Would modern life even be possible without Wi-Fi? There are many who don’t think so, and you may be one of them. One of the biggest problems with it, though, is that the range of the signal is quite limited. Get more than a couple hundred feet away from the source of the signal, and your connection fades fast. Even worse, simple obstacles like walls can cut you off from your much-needed signal entirely.

That could be changing soon, though, thanks to LiFi, or Light Fidelity, which is an emerging wireless protocol that utilizes the visible light spectrum to provide wireless network access. A LiFi transmitter uses simple LED lights to modulate the intensity of the light, which is then read as data by a receiver that’s photosensitive.

The beauty of LED lights is that they already use a computer chip to control their output, and since that’s true, they can modulate millions of times per second, which, at least in theory, would allow them to transmit data up to a hundred times faster than the current best Wi-Fi speeds.

Is this the magic bullet? Is this the new technology that’s going to replace Wi-Fi?

Probably not, at least according to Will Stofega, who is the program manager for mobile device technology at IDC.

For one thing, LiFi was designed as a means of complementing the Wi-Fi we have a love-hate relationship with, not as a wholesale replacement for it. For another, again according to Stofega, “Getting any standard approved is tough. There is always an ecosystem and political interests to play out. I think overall it needs a lot of work, but it’s the most promising of the alternative connection technologies.”

Although LiFi sounds like a dream come true, it’ll probably be a while before LEDs become our new wireless masters.

Used with permission from Article Aggregator

Mac users have a new strain of malware to be concerned about. It is dubbed “Mughthesec,” which seems to be a new, improved, and more robust design, based on an older piece of malware known as the OperatorMac family.

Among its improvements are the facts that it includes an anti-VM detection system that includes a MAC-address, and that it includes a valid Apple developer certificate, which allows it to slip unnoticed past Apple’s GateKeeper system. This second improvement is of special significance, because very few malware strains boast a valid certificate, making Mughthesec unique among its peers.

This updated version is finding its way onto machines disguised as an Adobe Flash Player installation file. The user gets a legitimate copy of Flash, but in the background, the malware also installs an app called Advanced Mac Cleaner, along with two extensions for the Safari web browser called “Safe Finder” and “Booking.com.”

According to Patrick Wardle, the Director of Research at Synack, while it’s easy enough to remove the rogue browser extensions and unwanted apps via conventional means, the new Mughthesec code contains hooks that will simply allow the hackers to reinstall those apps, or any other program that the hackers feel like inflicting on a user.

If you find Mughthesec on your machine, or if you get rid of malware only to find that it comes back almost immediately, Wardle’s recommendation is to reinstall your OS. That may sound like a draconian move, and it’s an annoying and painful process, but sadly, it’s the only way to be sure that the hooks the malware embeds in the operating system are completely removed.

The fear is that unless you take this step, your machine is simply going to keep getting peppered with malware, and perhaps something worse if the hackers decide to launch a genuinely destructive attack.

Used with permission from Article Aggregator