Self-destructing computer chip can protect top secret data
You probably wouldn’t bat an eyelash if you see a self-destructing computer chip in a Mission Impossible movie, but what if one actually exists in real life? Xerox PARC engineers have developed a chip that can explode into teensy little pieces as part of DARPA’s Vanishing Programmable Resources project. To make that possible, they used Gorilla Glass instead of plastic and metal. Yes, it’s the same tough glass used on many available smartphones, but the engineers told IDG News Service’s Martyn Williams that they “ion-exchange temper[ed] it to build in stress.” A piece of glass that’s heavily stressed will easily shatter and disintegrate when triggered.
The team demonstrated the technology at DARPA’s “Wait, What?” event, where they used a laser to trigger the self-destruction process. As you can see in the video below, the chip didn’t only blow up, the shards continued to crumble into even smaller pieces. Someday, this chip could be used to keep, say, encryption keys needed to access sensitive data. The self-destruction process can also be triggered not just by a laser, but also via radio signals or a physical switch.
[Image credit: screenshot from IDG video]
Filed under:
Misc
Via:
Gizmodo
Tags: darpa, military, security
Plex will bring its media streaming to Apple TV
Ask some media server users why they don’t use an Apple TV, and they’ll issue a common refrain: “because it doesn’t officially run Plex.” Well, that shouldn’t be an issue with the new Apple TV. Plex tells ITWorld that it plans to bring its media streaming front end to Apple’s latest set-top box through an app. The move should give you access to all of your home’s compatible music, photos and videos, not just what you can see from internet streaming services or iTunes clients. That’s a big deal when you previously had to jailbreak or otherwise rely on clever workarounds to make Plex work.
The project is still very early, and the Plex team wants to avoid setting expectations until it has a chance to dig into the tvOS developer tools and see exactly what’s possible. You probably won’t get every wish list feature — Apple is only integrating universal search on an app-by-app basis, for instance. Even so, this could do a lot to transform the Apple TV into an all-purpose box.
Filed under:
Home Entertainment, HD, Apple
Via:
9to5Mac
Source:
ITWorld
Tags: apple, appletv, hdpostcross, mediahub, plex, set-topbox, streaming
Nvidia Shield Pro recall: your unit may be plagued by hard drive issues
The Nvidia Shield Pro was the answer to many users who demand more internal storage. That 500 GB hard drive sure makes keeping all your media much less challenging. And at $300 it’s not much more expensive than the 16 GB variant. The only problem is that some of these large capacity units may have come with more than just more storage.
Nvidia has announced a recall on its Shield Pro after discovering some units are plagued by hard drive issues. The manufacturer claims the problem with this “small number of Shield Pro units” may worsen over time. The best way to remedy the situation is by replacing affected units, so that is exactly what Nvidia is doing.
Does my Nvidia Shield Pro console has a faulty hard drive?
- Is the fasboot screen showing up after the version 1.4 upgrade? You should get your unit replaced, even if the devices starts up perfectly after a system reboot.
- Affected products will show severe/persistent pixelation in all tiles on the top row of the Android TV home screen.
Those who run across said symptoms should go ahead and contact NVIDIA to get a replacement. You will get a new unit shipped out to you as soon as the RMA is accepted, so there’s no need to wait until you send your console first. Nvidia will even send these outside the USA, so long as they have the needed certifications to ship to your specific country.
Go get them, guys! Just out of curiosity, how many of you have faulty NVIDIA Shield Pros? Hit the comments and let us know!
Robust Android ransomware spreading across American devices
Malware developers have been forced to code more advanced software as security measures evolve and people become more educated. They need to be a little more tricky now, and the bad news is these attackers are not really falling behind the big corporations that try to protect us. Ransomware has become especially advanced, and one is currently spreading across America.
Let’s start by telling you what Ransomeware is. This specific kind of malware aims to take money from users by fooling them into willingly paying certain amounts of cash. In this case it would be $500, which is a significant amount of money. It’s also an Android LockScreen Trojan, which means it can lock users out of their devices.
This ESET-discovered malware goes by the name of Android/Lockerpin.A, and it is quite a nasty bug. After successful infection, the software will try to fool you into granting it Device Administrator rights. The trick here is that it does it in very sneaky ways.
In this case, the administrator privilege page is overlaid with a fake window that claims to be a patch update. Of course, inexperienced users may fall for this and press continue, which would be very bad news. The device is now infected and this software has Administrator rights over your phone. It can even change your PIN number and lock you out of your smartphone.
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After some time, affected users will be presented with a window containing a fake “FBI” message that claims the user has been viewing prohibited pornographic material. It also mentions he/she should pay a $500 fine for being involved in these “criminal activities”.
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Try to leave this message and the screen will be locked. At this point, the user can uninstall Android/Lockerpin.A, but only by doing so through Safe Mode or ADB. But you are out of luck once ransom activity has commenced, as a randomly-generated PIN number will be put in place and successfully take away your access over the phone.
Not even the attacker can unlock the phone at this point. The only way to recover access is to perform a factory data reset. Sure, it may be annoying to have to go through that process, but it’s honestly what I would recommend you do if you are infected, anyways.
The crazy part is that the ransomware even has some defense mechanisms built in. For example, upon trying to disable Administration rights for Android/Lockerpin.A, the software will simply reactivate it. In addition, this Trojan also tries to kill anti-virus processes from ESET, Avast and Dr. Web.
You don’t want to run across this thing, but most people need not worry. The dangerous ransomware is nowhere to be found on the Google Play Store (at least yet). The only way to get infected is by grabbing infected apps from other sources. Those who stick to Google’s official app store will be safe.
If you do have a tendency to download apps from other places, make sure the source is reliable. As I have always said – the best virus protection is smart tech habits.
Have any of you encountered anything like this? It seems like 77% of infected users are in the USA, so we best watch out. Stay alert and don’t trust everything that’s online!
Google expanding production of driverless cars
According to a new report, Google X Head of Policy Sarah Hunter recently appeared before the California Public Utilities Commission where she reported the company is increasing production of their electric self-driving cars from 100 to “a few hundred” in 2015. This expanded production may indicate testing is going much better than anticipated.
Hunter also informed the commission that the company has started working a little more earnestly on how to market and sell the vehicles. Google appears to be trying to decide whether their target market should be individual buyers or perhaps operating them as a service for people who just need a temporary ride similar to Uber.
Thus far Google has partnered with engineering firm Roush for production of the vehicles, but Hunter says Google is exploring other avenues for production, including moving it in-house. Google is also considering a gasoline engine version of a driverless car although all of their test and development units so far have been all electric.
According to Hunter and as reported to the commission, the driverless vehicles only have three buttons and a microphone. However, some vehicles like a line of Lexus RX450h cars have been retrofitted with the driverless technology. The vehicles that have been retrofitted require someone to sit in the driver’s seat to take control in an emergency situation. Hunter also shared with the commission news that some of the vehicles have been deployed in Texas for testing there in addition to the units operating in Mountain View.
source: Android Headlines
Come comment on this article: Google expanding production of driverless cars
No, the iPhone 6s’ camera and mic aren’t spying on you
Whenever a device ships with a feature that involves always-on listening or watching, privacy concerns invariably come up — and the iPhone 6s is no exception. In an attempt to address controversies before the 6s even ships, Apple has told TechCrunch that neither the always-on Siri voice commands nor Live Photos (which records a brief burst of video before and after your photo) are eavesdropping on you. Ultimately, Siri works like the technology you’ve seen on the Moto X — it’s merely waiting for a keyword, not recording whatever you say. What little memory buffer exists (for audio patterns, not sound clips) is automatically erased after a few seconds, and the feature is strictly opt-in.
It’s a similar situation with Live Photos. The iPhone records a total of 3 seconds of video before and after the photo, and it doesn’t save anything until you press the shutter button. Any content is encrypted both on-device and when it’s headed to iCloud, too, Live Photos are turned on by default, but it’s also possible to turn them off when you launch the official camera app.
These answers aren’t surprising if you know how the underlying technology works, but they could be important given growing concerns over surveillance. As you might guess, a pro-privacy company like Apple doesn’t want to give the impression that the NSA or the police are spying on every single conversation or photo session. It’s not exactly an altruistic gesture, then, but it could prevent some manufactured drama in the future.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Source:
TechCrunch
Tags: apple, heysiri, iphone, iphone6s, iphone6splus, livephotos, mobilepostcross, privacy, siri
New research tool can improve battery life by 16%
Battery life is among the biggest concerns for smartphone users ever since screens started growing and technology within our cellphones evolved. So far our best solution is providing a larger battery, but until a new type of energy source shows up there are also plenty of software improvements that can be applied.
Did you know about 46% of our smartphone battery dies while the screen is off? This is a surprising number, especially considering the display is usually the most influential battery hog. All things considered, a phone should be able to spend close to zero energy once the phone goes to sleep, but applications keep waking our phones to perform certain processes.
This is a good thing, as background processes are important for keeping us connected. The true issue rises when bugs or incorrect use of wakelocks keep the phone off its sleep mode for extended periods of time. As it turns out, these rogue applications usually make for 28.9 percent of that battery drainage that occurs while the screen is off.
How do we solve this issue? While we can’t completely kill the problem just yet, Purdue University researchers have created a tool dubbed “Hush”. In essence, this software tool learns from your smartphone habits in order to improve your battery life without sacrificing your experience. It handles background processes more efficiently, so to speak.
Hush closes applications that may hurt your battery life while the screen is off, but it won’t kill every (or any) app. It will keep your most frequently used services alive, so that your favorite software always runs at its fullest. Of course, it also allows necessary processes to operate, including a WiFi beacon and cellular paging, which are essential to your communications.
After all is said and done, Purdue researchers have found that their tool can save an average of 15.7% in battery life. This may not sound like a breakthrough discovery, but it will certainly open doors to new software improvements for battery efficiency. Not to mention, you can do a lot with nearly 16% battery!
Hush is now available for download, if you are up for the challenge. The involved Purdue researchers have made the software available on GitHub for free, so have at it. And don’t forget to come back and share your results!
What petrified sand dunes look like on Mars
If you’re the outdoorsy type, you might have already seen petrified sand dunes in person (in Utah, for instance) — the photo above, however, isn’t of a desert here on Earth. It’s an image stitched together using several shots captured on August 27th by Curiosity rover’s Mast Camera (Mastcam) on Mars. This sandstone formation originated as sand dunes formed by the wind, which eventually hardened and turned into rock. It’s part of an area called the Stimson unit on Mount Sharp, which lies over a mudstone layer in what used to be a lake. The rover is investigating the location to determine how it changed from ancient times. This close-up image shows just a small part of the place, however: you can see the whole panorama NASA created on its website.
Filed under:
Science
Source:
NASA
Tags: curiosity, mars, nasa, space
Apple Shares Video to Celebrate Opening of Apple Store in Brussels
Apple has shared a new video to celebrate the first Apple Store in Belgium, which opens on Saturday, September 19 in the capital city of Brussels. The two-minute spot highlights the work of several comic artists in Brussels, which is known for its tradition of comic art.
Brussels has a rich tradition of comic art. So, to celebrate the opening of the Apple Store, Brussels, we brought together some of the city’s most imaginative comic artists. Hear them speak about their work and the city that inspired it.
The store will be located on Avenue de la Toison d’Or and open on Monday-Saturday between 10 AM and 7 PM local time. The location will offer regular Apple Store services such as the Genius Bar and Workshops.
Two new Apple Stores also open in Nanjing, China and Florence, Italy on September 19 and September 26 respectively.
Honda will test self-driving cars on California streets
Honda just took a big step toward getting its self-driving car technology on to American roads. The automaker has quietly received the approval needed to test its autonomous cars on California streets, letting these robotic rides venture beyond a closed-off facility in Concord. The company is relatively late to the party — Audi, Lexus and other brands have had the state’s A-OK for a while. Still, we’re not going to knock Honda when this will eventually lead to more variety in hands-off vehicles.
Filed under:
Transportation
Via:
Reuters, Ars Technica
Source:
California DMV
Tags: acura, autonomous, california, car, honda, self-driving, self-drivingcar, transportation, vehicle
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