Security enthusiasts seek revival of TrueCrypt encryption tool

A team of security experts may seek to restore and improve a popular computer encryption system after its developers mysteriously shut it down, claiming "unfixed security issues," a leader of the effort told Reuters. 

TrueCrypt, one of a number of programmes that encrypt all of a user's hard drive, had gained popularity after fugitive former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden praised it and law enforcement officials complained of their inability to crack it. 

The software's code has been publicly available for years, but its developers have not spoken publicly and their true identities are unclear. After Snowden's revelations, supporters contributed some $70,000 to an effort to verify the security of the code. 

TrueCrypt had passed the earliest testing, so it shocked many technologists when the TrueCrypt website recently announced it would discontinue encryption support and urged users to move to rival software. 

"WARNING: Using TrueCrypt is not secure as it may contain unfixed security issues," the notice said."You should migrate any data encrypted by TrueCrypt to encrypted disks or virtual disk images." 

Speculation has mounted over the cause of the reversal, with some suggesting that the developers had tired of the decade-long project and others guessing that US authorities had demanded a back-door key from the programmers, as happened with anonymous email provider Lavabit. 

As that debate raged, an audit team funded by the $70,000 was preparing to announce that it would continue its quest to determine the security of TrueCrypt and would seek to fix legal issues with the license to the code, said Matthew Green, a Johns Hopkins University cryptography professor helping lead the effort. 

If the license issues are resolved, the group could continue to develop and improve the software, though Green said "we're not going to commit to a `fork' yet." A fork is a split in development, where code can be steered in a new direction. 

Super-Capacitor : Breakthrough in battery technology could fully charge a cellphone in minutes

The supercapacitor, also known as ultracapacitor or double-layer capacitor, differs from a regular capacitor in that it has a very high capacitance. A capacitor stores energy by means of a static charge as opposed to an electrochemical reaction. Applying a voltage differential on the positive and negative plates charges the capacitor. This is similar to the buildup of electrical charge when walking on a carpet. Touching an object releases the energy through the finger.

We group capacitors into three family types and the most basic is the electrostatic capacitor, with a dry separator. This capacitor has a very low capacitance and is used to filter signals and tune radio frequencies. The size ranges from a few pico-farad (pf) to low microfarad (uF). The next member is the electrolytic capacitor, which is used for power filtering, buffering and coupling. Rated in microfarads (uF), this capacitor has several thousand times the storage capacity of the electrostatic capacitor and uses a moist separator. The third type is the supercapacitor, rated in farads, which is again thousands of times higher than the electrolytic capacitor. The supercapacitor is ideal for energy storage that undergoes frequent charge and discharge cycles at high current and short duration.

Faradis a unit of capacitance named after the English physicist Michael Faraday. One farad stores one coulomb of electrical charge when applying one volt. One microfaradis one million times smaller than a farad, and one pico-farad is again one million times smaller than the microfarad.

Engineers at General Electric first experimented with the electric double-layer capacitor, which led to the development of an early type of supercapacitor in 1957. There were no known commercial applications then. In 1966, Standard Oil rediscovered the effect of the double-layer capacitor by accident while working on experimental fuel cell designs. The company did not commercialize the invention but licensed it to NEC, which in 1978 marketed the technology as “supercapacitor” for computer memory backup. It was not until the 1990s that advances in materials and manufacturing methods led to improved performance and lower cost.

The modern supercapacitor is not a battery per se but crosses the boundary into battery technology by using special electrodes and electrolyte. Several types of electrodes have been tried and we focus on the double-layer capacitor (DLC) concept. It is carbon-based, has an organic electrolyte that is easy to manufacture and is the most common system in use today.

All capacitors have voltage limits. While the electrostatic capacitor can be made to withstand high volts, the supercapacitor is confined to 2.5–2.7V. Voltages of 2.8V and higher are possible but they would reduce the service life. To achieve higher voltages, several supercapacitors are connected in series. This has disadvantages. Serial connection reduces the total capacitance, and strings of more than three capacitors require voltage balancing to prevent any cell from going into over-voltage. This is similar to the protection circuit in lithium-ion batteries.

The specific energy of the supercapacitor is low and ranges from 1 to 30Wh/kg. Although high compared to a regular capacitor, 30Wh/kg is one-fifth that of a consumer Li-ion battery. The discharge curve is another disadvantage. Whereas the electrochemical battery delivers a steady voltage in the usable power band, the voltage of the supercapacitor decreases on a linear scale from full to zero voltage. This reduces the usable power spectrum and much of the stored energy is left behind. Consider the following example.

Take a 6V power source that is allowed to discharge to 4.5V before the equipment cuts off. With the linear discharge, the supercapacitor reaches this voltage threshold within the first quarter of the cycle and the remaining three-quarters of the energy reserve become unusable. A DC-to-DC converter could utilize some of the residual energy, but this would add to the cost and introduce a 10 to 15 percent energy loss. A battery with a flat discharge curve, on the other hand, would deliver 90 to 95 percent of its energy reserve before reaching the voltage threshold. Table 1 compares the supercapacitor with a typical Li-ion.

Function	Supercapacitor	Lithium-ion (general)
Charge time Cycle life Cell voltage Specific energy (Wh/kg) Specific power (W/kg) Cost per Wh Service life (in vehicle) Charge temperature Discharge temperature	1–10 seconds 1 million or 30,000h 2.3 to 2.75V 5 (typical) Up to 10,000 $20 (typical) 10 to 15 years –40 to 65°C (–40 to 149°F) –40 to 65°C (–40 to 149°F)	10–60 minutes 500 and higher 3.6 to 3.7V 100–200 1,000 to 3,000 $0.50-$1.00 (large system) 5 to 10 years 0 to 45°C (32°to 113°F) –20 to 60°C (–4 to 140°F)

Table 1: Performance comparison between supercapacitor and Li-ion

Courtesy of Maxwell Technologies, Inc.

Rather than operating as a stand-alone energy storage device, supercapacitors work well as low-maintenance memory backup to bridge short power interruptions. Supercapacitors have also made critical inroads into electric powertrains. The virtue of ultra-rapid charging and delivery of high current on demand makes the supercapacitor an ideal candidate as a peak-load enhancer for hybrid vehicles, as well as fuel cell applications.

The charge time of a supercapacitor is about 10 seconds. The charge characteristic is similar to an electrochemical battery and the charge current is, to a large extent, limited by the charger. The initial charge can be made very fast, and the topping charge will take extra time. Provision must be made to limit the initial current inrush when charging an empty supercapacitor. The supercapacitor cannot go into overcharge and does not require full-charge detection; the current simply stops flowing when the capacitor is full.

The supercapacitor can be charged and discharged virtually an unlimited number of times. Unlike the electrochemical battery, which has a defined cycle life, there is little wear and tear by cycling a supercapacitor. Nor does age affect the device, as it would a battery. Under normal conditions, a supercapacitor fades from the original 100 percent capacity to 80 percent in 10 years. Applying higher voltages than specified shortens the life. The supercapacitor functions well at hot and cold temperatures.

The self-discharge of a supercapacitor is substantially higher than that of an electrostatic capacitor and somewhat higher than the electrochemical battery. The organic electrolyte contributes to this. The stored energy of a supercapacitor decreases from 100 to 50 percent in 30 to 40 days. A nickel-based battery self-discharges 10 to 15 percent per month. Li-ion discharges only five percent per month.

Supercapacitors are expensive in terms of cost per watt. Some design engineers argue that the money for the supercapacitor would better be spent on a larger battery. We need to realize that the supercapacitor and chemical battery are not in competition; rather they are different products serving unique applications.Table 2 summarizes the advantages and limitations of the supercapacitor.

Advantages	Virtually unlimited cycle life; can be cycled millions of time High specific power; low resistance enables high load currents Charges in seconds; no end-of-charge termination required Simple charging; draws only what it needs; not subject to overcharge Safe; forgiving if abused Excellent low-temperature charge and discharge performance
Limitations	Low specific energy; holds a fraction of a regular battery Linear discharge voltage prevents using the full energy spectrum High self-discharge; higher than most batteries Low cell voltage; requires serial connections with voltage balancing High cost per watt

Table 2: Advantages and limitations of supercapacitors

jv16 PowerTools 2014 released!

New PowerTools 2014 software delivers over 20% improved benchmark scores and Windows startup times

With its super charged system cleaning engine, the new jv16 PowerTools 2014 software improves performance and cleans errors from Windows-based systems with ease. The 2014 version was released alongside a benchmark studywhich revealed that this latest edition reduces system startup time from an average of 100 seconds to 47 seconds. The study also shows that the program increases the PCMark 7 benchmark score from 1166 points to 1472 points.

“PowerTools 2014 delivers epic results,” said Jouni Flemming, lead developer at Macecraft Software. “Instead of focusing too much on adding new features, we took all the things that were great in the 2013 edition – speed, safety and accuracy – and made them better. And to back everything up, we ran benchmarks to actually show everyone what this product can do.”

We took all the things that were great in the 2013 edition – speed, safety and accuracy – and made them better. And to back everything up, we ran benchmarks to actually show everyone what this product can do. PowerTools 2014 delivers epic results!

The main changes included in the 2014 version are:

• Supercharged new system cleaning engine that will clear more junk from your system than ever before.
• Improved ability of the Registry Cleaner and the Clean and Fix My Computer tools to remove protected and locked registry data and files. And if they do fail to remove data, they will automatically set up the data to be removed during the next system restart.
• Addition of a new feature in the Software Uninstaller called Forced Uninstall. This will perform a software uninstallation on system restart to allow complete removal of even the nastiest software. If this feature cannot uninstall software, probably nothing can!
• Clean and Fix My Computer can now set up a Registry Compact to be performed during the next system restart.
• Highly improved new software leftover detection engine introduced in the Software Uninstaller.
• Hundreds of small fixes, performance tweaks and user interface improvements!

A fully functional 60-day free version of jv16 PowerTools 2014 is available for immediate download. This version is not feature limited in any way. It can be downloaded from: http://www.macecraft.com/download/jv16-powertools-2014/

Supported operating systems include: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 2000. The product fully supports both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.

Installation instructions: Install jv16 PowerTools 2014 to a new directory, or uninstall the previous version first. Do not install over any previous version of PowerTools.

Program ships with the following languages: English, Czech, Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

Pricing: The price for new customers is only $29.95. Customers who bought the 2013 version in August 2013 or later are entitled to a free upgrade (your existing license will work with the new version). Customers who have previously bought any product from Macecraft are entitled to upgrade at a discounted price of $5.95. To buy at the discounted upgrade price, please go to: http://www.macecraft.com/upgrade-pt2014/. jv16 PowerTools 2014 is a free upgrade for all Platinum VIP license owners.

iOS 8, OS X 10.10 Release Date, Details: New Apple Software Should Be Unveiled in June 2014

The iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 should be launched in June 2014.

Apple announced that the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2014, which is Apple’s annual event for software developers for iOS and OS X products, is set to take place from June 2-6.

Given that the revamped iOS 7 software and OS X Mavericks update were revealed at last year’s WWDC, and that past iterations of the event revolved around Apple’s software products, it is likely that the new iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 will be unveiled at WWDC 201

iOS 8 is expected to look visually similar to iOS 7. Siri and Apple Maps should be upgraded, and there will be a handful of new features, such as HealthBook and split-screen multitasking for the iPad.

The HealthBook fits Apple’s new strategy of focusing on health and fitness. 9to5Mac has speculated that the HealthBook app will be able to monitor and store fitness statistics such as steps taken, calories burned, and miles walked.

Meanwhile, split-screen multitasking is a feature that Apple users have been requesting for a while. Such a feature would allow users to open multiple apps on a screen for simultaneous usage, which makes multitasking much more convenient. Currently, iOS users can only open and use one app at a time, a software limitation that Microsoft has pointed out in its Surface tablet ad.

Little is known of the upcoming Mavericks update. GottaBeMobilespeculates that OS X 10.10 will see an iOS 7-like redesign.

Hacker-themed video game 'Watch Dogs' set to debut

Hacker-themed video game "Watch Dogs" makes its hotly anticipated debut on Tuesday in a world grappling with real-life fears about privacy in the internet era.

France-based Ubisoft's new title features a protagonist who controls the world around him by hacking into systems and has generated intense buzz for eerie parallels with the storm about US surveillance.

Games typically use weapons ranging from guns and swords to lasers to special powers to defeat enemies, overcome obstacles or simply score points..

But in "Watch Dogs," the player-controlled antihero can access everything from the cellphone conversations and medical records of passers-by to computers which control traffic lights, to advance through the game.

"We knew we had a relevant topic," Canadian Ubisoft developer Dominic Guay told AFP as the game was previewed at the E3 video game trade show last year.

"I turned on CNN, and the first sentence I heard was 'invasion of privacy,' switched channels and on Fox they were (talking about) 'surveillance,' and I said to my creative director, 'Those are all our key words.'"

Set in Chicago, the game centers on Aiden Pearce, who uses his smartphone to access the city's Central Operating System, which controls everything from power grids and traffic management technology to bank accounts and phone networks.

US spying scandal

That kind of hacking evokes the stunning revelations about electronic surveillance by US authorities, revealed by ex-government contractor and whistle-blower Edward Snowden, who is in hiding in Russia.

The documents suggest the US National Security Agency (NSA) has gathered call log records for millions of American phone subscribers and targeted the internet data of foreign Web users.

The debate was also fueled by interest in putting more surveillance cameras on streets in the aftermath of last year's deadly Boston marathon bombings.

Ubisoft said the game, originally set for release last year, has seen strong pre-orders, suggesting it will be a big seller.

"The teams have worked tirelessly to ensure that players will enjoy a top quality game with enormous scope, and we can't wait to get the game into their hands," Ubisoft senior vice president of marketing Tony Key said Friday.

Guay said technology is now making it possible to foresee a world not unlike that in British writer George Orwell's novel "1984," in which Big Brother watches and controls everything.

Orwell "had an extreme view of that dystopian world at that time," he said. "I think we're seeing a time where the technology has caught up to his views" where the technology would enable his dystopian world to exist.

In "Watch Dogs," Pearce starts off seeking revenge for a loved one, but as he finds out more about the city, through hacking into its systems and inhabitants, he becomes a "vigilante," according to Montreal-based Guay.

"Most of the hacks that we have in the game are based on stuff that's happened in the real world," Guay said.

"We just happened to give them all to a single player."

Rise of smart cities

He pointed out the rise of "smart cities" in which traffic, utilities and other systems are optimized by centralized computing networks.

Guay was adamant that the game makes no value judgment on the complex and sensitive issue.

"We're not trying to be moralistic about it," he said.

"But we're hoping that players, when they've finished the game, maybe start a conversation," he added.

Versions of "Watch Dogs" have been tailored for play on Sony's new-generation PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One as well as the previous generation of those consoles.

The game, priced at $60 in the US, can also be played on computers powered by Windows software.

Ubisoft added the ability for people playing "Watch Dogs" on consoles to take on in-game challenges from friends using a companion application on smartphones or tablets.

Infosys's Chandrashe​kar Kakal joins L&T Infotech as COO

Former Infosys senior vice president Chandrashekar Kakal has joined Mumbai-based IT services firm L&T Infotech as its chief operating officer (COO) on Monday. 

Kakal used to head the India business unit and was the global head of business IT services (BITS) at Infosys. He also held the additional responsibility of overseeing the consulting and systems integration businesses. Kakal's resignation effective April 18 was the ninth senior level exit in the second-largest IT services company. There are at least ten senior level exits in the past ten months and the most prominent of these were Kakal, Infosys board members V Balakrishnan and Ashok Vemuri. 
An email sent to L&T Infotech on Friday on Kakal's appointment didn't elicit a response. 

L&T Infotech, an IT services and solutions company, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the $14-billion construction and engineering major Larsen & Toubro. The company provides end-to-end solutions and services in sectors including BFSI, energy, utilities, consumer electronics and healthcare space. The firm has a dual CEO structure. The joint CEOs Vivek Chopra and Mukesh Aghi have completed 1.5 years at the helm. Former Wipro exec Sudip Banerjee led the company between 2008 and 2011. 

L&T Infotech's total income grew 22% to Rs 3,862 crore for the 2012-13 financial year. The division's EBITDA margins grew to 25.1% in the last fiscal as against 21% previously. The company made a net addition of 1,270 employees in the same year. 

The IT services firm has embarked on building a strong sales and marketing team globally with emphasis on the Americas, Europe, Gulf countries and the Far East. The company has also undertaken some major initiatives intended to make L&T Infotech visible and distinctive with differentiated solutions it offers across multiple domains. 

Technology services, a strategic business unit of L&T, was formed into a subsidiary that resulted into consolidation of all engineering services business of L&T and L&T Infotech. This subsidiary will provide autonomous functioning in line with industry practices, the company's annual report said. 

IT industry body Nasscom ranked L&T Infotech No. 8 among IT services companies in India in 2012-13. That year the company had revenue of about Rs 4,000 crore, with a growth of 22%, significantly higher than the industry average. The company expected to touch $1 billion in revenue this year, but it's not clear if that target would be achieved. It was planning to make acquisitions this year though no acquisition has been announced so far. The last major acquisition was of Citigroup's Canadian IT outsourcing arm Citigroup Fund Services Canada for $40 million in February 2011.

First dual-SIM Lumia from Microsoft

The Lumia 630 handset is priced at Rs.11,500

Microsoft Devices on Monday announced the launch of its first dual-SIM Lumia phone, the Lumia 630, for Rs.11,500 in the Indian market. The device is also the first one from the company’s stable post-completion of acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft.

The device, which comes with quad-core processor and a 4.5 inch LCD screen, will be available for sale starting May 14. The Lumia 630 will also come in a single SIM variant that will be priced at Rs.10,500.

“Lumia is our principal smartphone strategy. The devices will come with Nokia’s promise of quality packed with Microsoft’s services like OneDrive, Office 365 and others. Lumia 630 opens a new avenue for affordable smartphones for us. It builds on the success of Lumia 520 and 525 and will consolidate our position in the fast growing affordable smartphone segment further,” P. Balaji, Managing Director of Nokia India, a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobiles Oy said.

Powered by the latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, the Lumia 630 features a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera. It has built-in low power sensors for health apps such as pedometers. The 630 dual SIM will compete with models such as Moto G, HTC Desire and Samsung Duos, which are all priced under Rs.12,000.

Talking about the demand for dual SIM devices, Mr. Balaji said that it was estimated that about 80 per cent of the smartphones sold under Rs.12,000 in India were dual SIM. Asked if more affordable devices would be brought out under the Lumia range, he said the firm would “continue to test newer price points.” At present, the cheapest model in the Lumia range is the 520, which retails for about Rs.8,400.

Accessories

Meanwhile, the company also launched two new accessories — treasure tag and bluetooth speakers. The treasure tag costs Rs.2,099 and allows users to track things like keys and bags. The device, which is of the size of a matchbox, alerts smartphone users when they go beyond 10 metres of the tagged item. It will be available by the end of this month. The mini bluetooth speaker is priced at Rs.5,499 and will be available by mid-June.

Why is there no Indian equivalent of Microsoft or Google?

Why don’t Indian software services companies develop products? Companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro may be very profitable, but why is there no Indian equivalent of Microsoft, Google or Oracle? Such questions have dogged the Indian software services industry for many years (Krishnan and Prabhu, 2003).

What services do these Indian companies offer? One service is developing new software systems for clients, starting from a set of requirements and a choice of platform: a programming language, an operating system and a database system. However, most of their business (perhaps 70-80 per cent) comes from upgrading and supporting large operational software systems, removing software bugs as they appear and adding features to meet new requirements. A major function of software services companies is to reduce the inherent risk of developing and maintaining software systems for its clients.

There are excellent reasons for software services companies to do R&D:

First, large software systems are extremely complex and hard to manage with just manual programming effort. A variety of software tools can be used to automate functions.

However, the platforms on which software systems run can differ in numerous major or minor ways and the analysis tools must be available for use on any required platform. Such tools are not available in the market and developing new tools can take years. R&D has been used in some software companies in India to find ways of producing such tools automatically and making them available in time for use in time-bound projects. The goal is always to speed up software construction, reduce cost and remove defects.

Second, with many software service companies offering what may seem to be similar services, a company has a major advantage if it can offer a unique differentiator. The main distinction between companies is often just the skills and experience of their staff; these can be augmented by a wide set of software tools. Use of such tools results in both improving the quality of the final software and reducing the development time

Finally, corporate Information Officers (CIOs) of clients provide computing services to other divisions in the company; their focus is on improving quality and reliability, and reducing cost. They deal with problems as they arise and rarely have time to look beyond this; IT outsourcing has been a boon to them.

Service companies, by contrast, can use their own R&D to identify future trends. This can give them the means of solving anticipated problems before these impact a client’s business, perhaps also adding new capabilities to increase competitiveness.

Important as these R&D directions are, they are far removed from what a software product company does. Software services companies differ from software product companies in everything from size, marketing, sales and customer support to R&D and strategy.

Services and products are not usually offered within one company. It would no more suit TCS or Wipro to masquerade as a product company than it would Microsoft to pose as a services company; Hewlett Packard is a rare exception. What are often referred to as ‘products’ from Indian companies are in fact branded offerings for financial services, like TCS’s BaNCS and Infosys’s Finacle: almost-ready software systems that can be configured and customised to a client’s requirements in a fraction of the time it would take to develop, say, a full banking or insurance system.

As a rule, software products have been developed by small, agile companies. The idea behind PowerPoint originated with a small company called Forethought; Word and Excel were created by Microsoft in the early 1980s when it was a small company. Product development is typically funded by venture capital companies, which filter out 90 per cent of new products that will fail to survive the risky route to market success and guide the remaining 10 per cent to an eventual IPO and sale.

Though services companies and product companies belong to different business species, R&D can provide a link from one to the other. Tools developed by a services company must be robust and effective if they are to be used by project teams.

Such tools will inevitably have a much wider market (not just among other service companies) if they are spun off and managed in an independent company. Done with care, this need not deprive the creating company of its advantages and can help to realize the full value of the innovation in the tools.

That is a route no Indian services company has yet ventured to take.