A quick analysis of the malware reveals that it is in fact a Mariposa bot client.

Every android phone *can* be plugged into any PC or Mac via USB. Under windows it works just like any other insert digital medium (CD, DVD, Flash Drive). Upon being plugged in, it opens the folder and executes the file specified in autorun.ini. This would be the vector a bot herder/malware researcher would use to launch it’s “spread” and stay infected. As long as nobody notices the files on the phones, users would just keep getting re-infected every time they plug in their phone to download their photos. One speculation that may be responsible is: “the SD card” since all that someone would need to do is put “files” in the root of the SD card for them to execute. So the question might be instead be: “How would someone slip a file onto a flash card before it’s inserted into a phone?”.

Interestingly enough, the Mariposa bot is not the only malware I found on the Vodafone HTC Magic phone. There’s also a Confiker and a Lineage password stealing malware.

Why did it take so long for a person to notice malware on the phone? The HTC Magic is one of the most popular smart-phones in the UK. In the US, T-mobile branded this product as the “myTouch 3G“, and that phone has a massive pop. Where is the supporting evidence on the phone? The only “proof” we have so far is a few windows screen shots. I’m intrigued by this and it will be interesting to see what comes to light. I’ll keep you updated when I hear more.

A launch promotion for ‘Assasin’s creed 2: multiplayer’ is going on now at the iTunes store. You can grab this game free for 48 hours here on iTunes.

Assassin’s Creed 2: Multiplayer, an exclusive game for iPhone & iPod touch and the first game in the series that allows you to compete against your friends.

Features:

LIVE MULTIPLAYER ACTION
Assassin’s Creed 2: Multiplayer is a REAL-TIME ONLINE multiplayer game using a WI-FI connection letting you compete against up to 3 other player- controlled assassins.

KILL OR GET KILLED
The ultimate goal of the game is to hunt down other players and assassinate them before they kill you.

BLEND IN THE CROWD
Escape other players taking advantage of your environments & blending into the crowd of citizens.

MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTS
Play in 3 different environments from Assassin’s Creed 2 inspired by Italian cities from the Renaissance.

LETHAL POWER-UPS
Use up to 6 different power-ups to get an edge over your opponents.

BECOME THE MASTER ASSASSIN
Increase your notoriety by defeating other players, and fight your way up to the top to become the Master Assassin. The notoriety system uses a dynamic ranking system to position you on the leaderboards.

ACHIEVEMENTS
Collect up to 24 achievements and post your records on Facebook.

CHALLENGE YOUR FRIENDS
Manage your list of friends and send them live invitations to join your game sessions and find out who amongst you is THE best assassin.

This looks kind of fun. Get it, load it up, and hit me up for some game.

I beat this game about a month ago, and finally decided to toss something up on the site about it. It’s a fairly short review, and since I can’t just hit my print screen button when I’m playing, there’s no screen shots, sorry. Agree or disagree (probably more of the later), give it a read. Hope you enjoy.

Click here to read the review.

Wow Sony post day. Here’s a cute and fun video that disassembles and reassembles a PSP Go in stop motion. This video is all over the blog-o-spheres so I wouldn’t doubt if you have seen it.

Smack! Looks like the PS3 has finally been hacked. The ‘researcher’ supposedly bypassed the hypervisor and gained full read/write access to all the inner workings of the long un-touched gaming console beast machine known as the Playstation 3. Sony, what’s up?

The researcher named George Hotz goes by geohot. We won’t find out soon how he did it because he’s not releasing his information yet, but you can follow the updates on the researcher’s blog or his twitter.

Shouldn’t be long now, ps3. I May have to get one!

[found at hack a day]

Last night (a few hours ago), on the “official facebook fan page of Square Enix downloadable games” released a note saying:

Over 20 years since the original releases, FINAL FANTASY and FINAL FANTASY II are coming to iPhone / iPod touch!

And these logos:

And these screenshots(?):

Also, “Release Data: TBA”. So, Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy 2 are coming to iPhone and iPod touch, but no word on how soon you can play it again.

Streaming games over the web is always evolving. Windows, OS X, Linux, whatever; imagine your games you want, right now. OnLive Game Service is taking the first big leap in cloud gaming. They are planning on releasing a small gaming console (MicroConsole) that streams video games to your TV. You can sign-up for their beta program now. Here is the latest in game hardware and software mashing games on demand over the web:

If you didn’t watch the whole video, they are basically saying that the “new game titles” and will be available as soon* as they are released. And by *soon, I mean as fast as your internet connection can start a streaming session. Obviously, this does require internet to work.

The internet gaming service uses a high powered compression algorithm to “play” a game @ their server location, and wrap it into a tunnel sending it back to you fast enough that you perceive you’re playing the game locally. This means no long download times and no waiting to play. You won’t need their console to play the games either. Browser plug-in on a PC or Mac will be able to do the equivalent to their console hardware, making their service very cross-platform. OnLive‘ services also include a server-side feature that allows gamers to record their games in HD. You may be able to try this for free if you sign-up for their beta program.

[Thank you Stabaho, for this information].

A developer has created a fully functioning flux-capacitor-equipped DeLorean, that does go back in time but you can’t change anything in the past. A lot of blogs have been posting about this mod, so I thought I would give it some love.

delorean wheels development screenshot

It’s hard to imagine a booner would survive that long in real game player.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Windows PC Edition

There is a beta test for PS3 owners if you pre-order the game. PS3 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta blog post.

You can pre-order them directly below:

Windows PC Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition

Xbox360
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition

PS3
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition

I’ve finished my review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It’s a pretty fun game, a lot like the first one. Check out my review if you can’t get yourself to buy this game. There is a lot of drama on the web about the game. Many people are sick of it’s hype.

Here is an excerpt:

The “modern warfare” feel is fresh. No futuristic sci-fi looking aliens, no historic battlefield to traipse, no puzzle solving skills required. These are good “features” in this light, because it makes the game feel more realistic and your game play plausible. The game offers 3 modes of play. Campaign, special-ops, and multiplayer. Campaign mode continues the story from Call of Duty 4. Campaign mode was originally supposed to include a co-op mode, but it was removed and only introduced in the special-ops mode because it “ruined the experience”. Special-ops mode offers independent missions to hone your skills by yourself or with a friend in co-op. Finally, the multiplayer mode has a bevy of different match styles that allow you to play with 2-18 people.

Anyways, go here to see the my full review of call of duty: modern warfare 2.