Beware! Airtel Warns Users of SMS Scam

Criminals devise new way to dupe innocent people
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Cyber frauds are nothing new in India, every now and then we hear about people getting duped by unsolicited e-mails received from Nigeria, UK.

It seems criminals have devised a new way to dupe innocent people via SMS. An alert on Airtel's website is cautioning it's users to be vary of such fraudsters.


According to Airtel, "an instance has come to notice in one of the circles wherein some subscribers have received SMS of the type - !Urgent! Your number has been selected for a $5,000 prize guaranteed! To claim your prize call +423697497456/ +447024054367. The above SMS is sent through bulk SMS product and is a type of Premium Rate Service Fraud (PRS) operated by organized gangs. The intent of the SMS is to induce the subscribers to call international numbers as listed above which have very high terminating rates. When the subscriber calls the number he is usually connected to a recorded message and the customer is billed a high amount. Replying to such SMS's could also result in viruses being downloaded on the subscriber's phone."

The disclaimer put up on the Airtel website:

"Unsolicited fraudulent SMS's are being sent to various subscribers informing them that they have won a prize and need to call an international number to collect their prize. When calls are made to the number in the text message the subscribers are billed a high amount (upto Rs 500 per minute). Subscribers are cautioned not to respond to such SMS's."

But worry not, TRAI will now be able to nab mobile phone spammers.


Have you been victim to such fraud? Do let us know through your comments.

Nivio - India's Answer to Google's GDrive

Free online storage from NivoLite
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While Google lovers anticipate the arrival of GDrive, some others are already offering storage in the online space. One of the newest online storage space providers is NivioLite Free, an online computing utility that offers free online storage and backup facility.

NivioLite Free is offering a measly 1GB storage capacity in the times when Microsoft already has its Skydrive in place which offers 25GB of online storage -- at no cost.


How much can 1GB of storage house? Around 200 songs or 400 photos, says NivioLite's developers. If you need anything more than 1GB, you will have to purchase the extra space for 3 pounds to access Nivio's full service. With the upgrade you will get full access to Nivio s virtual Windows Desktop where one can create and edit files. This also includes the nDrive - a user intuitive tool that facilitates an easy and quick transfer of files between a local computer and the Nivio online desktop.


It isn't difficult to acquire hundreds of music files over a little period of time, and 1GB would definitely not suffice. This new service seems to be for the ignoramus as only those who do not know about the existing high-capacity online storage facilities would want to bother to register for a 1GB storage service.



On another note, 10-year old Yahoo Briefcase service which offers users 25MB of storage will be shutting on March 30. Unless newbie NivioLite plans to offer a mass-appealing online storage capacity, it could remain the storage house for a niche segment of users.

Is Apple Readying Dual-core, Quad-core iMacs?

Currently, Apple offers iMacs in 20-inch and 24-inch sizes, with two different configurations for each size.
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Long due iMac upgrades have slowly started tipping rumors. The rumor mills are now eyeing Apple's iMac for update since the Mac Mini didn't get any update in recent MacWorld expo. It's been rumoured that Apple is going to refresh the iMacs with dual-core and quad-core processors according to a report by CNET.

Shaw Wu, of Kaufman Brothers, believes that Apple will be updating the iMacs line up. Currently, Apple offers iMacs in 20-inch and 24-inch sizes, with two different configurations for each size.

The new refreshed iMacs will get a high-end quad-core chip and a low-cost dual-core processor. The highest-end 24-inch iMac will get a high-end quad-core processor while the 20-inch version will get a low-cost dual-core processor. These new iMacs can be expected soon as Apple has reportedly decided to reduce 24-inch iMacs shipments in coming weeks.

To complement this rumor, Intel is set to launch new quad-core server processors by end-March which might be used for new Mac Pro iterations.

If this stand's true, Apple fans will get to choose dual-core and quad-core iMacs. Recently, many OEMs like HP, Asus, Lenovo and LG have come out with all-in-one style computers. To lead this segment, Apple really should refresh its product line-up.

SMS Malware Targets Nokia S60 Mobiles

Curse of Silence worm enters your phone in the form of a simple text message and stops incoming SMSes
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A new SMS worm that targets certain Series 60 third edition devices has been detected. Before you start panicking, don't worry, there is a fix.

The "Curse of Silence" worm comes to your inbox in the form of a simple text message and then goes ahead to ensure that you don't receive any further SMSes. The worm affects Series 60 third edition handsets and some UIQ based handsets running (S 60) versions 2.6, 2.8, 3.0, and 3.1. The worm was first detected towards the end of last year, and has been listed by F-Secure as a threat. While some may term it as a virus, the notable thing is that it makes use of a security hole in S60 to execute its attack.

The attack begins with the target phone receiving an "infected" SMS. The behavior of the worm after this differs from device to device. While some older devices stop receiving SMS/MMS right after the first SMS is received, some others require quite a few messages before going kaput. The device, once affected, displays a message saying that the message memory is full and that there is no space remaining for more messages. Till now, the only way for a phone to recover from such an attack was a factory reset.

Nokia has, however, released a fix called the SMS cleaner, which apparently fixes the hole. F-Secure has further details on the worm. Check it out here.

Yahoo to Shut Down Briefcase Service

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The company has cited low usage and popularity of the service when compared to its other services like Flickr and Mail as reasons for pulling the plug
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Yahoo, as a part of trimming down excess baggage, has decided to shut down its 10-year-old online storage program -- the Yahoo Briefcase.

The company has cited low usage and popularity of the service when compared to its other services like Flickr and Mail as reasons for pulling the plug.

Users have been provided a March 30 deadline to retrieve their data stored online. Yahoo adds that discontinuing the service will allow them to focus their efforts on more broadly used products.

This comes days after new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz took charge and is on a mission to save the Internet giant with a series of tough measures that included even more lay-offs, pay cuts and salary freezes.

Those of you who still use the service might as well save all your files back to your PCs before the March 30 deadline - lest you lose your data permanently.

Man Killed in Mobile Phone Explosion

Incident might have occurred due to one of those cheap duplicate batteries
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Here's one more reason to stay away from those spurious batteries.


A 20 year-old Chinese youngster died when a battery inside the phone he was carrying in his pocket exploded, severing his arteries leading to massive blood loss and eventual death. According to some reports, the person had recently changed his phone battery and had charged the same moments before the fatal accident. The accident occurred in front of a Lenovo store in Guangzhou, China.



Exploding phone batteries are not a new phenomenon. However, fatalities from such occurrences are rare and this one just might be the worst ever recorded. The incident also makes us wonder if it is really worth saving money when it comes to batteries. While we still do not have details regarding the phone or the kind of battery that was involved in the incident, it is likely that this might be one of those cheap duplicate batteries.


We hope your plans to invest in a "cheaper" option might have been thwarted by this unfortunate incident.

3D View of Mars, Ocean with Google Earth 5

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Do you want to dive into the ocean and explore the nooks and crannies of the seafloor? Want to step on Mars and experience how it feels to be on the red planet? Now you will be able to experience all this and more from your PC, thanks to the newest version of Google Earth.

With Google Earth 5.0, you can explore thousands of data points including videos and images of ocean life, details on the best surf spots, logs of real ocean expeditions, and much more. With this new feature, you can now move back and forth in time while exploring a place to reveal imagery from years and even decades past, revealing changes over time.

This new-fangled Google Earth also has a Touring feature which makes it simple to create sharable, narrated, fly-through tour by clicking the record button and navigating through your tour destinations. By selecting "Mars" from the toolbar in Google Earth, one can access a 3D map of the planet featuring the latest high-resolution imagery, 3D terrain, and annotations showing landing sites.

Download Google Earth 5.0