Jul 29, 2011 ~ TechShiraj

Hackers Unlock Car Doors Via SMS

Security researchers at iSec partners, Don Bailey and Mathew Solnik have discovered a way to unlock car doors and even start some car engines remotely using SMS.

The two researchers have managed to intercept the wireless messages that travel between software based systems like OnStar and cars, they were able to crack the protocol behind the systems and then duplicate it with a laptop in around two hours.

They have managed to use the hack on two different systems and unlock the vehicles, and they have given the system the name of ‘War Texting’, and will present it at the Black Hat Conference later this week, although they have said that they wont release any details on the system and how it works so that it can’t be used maliciously.

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f you have been patiently waiting for the the launch of Acer’s new Iconia Tab A100 Android tablet, your wait is now over as it’s expected to land in stores during August for around $300.

Originally the Acer Iconia Tab A100 was expected to launch in April 2011, but rumours surfaced that the 7 inch tablet was experiencing problems with its Honeycomb OS and its launch was pushed back a few months and then again to August.

When it arrives the new Acer Iconia Tab A100 will be equipped with a 1024 x 600 resolution 7 inch touchscreen and will be powered by a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor supported by 512mb or RAM and an Nvidia GeForce graphics chip. Together with Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth 2.1 wireless connectivity.

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Just as the new DLC Legacy update is released for Dragon Age 2 by EA, the game has unceremoniously been removed from the Steam games network by Valve, for breaking Steam’s Terms of Service. Rather than being made available via Steam’s own client, EA saw fit to release the new DLC via an in-game store, which has prompted Valve to remove the game from its network.

EA explains the situation but Valve is remaining quite about the removal of the Dragon Age 2 game.

“At EA, we offer our games and content to all major download services including GameStop, Amazon, Direct2Drive and Steam,”

“Unfortunately, Steam has adopted a set of restrictive terms of service which limit how developers interact with customers to sell downloadable content. No other download service has adopted this practice. Consequently some of our games have been removed by Steam.
“We hope to work out an agreement to keep our games on Steam.”

Has Dragon Age 2 disappearance from Steam affected you in anyway?

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It’s called the Timesnap, a wrist gadget that’s so packed with features we’re surprised it isn’t a smartphone as well. Fundamentally a well endowed MP3 and MP4 player, the Timesnap packs 4GB of storage space and video playing capabilities. It’s a mean muzack player to boot and has an upgradable SD memory (goes to 8GB). On top of these lovely attractions, the Timesnap–hold your breath–is also an e-reader, though we doubt reading text from such a small screen would be enticing.

Just to summarize the other stuff on the product page, the Timesnap has a flexible wristband, earphones, USB capabilities, picture storage, radio–standard for most players these days.

Oh yeah, it’s a watch too. We’re not sure about how all these juicy options will influence the battery life though, which is rechargable of course.

Also, having the Timesnap on your wrist with earphone wire snaking up your arm looks a little awkward for our taste. If it’s so loaded with features, maybe bluetooth capabilities should’ve been thrown in as well, right? No worries, as a Timesnap 2G or some variant is in the works. Maybe.

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Google has today rolled out a new feature to its beta Google+ social networking service, that’s been designed to help you stay up to date with the latest features added to the new Google+ service.

The recently added “What’s new in Google+” section enables you to read release notes for new features and developments within Google+ and contains a number of YouTube video’s explaining the features in detail and their purpose. Googler Natalie Villalobos introduces the new area in a video after the break.