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TrustGo Antivirus and Mobile Security 1.0.6 (for Android)

Is your text message inbox filled with more spam than texts from your real friends? The spam might be coming from that free version of Angry Birds you just downloaded from Google Play. Next time, search for and download apps from TrustGo Anti-Virus and Mobile Security version 1.0.6 (free). TrustGo, a new mobile security player, pioneers a killer feature: a secure, meta-search engine for apps that warns you not just of malware and permissions, but of intrusive ad networks. Unfortunately, TrustGo tested poorly when it came to detecting and blocking malware, such as viruses, Trojans, spyware, and root kits.

The app also comes with the usual basket of mobile security utilities, like remote controls, an app auditor, safe browser, and backup for contacts. TrustGo is offering all its features free for a limited time, and then it will shuffle some of these utilities to a paid Premium version.

S.A.F.E. App Searches My favorite feature in TrustGo is its "patent-pending" Secure App Finder Engine (SAFE), essentially a metasearch of over 1.5 million apps from more over 200 third-party app stores (and Google Play). Theoretically all the apps are scanned for malicious code, excessive permissions, and intrusive ad networks, by TrustGo's cloud network, which scans new apps every day.

Intrusive ad networks are probably the greatest threat to mobile devices these days, because there aren't any policies that limit how much information a mobile ad network can extract or push from your device. This issue first came to light this year, when a developer discovered that the Path app for iOS was extracting entire address books without a users' permission. The ad network 'Airpush' is also notorious for spewing spam texts and annoying ads in your notifications bar. It's not malware, but if given a choice, most users probably wouldn't want it peeking into their devices.

SAFE has four categories: Certified, Low Risk, High Risk, and Malicious. Malicious indicates a Trojan horse, worm, virus, or spyware. Certified indicates the app poses no threat. Low and High risk categories rank different levels of exploitation from ad networks to device modifications.

I searched for the Instagram app, and SAFE displayed results from three different app stores; all were Certified. It also listed a couple related apps as High Risk,like Instagram Porn Babes and Sketchgram 4 Instagram. When you tap the High Risk button, TrustGo displays the rationale behind the rating (the latter app contained AirPush). You can still download the app if you don't mind taking such risks.

I did find one inconsistency, though. Some apps that SAFE warned were risky went through TrustGo's app scan, a separate feature, as perfectly safe. Clearly, SAFE is strong on warning of app privacy intrusion, but TrustGo is weak on detecting.

Furthermore the SAFE search mechanism gives the Certified label to rooting apps, like 'z4root,' which actually shares code with other apps. It's not malicious, but certainly ambiguous. BitDefender's app auditor warns of rooting apps.

Poor Antivirus Protection TrustGo's otherwise-excellent app search engine is overshadowed by its poor virus detection. According to a March report by independent testing lab AV-test.org, TrustGo picked up only 30-40 percent of all the malware fed to it. Although TrustGo responded saying AV-Test reviewed a beta release, AV-Test told me there was no mention of the word "beta" in the app's documentation or screenshots. Since the February test however, TrustGo has released an incremental update with new virus definitions, but there's no test result for this available for that so far.

Meanwhile ten mobile security apps aced AV-Test.org's analysis, detected more than 90 percent of malware families. This includes Lookout for Android ($29.99/year direct, 4.5 stars), F-Secure Mobile Security, Kaspersky, Zoner, and McAfee.

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TrustGo Antivirus and Mobile Security 1.0.6 (for Android)

Mosquitoes Killed Two Killer Whales

The mosquito plague of summer is fast approaching and with it comes the threat of diseases, such as St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile virus. Not just human picnickers and campers have to worry about mosquito-borne disease. Even the largest of captive creatures is in danger from the tiny pests.

Two orcas, or killer whales (Orcinus orca), kept in captivity have died from the two diseases mentioned above, reported the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).

I think it is safe to say that no one would have thought of the risks that mosquitoes might pose to orcas in captivity, but considering the amount of time they unnaturally spend at the surface in shallow pools at these facilities, it is yet another deadly and unfortunate consequence of the inadequate conditions inherent to captivity, said Courtney Vail, campaigns manager for WDCS.

BRIEF: Are Dolphins Doomed?

In captivity, the aquatic predators cant move around or dive as much as they do in the wild. The orcas spend time floating at the surface, especially while sleeping, and that makes them a tempting 6 ton blood smorgasbord for mosquitoes.

NEWS: The Search Is On For Elusive White Whale

Logging (floating at the surface) was commonly witnessed while I was at SeaWorld, especially at night, which provided a static landing platform for mosquitoes, former Sea World orca trainer John Jett told the WDCS. Free ranging orcas, conversely, are on the move and not exposed to mosquitoes. They don't remain still long enough and mosquitoes are weak fliers, limited to coastal areas.

The two orca fatalities were:

The WDCS questions the ethics of keeping highly intelligent, social whales and dolphins in captivity and call for an end to the practice. They discourage tourists from visiting marine parks that hold cetaceans in captivity.

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Mosquitoes Killed Two Killer Whales

He's No. 1: Indianapolis follows through on word by taking Andrew Luck with top draft choice

INDIANAPOLIS - Forget the comparisons, the predecessor and the hype. Andrew Luck can't wait to start playing football in Indianapolis.

Less than 90 minutes after officially becoming Peyton Manning's successor, Luck promised to do everything he could to turn around a storied franchise that started last year with Super Bowl aspirations and wound up with the No. 1 pick, largely because Manning couldn't play.

At least Indy was lucky enough to get what many expect to be the next big thing.

"I realize you could go crazy trying to measure yourself to Peyton Manning every day. That would be an insane way to live," Luck told local reporters during a conference call. "I know his legendary status, really. He was my hero growing up. Huge shoes to try and fill if you're trying to do that. I'll just put my best foot forward and work hard every day. If one day I can be mentioned alongside Peyton as one of the football greats, that would be a football dream come true."

Indy believes he can make it happen.

Fourteen years after taking Manning with the top overall selection and 29 years after using the draft's No. 1 pick on another Stanford quarterback, John Elway, the Colts chose a player scouts have touted as the most NFL-ready quarterback to come out of college since those two.

A week ago, Colts general manager Ryan Grigson said the Colts had made up their minds about whether to take Heisman winner Robert Griffin III or Luck, the Heisman runner-up. The next day, The Associated Press learned Luck would be the selection and new general manager Ryan Grigson confirmed it Tuesday.

The Colts were so prepared they had NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hand Luck a No. 12 jersey with his name stitched on the back -- a number that had been worn by receiver Quan Cosby as recently as Thursday morning's mini-camp workout.

"It's a new era, it's a new beginning," Grigson said. "Really, it's exciting and we got our guy. He's the one we feel is going to take us where we want to go with this thing. He shares the same vision that we all do, so we're excited."

What the Colts are actually getting is a younger, cheaper version of Manning.

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He's No. 1: Indianapolis follows through on word by taking Andrew Luck with top draft choice

Press Box: Racial comments directed at Capitals' Ward through Twitter

Soon after Joel Ward's Washington Capitals teammates swarmed him after his game-winning goal in overtime of Game 7 against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, a number of people unleashed racial comments about Ward on Twitter. Ward, one of the few black players in the NHL, was called the N-word in a number of posts. According to CNN, Chirpstory, a site that can aggregate other people's Twitter posts, noted the posts, included the following: --- "Haha that (slur) actually did something." --- "The fact that a (slur) got the goal makes it ten times worse." --- "We lost ... To a hockey playing (slur).... What kind of (expletive) is this." Ward, 31, told USA Today that he had never heard racist remarks during his four years in the NHL, and he was not aware of the comments and until teammate Jeff Halpern told him. He said the comments were "shocking to see, but it didn't ruin my day." "The racially charged comments distributed via digital media following last night's game were ignorant and unacceptable," the NHL said in a statement Thursday. "The people responsible for these comments have no place associating themselves with our game." In their statement, the Bruins called the Tweets "classless, ignorant views are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization." Capitals owner Ted Leonsis was more outspoken in his comments in his blog. "What these people have said and done is unforgivable. I hope they are now publicly identified and pay a huge price for their beliefs," he said. "There should be zero tolerance for this kind of hate mongering. We will as an organization support Joel Ward. He has been a great teammate and a great citizen. "He is now the star of stars in our city for his heroics (Wednesday) night. He is a friend and a fantastic player -- who delivered -- as advertised for us and our fans in the playoffs." -- Boston's Zdeno Chara, Ottawa's Erik Karlsson and Nashville's Shea Weber were named finalists for the Norris Trophy, which is awarded to the league's top defenseman. The winner will be announced at the NHL awards ceremony June 20 in Las Vegas. COLLEGE BASKETBALL ---Former Syracuse associate head coach Bernie Fine has landed a job with a team in the Israeli Basketball Super League. Maccabi Bazan Haifa announced Thursday that Fine will serve as a basketball consultant for the team. This is Fine's first employment since he was fired in November amid sexual molestation charges. Fine will offer input on player personnel decisions, and assist in team's coaching search for next season, though he will remain in the United States. ---Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich has agreed to follow Larry Brown at SMU. Jankovich accepted a coach-in-waiting position at the school, a source with direct knowledge told ESPN.com Thursday. He's expected to earn about $700,000 per year, the source said, and there is no timetable on when he would become head coach. COLLEGE FOOTBALL ---While conference commissioners continue to develop a 2014 playoff structure for college football, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics has proposed a way to distribute the hundreds of million dollars in new BCS media rights revenue. CBSSports.com obtained a copy of the Knight Commission's report, which suggests rewarding individual schools -- not the conferences -- based on academic standards, rather than on-field performance or market value. The proposal was sent to the 11 Football Bowl Subdivision commissioners, BCS executive director Bill Hancock and the FBS presidents. --- Weber State has named Jody Sears as its interim football coach to replace John L. Smith, who was named the Wildcats' head coach after the 2011 season but left earlier this month to become the interim head coach at Arkansas. Sears joined the Wildcats staff this spring as defensive coordinator and will continue in that role as well. NBA ---Reigning MVP Derrick Rose is also the most popular name when it comes to jersey sales. The Chicago Bulls point guard has the top-selling jersey at the NBA Store and nbastore.com since April 2011, the league announced Thursday. New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin came in at No. 2, despite the fact that his merchandise wasn't available until his February breakthrough. Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was third and the Miami Heat's LeBron James came in fourth. New York's Carmelo Anthony rounded out the top five.

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Press Box: Racial comments directed at Capitals' Ward through Twitter

Hometownstations.com-WLIO- Lima, OH News Weather SportsBible translator criticized over word substitution

By TOM BREEN Associated Press

One of the largest Bible translators in the world is undergoing an independent review after critics claimed language in some of their translations intended for Muslim countries misses the essential Christian idea of Trinity: the father, son and the holy spirit or ghost.

Critics argue that using words like "Messiah" instead of "Son" and "Lord" instead of "Father" badly distorts the doctrine, in which God is said to be one being in three persons.

"If you remove 'son,' you have to remove 'father,' and if you remove those, the whole thread of the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation is unraveled," said the Rev. Georges Houssney, the president of Horizons International, a Christian organization that works extensively with Muslims and himself a translator of the Bible into Arabic.

Orlando, Fla.-based Wycliffe Bible Translators argues the translations have never been about avoiding controversy, but choosing words that most accurately reflect the Gospels: Some concepts relating God to family members don't make sense in some cultures, so the language needs to reflect that.

"People are saying we're trying to do translation work that's not offensive to Muslims, and that's just not true," Wycliffe CEO Bob Creson said. "We are committed to the accurate translation of God's word. That is our highest value."

Translating the collection of ancient documents assembled together as the Bible has never been easy. Disputes over biblical language date from the early centuries of Christianity when the original Hebrew and Greek texts were brought to new countries, to making the Shakespearean language of the King James Version more understandable to modern readers.

Last month, Wycliffe agreed to an independent review of its policies by the World Evangelical Alliance, which plans to appoint a panel of experts to determine whether Wycliffe and affiliated groups are improperly replacing the terms "Son of God" and "God the Father."

The decision comes after a growing number of critics decried the materials as attempts to avoid controversy that fundamentally altered Christian theology. The dispute moved from Internet forums and online petitions to concern from large Christian bodies. The Assemblies of God - one of the largest Pentecostal fellowships, with more than 60 million members in affiliated churches worldwide - announced it would review its longstanding relationship with Wycliffe.

Wycliffe, an interdenominational group that works with a wide variety of churches and missionaries, says it won't publish any disputed materials until after the WEA panel issues its findings.

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Hometownstations.com-WLIO- Lima, OH News Weather SportsBible translator criticized over word substitution