Rumours says Google is launching it own cloud-based storage drive – Google Drive

Drive.

The Next Web was lucky enough to get a heads up on what’s expected, and based on the details, it seems like competitors may be given a run for their money.

Space

The site which is expected to launch at http://drive.google.com will offer users a free online storage service with 5GB of space, with the option to upgrade at a small cost. There are no details yet about referral upgrades though. Dropbox users on the other hand start off at 2GB and also have to pay to upgrade. Their referral program however allows users to upgrade up to 16GB for free, and HTC users even get a special free 23GB upgrade for 2 years.

Until Google details their referral scheme, it’s hard to make judgement just yet, but starting with 5GB is definitely a big incentive for many over Dropbox. As a Dropbox user, I’ve found it hard to get referrals because of the fact that so many of my friends already have an account with them. There are some clever ways to upgrade, but most can’t be bothered.

Platforms

Google Drive will first debut on the PC, Mac, Android, and iOS systems. This alone was a good decision because they target a huge demographic of users. While Dropbox is also available on a few other Platforms such as Blackberry and Linux, Google Drive will still be available for most of the masses.

Integration

One of Google’s most prized services is Google Docs. It has revolutionized the way people share office/school/home documents over the web. There are rumours that Google Drive will also feature some type of real-time document editing service similar to that or even integrated into Google Docs. This alone could be a huge draw for many. Dropbox does offer real time syncing, but editing it means users have to completely sync a file before others can edit it, and edits can only be made by one users at a time per sync (for management’s sake).

While Google has had its share of failed services such as Wave and Plus, Drive sounds like an extremely competitive service when compared to Dropbox, and we can’t wait to try it out.

There are other services like iCloud, Box.net, and SkyDrive, which offer similar services but still lack in various areas such as bandwidth limits and lack of real time syncing.

Apple’s Patch for Trojan that Affects 600,000 Mac

Apple released an update to Java bringing the version on Mac to 1.6.0_31 for Mac’s running OS X. This patch actually closes multiple vulnerabilities that were found in the previous Java version being 1.6.0_29. The most serious exploit that it patched was the allowance of malicious code to be executed by visiting a compromised website.

Users who visited a compromised website would unknowingly participate in the Flashback botnet. A Russian security firm Dr.Web claims that approximate 600,000 Mac’s have already been infected. The statistics include 19.8% in Canada, 56.6% in the US, 12% in the UK, and 6.1% in Australia with those statistics being the largest.

Apple Mac’s are not usually vulnerable to viruses in the same way that Windows machines are. There is a myth that Mac’s are immune to viruses but they simply are not. There are just a lot more viruses for Windows because there are a lot more Windows machines out there so there are simply more viruses for them. You should always protect your computer with antivirus protection don’t let over confidence get your computer infected.

Update: Find out if you are infected by following the steps below:

Manual Removal Instructions

1. Run the following command in Terminal:

defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment

2. Take note of the value, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES
3. Proceed to step 8 if you got the following error message:

“The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist”

4. Otherwise, run the following command in Terminal:

grep -a -o ‘__ldpath__[ -~]*’ %path_obtained_in_step2%

5. Take note of the value after “__ldpath__”
6. Run the following commands in Terminal (first make sure there is only one entry, from step 2):

sudo defaults delete /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment

sudo chmod 644 /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info.plist

7. Delete the files obtained in steps 2 and 5
8. Run the following command in Terminal:

defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

9. Take note of the result. Your system is already clean of this variant if you got an error message similar to the following:

“The domain/default pair of (/Users/joe/.MacOSX/environment, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES) does not exist”

10. Otherwise, run the following command in Terminal:

grep -a -o ‘__ldpath__[ -~]*’ %path_obtained_in_step9%

11. Take note of the value after “__ldpath__”
12. Run the following commands in Terminal:

defaults delete ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

launchctl unsetenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

13. Finally, delete the files obtained in steps 9 and 11.

Hackers Can Make $250,000 Selling iOS Exploits To The Government

iOS hackers are some of the most sought after individuals in the security research community. Geniuses like Comex who come up with jailbreaks used by millions of iPhone and iPad users are offered incredible sums of money to sell their exploits to powerful and high profile clients.

Sure, you could win a decent amount of cash at a security conference for showing off the exploits you’ve uncovered, but why not make $250,000 and secretly sell your stuff to say, an entity like the U.S. government?

That’s exactly what a security researcher/middle man by the pseudonym of “Grugq” did for an unnamed iOS hacker. Located in Bangkok, Grugq made 15% commission off negotiating a $250,000 deal with a contact in the U.S. government. Grugq facilitated the transaction of the exploit information from the hacker in exchange for the 6-figure payout from the client.

Andy Greenberg from Forbes has put together a rundown of how much the average exploit sells for these days. The different price ranges are arranged by platform:

Windows exploits have always sold for more because of Microsoft’s larger market share presence in the PC space. Since Macs still only represent a fraction of desktop PCs sold every year, it’s much more cost-effective to create malware for the OS that the most people are using. You don’t see many viruses in the wild for OS X because there hasn’t been enough reason to target the platform.

What’s more surprising about Greenberg’s calculations is how little Android exploits are sold for in comparison with iOS. In fact, the average iOS exploit is worth far more than even a Windows exploit. It makes sense that browser are high up on the list, as they run on multiple platforms (for the most part) and serve as gateways to the internet. iOS, on the other hand, is the crème de la crème of platforms if you’re looking to sell an exploit.

Apple keeps iOS locked down tight. That’s why new jailbreaks always get so much coverage — they are feats of masterful hackery. Comex, the maker of the once-popular JailbreakMe tool for iOS 4.0, was reportedly offered 6 figures by multiple agencies to sell his iOS exploit. He ended up interning at Apple to help the company fortify the very platform he reverse engineered.

The people that make jailbreaks and find these kinds of exploits typically do security research work and consulting on the side. It’s a very lucrative, professional market that brings in millions and millions of dollars. Think about that next time you’re jailbreaking your iPhone.