Security researchers dissect Flame’s handling program, find three new viruses ‘at large’

Security researchers dissect Flame's handling program, find three new viruses 'at large'

It seems that there’s more than two out-of-control computer viruses roaming around the Middle East. Security researchers think that a further three could be operating “at large,” with one positively identified on machines in Iran and Lebanon. Teams from Symantec and Kaspersky have separately found that the Flame malware had the electronic equivalent of a “handler,” a program called NEWSFORYOU, which is also in charge of three viruses that are code-named SP, SPE and IP. The two teams have been unsuccessful in finding a sample of the trio for analysis and despite finding a cache of data on a command-and-control server, decoding it is “virtually impossible.” While both security companies have declined to point a finger as to their origin, Reuters’ sources suggest the United States, while The Washington Post has been told that the project was a joint-enterprise with Israel — in keeping with the existing narrative that the pair were behind Stuxnet.

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Security researchers dissect Flame’s handling program, find three new viruses ‘at large’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIPE NCC handing out its last block of IPv4 addresses, tries to fend off internet survivalism

Europe's RIPE NCC handing out its last block of IPv4 addresses, tries to fend off internet survivalism

In a world where IPv6 lives and IPv4 addresses are scarce, network providers must fight for survival… or at least, claim their IP blocks quickly. The RIPE NCC, the regional internet registry for Asia, Europe and the Middle East, warns that it’s down to assigning its last set of 16.8 million IPv4 addresses as of this weekend. That sounds like a lot, but we’d do well to remember that the registry churned through about 5.2 million addresses in just the past two weeks. What’s left won’t be around for long, folks. To cut back on the number of Mad Max-style battles for dwindling resources, RIPE NCC is rationing out IPv4 for local registries in 1,024-address chunks — and only to those who both have IPv6 assignments as well as proof of a need for IPv4. With just a bit more than half of the RIPE NCC’s customers currently on IPv6, that could still trigger a shortfall among networks that haven’t prepared for the internet protocol apocalypse. We’d advise that companies stock up on IPv6 supplies before launching the raiding parties.

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RIPE NCC handing out its last block of IPv4 addresses, tries to fend off internet survivalism originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alt-week 9.15.12: The ultimate wind machine, Egyptian Lego and the office of our dreams

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Alt-week 9.15.12: The ultimate wind machine, Egyptian Lego and the office of our dreams

Sometimes we wonder, what would we have ended up doing if we didn’t spend our time trawling the web for the week’s best alternative tech stories? We could have been paleontologists, novelists, engineers, or if we were really lucky, worked for Google. Instead, here we are bringing you some of the more colorful tech-tales from the last seven days, which we’re really not complaining about. That said though, at least on this occasion, we got to taste a bit of all the above. This is alt-week.

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Alt-week 9.15.12: The ultimate wind machine, Egyptian Lego and the office of our dreams originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter hands over Occupy Wall Street protestor’s updates under pressure

Twitter hands over Occupy Wall Street protestor's updates under pressure

Twitter has been building a modest reputation for siding with the little guy (or girl) when it comes to communication privacy, and it just demonstrated how far it’s willing to go in a showdown with Manhattan’s Criminal Court over a demand to hand over tweets from Occupy Wall Street protestor Malcolm Harris. The social network has been pushed into delivering the claimed evidence, but only as it faced a deadline and the threat of a fine — it even tried one last request for a stay before producing hard copies of the messages. However much the handover affects Harris’ chances at winning during trial, it emphasizes that public posts have serious consequences — companies ultimately can’t shield you from the law.

[Image credit: Paul Stein, Flickr]

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Twitter hands over Occupy Wall Street protestor’s updates under pressure originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay straightens out its logo after 17 years

eBay straightens out its logo after 17 years

A lot has changed on the internet over the last 17 years, but one of the small constants has been eBay’s decidedly 90s logo, which has remained colorful and off-kilter as others have shifted with the trends. Now, after all these years, it’s finally making a clean break (mostly). The company today took the wraps off a whole new logo, one that retains the old colors but does away with the overlapping, non-conformist letters — or, as eBay President Devin Wenig puts it, a logo that’s “rooted in our proud history and reflects a dynamic future.” You can find the company’s full explanation of the change at the link below, and look for the logo itself to actually be put into use by eBay in mid-October.

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eBay straightens out its logo after 17 years originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World’s oldest color film footage discovered in museum archive (video)

oldest color film footage

Cached away for over a century, the world’s first color moving pictures have been shown for the first time yesterday, according to the National Media Museum in the UK. The celluloid, shot by inventor Edward Raymond Turner in 1899, was actually in black and white and it was only through a curator’s research that its colorful significance was also unearthed.

When the footage was first shot, each frame was run consecutively through red, green or blue gels, and the process needed to be reversed during projection to reveal the color. Fortunately, a blueprint by the inventor of how to do just that was also found, allowing the institution’s team to replicate the process digitally to produce the final footage.

This type of color gel processing didn’t take off in the early 20th century due to the mechanical complexity, and it would have been inferior to a chemical process since each frame carried only one-third of the full color information. Still, it required a clever mind to dream it up, with an equally big brain to uncover it and finally give Turner his due. See the video below the break for the stunning un-retouched, non-hand-colored results.

[Image Credit: National Media Museum]

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World’s oldest color film footage discovered in museum archive (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New ‘nano-code’ could help fight banknote forgery by embedding invisible QR-style ciphers

New 'nano-code' could help fight banknote forgery by embedding invisible QR-style ciphers

We’ve all seen (and probably used) QR codes at some point. And, handy as they are for quick linking to apps, or value added content etc, there’s usually not much else going on. Unless you’re one of the team at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, that is, who have created a tiny version of the quadrilateral-codes that could be used to spot counterfeit money. The invention uses nanoparticles combined with blue and green fluorescent ink, and can be sprayed onto surfaces such as glass, plastic film, or of course, pictures of American presidents. The nano-code remains invisible until placed under a near-infrared laser, making it ideal for helping spot legit bank notes. The creators say they have done significant wear tests, which suggest that it’s durable, but they also accept that eventually criminal technology could eventually catch up, in the constant cat and mouse game between mandated money producers and forgers. Whether there’d be links to the Benjamin Franklin Wiki page is unclear.

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New ‘nano-code’ could help fight banknote forgery by embedding invisible QR-style ciphers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Visualized: World’s largest QR code is a Canadian maize maze

Visualized World's largest QR code is a Canadian maize maze

And why wouldn’t it be? That’s how the Kraay family of Lacombe, Alberta, Canada gets down, as evidenced by the family’s past 13 years of elaborate corn maze designs — from a logo of the Edmonton Oilers to a 25th anniversary commemoration of Rick Hansen’s “Man in Motion” tour. Said QR code sends adventurous scanners to a website for the Kraay’s family farm website. The code also got the Kraays into the Guinness Book of World Records for “World’s Largest QR Code,” which was really what drove this whole project. At approximately 29,000 meters (1.1 square miles), that’s quite a bit of carefully crafted corn designing. It’s certainly more elaborate than the previously claimed record holder, and a lot more official.

“It was something that we didn’t think would happen. There were a lot of little things we had to do and Guinness is pretty picky with how you collect your evidence. We were a little bit on edge on whether it would come through so we were very relieved and very excited,” Rachel Kraay told CTV News about the project. To verify that the code works, the Kraays had to commission a helicopter to fly them over their own farm, allowing them to scan it while hovering hundreds of feet above. And then, at the end of last week, the Guinness folks sent over a package certifying the bizarre world record. “They didn’t even call. I just went to the door and there was a large package and inside was the certificate and a letter. I guess that’s how they do it.”

[Image credit: Facebook]

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Visualized: World’s largest QR code is a Canadian maize maze originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scientists develop robotic tentacle that can pick flowers, make us thumb our collars

Scientists create soft robotic tentacle that picks flowers, has us thumbing our collars

Okay, it’s a little too late for Johnny 5’s grass hopper, but thanks to new “gentle” robotic tentacles developed at Harvard University, future generations of insects could escape a similar demise. Researchers have created a new soft appendage made from flexible plastic, that uses three compartmentalized air channels to achieve a snake-like range of movement. The touch of the tentacle is so light, that it is able to pick flowers without damage. While suggested applications include working with fragile objects, or in hard to reach locations, the team also experimented by adding cameras, suction cups and — most terrifyingly — syringes to the tip. The only limitation, apparently, is that the air channels prevent it from being scaled down. So while our insect friends are safe from strangle-bot, we might not be so lucky.

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Scientists develop robotic tentacle that can pick flowers, make us thumb our collars originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alt-week 9.8.12: Moon farming, self powered health monitors and bringing a 50,000 year-old girl to life

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Altweek 9812 Moon farming, self powered health monitors and bringing a 50,000 yearold girl to life

Some weeks things get a little science heavy, sometimes it’s a little on their weird side, and there’s usually a bit of space travel involved, but these week’s trend seems to be “mind-blowing.” Want to grow carrots on the Moon? We got you covered. How about bringing a 50,000 year-old ancient human back to life? Sure, no biggie. Oh but what about a solar eruption that reaches some half a million miles in height. We’ve got the video. No, really we have. Mind blown? This is alt-week.

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Alt-week 9.8.12: Moon farming, self powered health monitors and bringing a 50,000 year-old girl to life originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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