Android apps to run on Windows, Macs

Google has made it possible for Android apps to run on machines that can run its Chrome browser and OS

Google has released a tool that lets Android apps run on any machine that can run its Chrome browser.

Called Arc Welder, the tool acts as a wrapper around Android apps so they can run on Windows, OSX and Linux machines.

The software expands the places that Android apps can run and might make it easier for developers to get code working on different machines.

But one developer said it was better to write apps that run "natively" rather than via separate software.

Arc - the App Runtime for Chrome - was first released in late 2014 as a way for Android apps to run on machines running Google's Chrome operating system. The OS is used on many netbooks and other small machines made by Google and some of its hardware partners.

Now Google has produced a new tool, called Arc Welder, which converts Android apps into versions that can be used with the Chrome browser, not just the OS. With Welder it has also added support for many Google Play services so when apps are converted they do not lose access to payment systems, maps and other functions they expect.

In its developer documentation, Google said the underlying technology for Arc Welder meant converted apps should run almost as quickly as they did on a phone or tablet.

With Arc Welder Google, it is seeking a way to help developers get their creations onto as many machines as possible, but one developer was not sure it would accomplish that aim.

The software tool could see Android apps popping up on desktop machines

"The best way to make apps by far is to make them natively using the tools that they give us," said Sam Furr, director and co-founder of development studio The App Developers.

He said that moving away from those well-known development systems can mean losing some behaviours, such as touch combinations, that people expect. He also wondered if a converted app running via a browser sitting in a separate operating system would be as fast as one developed natively.

Running a phone app on a desktop would inevitably mean losing some functions, he said, because bigger computers lack some of the extras, such as accelerometers and GPS receivers, that are now standard on smartphones.

Mr Furr said the ability to reach lots of different operating systems with just one app was potentially attractive.

"When building an app you want to get it to as many people as possible but you have to ask how long it will take to get it on other platforms," he said.

"There's no shortage of cross-platform frameworks and some of them are very good," he said, "but in our experience you do not get the same end product as you would when you build it natively."

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'Revenge porn' site owner jailed

Bollaert faces an 18-year jail term for running the revenge porn website

The operator of a revenge porn website has been sentenced to 18 years in jail in America.

Kevin Bollaert of San Diego created the UGotPosted.com website that let people post explicit pictures of their former partners.

Pictures were posted without victims' consent and Bollaert charged up to $350 (£235) to get photos removed.

Bollaert was convicted in February on 21 counts of ID theft and six of extortion.

Eight women testified in court in San Diego about the harassment they had suffered as a result of images being uploaded to Bollaert's website by their former partners.

One victim said she suffered a "daily struggle" to re-build her life after pictures of her were put on the site. Others needed counselling to recover or were forced to leave college or work. About 10,000 images were put on the site while it was operating between December 2012 and September 2013.

As well as receiving a lengthy jail term, Bollaert must pay $15,000 in restitution to victims and also pay a $10,000 fine. Bollaert is believed to have made at least $30,000 from people who paid to have pictures removed.

"Sitting behind a computer, committing what is essentially a cowardly and criminal act, will not shield predators from the law or jail," California Attorney General Kamala Harris said in a statement.

Another operator of a revenge porn site is also due to be sentenced shortly. Hunter Moore, who created the IsAnyoneUp website, pleaded guilty in February to charges of hacking and identity theft. When sentenced, he will face a jail term of between two and seven years and will have to pay a hefty fine.

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YouTube hack 'threatened' Bieber clips

Kamil Hismatullin joked that he had been tempted to wipe singer Justin Bieber's channel

A Russian coder has revealed how he discovered a way to delete any video on YouTube.

A demonstration of Kamil Hismatullin's technique, posted online, shows that once he had copied part of a video's web address he could use it to wipe the clip within half a minute.

Rather than exploit the hack, he instead reported it to parent company Google, which gave him a reward.

He joked, however, that he was tempted to wipe Justin Bieber's music videos.

"I spent six to seven hours [on] research, considering that [for a] couple of hours I've fought the urge to clean up Bieber's channel, haha," wrote Mr Hismatullin.

"Although it was an early Saturday's (sic) morning in San Francisco when I reported [the] issue, Google's security team replied very fast, since this vulnerability could create utter havoc in a matter of minutes in the bad hands.

"This vulnerability [might have been used] to extort people or simply disrupt YouTube by deleting massive amounts of videos in a very short period of time.

"It was fixed in several hours, Google rewarded me $5,000 and luckily no Bieber videos were harmed."

Mr Hismatullin wrote that he discovered the flaw while investigating YouTube Creator Studio, a service that lets video creators see analytics data about the clips they have uploaded via an app.

Mr Hismatullin showed that his hack could be completed using easily-accessible tools

The facility allows any clip to be deleted if you type in both its event ID - which can be found in its web address - and a long string of letters and numbers known as an authentication token, which is supposed to act as a kind of password.

The problem the coder discovered was that the service was accepting any token for a takedown request, rather than requiring one that belonged to the account of the person who had uploaded the clip.

This meant Mr Hismatullin could simply copy a token from his own account and use it to delete others' videos.

The developer said that he had spent time searching for vulnerabilities in Google's products after previously having been given a $1,337 (£902) grant by the firm.

The search giant gives such payouts as part of a programme to encourage people who have previously reported flaws to hunt out more.

The scheme puts a cap on subsequent payments, limiting the bounty Mr Hismatullin received for his findings.

"To be honest I expected $15,000 to $20,000," he commented.

"I wanted to write a kind of 'complaint' to Google, but first I re-read [its] rules and understood that Google could not pay me more.

"Facebook has not got a boundary for maximum reward, so they can pay as much as they want."

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Airbnb adds Cuba to destination list

Home holiday rental site Airbnb has added Cuba to its list of destinations.

More than 1,000 properties in the Caribbean nation are already listed, but can only be booked by users in the US.

The San Francisco-based site is restricted from showing the listings elsewhere because of a US trade embargo against the island.

Nevertheless, Airbnb said Cuba could eventually become one of its biggest markets in Latin America.

"We are actually plugging into an existing culture of micro-enterprise in Cuba," said the firm's regional director Kay Kuehne.

"The hosts in Cuba have been [renting out rooms to travellers] for decades."

One expert, however, said the site faced major challenges.

More than 600 properties are already listed in Havana alone

The US relaxed travel restrictions for its own citizens to Cuba in January

"While Airbnb is a valuable alternative for millions of travellers, in the context of Cuba, because of the high margins it takes from every transaction, it won't necessarily meet with great success," said travel writer Simon Calder.

"All the Cuban bed-and-breakfast providers I know would like to keep all the money rather than handing 15% or more to an American corporation," he added, referring to the total amount the firm deducts from both the host and the guest.

"The other thing is that anybody who has used the internet in Cuba will know that a prospective host is unlikely to be able to respond immediately given the shockingly slow internet there, which reminds me of what you used to find across the developing world in the early 1990s."

The initial listings range from £10 a night for a private room in Trinidad to £695 a night for the whole of a five-bedroom "chalet" in Havana.

Airbnb members based outside the US are told they cannot complete a booking

Airbnb visitors outside the US can view the listings, but can only add them to their wish lists, rather than book them. An on-screen alert states that the site is not licensed to provide booking services to others.

The US recently began allowing Americans to travel to the island if they obtained a special licence, which can be granted for activities including family visits, educational activities and public performances.

The White House said it would like tourism to be added to the list, and President Obama has urged Congress to begin work to drop the wider sanctions.

"We are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date," he said in his State of the Union address in January.

The move made it possible for online film-streaming site Netflix to be launched in Cuba the following month, which freedom of speech campaign group Freedom House said was more "symbolic" than anything else in the short-term because of the country's "exceptionally slow connectivity".

A search for Havana hotels on Kayak offers rooms in Romania and Bulgaria, but not Cuba

Visitors across the globe can still find listings for Cuba-based rooms via other US services, including TripAdvisor, which allows users to contact hosts directly but does not take a cut of the bookings itself.

Simon Calder however, criticised the "absurdity" of the fact that several other US-based travel sites, including Kayak and Booking.com, continued to ignore the island's existence.

"Anybody trying to find a flight to Havana on a US airline website will be assured that the city does not exist," he said.

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Children’s hospital builds sleep app

A free app to improve children's sleep has been launched by doctors at the Evelina Children's Hospital in London.

They think it will help the two million parents in the UK who express concern about their child's sleep and ease pressure on the NHS.

Kids Sleep Doctor gives parents tailored advice, such as dealing with night terrors or up-all-night teens, based on their sleeping patterns.

Experts said good sleep was vital for a child's development and behaviour.

I think there's a lot of people it could prevent needing to see a GP, parents can do a brilliant job

Prof Gringras, Evelina Children's Hospital

Paul Gringras, a professor of children's sleep medicine at the hospital, said "massive" waiting lists mean doctors could see "only the tip of the iceberg".

So the hospital developed an app that gives personalised advice to parents of 0-16 year-olds to tackle the different sleeping problems that crop up at different ages.

Initial advice starts after entering details about bedtimes, where the child falls asleep, how much screen time they have, and caffeinated drinks consumption.

After five days of recording a child's sleep habits, such as night-waking and bedtimes, the full personalised service kicks in.

"Hopefully they are sleeping in the normal range, but if they're outside that then it advises parents," Prof Gringras told the BBC News website.

"Take a five-year-old who suddenly is waking up every night screaming, doesn't recognise parents and pushes them away.

"The app would say it is like a night terror and will happen in 10% of children in this age range and they will grow out of it, but they can also try a technique called scheduled waking half an hour after they have gone to bed."

In another scenario, it would advise parents of teenagers unable to sleep until really late at night, and are then too tired for school, that exercise in the afternoon is as powerful as any drug for promoting sleep.

"These are not annoying daily tips, it's tailored advice," he added.

The app has been designed to reduce pressures on the health service rather than make money.

It is currently available free on iOS. Android and Windows versions will follow.

"I think there's a lot of people it could prevent needing to see a GP. Parents can do a brilliant job," added Prof Gringras.

However, the roughly 200,000 children with serious sleep disorders such as narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnoea would see need to see a doctor.

The advice does not apply during the first three months.

The app has also been designed in a dark and orange palette to minimise the amount of blue light emitted - which is the wavelength of light that most disrupts sleep.

Psychologist and child therapist Professor Tanya Byron commented: "Many children are affected by sleep problems which can have a major effect on the whole family.

"Getting a good night's sleep is so important for a child's physical and mental development, behaviour and concentration - to name but a few.

"We know parents know their children better than anyone, and I'm confident that the 'Kids Sleep Dr' app will help parents to understand and better manage their child's sleep problems."

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Monkeys 'hinder India internet drive'

Macaque monkeys are considered sacred by Hindus, who often feed them

Macaque monkeys appear to have become an unlikely roadblock in the development of internet services in the northern Indian city of Varanasi.

The authorities in Varanasi have been increasing the network of optical fibre cables as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan of improving internet services in India.

The federal government has planned to lay 700,000 km (435,000 miles) of broadband cable to connect India's 250,000 village clusters within three years.

But officials in the city in Uttar Pradesh state are struggling to stop monkeys from eating the fibre-optic cables, the Reuters news agency reports.

"We cannot move the temples from here. We cannot modify anything here, everything is built up. The monkeys, they destroy all the wires and eat all the wires," communications engineer AP Srivastava told the news agency.

Varanasi, which is also the parliamentary constituency of Mr Modi, is known as as a holy city and millions visit its famous banks along the Ganges river every year.

Many such tourists, and even locals, consider macaque monkeys sacred and often feed them.

Mr Srivastava told the news agency that his team was now looking for alternatives, but there are few to be found.

Varanasi is a crowded city and its infrastructure has hardly changed in the past decades.

Houses and building are too close to each other, making it difficult for authorities to consider laying underground cables.

And chasing away the monkeys is also not an option because it may anger local residents.

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

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Google drops Chinese net regulator

Google Chrome users will see a warning when visiting certain Chinese sites

A Chinese internet regulator has hit out at Google for no longer accepting its security certificates.

When browsing the internet, certificates are designed to ensure the communication between a computer and web server is secure.

Google said it would no longer accept certificates issued by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) following a security lapse.

The CNNIC said Google's decision was "unacceptable and unintelligible".

The CNNIC is responsible for providing certificates for websites with .cn domain names, as well as Chinese-language domains - including banks and government sites.

It means users of Google's Chrome browser will see a warning notice when trying to access sites with CNNIC certificates.

It will state that the website the user is attempting to access may be unsecure.

Vulnerable

Google discovered last month that unauthorised security certificates were issued to several of its own domains.

After an investigation, conducted with the help of the CNNIC, it became clear that there was a problem with MCS Holdings, a Cairo-based firm contracted by the CNNIC to provide certificates.

Security certificates are supposed to ensure that communication between users and websites is safe

Google said domains with security certificates issued by MCS Holdings were vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks - a method of hacking that involves intercepting communications between, for example, a person's computer and a web server.

MCS Holdings has said the problem was an accident and was due to human error.

While Google welcomed the CNNIC's help with the investigation, it said the regulator had "delegated their substantial authority to an organisation that was not fit to hold it".

As a result, Google has decided to no longer trust domains with certificates issued by, or on behalf of, the CNNIC.

Grace period

Users will be presented with a warning screen before being asked if they want to proceed to the "unsecure" site.

However, there will be some exceptions.

Google has offered a grace period to some major CNNIC-approved sites - such as banks - so they can obtain certificates from a different issuing authority.

The search giant said the CNNIC was welcome to reapply for trusted status "once suitable technical and procedural controls are in place".

But in a statement posted on Thursday, the regulator expressed anger, saying: "The decision that Google has made is unacceptable and unintelligible.

"CNNIC sincerely urge that Google would take users' rights and interests into full consideration."

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OnLive gaming service to switch off

OnLive had allowed TV and PC owners to play console video games for a subscription fee

Video game streaming pioneer OnLive is to shut down after selling several of its patents to Sony.

The California-based firm had allowed PC and tablet owners to play console titles, which were run on its computer servers but controlled and viewed in the gamer's home.

Sony is expected to use the 140 patents it has acquired to support its own PlayStation Now streaming service.

OnLive was once valued at $1.8bn (£1.2bn).

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

It brings to an end a troubled five years of service.

In 2012, many of OnLive's staff lost their jobs when the company was sold to a venture capital firm after running up about $40m in debt.

Several of the biggest publishers had refused to support it, although the business had proven that gaming was possible without too much delay between a user pressing a gamepad button and their character responding.

Interest was also limited by the fact users needed a relatively fast broadband connection.

In addition, many PC owners seemed to prefer buying games from Steam and other online marketplaces, rather than paying a monthly subscription fee for a Netflix-like "all-you-can-eat" experience.

In March 2014, the company announced a new direction with the launch of CloudLift, a facility that let gamers stream and play select titles they had bought from Steam on mobile devices, TVs and other computers.

The launch of CloudLift failed to make OnLine a viable standalone business

But things did not bode well when it cut the price from $14.99 to $7.95 just a month later.

"It is with great sadness that we must bring the OnLive Game Service to a close," a message posted to the company's site now says.

"Sony is acquiring important parts of OnLive, and their plans don't include a continuation of the game service in its current form.

"As the first-ever game streaming service of its kind, everyone who has ever played a game using OnLive has contributed to the technology and its evolution in some way.

"We're immensely proud of what's been achieved and extend our heartfelt gratitude to you for being a part of the OnLive Game Service."

The firm added that it would not be offering any refunds for related hardware purchases, unless they were made after 1 February.

Although OnLive will cease to exist, streamed video game services look set to thrive.

Sony began offering its PlayStation Now service to the UK last month

Sony offers PlayStation Now, which provides ongoing access to more than 100 PS3 games for a monthly fee as well as the ability to rent specific titles for limited amounts of time.

Until recently the service only worked with Sony's own video game consoles and TVs in the US and Canada. However, it has recently been extended to a select group of UK players as well.

The Japanese firm also plans to add Samsung's smart TVs to its list of supported devices later this year.

In addition, chipmaker Nvidia streams a library of PC games to its Android-powered Shield handhelds across the globe via a service called Grid. It has said it plans to extend this to a new living-room console in May.

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Turkey blocks Twitter and YouTube

The siege ended with a shootout that left the attackers and their hostage dead

A Turkish court has ordered blocks on Twitter and YouTube for sharing photos of a hostage taken during an armed siege last week.

The blocks have been imposed because images of a deadly siege were being shared via the social networks.

In the siege two gunmen reportedly from a far-left group took a prosecutor hostage at Istanbul central courthouse.

All three died in a shootout when police stormed the building during a rescue bid.

Before imposing the blocks on the websites, Turkish authorities had moved to stop newspapers printing images taken during the siege last week.

The newspapers were accused by the government of disseminating "terrorist propaganda" for the DHKP-C group that was reportedly behind the attack on the courthouse.

The DHKP-C is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and US.

The prosecutor at the centre of the siege, Mehmet Selim Kiraz, was apparently taken hostage because he headed an investigation into the death of a boy during anti-government protests that took place in 2013.

Millions of social media users have tried to post comments or videos on their favourite platforms but with no success.

But the ban has not stopped people from tweeting. Newspapers and individuals alike, have shared guidelines on how to circumvent the ban.

The hashtag #TwitterisblockedinTurkey has become the number one trending topic worldwide.

The Turkish government is not a fan of social media platforms. Last year, just before the local elections, access to Twitter and YouTube were also banned.

The then prime minister, now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that Twitter was a menace to society.

With the general elections to come on 7 June and tensions running high, many people fear similar bans on social platforms could follow.

The same pictures showing attackers holding a gun to Mr Kiraz's head were also being widely shared on social media, leading authorities to act, reported Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

"The wife and children of prosecutor Kiraz have been deeply upset. The images are everywhere," a senior Turkish official told the Reuters news agency.

In total, 166 websites which shared the images were blocked by the court order.

YouTube published the text of the court ruling on its website saying an "administration measure" had been enacted by Turkey's telecoms authority. It said it was seeking ways to restore access.

Facebook was also subject to the same block but it is believed the restrictions on it were lifted because it removed the images before the expiration of a deadline imposed by the court.

Many Turkish people reported via social media that they were having problems accessing the sites and many others.

This is not the first time that Turkish authorities have imposed blocks on social media sites and networks.

In the run-up to local elections in March 2014 blocks were imposed after recordings circulated allegedly revealing corruption among senior officials.

Figures provided by Twitter revealed that Turkey filed more requests to remove content from the social network than any other nation between July and December 2014.

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Google Gmail hit by software glitch

The glitch hit people using Gmail and some of Google's apps

Gmail users around the world saw errors and safety warnings over the weekend after Google forgot to update a key part of the messaging software.

Google said a "majority" of users were affected by the short-term software problem.

While people could still access and use Gmail many people saw "unexpected behaviour" because of the problem.

Many reported the errors via Twitter seeking clarification from Google about what had gone wrong.

The error messages started appearing early on 4 April and hit people trying to send email messages from Gmail and some of the firm's messaging apps.

The problems arose because Google had neglected to renew a security certificate for Gmail and its app services. The certificate helps the software establish a secure connection to a destination, so messages can be sent with little fear they will be spied upon.

Google's own in-house security service, called Authority G2, administers the security certificates and other secure software systems for the search giant.

Information about the problem was posted to status pages Google maintains for its apps and email services.

In the status message, Google said the problem was "affecting a majority of users" who were seeing error messages. It added that the glitch could cause programs to act in "unexpected" ways.

The problem was resolved about two hours after it was first noticed.

The glitch comes soon after Google started refusing security certificates issued by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). Google said a security lapse by the CNNIC meant the certificates could no longer be trusted. CNNIC called the decision "unacceptable and unintelligible".

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