Month: October 2020

Daycares in Finland Built a ‘Forest Floor’, And It Changed Children’s Immune Systems

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Playing through the greenery and litter of a mini forest’s undergrowth for just one month may be enough to change a child’s immune system, according to a small new experiment. When daycare workers in Finland rolled out a lawn, planted forest undergrowth such as dwarf heather and blueberries, and allowed children to care for crops Read more about Daycares in Finland Built a ‘Forest Floor’, And It Changed Children’s Immune Systems[…]

Brave browser first to nix CNAME deception, the sneaky DNS trick used by marketers to duck privacy controls

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Brave web browser will soon block CNAME cloaking, a technique used by online marketers to defy privacy controls designed to prevent the use of third-party cookies. The browser security model makes a distinction between first-party domains – those being visited – and third-party domains – from the suppliers of things like image assets or Read more about Brave browser first to nix CNAME deception, the sneaky DNS trick used by marketers to duck privacy controls[…]

Physical Security Blueprints of Many Companies Leaked in Hack of Swedish Firm Gunnebo

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In March 2020, KrebsOnSecurity alerted Swedish security giant Gunnebo Group that hackers had broken into its network and sold the access to a criminal group which specializes in deploying ransomware. In August, Gunnebo said it had successfully thwarted a ransomware attack, but this week it emerged that the intruders stole and published online tens of Read more about Physical Security Blueprints of Many Companies Leaked in Hack of Swedish Firm Gunnebo[…]

In a first, researchers extract secret key used to encrypt Intel CPU code

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Researchers have extracted the secret key that encrypts updates to an assortment of Intel CPUs, a feat that could have wide-ranging consequences for the way the chips are used and, possibly, the way they’re secured. The key makes it possible to decrypt the microcode updates Intel provides to fix security vulnerabilities and other types of Read more about In a first, researchers extract secret key used to encrypt Intel CPU code[…]

Another eBay exec pleads guilty after couple stalked, harassed for daring to criticize the internet tat bazaar – pig corpese involved

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Philip Cooke, 55, oversaw eBay’s security operations in Europe and Asia and was a former police captain in Santa Clara, California. He pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses. Cooke, based in San Jose, was just one of seven employees, including one manager, accused of targeting a Read more about Another eBay exec pleads guilty after couple stalked, harassed for daring to criticize the internet tat bazaar – pig corpese involved[…]

NASA Discovers a Rare Metal Asteroid Worth $10,000 Quadrillion

Posted on by Robin Edgar

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a rare, heavy and immensely valuable asteroid called “16 Psyche” in the Solar System’s main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroid Psyche is located at roughly 230 million miles (370 million kilometers) from Earth and measures 140 miles (226 kilometers) across, about the size of West Virginia. What Read more about NASA Discovers a Rare Metal Asteroid Worth $10,000 Quadrillion[…]

NSA: foreign spies used one of our crypto backdoors – we learnt some lessons but we lost them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It’s said the NSA drew up a report on what it learned after a foreign government exploited a weak encryption scheme, championed by the US spying agency, in Juniper firewall software. However, curiously enough, the NSA has been unable to find a copy of that report. On Wednesday, Reuters reporter Joseph Menn published an account Read more about NSA: foreign spies used one of our crypto backdoors – we learnt some lessons but we lost them[…]

Researchers develop new atomic layer deposition process

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A new way to deposit thin layers of atoms as a coating onto a substrate material at near room temperatures has been invented at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System. UAH postdoctoral research associate Dr. Moonhyung Jang got the idea to use an ultrasonic atomization technology Read more about Researchers develop new atomic layer deposition process[…]

Water on the Moon: Research unveils its type and abundance – boosting exploration plans

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“Water” has since been detected inside the minerals in lunar rocks. Water ice has also been discovered to be mixed in with lunar dust grains in cold, permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles. But scientists haven’t been sure how much of this water is present as “molecular water”—made up of two parts hydrogen and Read more about Water on the Moon: Research unveils its type and abundance – boosting exploration plans[…]

Palo Alto Networks threatens to sue security startup for comparison review, says it breaks software EULA. 1 EULA? 2 WTF?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Palo Alto Networks has threatened a startup with legal action after the smaller biz published a comparison review of one of its products. Israel-based Orca Security received a cease-and-desist letter from a lawyer representing Palo Alto after Orca uploaded a series of online videos reviewing of one of Palo Alto’s products and compared it to Read more about Palo Alto Networks threatens to sue security startup for comparison review, says it breaks software EULA. 1 EULA? 2 WTF?[…]

Twitch Suddenly Mass-Deletes Thousands of Videos, Citing Music Copyright Claims – yes, copyright really doesn’t provide for  innovation at all

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“It’s finally happening: Twitch is taking action against copyrighted music — long a norm among streamers — in response to music industry pressure,” reports Kotaku. But the Verge reports “there’s some funny stuff going on here.” First, Twitch is telling streamers that some of their content has been identified as violating copyright and that instead Read more about Twitch Suddenly Mass-Deletes Thousands of Videos, Citing Music Copyright Claims – yes, copyright really doesn’t provide for  innovation at all[…]

Samsung, Stanford make a 10,000PPI display that could lead to ‘flawless’ VR

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ask VR fans about their gripes and they’ll likely mention the “screen door” effect, or the gaps between pixels that you notice when looking at a display so close to your eyes. That annoyance might disappear entirely if Samsung and Stanford University have their way. They’ve developed (via IEEE Spectrum) OLED technology that supports resolutions Read more about Samsung, Stanford make a 10,000PPI display that could lead to ‘flawless’ VR[…]

About 3% of Starlink satellites have failed so far – that’s 360 potential collisions now and 1,260 once SL is up

Posted on by Robin Edgar

To date, the company has launched over 800 satellites and (as of this summer) is producing them at a rate of about 120 a month. There are even plans to have a constellation of 42,000 satellites in orbit before the decade is out. However, there have been some problems along the way, as well. Aside Read more about About 3% of Starlink satellites have failed so far – that’s 360 potential collisions now and 1,260 once SL is up[…]

Oculus owners forced on Facebook accounts, will have purchases be wiped, device bricked, if they ever leave FB. Who would have guessed?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Oculus users, already fuming at Facebook chaining their VR headsets to their Facebook accounts, have been warned they could lose all their Oculus purchases and account information in future if they ever delete their profile on the social network. The rule is a further binding of the gaming company that Facebook bought in 2014 to Read more about Oculus owners forced on Facebook accounts, will have purchases be wiped, device bricked, if they ever leave FB. Who would have guessed?[…]

The Department of Justice sues Google over antitrust concerns | Engadget

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We all knew it was coming. Today, the US government’s Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google. The company, which is a part of Alphabet, is accused of having an unfair monopoly over search and search-related advertising. In addition, the department disagrees with the terms around Android, the most widely-used mobile operating system, Read more about The Department of Justice sues Google over antitrust concerns | Engadget[…]

eBay makes a dedicated portal for officially refurbished gear

Posted on by Robin Edgar

eBay is taking on Amazon Warehouse with a new destination called Certified Refurbished, selling used goods from brands like Lenovo, Microsoft and Makita. The idea is that you can buy second-hand products at significant discounts over new, but still get a two-year warranty (from Allstate), a money-back guarantee and 30-day “hassle-free” returns, along with new Read more about eBay makes a dedicated portal for officially refurbished gear[…]

Climate change and flying: what share of global CO2 emissions come from aviation?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Flying is a highly controversial topic in climate debates. There are a few reasons for this. The first is the disconnect between its role in our personal and collective carbon emissions. Air travel dominates frequent travellers’ individual contributions to climate change. Yet aviation overall accounts for only 2.5% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This Read more about Climate change and flying: what share of global CO2 emissions come from aviation?[…]

When you tell Chrome to wipe private data about you, it spares two websites from the purge: Google.com, YouTube

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google exempts its own websites from Chrome’s automatic data-scrubbing feature, allowing the ads giant to potentially track you even when you’ve told it not to. Programmer Jeff Johnson noticed the unusual behavior, and this month documented the issue with screenshots. In his assessment of the situation, he noted that if you set up Chrome, on Read more about When you tell Chrome to wipe private data about you, it spares two websites from the purge: Google.com, YouTube[…]

Announcing: Graph-Native Machine Learning in Neo4j!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We’re delighted to announce you can now take advantage of graph-native machine learning (ML) inside of Neo4j! We’ve just released a preview of Neo4j’s Graph Data Science™ Library version 1.4, which includes graph embeddings and an ML model catalog. Together, these enable you to create representations of your graph and make graph predictions – all Read more about Announcing: Graph-Native Machine Learning in Neo4j![…]

Amazon’s Stops Pretending and launches anticompetitive New Panel Program

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After spending years promising Congress that the data it collected from third-party sellers wasn’t used to beef up its private-label products, today Amazon decided to roll out a product meant to do exactly that. The Amazon Shopper Panel, as it’s called, promises to pay Amazon customers that offer intel to the ecommerce giant about where Read more about Amazon’s Stops Pretending and launches anticompetitive New Panel Program[…]

Thought the FBI were the only ones able to unlock encrypted phones? Pretty much every US cop can get the job done – and does

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Never mind the Feds. American police forces routinely “circumvent most security features” in smartphones to extract mountains of personal information, according to a report that details the massive, ubiquitous cracking of devices by cops. Two years of public records requests by Upturn, a Washington DC non-profit, has revealed that every one of the United States’ Read more about Thought the FBI were the only ones able to unlock encrypted phones? Pretty much every US cop can get the job done – and does[…]

Do algorithms make us even more radical? Filter bubbles and echo chambers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

‘Technology ensures that we’re all served our own personalised news cycle. As a result, we only get to hear the opinions that correspond to our own. The result is polarisation’. Or so the oft-heard theory goes. But in practice, it seems this isn’t really true, or at least not for the average Dutch person. However, Read more about Do algorithms make us even more radical? Filter bubbles and echo chambers[…]

Trying to change the Dutch home copy tax

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The representatives of producers and importers of consumer electronics (NLdigital, NLconnect, TechniekNederland, FIAR CE and STOBI) have asked Minister Dekker to take a closer look at the current home copying system. The trade associations believe that the protection of copyright through this regulation is increasingly out of step with the technical and economic reality. NLdigital Read more about Trying to change the Dutch home copy tax[…]