Two years after thousands of Asus router owners were revealed to be so totally and utterly compromised that users’ files were available online to the world to peruse, Asus is settling with the FTC.
Asus is going to “establish and maintain a comprehensive security program subject to independent audits for the next 20 years” as part of the settlement, according to an FTC statement.
Security on Asus routers was so bad in 2014 that hackers felt sorry for the company’s customers, and left messages on thousands of computers warning them about the exploit.
“This is an automated message being sent out to everyone effected,” the message read. “Your Asus router (and your documents) can be accessed by anyone in the world with an Internet connection.”
And that wasn’t the only problem. To list just a few things:
The FTC’s statement about this case makes it clear that every company making products accessible over the Internet will be held responsible for securing those products.
“The Internet of Things is growing by leaps and bounds, with millions of consumers connecting smart devices to their home networks,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Routers play a key role in securing those home networks, so it’s critical that companies like Asus put reasonable security in place to protect consumers and their personal information.”
The FTC seems to be going out of its way to talk about Internet of Things security lately. In January, it issued a report stating that connected devices should limit how long they store information as a security precaution. Mentioning these concerns again as part of this settlement means the government agency is watching companies closely, and will hold them accountable for any bugs.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.