The UpStream

Cyber analyst team Trend Micro has warned us that by 2014, the count of malicious software created for Android will surpass the 1 million mark. To recap on why this is such a big deal and a problem, let's reference back to articles in the past two years about how Android is one of the most unsecure platforms on the market.

• Google Rated Most Vulnerable to Attack
• Androids Hijacked by Innocent-Looking Apps
• Android's Security Problems Get Worse, Apple Avoids Attacks
• Google's Open App Policy Strikes Again, Now on Computers
• Major Security Vulnerability in Android Apps, Could Affect 185 Million Users

It should be no shock that this prediction is so high, though. As it stands, Android currently runs about 80 percent of the entire smartphone ecosystem around the globe, up 70 percent from last year. Android also has one of the most lax processes for publishing an app, with very little safeguards. Combine all of that with the fact that only about 20 percent of Android users have some sort of security software on their device and you have a disaster waiting to happen. And it really does come down to the user not paying attention to what he or she is downloading. It is reported that almost half of the malware discovered in the second quarter of this year alone has to do with a user downloading some sort of app that sends expensive texts or calls, letting the creators of the app to rake in all the money. To further that, as we've covered in the show multiple times, a quarter of the malware involves stealing user data, either remotely or right upon download of the app from the market. Plus, there's also the new trend of hackers coming up with clever ways for apps to sneak into social media and automatically post viral news articles that lead to malicious sites, in hopes that your friends will click on them.

From the report, Trend Micro's VP of technology solutions, JD Sherry, said,

Due to the fractured nature of the Android network, it is very difficult for patches to reach all users in an effective time frame. In some cases, users will never get patches as vendors leave their customers at risk of attack. Until we have the same urgency to protect mobile devices as we have for protecting PCs, this very real threat will continue to grow rapidly. At the rate this malware is accelerating - almost exponentially - we appear to be reaching a critical mass. To fight this, Android users need to take great care when using their devices and take the simple, but effective, step of adding security software to all mobile devices.

I guess fragmentation was an issue after all. Does this information, along with all of the other Android vulnerability stories, detract you from purchasing an Android device? Are you going to switch from Android to a more secure operating system? Why or why not? We want to know in the comments below.

When Sony's CEO Kaz Hirai took over in April of last year, he immediately said the company would undergo a revival plan that would take some time, but would eventually result in a complete turnaround of the company. Through the year, Sony has seen a few quarters in the black along with a couple of key purchases to boost their portfolio. All of this culminated last month with Daniel Loeb's Third Point LLC hedge fund, Sony's biggest stockholder, suggesting that the company spinoff its media division in order to raise the stock price. After a month of Sony, Hirai, Morgan Stanley and Citi carefully looking over the numbers, the board of directors unanimously decided this week that Sony will not be selling off its media assets into its own entity.

In a letter sent to Daniel Loeb and Third Point LLC, Sony respectfully outlines the reasons why.

Since your first letter on May 14, 2013, the Board of Directors and management team, with the assistance of external financial and legal advisors, have thoroughly considered the merits of your proposal... While we share with you the objectives of increasing profitability and driving shareholder value, after careful review, the Sony Board of Directors has unanimously concluded that continuing to own 100% of our entertainment business is the best path forward and is integral to Sony's strategy. We do, however, expect to increase disclosure regarding Sony's entertainment businesses. We agree this can help market participants analyze their performance and monitor their success.

Hirai also added that removing Sony's media division from the company would not fit in with Sony's new "One Sony" strategy that he has been trying to implement under the revival plan.

We are encouraged by our progress as we continue to execute on our One Sony strategy. We have made many changes during my tenure as CEO, and we are confident that we are on the right path. Sony's entertainment businesses are critical to our corporate strategy and will be important drivers of growth, and I am firmly committed to assuring their growth, to improving their profitability, and to aggressively leveraging their collaboration with our electronics and service businesses. We are determined to pursue sustained growth in profitability and shareholder value, so that we can meet and exceed the expectations of all of our stakeholders.

Hirai seems to be really taking this initiative to heart and is working very hard to make sure that Sony continues to remain a competitor in the industries in which it conducts business. The rejection was made are a lot of conversations and extreme consideration, and I honestly feel that their media properties have the most amount of buzz around them, along with revenue. I'd want to keep that as part of One Sony as well. Third Point, however, isn't accepting Sony's rejection. In what looks to be something out of a high school crush, the hedge fund said in a statement,

Third Point looks forward to an ongoing dialogue with management and intends to explore further options to create value for Sony shareholders.

We'll see what that means for Sony as time goes on, but at least for now, Sony said no. And no means no.

Last year, United Online, the company which was the result of the merger between NetZero and Juno, decided to rejuvenate the NetZero brand by offering up some 4G hotspots and as you'd expect, there was a free option. However the prices were too high if you actually used any data above email browsing, and the network availability was really inconsistent, even in major metropolitan areas. The good news is that last year's announcements were just a piece of a bigger picture. NetZero will continue to be a 4G Internet service provider but will also come complete with deals signed with both Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

During a financial report this week, CEO Mark Goldston announced the new plan for NetZero.

We are pleased to announce two agreements that will significantly expand the coverage and enhance the offerings of our NetZero Mobile Broadband service. We have signed a three-year agreement with Verizon to offer the NetZero Mobile Broadband service on Verizon's nationwide 3G network. When the service is launched, we expect NetZero Mobile Broadband will be available in approximately 500 markets and cover more than 300 million people, or approximately 95% of the entire U.S. population. Also, we have signed a five-year agreement with Sprint to offer the NetZero Mobile Broadband service via Sprint's 4G LTE and 3G networks. This agreement will allow us to expand our NetZero Mobile Broadband coverage to a projected 200 million people in 2014 on the Sprint 4G LTE network.

So, while 3G service may be the only option available for many customers at this point in time, NetZero is definitely looking forward to the future. The past 4G hotspot by NetZero was on Sprint/Clearwire's 4G WiMAX network, a service which, in certain areas, was spotty at best and was merely to hold Sprint customers over until their rollout of 4G LTE late last year. Now, NetZero has a chance to really cover a lot of people, with a range of networks, inevitably ending with full 4G LTE coverage by Sprint for the next five years.

Unfortunately, prices are still a bit high if you're looking to use this for anything beyond an emergency modem. Of course, 200MB will be served up for free, similar to FreedomPop (which will still be on WiMAX for the foreseeable future), but jumping into 500MB will cost you $10 per month, and a 4GB package will run a whopping $50 per month. Luckily if you're interested, NetZero is currently doubling data for those who sign up as a new customer. In the end, NetZero seems to be a good option over some of these "freemium" competitors out there, with the service provider using three different networks to allow for the most reliable and consistent coverage for its customers.

To continue the OUYA craze this week, the company is handing out credits to their backers on Kickstarter for not shipping out a console to each of them who pre-ordered one, even though the game system is already on shelves in retail stores. For those not aware, OUYA is an Android gaming system that only runs you $99, and I've never quite understood it. It doesn't have the same power as NVIDIA's SHIELD and appears to have been made to appease all of the gamers who are mad at corporations for putting DRM on their games to protect them from piracy, or something like that.

Regardless, the OUYA is Android powered so all of the games you'd want to play, DRM free, aren't included on the system, hence the reason none of it has ever made sense to me. To further that, you could imagine the type of mentality a company like this would have. The company wanted to "stick it to the man" by not appearing in an official capacity at E3, and instead elected to rent out a parking lot outside of the convention center and converted it into a booth. Naturally, this prompted E3 to call the cops and have the booth shut down, outraging fanboys everywhere. The ESA (which runs E3) then proceeded to place semi-trucks in that space, and the back-and-forth commenced for the entire length of the convention. Because of all this, it doesn't really surprise me that OUYA is having shipping issues to make good on the pre-orders that were supposed to be delivered over a month ago.

In a letter sent out by CEO Julie Urhman, the company apologizes for the delay.

The letter not only highlights the fact that shipping the pre-orders has been a disaster, but that there are other problems, like the system lacking a controller, a seemingly integral part of the gaming experience. Urhman continues on by saying that the company has "learned a lot over the past year" and that their "still-new" customer service couldn't appease customers. It sounds like OUYA is saying, "Hey we're a new company and are so busy trying to not be oppressed by the man that we forgot we're a business and ended up treating our backers exactly like the companies you guys are so mad at. Our bad."

To top it all off, OUYA is offering an extremely clever credit of $13.37 to use at their DISCOVER store, in an effort to apologize for their issues. Now, I'm not an OUYA backer, but if I was spending my money on something in order to be an early adopter, an apologetic and partial credit should only be offered if the company or product I invested in was bought by another company and then the product was suddenly discontinued (see: HP Touchpad). The credit, at this point, just seems like a slap in the face when the console should've just been delivered on time, simple as that. We, as gamers, hold these big companies to such a high standard, yet let these startups treat their customer base the same exact way and have no reaction.

If there are any backers of this system out there, I'd love to know your take. How do you feel about all of this? Is the "leet" credit enough to keep you on the OUYA ship? Or would you rather just cut your losses and pick up an Android tablet or something better? Sound off in the comments section below.

On the heels of the recent launch of the SHIELD, Nvidia is making the rounds on the rumor mill with the possibility of a tablet. The Tegra Tab, as it is expected to be called from a trademark filing, is a pretty reasonable and expected next step for the company.

The company reported earnings that were higher than predictions, but revenues that were not. They also reported a massive drop in the Tegra division, despite powering a number of high profile tablets, including the Surface RT. In fact, the next generation Surface RT was accidentally tipped by Nvidia's CEO, mentioning that they will, once again, be spearheaded by the company.

Developing a Tegra-branded tablet could help the company in a similar way to how Microsoft used the Surface. Creating a tablet that specifically shows off a particular feature, in Microsoft's case a new Windows form factor and in Nvidia's case a processor, could help build manufacturer interest in the product.

Challenging the industry can often lead to good things, so Nvidia showing the industry what can be done will hopefully encourage manufacturers to use their processor instead of the collection from Qualcomm and other ARM architecture procs.

In a trend that I have had no luck understanding, micro vlogging has become a popular business. Between Twitter's Vine and Instagram video, there is no shortage of videos so short they cannot get across a point.

Well, if those two services were not enough for you, I have good news: the founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, have launched a competitor. Named MixBit, the service allows users to record and upload 16 seconds, a full second longer than Instagram.

The difference here is the ability to edit and mix videos together. One feature is to combine 256 of these 16 second clips together into a single, 1-hour video. You can also import videos to be edited together, allowing an even greater number of "Best of Vine" type videos to be uploaded.

Chad Hurley described the service, saying,

The whole purpose of MixBit is to reuse the content within the system. I really want to focus on great stories that people can tell.

I, obviously, do not understand the value of a 16 second video service. That could have a lot to do with the fact that I have lived a large portion of my life in news rooms producing 30 to 60 minute episodes and having trouble keeping the broadcast that short, so the use of 16 seconds is out of my experience. The people who do understand the micro vlogging community should be happy about this, however. Competition breeds innovation, and new ideas in an industry are always good.