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An Anonymous Coward writes:

Servers that once belonged to defunct Canadian gadget retailer NCIX turned up on the second-hand market without being wiped – and their customer data sold overseas – it is claimed.

Those boxes, allegedly, stored plaintext credit card data for approximately 260,000 people, and purchase records for 385,000 shoppers.

Travis Doering, of infosec shop Privacy Fly, claimed he discovered the security cockup in the simplest way possible: he spotted the machines advertised on Craigslist, answered the ad, and inspected what was on offer.

According to the security consultant in a writeup this week, the hardware haul turned out to be 18 Dell Poweredge boxes from NCIX's server farm, plus storage kit, and 300 desktop machines. They were seized by the retailer's landlords after NCIX failed to pay CA$150,000 in rent, and sold off via auction to another person, who then apparently hawked the equipment to interested buyers via Craigslist last month.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/21/ncix_servers_sold/

https://www.privacyfly.com/articles/ncix_breach/

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

The Librem Key is an OpenPGP smart card supporting up to 4096-bit RSA keys and 512-bit ECC keys. These keys are intended to be used as basic security token functions -- they will work with any laptop/PC but reportedly offer extra features when paired with Librem laptops or devices supporting the Heads security firmware.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Purism-Librem-Key

In addition to the standard features of a security token (GPG key storage and multi-factor authentication) that the Librem Key can perform on any computer, here are some of the interesting integration options with our Librem laptops we are already looking into with the Librem Key that will make security much more convenient for users who are facing average threats:

• Insert the Librem Key at boot and automatically decrypt your hard drive
• Automatically lock your laptop whenever you remove the Librem Key
• Use your Librem Key to log in

https://puri.sm/posts/introducing-the-librem-key/

Original Submission

DannyB writes:

In this article the authors introduce . . .

PixelPlayer, a system that, by watching large amounts of unlabeled videos, learns to locate image regions which produce sounds and separate the input sounds into a set of components that represents the sound from each pixel. Our approach capitalizes on the natural synchronization of the visual and audio modalities to learn models that jointly parse sounds and images, without requiring additional manual supervision.

The system is trained with a large number of videos containing people playing instruments in different combinations, including solos and duets. No supervision is provided on what instruments are present on each video, where they are located, or how they sound. During test time, the input to the system is a video showing people playing different instruments, and the mono auditory input. Our system performs audio-visual source separation and localization, splitting the input sound signal into N sound channels, each one corresponding to a different instrument category. In addition, the system can localize the sounds and assign a different audio wave to each pixel in the input video.

A video is included along with an explanation of several interesting demos, such as pointing at any pixel to hear the sound from that pixel. Or remixing the volume levels of different musical instruments in the video.

The paper is included along with the data set. It says the code is coming soon.

Original Submission

realDonaldTrump writes:

Days after the Trump administration instituted a controversial travel ban in January 2017, Google employees discussed ways they might be able to tweak the company's search-related functions to show users how to contribute to pro-immigration organizations and contact lawmakers and government agencies, according to internal company emails.

The email traffic, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, shows that employees proposed ways to "leverage" search functions and take steps to counter what they considered to be "islamophobic, algorithmically biased results from search terms 'Islam', 'Muslim', 'Iran', etc." and "prejudiced, algorithmically biased search results from search terms 'Mexico', 'Hispanic', 'Latino', etc."

The email chain, while sprinkled with cautionary notes about engaging in political activity, suggests employees considered ways to harness the company's vast influence on the internet in response to the travel ban. Google said none of the ideas discussed were implemented.

"These emails were just a brainstorm of ideas, none of which were ever implemented," a company spokeswoman said in a statement. "Google has never manipulated its search results or modified any of its products to promote a particular political ideology—not in the current campaign season, not during the 2016 election, and not in the aftermath of President Trump's executive order on immigration. Our processes and policies would not have allowed for any manipulation of search results to promote political ideologies."

wsj.com/articles/google-workers-discussed-tweaking-search-function-to-counter-travel-ban-1537488472

Original Submission

karthikaqpt writes:

MIT researchers have developed a completely passive, solar-powered way of combating ice buildup. The system is remarkably simple, based on a three-layered material that can be applied or even sprayed onto the surfaces to be treated.

It collects solar radiation, converts it to heat, and spreads that heat around so that the melting is not just confined to the areas exposed directly to the sunlight. And, once applied, it requires no further action or power source. It can even do its de-icing work at night, using artificial lighting.

Icing is a major problem for aircraft, for wind turbines, power lines, offshore oil platforms, and many other places. The conventional ways of getting around it are de-icing sprays or by heating, but those have issues.

The team has achieved with the three-layered material they've developed. The top layer is an absorber, which traps incoming sunlight and converts it to heat. The three layers, all made of inexpensive commercially available material, are then bonded together, and can be bonded to the surface that needs to be protected. For some applications, the materials could instead be sprayed onto a surface.

[...] The system could find even wider commercial uses, such as panels to prevent icing on roofs of homes, schools, and other buildings.

http://www.rtoz.org/2018/09/08/a-new-way-to-remove-ice-buildup-without-power-or-chemicals/

Also at http://news.mit.edu/2018/remove-ice-buildup-airplanes-wind-turbines-solar-power-0831

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

A former Facebook Inc contract employee filed a lawsuit in California, alleging that content moderators who face mental trauma after reviewing distressing images on the platform are not being properly protected by the social networking company.

Facebook moderators under contract are "bombarded" with "thousands of videos, images and livestreamed broadcasts of child sexual abuse, rape, torture, bestiality, beheadings, suicide and murder," the lawsuit said.

"Facebook is ignoring its duty to provide a safe workplace and instead creating a revolving door of contractors who are irreparably traumatized by what they witnessed on the job," Korey Nelson, a lawyer for former Facebook contract employee Selena Scola, said in a statement on Monday.

Facebook in the past has said all of its content reviewers have access to mental health resources, including trained professionals onsite for both individual and group counseling, and they receive full health care benefits.

"We take the support of our content moderators incredibly seriously, ... ensuring that every person reviewing Facebook content is offered psychological support and wellness resources," said Bertie Thomson, director of corporate communications.

Also at the Register.

Original Submission

martyb writes:

I've seen the price of real estate resume its seemingly relentless rise, but this is insane. A tiny (897 square-foot; 83.6 square meter) house in Palo Alto, California is situated on a 4361 square-foot (405 square meter) lot and has been placed on the market for $2.59 Million:

The little home at 128 Middlefield Road, has two-bedrooms, one-bathroom but is just 15 minutes away from Googleplex and the other tech giants, making the small home in high demand.

[...] The home was sold back in 2008 for just $899,000 and the current price tag is actually below market value for the area today.

The house was built in 1924 and has been remodeled through the years to keep it current.

The actual asking price is unclear. The Daily Mail article (first link) claims a price of $2.59 million, but he broker listing in the embedded link shows the price being $1,988,000; quite a bit less, but still quite expensive.

The article has pictures of each room as well as the yard; it looks to me like a quite nice home. One of the pictures shows a bulkhead, but I saw no mention of a basement.

If this tiny house costs this much, what would be considered a starter home? And how much would that cost? Though I realize this story is about Palo Alto, I understand there are other places in the world with sky high real estate prices. London, Singapore, and Hong Kong come to mind.

What are housing prices like in your area... how much would it cost you to buy a home comparable to this one, or to rent an apartment of equivalent size?

Original Submission

chromas (from IRC) writes:

Quitting junk food produces similar withdrawal-type symptoms as drug addiction:

If you plan to try and quit junk food, expect to suffer similar withdrawal-type symptoms—at least during the initial week—like addicts experience when they attempt to quit using drugs.

A new study by University of Michigan is believed to be the first of its kind to evaluate withdrawal symptoms people incur when they stop devouring highly processed foods, such as pastries, French fries and pizza.

Previous studies have focused on sugar withdrawal among animals and the literature regarding humans offered only anecdotal evidence, said Erica Schulte, the study's lead author and U-M psychology doctoral candidate.

What all researchers can agree upon is that the addictive qualities of tobacco, drugs or alcohol affect the brain similarly and cutting back can lead to negative side effects that can make it difficult to reduce intake. Anxiety, headaches, irritability and depression are some of those outcomes.

Understanding whether withdrawal may also occur with highly processed foods was an essential next step in evaluating whether these foods might be capable of triggering similar addictive processes.

Abstract: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666318306196 (DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.09.013

Pizza is not junk food! It's also not a pie.

Original Submission

chromas (from IRC) writes:

White House considering launching an antitrust probe on Google and Facebook:

The growing tension between U.S. President Donald Trump and large internet companies is not likely to peter out anytime soon. A draft executive order that could potentially target Google, Facebook, and other social media companies with an antitrust case is said to be in the early stages of work.

The draft order, obtained by Bloomberg, is meant to authorize federal regulators and law enforcers to investigate the business practices of the internet giants for potential antitrust violations. It is worth pointing out, however, that the draft is not official yet and has not been formed as part of the White House's policy-making process, according to Lindsey Walters, deputy White House press secretary.

Additionally, it has not been reviewed yet by any government agency. But once the draft is signed, specific government agencies are mandated within a month to provide recommendations for actions intended to uphold "competition among online platforms and address online platform bias." It doesn't specify the names of the companies, however.

Original Submission

chromas (from IRC) writes:

Privacy concerns flare over latest Chrome browser's 'forced login'

When Google LLC launched its updated version of Chrome browser, Chrome 69, earlier this month, users were told a lot of small changes would happen all aimed at boosting productivity.

But some users now are not happy about something Google wasn't exactly selling prior to the release of the browser. That is, if you’re logged into a Google website, you will automatically be signed into the browser.

What that means is that if you're using Gmail or YouTube, for instance, because it's a Google site you will be signed into Chrome 69. Users have the option to keep signed-in of course, but they also have the option to use Chrome in Basic Mode.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Dust Storms on Titan Spotted for the First Time

Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft has revealed what appear to be giant dust storms in equatorial regions of Saturn's moon Titan. The discovery, described in a paper published on Sept. 24 in Nature Geoscience, makes Titan the third Solar System body, in addition to Earth and Mars, where dust storms have been observed.

Images.

Also at ESA.

See also: Cassini's Final View of Titan's Northern Lakes and Seas

Observational evidence for active dust storms on Titan at equinox (DOI: 10.1038/s41561-018-0233-2) (DX)

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Google may be relinquishing control of its controversial Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project:

The project has been led by Malte Ubl, a senior staff engineer working on Google's Javascript infrastructure projects, who has until now held effective unilateral control over the project.

In the wake of all of this criticism, the AMP project announced today that it would reform its governance, replacing Ubl as the exclusive tech lead with a technical steering committee comprised of companies invested in the success in the project. Notably, the project's intention has an "...end goal of not having any company sit on more than a third of the seats." In addition, the project will create an advisory board and working groups to shepherd the project's work.

The project is also expected to move to a foundation in the future. These days, there are a number of places such a project could potentially reside, including the Apache Software Foundation and the Mozilla Foundation.

The AMP Contributor Summit 2018 will take place at Google in Mountain View, California on September 25 and 26, 2018.

Previously: Kill Google AMP Before It Kills the Web
Google Acquires Relay Media to Convert Ordinary Web Pages to AMP Pages
Google Bringing Accelerated Mobile Pages to Email
Google Attempting to Standardize Features of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
Google AMP Can Go To Hell

Original Submission

Bytram (from IRC) writes:

Opinion | Let Teenagers Sleep In

Three out of every four students in grades 9 to 12 fail to sleep the minimum of eight hours that the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends for their age group. And sleep deprivation is unremittingly bad news. Anyone who talks about sleep as if it's some kind of inconvenience and getting less of it is a virtue should be challenged. These people are dangerous.

At its most basic, insufficient sleep results in reduced attention and impaired memory, hindering student progress and lowering grades. More alarmingly, sleep deprivation is likely to lead to mood and emotional problems, increasing the risk of mental illness. Chronic sleep deprivation is also a major risk factor for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer. As if this weren't enough, it also makes falling asleep at the wheel much more likely.

In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., a policy now backed by the American Medical Association, the C.D.C. and many other health organizations.

[...] Whenever schools have managed the transition to a later start time, students get more sleep, attendance goes up, grades improve and there is a significant reduction in car accidents. The RAND Corporation estimated that opening school doors after 8:30 a.m. would contribute at least $83 billion to the national economy within a decade through improved educational outcomes and reduced car crash rates. The Brookings Institution calculates that later school start times would lead to an average increase in lifetime earnings of $17,500.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Toyota reportedly ready to put Android Auto in its cars

Toyota may finally relent and allow Android Auto to work in its cars, according to Bloomberg. An official announcement reportedly could come as soon as next month.

The giant Japanese carmaker was one of the last major automakers to announce CarPlay compatibility. After holding out for years, Toyota announced this past January that Apple's own in-car infotainment service would show up in its cars starting with the 2019 Avalon. However, the company has continued to eschew Android Auto, with security concerns being cited as one of the reasons for the delayed adoption. In the meantime, Toyota has spent the last few years building its in-car infotainment experience around the Ford-born SmartDeviceLink platform, which allows some iOS and Android apps to be mirrored on a vehicle's screen.

[...] Android Auto is compatible with nearly 50 different car brands around the globe, which is slightly behind the 60 or so that Apple has made deals with. Google has been working hard to push automakers in a different direction, though — it will soon provide Volvo with an entire Android-powered infotainment operating system, and recently announced plans to do the same for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.

Also at Bloomberg and Engadget.

Related: Will Linux Make the New Toyota Camry a Better Car?

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Microsoft plans to release a 50-inch version of Surface Hub in 2019 that can be upgraded the following year by using a removable "processor cartridge":

Microsoft is unveiling hardware changes to its Surface Hub 2 today. The software giant first unveiled its 50-inch display earlier this year, with a promise of a 2019 release. While the hardware will now be released in Q2 of 2019, many of the cool new software features will require a hardware and software update set to launch in 2020.

Microsoft is planning to use removable processor cartridges in its Surface Hub 2S product that launches next year, and users will be able to purchase an upgrade cartridge to the Surface Hub 2X in 2020. The cartridges slot into the back of the Surface Hub 2 hardware and can be upgraded or serviced. Microsoft's hardware upgrades sound similar to Samsung's previous efforts with smart TVs that you could upgrade each year with an "evolution kit" that updated the processor.

Also at Ars Technica, Engadget, and The Register.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Zhaoxin Displays x86-Compatible KaiXian KX-6000: 8 Cores, 3 GHz, 16 nm FinFET

Zhaoxin, a joint venture between Via Technologies and the Chinese government, this week for the first time displayed its upcoming x86-compatible CPU, the KaiXian KX-6000. The SoC features eight cores running at 3 GHz and increases performance over its predecessor by at least 50%.

The KaiXian KX-6000 is a successor to the KX-5000 CPU launched earlier this year. Both chips integrate eight-core x86-64 cores with 8 MB of L2 cache, a DirectX 11.1-capable iGPU with an up-to-date display controller, a dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory controller, contemporary I/O interfaces (PCIe, SATA, USB, etc), and so on. The key differences between the KaiXian KX-5000 and the KaiXian KX-6000 are frequencies and manufacturing technology: the former is produced using TSMC's 28 nm fabrication process and runs at up to 2 GHz, whereas the latter is made using TSMC's 16 nm technology and operates at up to 3 GHz. Zhaoxin claims that the Kaixian KX-6000 offers compute performance comparable to that of Intel's 7th Generation Core i5 processor, which is a quad-core non-Hyper-Threaded CPU. Obviously, performance claims like that have to be verified, yet a 50% performance bump over the direct predecessor already seems beefy enough.

Related: Russia Plans to Dump Some American CPUs for Homegrown Technology
Russian Homegrown Elbrus-4C CPU Released
U.S. Export Restrictions Lead to Chinese Homegrown Supercomputing Chips
Linux-Based, MIPS-Powered Russian All-in-One PC Launched
China Dominates TOP500 List, Leads With New 93 Petaflops Supercomputer
Chinese Company Produces Chips Closely Based on AMD's Zen Microarchitecture

Original Submission