News written by James Delahunty (November, 2016)

A new variant of Android malware has resulted in over 1 million Google account breaches, according to a security firm.

Check Point discovered the new variant of the 'Gooligan' malware recently, and has exposed the damage done to victims. It roots Android devices and steals e-mail addresses and authentication tokens, allowing attackers to access Gmail, Google Photos, Google Docs, Google Play, Google Drive, and G Suite.

Many breached accounts are associated with enterprises around the world, according to Check Point's data.

The Gooligan variant is infecting an estimated over 13,000 new devices every day, most of which are in Asia. It is delivered through infected apps when they are installed on an Android device, and also by malicious links that unsuspecting victims open.

Gooligan targets devices on Android 4 (Jelly Bean, KitKat) and 5 (Lollipop), which represents about 74% of Android devices in use.

In addition to stealing e-mail addresses and authentication tokens, it also fraudulently downloads and rates apps from Google Play to the victim's devices. Check Point estimates that around 30,000 apps are fraudulently installed on devices every day by the malware.

If you suspect you might be a victim, you can use Check Point's free online tool to check your e-mail address against known breached accounts.

Archive.org has cited the U.S. President Election result as a reason why it plans to open a backup site in Canada in order to protect its library.

Opening with a reminder that the history of libraries is one of loss, Archive.org details its plan to setup a second operation outside of the United States in order to protect its content. The Web archive stores billions of copies of webpages and archives content from 300 million websites every week, making it possible for Internet users to go back in time to view webpages as they were years ago (sometimes up to 20 years).

It also archives more than 3 million e-books, old software, games and audio recordings. The Political TV Ad Archive is often users by journalists when fact checking political candidates.

"On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change. It was a firm reminder that institutions like ours, built for the long-term, need to design for change," the archive.org announcement reads.

"For us, it means keeping our cultural materials safe, private and perpetually accessible. It means preparing for a Web that may face greater restrictions."

Read more from Archive.org

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK has cleared Hello Games, the developer of No Man's Sky, of false advertising following complaints from players.

Many players were very underwhelmed with the product they purchased and felt they had been misled by Hello Games, pointing to the screenshots and videos that were put out ahead of the game's release. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received enough complaints in the UK to prompt its own investigation, and has now issued its verdict.

The ASA has found that the content put out ahead of release and its Steam page were largely representative of the final product, and unlikely to have mislead customers. Some differences between the trailer and the final product were noted by the ASA, but were not deemed significant deviations by the regulator.

A recent "Foundation" update to No Man's Sky was positively received and reportedly brought thousands of disgruntled players back to playing, at least initially.

You van view the ASA's final report on its investigation of No Man's Sky on its website.

Starting next year, British Internet users may get Piracy Alert notices through their Internet Service Provider if illegal file sharing is detected.

The alert system will be similar to one in the United States, only there does not seem to be any punitive measures on the table for alleged pirates in Britain who receive such an alert. The focus instead is to be educational, following on from PR campaigns aimed at the public and schools by the Creative Content UK (CCUK) initiative.

Primarily, the focus will be on repeat offenders. The alert will provide details on the files being illegally shared and instruct the alleged pirate on how to stop sharing them, while also suggesting legal alternatives.

"Educational emails will help account owners and others who use their accounts to do the right thing and get their content from legitimate sources," a spokesperson told the TorrentFreak blog.

"As well as providing links to help the customer find legal sources of content in future, the email will direct the user to further resources to answer any questions they may have about how the information was obtained and how to make sure their account is not used to infringe content again."

YouTube now supports 4K Live Streaming for both standard video and for 360-degree video, and you can watch it tomorrow.

The video giant wants to show off its shiny new feature by streaming the Game Awards tomorrow in 4K resolution. 4K video displays 8 million pixels (2160p), with four times more image definition than Full HD 1080p video (hence the name).

YouTube will support 4K 2160p live streaming on its services at 30 frames per second, or 60 frames per second.

Support for 4K video uploads and playback was enabled by YouTube more than six years ago, but now with so much focus on Live Streaming and 360-degree video content, YouTube is trying to lead the way as 4K screens become less expensive and in our devices.

YouTube has added technical information on streaming 4k / 2160p @30fps and 4K / 2160p @60fps to its YouTube Help pages.

You can view the Game Awards live in 4K tomorrow from here.

Netflix has finally enabled offline viewing for its millions of subscribers, allowing Films and TV shows to be downloaded at no extra cost.

It has been one of the most requested features from customers of the streaming giant for years, and finally Netflix has given in. Subscribers will now be able to download film and TV show video to their devices in order to view them offline when they don't have access to a reliable connection.

A download option will be present on the details page for film or a TV show, so you can just download it and watch it later on.

Initially, not all content will be available for download but plenty of popular options already are, including Orange is The New Black, Narcos and The Crown.

You need to update your Netflix app to the latest version to enable downloading. For now, the feature is available on iOS and Android platforms.