Lashat - Slashdot User

The Cost of Crappy Security in Software Infrastructure-> 0

Submitted by blackbearnh on Friday June 01, @10:20AM

blackbearnh writes "Everyone these days knows that you have to double and triple check your code for security vulnerabilities, and make sure that your servers are locked down as tight as you can. But why? Because our underlying operating systems, languages, and platforms do such a crappy job protecting us from ourselves. A new article suggests that the inevitable result of clamoring for new features, rather than demanding rock-solid infrastructure, is that the developer community wastes huge amounts of time protecting their applications from exploits that should never be possible in the first place. TFA: The next time you hear about a site that gets pwned by a buffer overrun exploit, don't think "stupid developers!", think "stupid industry!""
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IE10 Will Have "Do Not Track" On By Default-> 0

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01, @09:00AM

An anonymous reader writes "As Microsoft released the preview of the next version of its Internet Explorer browser, news that in Windows 8 the browser will be sending a “Do Not Track” signal to Web sites by default must have shook online advertising giants. "Consumers can change this default setting if they choose," Microsoft noted, but added that this decision reflects their commitment to providing Windows customers an experience that is "private by default" in an era when so much user data is collected online. This step will make Internet Explorer 10 the first web browser with DNT on by default. And while the website are not required to comply with the user's do not track request, the DNT initiative — started by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission — is making good progress."
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Porn film maker to send filesharers warning letters-> 0

Submitted by Qedward on Friday June 01, @11:41AM

Qedward writes "Ben Dover Productions, which makes porn films, will soon be sending warning letters to O2 customers who have been suspected of illegally sharing its films on the network.

O2 was forced to pass on the customer details of 9,124 IP addresses, which had carried out illegal downloads, to the production company after it won a court order in March.

Ben Dover has said it will target users who had uploaded films to others, but not people who had just downloaded one film.

“In our first letter we seek to find out more information regarding evidence of an infringement of our copyright,” Julian Becker, Ben Dover’s commercial director, said."
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Google Highlights Censored Search Terms in China-> 1

Submitted by

itwbennett

on Friday June 01, @09:54AM

itwbennett writes "Responding to complaints from Chinese Googlers that the search engine is 'inconsistent and unreliable,' Google has updated its service to help users steer clear of search queries that will result in page errors. Google will now highlight characters and phrases that are likely to 'break' a user's connection. 'By prompting people to revise their queries, we hope to reduce these disruptions and improve our user experience from mainland China,' the company said in a blog post."
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When Continental Drift was considered Pseudoscience -> 0

Submitted by Lasrick on Friday June 01, @10:49AM

Lasrick writes "Love this article in Smithsonian by Richard Conniff. One of my geology professors was in grad school when the theories for plate tectonics, seafloor spreading, etc., were introduced; he remembered how most of his professors denounced them as ridiculous. This article chronicles the introduction of continental drift theory, starting a century ago with Alfred Wegener.
A nice read."
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Comment: Contrails and now this!? (Score 1) 160

by Lashat on Friday June 01, @10:41AM (#40179987) Attached to: Solar Geoengineering Could Lead To Whiter, Brighter Skies

your tinfoil is powerless here.

Privacy Practices of the Internet's Biggest Companies-> 0

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01, @09:40AM

An anonymous reader writes "When you use the Internet, you entrust your thoughts, experiences, locations, and more to companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook. But what happens when the government asks these companies to hand over your private information? Will the company stand with you? The EFF released its second annual "When the Government Comes Knocking, Who Has Your Back?" report, tracking some of the Internet's biggest service providers on their public commitments to their users' privacy and security. Increasingly, federal law enforcement agents are demanding that Internet companies provide their users' data as part of government investigations – sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly. The EFF examined 18 companies' terms of service, privacy policies, public representations, advocacy, and courtroom track records, awarding them gold stars for best practices in categories like "tell users about government data demands" and "fight for user privacy in courts.""
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Oracle CEO Larry Ellison Loosens Up on Cloud-> 0

Submitted by

Nerval's Lobster

on Friday June 01, @09:39AM

Nerval's Lobster writes "Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, famous (or maybe infamous) for calling the tech industry's obsession over cloud computing as "complete gibberish" and "insane," seems to be warming up a little bit to the term. "I like the words," he said at this year's D10 conference. It's probably no coincidence that he seems to be warming to this whole cloud-computing thing just as Oracle prepares to launch a Public Cloud."
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MIT, Intel Plan on Big Data Research at New Facility-> 0

Submitted by

Nerval's Lobster

on Friday June 01, @09:32AM

Nerval's Lobster writes "Intel plans on building a new Intel Science and Technology Center (ISTC) for Big Data at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), with plans to research ways to analyze massive data sets. ISTC will tackle data issues from both a hardware and software perspective. Fields of study will include economic analysis, healthcare and life sciences, retail, and government."
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Google Points Finger at Microsoft, Nokia-> 0

Submitted by

x0d

on Friday June 01, @07:52AM

x0d writes "Google Inc. said it filed an antitrust complaint Thursday in Europe
arguing that Microsoft Corp. MSFT -0.51% and Nokia Corp. are using proxy companies
to brandish patents and hurt the prospects of Google's Android mobile-phone software to the advantage of Microsoft's technology.
The Internet-search giant alleges that Microsoft and Nokia have entered into agreements that enable entities such as Canada-based Mosaid Technologies Inc. to legally enforce their patent rights and share the resulting revenue."
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