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Submission + - Complex life may be possible in only 10% of all galaxies (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: The universe may be a lonelier place than previously thought. Of the estimated 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe, only one in 10 can support complex life like that on Earth, a pair of astrophysicists argues. Everywhere else, stellar explosions known as gamma ray bursts would regularly wipe out any life forms more elaborate than microbes. The detonations also kept the universe lifeless for billions of years after the big bang, the researchers say.

Submission + - NSA CTO Patrick Dowd Moonlighting for Private Security Firm (theguardian.com)

Submitted by un1nsp1red
un1nsp1red writes: Current NSA CTO Patrick Dowd has taken a part-time position with former-NSA director Keith Alexander's security firm IronNet Cybersecurity — while retaining his position as chief technology officer for the NSA. The Guardian states that "Patrick Dowd continues to work as a senior NSA official while also working part time for Alexander’s IronNet Cybersecurity, a firm reported to charge up to $1m a month for advising banks on protecting their data from hackers. It is exceedingly rare for a US official to be allowed to work for a private, for-profit company in a field intimately related to his or her public function." Some may give Alexander a pass on the possible conflict of interests as he's now retired, but what about a current NSA official moonlighting for a private security firm?

Submission + - ISPs Violating Net Neutrality to block encryption

Submitted by Dupple
Dupple writes: One of the most frequent refrains from the big broadband players and their friends who are fighting against net neutrality rules is that there's no evidence that ISPs have been abusing a lack of net neutrality rules in the past, so why would they start now? That does ignore multiple instances of violations in the past, but in combing through the comments submitted to the FCC concerning net neutrality, we came across one very interesting one that actually makes some rather stunning revelations about the ways in which ISPs are currently violating net neutrality/open internet principles in a way designed to block encryption and thus make everyone a lot less secure

Submission + - The 9to5Mac Story: A Profile Of Seth Weintraub (businessinsider.com)

Submitted by redletterdave
redletterdave writes: Though its competitors are more experienced and better funded, 9to5Mac has established itself as the go-to website for Apple news. It's regularly cited by the most influential news outlets in the world, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. But 9to5Mac can also ruffle the feathers of its competition — namely, other Apple blogs. 'It is pretty cut throat behind the scenes, and you can imagine how rough it is,' says Seth Weintraub, 9to5Mac's founder, and publisher.

Submission + - Finns go crazy get refurbished iPhone 4 - yes '4' (afterdawn.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Finnish retailer Verkkokauppa.com got pile of refurbished iPhone 4 models and decided to put them on sale for €99.90. When the stores were opened, a chaos broke as people tried to get into the store to buy one. Meanwhile, the rest of the world was queuing for iPhone 6...

Submission + - Multimedia multitasking shrinking human brains (sussex.ac.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It seems that switching between laptop, smart phone and tablet may be shrinking our brains and leaving us prone to higher levels of anxiety and stress reports news research from the University of Sussex in the UK. The researchers point out that the link is currently a correlation rather than a proof of causation, but they do suggest that people who used a higher number of media devices concurrently also had smaller grey matter density — in other words they have smaller brains.

Submission + - Why does the DNA double helix twist to the right? (nature.com)

Submitted by Annanag
Annanag writes: Most organic molecules have left- or right-handed versions, mirror images of each other, just like gloves. For some reason, life always seems to favour one version over the other — the DNA double helix in its standard form always twists like a right-handed screw, for example. But why this preference for left or right happens has always been a mystery. Now, in an experiment that took 13 years to perfect, physicists have found hints that this asymmetry of life could have been caused by electrons from nuclear decay in the early days of evolution.

Submission + - Bug in Bash shell creates big security hole on anything with *nix in it (nist.gov)

Submitted by Dupple
Dupple writes: A security vulnerability in the GNU Bourne Again Shell (Bash), the command-line shell used in many Linux and Unix operating systems, could leave systems running those operating systems open to exploitation by specially crafted attacks. “This issue is especially dangerous as there are many possible ways Bash can be called by an application,” a Red Hat security advisory warned.

Submission + - Apple privacy policy frustrates government (businesstexter.com)

Submitted by jamesrain
jamesrain writes: The release of the Apple iOS 8 software meant that Apple updated its privacy policy. As a company that has always put personal privacy above all else, this means you can expect your personal information to be even more protected than before. But to what extent should you expect privacy, and at what point is the government going to step in and say no?

What privacy can you expect?

You might be wondering if the Apple privacy policy means you can avoid all government spying. Of course, that would be impossible. As Fox News explains, Apple can only control the information associated with its phones and Apple accounts. All other information is controlled elsewhere. For example, a phone tap could still happen because Apple does not provide the cell service, just the device. And spying through social media is still possible. The only things covered in the Apple privacy policy is anything associated with your Apple account, such as uploads to your cloud, photo storage, email, contacts, and even call history.

More or less, Apple has explained that it cannot access the data simply because it has created a privacy system where it cannot bypass your passcode. If a warrant is placed for access to account information, Apple can deny it because it has no way to access the info. For cops, this means they don’t have access even if they get judge authority. For you, it means your information is protected in all circumstances.

Government action?

It is possible the government could come in and say that Apple has to retain access to accounts in the event of a national crisis or threat to the nation; however, that has not yet happened. For now, Apple intends to provide as much privacy as possible to its customers, so they feel comfortable using their personal devices without fear of information leaking.

Some people are hesitant to trust Apple after the incident of leaked nude celebrity photos from the iCloud, but Apple says those were isolated incidents where hackers stole passcode data to get the images rather than the photos just getting leaked.

Privacy important to customers

As you are working on your automated text systems and allowing your customers to text you for an automated response, it is important that you keep their information private as well. There is nothing that will make a customer leave faster than finding out you just sold their personal information to another company. Make sure you have a privacy policy on your texting services clearly laid out when your customers sign up and again on your website to prevent confusion.

Mobile technology news brought to you by businesstexter.com

Source: foxnews.com/tech/2014/09/18/expert-apple-is-making-life-more-difficult-for-cops/

Submission + - China smartphone maker Xiaomi apologizes for unauthorized data access 1

Submitted by SpzToid
SpzToid writes: Following up an earlier story here on Slashdot, now Xiaomi has apologized for collecting private data from its customers.

Xiaomi Inc said it had upgraded its operating system to ensure users knew it was collecting data from their address books after a report by a computer security firm said the Chinese budget smartphone maker was taking personal data without permission. The privately held company said it had fixed a loophole in its cloud messaging system that had triggered the unauthorized data transfer and that the operating system upgrade had been rolled out on Sunday. The issue was highlighted last week in a blog post by security firm F-Secure Oyg. In a lengthy blogpost on Google Plus, Xiaomi Vice President Hugo Barra apologized for the unauthorized data collection and said the company only collects phone numbers in users' address books to see if the users are online.

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