Nextbit's Robin Flies Past Kickstarter Goal

Nextbit earlier this week launched a Kickstarter campaign for Robin, a cloud-connected Android smartphone. Robin boasts a streamlined interface that does away with bloatware and automatically offloads data to the cloud. The company expects to ship Robin running Marshmallow, the next version of Android -- unless the OS' launch is delayed. In that case, Nextbit will issue an over-the-air update when Marshmallow rolls out. The phone will learn which apps owners use and the space they need, and automatically offload unused stuff to the cloud.

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An Insider Betrayed Ashley Madison - Go Figure

When the giant data breach at infidelity website Ashley Madison made headlines last month, the CEO of the site's owner was quick to claim the caper was an inside job. He had the attacker's profile and work credentials, Avid Life Media's CEO Noel Biderman told ace cybersecurity blogger Brian Krebs. Though not an employee, the individual had accessed the company's technical services. Biderman is no longer at ALM -- he resigned last week after emails stolen from Ashley Madison exposed his infidelities -- but his inside-job assertion lives on.

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KeyRaider Malware Busts iPhone Jailbreakers

Data-robbing malicious software dubbed "KeyRaider" has stolen more than 225,000 valid Apple accounts and thousands of certificates, private keys and purchasing receipts, Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 reported last week. The firm identified the malware in cooperation with WeipTech, which found the accounts on a server while it was analyzing suspicious user-reported iOS tweaks. KeyRaider targets Apple iPhones modified by their owners -- that is, jailbroken -- to accept third-party applications.

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Baby Monitors Riddled With Security Holes

Rapid7 on Wednesday released a report on an assortment of new vulnerabilities in baby monitors from several manufacturers: predictable information leaks; backdoor credentials; reflective, stored XSS; direct browsing; authentication bypass; and privilege escalation. "Many of the issues would allow video and audio from the device to be viewed by an attacker, whether from a live stream or previously recorded clips," said Mark Stanislav, senior security consultant for global services at Rapid7.

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Xbox One Elite Bundle Conquers Space

Microsoft on Monday unveiled a new version of its Xbox One console. The Xbox One Elite Bundle includes the console, with a 1-TB drive that fuses the performance of flash memory with the economy of a hard disk, and a new Elite wireless controller. The controller is fully customizable, with interchangeable paddles, hair-trigger locks, and high-performance construction, the company said. The $499 Xbox One Elite Bundle launches worldwide on Nov 3. Microsoft and GameStop will sell it exclusively during the month of November.

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New App Marries Android Wear Smartwatch to iPhone

Google on Monday rolled out Android Wear for iOS, allowing consumers to pair the iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6 or 6 Plus running iOS 8.2 and above with an Android Wear watch. They'll be able to check phone calls, messages and notifications; track fitness; and use Google Now instead of Siri to get smart help from their iPhones. Using Google Now instead of Siri is "a cute touch," observed Jeff Orr, a senior practice director at ABI Research. "You're not asking Siri a question -- you're asking Google Voice."

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Qualcomm Sics Fire-Breathing Snapdragon on Android Hackers

Qualcomm on Monday announced Snapdragon Smart Protect, a hardware-software product that could make the world a safer place for Android smartphone users. Snapdragon Smart Protect, which will become available with Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 820 processor, will provide real-time, on-device machine learning designed to support accurate and effective detection of zero-day malware threats. Smart Protect is the first application to utilize Qualcomm Zeroth technology.

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