Comment Re:Yes, (Score 1) 614
Replying to undo my moderation mistake. Great post.
Comment A book so good it was banned! (Score 5, Informative) 701
A good place to start is "The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments" by Robert Brent. Some of the material is a bit dated but the overall presentation is great.
Submission + - New Mac OS X Trojan Hides Inside PDFs (threatpost.com)
Trailrunner7 writes: Malware that targets Mac OS X isn't anywhere near catching up to Windows-based malware in terms of volume and variety, but it seems that OS X malware may be adopting some of the more successful tactics that Windows viruses have been using to trick users. Researchers have come across a sample of an OS X-based Trojan that disguises itself as a PDF file, a technique that's been in favor among Windows malware authors for several years now.
The new piece of malware hides inside a PDF file and delivers a backdoor that hides on the user's machine once the malicious file is opened. Once the user executes the malware, it puts the malicious PDF on the user's machine and then opens it as a way to hide the malicious activity that's going on in the background, according to an analysis by researchers at F-Secure. The Trojan then installs the backdoor, which is named Imuler.A, which attempts to communicate with a command-and-control server.
The new piece of malware hides inside a PDF file and delivers a backdoor that hides on the user's machine once the malicious file is opened. Once the user executes the malware, it puts the malicious PDF on the user's machine and then opens it as a way to hide the malicious activity that's going on in the background, according to an analysis by researchers at F-Secure. The Trojan then installs the backdoor, which is named Imuler.A, which attempts to communicate with a command-and-control server.
Submission + - Italy prepares 'one strike' anti-piracy law (techworld.com.au)
angry tapir writes: "The Italian government is preparing an anti-piracy law that could ban Internet users from access after one alleged copyright infringement, a lawyer and an analyst warned. ISPs would be required to use filters against services that infringe copyright, trademark or patents under terms of the draft law. The proposed changes to Italy's e-commerce directive were drafted in July by members of parliament belonging to the Il Popolo della Libertà (PdL) party of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi."
Submission + - Physicists Devise Perfect Magnetic Shield (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes: The sneaky science of "cloaking" just keeps getting richer. Physicists and engineers had already demonstrated rudimentary invisibility cloaks that can hide objects from light, sound, and water waves. Now, they've devised an "antimagnet" cloak that can shield an object from a constant magnetic field without disturbing that field. If realized, such a cloak could have medical applications, researchers say.
Submission + - Demystifying UEFI, the overdue BIOS replacement
An anonymous reader writes: After more than 30 years of unerring and yet surprising supremacy, BIOS is taking its final bows. Taking its place is UEFI, a specification that begun its life as the Intel Boot Initiative way back in 1998 when BIOS’s antiquated limitations were hampering systems built with Intel’s Itanium processors. UEFI, as the article explains, is a complete re-imagining of a computer boot environment, and as such it has almost no similarities to the PC BIOS that it replaces.
Submission + - New Images of Tumbling US Satellite (perso.sfr.fr)
arisvega writes: An amateur astronomer has recorded images of the out-of-control US satellite as it tumbles back to Earth. Theirry Legault, from Paris, captured the video as the satellite passed over northern France on 15 September. The six-tonne, 20-year-old spacecraft has fallen out of orbit and is expected to crash somewhere on Earth on or around 24 September. The US space agency says the risk to life from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is 1 in 3,200. Mr Legault, an engineer, used a specially designed camera to record the tumbling satellite through his 14-inch telescope, posting the footage on his Astrophotography website.
UARS could land anywhere between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south of the equator — most of the populated world. Nasa says that most of the satellite will break or burn up before reaching Earth. But scientists have identified 26 separate pieces that could survive the fall through the atmosphere. This debris could rain across an area 400-500km (250-310 miles) wide. Robust, spherical satellite components such as fuel tanks are often most likely to survive the fiery plunge to Earth, say space experts. Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The "productive scientific life" of UARS ended in 2005 when it ran out of fuel. Nasa said scientists would only be able to make more accurate predictions about where the satellite might land two hours before it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
UARS could land anywhere between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south of the equator — most of the populated world. Nasa says that most of the satellite will break or burn up before reaching Earth. But scientists have identified 26 separate pieces that could survive the fall through the atmosphere. This debris could rain across an area 400-500km (250-310 miles) wide. Robust, spherical satellite components such as fuel tanks are often most likely to survive the fiery plunge to Earth, say space experts. Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The "productive scientific life" of UARS ended in 2005 when it ran out of fuel. Nasa said scientists would only be able to make more accurate predictions about where the satellite might land two hours before it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
Submission + - Tax Loopholes No Longer Patentable (forbes.com) 4
Knowzy writes: "A section of the America Invents Act disallows issuing a patent "on a strategy for reducing, avoiding or postponing taxes," according to Forbes. The article describes one such strategy in some detail. The USTPO has already issued 161 of these "business method type" patents. 167 more were pending. The law only applies to future patent applications, leaving enforcement of existing patents an issue for the courts to decide."
Submission + - EFF System To Warn Of Certificate Breaches (infoworld.com)
snydeq writes: "With its distributed SSL Observatory, the Electronic Frontier Foundation hopes to detect compromised certificate authorities and warn users about attacks, InfoWorld reports. 'The EEF, along with developers at the Tor Project and consulting firm iSec Partners, has updated its existing HTTPS Everywhere program with the ability to anonymously report every certificate encountered. The group will analyze the data so that it can detect any rogue certificates — and by extension, compromised authorities — its users encounter, says Peter Eckersley, technology projects director for the EFF.'"
Submission + - Apple too big for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (edibleapple.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Apple is clearly the hottest tech stock on the market right now and the company is clearly at the vanguard of technological innovation. Consequently, many have wondered why Apple isn’t part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DOJA).
As it turns out, Apple's astronomical share price effectively prohibits the company from joining the DOJA as it would disproportionately influence the index.
As it turns out, Apple's astronomical share price effectively prohibits the company from joining the DOJA as it would disproportionately influence the index.
Submission + - Brain Power Boosted With Electrical Stimulation (gizmag.com)
Zothecula writes: With the possible exception of those affected by hyperthylmesia — a rare condition where a person has an extraordinary capability to recall events from their past — most of us wouldn't mind having our memory enhanced. That's just what appears to have happened to a group of mice when targeted areas of their brains were electrically stimulated. The treatment triggered an increase in the creation of new cells in the hippocampus, with experiment results suggesting the mice's spatial learning improved. The researchers responsible say the results could have implications for the treatment of memory disorders in humans.
Submission + - Microsoft dumps partner for fake support call scam (sophos.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft has broken its relationship with one of its Gold Partners, after it discovered that the partner was involved in a scam involving bogus tech support calls.
India-based Comantra is said to have cold-called computer users in the UK, Australia, Canada and elsewhere, claiming to offer assistance in cleaning up virus infections.
The calls used scare tactics to talk users into opening the Event Viewer on Windows, where a seemingly dangerous list of errors would be seen. This "evidence" was used to trick innocent users into believing they had a malware infection, and for Comantra to gain the users' confidence.
Duped users would then give permission for the support company to have remote access to their PC, and hand over their credit card details for a "fix".
Security firm Sophos says that internet users have been complaining about Comantra's activities for over 18 months, and it has taken a long time for Microsoft to take action.
Comantra's website still retains the Gold Certified Partner logo, although their details have been removed from Microsoft's database of approved partners.
India-based Comantra is said to have cold-called computer users in the UK, Australia, Canada and elsewhere, claiming to offer assistance in cleaning up virus infections.
The calls used scare tactics to talk users into opening the Event Viewer on Windows, where a seemingly dangerous list of errors would be seen. This "evidence" was used to trick innocent users into believing they had a malware infection, and for Comantra to gain the users' confidence.
Duped users would then give permission for the support company to have remote access to their PC, and hand over their credit card details for a "fix".
Security firm Sophos says that internet users have been complaining about Comantra's activities for over 18 months, and it has taken a long time for Microsoft to take action.
Comantra's website still retains the Gold Certified Partner logo, although their details have been removed from Microsoft's database of approved partners.
Submission + - Deep-Sea Squid Mate Indiscriminately (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes: Like actors in a scene from a bawdy farce, many squid don't know whom to woo when the lights go down. Deep in California's Monterey Bay, small squid belonging to the species Octopoteuthis deletron suffer from frequent cases of mistaken identity, a new study suggests. Males commonly try to mate with males as well as females, hinting that in the dark, these invertebrates may settle for whatever squid passes by. But their indiscriminate attention might improve the odds that they are occasionally successful.
Comment Re:You're kidding. Right? (Score 1) 221
I agree that China wins hands down when it comes to local pollution. They are the pollution leaders in heavy metals, POPs, and inorganic toxins of all sorts. They are poisoning themselves in their quest to become a world power but it seems that they are willing to accept the risk. As nasty as these pollutants are they really don't migrate on a global scale. Local pollution of Chinese ground water, soil or air does not cause appreciable direct harm outside Asia.
My comment was restricted only to global pollutants(GH gasses, elemental mercury, etc.)which is why I chose that particular metric. The reasoning is that, assuming an equivalent standard of living, the greater the population the greater the emission of a given pollutant. It may be unwise(stupid, naive, insane) to use total population as the only factor for comparison but it should taken into account.
Comment Re:You're kidding. Right? (Score 1) 221
While I do not deny that China is responsible for a significant portion of global pollution they are far from the largest per capita. The U.S. is now the second largest polluter with a population in the neighborhood of 300-400 million. China has a population of over 1 billion but their pollution output of most pollutants only just exceeds that of the U.S. Pretty much every western nation is a larger per capita emitter than China(Google it), some by a very large margin.
I am not trying to stir up trouble with my comments but I do feel that if we are going to get a handle on the management of various global pollutants the population size must be taken into account. To use CO2 as an example; if China were to emit only 1/4 the amount of the U.S. per capita they would still fall just behind the total U.S. output.
350 million x 1 pollution unit = 350 million units for the U.S.
1 billion x 1/4 pollution unit = 250 million pollution units for China.
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