The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Study finds relationship between knowing you’re under surveillance and the views you post online

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Instead, it attenuates the relationship between the opinion climate and voicing opinions except among a small number of participants who believe surveillance is not justified. Those who firmly believe that the govern-ment’s monitoring programs are unacceptable decide whether to share their views entirely independently of both perceived surveillance and the opinion climate. […]Although not directly Read more about Study finds relationship between knowing you’re under surveillance and the views you post online[…]

Windows 10 May Delete Your Programs Without Asking

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Windows may remove programs during an update for compatibility reasons. If a program is known to cause crashes, bugs, or otherwise conflict with Windows, Windows may remove it to keep your system stable. If this happens, the “All of your files are exactly where you left them” screen will appear like normal–this screen always appears Read more about Windows 10 May Delete Your Programs Without Asking[…]

McGill University models a biological computer chip using proteins instead of electric charges

Posted on by Robin Edgar

But in the case of the biocomputer, the city is a chip measuring about 1.5 cm square in which channels have been etched. Instead of the electrons that are propelled by an electrical charge and move around within a traditional microchip, short strings of proteins (which the researchers call biological agents) travel around the circuit Read more about McGill University models a biological computer chip using proteins instead of electric charges[…]

3D printed items can be reversed engineered using a smartphone to listen to the sound of the printing proces

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The team, led by Mohammad Al Faruque, director of UCI’s Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems Lab, showed that a device as ordinary and ubiquitous as a smartphone can be placed next to a machine and capture acoustic signals that carry information about the precise movements of the printer’s nozzle. The recording can then be used to Read more about 3D printed items can be reversed engineered using a smartphone to listen to the sound of the printing proces[…]

Borgbackup, Deduplicating Archiver v1.0.0 released

Posted on by Robin Edgar

BorgBackup (short: Borg) is a deduplicating backup program. Optionally, it supports compression and authenticated encryption.The main goal of Borg is to provide an efficient and secure way to backup data. The data deduplication technique used makes Borg suitable for daily backups since only changes are stored. The authenticated encryption technique makes it suitable for backups Read more about Borgbackup, Deduplicating Archiver v1.0.0 released[…]

Pwn all cars by using the car mechanic PC as an attack vector

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“These (mechanics) tool have the codes to read and write firmware and if it is compromised by a malicious car it can modify the firmware of other cars that come in afterwards,” Smith told Vulture South at the Nullcon security conference in Goa, India. Smith’s mechanic malware compromises of learning, simulation, and attack modes. Learning Read more about Pwn all cars by using the car mechanic PC as an attack vector[…]

The Trouble With the TPP, Day 50: The Case Against Ratifying the Trans Pacific Partnership – Michael Geist

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Nearly two-and-a-half months ago, I started a daily examination of the Trans Pacific Partnership focused on the intellectual property and digital policy issues raised by the agreement. My initial plan for the Trouble with the TPP series was to write for one month leading up to the planned signing in New Zealand on February 4th. Read more about The Trouble With the TPP, Day 50: The Case Against Ratifying the Trans Pacific Partnership – Michael Geist[…]

Mathematicians shocked to find pattern in ‘random’ prime numbers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

So just what has got mathematicians spooked? Apart from 2 and 5, all prime numbers end in 1, 3, 7 or 9 – they have to, else they would be divisible by 2 or 5 – and each of the four endings is equally likely. But while searching through the primes, the pair noticed that Read more about Mathematicians shocked to find pattern in ‘random’ prime numbers[…]

With just 3 games, Supercell made $924M in profits on $2.3B in revenue in 2015

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The company made profits (before certain items) of €848 million, or $964 million, on revenues of €2.109 billion, or $2.326 billion. That compares to earnings before income tax, depreciation, and amortization of €515 million, or $592 million, in 2014, on revenues of €1.545 billion, or $1.777 billion. The company also paid a dividend of €14 Read more about With just 3 games, Supercell made $924M in profits on $2.3B in revenue in 2015[…]

How a hacker’s typo helped stop a billion dollar bank heist

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The hackers breached Bangladesh Bank’s systems and stole its credentials for payment transfers, two senior officials at the bank said. They then bombarded the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with nearly three dozen requests to move money from the Bangladesh Bank’s account there to entities in the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the officials said. Read more about How a hacker’s typo helped stop a billion dollar bank heist[…]

A foldable material that can change size, volume and shape

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Harvard researchers have designed a new type of foldable material that is versatile, tunable and self actuated. It can change size, volume and shape; it can fold flat to withstand the weight of an elephant without breaking, and pop right back up to prepare for the next task. Source: A foldable material that can change Read more about A foldable material that can change size, volume and shape[…]

Windows 10 Upgrade Reportedly Starting Automatically On Windows 7 PCs – Slashdot

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Many users have confirmed in the comment section of a popular reddit post that “Windows 7 computers are being reported as automatically starting the Windows 10 upgrade without permission.” It’s no secret that Microsoft wants users to upgrade to their new OS. Earlier in the year, Windows 10 was set as a ‘recommended update’ so Read more about Windows 10 Upgrade Reportedly Starting Automatically On Windows 7 PCs – Slashdot[…]

Crayfis: The app that turns your phone into a cosmic ray detector.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The CRAYFIS project is a novel approach to observing cosmic ray particles at the highest energies.It uses the world-wide array of existing smartphones instead of building an expensive dedicated detector. Modern smartphones contain high-resolution cameras with digital sensors which are sensitive to the particles in a cosmic ray shower. They know where they are (GPS) Read more about Crayfis: The app that turns your phone into a cosmic ray detector.[…]

TP Link routers to block open source firmware due to FCC rules

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The new FCC rules are meant to limit interference and target third-party firmware because it allows users to modify their radio frequency parameters. While the FCC requirements don’t actually block third-party firmware, it’s much easier for a router manufacturer to comply with the ruling by blocking out custom firmware like OpenWRT or Tomato altogether than Read more about TP Link routers to block open source firmware due to FCC rules[…]

TM law gone nuts – E*Trade sues LastPass for the use of the * in a logo!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

LastPass is a popular password manager used by millions over years. E*Trade is… uhm… patent trolls, I guess? Some finance company with an * in the logo. LastPass uses the logo as a recognition point in the browser toolbar and input boxes, so you can easily choose which account to fill in. The LastPass * Read more about TM law gone nuts – E*Trade sues LastPass for the use of the * in a logo![…]

Windows 10 Is Showing Ads On Your Lockscreen, Here’s How to Turn Them Off

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Windows 10’s new Spotlight feature usually shows you neat photographs and fun facts when you first start your computer. Now, it’s started showing ads. Here’s how to turn it off. Source: Windows 10 Is Showing Ads On Your Lockscreen, Here’s How to Turn Them Off So not only is Windows invading your privacy with windows Read more about Windows 10 Is Showing Ads On Your Lockscreen, Here’s How to Turn Them Off[…]

NL Minister Blok takes flying leap from reality in criticism of open source

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The minister states that he thinks (his vision is backed by a bunch of closed source software vendors [Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, KPN, CapGemini, Ordina, ATOS, CGI and IBM]) that not having to buy licenses is offset by the costs of having to manage and pay for the deployments of open source software (OSS). Which is Read more about NL Minister Blok takes flying leap from reality in criticism of open source[…]

Mousejack Attacks Abuse Vulnerable Wireless Keyboard, Mouse Dongles

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The issue lies in the wireless USB dongles that the keyboards and mice use to communicate over radio frequencies with the host computer. Bastille says that while communication from most keyboards to the dongle is encrypted, none of the mice it tested encrypt their wireless communication. The dongle, therefore, will accept commands from an attacker Read more about Mousejack Attacks Abuse Vulnerable Wireless Keyboard, Mouse Dongles[…]

Companies Are Using Big Data to Discourage Employees From Having Costly Surgery

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Do you work for a big company? Have you been having back pain? Your company probably knows about it already thanks to high-tech healthcare companies that it hired. Welcome to our brave new world of big data. Source: Companies Are Using Big Data to Discourage Employees From Having Costly Surgery They are using this to Read more about Companies Are Using Big Data to Discourage Employees From Having Costly Surgery[…]