data

A rather obscure aviation contraption is making headlines this week by cracking secure wireless Internet (WiFi) and a cell phone networks (GSM), and along with it, a host of personal information and sensitive data. The Wireless Aerial Surveillance ... Platform (otherwise known as the WASP) is an unmanned vehicle converted to run on batteries instead of gasoline. It has a 6-foot wingspan, a 6-foot length and weighs in at 14 pounds. WASP stores global positioning system (GPS) information that allows it to fly a predetermined course without the assistance of an operator, only requiring human ... (view more)

Microsoft has released a new tool to help scientists and other researchers access the power of cloud computing . Project Daytona could help them analyze data in a more efficient and affordable manner. Cloud System Uses Decentralized Computing The ... project builds on Microsoft's could-based Windows Azure system. That doesn't simply mean storing information online, but also using remote computers to carry out tasks. Cloud computing can range from relatively simple tasks, such as accessing email on services such as Hotmail, to more complex tasks, such as the way some websites run through databases ... (view more)

A high-profile hacking group has published what it claims are 90,000 email addresses and password combinations belonging to a government contractor. The group also says it deleted back-up data from the organization's servers. The leak comes from the ... Anonymous group, previously known for its battles with the Scientology movement and the Westboro Baptist Church. Recently, it began a campaign known as "Antisec" (anti-security) alongside members of the previously-disbanded LulzSec group. Anonymous retrieved thee email details from the network of Booz Allen Hamilton, an engineering and ... (view more)

With huge annual revenues, Google has the spare cash to try out all sort of different (often high-cost) experimental ventures. That's been demonstrated by the company's decision to dabble in health records and home energy. In both cases Google says ... the problem was a failure to scale: in other words, not getting enough users to make the fixed running costs sustainable. In Google's case, scale isn't just a financial issue though: as its search success has shown, more users means more data and thus more lessons that can be learned. (Source: blogspot.com ) Medical Records Tracked Interactions ... (view more)

It's not unusual these days for the computer systems of major banks to come under attack. But the latest high-profile attempted breach has gone a step further by targeting the International Monetary Fund (IMF), prompting speculation that a national ... government may be the offender. The Washington DC-based IMF is an organization that provides loans to governments in financial difficulties. It also helps coordinate the collection and publication of financial data by governments. Although the International Monetary Fund is releasing few details, it has confirmed there has been a "very major breach ... (view more)

Miro 4.0 Internet TV Viewer RC 1 Miro 4.0 is an open-source, non-profit Internet TV viewing program. It has a unique, elegant, and seamless user interface that makes watching Internet TV easier than ever before. Miro provides an extremely useful, ... built-in content guide that features thousands of free video feeds (many in HD) and streaming video sites. http://www.getmiro.org Data Crow 3.9.7 Data Crow is a media cataloger and media organizer. If you've always wanted to manage all your collections with one software program, Data Crow may be what you need. http://www.datacrow.net This freeware ... (view more)

Yesterday we reported on the hacking of Sony's PlayStation Network (PSN), an online gaming platform for the company's PlayStation 3 (PS3) console. The hack affects 77 million user and has left the PlayStation network paralyzed. When the security ... breach was first announced, Sony remained quiet on the extent of the damage. New details are starting to emerge, with the tech company admitting that some of the personal data available to the hackers was in no way encrypted. This means that data thieves can do as they please with the information they've stolen from the electronics giant. Doubts ... (view more)

Toshiba has announced the successful completion of the first set of self-encrypting hard disk drives (HDDs) in the world. The popular Japanese consumer electronics firm has engineered these HDDs to automatically invalidate confidential data when ... connected to an unknown host. The 2.5-type MK6461GSYG family of hard disk drives is featured in five different models, ranging from 160GB to 640GB. All models allow the original manufacturers to configure different data invalidation options. Their main purpose in doing so is to assist IT departments in helping their companies comply with ever-changing ... (view more)

An unspecified number of email users may be indirect victims of a recent data breach at a major marketing company. The breach was at Epsilon, which operates online mailing lists for many major companies, including seven of the ten largest firms in ... America. It's rumored that "millions" of email addresses may have been compromised in the attack. (Source: forbes.com ) The data theft means users should be on high alert for so-called email " phishing " attempts. Massive Data Breach a Gold Harvest for Online Scammers Epsilon says the breach involved the data relating to 2 per cent of its ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced that Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) supports two separate technologies for restricting access to information related to a user's online activity. One of the privacy features was recently prompted by the Federal Trade Commission ... (FTC). Both technologies involve the way websites share data with third-parties. The most prominent example is with advertisements that appear on a page; for example, rather than simply linking ads to the page content (such as a newspaper site running golf equipment ads alongside a golf match report), a site might pass on details of all the pages a ... (view more)