Newest NSA Revelation: NSA Has Posed As Facebook To Infect Computers With Malware

NSA Reportedly Posed As Facebook To Infect Computers With Malware -- Seattle Times/L.A. Times

The NSA has been using a program code-named Turbine to contaminate computers and networks with malware “implants” capable of spying on users, according to news website The Intercept.

The National Security Agency has reportedly used automated systems to infect user computers with malware since 2010, according to a Wednesday report. And at times the agency pretended to be Facebook to install its malware.

The NSA has been using a program code-named Turbine to contaminate computers and networks with malware “implants” capable of spying on users, according to news website The Intercept, which cited documents provided by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

Between 85,000 and 100,000 of these implants have been deployed worldwide thus far, the report said.

To infect computers with malware, the NSA has relied on various tactics, including posing as Facebook.

Read more ....

More News On The Latest NSA Revelation That The NSA Has Posed As Facebook To Infect Computers With Malware

How the NSA Plans to Infect ‘Millions’ of Computers with Malware -- The Intercept
Snowden: NSA uses fake Facebook to hack into users’ computers -- Washington Times
NSA mimics criminals in bid to infect millions of computers, report says -- Christian Science Monitor
NSA's Malware Methods Outed in Latest Leak -- NBC
NSA 'hijacked' criminal botnets to install spyware -- Reuters
Snowden leak: NSA plans to infect ‘millions’ of computers -- RT
NSA's TURBINE robot can pump 'malware into MILLIONS of PCs' -- The Register
The NSA Has Impersonated Facebook To Spread Malware -- Gizmodo
The NSA Is Using Facebook to Hack Into Your Computer -- Nextgov
New Documents Show NSA Uses Fake Facebook Profiles To Spread Malware -- Opposing Views
NSA Has Been Hijacking the Botnets of Other Hackers -- Threat Level
NSA: We didn’t pose as Facebook -- The Hill
NSA says “indiscriminate” Facebook hacking allegations “are simply false” -- Ars Technica
The NSA Responds To Allegations It Impersonated Facebook And Infected PCs With Malware -- Tech Crunch
NSA denies mass Internet infection and website impersonation -- Slash Gear

Russia To Embrace Robot Senties To Protect Its Strategic Missile Facilities

Russian Military to Deploy Security Bots at Missile Bases. © RIA Novosti. Sergei Pyatakov

Russian Military To Deploy Security Bots At Missile Bases -- RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, March 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is planning to deploy mobile security robots in 2014 to protect its strategic missile facilities, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

“In March, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces [RVSN] began testing mobile robotic systems being developed to protect key RVSN installations,” spokesman Maj. Dmitry Andreyev said.

Andreyev said the security bots will be deployed at five ballistic missile launch sites around Russia as part of an upgrade to the existing automated security systems.

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My Comment: I am curious to know if the U.S. has such a set-up also.

Robots Will Be Smarter Than Us All By 2029

Photo: Google has spent billions of its £57bn fortune quietly buying up the world’s top robotics companies including Boston Dynamics, the company behind this robot

Robots Will Be Smarter Than Us All By 2029, Warns AI Expert Ray Kurzweil -- The Independent

World’s leading futurologist predicts computers will soon be able to flirt, learn from experience and even make jokes

By 2029, computers will be able to understand our language, learn from experience and outsmart even the most intelligent humans, according to Google’s director of engineering Ray Kurzweil.

One of the world’s leading futurologists and artificial intelligence (AI) developers, 66-year-old Kurzweil has previous form in making accurate predictions about the way technology is heading.

In 1990 he said a computer would be capable of beating a chess champion by 1998 – a feat managed by IBM’s Deep Blue, against Garry Kasparov, in 1997.

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Update: Computer robots will outsmart humans within 15 years, Google director claims (and a giant laboratory for artificial intelligence is already planned) -- Daily Mail

My Comment: This is an optimistic prediction .... but I will admit that Kurzweil has a better track record than I do.

How Can An Airliner Just Disappear?

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: How Can an Airliner Just Disappear? -- Popular Mechanics

Improvements suggested after similar midair disaster never made their way into this Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777.

The clock is ticking on the search for clues to what caused a Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines 777-200 to vanish suddenly from radar screens last weekend, forty minutes after leaving Kuala Lumpur. As leads and potential evidence surfaced and just as quickly fizzled, a flotilla of 40 ships from nine countries as well as two dozen aircraft scoured an area within a 50 nautical mile radius of Flight 370's last known position.

The mystery has seemed to deepen days after the event, and the possibility that the answers lay at the bottom of the sea in the plane's black boxes is ratcheting up the pressure. As anyone who has followed the course of similar mid-air catastrophes knows, these recorders emit a ping to guide rescuers that lasts about one month. Failure to find them before the battery dies means a lengthy and frustrating probe for the causes of the disaster.

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My Comment: It is clear that the aircraft had a catastrophic failure. The question that needs to be answered is .... what exactly happened.

How To Disappear From The Internet

The infographic, pictured, from London-based WhoIsHostingThis, details the nine steps needed to remove yourself from the web. It includes deactivating accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+

How To DISAPPEAR From The Internet: Nine-Step Guide Helps People Vanish Without A Trace And Then Surf Anonymously -- Daily Mail

* Hosting firm created a graphic explaining how to disappear from the web
* The nine steps include deactivating accounts and setting up fake profiles
* For people who'd rather hide, the guide suggests anonymous searching
* The graphic gives step-by-step instructions on how to carry out each task
* It also recommends Google’s URL removal tool, and contacting websites

Could you give up the internet for Lent - or even for good?

Following various reports about companies stealing information and complaints about oversharing on social media, a web hosting firm has created a nine-step guide on how to disappear from the web completely.

It includes deactivating accounts, removing links from search results and how to remove yourself from various lists - and for people who'd rather just stay hidden than disappear, the guide also gives tips on how to use the internet anonymously.

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My Comment: It is a lot of work to disappear from the web .... but this is a good start.

Google Glass Copycats

Epson Moverio BT-200. Jonathon Kambouris

5 Glasses That Can Change How You See The World -- Popular Science

Google Glass might not have done much to move fashion forward, but it has inspired a bevy of copycats—many of which will be on the market before Glass. Some of them are subtle, some futuristic, and some seem plucked straight from 1950s B-movies. The common thread: All of them will transform how we interact with our surroundings. How we’ll look wearing them is another story entirely.

The Awkward Scale: Smart glasses come with sacrifices, such as looking awkward. So we ranked the current models on a scale of 1–5, with 1 being the least awkward. As a baseline, Glass rates a 3.

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My Comment: Epson Moverio BT-200 appears to be the winner (above pic).

The Future Of Wind Turbines?

Sheerwind has designed an alternative to bladed wind systems that uses a series of funnels and tubes. Its Invelox turbine, pictured, directs winds into a funnel and through a tube to the turbine's generator on the ground. Sheerwind claim it produces 600% more energy than the traditional designs

The Future Of Wind Turbines? Bizarre-Looking Funnel Produces SIX Times More Energy Than Traditional Designs -- Daily Mail

* The Sheerwind Invelox turbine directs wind through a funnel
* This wind is passed through a tube towards the turbine’s generator
* The movement creates a ‘jet effect’ which increases the wind’s velocity
* Sheerwind claims the turbine can work at speeds as low as 2mph
* It produces 600% more electrical energy than commercial blade systems
* It is scalable meaning smaller versions could be used in back gardens

Wind turbines may be considered an eco-friendly way to generate electricity, but they're heavily criticised for blotting the landscape and killing hundreds of birds.

Minnesota-based Sheerwind has designed a bizarre-looking alternative to these bladed systems that uses a series of funnels and tubes.

In its Invelox turbine, winds as low as 2mph are directed into a funnel and through a tube to the turbine’s generator on the ground.

Read more ....

My Comment: If true .... this is a big game changer in the wind industry.

NASA's MAVEN Mission Successfully Blasts Off To Solve Major Martian Mystery

NASA Launches Robotic Explorer To Mars -- Washington Post

CAPE CANAVERAL — NASA’s newest robotic explorer, Maven, rocketed toward Mars on Monday on a quest to unravel the ancient mystery of the red planet’s radical climate change.

The Maven spacecraft is scheduled to make it to Mars next fall following a journey of more than 440 million miles.

Scientists want to know why Mars went from being warm and wet during its first billion years to cold and dry today. The early Martian atmosphere was thick enough to hold water and possibly support microbial life. But much of that atmosphere may have been lost to space, eroded by the sun.

Maven set off through a cloudy sky Monday afternoon in its effort to provide answers. An unmanned Atlas V rocket propelled the spacecraft toward Mars, launch controllers applauded and shook hands over the success.

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Update: What happened to Mars' atmosphere? MAVEN now on way to find out. -- Christian Science Monitor

My Comment: We will get some answers one year from now.

Are Terminator-Robots The Soldiers Of The Future?

Robot-at-arms: Atlas is 6 foot, 2 inches tall and weighs 330 pounds. (Credit: DARPA/Boston Dynamics)

Be Afraid: DARPA Unveils Terminator-Like Atlas Robot -- CNet

Atlas looks like the prototype for a future robot infantryman, and it can tackle rough terrain and carry human tools. Can you say "Skynet"?

If you're short of nightmare fuel, say hello to Atlas.

On Thursday, DARPA unveiled this hulking, 6-foot robot developed by Boston Dynamics, creator of the infamous BigDog and other scary creatures. Surprisingly, the 330-pound terror is designed to help us meatsacks.

Atlas is a testbed humanoid for disaster response, but it looks like it knows its way around a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range. Fortunately, it comes from Massachusetts, not the future.

We've seen hints of Atlas with Boston Dynamics' Petman soldier robot, which can do pushups and run on a treadmill.

Read more ....

More News On DARPA's Newest Robot

ATLAS: Probably the Most Advanced Humanoid Yet, Definitely Terrifying -- Gizmodo
DARPA's Newest Robot Is The Coolest And Most Terrifying Creation Yet -- Business Insider
DARPA robot no longer just a computer simulation -- The Business Of Robots
DARPA's ATLAS humanoid robot gears up for disaster response -- Gizmag
DARPA unveils 6-foot-tall humanoid robot Atlas for researchers to program and pilot -- The Verge
Details on DARPA Robotics Challenge Trial Events -- IEEE Spectrum
Domo arigato, Mr Atlas -- CNet
This Robot Can Survive Being Hit By A Wrecking Ball -- WebProNews
DARPA ATLAS Humanoid Robot is Here -- Robots.net

The CIA Invests In 'Narrative Science'

Narrative Science: The CIA is Investing in Artificial Intelligence That Actually Works -- Policymic

As part of the Central Intelligence Agency's growing trend of partnering with the private sector, the CIA announced Wednesday that it would be investing in Narrative Science, a Chicago-based startup that uses computers to make sense of data and present it in prose. Once a leader of technology innovation, the CIA recognized it could not compete for IT innovation and talent with private profit-driven firms. In one of the more impressive government adjustment to economic pressures, the CIA has changed the way the government creates IT innovation.

Read more ....

More News On The CIA And 'Narrative Science'

The CIA Invests in Robot Writers -- Mashable
The CIA takes an interest in Narrative Science’s quick summaries of big data -- Gigaom
The CIA Invests in Narrative Science and Its Automated Writers -- All Things D
CIA invests in robot journalism -- Poynter
Narrative Science goes beyond ‘robot journalism’ with CIA investment -- Venture Beat
Local AI startup gets CIA-linked funding -- Chicago Tribune
Chicago's Narrative Science lands deal with the CIA -- Chicago Business

A Guide To Killer Robots Everywhere

Semi-Autonomous Killer Drones From Around The Globe -- Killer Apps/Foreign Policy

With the United Nations Human Rights Council debating the development of lethal robots at its meeting in Geneva today, Human Rights Watch is ramping up its campaign to get world governments to preemptively ban the use of killer robots that can decide to attack a target without consulting their human controllers first. Despite the fact that the Pentagon has said that U.S. drones will not be able to fire weapons without "appropriate" levels of human control, HRW worries that battlefield necessity will do away with such voluntary restrictions.

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My Comment: A brief but concise review.

Interpreting Global Flight-Path Maps

Global Flight-Path Maps: Five Interpretations -- BBC

Michael Markieta's images depicting flight paths across the planet attracted huge interest from our readers. What do the maps reveal? We asked five experts to give their interpretation.

The art critic

Wow, it's beautiful. It is not only dealing with two-dimensionality, it's trying to create three dimensions, or four dimensions - giving you a notion that you are travelling across the surface of this image.

It's almost like contemporary fractalisation - based on fractals, those beautiful divisions of science and nature. A number of artists have exploited them. Max Ernst based a lot of his surreal landscapes on fractalisation.

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My Comment: Northeastern U.S., Europe, and northeastern Asia .... those are the hot spots for air travel.

WHO Chief: Novel Coronavirus 'Poses A Threat To The Entire World'

 

New SARS-Like Virus Is A 'Threat To The Entire World' -- CNN 

(CNN) -- A new SARS-like virus recently found in humans is "a threat to the entire world," according to the director-general of the United Nations' World Health Organization.

The so-called novel coronavirus "is not a problem that any single affected country can keep to itself or manage all by itself," Margaret Chan said Monday in her closing remarks at the 66th World Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.

The world needs to pull together its resources to properly tackle the virus which, Chan said, is her "greatest concern" at present.

"We understand too little about this virus when viewed against the magnitude of its potential threat," she said, and more information is needed "quickly" and "urgently."

Read more ....

More News On The Novel Coronavirus Posing A Threat To The Entire World  

UN health chief urges global cooperation to tackle novel coronavirus threat -- UN News Centre
WHO Chief Sounds Alarm Over Novel Coronavirus, 'A Threat To The Entire World' -- RTT
WHO calls Middle Eastern virus, MERS, ‘threat to the entire world’ as death toll rises -- New York Daily News First coronavirus sufferer in France dies in hospital -- Reuters
French man, 65, dies from SARS-like virus as World Health Organisation warns deadly disease is global threat -- Daily Mail
A timeline of SARS-like virus -- Global Post/AFP

What It’s Like Inside A Violent Tornado (Video)

Incredible Video: What It’s Like Inside A Violent Tornado -- Washington Post

It might strike you as foolish, but storm chasers Brandon Ivey and Sean Casey literally rode out a raging tornado with winds to 175 mph from inside a motor vehicle on Memorial Day. 

Watch the astonishing, “ear-popping” video below… 

But the vehicle, positioned intentionally to bear the brunt of the raging Kansas vortex, is no ordinary vehicle. 

Called the Tornado Intercept Vehicle 2 (TIV2, the second vehicle of its kind), it is designed to withstand a top of the scale EF-5 twister, with winds over 200 mph. 

Wikipedia offers the following details on this 14,000+ pound, armor-reinforced machine:  

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My Comment: What a terrifying experience lasting two minutes.

Nuclear Detonation Timeline "1945-1998" (Video)

From YouTube: The 2053 nuclear tests and explosions that took place between 1945 and 1998 are plotted visually and audibly on a world map.

As the video starts out detonations are few and far between. The first three detonations represent the Manhattan Project and the two bombs that ended World War II.

After a few representative minutes the USSR and Britain enter the nuclear club and the testing really starts to heat up.

Even though the video does not differentiate between sub-critical "safety" tests and full detonations, you get a good idea of the fever of the nuclear arms race. T

he time line does not extent to tests by North Korea (October 2006 and May 2009).

Video credit: goes to Isao Hashimoto (www.ctbto.org/specials/1945-1998-by-isa­o-hashimoto/) The video was cleaned up, re-sized and edited to fit You tube's 10min limit by the folks at Bit of Fun  

My Comment: A mesmerizing video .... check it out.

End Of The World In 2036?

Asteroid Apocalypse -- Michio Kaku, The Daily Beast/Newsweek

The recent crash-down in Russia was a fleabite. The one in 2036 could destroy entire nations...

It was an amazing spectacle, a rapid succession of giant asteroids blazing across the sky. First, on February 15, Russia was hit with the biggest asteroid in 100 years. Barely a few hours later, an even bigger one made the closest approach to Earth ever recorded for an asteroid of its size. Then the residents of San Francisco, Cuba, and south Florida looked up and saw meteors streak across the sky, rattling their nerves.

It was a historic display of nature’s cosmic firepower, something I never expected to see in my lifetime. Mother Nature was showing Hollywood who’s boss.

The city of Chelyabinsk in Russia bore the brunt of the celestial fireworks. A piece of rock, about 50 feet across and weighing more than 7,000 tons, came crashing to Earth. Traveling at a blinding speed of over 40,000 miles per hour, it created a sonic boom and shock wave that shattered windows across the city: 1,200 people were injured, mainly by the flying pieces of glass, and 52 were hospitalized, 2 of them in serious condition. Chelyabinsk, once known as one of the most polluted places in the world due to its storage of nuclear waste, will now be known as “meteor city.”  

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My Comment: We have been bombarded by these meteorite strikes in the past .... and I suspect that we will in the future. I only hope that in the future we have the capability to prevent such catastrophes from hitting us.

What A Nuclear Accident May Cost

World Nuclear Association

Major Nuclear Accident Would Cost France $580 Billion: Study -- Reuters

(Reuters) - A nuclear accident similar to the one at Japan's Fukushima reactor would cost France about 430 billion euros ($580 billion), or 20 percent of its economic output, French nuclear safety institute IRSN said in a study on the possible financial impact of a nuclear crisis.

A major disaster damaging one of France's 58 nuclear reactors and contaminating the environment with radioactive material would displace an estimated 100,000 people, destroy crops and create massive power outages, the study said.

 "A major accident would have terrible consequences, but we would have to deal with them because the country wouldn't be annihilated, so we have to talk about it, however difficult it is," Jacques Repussard, the head of the public-funded IRSN, said on Wednesday at a presentation at the Cadarache nuclear research centre in southeastern France.

 Read more ....  

My Comment: The Chernobyl disaster left a legacy that will be present in that part of the Ukraine for centuries .... and the cost is unimaginable. If such a disaster should strike France .... ditto there. Now just imagine what a nuclear war would cost.

The Top 50 Things People Want To Do Before They Die

Dreams: Swimming with dolphins is 19th on the list, but sadly most of us will only fulfill five of our ambitions 

See The Seven Wonders Of The World, Go On Safari And Swim With Dolphins: The Top 50 Things People Want To Do Before They Die -- Daily Mail 

* Researchers complied checklist of lifelong ambitions of the average adult
* But sadly they found most people will only ever fulfill five of their dreams
* The study revealed that 12 per cent of people have no ambitions at all
* Becoming a millionaire and travelling the world are the top two goals

Seeing the seven wonders of the world, going on safari in Africa and swimming with dolphins are among the list of 50 things the average person wants to do before they die.

But sadly researchers have found that most adults will only ever fulfill five of their lifelong ambitions.

Many feel they do not have enough time to tick off the experiences, while others admit to not being fit or adventurous enough or being too afraid of getting hurt.

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CSN Editor: #7 is on the top of my list.

Richard III Remains Are Confirmed

It IS Richard III: Scientists Reveal DNA Results Confirm 15th Century King's Body Has Been Found Under A Car Park In Leicester -- Daily Mail 

* University of Leicester academics unveil their findings at press conference 

* DNA sample matches that of a descendant of the king's maternal line 

 * Skeleton's spinal curvature also matched accounts of the humpback king 

 * Remains were uncovered by archaeologists at former church in Leicester 

* Historical records say he was taken to the city after he was killed in 1485 

Human remains found buried beneath a social services car park in Leicester are those of Richard III who was killed in battle in 1485, archaeologists confirmed today. 

In an extraordinary discovery which rewrites the history books, the skeleton of the last of the Plantagenet kings was identified by DNA analysis after researchers traced his living descendants. 

Investigators from the University of Leicester today revealed that the remains bore the marks of ten injuries inflicted shortly before his death. 

More gruesome, however, was evidence of ‘humiliation’ injuries, including several head wounds - part of the skull was sliced away - a cut to the ribcage and a pelvic wound likely caused by an upward thrust of a weapon, through the buttock.  

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My Comment: This closes the chapter on one fascinating archaeological hunt.

The Rise Of The Robots

Obama Must Face The Rise Of The Robots -- Edward Luce, Financial Times 

Technology will leave a large chunk of the US labour force in the lurch. Early in his first term Barack Obama joked that he would “keep an eye on the robots in case they try anything”. He should have known resistance is futile. During Mr Obama’s presidency, IBM’s Watson has proved computers can outfox the most agile minds, drones have become America’s weapon of choice, the driverless car is now a reality and the word “app” has been detached from its origin. No longer the realm of science fiction, the rise of robots now poses the central economic dilemma of the Obama era.

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My Comment: The genie is out of the bottle .... I doubt that it can be plugged back in.