Google will start removing Chrome extensions with cryptocurrency mining scripts

Despite new regulatory hurdles and a market downturn, the adoption of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, it has given rise to a cottage industry: cryptocurrency mining, or the process of validating transactions and obtaining cryptocurrency in return. Those transactions become more computationally intensive over time. These days, mining profitably requires powerful hardware. That’s encouraged some malicious actors to target computers through Chrome extensions, but Google’s putting a stop to the practice.

Starting today, the Chrome Web Store will no longer accept extensions that contain cryptocurrency mining scripts. Existing extensions will be removed in late June.

Until now, Google has permitted developers to submit cryptocurrency mining extensions to the Chrome Web Store that (1) are solely intended for mining and (2) don’t try to obfuscate their mining behavior. But according to the search giant, the vast majority of mining extensions—approximately 90%—failed to comply with its policies.

“Over the past few months, there has been a rise in malicious extensions that appear to provide useful functionality on the surface, while embedding hidden cryptocurrency mining scripts that run in the background without the user’s consent,” James Wagner, Extensions Platform Product Manager at Google, wrote in a blog post on the Chromium blog. “These mining scripts often consume significant CPU resources, and can severely impact system performance and power consumption.”

The ban on cryptocurrency mining extensions won’t impact extensions with other digital currency-related functionality, such as Bitcoin price checkers, cryptocurrency wallet managers, and blockchain browsers. That’s an important distinction. Apps like MetaMask, a popular extension that acts as a middleman between Chrome and Ethereum, will still be allowed.

“The [Chrome] extensions platform provides powerful capabilities that have enabled our developer community to build a vibrant catalog of extensions that help users get the most out of Chrome,” Mr. Wagner wrote. “This policy is another step forward in ensuring that Chrome users can enjoy the benefits of extensions without exposing themselves to hidden risks.”

Chrome isn’t the only Google platform that has been the target of malicious cryptocurrency miners. In November, Ars Technica uncovered a number of popular Android applications with mining scripts, two of which had been downloaded 50,000 times. In December, Sophos published a report on Loapi, a new form of cryptocurrency-mining malware that masquerades as pornography content and antivirus software on the Play Store. And in January, Trend Micro said that a cryptocurrency mining service called Coinhive was hijacking YouTube users’ computers to mine Monero, a digital currency.

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Google is possibly preparing a mid-range Pixel device to launch in India

Google, like many other smartphone OEMs, realizes India is one of the biggest emerging markets when it comes to mobile and online activity. The market in India is unique compared to Google’s home country of the United States. This has resulted in the company going the extra mile to meet the demands of these potential customers. Some of the products from Google’s hardware division are priced right for India, but the Pixel lineup most definitely is not. Google has Android Go as a way for local OEMs to bring low-end devices to market but a new report says they’ll be launching a mid-range Pixel smartphone around July or August.

The introduction of this new mid-range Pixel smartphone for India is part of a larger push into the country. Executives recently held meetings with select retailers in Malaysia, the UK, and the US last month with select Indian retailers taking part of the conversation. ET tech reports that Google will be launching their smart speakers, high-end Pixelbook Chromebook, and their intelligent home automation products including Google WiFi and Nest’s doorbell, camera, alarm system, and smoke detector.

Some of these products are instantly going to be too expensive for a lot of people within the country of India. The Pixelbook alone has been criticised for its high price in the Chromebook market in multiple countries around the world. Another product that Google has received complaints about is the Pixel smartphone series. It’s clear they want to use the high-end Pixel devices to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung, but that is not what will help bring the “next billion” online that Google has talked about so often.

The introduction of a mid-range Pixel smartphone sounds like a great idea in general but it could really help to bolster the company’s hardware presence in the Indian market. Additional details of the device itself (including hardware) have yet to be revealed but it is something we will be anxious to learn about more in the future.

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Source: ET tech

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T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is receiving the Android Oreo update

Last week was a big week for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 on US carriers. It started off with the AT&T model getting the Android Oreo update. A couple of days later, the Verizon and Sprint models joined the party. That only left T-Mobile as the last major US carrier to deliver the update. T-Mobile is usually not the last to send major updates, but they got beat out this time. Thankfully, the update is rolling out now.

The update comes in at 1.3GB in size and brings the firmware build up to CRC2, just like with the other carrier models. This is the Android 8.0 update and it also includes the March security patch. Of course, you can expect all the typical Oreo features. Notification channels, picture-in-picture mode, notification snoozing, background app optimizations, and more. The update also brings Samsung Experience up to version 9.0.

The update officially started rolling out on April 1st. T-Mobile has listed the update on their website, but they don’t include much of a changelog. As always, you can manually check for the update by heading to Settings > Software update. All of the US carrier models of the Note 8 have been updated to Oreo. The unlocked Snapdragon model is still waiting for the update.

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Source: T-Mobile Via: Droid-Life

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How Streamza Lets You Torrent Files Safely

Torrenting files can be a great way to access everything from music and apps to games and programming platforms. It can also be very dangerous since many torrenting services make your IP and other sensitive information vulnerable to attack.

Streamza eliminates these dangers by letting you torrent in complete anonymity, and a lifetime license along with a 200 GB monthly data allowance is available for $39.99—over 90% off its usual price.

Unlike most torrenting services that either increase system vulnerabilities, slow your browsing speed, or both, Streamza lets you torrent quickly, safely, and efficiently—all through an intuitive platform that’s easy to navigate. You’ll be able to download 200 GB of files each month and build an instantly accessible content library without having to pay for a recurring subscription.

Streamza keeps your IP fully hidden, includes 10 points so you can encode MKV/AVI into an MP4 format for streaming (either in your browser or via download), and even lets you access your files and content from anywhere, thanks to included Cloud storage that’s compatible with Roku, iPhone, Android, and more.

Find out for yourself why Streamza is one of the top-rated torrenting services on the Web by signing up for lifetime access and a 200 GB monthly data allowance, all for over 90% off at just $39.99.

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Xiaomi Mi Max 2 receives unofficial LineageOS 15.1 based on Android 8.1 Oreo with nearly everything working

The Xiaomi Mi Max series is aimed at the phablet enthusiast: huge screen sizes and huge batteries are the main selling points. The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 offers a gargantuan 6.4″ screen and a 5,300 mAh battery. The device launched with Android 7.1 Nougat with MIUI 8.5, and while the device is expected to receive an Android Oreo update we’re still waiting on Xiaomi to roll it out. If you aren’t a fan of MIUI and want to have Android 8.1 Oreo on your Mi Max 2 now, then you’ll be happy to know that there’s now an unofficial LineageOS 15.1 build available.

This build was made by XDA Senior Member ashwin007. It’s unofficial, which means you won’t find it on the LineageOS website as it doesn’t yet meet all of the requirements under the Device Support Requirements Charter, but unofficial doesn’t mean unstable. On the contrary, almost everything works in this build.

All you have to do is unlock the bootloader, flash the TWRP in the linked thread, flash the unofficial build, and finally flash the recommended Google apps package (in this case, OpenGapps). You can optionally flash the superuser package if you want root access, though LineageOS 15.1 offers a ton of extra features on top of AOSP so you probably won’t need to tinker with much unless you really want the Xposed Framework (and you don’t need root to theme your device via Substratum).

Check out the link below if you are interested in flashing this ROM on your Xiaomi Mi Max 2. Xiaomi may take their sweet time before rolling out the official update, so you don’t have to wait to enjoy Android Oreo!

Download unofficial LineageOS 15.1 for the Xiaomi Mi Max 2

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Google Home and Home Mini set to launch in India in April

The Google Home was launched in 2016 for $129 as Google’s first smart speaker. Since then, Google has also launched the affordable Home Mini as well as the high-end Home Max in markets such as the US. However, the company has yet to launch any of its smart speakers in India. A new report by NDTV Gadgets states this will change this month.

NDTV Gadgets states that the Google Home and Home Mini are finally set to arrive in India in April. This is based on communication shared by Redington India with its retail partners. The rumor of the Google Home’s India launch comes five months after Amazon’s launch of the Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Plus in India. This means that Amazon has a head-start in the country, as its speakers have already been available since November.

The Google Home is a smart speaker powered by Assistant. It’s intended as Google’s competitor to the Amazon Echo, and it’s worth noting that Amazon and Google dominate the smart speaker market. Amazon is in the first position with the Alexa-powered Echo range of smart speakers, followed by Google with the Google Assistant-powered Home speakers.

Users can interact with the Google Home by setting up the speaker to recognize their voice. They can choose from two hotword commands: ‘Ok Google’ and ‘Hey Google’. The smart speaker can answer common queries and help manage tasks such as reminders, appointments, etc. The device has interchangeable bases that come in a variety of colors.

The Home Mini, on the other hand, was launched in October 2017 alongside the Home Max. It’s intended as a budget and compact option, as it retails for $49. It’s a competitor to Amazon’s Echo Dot, which retails for Rs. 4499 ($69) in India.

As of now, there is no available information regarding the Indian pricing of the Google Home and Mini. It’s also unknown whether the Wi-Fi-enabled speakers will be available only via offline stores or whether they will be sold online as well. We expect to learn about the speakers’ Indian price tags at the official launch event.

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Source: NDTV Gadgets

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Site Isolation in Google Chrome will roll out in version 67

Google Chrome is the most popular web browser worldwide, but that doesn’t mean it’s free from flaws. Consistently, Chrome has distinguished itself as a fast web browser, and its minimalist user interface has been praised as well. On the other hand, the browser’s heavy usage of system resources has been criticized by users. Users generally find that the amount of RAM used by Chrome is more than the amount of RAM used by competing browsers.

One of the defining features of Chrome is the fact that it has a sandboxed process model. Nominally, each tab gets its own process for security reasons. This is because one particular tab crashing should not bring down the whole web browser. Also, by having multiple system processes, malware in a particular tab is isolated from stealing data of another tab.

Up until now, the “one process for every tab” has had its nuances. Related web pages used a shared process, for example. If users used a single tab and browsed multiple websites, then the sites would share the same process. If the user opened a link from a tab, then the new tab would also share the same process as it was a “related” page. However, this changes with Site Isolation in Chrome.

Site Isolation was introduced in Google Chrome 63, but it hasn’t been enabled up until now. The feature introduces a stricter process model, as a new process is required for each and every website. The sharing system of processes between related tabs has been eliminated, which means that now, each tab will have its own system process with no exceptions being allowed.

This has its upsides and downsides. The upside here is that security is improved. The downside is that Chrome’s memory usage (which is extremely high already) is increased even more by the feature. According to Google, with Site Isolation enabled, Chrome’s memory usage can go up by 10-20 percent.

We have enabled Site Isolation on Chrome Beta to ensure we get as much coverage as possible before making it the default. If you hit issues https://t.co/aOhzzcmMD8 has instructions. Help us find any functional bugs so we can fix them in timely manner before hitting stable Chrome!

— Nasko Oskov (@nasko) March 29, 2018

Yup. Looks like we're on track to turn it on in Chrome 67. After that they need to finish locking it down, and work out the plan for Android.

— Justin Schuh (@justinschuh) March 31, 2018

Now, Site Isolation has been enabled in Chrome Beta. This was done to ensure that the feature gets as much coverage as possible before it is made the default. A member of the Google Chrome security and desktop engineering team states that the company is on track to turn the feature on in Google Chrome 67. The Chrome team advises users to help them find bugs, so that they can be resolved before Site Isolation is rolled out in the stable version.

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