Author: batteryforpc

With the release of Android Q Beta 5, Google announced that they would be hosting a Reddit AMA, to answer our burning questions about Android Q and almost everything else Android related. That AMA took place this afternoon, with the Android engineering team providing fun and interesting tidbits about, among other things, Android Q and what may be coming with Android R.

Screen recording

In the early releases of the Android Q beta, it was possible, with only a minor Settings change, to enable a handy, built-in screen recording UI. Unfortunately, this screen recorder was short-lived, disappearing in the third beta, outside of a change via ADB.

One redditor asked when we should expect built-in screen recording to return, outside of “super sketchy apps.” To this, the product manager for Android UI, Allen Huang, shared that screen recording is just one part of what we should expect for Android R.

Given Dave’s signed us up for scrollable screenshots AND how often users are taking screenshots – we’re taking a close look at how we can improve the whole screen-[X] experience for R. We certainly think that these types of functions are things that should be core to the operating system.

Dark theme improvements

One of the hottest topics of Android Q has been native dark mode support. Naturally, it came up multiple times throughout today’s Android Q AMA. More specifically, a few redditors asked about Dark Mode being able to be triggered automatically.

One model Google had previously considered for switching to and from dark mode was based on sunset and sunrise time, but this was scrapped due to it requiring fairly accurate location data. Allowing users to set dark mode based on time of day is being considered, but will apparently not be possible in stock Android Q.

Privacy improvements

Having been asked a question about Play Store policy enforcement, product manager for privacy on Android, Charmaine D’Silva, shared an interesting statistic. You may recall last year that Google made a significant change, restricting permission to Android call and text logs almost exclusively to the primary phone call or texting app on your device. While that change was controversial at the time, D’Silva has shared the upside to that privacy change:

For example, last fall, we introduced the SMS and Call Log policies that limited the types of apps that could request for these permissions. As a result, today, the number of apps with access to this sensitive information has decreased by more than 98%. The vast majority of developers were able to switch to an alternative or eliminate minor functionality.

Open Source Wear OS?

As you may know, Google’s Wear OS, having once been called Android Wear, is based heavily on Android. However, unlike Android, Wear OS is not open source, meaning OEMs and developers are not able to read through the code to gain a deeper understanding of the system or even make changes.

When asked whether Wear OS would ever be open sourced, tech lead manager of the Android Open Source Project, Jeff Bailey, had “nothing new to share at this time.”

Changes to Android’s future development

As you may know, Google has a public bug/issue tracker where users and developers can share issues with Android — and certain other Google products — more or less directly with Google. However, while some issues posted may catch traction with some public attention, many go ignored for months at a time or are rejected in a confusing manner — this was the case for the original request for scrolling screenshots earlier this year.

A concerned redditor brought up the possibility of Google taking issues raised by developers and the public more seriously in the future. Jeff Bailey tackled this question first by pointing out that the issue tracker has high potential to be overwhelmed, as more tech-savvy people become aware of it. But he didn’t close the door on the idea, stating that it’s possible that some teams may work directly with “external” bugs in the future.

Google is adding an automated text-to-speech feature to the Phone app on Pixel devices, enabling a one-tap system to relay location information to medical, fire, or police responders without the need for speech.

The system is simple: when on an emergency call, the Phone app will now offer three additional buttons, labeled “Medical,” “Fire,” or “Police.” Tapping the button will activate a text-to-speech feature that will read out a message informing the operator that the caller is using an automated service, describing the kind of help the caller needs and the caller’s current location. Google says that the new feature is designed for situations in which someone needs emergency services but cannot verbally communicate with an emergency call operator due to injuries, a dangerous situation, or a speech disability.

It’s an expansion of a feature Google added to its default Phone app for Pixel devices back in 2017, which would automatically display a location card on the dialing screen when calling an emergency number like 911 to make it easier to relay that information to responders directly from the phone app. The new text-to-speech system makes that even simpler by cutting out the need for the person in an emergency situation to be able to read out that information at all.

The new feature is set to roll out to Pixel phones in the US in the coming months, with “select Android devices” set to get it, too.

Intel today introduced its first 10th-generation Core processors, codenamed Ice Lake. Built on a 10-nanometer process, the chips are designed for thin-and-light notebooks, meaning they could potentially make their way to future entry-level 13-inch MacBook Proand MacBook Air models.

Intel says the Ice Lake chips have increased board integration, allowing manufacturers like Apple to release notebooks with sleeker designs. The chips also feature Intel’s all-new Gen11 graphics architecture for up to double the graphics performance, and integrated Thunderbolt 3 and Wi-Fi 6, aka 802.11ax.

The lineup of 11 new processors includes six U-series chips and five Y-series chips:

Intel is also introducing a new processor number naming structure starting with this first set of 10th-generation Core processors, doing away with Y and U series identifiers and instead emphasizing graphics. The new structure is a bit confusing, but The Verge has a nice breakdown for deciphering them.

Intel expects the first notebooks with Ice Lake chips to be available in time for the holiday shopping season.

Most of you are running iOS 12. And that’s a good thing, because you’re getting a speedier experience with as many patched bugs and vulnerabilities as possible. It’s especially important, too, given that Google researchers recently disclosed six serious iOS vulnerabilities that Apple fixed up in the iOS 12.4 release earlier this month.

The problem? It’s twofold. First, there are still plenty of people who aren’t using iOS 12 for whatever reason—and likely not even iOS 12.4. Though Apple’s own statistics don’t break down specific iOS versions, the company shows that roughly 13 percent of all the iPhones and iPads purchased within the last five years are not running iOS 12. Given how many devices Apple sells (well over a billion iPhones alonebetween 2016 and 2018), 13 percent is a lot more devices than that number might imply at first glance.

Second, one of these “interactionless” bugs, as identified by the Google researchers, was not even fully fixed in iOS 12.4. They’re described as such, as all they require an attacker to do is send you a message—and that can be a text message, multimedia message, iMessage, email, or a Visual Voicemail, as Google security engineer Natalie Silvanovich notes.

Look at the message, and it’ll execute whatever unpleasant code the attacker has concocted—in four of the six published vulnerabilities. In the other two, it simply reads files off of your iPhone or iPad. Here’s hoping you don’t have anything incriminating or super-secret on your device.

Stop using older versions of iOS

Thankfully, you’re protected from five of these six vulnerabilities by updating to iOS 12.4. But you shouldn’t have to wait for us to convince you to check for iOS updates. Make a recurring calendar event every three months that says “UPDATE MY IPHONE” in large, annoying text. Or do what I do and pull up Settings > General > Software Update constantly, because you love living on the bleeding edge.

Heck, starting in iOS 12, you can even enable Automatic Updates—though, as Apple notes, you still might have to manually update your device from time to time. (Even though I have this setting enabled, I still check my iPhone for updates probably more than I should.)

If you’re holding out because you love the look and feel of your older version of iOS, you have to weigh that against the possibility that an attacker might come after your unpatched device. Are the odds low? Sure. Would I want to risk it and have a slower iPhone? No.

Many people keep their most important files on a mobile device without ever thinking about backing them up to a computer. That makes their phones a prime target for ransomware, and there’s a new attack spreading to Android phones right now. The new Android Filecoder.C malware uses weird “sex simulator” landing pages to trick people into downloading it, but you’ll pay for that click with more than your self-respect.

The Filecoder.C malware first appeared on Reddit and XDA Forums as spammy messages directing people to the aforementioned sex simulator. Yes, people clicked on the links, and at least some of them downloaded the app. Eset says the infection has spread mainly via text messages, but thankfully, the scale is still small.

Android has more robust system controls than Windows, which prevents apps from installing in the background when you visit a malicious website. Thus, the only way to become infected with Filecoder.C is to download the APK, bypass the download warning, launch the installer, turn on the system’s “unknown sources” feature, and tap through one more warning about app permissions.

After installation, Filecoder.C searches a device for documents, photos, videos, and various other files. It encrypts them and generates a private-public key pair. The private key gets uploaded to a command and control server, and the public one stays on the device. Unlike some other Android ransomware, Filecoder.C doesn’t lock down the entire device, and it doesn’t touch APK files. That suggests it was adapted from desktop malware like WannaCry.

As usual with ransomware, the program presents a payment screen that explains data has been encrypted. The only way to unlock the files is to pay some Bitcoin — in this case, the amount is randomly generated and falls between $94 and $188 at current prices. The malware promises to send the private key to the device for decryption after the victim pays.

While all this happens, Filecoder.C also sends SMS messages to all the victim’s contacts with some variation on the sex simulator message. It has 42 languages hardcoded and chooses the one that matches the device language setting.

Consider this just one more reason why you shouldn’t download suspicious apps on the internet. Security firm Eset says that is the first line of defense for users. Keeping backups of your files is a good idea as well. The malware makers don’t have leverage over you if you stand to lose nothing.