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Man arrested for selling Netflix and Spotify accounts
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced today that they arrested a man accused of selling stolen login credentials online. The unnamed man, a 21-year-old living in Sydney, Australia, operated a website called WickedGen.com that advertised having almost one million usernames and passwords for Netflix, Spotify, Hulu and other services. Police believe he generated AU$300,000 (about $211,000) selling the stolen logins.
Google wants to standardize Android password managers
Security is more important than ever, but people still don't love typing passwords into phones. As such, Google is teaming with Dashlane and other password managers on the "Open YOLO" (You Only Login Once) project. The idea is to create an API that lets Android developers access password managers so that you can log into apps automatically with no typing or insecure autofill. Dashlane is spearheading the venture in cooperation with other password managers, though it hasn't said which are involved.
Facebook will let you log in anonymously to third-party apps
Just in case you've always been skittish about offering up your Facebook credentials when logging in to third-party apps, the company has just announced at its f8 developer's conference that it'll finally let you login to them anonymously. As it suggests, this will let you use the app so that it doesn't remember your username or password, but it also won't let you share any info to Facebook. According to the company, this is especially useful when you're trying out an app for the first time as you learn to see if you like it first before you entrust it with your info. Of course, the developer has to incorporate the anonymous login feature into their app first before you get the privilege.
Final Fantasy XIV tops 1 million unique logins, previews first patch
It might seem as if everyone is playing Final Fantasy XIV these days. In the most recent live Producer's Letter, Naoki Yoshida made it clear that while it's not everyone, the game has certainly attracted sizable numbers. Over one million unique logins have taken place since the launch, with an average of 617,000 unique daily logins and a concurrency peak of 344,000 users, which is pretty good when you take into account the game's troubled launch history. But the development team isn't focusing just on the past. The game's first patch is in the works; it's due to hit the live servers this year, and it contains a lot of extra content. Housing will be included, as will the game's first PvP arena and new extreme difficulty fights for each of the Primals. The patch will also include a new Primal fight against Good King Moogle Mog, hard modes for two dungeons, a new dungeon, daily quests, random matching rewards, a treasure hunting system... a lot of stuff, in other words. So maybe those million unique players are on to something. [Thanks to Scott for the tip]
New Chrome developer tools bring Bluetooth, iTunes integration to packaged apps
Google's latest Chrome developer tools could give us even fewer reasons to close our browser -- devs can now build packaged apps with access to Google Wallet, Google Analytics, Bluetooth devices and an API that dives into the user's music library. Technically, Chrome has had a Media Gallery API for some time, but this latest update allows applications to access, import and play music using iTunes as a default media gallery. Of course, apps using this API will need the user's permission before rummaging through their Papa Roach collection, so settle down. The Chromium Blog's notes the Bluetooth connection could support "low energy health devices like fitness trackers." If that means apps that will monitor a FitBit and tell us to get up and stretch, that'd definitely be appreciated. For the full release notes, hit the links below.
Mozilla Persona sign-in launches in beta, skips the social networking ball and chain (video)
We all know those web pages where the only alternative to a site-specific login is a social networking account. That's not very reassuring for anyone skittish about linking their commentary to a Facebook account relatives might see, if they're even willing to join a social network in the first place. Mozilla has been aware of that hesitation long enough to have just released its long-in-development Persona sign-in service as a beta. Although it has the same kind of simple approach to a login as a Facebook or Twitter pop-up window, Persona's emphasis is on privacy: it stops paying attention the moment credentials go through, keeping any diatribes or subscription details from landing in social streams or central databases. Users don't have to play a rousing game of guess-the-username, either, as they just need to sign in with one or more familiar e-mail addresses and a single password. Persona faces an uphill battle in getting web developer adoption when the establishment sign-in services are open to hundreds of millions of internet citizens, but it does have The Times' online crossword section, OpenPhoto and Voost as early poster children -- and anything that lets the privacy-minded join the party has our vote.
Skyfire browser brings account switching to iPad with HotSwap
Skyfire is among the most popular third-party browser apps in the App Store, bringing quite a few solid browsing features that mobile Safari doesn't have to the iPhone and the iPad. And here's yet another one: The latest update to Skyfire adds account switching capabilities, so multiple users on one device can have their bookmarks, history, account logins, and all other browser settings set for them when they first log in to the app. While we have seen information that many households run more than one iOS device, there are certainly plenty of houses out there where the family shares one iPad, and in those situations (as the company's trailer shows), account switching can be very helpful. Skyfire's feature is called HotSwap, and allows for up to four different accounts to be used on one device at one time. The app's probably most famous for allowing users to watch Flash-based videos on the iPad, by separately compressing and then streaming them straight to the device. You can pick up Skyfire on the App Store now for $2.99.
Sony locks 93,000 PSN and SOE accounts due to 'massive' hack attempt
Sony's not having a good morning. In addition to having to recall 1.6 million Bravia TVs, it's also been forced to temporarily lock 93,000 customers out of their PSN and Sony Online Entertainment accounts. You won't be surprised by the reason: an attempt by hackers to "test a massive set of sign-in IDs and passwords" against Sony's network database. Some of the affected accounts showed "additional activity prior to being locked" and are being investigated. On the flip-side, Sony's Chief Information Security Officer, Philip Reitinger, stressed that most of the hackers' details resulted in failed logins and in any case credit card details are not at risk. Users are being told to expect an email if they've been affected, which will contain further instructions. Has Sony finally realized the value of timely communication?
iUsers frees your iPad of monogamy, enables multiple user profiles
Share an iPad? A new tweak is on its way to that other app store that should make your life a little easier: user profiles for iOS. The mod, dubbed iUsers, adds a user login button to the iPad's lock screen. The tweak segregates application data and preferences between users, meaning that user A's Angry Birds score won't muddle and mix with User B's perfect three-star rating. App installations, music, and video content are currently shared between users, but the tweak's creators hope to remedy that in a future update. It's a jailbreak only mod, of course, but still a neat feature we'd love to see implemented in future versions of iOS. The iUsers tweak should be hitting Cydia soon, but folks who want an early peek can snag it now by following the instructions in the source link.
Google admits sensitive email accounts have been hacked, some users knew months ago (update: US says no government accounts compromised)
The Contagio security blog posted evidence back in February of targeted attacks against government and military officials on Gmail. Today, nearly four months later, Google has finally admitted this is true: hundreds of personal accounts have been compromised by hackers it believes to be working out of Jinan, the capital of China's Shandong province. The accounts include those of "senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries (predominantly South Korea), military personnel and journalists." The hijackers' aim appears to have been to spy on their targets using Google's automatic forwarding function. But unlike the PSN fiasco, Google insists its internal systems "have not been affected." Instead it seems the hackers used a phishing scam, possibly directing users to a spoof Gmail website before requesting their credentials. Google says its own "abuse detection systems" disrupted the campaign -- but in a footnote right down at the bottom of their official blog page they also credit Contagio and user reports. Update: And in comes China's response, courtesy of Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei. "Allegations that the Chinese government supports hacking activities are completely unfounded and made with ulterior motives." Ok then, that settles that. Update 2: And the saga continues... According to an AP story published earlier today, the Obama administration has stated that the FBI is looking into allegations that hackers broke into Google's email system, but denied that any official government accounts were compromised. A White House spokesman went on to say that government employees are free to use Gmail for personal purposes, and can not be sure who in the administration might have been affected by the attack. Let's just hope they know how to leave the sensitive stuff at the office.
Key pattern analysis software times your typing for improved password protection
The recent pilfering of PlayStation Network passwords and personal info shows that having a strong passcode doesn't always guarantee your online safety. However, key-pattern analysis (KPA) software from researchers at American University of Beirut may be able to keep our logins secure even if they're stolen. You create a unique profile by entering your password a few times while the code tracks the speed and timing of your keystrokes. The software then associates that data to your password as another means of authentication. Henceforth, should the magic word be entered in a different typing tempo, access is denied. We saw a similar solution last year, but that system was meant to prevent multiple users from accessing subscription databases with a single account. This KPA software allows multiple profiles per password so that your significant other can still read all your email -- assuming you and your mate reside in the trust tree, of course.
Dodgy Sunday in Second Life
It's Sunday, there are grid problems in Second Life: Logins are generally slow, People are reporting attachments not working, The support is down, so crashed sims rely on a Linden spotting it and fixing it Some of this is up on the blog, and it's not as bad as the last week has been, but it's not a smooth Sunday in Second Life.
Second Life logins borked at the moment.
The short notice rolling restart of Second Life we mentioned yesterday is having an unexpected side effect. Log ins are currently incredibly slow, if they work at all, and you can't log in to the website (so even through transactions history is back, you can't get to it again!).We will try to keep you up to date with a fix for this.[UPDATE: It's made it to the official blog][UPDATE: 12:25 logins are reported as fixed for SL, but still borked for p-JIRA][UPDATE: 2:34PM 6:26PM - All login functionality is reported to be restored]
