Category: News

Categories
Crypto News

NEM (XEM) Employed In New Blockchain-Based Voting Tests Conducted By The Electoral Commission of Ukraine

The Electoral Commission of Ukraine is working on mechanisms to improve local and national electoral processes in Ukraine through a blockchain-based voting system. In this sense, they are carrying out voting tests using NEM (XEM) main chain.

Oleksandr Stelmakh, the head of the state’s voter registry, said through his Facebook account that he is continuing a series of experiments with blockchain technology applied to elections. The start of the tests was announced by Stelmakh himself in a July 10th publication on the social network, where he made a public invitation to participate in the voting tests.

One of the basic useful properties of blockchain is the inability to make changes to the saved information (…) These are the properties we intend to use to save voting session information.

Oleksandr Stelmakh, Head of the State Voters’ Register, The Electoral Commission of Ukraine

The official highlighted that the tests are being conducted using 28 nodes of the NEM (XEM) network. He also said that the NEM Foundation of Ukraine “kindly” provides the test crypto assets required to validate the transactions. These test votes are still open for participation of any Ukrainian citizen.

NEM (XEM) network tested for a blockchain-based voting system in Ukraine

According to Oleksandr Stelmakh’s calculations, the implementation of the project would cost an estimated $1,227 per polling station. In his opinion, this is “a small fee for the lifetime preservation of these socially important data.”

Ukraine is considering the incorporation of distributed ledger technology into its electoral processes since 2016 when an agreement was signed to develop an electronic voting platform. A group of technology firms participated, including the Bitcoin Foundation of Ukraine.

Back then, the signatories committed themselves to create a decentralized, transparent, and accessible system of electronic voting, using instruments based on blockchain technology.

Many other blockchain-based voting systems initiatives are being developed around the world, as this technology is perceived to have the potential to build reliable electoral systems. Among these global initiatives are the trials conducted in Zug, in Switzerland, and in the United States.

Categories
Crypto News Tech

Opera Browser With A Built-In Crypto Wallet Launched For Computers

The new version of the Opera browser for computers will include a crypto wallet, a feature they had already added in their release for mobile devices. Users of this browser will be able to synchronize their existing portfolio with this new update by merely scanning a QR code.

Users will be able to link their desktop wallet to their mobile devices so that private keys and passwords can be stored on the phone. The user will be able to sign transactions with “his fingerprints instead of using long phrases” to improve security, according to the statement. The new version is available since yesterday.

The Opera browser sums up more than 320 million users worldwide and is one of the most widely appreciated and secure Internet browsers out there. Opera even added a feature to prevent cryptojacking.

With its implementation on both supports, Opera becomes the first of the primary providers of this type of service to adopt cryptocurrency. Also, Opera crypto wallet could provide an impetus for other companies in the industry to make similar decisions.

Opera browser with a built-in crypto wallet tries to keep the things as decentralized as possible

By adding a crypto wallet directly in the browser, we eliminate the need for complex extensions or separate applications. Open the PC browser to encrypt the second step of Opera towards the creation of cryptocurrency and mainstream Web 3.0.

Charles Hamel, Product Manager for the new Opera browser with built-in crypto wallet

The sync between the desktop version of the new crypto-related Opera and the mobile version would permit users to keep their private keys locked securely. The storage of private keys and other sensitive information, however, remains the responsibility of the user, as Opera will not work with a centralized server to manage this kind of data.

As with the mobile application, the desktop client will support Ethereum (ETH) tokens, as well as digital collectible items created on this network, including CryptoKitties and collectible MLB tokens. Also, the crypto tokens generated in Initial Currency Offers (ICOs) can be stored using the Opera crypto wallet.

“Today’s web will be the interface to the decentralized network of the future. That’s why we have chosen to use our browser to close the gap,” said Hamel during the press conference that announced the launch of the mobile version of the Opera browser with the built-in crypto wallet.

Categories
Crypto News

Snap Inc. Claims that its Source Code was Hacked; Flies past Wall Street Estimates

If you didn’t know, Snap Inc. is the company responsible with running Snapchat. Apparently, earlier this year they were hacked and in this process some of its incredibly wanted source code was released to the public. Motherboard let us know that this source code was for Snapchat’s iOS.

How did it happen?

Before the hacking happened, Snap Inc. archived its source code on GitHub, a code repository site. After the event occurred, Snap asked GitHub for its code back and delivered a copyright act request as well.

A Snap representative spoke about what happened in May. Apparently, an update to the iOS caused the leakage of some of the source code (a small amount, they say) and they had to act swiftly to identify and rectify the mistake. They soon found out that their code is posted online, although it was soon deleted. They feel that their app and the community weren’t affected at all by this event.

How about the finance?

At first Snap observed a loss in daily active users, a first for this company. However, its shared flew by Wall Street estimates, rising by 6%. Still, investors became cautious and Snap lost shares by 3.4%.

Regarding the per share basis, Snap reported a loss of $0.14 on revenue of $262min. Wall Street projected that these numbers would be $0.17 on revenue of $251min. The daily active users fall was also mispronounced by Wall Street, Snap reporting a fall from 191min to 188min.

This user decline raised concerns about Snap’s ability to compete in a market saturated with social media outlets. As to why this fall happened, there could be multiple reasons. One of them would be the redesign that happened earlier this year, which resulted in some people becoming less able to navigate the site.

Categories
News Tech

Surface Pro 3 Receives Firmware Update that Improves Device Security

Microsoft has been keeping quite busy this past couple of days. The tech giant rolled out important firmware updates to Surface Book 2, Surface Pro 4, Surface Laptop and Surface Pro (2017). However, there is one Surface Pro device that didn’t receive the same treatment from Microsoft. The device we are talking about is called Surface Pro 3.

Surface Pro 3 Firmware Update

While Microsoft was rolling out important firmware updates to the previously mentioned Surface devices, Surface Pro 3 was being left behind. This angered the community and people kept making posts on the community forum and asked Microsoft to deliver firmware updates to Surface Pro 3 as well. Fortunately, Microsoft listened to the feedback it received and rolled out a new firmware update for Surface Pro 3.

Improved System Stability

The new update that Surface Pro 3 owners are receiving OTA (over the air) sports the “Surface UEFI – Firmware 3.11.2450.0” version number and Microsoft says that it will improve device security. Unfortunately, this is the only thing that Microsoft had to say about the latest firmware update and its highly unlikely that it will introduce any new features.

High-End Tablet

Surface Pro 3 is one of the most successful tablets that Microsoft launched and this is why the community was surprised to see that its not a top priority when it comes to firmware updates. Nonetheless, Surface Pro 3 was announced on May 20th, 2014 and it shipped with a massive 12.0-inches display that uses IPS LCD technology.

While the display might be impressive, the most important hardware part that Surface Pro 3 has to offer is the Intel Core i7 CPU that hides beneath its hood. The CPU is paired with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage space.

Categories
News Tech

Will iOS 11.4.1 Jailbreak Release At The Same Time iOS 12 is Revealed?

This past couple of weeks have been filled with big announcements in the jailbreaking community. However, now that iOS 12 is getting closer to launch, every jailbreak fan keeps talking about an upcoming iOS 11.4.1 tool release. This tool is expected to launch at the same time Apple reveals iOS 12, which is next month.

iOS 11.4.1 Jailbreak Release Date

Even though everyone is talking about an upcoming iOS 11.4.1 jailbreak tool, no one knows anything about its actual release date. Not just that, but there aren’t any developers who are known to jailbreak iOS that have mentioned an iOS 11.4.1 jailbreak tool is coming soon. Therefore, we advise Apple fans to not get their hopes high and wait for official confirmation first.

Brandon Azad

The only reliable piece of information that we have about the upcoming jailbreak tool is that Brandon Azad is planning to attend a technical conference in September and that’s where he will reveal an iOS exploit that is compatible with iOS 11.4. Let’s hope that Apple doesn’t fix the exploit Brandon Azan plans to reveal.

Difficult Development Process

From what we can tell, the development process for the highly anticipated iOS 11.4.1 jailbreak tool is more difficult than expected and the tool might not be available in September or October. Therefore, jailbreak fans will need to wait a little longer until they can install Cydia and benefit from all the features that it has to offer.

Meridian Jailbreak Tool

On another note, the folks who are in charge of the Meridian iOS jailbreak have released the final version of the tool which is compatible with 64-bit iOS 10 – 10.3.3 devices. The Meridian jailbreak tool adds support for iPhone 7 and it allows users to install Cydia on their iPhones.

Exit mobile version