The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Alexa heard what you did last summer – and she knows what that was, too: AI recognizes activities from sound

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Boffins have devised a way to make eavesdropping smartwatches, computers, mobile devices, and speakers with endearing names like Alexa better aware of what’s going on around them. In a paper to be presented today at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) in Berlin, Germany, computer scientists Gierad Laput, Karan Ahuja, Mayank Read more about Alexa heard what you did last summer – and she knows what that was, too: AI recognizes activities from sound[…]

Printer Makers Are Crippling Cheap Ink Cartridges Via Bogus ‘Security Updates’ – endangering networks because people stop updating

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Printer maker Epson is under fire this month from activist groups after a software update prevented customers from using cheaper, third party ink cartridges. It’s just the latest salvo in a decades-long effort by printer manufacturers to block consumer choice, often by disguising printer downgrades as essential product improvements. For several decades now printer manufacturers Read more about Printer Makers Are Crippling Cheap Ink Cartridges Via Bogus ‘Security Updates’ – endangering networks because people stop updating[…]

Detect and disconnect WiFi cameras in that AirBnB you’re staying in

Posted on by Robin Edgar

There have been a few too many stories lately of AirBnB hosts caught spying on their guests with WiFi cameras, using DropCam cameras in particular. Here’s a quick script that will detect two popular brands of WiFi cameras during your stay and disconnect them in turn. It’s based on glasshole.sh. It should do away with Read more about Detect and disconnect WiFi cameras in that AirBnB you’re staying in[…]

Researcher finds simple way of elevating user privileges on Windows PCs and nobody notices for ten months

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A security researcher from Colombia has found a way of assigning admin rights and gaining boot persistence on Windows PCs that’s simple to execute and hard to stop –all the features that hackers and malware authors are looking for from an exploitation technique. What’s more surprising, is that the technique was first detailed way back Read more about Researcher finds simple way of elevating user privileges on Windows PCs and nobody notices for ten months[…]

Pando, One of the world’s largest organisms is shrinking

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Pando aspen grove, located in central Utah, is the largest organism on the planet by weight. From the surface, it may look like a forest that spans more than 100 U.S. football fields, but each tree shares the exact same DNA and is connected to its clonal brethren through an elaborate underground root system. Read more about Pando, One of the world’s largest organisms is shrinking[…]

Twitter releases all foreign election campaign influencing tweets and media for you to study

Posted on by Robin Edgar

n line with our principles of transparency and to improve public understanding of alleged foreign influence campaigns, Twitter is making publicly available archives of Tweets and media that we believe resulted from potentially state-backed information operations on our service. Examples of the content include:   While this dataset is of a size that a degree Read more about Twitter releases all foreign election campaign influencing tweets and media for you to study[…]

NASA and Google using AI to hunt down potentially habitable planets

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Astrobiologists are mostly interested in rocky exoplanets that lie in the habitable zone around their parent stars, where liquid water may exist on its surface. NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has spotted a handful of these in the so-called Goldilocks Zone – where it’s not too cold or too hot for life. As such, a second team Read more about NASA and Google using AI to hunt down potentially habitable planets[…]

Microplastics found in 90 percent of table salt

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microplastics were found in sea salt several years ago. But how extensively plastic bits are spread throughout the most commonly used seasoning remained unclear. Now, new research shows microplastics in 90 percent of the table salt brands sampled worldwide. Of 39 salt brands tested, 36 had microplastics in them, according to a new analysis by Read more about Microplastics found in 90 percent of table salt[…]

Wide-eyed glare scares raptors: From laboratory evidence to applied management

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Raptors are one of the most important causes of fatalities due to their collisions with aircrafts as well as being the main victims of collisions with constructions. They are difficult to deter because they are not influenced by other airspace users or ground predators. Because vision is the primary sensory mode of many diurnal raptors, Read more about Wide-eyed glare scares raptors: From laboratory evidence to applied management[…]

Branch.io bug left ‘685 million’ netizens open to website hacks

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Bug-hunters have told how they uncovered a significant security flaw that affected the likes of Tinder, Yelp, Shopify, and Western Union – and potentially hundreds of millions of folks using these sites and apps. The software sniffers said they first came across the exploitable programming blunder while digging into webpage code on dating websites. After Read more about Branch.io bug left ‘685 million’ netizens open to website hacks[…]

Star Wars: KOTOR Fan Remake Shutting Down After Cease And Desist From Lucasfilm

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Back in 2016, an ambitious group of fans began work on an Unreal Engine 4 “reboot” of role-playing, light-sabering classic Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic called Apeiron. The project has made impressive progress since then, but it emitted a tragic Wilhelm scream this week when Lucasfilm lawyers zapped it out of existence. As Read more about Star Wars: KOTOR Fan Remake Shutting Down After Cease And Desist From Lucasfilm[…]

Senators to Google: Why didn’t you disclose massive Google+ vulnerability sooner? Oh, and Why can’t you Google the breach itself?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

3 GOP senators want Google to give answers over data leak that affected 500,000 users. Source: Senators to Google: Why didn’t you disclose Google+ vulnerability sooner? It’s only three senators and chances are you haven’t heard of the massive, millions affected data breach suffered by Google, that they didn’t report. Interestingly, if you try to Read more about Senators to Google: Why didn’t you disclose massive Google+ vulnerability sooner? Oh, and Why can’t you Google the breach itself?[…]

The US military wants to teach AI some basic common sense

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Wherever artificial intelligence is deployed, you will find it has failed in some amusing way. Take the strange errors made by translation algorithms that confuse having someone for dinner with, well, having someone for dinner. But as AI is used in ever more critical situations, such as driving autonomous cars, making medical diagnoses, or drawing life-or-death Read more about The US military wants to teach AI some basic common sense[…]

Google’s AI Bots Invent New Legs to Scamper Through Obstacle Courses

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Using a technique called reinforcement learning, a researcher at Google Brain has shown that virtual robots can redesign their body parts to help them navigate challenging obstacle courses—even if the solutions they come up with are completely bizarre. Embodied cognition is the idea that an animal’s cognitive abilities are influenced and constrained by its body Read more about Google’s AI Bots Invent New Legs to Scamper Through Obstacle Courses[…]

EU hijacking: self-driving car data will be copyrighted…by the manufacturer – not to be released by drivers / engineers / researchers / mechanics

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Today, the EU held a routine vote on regulations for self-driving cars, when something decidedly out of the ordinary happened… The autonomous vehicle rules contained a clause that affirmed that “data generated by autonomous transport are automatically generated and are by nature not creative, thus making copyright protection or the right on databases inapplicable.” This Read more about EU hijacking: self-driving car data will be copyrighted…by the manufacturer – not to be released by drivers / engineers / researchers / mechanics[…]

Ancestry Sites Could Soon Expose Nearly Anyone’s Identity, Researchers Say

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Genetic testing has helped plenty of people gain insight into their ancestry, and some services even help users find their long-lost relatives. But a new study published this week in Science suggests that the information uploaded to these services can be used to figure out your identity, regardless of whether you volunteered your DNA in Read more about Ancestry Sites Could Soon Expose Nearly Anyone’s Identity, Researchers Say[…]

Stanford AI bot to negotiate sales for you with Craigslist

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Artificially intelligent bots are notoriously bad at communicating with, well, anything. Conversations with the code, whether it’s between themselves or with people, often go awry, and veer off topic. Grammar goes out the window, and sentences become nonsensical. […] Well, a group of researchers at Stanford University in the US have figured out how to, Read more about Stanford AI bot to negotiate sales for you with Craigslist[…]

Slow your roll: VMware urges admins to apply workarounds to DoS-inducing 3D render vuln

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The vuln (CVE-2018-6977) allows an attacker with normal local user privileges to trigger an infinite loop in a 3D-rendering shader. According to VMware, a “specially crafted 3D shader may loop for an infinite amount of time and lock up a VM’s virtual graphics device”. If that happens, VMware warned, the hypervisor may rely on the Read more about Slow your roll: VMware urges admins to apply workarounds to DoS-inducing 3D render vuln[…]

MindBody-owned FitMetrix exposed millions of user records — thanks to servers without passwords – AWS strikes again

Posted on by Robin Edgar

FitMetrix, a fitness technology and performance tracking company owned by gym booking giant Mindbody, has exposed millions of user records because it left several of its servers without a password. The company builds fitness tracking software for gyms and group classes — like CrossFit and SoulCycle — that displays heart rate and other fitness metric Read more about MindBody-owned FitMetrix exposed millions of user records — thanks to servers without passwords – AWS strikes again[…]

The US Democracy is turning away so many people at polling stations, they need a What to Do If You’re Turned Away at the Polls guide

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Several states have instituted stricter voter ID laws since the 2016 presidential election; more, still, are purging voter rolls in the lead up to the election, and the recent Supreme Court decision to uphold Ohio’s aggressive purging law means you can expect many more people to be removed. So, even if you’re registered to vote Read more about The US Democracy is turning away so many people at polling stations, they need a What to Do If You’re Turned Away at the Polls guide[…]

Why are Xiaomi’s fitness tracker and Apple watches detecting a heartbeat from a roll of toilet paper and bananas?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Why is Xiaomi’s fitness tracker detecting a heartbeat from a roll of toilet paper? Weibo users are confused, but the answer isn’t as wild as it seems Does a roll of toilet paper have a heart? Obviously not. So why does Xiaomi’s fitness band display a heart rate when it’s wrapped around a roll of Read more about Why are Xiaomi’s fitness tracker and Apple watches detecting a heartbeat from a roll of toilet paper and bananas?[…]

Pentagon’s weapons systems are laughably easy to hack

Posted on by Robin Edgar

New computerized weapons systems currently under development by the US Department of Defense (DOD) can be easily hacked, according to a new report published today. The report was put together by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), an agency that provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for Congress. Congress ordered the GAO report in preparation Read more about Pentagon’s weapons systems are laughably easy to hack[…]

AI lifeline to help devs craft smartmobe apps that suck a whole lot less… battery capacity

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Artificial intelligence can help developers design mobile phone apps that drain less battery, according to new research. The system, dubbed DiffProff, will be presented this week at the USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation conference in California, was developed by Charlie Hu and Abhilash Jindal, who have a startup devoted to better battery Read more about AI lifeline to help devs craft smartmobe apps that suck a whole lot less… battery capacity[…]

DoNotPay App Lets You ‘Sue Anyone By Pressing a Button’. Success rate: 50%

Posted on by Robin Edgar

a new, free app promises to let you “sue anyone by pressing a button” and have an AI-powered lawyer fight your case. Do Not Pay, a free service that launched in the iOS App store today, uses IBM Watson-powered artificial intelligence to help people win up to $25,000 in small claims court. It’s the latest Read more about DoNotPay App Lets You ‘Sue Anyone By Pressing a Button’. Success rate: 50%[…]