Techmeme: Weak WPS randomization on some routers lets attackers in Wi-Fi range easily guess PINs (Robert Lemos/Ars Technica)

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August 31, 2014, 3:40 PM

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Jason Del Rey / Re/code:

Apple partnering with American Express to let iPhone 6 owners use their phone to pay for goods in physical stores — Apple Working With American Express on iPhone 6 Mobile Payments — Apple has reached an agreement with American Express to work together on its new iPhone payments system …

More: The Verge, PC Magazine, CNET, VentureBeat, Engadget, MacRumors, Gizmodo, Ubergizmo, iMore, Cult of Mac, Neowin, 9to5Mac, Business Insider, iPhone in Canada Blog, iDownloadBlog.com, Patently Apple, MobileSyrup.com, TIME, App Advice, Ars Technica and TUAW

Tweets: @simonkhalaf, @delrey and @mdudas

Thanks:@srikardr

Re/code:

Apple has considered a $400 price for its wearable device, with some models priced lower — Apple Has Considered $400 Price for Wearable Device — Apple executives have discussed charging around $400 for the company's new wearable device. — Pricing has yet to be finalized for the forthcoming product …

Anand Lal Shimpi / AnandTech:

Anand Shimpi stepping down as Editor in Chief of AnandTech and retiring from tech publishing — The Road Ahead — Both of my parents were teachers, and for as long as I can remember they both encouraged me to do something in life that would help others.

More: AnandTech, TechCrunch and The Tech Report

Tweets: @anildash, @danielpunkass, @benbajarin, @fromedome, @siracusa, @ryan, @tomkrazit, @tomwarren, @panzer, @fxshaw, @monkbent, @monkbent, @anandshimpi, @om and @stevesi

Ted C. Fishman / Chicago Magazine:

A history of Motorola: how interdivisional fights starting in the '80s nearly doomed the company — What Happened to Motorola — On the 18th floor of the Merchandise Mart, in a soaring two-story space underneath a vast industrial-looking stairway, a small crowd of business types, pols, and journalists gathers.

More: 9to5Google, The Verge and Engadget

Tweets: @stevesi, @trengriffin and @ossij

Thanks:@srikardr

Dom Esposito / 9to5Google:

Android Wear powered Sony SmartWatch 3 and ‘SmartBand Talk’ with curved e-ink display launching at IFA 2014 — IFA 2014 is right around the corner and we're expecting to see quite a bit of tech launched during the show. Sony is in attendance this year and their official press event is scheduled to happen on on Sept. 4th, 2014.

More: Xperia Blog, Connectedly and MobileSyrup.com. Thanks:@llsethj

Dom Esposito / 9to5Google:

Sony's Xperia expected announcements at IFA: Z3 flagship phone, Z3 Compact, low-cost E3 phone, and waterproof Z3 Tablet Compact

Thanks:@steqheu

Robert Lemos / Ars Technica:

Weak WPS randomization on some routers lets attackers in Wi-Fi range easily guess PINs — Offline attack shows Wi-Fi routers still vulnerable — A researcher has refined an attack on wireless routers with poorly implemented versions of the Wi-Fi Protected Setup that allows someone to quickly gain access to a router's network.

More: PC Magazine, SlideShare and Engadget

New York Times:

The evolution of propaganda: how ISIS uses Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, SoundCloud, and more — ISIS Displaying a Deft Command of Varied Media — The extremists who have seized large parts of Syria and Iraq have riveted the world's attention with their military prowess and unrestrained brutality.

Tweets: @andrewparker, @abumuqawama, @dangillmor, @morningmoneyben, @philipmcclellan and @themurdochtimes. See also Mediagazer

Allan Holmes / The Center for Public Integrity:

How AT&T, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable use state governments to hinder municipal broadband — How big telecom smothers city-run broadband — AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner Cable use statehouses to curb public Internet service — The 400-acre Coffee County Joint Industrial Park …

More: TechCrunch and Gigaom. Tweets: @bgurley, @timkarr, @ninabernstein1, @lhfang, @publici, @scrawford and @dangillmor

Andy Greenberg / Wired:

Second Bitcoin user Hal Finney dies at 58 after battle with ALS, has body cryonically frozen — Bitcoin's Earliest Adopter Is Cryonically Freezing His Body To See The Future — Some bitcoin enthusiasts have used their cryptocurrency to travel the world. Others have spent it on a trip to space.

More: lists.extropy.org, New York Times, Vox, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, International Business Times, NEWSBTC, Gigaom, CoinDesk and CryptoCoinsNews

Tweets: @maradydd, @mattblaze, @a_greenberg and @adrianchen

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

An inside look at Apple's media strategy, its earlier control-obsessed regime, and the transformation with the departure of Jobs disciple Katie Cotton — Seeing Through the Illusion: Understanding Apple's Mastery of the Media — “Beautifully, unapologetically plastic.”

More: Technovia, MacDailyNews, Fortune, BetaNews, Forbes, iPhone Hacks, iPhone in Canada Blog, BGR, MacRumors and iLounge

Tweets: @9to5mac, @sammywalrusiv, @dangillmor, @mat, @gaberivera, @jyarow, @fxshaw, @dmac1, @markgurman and @stevesi

Michael Carney / PandoDaily:

Coinbase announces accredited insurance covering the bitcoins it holds online at any time — Coinbase surprises with news of a year-old deposit insurance program, but what of its cold storage? — Coinbase dropped a bombshell on the bitcoin world yesterday by revealing …

More: The Coinbase Blog, CoinDesk, SiliconANGLE and NEWSBTC

Tweets: @pandodaily and @nikcub

Nancy Scola / Washington Post:

FCC's new CTO Scott Jordan, who will have an impact on policy, is a net neutrality expert — The FCC's next CTO is a net neutrality expert — The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it has named a new chief technology officer: Scott Jordan, a professor of computer science at the University of California at Irvine.

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