The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Scientists Turn Plastic Into Diamonds In Breakthrough

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Since the 1970s, scientists believed that diamonds might actually rain down toward the mostly slushy planets’ rocky interiors—a diamond rain, if you will. In 2017, researchers in Germany and California found a way to replicate those planetary conditions, fabricating teeny tiny diamonds called nanodiamonds in the lab using polystyrene (aka Styrofoam). Five years later Read more about Scientists Turn Plastic Into Diamonds In Breakthrough[…]

Use This Free Tool to Restore Faces in Old Family Photos

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] GFPGAN—first made it onto our radar when it was featured in the August 28 edition of the (excellent) Recomendo newsletter, specifically, a post by Kevin Kelly. In it, he says that he uses this free program to restore his own old family photos, noting that it focuses solely on the faces of those pictured, Read more about Use This Free Tool to Restore Faces in Old Family Photos[…]

Google tests alternative payment methods in Play store, still takes 4% cut

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The move comes in response to growing pressure on app store operators to give developers options, as Epic Games sought in its dispute with Apple and the government of South Korea required with legislation. The EU’s Digital Markets Act also seeks to limit Big Tech’s gatekeeping powers and was designed to stop Google prioritizing its Read more about Google tests alternative payment methods in Play store, still takes 4% cut[…]

China Approves World’s First Covid Vaccine You Inhale

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] China’s National Medical Products Administration approved CanSino’s Ad5-nCoV for emergency use as a booster vaccine, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday. The vaccine is a new version of CanSino’s one-shot Covid drug, the first in the world to undergo human testing in March 2020 and which Read more about China Approves World’s First Covid Vaccine You Inhale[…]

Midjourney – AI picture creator through words, wins digital art competition

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An independent research lab exploring new mediums of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species. Source: Midjourney It works like Dall-e and is now very popular because a user used this to win a digital art competition (using attribution) Jason Allen entered the artwork titled “Theatre d’Opera Spatial” in the “Digital Arts Read more about Midjourney – AI picture creator through words, wins digital art competition[…]

grommunio  open source groupware / PIM and much, much more

Posted on by Robin Edgar

grommunio efficiently summarizes all requirements of modern, digital communication and collaboration. This includes the device and operating system independent management of sensitive data such as e-mail, contacts, calendar, chat, video conference, file sharing and much more – in real time. With open source technology based on Linux, grommunio is scalable and meets the highest security Read more about grommunio  open source groupware / PIM and much, much more[…]

Major VPN services shut down in India over anti-privacy law

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] New rules from India’s Computer Emergency Response Team India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) has said that new rules will apply to VPN providers from September 25. These will require services to collect customer names, email addresses, and IP addresses. The data must be retained for at least five years, and handed over to Read more about Major VPN services shut down in India over anti-privacy law[…]

IOS Mobile banking apps put 300,000 digital fingerprints at risk using hardcoded AWS credentials

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Massive amounts of private data – including more than 300,000 biometric digital fingerprints used by five mobile banking apps – have been put at risk of theft due to hard-coded Amazon Web Services credentials, according to security researchers. Symantec’s Threat Hunter Team said it discovered 1,859 publicly available apps, both Android and iOS, containing baked-in Read more about IOS Mobile banking apps put 300,000 digital fingerprints at risk using hardcoded AWS credentials[…]

Study reveals flaws in popular genetic method PCA

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The most common analytical method within population genetics is deeply flawed, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden. This may have led to incorrect results and misconceptions about ethnicity and genetic relationships. The method has been used in hundreds of thousands of studies, affecting results within medical genetics and even commercial ancestry Read more about Study reveals flaws in popular genetic method PCA[…]

Genshin Impact installs “anti cheat” rootkit signed by Microsoft which is exploited in the wild. Stop allowing spyware rootkits, Microsoft!

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An MMORPG with cute anime-style characters and maybe a bit too much inspiration taken from another classic Nintento franchise, Genshin Impact is a relatively popular game across the PlayStation, iOS, Android, and PC platforms. That last one has already generated a bit of controversy, since the PC version game includes an anti-cheat kernel driver that Read more about Genshin Impact installs “anti cheat” rootkit signed by Microsoft which is exploited in the wild. Stop allowing spyware rootkits, Microsoft![…]

FTC Sues Broker Kochava Over Geolocation Data Sales, giving away the data for free for 61m devices

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] Commissioners voted 4-1 this week to bring a suit against Kochava, Inc., which calls itself the “industry leader for mobile app attribution” and sells mobile geo-location data on hundreds of millions of people. The suit accuses the company of violating the FTC Act, and the agency warns that the company’s business practices could easily Read more about FTC Sues Broker Kochava Over Geolocation Data Sales, giving away the data for free for 61m devices[…]

South Korea to pardon Samsung’s Lee, other corporate giants

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Samsung’s de-facto leader secured a pardon Friday of his conviction for bribing a former president in a corruption scandal that toppled a previous South Korean government, an act of leniency that underscored the tech company’s huge influence in the nation. Lee Jae-yong’s pardon is partially symbolic since he was released on parole a year ago Read more about South Korea to pardon Samsung’s Lee, other corporate giants[…]

Australia fines Google $42.5 million over misleading location settings

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google is being ordered to pay A$60 million ($42.5 million) in penalties to Australia’s competition and national consumer law regulator regarding the collection and use of location data on Android phones. The financial slap on the wrist relates to a period between January 2017 and December 2018 and follows court action by the Australian Competition Read more about Australia fines Google $42.5 million over misleading location settings[…]

Ring surveillance camera footage exploited for “funny clip” show

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]Ring Nation, a new twist on the popular clip show genre, from MGM Television, Live PD producer Big Fish Entertainment and Ring. The series, which will launch on September 26, will feature viral videos shared by people from their video doorbells and smart home cameras. It’s a television take on a genre that has been Read more about Ring surveillance camera footage exploited for “funny clip” show[…]

AI laser probe for prostate cancer enters clinical trials

Posted on by Robin Edgar

AI software capable of mapping tumor tissue more accurately to help surgeons treat and shrink prostate cancer using a laser-powered needle will soon be tested in real patients during clinical trials. The National Cancer Institute estimated that approximately 12.6 percent of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their life. The Read more about AI laser probe for prostate cancer enters clinical trials[…]

Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Confirmed: California Team Achieved Ignition

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A major breakthrough in nuclear fusion has been confirmed a year after it was achieved at a laboratory in California. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) recorded the first case of ignition on August 8, 2021, the results of which have now been published in three peer-reviewed papers. Nuclear fusion Read more about Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Confirmed: California Team Achieved Ignition[…]

Scientists discover how mosquitoes can ‘sniff out’ humans despite masking scents

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] esearchers at the Rockefeller University, in New York, were baffled when mosquitoes were somehow still able to find people to bite after having an entire family of human odour-sensing proteins removed from their genome. The team then examined odour receptors in the antennae of mosquitoes, which bind to chemicals floating around in the environment Read more about Scientists discover how mosquitoes can ‘sniff out’ humans despite masking scents[…]

Physical buttons outperform touchscreens in new cars, test finds

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Vi Bilägare gathered eleven modern cars from different manufacturers at an airfield och measured the time needed for a driver to perform different simple tasks, such as changing the radio station or adjusting the climate control. At the same time, the car was driven at 110 km/h (68 mph). We also invited an ”old-school” car Read more about Physical buttons outperform touchscreens in new cars, test finds[…]

e-HallPass Monitors How Long Kids Are in the Bathroom Is Now in 1,000 American Schools, normalises surveillance

Posted on by Robin Edgar

e-HallPass, a digital system that students have to use to request to leave their classroom and which takes note of how long they’ve been away, including to visit the bathroom, has spread into at least a thousand schools around the United States. The system has some resemblance to the sort of worker monitoring carried out Read more about e-HallPass Monitors How Long Kids Are in the Bathroom Is Now in 1,000 American Schools, normalises surveillance[…]

FIFA 23 Accidentally Sells For Six Cents, EA Honors The Mistake

Posted on by Robin Edgar

FIFA 23 is currently up for preorder around the world, and is supposed to be a full-price retail release, but in one particular market on one particular store, customers could get one hell of a bargain. Last month, anyone browsing the Epic Games Store in India would have seen that while the standard edition of Read more about FIFA 23 Accidentally Sells For Six Cents, EA Honors The Mistake[…]

Twilio SMS service attacker ‘explicitly’ looked for 3 Signal numbers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The security breach at Twilio earlier this month affected at least one high-value customer, Signal, and led to the exposure of the phone number and SMS registration codes for 1,900 users of the encrypted messaging service, it confirmed. However, Signal – considered one of the better secured of all the encrypted messaging apps – claims the Read more about Twilio SMS service attacker ‘explicitly’ looked for 3 Signal numbers[…]

How bad the problem with John Deere Tractors really is, how not being open leads to incredibly bad security

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last Saturday, I sat in a crowded ballroom at Caesar’s Forum in Las Vegas and watched Sickcodes jailbreak a John Deere tractor’s control unit live, before an audience of cheering Defcon 30 attendees (and, possibly, a few undercover Deere execs, who often attend Sickcodes’s talks). The presentation was significant because Deere – along with Apple Read more about How bad the problem with John Deere Tractors really is, how not being open leads to incredibly bad security[…]

Old Maps Online

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The easy-to-use getaway to historical maps in libraries around the world. Source: Old Maps Online Search for a place and have a look at old maps of the same place.