Roger Ebert’s Inspiring Digital Transformation.

With the help of his wife, two colleagues and the Alex-equipped MacBook that he uses to generate his computerized voice, famed film critic Roger Ebert delivered the final talk at the TED conference on Friday in Long Beach, California.
Prefacing his remarks with a scene from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ebert opened by telling the audience that he “became operational on June 18, 1942. [And] like HAL 9000, I also speak with a computerized voice” -- the same remarkably realistic computerized voice he shared with the world on Oprah last year.
From there, Ebert and friends took the audience on his inspiring journey, from the near-death experience in 2006 that left him without a voice to his search for the technology that creates Ebert-sounding text-to-speech to his present-day prolific use of social media for sharing his commentary on both movies and life with the world.
Ebert credited a life-long love affair with technology for giving him the inspiration to both find his “voice” and continue his career on the Internet. “I joined Compuserve when it had fewer users than I have followers on Twitter,” he joked.
“For me, the Internet began as a useful tool and now has become something I rely on for my actual daily existence... [if this had happened before], I’d be isolated as a hermit; I’d be trapped inside my head. Because of the digital revolution, I have a voice, and I do not have to scream.”

That's not to say Ebert's existence is not without significant physical and social struggle. In one of the more moving moments of his talk, Ebert's wife Chaz choked up while reading his words aloud, saying, "People talk loudly and slowly to me... sometimes they assume I am deaf. There are people that don’t want to make eye contact. It is human nature to look away from illness; we don’t enjoy a reminder of our own fragile mortality... that’s why writing on the Internet has been a life saver for me."
Meanwhile, the technology that enables Ebert to “speak” continues to see improvements -- for example, adding more realistic inflection for question marks and exclamation points. In a test of that, which Ebert called the “Ebert test” for computerized voices, the critic closed by telling the audience a joke, saying, "If the computer can successfully tell a joke as well as Henry Youngman, then that’s the voice I want.”
Judging by the laughter, tears and standing ovation from the crowd that followed as Ebert left the stage, it would seem that voice may have already arrived.
Read More. 

South Korean websites come under further attack.

SEOUL, South Korea – Unidentified attackers targeted more than two dozen South Korean government and private websites Saturday, a day after two waves of similar attacks, but officials reported no serious damage.
A total of 29 websites were hit Saturday in so-called "denial of service" attacks, in which large numbers of "zombie" computers try to connect to a site at the same time in an attempt to overwhelm the server, the Korea Communications Commission said.
Commission official Lee Sang-kug said the attacks were "so weak that no actual damage was detected so far." Lee said the commission would keep a close watch on the situation in coming days, but that the fallout was likely to remain limited because the government and computer security companies were well prepared.
Saturday's attacks on sites including South Korea's presidential office, the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, some financial institutions and U.S. Forces Korea followed two rounds Friday in which damage was also limited.
Lee said that 40 websites were originally targeted Friday, though only 29 came under actual attack. A total of 29 were targeted Saturday, he said.
The National Police Agency said the attacks originated from 30 servers in 18 foreign countries or territories including the United States, Israel, Russia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, India, Brazil and Iran.
"We may find more servers behind this attack as it is only the beginning of the investigation," said Jung Suk-hwa, head of the agency's Cyber Terror Response Center. "Generally, there is someone else who controls all of these servers and we are working to figure out who it is."
In 2009, some government websites in South Korea and the U.S. were paralyzed by a similar type of attack that South Korean officials believed was conducted by North Korea. But U.S. officials have largely ruled out North Korea as the origin, according to cybersecurity experts.
South Korean media have previously reported that North Korea runs an Internet warfare unit aimed at hacking into U.S. and South Korean military networks to gather information and disrupt service.
Park Kun-woo, a spokesman for South Korean computer security company AhnLab, said Friday that China is also pointed to as a source of cyberattacks because a large amount of malware, or malicious software, originates from there.
Full Article 

SoftKinetic beats Microsoft to the punch, releases Kinect SDK first.

After a slew of crafty users took Kinect into their own hands shortly following the device’s launch, Microsoft finally relented and decided it would open up the SDK for its users. Before you go kissing the ground MS execs walk on and hailing them as supporting customer creativity, know that the allowance comes only after initially threatening legal action against hackers and then a quick save-face routine in which the company began praising the ingenuity of the developers.
But apparently, these developers didn’t want to wait for the Microsoft stamp of approval before letting everyone who wants to get their hands dirty with the 3D interface. Belgian-based firm SoftKinetic released its own SDK today, which offers development kits for all depth-sensing recording devices – included Kinect.
“We want to expand the community of developers to be able to access to our professional tools and technology. We believe that opening up our cross-platform, multi-camera software to a broader community will enhance productivity and creativity, and we cannot wait to see the incredibly innovations that emerge as a result,” the company’s chief strategy officer Eric Krzeslo says, according to Beta News.
According to SoftKinetic’s site, its license and tools will give users total and free access to “the world’s premier [sic] gesture recognition middleware and industry de facto standard, compatible with all 3D camera technologies on the market.” It does appear, however, that there are some requirements for using the kit. SoftKinectic will be accepting registered companies with a staff of at least three, as well as inventors and creative types working on a finite project or experiment, and of course those of the academic variety. In short, it sort of sounds like SoftKinectic is looking for serious and committed brainiacs to benefit from their hard work. But it’s sure to find them: A fair amount of the early Kinect hacks were from artistic types who were exploring how to incorporate the technology into their art. Then again, some were to make the most realistic appearance of a lightsaber to date. In our eyes, both are deserving of Kinect’s SDK.

Read More :- Kinect SDK.

How to Avoid Being the Victim of an Android Trojan.

 It is no secret that mobile platforms are ripe targets for malware. The explosion of smartphones and tablets, combined with the lack of security awareness or tools for mobile platforms makes them particularly attractive targets. Apparently, Android has caught the attention of mobile malware developers because the number of threats is on the rise.
One of the primary benefits of Android over its main rival--Apple's iOS--is its openness. While Apple exerts control over almost every aspect of the iPhone and iPad experience, and has stringent rules when it comes to the apps that are approved to work with iOS mobile devices, Android is open source and gives developers and users significantly more freedom to customize the platform to meet their needs.
That openness comes at a price, though. A Symantec spokesperson e-mailed me to point out that Symantec has recently noted a spike in malware targeting Android. A recent example is an Android Trojan dubbed Android.PJapps which is spread through compromised versions of legitimate apps that are hosted on unregulated alternatives to the official Android Market.
The Symantec representative described the Android Trojan. "Android.Pjapps masquerades as a popular "Steamy Window" app. The legitimate features of the original app are still present in the malicious version, but it also features additional functionality that allows an attacker to build a botnet. Among other things it is able to install applications, navigate to websites, add bookmarks to the user's browser, send text messages and block text message responses. It also sends sensitive user information back to the attacker."
Mobile malware is by no means unique to Android, but the open nature of the platform makes it an easier target. To avoid becoming a victim of Android malware, Symantec recommends:
Only use regulated Android marketplaces for downloading and installing Android apps.
 Adjust Android OS application settings to stop the installation of non-market apps.
 Review other users' comments on the marketplace to assist in determining if an app is safe.
 During the installation of Android apps, always check the access permissions being requested for installation; if they seem excessive for what the application is designed to do, it would be wise to not install the application.
• Utilize a mobile security solution on devices to ensure any downloaded apps are not malicious.
• Enterprises should consider implementing a mobile management solution to ensure all devices that connect to their networks are policy compliant and free of malware.

Read More :- Android Malware.

Intel completes McAfee acquisition.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US computer chip giant Intel said Monday that it has completed its $7.68 billion acquisition of computer security firm McAfee.
Intel said that with the completion of the deal, McAfee becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel. McAfee will continue to sell security products and services under its own brand.
The Santa Clara, California-based Intel, whose processors power nearly 80 percent of computers worldwide, announced its plan to purchase McAfee, one of the world's largest anti-virus software companies, in August.
The acquisition received the green light from the Federal Trade Commission in December and from European regulators in January.
"Intel has added security as a third pillar of what people demand from their experiences with personal computers and other connected devices," Intel senior vice president Renee James said in a statement.
"The acquisition of McAfee adds not only world-leading security products and technologies to Intel's computing portfolio, but also brings incredibly talented people focused on delivering products and services that help make connecting to the mobile Internet safer and more secure," James said.

Read More :- McAfee Intel

Morgan Stanley hit by China-based hackers.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley experienced a "very sensitive" break-in to its network by the same China-based hackers who attacked Google Inc's computers more than a year ago, Bloomberg reported, citing leaked emails from an Internet security company.
The emails from the Sacramento, California-based computer security firm HBGary Inc said that Morgan Stanley -- the first financial institution identified in the series of attacks -- considered details of the intrusion a closely guarded secret, the report said.
Bloomberg quoted Phil Wallisch, a senior security engineer at HBGary, as saying that he read an internal Morgan Stanley report detailing the so-called Aurora attacks.
The HBGary emails don't indicate what information may have been stolen from Morgan Stanley's databanks or which of the world's largest merger adviser's multinational operations were targeted, according to the report.
Representatives for HBGary were not immediately available for comment.
A Morgan Stanley spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the bank had been targeted in the Aurora attacks.
"Morgan Stanley invests significantly in IT security and manages a robust program to deal with malware and attempted computer compromises," spokeswoman Sandra Hernandez said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu repeated that China opposed any kind of hacking.
"We often hear this kind of story. I don't know if related parties have reported this to the relevant authorities asking China to cooperate," Jiang told a regular news briefing.
"We ... will use the law to go after any kind of hacking or crime on the Internet," she added.

Read Full :- China Hackers.

Man Gets 7 Years for Forcing Modems to Call Premium Numbers.

A New Hampshire man who made US$8 million by installing unwanted dial-up software on computers and then forcing them to call expensive premium telephone numbers was handed down an 82-month sentence on Monday.
Prosecutors say that between 2003 and 2007, Asu Pala and others put together a lucrative business by setting up premium telephone numbers in Germany -- similar to the 1-900 numbers used in the U.S. -- and then infecting German PCs with software that would automatically dial the numbers for short periods of time.
"The victims were generally unaware that their computers' telephone modems were calling these numbers and charging them with expenses," the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.
These dialers were a major, but largely unreported, problem in Europe in the early part of the last decade. In 2006, two men were given stiff sentences by an Austrian court for running a scam that brought in €12 million ($16.5 million). And while dial-up modem usage has dwindled, shrinking the number of possible victims, this type of software is still in circulation in Europe.
Pala, a Turkish immigrant to the U.S., ran a small Massachusetts Internet service provider called Sakhmet when he was approached by others -- men he believed to be the brains of the operation -- and enticed into building the back-end infrastructure for dialer software that was then downloaded onto the German computers, his lawyer, Geoffrey Nathan, said in an interview Tuesday.
The money was good. Pala was caught after he was flagged by federal authorities after paying cash for his second Lamborghini sports car, Nathan said. By May 2009, Pala had begun cooperating with federal authorities and was training U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents across the country on how the Trojan downloader scam worked. He was also secretly working on a sting, trying to nail the two men who had introduced him to the scam. But they couldn't be enticed into a meeting, and the feds ultimately pulled the plug on the operation.
At his sentencing, Pala was given a break for his cooperation with the government, but had the sting worked, it would have cut years more off his sentence, Nathan said. "The case reflects the pitfalls and the success of a cooperation agreement," he said.
The people Pala had been trying to turn in, however, are still running the scam, Nathan said. "Most regrettably, it turns out that the big fish got away with the crime and they remain in operation."
Pala pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in April 2010. In addition to the 82-month sentence, he must pay a $7.9 million fine, along with $2.2 million in back taxes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Read More :- Forcing modems to call premium numbers.