Warning over unintentional file leak

6 May 2014 Last updated at 09:25 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

People using file storage services, such as Dropbox and Box, are being warned that they are at risk of inadvertently leaking their own files.

Intralinks - which is a competitor - said it found sensitive files, such as mortgage records.

The problem centred on the use of the services' sharing function that generated a public link.

As a precaution, Dropbox has disabled access to links that have been previously shared.

It said it had also implemented a patch to prevent shared links from being exposed from now on.

"We realise that many of your workflows depend on shared links, and we apologise for the inconvenience. We'll continue working hard to make sure your stuff is safe and keep you updated on any new developments," the company said in a blog post.

"We're working to restore links that aren't susceptible to this vulnerability over the next few days."

Box told the BBC: "When a user generates an open shared link, we display a warning message to help them understand the permissions for that content.

"We also present several options to help users manage access to their content (for example, links can be password protected or assigned expiration dates).

"In addition, company admins can ensure organisation-wide secure sharing by setting shared link defaults to company-only or collaborator-only (people in the same shared folder)."

Security researcher Graham Cluley said identity thieves could use the method to "scoop up" data.

"I think these services need to be more upfront with warnings," he told the BBC.

However he added that the problem was not a security flaw as such, but instead an unexpected consequence of user behaviour.

Referral data

Mr Cluley has outlined suggestions on his blog for how users can restrict access to the public files.

Both websites offer ways to tighten security on shared links, but doing so limits flexibility.

"This is the eternal battle sites like this face," Mr Cluley added. "It's security versus functionality."

Dropbox, Box and most other cloud hosting services often give users the option of creating a shareable web link for their files.

It means users are able to simply send a web address - made up of a string of letters and numbers - for someone to directly download a file without needing to log in.

Because of the complexity of the link, it is very difficult to guess - meaning that while the link is technically public, it is unlikely anyone would be able to access it by chance.

However, Intralinks discovered that the links were being exposed in two ways not previously considered.

Firstly, it discovered that shared links were often appearing in websites' referral data.

Many websites look at referral data when analysing their traffic to get an insight into how visitors got to their site.

Intralinks found that if a link to a website is included in a file shared on Dropbox, and subsequently clicked within the web viewer, the website owner would see the shared link in its referral data - and therefore be able to access the file.

Dropbox said its patch has now fixed the problem.

Google ads

Furthermore, the company had been running a Google advertising campaign, and had paid to have an advert for Intralinks appear in Google's search results whenever someone searched for "Dropbox" or "Box".

Companies that use Google's search advertising service are sent an anonymised breakdown of what users had searched for in order to find their advertising.

Intralinks found that many people would put the entire shared link into a Google search box, and therefore Intralinks would subsequently see those links in the breakdown data from Google.

While copying and pasting a download link into Google's search engine might appear to be odd behaviour, Intralinks said "a few hundred documents" were exposed to them in this way.

Dropbox's patch has not addressed this particular problem, Mr Cluley said.

Intralink's chief technology officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa Richard Anstey said: "Most internet users have, at one time or another, accidentally pasted a link into the search bar of their favourite search engine whilst intending to paste it into the internet address bar - it's an easy mistake to make.

"However, what they don't realise is that when they press enter to execute the search, the advertisement engines that drive (and fund) the search engine will distribute that link as a search term to anyone who has paid for an 'adword' that closely matches any part of that link."

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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Minecraft Denmark replica 'attacked'

7 May 2014 Last updated at 13:13

A virtual replica of Denmark created to help educate children has been disrupted by "cyber vandals".

Small portions of it were blown up, despite a ban by its creators, the Danish Geodata Agency (DGA), on the use of "dynamite".

Large US flags were erected at the starting area, as well as red, white and blue "America" signs.

The state-owned agency believes the "vandalism" was to attract attention, and said the damage had been repaired.

Images showing the changes first appeared on the fan site minecraftforum.net posted by a user who wrote: "I americanlized [sic] the place a bit."

Chris Hammeken, chief press officer at the Danish Geodata Agency, told the BBC: "Only a minor area was destroyed.

Continue reading the main story

"It was the players who cleaned up the damage, replacing it with green grass and peace signs the following morning"

End Quote Chris Hammeken Chief press officer, Danish GeoData Agency

"The flags actually appeared right where the players start, so I think the people who put them there wanted to gain as much attention as possible."

Hidden 'dynamite'

"Minecraft is about building and rebuilding," said Mr Hammeken, who described the incident as part of Minecraft's "nature of play."

Buildings were destroyed using virtual dynamite - the use of which had been banned on the Danish server - after users discovered it could be detonated when hidden in mining carts.

"It was the players who cleaned up the damage, replacing it with green grass and flowers the following morning," said Mr Hammeken.

The city was not "hand-built" - the topographical data of Denmark was imported into Minecraft, which is also available as a free download on the DGA's website.

Those who download the data can upload it to their own private Minecraft server, which will provide a restored city and keep users free from attack.

The replica has already been downloaded over 220,000 times since the beginning of this month.

Virtual field trips

The DGA created the replica of Denmark in order to arouse interest in spatial data, with a particular emphasis on educating children.

Its website explains: "There are real addresses in the game, so it's possible to have a discussion of place names and their meanings."

The agency has also suggested using the replica as a way of taking students on virtual field trips.

"We've discovered children are more motivated to learn when they see something they're familiar with," explained Mr Hammeken, who said Minecraft had been used as an educational tool in Denmark for a long time.

It is not clear who the "vandals" were or why they targeted Denmark.

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Easyjet develops inspection drones

7 May 2014 Last updated at 15:47

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The drones will be used to scan and assess Easyjet planes

Easyjet is developing drones to inspect its fleet of Airbus aircraft, and may introduce the flying maintenance robots as early as next year.

The drones will be used to scan and assess Easyjet planes and report damage back to engineers.

The flying robots are being developed by a team that includes experts from the University of Bristol.

Easyjet is also developing virtual reality video technology.

In addition, Easyjet wants apps to help with maintenance, and the airline is fitting "paperless plane" technology. Durable laptop computers will replace printed navigational charts in planes.

"We have examined and assessed cutting edge technology across many different industries and are now applying a range of new technologies to the aviation sector for the first time to help us run our fleet of aircraft more effectively, efficiently and safely," said chief executive Carolyn McCall.

Easyjet plans to test the drones within coming months.

"Aircraft inspection is a great application for drones," said Dr Arthur Richards, head of aerial robotics at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory.

"Coupled with smart navigation and computer vision, they can get accurate data from really awkward places."

The flying robots are being developed by Bristol Robotics Laboratory, a collaboration between University of Bristol and the University of West England.

Drone company Coptercraft and software company Measurement Solutions are also involved in the project.

Laser scans

The drones are fitted with high definition video cameras, but can also use lasers to scan the outside of the aircraft, Easyjet head of engineering Ian Davies told the BBC.

"We could zoom [the laser scanner] up and down the aircraft and map the surface," he said. "If we've mapped the aeroplane we can have a complete history of its full life."

He added that it is safer to have drones working at height than humans having to go up on a rig.

One of the main challenges for the drones is how to get them to work outside in windy conditions, Mr Richards said.

The drones are built to be light in weight, but that can make them vulnerable to gusts of wind on an airfield.

They plan to use research into how animals such as bees and birds cope with blustery weather to "see how nature solves the same problem".

Another challenge is to automate drone flights, he added.

Virtual reality

Easyjet is also hoping to use virtual reality to help sort out technical problems with planes that are a long way from its engineering team.

At the moment engineers and pilots email pictures and call Easyjet's control centre to try to resolve issues over the phone.

But Easyjet is planning to use hi-tech glasses that can relay high definition video images back to base.

Engineers could be directed to do repairs by a team looking at the video stream coming from the glasses, Mr Davies said.

The technology also uses "augmented reality", where a computer image is superimposed on the view as seen through the glasses.

For example, an engineer can compare an image of a fuselage projected onto the glasses with the actual fuselage, to see what work needs to be done.

"It's a very simple Robocop outfit people would wear," Mr Davies said. "We are using the human almost like a robot."

The airline wants to use the technology in airports such as Sharm el Sheikh and Tel Aviv.

At the moment, the data is transmitted using 4G, but Easyjet is discussing options for satellite links with communications company Iridium, Mr Davies said.

When choosing the type of glasses to use, Easyjet evaluated Google Glass, but found the technology "too fragile for industrial use", he added.

Interesting drones

There has been a surge in interest in drones in recent years, and they are being developed for a variety of uses.

The United Arab Emirates wants to use small government drones to provide services, like ID-card delivery, by next year.

Google bought solar-powered drone maker Titan Aerospace in April to help the firm's efforts to expand internet access.

Amazon is in the process of testing drones for deliveries, and a photographic drone that uses a dog-lead as a fail-safe has been developed.

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Tesco to launch own-brand smartphone

6 May 2014 Last updated at 06:39

Tesco is to launch its first own-brand smartphone by the end of the year.

The BBC understands the phone will run Google's Android software, and the specification will be comparable to phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S5.

Chief executive Philip Clarke told BBC Radio 5 live's Wake Up to Money programme the device would be pre-installed with Tesco services.

The smartphone plans follow the launch of a Tesco's tablet, the Hudl - which has sold half a million units so far.

A refreshed version of the Hudl tablet - the Hudl 2 - will be released in September, Mr Clarke said.

The Hudl tablet entered the the lower end of the market, priced at £119 and competing with devices that had relatively low specifications.

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However, the smartphone is expected to be comparable to the higher-end of the market - but aggressively priced.

'New Tesco'

Mr Clarke also gave a broad hint that he intended to stay on as Tesco's chief executive until 2020.

He said: "I'm 54 and I have been at it for 40 years.

"I think normally in Britain people like me retire at 60 and that gives me another six years."

He said his role attracted "incredible scrutiny" and joked that he was "never short of people telling me how to do my job".

But he denied suggestions that his style, since taking over as chief executive, had been responsible for a succession of senior departures from Tesco, with finance director Laurie McIlwee the latest to announce that he's leaving.

"Look at any team and how it evolves," said Mr Clarke.

"When you get a leadership change it's inevitable that people will want to think about what that means for themselves.

"But I have a very strong management team - some have been here 20 or 30 years and some have come in the last two or three."

Mr Clarke also coined a new phrase - "New Tesco" - to sum up his effort to change the company's focus away from huge stores and on to smaller shops that are more focused on the particular needs of a local community.

He said Tesco would open 12 big stores in the coming year, but no more of the huge Tesco Extras.

"It is," he said, "the end of new big stores."

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Spy plane causes air traffic chaos

6 May 2014 Last updated at 11:48

A spy plane was responsible for a computer glitch that caused air-traffic chaos in western US states last week, the Federal Aviation Administration has revealed.

The meltdown occurred when software incorrectly thought the plane was on a collision course with other aeroplanes.

The system was overloaded as it struggled to plot new courses for affected aircraft.

Hundreds of planes were grounded at Los Angeles International airport.

While the system was rebooted, dozens of flights were delayed at smaller airports across the area.

Training operations

"On April 30 2014, an FAA air-traffic system that processes flight-plan information experienced problems while processing a flight plan filed for a U-2 aircraft that operates at very high altitudes under visual flight rules," FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said.

She added the computer system had "misinterpreted" the U-2 as a more typical low-altitude flight and become overwhelmed in trying to make sure its flight path did not conflict with other air traffic in the area.

"The FAA resolved the issue within an hour, and then immediately adjusted the system to now require specific altitude information for each flight plan," she added.

The agency said it had now added more flight-processing memory to the computer system.

The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that an Air Force U-2 spy plane had been conducting training operations in the area, adding that "all the proper flight plan paperwork" had been submitted.

The U-2 was used to fly reconnaissance missions during the Cold War, and there are plans to retire the planes within the next few years.

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Norwegian army tests Oculus headset

6 May 2014 Last updated at 14:14

The virtual-reality Oculus Rift headset has been put to a novel use by the Norwegian army - helping soldiers to drive tanks.

By mounting cameras on the outside of the tank, soldiers were able to create a 360-degree feed to the Oculus headset, worn by the driver.

The device - still just a prototype - is much cheaper than conventional military camera systems.

But the picture quality is not yet good enough for operational use.

The army began testing the headset in 2013 and in April of this year tried out the latest iteration of the hardware.

"It is a partial success," project leader Maj Ola Petter Odden told the BBC.

"The concept is sound, but the technology isn't quite there yet. The picture quality is good for 10-15m [30-50ft] - but after that it is difficult to distinguish details, for example whether an opponent is carrying a weapon."

Now he plans to wait until next year for further tests.

"There will be better hardware and we can test it again then," he said.

The virtual-reality headset hit the headlines when Facebook bought the company behind it - Oculus VR - for $2bn (£1.1bn) in March.

To date neither has said much about what they plan to do together, but this week Oculus VR chief executive Brendan Iribe talked about hopes "to build a one billion player MMO".

Massively multi-player online games (MMO) using virtual reality (VR) would be the "holy grail" for the technology, he told delegates at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference.

Facebook's large audience would help make such a platform possible although such an enormous player base would require a much larger network than existed currently, he said.

And while Oculus is starting off with a big focus in gaming he said that a lot of where VR would go in the next decade would be about "face-to-face communication and social".

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Faster Chromebook laptops revealed

6 May 2014 Last updated at 20:54

New computers running Google's Chrome operating system from Lenovo, Acer, Asus, HP and Toshiba have been shown off at an event in San Francisco.

In addition, Dell announced it would offer its existing Chromebook laptop with a faster processor.

The move is designed to build on rising demand for the web-oriented tech.

According to research firm NPD, Chrome OS computers accounted for 24% of sales of sub-$300 (£177) PCs in the US over the first three months of the year.

It said many consumers were purchasing them as a budget second or third computing device, while schools and universities viewed them as a cheap replacement for ageing Windows XP computers that Microsoft no longer supported.

However, NPD added that competition in this commercial sector was likely to become tougher.

"None of Chrome OS's competitors really expected anything last year, so they weren't really prepared for it," said Stephen Baker, the firm's vice president of industry analysis.

"But everybody is prepared this year, and I think it will be a bigger challenge to gain share in volume."

Even so, Google executive Caesar Sengupta - who spoke at the launch event - was keen to highlight the platform's success at retailer Amazon, where eight of the current 20 bestselling laptops are Chromebooks.

In addition, he noted that nearly 10,000 schools had now equipped themselves with Chrome OS computers - about double the number that had been the case six months ago.

Limited laptops

Chrome-based computers tend to be cheaper than comparable Windows-powered rivals, in part because Google does not charge manufacturers to include its software.

They are designed to use web apps and online storage in most cases, rather than run programs off their hard disks.

Since their launch in 2011, Google has been adding features, the latest of which include voice commands and ability to play certain videos while offline.

But some programs remain unavailable, such as the full version of Photoshop, iTunes and many video games.

Intel chips

The newly announced Chrome OS hardware all runs on chips manufactured by Intel, which co-hosted the news event.

It was keen to highlight the inclusion of its Bay Trail-M chips in some of the laptops, which it said offered an extra hour of battery life compared to last year's versions, were faster and could be fanless, and therefore thinner.

The chipmaker also announced that US manufacturer CTL planned to release a Chromebook based on an Intel-design later this year.

But it made no mention of Samsung, the manufacturer of the bestselling Chromebook model. The South Korean firm uses its own ARM-based Exynos processors.

Developing economies

Last year a total of 2.9 million Chrome OS-powered computers were shipped, according to the tech consultancy Gartner.

That was a fraction of the 280 million Windows-powered PC and the 12.5 million Mac OS computers delivered to retailers and customers.

But by 2016, Gartner forecasts that computers running Google's system will have leapfrogged Apple's hardware to take second place behind Microsoft's ecosystem.

"There's a couple of reasons - one is the number of vendors who are now pushing a [Chromebook] device," explained Ranjit Atwal, research director at the firm.

"The second thing is the appeal they have in developing markets given their price points.

"You're looking at large-screen notebooks for less than $200 with a good software ecosystem around them - that's a compelling proposition. The only inhibiting factor is connectivity."

Although Chromebooks can run software while offline they sometimes offer reduced functionality - such as being able to view but not edit entries in Google's Calendar app.

The computers also tend to have smaller hard disk sizes than their Windows/Mac equivalents - users are instead urged to rely on cloud storage.

While this helps keep their cost low, it again restricts their appeal in areas where broadband coverage is limited.

More details about the new models - and forthcoming Windows-based rivals - are likely to be announced at Taiwan's Computex trade show next month.

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Alibaba files for public share sale

7 May 2014 Last updated at 07:49

Chinese internet giant Alibaba has filed documents for a public share sale in the US, which is widely expected to be one of the biggest in history.

In its filing, the company said it was seeking to raise $1bn (£589m). But that figure is seen just as an estimate to calculate various fees.

Analysts expect it to raise more than $15bn and top Facebook's share sale.

Alibaba did not disclose details of the number of shares it intends to sell or their price range.

It also did not reveal which US exchange - the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange - it is looking to list its shares on.

Smartphone growth

Founded 15 years ago by Jack Ma, the firm has been a dominant force in e-commerce in China and is now the biggest online retailer in the country.

Continue reading the main story

It has the potential to become a true global e-commerce powerhouse"

End Quote Roger Entner Recon Analytics

While it has been a key player in the sector for many years, its filing gave investors the first glimpse at the firm's finances.

The firm generated revenues of 40.5bn yuan ($6.5bn; £3.8bn) in the nine months to the end of December 2013, making a net profit of $2.9bn.

The documents reveal that last year, the value of all merchandise sold on Alibaba's various platforms was $248bn, with more than 11.3 billion orders placed.

The total value of merchandise sold on its platforms last year was more than that sold on Amazon and eBay combined.

In a nod to the importance of smartphones, the firm said it was responsible for 72% of mobile commerce in China.

That is important as Alibaba has been locked in competition recently with rival Tencent - China's largest internet firm - to attract mobile shoppers.

Analysts said there was likely to be keen interest in the share sale as investors hope the firm will be able to replicate its success in China on a global scale.

"If it is able to transport that kind of power to outside China, it has the potential to become a true global e-commerce powerhouse," said Roger Entner, lead analyst and founder of Recon Analytics.

Windfall?

Among the major shareholders set to benefit from the listing are US technology giant Yahoo and Japan's Softbank.

Yahoo owns a 22.6% stake in the firm, while Softbank owns 34% of the company.

Yahoo had paid $1bn for a 40% stake in Alibaba in 2005.

It sold half of that stake back to Alibaba in May 2012 for $7.1bn. That deal saw the Chinese firm pay Yahoo $6.3bn in cash and up to $800m in Alibaba's preferred stock.

According to an agreement between the two firms, Yahoo has to either sell a part of its remaining stake in Alibaba back to the Chinese firm ahead of the share sale, or include its shares in those being sold to investors.

SoftBank will continue to own more than 30% stake in Alibaba after the listing.

Alibaba's various other operations include a cloud computing business and a group buying website.

Its online payments processing network, Alipay, was spun off in 2011 and is not a part of the listing.

The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission is just the first step in what is expected to be a process that will take several months before Alibaba's stock listing.

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Weak Wii U sales hurt Nintendo

7 May 2014 Last updated at 12:48 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

Weak sales of its games consoles have led Nintendo to report an annual loss.

The Japanese firm reported a net deficit of 23.2bn yen ($229m; £135m), a reversal of its 7.1bn yen profit the previous year.

It said lower-than-expected demand for its Wii U console and 3DS handheld had caused sales to miss its forecasts.

However, it added that it expected forthcoming games would help it to turn around its fortunes ahead of a more fundamental shift in strategy.

The company still has more than 1.3tn yen-worth of net assets on its balance sheet thanks to the stronger performance of its earlier games systems.

That offers it some leeway as it attempts to refocus the business.

In March, its president, Satoru Iwata, announced it planned to establish a new division focused on "health", separate from its video games business, as it attempts to increase customer numbers.

However, he was not specific about what kind of products this involved or when they would launch.

Nintendo previously had success with the Wii Fit "home workout" hardware and software released for its last-generation console.

Its decision not to host a press conference at E3 - Los Angeles' Electronic Entertainment Expo - next month might indicate that a preview of the new technology is still some way off.

"The quality-of-life initiative, I think, is still in its embryonic phases and I don't think we will see any concrete development in that area for a number of quarters," Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games at consultants IHS, told the BBC.

"I definitely think it's too early to write off Nintendo. But its strategy reveals a company that is looking for new opportunities to grow its business - and trying to develop a new market from scratch holds significant risk."

Unique features

The original Wii was the bestselling console of the last generation and its successor, the Wii U, beat its rivals - the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 - to shop shelves by about a year.

However, the Wii U and its main innovation, a touchscreen controller, have failed to live up to Nintendo's own expectations.

The firm initially forecast nine million units would be sold over the year to 31 March 2014. In fact it sold just 2.72 million machines despite cutting the price of the console.

That brings total sales since launch to 6.17 million Wii Us.

By contrast, Sony sold more than seven million PlayStation 4s and Microsoft shipped more than five million Xbox Ones - both within five months of their launches.

"The content has not highlighted the unique offering of the Wii U, and has not explained how it's different from the other platforms and the previous Wii," said Mr Harding-Rolls.

Nintendo appears to concur with this analysis, saying it intends to release more games that take advantage of its gamepad's inclusion of an NFC (near field communication) chip.

Pokemon Rumble U uses this feature to unlock content when toy characters - which can be purchased at additional cost - are placed on the controller, but other titles have yet to exploit the facility.

Nintendo also highlighted the forthcoming release of titles originally developed for its touchscreen DS handheld that would run on the Wii U's gamepad, to boost its library further.

In addition, it forecast that the release of the driving game Mario Kart 8 this month and the fighting title Super Smash Bros in the winter would attract more gamers to the platform.

As a result it predicted 3.6 million Wii Us would be sold this business year.

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LG launches chatty fridges and ovens

7 May 2014 Last updated at 14:58 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

A new LG text chat service allows fridge owners to see what food is inside as well as controlling other home appliances from the company.

The app can only be used to do this in South Korea, but LG said it planned to extend it to the US and other markets at a later date.

Samsung has already released air conditioners, fridges and washers that work with its rival Smart Home service.

But experts suggest such products may only appeal to a niche audience.

"I'm sure 10 years from now we will want more smart-aware appliances, but for now this represents a live beta-test," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at the Davies Murphy Group consultancy.

"It's the equivalent of Ford building a concept car. It's about showing what can be done and seeing if there's an appetite for it."

Fridge photos

LG's HomeChat appliances communicate with their users via Line, a popular chat app in Asia, and are designed to understand natural language requests.

The refrigerator features an in-built wide-angle camera that takes a picture of its shelves' contents each time its doors are opened and closed.

Continue reading the main story

The more home control that can occur remotely the more chance that somebody can cause very severe mischief"

End Quote Dr Joss Wright Oxford Internet Institute

As a result, one of the requests it can handle is to provide the latest photo so its owner can check if they are missing an item while visiting a shop.

In addition, the fridge's Freshness Tracker software can provide information about items that have passed their expiration dates. However, this feature requires the user to have entered details about each product into the fridge when they were placed in it.

The washing machine can be remotely activated by texting it a message saying: "Start washing cycle," and real-time updates can be obtained by asking: "What are you doing?"

And the oven can asked for recipe suggestions and then be instructed to preheat the equipment to the appropriate temperature for the chosen selection.

Hacked homes

LG suggested text messaging smart appliances offered a "new level of convenience".

But Mr Green said the examples given sounded "gimmicky", adding that what consumers wanted was a greater level of automation rather than a new type of remote control.

"People love the idea of a fridge that reorders goods on its own - but the bottleneck there isn't the fridge manufacturer, it's the grocery providers," he said.

"In order for that concept to work, we need the items that we buy to become smarter themselves. They need RFID [radio-frequency identification] tags on them or something else that makes trackable what goes in or out of the fridge and freezer."

In the meantime, manufacturers of such smart devices may need to reassure potential customers about security concerns.

Data protection company Proofpoint reported earlier this year that it had discovered an internet-connected fridge had been hacked to send out spam emails.

There have also been reports of some smart TVs being vulnerable to hacks that might reveal information about their users' habits.

"It's the classic science-fiction nightmare story of somebody being able to hack in and control your cooker in the night," said Dr Joss Wright from the University of Oxford's Internet Institute,

"The more home control that can occur remotely the more chance that somebody can cause very severe mischief if they can get into it."

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