function – Page 42 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

Electron microscopes stop thieves from covering their tracks

Ask the police and they’ll tell you that serial numbers seldom help catch thieves — dedicated crooks are usually smart enough to file off those digits so that stolen items can’t be linked to a crime. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology might have just found a way to recover those numbers and stop criminals in their tracks, however. Their new technique uses electron microscopes to spot damaged crystal patterns in steel, revealing characters even when they’ve been polished into oblivion. Current recovery approaches (like acid etching or electrolytic polishing) only sometimes work, and frequently provide faint clues at best — the microscope produces clear evidence that you could use to convict someone in court. It’s going to be a while before the cops are using this method. Right now, it takes three whole days to identify eight numbers. That time could shrink to an hour through optimization, though. If that happens, gun runners and burglars may have a considerably harder time escaping the long arm of the law. Unless nogoodniks get particularly creative, you’d have little trouble tracing many weapons and fenced items back to their sources. [Image credit: White/NIST] Filed under: Science Comments Via: Slashdot , Gizmodo Source: NIST

Read this article:
Electron microscopes stop thieves from covering their tracks

Chrome warns users of malware-infected websites before connecting to them

Google’s already making sure you don’t download malware, and now it’s expanding its Safe Browsing initiative. In addition to preventative warnings prior to downloading, the Chrome browser will now throw a red flag (pictured after the break) before visiting a site that may encourage you to install any malicious software. Search listings are getting marks for sites that might contain nefarious programs as well, and Mountain View says that it’s actively disabling Google Ads that “lead to sites with unwanted software.” The search giant is urging site owners to install its Webmaster Tools to help keep on top of any possible issues with a site pushing bad software to visitors, and says this’ll aid with the resolution process should that happen. Again, it’s Google working to keep its “don’t be evil” reputation in line and making the internet a safer place for everyone. After all, even the most web savvy among us have probably downloaded malware before at some point. [Image credit: Associated Press] Filed under: Internet , Google Comments Source: Inside Search blog

Read the original:
Chrome warns users of malware-infected websites before connecting to them

Verizon will speed up San Francisco data by installing ‘small cells’

Some carriers use “small cells” to boost their coverage, because these relatively tiny transmitters are 1.) a lot cheaper, and 2.) more inconspicuous than their traditional counterparts. Verizon is one of those carriers — in fact, it’s planning to install 400 small cells in certain high-traffic areas in San Francisco starting this second quarter. These devices (designed by Ericsson) will be integrated into street lamps and will generally blend into the surroundings within SF’s Financial District, SOMA, Market Street and North Beach neighborhoods. The cells do have a limitation, though: each one can only cover an area that has a 250 to 500-foot radius. That’s why for this particular rollout, Verizon plans to lay down the structure for a dense network made up of numerous small cells covering some parts of the city only. Verizon’s VP of entertainment and tech policy, Eric Reed, told GigaOm that San Francisco is a great place to prove the technology works: “Verizon’s customers, ” he said, “scarf down mobile data there like few other places in the country.” The company is expecting its LTE network speeds in those locations to be around three times faster once the installation is done by the end of 2015. According to Recode , Big Red wants all 400 units up and running before the year ends in preparation for Super Bowl 50 in February 2016, which might bring as many as a million visitors to the city. Not on Verizon? If you’re on AT&T, don’t worry — by then, Ma Bell could also be done installing over 40, 000 small cells across the United States to beef up its own coverage. [Image credit: Jon Fingas/Flickr ] Filed under: Cellphones , Wireless , Mobile , Verizon Comments Via: GigaOm

See original article:
Verizon will speed up San Francisco data by installing ‘small cells’

23andMe gets FDA approval, but only to test rare Bloom syndrome

For over a year now, 23andMe has been effectively banned from offering its US customers health-related genetic tests. The company is still selling its personal DNA kits, but the information it can provide is limited to ancestry-related reports and raw genetic data. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was behind the original clampdown in 2013, but this week it’s given the company its blessing for a new test. With the fresh approval, 23andMe can now offer to look for signs of Bloom syndrome , a rare disorder which is characterized by short stature, sun-sensitive skin and increased cancer risk. While this is a specific test, rather than the broader health reports it offered before, 23andMe calls it an “important first step” to offering detailed genetic advice in the US once more. Filed under: Misc Comments Source: 23andMe

800,000 people get bad tax info in latest Healthcare.gov snafu

Healthcare.gov just can’t catch a break — it’s been targeted by hackers and shared personal information with marketing companies in the past six months, and now it’s trying to clean up a mess for the nearly 800, 000 people it just sent incorrect tax information to. The Obama administration confirmed the issue earlier this morning, and officials promised on the Healthcare.gov blog to contact affected households via phone call and email over the next few days. Needless to say, don’t file your taxes yet if you signed up for health insurance using the site this past year. Better safe than sorry, right? Alas, the news came too late save some 50, 000 people who already filed their returns — they’ll be given instructions on how to re-file soon enough. This all might come as welcome news to people who didn’t want to sit down with a copy of TurboTax for an hour, but it could wind up being a crushing blow to affected people who really needed that tax refund soon. Officials told The New York Times they weren’t exactly sure how the glitch happened (expect an investigation to follow shortly), but 80 percent of the folks who used Healthcare.gov to sign up for insurance were in the clear as far as the IRS is concerned. Updated tax forms are expected to hit people’s mailboxes in early March, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled. Comments Via: New York Times Source: Healthcare.gov Blog

Visit link:
800,000 people get bad tax info in latest Healthcare.gov snafu

Apple will fix your older MacBook Pro’s video problems for free

Did you snag a MacBook Pro before 2014 only to run into corrupted video , no video at all or spontaneous reboots? You won’t have to shell out for a fix if you’re out of warranty. After more than a year of reports, Apple is launching a repair program that will mend your laptop for free if its graphics are going haywire. You’re covered so long as you bought a 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro between early 2011 and the end of 2013, including the first two generations of Retina models . The program will be available as of February 20th if you’re in the US or Canada, and a week later in the rest of the world. Only a “small percentage” of systems are affected, Apple says, but it won’t hurt to check coverage even if everything is hunky dory. Filed under: Laptops , Apple Comments Source: Apple

More here:
Apple will fix your older MacBook Pro’s video problems for free

Oh boy: Facebook for mobile lets you add stickers to photos

Well, here’s a nice Facebook feature for the more fun-loving users: the social network now lets you add stickers to photos before you even post them from an iPhone or an Android device. The social network launched a separate sticker app in December, but that one’s only for pictures to be sent through Messenger . Also, its built-in stickers were only for use in private messages and the comments section , prompting anyone who wanted cute accoutrements in their pictures to turn to third-party apps. Now, you’ll see a small icon at the bottom of each uploaded image, which you can click to see all the stickers you can use. These graphics can be resized, rotated, moved to another location — or just straight up deleted if you change your mind. Sure, go on and roll your eyes at the news, but we promise you teens and tweens will eat this up: cue the rise of super- kawaii , sticker-ridden Facebook selfies. Filed under: Misc , Mobile , Facebook Comments Source: iTunes , Google Play

Taken from:
Oh boy: Facebook for mobile lets you add stickers to photos

How cable networks speed up shows to squeeze in more ads

If you’re still watching cable (and apparently we’re not), it turns out that channels like TBS and TNT are now speeding up syndicated programs, classics films and other shows by as much as 7 percent. The trend was noticed by Snopes and others, thanks to a user called ITClassics who compared the same episodes as aired now and years ago. A Seinfeld episode that originally ran 25 minutes was nearly 22 after the process, letting the broadcaster fit in about six extra spots. As the WSJ pointed out, ads now run an average of 15.8 minutes per hour on cable, and one unnamed cable exec said that “it’s a way to keep the revenue from going down as much as the ratings.” As we’ve reported before, cable and premium channels are losing viewership to Netflix and other less aggravating forms of content delivery. In order to make up for the lost revenue, TNT et. al. are speeding up syndicated shows like Seinfeld and Friends in a way that’s not too noticeable, letting them fit in a few more ads per half hour. They’re also irritating classic movie lovers by speeding up titles like the Wizard of Oz and King Kong (1933), giving the big ape a less menacing growl. The stations might be squeezing out a few more bucks, but as some Redditors pointed out, they’re probably turning even more folks away from cable . Filed under: Home Entertainment , HD Comments Source: Snopes , ITClassics (YouTube)

More:
How cable networks speed up shows to squeeze in more ads

An ‘Alien’ movie is coming from the creator of ‘District 9’

District 9 creator Neill Blomkamp gave sci-fi fans a brief glimmer of hope in January, when he teased that he had secretly been working on an Alien sequel that had (apparently) been scuttled. Well, it might be back on again — Blomkamp is now claiming on Instagram (with support from Variety sources) that the project is “officially [his] next film.” There’s no word on the movie’s plot or when it might hit theaters, but his sneak peek showed concept art that included Ripley in an alien-like suit, Weyland-Yutani’s headquaters and the return of Aliens ‘ Corporal Hicks. Fox hasn’t chimed in yet, but it’s likely just a matter of time if this pans out. The real question is whether Blomkamp can return the franchise to its former glory. While he hit it big with District 9 and shows promise with his upcoming flick Chappie , the mixed reviews of Elysium suggest that Blomkamp doesn’t automatically produce box office gold. And Variety notes that Alien director Ridley Scott won’t be involved — he’s too busy with his follow-up to Prometheus , so it’s all on the (relatively) new guy to make this work. Um… So I think it’s officially my next film. #alien A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on Feb 18, 2015 at 3:55pm PST Filed under: Home Entertainment , HD Comments Source: Neill Blomkamp (Instagram) , Variety

See more here:
An ‘Alien’ movie is coming from the creator of ‘District 9’

New Lenovo PCs shipped with factory-installed adware

Buy a new Lenovo computer recently? Well, it looks like it could be infected with some factory-installed adware. Users on the official Lenovo forums started noticing that search results were being injected with sponsored links (like what happens when a machine is infected with typical adware or spyware) as far back as last September, and some even report that sites including Kelley Blue Book and JetBlue wouldn’t render properly at all. This apparently isn’t the only problem, however. As Facebook engineer Mike Shaver recently discovered , the program at fault, Superfish, appears to install a man-in-the-middle certificate that allows outside parties to take a peek at secure websites you might be visiting, too. Like your bank’s , for example. This is a problem. #superfish pic.twitter.com/jKDfSo99ZR – Kenn White (@kennwhite) February 19, 2015 For its part, Lenovo admitted that it was installing Superfish on its machines (users report finding it on the G40 and the pictured-above Y40 and Z50 ) late last month and said that it’d “temporarily removed” it from new consumer products until Superfish’s developer could release an update that’d address the problems users were encountering. Lenovo’s forum post reads as such: “All, As an update on this… Due to some issues (browser pop up behavior for example), with the Superfish Visual Discovery browser add-on, we have temporarily removed Superfish from our consumer systems until such time as Superfish is able to provide a software build that addresses these issues. As for units already in market, we have requested that Superfish auto-update a fix that addresses these issues. To be clear, Superfish comes with Lenovo consumer products only and is a technology that helps users find and discover products visually. The technology instantly analyzes images on the web and presents identical and similar product offers that may have lower prices, helping users search for images without knowing exactly what an item is called or how to describe it in a typical text-based search engine. The Superfish Visual Discovery engine analyzes an image 100% algorithmically, providing similar and near identical images in real time without the need for text tags or human intervention. When a user is interested in a product, Superfish will search instantly among more than 70, 000 stores to find similar items and compare prices so the user can make the best decision on product and price. Superfish technology is purely based on contextual/image and not behavioral. It does not profile nor monitor user behavior. It does not record user information. It does not know who the user is. Users are not tracked nor re-targeted. Every session is independent. When using Superfish for the first time, the user is presented the Terms of User and Privacy Policy, and has option not to accept these terms, i.e., Superfish is then disabled.” Lenovo is far from the only OEM that pre-installs software on its computers (Dell and WildTangent games say “hi”), but putting what very much looks to be malware on machines is pretty brazen. What’s more, The Next Web even reports that antivirus software denotes Superfish as a virus and suggests removal. An enterprising YouTube user has even posted a tutorial video for doing just that, too. We’ve reached out to the company for more detail and will update this post should we hear back. Lenovo confirms they ship preinstalled software that injects ads into sites including google https://t.co/DIDMrgw62z via @shaver – Adrienne Porter Felt (@__apf__) February 19, 2015 Filed under: Laptops , Internet , Lenovo Comments Via: Adrienne Porter Felt (Twitter) Source: Lenovo forums