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Star Wars 4 GB USB Flash Drive

48 percent of SMBs worldwide are infected every year; one third of these infections are caused by worms that spread on USB devices

PandaLabs, Panda Security’s antimalware laboratory, has discovered that in 2010, 25 percent of new worms have been specifically designed to spread through USB storage devices connected to computers. These types of threats can copy themselves to any device capable of storing information such as cell phones, external hard drives, DVDs, flash memories and MP3/4 players.

The data from Panda Security’s Second International SMB Security Barometer suggests that this distribution technique is highly effective. With survey responses from more than 10,470 companies across 20 countries, it was revealed that approximately 48 percent of SMBs (with up to 1,000 computers) admit to having been infected by some type of malware over the last year. As further proof, 27 percent confirmed that the source of the infection was a USB device connected to a computer.

According to Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs, “At present, much of the malware in circulation has been designed to distribute through these devices. Not only does it copy itself to these gadgets, but it also runs automatically when a USB device is connected to a computer, infecting the system practically transparently to the user. This has been the case with many infections we have seen this year, such as the distribution of the Mariposa and Vodafone botnets.”

So far, these types of infections are still outnumbered by those that spread via email, but it is a growing trend. “There are now so many devices on the market that can be connected via USB to a computer: digital cameras, cell phones, MP3 or MP4 players,” adds Corrons. “This is clearly very convenient for users, but since all these devices have memory cards or internal memory, it is feasible that your cell phone could be carrying a virus without your knowledge.” Read the rest of this entry »


Fast, Compact MB86C31 Series Now Included on the Integrators List for SuperSpeed USB Peripheral Silicon

Fujitsu Semiconductor America announced that the latest series of the Fujitsu USB 3.0-SATA bridge IC, the MB86C31, has passed USB-IF compliance testing conducted by the USB Implementers Forum and is now certified as compliant with the USB 3.0 SuperSpeed standard.

The Fujitsu MB86C31 USB 3.0-SATA bridge IC builds on the functionality of the MB86C30 series released last year. Key new features include support for the state-of-the-art UAS (USB attached SCSI) protocol, Native Command Queuing (NCQ) functionality, and hot-plugging of ATA devices. Other enhancements include improved USB PHY connectivity and lower power consumption as well as support for PWM and plural SPI devices. The MB86C31 is available in two small packages – a 64-pin LQFP (7mm x 7mm) and a 48-pin QFN (6mm x 6mm) – for greater flexibility.

With its enhanced features, available high-speed encryption hardware and data-transfer rates up to 5Gbps, the MB86C31 USB 3.0-SATA bridge IC series is a robust solution to enable secure, reliable, and super-fast connectivity between host PCs and external SATA storage devices such as HDDs, SSDs, and Blu-ray drives.

“SuperSpeed USB offers compelling advancements to the popular USB technology, and we’re excited to witness the growing momentum behind SuperSpeed USB technology,” stated Jeff Ravencraft, president and chairman, USB-IF. “The hard work of manufacturers bringing certified SuperSpeed USB products to market is a clear indication of strong industry support for SuperSpeed USB.” Read the rest of this entry »


Ubicom announced the introduction of its IP8100 family of network processors. The processors are targeted towards next generation solutions for consumer, SOHO and SMB applications for both retail and service provider deployments. Ubicom will demonstrate the processors at its suite at Computex 2010.

The IP8100 processors provide best in class performance for routing, security, and advanced services. The industry’s lowest cost multiprocessing solution allows line rate routing, VPN and other networking functions for fiber and other next generation networks. An upgraded memory subsystem that includes a 1066 MHz DDR3/DDR2 interface enhances performance while helping reduce system cost as DRAM pricing and availability shifts to DDR3.

A flexible set of high performance interfaces allows the IP8100 processors to enable many applications efficiently:

– Two PCI Express Gen 2 interfaces for dual band, dual concurrent and multi-stream routers
– Two USB 3.0 interfaces for network shared storage to leverage super speed external storage and other high speed USB peripherals
– Two Gigabit Ethernet for ports many applications like SOHO/SMB VPN and multi-WAN routers
– Two USB 2.0 interfaces for home monitoring, energy management and provisioned services
– SLIC interface for VoIP applications, two display controllers, a camera interface, I2C, SPI and UART for control of peripherals, I2S and S/PDIF for audio output Read the rest of this entry »


Synopsys Launches DesignWare USB Software Alliance Program

  • Author: USB World
  • Filed under: USB News
  • Date: Aug 13,2010

Alliance Program Enables Faster Implementation of USB Connectivity with Interoperable, Ready-to-Go Software Drivers and Services

Synopsys announced the launch of the DesignWare USB Software Alliance Program with leading USB software providers emsys, Jungo, MCCI and MicroDigital as inaugural members. This alliance program establishes an ecosystem of qualified USB software providers for drivers, firmware and stacks which have proven interoperability with Synopsys’ DesignWare USB 2.0 and SuperSpeed USB 3.0 IP. Synopsys and its DesignWare USB Software Alliance Program members can help designers to quickly incorporate USB connectivity into their system-on-chips (SoCs) with less risk and provide consumers with the plug-and-play functionality required for PCs, peripherals, mobile devices and consumer electronic products.

The DesignWare USB Software Alliance Program brings together a worldwide ecosystem of USB software vendors whose proven technology has undergone extensive interoperability testing with Synopsys’ DesignWare USB IP and their end-customers’ products. Synopsys works with its DesignWare USB Alliance Program members to help ensure that the members’ software drivers and firmware work seamlessly with Synopsys’ high-quality DesignWare USB IP, thus providing a comprehensive solution from software to the PHY layers. The alliance program members specialize in a wide range of USB-enabled software applications, allowing SoC designers to easily select the software vendor best suited to help accelerate the development of their USB-based designs. The members also can provide designers with customized development kits, services and worldwide support to help them achieve certification from the USB Implementer Forum (USB-IF). Access to these expert technical resources further eases the integration effort and allows engineers to focus on product differentiation rather than driver and firmware development.

“Through our membership in the DesignWare USB Alliance Program, we are able to test our software for interoperability with the DesignWare USB IP,” said Karsten Pahnke, CEO of emsys Embedded Systems GmbH. “Proven interoperable solutions help our mutual customers significantly speed their software and product development time.” Read the rest of this entry »


Advanced Analogic Technologies introduced the AAT3698, a single input 1.6A linear charger with 28V input protection and 50mA low dropout (LDO) to manage the charging, sequencing and protection of Lithium (Li)-Ion and Lithium Polymer-powered portable devices. Targeting portable electronic devices including cellular phones, GPS navigation systems, portable media players and general hand-held consumer devices, the AAT3698 incorporates key safety features that adjust for excessive temperature or voltage, up to 28V, to avoid over-charging or other damage to the battery during charging.

“Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Polymer batteries are nearly synonymous with today’s portable electronic devices,” said Roger Smullen, product marketing manager at AnalogicTech. “A device’s ability to maximize its battery life and charging speed, while minimizing power loss is a critical consideration to its acceptance in the consumer marketplace. The AAT3698 is able to deliver these performance characteristics through USB connectivity or an AC adapter, giving designers even more options to enable broad adoption.”

Part of AnalogicTech’s Battery Manager(TM) Total Power Management IC(TM) (TPMIC(TM)) product family, the AAT3698 is a linear battery charger IC developed for single-cell Lithium (Li)-Ion and Li-Polymer batteries. Able to manage input voltage of up to 7V the IC integrates many features to increase design flexibility and facilitate design-in. Among these features are a 5V/50mA LDO that can provide additional power to an external device such as a radio in a wireless-communication product. This regulator is enabled at all times regardless of the status of the charger and is protected by an over-voltage protection (OVP) switch.

The AAT3698 is a small standalone charger solution that requires only 2 resistors and 4 small capacitors to operate and comes in a small, lead-free 14-pin 4 mm x 4 mm thin quad flat no-lead (TQFN) package. The AAT3698 precisely regulates battery voltage for Li-Ion/Polymer battery cells through a low RDS (ON) switch after it has reached 4.2V. The charging current can be set by an external resistor up to 1.6A.

Besides the IC’s built-in OVP circuit that helps prevent damage to the battery and the charging circuitry, other fault conditions are monitored in real time. In case of an over-current, battery over-voltage, short circuit, or over-temperature failure, the device will automatically shut down, thereby protecting the charging device, control system, and the battery under charge. A status monitoring output pin (STAT) is provided to indicate charging activity. This open drain output pin can be used to drive an external LED as a charging indicator. When the battery voltage has reached the constant voltage level, the AAT3698 has two charge termination and recharge modes— one controlled by the charger (AAT3698-1) and one where charge termination and recharge is managed by the host (AAT3698-2). Read the rest of this entry »