OnePlus Confirms 'Up to 40,000 Users' Impacted by Credit Card Breach

Earlier this week, several people who had shopped at the OnePlus online store reported they were seeing fraudulent transactions on their credit cards. At the time, the company said it was investigating the claims "as a matter of urgency". These investigations seemed to have thrown up some results as OnePlus that credit card details of "up to 40,000 users" may have been stolen thanks to malicious code injected onto its website.

"One of our systems was attacked, and a malicious script was injected into the payment page code to sniff out credit card info while it was being entered," a OnePlus staff member wrote on the company’s online forums on Friday. "The malicious script operated intermittently, capturing and sending data directly from the user's browser. It has since been eliminated."

The company said that only users who entered credit card details afresh on the website "between mid-November 2017 and January 11, 2018" would potentially be impacted. If you paid using saved credit card details, or completed the payment using "Credit Card via PayPal", or via PayPal directly, you should not be affected, the company added.

"We cannot apologise enough for letting something like this happen. We are eternally grateful to have such a vigilant and informed community, and it pains us to let you down," the post said.
OnePlus added that it is contacting the potentially affected customers directly and it is "working with our providers and local authorities to better address the incident".

If you’ve entered your card details on the OnePlus website between mid-November 2017 and 11 January 2018, it would probably be a good idea to request a fresh card from your bank, even if you haven’t seen any fraudulent activities on your card yet. If you see any charges on your statement that you don’t recognise, contact your bank and initiate a chargeback.

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South Korean Group Files Complaint Against Apple CEO Over iPhone Slowdown

A South Korean consumer group has filed a criminal complaint against Apple CEO Tim Cook over slower iPhone devices, after probes in Europe into allegations the firm had deliberately shortened the life of its handsets.

Apple is already facing lawsuits in the United States and elsewhere over accusations of having defrauded iPhone users by slowing down devices without warning to compensate for poor battery performance and to push clients into buying new phones.

The South Korean advocacy group, Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty, in its complaint submitted on Thursday accused Apple of destruction of property and fraud.
"For the sake of its loyal fans, Apple has to take responsibility over the slowing iPhones," Park Soon-jang, an official at the advocacy group told Reuters by phone on Friday.

The group also represents about 120 plaintiffs in a civil damage suit against Apple filed earlier this month.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office declined to comment when asked if it would launch an investigation into Apple following the complaint from the consumer group.
Apple Korea, the US tech firm's South Korean subsidiary, was not immediately available for comment.

The California-based company acknowledged in December that iPhone software can slow down some phones with battery problems and apologised for the issue. However, it said it would never do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product.

Apple will release a software update that will allow users to turn off a feature that slows down iPhones when batteries are low on charge, CEO Cook told ABC News on Wednesday.
Italy's antitrust body said on Thursday it had opened a probe into allegations that Apple and Samsung Electronics used software updates to slow their mobile phones and push clients into buying new handsets.

A French prosecutor has also launched a preliminary investigation into Apple's alleged deception and planned obsolescence of its products.

© Thomson Reuters 2018

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'Fable 4' for Xbox One and Windows PC in Development: Report

A new Fable game for Xbox One and Windows PC is in development. The game is being made by Forza Horizon 3 studio Playground. In recent months the UK-based company has been hiring staff for an open-world non-racing game poaching talent that’s worked on games like The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

Sources speaking to Eurogamer have confirmed that the game in development is an entry in Microsoft’s Fable series. The last mainline entry was Fable 3 for the Xbox 360. And Playground’s efforts could very well result in Fable 4.

Prior to this, Microsoft cancelled development on co-op action role-playing game, Fable Legends and shuttered the studio behind it, Lionhead.

"I have slightly mixed feelings," Fable co-creator Simon Carter told Eurogamer.

"On the one hand it's great for the UK games industry, and very pleasing that Fable isn't dead; indeed, it will be lovely to play one as a punter, without coming out in hives.

"On the other hand it is a little curious to get rid of the team that is uniquely expert in making Fable, and then try and make Fable. Fable is a weird game, and a tough one to deconstruct for a new team. That said, the team in question is very talented, and I'm sure they'll do a fantastic job."

Apparently, the reason for the change of heart to bring Fable back from the dead was Microsoft seeing the success Sony had with Horizon Zero Dawn selling 3.4 million units as of June 2017.

With an install base of over 70 million PS4s, it’s no surprise that Horizon Zero Dawn found an audience and with the Xbox One reportedly having half the install base, it will be interesting to see how well this new take on Fable does.

The last entry in the franchise was Fable Fortune — a free-to-play digital card game by Flaming Fowl Studios that consists of Lionhead veterans.

And if you were wondering what would happen to the Forza Horizon series, fear not. According to the Brazilian ratings board, we could see Forza Horizon 4 this year.

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God of War Stone Mason Edition Revealed

An ad from US retailer Gamestop has revealedthe existence of a special edition version of PS4-exclusive God of War. Called the God of War Stone Mason Edition, it comes with a statue, steelbook case, lithograph, and a host of other items. The God of War Stone Mason Edition price is $149.99.

God of War Stone Mason Edition contents

• 9-inch Kratos and Atreus statue
• Steelbook case that includes the God of War PS4 game
• Two Hulora brothers carvings
• Cloth map

God of War Stone Mason Edition Exclusive Contents

• Stone Mason’s ring
• Mimir’s head talking keychain
• Defender of the Chosen Shield

God of War Stone Mason DLC

• Death’s vow armour set
• Exile’s guardian shield
• God of War digital comic
• Dynamic PS4 theme

God of War Stone Mason pre-order bonus

• XP boost In-game
• DLC shields (three in total)

Sony India hasn’t confirmed if India gets the God of War Stone Mason Edition just yet. Considering that Uncharted 4’s special editions skipped India, it’s safe to say this will be the case with God of War as well. The Gamestop ad states this edition will be available in early 2018, suggesting that Sony won’t be delaying the game to next year.

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WhatsApp Business App Launched for Small Businesses; Only Available on Android for Now

The WhatsApp Business standalone app was announced by Facebook on Wednesday in an effort to make business communication with customers more streamlined for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) on the popular messaging platform. A part of its WhatsApp for Business initiative that was first officially announced back in September last year and tested with businesses like BookMyShow and MakeMyTrip in India since, the new app for SMEs is now available to download via Google Play in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the UK, and the US. The WhatsApp Business app is free, and will be rolled out across the world in the coming weeks, which is when it can be expected in India. It will be only available for Android phones at launch, but the company will eventually have a version for iPhones too.

The WhatsApp Business app is aimed at making it easier to for small companies to connect with their customers, and more convenient for the 1.3 billion WhatsApp users to chat with businesses that matter to them. The app will help customers with useful information such as a business description, email or store addresses and website.

It will also save time with smart messaging tools - quick replies that provide fast answers to frequently asked questions, greeting messages that introduce customers to your business, and away messages that let them know you're busy.

"People will know that they're talking to a business because you will be listed as a Business Account. Over time, some businesses will have Confirmed Accounts once it's been confirmed that the account phone number matches the business phone number," WhatsApp said in a statement.

Regular users can continue using WhatsApp as usual as there's no need to download anything new. "People will continue to have full control over the messages they receive, with the ability to block any number, including businesses, as well as report spam," the company added.

The statement claimed WhatsApp helps over 80 percent of small businesses in India and Brazil communicate with customers and grow their business, citing a Morning Consult study. WhatsApp also claimed that 84 percent of SMBs think that WhatsApp helps them communicate with customers, andA80 percent of SMBs think that WhatsApp helps them grow their business.

The new business accounts are aimed at firms that receive a high volume of WhatsApp messages and need help keeping up, WhatsApp Chief Operating Officer Matt Idema said. "What we saw was a need for businesses to have more efficient tools," Idema said in an interview with Reuters.

Idema, who was a Facebook executive before he joined WhatsApp last year, said WhatsApp intends to charge businesses in some form in the future, but he said it was too soon to discuss when that would happen or what the future business services would look like.

WhatsApp competes in a crowded market that also includes Facebook's Messenger application, Tencent Holdings's WeChat and numerous other messaging services.

Written with agency inputs

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Samsung Starts Production on Next-Gen 16Gb GDDR6 DRAM Chips for Graphics Cards

South Korean giant Samsung Electronics on Thursday announced that it had initiated mass production of its first 16Gb (gigabit) Graphics Double Data Rate 6 (GDDR6) DRAM chip for upcoming graphics processors. The GDDR6 chip will use Samsung's new 10nm technology. The new chip also uses a proprietary low-power circuit design that is claimed to consume approximately 35 percent less energy than other GDDR6 chips in the market. Additionally, Samsung has doubled data transfer over its previous 8Gb GDDR5 chip.

As we mentioned, Samsung has begun production for its latest innovation in graphics DRAM chips. Succeeding the earlier 20nm technology is the latest 10nm class used in the new chip. It has a claimed pin speed of 18Gbps and data transfer speed of 72GBps. Additionally, it operates at 1.35V energy consumption using Samsung's low-power circuit design. Apart from a low energy advantage, Samsung also claims a 30 percent manufacturing productivity gain over the previous 20nm 8Gb GDDR5 chip.

These new chips will be adopted by major players involved in the production of next-generation graphics cards and gaming devices, with applications also in automotive, network, and AI systems. It will be compatible to work with complex technologies such as 8k video processing, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI), Samsung said.

"Beginning with this early production of the industry's first 16Gb GDDR6, we will offer a comprehensive graphics DRAM line-up, with the highest performance and densities, in a very timely manner. By introducing next-generation GDDR6 products, we will strengthen our presence in the gaming and graphics card markets and accommodate the growing need for advanced graphics memory in automotive and network systems." said Jinman Han, Senior Vice President, Memory Product Planning & Application Engineering at Samsung Electronics.

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Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+ to Feature AI Chips: Report

While the tech world is all set to see some of the major rumours getting transformed into reality at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, Samsung is reportedly preparing a surprise, too. This is the building of the company's native neural processing units aka artificial intelligence (AI) chips that are expected to be a part of the upcoming Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ models. The AI chips by Samsung are claimed to deliver compelling results to take on AI chips developed by Apple and Huawei.

Samsung is planning to showcase various capabilities of its new AI chips through the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ flagship models that will be unveiled at MWC 2018 in Barcelona on February 25, reports The Korea Herald. The initial experience has already reached the technological levels of Apple and Huawei, though there are also the plans to bring better chips in the second half of the year, the report by the South Korean English daily claimed, citing people familiar with the development.

The new AI chip-equipped Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ could come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC in the US and an Exynos 9810 SoC in various international markets. Further, the new handset models are rumoured to have 18:9 aspect ratio-supported Infinity Display panels and an improved iris scanner.

Samsung is said to have almost prepared the AI chips for servers. These chips are likely to be commercialised in the coming future. However, the prime dedication is reportedly set for an enhanced NPU that would come with the Galaxy Note 9, which is expected for September this year.
An in-house team is reported to have been established by Samsung to enhance R&D efforts towards the AI chip manufacturing. The company is also said to be working with professors and researchers at Seoul National University, Pohang University of Science and Technology, and Kaist.

Apple developed the AI-supported A11 Bionic chip for the iPhone X last year to enable features such as Animoji. Following the footsteps of the Cupertino giant, China's Huawei also stepped into the same nascent space in last September with its HiSilicon Kirin 970 chip that is enabling advanced experiences on the Mate 10 Pro. The SoC has an NPU that supports features such as image-recognising Bokeh effect. Huawei calls its AI implementation as MobileAI.

Alongside competing with Apple and Huawei, Samsung's new AI chips are likely to rival similar innovations designed by chip makers such as Intel and MediaTek. Intel developed its self-learning AI chip called "Loihi" that is scheduled to reach universities and research institutions in the first half of 2018. Likewise, MediaTek at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 announced AI chip models.

The Chinese manufacturer is also designing its NeuroPilot SDK that will be available for smartphones, smart homes, automobiles, and others.

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