ICT news

• Even the FBI Says You Should Use An Ad Blocker

  22-12-2022 23:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  The FBI is recommending the use of ad blockers, warning in an alert this week that cybercriminals are using online ads in search results to steal or extort money from victims. TechCrunch reports: In a pre-holiday public service announcement, the FBI said that cybercriminals are buying ads to impersonate legitimate brands, like cryptocurrency exchanges. Ads are often placed at the top of search results but with "minimum distinction" between the ads and the search results, the feds say, which can
  
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• DuckDuckGo Will Block Google's 'Invasive, Annoying' Sign-In Popups

  22-12-2022 23:07 via tech.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: DuckDuckGo, the internet's favorite private search engine, is rolling out a new feature across its service Wednesday called Google Sign-in Pop-up Protection, It's on by default, saving your eyes and your time from Google's nagging. You can still sign in with Google whenever you want, you just don't have to deal with Google's prompts. "They popups are invasive, annoying and they undermine user privacy," said Peter Dolanjski, director of product fo
  
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• Fedora 38 To Prohibit Byte Swapped Xorg and Xwayland Clients

  22-12-2022 22:20 via linux.slashdot.org
  slack_justyb writes: A rather exotic feature in Xorg and Xwayland is being proposed to have the default value turned off going forward in Fedora 38 due to its use in attacks (CVE-2014-8095, CVE-2014-8099, CVE-2014-8103. . . to name a few). The feature allows servers running on one endianess to byte-swap to allow clients of a different endianess to connect to it. This was more common in the 1980s when X servers ran on big-endian and clients would connect who were little-endian.The Xorg and Xwayla
  
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• Some Universities Are Now Restricting TikTok Access on Campus

  22-12-2022 21:41 via news.slashdot.org
  A small but growing number of universities are now blocking access to TikTok on school-owned devices or WiFi networks, in the latest sign of a widening crackdown on the popular short-form video app. From a report: The University of Oklahoma and Auburn University in Alabama have each said they will restrict student and faculty access to TikTok, in order to comply with recent moves from the governors in their respective states to ban TikTok on government-issued devices. The 26 universities and col
  
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• Spam Texts Are Out of Control, Say All 51 Attorneys General

  22-12-2022 21:10 via it.slashdot.org
  A proposal to force cellphone companies to block certain spam texts is gaining momentum. From a report: California Attorney General Rob Bonta has expressed his support for a proposal by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to put an end to illegal and malicious texts.ÂBy doing so, he joined attorneys general from the other 49 states and Washington D.C., who had all previously expressed their support of the proposal. In a letter signed by all 51 attorneys general to the FCC, supporti
  
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• ChatGPT Is a 'Code Red' for Google's Search Business

  22-12-2022 20:29 via tech.slashdot.org
  A new wave of chat bots like ChatGPT use artificial intelligence that could reinvent or even replace the traditional internet search engine. From a report: Over the past three decades, a handful of products like Netscape's web browser, Google's search engine and Apple's iPhone have truly upended the tech industry and made what came before them look like lumbering dinosaurs. Three weeks ago, an experimental chat bot called ChatGPT made its case to be the industry's next big disrupter. [...] Altho
  
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• FTX Founder Bankman-Fried To Be Released on a $250 Million Bond Package While He Awaits Trial

  22-12-2022 19:47 via yro.slashdot.org
  Sam Bankman-Fried will be released on a $250 million bond package while he awaits trial on fraud charges related to the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, a federal magistrate judge said on Thursday. From a report: Prosecutors have accused him of stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research. Nicolas Roos, a prosecutor, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein that the bail package included home detention and location monitoring. Ban
  
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• Japan Adopts Plan To Maximize Nuclear Energy, in Major Shift

  22-12-2022 19:00 via slashdot.org
  Japan adopted a plan on Thursday to extend the lifespan of nuclear reactors, replace the old and even build new ones, a major shift in a country scarred by the Fukushima disaster that once planned to phase out atomic power. From a report: In the face of global fuel shortages, rising prices and pressure to reduce carbon emissions, Japan's leaders have begun to turn back toward nuclear energy, but the announcement was their clearest commitment yet after keeping mum on delicate topics like the poss
  
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• Google is Making Its Internal Video-Blurring Privacy Tool Open Source

  22-12-2022 18:30 via news.slashdot.org
  Google has announced that two of its latest privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), including one that blurs objects in a video, will be provided to anyone for free via open source. From a report: The new tools are part of Google's Protected Computing initiative designed to transform "how, when and where data is processed to technically ensure its privacy and safety," the company said. The first is an internal project called Magritte, now out on Github, which uses machine learning to detect objec
  
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• AI-Created Comic Has Been Deemed Ineligible for Copyright Protection

  22-12-2022 17:43 via tech.slashdot.org
  The United States Copyright Office (USCO) reversed an earlier decision to grant a copyright to a comic book that was created using "A.I. art," and announced that the copyright protection on the comic book will be revoked, stating that copyrighted works must be created by humans to gain official copyright protection. From a report: In September, Kris Kashtanova announced that they had received a U.S. copyright on his comic book, Zarya of the Dawn, a comic book inspired by their late grandmother t
  
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• Chris Inglis, Biden's Top Cyber Adviser, Plans To Leave Government

  22-12-2022 17:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  National Cyber Director Chris Inglis is leaving the government in the next few months, Politico reports, citing a former U.S. official and a second person familiar with the matter. From the report: For 17 months, Inglis has served as the inaugural holder of a new position as President Joe Biden's top adviser on a range of cybersecurity issues, including the protection of vital U.S. infrastructure from hackers and efforts to improve the government's own digital defenses. "He's done what he came t
  
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• John Cleese's Classic 'Silly Walk' Burns More Calories Than a Normal Gait, Study Finds

  22-12-2022 16:21 via science.slashdot.org
  Walking like John Cleese's character, Mr. Teabag, in Monty Python's famous "Ministry of Silly Walks" skit requires considerably more energy expenditure than a normal walking gait because the movement is so inefficient, according to a new paper published in the annual Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal. From a report: In fact, just 11 minutes a day of walking like Mr. Teabag was equivalent to 75 minutes of vigorously intense physical activity per week, presenting a novel means of boos
  
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• SEC Heightening Scrutiny of Auditors' Crypto Work

  22-12-2022 15:40 via news.slashdot.org
  The Securities and Exchange Commission is stepping up scrutiny of the work that audit firms are doing for cryptocurrency companies, concerned that investors may be getting a false sense of reassurance from the firms' reports, a senior official at the regulator said. From a report: "We're warning investors to be very wary of some of the claims that are being made by crypto companies," Paul Munter, the SEC's acting chief accountant, said in an interview. Increased scrutiny has led at least one aud
  
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• GodFather Android Malware Targets 400 Banks, Crypto Exchanges

  22-12-2022 15:00 via it.slashdot.org
  An Android banking malware named 'Godfather' has been targeting users in 16 countries, attempting to steal account credentials for over 400 online banking sites and cryptocurrency exchanges. From a report: The malware generates login screens overlaid on top of the banking and crypto exchange apps' login forms when victims attempt to log in to the site, tricking the user into entering their credentials on well-crafted HTML phishing pages.
  The Godfather trojan was discovered by Group-IB analysts,
  
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• Kremlin-Backed Hackers Targeted a 'Large' Petroleum Refinery In a NATO Nation

  22-12-2022 14:00 via it.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: One of the Kremlin's most active hacking groups targeting Ukraine recently tried to hack a large petroleum refining company located in a NATO country. The attack is a sign that the group is expanding its intelligence gathering as Russia's invasion of its neighboring country continues. The attempted hacking occurred on August 30 and was unsuccessful, researchers with Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 said on Tuesday. The hacking group -- tracked un
  
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• Quora Launches Poe, a Way To Talk To AI Chatbots Like ChatGPT

  22-12-2022 11:00 via slashdot.org
  Signaling its interest in text-generating AI systems like ChatGPT, Quora this week launched a platform called Poe that lets people ask questions, get instant answers and have a back-and-forth dialogue with AI chatbots. TechCrunch reports: Short for "Platform for Open Exploration," Poe -- which is invite-only and currently only available on iOS -- is "designed to be a place where people can easily interact with a number of different AI agents," a Quora spokesperson told TechCrunch via text messag
  
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• 'South Park' Creators Land $20 Million In Funding For Their Deepfake VFX Studio

  22-12-2022 08:00 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  The creators of "South Park" have secured a $20 million investment for their AI entertainment startup Deep Voodoo. Variety reports: The funding was led by Connect Ventures, an investment partnership between CAA and venture-capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA). It's the first outside capital raised by Deep Voodoo, which previously was funded entirely by Parker and Stone's independent entertainment company, Park County. Stone and Parker plan to use the new funding to "accelerate Deep Voodo
  
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• Scientists Created Male and Female Cells From a Single Person

  22-12-2022 04:30 via science.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Scientific American: Most people have two sex chromosomes, either two X's or an X and a Y, which give rise to female or male biological attributes on a spectrum. Studies suggest these chromosomes also have much broader effects, contributing to processes that include immune system function, neuronal development, disease susceptibility and reactions to drugs. But scrutinizing the specific role of X and Y chromosomes is challenging. With current tools, it is
  
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• 'Avatar' Sequel Crashes Movie Theater Equipment in Japan

  22-12-2022 02:25 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  Multiple theaters in Japan reported technical problems when playing Avatar: The Way of the Water. According to Bloomberg, one theater in central Japan was forced to reduce the 48 fps frame rate down to the traditional 24 fps. Engadget reports: Fans were reportedly turned away from other screenings and issued refunds. Some of the theater chains cited by fans as having issues, including United Cinemas Co., Toho Col, and Tokyu Corp., declined to comment on the problem. Not many movie theaters suppo
  
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• OpenAI Releases Point-E, an AI For 3D Modeling

  22-12-2022 01:45 via news.slashdot.org
  OpenAI, the Elon Musk-founded artificial intelligence startup behind popular DALL-E text-to-image generator, announced (PDF) on Tuesday the release of its newest picture-making machine POINT-E, which can produce 3D point clouds directly from text prompts. Engadget reports: Whereas existing systems like Google's DreamFusion typically require multiple hours -- and GPUs â" to generate their images, Point-E only needs one GPU and a minute or two. Point-E, unlike similar systems, "leverages a l
  
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• Old Blu-Ray Players Can Be Turned Into Microscopes

  22-12-2022 01:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  YouTube's Doctor Volt repurposed a Blu-Ray drive, which are now easy to find on the cheap in the era of streaming content, to build a simple scanning laser microscope. Gizmodo reports: A couple of custom-designed and manufactured plastic parts were added to the mix to create a scanning bed for a sample that could move back in forth in one direction, while the laser itself shifted back and forth in the other. Unlike an optical microscope, where the entirely of an object is imaged at once, a scann
  
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• Apple's Self-Service Repairs Expand To Desktops Like iMac, Mac Studio

  22-12-2022 00:20 via apple.slashdot.org
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Apple's Self Service Repair program continues to roll out in new regions and to new products. Earlier this month, the program expanded from the United States to eight European countries. Now, US customers are gaining access to manuals and parts for new devices: Mac desktops. As reported first by Six Colors, the program has now been extended to cover the Mac Studio, M1 Mac mini, M1 iMac, and the Studio Display.Up until now, it only covered th
  
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