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NOD32 and Kaspersky, the popular anti-virus solutions, have had some of their websites defaced by hackers.

Kapersky's Costa Rican site was hacked by Algerian hackers "Over-X," "indoushka" and "Saousha."

The attackers say it is not the first time the site has been unsecured, and as of earlier today, the site was still down.

NOD32's Ukrainian site (nod32.in.ua) was hit by the hackers KhantastiC haX0r and Shadow008 but has since been restored and re-secured.

The page, when defaced, read: "HellO NoD32. Where is Security ?! Are U Hacked ? Yesh ! U have been Hacked Once Again :D !!! Everyday Someone Get Hacked Today is your Day. Impossible only means it has not been done..."

The same group hit Panda Security last month, as well.

Spotify has introduced its new Spotify Apps features today, with the company opening up the Spotify platform to third-party developers.

The first partners are big companies like Billboard, Last.fm and Rolling Stone.

For example, Rolling Stone will have editors and musicians create playlists that will be backed by Spotify.

Furthermore, the platform is now open to developers who can build HTML5 apps backed by the service.

User can also use the new "App Finder" search bar in Spotify to find apps, like as if it were the App Store or Android Market.

(Pic via Verge)

Over the last two weeks, the phone-tracking firm Carrier IQ has seen its popularity explode, but not in a good way.

The company has been accused of being a rootkit/keylogger pre-installed on over 100 million Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Nokia devices around the world. The software quietly watches and logs all keystrokes entered into the device, including texts. It also monitors location, when you shut your phone off, and who you call.

In the U.S., AT&T and Sprint are carrier partners, and HTC and Samsung are noted manufacturers that use it.

Here is the video that started the scandal, thanks to Trevor Eckhart (continue after the video for rest of article).



Because the company has sent a C&D to Trevor, and the company has stopped answering reporters, the US government has gotten involved.

Toshiba has announced it will be closing half of its discrete chip-making facilities in Japan and already cut down on production by the end of the month.

The company currently has six facilities in the nation.

Toshiba, just like other manufacturers, has said that demand for TVs and PCs has fallen sharply in Europe and that overall no one in the U.S. or Europe is in the market for their discrete chips at this point in time.

The plants will close down starting in April, but production will be slowed across the board starting this month.

Furthermore, along with weakening demand is the strength of the Yen, which has hit levels not seen since the 1940s. Similar reasons were cited by Toyota, who has temporarily halted some of its Japanese operations.

Time Warner Cable and other ISPs are preparing to move to usage-based pricing for their Internet access, in the latest ploy to squeeze every last cent from consumers.

One analyst, Craig Moffett, of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. says he predicts that either Time Warner, Cox or Charter will institute the pricing model in 2012.

So far, there have been no official moves to usage-based pricing in the U.S., but (of course), AT&T has been experimenting. Rogers in Canada has been using the model since 2008.

It appears that the ISPs, most of which are cable TV providers, as well, are scared of the exponentially growing usage of web video spurred by Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Apple and more recently HBO and Google.

Time Warner, the second-largest US cable operator, says they lost 126,000 pay-TV accounts last quarter as more consumers "cut the chord."

The ISP tried to test tiered pricing in 2009 but overwhelming consumer disgust forced the company to drop the attempt.

Streaming services such as Netflix have vocally panned the move, which will force it (and other similar companies) to lose millions of subscribers.

The UK broadcaster ITV has acquired free-to-air rights for some of the most popular Warner Bros. films, including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the 6th film in the 8 film franchise.

ITV already has the right for the first 5 films. The franchise concluded earlier this year with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2.

"ITV has been a great supporter of the films produced by the studio over the years," added Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, president, Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, "and this deal once again illustrates the continuing value of top quality feature films to broadcast networks."

As part of their releases, ITV also produces a new Harry Potter: Behind The Scene Magic TV special hosted by Ben Shephard for each film.

Additionally, the deal adds films like 300, I am Legend, Body of Lies and extends deals for the Matrix trilogy, Troy, Mystic River and others.

Germany takes its time banning Zombie title.

Dead Island was released in early September, but it's only now that Germany has decided that the game is too violent. The Federal Department of Media Harmful to Young Persons (translated, obviously..) has made the decision to pull the game and the developers are not surprised.

"This isn't unexpected," Techland told Eurogamer. "Germany has its unique regulations regarding video games and violence and the industry can only comply. Both Deep Silver and Techland were aware of such a possibility from the very beginning."

The organization put the title on "List B", which is reserved for media that features content depicting "extreme torture or Nazism."

FCC releases report to public, despite protests from AT&T and Deutsche Telekom AG.

There were some suggestions that AT&T and Deutsche Telekom may have withdrawn their application for approval of the proposed $39 billion AT&T buyout of T-Mobile to stop issues being raised as part of the administrative hearing that could also affect the court case with the Department of Justice (DoJ).

To the great displeasure of AT&T and Deutsche Telekom, the FCC has released a 143 page staff report which probes the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile; a move that would give birth to a new carrier and put 75 percent of the U.S. market under the top two carriers.

The report examines the economic benefits that AT&T and Deutsche Telekom had touted to regulators. The report found that the, "applicants failed to meet their burden of proof to show that the proposed transaction is in the public interest."

AT&T was not pleased about the release of the report, questioning its motives. "This report is not an order of the FCC and has never been voted on," said Jim Cicconi, senior executive VP of external and legislative affairs.

"It is simply a staff draft that raises questions of fact that were to be addressed in an administrative hearing, a hearing which will not now take place. It has no force or effect under law, which raises questions as to why the FCC would choose to release it."

There has been speculation for months on when Asus will finally release their much-anticipated Transformer Prime.

Today, it appears that date has been unveiled as December 8th for the U.S.

In Europe, the release date will be in January, dependent on what country you live.

Specs:

Nvidia Quad-Core Tegra 3 Processor
Additional 5th core to reduce power consumption when 2 or 4 cores are not needed
10.1″ IPS+ display with Corning Gorilla Glass and 178 degree viewing angle
1 GB RAM (LP DDR2)
8 megapixel auto-focus rear camera with 1080P video capture and large F2.4 aperature
1.2 megapixel front-facing camera for video conferencing
12 hours of battery life, up to 18 hours when paired with the keyboard dock
2 color schemes: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold
2 storage options: 32GB and 64GB ($499 and $599 price points) with expandable storage via microSD
8.3 millimeters thick, weighs in at 1.29 lbs.

Xbox Live, Verizon subscribers will get new app.

A collaboration between Verizon and Microsoft will make a selection of live, FiOS TV channels to the Xbox 360 games console. It is only available for Xbox LIVE Gold members who also subscription to both FIOS TV and a Verizon Internet access service.

Users who have Kinect will be able to control the service using voice and gesture commands. For new customers who sign up for Verizon's triple play services (FiOS TV, 35/35Mbps Internet service and Voice), starting at $89.99 per month, a a 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership and the "Xbox Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary" game will be included free.

"Joining forces with Microsoft and Xbox, we are breaking the boundaries between TV and gaming, and furthering the borderless lifestyle Verizon customers enjoy with our new offers and services," said Eric Bruno, vice president of consumer and mass business product management for Verizon.

"We are putting the controls in our customers' hands, and giving them the ability to watch TV on another dynamic device that they can control with voice and gesture commands. Whether it's your Xbox, your mobile device, your PC or your traditional television, Verizon will continue to deliver the programming consumers want, where, where and how they want it."

Military shooter continues strong performance through November.

After setting the biggest first day shipment for Electronic Arts, the DICE title Battlefield 3 has gone on to continue selling strong throughout November. On October 27, ten million units of the game were shipped, resulting in five million sales the first week.

Electronic Arts Chief Financial Officer, Eric Brown, revealed during an investor presentation that the title has now hit twelve million units shipped and eight million copies sold.

Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 beat Battlefield 3's early sales, with 6.5 million units in the UK and the United States within its first 24 hours of availability. Still, EA will be very pleased with the extra three million sales for Battlefield 3 during November.

The game is now the subject of a class-action lawsuit after EA failed to deliver on a promise that the PS3 version of the game would come packed with Battlefield 1943. The publisher has said it will make good on the original promise.

Pair already have ratings systems in place.

Yesterday, CTIA and the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) detailed a new plan to provide ratings to mobile apps, the same way ESRB provides ratings for the video games industry. The mobile app ratings system will be identical to the video games rating system.

Developers of mobile games will fill out a survey for each game and answer questions about the content at hand. A rating will be issued to the developer, who can appeal the rating if they feel it is unfair or incorrect. The same rating will apply across other platforms for the same app.

ESRB has seven ratings categories:

• Early Childhood (EC)
• Everyone (E)
• Everyone 10+ (E10+)
• Teen (T)
• Mature (M)
• Adults Only (AO)
• Rating Pending (RP)

Companies are free to come back with new application when it suits.

AT&T and Deutsche Telekom AG requested to withdraw their application for approval of the proposed $39 billion AT&T buyout of T-Mobile USA. The FCC had come out against the proposed merger, which would have created the largest wireless carrier in the United States.

The FCC was joined in opposition with the Department of Justice (DoJ), which has went to court to stop the merger from proceeding. Both believe that if the merger goes ahead, it will lead to job losses and a significant reduction of competition in the U.S. market for wireless services.

The telecommunications firms opted to withdraw the application for approval from the FCC for now, so that it can focus on the DoJ case, aiming to come to an arrangement with the DoJ that could allow the merger to go ahead.

Zuckerberg admits Facebook "made a bunch of mistakes."

Facebook has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that it deceived its users by informing them that they could keep information on their profile pages private, only then to repeatedly allow it to be made public.

Facebook will have to take several steps to ensure that it does not infringe its users' rights again in the future. It will have to provide its users with clear and prominent notice and must obtain users' express consent before their information is shared beyond the privacy settings they have established previously.

"Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users," said Jon Leibowitz, Chairman of the FTC. "Facebook's innovation does not have to come at the expense of consumer privacy. The FTC action will ensure it will not."

What did Facebook do wrong?

The FTC complaint made a number of charges against Facebook. In December 2009, Facebook changed its website so that certain information designated as private by its users (Friends List for example) was made publicly available. The social network provided no warning before making the change, nor did it seek approval of its users.

Samsung given rare victory in Apple patent war.

Apple had previously won an injunction against Samsung in October which banned the sales of the Galaxy 10.1 tablet in Australia. The ban prompted Samsung to make some quick changes to the tablet. The iPad-maker accused Samsung of slavishly cloning its iPhone and iPads in its Galaxy-branded smartphones and tablet PCs.

"Samsung Electronics Australia is pleased with today's unanimous decision by the Federal Court to lift the preliminary injunction on sales of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1," the company said in a statement. "We believe the ruling clearly affirms that Apple's legal claims lack merit."

Samsung will have to wait until December 2 (Friday) to start selling the tablet in Australia, after Justice Lindsay Foster granted a stay on the order, giving Apple some time to appeal the decision in the High Court.

This is just one case involving Apple and Samsung, while others are under way in the United States, Europe and South Korea.