Month: December 2014

United Airlines and Orbitz resort to suing Skiplagged.com which is better and takes advantage of airlines’ stupid fee structure

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Skiplagged.com found out that you can buy a cheaper ticket from A – B if you buy a ticket to C where B is a stop on the way (A – B – C) and then just get off at B. For example, a customer buying a ticket from New York to Los Angeles, where Read more about United Airlines and Orbitz resort to suing Skiplagged.com which is better and takes advantage of airlines’ stupid fee structure[…]

Five Mechanical Gaming Keyboards Compared

Posted on by Robin Edgar

When you’re on the path to becoming a power user, you begin to notice certain things that the average person might not. One of those is the difference between typing on a sweet mechanical keyboard with luxurious key action versus pounding away on a run-of-the-mill squishy plank that relies on mushy membranes to register your Read more about Five Mechanical Gaming Keyboards Compared[…]

Dutch gov sends cops to 3 times as many houses as there are guilty parties at those houses, scares 4500 people witless, will scare 30000 next year

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ah the wonders of big data. Needlessly scaring twice as many people as guilty people you find with a valid search warrant and invasion of innocent people’s privacy is being lauded as a success by the NL Government and will result in 30000 people’s houses being needlessly searched next year. 30.000 onschuldige Nederlanders opgejaagd door Read more about Dutch gov sends cops to 3 times as many houses as there are guilty parties at those houses, scares 4500 people witless, will scare 30000 next year[…]

UK gov putting a massive internet censorship scheme online

Posted on by Robin Edgar

BT, Sky, and Virgin Media are hijacking people’s web connections to force customers to make a decision about family-friendly web filters. The move comes as the December deadline imposed by prime minister David Cameron looms, with ISPs struggling to get customers to say yes or no to the controversial adult content blocks. The messages, which Read more about UK gov putting a massive internet censorship scheme online[…]

Staples: Breach may have affected 1.16 million customers’ cards

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Staples believes that point-of-sale systems at 115 Staples locations were infected with malware that thieves may have used to steal customers’ names, payment card numbers, expiration dates and card verification codes, Staples said on Friday. At all but two of those stores, the malware would have had access to customer data for purchases made between Read more about Staples: Breach may have affected 1.16 million customers’ cards[…]

The end of Democracy in NL

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Netherlands is now officially moving towards becoming a banana republic. Foreign media hasn’t really seemed to catch on to this, but there’s a very important cabinets crisis happening in the Netherlands at the moment. A translated version for English people: An incredibly stupid law* was stopped in the senate by 3 brave PvdA** senators Read more about The end of Democracy in NL[…]

Rresearchers may have stumbled upon the secret to youthful skin

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists at the University of B.C. searching for ways to slow the deterioration of blood vessels may have stumbled on to the key to youthful skin. While exploring the effects of the protein-degrading enzyme Granzyme B on blood vessels during heart attacks, professor David Granville couldn’t help noticing that mice engineered to lack the enzyme Read more about Rresearchers may have stumbled upon the secret to youthful skin[…]

Am I unique? – see how identifiable you are by your browser fingerprint

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This site looks at surprisingly few browser attributes to see how unique you are. Currently you are being compared to 37753 other browsers, but as more people check on the site, the representation will be more accurate. It’s pretty scary to see how individual your browser settings are, even with javascript disabled. via Am I Read more about Am I unique? – see how identifiable you are by your browser fingerprint[…]

Identify the maker of a movie by the way the screen shakes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Egocentric cameras are being worn by an increasing number of users, among them many security forces worldwide. GoPro cameras already penetrated the mass market, and Google Glass may follow soon. As head-worn cameras do not capture the face and body of the wearer, it may seem that the anonymity of the wearer can be preserved Read more about Identify the maker of a movie by the way the screen shakes[…]

EU Mandates eCall tracking system in your new car from 2018

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The European Parliament has reached a deal with national ministers to introduce a mandatory “eCall” system for all new cars from April 2018. However, although the system would automatically call the 112 emergency number in the event of a crash, euro lawmakers say that cars will not be continuously tracked. “It will be illegal to Read more about EU Mandates eCall tracking system in your new car from 2018[…]

FIDO v1 out – broadly adopted passwordless authentication for (eventually) everything

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“Today, we celebrate an achievement that will define the point at which the old world order of passwords and PINs started to wither and die,” said Michael Barrett, president of the FIDO Alliance. “FIDO Alliance pioneers can forever lay claim to ushering in the ‘post password’ era, which is already revealing new dimensions in Internet Read more about FIDO v1 out – broadly adopted passwordless authentication for (eventually) everything[…]

IBM’s Watson Analytics enters public beta | ZDNet

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Users of Watson Analytics feed in their own raw data, say, in the form of a spreadsheet, which the service then crunches with its own statistical analysis to highlight associations between different variables. It saves execs from needing to know how to write their own scripts or understand statistics in order to derive meaning from Read more about IBM’s Watson Analytics enters public beta | ZDNet[…]

NASA tests aircraft with shape shifting wings

Posted on by Robin Edgar

FlexFoil is a shape-changing assembly that replaces the flaps on a wing and can alter shape in flight to produce seamless bendable and twistable aerofoil surfaces. This allows the FlexFoil to act like a flap in its various positions while still providing an unbroken air surface. This makes for a more streamlined wing and reduces Read more about NASA tests aircraft with shape shifting wings[…]

Sony Data Breach gets worse and worse

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The data dump, which was reviewed extensively by BuzzFeed News, includes employee criminal background checks, salary negotiations, and doctors’ letters explaining the medical rationale for leaves of absence. There are spreadsheets containing the salaries of 6,800 global employees, along with Social Security numbers for 3,500 U.S. staff. And there is extensive documentation of the company’s Read more about Sony Data Breach gets worse and worse[…]

GlassWire Network Security Monitor & Firewall Tool

Posted on by Robin Edgar

GlassWire displays your network activity on an easy to understand graph while searching for unusual Internet behavior that could indicate malware or violations of your privacy. Once unusual network activity is discovered you’re instantly alerted with detailed information so you can protect your computer, privacy, and data. via GlassWire Network Security Monitor & Firewall Tool.

The Newest Sony Data Breach Exposes Thousands Of Passwords

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Excel and Word documents plainly expose thousands of computer log-in, financial, and web services passwords, including the Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and MySpace passwords for hundreds of major motion picture accounts. via It Gets Worse: The Newest Sony Data Breach Exposes Thousands Of Passwords – BuzzFeed News. Oh dear, Sony is really hammering themselves on this Read more about The Newest Sony Data Breach Exposes Thousands Of Passwords[…]

Apple Deleted Rivals’ Songs from Users’ iPods

Posted on by Robin Edgar

When a user who had downloaded music from a rival service tried to sync an iPod to the user’s iTunes library, Apple would display an error message and instruct the user to restore the factory settings, Coughlin said. When the user restored the settings, the music from rival services would disappear, he said. via Apple Read more about Apple Deleted Rivals’ Songs from Users’ iPods[…]