SECURITY FLAWS PATCHED IN CHROME UPDATE

As part of Google's bug bounty program, researchers have been granted financial rewards based on the severity of the issue. Nearly, $40,000 has been awarded to security researchers in total. Bug bounties continue to be a valuable way for software vendors to use third-party specialists to detect security flaws. This results in problems being addressed faster and updates being provided to users, thus keeping them safe from exploitation. 

On Wednesday, Google provided the public release of Chrome 44 for Windows, Mac and Linux. As part of the Chrome 44 update, 43 bugs have been fixed. The most severe issue include universal cross-site scripting, a flaw which allows executable files to run immediately after download and a content security policy bypass in the Chrome browser. 

 To protect yourself against some of these potential security flaws, Google recommends setting up auto-downloads of the browser updates. If you do not have this feature set-up you will need to manually update your Chrome browser. This can be done by opening your Chrome browser and locating the three horizontal lines at the top-right position of the browser. These lines indicate the ability to customize and control the browser settings. Click this for a drop-down menu to appear. Select "About Google Chrome" toward the bottom of this menu for the browser to search for the most recent update available. Approve this update to protect yourself from potential security flaws.

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STICKER BEHIND SAMSUNG BATTERY NOT SPY CHIP!

That little sticker behind your Samsung Battery is not a spy chip! This is a public service announcement, "Samsung is not using a sticker hidden behind your battery to obtain your content or for government surveillance."

It is easy to fear the unknown. In fact, this is happening right now on Facebook thanks to a few videos going viral of a couple of men pealing back the sticker of a Samsung battery claiming a "disturbing discovery."

This is usually the sort of thing that we would sit back and chuckle about. However, as the videos became more frequent, we decided to inform users instead of just watching them remove unique features from their devices and shouting conspiracy from the internet roof tops.

The sticker behind the Samsung battery is without a doubt a chip but not what some people have come to think. It is called a NFC chip or near field communication. This technology enables devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching the devices together or bringing them with a close proximity. The most popular example of this is Apple Pay or Google Wallet. Many retailers already have contactless terminals that are NFC-based in place, making the transition to mobile payments easy. Other common functions of NFC is called Android Beam which uses this technology to exchange information between two Android phones. We are sure you've seen those Samsung commercials, placing two phones back-to-back and exchanging an item.

It should be known that usually NFC chips are sealed within the plastic backs of most devices. Although, Samsung made the business decision to place this chip behind the battery sticker because they want the user to purchase their specific model for battery replacement.

This is one of the technical things that most people are simply unaware of because it hasn't been made universal among all devices. Unfortunately, when misunderstanding and slight paranoia combine, madness is soon to follow. So please do not attempt to remove the NFC sticker from your batteries. The chip is not acquiring your information in any way no matter what Facebook tells you. Instead try something new and make a mobile payment or two. Who knows, you may find it more convenient than carrying around your purse or wallet.