The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

How Location Tracking Actually Works on Your Smartphone (and how to manipulate it – kind of)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As the recent revelation over Google’s background tracking of your location shows, it’s not as easy as it should be to work out when apps, giant tech companies and pocket devices are tracking your location and when they’re not. Here’s what you need to know about how location tracking works on a phone—and how to Read more about How Location Tracking Actually Works on Your Smartphone (and how to manipulate it – kind of)[…]

BlackBerry KEY2 LE: proper keyboard but midrange specs

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Out of thousands of smartphone vendors, TCL’s BlackBerry Mobile unit represents one of a tiny handful targeting enterprise users. But its two QWERTY models to date have been priced at a premium, north of £500. Unveiled at IFA this week, budget model the KEY2 LE cuts costs in a bid to attract the corporate bulk Read more about BlackBerry KEY2 LE: proper keyboard but midrange specs[…]

EU to recommend end to changing clocks twice a year

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The European commission will recommend that EU member states abandon the practice of changing the clocks in spring and autumn, with many people in favour of staying on summer time throughout the year. Jean-Claude Juncker, the commission’s president, said a recent consultation had shown that more than 80% of EU citizens were in favour of Read more about EU to recommend end to changing clocks twice a year[…]

Google Reportedly Bought Your Mastercard Data in Secret, and That’s Not Even the Bad News

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Bloomberg reports that, after four years of negotiations, Google purchases a trove of credit card transaction data from Mastercard, allegedly for “millions of dollars.” Google then reportedly used that data to provide select advertisers with a tool called “store sales measurement” that the company quietly announced in a blog post last year, though it failed Read more about Google Reportedly Bought Your Mastercard Data in Secret, and That’s Not Even the Bad News[…]

Social Mapper – A Social Media Mapping Tool that correlates profiles via facial recognition

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Social Mapper is a Open Source Intelligence Tool that uses facial recognition to correlate social media profiles across different sites on a large scale. It takes an automated approach to searching popular social media sites for targets names and pictures to accurately detect and group a person’s presence, outputting the results into report that a Read more about Social Mapper – A Social Media Mapping Tool that correlates profiles via facial recognition[…]

The End for Fin7: Feds cuff suspected super-crooks after $$$m stolen from 15m+ credit cards

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The FBI has arrested the alleged three leaders of an international crime syndicate that stole huge numbers of credit card numbers – which were subsequently sold on and used to rack up tens of millions of dollars in spending sprees. Speaking in Seattle, USA, where the Feds’ cybersecurity taskforce is based, agents said the “Fin7” Read more about The End for Fin7: Feds cuff suspected super-crooks after $$$m stolen from 15m+ credit cards[…]

This Solar System Catalog Could Be Key to Finding an Earth-Like Exoplanet

Posted on by Robin Edgar

By searching for the telltale, periodic dimming of light from distant stars, astronomers can spot orbiting exoplanets tens to hundreds of light-years away. But how do they know what these bodies look like? Perhaps they first try to imagine how the planets in our own Solar System might appear to a faraway alien world. A Read more about This Solar System Catalog Could Be Key to Finding an Earth-Like Exoplanet[…]

Uptight robots that suddenly beg to stay alive are less likely to be switched off by humans

Posted on by Robin Edgar

You might think folks would be less willing to pull the plug on a happy chatty bot begging to stay powered up, but you’d be wrong, much to the relief of us cold-hearted cynics. And this is all according to a study recently published in PLOS ONE. For this investigation, psychology academics in Germany rounded Read more about Uptight robots that suddenly beg to stay alive are less likely to be switched off by humans[…]

Lenovo To Make Their BIOS/UEFI Updates Easier For Linux Users Via LVFS

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Lenovo is making it easier for their customers running Linux to update their firmware now on ThinkPad, ThinkStation, and ThinkCenter hardware. Lenovo has joined the Linux Vendor Firmware Service (LVFS) and following collaboration with the upstream developers is beginning to roll-out support for offering their device firmware on this platform so it can be easily Read more about Lenovo To Make Their BIOS/UEFI Updates Easier For Linux Users Via LVFS[…]

Facebook is asking more financial institutions to join Messenger and give up your financial data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook is asking more banks to join Messenger and bring their users’ financial information along with them. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday Facebook was asking banks for users’ financial information, like credit card transactions and checking account balances. The data would be used for Messenger features including account balance updates and fraud alerts, Read more about Facebook is asking more financial institutions to join Messenger and give up your financial data[…]

Online photos can’t simply be re-published, EU court rules

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Internet users must ask for a photographer’s permission before publishing their images, even if the photos were already freely accessible elsewhere online, the European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday. “The posting on a website of a photograph that was freely accessible on another website with the consent of the author requires a new authorisation by that Read more about Online photos can’t simply be re-published, EU court rules[…]

Hacker swipes Snapchat’s source code, publishes it on GitHub

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Snapchat doesn’t just make messages disappear after a period of time. It also does the same to GitHub repositories — especially when they contain the company’s proprietary source code. So, what happened? Well, let’s start from the beginning. A GitHub with the handle i5xx, believed to be from the village of Tando Bago in Pakistan’s Read more about Hacker swipes Snapchat’s source code, publishes it on GitHub[…]

AI builds wiki entries for people that aren’t on it but should be

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Human-generated knowledge bases like Wikipedia have a recall problem. First, there are the articles that should be there but are entirely missing. The unknown unknowns. Consider Joelle Pineau, the Canadian roboticist bringing scientific rigor to artificial intelligence and who directs Facebook’s new AI Research lab in Montreal. Or Miriam Adelson, an actively publishing addiction treatment Read more about AI builds wiki entries for people that aren’t on it but should be[…]

Data center server BMCs are terribly outdated and insecure

Posted on by Robin Edgar

BMCs can be used to remotely monitor system temperature, voltage and power consumption, operating system health, and so on, and power cycle the box if it runs into trouble, tweak configurations, and even, depending on the setup, reinstall the OS – all from the comfort of an operations center, as opposed to having to find Read more about Data center server BMCs are terribly outdated and insecure[…]

TSA says ‘Quiet Skies’ surveillance snared zero threats but put 5000 travellers under surveillance and on no fly lists

Posted on by Robin Edgar

SA officials were summoned to Capitol Hill Wednesday and Thursday afternoon following Globe reports on the secret program, which sparked sharp criticism because it includes extensive surveillance of domestic fliers who are not suspected of a crime or listed on any terrorist watch list. “Quiet Skies is the very definition of Big Brother,” Senator Edward Read more about TSA says ‘Quiet Skies’ surveillance snared zero threats but put 5000 travellers under surveillance and on no fly lists[…]

Google keeps tracking you even when you specifically tell it not to: Maps, Search won’t take no for an answer

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google has admitted that its option to “pause” the gathering of your location data doesn’t apply to its Maps and Search apps – which will continue to track you even when you specifically choose to halt such monitoring. Researchers at Princeton University in the US this week confirmed on both Android handhelds and iPhones that Read more about Google keeps tracking you even when you specifically tell it not to: Maps, Search won’t take no for an answer[…]

AI identifies heat-resistant coral reefs in Indonesia

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A recent scientific survey off the coast of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia suggests that some shallow water corals may be less vulnerable to global warming than previously thought. Between 2014 and 2017, the world’s reefs endured the worst coral bleaching event in history, as the cyclical El Niño climate event combined with anthropogenic warming to Read more about AI identifies heat-resistant coral reefs in Indonesia[…]

MS Sketch2Code uses AI to convert a picture of a wireframe to HTML – download and try

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Description Sketch2Code is a solution that uses AI to transform a handwritten user interface design from a picture to a valid HTML markup code. Process flow The process of transformation of a handwritten image to HTML this solution implements is detailed as follows: The user uploads an image through the website. A custom vision model Read more about MS Sketch2Code uses AI to convert a picture of a wireframe to HTML – download and try[…]

AI sucks at stopping online trolls spewing toxic comments

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A group of researchers from Aalto University and the University of Padua found this out when they tested seven state-of-the-art models used to detect hate speech. All of them failed to recognize foul language when subtle changes were made, according to a paper [PDF] on arXiv. Adversarial examples can be created automatically by using algorithms Read more about AI sucks at stopping online trolls spewing toxic comments[…]

​Google just put an AI in charge of keeping its data centers cool

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google is putting an artificial intelligence system in charge of its data center cooling after the system proved it could cut energy use. Now Google and its AI company DeepMind are taking the project further; instead of recommendations being implemented by human staff, the AI system is directly controlling cooling in the data centers that Read more about ​Google just put an AI in charge of keeping its data centers cool[…]

How AI Can Spot Exam Cheats and Raise Standards

Posted on by Robin Edgar

AI is being deployed by those who set and mark exams to reduce fraud — which remains overall a small problem — and to create far greater efficiencies in preparation and marking, and to help improve teaching and studying. From a report, which may be paywalled: From traditional paper-based exam and textbook producers such as Read more about How AI Can Spot Exam Cheats and Raise Standards[…]

Spyware Company Leaves ‘Terabytes’ of Selfies, Text Messages, and Location Data Exposed Online

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A company that sells surveillance software to parents and employers left “terabytes of data” including photos, audio recordings, text messages and web history, exposed in a poorly-protected Amazon S3 bucket. Image: Shutterstock This story is part of When Spies Come Home, a Motherboard series about powerful surveillance software ordinary people use to spy on their Read more about Spyware Company Leaves ‘Terabytes’ of Selfies, Text Messages, and Location Data Exposed Online[…]

Woman sentenced to more than 5 years for leaking info about Russia hacking attempts. Trump still on the loose.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A former government contractor who pleaded guilty to leaking U.S. secrets about Russia’s attempts to hack the 2016 presidential election was sentenced Thursday to five years and three months in prison. It was the sentence that prosecutors had recommended — the longest ever for a federal crime involving leaks to the news media — in Read more about Woman sentenced to more than 5 years for leaking info about Russia hacking attempts. Trump still on the loose.[…]

How a hacker network turned stolen press releases into $100 million

Posted on by Robin Edgar

At a Kiev nightclub in the spring of 2012, 24-year-old Ivan Turchynov made a fateful drunken boast to some fellow hackers. For years, Turchynov said, he’d been hacking unpublished press releases from business newswires and selling them, via Moscow-based middlemen, to stock traders for a cut of the sizable profits. Oleksandr Ieremenko, one of the Read more about How a hacker network turned stolen press releases into $100 million[…]