Month: July 2016

Tight-wad Apple repair techs swapped our damaged iGear with used kit – lawsuit

Posted on by Robin Edgar

According to the complaint, the aggrieved customers say that their AppleCare service plans should allow them to have their devices replaced with new units. The class seeks to represent customers who purchased Apple hardware with the AppleCare replacement plan and then received replacement devices from Apple when their old devices broke. The claim centers around Read more about Tight-wad Apple repair techs swapped our damaged iGear with used kit – lawsuit[…]

Spotify is now selling your information to advertisers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The popular streaming service is now the latest platform that is opening its data to targeted advertising. Everything from your age and gender, to the music genres you like to listen will be available to various third-party companies. Spotify is calling it programmatic buying and has already enabled it. Advertisers will have access to the Read more about Spotify is now selling your information to advertisers[…]

Maxthon web browser blabs about your PC all the way back to Beijing

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Polish security consultancy Exatel warns [PDF] that Maxthon is phoning home information such as the computer’s operating system and version number, the screen resolution, the CPU type and speed, the amount of memory installed, the location of the browser’s executable, whether ad-block is running, and the start page URL. Source: Maxthon web browser blabs about Read more about Maxthon web browser blabs about your PC all the way back to Beijing[…]

Scientists move one step closer to creating an invisibility cloak

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have made an object disappear by using a composite material with nano-size particles that can enhance specific properties on the object’s surface. Researchers from QMUL’s School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, worked with UK industry to demonstrate for the first time a practical cloaking device that Read more about Scientists move one step closer to creating an invisibility cloak[…]

Empty your free 30GB OneDrive space today – before Microsoft deletes your files for you

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft is cutting its free 15GB OneDrive cloud storage space down to 5GB, and eliminating the 15GB free camera roll for many users. Files will be deleted by Redmond until your account is under the free limit. Clouds turn to rain to hide your tears Source: Empty your free 30GB OneDrive space today – before Read more about Empty your free 30GB OneDrive space today – before Microsoft deletes your files for you[…]

UK To Outsource RAF aggressor training

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The current service is provided by Cobham Aviation with its Dassault Falcon 20s and Fleet Air Arm-operated BAE Systems Hawk T1s flown by 736 NAS from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall and RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset. The unit’s Hawks will be retired in 2020. A phased plan of introducing other capabilities will continue throughout the next Read more about UK To Outsource RAF aggressor training[…]

Researchers blur the line between classical and quantum physics by connecting chaos and entanglement

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Using a small quantum system consisting of three superconducting qubits, researchers at UC Santa Barbara and Google have uncovered a link between aspects of classical and quantum physics thought to be unrelated: classical chaos and quantum entanglement. Their findings suggest that it would be possible to use controllable quantum systems to investigate certain fundamental aspects Read more about Researchers blur the line between classical and quantum physics by connecting chaos and entanglement[…]

Drowning Dalek commands Siri in voice-rec hack attack

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a proof-of-concept video the boffins place a phone in an empty conference room three metres (10 feet) from a speaker. Commands are issued that sound to like a drowning dalek to Vulture South’s ears. That garbling makes the commands difficult for humans to understand but passable for Siri and her ilk. The attackers activate Read more about Drowning Dalek commands Siri in voice-rec hack attack[…]

Massive open-access database on human cultures created

Posted on by Robin Edgar

D-PLACE – the Database of Places, Language, Culture and Environment – is an expandable, open access database that brings together a dispersed body of information on the language, geography, culture and environment of more than 1,400 human societies. It comprises information mainly on pre-industrial societies that were described by ethnographers in the 19th and early Read more about Massive open-access database on human cultures created[…]

These ultra-thin solar cells can be bent around a pencil

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The cells are fabricated onto a flexible substrate that is just a micrometer thick — one-half to one-quarter the thickness of other “thin” solar cells and hundreds of times thinner than conventional cells. A human hair, by comparison, is about 100 micrometers. The team at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea Read more about These ultra-thin solar cells can be bent around a pencil[…]

Russian leader Putin signs controversial ‘Big Brother’ law

Posted on by Robin Edgar

the new legislation — which Edward Snowden has called “Russia’s new Big Brother law” — is not only severe against those involved in “international terrorism,” its financing, and its non-denunciation. Law enforcement agencies will also be granted access to any user’s messages without any judicial oversight. Several key provisions will directly affect the internet and Read more about Russian leader Putin signs controversial ‘Big Brother’ law[…]

Wendy’s Says More Than 1,000 Restaurants Affected by Hack

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Wendy’s said hackers were able to steal customers’ credit and debit card information at 1,025 of its U.S. restaurants, far more than it originally thought. The hamburger chain said Thursday hackers were able to obtain card numbers, names, expiration dates and codes on the card, beginning in late fall. Some customers’ cards were used to Read more about Wendy’s Says More Than 1,000 Restaurants Affected by Hack[…]

Hundreds of Genes Spring Back to Life in the Days After Death

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In the first of the two studies, the researchers sought to determine which genes out of about a thousand might still be functioning in zebrafish and mice in the immediate days following death. To their surprise, the researchers found that hundreds of genes sprung back to life. Not only that, the activity of some of Read more about Hundreds of Genes Spring Back to Life in the Days After Death[…]

UK Police Accessed Civilian Data 1283 times for Fun and Profit, New Report Says

Posted on by Robin Edgar

More than 800 UK police staff inappropriately accessed personal information between June 2011 and December 2015, according to a report from activist group Big Brother Watch. The report says some police staff used their access to a growing trove of police data, which includes personal information on civilians, for entertainment and personal and financial gain. Read more about UK Police Accessed Civilian Data 1283 times for Fun and Profit, New Report Says[…]

Former Lottery Security Director hacked random-number generator to rig lotteries, investigators say

Posted on by Robin Edgar

For several years, Eddie Tipton, the former security director of the US Multi-State Lottery Association, installed software code that allowed him to predict winning numbers on specific days of the year, investigators allege. The random-number generators had been erased, but new forensic evidence has revealed how the hack was apparently done. […] The number generator Read more about Former Lottery Security Director hacked random-number generator to rig lotteries, investigators say[…]

Evidence mounting that DNA matching is more of an art than a science due partly to proprietary algorhythms

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Dror and Hampikian gave the DNA evidence to 17 lab technicians for examination, withholding context about the case to ensure unbiased results. All of the techs were experienced, with an average of nine years in the field. Dror and Hampikian asked them to determine whether the mixture included DNA from the defendant. In 2011, the Read more about Evidence mounting that DNA matching is more of an art than a science due partly to proprietary algorhythms[…]

Foscam, QNAP, Swann send data to iotcplatform.com and others without knowledge or consent

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Imagine buying an internet-enabled surveillance camera, network attached storage device, or home automation gizmo, only to find that it secretly and constantly phones home to a vast peer-to-peer (P2P) network run by the Chinese manufacturer of the hardware. Now imagine that the geek gear you bought doesn’t actually let you block this P2P communication without Read more about Foscam, QNAP, Swann send data to iotcplatform.com and others without knowledge or consent[…]

Eyefi To Brick Its Older Wi-Fi Cards, And Photographers Aren’t Happy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

If you’re a photographer shooting with Eyefi’s older generation Wi-Fi memory cards, here’s something you should know: your card will soon become more or less useless. Just days after announcing that it had sold its cloud services to Ricoh, Eyefi sent out an email to customers this week, informing them that older X1 and X2 Read more about Eyefi To Brick Its Older Wi-Fi Cards, And Photographers Aren’t Happy[…]

You can now browse through 427 million stolen MySpace passwords

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An anonymous hacker managed to obtain an enormous number of user credentials in June 2013 from fallen social networking giant MySpace — some 427 million passwords, belonging to approx. 360 million users. In May 2016, a person started selling that database of passwords on the dark web. Now, the entire database is available online for Read more about You can now browse through 427 million stolen MySpace passwords[…]