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Fake AMD Ryzen chips sold from several top named ecommerce websites

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 11:40:11 +0000

InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

Vendors are selling fake Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) Ryzen chips on several e-commerce websites.

External link: https://www.theepochtimes.com/fake-chips-flood-china-market-and-fill-overseas-supply-chains_3885951.html

Karl Utermohlen

July 18, 2017

Fake AMD Ryzen Chips

Consumers reported buying AMD Ryzen processors on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY), and receiving products that were clearly manufactured by different company.

There was one Reddit user who posted pictures of his AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor purchase on Amazon, which looked legitimate at first. He then realized that the device was clearly developed by a different company as it was an Intel Celeron (NASDAQ:INTC) processor.

Another user posted images of a processor he bought from Amazon, which appeared to be real as it has the Ryzen markings. However, it is different as some of its features are clearly part of a different microchip.

The notches and overall integrated heatspreader (IHS) are not the ones that the Ryzen 7 1700 processor brings, and it only has the company label through a transparent sticker that makes it look like a different brand.

It is unclear whether these devices are being sold through Amazon directly or through a third-party vendor.

One of these users said that he reported the problem to Amazon and received a replacement that actually contained the correct device.

AMD stock fell 2.8% Tuesday, while AMZN shares rose 0.8% and EBAY stock fell 1%.

Also from www.zerohedge.com website:

China Economic Observer reported a chip agent revealed that to meet the growing demand, suppliers were no longer keeping their counterfeiting practices secret. Instead, they are openly creating separate production lines to expedite the sales of counterfeit or refurbished chips. Furthermore, businesses are no longer offering the shoddy products at half price. Many are being sold at full market value.

The agent identified two types of counterfeit chips. The first involves recycling used chips from e-waste by removing the logo and cleaning them for resale with new packaging. The second involves packaging the substandard chips from the regular production line and selling them as good products.

Not surprisingly, customers were often dissatisfied with the product’s performance, reliability, and durability. However, the deficiencies were not immediately evident until after the chips were used over time or under extreme conditions. At which point, it would be the customers or manufacturer of the final products who suffer a loss, while the fake chip providers often avoid troubles, according to the chip agent.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Are Most Affected

China has long relied on imported chips. Small and medium-sized enterprises are unable to directly order from overseas manufacturers due to the small quantities, and can only purchase through third-party distributors. Thus, small and medium-sized enterprises in China have become the largest buyers of fake chips, and also the largest group of victims.

For example, a small company once designed a simple data acquisition card. The debugging stage always showed abnormal results. It raised concerns about the design. But through the help of a chip disassembly company that compared it with an authentic chip purchased through proper channels, they found that the problem stemmed from the chip being fake.

Some of the Fake Chips Flowed Overseas

The commercial district of Huaqiangbei in Shenzhen, Guangdong, is well known for its counterfeit chip dealers. It has become the largest distribution center for integrated circuit products in Asia. While most of the chips produced there stay in China, many are believed to be filling overseas supply chains, especially through the exporting of Chinese electronic products. It prompts legal liability concerns that rarely get resolved.

Zhu Yicong, a senior equity partner at Yingke (Shenzhen) Law Firm, told Chinese state media that legal actions are rarely taken against China’s questionable chip manufacturers. This is despite how China’s laws consider it illegal to offer “substandard” or counterfeit products. But because the term “substandard” is ambiguous, independent examiners may be needed to prove the chips being sold are not genuine and reliable.

Another reason is that some buyers, due to supply shortages or cost-cutting, take a tacit attitude towards illegal chips, and deliberately mix the genuine chips with the fake ones, which encouraged the formation of a counterfeit industrial chain. Unfortunately, the end-users and consumers have to bear all the risks.

Authored by Winnie Han via The Epoch Times

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Let’s Encrypt Revoking 3 Million TLS Certificates

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 12:55:35 +0000

The most popular free certificate signing authority Let’s Encrypt is going to revoke more than 3 million TLS certificates within the next 24 hours that may have been issued wrongfully due to a bug in its Certificate Authority software.

The bug, which Let’s Encrypt confirmed on February 29 and was fixed two hours after discovery, impacted the way it checked the domain name ownership before issuing new TLS certificates.

As a result, the bug opened up a scenario where a certificate could be issued even without adequately validating the holder’s control of a domain name.

The Certification Authority Authorization (CAA), an internet security policy, allows domain name holders to indicate to certificate authorities (CAs) whether or not they are authorized to issue digital certificates for a specific domain name.

Let’s Encrypt considers domain validation results good only for 30 days from the time of validation, after which it rechecks the CAA record authorizing that domain before issuing the certificate. The bug — which was uncovered in the code for Boulder, the certificate signing software used by Let’s Encrypt — is as follows:

“When a certificate request contained N domain names that needed CAA rechecking, Boulder would pick one domain name and check it N times.” In other words, when Boulder needed to parse, for example, a group of 5 domains names that required CAA rechecking, it would check one domain name 5 times as opposed to checking each of the 5 domains once.

The company said the bug was introduced as part of an update back in July 2019.

This means that Let’s Encrypt might have issued certificates that it shouldn’t have in the first place, as a result of which it’s revoking all the TLS certificates that were affected by the bug.

The development comes as Let’s Encrypt project announced last week that it had issued its one-billionth free TLS certificate since its launch in 2015.

Let’s Encrypt said 2.6 percent of approximately 116 million active certificates are affected — about 3,048,289 — out of which about one million are duplicates of other affected certificates.

Affected website owners have until 8PM UTC (3PM EST) March 4 to manually renew and replace their certificates, failing which visitors to the websites will be greeted with TLS security warnings — as the certificates are revoked — until the renewal process is complete.

It’s worth noting that the certificates issued by Let’s Encrypt are valid for a period of 90 days, and ACME clients such as Certbot are capable of automatically renewing them.

But with Let’s Encrypt revoking all impacted certificates, website admins will have to perform a forced renewal to prevent any interruptions.

Besides using the tool https://checkhost.unboundtest.com/ to check if a certificate needs replacement, Let’s Encrypt has put together a downloadable list of affected serial numbers, allowing subscribers to check if their websites rely on an affected certificate.

Have something to say about this article? Comment below or share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

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15000 compromised servers

admin — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 17:56:38 +0000

Swati Khandelwal

Technical Writer, Security Blogger and IT Analyst.

She is a Technology Enthusiast with a keen eye on the Cyberspace and other tech related developments.

Link: https://thehackernews.com/2017/05/cryptocurrency-mining-botnet.html

A new botnet consisting of more than 15,000 compromised servers has been used to mine various cryptocurrencies, earning its master around $25,000 per month.

Mining cryptocurrencies can be a costly investment, as it requires an enormous amount of computing power, but cybercriminals have found an easy money-making solution.

Dubbed BondNet, the botnet was first spotted in December 2016 by GuardiCore researchers, who traced back the botnet malware developer, using online handle Bond007.01, to China.

According to the GuardiCore researchers, Bond007.01 is currently using BondNet for mining cryptocurrencies

— primarily Monero, but also ByteCoin, RieCoin, and ZCash

— but they warn that the hacker could easily take full control of compromised servers for malicious purposes, like mounting Mirai-style DDoS attacks.

BondNet’s Botnet Infrastructure

One thing that’s worth noticing is that the botnet operator does not use all infected machines for mining cryptocurrencies. The operator has built its botnet infrastructure of compromised servers with various roles:

1. Some infected machines serve as scanning servers to check for vulnerable systems on the Internet by going through a list of IP addresses with open ports that have been compiled with the WinEggDrop TCP port scanner.

2. Some servers are used as file servers to host the mining software.

3. Other infected servers are turned into command-and-control (C&C) servers after they have been equipped with a fork of goup — a small open source HTTP server written in Golang.

“Building an attack infrastructure on top of victim machines helps conceal the attacker’s true identity and origin of the attack,” the GuardiCore researchers explained in their report published Thursday.

“It also provides high availability infrastructure, which is very helpful when relying on compromised servers, providing infinite backup options in case one of the servers fails or loses connectivity to the internet.”

BondNet has already infected more than 15,000 server machines at major institutions around the world, including high-profile global companies, universities, and city councils, while the majority of them runs Windows Server 2008 R2.

Additionally, the BondNet botnet adds around 500 new machines to its network each day, and an approximately the same number of servers are delisted.

Here’s How to Detect the Threat and How to Mitigate:

To prevent your machines from getting hacked, server admins are advised to secure their systems by regularly applying security patches for all software, updating the firmware, and employing stronger passwords.

Meanwhile, GuardiCore has also provided network and file indicators of compromise systems to help server administrators check whether their machines are among compromised ones.

The researchers have also released a detection & cleanup tool (registration is required to download it) to help admins find and remove BondNet bots from their servers, as well as instructions on how to clean the system manually, without using the script.

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WhatsApp found collecting data and phone numbers

admin — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 10:23:24 +0000

WhatsApp Found Collecting Data and phone numbers

says researchers at University of New Haven By Agan Uzunovic on October 30, 2015 Email @hackread Privacy

WhatsApp, one of the most popular online calling apps, has been exposed by a group of researchers who identified how app’s internal protocol is storing call duration and personal information of the participants.

Though, WhatsApp has never claimed itself to be an anonymous calling service but this new research has unveiled new information on how the app’s communication systems have been powered.

According to the researchers at the University of New Haven, WhatsApp uses FunXMPP protocol (deviated version of XMPP) XMPP has been used by Google for one its communication services, the Gtalk.

The researchers also analyzed the exchanges of messages between the Android phone and WhatsApp server. What they found was that WhasApp has set up a complete system of gathering the data.

First they authenticated the users involved in the call and then a communication channel was setup using Opus codec at 8 or 16 KHz. After this, they established the call’s relay servers and endpoint IP addresses.

The scraping of data doesn’t end here; researchers were able to identify the app sending Metadata like phones number, timestamp, audio codec for the call and the call duration to its servers.

Ibrahim (Abe) Baggili, a researcher at the University of New Haven said:

“Our research demonstrates the type of data that can be gathered through the forensic study of WhatsApp and provides a path for others to conduct additional studies into the network forensics of messaging apps.”

The researchers, after the analysis, raised the alarm for what could be a potential privacy hack with many people around the world using the app. But, they haven’t yet analyzed the servers storing the data for any security loopholes. If there are any could be exposed by the hackers.

“We decrypted the WhatsApp client connection to the WhatsApp servers and visualized messages exchanged through such a connection using a command-line tool we created,” the authors wrote. “This tool may be useful for deeper analysis of the WhatsApp protocol.”

On February 19, 2014, Facebook announced it was acquiring WhatsApp for US$19 billion, its largest acquisition to date. Despite Facebook‘s reputation of collecting and sharing data with security agencies, millions of users are still using WhatsApp.

WhatsApp has 450 million monthly users, 70 percent of whom use it every day. The service is adding a million new users a day. There are 19 billion messages sent and 34 billion received via WhatsApp each day, in addition to 600 million photos and 100 million video messages.

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8 Reasons to Switch from Windows 10 to Linux

admin — Sun, 20 Mar 2016 14:02:27 +0000

Derrik Diener 9th Jan 2016 Linux, Windows 150 Comments

Windows 10 has been out in the wild for a while now. For the most part, people have been really liking it. It’s probably the most streamlined version of Microsoft’s operating system to date. Still, some people aren’t happy with the upgrade and are looking at alternatives.

Introducing Linux: it’s a free and open source platform which many operating systems are built upon. If you’re looking to move from Windows to an alternative, here are eight compelling reasons why you should leave Microsoft for a more free and open source operating system.

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Windows 10 automatically installs without permission complain users

admin — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 23:45:46 +0000

Microsoft denies claims on Reddit, forums, gaming sites and Twitter that Windows 10 is being forced on Windows 7 PCs without asking users

Microsoft denies complaints that Windows 10 is being installed on user computers without permission. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA

Samuel Gibbs Tuesday 15 March 2016 11.02 GMT Last modified on Thursday 17 March 2016 12.27 GMT

Windows 7 users are reporting that Windows 10 is automatically installing on their PCs without permission.

Scores of users have posted on Twitter, forums, Reddit and gaming sites to complain about Windows 10 automatically installing, seemingly without asking, and often in the middle of doing something important.

Reddit user LHoT10820 posted a warning, which has attracted over 2,800 comments, about the forced Windows 10 upgrade after it “bricked” his father’s computer.

Geekygirlhere said: “Yep this happened to me this morning. Working and all of a sudden Windows closed all my programs, logged me out and started the upgrade. I quickly shut down my computer and was able to stop it but my son wasn’t so lucky. Same thing happened to him today.”

8165128200 said: “We’ve been getting calls trickling in all week from doctor’s offices, dental practices, B&Bs and roofing companies – among others – that have been hit by this and it’s a fucking mess.

“In some cases the upgrade went OK and the user is just really confused. In others, Windows 10 is asking for a login password the user set years ago and hasn’t used since, that was fun. In still another it’s screwed up access to their shared folders.”

Even senior reporter Patrick Klepek for gaming site Kotaku was seemingly forced into an upgrade to Windows 10.

‘Recommended update’

Get Windows 10. Photograph: Microsoft/PA

Microsoft recently changed the Windows 10 upgrade from “optional” to “recommended”, making it one level below the highest “critical” designation within Windows Update, the software update system built into Windows. The change means that if users have Windows update on Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 set to ‘install all recommended updates’, which many will do, the Windows 10 upgrade will automatically download to a user’s computer.

But Microsoft insists that Windows 10 will not automatically install without asking for explicit permission.

A Microsoft spokesperson said: “We shared in late October on the Windows Blog, we are committed to making it easy for our Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers to upgrade to Windows 10. As stated in that post, we have updated the upgrade experience to make it easier for customers to schedule a time for their upgrade to take place. Customers continue to be fully in control of their devices, and can choose to not install the Windows 10 upgrade or remove the upgrade from Windows Update by changing the Windows Update settings.”

Microsoft also states that reports that Windows 10 being forced on users are “not accurate” and suggests that users who seeing Windows 10 installed unexpectedly might have pre-selected to upgrade to the new operating system.

A Microsoft spokesperson said in a Q&A: “We have updated the upgrade experience for some of our customers, who had previously reserved their upgrade, to schedule a time for their upgrade to take place.”

Users may have also have unwittingly clicked or tapped on the ‘accept’ or ‘OK’ button, which user interface elements such as Windows Access Control and the modern trend of extensive permissions and password requests bombarding users with pop-ups demanding action, has trained users to do.

Either way, it is catching users unaware, without an obvious warning that significant changes will be made to their computers, and often in the middle of work, leading users to Twitter to vent their frustration.

For some, Windows 10 has been a breath of fresh air, the best version of Windows to date and an excellent software backing for 2-in-1 machines such as the Microsoft Surface Book. But Microsoft has been aggressive in its efforts to get users to upgrade, offering the new operating system for free and making it part of Windows Update rather than a manual download from the Windows Store or similar.

From Microsoft’s perspective it is imperative users upgrade and get in the habit of upgrading, as users of Apple’s OS X have, to avoid the legacy support issues the company has faced with Windows XP. Microsoft has struggled to convince users to upgrade from XP, even after the software dropped out of support.

Many see Windows 7 as being the next Windows XP, where users and businesses remain unconvinced about the benefits of upgrading and remain stuck on software that ended mainstream support on 13 January 2015 and ends its extended support on 14 January 2020, after which it will not receive much needed security updates in the same way XP no longer does.

Windows 10 – labeled as the last version of Windows with its constant upgrades – is seen as the answer, but users have to upgrade to it first.

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Apple Engineers Might Quit If Ordered To Unlock iPhone For FBI

admin — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 15:49:19 +0000

Even if law enforcement wins the case, it could still lose.

Michael Grothaus 03.18.16 7:15 AM

https://www.fastcompany.com/3058040/fast-feed/apple-engineers-might-quit-if-ordered-to-unlock-iphone-for-fbi

There’s a new challenge to law enforcement’s effort to get Apple to unlock one of the San Bernardino shooter’s phones. The government faces off against Apple in court on Tuesday to argue that the company must comply with a previous court order to bypass the security features built into iOS and also build a version of iOS with a back door accessible to the government. Apple has been strongly opposed to the order and now several key Apple engineers are saying they could simply quit the company instead of being forced to work to weaken the security of software and devices they helped build, reports the New York Times.

“Apple employees are already discussing what they will do if ordered to help law enforcement authorities,” reports the Times. “Some say they may balk at the work, while others may even quit their high-paying jobs rather than undermine the security of the software they have already created, according to more than a half-dozen current and former Apple employees.”

By choosing to quit instead of work on building what Apple is referring to as “GovtOS,” several legal experts told the Times, Apple and the engineers that choose to leave the company could likely avoid accusations of being in contempt of court. Indeed, Apple has already argued in its legal filings in the case that any conscription would curb an employee’s freedom of speech by forcing them to do things they consider offensive.

While quitting a job isn’t ideal for any employee, it’s not like these engineers would have trouble finding work elsewhere. “The fear of losing a paycheck may not have much of an impact on security engineers whose skills are in high demand,” notes the Times. “Indeed, hiring them could be a badge of honor among other tech companies that share Apple’s skepticism of the government’s intentions.”

Apple has said that if it is ordered to build “GovtOS” it would likely take six to 10 Apple engineers a month to do so. Sources told the Times that the team would need to be made up of very specific engineers in Apple across its hardware, software, and services division. And while Apple currently doesn’t have a GovtOS team assembled, the specific members of the team are obvious.

“They include an engineer who developed software for the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. That engineer previously worked at an aerospace company. Another is a senior quality-assurance engineer who is described as an expert ‘bug catcher’ with experience testing Apple products all the way back to the iPod. A third likely employee specializes in security architecture for the operating systems powering the iPhone, Mac and Apple TV,” the Times reports.

Of course, these Apple employees could simply refuse to comply with the order instead of quitting, but in doing so, say legal sources, those employees and Apple could then be found in contempt of court.

But if every engineer Apple needed for GovtOS quit “Apple could demonstrate that this happened to the court’s satisfaction, then Apple could not comply and would not have to,” Joseph DeMarco, a former federal prosecutor, told the Times. “It would be like asking my lawn guy to write the code.”

This is, of course, all theoretical, for now. No one knows what the outcome of Apple’s legal battle with the FBI will be or how long and drawn out the fight will be. But if worse comes to worst, the FBI may still not get what it wants.

“It’s an independent culture and a rebellious one,” Jean-Louis Gassée, a former engineering manager at Apple, told the Times. “If the government tries to compel testimony or action from these engineers, good luck with that.”

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Windows 10 spying on us all

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 21:37:26 +0000

Learn how to opt out of Microsoft’s intrusive new terms of use

Windows 10 running on a phone at a technology show in March TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images

Windows 10 has been well received by users and tech writers alike, but parts of Microsoft’s new privacy policy are raising eyebrows due to concerns that they could be ‘spying’ on what users do.

The tech company’s service agreement stretches to 12,000 words, but one part of it has worried users over the safety of their data.

One excerpt worryingly tells users that “we will access, disclose and preserve personal data”, including the contents of emails or files in private folders.

They add that they will do this when they need to comply with law enforcement, prevent spam, maintain the security of their networks, or protect their rights or property.

Microsoft also keeps tabs on your behaviour in order to target adverts to you – something you might be uncomfortable with, or might just find annoying.

If you’re worried about your privacy then you might be put off by upgrading to Windows 10 – which is a shame, because early reviews all seem to agree that it’s a really good operating system.

Fortunately, it’s possible to opt-out of these privacy policies, and Rock Paper Shotgun have explained how to do it.

Go to Settings – Privacy and turn off everything that looks dodgy

Joe Belfiore, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, at a launch event for Microsoft 10

There are 13 screens you need to get through to cover every aspect of your machine, including what apps and programs have access to your location, contacts, messaging details and camera, amongst other things.

Turn off Cortana

Again, this could be a problem, as the Cortana search function, which is similar to Apple’s Siri, has been highly praised as one of the best functions of Windows 10.

However, one of the reasons it works so well is because it logs your past searches and can provide suggestions and more personalised search results.

Users will have to decide whether they’re willing to disable Cortana in exchange for increasing privacy.

Turn off personalised ads

What Microsoft 10’s new home screen looks like

Obviously, ads that are tailored to what you want depend on storing some of your data, otherwise you’d be bombarded with adverts for things you have no intention of buying.

Windows 10 ads work by delivering you targeted adverts wherever you’re logged in to your Microsoft account, whether you’re on desktop, mobile or tablet.

It’s clear that Microsoft doesn’t want users to do this, because it’s not as easy to disable as the other privacy features.

However, it’s still pretty straightforward. You need to go to an external website, and simply turn both personalised ad options to ‘off’.

Use a local Windows account

This is a fairly drastic option, because it would severely cut back on the synchronisation of features between your devices.

Instead of using an existing Windows account, you could use a newly made local account instead – this prevents Microsoft from getting your data, and using it to make sure your machine is updated when you log on with a Windows account.

This is a useful feature, but if you’re concerned about the data harvesting that it involves, it just takes a simple step to avoid it.

Some people may prefer the convenience of synced features and targeted ads, and that’s fine – but the privacy policy can be quite intrusive, and you’re opted in automatically. Fortunately, it’s fairly straightforward to opt out of.

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9 Dollar computer made in Oakland Ca Usa

admin — Sat, 23 May 2015 23:44:00 +0000

CHIP – The World’s First Nine Dollar Computer

https://www.cvtfradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/CHIP-The-Worlds-First-Nine-Dollar-Computer-by-Next-Thing-Co-—-Kickstarter.mp4

What can you do with a $9 computer? Just about anything.

A new microcomputer called Chip is hot on crowd-funding site Kickstarter. It promises an easy way to learn how to program with a tiny board that packs Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and internal storage — something you don’t find in another popular microcomputer, Raspberry Pi.

Watch Update to learn more what the Chip can do, along with news on Google’s Map Maker woes and reports on self-driving cars getting dinged up in California.

C.H.I.P. is a computer. It’s tiny and easy to use.

C.H.I.P. does computer things. Work in LibreOffice and save your documents to C.H.I.P.’s onboard storage. Surf the web and check your email over wifi. Play games with a bluetooth controller. With dozens of applications and tools preinstalled, C.H.I.P. is ready to do computer things the moment you power it on.

C.H.I.P. is a computer for students, teachers, grandparents, children, artists, makers, hackers, and inventors. Everyone really. C.H.I.P. is a great way to add a computer to your life and the perfect way to power your computer based projects.

C.H.I.P. has built in WiFi + Bluetooth. Connect to the internet and attach a keyboard and mouse WIRELESSLY!

C.H.I.P. is designed to work with any screen. Old or new. Big or small.

Connect via C.H.I.P.’s built-in composite output or add a simple adapter for either VGA or HDMI.

Use C.H.I.P. with LibreOffice to edit spreadsheets, create word documents, or craft presentations. It’s all there.

Use the Chromium browser to surf the web. Check out websites, send emails, watch videos, and more. The internet awaits.

C.H.I.P. comes pre-loaded with Scratch – an easy to learn language that teaches the basics of programing by making stories, games, and animations.

Connect bluetooth controllers to C.H.I.P. and play thousands of games both retro and new. Been missing that amazing DOS game from your childhood? C.H.I.P. plays it!

Connect a MIDI keyboard to C.H.I.P. and jam. Use it as a portable music player or as part of your favorite setup. Attach powered speakers and hear your tunes at full volume. Rock on!

C.H.I.P.’s open source operating system is easy to use and navigate. Its graphical display is just like what you’re used to!

C.H.I.P. comes preinstalled with dozens of useful applications, tools and amazing games. Beyond those, C.H.I.P. can run THOUSANDS of free applications from the open source community.

PocketC.H.I.P. makes C.H.I.P. portable! PocketC.H.I.P. gives C.H.I.P. a 4.3” touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, and 5-hour battery – in a case small enough to fit in your back pocket.

SPECS

3,000 mAH battery
4.3″ 470px x 272px screen w/ resistive touch
Full Super-Clicky QWERTY keyboard
Rugged Injection Molded Shell
Fully open source
GPIO breakouts
C.H.I.P. is removable via hatch

USING PocketC.H.I.P. WITH C.H.I.P.

At 1Ghz and with 512MB of DDR3 RAM, C.H.I.P. is powerful enough to run real software, and handle the demands of a full GUI just as well as it handles attached hardware. Best of all, CHIP runs mainline Linux, which means it’s easier than ever to keep teaching it new tricks without inheriting a pile of kernel patches.

Speaking of power, C.H.I.P. includes a fully integrated battery power circuit so that you can take your project outside right away. No external power circuit needed, just attach a 3.7v LiPo battery to C.H.I.P. and you’re ready to go mobile.

Most important, though, is that C.H.I.P. is built to be flexible. Whether you’re building yourself a wall clock that counts down time to the next bus at your stop, or setting up a network of hundreds of solar-powered air quality sensors for use in disaster relief, you need the same basic tools to start from: a processor, a way to exchange data, and a way to power everything. With C.H.I.P., all the groundwork is laid, and the only question is what you’ll do next.

We built C.H.I.P. to make tiny powerful computers more accessible and easier to use. A huge part of making C.H.I.P. accessible is making sure that it can change to meet the needs of the community. That’s why both C.H.I.P. and PocketC.H.I.P. are both TOTALLY OPEN SOURCE. This means all hardware design files schematic, PCB layout and bill of materials are free for you the community to download, modify and use.

Can’t wait to get started developing on C.H.I.P.? Join our team! By backing at the Kernel Hacker level, you’ll get one of the first 1000 pre-release “Alpha” C.H.I.P. prototypes, hot off the reflow line *THIS SEPTEMBER* PLUS you’ll be first in line for five C.H.I.P.s and one PocketC.H.I.P. as soon as they are ready. This is a special backer level meant only for hardcore linux devs who want to make meaningful contributions toward helping us build C.H.I.P.’s kernel software. If that sounds like the kind of challenge you’d like to sink your teeth into, back at the Kernel Hacker level, and join us on the march towards open source glory! ╭( ･ㅂ･)و

We’ve worked very closely with the amazing team at Allwinner Technology to insure that all the necessary documentation and source code for the System on Chip and Power Management Chips used in C.H.I.P. will be available for the community to use and learn from.

At Next Thing Co. we love to make things. The only thing we love more than making, is sharing what we make. We’re so excited to see what you’ll do with a $9 computer.

It takes more than the whole Next Thing Co. team to make C.H.I.P. possible. These are a few of the many amazing folks who have helped along the way: The entire Allwinner team (Ben, Wang Kang, Yinwei, Jet), Our endlessly supportive investors and mentors (Brownell, Cyril, Sean, Ryan, Brad and the FGAngels crew), all of our OTTO Kickstarter backers, the whole HAXLR8R squad – Duncan, Ben, Peter, Qiyu, Atomman and Sally, the wonderful folks at Bay Area Circuits, FATHOM, Kilovolt Coffee, and our families, who have supported us through long nights and endless trips to China.

Thanks!

Risks and challenges

The risks inherent in volume manufacturing are real, and we’ve taken every precaution to prepare for and actively address them. With the support of our manufacturing and distribution partners we are well equipped for the challenges ahead. We promise to keep our backers updated and informed about any issues that may arise ¡VIVA C.H.I.P!

Learn about accountability on Kickstarter

FAQ

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WordPress Security Alert

admin — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 20:26:39 +0000

WordPress Security Alert – WP Super cache

Credit: Wikipedia

Upgrade immediately

ITWorld|April 8, 2015

Security firm Sucuri revealed on their blog this week that they had uncovered a persistent cross-site scripting vulnerability in the popular WordPress plugin WP Super Cache. The effects of this vulnerability can be severe as an attacker can potentially insert malicious code into WordPress pages without your knowledge. Anyone who has experienced this type of attack due to a plugin security flaw knows how difficult and time consuming remediation can be.

Cypress North

WP Super Cache is deployed across all of the WordPress sites we host in our data center, and for good reason. The excellent plugin dramatically boosts the performance of WordPress sites while simultaneously reducing load on the web servers. The code for this plugin is mature and stable, rarely requiring updates. That’s part of the reason why it’s trusted by over 7 million websites. It’s popularity makes this security flaw a big concern for site owners.

Cypress North

The update process is quick and easy so you should take the time to log in and click the update now link as soon as you’re able. If you’re fortunate enough to maintain your sites under a multi-site install you’ll be able to take care of this issue in one shot. Otherwise, like us, you’re stuck logging into each installation and manually updating each site like we spent all yesterday doing.

According to the blog post by Marc-Alexandre Montpas:

Using this vulnerability, an attacker using a carefully crafted query could insert malicious scripts to the plugin’s cached file listing page. As this page requires a valid nonce in order to be displayed, a successful exploitation would require the site’s administrator to have a look at that particular section, manually.

The nonce requirement lowers the odds of the backdoor taking effect since the cached page gets purged periodically, but still, better safe than sorry. The scale of the vulnerable sites makes exploitation an inevitable event. Do your part to protect the web and get updating.

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