Day: May 11, 2021

BYU hologram experts can now create real-life tiny images that move in the air

Posted on by Robin Edgar

  They may be tiny weapons, but BYU’s holography research group has figured out how to create lightsabers — green for Yoda and red for Darth Vader, naturally — with actual luminous beams rising from them. Inspired by the displays of science fiction, the researchers have also engineered battles between equally small versions of the Read more about BYU hologram experts can now create real-life tiny images that move in the air[…]

Facebook Ordered to Stop German WhatsApp Users’ Data Collection

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook Inc. was ordered to stop collecting German users’ data from its WhatsApp unit, after a regulator in the nation said the company’s attempt to make users agree to the practice in its updated terms isn’t legal. Johannes Caspar, who heads Hamburg’s privacy authority, issued a three-month emergency ban, prohibiting Facebook from continuing with the Read more about Facebook Ordered to Stop German WhatsApp Users’ Data Collection[…]

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Is Racing Back to Earth With a Scoop of Asteroid Bennu

Posted on by Robin Edgar

OSIRIS-REx, a NASA spacecraft tasked with collecting rocks and dust from a nearby asteroid named Bennu, is coming back home after almost five years away. The spacecraft, officially named Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer, officially fired its engines to begin its Earthward journey on May 10. Its return trip will take two Read more about NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Is Racing Back to Earth With a Scoop of Asteroid Bennu[…]

Windows Defender bug fills Windows 10 boot drive with thousands of files

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A Windows Defender bug creates thousands of small files that waste gigabytes of storage space on Windows 10 hard drives. The bug started with Windows Defender antivirus engine 1.1.18100.5 and will cause the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scans\History\Store folder to be filled up with thousands of files with names that appear to be MD5 hashes. Windows Defender folder filled with Read more about Windows Defender bug fills Windows 10 boot drive with thousands of files[…]

NHS Digital booking website had unexpected side effect: It leaked people’s jab status

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An NHS Digital-run vaccine-booking website exposed just how many vaccines individual people had received – and did so with no authentication, according to the Guardian. The booking page, aimed at English NHS patients wanting to book first and second coronavirus jabs, would tell anyone at all whether a named person had had zero, one or Read more about NHS Digital booking website had unexpected side effect: It leaked people’s jab status[…]

Flawless Is Using Deepfake Tech to Dub Foreign Films Actors Lips

Posted on by Robin Edgar

a company called Flawless has created an AI-powered solution that will replace an actor’s facial performance to match the words in a film dubbed for foreign audiences. […] What Flawless is promising to do with its TrueSync software is use the same tools responsible for deepfake videos to manipulate and adjust an actor’s face in Read more about Flawless Is Using Deepfake Tech to Dub Foreign Films Actors Lips[…]

Scientists Create Record-Breaking Laser With Power of all sunlight reaching earth focussed on a tiny spot

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After ten years of toiling, the team has demonstrated in a paper published on Thursday in the journal Optica the development of a laser with record-breaking intensity over 10²³ watts per square centimeter. Nam told Motherboard in an email that you can compare the intensity of this laser beam to the combined power of  all Read more about Scientists Create Record-Breaking Laser With Power of all sunlight reaching earth focussed on a tiny spot[…]

Russian cyber-spies changed tactics after the UK and US outed their techniques – so here’s a list of those changes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Russian spies from APT29 responded to Western agencies outing their tactics by adopting a red-teaming tool to blend into targets’ networks as a legitimate pentesting exercise. Now, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the US warn, the SVR is busy exploiting a dozen critical-rated vulns (including RCEs) in equipment ranging from Cisco routers Read more about Russian cyber-spies changed tactics after the UK and US outed their techniques – so here’s a list of those changes[…]

Justice Department Quietly Seized Washington Post Reporters’ Phone Records During Trump Era

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Department of Justice quietly seized phone records and tried to obtain email records for three Washington Post reporters, ostensibly over their coverage of then-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election, according to officials and government letters reviewed by the Post. Justice Department regulations typically mandate that news organizations Read more about Justice Department Quietly Seized Washington Post Reporters’ Phone Records During Trump Era[…]

PimEyes: a powerful facial-recognition and finding tool – like Clearview AI but for free

Posted on by Robin Edgar

You probably haven’t seen PimEyes, a mysterious facial-recognition search engine, but it may have spotted you. If you upload a picture of your face to PimEyes’ website, it will immediately show you any pictures of yourself that the company has found around the internet. You might recognize all of them, or be surprised (or, perhaps, Read more about PimEyes: a powerful facial-recognition and finding tool – like Clearview AI but for free[…]

US declares emergency after ransomware shuts oil pipeline that pumps 100 million gallons a day

Posted on by Robin Edgar

One of the USA’s largest oil pipelines has been shut by ransomware, leading the nation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to issue a regional emergency declaration permitting the transport of fuel by road. The Colonial Pipeline says it carries 100 million gallons a day of refined fuels between Houston, Texas, and New York Harbor, or Read more about US declares emergency after ransomware shuts oil pipeline that pumps 100 million gallons a day[…]

WhatsApp’s privacy policy – not accepting will slowly kill your functionality and then delete your history

Posted on by Robin Edgar

After facing international backlash over impending updates to its privacy policy, WhatsApp has ever-so-slightly backtracked on the harsh consequences it initially planned for users who don’t accept them—but not entirely. In an update to the company’s FAQ page, WhatsApp clarifies that no users will have their accounts deleted or instantly lose app functionality if they Read more about WhatsApp’s privacy policy – not accepting will slowly kill your functionality and then delete your history[…]

Lone Developer Stands Up To Grand Theft Auto DMCA Claim, Wins – reverse engineered  code the original code

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Earlier this year fans reversed engineered the source code to Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. They released it to the web, but Grand Theft Auto copyright holder Take-Two pulled it offline via a DMCA claim. But one fan stood up to the publisher and has now succeeded in getting the Read more about Lone Developer Stands Up To Grand Theft Auto DMCA Claim, Wins – reverse engineered  code the original code[…]

Environmental Commodities: What Are They & How Can You Trade Them?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Commodity.com has a huge and useful page on how to get started trading in environmental commodities. Unfortunately it won’t let me paste it into here easily so below is a list of the subjects they cover. They are also very transparent about how they make their money (through links on their site), which I thought Read more about Environmental Commodities: What Are They & How Can You Trade Them?[…]