Archive for the 'Technology' Category
‘Stingray’ Mobile Phone Tracking System
September 23rd, 2011Via: Wall Street Journal (TinyPaste): For more than a year, federal authorities pursued a man they called simply “the Hacker.” Only after using a little known cellphone-tracking device—a stingray—were they able to zero in on a California home and make the arrest. Stingrays are designed to locate a mobile phone even when it’s not being […]
Federal Appeals Court Allows ACLU Challenge to Warrantless Wiretapping Law to Proceed
September 22nd, 2011Via: ACLU: In September 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied the government’s request that all of the court’s judges rehear a lawsuit filed by the ACLU challenging the FISA Amendments Act (FAA), a law that gives the executive branch virtually unchecked power to collect Americans’ international emails and telephone calls. […]
Atlanta Increases Surveillance of City
September 22nd, 2011I almost didn’t bother to read this one. I mean, there’s going to be more surveillance—thanks, Captain Obvious. But even I was taken aback by this one. Private CCTV cameras are feeding the “Video Integration Center.” Via: AJC: Plans to put Atlanta’s public spaces under camera surveillance will move forward this week with the opening […]
U.S. Kindle Users Can Now Borrow E-Books from Local Libraries
September 22nd, 2011DISCLOSURE: Cryptogon is an Amazon affiliate. This whole Kindle thing moved so fast that I didn’t really have a chance to form my nonspecific sense of doom about it into much besides, Amazon is Tracking the Most-Highlighted Kindle Passages. And now, people will be signing into their Amazon accounts to borrow ebooks from public libraries. […]
Video Games Intruding on Reality: ‘Game Transfer Phenomena’ [???]
September 22nd, 2011Wow, if there was one for the top of your Not The Onion stack, this is it. Via: New Zealand Herald / AP: Some video-game players are so immersed in their virtual environment that when they stop playing, they transfer their experiences into the real world. A study found evidence of game transfer phenomena, which […]
Next Generation Hardware Specification Could Prevent Computers from Booting Linux
September 21st, 2011Update: Microsoft Responds Via: Microsoft: Who is in control? At the end of the day, the customer is in control of their PC. Microsoft’s philosophy is to provide customers with the best experience first, and allow them to make decisions themselves. We work with our OEM ecosystem to provide customers with this flexibility. The security […]
SSL Broken
September 21st, 2011SSL… that’s ok for buying a book online, but no tinfoiler in his right mind would bet his life on SSL. —Cryptogon, 2007 Turns out, the part about it being ok for buying a book online was too optimistic. Haha. Via: Register: Researchers have discovered a serious weakness in virtually all websites protected by the […]
Nanoparticles Cause Brain Injury in Fish
September 21st, 2011Via: Science Daily: Scientists at the University of Plymouth have shown, for the first time in an animal, that nanoparticles have a detrimental effect on the brain and other parts of the central nervous system. They subjected rainbow trout to titanium oxide nanoparticles which are widely used as a whitening agent in many products including […]
U.S. Assembling Drone Bases in Africa, Arabian Peninsula
September 21st, 2011Via: Washington Post: The Obama administration is assembling a constellation of secret drone bases for counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of a newly aggressive campaign to attack al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, U.S. officials said. One of the installations is being established in Ethiopia, a U.S. […]
OnStar Begins Spying On Customers’ GPS Location for Profit
September 21st, 2011Update: OnStar Reverses Decision to Change Terms and Conditions Via: GM: OnStar announced today it is reversing its proposed Terms and Conditions policy changes and will not keep a data connection to customers’ vehicles after the OnStar service is canceled. OnStar recently sent e-mails to customers telling them that effective Dec. 1, their service would […]
