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Submission + - DNS provision pulled from SOPA (cnet.com)

Submitted by crvtec
crvtec writes: From CNET — "Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), one of the biggest backers of the Stop Online Piracy Act, today said he plans to remove the Domain Name System (DNS) blocking provision.

"After consultation with industry groups across the country," Smith said in a statement released by his office. "I feel we should remove (DNS) blocking from the Stop Online Piracy Act so that the [U.S. House Judiciary] Committee can further examine the issues surrounding this provision. "
Biotech

Submission + - Cure for cancer may be ready in two years (newscientist.com)

Submitted by GnarlyDoug
GnarlyDoug writes: Dr Zheng Cui has, through a stroke of luck, found that the granulocytes from some mice are up to 50 times better at fighting cancer than others. He has cured mice with simple transfusions of granulocytes. These cells seem to recognize almost all cancer lines, are extremely effective even in advanced cases, and and the resistance seems to last for the life of the mouse. So not only does this treatment cure many cancers, but it also provides resistance to future cancers as well.

Evidence suggests that this should hold true for humans as well. Because this is based on blood transfusions, a technology already long established, this could be ready to so very soon. The go-ahead for a human trial has already been given, and if it pans out then this could be available in as little as two years time. Some simple tests to find people with the resistant strain of blood and then a system of transfusions is all that is needed to get this started.

If it pans out, we may be looking at a general cure for cancer within a few years time.
The Internet

Submission + - Technology Behind Entertainment

Submitted by Pink Fluffy Dinosaur
Pink Fluffy Dinosaur writes: Web 2.0 applications pop up daily in the virtual scenery. www.flickrcombat.com is a mashup that is offering an effective process to involve the community in revealing the best Flickr photos (sourced via the flickr.com API) and at the same time to keep things interesting and entertaining. In the good web 2.0 spirit, the users exercise an influence over the content and the more they get involved, the more value they add to the application. So what is FlickrCombat all about? Two pictures in each combat, seven categories to choose from, and a top 21 that says it all. The rank of a picture is determined by the defeats, wins and number of combats (more details on the algorithm here. )
Security

Submission + - When IT security gets physical

Submitted by ancientribe
ancientribe writes: A social engineering firm is forced to actually steal the laptop of a technology-savvy suspected employee-gone-bad to investigate his actions for a large corporate client, and things get physical — literally, as they wrestle over the machine, according to this column in Dark Reading. Steve Stasiukonis, vice president and founder of Secure Network Technologies, recounts the sting operation that led to a scuffle, as well as getting the goods on the culprit.

http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=117 531&WT.svl=tease3_2
Microsoft

Journal Journal: Gates announce AIDS vaccine initiative

Journal by taketheleap
From the article:

Canada will be the site of a new facility to manufacture and test vaccines to fight HIV/AIDS, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates announced Tuesday in Ottawa. Ottawa will contribute up to $111 million toward the new Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative, while the Microsoft founder, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will donate up to $28 million.
Security

Submission + - Pentagon to Cyber Attackers - bombs away!

Submitted by
PoconoPCDoctor
PoconoPCDoctor writes: "I almost fell off my chair while reading a story in Network World reporting this worrisome scenario...

"In the event of a massive cyberattack against the country that was perceived as originating from a foreign source, the United States would consider launching a counterattack or bombing the source of the cyberattack.... But he noted the preferred route would be warning the source to shut down the attack before a military response."

I would hope that they are really, really, REALLY certain that they have identified the correct geographical source of the cyber-attack. Also, even if the source of the attack can be absolutely verified without any chance for error (which I doubt), if the cyber-terrorists are located in a populated area — does the order to bomb still go through, regardless of probable loss of innocent life?"
Security

Submission + - IT Departments Fear Growing Expertise of Users

Submitted by
flatfilsoc
flatfilsoc writes: "The current issue of CIO Magazine has a nice article about the emergence of the growing expertise of users calling this the, THE SHADOW IT DEPARTMENT, or the tale of users who know too much (and the IT leaders who fear them). The article argues that the boundary between a users' workplace and home have broken down making the formal IT jobs harder as they bring or download more "gadgets" to work for increasing their own work productivity. The article also argues that the tendency for the formal IT department to fight is self-defeating and outlines strategies for peaceful co-existence.

http://www.cio.com/archive/021507/fea_user_mgmt.ht ml?page=1"
Security

Submission + - Phishing Scan Uses Google Maps

Submitted by
morgan_greywolf
morgan_greywolf writes: "According the the PC World, a new phishing scam uses Google Maps to pinpoint the physical location of the victim's computer:

Account holders with at least two Australian banks have become victims of a phishing scam in which malicious code reveals the physical location of affected IP addresses using Google Maps. Bank account holders in Germany and the U.S. have also been targeted.

Identity theft anyone?"

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