Just over 1,500 light-years away in the constellation of Hercules there’s a rugby ball-shaped exoplanet orbiting a star. It’s the first time astronomers have been able to detect such an unusual shape of an alien world. Most planets are more or less spherical due to gravitational forces that pull matter equally in from all sides, Read more about Massive rugby ball-shaped exoplanet spotted 1,500 ly away[…]
If you have ever dreamed of earning money from a stellar music career but were concerned you had little talent, don’t let that put you off – a man called Alex Mitchell might be able to help. Mr Mitchell is the founder and boss of a website and app called Boomy, which helps its users Read more about The AI software that could turn you in to a music star[…]
Microsoft warned Saturday evening that it had detected a highly destructive form of malware in dozens of government and private computer networks in Ukraine that appeared to be waiting to be triggered by an unknown actor. In a blog post, the company said that Thursday — around the same time that government agencies in Ukraine Read more about Microsoft warns of destructive cyberattack on Ukrainian computer networks[…]
[.,..]To enforce the use of first-party cartridges, manufacturers typically embed chips inside the consumables for the printers to “authenticate.” But when chips are in short supply, like today, manufacturers can find themselves in a bind. So Canon is now telling German customers how to defeat its printers’ warnings about third-party cartridges. “Due to the worldwide Read more about Canon can’t get enough toner chips, so it’s telling customers how to defeat its DRM[…]
The eccentric developer behind two immensely popular open-source NPM coding libraries recently corrupted them both with a series of bizarre updates—a decision that has led to the bricking of droves of projects that relied upon them for support. Marak Squires is the creator behind the popular JavaScript libraries Faker and Colors—the likes of which are Read more about Developer Bricks Open-Source Apps Colors and Faker – used in 20k projects – no reason given, world of crazy[…]
The European Space Agency (ESA) is inviting applications from attackers who fancy having a crack at its OPS-SAT spacecraft. It’s all in the name of ethical hacking, of course. The plan is to improve the resilience and security of space assets by understanding the threats dreamed up by security professionals and members of the public Read more about Did you always want to hack an ESA satellite? Now’s your chance[…]
In January 2021, stock trading app Robinhood infuriated users when it responded to surging trades of so-called meme stocks, by halting trades—effectively preventing users from selling shares until the prices had collapsed. Congressional hearings, regulatory probes, and a deluge of regulatory complaints and lawsuits ensued, which was at least one cause of its initial public Read more about Robinhood Must Pay User $29,460 Over Meme Stock Trading Halt[…]
A team of researchers at France’s Research Institute of Computer Science and Random Systems created an anti-malware system centered around a Raspberry Pi that scans devices for electromagnetic waves. As reported by Tom’s Hardware, the security device uses an oscilloscope (Picoscope 6407) and H-Field probe connected to a Raspberry Pi 2B to pick up abnormalities Read more about Raspberry Pi Can Detect Malware By Scanning for EM Waves[…]
In a collaboration between journalists at The Markup and Mozilla researchers, this study seeks to map Facebook’s pixel tracking network and understand the kinds of information it collects on sites across the web. The Markup will use the data collected in this study to create investigative journalism around the kinds of information Facebook collects about Read more about Facebook Pixel Hunt – Mozilla Rally want to track the trackers[…]
In a study published today in Nature, they describe an amorphous, 1,000-light-year-wide bubble ensconcing Earth that is responsible for those stars. Called the Local Bubble, the researchers believe it formed from a series of large explosions that blasted energy into space over the last 14 million years. Those explosions were supernovae—spectacular collapses of stars that Read more about Earth Is in a 1,000-Light-Year-Wide Bubble That Cooks Up Stars[…]
Dutch athletes competing in next month’s Beijing Winter Olympics will need to leave their phones and laptops at home in an unprecedented move to avoid Chinese espionage, Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported on Tuesday. The urgent advice to athletes and supporting staff to not bring any personal devices to China was part of a set Read more about Dutch Athletes Warned To Keep Phones and Laptops Out of China[…]