Category: reader

Google expands health conditions feature to over 900 illnesses

Google’s health conditions feature is about making it easier to find information about an illness. So, when there’s a local outbreak, or you get early symptoms, you can be better prepared. Mountain View has doubled the number of diseases in its database, bringing the number up to over 900 — including neglected tropical diseases and infections that typically affect people in developing nations. If you do a query for any of those illnesses on either mobile or desktop, you’ll see a quick results panel, which contains info on its symptoms, treatments and prevalence. You can even download the panel as a PDF file that you can print — apparently, that’s the most requested feature among the doctors Google worked with to ensure each condition’s accuracy. Unfortunately, the feature remains accessible only via Google US (that’s Google.com, or the one without a country-specific domain), but the company promises to make it available in more languages in the future. Filed under: Misc , Google Comments Source: Google Tags: google, googlehealth

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Google expands health conditions feature to over 900 illnesses

Here’s the world’s first Ultra HD Blu-Ray player

Samsung has announced the first ( consumer ready ) Ultra HD Bluray player , alongside word that movie studio Fox is already getting its releases ready for the new format. That means 4K movies, yes, but also compatibility for HDR video. Here’s a closer look at the curved player — perfect for that new curved UHDTV, right? Check out all the news from Berlin at our IFA 2015 hub . Filed under: Home Entertainment , Samsung Comments Tags: 4k, hands-on, hdr, hdrvideo, ifa, ifa2015, samsung, uhd, uhdbluray, UltraHighDefinition, video

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Here’s the world’s first Ultra HD Blu-Ray player

MIT scientists make it easy to tweak designs for 3D printing

Two different groups of MIT researchers found a way to print out objects with glass instead of plastic and to make a printer spew out 10 different materials at once earlier this year. This particular team along with researchers from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel, however, have chosen to focus on creating a system that makes it possible for even novices to customize the objects they want to print. Designers typically have to adjust a CAD file to tweak the object’s looks by typing in numerical values, and then wait for minutes to hours for a simulation software to make sure the final product is viable. The system this group developed dramatically speeds up the process. It displays the design along with sliders representing different parameters — say, the height of a shoe’s heel or the base size and width of a mug — on a web browser. The user can then easily play with the sliders to achieve the look they want. Now, here’s the best thing about it: it won’t let you design unstable structures or anything that can’t be printed or used. Nobody has to spend hours waiting for software to make sure the modified digital object is feasible, and all the user needs to do is to send it straight to the 3D printer. Filed under: Science Comments Source: MIT Tags: 3dprinter, 3dprinting, MIT

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MIT scientists make it easy to tweak designs for 3D printing

Serious bug causes “quite a few” HTTPS sites to reveal their private keys

According to a security researcher for Linux distributer Red Hat, network hardware sold by several manufacturers failed to properly implement a widely used cryptographic standard, a data-leaking shortcoming that can allow adversaries to impersonate HTTPS-protected websites using the faulty equipment. A nine-month scan that queried billions of HTTPS sessions from millions of IP addresses was able to obtain leaked data for 272 keys, reports Red Hat security researcher Florian Weimer in a research paper  published this week. Because the scan surveyed only a very small percentage of the overall number of transport layer security protocol  handshakes, many more keys and manufacturers are likely to be affected by the leakage. Vulnerable hardware includes load balancers from Citrix as well as devices from Hillstone Networks, Alteon/Nortel, Viprinet, QNO, ZyXEL, BEJY, and Fortinet. The results of Weimer’s nine-month scan. Florian Weimer Enter Chinese Remainder Theorem The leakage is the result of insecure implementations of the RSA public key cryptosystem , which is one of several that HTTPS-protected websites can use to exchange keys with visitors. A 1996 research paper by researcher Arjen Lenstra warned that an optimization known as the Chinese Remainder Theorem sometimes causes faults to occur during the computation of an RSA signature. The errors cause HTTPS websites that use the perfect forward secrecy protocol to leak data that can be used to recover the site’s private key using what’s known as a side-channel attack . Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Serious bug causes “quite a few” HTTPS sites to reveal their private keys

Three-ounce silicone bottles to hold your goops when you travel

This set of three 3-ounce travel bottles lets you transfer your favorite shampoo, lotion, and unguent into TSA-compliant squeezable tubes. The also have a suction cup so you can stick them to the shower wall in your hotel room and forget to pack them when you check-out.

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Three-ounce silicone bottles to hold your goops when you travel

Bugzilla Breached, Private Vulnerability Data Stolen

darthcamaro writes: Mozilla today publicly announced that secured areas of bugzilla, where non-public zero days are stored, were accessed by an attacker. The attacker got access to as many as 185 security bugs before they were made public. They say, “We believe they used that information to attack Firefox users.” The whole hack raises the issue of Mozilla’s own security, since it was a user password that was stolen and the bugzilla accounts weren’t using two-factor authentication. According to Mozilla’s FAQ about the breach (PDF), “The earliest confirmed instance of unauthorized access dates to September 2014. There are some indications that the attacker may have had access since September 2013.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Bugzilla Breached, Private Vulnerability Data Stolen

Ex-Tesla engineer accused of illegally accessing former boss’s e-mail

A former Tesla mechanical engineer is facing two counts of felony computer intrusion, according to a Thursday press release from the FBI . Nima Kalbasi, a 28-year-old Canadian citizen, is accused of illegally accessing his former boss’s e-mail account nearly 300 times during a period of about 30 days in late 2014 and early 2015. The 28-year-old Canadian citizen appeared before a federal judge in San Jose, California late last month. He was arrested days earlier while crossing the border from Canada into Vermont. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Ex-Tesla engineer accused of illegally accessing former boss’s e-mail

20+ Chinese Android Smartphones Models Come With Pre-Installed Malware

An anonymous reader writes: Security researchers from G DATA have published research (PDF) into Android phones produced in China, which found that a large number of devices ship with pre-installed malware and spyware. Affected models include the Xiaomi MI3, Huawei G510, Lenovo S860, Alps A24, Alps 809T, Alps H9001, Alps 2206, Alps PrimuxZeta, Alps N3, Alps ZP100, Alps 709, Alps GQ2002, Alps N9389, Android P8, ConCorde SmartPhone6500, DJC touchtalk, ITOUCH, NoName S806i, SESONN N9500, SESONN P8, Xido X1111, Star N9500, Star N8000 and IceFox Razor. The researchers do not believe the manufacturers are responsible for the malware; rather, they suspect middlemen within distribution channels. “According to G DATA, the contamination of these smartphones is done by hiding malware as add-on code in legitimate apps. Since users don’t usually interact with the malware and the add-on runs in the app’s background, unless using a mobile antivirus solution, these infections are rarely discovered.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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20+ Chinese Android Smartphones Models Come With Pre-Installed Malware

Man who helped code highly destructive financial malware pleads guilty

The Latvian man accused of helping create the Gozi virus, which United States prosecutors dubbed ” one of the most financially destructive computer viruses in history ,” has pleaded guilty. As the original indictment stated : “The Gozi Virus has caused, at a minimum, millions of dollars in losses.” According to Reuters , Deniss Calovskis made the admission in federal court in Manhattan on Friday. Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Man who helped code highly destructive financial malware pleads guilty

Solar Windows Could Help Power Buildings

Lucas123 writes: Several companies are now beginning to roll out translucent photovoltaic films or solar cells embedded in windows that can supplement a significant amount of energy in the buildings where they’re used. SolarWindow Technologies, for example, is preparing to launch a transparent product made with organic PVs, while another company, Solaria, is cutting solar cells into thin strips and embedding them in windows. Both companies admit their products can’t produce the 20% efficiency ratings of today’s best rooftop solar panels, but they say that’s not their objective. Instead, the companies are looking to take advantage of millions of skyscraper windows that today are simply unused real estate for renewable energy. One company is aiming at supplementing 20% to 30% of a skyscrapers power requirements. Meanwhile, universities are also jumping into the solar window arena. Oxford University has spun off a PV window company that produces semi-transparent solar cells made of semi-transparent perovskite oxide that has achieved a 20% solar energy efficiency. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Solar Windows Could Help Power Buildings