The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Facebook admits SMS notifications sent using two-factor number was caused by bug

The issue, which may have persisted for months or perhaps even longer, was flagged by Bay Area software engineer Gabriel Lewi, who tweeted about it earlier this week. Prominent technology critic and sociologist Zeynep Tufekci then used the situation as a springboard to criticize Facebook’s alleged unethical behavior, thinking the 2FA notifications may have been Read more about Facebook admits SMS notifications sent using two-factor number was caused by bug[…]

New AI model fills in blank spots in photos

The technology was developed by a team led by Hiroshi Ishikawa, a professor at Japan’s Waseda University. It uses convolutional neural networks, a type of deep learning, to predict missing parts of images. The technology could be used in photo-editing apps. It can also be used to generate 3-D images from real 2-D images. The Read more about New AI model fills in blank spots in photos[…]

0 A.D. | A free, open-source game of ancient warfare

0 A.D. (pronounced “zero-ey-dee”) is a free, open-source, historical Real Time Strategy (RTS) game currently under development by Wildfire Games, a global group of volunteer game developers. As the leader of an ancient civilization, you must gather the resources you need to raise a military force and dominate your enemies. […] We intend to portray Read more about 0 A.D. | A free, open-source game of ancient warfare[…]

LoopX Startup Pulls ICO Exit Scam and Disappears with $4.5 Million

A cryptocurrency startup named LoopX has pulled an exit scam after collecting around $4.5 million from users during an ICO (Initial Coin Offering) held for the past weeks. The LoopX team disappeared out of the blue at the start of the week when it took down its website and deleted its Facebook, Telegram, and YouTube Read more about LoopX Startup Pulls ICO Exit Scam and Disappears with $4.5 Million[…]

Telegram desktop app exploited for malware, cryptocurrency mining

Telegram has fixed a security flaw in its desktop app that hackers spent several months exploiting to install remote-control malware and cryptocurrency miners on vulnerable Windows PCs.The programming cockup was spotted by researchers at Kaspersky in October. It is believed miscreants have been leveraging the bug since at least March. The vulnerability stems from how Read more about Telegram desktop app exploited for malware, cryptocurrency mining[…]

Moth brain uploaded to computer, taught to recognise numbers

MothNet’s computer code, according to the boffins, contains layers of artificial neurons to simulate the bug’s antenna lobe and mushroom body, which are common parts of insect brains. Crucially, instead of recognizing smells, the duo taught MothNet to identify handwritten digits in the MNIST dataset. This database is often used to train and test pattern Read more about Moth brain uploaded to computer, taught to recognise numbers[…]

Roses are red, Facebook is blue. Think private means private? More fool you

In a decision (PDF) handed down yesterday, chief judge Janet DiFiore said that a court could ask someone to hand over any relevant materials as part of discovery ahead of a trial – even if they are private. The threshold for disclosure in a court case “is not whether the materials sought are private but Read more about Roses are red, Facebook is blue. Think private means private? More fool you[…]

Look out, Wiki-geeks. Now Google trains AI to write Wikipedia articles

A paper, out last month and just accepted for this year’s International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR) in April, describes just how difficult text summarization really is. A few companies have had a crack at it. Salesforce trained a recurrent neural network with reinforcement learning to take information and retell it in a nutshell, and Read more about Look out, Wiki-geeks. Now Google trains AI to write Wikipedia articles[…]

Gfycat Uses Artificial Intelligence to Fight Deepfakes Porn

Gfycat says it’s figured out a way to train an artificial intelligence to spot fraudulent videos. The technology builds on a number of tools Gfycat already used to index the GIFs on its platform. [..] Gfycat’s AI approach leverages two tools it already developed, both (of course) named after felines: Project Angora and Project Maru. Read more about Gfycat Uses Artificial Intelligence to Fight Deepfakes Porn[…]

Consumers prefer security over convenience for the first time ever, IBM Security report finds

“We always talk about the ease of use, and not impacting user experience, etc, but it turns out that when it comes to their financial accounts…people actually would go the extra mile and will use extra security,” Kessem said. Whether it’s using two factor authentication, an SMS message on top of their password, or any Read more about Consumers prefer security over convenience for the first time ever, IBM Security report finds[…]

Do Not, I Repeat, Do Not Download Onavo, Facebook’s Vampiric VPN Service

There’s a new menu item in the Facebook app, first reported by TechCrunch on Monday, labeled “Protect.” Clicking it will send you to the App Store and prompt you to download a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service called Onavo. (“Protect” shows up in the iOS app. Gizmodo looked for it on an Android device and Read more about Do Not, I Repeat, Do Not Download Onavo, Facebook’s Vampiric VPN Service[…]

Fiat Chrysler Pushed A UConnect Update That Causes Constant Reboots With No Announced Fix

It appears that the over-the-air update to the UConnect system went out on Friday, and many, many owners have not had working center-stack systems since then. Many of these vehicles are nearly brand-new, which makes the issue even more maddening. […] The failure of the UConnect system isn’t just limited to not having a radio; Read more about Fiat Chrysler Pushed A UConnect Update That Causes Constant Reboots With No Announced Fix[…]

Announcing “Project Things” – An open framework for connecting your devices to the web.

Today, we are pleased to announce that anyone can now build their own Things Gateway to control their connected device directly from the web. We kicked off “Project Things”, with the goal of building a decentralized ‘Internet of Things’ that is focused on security, privacy, and interoperability. Since our announcement last year, we have continued Read more about Announcing “Project Things” – An open framework for connecting your devices to the web.[…]

Danish man convicted of promoting illegal film service

A Danish man has become the first European to be convicted of taking part in the promotion of an illegal online film site.The 39-year-old man was handed a six-month suspended sentence by an Odense court for promoting the illegal online film streaming service Popcorn Time via his website popcorntime.dk. […] More specifically, the man was Read more about Danish man convicted of promoting illegal film service[…]

Why hiring the ‘best’ people produces the least creative results

Yet the fallacy of meritocracy persists. Corporations, non-profits, governments, universities and even preschools test, score and hire the ‘best’. This all but guarantees not creating the best team. Ranking people by common criteria produces homogeneity. And when biases creep in, it results in people who look like those making the decisions. That’s not likely to Read more about Why hiring the ‘best’ people produces the least creative results[…]

Facial Recognition Is Accurate, if You’re a White Guy

Facial recognition technology is improving by leaps and bounds. Some commercial software can now tell the gender of a person in a photograph. When the person in the photo is a white man, the software is right 99 percent of the time. But the darker the skin, the more errors arise — up to nearly Read more about Facial Recognition Is Accurate, if You’re a White Guy[…]

At least 4200 popular and large websites hijacked by hidden crypto-mining code after popular plugin pwned

Thousands of websites around the world – from the UK’s NHS and ICO to the US government’s court system – were today secretly mining crypto-coins on netizens’ web browsers for miscreants unknown. The affected sites all use a fairly popular plugin called Browsealoud, made by Brit biz Texthelp, which reads out webpages for blind or Read more about At least 4200 popular and large websites hijacked by hidden crypto-mining code after popular plugin pwned[…]

Worm brain translated into a computer is taught tricks without programming

It is not much to look at: the nematode C. elegans is about one millimetre in length and is a very simple organism. But for science, it is extremely interesting. C. elegans is the only living being whose neural system has been analysed completely. It can be drawn as a circuit diagram or reproduced by Read more about Worm brain translated into a computer is taught tricks without programming[…]

Researchers discover efficient and sustainable way to filter salt and metal ions from water

With two billion people worldwide lacking access to clean and safe drinking water, joint research by Monash University, CSIRO and the University of Texas at Austin published today in Sciences Advances may offer a breakthrough new solution. It all comes down to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), an amazing next generation material that have the largest internal Read more about Researchers discover efficient and sustainable way to filter salt and metal ions from water[…]