Security: 2015q1 Concerns

Viruses, Worms, Vulnerabilities and Spyware concerns during and just prior 2015 Q1.

• [2015-03-07] Litecoin-mining code found in BitTorrent app, freeloaders hit the roof
  "μTorrent users are furious after discovering their favorite file-sharing app is quietly bundled with a Litecoin mining program. The alt-coin miner is developed by distributed computing biz Epic Scale, and is bundled in some installations of μTorrent, which is a Windows BitTorrent client. Some peeps are really annoyed that Epic's code is running in the background while they illegally pirate torrent movies and Adobe Creative Suite Linux ISOs, and say they didn't ask for it to be installed."
  
  
• [2015-03-06] FREAKing HELL: All Windows versions vulnerable to SSL snoop
  "Microsoft has confirmed that its implementation of SSL/TLS in all versions of Windows is vulnerable to the FREAK encryption-downgrade attack. This means if you're using the firm's Windows operating system, an attacker on your network can potentially force Internet Explorer and other software using the Windows Secure Channel component to deploy weak encryption over the web. Intercepted HTTPS connections can be easily cracked, revealing sensitive details such as login cookies and banking information, but only if the website or service at the other end is still supporting 1990s-era cryptography (and millions of sites still are)."
  
  
• [2015-03-05] Broadband routers: SOHOpeless and vendors don't care
  "Home and small business router security is terrible. Exploits emerge with depressing regularity, exposing millions of users to criminal activities. Many of the holes are so simple as to be embarrassing. Hard-coded credentials are so common in small home and office routers, comparatively to other tech kit, that only those with tin-foil hats bother to suggest the flaws are deliberate."
  
• [2015-03-05] Obama criticises China's mandatory backdoor tech import rules
  "US prez Barack ‪Obama has criticised China's new tech rules‬, urging the country to reverse the policy if it wants a business-as-usual situation with the US to continue. As previously reported, proposed new regulations from the Chinese government would require technology firms to create backdoors and provide source code to the Chinese government before technology sales within China would be authorised. China is also asking that tech companies adopt Chinese encryption algorithms and disclose elements of their intellectual property."
  
• [2015-03-05] Sales up at NSA SIM hack scandal biz Gemalto
  "Sales at the world's biggest SIM card maker, Gemalto, which was last month revealed to have been hacked by the NSA and GCHQ, rose by five per cent to €2.5bn (£1.8bn) in 2014. Following the hack, the company's share price fell by $470m last month. In February, it was revealed that the NSA and Britain's GCHQ had hacked the company to harvest the encryption keys, according to documents leaked by former NSA sysadmin, whistleblower Edward Snowden."
  
  
• [2015-02-24] SSL-busting adware: US cyber-plod open fire on Comodo's PrivDog
  "Essentially, Comodo's firewall and antivirus package Internet Security 2014, installs a tool called PrivDog by default. Some versions of this tool intercept encrypted HTTPS traffic to force ads into webpages. PrivDog, like the Lenovo-embarrassing Superfish, does this using a man-in-the-middle attack: it installs a custom root CA certificate on the Windows PC, and then intercepts connections to websites. Web browsers are fooled into thinking they are talking to legit websites, such as online banks and secure webmail, when in fact they are being tampered with by PrivDog so it can inject adverts. If that's not bad enough, PrivDog turns invalid HTTPS certificates on the web into valid ones: an attacker on your network can point your computer at an evil password-stealing website dressed up as your online bank, and you'd be none the wiser thanks to PrivDog."
  
• [2015-02-23] Psst, hackers. Just go for the known vulnerabilities
  "Every one of the top ten vulnerabilities exploited in 2014 took advantage of code written years or even decades ago, according to HP, which recorded an increase in the level of mobile malware detected. “Many of the biggest security risks are issues we’ve known about for decades, leaving organisations unnecessarily exposed,” said Art Gilliland, senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise Security Products, HP. “We can’t lose sight of defending against these known vulnerabilities by entrusting security to the next silver bullet technology; rather, organisations must employ fundamental security tactics to address known vulnerabilities and in turn, eliminate significant amounts of risk," he added."

[Chinese Virus Image, courtesy WatchChinaTimes.com]

• [2015-02-20] So long, Lenovo, and no thanks for all the super-creepy Superfish
  "Chinese PC maker Lenovo has published instructions on how to scrape off the Superfish adware it installed on its laptops – but still bizarrely insists it has done nothing wrong. That's despite rating the severity of the deliberate infection as "high" on its own website. Well played, Lenonope. Superfish was bundled on new Lenovo Windows laptops with a root CA certificate so it could intercept even HTTPS-protected websites visited by the user and inject ads into the pages. Removing the Superfish badware will leave behind the root certificate – allowing miscreants to lure Lenovo owners to websites masquerading as online banks, webmail and other legit sites, and steal passwords in man-in-the-middle attacks."
  
  
• [2015-02-15] Mozilla's Flash-killer 'Shumway' appears in Firefox nightlies
  "Open source SWF player promises alternative to Adobe's endless security horror. In November 2012 the Mozilla Foundation announced “Project Shumway”, an effort to create a “web-native runtime implementation of the SWF file format.” Two-and-a-bit years, and a colossal number of Flash bugs later, Shumway has achieved an important milestone by appearing in a Firefox nightly, a step that suggests it's getting closer to inclusion in the browser. Shumway's been available as a plugin for some time, and appears entirely capable of handling the SWF files."
  
  
• [2015-01-29] What do China, FBI and UK have in common? All three want backdoors...
  "The Chinese government wants backdoors added to all technology imported into the Middle Kingdom as well as all its source code handed over. Suppliers of hardware and software must also submit to invasive audits, the New York Times reports. The new requirements, detailed in a 22-page document approved late last year, are ostensibly intended to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical Chinese industries. Ironically, backdoors are slammed by computer security experts because the access points are ideal for hackers to exploit as well as g-men."
   
• [2015-01-15] Console hacker DDoS bot runs on lame home routers
  "Console DDoSers Lizard Squad are using insecure home routers for a paid service that floods target networks, researchers say. The service crawls the web looking for home and commercial routers secured using lousy default credentials that could easily be brute-forced and then added to its growing botnet. Researchers close to a police investigation into Lizard Squad shared details of the attacks with cybercrime reporter Brian Krebs. The attacks used what was described as a 'crude' spin-off of a Linux trojan identified in November that would spread from one router to another, and potentially to embedded devices that accept inbound telnet connections. High-capacity university routers were also compromised in the botnet which according to the service boasted having run 17,439 DDoS attacks or boots at the time of writing."

• [2014-12-14] CoolReaper pre-installed malware creates backdoor on Chinese Androids
  "Security researchers have discovered a backdoor in Android devices sold by Coolpad, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer. The “CoolReaper” vuln has exposed over 10 million users to potential malicious activity. Palo Alto Networks reckons the malware was “installed and maintained by Coolpad despite objections from customers”. It's common for device manufacturers to install software on top of Google’s Android mobile operating system to provide additional functionality or to customise Android devices. Some mobile carriers install applications that gather data on device performance. But CoolReaper operates well beyond the collection of basic usage data, acting as a true backdoor into Coolpad devices - according to Palo Alto.CoolReaper has been identified on 24 phone models sold by Coolpad."
  
  
• [2014-11-24] Regin: The super-spyware the security industry has been silent about
  "A public autopsy of sophisticated intelligence-gathering spyware Regin is causing waves today in the computer security world... On Sunday, Symantec published a detailed dissection of the Regin malware, and it looks to be one of the most advanced pieces of spyware code yet found. The software targets Windows PCs, and a zero-day vulnerability said to be in Yahoo! Messenger, before burrowing into the kernel layer. It hides itself in own private area on hard disks, has its own virtual filesystem, and encrypts and morphs itself multiple times to evade detection. It uses a toolkit of payloads to eavesdrop on the administration of mobile phone masts, intercept network traffic, pore over emails, and so on... Kaspersky's report on Regin today shows it has the ability to infiltrate GSM phone networks. The malware can receive commands over a cell network, which is unusual."
  

Security: Heartbleed, Apple, MacOSX, iOS, Linux, and Android

Abstract:
Nearly every computing device today is connected together via a network of some kind. These connections open up opportunities or vulnerabilities for exploitation by mafia, criminals, or government espionage via malware. While computers such as MacOSX are immune, along with their mobile devices based upon iOS iPhone and iPads... huge numbers of Linux and Android devices are at risk!

Heartbleed:

 This particular vulnerability can be leveraged by many sources in order to capture usernames and passwords, where those account credentials can be later used for nefarious purposes. Nefarious includes: command and control to attack commercial, financial, government, or even launch attacks against entire national electrical grids; stealing money; stealing compute resources. The defect is well documented.

Apple and Android/Linux Vulnerabilities:

There are many operating systems which are vulnerable to this defect, but for this article, we are only really concerned about the mobile market.

• 2014-04-14 - Not just websites hit by OpenSSL's Heartbleed – PCs, phones and more under threat

While most of the buzz surrounding OpenSSL's Heartbleed vulnerability has focussed on websites and other servers, the SANS Institute reminds us that software running on PCs, tablets and more is just as potentially vulnerable.
Williams said a dodgy server could easily send a message to vulnerable software on phones, laptops, PCs, home routers and other devices, and retrieve up to 64KB of highly sensitive data from the targeted system at a time. It's an attack that would probably yield handy amounts of data if deployed against users of public Wi-Fi hotspots, for example.

• 2014-04-12 - Millions of Android Devices Vulnerable to Heartbleed Bug

While Google said in a blog post on April 9 that all versions of Android are immune to the flaw, it added that the “limited exception” was one version dubbed 4.1.1, which was released in 2012.
Security researchers said that version of Android is still used in millions of smartphones and tablets, including popular models made by Samsung Electronics Co., HTC Corp. and other manufacturers. Google statistics show that 34 percent of Android devices use variations of the 4.1 software.

The company said less than 10 percent of active devices are vulnerable. More than 900 million Android devices have been activated worldwide.

• 2014-04-11 - Apple is IMMUNE from Heartbleed. OS X and iOS unaffected.

After taking a few days to check its security, the fruity firm joined other companies in publicly announcing how worried or secure its customers should feel.
“Apple takes security very seriously. IOS and OS X never incorporated the vulnerable software and key Web-based services were not affected,” an Apple spokesperson said.

Conclusions:
To give an adequate understanding regarding the number of mobile Android devices at risk, one could take the population of the United States, at roughly 317 Million people as a baseline. 90 million Android Linux based devices vulnerable, that is equivalent to nearly 28% of the population of the United States is at risk! This is no small number of mobile devices - there is a lot of patching that either needs to be done or mobile devices which should be destroyed. Ensure you check your android device!

Security: Android Phone App Steals CPU

[Courtesy: AndroidAuthority ]

Abstract:
Malware was seen traditionally only a Microsoft Windows problem. Now that highly secured,  multi-platform, standards-based UNIX environments lose influence, malware continues to spread to poorly secured Linux environments. More importantly, Google Android's mobile phone and tablet platforms have fallen victim. Attacks continue mercilessly.

Recent History
Some recent Linux and Android validated attacks: January through November 2013, December 2013, January through February 2014, March 2014, and more malware is hitting the Linux and Android platforms. The most recent attacks are using your Linux based Android phones to create money for others.

Latest Attack
At the end of March 2014, a new attack was discovered... not only on the third-party Google Android application internet sources, but also multiple infected applications were found on Google Play.

2014-03-26 - Apps with millions of Google Play downloads covertly mine cryptocurrency

Yes, smartphones can generate digital coins, but at a painfully glacial pace.

According to a blog post published Tuesday by a researcher from antivirus provider Trend Micro, the apps are Songs, installed from one million to five million times, and Prized, which was installed from 10,000 to 50,000 times. Neither the app descriptions nor their terms of service make clear that the apps subject Android devices to the compute-intensive process of mining, Trend Micro Mobile Threats Analyst Veo Zhang wrote. As of Wednesday afternoon, the apps were still available.

If you download applications from Google Play or other non-Google sites - you may be noticing terrible battery life, increased battery temperature, and increased network usage.

What This Means To You
While Google has managed to remove some trojan applications which were designed to steal CPU time from your smart phone in order to electronically harvest bit coins for application developers, there are others sitting in Google Play and in non-regulated application markets.

Security: Software Piracy, Android Phones, and SMS Spam

[Courtesy: Android Authority]

 Security: Software Piracy, Android Phones, and SMS Spam
Abstract:
Ever since the creation of computers, people have been distributing software to avoid paying money or paying to distribute something that people don't want. Pirated Applications and Spam are two primary means to distribute viruses, malware, and worms. Baby steps against these on-line monsters are occasionally made.

In Review: 2013

From January to November last year, nearly 2 viruses, trojans, or generic malware was discovered each month in the Android mobile application market. December had a couple more discovered. For the malware discovered, there are countless numbers of mobile applications which have not yet been discovered... to steal credit card information, identities, or even "command and control" applications to turn your mobile device into a robot against unsuspecting targets (while you pay for the data traffic that is produced!)

Starting: 2014

While consolidating a list of mobile malware in the Android market was not completed, it is clear that there is some progress in this space... no matter how small.

2014-03-25 U.S. Government First Convictions Over Pirated Mobile Android Applications

The US has enforced its first convictions for illegally distributing counterfeit mobile apps, after two Florida men pleaded guilty for their part in a scheme that sold pirated apps with a total retail value of more than $700,000. Thomas Allen Dye, 21, and 26-year-old Nicholas Anthony Narbone both pleaded guilty to the same charge - conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement - earlier this month and are due to be sentenced in June and July respectively. Both men were in the Appbucket group, of which Narbone was the leader, which made and sold more than a million copyrighted Android mobile apps through the group's alternative online market.

2014-03-26 Chinese Arrest 1,500 in Fake Cellular Tower Text Message Spam Raid

China’s police have arrested over 1,500 people on suspicion of using fake base stations to send out mobile SMS spam. The current crackdown, began in February, according to Reuters. Citing a Ministry of Public Security missive, the newswire says a group operating in north-east Liaoning province, bordering North Korea, is suspected of pinging out more than 200 million spam texts.

In Conclusion:
Be diligent! Remember to purchase your applications from reputable places, don't be seduced into stealing applications on-line or purchasing them under list price. Being a thief could make you a victim!

Security: Android, Viruses, Malware, and Worms

[Courtesy AndroidAuthority]

Android: Malware Infestations for 2013

2013 Ending
Rounding out the 2013 Year with More Android Virus and Malware issues.

• 2013-12-17 - Android and SMS Text Messages to China
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/17/android_botnet/

• 2013-12-17 - Android Anti-Virus Unable to Kill Malware
  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/17/android_anti_malware/

Somehow, this is no surprise.

2013 Investigation
A previous Network Management article discussing Android Malware from 2013 - not a pleasant place to be. Nearly a new Android exploit was uncovered every 2 weeks.

2013 Conclusions
A recent article in The Register mentions the dangers of Java and Android (which is based upon a Java port) on network clients:

Meanwhile, fully 99 per cent of all mobile malware discovered during the year targeted Android, as did 71 per cent of all web-based attacks on mobile devices.

Android mobile devices are less expensive than the alternative - but there is clearly a price to be paid.

Android: Incompatibilities - Hacking & Coding Practices

[Courtesy: Android Authority]

Some people have been discussing Android compatibility recently.

Most of the incompatibilities surround screen size and camera size.
http://developer.android.com/.../pract.../compatibility.html

Sometimes, people can just code their apps differently, in order to make their apps compatible across more devices.
http://stackoverflow.com/.../android-app-is-incompatible...

There have been hacks created, so people can download incompatible apps... but there is generally a reason why these apps are generally tagged as incompatible.
http://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-install.../

Hope this short note is helpful!

Android: Viruses, Worms, Trojans, and Malware

[Courtesy: Android Authority]

Abstract:
Sometimes the term "virus" generically, but there are really many kinds of "malware", of which Virus is a specific type. I categorized a few Android malware incidents from 2013 for friends. Please be aware of the "Apps" you buy, what you download, install, and even the web sites you go to.

A Brief 2013 History:
The Android ecosystem is not as "tight" as other ecosystems, such as Apple or Blackberry - as such, it is vulnerable to many more exploits... which may cause you money in bandwidth, future purchases, text messages, etc.

2013-01-09 --- Android users hit by scareware scam
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/android-users-hit-by-scareware-scam/9960

2013-01-13 --- “Bill Shocker” Android malware hits China, infecting 620K smartphone users
http://e27.co/bill-shocker-android-malware-hits-china-infecting-620k-smartphone-users/

2013-01-20 --- New variants of premium rate SMS trojan 'RuFraud' detected in the wild
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/new-variants-of-premium-rate-sms-trojan-rufraud-detected-in-the-wild/10165

2013-02-08 --- Researchers spot a fake version of Temple Run on Android's Market
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/researchers-spot-a-fake-version-of-temple-run-on-androids-market/10257

2013-02-27 --- Android drive-by download attack via phishing SMS
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/android-drive-by-download-attack-via-phishing-sms/10422

2013-03-26 --- First-Known Targeted Malware Attack On Android Phones Steals Contacts And Text Messages
http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2013/03/26/first-known-targeted-malware-attack-on-android-phones-steals-contacts-and-text-messages/

2013-04-01 --- Evidence Mounts That Chinese Government Hackers Spread Android Malware
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/04/01/evidence-mounts-that-chinese-government-hackers-spread-android-malware/

2013-04-03 --- Android malware: A new avenue for Chinese hackers
http://www.citeworld.com/security/21669/android-malware-chinese-hackers

2013-04-12 --- Malicious version of Angry Birds Space spotted in the wild
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/malicious-version-of-angry-birds-space-spotted-in-the-wild/11520

2013-04-18 --- Warning: Fake Instagram app on Android is malware
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/warning-fake-instagram-app-on-android-is-malware/11597

2013-04-26 --- Warning: Fake Biophilla app on Android is malware
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/warning-fake-biophilla-app-on-android-is-malware/11715

2013-05-02 --- A first: Hacked sites with Android drive-by download malware
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/a-first-hacked-sites-with-android-drive-by-download-malware/11810

2013-05-15 --- Android malware families nearly quadruple from 2011 to 2012
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/android-malware-families-nearly-quadruple-from-2011-to-2012/12171

2013-05-21 --- Malware charges users for free Android apps on Google Play
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/malware-charges-users-for-free-android-apps-on-google-play/12245

2013-07-09 --- New Android malware infects 100,000 Chinese smartphones
http://www.zdnet.com/new-android-malware-infects-100000-chinese-smartphones-7000000497/

2013-08-13 --- Google messaging service hacked, sends malware to Android users
http://rt.com/news/google-messaging-hacked-malware-451/

2013-08-26 --- Android Malware: 44 Percent Of Android Users Vulnerable To Attacks According To U.S. Government
http://www.ibtimes.com/android-malware-44-percent-android-users-vulnerable-attacks-according-us-government-1399347

2013-08-27 --- Nearly 7,000 Malicious Android Apps Infest China's Appstores
http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/mobile-security/315218-nearly-7-000-malicious-android-apps-infest-china-s-appstores

2013-09-12 --- Email Spam Campaign Spreading Android Malware
http://threatpost.com/email-spam-campaign-spreading-android-malware

2013-10-25 --- New Android Banking Trojan Targeting Korean Users
http://thehackernews.com/2013/10/new-android-banking-trojan-targeting.html

2013-11-07 --- Another zombie 'bogus app' bug shambles out of Android
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/07/another_zombie_bogus_app_bug_shambles_out_of_android/

2013-11-17 --- New Voicemail Notification - WhatsApp - Malware
http://techhelplist.com/index.php/spam-list/314-new-voicemail-notification-whatsapp-malware

2013-12-02 --- Nexus phones carry SMS crash bug vulnerability
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/02/nexus_phones_carry_sms_crash_bug_vuln/

Security: 2012 December Update

Microsoft Windows Security Update Breaks Fonts... Update 2753842 Root Cause...
Breaking Windows Passwords in under 6 hours...

New "Dexter" Malware Infects Microsoft Point of Sale Systems to Steal Credit Cards...

Distributed Denial of Service Attacker Anonymous on the Run...

The Pakistan Cyber Army Attacks Chinese and Bangladeshi Web Sites...

ITU: Deep Packet Snooping Standard Leak...

Democrats and Republicans Unite Against ITU Internet Control...

Industrial HVAC systems targeted by hackers...

Microsoft Internet Explorer watching you, even when not open on your screen!

Android Malware Trojan Taints US Mobiles, Spews 500,000 Texts A Day!

 Baby got .BAT: Old-school malware terrifies Iran with del *.*; dubbed BatchWiper; found 7 months after Flame discovery

Apple Shifts iTunes to HTTPS, Sidesteps China’s Firewall

Christopher Chaney, Scarlett Johansson's e-mail hacker, sentenced to 10 years

Cloud Migration: iPhone, iPodTouch, iPad

I considered a quick blog posting from Cloud Migration today:

I just keep thinking that the proliferation of iPads and tablets in the enterprise is leading us back to the path of thick client computing. Don't get me wrong, I love the iPad and believe it is a great device....for emails, surfing the web, playing music, playing games, and getting directions. However, it is as thick of a client device as you can get. In addition, just like 3270 screens were proprietary, they are a proprietary platform. It seems like just yesterday everyone was rushing to get off of client/server systems and move to thin client machines with browser based access.

Of course, I thought this was interesting, but this left me with a bunch of thoughts:

[courtesy: thenewiphone.info 2011 rumor]

> proliferation of iPads and tablets in the enterprise is leading us back
> to the path of thick client computing

That is a very interesting thought.

• UNIX is the firmware in the iPad, iPodTouch, iPhone
• UNIX does not make it thick, Sun Workstations were thin
• UNIX makes i* more Open.

There is virtually no customization on the client end,
so I don't quite think that i* are thick clients.


> just like 3270 screens were proprietary

iPhone's and iPad's were specifically called out, "tablets" suggest Windows, but Android is not quite Open...

• Does Android comply with POSIX? OpenFirmware?
• Is Android getting sued for using Java?

What are the thin alternatives?

• SunRay's used to be SPARC based, but no longer. SPARC was Open.
• SunRay's were never based upon Solaris. Solaris was Open.
• SunRay's used a proprietary firmware, not based upon OpenBoot.

The SunRay's are more of an ultra-thin form factor, with firmware
that will update automatically (much the same way that i* devices
will, except the i* devices prompt the user for a convenient time
to update with the ability to customize their firmware.)

Other thoughts about thin clients:

• I don't see SunRay's in i* or tablet form-factors.
• I don't see SunRay's being sold by TelCo providers,
  as basic utilities leveraging their network infrastructure.
• I don't see SunRay's clients provided by non-Oracle vendors

Don't get me wrong, I have 3 SunRay's on my desktop, this very moment,
running SPARC Solaris OpenLook desktops (CDE and JDS are way too heavy
and difficult to customize for real business usage.) All our users run
third-party apps off of an internal Solaris cloud that I built years ago.

Right now, the i* format factor is less expensive, easier to use,
and perceived as more open than other thin client technologies.

Honestly, there is no reason why clouds should not be built on SunRay's.


If clouds are not using SunRay's, then Oracle needs to figure out how to
fix it, and I will be the first one on-board to advocate migrating my
decade old private Solaris SPARC cloud providing 300 thin clients!

Mobile Update: Android and Windows

Mobile Update: Android and Windows

Abstract:

Developers in an ecosystem will often foretell adoption by creating content to drive demand for a product. The mobile market has been gauged by this same phenomenon.

Developers and Android:

While the chart is not linear (a mistake, not to create this as a time-series graph), it seems to show some very interesting trends. Developer interest in Android has appeared to have peaked and declining under both phones and tablets; interest in iPhone development is showing an ever so slight decline; iPad holding steady; interest in Windows mobile is inclining; BlackBerry dropping like a proverbial stone.


People have been commenting that the wrong statistics are getting followed, it is not happening, marketshare is not accurate, etc. - but there seems to be a slight discontent with the Android market from a developer's standpoint.

This is not the entire story - Android has a terrific price point, marketshare grows for Android at an astounding rate (as we will see shortly.) There is still some level of comfort that developers and consumers have with iOS, but one can never know how long that will last for - the marketplace is fickle.

Windows Clunky & Crashy:

While Windows for mobile devices seems to be catching more developers market share, it still looks very clunky, during various demonstrations. Note the multiple [thick] cabling hanging off of the tablet on the left, one with what seems to be an ugly adapter... one would not be surprised if all those cables place a great deal of strain on the tablet connectors and reduce longevity. They certainly reduce the ability to use the tablet in a free-flowing way. If I was presenting at Convergence 2012, I would not want to use that device.


The worst possible thing happened (again) when Microsoft was presenting at Convergence 2012 - a crash and burn of their new tablet.

You've got to hand it to Kirill Tatarinov, the head of Microsoft's ERP division. The Russian Rocket was cool as a cucumber on Monday when a demo of the Windows 8 Metro UI running on a touch-screen tablet crashed and burned during the opening keynote of Convergence 2012.

Sometimes, one has to feel bad for these presenters. having done multiple demos in the past, it is not very fun to have something like this happen, but it is not uncommon for Microsoft. It does not get any better, once you have a conference facility filled with people, networking at it's capacity peak, and power being drawn on a massive scale.


Windows Sinking, Android Skyrocketing:

Last year, this time, Microsoft mobile handset users experienced crashing on a massive scale, with a patch. Under 1 year later, mobile Windows handset sales collapsed while Android skyrocketed with what appears to be brand-new marketshare. Apple continued to make measured, but modest gains.

Network Management Connection:

Wired infrastructure is critical, but it seems to quickly becoming relegated to back-office. Front-office work moved towards laptops (which started outselling PC's in 2003, 2005, 2008), which often had wireless built-in for mobility. The trend continues to move mobile with smart phones and tablets. The previous Gartner marketshare chart (not the percentages) tells all: increase in overall units from 81 million units sold to 115 million units sold in 1 year in the 3rd quarter!

Wireless is THE PLACE to be, in the network management world. If you do not have a grasp on your wireless network, you need to figure out how to do so. People are clearly becoming unteathered, regardless of what the Microsoft Mobile presenters are doing, with their tethered and crashing tablets.

Mobile Computing: 2011 Summary

Mobile Computing: 2011 Summary

A Surprising Trend:

NetMarketShare published some interesting data, summarizing mobile OS usage in 2011 - Apple IOS and Google Android peaked while Oracle JavaME bottomed out in October 2011... but JavaME but reversed the trend, pushing Android into 3rd place in November and December 2011.

Between the Lines:
Android from Google uses Java Code stolen [improperly licensed] from now acquired Sun Microsystems, where Oracle is fighting to get their royalties restored. Android is little more than Linux combined with JavaSE. The combined Java mindshare in the mobile arena [combining Oracle's stolen JavaSE and JavaME] is almost equal to the Apple MacOSX UNIX based iOS.


Java is Competitive
The conclusion we can draw from this market share analysis is that Java on mobile clients is competitive. The uncertainty experienced by Android manufacturers continually being sued by operating system manufacturers and Google being sued by Oracle for Java license violations, however, continues to make Apple a secure ecosystem for developers.


The Future
With products used under Apple's iOS diversifying (i.e. iPad, iPhone, iPodTouch, AppleTV, etc.) - Apple iOS will remain competitive.

While JavaME manufacturers receive some indemnity (protection from lawsuits) - Android manufacturers have been giving more and more of their profit share to companies like Microsoft, whose patents were stepped on.

Once the Oracle lawsuit against Google has been settled, Java may be in a position to become more competitive, since the people who created the technology [JavaSE and JavaME], has cross-technology licensing agreements with Microsoft, and will be properly compensated, rather than a third-party [who is competing with their own Windows phone] sucks the profit well dry from Android.

Apple: Breaking Free from Google?

Abstract:
During a time of peace, Google sat on the board of directors of Apple, and there was innovation, profit, and partnership in the minds of both companies. Apple engaged Google to provide network application services such as mapping, then Google betrayed Apple with this inside information. Apple has been trying to break free from Google, ever since.


History:

Apple started conceptual develpment of the iPhone, but Apple had a few gaps. Google sat on Apple's board of directors, so they made a good partner, to inquire about how they could fill some gaps. An agreement was struck, Google would provide mapping, instead of Apple going to other third-party mapping providers like Yahoo, who would not compete with them.

Google used this private information and purchased a development company who owned Android operating system. Google created a parallel development track, for their own Android based smart phone, without Apple's knowledge - the CEO of Google, who sat on Apple's board of directory was engaged in corporate espionage.

Apple released the ground-breaking iPhone, while Google put the finishing touches on their own smart phone. 6 months later, Google released their own smart phone, containing the same features, with a simlar look and feel.

Apple was stuck with having to return back to Google, as their mapping partner, Apple funded Google's mobile mapping through the iPhone revenue, while Google could take Apple's investment to compete with them into the mobile phone market. Google had clearly broken Apple's trust by using inside information from their CEO's participation in the Board of Directors, to gain an unfair competitive advantage to the rest of the market.


Breaking Free:

Google provided Apple with key functionality: mapping.

Unfortunately, mapping is a lot more complex than one might think. Roads are built & rebuilt. Continents shift. Earthquakes happen. Houses are demolished and turned into shopping malls. Farmland is turned into office parks. Progress occurs daily on a world-wide basis.

Apple's movement towards mapping independence started, not long after Google betrayed their business parter:
[2009-10-01] - Apple buys GigaOM "placebase", to gain location information
[2010-07-14] - Apple buys French-Canadian mapping Poly9, to have a world map
[2011-10-31] - Apple buys Sweedish 9to5Mac, to have a 3D world map


Freedom at Last?

The question in everyone's mind should be: when will Apple finally be able to claim freedom from Google, the company who double-crossed them, placing a bullet in Apple's leg, and crippling what could have allowed Apple's innovation to compete fairly in the Smart Phone industry?

Other companies, like Nokia and Symbian, had no chance to compete fairly with Google, who had left them with no way forward. Seeking partnership with Google, who so clearly betrayed Apple, would be likened to "making a deal with the devil" - phone vendors would know that Google would likely later cripple them in a similar fashion (Google stealing intellectual property while holding them prisoner with their own.)

One can only guess when Apple might break free. It might not be, until iPhone IOS 6, since it might take Apple a year to consolidate their 3 purchases over the past 3 years - unless Apple has another acquisition in mind, to surpass the capabilities of Google - the traitor in their midst.

Epilogue

Apple, Nokia, and Symbian were not the only companies crippled by Google's corporate espionage. Sun Microsystems had cooperated with Google with their central processor independant Java platform, with the understanding that Sun would receive license fees for Google's usage of Java in the mobile phones.

In the end, Sun received no license fees, as they did from other mobile vendors (like Motorola.) This placed mobile phone who licensed Java at a pricing disadvantage in the mobile phone arena, with those vendors who used Google's technology... thus encouraging those vendors to switch to Google's technology. Sun Microsystems continued to bleed money, until they were purchased by Oracle. Oracle filed law suits against Google.

Apple filed files law suits against third-party phone vendors, who used Android, in other knock-off Apple products. Google purchased Motorola (mobile phone company), undercutting Oracle's future revenue stream and gaining patent protection for their double-dealing. Sony broke their smart phone partnership with Symbian, who basically created the smartphone market.

When wondering about corporate morality, it is pretty clear - Google did evil...

RIM: Unbelievably Down, Unbelievably Long

RIM: Unbelievably Down, Unbelievably Long
Abstract:

Sun had a saying "The Network is The Computer". When a network is down, the computer is nearly useless. RIM is now experiencing "The Network is The BlackBerry". The BlackBerry is pretty much useless without the network. The impact to the market may be terrible.

A Short History:

Apple had made an attempt to build a "Personal Digital Assistant" market in 1987. The "Newton" seemed to target educators and students. Some other vendors released competing products, but none of them seem to be successful. It was a product "before it's time".

In 1996, U.S. Robotics created the "Palm Pilot", new digital assistant. This became successful, the technology moved to 3Com, Handspring, Palm.

Nokia started the merging of personal digital assistant software into the phone in the late 1990's, later on with some weak web browsing capability. Nokia cobbled together their phone with HP's software. The term "smart phone" was created. Ericson released a concept PDA and phone in 1997 with the eventual culmination of a touchscreen "smartphone" in 2000. The phone used the SymbianOS.


[2008-2009 Market Trend]

RIM seems to have virtually created the "smart phone" market in 1999. The merging of digital personal assistant and cell phone seemed to drive their success. Their primary target community was business and financial segments, who could afford an uplifted phone cost for the side benefit of becoming more efficient. The product offering was a success.


[2006-2009 Market Trend]

In the early 2000's, Palm released a merged their personal digital assistant with cell phone technology. The "smart phone" market had a new competitor. Eventually, the technology was purchased by HP, where it resides today.

[2009-2010 Market Trend]

Apple computer started designing the iPhone in 2005 and released it in January 2007. Their new "smart phone" (i.e. iPhone), which was speculated to be a "flop" since it did not come with a keyboard. The product targeted the "creative" and "youth" segments, merging functionality from their wildly popular iPod portable music & video playing devices. Also bundled was the first real web browser - until this point, internet HTTP experience was poor. The product offering was a success and placed pressure on RIM by slowly intruding into the business and financial sectors, while other vendors (like Palm and Microsoft) were getting devastated.


[2010-2011 Market Trend]

Google started a parallel track to Apple. They purchased Android, Inc in late 2005 and eventually released an operating system called "Android" in late 2007, after the wildly successful Apple iPhone introduction earlier that year. Phone manufacturers jumped on-board Android, trying to get a chunk of the "smart phone" market, without the heavy investment and innovation performed by companies like Palm, RIM, and Apple.


Cell phone giant, Nokia, had been losing market share. Microsoft had been losing marketshare in the mobile phone operating system market. These two shrinking titans agreed in April 2011 to combine forces - Nokia providing hardware with Microsoft's OS. It could stem the bleeding from both companies or the two shrinking titans might become one sinking titanics.

The Nightmare Scenario

RIM had "secret sauce" embedded into it's BlackBerry communicator - all communciation from their phones were carried over their network infrastructure, in addition to the telephone carrier's infrastructure. RIM's encrypted network allowed them to provide add-on services, as well as security to their business users.

This week, there has been a multi-day outage for BlackBerry users, across the globe. The problem was with a switch in THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE - which means it is not the fault of a telephone company. Only BlackBerry users are affected - while the rest of the SmartPhone market is unaffected.

Don't Lie To The Customer

RIM's "secret sauce" is appearing to be their "achilles heel". Without RIM and their network, the BlackBerry is pretty much useless.

This very week, there is BlackBerry training happening in my corporate headquarters, and when questions regarding the BlackBerry difficulties came up - the trainer said "there must be something wrong with your company's network."

The truth is not only out, but it appears the issue is isolated to THEIR customer network.

Bad Discusssions

When investors and analysts start to talk about situations like these, the language does not get any worse than this.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek crushed RIM in a research note today. His memo to activists was that RIM's turnaround will take a long time...

Specifically, Misek said that RIM can't be broken up until its migration to QNX is complete in roughly six months. Meanwhile, a management change is difficult. Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha would be a candidate to lead RIM, but he's highly thought of at Google. Other executives at Apple and Microsoft are largely locked up from going to RIM. PC makers, smartphone rivals, and other takeover options look slim.

Add it up and RIM's only real option at the moment is to execute well and bolster momentum for the BlackBerry. The outages aren't helping that cause.

Surviving because there are no other options on the table when investors are thinking about chopping your comany up into little pieces it not a good place to be.


When Sharks Attack

During this very week, Apple had announced their long-anticipated iPhone 4S, a faster SmartPhone with build-in "Cloud Syncronization" - Apple will no longer require a user to have a computer in order to keep their phones backed up or syncronized with music. Apple's phone will no longer require Apple or a PC in order to get the full functionality of it. Apple's open-sourced MacOSX based iPhone was poised for serious growth, without the BlackBerry disaster.

Google is about to feed the market, with it's army of hardware manufacturers, with more open-sourced Android phones while sinking-faster-than-a-brick Nokia and Microsoft are trying to establish a new marketplace with Microsoft's closed-source operating system. Microsoft, with their business relationships, may actually float Nokia, with this unfortunate BlackBerry disaster.

This will surely be a feeding frenzy for the three major remaining phone operating system vendors.


Bad for the Free Market

The Free Market is all about choice - the loss of any major competitor in the market is bad for all of the consumers.

One might argue that RIM's "monopoly" of providing THE centralized infrastructure for all BlackBerries to traverse is the due penalty for their anti-capitalistic tendencies... and their customers deserve what they get for placing all their "eggs in one basket".

This author is not interested in seeing the diverse market competitors become centralized, since the evil is self-evident, it is dangerous for innovation. There must be freedom to innovate in the highly government regulated market of telecommunications.

Network Management

The probable decline of RIM is due to one massive network infrastructure error.

Had their network been better managed, their future decline may not be so sure.

It is possible that they will recover, but I would hate to be in that company today, and I would hate to be the team managing that network today.

The network is the rise and fall of a company - don't mis-manage your network.

Technical Posts for 1H August

Technical Posts for 1H August

Some technical news of interest to Network Management professionals.

• People don't want tablets, they want iPads

iPads are the only tablet devices that several large brokers expressed an interest in, as vendors seek alternatives routes to peddle their wares. "There is a mountain of surplus tablets in the channel," said one, "and they are just not shifting"... resellers continue to try and clear massive stocks of notebooks caused by the biting slowdown in consumer demand.


• Apple reportedly ups iPhone production orders by 12%

Apple is expecting to shift 56 million iPhones of one type or another during the last six months of 2011. Taiwan-based supply chain moles say Apple has upped its production requirement from the 50m units it ordered at the end of Q2, DigiTimes reports.

• Google SHOCK! Snaps up Motorola phone biz for $12.5bn

Google has made its largest-ever acquisition, and biggest corporate gamble, by splashing out $12.5bn for Motorola's phone division, Motorola Mobility. The deal puts Google into the hardware business in a serious way – and into direct competition with licensees of its Android operating system, who woke up this morning thinking they were Google's business partners.

• Firefox 6 silently released ahead of official unwrap date

Mozilla isn't officially breaking the seal on Firefox 6 until tomorrow, but the code for the latest iteration of its popular open source browser is already available online. It is currently tucked away on the organisation's FTP server. A blogger over at TechnoBolt spotted that the code has been downloadable since at least Saturday 13 August.

Network Management Implications

With the strong sales of newer portable form factors such as the new Apple iPad and iPhone, the trend to move away from traditional desktop computing, and even luggable laptops continues to accelerate. This trend continues to place pressure on wireless infrastructure, which needs to be properly managed.

With Google Android and Microsoft Windows based devices in decline, in the tablet market - GPL'ed Linux and proprietary Windows are both taking a beating by mixed Open Sourced BSD UNIX based iOS (MacOSX) [with proprietary hooks] based devices. Both of these operating systems are pushing hard [and more successfully] in the mobile arena, in the handset arena.

The movement by Google to buy Motorola may be a move to help stem the tide, by injecting more money into the vertical phone & tablet chain, which seems to be faultering under the weight of warehouse backlogs. The JAVA suit by Oracle is probably not helping, since Motorola has to pay license fees for all non-Google based handsets, while Google handsets have been able to undercut non-Google handset costs by refusing to pay Oracle license fees.

As mobile computing becomes more pervasive, network management will continue to be challenging.