Thursday, September 10, 2009

New York Times Site Pop-Up Says Your Computer Is Infected

Posted by timothy on Sunday September 13, @07:59PM
from the if-you're-reading-this-you-have-a-virus dept.

Zott writes"Apparently, 'some readers' of the New York Times site are getting a bit more with their news: an apparently syndicated adware popup with a faux virus scan of the user's computer indicating they are infected, and a link to go download a fix now. It's entertaining when a Mac user gets it, but clearly downloading an .exe file isn't a good way to keep your computer clean ..."Update: 09/14 03:20 GMT by T : Troy encountered this malware,"and did basic forensics. Summary: iframe ad then series of HTML/JS redirects, ending at a fake virus scanner page with a "Scan" link (made to look like a dialog box button) that downloaded malware."Nice explanation!

Video: Robot hand shows off amazing dexterity, speed

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 22nd 2009 at 2:20PM

So you want something to look forward to in your fast approaching old age, eh? If robots playing baseball doesn't quite cut it, how's about a robohand that redefines what we understand by the word "dexterity"? The Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory is at it again, this time demonstrating robotic appendages with a reaction time of a single millisecond. Using harmonic drive gears and a (really) high-speed actuator, the three-fingered hands can tie your shoelaces, tweezer your brow, and even perform some kung fu pen spinning for the ladies. Video after the break -- skip ahead if you must, but don't miss out on the slow-mo action at 2:40 in the demo, it's pure kinetic poetry.

[Via Hizook; Thanks, Thomas B]

Facebook Ordered To Turn Over Source Code

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday September 10, @09:24AM
from the revealing-trade-secret-super-poke-tech dept.

social

news

consonant writes"A Delaware District Court judge has ordered Facebook to turn over ALL its source code to Leader Technologies, who allege patent infringements by Facebook. The patent in question appears to be for "associating a piece of data with multiple categories". Additionally, while the judge in question deems it fine to let Leader Technologies look at Facebook's source (for a patent, no less!) in its entirety for a single feature, it would be "overboard to ask a patent holder to disclose all of their products that practice any claim of the patent-in-suit"."

The Real-World State of Windows Use

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday September 09, @07:59PM
from the give-me-the-numbers dept.

microsoft

snydeq writes"Performance and metrics researcher Devil Mountain Software has released an array of real-world Windows use data as compiled by itsexo.performance.network, a community-based monitoring tool that receives real-time data from about 10,000 PCs throughout the world. Tracking users' specific configurations, as well as the applications they actually use, the tool provides insights into real-world Windows use, including browser share, multicore adoption, service pack adoption, and which anti-virus, productivity, and media software are most prevalent among Windows users. Of note are the following conclusions: two years after Vista's release, not even 30 percent of PCs actually run it; OpenOffice.org is making inroads into the Microsoft Office user base; and despite the rise of Firefox, Internet Explorer remains the standard option for inside-the-firewall apps."

New Robot Travels Across The Seafloor To Monitor The Impact Of Climate Change On Deep-sea Ecosystems

ScienceDaily (Sep. 10, 2009) — Like the robotic rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which wheeled tirelessly across the dusty surface of Mars, a new robot spent most of July traveling across the muddy ocean bottom, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) off the California coast. This robot, the Benthic Rover, has been providing scientists with an entirely new view of life on the deep seafloor. It will also give scientists a way to document the effects of climate change on the deep sea. The Rover is the result of four years of hard work by a team of engineers and scientists led by MBARI project engineer Alana Sherman and marine biologist Ken Smith.

ScienceDaily (Sep. 10, 2009) — A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers has found a strong association between the common sexually transmitted infection, Trichomonas vaginalis, and risk of advanced and lethal prostate cancer in men.

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 10th 2009 at 7:45AM

Here's a sure-fire way to get noticed: take an overly trite expression and apply it literally to your complaint. Case in point: Unlimited IT, so exasperated by South Africa's leading supplier of slow internet connectivity that it pitted a Telekom ADSL line against a real-live homing pigeon in a 60-mile data transmission race. The pigeon arrived with the 4GB memory stick in just over an hour with another hour required to load the data onto the computer. As for Telekom? Well, after 2 hours it had barely reached 4%. Point made.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Parenthood Makes Moms More Liberal, Dads More Conservative

ScienceDaily (Sep. 9, 2009) — Parenthood is pushing mothers and fathers in opposite directions on political issues associated with social welfare, from health care to education, according to new research from North Carolina State University.

What the DHS Knows About You

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday September 08, @08:13AM
from the shirt-size-and-toothbrush-color dept.

government

privacy

usa

Sherri Davidoff writes"Here's a real copy of an American citizen's DHS Travel Record, retrieved from the US Customs and Border Patrol's Automated Targeting System and obtained through a FOIA/Privacy Act request. The document reveals that the DHS is storing: the traveler's credit card number and expiration; IP addresses used to make Web travel reservations; hotel information and itinerary; full airline itinerary including flight numbers and seat numbers; phone numbers including business, home, and cell; and every frequent flyer and hotel number associated with the traveler, even ones not used for the specific reservation."

Cities Less Dangerous Than Rural Regions, Traffic Accident Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Sep. 8, 2009) — Out of the city and into the countryside! For many people this idea is associated with a life away from the dangers of the brawly road traffic in the city. For concerned parents, road safety is an important factor in house hunting. They want their children to move freely and healthy outside.

Neat Stuff