Tuesday, June 30, 2009

ATM Vendor Halts Researcher’s Talk on Vulnerability

An ATM vendor has succeeded in getting a security talk pulled from the upcoming Black Hat conference after a researcher announced he would demonstrate a vulnerability in the system.

Barnaby Jack, a researcher with Juniper Networks, was to present a demonstration showing how he could “jackpot” a popular ATM brand by exploiting a vulnerability in its software.

Diebold did not respond to a call for comment.

Earlier this year, Diebold released an urgent alert (.pdf) announcing that Russian hackers had installed malicious software on several of its Opteva model ATMs in Russia and Ukraine. A security researcher at SophosLabs uncovered three examples of Trojan horse programs designed to infect the ATMs and wrote a brief analysis of them. Last month another security research lab, Trustwave’s SpiderLabs, providedmore in-depth analysis of malware used to attack 20 ATMs in Russia and Ukraine of various brands.

Read the full story at wired.com.

VirtualBox 3.0.0 for Linux Brings 3D and OpenGL 2.0 Support

"VirtualBox, the popular, amazing, open-source, virtualization software from Sun Microsystems, reached version 3.0.0 a few minutes ago. This major update brings lots of new features, many bugfixes and improvements over previous 2.x versions. The big and breathtaking news is that users can now use Direct3D 8 and 9 games or applications! Moreover, with VirtualBox 3.0.0, support for OpenGL 2.0 (only for Linux, Solaris and Windows guests) has been implemented. Another important feature is the new SMP (Symmetrical Multiprocessing) guest support with no more than 32 virtual processors. Without any further introduction, let's have a look at the main fixes/additions in VirtualBox 3.0.0 for Linux"

Read the full story here.

Many Computer Users Skip Routine Maintenance

"It probably comes as no surprise, but it seems most people ignore routine computer maintenance and only think about it when disaster strikes. You know, like falling victim to more than 3,000 viruses. At once."

Read the full story at http://hothardware.com.

Firefox 3.5 released, ready to "upgrade" the Web


"Mozilla has officially released Firefox 3.5, the next major version of its popular open source Web browser. Ars takes a close look at the new version and evaluates its enhancements. Support for HTML 5 video and other important emerging Web standards make this one of the most significant Firefox releases ever.

Mozilla has announced the official release of Firefox 3.5, the next major version of its popular open source Web browser. The new version boosts performance, introduces useful new features, and delivers strong support for emerging Web standards.

Mozilla aims to "upgrade the Web" by improving the Firefox user experience and expanding the range of tools that are available to Web developers. The company boasts that Firefox 3.5 includes over 5,000 enhancements that span nearly every aspect of the browser's functionality and behavior. Among the most compelling advancements in this release is support for the HTML 5 video element, which enables native video playback in the browser without requiring proprietary plugins such as Flash."

Read the full story at arstechnica.com.

Monday, June 29, 2009

IPhone 3GS Handsets Overheat, Turn Brown

"Reports are coming in that the new, million-selling iPhone is suffering from overheating issues. The handsets are getting so warm, in fact, that the plastic cases of the white models are discoloring to pink. The picture above is from Ben on the French site Le Journal du Geek."

Read the full story on wired.com.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Look Ma, I created a botnet!

"The abstract concepts of "botnet" and "Trojan" just became a lot more concrete for me.

In less than an hour on Thursday, I was able to use programs readily available on the Internet underground for as little as $300 to infect several Windows clients and take complete control of them in a test environment.

In contrast to the real world, the McAfee Malware Experience event, which was akin to a Malware 101 class (or, in my case, Malware for Dummies), served up printed step-by-step instructions for us nonhacker journalists. But McAfee researchers said the programs used--real samples of malicious code from the wild--were not particularly sophisticated and any script kiddie could manage them easily."

Read the full story by Elinor Mills

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Recycling Contamination

Radioactive Metals Found in Recliners, Handbags Due to Recycling Contamination

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Cheese graters, handbags, fencing and recliners are just some of the thousands of consumer products that have been manufactured with radioactive metals, according to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) records.

* A China-made kitchen grater, found in a Flint, Mich., scrap plant, that was laced with the isotope Cobalt-60, giving off the equivalent of a chest X-ray over 36 hours of use.

* About 900 women's handbags made in India and found in the Netherlands that had metal rings laced with Cobalt-60 on each bag's shoulder strap.

Read the full article by GreenerDesign Staff

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Wind-power industry seeks quantified workforce

Interest in green-collar jobs is surging among workers from struggling industries. Colleges like California's Cerro Coso are scrambling to help fill the lack of technical education for the field.

"Hard times have brought them to a classroom in rural Kern County to learn a different trade. Tonight's lesson: How to avoid death and dismemberment.

This is Wind Technology Boot Camp at Cerro Coso Community College, where eight weeks of study and $1,000 in tuition might lead to a job repairing mammoth wind turbines like the ones sprouting up across this region.

The work requires smarts and stamina. It is potentially dangerous. Candidates need good knees, a cool head -- and a stomach for heights.

"I've seen guys just freeze halfway up the tower," said instructor Merritt Mays, a baby-faced former Marine, who at 29 is already a grizzled veteran in this young industry.

For those who can hack it, starting pay ranges from $15 to $20 an hour. Crack technicians can make six figures a year. Wind farms are hiring and probably will be for years to come. That's luring hard hats like 49-year-old Chuck Patterson back to school, despite the inherent risks of working 300 feet in the air."

Read the full article by Marla Dickerson

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

What now I can't go fishing!?

Frying Nemo
Do fish feel pain?

"Here we go again. There is a new study out that contends fish feel pain. A professor at Purdue and his Norwegian graduate student attached small foil heaters to goldfish. Half of the goldfish were injected with morphine, half with saline, and then the researchers turned on the attached micro-toasters. After the heat was gone, the fish without painkillers "acted with defensive behaviors, indicating wariness, or fear and anxiety." They had also developed a lovely brown crust. These results echo a 2003 study by researchers from the University of Edinburgh who shot bee venom into the lips of trout. The bee-stung fish rubbed their lips in the gravel of their tank and generally seemed pissed off.

Whenever one of these studies about fish pain appears, animal lovers start glaring at me and my fellow fishermen. If fish can experience pain, then angling must be a cruel sport, right up there with deer hunting, bear baiting, and eating hot dogs. Why can't we just leave fish alone and do something else?"

Read the full article by Michael Agger

Monday, June 8, 2009

Apple WWDC 2009




Today Apple announced that the 8GB iPhone 3G will sell alongside the iPhone 3GS with a price drop. However of many users the new iPhone updates are not going to be inexpensive.

Summery of announcements:
• The iPhone S will sport a better battery and camera that in addition to taking better photos can shoot movies as well.
• The iPhone will now support voice dialing and additional voice commands.
• Find My iPhone' Lets You Ping, Remotely Erase Your Lost Phone (If You Have MobileMe)
AT&T will support MMS for the iPhone at a later date.
• iPhone OS 3.0 Available on June 17th
• Safari 4 out of beta and shipping
• Snow Leopard will sell for only $29.95 whereas Windows 7 is rumored to sell for $44.95.
• 13-Inch MacBook Pro Arrives
• MacBook Air Gets a Price Cut
• New 15-Inch MacBook Pro Features 7-Hour Battery Life and SD Card Slot
Apple's iDisk iPhone App Lets MobileMe Users View and Send Documents, Videos, and More

Read all the details as Gizmodo WWDC 2009 Keynote in 3 Minutes

Monday, June 1, 2009

Tomato pill 'beats heart disease'!

Scientists say a natural supplement made from tomatoes, taken daily, can stave off heart disease and strokes.

The tomato pill contains an active ingredient from the Mediterranean diet - lycopene - that blocks "bad" LDL cholesterol that can clog the arteries.

Ateronon, made by a biotechnology spin-out company of Cambridge University, is being launched as a dietary supplement and will be sold on the high street.

Read more about what the Experts said.