MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2014 technology Tips for online gamers on how to stay secure

DUBAI: Kaspersky Lab currently has records of gaming worlds and desperately try to lure gamers provide any details. If in doubt, contact the compa- • Use quality security protection. There is so more than 4 million different malware programs to their fake websites to harvest passwords from ny officially registered in the offer. much malicious software aimed at gamers that you that specifically target gamers. Like anyone else registered gaming accounts. • Use strong passwords and create different ones need a proper defense again it all. For example, online, gamers can fall victims of data breaches, At first glance, expert recommendations about for each game account. Consider using a password Kaspersky Internet Security - Multi-device 2015 account takeovers, and various social engineering how to protect oneself and one’s in-game alter-ego manager to enjoy easy and reliable protection. contains the most up-to-date technologies to and phishing scams, but they also have the added against attacks from cybercriminals appear to be • Be careful when making new friends in cyber- detect and block malicious programs - particularly worry of protecting game-specific characters and obvious, but in practice they have proven to be space, in particular in gaming chats. anti-phishing, automatic security against exploits, a profiles that can be wiped out by bugs, external effective time and again. • Download games only from an authorized virtual keyboard for entering usernames and pass- applications or malicious actions. • Do not click or open any offers that seem too reseller. If you download the game illegally, in addi- words, and many other functions. Furthermore, it One of the most widely-used cybercriminal tac- good to be true, whether they arrive via email or on tion to risk of breaking the law you might also bring includes a special gaming mode that runs with min- tics in the world of online games is, of course, social social networks like Facebook or Twitter. If you look malware onto your computer because the perpe- imal interference or drain on your system resources engineering - phishing in particular. For example, at a deal that seems to be official, make sure the trators often hide malicious software files within and will turn off notifications as soon as the game is cybercriminals invoke the names of well-known sender can be trusted before opening the link or the game. launched. Drone revolution hovers on the horizon

PARIS: Drones are about to have a big impact new and surprising camera angles on the information, which is why big players in the on our lives, even if they will not be delivering action as it unfolded. digital economy like Amazon, Google and our orders from Amazon any time soon, say In Canada journalism schools are now Facebook are so interested in them, regularly experts. even giving specialist courses in reporting making headlines with claims they would like Civilian drones began to make headlines in with drones. Manufacturers like Parrot have to use drones to make deliveries to customers’ 2014, and hype aside, could soon be in every- also managed to grab a slice of the action homes. day use, particularly in France and the United with camera drones controlled by smart- That is still a distant prospect, however, States, which are at the cutting edge of the phone, a market that the American extreme according to industry insiders, given the laws technology. sports camera maker GoPro would also like a as they stand, which ban drones flying over This developing sector is set to explode part of. inhabited areas, or flying at night and into worldwide as the regulators begin to catch up That said, the business is still only stutter- “no-fly zones” around airports. with the technology, said Emmanuel de ing to life, worth around 500 million euros Most see the home-delivery drone hype as Maistre, boss of Redbird, a French start-up ($620 million) in Europe-far from the $82 bil- a part of a bid to speed up a new law on pri- which makes drones for industry. Drones have lion the US industry group Unmanned Vehicle vate drones which is due to be adopted in the up until now been mostly confined to the mil- Systems International (AUVSI) claims it will US in 2015, and which should give the sector itary, but are now being used more and more turn over in 10 years, when it expects 100,000 a real boost. Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos in civilian roles that go far beyond simple people to be employed in the sector. France is claims that the main barrier in the US is not reconnaissance. one of the pioneers in the field, thanks to its the technology, but the regulation. Light, adjustable and easy to operate, they liberal 2012 laws on drone use, which has The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) often bring better results than traditional allowed start-ups like Redbird to forge ahead. launched an experimental drone study in six means such as helicopters, light aircraft and Around 3,000 people work in the sector in US regions in 2013, and predicts it will be able satellites, and could “help us produce more France, mostly in small companies working to allow 7,500 mini-drones in the skies and better, and in certain cases, more cheap- overwhelmingly in image gathering. between now and 2018. ly,” according to France’s Air & Space Academy There are still many questions about the (AAE). WAITING ON US LAW use of drones, doubts underlined by recent Drones are where aeronautics and hi-tech Redbird is going further offering large incidents of drones flying over French nuclear meet and are regulated by the air safety industrial groups, including mining compa- power stations. More worrying are at least authorities, although they owe more to new nies and electricity and rail giants EDF and two reported near-miss incidents with pas- technology than they do to aviation. “In a SNCF, drones to help optimise their use of senger aircraft in 2014, one in the US and one drone you will find everything that you have their quarries and networks. in Britain, highlighting the need for proper in your smartphone,” said de Maistre. They are also being used to increase effi- training of drone pilots. The public got its first taste of what drones ciency in agriculture and for improving the Beyond that, there are thorny privacy can do in the TV coverage of big news events use of fertilisers, which could help the envi- issues, with drones capable of being used to such as the Maidan protests in Kiev and the ronment. capture and store images of people without Tour of France cycle race, with viewers given Above all drones are tools for collecting their knowledge. — AFP

LOS ANGELES: Harold Sweet demonstrates the DJI Phantom Vision Plus drone dur- ing the first-ever Drone Expo in Los Angeles on December 13, 2014. The expo is sponsored by the largest commercial drone association the UAVSA (Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle Systems Association) is open to the general public. — AFP Washington takes on Uber with its own taxi app

WASHINGTON: Washington is developing industry cooperative to maintain it and set a smartphone app to enable its taxis to user fees. compete head-on with Uber and other In New York, the city council is consider- ride-sharing services, the US capital’s taxi ing a bill that would not only create a simi- commission said. lar app, but also enable taxis to be called Beta testing of the Universal DC TaxiApp using Uber, Lyft or other third-party apps. is scheduled to begin in March, and if all “Instead of making new technologies goes well it could be fully in service by late illegal or regulating them out of business, spring. “We are the first in the country to we should provide a level playing field with have a universal taxi cab app,” DC Taxi fair competition so that companies, drivers Commission spokesman Neville Waters told and riders all win,” said New York councillor AFP. Ben Kallos, the bill’s sponsor. “This is not targeting Uber per se,” he A darling of Silicon Valley, Uber has dis- said. This is a result of what consumers rupted the taxi industry enough to trigger have been demanding-and it enables taxis bans in Spain and Thailand and lawsuits in to compete on a level playing field with some big US cities. other private operators.” It is currently prohibited from operating All 7,000 licensed taxis in Washington in New Delhi after a passenger alleged she will be obliged to make themselves avail- had been raped by one of its drivers late able on the app whenever they are out on last week. streets and on duty. Six months ago, several hundred taxi Drivers and taxi companies will be free drivers in Washington snarled downtown to keep using alternative taxi-hailing apps traffic to condemn smartphone car-hailing alongside the Universal DC TaxiApp, Waters services-mirroring protests in several glob- said. Consumers, meanwhile, will still be at al cities. liberty to opt for Uber, Lyft, Sidecar or other Hailo, a privately-run taxi hailing app, ride-sharing services in lieu of a conven- pulled out of Washington in October. It still LOS ANGELES: A consultant holds a drone by firm HiTec during the first-everDrone Expo in Los Angeles on December 13, 2014. The expo is tional cab. While the DC Taxi Commission is operates in nine European and Asia-Pacific sponsored by the largest commercial drone association the UAVSA (Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle Systems Association) is open to the gener- developing the app, it will be up to an taxi cities, as well as in Ireland. — AFP al public. — AFP Can Amy Pascal’s career survive Sony cyberattack?

LOS ANGELES: Amy Pascal, one of the most pow- Equalizer.” Pascal was fourth on The Hollywood few flops, including the Jamie Foxx-Channing erful women in the man’s world that is Hollywood Reporter’s annual ranking released this week of the Tatum action flick, “White House Down.” and the force behind such critical and commercial most powerful women in entertainment. Crisis-management specialist Michael Levine hits as “The Social Network” and “American Hustle,” She apologized Thursday for the “insensitive said corporate leaders are far more forgiving of has had better days. The co-chairman of the studio and inappropriate” comments in her emails that those who are generating profits, especially since and chief of its film division is under fire for racist she says are “not an accurate reflection of who I Pascal followed the “four golden rules of redemp- remarks about President Obama’s presumed am.” Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin, who par- tion” after the email leak: Contrition, humility, tak- choice in movies that surfaced in emails made ticipated in the racist exchange, apologized as well. ing responsibility and responding quickly. public by the Sony cyberattack. Rudin, incidentally, was a producer of “Team “If one is successful for an organization, they’re Pascal also faces criticism for green-lighting the America.” Pascal’s decision to bring “The Interview” given every benefit of the doubt,” he said. Pascal film that may have inspired the hacking to begin to theaters isn’t as problematic as the unflattering and Sony did not respond to requests for com- with: “The Interview,” which stars Seth Rogen and image created by her own private emails, said ment Friday. The massive Sony hack not only James Franco as bumbling journalists tasked with branding expert Dorie Clark. revealed private emails sent by top executives, it killing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “She’s on solid ground rhetorically when she also made thousands of employee Social Security North Korea has denied responsibility for the talks about the fact that Sony Pictures numbers public and leaked five new Sony films, attack, but praised it as a “righteous deed.” Earlier Entertainment is never going to back down from including “Annie,” which opens next week. this year, the country’s foreign ministry said the releasing a film because of the threat of what hack- The juiciest aspect, though, has been the film’s release would be an “act of war” and prom- ers might do,” Clark said. Rogen thanked Pascal for emails, which offer an uncensored peek behind ised “merciless” retaliation. having the courage to make the film at its premiere the curtain at how Hollywood does business. In “The Interview” is not the first film to target Thursday, where Sony took the unusual step of one of the messages, Rudin called Angelina Jolie a political leaders, or even North Korea. “Team denying press interviews. “minimally talented spoiled brat.” Pascal and Jolie America: World Police” famously took aim at Kim’s Clark said Pascal’s professional network will crossed paths this week at an industry breakfast father, Kim Jong Il. This also isn’t the first time a determine the continued viability of her career. event, but no fireworks flew. Ironically, the flap powerful executive has been dogged by private “What’s going to decide her future is how close she over the hack attack could boost box office returns comments made public. But can Pascal’s career is with her boss and what kind of relationship she for “The Interview,” which opens on Christmas. survive such a double whammy? The 56-year-old has with the board. This scandal is survivable,” she “The circumstances are nothing anyone would thinks so. “I’d be surprised if my entire legacy was said. “It depends on how many people there are in covet or want in their marketing plan... But now based on the leak of the email exchange,” Pascal Hollywood who want to put a knife in her back.” that it’s happened, it may end up helping the told industry website The Wrap on Thursday. Clark said the studio’s financial success under movie,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media ana- Virtually unknown outside of Hollywood, her near- Pascal is likely to play into her fate, noting the com- lyst for box-office tracker Rentrak. “It’s raised the BEVERLY HILLS: In this Oct. 4, 2013 file photo, Amy Pascal, Sony Pictures ly 20-year tenure at Sony and Columbia Pictures pany’s revenues are up 13 percent over the past fis- awareness of the film to an incredible level that it Entertainment co-chairman, arrives at Variety’s 5th Annual Power of Women event at has included some very well-known films, such as cal year. The studio underwent a multi-million-dol- otherwise might not have enjoyed were it not for the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. — AP “Skyfall,” “Superbad,” “Salt,” “Fury” and “The lar cost-cutting campaign the previous year after a this situation.” — AP