Nanotube-based random number generator is small enough to fit in a smartwatch

Why it matters to you

A truly random number generator could help cryptology experts keep our wearables safe from nasty hackers.

Random number generators aren’t just some niche toy of interest only to mathematicians. They’re also crucial to keeping our computer systems safe from hackers and those who would seek to do us harm. It’s a problem researchers have been trying to crack for years, and with the growing number of hacks that are taking place on a regular basis, it’s more of a concern than ever.

That’s where research from Northwestern University comes into the picture. Using thermal noise generated via carbon nanotubes, they’ve developed something of a holy grail for those working in cryptography: a truly random number generator (TRNG) — one that’s compact enough to be used in wearable devices.

“We have developed one of the most important building blocks for cryptography using a nontraditional semiconductor material, namely solution-processed semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes,” Mark Hersam, an expert in nanomaterials at Northwestern University, told Digital Trends. “This TRNG carries the advantages of its constituent solution-processed material, such as being able to be printed at a low cost on flexible plastic substrates, which makes it ideal for emerging flexible electronic applications such as wearables and sensors for the Internet of Things.”

There are two main approaches to creating random numbers: hardware and software, but neither one has proven to be particularly well-suited to something as small as a wearable device. Software-based approaches are typically what is known as “pseudorandom,” which leaves them open to hacking because the numbers are not truly random. Hardware approaches can be truly random, but they are also typically large and bulky — and therefore not ideal for something like an activity tracker or smart sensors.

Northwestern takes a different approach to hardware. Their solution involves a semiconducting carbon nanotube-containing ink that’s used to print a static random-access memory cell. The random numbers are bits generated through thermal noise in a way that is both compact and random.

“The solution-processed random number generator described in our report is readily scalable and reproducible, enabling us and other groups to build upon our work to create a wide array of integrated security applications,” Hersam said.

The randomness of the numbers has already been validated using industry standard protocols, including the NIST statistical testing suite and the TestU01 software library. While there’s still more work to be done to demonstrate this technology in action, it’s definitely an exciting advance for anyone who cares about keeping their devices secure.

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Nano Letters.

Nanotube-based random number generator is small enough to fit in a smartwatch

Why it matters to you

A truly random number generator could help cryptology experts keep our wearables safe from nasty hackers.

Random number generators aren’t just some niche toy of interest only to mathematicians. They’re also crucial to keeping our computer systems safe from hackers and those who would seek to do us harm. It’s a problem researchers have been trying to crack for years, and with the growing number of hacks that are taking place on a regular basis, it’s more of a concern than ever.

That’s where research from Northwestern University comes into the picture. Using thermal noise generated via carbon nanotubes, they’ve developed something of a holy grail for those working in cryptography: a truly random number generator (TRNG) — one that’s compact enough to be used in wearable devices.

“We have developed one of the most important building blocks for cryptography using a nontraditional semiconductor material, namely solution-processed semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes,” Mark Hersam, an expert in nanomaterials at Northwestern University, told Digital Trends. “This TRNG carries the advantages of its constituent solution-processed material, such as being able to be printed at a low cost on flexible plastic substrates, which makes it ideal for emerging flexible electronic applications such as wearables and sensors for the Internet of Things.”

There are two main approaches to creating random numbers: hardware and software, but neither one has proven to be particularly well-suited to something as small as a wearable device. Software-based approaches are typically what is known as “pseudorandom,” which leaves them open to hacking because the numbers are not truly random. Hardware approaches can be truly random, but they are also typically large and bulky — and therefore not ideal for something like an activity tracker or smart sensors.

Northwestern takes a different approach to hardware. Their solution involves a semiconducting carbon nanotube-containing ink that’s used to print a static random-access memory cell. The random numbers are bits generated through thermal noise in a way that is both compact and random.

“The solution-processed random number generator described in our report is readily scalable and reproducible, enabling us and other groups to build upon our work to create a wide array of integrated security applications,” Hersam said.

The randomness of the numbers has already been validated using industry standard protocols, including the NIST statistical testing suite and the TestU01 software library. While there’s still more work to be done to demonstrate this technology in action, it’s definitely an exciting advance for anyone who cares about keeping their devices secure.

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Nano Letters.

Deal: Get the Moto Z Play and its amazing battery for $324.99, the lowest price ever!

It’s a love affair that won’t end. Get the Moto Z Play for just $324.99 right now!

It may be almost a year old, but the Moto Z Play still feels as fresh as ever — especially now that it’s getting updated to Android 7.1.1. And even though there’s a sequel out, the OG is still king thanks to its 3510mAh battery that lasts all day and then some. There’s also plenty of power, including a Snapdragon 625 chip, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (plus microSD expansion) and a 16MP rear camera.

Even at its full price of $449.99, we recommend this battery beast over everything else in its price range. At its newly-discounted $349.99 price, we definitely recommend it over everything else.

At $324.99, this deal just screams!

Yep, you can grab the unlocked Moto Z Play, which is compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile and other GSM-based MVNOs like Mint SIM, for $324.99! Use the offer code ZPSMART at checkout to receive the additional $25 discount off the existing $100, and you’ll get this phone for its lowest-ever price unlocked.

The discount is really good, and it’s also really short — this code expires by the end of August 11, so get going on it!

Remember to use the offer code ZPSMART at checkout. Hurry, this deal expires in 24 hours!

Need more reason to get excited? Read this blurb from Daniel’s review:

I love this phone. I think it does everything right, and sacrifices little on the way. Moto Mods are terrific additions to the Moto Z ecosystem, but I cannot say emphasize this enough: they are not necessary to enjoy this phone.

Of course, it’s battery life that brings you in the door here. I haven’t ever felt this confident about leaving my phone unplugged overnight, and if you’re a heavy user, or just wants a bit of breathing room, the Moto Z Play is the phone for you.

Convinced? Grab the Moto Z Play for its lowest price ever, and tell ’em Thrifter sent you!

See at B&H

Grab a wall charger with USB-C and -A ports for as low as $10

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with a great deal on Aukey wall chargers.

Aukey has a few different discounts on desktop wall chargers, it really just depends on how many ports you need.

The $22 Aukey AMP charger has 3 ports where 1 is for USB-C. With code R5HJPDNH you can knock that price down to $10.12. That’s the lowest price it’s ever been to.

The $25 Aukey AMP has 5 ports with 1 dedicated to USB-C. Use code N79URQMX to bring it down to its lowest price ever, $12.99.

The $30 Aukey AMP has 6 ports with 2 ports for USB-C devices. Code HJGKTTO7 brings it down to $16.19

These are great devices if you have a lot of tech that charges via USB, especially phones and tablets. You can set one of these up in a central location and let everyone in your home get in on that sweet, sweet, charging action.

The 3-port and 6-port chargers have Quick Charge 3.0 technology on the USB-C ports, which means they charge 45% faster than ports without it. All the ports are compatible with any USB powered device, even older ones. Each charger comes with built-in safeguards to prevent overheating and overcharging.

Aukey includes a two-year warranty for each device.

See at Amazon

More from Thrifter:

• Tips for becoming an expert eBay seller
• How to save money and pack healthy lunches for work

For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Four things that make Gunheart ridiculously cool…and one that doesn’t

Why should I play Gunheart?

Gunheart is currently in Early Access on Steam and Oculus, but it’s getting a ton of attention, both positive and negative. Players are calling it a mix of Destiny and Borderlands, and for good reason. It’s the creation of Drifter Entertainment, which is composed of former members of Epic Games, Oculus, and Microsoft. Not sure whether you should drop $35 on an Early Access VR title? Here are four reasons you should, and one reason you might not want to.

Read more at VRHeads!

You can now use Samsung’s browser on nearly every Android phone, but should you?

Browser includes features such as extensions and night mode.

Samsung’s Internet application may seem superfluous when a smartphone or tablet already has Google Chrome, but it has a few tricks up its sleeve. The most well-known feature is extension support, so users can download a separate content blocker to filter out malicious advertisements. There are also some handy features including a night mode that darkens a web page’s interface, and battery life is reportedly better than Chrome, though that assertion is certainly subjective. Before today, the browser was only available for Samsung devices and the Google Pixel, but that has changed.

Samsung’s Internet browser comes with Adblock and other great features.

Samsung has announced that any user using a device with Android 5.0 Lollipop and newer (75% of all Android devices) can download the beta version of Samsung Internet and get access to those extra features. While it is advertised as a beta, the application worked just fine for me. It downloaded and installed to my OnePlus 3T without issue, and I haven’t encountered any crashes or errors when browsing. One of the Adblock plugins did say it was not compatible with my 3T, but I’ll wager that’s an issue with that specific plugin. I was able to download a different Adblock plugin and the browser loaded pages just fine whether I had the content blocker enabled or not.

To streamline setup, Chrome desktop users can download the Samsung Internet plugin to synchronize their bookmarks and passwords. This does mean creating a Samsung ID to sync the data, but that’s not too big of an issue. Once signed into the account on both mobile and inside the Chrome browser, importing bookmarks is as easy as clicking the “Import” button inside the extension’s settings. The default home screen and search engine for Samsung Internet are Google, as most Android users would expect.

Do you plan on using the Samsung Browser over Chrome? Let us know down below!

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ review!
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• Get to know Samsung Bixby
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Of course ‘Fallout 4’ will have a ‘game of the year’ edition

Much like the sun rises in the East, Bethesda has trotted out another game of the year edition for one of its open-world role-playing games. This time it’s Fallout 4. As you might expect, it includes everything that’s been released for the game since 2015 including its six add-on mission packs. This latest version will be released on September 26th for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Official pricing isn’t available, but based on history, this probably won’t cost more than $60.

However, if you feel like spending more publisher/developer Bethesda says it’ll have limited amounts of the extremely popular Pip-Boy Edition available for $99.99 at select retailers; it sounds like the same phone holster that was available at launch. If you’re itching for something a little more functional, an officially licensed Bluetooth version of the wrist computer has been available on ThinkGeek for awhile now.

The thing is, that one costs a whopping $349.99. But, the $150 Samsung Gear S smartwatches on eBay notwithstanding, can you really put a price on making phone calls from a comically oversized chunk of plastic on your wrist?

Source: Bethesda

RCA’s new Roku TVs are dirt-cheap, if you can live without 4K

RCA is the latest brand to offer a line of Roku TVs and while they aren’t 4K, they are super affordable. Three models are included in the line — 50-inch, 43-inch and 32-inch versions priced at $499, $380 and $250, respectively. The larger two models are 1080p HD while the 32-inch is 720p.

Many recent Roku-incorporated TVs have taken advantage of Roku’s 4K capabilities including models from Insignia, TCL and Hisense and while RCA’s TVs don’t offer that level of image quality, they do have ease of use and small price tags. Each model includes a TV tuner input for access to over-the-air channels and a Live TV Pause feature. And of course, they come with Roku’s thousands of apps. RCA’s TVs also include a remote with channel shortcut buttons and the ability to stream through Roku’s mobile app.

All three models are on sale now in the US and Canada through Walmart.com and Amazon.com as well as a handful of stores like BJ’s and ABC Appliances.

Source: Roku

AMD’s beastly 16-core Ryzen Threadripper CPU is available today

We already knew a lot about AMD’s monstrous $1000 16-core 1950X Threadripper CPU (and slightly cheaper 1920X $800 12-core version), but the company released a few more details as the processors went on sale today. AMD is adding a third to the lineup: The 1900X is an 8-core, 16-thread version for $550 that’ll be out on August 31st for anyone who wants a powerful budget CPU with a base clock speed of 3.8 GHz and boost of 4.0 GHz.

Today AMD launches the highest-performance desktop processor ever with Ryzen #Threadripper. https://t.co/GUVVsPE67s pic.twitter.com/0BljUhuEvT

— AMD (@AMD) August 10, 2017

That’s even more value for AMD to brag about as the company grapples with Intel for the top-tier consumer processor crown. Soon after the former had announced its Threadripper series, Intel fired back with its 18-core i9 Extreme Edition — but given that CPU’s $2,000 price tag, AMD is still fiercely competing at half the price. If you want the leading 1950X Threadripper or the lower-powered but less pricey 1920X, you can buy them today on motherboards from manufacturers like ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI.

Source: AMD

Who needs friends when you have anonymous feedback apps

The current number one app in the iOS App Store has a curious name. It’s called Sarahah, and it’s been at the top of the Free Apps chart on iTunes for the past few weeks. The premise behind the app is that it’s an anonymous messaging service geared specifically for personal feedback. Anyone — whether they’re on the service or not — can leave comments for users without revealing who they are.

If you think that sounds like a recipe for abuse, well, you’re not alone. With such rapid growth — it now has 300 million users — Sarahah has raised concerns among parents and educators that it’ll be a haven for online bullying, especially since it’s such a hit with teenagers and young adults. But perhaps a larger question is why these anonymous apps have such appeal in the first place, and what is it that apps like Sarahah can do to keep the trolls away.

Sarahah is the brainchild of Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq, a systems analyst who originally created it as a way for employees to give feedback to their employers without fear of retribution. Tawfiq, who’s from Saudi Arabia, says the name “Sarahah” is Arabic for “honesty.” “Having anonymous feedback would facilitate communications and help people develop, so that the company can improve,” he told Engadget.

It was released to the public in November 2016 as a simple website, and gained a lot of traction in countries like Lebanon, Tunisia and Egypt in just a few months. In June of 2017, Tawfiq released the app version of Sarahah on both iOS and Android, which also marked the first time it was available in English.

Through word-of-mouth, teenagers in English-speaking countries like Canada, the US and Australia started to pick it up — some even posting links to their Sarahah profiles on Instagram to attract feedback. What really skyrocketed Sarahah to the top though, was when Snapchat updated its app in July that allowed the addition of links to images. Teens linked to their Sarahah profiles in their Snaps, and voila, a viral hit was born.

Christine Garcia, an Associate and Clinical Director at the Young Adult and Family Center (YAFC) at University of California, San Francisco’s Department of Psychiatry, offers some insight into why anonymous apps like these are so enticing to teenagers. “Adolescence and young adulthood is a time when individuals are concerned about their outward facing appearance to peer groups,” she said. “This is a developmental norm as they attempt to understand and step into their various identity group memberships.”

“Anonymity is appealing for a wide-range of reasons including providing a certain sense of safety,” said Garcia about the appeal of such apps. “[They] provide a level of privacy that may not be present in other social media networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, etc. Teens want to connect […] but anonymous apps allow them to be connected and somewhat disconnected (because no one knows who they are) at the same time.”

As mentioned however, Sarahah has already come under fire for encouraging bullying. Early reviews of the app accused it of being “unsafe” and that it was a “breeding ground for hate.” One App Store review accused it as “another way for people to talk behind your back,” and another said that “What some people said to me brought me to tears.” A Google Play Store review said that a friend attempted suicide due to what was said to her on the app, and called for it to be shut down.

At the same time, the app has also received a lot of positive reviews. One user took the diplomatic approach and said “the app is not for the weak-hearted” and another simply warned that you should know what you’re getting into when you download it. Others appear to be a lot more aggressive, accusing negative reviewers as “a bunch of crybabies” and advised them to “grow a spine.”

Sarahah is certainly not the first anonymous messaging app to be used to bully. Secret, Whisper, AskFM, Kik and YikYak have all been used for online harassment in some form or other. Two of the worst cases are AskFM and YikYak, which have been accused of harassment far worse than bullying. AskFM, where you could ask users anonymous questions, was blamed for a slew of teenage suicides in the UK and Italy back in its heyday in 2012. It eventually agreed to work more closely with the attorneys general in both New York and Maryland to address the bullying. It also promised to review complaints more frequently and to remove troublesome users.

YikYak, the now-defunct localized anonymous app that was popular in high schools and colleges, was also accused as a site for vicious bullying. There were reports that female students at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia were threatened with rape and murder on the app. Racist messages and threats of gun and bomb violence were also commonplace in other colleges in the country. Yik Yak did try to amend things by creating geo-fences and adding filters around certain keywords, but it eventually was so tainted by bad reputation, it died away.

“An anonymous app can certainly increase the ability of a ‘perpetrator’ to bully since their identity is protected by the app,” said Garcia on online bullying. “Social norms, such as politeness and respect, are kept in place when we feel connected to our communities, and our behaviors are kept ‘in line’ because people know who we are, and we know everyone else.”

“Adding an extra layer of anonymity further diminishes expected social norms, and can allow bullying to occur more readily,” she added. “The social consequence of facing a person who one has bullied is essentially removed.”

Apps like these can be a good thing, however, according to Garcia. “Anonymous apps carry benefits in that they allow for safe spaces to be created, for youth to present questions and ideas to others that they may otherwise feel ashamed or embarrassed about,” she said. “However, in order to ensure that the space remains ‘safe,’ barriers to bullying behavior need to be set in place and the app itself needs to create a culture of respect, support and growth.”

“Being able to just block someone is not enough,” said Garcia. “The language of the site, who it partners with, how it advertises itself, the user experience… all of these and more need to create a culture that is anti-bully and pro-community building in order for an anonymous app to benefit.”

When asked about the steps Sarahah has taken to combat online bullying, Tawfiq provided a statement that said that the company takes the issue very seriously and had introduced several measures to address the challenge, such as the ability to block and report users and the introduction of certain word filters, which Tawfiq wouldn’t divulge. “We also monitor people’s responses on social networks and take that into consideration,” he said. He didn’t want to give full details of the measures, as he said that would lead to misuse.

Tawfiq has also made it possible for certain users to be verified with a checkmark, in order to limit impersonation. Right now, verification is done by simply seeing if the user is also verified on Facebook and Twitter. Tawfiq says that some verified users are simply those whom he knows in real life. “We’re still planning to set up a process,” he adds. “We want to follow regulations when requesting proof of identity.”

He adds that he hopes to prevent bullying by creating an environment of positivity. “On every user page, there’s a message that says ‘Leave a constructive feedback’ with a smiley face,” he said. “We try to foster a positive environment so that users will use it in a positive way.”

As far as what the future holds, Tawfiq is hopeful. “We want Sarahah to be a reliable trusted platform for self-development and constructive feedback,” he said. Now if only its users feel the same as well.