Month: June 2016
Acer leaks payment cards in e-store hack
The PC maker has started writing to customers [PDF] warning that their personal records were siphoned off from its online store by crooks between May 12, 2015 and April 28, 2016. Acer did not say how many customers had their details swiped. The lost data includes customer names, addresses, card numbers, and three-digit security verification Read more about Acer leaks payment cards in e-store hack[…]
Facebook Will Start Tracking Which Stores You Walk Into
Facebook wants to show advertisers that their ads make you visit their bricks-and-mortar stores and buy their stuff. To do this, they’ll use phones’ location services to track whether people actually walk into the stores after seeing an ad. Source: Facebook Will Start Tracking Which Stores You Walk Into
Buy one of 70K hacked servers from $6, get control kit with it
Researchers have uncovered an underground marketplace selling information on over 70,000 compromised servers based around the globe. Russia-based Kaspersky Lab has revealed today that the online forum, named xDedic, seems to be operated by a Russian-speaking organisation and allows hackers to pay for undetectable access to a wide range of servers, including those owned by Read more about Buy one of 70K hacked servers from $6, get control kit with it[…]
BadTunnel Bug Hijacks All Network Traffic, for All Windows Versions
The research of Yang Yu, founder of Tencent’s Xuanwu Lab, has helped Microsoft patch a severe security issue in its implementation of the NetBIOS protocol that affected all Windows versions ever released. Yu says an attacker could leverage this vulnerability to pass as a WPAD or ISATAP server and redirect all the victim’s network traffic Read more about BadTunnel Bug Hijacks All Network Traffic, for All Windows Versions[…]
Happiness equation: New equation reveals how other people’s fortunes affect our happiness
A new equation, showing how our happiness depends not only on what happens to us but also how this compares to other people, has been developed by UCL researchers funded by Wellcome. The team developed an equation to predict happiness in 2014, highlighting the importance of expectations, and the new updated equation also takes into Read more about Happiness equation: New equation reveals how other people’s fortunes affect our happiness[…]
TeLeScope can decrypt your TLS traffic realtime if on a hypervised machine (which most people are nowadays)
Bitdefender vulnerability researcher Radu Caragea presented today at the Hack In The Box Amsterdam conference a novel way to extract TLS keys from virtual machines, using an out-of-guest approach. The new technique works to detect the creation of TLS session keys in memory as the virtual machine is running. The presentation covers a novel technique Read more about TeLeScope can decrypt your TLS traffic realtime if on a hypervised machine (which most people are nowadays)[…]
Citigroup Is Suing AT&T For Using the Word ‘Thanks’ Because Citi Trademarked Thankyou
Back in 2010, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted Citigroup a trademark for “thankyou,” which the company uses for credit card services. Today the company is suing AT&T over its own use of the terms “thanks” and “thanks AT&T.” Check the date, because this isn’t April Fool’s. Source: Citigroup Is Suing AT&T For Using Read more about Citigroup Is Suing AT&T For Using the Word ‘Thanks’ Because Citi Trademarked Thankyou[…]
Gawker Ordered To Pay Hulk Hogan $115 Million In Sex Tape Lawsuit – wait, how much?
In a closely watched trial by the media community, shortly after 7pm on Friday night, and less than six hours after starting deliberations, the jury sided with ex-pro wrestler Hulk Hogan and awarded him $115 million in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media. The trial lasted two weeks. The award consists of $55 million Read more about Gawker Ordered To Pay Hulk Hogan $115 Million In Sex Tape Lawsuit – wait, how much?[…]
Have Your iPhone 6 Repaired, Only To Get It Bricked By Apple
In case you had a problem with the fingerprint sensor or some other small defect on your iPhone 6 and had it repaired by a non-official (read: cheaper) shop, you may be in for a nasty surprise: error 53. What happens is that during an OS update or re-install the software checks the internal hardware Read more about Have Your iPhone 6 Repaired, Only To Get It Bricked By Apple[…]
Hundreds of VerticalScope forums hacked, leaking 45 million user accounts
the database shows email addresses, passwords that were hashed and salted passwords with MD5 (an algorithm that nowadays is easy to crack), as well as a user’s IP address (which in some cases can determine location), and the site that the record was taken from. Source: Exclusive: Hundreds of forums hacked, leaking millions of users’ Read more about Hundreds of VerticalScope forums hacked, leaking 45 million user accounts[…]
Chinese loan sharks seek salacious selfies as collateral
The selfies are accepted as collateral for loans up to 15,000 yuan – about US$2,200 – on a whopping 30 per cent rate of interest per week. That may, however, have to do with translation: China Daily says the interest rate is 30 per cent per year. As well as the selfies, borrowers had to Read more about Chinese loan sharks seek salacious selfies as collateral[…]
Microsoft’s paid $60 per LinkedIn user – and it’s a bargain, because we’re mugs
Until we price our personal data we’ll keep on being fleeced Source: Microsoft’s paid $60 per LinkedIn user – and it’s a bargain, because we’re mugs Time to get my data off LinkedIn and move it back to my own website with a referral!
Tesla Suspension Breakage: It’s Not The Crime, It’s The Coverup – Slashdot
You find a fault in a Tesla. You ask for repairs. Tesla comes back offering 50% of the repair price, but only if you promise to not tell anyone about the problem you found! This offer, to repair a defective part in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement, is unheard of in the auto industry. More Read more about Tesla Suspension Breakage: It’s Not The Crime, It’s The Coverup – Slashdot[…]
Automatic robotic clothes and laundry folding machine
Spend more time with your loved ones and hand over your laundry folding to FoldiMate, the robotic laundry folding machine. Reserve yours today! Source: Automatic robotic clothes and laundry folding machine Let’s hope it gets made! Waiting for 2017 to come along 🙂
Lexus Owners Experiencing A Nationwide Blackout Of Nav Systems
Across the nation, and also on Twitter, Lexus owners say the navigation systems in their luxury cars suddenly stopped working today for some as-of-yet unknown reason. Source: Lexus Owners Experiencing A Nationwide Blackout Of Nav Systems It seems a software update was the cause – QA testing fail!
Humanity will only buy 47 smartphones per SECOND in 2016
Last year we bought 44 per second, but growth has slowed so its frowning time […] Prognostication-producers Gartner reckon the disappointing start to 2016 will continue for smartphone makers, with the year to end a mere seven per cent ahead of 2015. If it’s accurate, that would translate to 1.5 billion units for the year Read more about Humanity will only buy 47 smartphones per SECOND in 2016[…]
Boffins shake up smartphone with motion-sensor as microphone
because nobody regards the vibration sensor as sensitive, smartphones typically leave it with wide-open permissions. What Nirupam Roy and Romit Roy Choudhury did was to hack an Android phone so its vibration sensor acted as a microphone. Well: a vibration sensor is half-way to being a microphone anyhow, in terms of its basic function. As Read more about Boffins shake up smartphone with motion-sensor as microphone[…]
Google – Voice & Audio Activity
This page lets you view, listen to and delete all of your Google Audio history. To delete all, find the 3 dots -> delete options -> advanced Source: Google – Voice & Audio Activity
The law is nuts: Tinder to stop facilitating under 18s dating due to legal worries
Tinder is discontinuing use of the app for everyone under the age of 18 starting next week, according to a statement from Tinder VP of Communications Rosette.. Source: Tinder discontinues service for users under 18 If you are held responsible for what happens during human interaction because you facilitate the meeting of the humans, there is Read more about The law is nuts: Tinder to stop facilitating under 18s dating due to legal worries[…]
Unintended consequences of AI: Amazon Echo seems to condition kids to be rude
Alexa will put up with just about anything. She has a remarkable tolerance for annoying behavior, and she certainly doesn’t care if you forget your please and thank yous. But while artificial intelligence technology can blow past such indignities, parents are still irked by their kids’ poor manners when interacting with Alexa, the assistant that Read more about Unintended consequences of AI: Amazon Echo seems to condition kids to be rude[…]
Apple services down for 8 hours, no explanation given
Apple’s U.S. web page showed all applications had resumed as of 11:55 p.m. “There are no reported issues at this time,” the company said a few minutes later on its web page. The iPhone maker said services related to iCloud and the Photos application have also resumed. The issues appear to have started just before Read more about Apple services down for 8 hours, no explanation given[…]
WebGazer.js: Democratizing Webcam Eye Tracking on the Browser
WebGazer.js is an eye tracking library that uses common webcams to infer the eye-gaze locations of web visitors on a page in real time. The eye tracking model it contains self-calibrates by watching web visitors interact with the web page and trains a mapping between the features of the eye and positions on the screen. Read more about WebGazer.js: Democratizing Webcam Eye Tracking on the Browser[…]
Microsoft removes the X to close the Windows 10 update after they decided the closing X meant yes, do it now
Recently, Microsoft’s policy had been to throw up a dialogue box asking you whether you wanted to install Windows 10. If you clicked the red “X” to close the box – the tried-and-tested way to make dialogue boxes vanish without agreeing to do anything – Microsoft began taking that as permission for the upgrade to Read more about Microsoft removes the X to close the Windows 10 update after they decided the closing X meant yes, do it now[…]