The state of flying cars
Source: A commuter’s dream: Entrepreneurs race to develop flying car This article has a fairly good roundup of the flying car projects out there, even if they did leave out the Dutch Aeromobil Roadable project.
Month: January 2017
Aviation Headsets Guide
It starts with the type of headset you need. You have PNR = passive noise reduction, ANR = active noise reduction and earpiece type headsets. PNR relies on the shell and the seal (which is gel or foam [gel when broken will leak and requires a full replacement of the seal, foam will live through Read more about Aviation Headsets Guide[…]
Viruses, spyware found in ‘alarming’ number of Android VPN apps
A team from CSIRO’s Data 61, University of NSW and UC Berkley in the US found a whole bunch of Android VPN apps contain viruses, spyware and other adware. Researchers analysed the apps available for Android to look for nasties like trojans, spyware and adware — giving each an “anti-virus rank (AV)” based on what Read more about Viruses, spyware found in ‘alarming’ number of Android VPN apps[…]
Dropbox: Oops, yeah, we didn’t actually delete all your files – this bug kept them in the cloud
“Typically, we permanently remove files and folders from our servers within 60 days of a user deleting them. However, the deleted files and folders impacted by this bug had metadata inconsistencies,” Dropbox employee Ross S said on the company’s support forum. “So we quarantined and excluded them from the permanent deletion process until the metadata Read more about Dropbox: Oops, yeah, we didn’t actually delete all your files – this bug kept them in the cloud[…]
google/glazier: A tool for automating the installation of the Microsoft Windows operating system on various device platforms.
Glazier Glazier is a tool for automating the installation of the Microsoft Windows operating system on various device platforms. Why Glazier? Glazier was created with certain principles in mind. Text-based & Code-driven With Glazier, imaging is configured entirely via text files. This allows technicians to leverage source control systems to maintain and develop their imaging Read more about google/glazier: A tool for automating the installation of the Microsoft Windows operating system on various device platforms.[…]
Wine 2.0 Released
The Wine team is proud to announce that the stable release Wine 2.0 is now available. This release represents over a year of development effort and around 6,600 individual changes. The main highlights are the support for Microsoft Office 2013, and the 64-bit support on macOS. It also contains a lot of improvements across the Read more about Wine 2.0 Released[…]
Boffins perfect 3D bioprinter that produces slabs of human skin
In a paper for the journal Biofabrication, the team details how the printer lays down bioinks containing human plasma as well as primary human fibroblasts and keratinocytes. The printer first lays down a layer of external epidermis and then a thicker layer of fibroblasts that produce collagen, which will make the flesh strong and elastic. Read more about Boffins perfect 3D bioprinter that produces slabs of human skin[…]
Introducing Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware Beta
a completely proactive and signature-less technology that is able to detect and block even the most dangerous of ransomware variants like CryptoWall4, CryptoLocker, Tesla, and CTB-Locker. Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware monitors all activity in the computer and identifies actions which are typical of ransomware activity. It keeps track of all activity and, once it has enough evidence Read more about Introducing Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware Beta[…]
Bitdefender limited Anti Ransomware Tool
Bitdefender Anti-Ransomware prevents the following families of ransomware from encrypting your files: CTB-Locker, Locky, Pertya, and TeslaCrypt. Bitdefender cannot guarantee the effectiveness of the tool against different strains of ransomware, nor be held liable for the loss of sensitive data. Source: Anti Ransomware Tool Shame…
Cryptostalker, a Tool to Detect Crypto-Ransomware on Linux
Cryptostalker and the original project randumb are the work of Sean Williams, a developer from San Francisco. Mr. Williams wanted to create a tool that monitored the filesystem for newly written files, and if the files contained random data, the sign of encrypted content, and they were written at high speed, it would alert the Read more about Cryptostalker, a Tool to Detect Crypto-Ransomware on Linux[…]
RansomWhere protects OSX from ransomware
Let’s try to generically thwart OS X ransomware via math! By continually monitoring the file-system for the creation of encrypted files by suspicious processes, RansomWhere? aims to protect your personal files, generically stopping ransomware in its tracks. Source: Objective-See
The No More Ransom Project: tools and howtos to decrypt ransomware from the EU
Law enforcement and IT Security companies have joined forces to disrupt cybercriminal businesses with ransomware connections. The “No More Ransom” website is an initiative by the National High Tech Crime Unit of the Netherlands’ police, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre and two cyber security companies – Kaspersky Lab and Intel Security – with the goal to Read more about The No More Ransom Project: tools and howtos to decrypt ransomware from the EU[…]
Cybereason Introduces: Free Behavioral-Based Ransomware Blocking
Edit: It seems that this system creates a whole load of bogus files and dirs and monitors them, not the whole file system. This pollutes the file system and means that people can quite easily write around it. Every ransomware program goes over files, chooses the ones that look interesting, encrypts them and destroys the Read more about Cybereason Introduces: Free Behavioral-Based Ransomware Blocking[…]
Don’t smile too big to be effective in online marketing ads, study funds
“We found that broad smiles lead people to be perceived as warmer but less competent,” said Jessica Li, a KU assistant professor of marketing in the School of Business. “We ask how that can influence consumer behavior and in what situations might marketers want to smile more broadly.” […] Li said broader smiles that tend Read more about Don’t smile too big to be effective in online marketing ads, study funds[…]
Scientists create first stable semisynthetic organism
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have announced the development of the first stable semisynthetic organism. Building on their 2014 study in which they synthesized a DNA base pair, the researchers created a new bacterium that uses the four natural bases (called A, T, C and G), which every living organism possesses, but that Read more about Scientists create first stable semisynthetic organism[…]
Physicists show that real-time error correction in quantum communications is possible
Now researchers have shown that there is a grey area where Nature cannot tell the difference between the classical and the quantum. This opens the possibility of first performing quantum experiments with a type of classical light called “classically entangled” light. By preparing and sending a so-called “classically entangled” beam the team could show that Read more about Physicists show that real-time error correction in quantum communications is possible[…]
Your Android device’s Pattern Lock can be cracked within five attempts
New research from Lancaster University, Northwest University in China, and the University of Bath, which benefitted from funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), shows for the first time that attackers can crack Pattern Lock reliably within five attempts by using video and computer vision algorithm software. By covertly videoing the owner Read more about Your Android device’s Pattern Lock can be cracked within five attempts[…]
dataviz.tools – a curated guide to the best tools, resources and technologies for data visualization
This site features a curated selection of data visualization tools meant to bridge the gap between programmers/statisticians and the general public by only highlighting free/freemium, responsive and relatively simple-to-learn technologies for displaying both basic and complex, multivariate datasets. It leans heavily toward open-source software and plugins, rather than enterprise, expensive B.I. solutions. Why? Well, information Read more about dataviz.tools – a curated guide to the best tools, resources and technologies for data visualization[…]
Researchers Uncover Twitter Bot Army That’s 350,000 Strong
Two researchers from University College London claim to have discovered an army of 350,000 such bots hiding in plain sight, distinguished by their affinity for tweeting quotes from Star Wars novels. And, like Aragorn bursting into the throne room at Helm’s Deep to deliver the news of an encroaching orc army, they have come to Read more about Researchers Uncover Twitter Bot Army That’s 350,000 Strong[…]
Galileo satellites experiencing multiple clock failures
The onboard atomic clocks that drive the satellite-navigation signals on Europe’s Galileo network have been failing at an alarming rate. Across the 18 satellites now in orbit, nine clocks have stopped operating. Three are traditional rubidium devices; six are the more precise hydrogen maser instruments that were designed to give Galileo superior performance to the Read more about Galileo satellites experiencing multiple clock failures[…]
CMU AI Is Tough Poker Player
As the “Brains vs. Artificial Intelligence: Upping the Ante” poker competition nears its halfway point, Carnegie Mellon University’s AI program, Libratus, is opening a lead over its human opponents — four of the world’s best professional poker players.One of the pros, Jimmy Chou, said he and his colleagues initially underestimated Libratus, but have come to Read more about CMU AI Is Tough Poker Player[…]
CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room releases 12m new documents
Welcome to the Central Intelligence Agency’s Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room. Do UFOs fascinate you? Are you a history buff who wants to learn more about the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam or the A-12 Oxcart? Have stories about spies always fascinated you? You can find information about all of these topics and more Read more about CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room releases 12m new documents[…]
AI Research at Google overview
A bunch of highly funded researchers Source: The Google Brain Team Publications subdivided into subjects Machine Intelligence publications subset Big Picture does a lot of high level visualisation of datasets and their relationships
Does More Money Change What We Value at Work? – Glassdoor Economic Research
For employers, this research bolsters the idea that pay and benefits—while important—are only one factor when it comes to keeping employees engaged over the long term. As pay rises, compensation and benefits become less important as drivers of employee satisfaction. Instead, other workplace factors play a more important role. Regardless of income level, we find Read more about Does More Money Change What We Value at Work? – Glassdoor Economic Research[…]
People who swear are deemed more honest
In three studies, we explored the relationship between profanity and honesty. We examined profanity and honesty first with profanity behavior and lying on a scale in the lab (Study 1; N = 276), then with a linguistic analysis of real-life social interactions on Facebook (Study 2; N = 73,789), and finally with profanity and integrity Read more about People who swear are deemed more honest[…]