Archive for November 28, 2017

Hyundai Canada Updates Software Update Site To Support More Hyundai Canada Vehicles [UPDATED]

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 28, 2017 by itnerd

Much as the leak that I came across last week when I was in India implied, Hyundai Canada has updated their software update site to cover a very wide amount of vehicles. Here’s a list:

  • 2017 Elantra (With 7-inch touchscreen without navigation and 8-inch navigation)
  • 2016 Elantra GT (With navigation system)
  • 2015 Sonata (3.8L Premium / 3.8L Luxury / 3.8L Technology)
  • 2016 Sonata (3.8L Premium / 3.8L Luxury / 3.8L Technology)
  • 2016 Sonata Hybrid (With navigation system)
  • 2017 Sonata Hybrid (With navigation system)
  • 2016 Sonata Plug-in Hybrid (With navigation system)
  • 2017 Sonata Plug-in Hybrid (With navigation system)
  • 2015 Genesis (3.8L Premium / 3.8L Luxury / 3.8L Technology)
  • 2016 Genesis (3.8L Premium / 3.8L Luxury / 3.8L Technology)
  • 2016 Tucson (With navigation system)
  • 2017 Santa Fe Sport (With navigation system)
  • 2017 Santa Fe XL (With navigation system)

That a healthy amount of cars that now get access to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Excellent! Simply head to https://www.hyundaisoftwareupgrade.ca with your VIN number and follow the directions to get your update. Just make sure you have a SD card and about of hour of time to finish the update. Oh yeah, you should read the documentation carefully to ensure that you don’t run into any trouble.

Now, I want to say a something in regards to this story. When I started to report on this story back in 2016, I tried to see things from both sides of the fence. Both from the owner’s side of the fence, and from Hyundai Canada’s side of the fence. The reason being that while Hyundai Canada owners were frustrated, I was aware of facts that they were not. Because of that, I wanted to ensure that those facts were brought to the table. In the process of trying to do that, I crossed paths with Chad Heard who is the Senior Public Relations Manager for Hyundai Canada. From day one he was a straight shooter and didn’t try to spin or BS me in any way. That’s important to me because I spend a lot of my time trying to cut through that sort of stuff from people in his position to get to the truth. That made reporting the facts easier even if some Hyundai Canada owners didn’t like what I had to say. I’d like to publicly thank Chad for making this story easier. If Don Romano who is the President and CEO of Hyundai Canada reads this, you need to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere because he’s a real asset to Hyundai Canada when someone like me needs help to do a story or a review.

UPDATE: Hyundai Canada just put out a press release in relation to this that covers off all the points that I mentioned in this story. However, one key point in terms of what is in the press release is that owners who are not comfortable doing this update can get their dealers to do it for them for a fee.

UPDATE 4/8/2019: This program seems to have come to an end as the URL associated with this website errors out. Also, attempts to reach Hyundai Canada for comment have gone unanswered.

UPDATE 4/9/2019: I finally heard back from Hyundai. The program has indeed come to an end.

Yahoo Hacker Pleads Guilty

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 28, 2017 by itnerd

The Canadian behind the Yahoo hack has decided to plead guilty. Karim Baratov served up a guilty plea in court today and he’ll be back to face sentencing on Feb. 20th. But his lawyers have a spin on this:

Outside court Tuesday, Baratov’s attorneys said their client hacked only eight accounts and did not know that he was working for Russian agents connected to the Yahoo breach. Baratov was arrested in Hamilton, Ont., in March and later agreed to forgo an extradition hearing and face the U.S. charges.

“He’s been transparent and forthright with the government since he got here,” said one of his attorneys, Andrew Mancilla.

We’ll see about that. I’m sure US officials see things differently. But seeing as they can’t get the two Russians accused of pwning Yahoo along with Baratov, you can be sure that they’ll throw the book at him early next year.

Bluesound Launches “A Sound in the Making”

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 28, 2017 by itnerd

Bluesound, the premium hi-res wireless music streaming player brand, is proud to announce the launch of a digital documentary series titled “A Sound in the Making”. The first artists to appear in this original series are BADBADNOTGOOD (Toronto), Mount Kimbie (London), and Milk & Bone (Montréal).

Kicking off this month, each episode of A Sound in the Making will take music lovers through aspects of the artists creative, structural, technical and behind-the-scenes considerations of producing a perfect and unique track that stays true to the bands’ artistic intentions, through the deconstruction of one specific song selected by the band.

A Sound in the Making aligns perfectly with Bluesound’s quest for perfection in sound” said Matt Simmonds, Bluesound’s Product Manager. “We’re truly excited to be collaborating with these hyper-talented artists, who all naturally demonstrate a deep passion for sonic excellence in their recorded music.”

The initial set of three videos, filmed on location as extended interviews with the bands over several hours will be released in sequence throughout the months of November and December, and will be published on Bluesound’s social media feeds. Additional content not part of the initial videos will also be released as photos, quotes, and other insights into the artists’ philosophies and influences throughout the campaign, which will run into the new year. The campaign will live at https://blog.bluesound.com and can be referenced on social media with #aSoundInTheMaking.

Conceived by Bluesound’s agency of record, Montréal studio “DesignSociety”, the initiative is a core part of the brand’s strategy to build awareness and unique content through collaborations with progressive music creators.

 

Celebrate Giving Tuesday With Daymaker

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 28, 2017 by itnerd
This Giving Tuesday, Daymaker, an online charitable platform, encourages individuals of all ages to make a difference in their community by purchasing a gift for a child in need.
Through the Daymaker website, kids. parents, and individuals can gift new items to children they identify with around birthdays, back-to-school, and holidays — all with a few clicks. Whether a toddler, tween, or adult, Daymaker believes everyone, regardless of age, should have the opportunity to give in a meaningful and personal way.
To encourage the charitable spirit of Giving Tuesday, Daymaker provided T-shirts to those who previously donated through the organization, with the hopes with the shirts will spark a conversation about the importance of giving. Additionally, Daymaker will send a free shirt to all individuals who donate through the site on Giving Tuesday.
Those interested in gifting through Daymaker can visit www.daymaker.com and purchase a meaningful gift for a child at one of Daymaker’s many non-profit partners across the country.

SERIOUS Bug In macOS High Sierra Allows For Mac Pwnage

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 28, 2017 by itnerd

I am not sure how this slipped out the door, but this bug is serious and Mac users need to pay attention. Assuming you’re running the most up to date version of macOS High Sierra, someone with ill will only has to do the following:

  1. Open System Preferences
  2. Choose Users & Groups
  3. Click the lock to make changes
  4. Type “root” in the username field
  5. Move the mouse to the Password field and click there, but leave it blank
  6. Click unlock
  7. Pwnage

This is a serious screw up by Apple as it gives someone with ill will total control of the Mac. And it’s serious enough that heads should roll for letting this slip out the door. I am going to guess that Mac users will get a fix for this in the next day or two…. And if Apple doesn’t deliver on that front, then they’ve really jumped the shark. But in the meantime to avoid being a victim of pwnage, don’t let your Mac out of your sight and enable a root account with a password to prevent the bug from working.

UPDATE: This is fixed. See here for details.

Here We Go Again…. Security Firm Claims To Have Defeated Face ID Again

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 28, 2017 by itnerd

Shortly after the iPhone X arrived on the scene, a security firm out of Vietnam claimed to have defeated the key feature of the iPhone X which is Face ID via a specially crafted mask. I at the time threw cold water all over that. But now the same company is back claiming that they’ve got a more sophisticated Face ID hack. Apparently this hack defeats the “Require Attention for Face ID” feature which requires Face ID to detect that the user is looking at the camera in order for the iPhone X to be unlocked. Here’s the video:

According to the researchers, they’re able to pull this off via a mask that is made of stone powder with 2D infrared images of eyes taped over the mask. The latter is important because to Face ID, the mask mimics a real face with eyes. Or so the researchers say.

What do I think of this? Let me quote myself from the last time these dudes popped up:

If I owned an iPhone X and if someone manages to make a mold of my face, I’ve got bigger problem than someone accessing the contents of my phone. The same is going to be true for you. Frankly, the only scenario that matters here is the one where a hacker gets sufficient information to construct a mold like this without the user knowing. Then the hacker would have to get physical access to the phone to break into it.

In other words, unless you’re James Bond that’s probably not going to happen. The average iPhone thief couldn’t pull this off. And the only people who could are government agencies that most of us would not come in contact with anyway. Thus making this at best interesting but irrelevant to the average iPhone X user.