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HTC phones major security alert

The next iPhone will be unveiled tomorrow, Facebook partners with Websense to check for malicious links, and a major security vulnerability in HTC Android phones reveals a huge amount of personal data.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

HTC phone security flaw HTC Flyer drops price Xbox 360 get Metro UI Wal-Mart and T-Mobile offer data plans Facebook partners to protect New iPhone tomorrow Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (HD) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS HD

Pirate game not worth the doubloons

Backstab is a loosely pirate-themed third-person action-adventure game with promising potential but frustratingly flawed execution given its price.

Backstab advertises an "unprecedented story" and a "blockbuster production with the best graphics." Unfortunately, the story is highly precedented (and told unevenly, with spotty voice acting and wooden animations) and the graphics--while somewhat impressive for a mobile device, especially given the game's limited sandbox environment--are far from the best. Backstab evokes derivative late '90s console games, although with more-frustrating controls: what should be an intuitive camera system (you swipe the screen to rotate the camera) is anything … Read more

Shadowgun for iOS: Best third-person shooter yet?

When it comes to third-person shooters for iOS, EA's Dead Space is the gold standard. Or it was, until now. Madfinger's Shadowgun has claimed the crown by offering some of the best visuals this side of an Xbox 360, and gameplay that's highly reminiscent of Gears of War. It is, in short, a glorious game, if not exactly original.

Actually, Shadowgun is original in that it was built for iOS, unlike, say, Dead Space, which has console origins. But the plot, setting, and gameplay don't exactly break any new ground.

As a mercenary for hire, guided … Read more

HP facing pressure to keep PC unit inside--report

Hewlett-Packard is facing pressure to keep its PC business inside the company according to an Asia-based report.

Growing concern about the fate of HP's PC unit is pushing "channel operators" to switch their orders from HP to brands such as Dell, Acer, and Lenovo, according to a report in Digitimes, citing sources.

The report names Acer as a major beneficiary of the shift.

HP's Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) partners, including Quanta Computer, Inventec, Wistron, and Foxconn Electronics, will "regain...confidence" in HP if it decides not to spin off its PC business, the report … Read more

Privacy at risk: Who's watching you? (roundup)

The notion of Big Brother has been around for decades, but technology has long lagged behind the Orwellian imagination. Not any more--in the era of smartphones, face recognition, and the omnipresent Internet, the stakes are now much higher. That's what drives the new CBS drama "Person of Interest." Read on for more about the show and about the real-world connectable dots of the everyday surveillance we live with.

Video: "Person of Interest"--Cell phones spying on you

See additional "Person of Interest" videos below.

TODAY'S PRIVACY REALITIES

CNET's Security Center Writers … Read more

Google readies social news magazine app

Google is working on a social-news magazine that will be accessible on the iPad and Android devices, according to reports.

"Mind-blowing good," is how digital pundit and blogger Robert Scoble said a source of his described it in a post late on Wednesday on Google+.

Google representatives did not respond to a CNET request for comment. However, AllThingsD confirmed the news from several sources and reported this evening that Propeller is the name of Google's attempt at making a "Flipboard killer."

The news comes at a time when the social-publishing arena is heating up, with … Read more

WD My Book Live gets mobile app, personal-cloud features

Owners of the WD My Book Live NAS server can now do a lot more with the storage device via a mobile gadget.

Western Digital announced today the availability of the WD 2go mobile app for the iOS and Android platforms. It turns the NAS server into a personal storage cloud solution.

The app enables users to connect to the NAS server via the Internet using a Wi-Fi network or over a cellular connection. The remote user then can stream to the mobile device digital content, such as music, video, and photos, as well as documents and presentations that are stored on the NAS server.

Multiple users can be granted access to a single WD My Book Live at a time, via different accounts. To do this, the owner of the NAS just needs to create a new user account, using the NAS' Web interface, and enabled remote access on that account. This generates a 12-digit access code, which is entered into the WD 2go app. And that's all it takes for the setup process.

In order to support this new feature and mobile app, the WD My Book Live needs to run the latest firmware, which is a free update.

Other than the mobile platforms, remote users can also access the NAS via any full-featured Internet browser by pointing it to www.WD2go.com. … Read more

HP's head of PCs wants quick spin-off, says report

The top executive at Hewlett-Packard's personal computer division is hoping to see a spin-off as soon as possible, according to a report today in The Wall Street Journal.

Todd Bradley, who heads the Personal Systems Group, told the newspaper that he wants to see HP make the spin-off happen "as soon as they can." But he added that it may not happen before the end of the year.

Bradley told the Journal that the absence of a clear plan for the PC business is causing "some uncertainty" among customers.

In related news, HP distributed an … Read more

The data-driven debate we need to have

Typically I write about storage. Now, as part of my research, I'm writing about data--data about you. The hottest commodity on the Web right now is data that describes who you are, what you like, what you do, who you know, where you've gone, where you might be, and what you are likely to do.

There are potentially tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of buyers, sellers, and collectors of data about you. For example, retailers of all stripes--from online to bricks and mortar--believe that they can sell more to you when they know more about … Read more