Need to KnowFIRST LOOK10 27 Dec 2019-7Jan
ChuwiUBookPro
bit.ly/chuwiIf you’ve ever fanciedgetting your
hands on aMicros oftSurfacebut
baulkedatt he ridiculous prices,
then theChuwi UBook Promay be
theanswer.
ThisChinese-built 2-in-1 Windows
laptop isn’t shyaboutpositioning
itself as thebudge tSurfacebut,while
it maybearapassingresemblance
to Micros oft’sdominantmachine,
cornershave been cut to hitthe
sub-£400 pricetag.
TheUBook Pro, alight weight,
souped-up versionoft he original
UBook,featuresa12.3inHD
touchscreen that canbeaffixed to a
Surface-like,backlit keyboar d. This is
allpoweredbyanIntel Co re m3-
8100Yprocessor and 8GBofRAM.cameraand 5-megapixelrearcamera
areunremarkable and fall farshortof
even an oldsmartphone, letalone a
professional2-in-1.Onafullcharge,
you’ll getaboutseven hour sofuse.
TheChuwi UBook Promay like to
pretendit’sint he sameleague as
Microsoft’s flagship device butscratch
this ‘sur face’ andyou’llfindit’sreally
just areasonable,low-budget
alternativ e. TheUBook Proisa vailable
nowfor £322.What happened?
TheFBI haswarne downersofs mart
TVstochangethesettings on their
internet-connectedtelevisions to
improve secu rity and ensure th at they
aren ’t beingspiedon.
In apress releas e(bit.ly/fbi491 ),
federalagentsinOregon sought to raise
awaren ess of th eperilsofs martTVs in
thehome. Theagencyhighlightedthe
factthatwhen theseTVsetsare used
straig ht outoft he box,themicrophones
and camerasthey’re equippedwith can
be used by makerstolisteninand
observeyou whileyou binge-watch
Netf lix.
Butit’snot just that “yourTV
manufacturerand app developers may
be listening and watching you”.The
Feds also stressed that,becau se it’s an
onlinedevice, smartTVs arevulnerable
to hackers.Theystatedthat“it is
possible that your unsecured TV can
give himorher an easyway in the
backdoor throughyourrouter”.And
whil etheymay justtoy with youby
changing channels,theycould jus tas
easilycyberstal kyou by hackingasmart
TV’s mics and cameras.
Theannouncementwas timedtodraw
attentiontot he issueduringthe Black
Friday and Christmas sales.
Howwill it affectyou?
If youdon’town asmartTV–orhaven’t
Your smart TV may be spying on you
jury-riggedone using aChromecast,
Firestick or gamesconsole–then you
should have nothing to fear.However,
if youdo, nowmight be agoodtimeto
take theFBI’s advice and lock down
your device.
In itspress release, thesecurity
serviceoffered five tips for“building a
digitaldefencewith your TV”: find out
which featu resyoursmartTVhas and
learn howtocontrol them;changeall
passwordsonthe device;stick masking
tape overthe camera if youdon’tuse it;
checkthe manufacturer’ssecurity
upda tesand read theprivacy policies
forthe TV manufacturer and any
streamingsites youuse,suchasNetflixand Amazon Prim e.What dowethink?
Allweb-enabled devicesare opento
cybe r-attacks, butwe’re glad to seethe
FBIist akingthe issueseriously –not
everyone will realisethatasmartTVis
as vu lnerable,ifn ot moreso, than a
laptop. As theagencysays:your
“televisio ncan also be agateway for
hackerstocomeintoyourhome”.
Whilefollowing theFBI’s suggestions
maynot stop someone snoopingon
you, it does makeits ubstantiall yharder
–and helps youdetermineify our
manufacturer canbetrusted with your
data and easyaccess to yo ur TV.Whilethat’sfar from thebest that Intel
hastooffer,you should be able to run
most programsonthe device.
If you’re intending to usethe device
as atablet, you’ll find ahandykick
standsitting flushwith
theframe and tucked
roundthe back. The
thick stylus is comfortableto
hold butdon’t expectSurface
Pen-levelfeatures: it’s best-suited
to basicwriting anddrawing tasks –
so long asyoukeep your hands from
accidentally knockingthe screen,which
is harder than it looks.
There’sabevyofconnectionoptions:
twoUSB 3.0ports,one type-C USB,
a3.5mm audio jack and aminiHDMI
connec tion.For anyone lookingto
upgrade thebuilt-in 256GBsolid-s tate
drive, there’ salso amicroSDcardslot.
TheUBook Pro’s2-megapixelfrontcameraand 5ykick-