Comment If I want real cross-platform (Score 1) 355
I use Haxe http://haxe.org/.
Submission + - Open Source Haxe/OpenFL platform will support home game consoles (fortressofdoors.com)
lars_doucet writes: At last week's World Wide Haxe conference, a coalition of game developers announced that the open source platform Haxe/OpenFL is coming soon to home game consoles. The first three games that will ship using the technology are Yummy Circus , Defender's Quest (HD edition) , and the award-winning Papers, Please.
Haxe is a programming language that compiles to other programming languages (everything from C++ to Javascript to Python), has been around for about 10 years and is quite powerful. OpenFL is a hardware-accelerated cross-platform reimplementation of the Flash API, built on top of Haxe (but does not have the Flash player's performance and security limitations and has nothing to do with Adobe), and is built on a low-level cross-platform layer called Lime, which can be used separately for those who have no need for a Flash-like API. This could eventually lead to console compatibility for engines that are built on top of Haxe/OpenFL, such as Away3D, Stencyl, HaxeFlixel, and HaxePunk.
Six console targets are planned: WiiU, PS4, XBox One, PSVita, 3DS, and PS3; footage of demos running on the WiiU was presented at the talk and are included in the linked article.
Haxe is a programming language that compiles to other programming languages (everything from C++ to Javascript to Python), has been around for about 10 years and is quite powerful. OpenFL is a hardware-accelerated cross-platform reimplementation of the Flash API, built on top of Haxe (but does not have the Flash player's performance and security limitations and has nothing to do with Adobe), and is built on a low-level cross-platform layer called Lime, which can be used separately for those who have no need for a Flash-like API. This could eventually lead to console compatibility for engines that are built on top of Haxe/OpenFL, such as Away3D, Stencyl, HaxeFlixel, and HaxePunk.
Six console targets are planned: WiiU, PS4, XBox One, PSVita, 3DS, and PS3; footage of demos running on the WiiU was presented at the talk and are included in the linked article.
Submission + - Minecraft Creator Refuses To Certify Game For Windows 8 (hothardware.com)
MojoKid writes: "The backlash against Windows 8 from various developers continues, but this time the game's creator isn't just expressing discontent. Notch, the developer behind smash hit Minecraft, has declared that he won't be working with Microsoft to certify Minecraft for Windows 8. Note that this doesn't mean Mincraft won't run on Windows 8. The certification process in question is Microsoft's mandatory rules for submitting content to the Windows game store. In order to be listed there, an application must be Metro-compatible and conform to a laundry list of other conditions. The real problem with Windows 8 is that it locks ARM users into a second class experience. If you buy an x86 tablet, you can download programs from Sourceforge, Github, or any file mirror. If you're an ARM user, you can download programs from the Microsoft store and that's it. The bifurcated permission structure is the problem, and it makes WinRT tablets categorically impossible to recommend for anyone who values the ability to install whatever software they please."
Gulf of Mexico Gets Wave-Powered Desalination Plant 75
blair1q writes "The US Army Corps of Engineers has issued the first permit for a wave-powered desalination plant in American territory to a company called Independent Natural Resources. Waves will operate 'Seadog' pumps, which will lift water into the plant and onto a water wheel connected to a generator, which will create electricity to operate a reverse-osmosis desalination system. The permit runs for four years. Let's hope they don't harm the environment, permanently impact drilling operations, or give Rube Goldberg any crazy ideas..."
Submission + - Wikileaks Releases Murder Video (collateralmurder.com)
linguizic writes: Today Wikileaks released the video of US military firing large caliber weapons into a crowd that included two children as well as a photojournalist and a driver for Reuters. Wikileaks maintains that this video was covered up by the US Military when Reuters asked for an official investigation. This is the same video that supposedly has made the editors of Wikileaks a target of the State Department and/or the CIA as was discussed on Slashdot here: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/03/24/1321224/Wikileaks-Receiving-Gestapo-Treatment.
Feed Penny Arcade: News: Desert Bus (penny-arcade.com)
Gabe : I stayed home today to spend the day with the fam, but I wanted to pop in here real quick and mention the Desert Bus 2: Bus Harder. Watching these kids torture themselves by playing Desert Bus for charity is a real treat. Hit the site now and keep their torment going by making a donation. -Gabe out
World's First "Unclonable" RFID Chip 320
An anonymous reader writes to tell us that a new RFID chip from Verayo claims to be unclonable through the use of the new Physical Unclonable Functions (PUF), sort of an electronic DNA for silicon chips. "Basic passive RFID chips can be easily cloned by copying the data residing on one chip to another. Verayo's PUF-based RFID chips cannot be cloned, and provide a very strong and robust authentication mechanism. No other chip or device can be disguised as the original chip, even if the data is copied from one Verayo RFID chip to another."
Journal Journal: The Man Who Nearly Killed Hitler
Maybe I'm the only one who hadn't heard this story, but Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager, the last known surviving member of a group designed specifically to kill Adolph Hitler, has died today. It was only chance that the group wasn't able to take out Hitler on
Submission + - Windows Forensic Analysis
Don Wolf writes: "Computer forensics is a rapidly growing discipline and an even faster growing business. Whether it's the natural progression of technological science pertaining to crime or perhaps the digression of a few elite information security professionals, computer forensics is every so slowly gaining credibility in the otherwise PhD dominated field of criminal science. Computer evidence continues to be showcased in some of the most high-profile and controversial court cases in history, from the murder case of Lasie Peterson to the multi-billion dollar Enron scandal. Whether society will allow it or not, computer forensics Geeks will play pivotal roles in the prevalence of justice.
While on the road to computer forensic enlightenment I realized early on that many parallels existed between computer forensics and incident response. A number of great authors have published books on incident response, one of which is a gentleman by the name of Harlan Carvey. So when a friendly but cleverly personalized bookstore email rolled in with Harlan's newest book showcased, I thought it might be worthwhile to see what he's been up to.
The book titled "Windows Forensic Analysis", takes a hands-on and in-depth approach to forensic discovery of Windows systems. Some may scoff at the mere suggestion that a point-and-click operating system necessitates the granular analysis of forensics, but make no mistake, beyond Windows' simplicity are numerous complex elements, sometimes cryptic, and many undocumented.
Always looking for a tip here and there, I found more Windows forensics tips here than I have anywhere else. While I've read only about half-a-dozen books on operating system forensics, this one stands out because the material is clearly drawn from the author's experience which, in my opinion, lends real credibility to the book. Granted, technical books are always reviewed for accuracy and truthfulness, but this one carries its own weight with the sheer amount of tips and real-life sidebars. No hash tables, no unnecessary screen dumps, and certainly no reprinted Microsoft documentation. The author does a great job on footnoting and includes plenty of links to additional information. Additionally, there are sections dedicated for FAQ's, as well as "tools and traps".
Having read the book through, I can tell you it flows well from chapter to chapter and continues to draw you in, somewhat unusual for a technical reference — when was the last time you were drawn into a textbook? I'm not sure how one decides to organize the chapters, but I suspect it was not a random decision. Looking back I can see that there is a logical order to the chapter sequence, perhaps suggesting an order in which to forensically process a Windows computer. The book starts with 'live' response, followed by memory analysis, registry analysis, file analysis, and finally rootkit detection — analysis in order of volatility I suppose.
I've heard a lot of praise regarding this books chapter on registry analysis, some claiming it to be worth the price of the book alone. Don't be mislead to believe that it is the crux or single focus of the book, it's not. In my opinion the reason the chapter stands out is because most forensics analysts I've met aren't particularly strong in the area of registry analysis and therefore may find the chapter a revelation. It's true, the chapter is strong and offers exceptional insight, however, I found the book to be almost equally weighted chapter by chapter.
I personally found the chapter regarding memory analysis to be a stand-out. RAM has the potential to store a ton of evidence, however, it's always been viewed as extremely volatile. Not only is it likely to be flushed with a power-cycle, but it's also susceptible to be purged simply through the normal actions of a computer user, or in our case, forensic analysts. I was happy to see a good section on the pros and cons of dumping the many different areas of physical memory. The author proves that there is life after a reboot and demonstrates how to recover at least partial RAM contents from various areas.
Overall there is plenty of theory, plenty of technique, and plenty of command-line examples. On the subject of command-line examples, the author provides a great collection of scripts and examples on the accompanying DVD. The examples all appear to work as describe, a rarity given the many possible computer configurations, just the same the author is thoughtful enough to point out possible exceptions and explanations when there is an opportunity for a particular command or technique to fail.
If I can quote a comment made by one of my associates, he said "The book provided more than just tips and techniques, it provides food for thought and helps one develop their own personal approach to Windows forensics". I totally agree. Furthermore, I found that while I learned a few new things, I also finished the book with lots of questions in mind. Is that a shortcoming of the book? No. Based on the detailed coverage of the book, I was able to identify my own shortcomings and areas I need to explore further. If you want to pursue Windows forensics and already have a good understanding of the principals and ethics of computer forensics, I highly suggest starting with this book.
Don Wolf"
While on the road to computer forensic enlightenment I realized early on that many parallels existed between computer forensics and incident response. A number of great authors have published books on incident response, one of which is a gentleman by the name of Harlan Carvey. So when a friendly but cleverly personalized bookstore email rolled in with Harlan's newest book showcased, I thought it might be worthwhile to see what he's been up to.
The book titled "Windows Forensic Analysis", takes a hands-on and in-depth approach to forensic discovery of Windows systems. Some may scoff at the mere suggestion that a point-and-click operating system necessitates the granular analysis of forensics, but make no mistake, beyond Windows' simplicity are numerous complex elements, sometimes cryptic, and many undocumented.
Always looking for a tip here and there, I found more Windows forensics tips here than I have anywhere else. While I've read only about half-a-dozen books on operating system forensics, this one stands out because the material is clearly drawn from the author's experience which, in my opinion, lends real credibility to the book. Granted, technical books are always reviewed for accuracy and truthfulness, but this one carries its own weight with the sheer amount of tips and real-life sidebars. No hash tables, no unnecessary screen dumps, and certainly no reprinted Microsoft documentation. The author does a great job on footnoting and includes plenty of links to additional information. Additionally, there are sections dedicated for FAQ's, as well as "tools and traps".
Having read the book through, I can tell you it flows well from chapter to chapter and continues to draw you in, somewhat unusual for a technical reference — when was the last time you were drawn into a textbook? I'm not sure how one decides to organize the chapters, but I suspect it was not a random decision. Looking back I can see that there is a logical order to the chapter sequence, perhaps suggesting an order in which to forensically process a Windows computer. The book starts with 'live' response, followed by memory analysis, registry analysis, file analysis, and finally rootkit detection — analysis in order of volatility I suppose.
I've heard a lot of praise regarding this books chapter on registry analysis, some claiming it to be worth the price of the book alone. Don't be mislead to believe that it is the crux or single focus of the book, it's not. In my opinion the reason the chapter stands out is because most forensics analysts I've met aren't particularly strong in the area of registry analysis and therefore may find the chapter a revelation. It's true, the chapter is strong and offers exceptional insight, however, I found the book to be almost equally weighted chapter by chapter.
I personally found the chapter regarding memory analysis to be a stand-out. RAM has the potential to store a ton of evidence, however, it's always been viewed as extremely volatile. Not only is it likely to be flushed with a power-cycle, but it's also susceptible to be purged simply through the normal actions of a computer user, or in our case, forensic analysts. I was happy to see a good section on the pros and cons of dumping the many different areas of physical memory. The author proves that there is life after a reboot and demonstrates how to recover at least partial RAM contents from various areas.
Overall there is plenty of theory, plenty of technique, and plenty of command-line examples. On the subject of command-line examples, the author provides a great collection of scripts and examples on the accompanying DVD. The examples all appear to work as describe, a rarity given the many possible computer configurations, just the same the author is thoughtful enough to point out possible exceptions and explanations when there is an opportunity for a particular command or technique to fail.
If I can quote a comment made by one of my associates, he said "The book provided more than just tips and techniques, it provides food for thought and helps one develop their own personal approach to Windows forensics". I totally agree. Furthermore, I found that while I learned a few new things, I also finished the book with lots of questions in mind. Is that a shortcoming of the book? No. Based on the detailed coverage of the book, I was able to identify my own shortcomings and areas I need to explore further. If you want to pursue Windows forensics and already have a good understanding of the principals and ethics of computer forensics, I highly suggest starting with this book.
Don Wolf"
German Govt. Skype Interception Trojans Revealed 172
James Hardine writes "Wikileaks has released documents from the German police revealing Skype interception technology. The leaks are currently creating a storm in the German press. The first document is a communication by the Ministry of Justice to the prosecutors office, about the cost splitting for Skype interception. The second document presents the offer made by Digitask, the German company secretly developing Skype interception, and holds information on pricing and license model, high-level technology descriptions and other detail. The document is of global importance because Skype is used by tens or hundreds of millions of people daily to communicate voice calls and Skype (owned by Ebay, Inc) promotes these calls as being encrypted and secure. The technology includes interception boxes, key forwarding trojans and anonymous proxies to hide police communications."
Feed Penny Arcade: News: Child's Play (feedburner.com)
Gabe: I have a bunch of Child's Play news to share with you and I'll start will an auction item.Wil Wheaton is going to be attending our charity dinner and auction on December 11th and we're auctioning off two seats at his table. The winning bidder will get two tickets to the dinner and seats with Wil. The table will also host some Bungie peeps as well as our very own Robert Khoo. so hit this link and start bidding. A star studded dinning experience awaits!If you'd like to attend the dinner but bidding on tickets isn't your style you can still purchase them right here. As I've mentioned before it really is an incredible night. The live auction is always the most exciting part of the evening. Here's a quick look at some of the items that will be available this year.- Harmonix Superpack (Flight and Hotel to Boston for a Harmonix Music Tour w/Dev Team-signed copy of Rockband)- Appearance in a PA Strip- One of these crazy HP Blackbird Ultra Machines- Trip for two to Iceland to visit CCP Games- Tour of Bungie StudiosAnd trust me that's just a tiny fraction of the cool shit we've got lined up. If you're in the area or you can get here by December 11th I highly recommend you try and attend. It's a lot of fun and it's all for Child's Play.In other CP news the poor sons of bitches over at Desert Bus for Hope have finally been put out of their misery. In the end they played for four days, twelve hours and raised $22,805. Thanks to everyone who supported/tortured these guys. Finally this isn't about CP but the Escapist has a great article about the PAX Enforcers. Their entire theme for this issue is "conventions" so there's some other PAX related content but the feature on the Enforcers is really nice. There's no way to ever thank them enough for their help. We literally could not do PAX without them. It's nice to see them getting recognized for their service. -Gabe out
Feed Penny Arcade: News: Child's Play (penny-arcade.com)
Gabe: I have a bunch of Child's Play news to share with you and I'll start will an auction item.Wil Wheaton is going to be attending our charity dinner and auction on December 11th and we're auctioning off two seats at his table. The winning bidder will get two tickets to the dinner and seats with Wil. The table will also host some Bungie peeps as well as our very own Robert Khoo. so hit this link and start bidding. A star studded dinning experience awaits!If you'd like to attend the dinner but bidding on tickets isn't your style you can still purchase them right here. As I've mentioned before it really is an incredible night. The live auction is always the most exciting part of the evening. Here's a quick look at some of the items that will be available this year.- Harmonix Superpack (Flight and Hotel to Boston for a Harmonix Music Tour w/Dev Team-signed copy of Rockband)- Appearance in a PA Strip- One of these crazy HP Blackbird Ultra Machines- Trip for two to Iceland to visit CCP Games- Tour of Bungie StudiosAnd trust me that's just a tiny fraction of the cool shit we've got lined up. If you're in the area or you can get here by December 11th I highly recommend you try and attend. It's a lot of fun and it's all for Child's Play.In other CP news the poor sons of bitches over at Desert Bus for Hope have finally been put out of their misery. In the end they played for four days, twelve hours and raised $22,805. Thanks to everyone who supported/tortured these guys. Finally this isn't about CP but the Escapist has a great article about the PAX Enforcers. Their entire theme for this issue is "conventions" so there's some other PAX related content but the feature on the Enforcers is really nice. There's no way to ever thank them enough for their help. We literally could not do PAX without them. It's nice to see them getting recognized for their service. -Gabe out
Feed Schneier: Modern-Day Revenge (schneier.com)
Submission + - AntiVirus Products fail to find Simple IE malware (beskerming.com) 4
SkiifGeek writes: "Didier Stevens recently took a closer look at some Internet Explorer malware that he had uncovered and found that most antivirus products that it was tested against (courtesy of VirusTotals) failed to identify the malware through one of the most basic and straight forward obfuscation techniques — the null-byte. With enough null-bytes between each character of code, it is possible to fool all antivirus products (though additional software will trap it), yet Internet Explorer was quite happy to render the code.
Whose responsibility is it to fix this behaviour? Both the antivirus / antimalware companies and Microsoft's IE team have something to answer for."
Whose responsibility is it to fix this behaviour? Both the antivirus / antimalware companies and Microsoft's IE team have something to answer for."
Journal Journal: M$: 100 Reasons to Switch to Linux
MEPIS Linux 6.5 and the KDE Desktop
Our friends down under at IT Wire seem to think that M$ is recommending that we all upgrade to Ubuntu:
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A computer scientist is someone who fixes things that aren't broken.
