Comment What about the word "news" (Score 1) 520
Should television stations that brand themselves as "news" be forced to tell the truth about what they actually give their viewers?
"Fox Biased Opinion Channel"
CSS Is Now So Overpowered It Can Deanonymize Facebook Users (bleepingcomputer.com) 92
An anonymous reader writes: Some of the recent additions to the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) web standard are so powerful that a security researcher has abused them to deanonymize visitors to a demo site and reveal their Facebook usernames, avatars, and if they liked a particular web page of Facebook. Information leaked via this attack could aid some advertisers linking IP addresses or advertising profiles to real-life persons, posing a serious threat to a user's online privacy. The leak isn't specific to Facebook but affects all sites which allow their content to be embedded on other web pages via iframes.
The actual vulnerability resides in the browser implementation of a CSS feature named "mix-blend-mode," added in 2016 in the CSS3 web standard. Security researchers have proven that by overlaying multiple layers of 1x1px-sized DIV layers on top of iframes, each layer with a different blend mode, they could determine what's displayed inside it and recover the data, to which parent websites cannot regularly access. This attack works in Chrome and Firefox, but has been fixed in recent versions.
The actual vulnerability resides in the browser implementation of a CSS feature named "mix-blend-mode," added in 2016 in the CSS3 web standard. Security researchers have proven that by overlaying multiple layers of 1x1px-sized DIV layers on top of iframes, each layer with a different blend mode, they could determine what's displayed inside it and recover the data, to which parent websites cannot regularly access. This attack works in Chrome and Firefox, but has been fixed in recent versions.
Largest Prime Number Discovered – With More Than 23m Digits (mersenne.org) 117
chalsall writes: Persistence pays off. Jonathan Pace, a GIMPS volunteer for over 14 years, discovered the 50th known Mersenne prime, 2^77,232,917 -- 1 on December 26, 2017. The prime number is calculated by multiplying together 77,232,917 twos, and then subtracting one. It weighs in at 23,249,425 digits, becoming the largest prime number known to mankind. It bests the previous record prime, also discovered by GIMPS, by 910,807 digits. You can read a little more in the press release.
Comment Re:Hi there! (Score 1) 3
I'm here, inside.
Comment Hi there! (Score 1) 3
Thanks for hosting, allbread. See you there (barring schedule kerfuffles
timothy
Submission + - Researcher Uses Valve Security Bug to Upload Paint Drying Game on Steam (softpedia.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A security researcher found two bypasses in Valve's game review process that eventually allowed him to publish Steam Trading Cards and a full game on the Steam Store called "Watch Paint Dry" (reference to this case from last month involving the British film censors).
The game was supposed to be an April Fools' Day prank, but the researcher forgot to set a release date, and was published on the Steam Store last weekend. Valve has fixed the security bypass in the meantime. These were extremely dangerous since it allowed anyone to publish games on the Store (possible containing malware) without a Valve employee ever taking a look at them, or knowing they went through the review process.
The game was supposed to be an April Fools' Day prank, but the researcher forgot to set a release date, and was published on the Steam Store last weekend. Valve has fixed the security bypass in the meantime. These were extremely dangerous since it allowed anyone to publish games on the Store (possible containing malware) without a Valve employee ever taking a look at them, or knowing they went through the review process.
Why BART Is Falling Apart 474
HughPickens.com writes: Matthias Gafni writes in the San Jose Mercury News that the engineers who built BART, the rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area that started operation in 1972, used principles developed for the aerospace industry rather than tried-and-true rail standards. And that's the trouble. "Back when BART was created, (the designers) were absolutely determined to establish a new product, and they intended to export it around the world," says Rod Diridon. "They may have gotten a little ahead of themselves using new technology. Although it worked, it was extremely complex for the time period, and they never did export the equipment because it was so difficult for other countries to install and maintain." The Space Age innovations have made it more challenging for the transit agency to maintain the BART system from the beginning. Plus, the aging system was designed to move 100,000 people per week and now carries 430,000 a day, so the loss of even a single car gets magnified with crowded commutes, delays and bus bridges. For example, rather than stick to the standard rail track width of 4 feet, 8.5 inches, BART engineers debuted a 5-foot, 6-inch width track, a gauge that remains to this day almost exclusive to the system. Industry experts say the unique track width necessitates custom-made wheel sets, brake assemblies and track repair vehicles.
Another problem is the dearth of readily available replacement parts for BART's one-of-a-kind systems. Maintenance crews often scavenge parts from old, out-of-service cars to avoid lengthy waits for orders to come in; sometimes mechanics are forced to manufacture the equipment themselves. "Imagine a computer produced in 1972," says David Hardt. "No one is supporting that old equipment any longer, but those same microprocessors are what we have controlling our logic systems." Right now BART needs 100 thyristors at a total cost of $100,000. BART engineers said it could take 22 weeks to ship them to the San Francisco Bay Area to replace in BART's "C" cars, which make up the older cars in the fleet. Right now, the agency has none. Nick Josefowitz says it makes no sense to dwell on design decisions made a half-century ago. "I think we need to use what we have today and build off that, rather than fantasize what could have been done in the past. The BART system was state of the art when it was built, and now it's technologically obsolete and coming to the end of its useful life."
Another problem is the dearth of readily available replacement parts for BART's one-of-a-kind systems. Maintenance crews often scavenge parts from old, out-of-service cars to avoid lengthy waits for orders to come in; sometimes mechanics are forced to manufacture the equipment themselves. "Imagine a computer produced in 1972," says David Hardt. "No one is supporting that old equipment any longer, but those same microprocessors are what we have controlling our logic systems." Right now BART needs 100 thyristors at a total cost of $100,000. BART engineers said it could take 22 weeks to ship them to the San Francisco Bay Area to replace in BART's "C" cars, which make up the older cars in the fleet. Right now, the agency has none. Nick Josefowitz says it makes no sense to dwell on design decisions made a half-century ago. "I think we need to use what we have today and build off that, rather than fantasize what could have been done in the past. The BART system was state of the art when it was built, and now it's technologically obsolete and coming to the end of its useful life."
Submission + - Facebook Testing Anti-Impersonation Feature
Trailrunner7 writes: Phishing and account takeover attacks take many forms, especially on massive platforms such as Twitter or Facebook, and defending against them is a tall order. Facebook has tried a number of tactics over the years, and now the company is testing a new feature that will detect and warn users when someone else is trying to impersonate them on the network.
The system is designed to address a difficult problem on social networks: impostors. Many social media platforms allow anonymity in some form or another, but some, like Twitter, have adjusted those policies over time to require real names and identities. As more and more people connect their online identities to their real-world lives in various ways, the problem of online impostors has become a much more serious one. An attacker who has the ability to put together a convincing false account for someone else can cause serious damage to the victim’s personal and perhaps professional life.
The system is designed to address a difficult problem on social networks: impostors. Many social media platforms allow anonymity in some form or another, but some, like Twitter, have adjusted those policies over time to require real names and identities. As more and more people connect their online identities to their real-world lives in various ways, the problem of online impostors has become a much more serious one. An attacker who has the ability to put together a convincing false account for someone else can cause serious damage to the victim’s personal and perhaps professional life.
Feed Tom's Hardware: The Oculus Rift Review (tomshardware.com)
The Oculus Rift, the first high-end, consumer VR head-mounted display is now available, and it's poised to usher in a future of immersive experiences.
Feed Ars Technica: The Ars review: Oculus Rift expands PC gaming past the monitor’s edge (arstechnica.com)
Despite first-gen roughness, PC virtual reality is finally—incredibly—real.
Feed Google News Sci Tech: The Oculus Rift Is Here, but Virtual Reality Is Still Rough Around the Edges - New York Times (google.com)
New York Times
The Oculus Rift Is Here, but Virtual Reality Is Still Rough Around the Edges
New York Times
Microsoft Created a Twitter Bot to Learn From Users. It Quickly Became a Racist Jerk. Chip-Card Payment System Delays Frustrate Retailers. Loading... See next articles. See previous articles. Personal Tech. Site Navigation. Home Page Home Page World.
Oculus Rift VR headset review: The magical, yet unfinished birth of virtual realityPCWorld
Review: Oculus Rift Is Expensive, Complicated, and Totally WonderfulTIME
Oculus Rift Review: VR's Rising Star Isn't Ready for the MainstreamWall Street Journal
WIRED-USA TODAY-Gizmodo-The Verge
all 141 news articles
New York Times
Microsoft Created a Twitter Bot to Learn From Users. It Quickly Became a Racist Jerk. Chip-Card Payment System Delays Frustrate Retailers. Loading... See next articles. See previous articles. Personal Tech. Site Navigation. Home Page Home Page World.
Oculus Rift VR headset review: The magical, yet unfinished birth of virtual realityPCWorld
Review: Oculus Rift Is Expensive, Complicated, and Totally WonderfulTIME
Oculus Rift Review: VR's Rising Star Isn't Ready for the MainstreamWall Street Journal
WIRED-USA TODAY-Gizmodo-The Verge
all 141 news articles
Zero-Rating Harms Poor People, Public Interest Groups Tell FCC (vice.com) 205
An anonymous reader links to an article on Motherboard: The nation's largest internet service providers are undermining US open internet rules, threatening free speech, and disproportionately harming poor people by using a controversial industry practice called "zero-rating," a coalition of public interest groups wrote in a letter to federal regulators on Monday. Companies like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T use zero-rating, which refers to a variety of practices that exempt certain services from monthly data caps, to undercut "the spirit and the text" of federal rules designed to protect net neutrality, the principle that all content on the internet should be equally accessible, the groups wrote. Zero-rated plans "distort competition, thwart innovation, threaten free speech, and restrict consumer choice -- all harms the rules were meant to prevent," the groups wrote. "These harms tend to fall disproportionately on low-income communities and communities of color, who tend to rely on mobile networks as their primary or exclusive means of access to the internet."
Submission + - NTT Data to Acquire Dell Services
An anonymous reader writes: Dell will sell its outsourcing wing, formerly known as Perot Systems, NTT Data for $3.05B. According to the article, this is the first of several expected sales Dell will broker to pay down the debt it incurs from purchasing EMC.
Submission + - Zero-Rating Harms Poor People, Public Interest Groups Tell FCC (vice.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The nation’s largest internet service providers are undermining US open internet rules, threatening free speech, and disproportionately harming poor people by using a controversial industry practice called “zero-rating,” a coalition of public interest groups wrote in a letter to federal regulators on Monday.
Companies like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T use zero-rating, which refers to a variety of practices that exempt certain services from monthly data caps, to undercut “the spirit and the text” of federal rules designed to protect net neutrality, the principle that all content on the internet should be equally accessible, the groups wrote.
The letter, which was signed by the Center for Media Justice, the Open Technology Institute, Free Press, and dozens of other groups, increases the pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to address zero-rating, which has become the latest battlefront in the decade-long war between policymakers, industry giants, and consumer advocates over how best to ensure internet openness.
Zero-rated plans “distort competition, thwart innovation, threaten free speech, and restrict consumer choice—all harms the rules were meant to prevent,” the groups wrote. “These harms tend to fall disproportionately on low income communities and communities of color, who tend to rely on mobile networks as their primary or exclusive means of access to the internet.”
Companies like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T use zero-rating, which refers to a variety of practices that exempt certain services from monthly data caps, to undercut “the spirit and the text” of federal rules designed to protect net neutrality, the principle that all content on the internet should be equally accessible, the groups wrote.
The letter, which was signed by the Center for Media Justice, the Open Technology Institute, Free Press, and dozens of other groups, increases the pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to address zero-rating, which has become the latest battlefront in the decade-long war between policymakers, industry giants, and consumer advocates over how best to ensure internet openness.
Zero-rated plans “distort competition, thwart innovation, threaten free speech, and restrict consumer choice—all harms the rules were meant to prevent,” the groups wrote. “These harms tend to fall disproportionately on low income communities and communities of color, who tend to rely on mobile networks as their primary or exclusive means of access to the internet.”
Submission + - Human spaceflight set to return to the Kennedy Space Center in 2017 (blastingnews.com)
MarkWhittington writes: When the space shuttle program ended in 2011, it was considered an end of an era for human space flight, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The Kennedy Space Center was hit especially hard, with layoffs decimating the workforce that used to support shuttle missions. However, things are starting to turn around, with more launches occurring in 2015 than had happened on the space coast since 2003. 2017 will see that return of human spaceflight to the Kennedy Space Center as both Boeing and SpaceX will start testing its commercial crew vehicles in anticipation of operations to and from the International Space Station starting in 2018. For the past five years, human space flight has been outsourced to Russia at great expense.
