Hackers tighten you seat belts. Offensive Security have announced the new version of Kali Linux.
Yeah , you've heard it correctly. Less time for loading applicataions, Native Ruby,Virtual Desktop's and a lot more.
Code named "Kali SANA"
Let's wait for 7th of August cauz its defcon and we really wont miss the release of Kali at it.
Statutory Note: "Excite at your own risk" :)
Few would dispute the argument that the Internet has empowered us considerably, especially in the last decade or so. But that freedom, call it digital empowerment if you may, will soon be snatched away by a cartel that masquerades as a trade body. This bloc, comprising telecom companies, presents a clear and present danger to our freedoms that, in the context, can be simply summarised as Net Neutrality.
So, what’s up?
The issue at hand is a consultation paper put out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI for short. The idea of a “consultation paper” might seem innocuous at first blush, but it is not. Broadly speaking, it is meant to decide three things: whether should there be licensing of over the top (OTT) applications (like WhatsApp or Skype); whether there should be licensing only for communication Internet companies (non-communication Internet companies being the likes of Flipkart, YouTube, Redbus, Naukri, Makemytrip); and whether telecom operators (like Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications, among others) should be allowed to do “traffic shaping” and use differential pricing.
It’s your internet. Don’t give away the control.
In short, this paper (PDF) is a precursor to a policy that will decide the very manner in which we access the Internet and what we access at all. If our fears come true, one or more of these can hypothetically happen:
You may not be able to access this article, if YourStory does not strike deals with telecom companies.
You may be able to read this on an Airtel network, but not on Vodafone (assuming YourStory has a deal with the former).
This site itself might eventually disappear because it will no longer be able to generate revenue if it does not get traffic.
This page might take 0.5 seconds to load if your ISP is Airtel, and 5 minutes if you are with Vodafone.
Or, you just might have to pay Rs 500 extra every month to read articles on this site. No, not to YourStory, but to your friendly neighbourhood ISP.
These are just a few random things that can happen. And no, this is not scaremongering of a habitual conspiracy theorist. This is precisely that the telecom companies are seeking to do, and they well might be able to pull this off if TRAI accedes to their unjustified wishes. The TRAI has called for comments from stakeholders on its paper, and the last date for doing that is April 24, 2015. The objective of this consultation paper, the regulator said, was to analyse the implications of the growth of OTTs and consider whether or not changes were required in the current regulatory framework. It said, “The (SMS) messaging traffic fell from 5,346 million in June 2013 to 4,367 million in June 2014, a decline of 18.3 per cent. This decrease can be attributed almost entirely to an increase in traffic of OTT messaging apps.”
Here’s a video that will help you understand the concept like a 2-year-old:
What prompted TRAI to put up its convolutedly-worded consultation paper (thankfully, there’s an abridged version of this document, and we would request you to take out time and go through it) was its assurance to Airtel to look into the issue after the telecom company created a furore in December 2014 over its decision to additionally charge subscribers for VoIP (Voice Over IP) services like Skype and Viber. Airtel didn’t go ahead with the plan, but TRAI did take up cudgels on its behalf. Earlier, TRAI itself had squashed a proposal to charge OTT players like the WhatsApp and Viber to pay connectivity charges to telecom companies. It felt the revenue decline of operators could be made up with the increase in mobile data usage. Telecom operators, however, were insistent that consumers were paying just for the Internet packages and not for the calls and messages.
But telecom operators are essentially living in denial. They are still not willing to accept that the short messaging services (SMS) of the early days of the telecom revolution are passé. They are being as mule-headed as the cyber café owners and cable TV operators who just couldn’t reconcile themselves to the fact that the services they once offered had become redundant with time. Ironically, these same telecom operators had made the best in the decline and eventual demise of cyber cafes and cable TV. But telecom companies, unlike cyber café owners and cable TV operators, are not smalltime players – they are big, rich and powerful enough to extract their pound of flesh, by fair means or foul.
Yet, it is not that the fading away of the text message is making telecom companies bleed red. A Medianama reportMobile Internet in India (behind paywall) throws up relevant numbers. In the case of Airtel alone, while value-added service (VAS) revenue dipped from Rs 1024.85 crore on the third quarter of financial year 2013 to Rs 780.82 crore in the third quarter of financial year 2015, its data revenue jumped three-and-half times from Rs 585.75 crore to Rs 2,108.22 crore in the same period. No one is stopping telecom companies from hiking their regular tariff; they are making enough any way.
The telecom industry, mired as it still is in the Rs 309,845.5 million 2G scam, wants absolute control, and it is an industry that doesn’t feel it’s accountable to the nation or its people. It, like the spoilt brat power discoms of Delhi, had thrown a fit when the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) had wanted to audit accounts of telecom companies. The Delhi High Court initially allowed the CAG to inspect their accounts, but the industry approached the Supreme Court urging it to overturn the high court verdict.
The apex court had then ruled in favour of CAG audits saying, “When nation’s wealth, like spectrum, is being dealt with either by the union, state or its instrumentalities or even the private parties, like service providers, they are accountable to the people and to the Parliament… CAG’s examination of the accounts of the service providers in a revenue sharing contract is extremely important to ascertain whether there is an unlawful gain to the service provider and an unlawful loss to the Union of India, because the revenue generated out of that has to be credited to the consolidated fund of India.”
The COAI has possibly not learnt its lessons from that ruling. Or maybe, it’s just a shameless association that hasn’t learnt anything from the Supreme Court’s verdict on Section 66A of the Information Technology Act either. Telecom companies want TRAI to do their bid. Bit too, you might say.
It might not be fair to allege that the TRAI is working hand in glove with the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) that it is supposed to regulate, but there are reasons to be suspicious of the authority. The issue of Net Neutrality, in fact, had been raised in a paper (PDF) by TRAI itself way back in December 2006. In the chapter on ‘Emerging Trends’, it had remarked,
Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be able to access all content they view and all applications they use on the Internet without being discriminated by Internet service provider(s)/ access provider(s). The Internet has operated according to this neutrality principle since its inception. Indeed, it is this neutrality that has allowed many companies (application service providers, content providers etc.) to launch, grow, and innovate. Fundamentally, net neutrality is about equal access to the Internet.
The authority had warned, “Internet providers are not prohibited from discriminating against the content available using their services; therefore they could legally restrict access to any website or Internet application they choose whenever it suits their bottom-line economic,” and even predicted, “The situation may also rise in India as Internet access providers may use their market power to discriminate against competing applications and/or contents.” And, this is precisely what the advocates of Net Neutrality in India are fighting against, for their worst fears are beginning to take shape.
There are a lot of things that one can do right away:
Spend just a few minutes on NetNeutrality.in to digest the story in brief
A simple Camera add-on that can reveal ATM Passwords, heres how.
The video describes about how we are vulnerable to it and how we can protect ourselves from it!
After almost two years of public development (and another year behind the scenes), kali.org are proud to announce their first point release of Kali Linux – version 1.1.0. This release brings with it a mix of unprecedented hardware support as well as rock solid stability. For them, this is a real milestone as this release epitomizes the benefits of their move from BackTrack to Kali Linux over two years ago. As we look at a now mature Kali, we see a versatile, flexible Linux distribution, rich with useful security and penetration testing related features, running on all sorts of weird and wonderful ARM hardware. But enough talk, here are the goods:
The new release runs a 3.18 kernel, patched for wireless injection attacks.
Our ISO build systems are now running off live-build 4.x.
Improved wireless driver support, due to both kernel and firmware upgrades.
A whole bunch of fixes and updates from our bug-tracker changelog.
And most importantly, we changed grub screens and wallpapers!
Download Or Upgrade Kali 1.1.O
You can download the new version from our Kali Linux Download page, where you’ll also find mini-installer ISOS for both 32 and 64 bit CPU architectures. You can expect updated VMWare and multiple ARM image releases to be posted in the Offensive Security custom Kali Linux image download page in the next few days. As usual, if you’ve already got Kali Linux installed and running, there’s no need to re-download the image as you can simply update your existing operating system using simple aptcommands:
The company that used to shut outsiders out of its ecosystem on Monday unveiled new tools to help mobile apps, wearable health monitors and home automation devices work seamlessly with iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. CEO Tim Cook and Apple executives outlined the company’s new strategy of inclusion during a two-hour keynote that opened Apple’s 25th Worldwide Developers Conference at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco. The company previewed updates for its Macintosh operating system, named Yosemite, and iOS 8 for the iPhone and iPad. For consumers, the most interesting new features include Macintosh computers that can place and answer phone calls when synced to an iPhone and smart door locks and house lights voice-controlled through Siri. An upcoming iOS 8 system will include an updated Messages app with features already popular in third-party apps like WhatsApp. The keynote, however, was squarely aimed at the 5,000 developers who are expected to attend the five-day conference. And the message was one of inclusion. “You’ve seen our app system, devices and services all work together in harmony,” Cook said. “Together, they provide an integrated and continuous experience across all of our products.” Apple is competing against Google, Microsoft and Samsung in a consumer market that’s exploding with Internet-connected smart devices. Apple can’t create or even control all of those devices itself as it once did with every aspect of Macintosh computers. So the Cupertino company is rolling out new software tools to get the developers of those apps and smart devices to become even more invested in the Apple ecosystem. One example is HealthKit, a software development platform designed as the central control for all health apps and fitness monitors. The platform would connect to a new iOS 8 app called Health. Opening up the service to outside teams positions Apple as more of a neutral platform for developers. HealthKit is “a big deal because, fundamentally, they’re going to be the Switzerland for health devices,” said tech analyst Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Inc. of San Jose. “With this new health initiative, they’re going to tie in all kinds of wearable devices, keep that data in a single place, and it will be much easier for you to monitor it and for your doctor to monitor it,” he said. “You don’t have that on Android or Windows, at least yet.” Another example is HomeKit, a platform that connects home-automation devices. Cook said the new iOS 8 will be able to control devices like smart locks, light bulbs and thermostats using the Siri voice-recognition system. Cook predictably didn’t mention the best-known smart thermostats from Google’s recent $3.2 billion acquisition, Nest Labs. Now, consumers have to launch different apps to control their other smart devices, Bajarin said. But having one controlling app could make iPhones and iPads more valuable to consumers if “you can just say to your iPhone ‘I’m going to bed’ and it automatically turns out the lights and locks the doors,” he said. “That kind of automation is a dream.” Andrew Levy, co-founder of Crittercism, a company that provides a mobile app management performance platform, said Apple’s software tools could solve a fragmentation problem that holds back the growing industry of Web-connected devices called the Internet of Things. “The industry would greatly benefit from a single platform that device makers can agree on,” Levy said in an e-mail. “This would ensure connectivity and privacy and provide a seamless experience for consumers. If anyone can take the Internet of Things into the mainstream, Apple can.” And that was precisely the closing message Cook delivered to developers. “We do this so we can create a seamless experience for our users that is unparalleled in the industry. This is something,” Cook said with a pause for dramatic effect, “only Apple can do.” Benny Evangelista is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: bevangelista@sfchronicle.com Original post:Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off today with a keynote hosted by CEO Tim Cook, who has promised that 2014 will be a year of “amazing” products. Tech reporter Benny Evangelista of our sister paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, will be liveblogging the event. You can also see a live stream of the keynote here. (Unfortunately, you’ll need either a Mac, an Apple TV or an iOS device to watch it.) The keynote begins at noon CDT.
