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Security

Geolocation XSS Tracker Proof of Concept 102

Posted by CmdrTaco from the oh-thats-fine-i'm-sure dept.
Jamie found a bit of a scary link this morning that demonstrates a router XSS getting your MAC address and using it to map your current location. Which I'm sure is totally no big deal for anyone.
Cellphones

Many More Android Apps Leaking User Data 299

Posted by CmdrTaco from the because-they-can dept.
eldavojohn writes "After developing and using TaintDroid, several universities found that of 30 popular free Android apps, half were sharing GPS data and phone numbers with advertisers and remote servers. A few months ago, one app was sending phone numbers to a remote server in China but today the situation looks a lot more pervasive. In their paper (PDF), the researchers blasted Google saying 'Android's coarse grained access control provides insufficient protection against third-party applications seeking to collect sensitive data.' Google's response: 'Android has taken steps to inform users of this trust relationship and to limit the amount of trust a user must grant to any given application developer. We also provide developers with best practices about how to handle user data. We consistently advise users to only install apps they trust.'"
Privacy

"Pre-Crime" Comes To the HR Dept. 554

Posted by samzenpus from the you-wouldn't-work-out dept.
storagedude writes "Like something out of the Steven Spielberg movie Minority Report, a startup called Social Intelligence is mining social media to weed out job applicants based on their potential for violence, drug abuse or just plain bad judgment. The startup also combs sites like Facebook and Twitter to monitor current employees, presumably to monitor compliance with company social media policy, but as the criteria are company-defined, anything's possible. Just one more reason to watch what you post, folks."
Databases

PostgreSQL 9.0 Released 344

Posted by Soulskill from the milestone-achieved dept.
poet writes "Today the PostgreSQL Global Development Group released PostgreSQL 9.0. This release marks a major milestone in the PostgreSQL ecosystem, with added features such as streaming replication (including DDL), Hot Standby and other nifty items like DO. The release notes list all the new features, and the guide explains them in greater detail. You can download a copy now."
User Journal

Journal Journal: Digg

Journal by OOSCARR

I'm just verifying my slashdot fed to digg I expect to delete this entry 3555e2681e3f48ada542fb319f447b4e
Biotech

Using Wisdom Teeth To Make Stem Cells 82

Posted by samzenpus from the spare-parts dept.
An anonymous reader writes "For most people, wisdom teeth are not much more than an annoyance that eventually needs to be removed. However, a new study appearing in the September 17 Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that wisdom teeth contain a valuable reservoir of tissue for the creation of stem cells; thus, everyone might be carrying around his or her own personal stem-cell repository should he or she ever need some. Groundbreaking research back in 2006 revealed that inducing the activity of four genes in adult cells could 'reprogram' them back into a stem-cell-like state; biologically, these induced-pluripotent stem cells are virtually identical to embryonic stem cells, opening up a new potential avenue for stem-cell therapy whereby patients could be treated with their own stem cells."
Government

Argentine Government Orders Major ISP To Close 152

Posted by Soulskill from the pack-your-stuff-and-get-out dept.
Doctor Jonas writes "Argentine ISP Fibertel has been barred from continuing operations because of the dissolution of their status as a company after they were absorbed by Cablevisión of Argentina, now part of media conglomerate Grupo Clarín. The Minister of Planning, Julio de Vido, announced the measure, and said it was Grupo Clarín's own doing by having shut down the Fibertel company and turning it into a commercial brand, and that ISP licenses are not transferable after acquisitions from one company to the other. The Argentine opposition said the move was another attack on Grupo Clarín's standing and another part of the feud between them and President Cristina Fernández and her husband, former president Nestor Kirchner. Cablevisión has promised to go to the courts to overturn the decision, and the opposition seeks to protect Fibertel's continuing operations through a bill in Congress. More than a million households and businesses would need to change ISPs in merely 90 days, possibly strengthening the internet provisioning dominance of both Telefónica (subsidiary of the Spanish Telefonica) and Telecom."
Image

India's New Rupee Symbol Won't Show On Computers 252

Posted by kdawson from the currency-formerly-known-as-rupee dept.
itwbennett writes "It will take at least 18 months for encoding in Unicode the symbol for the Indian rupee that was approved by the Indian cabinet on Thursday. But it may be over two years before the rupee symbol starts showing on computers and mobile phones, analysts said. Many vendors are also undecided whether they will offer the new symbol on keyboards and keypads, or as additions in software to the character set supported by their devices. Nokia, for example, welcomed the move by the Indian government to have a symbol for the rupee. But a company spokeswoman said it's too early to comment on how the symbol will be implemented, whether on the phone keypad or on the character list."
The Internet

Chile First To Approve Net Neutrality Law 293

Posted by kdawson from the pathbreaker dept.
Sir Mal Fet writes "Chile has become the first country in the world to approve, by 100 votes in favor and one abstention, a law guaranteeing net neutrality (Google translation; Spanish original). The law states [submitter's translation]: 'No [ISP] can block, interfere with, discriminate, hinder, nor restrict the right of any Internet user of using, send, receive or offer any content, application, or legitimate service through the Internet, as well as any activity or legitimate use conducted through the Internet.' The law also has articles that force ISPs to provide parental control tools, clarify contracts, guarantee users' privacy and safety when surfing, and forbids them to restrict any liberty whatsoever. This is a major advance in the legislation of the country regarding the Web, when until last year almost anything that was performed online was considered illegal."
The Internet

Submission + - Chile first to approve net neutrality law

Submitted by Sir Mal Fet
Sir Mal Fet writes: Chile has become the first country in the world to approve, by 99 votes in favor and one abstention, the law guarantying net neutrality [camara.cl, in Spanish]. The law states that: "No [ISP] can block, interfere with, discriminate, hinder, nor restrict the right of any Internet user of using, send, receive or offer any content, application, or legitimate service through the Internet, as well as any activity or legitimate use conducted through the Internet" (own translation). The law also has articles that forces ISP to provide parental control tools, clarify contracts, guarantee user's privacy and safety when surfing, and forbids them to restrict any liberty whatsoever. This is a major advance in the legislation of the country regarding the web, when just until last year almost anything that was performed in it was considered illegal.
Medicine

Submission + - The dangers of being really, really tired. (slate.com) 1

Submitted by Sleepy Dog Millionare
Sleepy Dog Millionare writes: Brian Palmer writing for Slate asks Can you die from lack of sleep? and shockingly the answer may very well be yes you can. Palmer points to "ground breaking experiments" in the areas of sleep research. It turns out that sleep deprivation can actually be deadly in rats. The obvious conclusion is that it is probably deadly in all mammals. So the next time you think you need to pull multiple all-night hack-a-thon ask yourself if it's worth risking your life for?

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