Ransomware Attacks Threaten Wearable Devices and Internet of Things

Are you a proud owner of a Smartwatch, a Smart TV, a Smart fridge, a Smart lock, an Internet-enabled car, or live in a smart city?



Caution!



Recently, it has been reported that the growth of the Internet of Things would eventually lead to cyber criminals in making lots of money, as they started attacking the Internet of Things for Ransom.



Yes, the latest Interest of the cyber

Most Vulnerable Smart Cities to Cyber Attack on Internet of Things (IoT)

Imagine…




You drive to work in your Smart-Car connected to the GPS automatically, but a hacker breaks into your car's network, takes control of the steering wheel, crashes you into a tree, and BOOM!




Believe it or not, such Cyber Attacks on smart devices are becoming Reality.




Car Hacking was recently demonstrated by a pair of security researchers who controlled a Jeep Cherokee

Microsoft Poised to Launch Smartwatch With More Battery Life

Let’s accept it, we’re all gadget freaks. We like to update ourselves on the latest gear on the market, be it the iPhone 6 or the latest Galaxy Grand. ‘Till now we had been stuck to phones and tabs, being unable to move beyond them as technology did not permit more. But the wait is over. The global tech market is about to be hit by a new missile. Yes, you are right; Microsoft has finally announced the launch of the brand new Microsoft SmartWatch. Think about never having to reach into your pocket to check your photos, the date, weather forecasts, and of course, the time! The Microsoft SmartWatch is said to have all the basic home screen features of a Smartphone, and should be compatible to run on different platforms.

The features

The Microsoft SmartWatch is said to be the one stop gadget for fitness freaks. It will keep you updated about your heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and much more. It can be connected to most of the latest Smartphones, and of course the Samsung SmartWatch will be updated through the phone.

The downs

The Microsoft SmartWatch will have a battery life of only two days. Now that’s a bummer. We don’t really want a watch, which goes out of charge in public, do we? The Microsoft SmartWatch runs on Windows 95. So we don’t really expect it to be fast. And in this world of hurry, I for one wouldn’t like a machine that can’t do its work in a flash.

Microsoft has had a history with wearable technology. It had collaborated with a brand called Fossil on Spot, which stood for Smart Personal Objects Technology. This was almost a decade ago and Spot ran into some bad business and the project was scrapped. They were said trying to get the watch to update on the stock or the weather.

The way we see it, the tech world is an oligopolistic market and that means more products. Apple and Samsung are said to have been working on wearable technology which can be connected to their respective Smartphones. The Apple CEO Tim Cook has been heard talking about the iWatch but he has also stated that it will need daily charging.

To look at all these products and observe, one would see a race with time. We are trying to feed the buyers with products that will have no use to their daily lives. Will checking one’s heart rate each day really lead to a better living? Or aren’t the stock updates available on your phone already? Are we deliberately confining human body movements? Or is this the next big leap in the world of technological advancement? The choice is yours to make, I however, will not be falling for this one.

Puls Smartband Allows You to Leave Your Phone At Home

Technology is creeping into our lives faster than you can even comprehend all of it. SmartWatches certainly fall into one such category which hasn’t seen a burst of demand but yet everybody is jumping in the bandwagon looking at the future.

However, most of these wearable devices are downright ugly with thick, impractical design and with little utility. “They look more like technology”, quoted Will.i.am. Hence, Will.i.am has taken it to himself to design a device that can be wore around as a fashion statement instead of tech gizmo called the Puls band.

It’s more than a watch! 

The device for its size packs quiteanoomph. The device comes with a Qualcomm processor, 1 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, Built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS and sensors like Accelerometer, Pedometer and Gyroscope.

The biggest surprise however is the fact that it has a built-in 3G radio through which you can make calls and supports data connection too. The data plan is right now provided by AT&T and in UK provided by O2. While Samsung with Gear S band was the first with cellular connectivity, the design alone wins it for many. However, the extra wide bezel may not please many.

The software side on things

The Puls band is not just for receiving notification from your smartphone. The band features a ton of software. The most useful would be a voice assistant akin to Siri from Apple – called Anita built in partnership with Nuance (which is an established player in the field of voice recognition software).

There is a Humin app too which lets you tap on the band screen face and ask to call people whom you met in the past and it can pull their bio-data too. Music is given adequate emphasis – there are collections of songs and you can ask Anita to store them in your custom collections.

Furthermore, there is support for fitness and health accessories and can help you with your trainer. In case you were wondering, it has a keyboard and email client too – though typing is not a pleasurable experience at all.

The Venture from Will.i.am

It seems like Will.i.am wants to make a statement in the world of technology and gadgets. He has created a full-fledged smartwatch/band that provides all the hardware and software and also has a style of its own.

It is slim, aesthetically pleasing and is not boxy in design. It will be available in Blue, Red, Pink and White along with variations involving gold and diamonds too. In addition, there are few other gadgets announced as well – A power jacket, Back pack that doubles and power source and speakers as well.

Puls band from Will.i.am is a product from i.am+ - a company that is funded by him. Apart from storing all you music, a voice assistant and internet, there is also voice calling as well. Will.i.am hopes that with this gadget in tow, you don’t have to lug around with your smartphone all the time. And the device is a style statement in itself.

Pebble Cuts Down The Smart Watch Price: Is It Due To Apple Watch?

Pebble is the company, who named their smart watch and after naming the smart watch now they are planning to cut down the prices of smart watch for the benefit of users. Apart from cost cutting in price the company is currently working on adding additional features like fitness tracking capabilities (software developed by Jawbones, UP band maker, and Shines fitness tracker makers Misfit). The fitness track also features in a commercial of Apple.

From the coming Tuesday, the starting level of the Pebble smart watch will cost the consumer around $99. On the other hand the Pebble Steel which is basically similar to the entry level device modified to be encased in a metal body will cost around $199.

Pebble smart watch features:

The Pebble smart watch has the advantage of being operable with both iPhone as well as android phones and can also show a person the notifications of an incoming text, calls, tweets and even emails. Another added feature of the Pebble smart watch is the fact that one will be able to install apps on the watch from the Pebble app store. This watch might have just black and white screen but in turn it allows the users to use the watch for a maximum of 5 days on a single charge. Most of the other smart watch with the color screen options like that of Samsung are operable only up-to 2 days on single charge.

Changes expected:

The users of the Pebble smart watch will be given access to get the latest update of the fitness tracker on their device. The software will enable the users to monitor their steps as well as sleep. Pebble has used software, which is mainly used for tracking swimming workouts (made by Swim.com).

This upgrade and cut down is expected to be a very crucial step for the company. The company came into the highlight in the tech world when it was able to raise $10.2 million from crowd funding site in 2012. Pebble is still considered as one of the most successful crowd funded projects.

Advantages:

Pebble is currently the cheapest in terms of smart watches as they have cut down the price from $150 to $99, which is significant change in the current competitive market. Currently Google’s Android Wear watches will cost a person around $200 with the disadvantage of being operable only with specific android phones on the other hand Apple is expected to sell their smart watch at around $349, which is for the entry level watch, whereas the high end watches can be expected easily in thousands.
With this new price, Pebble will be able to achieve which other highly priced smart watch companies can’t as it is not limited to work on one single platform.

According to Pebble CEO, Eric Migicovsky, Company is developing watch not any kind of luxury product. They are not making a computer for hand, it will have notifications and all this can be reflected through the pricing.

Specification Of Google Smartwatch Nicknamed As "Gem"

According to several reports available in the net, Google reportedly working on its own Smart Watch. Now there are first technical details of the SmartWatch, which could be built by LG.

As the well known mobile phone leaker evleaks reported that the SmartWatch will have a 1.65 inch display with LCD technology. The resolution should be 280 x 280 pixels. Next the SmartWatch to be installed with a 4 GB of internal memory and 512 MB RAM. About the processor, no further information is known till now.

Google is reportedly working for some time on a SmartWatch. After the acquisition, the WIMM Labs already in 2011 first came to the news, which again received similar details of a prototype from Motorola, which Google had meanwhile advanced in its groundwork.

According to the latest information, LG Electronics is again going to supply the hardware. Even with the naming of the clock, there are different approaches. So the led under the code name “Gem " device will probably will not get the name Nexus and the branding will be more guided only by the name Google Watch or Google SmartWatch.