Archive for the ‘Social Networking’ Category

Tencent admits to poisoned QR code attack on QQ chat platform – The Register

Chinese web giant Tencent has admitted to a significant account hijack attack on its QQ.com messaging and social media platform.

In a post to rival social media platform Sina Weibo a rough analog of Twitter Tencent apologized for the incident.

The problem manifested on Sunday night and saw an unnamed number of QQ users complain their credentials no longer allowed them access to their accounts. Tencent has characterized that issue as representing "stolen" accounts.

Tencent asserts the incident stared with criminals posting QR codes that claimed to offer game logins. Users who scanned the codes were asked to authenticate using their QQ creds.

Which was a mistake, as the criminals behind the scam observed those logins. A machine translation of Tencent's explanation produces the phrase "the login behavior was hijacked and recorded by the black industry gang, and then used by criminals to send bad picture ads," which does not read like something you want to happen.

Users were also locked out of their accounts.

Tencent's security team swung into action and the company stated that by early Monday morning accounts had been restored. The web giant is now gathering evidence to share with local authorities and has pledged co-operation.

Those authorities are likely to be interested in Tencent and whoever created the poison QR codes, as China has recently made it clear it expects its web giants to take their responsibility to the nation seriously. If Tencent is held to have provided insufficient security to prevent this incident, a "rectification notice" will soon be headed its way. Such notices are usually resolved with some behind the scenes work to fix the issue and then a public admission that the entity in receipt of the notice should really have done better to begin with and won't be so lax again.

China has in recent weeks eased its criticism of its web giants, and suggested their expansion is acceptable provided they make positive contributions to society and promote socialist values.

Beijing, however, does not believe that games are a good expression of those values. It has made several moves to restrict development of the local gaming industry and prevent youth from spending more than a few hours a week gaming.

That this incident started with a game-related lure will not have escaped authorities' attention.

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Tencent admits to poisoned QR code attack on QQ chat platform - The Register

Challenge and Opportunity in the Thriving AR and VR Industry – EqualOcean

VR/AR refers to the products and services involved in building an immersive experience integrating virtual reality and reality with the help of next-generation information and communication technologies such as near-eye display, perceptual interaction, rendering processing, network transmission, and content production.

The technologies we collectively refer to as XR are: Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR), which includes other hybridforms. The Fulfilment of the promise of XR appears to beed imminent with the ubiquity of smartphones and the convergence of exponential technologies such as AI and the Internet of Things (IoT). 5Gs arrival in waves around the world is providing needed speed and bandwidth.

There are three main types of VR Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs), including Tethered VR headsets (high-end VR headsets, PC VR, desktop VR), Standalone VR headsets (all-in-one HMDs), and Smartphone VR headsets.

AR/VR industry landscape

With the pandemic boosting every aspect of the domestic consumer economy, Global VR shipments reached 10.95 million units in 2021. According to IDC, global VR shipments will increase to 15.73 million units in 2022, achieving an important breakthrough in sales, and the Chinese market will account for 29.24%. Besides large shipments, a variety of VR products will be added in the same year. Sony and Apple will launch new products using Micro OLED displays with high resolution to achieve breakthroughs in user experience.

Also benefiting from the stay-at-home economy, the AR industry has seengrowth. Global shipmentsof AR headsetin 2021 were700,000 units, went up33%year on year.According to IDC, 1.06million unitsof AR headsetare expected to be shipped in 2022.

China accounts for more than half of the global VR/AR market. According to IDC, the global spending on VR/AR in 2020 was about USD 12.07 billion, and it is expected to grow to USD 72.8 billion by 2024, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 54%. In 2020, the Chinese market spent USD 6.481 billion in the VR/AR, accounting for about 54% of the global market share. It is estimated that by 2024, the scale of China's market spending will reach USD 26.48 billion, accounting for 36% of the global proportion, with a CAGR of 47.1%.

VR headset market structure has turned to an oligopoly

The industrial chain of AR/VR includes hardware, software, content generation and releasing, and applications and services.

1.The upstream industry chain mainly includes equipment components and headsets

manufacturing, related data collection, and processing platforms in other words, hardware and software.

2.The midstream industry chain contains content generation and releases,

which refers to the digital representation of virtual reality scenarios such as games, videos, live broadcasts, and social networking, including virtual reality content representation, content generation and production, content encoding, real-time interaction, content storage, and content publish.

3.The downstream refers to the use of AR/VR technology to provide applications and

services, including scene generation and overall solutions. The application scenarios cover education, healthcare, military, scientific research, manufacturing, tourism, and other fields.

Internationally, foreign brands dominate the share of VR market. In general, Oculus, the only first-tier VR headset maker, is the only giant thatdominates and leads the VR industry, especially since the launch of Quest 2 in October 2020, Oculus market share has jumped to 74% from 29%, and the rapid growth of global VR shipments is mainly driven by Quest 2.

Dr. Tristan Ruoli Dai, co-founder and CTO of Noitom which is a world leading motion capture company based in China, said that currently, meta is the only VR headset company that still focus on underlying technologies, and it has already put resources on underlying infrastructure of VR. It is the only firm that has a chance to make a revolution in VR industry, which will benefit other companies as well.

Apple has reportedlyshown off the AR/VR headset to investors, which is a good sign that the product is closer to launch than not. Also, references to a reality operating system have been uncovered in versions of Apples other software products, while a recenttrademark application appears to confirm realityOSas the softwares working name or branding, tech news portal Tomsguide.com reported.

As much as iOS is integral to the iPhone, realityOS (or perhaps, rOS) will be a major part of using Apples first mixed reality headset. In fact, it could be what truly separates Apples AR/VR headset from all the otherbest VR headsetson the market.

The hardware is, presumably, the Apple AR/VR headset thats expected to rival the likes of theOculus Quest 2, or even Metas upcomingProject Cambria.

For other well-known brands, DPVR (Chinese: VR) and Pico take a large portion of global VR market share together. Although Chinas VR market spending currently accounts for more than half of the world's share, there are few domestic VR headset brands, because most of the XR-related firms are mainly responsible for the supply of AR/VR components or work as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Winning an iF World Design Award in 2019, DPVR, as a leading VR start-up, was recognized for having one of the best wireless VR headset designs in the world. As one of the TOP5 VR headset maker, DPVR accounted for 8% of global VR market share in Q4 2021. The revenue from overseas markets accounts for 40% of DPVRs 2021 total revenue, and is expected to increase to 60% by 2025 through expanding corporation with major local dealers, said by Niu Siyuan, the Strategic VP of DPVR.

With the entrance of top technology giants in China such as iQiyi, Xiaomi, and ByteDance, the internal competition of the industry is getting serious, which means that small and medium-sized VR makers are very likely to be knocked out of the market or even acquired in the face of competition from bigger, more established rivals.

However, DPVR, as an independent VR headset maker, has found its own strategy to keep competitive, meanwhile, it has established more strategic corporation with giants and proceeded more financing, Niu added.

From Nius view, the mid-term goal of DPVR is to go public with a successful initial public offering (IPO). Therefore, with its strength, DPVR has become a competitive firm in the Chinas VR market.

The thriving of VR/AR pulls up the demand of Micro LED and Micro OLED

Dai Ruoli of Noitom said that after acquired by ByteDance, Pico has been moving toward the first-tier of VR industry, which will transform the industry to a situation that is being dominated by Oculus with Pico chasing after.

The VR industry has become mature, with the existence of giants in the industry, other companies will not have too much market shares, just like the situation of VR/AR chip and OEM industry. But opportunities still exist in other sectors in VR industrial chain, Dai added.

The principle of VR display is to split the screen to the size of a mobile phone and display the images of the left and right eyes respectively through the left and right eye screens. The core competitive factors on VR display include field of view (FOV), pixel per degree (PPD), and persistence of vision.

Currently the only way to improve the resolution of VR display is to use the most appropriate screens for HMDs. Current Fast LCD screen imaging still requires a certain backlight response and data transmission time, so most makers are starting to use Micro LED and Micro OLED (OLEDs) as the screen of VR headset.

Micro LEDs are thinner in size, faster in speed, and higher in efficiency compared to above screens. Micro OLED is well-known as The best microdisplay technology for the near-eye display industry. At present, Micro LED and Micro OLED have not been mass-produced and applied due to low yield and high cost, but in the future, with the maturity of technology and cost reduction, they may become the main direction of VR screen development.

According to IDC, global VR shipments are expected to rise to 50 million units in 2025, then by rounding the penetration rate of Micro OLED to 50%, we can conclude that the sales of Micro OLED that will applied on VR headsets will be 25 million units. Therefore, based on the price of AMOLED per VR headset (ignore the fluctuation of price) -- USD 139 per unit, the market scale of Micro OLED for VR headset will be USD 3.475 billion globally.

Omdia, a research and advisory group, shows that the shipments of MicroLED displays will reach 5 million units by 2025, generating revenue of about USD 7 billion.Moreover, itsmarket scalewill exceed $11 billion by 2027.

The near-eye displays, such as AR and VR, have become the third largest driven factor of Micro LED, other than smart watches and Micro LED TV, at the same time. Demand is also continuing and growth happening at a high CAGR.

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Challenge and Opportunity in the Thriving AR and VR Industry - EqualOcean

Steel Panther, Mushroomhead to Play Gathering of the Juggalos – Loudwire

Steel Panther and Mushroomhead are among the acts that have been confirmed to perform at the 2022 Gathering of the Juggalos. This year will serve as the 22nd installment of the annual event.

The festival, dubbed "The Gathering of Dreams," is set to take place from August 3 until noon on the 7 at the 130-acre Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio. In addition to Steel Panther and Mushroomhead, Ho99o9, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Slick Rick and various other artists are set to perform across several different stages. Insane Clown Posse and the juggalos picked the lineup for each day themselves, which you can check out here. There will also be wrestling, competitions, parties, rides, seminars and some other activities for juggalos and juggalettes to partake in.

See a promo video for the gathering below.

Of course, Insane Clown Posse will also perform at the gathering. According to the website, their set, titled "ICPs Super Mix Juggalo Juke Box Show," will feature songs they've never played live before. Get tickets for the 2022 Gathering of the Juggalos here.

Just last week, the duoposted a statement on social media addressing Violent J's recent hospitalization. He'd been having shortness of breath and went to the emergency room to make sure his heart was okay, which fortunately, it was. However, he'd contracted pneumonia, but is thankfullyfeeling better. The downside is that their upcoming EPPug Ugly the Stink Bug,which was originally slated for an August release,has been pushed back.

At least he'll be able to perform at the gathering!

They take "Stan" to a new level.

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Steel Panther, Mushroomhead to Play Gathering of the Juggalos - Loudwire

Voice of the People – Pakistan Observer

Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.

Lawlessness in Pakistan

Lawlessness and violence have torn our country. The sense of insecurity has shattered our peace of mind. Nobody feels secure at a work place or market. Everybody is in the state of trauma. People are in the shackles of terror. Under these circumstances, it is impossible to do work calmly.

Sectarian riots, clashes, murders, kidnapping and robbery reflect the weakness of law and justice. In civilized states, the crime of murder is considered as a crime against the state. Such states never spare such criminals. In our country, the offenders rarely are traced.

The institution of state justice should be so strong that nobody may ever have the courage to break the law. Any breach of law must be dealt with an iron hand without any discrimination of the high or the low, rich or poor. Our judicial system should be free from any influence. Only neutral and speedy judicial system can bring peace to our land.

The government should take strict action against the criminals and try to eliminate lawlessness in Pakistan. The most severe punishment should be given to the criminals without discrimination so that others may learn lesson and be discouraged for committing a crime.

MARYAM SAJID

Rawalpindi

Social networking sites

Social networking sites are a great platform for people to connect with their loved ones. It helps in increasing communication and making connection with people all over the world. Although people believe that social networking sites are harmful, they are also very beneficial social networking sites are everywhere now.

In other words, they have taken over almost every sphere of life. They come with both advantages and disadvantages. If we talk about the educational field, these sites enhance education by having an influence on the learners. They can explore various topics for their projects. Furthermore, the business field benefits a lot from social networking sites. The companies use social networking sites to connect better with their potential clients and business partners. Moreover, people in search of jobs use the sites to connect better with employers and firms. This gives them a great opportunity to seek better jobs

KHUSHBOO SAMO

Karachi

Growing addiction of junk food

Through the column of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to highlight the development of dangerous addiction to junk food among youngsters.

Junk food tempts for various reasons. It is easily available at low prices and is tasty. Children dont know the consequences of the habit of eating junk food on their health. Regular intake of junk food leads to complications like obesity, chronic illness, low self esteem and even depression.

Schools should promote healthy habits by keeping a check on food items being sold at canteens. Parents should also not encourage intake of junk food. Children should also be taught about this. I hope my views and opinion will find a place in your newspaper.

SANA KHADIM

Sukkur

Electricity problems

Pakistan is facing a severe electricity crisis due to a persistent and widening gap between demand and available system generating capacity. The power shortage has become a major political issue, reflecting the hardships for individuals and businesses. It threatens to undermine the credibility and legitimacy of government and to further stress the social fabric of the country. The power crisis did not emerge suddenly. It is the direct result of imprudent and reckless energy policies over the last three decades. These policies have impeded the development of cheap and abundant domestic energy sources.

They have also resulted in very inefficient fuel-mix choices, compromising energy and economic security. Pakistans energy bankruptcy is ultimately due to massive institutional and governance failure. All the stakeholders are requested to please take some tangible measures and frame such policies which may lead to the solution of the power shortage monster.

MUHAMMAD KHAN

Karachi

Insensitive use of loudspeakers

I am writing this letter to draw the kind attention of the authorities concerned to the insensitive use of loudspeakers in my neighbourhood which has been causing inconvenience to everyone. The usage of loudspeakers at homes and schools has now increased and it is believed that without a loudspeaker the occasion such as wedding and birthday is incomplete.

Loudspeakers have now become a huge contributing factor in increasing noise pollution. The situation is becoming worse because of excessive usage at homes during events, especially during night hours. And such inappropriate usage of the loudspeaker is causing disturbance to the elderly who cant get a good sleep and to the students who cant concentrate their attention on their studies. People have also been complaining about hearing loss due to elongated exposure to the loudspeaker.

I think the loudspeakers now need to be banned or a certain time should be set in which the usage of loudspeakers is allowed so that it does not disrupt our everyday activities. Hence, I request the editors to highlight this issue in your newspaper, which would be a great help if it might reach relevant authorities, they might look into fixing the issue.

MARIAM SAJJAD

Karachi

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Voice of the People - Pakistan Observer

Warning for EVERY Facebook user after hundreds of millions of logins stolen what you need to do… – The Scottish Sun

MILLIONS of Facebook users have been duped by a phishing scam that tricks victims into handing over their account details leaving them wide open to attack.

The scam is still active on the social networking site, according to experts.

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According to a report published by researchers at PIXM Security, it works by sending users to a dummy Facebook login page where they are coaxed into entering their personal details.

The researchers said that the Facebook credential-harvesting campaign has been active since September 2021 and on a scale that has potentially impacted hundreds of millions of users.

The company found that one cyber criminal they tracked had managed to use the scam to steal one million credentials in just four months.

Facebook owner Meta is yet to reply to our request for comment regarding the scam.

Since the scam works by luring users into giving away their Facebook credentials via numerous phishing sites, anyone who has fallen victim to this attack will find themselves redirected to a website with ads and surveys after completing the fake log-in page.

Your Facebook account would then be used to further spread the campaign, probably via Messenger.

So your contacts will receive messages from you asking them to log in to the same dummy page you were duped by.

Chartered security professional and security consultant, James Bore, told The Sun that people need to remain more vigilant than ever when using Facebook, especially after the discovery of this phishing campaign.

While these phishing attacks may seem obvious, they can catch out even cautious or experienced users in a moment of inattention, he warned. There's a huge number of these scams out there because they're highly profitable for the criminals behind them.

He recommends that the most useful thing to do to stay safe is to develop a habit of pausing and double-checking whenever being asked to do something unusual or new.

Common sense is the best weapon against these sorts of attacks.

Inspect the website you are on to ensure it is legit before handing over any sensitive information.

However, some of the new methods employed by threat actors are increasingly convincing, meaning even the most experienced users can fall victim to these types of attacks.

If you believe youve been hit by this attack, report it to Facebook through the sites necessary channels and change your account password immediately. Also, be sure to enable two-factor authentication if you havent already.

The UKs National Cyber Security Centre also recommends reporting the hack or any similar through the Action Fraud website, the UKs national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre.

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Warning for EVERY Facebook user after hundreds of millions of logins stolen what you need to do... - The Scottish Sun