On Wednesday 2/15 Adobe released an update patch to the flash player that fixed several vulnerabilities that have been actively exploited. All versions of Adobe flash player are affected and need to be updated including Android and the flash player built into Google Chrome web browser. Read more

If you purchased and returned a Motorola Xoom tablet last year your data may have been given away. Motorola announced on Friday that 100 “refurbished” tablets that were sold by Motorola through the web site Woot.com did not have the previous owners data wiped from the device before it was sold. These units slipped through the refurbishing process without being checked and still contained pictures, documents and even passwords and login information. The units were sold on Woot between October and December 2011. Read more

Do you use a jailbroken iPhone/iPad or a rooted Android device? The manufacturers claim that rooting or jailbreaking devices violates Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In 2010 the US Copyright office issued a temporary 2 year exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA) that granted users the right to root or jailbreak their phone and devices. This exemption is about to expire. If this exemption does not get renewed then it will be illegal to root your device. Read more

Google just release a new security feature that will allow you to login your Google accounts at any computer without typing your password with the help of your Android phone or Iphone. If you ever use public computers such as ones at school, in a coffee shop or library where you are not sure the system is free of keylogger software then this will be a useful feature for you.

First you will need to go to accounts.google.com/sesame. This page will display a QR code as seen here. Next use your Iphone or Android phone to scan the QR code. This will signal Google that you are located at the terminal displaying the QR code. Once the code has been scanned the web page will refresh and you will be logged into your Google account. Give it a try, it works great.

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Samsung released SwipeIt as a direct competitor to Apple’s Airplay system. The Samsung smart TV app started being pushed to internet connected TV around the 1st so it should already be on your system. The Android app is already in the app market. With this new service you can view pictures and video directly from your Android phone to your Samsung TV over WiFi, just swipe and view.
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It seems the Barnes & Noble Nook is becoming the ‘Little Tablet that could’. We found another project that uses the original Nook Color that has been rooted and is running a full version of Android. In this project the tablet has been mounted in a Jeep Wrangler and even has a docking port so you can remove the unit without having to deal with all the individual plugs. This opens up many possibilities – Navigation, email, engine monitoring, OBD II code reading and much more. Read more