The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Bitcoin-accepting sites leave cookie trail that crumbles anonymity

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Of the 130 sites the researchers checked: In total, 107 sites leaked some kind of transaction information; 31 allowed third-party scripts to access users’ Bitcoin addresses; 104 shared the non-BTC denominated price of a transaction; and 30 shared the transaction price in Bitcoin. It doesn’t help that even for someone running tracking protection, a substantial Read more about Bitcoin-accepting sites leave cookie trail that crumbles anonymity[…]

Peanut allergy cured for 4 years in majority of children in immunotherapy trial

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A small clinical trial conducted at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has led to two-thirds of children treated with an experimental immunotherapy treatment being cured of their allergy. Importantly, this desensitisation to peanuts persisted for up to four years after treatment. […] Forty-eight children were enrolled in the PPOIT trial and were randomly given either Read more about Peanut allergy cured for 4 years in majority of children in immunotherapy trial[…]

USA: those massive terms &c you never read are legally binding: and can stop you from using the legal system to sue! (Victory for Uber!)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

You may never read those lengthy terms and conditions attached to every digital download or app but, in America at least, they are legally binding. Sorry. That’s the conclusion of a panel of appeal judges earlier this week when shining beacon of corporate responsibility Uber insisted its users had agreed not to sue the company Read more about USA: those massive terms &c you never read are legally binding: and can stop you from using the legal system to sue! (Victory for Uber!)[…]

UK Home Secretary calls people who use encryption not ‘real’ and Daesh sympathisers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In an article in the Daily Telegraph timed to coincide with Rudd’s appearance at a closed event in San Francisco, Rudd argued: “Real people often prefer ease of use and a multitude of features to perfect, unbreakable security.” She continued: “Who uses WhatsApp because it is end-to-end encrypted, rather than because it is an incredibly Read more about UK Home Secretary calls people who use encryption not ‘real’ and Daesh sympathisers[…]

US Congress dreams of IoT and gets it right! Except it won’t protect consumers, only gov.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act would require that IoT devices purchased by the American government must not have any known security vulnerabilities, must have the ability to be patched, and may not have hardcoded passwords built in. It mandates that every government department inventory all IoT devices on their networks. […] The bill Read more about US Congress dreams of IoT and gets it right! Except it won’t protect consumers, only gov.[…]

US Secret Service agent Bridges broadcast Bitstamp Bitcoins to BTC-E besides Silk Road heist

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Shaun Bridges, who is already serving a six-year sentence for nicking Bitcoins from the underground souk, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to stealing a further 1,600 Bitcoin (worth $359,005 at the time and approximately $6.6m today) during a separate investigation. According to court documents [PDF] Bridges, 35, was probing European Bitcoin trading firm Bitstamp, which led Read more about US Secret Service agent Bridges broadcast Bitstamp Bitcoins to BTC-E besides Silk Road heist[…]

OpenAI bot bursts into the ring, humiliates top Dota 2 pro gamer in ‘scary’ one-on-one bout

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a shock move on Friday evening, the software agent squared up to top Dota 2 pro gamer Dendi, a Ukrainian 27-year-old, at the Dota 2 world championships dubbed The International. The OpenAI agent beat Dendi in less than 10 minutes in the first round, and trounced him again in a second round, securing victory Read more about OpenAI bot bursts into the ring, humiliates top Dota 2 pro gamer in ‘scary’ one-on-one bout[…]

rechargable safe battery

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Through Ionic Materials’ invention of a novel solid polymer electrolyte material that conducts ions at room temperature, we are on the verge of revolutionizing battery technology. A truly solid state battery is now possible. Significant improvements in battery safety, performance and cost are achievable with ionic conductivities that exceed those of traditional liquid systems over Read more about rechargable safe battery[…]

MIT Real time automatic image retouching on your phone

Posted on by Robin Edgar

System can apply a range of styles in real-time, so that the viewfinder displays the enhanced image. […] at Siggraph, the premier digital graphics conference, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Google are presenting a new system that can automatically retouch images in the style of a professional photographer. It’s so Read more about MIT Real time automatic image retouching on your phone[…]

70% of Windows 10 users haven’t turned of privacy invasion

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Microsoft claims seven out of ten Windows 10 users are happy with Redmond gulping loads of telemetry from their computers – which isn’t that astounding when you realize it’s a default option. In other words, 30 per cent of people have found the switch to turn it off, and the rest haven’t, don’t realize it’s Read more about 70% of Windows 10 users haven’t turned of privacy invasion[…]

Disney sued for allegedly spying on children through 42 gaming apps

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A federal class action lawsuit filed last week in California alleges that the Walt Disney Company is violating privacy protection laws by collecting children’s personal information from 42 of its apps and sharing the data with advertisers without parental consent. The lawsuit targets Disney and three software companies — Upsight, Unity, and Kochava — alleging Read more about Disney sued for allegedly spying on children through 42 gaming apps[…]

DNA Testing Data Is Disturbingly Vulnerable to Hackers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a new study that will be presented next week at the 26th USENIX Security Symposium in Vancouver, University of Washington researchers analyzed the security practices of common, open-source DNA processing programs and found that they were, in general, lacking. That means all that super-sensitive information those programs are processing is potentially vulnerable to hackers. Read more about DNA Testing Data Is Disturbingly Vulnerable to Hackers[…]

Artificially intelligent painters invent new styles of art

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The team – which also included researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey and Facebook’s AI lab in California – modified a type of algorithm known as a generative adversarial network (GAN), in which two neural nets play off against each other to get better and better results. One creates a solution, the other judges Read more about Artificially intelligent painters invent new styles of art[…]

With a single wiretap order, US authorities listened in on 3.3 million phone calls

Posted on by Robin Edgar

US authorities intercepted and recorded millions of phone calls last year under a single wiretap order, authorized as part of a narcotics investigation. The wiretap order authorized an unknown government agency to carry out real-time intercepts of 3.29 million cell phone conversations over a two-month period at some point during 2016, after the order was Read more about With a single wiretap order, US authorities listened in on 3.3 million phone calls[…]

Draw Together with a Neural Network

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We made an interactive web experiment that lets you draw together with a recurrent neural network model called sketch-rnn. We taught this neural net to draw by training it on millions of doodles collected from the Quick, Draw! game. Once you start drawing an object, sketch-rnn will come up with many possible ways to continue Read more about Draw Together with a Neural Network[…]

California generates 1/2 the US solar energy, has to pay neighbouring states to take the energy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

California is the poster child for solar energy: in 2016, 13% of the state’s power came from solar sources. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, California is in the lead for the cumulative amount of solar electric capacity installed in 2016. In fact, the California is generating so much solar energy that it is Read more about California generates 1/2 the US solar energy, has to pay neighbouring states to take the energy[…]

3 Etherium heists in as many weeks: $7m, $32m and $85m!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Hacker Allegedly Steals $7.4 Million in Ethereum with Incredibly Simple Trick Someone tricked would be investors during an ethereum ICO into sending their cryptocurrency to the wrong address. A hacker has allegedly just stolen around $7.4 million dollars worth of ether, the cryptocurrency that underpins the app platform ethereum, by tricking victims into sending money Read more about 3 Etherium heists in as many weeks: $7m, $32m and $85m![…]

Intel Launches Movidius Neural Compute Stick: Deep Learning and AI on a $79 USB Stick

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Meanwhile, the on-chip memory has increased from 1 GB on the Fathom NCS to 4 GB LPDDR3 on the Movidius NCS, in order to facilitate larger and denser neural networks. And to cap it all off, Movidius has been able to reduce the MSRP to $79 – citing Intel’s “manufacturing and design expertise” – lowering Read more about Intel Launches Movidius Neural Compute Stick: Deep Learning and AI on a $79 USB Stick[…]

Swedish government leak: clueless agency moved all citizens data + military secrets to “The Cloud” in clear text and to people without security clearances in many countries

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Sweden’s Transport Agency moved all of its data to “the cloud”, apparently unaware that there is no cloud, only somebody else’s computer. In doing so, it exposed and leaked every conceivable top secret database: fighter pilots, SEAL team operators, police suspects, people under witness relocation. Names, photos, and home addresses: the list is just getting Read more about Swedish government leak: clueless agency moved all citizens data + military secrets to “The Cloud” in clear text and to people without security clearances in many countries[…]

Lenovo Folio: 5.5″ phone that unfolds into 8″ tablet seamlessly

Posted on by Robin Edgar

At the third annual Lenovo Tech World last week, the Chinese tech giant wowed attendees with the Lenovo Folio, a tablet with a screen that folds in half into a phone. Before you start getting too excited, you should know that the Folio is a concept device, which means it may not be released as Read more about Lenovo Folio: 5.5″ phone that unfolds into 8″ tablet seamlessly[…]