Why The Security Of USB Is Fundamentally Broken

Two security researchers say that they have "exploited the very way that USB is designed" and there is no way this security problem can be patched.

But the two hackers didn’t merely copy their own custom-coded infections into USB devices’ memory. They spent months reverse engineering the firmware that runs the basic communication functions of USB devices—the controller chips that allow the devices to communicate with a PC and let users move files on and off of them. Their central finding is that USB firmware, which exists in varying forms in all USB devices, can be reprogrammed to hide attack code.

PC Code Stripping - Is It Legal Or Not?

Apparently "PC code stripping" is a big issue in the EU. Who knew?

"Whilst re-selling game keys may well amount to a breach of contract – as such re-selling is almost invariably prohibited by the terms of the corresponding game’s End User Licence Agreement – whether such re-selling is illegal has been unclear for some time," says Harbottle and Lewis associate Nicolas Murfett.

Jamie Foxx to Play Mike Tyson in New Film

 

Having already played the corner man to one of the greatest boxers of all-time, Jamie Foxx looks ready to get back in the ring to portray one of the most recognizable boxers and sports figures of this generation.

Sources tell Variety that Foxx is attached to play Mike Tyson in an untitled biopic that Terence Winter is set to pen. Rick Yorn, who is Foxx’s manager, is shepherding the project and will produce.

The package is still coming together and is currently without a studio, but once the final details are ironed out and it is presented to the market, it shouldn’t be hard to interest a distributor.

As one of the most polarizing figures in sports, producers are eager to tackle Tyson’s life story. Known for the power and ferocity he displayed in the ring, Tyson became not just the top boxer at the end of the ’80s but one of the most popular sports figures, with a rough around-the-edges personality he displayed both in and out of the ring.

Former IRS official called GOP 'crazies' in email

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former IRS official at the heart of the agency's tea party controversy called Republicans "crazies" and more in newly released emails.

Lois Lerner used to head the IRS division that handles applications for tax-exempt status. In a series of emails with a colleague in November 2012, Lerner made two disparaging remarks about members of the GOP, including one remark that was profane.

Republican Rep. Dave Camp, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, released the emails Wednesday as part of his committee's investigation. Camp says the emails show Lerner's disgust with conservatives.

In one email, Lerner called them crazies. In the other, she called them "assholes." The committee redacted the wording to "_holes" in the material it released publicly, but a committee spokeswoman confirmed to the AP that the email said "assholes."

Congress and the Justice Department are investigating whether the IRS improperly scrutinized applications for tax-exempt status from conservative groups. VIDEO

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport hits 246 mph on public road

Going fast on a private stretch of race track is quite enjoyable. Especially when there happens to be enough room to really let the car stretch its legs. That is why Volkswagen owns the Ehra-Lessien testing facility in Germany, which comes with a 5.4-mile long straight. It's also the perfect place to find the upper limits of a Bugatti Veyron. Sometimes though, an owner might get a chance to push his machine in a setting that's not quite as prepared for such an endeavor.

Water pollution in China

Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. PHOTOS

West's drought leads to rising prices, shrinking lakes

With water sources drying up, farmers are looking for underground springs to support their livelihoods.

Steve Arthur works in California's San Joaquin Valley, drilling for water wells on drought-ravaged farms and ranches.

"It's just going crazy; people are starting to panic," said Arthur, the owner of Arthur & Orum Well Drilling Inc.

Arthur said he is now drilling three times as many water wells.

Photos: California's historic drought

"You go to the city, and some people don't know there's a drought," he told CNN. "Then they pay more for their milk, and they realize this drought is making it more expensive for these poor farmers to put food on your table."

MMA-trained clerk thwarts suspects

A store clerk turned the tables on a pair of suspects when they didn't realize he was a trained MMA fighter. VIDEO

Married 62 years, couple dies hours apart

This couple was married for 62 years and died hours apart -- while holding hands. KERO reports on the idyllic love story. VIDEO

Home sweet shipping container?

Would you live in an 8-by-40-foot shipping container that’s been to China and back?

Two young real estate developers in Washington, D.C., say their new apartment building of converted steel hulks, once used to haul cargo across oceans, has people lined up to move in.

“It was a great feeling to know that … we could repurpose these and that we could put them into this use and the finished product is going be beautiful,” said Sean Joiner, who is behind the project with business partner Matthew Grace.
If the idea of living inside an 11,000 pound box of steel doesn’t sound “beautiful,” Joiner and Grace say the completed space will be convincing.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?” Joiner said. “A lot of people would argue that living in a steel glass building, people pay a lot of money for that, right? That's what this is.”
The three-story building, made of 18 repurposed containers, will have all the amenities of a standard apartment structure.

Beretta’s New Super Rifle

Gun company Beretta is tone deaf when it comes to calls for restrictions on powerful guns sold in the United States. It must be the chance to make money.

Beretta's website carried an announcement that the ARX100 is "shipping now." Beretta markets the rifle as "Italian Design -- American Built." Regardless of its origins, the gun is unusually powerful.

Beretta marketers announced:

The ARX100 was engineered with one purpose in mind: to be today's best tactical semiauto rifle. It takes the concept of a modular rifle to futuristic levels, while maintaining an absolutely simple operation that make it ultra-reliable. With ambidextrous controls, easily-replaceable barrel and virtually endless possibilities for customization and accessorization, the ARX100 is adaptable to any firing scenario and is perfect for today's most demanding tactical shooter.

An Open Letter To My Son About Underage Drinking

As hard as it is for me to believe this, I’m the mother of a teenager. In fact, Tom will be entering 10th grade this September.

The years have gone so fast that I really feel as if one day I was taking pictures of him graduating from our Mommy and Me class, the next day I couldn’t believe he was in the fourth grade, and then bang, he was in high school.

Samsung just launched a phablet with a ridiculous 7-inch screen

It’s official: we have reached the peak of phablet insanity.Samsung on Friday unveiled the latest addition to its phablet lineup. While the device officially falls under Samsung’s “Tab” product family of tablets, you’ll notice that the Galaxy Tab Q is not like normal tablets. Instead, it includes an ear speaker and a microphone, and it supports voice calling. In other words, Samsung expects you to hold this gigantic beast of a tablet up to your face to make phone calls.

Please. We beg you. Don’t.

'MythBusters' Star Adam Savage Spent 10 Years Making His 'Alien' Spacesuit for Comic-Con

MythBusters star Adam Savage is kind of the unofficial king of Comic-Con — he's got the nerd credibility from being a driving force behind renewed interest in sciences, but he also really loves to play dress up. The Con is just his stage, the Con-goers his audience, and we've got an exclusive look at the show he put on this week. 

Savage had not one but two very elaborate spacesuit costumes, both rendering him completely unreconizable to play his favorite annual game on the convention hall floor: Adam Incognito. We've got exclusive behind-the-scenes video of Adam getting ready, walking the floor, and posing with fans in his Alien replica ("That's the coolest," one girl says), along with photos showing the detail on the elaborate costume, which he says took him 10 years to build.

The creepiest Internet tracking tool yet is ‘virtually impossible’ to block

Internet users who are actively trying to make sure their online activity isn’t tracked by websites or government agencies should know there’s an even creepier tracking tool out there used by a variety of websites, “from WhiteHouse.gov to YouPorn,” as ProPublica puts it, that’s almost impossible to block.

Called “canvas fingerprinting,” the tool built by AddThis instructs web browsers to create a hidden, unique image that can be used to track the user’s movements from site to site – much like a fingerprint – in order to deliver better targeted ads. The technology began testing earlier this year as a way to replace website cookies.

New Official CoD: Advanced Warfare Trailer

There is a new Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare trailer out today. To be honest, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to this installment in the franchise.

HGST Announces 12Gb/s Ultrastar SAS SSDs

HGST, a Western Digital company, today announced its next-generation of Ultrastar® 12Gb/s SAS solid-state drives (SSDs) with capacities up to 1.6TB. Building upon its award-winning first generation 12Gb/s SAS SSDs, the new Ultrastar SSD800MH.B, Ultrastar SSD1600MM and Ultrastar SSD1600MR are the ideal building blocks for server and storage systems running today’s performance-sensitive enterprise applications.

The Ultrastar SAS SSDs create new price/performance points by combining HGST’s deep enterprise storage expertise developed over the last 50 years, HGST’s customer-proven 12Gb/s SAS technology and Intel’s 20 nanometer (nm) high endurance enterprise-grade MLC NAND memory. As a result, HGST’s Ultrastar SAS SSDs excel in key total cost of ownership (TCO) metrics for enterprise applications, including transactions/$ and transactions/watt.

Windows 8 Died at Launch, Microsoft Moves on to Windows 9

Microsoft attempted something different and daring with Windows 8. It introduced a whole new interface and means of interaction with your PC that was identical to a smartphone or tablet. It threw out the “Start” menu and mouse-driven interface people had used for decades in favor of a touch-driven interface with tiles, some of which received active information updates.

And people hated it.

“They tried to get their entire audience to jump from a UI [user interface] they were comfortable with to a brand new one with a serious learning curve,” California-based Creative Strategies tech analyst and president Tim Bajarin said. “Had they done a more transitionary product, especially keeping the Start button, I don’t think the impact and perception would have been as bad.”

By removing the Start button, which had been a Windows fixture since Windows 95, Microsoft wasn’t just introducing a new way of using the operating system — it was trying to force people away from the only one they had known for two decades.

New Jersey tech firm moving headquarters, 1,200 jobs to Allen

CVE Technology Group Inc., a New Jersey-based high-tech firm, plans to relocate its headquarters to Allen, with plans to employ 1,200 workers in North Texas by the end of next year.

The company is an after-market service provider of cellular handsets and consumer electronics, with about 300 employees occupying about 40 percent of an office totaling 196,000 square feet of space at Enterprise Business Park at 915 Enterprise Blvd. in Allen.

CVE plans to relocate its headquarters to Dallas-Fort Worth because the region is the epicenter of cell phone growth and activity, said Ruben Alvarado, the company's vice president.
"All the top carriers along with all of the top OEMs are here in the DFW Metroplex," Alvarado said, in a written statement. "Even if their headquarters are located elsewhere, their hubs and inventory most definitely are here."

Microsoft Debuts Costly Raspberry Pi Alternative

Everything about this Raspberry Pi alternative looked great...until I saw the $299 price tag.

The pint-sized PC features a 1.33GHz Intel Atom processor with integrated HD graphics, 16GB of EMMC storage, a MIPI connector for display and camera, HDMI, one USB 2.0 port and a micro-USB power port. Ethernet or wifi is available only through USB, meaning users will have to connect to the internet or other networks with a USB adapter.

Radical Polaris Slingshot is part car, part motorcycle, all excitement

The three-wheeled Slingshot is a daring new machine, seemingly crafted from DNA drawn from Polaris’ extensive recreation-focused portfolio of ATVs, motorcycles, side-by-sides, and snowmobiles. The result is a street machine that blurs the lines between cars and motorcycles.

Targeted at thrill seekers and those who crave a bit more safety than a motorcycle provides, the Slingshot wraps edgy, anime-like body panels around a tube-framed chassis. Up front is a double-wishbone suspension with coil-over shocks and a sway bar. Out back is a single aluminum swing arm.

Power comes from a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine delivering 173 hp to the rear wheel. The driver commands the distinctive machine with a power-assisted steering wheel and rows the five gears with a manual shifter.

The Horrifying Moment Two Women Realize a Freight Train Is About to Hit Them

Two women trespassing on railroad tracks in southern Indiana narrowly missed a fatal encounter with a freight train when they were caught in the middle of a bridge as the train approached, authorities said.

The action, which unfolded on the morning of July 10, was captured on a camera mounted on the train, and authorities released the video today.

The Army’s New Handgun: A Weapon for Criminals?

There’s a new semi-automatic handgun on the horizon for the Army that U.S. consumers may have access to almost immediately. When that happens, America’s emergency rooms better be prepared for the carnage that’s likely to follow.

Today, during a so-called “industry day,” the U.S. Army is briefing arms manufacturers on its requirements for a new handgun, The Atlantic reported yesterday. “Several gun makers will compete for the lucrative contract.”

Latest Social Media Trend Is All About The Booty

A new trend that’s sweeping the self-obsessed Internet world is bearing a different set of cheeks. VIDEO

What Happened When My Husband And I Had Sex Every Day For A Month

After a Reddit post claiming to be a spreadsheet of all the excuses a wife gave her husband to get out of sex went viral last week, HuffPost Live's Caitlyn Becker hosted a panel of women who discussed how marriage changes intimacy. One of the panelists had quite the success story.
Megan Conley talked about her blog post called Five Reasons You Should Have Sex With Your Husband Every Day, and while she told HuffPost Live that the post's title was "kind of facetious" because it's more about being intimate daily than actually having sex, she said she was committed to that idea in her own marriage.
"I go and work out every single day. I go to Zumba and humiliate myself in front of 45 women every single day because I decided my body is worth it and I'd like to wear a swimsuit at some point, so why can't I put 15 minutes a day toward my relationship?" Conley said.

A Look Back At The Trial That Made Rape A War Crime

The task was almost unimaginable in its magnitude.
After the Rwandan genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 people were slaughtered over a hundred days in 1994, the U.N. created the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda with the goal of bringing the organizers of the bloodshed to justice.
The tribunal's inaugural case, led by two young U.S. prosecutors, would set a number of precedents -- but perhaps none more significant than classifying rape as a war crime.
Journalists Michele Mitchell and Nick Louvel have directed a new documentary, "The Uncondemned," that takes a powerful look back at the tribunal and the unique challenges faced by Pierre-Richard Prosper and Sara Darehshori, the lawyers who prosecuted the first genocide trial. They won their case in 1998 and made history as sexual violence was judged part of genocide for the first time.

'Game Of Thrones' Season 5 Is About To Upset Fans In A Major Way

When HBO announced the new cast for Season 5 of "Game of Thrones" last week, there were a couple major surprises for book readers.
The majority of the newest cast members will play characters from Dorne, one of the regions of the Seven Kingdom's where Season 5 is expected to spend a decent amount of time. Last season we met the beloved fallen hero Oberyn Martell, Prince of Dorne, who gushed about his home country's forward-thinking. Its laws of equal inheritance among men and women and its lack of a stigma toward illegitimate children are two things highly uncommon in the rest of the male-dominated Seven Kingdoms.

Georgia girl struck by plane on Florida beach dies

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A 9-year-old girl who was struck by a plane that crash-landed on a beach while she vacationed with her family died from her injuries, law enforcement officials said

   

Oceana Irizarry's father also was killed Sunday. The two, of Fort Stewart, Georgia, were walking along Caspersen Beach in Venice on Sunday when the 1972 Piper Cherokee plane made an emergency landing after reporting problems.

In a statement, the family thanked the emergency responders and beachgoers who helped them, and expressed gratitude for prayers and support from around the world.

Chinese police shoot dead dozens after attack in Xinjiang

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police shot dead dozens of knife-wielding attackers on Monday morning after they staged assaults on two towns in the western region of Xinjiang, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

A gang armed with knives had first attacked a police station and government offices in the town of Elixku, in Shache county, it said, quoting local police. Some moved on to the nearby town of Huangdi, attacking civilians and smashing and setting fire to six vehicles.

"Police officers at the scene shot dead dozens of members of the mob," the brief report said.

An initial investigation showed that it was an "organised and premeditated terrorist attack", Xinhua added.

Plane crashes in bad weather in Taiwan, killing 51

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A plane making a second landing attempt in stormy weather crashed at an airport on a small Taiwanese island late Wednesday, killing 51 people and injuring seven, fire officials said.

Taiwan was battered by Typhoon Matmo early Tuesday morning, and the Central Weather Bureau was advising of heavy rain through the evening, even though the center of the storm was in mainland China.

Intel Announces The Solid-State Drive Pro 2500 Series

Intel Corporation today announced an addition to the Intel® Solid-State Drive (SSD) Professional Family: the Intel® SSD Pro 2500 Series. This new business-class SSD delivers lower total cost of ownership, security and manageability features, and blazing-fast SSD performance demanded by today's business users. Intel SSD Pro 2500 Series offers IT departments peace of mind with advanced security features and capabilities designed for businesses ranging from small companies through large IT-managed enterprises. Security and remote manageability features, combined with lower annual failure rates than hard disk drives (HDDs), help to reduce the need for resource-intensive deskside visits.

Video Game Addicts May Be Exempt From Military Service

Hang on for a second. Wouldn't these be the people you'd actually want to have in the military? You know, the spawn camping chairborne rangers that are tactical experts at everything except talking to the opposite sex? 

Local media recently highlighted a policy amendment made by South Korea’s Military Manpower Administration in 2010 exempting video game addicts their mandatory military service. South Korean men between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to perform military service.

Congressional Hearing On General Motors Delayed Ignition Switch Recall That Killed Multiple People

and,

Highlights from Mary Barra's testimony to Congress

18-inch Flexible OLED Panel

BMW i3. From the first idea to the final car.

It was a long road from the first idea to build a totally new kind of car to the BMW i3 and BMW i8. In this clip we show some important steps of the way in less than 4 minutes.

Close-up shark photos aim to break ‘Jaws’ stereotype

George Probst is used to being called crazy. The web designer from Blacksburg, VA, USA, shocks most people when he tells them that he swims with sharks. But after many thrilling dives and hundreds of up-close and personal photographs, he hopes others will see these mysterious underwater giants in a whole new light. PHOTOS

Michelle Rodriguez Reveals She Loves Working in the Male-Dominated World of Action Films

Michelle Rodriguez rarely stars in a flick that isn't chock full of fight scenes, driving tricks, and intense stunts. In a new "Ask MRod" video posted to her YouTube channel, the 36-year-old actress opens up about what it's like being a female working in the male-dominated world of action films. "It's interesting. Lots of testosterone. Lots of ego. But for the most part I've had a really wonderful experience," shared Rodriguez. "I'm such a tomboy, you know what I mean? I just love boys. They're great. Men are cool and they get to do crazy stuff. And I've had the wonderful pleasure of working around such talented people. Actors and stunt people." And while the actress enjoys being just one of the boys, she does have one wish: "Maybe I would like to see a lot more chicks who kick ass in my field because I know a lot of them. They're stunt women and I would love to see that stunt world come to life in the acting world. I would just love to work with more women who kick ass because they’re great and they’re amazing." Check out the video to find out what Rodriguez told Entertainment Weekly about female empowerment and tune in to "The Insider With Yahoo" on TV tonight for the latest in entertainment news. VIDEO

Chris Pratt's Advice for Getting in Shape

The Guardians of the Galaxy’s Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, director James Gunn, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently visited Yahoo to answer questions submitted on Tumblr. A fan, who admitted that he struggled with his weight, asked Chris Pratt how he got in such great shape for his role as Peter Quill/Star-Lord. Pratt offered up simple advice — “cut the crap out of your diet” and get moving for an hour every day — but also said that he understood about the struggle. He emphasized how short a time six months (the amount of time it took Pratt to get in GOTG shape) can be really be — in hindsight. “If you get after it, I swear to God, you can do it,” he added. Pratt knows what he’s talking about — when he lost weight for “Zero Dark Thirty,” a famous shirtless selfie helped him land the “Galaxy” role. VIDEO

Iron Dome - How ISRAEL intercepts air-to-ground rockets from GAZA STRIP

"Iron Dome", an Anti Missile system, developed by Reffael
This high-technology system can intercepts an enemy missile targeted to hit a civilian city, or any other ground area

El Pollo Loco is NOT Chipotle

El Pollo Loco is the latest restaurant chain testing the appetite of Wall Street. But it's losing money and has a lot of debt. So investors should not buy the IPO with dreams that it's the next Chipotle.

2015 Honda/Acura NSX spied

The highly anticipated 2015 Honda/Acura NSX has been spied undergoing final testing in Germany around the Nürburgring circuit.

Unfinished Documentary About Unfinished Nicolas Cage Superman Movie Gets Trailer

The feature-length documentary film about the unfinished “Superman Lives” film is nearing completion. In an effort to raise the finishing funds for The Death of ‘Superman Lives’: What Happened?, producer/director Jon Schnepp released a full trailer featuring plenty of footage from the original film’s early production, as well as interviews with almost everyone involved in the film, except for its roster of actors.

Earth survived near-miss from 2012 solar storm: NASA

Washington (AFP) - Back in 2012, the Sun erupted with a powerful solar storm that just missed the Earth but was big enough to "knock modern civilization back to the 18th century," NASA said.

The extreme space weather that tore through Earth's orbit on July 23, 2012, was the most powerful in 150 years, according to a statement posted on the US space agency website Wednesday.

However, few Earthlings had any idea what was going on.

"If the eruption had occurred only one week earlier, Earth would have been in the line of fire," said Daniel Baker, professor of atmospheric and space physics at the University of Colorado.

Cosplay: Fans bring fantasy characters to life

For many of us, dressing up as our favorite superhero, sidekick, or super villain was an exciting part of being a kid at Halloween, or anytime in general. Many people have continued this fun pastime into adulthood with elaborately created costumes. This talented group of people are known as cosplayers.

Cosplayers spend hours planning, producing, and ultimately exhibiting their elaborate costumes at conventions, such as Comic-Con International which starts today in San Diego. Taking a step further, some cosplayers work with talented photographers to produce the kinds of extraordinary images you see here.
PHOTOS