Anyfi Networks makes home Wi-Fi network available anywhere

A Swedish company called Anyfi Networks has released a Wi-Fi solution for Internet service providers to make your home wireless connection available from any access point. Company CTO Johan Almbladhdescribes the service as having your Wi-Fi network follow you around wherever you go.

Anyfi.net Simple, according to executives, is aptly named as the solution works seamlessly on the user’s end. If you have ever connected your device to Wi-Fi at home, it will connect automatically to any participating network. There is no software to install and no manual network registration or login to fool with – it works because the device finds exactly the network it is looking for.

The primary function of an access point is of course to provide access to the Local Area Network (LAN). Our software comes into play when the user is not authorized for such access. Instead of just refusing service our patent pending software dynamically allocates a virtual access point and connects it to a remote end-point through a Wi-Fi over IP tunnel. The result is simple and secure Internet access on any Wi-Fi device anywhere.

GigaOm points out that consumers might not like the thought of “sharing” their home Wi-Fi network with strangers, but Anyfi co-founder and CEO Björn Smedman says that never happens. The technology uses the physical radio inside the residential gateway but foreign devices aren’t actually accessing the gateway’s home network. Anyfi sends Wi-Fi authentication protocols to the device owner’s home gateway instead. This tricks the device into believing it is still on its home network. And from the viewpoint of the access point, it’s essentially running two separate networks.

Anyfi has reportedly been testing the software with some Internet providers for over a year but now they are ready to go mainstream. They are currently testing with an unnamed service provider in Europe and North America although it’s unclear when we could see the service offered publically nationwide.

Belkin unveils 802.11ac router lineup, $139 and $159

A 56-page PowerPoint file supposedly containing plans for Microsoft’s next generation gaming console was posted on Scribd last weekend. The file has since found a home on multiple hosting services and websites but that run could be short-lived as Microsoft’s legal team has reportedly been sending takedown noticesto sites hosting the writings.

The original file has been removed from Scribd at the request of Covington & Burling LLP, a group that represents Microsoft according to their client list.Furthermore, a technology site based in the Czech Republic called Ihned.cz received a letter from Alan Radford, an Internet investigator working on behalf of Microsoft.

The letter notes that a domain under the site owner’s control is offering unlicensed copies of, or is engaging in other unauthorized activities with relation to copyrighted material owned by Microsoft. The document is referred to as the IEB Roadmap in the letter. The author asks that the content be removed or have access to it disabled.

If Microsoft is indeed asking websites to stop hosting the file, one would have to think that the leaked document is indeed genuine. Of course, a two-year-old PowerPoint file is likely outdated at this point but there’s little doubt that a majority of the material found within will be coming down the pipeline at some point.

The document was allegedly written in 2010 and chronicles multiple events that have come to fruition since its inception but as CNET points out, the interesting bits include mention of a $299 Xbox 720 bundled with a Kinect 2 camera accessory. The bundle is expected to launch in time for the 2013 holiday buying season with plans for a 10-year lifecycle and a goal to sell 100 million units.

Wi-Fi Protected Setup design flaw leaves routers open to attack

Design flaws in the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) standard used by most modern routers could make it easier to retrieve a wireless network's password through brute force and leave it open to attack. The issue was first brought to light by security researcher Stefan Viehböck and has since prompted a vulnerability notice from the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT).

The WPS standard was created in 2007 by the Wi-Fi Alliance in order to provide non-technical users with simpler methods of setting up secure wireless networks. One of these methods uses a predefined eight-digit PIN number printed on a sticker by the router manufacturer. The problem, according to Viehböck, is that entering the wrong PIN returns information that could be useful to a hacker.

Ideally an eight-digit PIN code would produce 100,000,000 possible combinations, enough to keep an attacker busy for a few years if attempting a brute force break-in. But the protocol used by Wi-Fi Protected Setup responds to failed authentication attempts by indicating if the first or second halves of the PIN number are correct, significantly reducing the possible combinations. Plus, the last digit is actually the checksum of the other seven. That means an attacker only has to try 11,000 different combinations to find the right PIN.

In his tests, Viehböck found that an authentication attempt takes between 0.5 and 3 seconds and the majority of routers don't implement lock-down periods after several consecutive failed WPS authentication attempts. Only one router from Netgear slowed its responses to failed authentication attempts in order to mitigate against the attack, but that only extended the attack time to a day or so -- otherwise it can take 2-4 hours.

Devices from Buffalo, D-Link, Linksys, Netgear and others are affected. Presummably, the flaw can be addressed with a simple software fix, but until then the US-Cert is recommending users switch off WPS.

AT&T talks to sell assets go cold, merger with T-Mobile looking less likely

Talks to sell some T-Mobile USA assets as a precondition to closing a merger deal with AT&T have "gone cold,"according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper says the companies no longer believe such a deal would help persuade regulators into letting the merger go forward. They are not ruling out an acquisition yet, but AT&T is apparently already looking at other options, such as a partial takeover or a joint venture with the Deutsche Telekom-owned carrier.

Companies involved in the talks reportedly included small wireless operator Leap and Dish Network, which has shown serious interest in diversifying their business beyond pay television in the last year.

AT&T is currently the second largest wireless operator in the U.S. Should its planned $39 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of T-Mobile USA  go through it would add around 34 million customers and effectively vault them into the leading position in the U.S. wireless market, overtaking Verizon Wireless.

But the companies are having a hard time convincing the FCC and the Department of Justice that a merger will not hinder competition for wireless services across the country. AT&T withdrew its merger application with the FCC in late November just days after the latter hinted it would not back the planned acquisition. They subsequently recorded a $4 billion charge against earnings this quarter to cover the $3 billion in cash and $1 billion in spectrum licenses it agreed to turn over to Deutsche Telekom if the deal faltered.

Dish Network interested in T-Mobile deal if AT&T acquisition fails

Dish Network may be the next in line to strike a deal with T-Mobile should the acquisition by AT&T fail. Dish CEO Joe Clayton said in an interview with Reuters that the company is serious about getting into the wireless space but that a few conditions must first be met.


Before anything could happen, the FCC must first issue Dish a wireless license. At that point, it would be a waiting game to see what happens between AT&T and T-Mobile. The judge overseeing that case has granted a request by both parties to postpone the proceedings until January 18, giving AT&T more time to evaluate all options.


According to reports, Dish has spent over $3 billion on wireless spectrum and assets in the last year in preparation to diversity their business beyond pay television. Dish lost nearly 250,000 subscribers in the past two quarters, citing a weak economy as the primary reason.


AT&T withdrew their merger application with T-Mobile in late November just days after the FCC hinted it would not back the planned acquisition. AT&T subsequently recorded a $4 billion charge against earnings this quarter to cover the $3 billion in cash and $1 billion in spectrum licenses it agreed to turn over to Deutsche Telekom if the deal faltered. The company still insists that the deal isn’t dead and they are exploring all options.  


Regardless of the outcome, Dish would either need to find a partner or acquire a wireless company to move forward. A deal with other carriers including Clearwire, Sprint, LightSquared, MetroPCS or Leap wasn’t ruled out.

Verizon Wireless holiday ad shows Galaxy Nexus priced at $199.99

A series of Verizon Wireless holiday ads appearing on various sites across the Internet show the phone will be available for $199.99 with a two year service agreement. The ads were first spotted byAndroid Police and have since shown up on other sites including Phandroid and DroidForums.

The ads are all being served by NetShelter which is a premium advertising network that supplies ads to website owners. NetShelter works directly with carriers and manufacturers so it’s unlikely that the ads are fake.

When a user clicks Learn More on the ad, they are taken to this Black Friday deals page, although the Galaxy Nexus is nowhere to be found. AP notes the following tag in the deals URL “cmp=BAC-OM-111129-HOLIDAYSAMSUNG” which could point to 11/29 as the starting date for the phone’s availability. It could just as easily indicate the final day of the sale, or not have any relevance at all.

Samsung and Google announced the Galaxy Nexus at a press event in Hong Kong last month. The phone features a curved 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display running at 1270 x 720 resolution, a 1.2GHz dual core processor, 1GB of RAM, your choice of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, a 5MP rear camera with zero shutter lag, backlit-illuminated sensor, built-in stabilization and LED flash and a 1.3MP front-facing camera for video chat. The unit is powered by a 1,750mAh battery in a package that weighs 135g and is 8.9mm at its thinnest point.

The Galaxy Nexus will also be the first Android phone to ship with version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. No release date has been set but we expect the phone to be available sometime before the end of the year on Verizon.