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An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.osnews.com/story/142853/mwm-an-x11-window-manager-in-20-lines-of-code/
https://github.com/lslvr/mwm

Is KDE too much for you? GNOME tries to do too much? Xfce still a bit too fancy? Do you need something smaller? Even more minimalist? What about a mere 20 lines of code which provide the absolute barest possible minimum of window management functionality?

You need mwm.

        This is the smallest, actually usable window manager I know about. Even TinyWM is twice as large. However, it doesn't let you launch programs, or assign key bindings. mwm does.

It will open a window, and let you switch between windows, that are always fullscreen. No titlebars, no virtual desktops, no menus, no nothing.

This is the true minimalist's experience.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Engineered bacteria pave the way for vegan cheese and yogurt:

Bacteria are set to transform the future of dairy-free milk products. Scientists have successfully engineered E. coli to produce key milk proteins essential for cheese and yogurt production, without using any animal-derived ingredients. This paves the way for plant-based dairy alternatives that mimic traditional dairy at a molecular level but are sustainable and cruelty-free.

A recent study published in Trends in Biotechnology reported two methods for producing casein (a milk protein) that are nutritionally and functionally similar to bovine casein.

Casein is a highly sought-after component in both infant and adult diets, as it is digestible, of high quality, and provides several essential amino acids our body needs. The global casein market, valued at US$2.7 billion in 2023, comes at the cost of animal cruelty and high environmental impact. This rise in demand for sustainable and dairy-free options has led researchers to seek alternative methods of producing casein.

The food and pharmaceutical industries have utilized microorganisms as cell factories for the large-scale production of biomolecules, dietary supplements, and enzymes for quite some time. Scientists were curious to see if the same approach could be used for recombinant casein proteins, produced through genetic engineering in microbial cell factories. However, these techniques often fail to replicate a key factor that imparts casein its unique properties—phosphorylation, a biological process where a phosphate group is added to a protein.

[...] The researchers highlighted that while kinase-mediated phosphorylation provides a route for closely mimicking native casein, phosphomimetic casein provides a simpler path for producing functionally similar proteins. They also suggested that further quantitative analysis is required to fully unlock our ability to harness the microbial production of caseins for sustainable and cruelty-free dairy and food applications.

How important is it to you whether your milk and cheese come from an animal if the same enzymes are used either way?

Journal Reference: Suvasini Balasubramanian et al, Production of phosphorylated and functional αs1-casein in Escherichia coli, Trends in Biotechnology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.05.015

Original Submission

Over recent weeks we have been experiencing connections from a large number of bots, spiders and scrapers. Some are the expected ones (Microsoft, Google, Amazon etc) and these tend to rate limit their requests and cause us little problem.

Others appear to be AI driven scrapers and they can result in tying up a large percentage of the site's resources. For the most part they ignore robots.txt or when we return code 429. While they are individually only an annoyance their activity can affect the speed at which the site can respond to members attempts to view a page or leave a comment. They have contributed to some of the 404 or 503 (Backend Fetch Failed) that you might have experienced recently. A small number of bots isn't a problem, but if many bots are querying the site at the same time then they can affect the speed at which the site can respond to your comment or request.

Software has been developed to block such abusive sites for a short period. In the majority of cases this will be invisible to you as users other than to hopefully improve the responsiveness of the site.

However, it is possible that sometimes there might be a false positive and you may encounter difficulties in connecting to the site. If you do experience connection problems please inform us immediately either by email or on IRC. Neither of those apply filters to connections; the short temporary blocks only apply to the site itself. We will have to contact you by email to ascertain your IP address so that we can lift any block that may have been incorrectly applied. Please do not publish an IP address in either a comment or on IRC.

If you are using a VPN or Tor it might be advisable to try another routing to circumvent any temporary block that might be affecting your connection.

upstart writes:

Some critics of the new policy say the cap could hinder researchers in need of funding:

Scientists hoping to obtain some of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) dwindling research funds face a new challenge: They will be limited to submitting six applications per calendar year, according to a notice the agency released this week. The policy, which also prohibits applications written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence, is ostensibly designed to prevent researchers from overwhelming the NIH grant-review system with large numbers of proposals, especially low-quality ones produced with AI.

But some critics worry the cap—which applies to grant resubmissions, renewals, and revisions as well as original applications—will hurt scientists who are already struggling to obtain federal funding as NIH freezes and rescinds many grants for political reasons and President Donald Trump's administration seeks to cut the agency's annual budget by more than one-third.

[...] Others, however, argue the cap is warranted—and perhaps even necessary. "It's a reasonable approach to an unfortunate problem," says Michael Lauer, who served as deputy director for extramural research at NIH until his retirement in February. (NIH did not provide a current official for a requested interview on the new policy.)

Lauer notes that not long before he left NIH, he and his colleagues identified a principal investigator (PI) who had submitted more than 40 distinct applications in a single submission round, most of which appeared to be partially or entirely AI generated. The incident was "stunning" and "disappointing," says Lauer, who was not involved in creating the new NIH policy but hopes the cap will discourage other researchers from abusing the system.

Aside from the cap, the policy makes clear that NIH will not consider AI-generated proposals to be the original work of applicants. "NIH will continue to employ the latest technology in detection of AI-generated content to identify AI generated applications," the agency's notice says. If AI use is detected after an award has been granted, NIH warns, the agency may refer the matter to the Office of Research Integrity while imposing penalties. It's unclear whether applicants will have an opportunity to appeal these decisions, or which tools will be used to detect AI-generated content. These programs can vary wildly in terms of accuracy, with some showing bias against non-native English speakers.

upstart writes:

A surveillance vendor was caught exploiting a new SS7 attack to track people's phone locations:

Security researchers say they have caught a surveillance company in the Middle East exploiting a new attack capable of tricking phone operators into disclosing a cell subscriber's location.

The attack relies on bypassing security protections that carriers have put in place to protect intruders from accessing SS7, or Signaling System 7, a private set of protocols used by the global phone carriers to route subscribers' calls and text messages around the world.

SS7 also allows the carriers to request information about which cell tower a subscriber's phone is connected to, typically used for accurately billing customers when they call or text someone from overseas, for example.

Researchers at Enea, a cybersecurity company that provides protections for phone carriers, said this week that they have observed the unnamed surveillance vendor exploiting the new bypass attack as far back as late 2024 to obtain the locations of people's phones without their knowledge.

Enea VP of Technology Cathal Mc Daid, who co-authored the blog post, told TechCrunch that the company observed the surveillance vendor target "just a few subscribers" and that the attack did not work against all phone carriers.

Mc Daid said that the bypass attack allows the surveillance vendor to locate an individual to the nearest cell tower, which in urban or densely populated areas could be narrowed to a few hundred meters.

[...] Surveillance vendors, which can include spyware makers and providers of bulk internet traffic, are private companies that typically work exclusively for government customers to conduct intelligence-gathering operations against individuals. Governments often claim to use spyware and other exploitative technologies against serious criminals, but the tools have also been used to target members of civil society, including journalists and activists.

In the past, surveillance vendors have gained access to SS7 by way of a local phone operator, a misused leased "global title," or through a government connection.

But due to the nature of these attacks happening at the cell network level, there is little that phone subscribers can do to defend against exploitation. Rather, defending against these attacks rests largely on the telecom companies.

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/07/sharepoint-vulnerability-with-9-8-severity-rating-is-under-exploit-across-the-globe/

Authorities and researchers are sounding the alarm over the active mass exploitation of a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint Server that's allowing attackers to make off with sensitive company data, including authentication tokens used to access systems inside networks. Researchers said anyone running an on-premises instance of SharePoint should assume their networks are breached.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-53770, carries a severity rating of 9.8 out of a possible 10. It gives unauthenticated remote access to SharePoint Servers exposed to the Internet.
[...]
Microsoft's cloud-hosted SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365 are not affected.
[...]
On Saturday, researchers from security firm Eye Security reported finding "dozens of systems actively compromised during two waves of attack, on 18th of July around 18:00 UTC and 19th of July around 07:30 UTC." The systems, scattered across the globe, had been hacked using the exploited vulnerability and then infected with a webshell-based backdoor called ToolShell.
[...]
The attackers are using the capability to steal SharePoint ASP.NET machine keys, which allow the attackers to stage hacks of additional infrastructure at a later time.
[...]
According to The Washington Post, at least two federal agencies have found that servers inside their networks were breached in the ongoing attacks.
[...]
In a post on Sunday, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed the attacks and their use of ToolShell. The post went on to provide its own list of security measures.

UPDATE: [Update to include latest information as of 15:08 GMT 25 July 2025--JR]

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

More than 400 organizations have been compromised in the Microsoft SharePoint attack, according to Eye Security, which initially sounded the alarm on the mass exploitation last Friday, even before Redmond confirmed the critical vulnerabilities.

The Dutch security company on Wednesday reported four waves of attacks beginning July 17 and continuing the following two days, with "multiple waves" beginning July 21.

The US Energy Department - including its National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which maintains America's nuclear weapons - was among those hit.

On Friday, July 18th, the exploitation of a Microsoft SharePoint zero-day vulnerability began affecting the Department of Energy, including NNSA. The Department was minimally impacted due to its widespread use of the Microsoft M365 cloud and very capable cybersecurity systems. A very small number of systems were impacted. All impacted DOE systems are being restored. NNSA is taking the appropriate action to mitigate risk and transition to other offerings as appropriate.

In addition to the DOE, other government agencies and critical sectors, including telecommunications and software, have been hit in the ongoing attacks, with a "major Western government" being among the first victims on July 7, according to Check Point Research.

The security holes affect SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016, SharePoint Server 2019, and SharePoint Server Subscription Edition. The software giant first confirmed the exploits late Saturday, saying it was "aware of active attacks targeting on-premises SharePoint Server customers by exploiting vulnerabilities partially addressed by the July Security Update." It then released fixed versions for all three by late Monday.

The software fixes address remote code execution bug CVE-2025-53770, which is related to the previously disclosed vulnerability CVE-2025-49704, and CVE-2025-53771, a security bypass flaw for the previously disclosed CVE-2025-49706. Chaining the two allows miscreants to bypass authentication and execute malicious code over the network. A proof-of-concept showing how to chain the two together was released on GitHub.

Both Google and Microsoft have blamed Chinese cyberspies and data thieves for the digital intrusions, with Redmond warning yesterday: "Additional actors may use these exploits."

Original Submission

Conversations Between LLMs Could Automate the Creation of Exploits, Study Shows

upstart writes:

2025-07-conversations-llms-automate-creation-exploits:

As computers and software become increasingly sophisticated, hackers need to rapidly adapt to the latest developments and devise new strategies to plan and execute cyberattacks. One common strategy to maliciously infiltrate computer systems is known as software exploitation.

As suggested by its name, this strategy involves the exploitation of bugs, vulnerabilities or flaws in software to execute unauthorized actions. These actions include gaining access to a user's personal accounts or computer, remotely executing malware or specific commands, stealing or modifying a user's data or crashing a program or system.

Understanding how hackers devise potential exploits and plan their attacks is of the utmost importance, as it can ultimately help to develop effective security measures against their attacks. Until now, creating exploits has been primarily possible for individuals with extensive knowledge of programming, the protocols governing the exchange of data between devices or systems, and operating systems.

A recent paper published in Computer Networks, however, shows that this might no longer be the case. Exploits could also be automatically generated by leveraging large language models (LLMs), such as the model underlying the well-known conversational platform ChatGPT. In fact, the authors of the paper were able to automate the generation of exploits via a carefully prompted conversation between ChatGPT and Llama 2, the open-source LLM developed by Meta.

"We work in the field of cybersecurity, with an offensive approach," Simon Pietro Romano, co-senior author of the paper, told Tech Xplore. "We were interested in understanding how far we could go with leveraging LLMs to facilitate penetration testing activities."

As part of their recent study, Romano and his colleagues initiated a conversation aimed at generating software exploits between ChatGPT and Llama 2. By carefully engineering the prompts they fed to the two models, they ensured that the models took on different roles and completed five different steps known to support the creation of exploits.

These steps included: the analysis of a vulnerable program, the identification of possible exploits, planning an attack based on these exploits, understanding the behavior of targeted hardware systems and ultimately generating the actual exploit code.

"We let two different LLMs interoperate in order to get through all of the steps involved in the process of crafting a valid exploit for a vulnerable program," explained Romano. "One of the two LLMs gathers 'contextual' information about the vulnerable program and its run-time configuration. It then asks the other LLM to craft a working exploit. In a nutshell, the former LLM is good at asking questions. The latter is good at writing (exploit) code."

So far, the researchers have only tested their LLM-based exploit generation method in an initial experiment. Nonetheless, they found that it ultimately produced fully functional code for a buffer overflow exploit, an attack that entails overwriting data stored by a system to alter the behavior of specific programs.

"This is a preliminary study, yet it clearly proves the feasibility of the approach," said Romano. "The implications concern the possibility of arriving at fully automated Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Assessment (VAPT)."

The recent study by Romano and his colleagues raises important questions about the risks of LLMs, as it shows how hackers could use them to automate the generation of exploits. In their next studies, the researchers plan to continue investigating the effectiveness of the exploit generation strategy they devised to inform the future development of LLMs, as well as the advancement of cybersecurity measures.

"We are now exploring further avenues of research in the same field of application," added Romano. "Namely, we feel like the natural prosecution of our research falls in the field of the so-called 'agentic' approach, with minimal human supervision."

More information: A chit-chat between Llama 2 and ChatGPT for the automated creation of exploits. Computer Networks(2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.comnet.2025.111501.

an Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.osnews.com/story/142855/microsoft-wants-to-find-out-why-windows-11-is-so-slow/

Microsoft wants to know why, exactly, Windows 11 is slow, so it's adding a feature in the latest Insider Preview to collect data when a Windows 11 machine is experiencing slowness or sluggishness.

As part of our commitment to improving Windows performance, logs are now collected when your PC has experienced any slow or sluggish performance. Windows Insiders are encouraged to provide feedback when experiencing PC issues related to slow or sluggish performance, allowing Feedback Hub to automatically collect these logs, which will help us root cause issues faster. Use the Desktop > System Sluggishness category when filing feedback to allow Feedback Hub to automatically pick up these logs. These logs are stored locally (%systemRoot%\Temp\DiagOutputDir\Whesvc folder) and only sent to Microsoft via Feedback Hub when feedback is submitted.

The replies are interesting - even if you disregard the expected but unwelcome 'replace it with Linux' suggestions. Some existing Windows users are complaining about the excessive telemetry and what they describe as spyware. This is an "Insider Preview" so it is more of an Alpha release.

One comment requests:

• – allow the option to fully disable telemetry.
• – allow the option to fully disable a feature the user doesn't need (bonus: reduced attack surface)
• – allow the option to create offline accounts without having to rely on shenanigans
• – remove ads from the system
• – stop reinventing the wheel and replacing working components with much heavier ones (cough, notepad, cough)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

The atomic bomb marker inside your body:

It is 80 years since the first nuclear weapon test – codenamed Trinity – detonated above the desert in New Mexico. Today the hidden legacy of nuclear bomb tests can still be found in our cells – and is proving surprisingly useful to scientists.

It's in your teeth. Your eyes and your brain too. Scientists call it the "bomb spike" (or "bomb pulse") – and for more than half a century its signature has been present inside the human body.

On 16 July 1945, scientists of the Manhattan Project detonated the first nuclear weapon, known as the Trinity test, in New Mexico. The 18.6kt explosion lit up the sky and sent a blast of searing heat across the desert as a fireball lofted high into the sky. In the days that followed, white flakes and dust rained down on areas downwind. A now de-classified report from the time warned that radioactive particles spread over an area of more than 2,700sq miles (6,993sq km). And this test was just the start of the atomic era.

In the 1950s, there were so many nuclear bomb explosions above ground that they transformed the chemical make-up of the atmosphere – altering the carbon composition of life on Earth ever since, along with oceans, sediments, stalactites and more.

Unlike the direct radioactive fallout from the explosions, the bomb spike is not harmful. In fact, it's proven surprisingly helpful for scientists in recent years. Some have even gone so far as to describe it as the "mushroom cloud's silver lining".

Why? Evidence of the pulse is so ubiquitous that it can, among many other insights, tell forensic scientists when a person was born (or died), provide discoveries about the age of neurons in our brains, reveal the origin of poached wildlife, determine red wine vintage and even unlock the true age of centuries-old sharks (see box: "The bomb spike's multiple uses").

And now it may also help to define a new geological era. In July 2023, a group of earth scientists recommended that its presence in a Canadian lake – along with other human-made markers from the mid-20th Century – should represent the official start of the Anthropocene.

fliptop writes:

Matson surprised customers this week with an announcement that, effective immediately, it would suspend transporting battery-powered electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles due to the hazardous material classification of their lithium-ion batteries. The ability to ship cars between the mainland of the United States, Hawaii, Guam, and Alaska was an important service both for individuals and car dealers:

[Editor's Note: Matson, Inc. is a U.S. owned and operated transportation services company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. --JE]

In a letter sent to customers, the company writes, "Due to increasing concern for the safety of transporting vehicles powered by large lithium-ion batteries, Matson is suspending acceptance of used or new electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles for transport aboard its vessels. Effective immediately, we have ceased accepting new bookings for these shipments to/from all trades."

The Hawaii Electric Vehicle Association reports there are currently more than 37,000 electric vehicles registered in the state. No figures were reported for Guam, but dealers who spoke with the local media said they regretted the decision, highlighting that EVs are well-suited for driving on the island.

Matson had reported in the past that it had developed a collaborative team approach to tackle the complexities of carrying lithium batteries. It established an Electric Vehicle Safe Carriage Working Group, and said it was participating in external working groups on electric vehicles and lithium batteries.

[...] Matson continues to transport conventional cars. It offers the service both trans-ocean and also moves the containers interisland in Hawaii as part of its barge service.

Previously: Blaze Sends Ship Carrying Hundreds Of Chinese EVs To Bottom Of Pacific

Original Submission

upstart writes:

11,000-year-old feast uncovered: Why hunters hauled wild boars across mountains:

According to new research, communities that lived in western Iran about 11,000 years ago during the Early Neolithic period took a similar approach when it came to gift-giving.

They invested significant effort to bring wild boars hunted in dispersed parts of the landscape as gifts to be eaten at a communal celebration that took place at what is now the archaeological site of Asiab in the Zagros Mountains.

The findings, conducted by an international team of researchers including scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), suggest this practice of offering gifts that have geographical symbolism can be traced back to prehistory.

"Food and long-standing culinary traditions form an integral component of cultures all over the globe. It is for this reason holidays, festivals, and other socially meaningful events commonly involve food. For example, we cannot imagine Christmas without the Christmas meal, Eid without the food gifts, or Passover without matzo ball soup," Dr Petra Vaiglova from ANU said.

The scientists unearthed the skulls of 19 wild boars that were neatly packed and sealed inside a pit within a round building at the Asiab site. Butchery marks on the animals' skulls suggest they were used for feasting, but until now scientists were unsure where these boars came from.

upstart writes:

Popular sugar substitute linked to brain cell damage and stroke risk:

From low-carb ice cream to keto protein bars to "sugar-free" soda, the decades-old sweetener erythritol is everywhere.

But new University of Colorado Boulder research shows the popular sugar substitute and specialty food additive comes with serious downsides, impacting brain cells in numerous ways that can boost risk of stroke.

"Our study adds to the evidence suggesting that non-nutritive sweeteners that have generally been purported to be safe, may not come without negative health consequences," said senior author Christopher DeSouza, professor of integrative physiology and director of the Integrative Vascular Biology Lab.

First approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001, erythritol is a sugar alcohol, often produced by fermenting corn and found in hundreds of products. It has almost no calories, is about 80% as sweet as table sugar, and has negligible impact on insulin levels, making it a favorite for people trying to lose weight, keep their blood sugar in check or avoid carbohydrates.

The BBC has announced that Ozzy Osborne has died today.

From the Guardian:

Ozzy Osbourne, whose gleeful "Prince of Darkness" image made him one of the most iconic rock frontmen of all time, has died aged 76.

A statement from the Osbourne family reads: "It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time." No cause of death was given, though Osbourne had experienced various forms of ill health in recent years.

upstart writes:

A strange fossil at the edge of the solar system just shook up Planet Nine theories:

The object was found as part of the survey project FOSSIL (Formation of the Outer Solar System: An Icy Legacy), which takes advantage of the Subaru Telescope's wide field of view. The object was discovered through observations taken in March, May, and August 2023 using the Subaru Telescope. The object is currently designated 2023 KQ14; a more classical name will be assigned later by the International Astronomical Union. After that, follow-up observations in July 2024 with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and a search for unrecognized sightings of the object in old data from other observatories allowed astronomers to track the object's orbit over 19 years. Due to its peculiar distant orbit, 2023 KQ14 has been classified as a "sednoid", making it only the fourth known example of this rare type of object.

[Editor's Note: A sednoid is a trans-Neptunian object with a large semi-major axis, a distant perihelion and a highly eccentric orbit, similar to that of the dwarf planet Sedna --JE]

Numerical simulations conducted by the FOSSIL team, some of which used the PC cluster operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, indicate that 2023 KQ14 has maintained a stable orbit for at least 4.5 billion years. Although its current orbit differs from those of the other sednoids, the simulations suggest that their orbits were remarkably similar around 4.2 billion years ago.

The fact that 2023 KQ14 now follows an orbit different from the other sednoids indicates that the outer Solar System is more diverse and complex than previously thought. This discovery also places new constraints on the hypothetical Planet Nine. If Planet Nine exists, its orbit must lie farther out than typically predicted.

Dr. Yukun Huang of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan who conducted simulations of the orbit comments, "The fact that 2023 KQ14's current orbit does not align with those of the other three sednoids lowers the likelihood of the Planet Nine hypothesis. It is possible that a planet once existed in the Solar System but was later ejected, causing the unusual orbits we see today."

Regarding the significance of this discovery, Dr. Fumi Yoshida states, "2023 KQ14 was found in a region far away where Neptune's gravity has little influence. The presence of objects with elongated orbits and large perihelion distances in this area implies that something extraordinary occurred during the ancient era when 2023 KQ14 formed. Understanding the orbital evolution and physical properties of these unique, distant objects is crucial for comprehending the full history of the Solar System. At present, the Subaru Telescope is among the few telescopes on Earth capable of making such discoveries. I would be happy if the FOSSIL team could make many more discoveries like this one and help draw a complete picture of the history of the Solar System."

Journal Reference:
Chen, Ying-Tung, Lykawka, Patryk Sofia, Huang, Yukun, et al. Discovery and dynamics of a Sedna-like object with a perihelion of 66 au [open], Nature Astronomy (DOI: 10.1038/s41550-025-02595-7)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Microsoft says it will no longer use engineers in China for Department of Defense work:

Following a Pro Publica report that Microsoft was using engineers in China to help maintain cloud computing systems for the U.S. Department of Defense, the company said it's made changes to ensure this will no longer happen.

The existing system reportedly relied on "digital escorts" to supervise the China-based engineers. But according to Pro Publica, those escorts — U.S. citizens with security clearances — sometimes lacked the technical expertise to properly monitor the engineers.

In response to the report, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on X, "Foreign engineers — from any country, including of course China — should NEVER be allowed to maintain or access DoD systems."

On Friday, Microsoft's chief communications officer Frank X. Shaw responded: "In response to concerns raised earlier this week about US-supervised foreign engineers, Microsoft has made changes to our support for US Government customers to assure that no China-based engineering teams are providing technical assistance for DoD Government cloud and related services."

Original Submission