Man develops iPhone case that shoots pepper spray

Potentially a useful way to stop an attacker from hurting someone, a new iPhone case includes a blast of pepper spray for personal protection.

Designed as a personal protection device, an Arizona man has created a case for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S that includes a built-in pepper spray canister. Located in Scottsdale, Spraytect founder Scott McPherson thought up the idea when he was concerned about this daughter’s safety after she left for college. On the back of the Spraytect iPhone case, a user slides the custom pepper spray canister canister along a rail positioned horizontally when looking at the phone in a vertical position. Since the pepper spray canister significantly protrudes from the case, it may be difficult to store in a pocket. However, the canister does act as a “kickstand” when the phone is positioned vertically or horizontally and can help the iPhone user view the screen.

After the canister has been installed and locked into place, the user must pull a safety clip off the canister to start the activation process. The safety clip is designed to keep the canister locked and unable to fire. After the clip is removed, the user rotates the actuator knob into the down position.

When the bright yellow color is completely visible, the canister is ready to be fired. If the user needs to spray an assailant, they rotate the case horizontally and spray the attacker as if they were taking their picture with the iPhone camera.

Spraytect recommends using short bursts lasting approximately half a second and spraying from ear to ear across the face. Similar to other types of pepper spray, Spraytect also recommends moving in the opposite direction after releasing the spray. The spray takes a few seconds to kick in and disable an attacker.

In order to help the user feel more comfortable with using pepper spray, Spraytect includes a test cartridge without any active pepper spray to practice installing, activating and firing the spray from the canister. According to Spraytect, the pepper spray mixture includes habanero pepper. Usually the hottest pepper at your local grocery store, habaneros typically rate between 200,000 and 300,000 Scoville units. The blend is similar to what’s used by police officers, members of the U.S. military, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security.  

Since the canister is detachable, the user can choose the right time to utilize the protection. For instance, a college student likely wouldn’t need it during class, but it could be useful when going out with friends at night.

Users also have the option of rotating the actuator knob back into the locked position once they feel safe. The canister would have to be removed before passing through airport security, but the TSA does allow one 4-ounce container of mace or pepper spray included in checked baggage. 

Split into two pieces, the simple iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S case doesn’t obstruct the smartphone’s built-in, rear camera. The case comes in four different colors including black, white, aqua blue and pink. McPherson is currently selling the pepper spray iPhone case for a price of approximately $40 on the Spraytect site. Besides the case, the Spraytect case owner will also get one pepper spray cartridge and one test cartridge. Replacement pepper spray cartridges cost approximately $18 each and they can be color matched to the case.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/company-develops-iphone-case-that-shoots-pepper-spray/

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Quick settings and malware protection in Android 4.2

Android 4.2 brings with it some long-awaited features like malware protection and a quick settings menu adjacent to the notification tray. The quick settings can be accessed with a two-finger swipe while notifications continue using one.

For Android users everywhere — or maybe just the ones in our office — Google’s decision to add quick settings to Android 4.2′s notification pulldown is very much appreciated. It’s also a feature Android users have been waiting for since the first third-party developer implemented the feature. You could download an app or install a custom ROM to activate the feature, but that’s not the way it should be. Also in Android 4.2, Google has added some important and necessary security features to crack down on malware, which we’ll get to later.

As we reported earlier, the quick settings can be accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen with two fingers, rather than the one-finger swipe used to access notifications. You can also use the settings button that normally resides at the top of the notification dropdown.

According to Android Central, there are eight settings listed: Google+ profile, brightness, settings, Wi-Fi, mobile data, battery, airplane mode, and Bluetooth. The Google+ button takes you to your profile, settings opens up the full settings menu, Wi-Fi takes you to Wi-Fi settings, airplane mode is a toggle for the feature, Bluetooth takes you to Bluetooth settings, mobile data shows your carrier and signal strength, and brightness brings up the brightness slider, and battery shows a percentage remaining and will take you to the full battery menu if tapped.

All in all, the quick settings are not nearly as useful as some third-party apps out there, but it’s a good start. We would have liked to see the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile data buttons be used as toggles rather than shortcuts, but hopefully this will change in future updates.

As for security, Android 4.2 brings a malware scanner to the platform that screens “sideloaded” apps — meaning software not downloaded from Google Play — for any mischievous code. The new feature has to be enabled in the settings menu and adds another step to installing outside apps. Google compares the app to its own list of “known applications” that includes both apps from Google Play and popular apps that aren’t available in the store. If a threat is discovered, Google will shut down the installation.

There are also new safeguards in place for apps that attempt to automatically bill your cellular account. Now a prompt will show up to request your direct permission for the billing. Android 4.2 also adds some minor improvements to the permission screen that precedes app installation to make it more obvious and easier to understand.

Android 4.2 may be an incremental update, but it’s nice to see Google adding much-needed and appreciated features to its mobile operating system. This attention-to-detail is exactly what Android needs if it wants to continue commanding the world’s attention.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/quick-settings-malware-protection-android-4-2/

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