Monthly Archives: June 2017

Hacker Behind Massive Ransomware Outbreak Can't Get Emails From Victims Who Paid

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Joseph Cox, reporting for Motherboard: On Tuesday, a new, worldwide ransomware outbreak took off, infecting targets in Ukraine, France, Spain, and elsewhere. The hackers hit everything from international law firms to media companies. The ransom note demands victims send bitcoin to a predefined address and contact the hacker via email to allegedly have their files decrypted. But the email company the hacker happened to use, Posteo, says it has decided to block the attacker’s account, leaving victims with no obvious way to unlock their files. […] The hacker tells victims to send $300 worth of bitcoin. But to determine who exactly has paid, the hacker also instructs people to email their bitcoin wallet ID, and their “personal installation key.” This is a 60 character code made up of letters and digits generated by the malware, which is presumably unique to each infection of the ransomware. That process is not possible now, though. “Midway through today (CEST) we became aware that ransomware blackmailers are currently using a Posteo address as a means of contact,” Posteo, the German email provider the hacker had an account with, wrote in a blog post. “Our anti-abuse team checked this immediately — and blocked the account straight away.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Hacker Behind Massive Ransomware Outbreak Can’t Get Emails From Victims Who Paid

Black-hole mergers may reveal dark past of cannibalism

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Source: Ars Technica – Black-hole mergers may reveal dark past of cannibalism

First Person POV Of A Gravity Powered LEGO Train Roller Coaster At The Beach

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This is the video of the gravity-powered LEGO roller coaster built by Robert Carlson and friends at a beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina (previously: something very similar done with Hot Wheels cars). The first person point of view was particularly fun — I felt like I was right there roller coastering along the beach. Now my boss is yelling at me for daydreaming on the job. Or is that still part of the dream? Oh, no, it’s real, and apparently I forgot to do something important at work today. *yelling continues* Alright, alright, make sure to put my pants back on before leaving the restroom, I’ve got it.

Keep going for the video.

Source: Geekologie – First Person POV Of A Gravity Powered LEGO Train Roller Coaster At The Beach

Who Created the Fake Donald Trump Time Cover Hanging Up at His Golf Courses?

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Gaslighting victims around the world blinked on Tuesday when The Washington Post revealed that a fake Time magazine cover with the president’s face is hanging up at Trump golf courses around the world. Donald Trump’s administration would not explain this glaring example of fake news. The facts lead to even weirder…

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Source: Gizmodo – Who Created the Fake Donald Trump Time Cover Hanging Up at His Golf Courses?

John Romero Is Auctioning off His Doom 2 Floppy Disks

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You can now buy the Doom 2 creator’s original copy of Doom 2: John Romero has decided to put up his set of floppies on eBay. The current bid is now up to $850, but many would argue that Romero should be giving things away for free after what happened with Daikatana and him trying to “make you his bitch.”



Romero announced via Twitter that he’s currently auctioning off his original five Doom 2 floppy disks on eBay and will sign them if the winner requests so. The starting bid was $10 USD but this has since increased to a whopping [$850] USD. Romero promises that the disks don’t contain any defects but, since they are 23-years-old, the glue from the label is inevitably coming off. The disks also won’t include the original box.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – John Romero Is Auctioning off His Doom 2 Floppy Disks

Raphael Colantonio, Creative Director of Dishonored and Prey, Leaves Arkane Studios

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Arkane Studios president and longtime game developer Raphael Colantonio is moving on from the company he founded nearly two decades ago. There doesn’t seem to be any drama; his departing words merely suggest that he wants more family time and is interested in tackling new adventures.



The last 18 years have been an amazing adventure – from starting Arkane in 1999, to making our first game, Arx Fatalis, to joining ZeniMax Media in 2010 and releasing the Dishonored series and Prey to critical acclaim – it is time for me to step out to spend some time with my son and reflect on what is important to me and my future. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the best and brightest people in the industry, and I feel extremely lucky to have been part of this journey with everyone at Arkane.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – Raphael Colantonio, Creative Director of Dishonored and Prey, Leaves Arkane Studios

Former Engadget and Verge Chief Trashes the New iPad Pro

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Joshua Topolsky, the former editor-in-chief of Engadget and The Verge, has taken to Twitter to slam Apple’s latest big-screen iPad, which is typically advertised as a practical laptop replacement. Not so, says Topolsky, calling it a computer where “everything works worse than you expect” and condemns its keyboard, calling it an atrocity. I am rather amused by this, as the sites he headed always appeared to have a heavy bias toward Apple products. He does claim that the iPad Pro is still better than any Android tablet, however.



If you think you can replace your laptop with this setup: you cannot. Imagine a computer, but everything works worse than you expect. That is the new iPad. Now, I know the software is in beta, but I also know how Apple betas work. They don’t massively change. I have no doubt it’s a very powerful piece of hardware, and the screen is gorgeous. Garageband is a lot of fun to play with. But this doesn’t COME CLOSE to replacing your laptop, even for simple things you do, like email. AND one other thing. Apple’s keyboard cover is a f*cking atrocity. A terrible piece of hardware. Awkward to use, poor as a cover. Okay in a pinch if you need something LIKE a keyboard.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – Former Engadget and Verge Chief Trashes the New iPad Pro

Star Wars Is All the Same Nowadays, and It's Becoming a Problem

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The firing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from the Han Solo movie feels like it could be a turning point for the rejuvenated Star Wars. We’re learning a lot more about what Lucasfillm feels is acceptable within its universe and what isn’t. The problem is that what’s acceptable looks to be very, very narrow.

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Source: Gizmodo – Star Wars Is All the Same Nowadays, and It’s Becoming a Problem

The App Economy Will Be Worth $6 Trillion in Five Years

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An anonymous reader shares a report: In five years, the app economy will be worth $6.3 trillion, up from $1.3 trillion last year, according to a report released today by app measurement company App Annie. What explains the growth? More people are spending more time and — crucially — more money in apps. While on average people aren’t downloading many more apps, App Annie expects global app usership to nearly double to 6.3 billion people in the next five years while the time spent in apps will more than double. And, it expects the average app spend — including app-store purchases, advertising spend and, most importantly, commerce — to increase from $379 per person to $1,008 in 2021. The 800-pound — or $6 trillion — gorilla in the room is mobile commerce.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – The App Economy Will Be Worth Trillion in Five Years

'Crackdown 3' lives in the shadow cast by 'Agents of Mayhem'

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Microsoft’s biggest hurdle with Crackdown 3 isn’t its rumored troubled development cycle, it’s that Agents of Mayhem exists and is coming out first. Both share a similar premise: You’re a superpowered human given free reign over a cartoony open world…

Source: Engadget – ‘Crackdown 3’ lives in the shadow cast by ‘Agents of Mayhem’

Our Summer Book Recommendations Are Perfect For Staying Inside

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The worst place for a beach read is the beach. You’re surrounded by screaming kids and seagulls. Sand gets in the pages, sun bakes your skin and makes your iPad unreadable. And you will absolutely get hit in the glasses with a volleyball. Instead, crank the air conditioning, put on a sweater, and try an indoorsy…

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Source: LifeHacker – Our Summer Book Recommendations Are Perfect For Staying Inside

Microsoft bringing EMET back as a built-in part of Windows 10

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Source: Ars Technica – Microsoft bringing EMET back as a built-in part of Windows 10

Scientists come up with neural mechanism—and possible fix—for chronic pain

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Enlarge / Ow. (credit: Getty | Paul Bradbury)

Chronic, aching pain after an injury or operation may be all in your head. Researchers now think they’ve figured out exactly how brain wiring goes haywire to cause persistent pain—and how to fix it.

In mice with peripheral nerve damage and chronic pain from a leg surgery, a broken circuit in a pain-processing region of mammalian brains caused hyperactive pain signals that persisted for more than a month. Specifically, the peripheral nerve damage seemed to deactivate a type of interconnected brain cells, called somatostatin (SOM) interneurons, which normally dampen pain signals. Without the restraints, neurons that fire off pain signals—cortical pyramidal neurons—went wild, researchers report in Nature Neuroscience.

But the circuitry could be repaired, the researchers found. Just by manually activating those pain-stifling SOM interneurons, the researchers could shut down the rodents’ chronic pain and keep the system working properly—preventing centralized, chronic pain from ever developing.

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Source: Ars Technica – Scientists come up with neural mechanism—and possible fix—for chronic pain

What Sorcery Is This?: Video Demonstration And Explanation Of Hydrodynamic Levitation

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This is a video of a ball (and an even more impressive disk at the end) levitating in a vertical stream of water thanks to hydrodynamic levitation. What the hell is hydrodynamic levitation? MAGIC. Of course this video would have you believe it’s actually science, which I’m fairly certain it is not. I wish I could levitate. *focusing really hard* Am I doing it?! “You’re standing on your tippy toes.” And you’re not impressed? This is as close as you can get to levitating before you’re actually doing it.

Keep going for the video.

Source: Geekologie – What Sorcery Is This?: Video Demonstration And Explanation Of Hydrodynamic Levitation