The US National Security Agency (NSA) has issued a cybersecurity advisory warning that the Russian military hacking group responsible for interfering in the 2016 presidential election has been exploiting a critical vulnerability in Exim since last August or earlier.
For those unfamiliar with Exim, the software is a mail transfer agent (MTA) that runs in the background of email servers. The software is currently the most popular MTA and a big reason for this is due to the fact that it is bundled with many popular Linux distros including Debian and Red Hat.
The timing of the NSA's advisory is a bit strange though as the critical vulnerability in Exim was identified 11 months ago and a patch has already been released to fix the issue.
According to the president of Rendition Infosec and former US government hacker, Jake Williams who spoke with the Associated Press, Exim is so widely used that some companies and government agencies that run the software may have not yet patched the vulnerability. He believes that the NSA may have issued its new advisory to bring attention to the Russian military group known as Sandworm which has exploited the critical vulnerability in Exim in its attacks.
Sandworm
In its advisory, the NSA provided further details on the vulnerability in Exim that Sandworm is actively exploiting, saying:
“The vulnerability being exploited, CVE-2019-10149, allows a remote attacker to execute commands and code of their choosing. The Russian actors, part of the General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate’s (GRU) Main Center for Special Technologies (GTsST), have used this exploit to add privileged users, disable network security settings, execute additional scripts for further network exploitation; pretty much any attacker’s dream access – as long as that network is using an unpatched version of Exim MTA.”
While the NSA did not reveal who the Russian military hackers have targeted, in recent months senior US intelligence officials have warned that Kremlin agents are currently engaged in activities online that could threaten the integrity of the country's 2020 presidential election.
Organizations and government agencies that use Exim should apply this patch immediately if they have not already done so to avoid falling victim to any potential attacks.
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We can help you find out if the IRS has scheduled your payment, how the money may arrive and how much of the $1,200 stimulus check money you'll receive.
These convenient meal kit services deliver weekly menus and preportioned ingredients to enthusiastic but time-poor home cooks. And with shelter-in-place lockdowns, they're more useful than ever.
Ever since the Covid-19 lockdown, PUBG Mobile has kept gamers busy, bringing several new modes of competition. Now, the gaming company announced that the next major update will arrive on June 1 in the form of a new Mysterious Jungle mode for all players.
The company has teased the next major update for a while now and shared a tweet from its official handle that was as mysterious as the title of the mode. Obviously the update would be based on the Sanhok map and players will be paired up in teams of two who will be seeking clues for an in-game treasure.
And while the treasure hunt is on, the players would also be required to keep track of enemies who too are seeking the treasure and battling them to get to it first. What appears a certainty is that since the new addition is based on the Sanhok map, the game would involve lots of jungle warfare.
We do recall that PUBG had started teasing this new mode about two weeks ago. To be precise around the time the Royale Pass for Season 13 was released. Then, it was titled Jungle Adventure mode with totems in attendance to bless the players. There were also rumours that surveillance balloons will make an appearance on the game.
The mode would feature the normal classic match but could also have some additions to the battlefield such as jungle food and the above-mentioned hot air balloons. The jungle food would be a provider of mysterious effects to players who consume these while traversing the Mysterious Jungle. We have to wait and watch what exactly would be these effects that Tencent is speaking about.
In recent times, PUBG mobile has added two additional modes, including the Arctic mode for the Vikendi map where players brace up for the blistering cold weather to get the Bluehole mode for the Erangel map. In the second mode, players have to be cautious of blue Blue Zones that occur both outside and inside the safe zones. There was also the Miramar Map that got updated recently as Mad Miramar.
Earlier this month, Tencent Games had opened registrations for PUBG Mobile India Series 2020, considered one of the biggest eSports tournaments in the country. There would be 256 teams competing for online qualifications besides direct invitations.
The presence of a large battery in a modern smartphone often means you'll have to compromise on other features; but not so with the Oukitel WP6. You've probably never heard of the brand, but we reviewed one of its rugged smartphones back in 2018 (the WP2) if you want to get a feel for the devices.
The WP6 is available in both orange and black for $213.59 (£243.99/AU$443.78) at AliExpress. Despite its entry-level status, it sports some rather high-end features, such as 6GB of RAM and 128GB onboard storage.
It also boasts a 6.3-inch display with a 1080 x 2340 pixel resolution, which is higher than most laptops.
Another notable feature is its massive 10,000mAh battery - one of the largest we’ve seen in a rugged smartphone. With an 18W charger, you should be able to fill it up fairly quickly, and you can also use the WP6 as an emergency portable battery charger if you get caught short.
It also features an eight-core Mediatek Helio P70 CPU, 48-megapixel Sony camera sensor, IP68 rating, 16-megapixel front facing camera and Android 9.0.
It's worth noting, the device doesn't support wireless charging nor NFC, and we wouldn’t count on Oukitel to provide more than one Android update.
If you're after an alternative, the Blackview BV9100 has an even bigger battery (13000mAh) and NFC, but costs more and has a significantly inferior set of components (slower CPU, a third less memory, half the storage, and a lesser camera sensor).
If this product comes from mainland China, it will take at least a month to reach either the US or UK (and potentially more). You may be levied a tax either directly or through the courier.
If you've managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.
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Will there be a second coronavirus stimulus check this year? If the new proposal passes, it'll put more IRS rescue money in your pocket. Here's the status today and what could happen next.
If the rumors are true, we won’t see the Oculus Quest 2 for another few months – October at the earliest and, if the coronavirus pandemic continues for another few months, not until 2021. At least, that’s the latest from a Bloomberg report that gave us our best look yet at Oculus’ next-gen headset.
If we don’t get the Oculus Quest 2 for another year-and-a-half, what could the company do to improve? What steps could it take to make the next Quest the best VR headset ever?
At this point with so much up in the air it's worth exploring every possible avenue Oculus could take with the Quest 2 – from its controllers and display technology, to its software, accessories and games.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a wishlist for the headset by taking some of the loose rumors we’ve already heard and combined them with our thoughts on where VR is heading. It may not be exactly the headset Oculus is putting together, but we're hoping to see at least a few of these suggestions on the OQ2.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The successor to the Oculus Quest, Oculus’ first stand-alone VR headset
When is it out? Rumors point to an early 2021 launch date
What will it cost? TBD, but the Quest had a lot of success at $399 / £399
Oculus Quest 2 release date and price
There’s good news and bad news here. The bad news is that, frankly speaking, we don’t have a firm release date from Oculus yet. The good news is that, based on some reporting by Bloomberg, we have a rough idea of what it could be.
According to industry experts who spoke to Bloomberg, Facebook originally planned on announcing the Oculus Quest 2 at this year’s Oculus Connect. That conference is usually held in late September or early October, but because of the pandemic, it may not take place until 2021 – hence why we might have to wait until 2021 to get the new headset.
As for price, well, we have a pretty good idea what to expect: $399 / £399. Every headset Oculus has ever released has been available at launch for $399 / £399, and that isn’t likely to change for the Oculus Quest 2, especially after Oculus had some of its best sales yet with the Oculus Quest.
Based on rumored features that price sounds right, but there’s always the chance Oculus could include a last-minute addition to the headset – like, say, 1TB of flash memory – that could substantially raise the price. It probably won’t happen, though.
Oculus Quest 2 news and leaks
If you’re really in the know about Oculus Quest 2, you’ll know it as ‘Del Mar’ – Oculus’ codename for the next hardware.
According to people who have insider information, Del Mar will offer additional RAM, battery life and a faster processor, as well as some ergonomic improvements like a reduction in size and weight – but that’s as much as we know so far.
UploadVR and AndroidCentral corroborated the rumor that Oculus Quest 2 could feature an entirely new controller that makes improvements to the tracking, haptics and finger sensing technology inside the current hardware with developer documentation leaked by Facebook, so that seems like a fairly safe bet.
Speaking of hand tracking...
Oculus Quest 2: what we want to see
1. Fully supported hand-tracking
The highest item on our wishlist for the Oculus Quest 2 is full support for hand tracking – from the second you startup the headset to the time you turn it off. Now, obviously, we still expect most games to use some sort of controller, but it’d be great if you could navigate the UI and most of the pre-installed apps without ever having to pull out the controllers.
2. A higher resolution screen
While we’re on the subject of improvements, it wouldn’t hurt for the next-generation Oculus Quest to have a slightly higher resolution... as long as it doesn't compromise the refresh rate of the screen or battery life. I know that sounds like complete wish fulfilment, but all Oculus would need to do here is upgrade the processor inside the headset while packing in a slightly larger or more efficient battery.
That’s easier said than done and could compromise Oculus’ target price point, but as other headsets march forward with higher-resolution screens, Oculus will need to stay caught up.
3. Better battery life
One of the biggest flaws of the original Oculus Quest is that its battery life was incredibly short – roughly around two hours. That means there's a huge opportunity for Oculus to double or even triple battery life in the next-generation headset.
That will be a challenge, obviously, but one of the ways that might be possible is by using Bluetooth LE or a similar technology that can transmit data wirelessly without a ton of power drain. It sounds like a longshot, but because Oculus owns both the hardware and software, it's not out of the question to see some big improvements in this area in the Oculus Quest 2.
Making the new controllers similar to the Valve Index Controllers could be a big selling point for the Oculus Quest 2.
4. Knuckle Controller knockoffs
While Oculus is conquering the untethered market at the moment with the Oculus Quest, Valve is sweeping the PC-powered space with the Valve Index. There's obviously a sizable difference in power and form factor between these two headsets, but one thing Oculus could do to level the playing field is make these next-gen controllers we've heard about capable of tracking every finger.
Why should Oculus make the change? Having all your fingers recognized in virtual reality makes for a more immersive experience, not to mention it opens the door to a number of new experiences that aren't available on more limited headsets.
5. Also, an Oculus Link Cable in the box
One of the biggest benefits of the Oculus Quest is that it doesn’t need a powerful PC to power it. And yet, for the times when you’re at home, it’s nice to be able to connect the Quest to the PC to play Oculus Rift games that didn’t make it to the Quest. The not nice part? Paying $80 for the Oculus Link Cable accessory.
We certainly didn’t blame Oculus for charging for the wire this generation – it released after the Quest was ready – but $80 (£89, around AU$120) feels a bit steep. Hopefully Oculus will pack it in with the next headset or, at the very least, lower the price to something more reasonable.
6. Even more Oculus Studio titles
While we’ve focused mainly on the hardware here, the future of virtual reality largely depends on the quality of the experiences you’ll get after buying a headset. The good news is that Oculus has one of the best studios in the business when it comes to funding and publishing VR games.
From Lone Echo to Lucky’s Tale to Asgard’s Wrath, nearly every title published by Oculus Studios has been a feather in the headset’s cap, and we’re hoping to see that trend continue on its next-gen hardware.
7. More units available to buy at launch
The Oculus Quest has been in and out of stock since the holidays last year – it's so popular that they've become almost impossible to find. Whether that's because Oculus can't keep up with production or because Oculus is limiting production, that demand works in Oculus' favor: it's no secret that scarcity and word of mouth reviews are powerful ways to keep boost sales numbers.
That being said, if Oculus wants to make the Quest 2 the de facto VR headset, it needs to be able to keep the headset in stock. But they might already know that: one of the possible reasons Bloomberg cited for the delay is for Oculus to get more production units ready in time for launch – which, if that's the case, seems like a very good decision on their part.
Not sure what to buy? Our guide to the best VR headsets can help!
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Infinix Hot 9 series, including the Infinix Hot 9 and the Infinix Hot 9 Pro, will launch in India today at 12pm (noon). The launch was previously teased by the company through its Twitter handle.
