China unveils first “firefighting” train

China recently unveiled its first “firefighting” train that can arrive at emergency sites immediately after the outbreak of fire, Global Times Online reported Monday.

The locomotive, customized from a flat container car, can run as fast as 120 kilometers per hour. It is equipped with a firefighting container and two can-type water containers, as well as a multi-functional high-pressure fog extinction device. In addition, the train also has a lighting system, warning lamps, alarm, grounding devices and basic hand tools.

The train responds quickly to emergencies, so as to improve the efficiency of firefighting or breakdown rescues along the railway.

Because it can shoot fire extinguishing media as far as 485 meters, the train is capable of putting out fires breaking out on a 16-car high-speed train.

In addition to firefighting, the train can also serve as a water supply device, offering water to trains running in remote and water-deficient areas. Besides, it can clean tracks, bridges and tunnels with the water containers and water torch it carries.

Source: (People.cn)

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Egypt’s first SmartPhone maker plans expansion in Africa

A worker tests mobile phone features in Assuit, Egypt September 30, 2018. Picture taken September 30, 2018. (Reuters)

• SICO was set up last year with capital of 150 million Egyptian pounds ($8.4 million)
• In 2019 the company aims to export 40 percent of its production and keep 60 percent local, its sales director says

CAIRO: Egypt’s first smartphone maker is looking to enter the broader African market by the end of 2018 or early 2019 as it seeks to boost exports, its sales director said.

Silicon Industries Corporation (SICO), which already exports to the Gulf, aims to start selling phones in Kenya, Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique and Ghana, Sales Director Mahmoud Ali told Reuters.

“It’s a promising market and there’s much less competition than in the Gulf,” Ali said, noting big demand for affordable phones in Africa. He said he mostly expected to sell smartphones in the $50 to $60 price range to African customers outside Egypt.

SICO, which was set up last year with capital of 150 million Egyptian pounds ($8.4 million), sells phones under the brand name Nile X and has said it uses a Chinese design of 3G/4G US technology.

Private investors hold 80 percent of the company and the remaining 20 percent is held by Egypt’s Ministry of Communication.

In 2019 the company aims to export 40 percent of its production and keep 60 percent local, Ali said. It also wants to expand its market share in Egypt from 12 percent to 15 percent in 2019, he said.

He said it was too early to set a sales target for exports to African countries, but he expected to export more to customers in Africa than in the Gulf next year.

“We are still entering the market and talking to people,” he said. “We are working with several operators and hoping that [the phones] will be available at their branches at the end of 2018 or early 2019.”

The company expects to triple its total production from 500,000 units in 2018 to 1.5 million units in 2019, Ahmad el-Sawaf, SICO’s international business development manager said. Of the 1.5 million, 900,000 would be sold in Egypt while 600,000 would be sold abroad, he added.

He said the company targets sales of 400 million pounds this year, tripling to 1.2 billion pounds next year. The target for 2020 is 2.5 billion pounds, he said.

The smartphone maker plans to introduce new phones next year, offering a total of 14 products, he said. SICO currently offers six products, including smartphones and a tablet, he said.

Source: Arab News

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New virus called OwnMe stealing your data: Android users beware

A new virus is roaming the internet, specifically targeting Android users. The malware, known as OwnMe, enters your phone secretly through downloaded apps.

As soon as the virus enters your phone, it starts stealing an individual’s personal data. Fortunately, an antivirus company has found out about OwnMe, and has said that it affects WhatsApp the most.

According to the company, OwnMe steals an individual’s personal chat, shared images and videos from WhatsApp. It also reveals your call history, messaging history, and your internet browsing history. Using the individual’s broadband speed, the virus sends all this data to a parent server.

Cyber ​​experts say that the identity of OwnMe is very difficult, so it is important that no unnecessary sources go away from downloading unnoticed websites.

Recently, a method of cyberattacks called "cryptojacking" by security experts hit the internet.

It "consists of entrapping an internet server, a personal computer or a smartphone to install malware to mine cryptocurrencies," said Gerome Billois, an expert at the IT service management company Wavestone. Mining is basically the process of helping verify and process transactions in a given virtual currency. In exchange miners are now and then rewarded with some of the currency themselves.

Legitimate mining operations link thousands of processors together to increase the computing power available to earn cryptocurrencies.

Mining bitcoin, ethereum, monero and other cryptocurrencies may be very profitable, but it does require considerable investments and generates huge electricity bills. But hackers have found a cheaper option: surreptitiously exploiting the processors in smartphones.

To lure victims, hackers turn to the digital world's equivalent of the Trojan horse subterfuge of Greek mythology: inside an innocuous-looking app or programme hides a malicious one.

Source: Tech Blog

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Instagram tests new feature to share your GPS coordinates

• Instagram is revealed to be testing a highly controversial privacy setting
• The photo sharing app is toying with a feature that would share a user's location with Facebook
• The feature is aimed at helping Facebook target people with relevant content and advertisements

CALIFORNIA, U.S: The Facebook-owned popular photo and video sharing app, Instagram is witnessing a month full of controversies.

Late last month, Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger dropped a bombshell, announcing their resignation from Facebook.

The cofounders of the popular photo-sharing app - which was acquired by Facebook in 2012 for $715 million - were said to be leaving amid tensions with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

However, Systrom and Krieger, who had managed to largely keep the brand and product independent for six years since the acquisition, were said to have grown increasingly frustrated with an unusual uptick in day-to-day involvement by Zuckerberg.

Soon after the move was confirmed, fears increased of Instagram becoming more tightly integrated with Facebook.

Boasting of more than a billion users, the photo-sharing app has become a key driver of revenue for scandal-hit Facebook.

Now, reports seem to confirm the fears, as Instagram is said to be testing a highly controversial privacy feature.

According to a report in TechCrunch, Instagram is testing a new privacy setting - a Locating Sharing tool, which would share a user's exact GPS coordinates with Facebook.

The report claims that a user's location could be shared with Instagram's parent company even if the app has been shut down.

The feature, which is likely to fuel concerns amongst users, was discovered by a computer science student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Jane Manchun Wong.

According to Wong, the feature is currently in the prototype stage.

The report claims that Instagram's new tool could share location history with Facebook, to help the social media giant serve up targeted advertisements.

After the reports first appeared, Facebook issued a statement confirming that it was testing a location sharing tool on Instagram.

A Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report, "To confirm, we haven’t introduced updates to our location settings. As you know, we often work on ideas that may evolve over time or ultimately not be tested or released.  Instagram does not currently store Location History; we’ll keep people updated with any changes to our location settings in the future."

However, the confirmation further exacerbated fears that with its founders gone, Instagram could now become more intrusive.

Source: Russia Herald

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