Category: Lookit!

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Tech

Check your systems for ZeroAccess

A new botnet is getting alarmingly bigger; India reportedly has the third highest numbers of affected users in the world.
by Manik Kakra

New and increasingly more dangerous spywares and viruses making their way to our computer systems is a fairly routine occurrence these days. But these are usually covered by most users either themselves or through a security suite. But, recently, there’s a new botnet in town, called ZeroAccess, which has spread quite rapidly – to about 1.9 million systems counted about a month ago – but not many are aware of this, or know how to tackle it.

Infograph - ZeroAccess BotnetSymantec, in its security blogpost, has issued a statement that it has partnered with several ISPs and even CERT teams to bring down the level of this botnet affecting systems worldwide.

Simply put, if your machine is running this botnet, it could be used to send out spam and active bots to affect more systems. Owing to this threat, it is also believed that many are abusing this botnet for click fraud and Bitcoin mining, meaning that any affected system could be used to generate artificial clicks on a website to improve its page rank, and allow people to earn Bitcoins (a virtual currency) in a similar fashion, respectively. So, yes, a lot of monetary benefit, apart from users’ data access, is at stake.

In fact, this botnet isn’t very new. Believed to be active since 2011, it was during the month of March 2013, that security firm Symantec got some proof of this peer-to-peer botnet. ZeroAccess is primarily maintained by a few individuals with some expertise and who also have some malwares for a better success rate with this botnet.

India ranks third among the countries with most users affected by ZeroAccess. India ranks behind Japan and the US, with 5.6 per cent of total affected users. This base of users is image001definitely relevant and needs to be addressed fast.

It’s not at all easy to do away with such command-and-control programmes, resilient botnet, which communicates continuously with its peers, but you can take a few precautions to ensure your system doesn’t get infected by this botnet: Fire up your security software, update it and run to scan the whole system.

Other than that, I would also suggest that you scan your Windows PC, just once, with this small removal tool.

(Picture courtesy betanews.com)

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Tech

Preview: LG’s ‘G2’ smartphone

Our tech writer explores LG’s newest offering – the G2 smartphone, which has Power and Volume buttons at the back.
by Manik Kakra

LG has been coming up with a lot of good stuff when it comes to smartphones in the last 18 months or so, and this year they seem to be doing even better. Officially announced about a month back, LG has just launched the new G2 in India. The phone has got a lot to look forward to including its unique button positions. The G2 is more or less the successor to the popular Optimus G without carrying the moniker ‘Optimus’.

G2_Global_Onshot _(B)(1)What’s new? LG’s G2 features a 5.2-inch full HD LCD touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass on top, and very thin bezel on the sides. The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s 2.26 GHz Snapdragon 800 SoC, along with 2 GB of RAM. Sporting a 13 MP rear camera (OIS) with some features which LG calls ‘advance’; with Power and Volume buttons on the back, just below the camera. Yes, that’s quite unique. The rear camera can shoot 1080p videos at 60 FPS, while the 2.1 MP front-facing camera can do HD videos. Similar to the Note 3 and S 4, the G2 has also got dual recording to record from both the cameras at the same time. Running on Android 4.2.2 with LG’s own Optimus UI on top, this smartphone boasts 192 KHz 24-bit playback for FLAC and WAV audio files, which isn’t common, but certainly a good news, in phones.

What else? The device is equipped with 3,000 mAh battery and 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage. Coming as a competitor to Samsung’s Note 3, the phone has got quite a few things different from a usual Android device. LG seems to be banking a lot on this device, and rightly so, looking at the phone, it sure does have a lot going for it. The G2 also features double tap to unlock the screen (seen on quite a lot of older Nokia phones), and guest mode, for when you give your phone to somebody and don’t want them to browse through personal stuff on the phone. Other features include Bluetooth 4.0, 3G, 4G LTE, microUSB 2.0 and NFC.

Colour and cost: Available in black and white colour options, the phone has been launched at an MRP of Rs 41,500 for the 16 GB model and Rs 44,000 for the 32 GB model, where you also get a free Quick View flip cover with your purchase.

Categories
Event

Largest ever auction of princely jewellery to take place in Mumbai

A sneak peek into the biggest-ever auction of royal Indian jewellery and other valuables to be auctioned at Taj tomorrow.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The biggest-ever auction of royal princely jewellery and other valuables of historical interest in the country will happen in Mumbai tomorrow, on Sunday, September 29, 2013. On auction will be paintings, sculptures, gems, jewellery, and coins, which the auctioneers, Rajgor’s, have sourced from collectors in Mumbai.

Dilip RajgorSpeaking to The Metrognome, Dr Dilip Rajgor (in pic on left), CEO, Rajgor’s explained, “It took about six months to put the entire collection together, after we had purchased it from collectors in the city. There are several wealthy collectors who have precious historical objects in their collections. Most of them are not interested in selling, but we convince them.”

Interestingly, a lot of people who have these historical treasures in their private collections are neither aware of the objects’ value nor are interested in getting a valuation done. “They sell off the pieces when they need money, but they may not get the items valued through the proper channels. An ordinary goldsmith will value a historical gold coin on par with today’s market rates for gold. But the true value is a 100 times more, owing to their rarity and historical significance.”

Mumbai boasts several private collectors, he says, as do other cities in the country. “Most of the collections comprise objects that are purchased from other collectors, while some were purchased directly from Kings. Collectors sell when they get old, if they are not handing rajgors2the collection down to the next generation,” Dr Dilip explains.

The auction

There will be four categories at the auction – coins, antiques, paintings and royal jewellery (this last is divided into 13 sub-categories). “We had an auction for the other items even last year, but the really interesting element this time is the jewellery,” Dr Dilip says. “There are so many beautiful surviving examples of historical jewellery, which give us a glimpse into making styles and design elements of the time. For example, when we speak of the Mughal period in history, we merely think of that era in terms of paintings. But there are so many beautiful items of kundan jewellery to be found in that period.”

The auction includes items right from the time of Alexander the Great to contemporary times. “We have tried to give continuity – there are all ranges, all eras. There are several collectors from outside who have already expressed an interest in buying tomorrow,” he says.

View some of the objects that will go under the hammer tomorrow:

If you want to be present at the Heritage of India Auction 10, register in person at 6th floor, Majestic Shopping Centre, Near Central Plaza, 144 JSS Road, Opera House, Mumbai 400004. Call 022 23820647 for details.

(Pictures courtesy Rajgor’s)

Categories
Do

Film and social media in Mumbai

Two events – one on films and the other on social media – will keep you entertained this Friday evening.
by Medha Kulkarni

Guru Dutt in PyaasaPyaasa, reloaded

In its 100 years of existence, the Indian film industry has produced some fabulous gems in terms of cinema. Today, make your way to NCPA, Mumbai to relive one of Indian cinema’s most iconic films, Pyaasa.

The NCPA Flashback Series, in collaboration with the NFAI, commemorates 100 years of Indian cinema. Every month, Indian cinema’s glorious past will be revisited through a selection of rare classics.

Guru Dutt’s classic melodrama was the first in a series to address the state of the nation and the displaced romantic artist. Vijay is an unsuccessful poet whose work is sold by his brothers as waste paper. Unable to bear the reigning philistinism, he chooses to live on the streets where a young prostitute, Gulab, falls in love with him and his poetry, while Vijay’s former girlfriend Meena marries an arrogant publisher for comfort and security.

When a dead beggar to whom Vijay gave his coat is mistaken for Vijay, Gulab has his poetry published in a book which becomes a bestseller. Everyone who had rejected Vijay now gathers to pay tribute to the dead poet. Vijay disrupts the celebration with a passionate song denouncing hypocrisy and calling for the violent destruction of a corrupt world.

Pyaasa

 

(B&W/Hindi/153mins/1957)

Directed and produced by Guru Dutt

Dialogues by Abrar Alvi

Cast: Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha, Johnny Walker and others

Head to the Little Theatre, NCPA, today at 6.30 pm. Admission on a first-come-first served basis. NCPA members will get preferential seating till 6.20 pm.

 

indiaculturelabOf social media and fashion

Social Media has been one of the biggest revolutions of this century. It has impacted every field and changed the rules. This Friday, September 27, The Fashion Funda panel discussion at the Godrej India Culture Labs seeks to explore this phenomena.

The discussion ‘Is social media the new front row?’ boasts of panelists such a Nonita Kalra (former Editor-in-Chief of Elle Magazine), Malini Agarwal (founder and Blogger-in-Chief of MissMalini), Pearl Shah (celebrity stylist and former Fashion Director of Marie Claire), Karishma Rajani (writer and blogger at the personal style blog Purple Peeptoes) and Parmesh Shahani (head of the Godrej India Culture Lab).

One of the highlights of the event is that the audience gets the chance to take a walk through  special ‘Fashionstallations’ made by Teach For India students – a look into the world of fashion as seen through a child’s eyes.

With a promise of ‘chic kababs‘ post the panel discussion, the event promises to be an engaging and interesting one.

Entry is free but seating is limited so make sure you reach the venue in time so as to not miss it. Get more information on the website www.indiaculturelab.org.

(Pictures courtesy urduwallahs.wordpress.com, 1linereview.blogspot.com, indiaculturelab.org)

Categories
Tech

Lumia 1020 comes to the party

While it has several great things going for it, the just-out Nokia Lumia 1020’s most striking feature is its camera.
by Manik Kakra

Nokia has just launched its much-anticipated smartphone in India, Lumia 1020. The Lumia 1020, popular for its unique 41 MP rear PureView camera, runs Windows Phone 8 OS, and comes with quite a few Nokia goodies. This Nokia device features a 4.5-inch (1280×768) AMOLED touchscreen with Nokia’s own ClearBlack display technology used along with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top.

Connectivity-wise, there are microUSB 2.0, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi a/b/g/n, A-GPS and NFC. This phone also supports wireless charging, so you can put it on a supported charging pad (like the old Pre), and it should start charging sitting on it. Equipped with 2,000 mAh battery, the Lumia 1020 has got 32 GB of on-board storage, and users also get 7 GB of free storage on SkyDrive (using their MS Account).

Nokia-Lumia-1020Under the hood, there is a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragone S4 chipset, along with 2 GB of RAM. And since we are talking about the Lumia 1020, it would be wrong to not describe a bit about its camera technology. The smartphone boasts a 1.2 MP front camera and a 41 MP (Carl Zeiss) rear camera (with Xenon + LED flash). Yes, that 41 MP camera sets the stage here. Previously seen only on Nokia’s own PureView 808, the 41 MP PureView technology is quite interesting to dig. Nokia’s theory behind this implementation is that, the camera is going to give you details more than before.

What it’s doing is oversampling. You are given options to choose between 5 MP, 8 MP till 38 MP, among a host of other camera settings while taking a shot, and the camera captures a lot of details and so you don’t lose out on details when zooming in. Thanks to the camera’s large 1/1.5-inch sensor, you get a lot more details than a normal camera on a phone would. That means, you not only get good, sharp images, but images without too much noise. You can zoom-in as much you need, and still have your subject clear and bright. With Nokia’s Pro Cam app in use, it is really intuitive to select from settings while taking any shot – from ISO levels, to White Balance, and what not. They have covered a lot here.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 comes in white, black and yellow colour options, but, for some unknown reasons, its price point has not been declared at the launch. The phone goes on sale October 11 and is expected to be available for above Rs 45,000.

Categories
Event

Global poetry festival comes to Mumbai

Four days of music and readings by city-based poets will take place at Kitab Khana, at Fort, starting September 26.
by Medha Kulkarni

menka shivdasaniAs the third edition of the global movement 100 Thousand Poets for Change gains momentum around the world, Kitab Khana, the well-known book store in South Mumbai, will host a four-day poetry festival starting tomorrow. The event, curated by Mumbai-based writer Menka Shivdasani (in pic on left), takes place between September 26 and 29, 2013, and includes musical performances and readings by city poets. This is the second time that Kitab Khana is hosting the event in Mumbai.

On the first three days, the events take place at 6.00 pm. On Sunday, September 29, the programme begins at 10.30 am.

On September 27, in a programme coordinated by writer and artist Anjali Purohit, the focus will be on women’s lives. This event, entitled Holding up Half the Sky, will have music and poetry based on the three sub-themes of ‘Woman and work’, ‘Being woman’ and ‘Woman as daughter, mother, wife, lover and partner’. There will be musical recitals by Amarendra Dhaneshwar and Mukta Raste and readings by Anjali Purohit, Annie Zaidi, Dileep Jhaveri, Rochelle Potkar, Menka Shivdasani, Smita Sahay and Urvashi Pandya.

On September 28, which is the global day for 100 Thousand Poets for Change this year, classical singer Neela Bhagwat of the 100_thousand_poets_event_2012Gwalior gharana will perform her interpretations of Tagore’s compositions from her concert ‘Robi Anurag’; this will be followed by ‘Poems for Peace’ readings by city poets, including Ranjit Hoskote, Mustansir Dalvi, Hemant Divate, Anju Makhija, Pallavi Jayakar and Vivek Tandon.

For the final day of this festival, September 29 at 10.30 am, Rati Dady Wadia, a prominent educationist in Mumbai and former principal of Queen Mary School, is coordinating The Music of the Spheres, a programme with children, on the themes of peace and sustainability, along with an exhibition, Wonders of Nature. Students of the Bombay International School, Avabai Petit School, Bandra, JB Petit School, GD Somani School and Gopi Birla School will participate. Poems by Ayra Cama will also be presented.

The global movement, 100 Thousand Poets for Change (www.100tpc.org) began in 2011. An event that began primarily with poet organisers, 100 Thousand Poets for Change has grown into an interdisciplinary coalition with year-round events which includes musicians, dancers, mimes, painters and photographers from around the world.

“Peace and sustainability are major concerns worldwide, and the guiding principles for this global event,” says Michael Rothenberg, Co-Founder of 100 Thousand Poets for Change. “We are in a world where it isn’t just one issue that needs to be addressed. A common ground is built through this global compilation of local stories, which is how we create a true narrative for discourse to inform the future.”

For more information, contact Menka Shivdasani on menka.shivdasani@gmail.com

(Pictures courtesy 100 thousand poets for change on Facebook, www.100tpc.org. Images are from last year’s event at the same venue)

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