Fake Certificate Puts Google Services Users at Peril of Hacking

Tej Kohli Technology blog warns its readers about a fake web certificate that has been circulating for about two months now. This certificate is letting hackers steal passwords and data from Google sites. Read the detailed report below at Tej Kohli blog.

The certificate which is valid for *.google.com was issued is July by a renowned SSL certificate authority, Diginotar. As per the reports it can be used to carry out “man-in-the-middle” attacks against Gmail and other Google service users.

You may think that you have logged in securely, but the attackers could monitor your key strokes to identify your password and other important data.

This was first brought to notice by a Gmail user in Iran.

“Today, when I tried to login to my Gmail account I saw a certificate warning in Chrome,” wrote Alibo. “I think my ISP or my government did this attack (because I live in Iran and you may hear something about the story of Comodo hacker!)”

Only this year in March, Iran was associated with the fraudulent issue of various SSL certificates from Comodo. Iranian Government was initially believed to be responsible for the attack, until an Iranian hacker claimed the responsibility.

However, this is the first time that a fraudulent certificate is known to have been used in the wild.

“The good news is that the computer security community is now taking this threat very seriously. Unfortunately, the bad news is spectacularly bad: users in Iran (or on any network where an eavesdropper had the key to this certificate) may have been vulnerable for two months,” say Seth Schoen and Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Google announced that it is now marking DigiNotar as untrusted in the next release of Chrome; Mozilla is doing the same in new versions of Firefox, Firefox Mobile and Thunderbird.

Tej Kohli is a technology expert with more than 10 years of experience in the same industry. For more technology updates, keep reading Tej Kohli blog.

Lenovo Releases ThinkPad Tablet Amidst $99 HP TouchPad Sale

Tej Kohli technology blog helps you keep tabs on the latest events in the gadget and technology industry. Even before the $99 TouchPad fever was over, Lenovo launched a tablet PC of its own for users. Read the complete report by Tej Kohli below…

After HP discontinued its recently launched TouchPad, which continues to sell at deeply reduced prices, its now Lenovo which just released its ThinkPad tablet device.

The ThinkPad by Lenovo features a 10.1 inch screen and is only available at lenovo.com as a part of pre-sales. Priced at $499 for a 16 GB model, the device is powered by the Google’s android OS. However, it could slip through the cracks while HP sells its discontinued 16 GB and 32 GB TouchPads at the highly slashed prices of $99 and $149 respectively.

Touted for increased productivity, the Lenovo ThinkPad runs on Android’s Honeycomb OS and features front and rear cameras, HDMI-out, a 3-in-1 SD card reader, and Gorilla Glass.

Some of the models of the ThinkPad available are: The Wi-Fi only, 16GB model is priced at $499, the 3G and Wi-Fi 32GB model is $569 and the 3G/Wi-Fi 64GB model is $669. Other accessories, like the keyboard and pen, are also available for purchase.

The sale of the TouchPad started as large retailers requested to clear out stockpiled inventory. According to the reports, Best Buy sold less than 10 percent of its inventory, sending back nearly 250,000 TouchPads to HP.

The TouchPad sale also comes amidst a change in plans for HP, which said recently that it would discontinue all webOS-powered devices in an effort “to optimize the value of webOS software going forward,” according to an HP representative.

Responding to this, HP instructed retailers through a memo to offer TouchPad at hevily discounted prices of $99 for 16 GB and $149 for 32 GB, a far cry from $500 and $600 launch price in July.

Although most vendors, including the manufacturer itself, declared to be out of stock of HP TouchPads during the fire sale, HP’s social media manager Bryna Corcoran tweeted that more TouchPads should be available this week.

“Home and Home Office Store: Confirmed they are definitely getting more. But not in stock just yet. Any day now. Stay tuned for more info,” she tweeted.

Tej Kohli is a technocrat himself as likes to stay abreast with latest developments in the technology market. For more updates by Tej Kohli, keep reading this blog.

Zuckerberg’s Sister Exits Facebook To Launch Her Own Venture!

Tej Kohli Technology blog brings you all the latest happening in the Technology and cyber world. In the recent news, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s sister has left Facebook to start her own venture. Read the complete report by Tej Kohli below.

Mark Zuckerberg’s elder sister Randi, and Facebook’s marketing director, is leaving her brother’s company after serving it for six years.

According to the reports, she gave her letter of resignation yesterday. The 29-year-old exec later tweeted about her leaving the world’s largest social network, which now claims 750 million users worldwide.

Facebook confirmed Randi’s exit and said she planned to start her own company.

“It is with mixed emotions that I announced my departure from Facebook today to launch my own initiative,” she wrote on Twitter.

Before later adding: “Thanks everyone for the incredible outpouring of support and enthusiasm for my next adventure. So grateful. More info coming shortly!”

In her missive to her Facebook bosses, COO Sheryl Sandberg and communications chief Elliot Schrage, Randi explained her motives for moving on:

“My goal is to launch my own innovative programming and work with media companies to develop their programming in new, and more social ways. In attacking this challenge, Facebook will clearly be a central element in all of my projects. I plan to demonstrate that ANYONE can do groundbreaking media work on the platform. And to the extent it makes sense for you, I’d be happy to advise Facebook on media projects, ‘Facebook Live’ or other initiatives if it is desired.”

Her new venture RtoZMedia, already has its own website offering a teaser landing page that reveals very little about her upcoming venture. However, one thing is clear she’s aiming to build a marketing powerhouse in Silicon Valley aimed at social media companies and it is highly unlikely that Google+ will end on her list of clients.

“As I end this chapter of my career, know that I leave with a deep love for Facebook and I value the experiences I have had here immensely. Be assured I will continue to be a strong, vocal evangelist for the most incredible social platform ever created,” she said.

“I am thankful for the strong mentorship, guidance, and support, which is empowering me to follow my dreams and show that you don’t have to be an engineer to be a hacker.”

Tej Kohli technology blog helps you stay abreast with latest happening is social media, mobile and internet world. For more updates, keep reading Tej Kohli blog.

Google+ is the end near?

Tej Kohli blog is a place to find the latest updates on the technology world. With Google+ making a grand entrance in the social networking market, the next question is whether it will stay or not? The report by Tej Kohli says otherwise.

Google+, the search engine giant’s new social networking stint, saw a 10% drop in the average time during the last week. This might imply that the service has peaked in usage, at least if numbers from web analytics Experian Hitwise is to be believed.

The new social networking platform by Google is raking in unbelievable sign up numbers nearing to about 20 million users in one month’s time. But that’s not too much for a service which is advertised on almost every page on the world’s most visited website.

The existential question confronting Google+ is whether people really use it or not? Google+ is trying to follow in the footsteps of Facebook, but the later is almost addictive. Millions of people around the globe are using Facebook and login to it several times a day to see their friend’s activities, photos and play games. How long people stay on Google+ is the only parameter which will determine who wins and who loses?

However, we cannot already say that Google+ is dead, the drop might be only a temporary plunge.

But what actually matters for Google+ is usage and how many people sign up.

Tej Kohli is a technology enthusiast and blogger with a keen interest in what’s happening on the technology front. For more informative articles by Tej Kohli, keep reading this blog.

Puccini – The HTC’s Next 10 inch Tablet

Tej Kohli technology blog shares another latest update on the technology and It industry. If the FCC’s latest filings are to be believed, HTC’s upcoming tablet will be named the Puccini. Read the complete report by Tej Kohli below.

Expected to be the successor to the company’s flagship Flyer tablet, the Puccini was recently submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as discovered by Engadget.

The Puccini will supposedly have a 10.1-inch display, putting it on par with other large-screen tablets like the iPad and Samsung’s biggest Galaxy Tab.

According to the filing, it will also include the tablet-optimized version of Android, known as Honeycomb, meaning it will carry a version number of at least 3.0. It will also sport a 1280×800-resolution screen and support for 720p HD video.

Tej Kohli reports that there is no information that what processor it’s planning to use, it’s expected HTC will go with a dual-core option like Nvidia’s Tegra 2.

The Flyer was a 7-inch device that has failed to gain much traction, but HTC’s place in the Android devices market is significant, especially the role it has played in Sprint’s first-to-market initiatives like the Evo 4G and the Evo 3D.

The company is still working on finding that distinctive spot in the market for tablets, and it has some interesting ideas like a special stylus controller and a proprietary interface.

Puccini is a name shared by a brilliant Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini, whose operatic creations are among the most famous and frequently performed around the world. That name has big shoes to fill, but we’ll see if HTC can do it.

Tej Kohli is an technology buff and loves to share updates about the gadgets world.