Human space travel comes with a host of problems, not the least of which is our general inability to survive in a vacuum without, you know, dying. But a new technique that’s done wonders for fruit fly larvae and could one day lead to the same for humans may have solved that problem. By bombarding larvae with electrons (as seen in the above video), Scientists discovered that they could get by in a vacuum totally unscathed. More »
After a rather lazy 17 years spent relaxing underground, billions of incredibly noisy insects are about to burst out of the earth, noisily swarming over the East Coast and wreaking havoc along the way. This is The Great Cicada Invasion of 2013—but what the hell is a cicadia, anyway, and why have they been hiding for nearly two decades? More »
Imagine walking into a room and stumbling straight into a wasp nest that’s nearly 22 feet big. That’s what happened in the Canary Islands. Neighbors had been growing concerned over a vacant home so they notified the police. When the police entered the home, they discovered the home wasn’t empty at all. Rather, it was home to millions of wasps and the most alien looking nest ever. More »
If you’re one of those people who feel as if you’re undeserving of love and/or enjoy torturing yourself for fun, here’s something new to add to your self-mutilation bag o’ tricks: watch a 24/7/365 Cockroach Cam. It’s like watching a bunch of cam girls go about their daily lives only the opposite of that because those cam girls would actually be disgusting cockroaches that hiss and scream and make your stomach churn. It’s the worst thing on the Internet right now. I also can’t stop watching. More »
Joining the likes of Apple and Samsung, Sony has had some issues with bugs providing various levels of security vulnerability, with another one surfacing today. Unfortunately for Sony Xperia Z owners, the method for bypassing its lockscreen is simple and straight-forward, and is another reminder not to presume lockscreens are always secure enough to keep sensitive data safe.
Unlike the latest iPhone security issue, the Xperia Z’s method doesn’t involve any fiddling with the SIM card or other physical parts of the phone. Instead, demonstrated in the video attached below by Scott Reed, who found the issue, you can see the method at work, which involves using the emergency dialer.
After pulling up the emergency dial pad, the user only needs to type in *#*#7378423#*#*, which then brings up the service menu. Via the service menu, the user then needs to use the NFC > NFC Diag Test, at which point the home button can be pressed and the home screen accessed. The bypass is easy enough for anyone to replicate.
This follows shortly after a new bug has surfaced with the iOS 6.1.3 update that fixes one security bypass issue while introducing a new one, which involves using voice command and ejecting the SIM card at a certain time. Likewise, Samsung has had issues with some of its Galaxy devices providing lock screen bypass vulnerabilities.
[via GSM Arena]
Sony Xperia Z bug allows anyone to bypass the lock screen is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
When it comes to design, it’s never a bad idea to see what Mother Nature has come up with first. After all, she’s had a lot more time to perfect her creations than we have. And what could be a better design to steal for a fan than an insect’s wing? It’s lightweight and effective at pushing air, and the only tweak needed was to scale it up considerably so someone could justify charging $50 for it. [Fancy] More »
It all started when Terence Eden discovered a bug that allowed someone to briefly access the home screen on a Galaxy Note II. Following the method to take advantage of the bug, another individual named Sean McMillan discovered another method that allows complete access to the handset’s home screen, and not just for the Galaxy Note II. He reportedly tested the method on three Galaxy S III handsets, and it worked on each of them.
The process, when followed correctly, results in not only the user gaining access to the handset’s home screen without correctly entering the lock screen, but it also removes the needs to enter the pattern, PIN, or other lock method in place once the bypass has been successfully used. Because the bug was replicated on more than one type of Samsung handset, it is possible the issue lies with Samsung’s software rather than with the Android OS.
The folks over at ZDNet say they have confirmed the bugs on both the Galaxy S III and Note II. After what they report was tricky timing issues with getting the method just right, they were able to entirely bypass the lock screen on the Galaxy S III, which was running Android 4.1.2. With the Galaxy Note II, they got the initial bug that provides brief access to the home screen to work, but not the latter method.
If you own one of these two devices and would like to give it a try, the bug is pretty simple. Enter “Emergency Call” from the lock screen and open “Emergency Contacts.” From there, press the Home button, then immediately press the Power button. Press the Power button again, and you’ll be taken to the home screen instead of the lock screen.
[via ZD Net]
Samsung Galaxy S III security issue provides lock screen bypass is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Considering what it’s involved, Mars Rover Curiosity’s mission has been going really well. Staggeringly well. But that couldn’t last forever. The rover has hit its first real road bump with a gnarly computer failure that’s going to delay all the science-ing for at least a week. More »
Sometimes a browser needs to leave a little data on your computer, just a little 5-10KB nibblit, a cookie. HTML5 is a hungrier beast than that which came before it though, and sometimes wants a little more. Maybe 5MB or so. But that’s where it should end. Thanks to a little HTML5 vulnerability, however, this site can and will fill your entire hard drive with trash. Specifically cats. Lots and lots of cats. More »
Microsoft just released a giant “Patch Tuesday” bulletin for the month. Weird thing about this update? More than half of the bugs found in Microsoft products were reported by none other than Google engineers. More »
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