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Hackers and cybercriminals around the world have been quite busy in 2014, even here in Malaysia. We've seen quite a few defaced Malaysian government websites and other targeted attacks both for malicious intent as well as to steal data. According to a new report from Trend Micro tabled by Victor Lo, Regional Consulting Director, SEA Region, Trend Micro, this will continue in 2015 as they predit even more targeted attack campaigns particularly for retail and financial institutions. The Trend Micro report titled "Trend Micro Security Predictions for 2015 and Beyond: The Invisible Becomes Visible" includes the following highlights:

1. More cybercriminals will turn to darknets and exclusive-access forums to share and sell crimeware
2. Increased cyber activity will translate to better, bigger, and more successful hacking tools and attempts
3. Exploit kits will target Android, as mobile vulnerabilities play a bigger role in device infection
4. Targeted attacks will become as prevalent as cybercrime
5. New mobile payment methods will introduce new threats
6. We will see more attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in open source apps
7. Technological diversity will save IoE/IoT devices from mass attacks but the same won’t be true for the data they process
8. More severe online banking and other financially motivated threats will surface

Thinking of doing your Christmas gift shopping early? Well, Dell has you covered for all your notebook and desktop related tech gifts with a holiday gift guide. Designed with the Gamer, Mobile Worker and entire Family in mind, Dell have listed a number of devices it feels to be perfect for each gift receiver. Check it out below:

• The Gamer
• Alienware Area-51 (from RM6999) ~ featuring an Ultra HD gaming experience with up to quad graphics options this is the ultimate performance desktop for your PC gamer.
• Alienware 13 (from RM3999) ~ designed for the gamer on the go, the Alienware 13 packs in stellar audio and powerful graphics in a portable laptop package.

• The Mobile Worker
• Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 (from RM1499) ~ sleek and lightweight, this transforming notebook and tablet combo is perfect for the light and casual worker on the go like a student or average office worker. 
• Inspiron 13 7000 Series 2-in-1 (from RM2299) ~ does your mobile worker need a bit more power? then this tablet + notebook computer combo is perfect for him or her with a 4th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, stylus and long battery life included in the package.

• The Whole Family
• Inspiron 14 7000 Series (from RM3199) ~ looking for a powerful home computer that can also be mobile when you need it to be? Then this is the one for you as a features a 4th Gen Intel i7 processor and turbocharged NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M 4GB graphics card for anything from hard-core gaming to just browsing the Internet. 
• Inspiron 15 3000 Series (from RM1999) ~ designed for the midrange user at home this laptop features a large HD screen for the entertainment watching buff in the family. 
• Inspiron 20 3000 Series All-in-one (from RM1299) ~ featuring a touchscreen HD+ display and Waves MaxxAudio, this is the all-in-one computer for the whole family. 
• S2415H 24-inch monitor (from RM699) ~ sometimes, all you want is a larger screen, which is exactly what this full HD monitor is perfect for, complete with built-in audio amd HDMI ports.

Huawei Malaysia has just revealed their Huawei Ascend Mate 7 smartphone for Malaysia from RM1799. First covered in early September 2014, the thin 6-inch phablet features an octa-core Huawei Kirin 925 processor, a 508PPI single-touch rear fingerprint sensor, 4G LTE Cat6 and more. The  fingerprint  sensor works in the rain or with wet fingers and can store up to 5 sets of fingerprints for various modes. The Ascend Mate 7 also offers a very solid metal body with more than 95% metal construction. It looks like Malaysia will be getting two versions with the 2GB RAM with 16GB storage version going for RM1799 while the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version is going for RM1999. The premium version only comes in amber gold, while the normal version comes in silver and black. The standard version will be available from 14 November 2014 while the premium version is expected later in the year. Check out the full tech specs list for the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 below:

• 1.8GHZ octa-core Huawei Kirin 925 processor
• 2GB / 3GB RAM
• 16GB / 32GB storage
• 6-inch display (1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, 1500:1 contrast ratio)
• 13MP rear camera (Sony BSI sensor, f/2.0 aperture) + 5MP front camera
• 157 x 81 x 7.9mm | 185g
• features 508PPI single-touch rear fingerprint sensor, ARM TrustZone ultra low power saving mode,
• supports 4G LTE Cat6, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS,
• 4100 mAh battery
• Android 4.4 KitKat + Emotion UI 3.0

We first covered the Huawei Honor 3C Play Edition back in August 2014 when it was officially announced in China. At the time, it was priced at CNY599 (RM308) and came with a design fairly similar to the Huawei Honor 3C. It turns out that we could soon see the Honor 3C Play as the Huawei Honor 3C Lite. Tech specs are more or less the same as mentioned earlier such as  a 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, 5-inch display at 720p pixel resolution, 8MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, dual-SIM support and Android 4.2. Huawei Malaysia have teased it officially with teaser images on their Facebook page and at VMALL.my so we expect the Malaysia release date to be very soon. No news yet on pricing but we expect it to go for the entry-level market at around RM299 to RM349. Stay tuned for more developments.

ASUS Malaysia have also confirmed that the full HD ASUS MeMO Pad 7 ME572CL is also now available in Malaysia for RM999. The tablet features a sleeker, more stylish design with top-notch tech specs like a full HD 7-inch display, 4G LTE Cat4 connectivity and a 64-bit Intel Atom Z3560 processor. Check out the full tech specs list and video below:

• 64-bit 1.83GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3560 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB Storage + 5GB ASUS Webstorage
• 7-inch display (IPS, 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, Corning Gorilla Glass)
• 5MP rear camera (Autofocus) + 2MP front camera
• supports 4G LTE Cat4, 3G, WiFi, Miracast, GPS
• 114.4 x 200 x 8.3mm | 279g
• available in burgundy red, gentle black and rose champagne
• RM999

ASUS Malaysia has just confirmed that the ASUS MeMO Pad 8 ME581CL is now available in Malaysia for a retail price of RM1099. Notable features include an 8-inch full HD 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution with Corning Gorilla Glass 4, 4G LTE Cat4 connectivity and a 7.45mm thin chassis. It also supports NFC and thanks to the AnyPen feature, can also use any pencil as a stylus. Check out the video and full tech specs below:

• 64-bit 1.83GHZ quad-core Intel Atom Z3560 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB storage + 5GB ASUS Webstorage + microSD (up to 64GB)
• 8-inch LED Backlight display (IPS, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, Anti-fingerprint coating, 19200 x 1200 pixel resolution)
• 5MP rear camera (autofocus) + 1.2MP front camera
• 213 x 123 x 7.45mm | 299g
• supports 4G LTE Cat 4, 3G, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, Miracast, NFC
• features dual back speakers, GPS and AnyPen
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 4000 mAh battery
• Available in black, gold, red and white
• RM1099

The ASUS PadFone S is the company's new Super Smartphone with many flagship-level features. This includes a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 4G LTE Cat4 connectivity, water and shock resistand along with a lot more for just RM899. We go hands-on with it and check out if it can handle Asphalt 8:Airborne on High visual quality settings. The reason we picked Asphalt 8:Airborne is because it is quite demanding, with most devices only able to play the game on medium quality settings at best. Some devices just hang or won't run the game at all. As such, if the PadFone S can handle Asphalt 8: Airborne on High visual quality then it should be able to handle practically everything else. Check out the video for yourself in this article.

LG is one of the few other major manufacturers to have come out with flexible displays such as those on the LG G Flex smartphone. According to a roadmap of it's flexible displays, we could soon see foldable and rollable displays in tablets, smartphones, cars and TVs in 2017. The roadmap also reveals that smartphones with bending or bendable displays (probably the LG G Flex 2) and smartwatches or other wearables are due in 2015. LG will be using P-OLED display technologies to create a plastic substrate for a more durable, thinner and lighter flexible display. No Malaysian release dates or pricing details were available yet, but hopefully LG increases their presence here in Malaysia a bit more before 2017 rolls around.

LG has also announced an interesting smartphone with their LG AKA. Featuring midrange tech specs, the most notable feature is that the case it comes with has a face with animated eyes showing different notifications or phone status. Tech specs for the LG AKA include a 1.2GHz processor, 1.5GB RAM, 16GB storage, 5-inch display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, 4G LTE, NFC, 8MP rear camera with laser auto focus, 2MP front camera and 2610 mAh battery. The smartphone weighs in at a fairly lightweight 135.5g without the front cover and 157g with the front cover. So far, there are no Malaysia release dates or pricing and due to LG's rather weak presence in the country we expect it to stay in South Korea for now. Do check out our third-party sellers regularly if you're still interested.

Microsoft is really offering an interesting smartphone with the official announcement of the Microsoft Lumia 535. The most notable features of the smartphone include a 5MP front camera, 5MP rear camera with LED flash, 5-inch display and an affordable price tag. In one move, it seems like they've shot down several of their own previous Lumia smartphones such as the Lumia 530 and Lumia 730 / Lumia 735. Other tech specs include a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB storage, 5-inch display with 540 x 960 pixel resolution, 5MP rear camera with LED flash, 5MP front camera with wide-angle lens, 1905 mAh battery and coming with Windows Phone 8.1 Lumia Denim. It is also thin and lightweight at 140.2 x 72.4 x 8.8mm and 146g with a dual-SIM version as well. Available in black, bright green, bright orange, cyan, dark grey and white, the Lumia 535 is set for €110 (RM456). No Malaysia release dates or pricing yet, but we expect it to be soon, if not this month then the next. In the meantime check out the video in this article.