The Find and Call app would capture users' phone book contacts and transmit them to a remote server, security company Kasperky Lab discovered.
Apple and Google removed an app from their app stores after it was revealed to be harvesting users' phone contacts as spam targets.
The Find and Call app was originally thought to be an SMS worm but later discovered to be a Trojan, according to Kaspersky Lab. The Russian software security firm said it alerted by Apple and Google to the presence of the malware in their stores, apparently leading to the app's removal.
The app required users to register their e-mail address and phone number and then would offer to find friends from users' phone book. The phone book data would then be captured and transmitted to a remote server, Kaspersky said.
The malware would then spam the user's contacts with text messages that appeared to come from the original user and including links to download the malware.
"The 'from' field contains the user's cellphone number," the report says. "In other words, people will receive an SMS spam message from a trusted source."
Both the iOS and Android versions also uploaded users' GPS coordinates to the remote server. The app also allowed users to enter information for social networks, e-mail, and even PayPal.
The app's author told Russian blog AppleInsider.ru that the app was still in beta and blamed a "failure of one of the components" for the spam. "This bug is in process of fixing," the app author said in a translated e-mail.
While malware is no stranger to Google's app store, Kaspersky points out that this is a first for Apple.
"It is worth mentioning that there have not been any incidents of malware inside the iOS Apple App Store since its launch 5 years ago," Kaspersky Lab said.
The malware discovery comes as Apple grapples with a binary corruption problem that led to incomplete app downloads and app crashes. After reports of the problem surfaced, Apple acknowledged the issue and said was working on a solution.
CNET has contacted Apple and Google for comment and will update this report when we learn more.
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
US election: Mitt Romney is struggling with ObamaCare 'problem'
Mitt Romney is struggling to mount an effective response to the US Supreme Court's approval of Barack Obama's health care reforms due to his inconvenient record on the issue, Republican strategists have admitted.
The Republican presidential nominee has been unable to join in his party's sharp new line of criticism on Mr Obama's law, which mandates all Americans to buy health insurance and was redefined as a tax by the Court last week, because he himself pioneered the policy.
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Mitt Romney now claims that he never believed it should be used across the US, in fact he said in a 2007 speech that it was 'a model for the nation' Photo: AP |
The Republican presidential nominee has been unable to join in his party's sharp new line of criticism on Mr Obama's law, which mandates all Americans to buy health insurance and was redefined as a tax by the Court last week, because he himself pioneered the policy.
Monday, July 2, 2012
PRI’s return brings surprise, disappointment to Mexico's diaspora
The vast majority of the 40,000 Mexican expatriates who voted in Sunday's election cast ballots against president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto. Many immigrants said Monday that they were shocked his Institutional Revolutionary Party – which largely convinced them to leave their homeland – has returned to power.
“I think most immigrants kind of fled Mexico because of the PRI, and they still carry visions of a PRI that was corrupt and murderous,” said Guadalupe Sandoval, an 18-year-old San Diego college student who said she closely watched the race. “I'm definitely surprised.”
Mr. Sandoval said her family would have considered returning if Mr. Pena Nieto's top challenger, leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, had won. The PRI won only about 38 percent of the vote to regain the presidency.
Mr. Sandoval's family left Mexico a year before the PRI ended its 71-year rule in 2000. Illegal immigration has dramatically dropped since then because of the crackdown at the U.S. border after the Sept. 11 attacks and the slowing of the U.S. economy.
More than 40,000 Mexicans voted from 91 countries in Sunday's elections. Mexican immigrants gained the right to vote in their country's elections in 2006.
The vast majority voted for Josefina Vazquez Mota, of President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party, who garnered 17,169 votes from abroad, according to preliminary results released Monday from Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute.
Mr. Lopez Obrador got 15,878 votes among voters from abroad, while Mr. Pena Nieto received 6,359.
Mr. Pena Nieto immediately went to work to counter claims that the old PRI was back, saying in his victory speech: “We're a new generation. There is no return to the past.”
He talked of security, commerce and infrastructure, but didn't bring up the traditional Mexican issue of U.S. immigration reform to help the 12 million Mexicans who live in the United States.
Mr. Pena Nieto said he wanted “a relationship that will allow the productive integration of North America.”
He also vowed to curb drug violence.
But 56-year-old Mexican immigrant Justiniano Rosario, who lives in New York, said he sees a downward spiral for the homeland that he left 27 years ago.
“There is too much violence and little honesty among politicians. It's a circus and with the PRI, nothing is going to change,” said Mr. Rosario, who works transporting boxes of food supplies for a local warehouse. “The PRI governed for so many years and lied to the people. They are not going to resolve the problem of violence.”
He added: “I don't believe in any of the candidates – but I believe a lot less in the PRI.”
Bricia Lopez, co-owner of the Mexican restaurant La Guelaguetza, based in Los Angeles, agreed.
“I'm sad,” she said. “I really thought this election could bring changes on how things work. Now, it's the same old thing. It's not fair to the people in Mexico who don't have anything. It's upsetting. It's not fair to the poor people I see every time I go to the poor towns of Oaxaca.”
Mexicans voted in Sunday's elections for a known quantity after becoming widely disappointed that the euphoria over the ousting of the PRI in national elections in 2000 did not usher in the dramatic changes they had hoped to see.
Pedro Ramos, founder of a Los Angeles-based group representing immigrants from the state of Puebla, said he understands that frustration.
“It went very badly for us the change,” he said. “In Pena Nieto, we see an institution that knows how to govern. Now we are hoping that he will see us [migrants] and will see that we are the ones who have sent home money and who have projected a good image of Mexico abroad.”
The White House said it expected the close relationship that the U.S. has enjoyed with Mr. Calderon's administration to continue under Mr. Pena Nieto.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland congratulated Mr. Pena Nieto's “apparent” victory and the Mexican people for demonstrating “their strong commitment to democratic values through a free, fair and transparent electoral process.” Ms. Nuland declined to answer questions related to a possible shift in Mexico's anti-narcotics strategy.
“We're not going to predict changes in policy one way or another,” Ms. Nuland said. “But we are committed to working in partnership with Mexico to meet the evolving challenges posed by transnational criminal organizations, and we expect that that great cooperation is going to continue with the Pena Nieto administration when it is seated.”
During its long reign, the PRI was known for building Mexico's institutions and social services, and keeping a lid on organized crime that operated back then without the levels of violence seen today.
Mexican immigration expert Wayne Cornelius said that exasperation over Mr. Calderon's war against the cartels may have caused Mexicans to vote the PRI back into power, but what many may be forgetting is the party also was largely responsible for major economic crisis that rocked the nation three different times since the 1970s.
Mr. Calderon's government had an impressive record in managing the Mexican economy, which has a long history of plummeting whenever the U.S. economy hiccups, he said. But much of that was overshadowed by the staggering drug violence that has cost more than 47,500 lives since Mr. Calderon's 2006 election.
The recession may have slowed illegal immigration to the United States, but it also has caused those immigrants who are here to become more rooted. And, he said, he does not see Mexico's next president changing that.
“This is a population that has become more and more stable over the last 15 years, and with the great recession in the U.S., it has had an effect of anchoring the Mexican population more firmly because they fear losing the foothold that they already had in the U.S. labor market by going back,” said Mr. Cornelius, director emeritus of the Center for U.S.-Mexican studies at the University of California San Diego.
source
“I think most immigrants kind of fled Mexico because of the PRI, and they still carry visions of a PRI that was corrupt and murderous,” said Guadalupe Sandoval, an 18-year-old San Diego college student who said she closely watched the race. “I'm definitely surprised.”
Mr. Sandoval said her family would have considered returning if Mr. Pena Nieto's top challenger, leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, had won. The PRI won only about 38 percent of the vote to regain the presidency.
Mr. Sandoval's family left Mexico a year before the PRI ended its 71-year rule in 2000. Illegal immigration has dramatically dropped since then because of the crackdown at the U.S. border after the Sept. 11 attacks and the slowing of the U.S. economy.
More than 40,000 Mexicans voted from 91 countries in Sunday's elections. Mexican immigrants gained the right to vote in their country's elections in 2006.
The vast majority voted for Josefina Vazquez Mota, of President Felipe Calderon's National Action Party, who garnered 17,169 votes from abroad, according to preliminary results released Monday from Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute.
Mr. Lopez Obrador got 15,878 votes among voters from abroad, while Mr. Pena Nieto received 6,359.
Mr. Pena Nieto immediately went to work to counter claims that the old PRI was back, saying in his victory speech: “We're a new generation. There is no return to the past.”
He talked of security, commerce and infrastructure, but didn't bring up the traditional Mexican issue of U.S. immigration reform to help the 12 million Mexicans who live in the United States.
Mr. Pena Nieto said he wanted “a relationship that will allow the productive integration of North America.”
He also vowed to curb drug violence.
But 56-year-old Mexican immigrant Justiniano Rosario, who lives in New York, said he sees a downward spiral for the homeland that he left 27 years ago.
“There is too much violence and little honesty among politicians. It's a circus and with the PRI, nothing is going to change,” said Mr. Rosario, who works transporting boxes of food supplies for a local warehouse. “The PRI governed for so many years and lied to the people. They are not going to resolve the problem of violence.”
He added: “I don't believe in any of the candidates – but I believe a lot less in the PRI.”
Bricia Lopez, co-owner of the Mexican restaurant La Guelaguetza, based in Los Angeles, agreed.
“I'm sad,” she said. “I really thought this election could bring changes on how things work. Now, it's the same old thing. It's not fair to the people in Mexico who don't have anything. It's upsetting. It's not fair to the poor people I see every time I go to the poor towns of Oaxaca.”
Mexicans voted in Sunday's elections for a known quantity after becoming widely disappointed that the euphoria over the ousting of the PRI in national elections in 2000 did not usher in the dramatic changes they had hoped to see.
Pedro Ramos, founder of a Los Angeles-based group representing immigrants from the state of Puebla, said he understands that frustration.
“It went very badly for us the change,” he said. “In Pena Nieto, we see an institution that knows how to govern. Now we are hoping that he will see us [migrants] and will see that we are the ones who have sent home money and who have projected a good image of Mexico abroad.”
The White House said it expected the close relationship that the U.S. has enjoyed with Mr. Calderon's administration to continue under Mr. Pena Nieto.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland congratulated Mr. Pena Nieto's “apparent” victory and the Mexican people for demonstrating “their strong commitment to democratic values through a free, fair and transparent electoral process.” Ms. Nuland declined to answer questions related to a possible shift in Mexico's anti-narcotics strategy.
“We're not going to predict changes in policy one way or another,” Ms. Nuland said. “But we are committed to working in partnership with Mexico to meet the evolving challenges posed by transnational criminal organizations, and we expect that that great cooperation is going to continue with the Pena Nieto administration when it is seated.”
During its long reign, the PRI was known for building Mexico's institutions and social services, and keeping a lid on organized crime that operated back then without the levels of violence seen today.
Mexican immigration expert Wayne Cornelius said that exasperation over Mr. Calderon's war against the cartels may have caused Mexicans to vote the PRI back into power, but what many may be forgetting is the party also was largely responsible for major economic crisis that rocked the nation three different times since the 1970s.
Mr. Calderon's government had an impressive record in managing the Mexican economy, which has a long history of plummeting whenever the U.S. economy hiccups, he said. But much of that was overshadowed by the staggering drug violence that has cost more than 47,500 lives since Mr. Calderon's 2006 election.
The recession may have slowed illegal immigration to the United States, but it also has caused those immigrants who are here to become more rooted. And, he said, he does not see Mexico's next president changing that.
“This is a population that has become more and more stable over the last 15 years, and with the great recession in the U.S., it has had an effect of anchoring the Mexican population more firmly because they fear losing the foothold that they already had in the U.S. labor market by going back,” said Mr. Cornelius, director emeritus of the Center for U.S.-Mexican studies at the University of California San Diego.
source
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Summer storms kill 13, leave millions without power
Destruction … a house in Maryland was engulfed in flames after a lightning strike started a fire in violent weather that has hit the state along with Virginia and Ohio. Photo: AFPPower officials said yesterday that the blackouts wouldn't be repaired for several days to a week, likening the damage to a serious hurricane.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Key Rates Mortgage Home Equity Savings...
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| European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso speaks to reporters media before the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, on June 18, 2012. (HENRY ROMERO/REUTERS) |
(Reuters) - The following are highlights of comments by leaders and officials at the Group of 20 summit meeting in the Mexican beach resort of Los Cabos on Monday.
JAPAN FINANCE MINISTER JUN AZUMI
"The yen's rise is posing downside risks to the economy and the biggest factor lies in Europe's problems. No matter how Europe insists that it is making efforts, it would not mean much unless markets appreciate them. It's time (for Europe) to take concrete action to convince markets ... I as well as other countries said (at the G20 finance ministers' working dinner) that it's time (for Europe) to take concrete action such as unification of banking supervision."
BRAZIL FINANCE MINISTER GUIDO MANTEGA
On markets losing confidence in euro zone actions: "That means that the measures which are being taken are not enough to fix the problems because instead of reducing, they are increasing."
On BRICS countries contributions to the IMF, via reserves: "This will increase confidence by making sure there is more ammunition available if there is a problem."
JAPAN PRIME MINISTER YOSHIHIKO NODA
"I welcome the Greek people's wise decision. As for G20 discussions from now on, I'd like to particularly urge euro zone to strengthen efforts to prevent (its debt crisis) contagion to the rest of the world."
UK PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON:
Britain had played a big part in preventing a slide toward protectionism, "but clearly on the euro zone, we need to do more."
"There has been some progress, the firewalls are bigger, the scale of what can be done to stop contagion is greater, but the underlying problems still have to be dealt with."
"The truth is that everyone in the euro zone is going to have to take difficult decisions in order to make the system work properly and to deliver an easing of the crisis."
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER
"We're obviously very pleased that the Greek people have given a clear mandate to remain in the euro zone and fulfill the commitments they've made within the euro zone. We think that's a very positive development going forward.
"The problems of the euro zone remain very significant."
"The combination of sovereign and debt crises remain very severe. However, they are clearly within the means of European countries to deal with. What European countries need to do and what we will be looking to see are clear commitments that they are prepared to take all of the necessary actions that are within their capacity to deal with these problems, and to create the structural changes necessary to create a genuine financial union in Europe that can deal with these problems on an ongoing basis."
"Obviously growth is everybody's focus, should be everybody's focus. That's what we really need, that's obviously part of the solution. We need to see some global growth and particularly in those areas where there are challenges we need to see growth."
EU PRESIDENT JOSE MANUEL BARROSO
"The euro is very high, it is not a problem. It is a very strong currency. If you ask in Europe, many would like it to be a little weaker."
SPAIN ECONOMY MINISTER LUIS DE GUINDOS
"Spain is a solvent country and a country which has the capacity to grow.
"We think ... that the way markets are penalizing Spain today does not reflect the efforts we have made or the growth potential of the economy.
"I think that European leaders are united, we know perfectly well that we are all in the same boat. We know perfectly well that we have to keep going in one direction, in the direction of making more progress towards fiscal union and banking union and there, for example, I think that decisions can be taken very quickly and we could see those in the next few days."
GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL
"The result of the Greek election let me hope that there will be a quick creation of a new stable government. This is good news for the whole of Europe.
"The new government will and must stick to the commitments, which the country has agreed on."
SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT LEE MYUNG-BAK
"The world is looking to the June 28-29 EU summit for important conclusions on the euro zone ... During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Korea experienced large-scale corporate bankruptcies and mass unemployment, and moved quickly to restore market confidence and restructure its economy.
For highlights of quotes from Sunday, June 17:
Source from: reuters
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Fugitive James Allen Arrested in Leeds
Wanted fugitive James Allen has been arrested in South Leeds early on Sunday morning.
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| Police searched Drain covers on Crown point road following the arrest |
Bottles in bag sparks Dewsbury Bomb alert
Police and Army bomb disposal were called in to action following the discovery of a holdall containing bottles of liquid in Ravensthorpe Dewsbury.
Police became suspicious around 3pm and placed a cordon closing local roads and causing disruption to bus services and residents, many surrounding roads were described as gridlocked including Westgate Hill .
Police became suspicious around 3pm and placed a cordon closing local roads and causing disruption to bus services and residents, many surrounding roads were described as gridlocked including Westgate Hill .
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| Picture Ash Milnes: The Scene at North Road Dewsbury |
Monday, June 13, 2011
Bungalow Destroyed by Gas Explosion Thorpe Leeds
A empty bungalow has been destroyed by a Gas Explosion at Thorpe Village Leeds.
The Bungalow on Thorpe Lower lane was attended by Fire services at 1.13 AM on Sunday morning following reports of an explosion by locals.
The Empty Bungalow was completely destroyed in the blast leaving only the Chimney breast standing.
Gas engineers are at the scene.
On theory is that scrap metal thieves may have been at the property and disturbed Gas mains at the property.
Local buildings adjacent to the Bungalow have suffered Damage due to the blast:
Pictures Copyright leedspress.com for publication rights contact yorkshirenews@02.co.uk
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| Pictures Mark Readman leedspress.com |
 |
| The Remains of the bungalow |
The Bungalow on Thorpe Lower lane was attended by Fire services at 1.13 AM on Sunday morning following reports of an explosion by locals.
Gas engineers are at the scene.
Pictures Copyright leedspress.com for publication rights contact yorkshirenews@02.co.uk
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Woman rescued from Dewsbury train accident
This is the dramatic moment when emergency services were called to extract a female who had been struck by a train at Dewsbury station on Monday
Dramatic Pictures captured by Photographer Ash Milnes showed the complexity of the situation.
The Multiflight air ambulance attended
The 47 Year old was taken to the Leeds General Infirmary
Dramatic Pictures captured by Photographer Ash Milnes showed the complexity of the situation.
The Multiflight air ambulance attended
The 47 Year old was taken to the Leeds General Infirmary
2 arrest in Leeds street incident East End park
Locals have reported that 2 people have been arrested after an altercation left a 37 year old man with serious head injuries on Everleigh Street in the East End park area of Leeds.
The man was discovered close to the Leeds Irish centre following what is believed to have been a disturbance which started at a nearby house on Everleigh street .
Parts of the Irish centre car park were cordoned off whilst police looked for evidence connected to the incident, the centre itself is said to be unconnected to the incident .
More Information is expected to be revealed tomorrow.
 |
| Picture Mark Readman Yorkshire News |
The man was discovered close to the Leeds Irish centre following what is believed to have been a disturbance which started at a nearby house on Everleigh street .
Parts of the Irish centre car park were cordoned off whilst police looked for evidence connected to the incident, the centre itself is said to be unconnected to the incident .
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| Picture Mark Readman Yorkshire News |
More Information is expected to be revealed tomorrow.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Moorland fire, Cold edge road Halifax
Seven Fire appliances and specialist wild fire units were called in to deal with a moorland fire off Lumb Lane in Wainstalls, the fire which threatened to encircle a local farm house was reported around 5:15 on Sunday with crews from Todmorden, Mytholmroyd, Illingworth, Halifax, Fairweather green and Haworth attended along with Wildfire units from Keighley and Todmorden.
Fire-fighters fought the blaze along a 3 mile radius for over 3 hours by using specialist 4 wheel drive wild fire units and beaters, water was used from a nearby reservoir.
Pictures : Mark Readman : yorkshirenews@o2.co.uk
Fire-fighters fought the blaze along a 3 mile radius for over 3 hours by using specialist 4 wheel drive wild fire units and beaters, water was used from a nearby reservoir.
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