanctions on Iran if Tehran curbs its nuclear program in return, to ensure it is not developing weapons.

The hacking group in question is a powerful branch of the Iranian military that has regularly attacked American government agencies in recent years. However, the hacking reportedly increased after the arrest of Siamak Namazi in October, who is a head of strategic planning for Crescent Petroleum, an oil and gas company in the UAE, known to be working for think tanks in Washington. Siamak Namazi had been detained and interrogated regularly by the Revolutionary Guards before his arrest.

Apparently, the American officials believe that some of the more recent attacks might be linked to reports of detained dual citizens and others. In the meantime, Namazi’s friends and business associates claimed that Revolutionary Guards confiscated his computer after ransacking his family’s home in Tehran. When reached for comments, a spokesman at Iran’s UN mission in New York said that Tehran had been falsely accused of cyber attacks.

Apple Music Now on Android

The tech giant has recently presented an official Android app for its Apple Music streaming service – just 4 months after its debut on its home iOS platform. Core features of the service have survived the translation to Android, including its dedicated playlist and album recommendations, radio station and social network, along with its 3-month free trial for new users.

The Android version of the streaming service also provides people with access to their purchases from Apple’s iTunes download store – this is the first time for Android. Actually, the only missing feature at the moment is the ability to play music videos. When presenting the service this past summer, Apple promised to launch it for Android devices later.

The company explained that the developers have created the new app according to Android’s design principles. The industry observers do not agree on the point why Apple is making such an effort for Android, which they have regularly disparaged publicly for malware and the slower updates. Some of them even believe that it’s just a marketing ploy to lure people towards iOS devices. Others think that Android support will make Apple Music’s family plan more appealing for people whose family members are also using Android devices. But the most popular theory is that Apple was entering the music-streaming market years after key rivals and therefore could not afford to ignore Android with a billion of active users. According to the statistics, the main rivals of Apple Music (Spotify and Pandora) had their Android apps been installed more than 100m times, and Google’s own Google Play Music Android app accounts for 1bn installs.

Last month, Apple announced that 6.5 million people were paying for its music service in the first month after their free trial ended. Even if half of them simply forgot to cancel their automatic subscription, the streaming service would likely be the second biggest (after Spotify) “on-demand” service, ahead of Rhapsody/Napster and Deezer.

Portugal Blocked ExtraTorrent and Other BitTorrent Websites

Thanks to rights owners, Portuguese Internet service providers have received another batch of “pirate” domain notifications from the authorities. The recently accepted voluntary anti-piracy agreement makes the ISPs to implement a full subscriber blockade until November 13, thus making the country close to the status of the world leader in pirate blocking.

This past summer, the local Ministry of Culture announced the signing of a memorandum between the ISPs and copyright owners, which laid out the framework for a voluntary website-blocking mechanism. The latter would allow to quickly block websites that have over 500 infringing links and whose indexes contain more than 66% infringing content. After the worldwide leader of piracy, The Pirate Bay, was blocked in the country in March 2015, the new process paved the way for rapid website blocking. As a result, the first batch of complaints was quickly processed.

Back in October, Portugal blocked over 50 websites (including us) without a court order. Now it is preparing its second wave of blockades, mostly against torrent sites, “release blog” favorites and streaming services (both video and audio). Although website blocking is a common thing around the world, the way it’s being carried out in Portugal may raise some concern.

Given that the blocking process is voluntary, there’s no unwieldy court process to navigate, which is a good thing for the Portuguese anti-piracy outfit. Nevertheless, there are opinions that the new process is too streamlined and that judicial oversight is required to avoid an abuse. They also raised questions over the legality of the scheme.

Another concern is focused on the sheer number of websites that could end up on the blocklist. At the moment, copyright owners can only file 2 complaints with the government per month, but each of them can contain up to 50 domains. In other words, that if all sites are deemed infringing and the anti-piracy outfit works to capacity, over 1,200 allegedly infringing websites could be blocked by this time in 2016. Such rates would make Portugal the world leader in site blocking. This would be a clear example of what the entertainment industry could aim for by bypassing the courts.

Nevertheless, VPNs used by Portuguese internet users to access foreign BitTorrent websites, music download and video streaming websites, will not be affected. With VPN for torrenting, Portuguese users are able to replace IP address with IP address of VPN server located in another country or region. This trick allows users to hide online identity on the internet, overcome online censorship in Portugal and access any file sharing website in Portugal without any risk.

Recently, a part of ExtraTorrent community launched a VPN called by Trust.Zone VPN for safe torrenting. This is a bit experimental project. But it cares about safety of ET members and every downloader. Trust.Zone VPN prevents your ISP from sending Copyright Infringement Notices by hiding your real location and your real IP address.

Trust.Zone VPN servers are tuned to provide ExtraTorrent members with the fastest speed to access ExtraTorrent website in Portugal.

How to Avoid Copyright Infringement Notices from ISP in Australia?

As you know, the final version of the “three strikes” anti-piracy code for Australian internet service providers (ISPs) has been published recently. Under the Copyright Notice Scheme code (PDF), residential Internet users that are found pirating content will be subject to a series of "escalating" warning notices from rights holders, sent via ISPs. The notices will warn users that they are infringing copyright, and that they will face legal action if they get three strikes recorded against their IP address - that is, if they receive an Education, Warning and Final notice - within a 12 month period. If a user gets three warning letters, or "strikes", in a 12-month period, ISPs will help copyright owners identify them for potential legal action after a hearing in a prescribed court. Up to 200,000 notices can be processed and sent each year.

Separate from the anti-piracy, website-blocking regime passed in June, the scheme was designed to warn consumers via notices to stop pirating or face the prospect of having their personal details handed over to rights holders if they got caught pirating more than three times.

It was originally envisaged that the code would take effect on 1 September. However, the start of the scheme has been delayed and it is now expected on December,1 - accodring to The Sydney Morning Herald

Such regimes are used in many countries and are commonly known as “three-strikes”. However, they are promoted as educational in nature, because suspected pirates just receive notifications of breach, which are meant to discourage further infringing behavior.

To prevent their IP-addresses from being visible to the rest of the Internet, thousands of Australian internet users have signed up to the VPN services. With a VPN Australians are able to use the Internet anonymously and prevent ISP and Government Agencies from tracking their online activity. VPN services hide real IP address of the users and they don’t log any traffic nor session data of any kind.

Recently, a part of ExtraTorrent community launched a VPN called by Trust.Zone VPN for safe torrenting. It's super safe and secure VPN which cares about safety of the bittorrent downloaders in Australia. Trust.Zone VPN prevents Australian ISP from sending Copyright Infringement Notices by hiding your real location and your real IP address.

Trust.Zone has founded by the part of ExtraTorrent community. The tool is free to use first 5 days of usage. If test period ends, unfortunately, the service asks for the money from you but..... our partners tried to make it as CHEAP as possible - $3.99/mo - it's the cheapest price among all popular VPN providers in Australia.

ExtraTorrent recommends joining VPN services for Australian users as soon as possile. A new anti-piracy code for Australian will be activated on December,1

What's the killer app for the new Apple TV?

In a fledgling App Store dominated by games and streaming video services, you'll find a few gems to make the new Apple TV more useful in your lounge room.
The new fourth-generation Apple TV set-top box makes a pretty good first impression, but if you're looking for long-term value compared to its predecessor then you need to be making the most of the App Store.
There's a growing range of games on offer but they are unlikely to be the primary reason why you'd buy the ATV4 rather than use Airplay with the cheaper ATV3 to mirror games on your television. Anyway, if you're serious about games you'd probably be better-served by one of the more well-established game consoles.
We're still waiting for more streaming video services, for now in Australia you've got Netflix, Stan and Tenplay which were already available on the ATV3. We're still waiting for the likes of Presto, Quickflix and Foxtel Play/Go to come onboard along with catch up services from the other free-to-air networks. News services also are popping up in the App Store, but these days most people reach for their phone when they've got a few minutes to check up on world events.
So what's the killer app for the new Apple TV? That's going to vary from home to home, but here's a few to consider;
Plex
The arrival of Plex on the Apple TV is the showstopper in my home. Think of Plex like Netflix for your home entertainment library, making it easy to search through your collection and watch practically any video format on any device.
The Plex Media Server software is free and surprisingly you don't need a Plex Pass subscription to use it on the Apple TV – unlikely most other home entertainment devices. A Plex Pass isn't cheap but you get a lot in return.
The Plex client on the Apple TV is fantastic, very slick and easy to use while taking advantage of the trackpad to flick through video timelines and pull-down extra menus. It's certainly a major improvement on the clunky Plex client built into my Samsung Blu-ray player.
If you're looking for alternatives on the Apple TV then take a look at the SimpleX app. If you're keen on streaming video around your home then also check out Air Video HD, NAStify and LocalCast. VLC is also on the way.
Storehouse
Looking at your photos on the television might seem redundant when you can easily mirror content from your iGadget, but Storehouse is a storytelling app rather than just a photo gallery.
Flickr was already on the Apple TV but think of Storehouse a bit more like Keynote, but for creating photo and video slideshows for your friends rather than work presentations. You can play around with the layout as well as add captions and other effects to tell a short story rather than just flick through image after image.
There's an iOS app for controlling everything from your phone, including a live-streaming feature, but Storehouse could make a good fit for less tech-savvy homes which have an Apple TV but not a smartphone or tablet. My parents are a good example, they've got cable broadband but it's a fairly low-tech home – there's a PC in the spare bedroom but the Wi-Fi network is only for the benefit of visiting family members.
An Apple TV might be a good fit in their lounge room when they're ready to dabble in streaming services like Netflix, but the killer app could be access to Storehouse on the big screen to see family photos – especially with new arrivals on the way and some family living overseas. My parents aren't on Facebook, so bringing Storehouse to their television could be their killer Apple TV app.
Streaks Workout
How many Wii Fit balance boards were bought with good intentions but are gathering dust under the bed? Spending a few dollars on an Apple TV fitness app might be a smarter investment, especially an app which keeps track of your progress.
There are already plenty of fitness apps on the Apple TV, but Australian-made Streaks Workout is more in the style of a personal trainer and it caught my eye because it doesn't look too daunting for reluctant beginners. I don't want to watch people in better shape than me power through exercises to funky music while spouting motivational quips.
Streaks Workout is also rep based rather than timer based, so you can work at your own pace and tap the remote when you're done. Let's be honest, I'm not getting up at 6am for a daily date with Streaks Workout, but I swear it's on my to-do list.
Visual experiences
While I wouldn't call them killer apps, there are a few interesting apps designed to bring different experiences to your lounge room.
The top free download in the App Store is Fireplace Lover, a simple app which converts your television into a crackling fire. The resolution isn't the greatest but for me it's actually the sounds that do the trick as the fire burns away in the background. The second most-popular app is EarthCamTV with live feeds from around the globe, while Earthlapse TV shot from the International Space Station is one of the top paid apps. Other experience-style apps include the Art Channel, Amazing Aquarium and even the slightly creepy Sharks Live.
If you own the new Apple TV, what's your killer app? If you don't, want kind of app – apart from Netflix – would it take to get a device like the Apple TV in your lounge room?

First Microsoft Store Opens in Sydney Today; Freebies, Services & More Details

Microsoft has finally opened a store which retails their products to the public outside the US. The first Microsoft store is located in Sydney, Australia.

The Store is a 500 square metre, two storey retail in glass, wood and steel on Pitt Street Mall along 110 other stores. It features different sections and sorted out according to laptops, tablets, sport bands, phones, Xbox, Skype, Minecraft and more as reported in Business Insider.

Microsoft isn’t the first one to open stores like these as Apple, Amazon and Samsung had already opened their physical stores. The Microsoft store is said to aim for making its products more visible to the consumer. Having consumers hold, touch and test the products will make them feel more inclined to buy more products. Having to try the Microsoft products firsthand will encourage them to buy again and again.

The Microsoft Store offered deals which will only be offered during a specific time. These are Microsoft Band 2 (First 20 people who buys the Band gets personal training session), Xbox One (Buying Xbox One plus Kinect for $399 which is normally $599), Surface Book/Surface Pro 4(Buying either of these products entitles a 2-year Subscription of Office 365), Microsoft Lumia 640 XL (Discounted price of $299 instead of $399) and Bose Mini Soundlink 2 (Discounted price of $199 instead of $299) giving the public huge discounts and more as posted in Gizmodo.

The store will ran smoothly with its 60 staff members who are all expected to perform different roles from customer service, to sales and marketing as well as technical support.

The store can also handle all troubleshooting and at the same time offers repair services to any Microsoft device including the old models.  They will also support all software updates, virus and malware removal which they will do for free. But there will be some charges  for hardware issues and complicated technical support.

The store features a “community theater” which can accommodate up to 45 people; this can be used for workshops, training and special events.

Microsoft Store is looking forward to serving the public.They have started by opening their very first store in Australia!

8 things we learned playing 'Fallout 4'

If you're a video game fan, prepare to part ways with your free time for the next several months. Fallout 4 has arrived.

The role-playing epic from publisher Bethesda Softworks stars players roaming as survivors of a nuclear war, escaping their underground vaults in search of life in a post-apocalyptic Boston.

Creators have not been shy in expressing how much time players will spend in the game. During an interview over the summer, one of the game's producers said he played Fallout 4 for more than 400 hours (not a typo) and still found new material.

Safe to say Fallout 4 is a really, really big game. But we knew that before its Tuesday launch. Here are some things we learned exploring Fallout's new wasteland.

1. Creating your character is a lot more interesting.Fallout 4 starts with a husband, wife and son in their suburban Boston home. Players choose a male or female character, with the selection represented by the couple jockeying for the bathroom mirror. As you change your appearance with the game's sculpting tool, the husband or wife might make a cute comment. "Sweetie, you like my nose, right?," says the female character as I adjust the shape of her nose. In another situation, the husband says "Shaun has your eyes," referring to their infant son. Like Fallout 3, as players experience the very quick shift from newborn to adult, Fallout 4 tries to establish a strong connection with your character from the beginning.

2. This game is great for hoarders. If this is your first trip in Fallout, scavenging is a huge component to succeeding. Nearly everything has value in Fallout 4. The weapon, piece of armor or stimpak (health pack) are obvious items to grab, but don't overlook that coffee cup, since it might provide ceramic needed to augment a weapon or add a crucial piece to your settlements (which we'll get to later). Seriously, take EVERYTHING. You might need it later.

3. Watch your weight. It's something I forgot until I noticed my character moving a lot slower than normal. Players can only carry so many items. Once they cross their limit, the excess gear slows them down. Always stay aware of the load you carry, and don't be afraid to sell items or scrap them for material.

4. Dogmeat is great ... most of the time. At one point, players meet their canine companion. The dog is great for carrying items, fetching new stuff and attacking enemies. Also, the sound of Dogmeat yelping after an attack always made me sad. Players press a button to issue commands, then pick their order such as "Fetch" or "Follow." You can even equip Dogmeat with armor. There were times where Dogmeat wasn't always helpful, like walking around in a circle while raiders were shooting, or when he ignored commands to investigate a body. Guess dog training schools are hard to find in a post-nuclear wasteland.

5. Real-time combat is a lot better. The Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.) is still great. If you're new to Fallout, players tap a button to use V.A.T.S., which slows down time and lets them dismember an enemy, such as shooting a leg to slow them down or an arm to cause enemies to drop their weapon (brace for lots of exploding body parts). Using V.A.T.S. eats up attack points, so players cannot lean on it every battle. Fortunately, compared to games like Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, real-time firefights are much better. You have greater control of your weapon, and aiming is easier.

6. Bugs are still a big problem. You don't only worry about Bloatflies and Radroaches in Fallout 4 (unless you're cooking them, which you can totally do). Players are going to see some strange technical glitches in the game, which likely won't surprise those who player earlier Fallout titles. I've seen Raiders get stuck in walls, my character mumbling at a reporter with no dialogue options and Dogmeat fight a mole rat while suspended in mid-air. You have been warned.

7. You can build your own Fallout settlements. One of the more interesting elements in Fallout 4 is the option to build your own settlements. With all that junk you've collected, you can create structures of wood or steel, and attract residents. But it's not as simple as putting up a building with some beds. If you want power, you need to build generators, then run a wire to the object you need to power. In workshop mode, any items a player sees can be scrapped for material. There are also workbenches to augment armor and weapons. As if you didn't have enough to occupy you with exploration. The only issue is the game doesn't really explain clearly exactly how to do this. There's a lot of trial and error involved.

8. It is very easy to get lost. This game reminds me a lot of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, in that you start out on a mission, then discover a new building to explore, or an empty settlement to build up. Or you find a Raider camp to clear out and scour for items. Or a Deathclaw tries to rip your face off. Or you run into that guy who wants to replace bottlecaps with a form of credit. There's way too much to do, which reminds me I have a Super Mutant den to clear out.