Google's 'Security Key' offers safer two-step verification

Google's FIDO Security Key

Advanced attackers have found ways to circumnavigate the two-step authentication login process. Receiving text message or email codes that accompany your passwords is no longer a rock-solid security measure that is guaranteed to protect your information.

To defend against these advanced attacks, Google has launched a USB-based product designed to improve two-step verification processes. The tool, Security Key, enables users to insert a device into a USB port in order to authenticate log-ins.

Rather than receiving verification codes via text message or email, Security Key users can simply carry the device on their keychains or in their pockets and insert the tool into a USB port whenever they wish to access secure information.

Google says the tool is a defense against sophisticated attackers that typically infiltrate two-step verification systems by setting up lookalike sites that request log-in information from victims. Security Key, which uses cryptography instead of verification codes, is designed to work only with the websites with which it has been pre-programmed.

Because Security Key requires a USB port, users won't be able to use the tool on mobile devices. Additionally, Google has made Security Key a Chrome-only tool, so you won't be able to access sites via Firefox or Internet Explorer via Security Key.

Security Key is generally available on Amazon. Google directs users from its website to an Amazon page that lists three models ranging in price from $5.99 (about £3.70, AU$6.80) to $50 (about £31.99, AU$56.80).

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Apple's Tim Cook on iPhone's wins, iPad's woes

On a call with analysts, Apple CEO explains why the company's smartphone is doing well but its tablet isn't.

Apple CEO Tim Cook boasts of Apple's record iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales during last week's iPad and Mac launch. Tim Stevens/CNET

In the fiscal fourth quarter, almost more than any other, Apple showed that it's still "the iPhone company."

The Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant on Monday reported a blowout September quarter -- largely thanks to strong smartphone demand. Sales and earnings in the quarter topped Wall Street expectations, as did iPhone shipments. Apple sold 39.3 million iPhones in the period, and the device made up 52 percent of its total revenue. Apple also projected stronger revenue for the holiday quarter than analysts anticipated.

The only blot on the earnings sheet was iPad sales, which dropped for the third consecutive quarter and fell below revenue for Macintosh computers the first time in years.

For Apple, being the "iPhone company" comes with some big rewards but also some risks. Consumers are scooping up its newest smartphones in record numbers, but having one new iPhone that's not a hit could hurt its financial results. iPad has long been the other strong product, but its sales have been waning in recent periods. That puts even more pressure on Apple to make sure it doesn't have a miss in its iPhone line and that it expands its offerings into other areas.

The Apple Watch, expected early next year, will be its first new device since the iPad launched in 2010. And Apple Pay, the company's mobile payments service available Monday, gives it a new services stream of revenue.

But for the foreseeable future, iPhone remains key to Apple's financial performance. Here's what Apple CEO Tim Cook had to say about the company's newest smartphones and tablets:

Apple's latest quarter included only about a week of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales, but the devices already gave the company a boost. Apple sold 39.3 million iPhones in the most recent period, up 16 percent from the year-ago period. Analysts, on average, had expected Apple to sell 37.8 million iPhones, according to a poll by Fortune. The company's newest devices -- the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus -- went on sale September 19, so Apple will get an even bigger boost from the products in the December quarter.

The new smartphones are currently shipping in 32 countries and will be in 69 countries by the end of October and 115 by the end of December. That makes the newest smartphones Apple's "fastest and most successful iPhone launch ever," Cook said. Demand is "staggering," he said, and Apple can't keep up with all the orders.

Here's what else Cook had to say about iPhone, via a Thomson Reuters transcript.

The ramp itself is going great. It's the fastest ever in our history. So I couldn't be happier with it. That said, today, demand is far outstripping supply. It's unclear, looking at the data when supply will catch up with demand. And so I don't want to leave you with a view that we know that we're going to get to a supply-demand balance on both of the new products this quarter because I don't know that at this point.

It's very difficult to gauge demand without first achieving -- without first finding the balance. And it's clear that as of today, and certainly as of the end of the quarter is where you're looking at the data, we're not nearly balanced. We're not close. We're not on the same planet...But that said, I'm really confident the supply's going to be great and that's the reason you see incredibly strong guidance [for the fiscal first quarter] that we're giving from $63.5 billion and $66.5 billion.

But at this point it's just very difficult to gauge what the true demand is. It's very unusual to see every country having a marked improvement over the previous year. And that's what we're seeing on iPhone. And so I couldn't be happier with the way the demand looks...

We're selling everything we're making and so essentially what our current sell through looks like is our current supply. And so in the long arc of time once there's enough supply to meet demand, that mix [of iPhone 6 sales versus iPhone 6 plus] might look differently...I think that we will see a difference by geography in terms of preference, and we thought that going into the launch. And there's no data that we've received to date that would suggest that, that's not the case. And so that's about all I can say at this point.

Apple's tablet has struggled for over a year, and there's really no end in sight to the troubles. In the past six quarters, iPad sales have dropped or remained flat from the comparable period a year earlier. iPhone sales have never fallen year-over-year, even when the smartphone wasn't as big an advance as hoped.

In the most recent quarter, Apple sold 12.3 million iPads, down 13 percent from a year earlier and below the 13.1 million units analysts had expected the company to sell, according to a poll by Fortune. The company hopes its newest iPads -- the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 -- will help boost sales once they hit the market later this week.

People are holding onto their iPads for much longer than their smartphones, and many are passing old models to friends and family. Cook acknowledged as much but said he still remains "bullish" about iPad's future. And Financial Chief Luca Maestri touted different businesses and schools using the tablet.

At the same time, Apple's Mac business has been surprisingly strong. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Apple shipped 5.5 million units, up 21 percent from a year ago. Cook noted sales were an all-time quarterly high for Macs, and Apple achieved its highest quarterly market share since 1995.

Here's more on iPads, straight from Cook, via Thomson Reuters:

I'd take a step back on iPad. I know that there's a lot of negative commentary in the markets on this, but I have a little different perspective on it. Here's my simple perspective...Instead of looking at this thing each 90 days, if you back up and look at it, we've sold 237 million in just over four years. That's about twice the number of iPhones that we sold over the first four years of iPhone.

If you look at the last 12 months of iPad, we sold 68 million. And FY13 we sold 71 million. So we were down, but we were down 4 percent on sell in and the sell-through was a bit better than the negative 4 percent because we took down channel inventory some. And so to me I view it as a speed bump, not a huge issue. That said, we want to grow. We don't like negative numbers on these things.

And so looking further in the data, I know that there's a popular view that the market is saturated, but we don't see that. I can't speak to other people, but I do look at our data deeply. And in the last market research data we have is in the June quarter.

Let me give you some of the real data that we've got. If you look at our top six revenue countries, in the country that's sold the lowest percentage of iPads to people who had never bought an iPad before, that number is 50 percent. And the range goes from 50 percent to over 70 percent. And so when I look at first time buyer rates in that area...that's not a saturated market. You never have first-time buyer rates at 50 percent and 70 percent.

What you do see is that people hold onto their iPad longer than they do a phone. And because we've only been in this business four years, we don't really know what the upgrade cycle will be for people. And so that's a difficult thing to call.

What we do know is that people always respond to do -- for us doing great products and we feel really great about what we introduced last week.

We also know that the deeper the apps go in the enterprise, the more it opens up avenues in enterprise. And that's a key part of the IBM partnership and what I think customers will get out of that, which is more important than us selling, is changing the way people work. And so I see catalysts going forward.

There are obvious cannibalization things that are occurring. I'm sure that some people looked at a Mac and an iPad and decided on a Mac. I don't have research to demonstrate that, but I'm sure of that just looking at the numbers. And I'm fine with that, by the way. I'm sure that some people will look at an iPad and an iPhone and decide just to get an iPhone and I'm fine with that as well.

But over the long arc of time, my own judgment is that iPad has a great future. How the individual 90 day clicks work out, I don't know. But I'm very bullish on where we can take iPad over time, and so we're continuing to invest in the product pipeline. We're continuing to invest in distribution.

Shara Tibken Shara Tibken is a senior writer for CNET focused on Samsung and Apple. She previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal. She's a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda." See full bio

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Man repels bear by wielding old computer

Apparently bears in Russia aren't too fond of outdated technology, which is fortunate for a man who met one while salvaging metal from a scrap heap.

Not exacty a friendly face. Getty Images

Finally, a use for your old IBM PS2: fending off bears!

A Siberian man was rummaging through a trash heap for non-ferrous metals on Saturday when he was rushed by a bear, the Moscow Times reports. To fend off the animal, he picked up an old computer from the heap and heaved it at the beast. The bear must have been a technophile, because the sight of the ancient machine was enough to scare him away.

OK, OK, it probably wasn't the bear's distaste for the original Windows operating system that spooked the critter. It was the sight of a large hunk of something coming his way. Regardless, the villager was spared a shredded arm or gouged torso, though he did apparently hurt his hand when he threw the computer. Too bad it wasn't an iPad Air.

The Moscow Times reports that this isn't the first time a piece of tech has aided a Russian citizen in escaping a bear attack. "In July, a man in the eastern Sakha republic had an extremely lucky escape after his phone turned on as he was being mauled by a bear," according to the newspaper. "The phone's startup noise was enough to frighten away the beast, and the man, who had sustained a bite wound to his head, escaped with his life."

Canadians have also had some luck battling bears with smartphones. As we reported last year, a Manitoba man was able to fend off a bear by turning on his cell phone and showing the bear its lit-up screen. Probably the bear was disgusted that the man hadn't yet upgraded to the latest iPhone, which apparently can be almost as dangerous as a bear attack.

(Via BetaBeat)

Michael Franco Freelancer Michael Franco writes about the serious and silly sides of science and technology for Crave and other pixel and paper pubs. He's kept his fingers on the keyboard while owning a B&B in Amish country, managing an eco-resort in the Caribbean, sweating in Singapore, and rehydrating (with beer, of course) in Prague. E-mail Michael. See full bio

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Five ways to save BlackBerry for business users

BlackBerry keeps trying to rebound

BlackBerry as a brand and a company is starting to make a slight rebound. According to recent reports, the company is not haemorrhaging quite as much money, the stock is up a little, and a new CEO seems to have a few worthwhile ideas. But how can the company really win back corporate customers and save their skin? By following a few of these strategies for success.

Search the Android and iOS stores today and you will find one lone BlackBerry app for messaging. Yet BlackBerry (known formerly as Research in Motion) does make a series of business-oriented apps including one for protecting your phone from theft, a travel app, and a password manager. To reinforce the brand, BlackBerry should port these apps to Android and iOS immediately and even make full-screen tablet versions.

Maribel Lopez, a research analyst at Lopez Research, says BlackBerry already has some foothold with Android apps because you can side-load them on BlackBerry phones and tablets. Still, that's not the same as creating more BlackBerry apps for the two dominant platforms in the industry.

The enterprise decided a long time ago that the BlackBerry smartphone is fading into the sunset. Business has switched to smartphones running Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. But maybe the company's mobile hardware offerings can live to see another day.

To save them, BlackBerry should refocus on messaging devices with a real keyboard designed exactly like the original models (not using a new layout like you'll find on the BlackBerry Passport). Offer these messaging devices at a price so low that the enterprise jumps back on board.

Lopez says BlackBerry already emphasises messaging devices as a top priority but has retooled communication around this to encourage customers who "bring their own device" to reconsider BlackBerry apps to make them more productive. It's an admission that corporate-approved phones are not as common.

BlackBerry Messenger is the only app you'll find in the iOS and Android stores from the Canadian company. It's a ridiculous app that promises to bring you closer to family and friends and emphasises emoticons. What? Business users want to know that their messaging is secure, reliable, and traceable. BlackBerry should push those features. And, while they are changing the marketing message, go ahead and add stronger encryption, better admin controls, and more swiping features like those in popular apps like Mailbox.

"Apple iMessage has been a smash hit on iOS devices and Apple continues to innovate with it," says David Johnson, a Forrester analyst covering mobile devices. "The world needs a de facto internet messaging standard for all devices that is at least as good as iMessage is. But that's a tall order and there are probably too many competing interests for BlackBerry to be successful with it to dominate."

It may be too late, because most of the momentum for using this email server for managing devices in business has been lost. Why use it anymore if you have switched over to iOS, Android, or Windows Phone devices?

However, at one time, BES was the one and only reason to keep using BlackBerry devices and offered trusted security features. Make a dynamic duo – low-cost messaging devices with real keyboards and a new improved BES.

"This is all in hindsight of course, but they had the opportunity to dominate MDM once, and many large enterprises still use the BES, but if they invest here it would have to be in innovative ways," says Johnson. "For example, there is still opportunity for them in things like Mobile BI and in presenting both BlackBerry and non-BlackBerry device users with cleverly presented, and wonderfully useful information and insights from their organizations' systems – perhaps leveraging context from other information on the devices.

"I can imagine services like combining rich information from the user's calendar intranet portals, Salesforce.com, and other key sources to present a sales rep with key insights into a client she's scheduled to see in 30 minutes, for example."

BlackBerry dug their own ditch when they marketed the BlackBerry 10 smartphones as consumer devices that encouraged social networking and photos. BlackBerry needs to create new TV commercials, online ads, and viral videos that emphasise better security. Go for the jugular with iOS and especially Android devices that don't use the same level of security. Start by selling the wide availability of cross-platform BlackBerry apps for business.

"When President Obama was elected it was all over the news that he wanted his BlackBerry as president, too," says Johnson. "It doesn't get much better than a presidential seal of approval on your security strategy. They can still draw on this and give examples of high-security organisations that depend on BlackBerry security, though, and perhaps find innovative ways to either bring that security mojo to other devices and platforms, or make it so good for BlackBerry devices that no one can touch them on the high end. This could be their niche for a while."

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Hands-on review: Updated: Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

Now this is interesting. There were a trickle of rumours that Samsung was going to release a unique product into the smartphone market - something that would take advantage of the company's bendable OLED displays. And it has delivered with the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

The Note Edge is a beautiful looking device that has a screen that folds over one side of the handset, offering up myriad possibilities with what to do with this extra bit of real estate.

Well, I say extra - this is the same 5.7-inch screen that's seen on the Note but an inch of it drapes over the side, ready to take care of notifications so they don't get in the way of watching full-screen video and the like.

Sadly we now know that it's going to be a 'limited edition' device, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to get your hands on it, just that it will be produced in limited quantities. The Galaxy Note Edge is pegged for a late October release in South Korea, while a Japanese carrier has confirmed it for October 23 there.

Other territories will have a longer wait. Australia is set to get the phablet curio on November 12 and there's no confirmed release date yet for the UK or US, though Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile have all confirmed that they'll carry the handset once it does launch.

As for pricing it's set to sell for a hefty 49,990 Rubles in Russia (around £755 / $1219 / AU$1385), while prices in China are similar. I'm hopeful that local pricing will be a little cheaper, but UK retailers are currently estimating a £650 price tag, so don't expect it to be cheap.

When I first picked up the Note Edge, I did notice a slight issue. The folded part of the screen was on the wrong side for me, because I am left handed.

This meant that this extra bit of screen was in the way of my palm. But Samsung has remedied this with making the screen completely flippable. So as long as you don't mind the home button being on the top of the screen, then this is a handset for south paws as much as right-handed folk.

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is fantastic in the hand. The added screen dimension makes it look and feel a lot more premium than its Note 4 bedfellow. It's definitely a handset that has wow factor, even if the added screen lip may be slightly lacking in uses at the moment.

Samsung has tried its best to make this section of the phone useable, by creating a host of OS strips that you can add to the lip of the screen. These include things like weather, Twitter, and news updates.

One great move Samsung has done is make the lip of the display work independent of the main screen.

So if the main screen is completely off, one swipe of the lip and you can see your notifications and updates. This would be a great thing in a meeting where you don't want to use your full device but want access to small updates,

The new screen design in my hands on simply meant that it was easier for me to access applications. Samsung also informed me that the panel will evolve, once more software partners are on board.

Another test I did to try out the innovative screen was watch a clip of a movie. As all of the controls went to the lip of the screen, the main part was completely free - the movie went completely to the edge and looked great.

The new screen is a great addition to the Note range. By this I mean that everything else bar the screen is identical to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in specs.

The screen does mean you get a 16:10 aspect ratio and Samsung did explain that the battery was a tad smaller (at 3,000) but everything else that is on the Note 4 is present and correct with the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

Get a better look at the curved display of the Galaxy Note Edge in our hands on video:

While you can read a little more in-depth about the new features in our hands on Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review, here's a number of things that I thought were standout.

The chassis now has a heartrate monitor, that was originally found on the Samsung Galaxy S5. This also acts as a trigger button for the camera when you want to do selfies.

The S Pen has also vastly improved with two extra pen styles: fountain and highlighter. You can do so much more with the S Pen too. One of the most interesting aspects is that you can now use it mouse like to take grabs from websites and set up your own clippings service.

You can also use the pen to shrink applications as you would a widget. This gives you better access to the homescreen and means you don't have to wade through a number of tabs.

Multi-tasking on the Note Edge has also been improved - with a multi window of tabs much easier to access.

The Samsung Galaxy Note edge is stunning-looking device that really tries to do something different. I worry that Samsung will keep the Edge strictly limited edition. I hope not because this is a handset that is great to use and looks fantastic. It really does give the Note line-up the edge over its rivals.

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