There are now two main cultures in computing: Most computer users treat software as a tool for getting tasks done, while programmers hold conversations with their software. One big challenge when teaching programming, no matter in what language, is getting students used to a conversation-oriented programmer culture, which is very different than a tool-oriented user culture.
Boost Satellite Bandwidth and End Jittery Videos
The tweaked version of TCP being honed by the MIT group and colleagues instead sends mathematical functions describing multiple packets so that a receiving device, such as a satellite terminal, can solve for missing ones without having to refetch them. “You transfer more packets than what you normally would, but you don’t have to retransmit,” Khan says.
via Boost Satellite Bandwidth and End Jittery Videos | MIT Technology Review.
This is a problem streaming in wifi networks with sketchy coverage as well. This is similar to a snippet I posted here on 10/25/2012 in reference to this article also from the MIT Technology Review A Bandwidth Breakthrough
Apparently they’re still working on this TCP retransmission problem.
The Art and Science of Digital Forensics
The need to a proficiency in digital forensics is manifest in the recent attack against Target stores. After an aggressive attack, the store called in external digital forensics consultants to help them make sense of what happened.
The book starts with an anatomy of a digital investigation, including the basic model an investigator should use to ensure an effective investigation. While the author is not a lawyer; the book details all of the laws, standards, constitutional issues and regulations that an investigator needs to be cognizant of.
via Book Review: Digital Archaeology: the Art and Science of Digital Forensics – Slashdot.
Small Cells: The Battle for the Lamp Post
In his keynote earlier in the day, Phil Meeks, COO and EVP of the Time Warner Cable’s business unit, suggested that small cell deployments could start in late 2014.
via Small Cells: The Battle for the Lamp Post | Light Reading.
802.11ac defines the 5GHz band.
Target says sorry again, offers 10% off and free credit monitoring
Steinhafel said “the issue has been identified and eliminated” and that shoppers’ PINs, birth dates, and Social Security numbers were not stolen.
via Target says sorry again, offers 10% off and free credit monitoring | Ars Technica.
How does Target get shopper’s SSNs?
Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer
Undisclosed until now was that RSA received $10 million in a deal that set the NSA formula as the preferred, or default, method for number generation in the BSafe software, according to two sources familiar with the contract. Although that sum might seem paltry, it represented more than a third of the revenue that the relevant division at RSA had taken in during the entire previous year, securities filings show.
via Exclusive: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer | Reuters.
RSA, now a subsidiary of computer storage giant EMC Corp, urged customers to stop using the NSA formula after the Snowden disclosures revealed its weakness.
An interesting link came up in the Slashdot comment section. From: [Cfrg] Requesting removal of CFRG co-chair
I’d like to request the removal of Kevin Igoe from CFRG co-chair.
The Crypto Forum Research Group is chartered to provide crypto advice to IETF Working Groups. As CFRG co-chair for the last 2 years, Kevin has shaped CFRG discussion and provided CFRG opinion to WGs.
Kevin’s handling of the “Dragonfly” protocol raises doubts that he is performing these duties competently. Additionally, Kevin’s employment with the National Security Agency raises conflict-of-interest concerns.
LOL. No one trusts the NSA anymore.
Academics should not remain silent on hacking
NIST’s standard for random numbers used for cryptography, published in 2006, had been weakened by the NSA. Companies such as banks and financial institutions that rely on encryption to guarantee customer privacy depend on this standard. The nature of the subversions sounds abstruse: the random-number generator, the ‘Dual EC DRBG’ standard, had been hacked by the NSA so that its output would not be as random as it should have been. That might not sound like much, but if you are trying to break an encrypted message, the knowledge that it is hundreds or thousands of times weaker than advertised is a great encouragement.
via Academics should not remain silent on hacking : Nature News & Comment.
GSMA Creates Remotely Managed SIM For M2M Applications
To fix this issue, the GSMA has developed a non-removable SIM that can be embedded in a device for the duration of its life, and remotely assigned to a network. This information can be subsequently modified over-the-air, as many times as necessary.
The GSMA says its new SIM can reduce ongoing operational and logistical costs. Replacing one SIM is not going to break the bank, but replacing a few million could make a dent in any budget, it reckons.
Solar Cells Could Help Windows Generate Power
The Oxford team, led by physicist Henry J. Snaith, made their solar cells using perovskites, a class of mineral-like crystalline materials that has recently grabbed much attention among researchers in photovoltaics. Perovskites have properties similar to inorganic semiconductors and show sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiencies of more than 15%.
via Solar Cells Could Help Windows Generate Power | Chemical & Engineering News.
MisoSMS: New Android Malware Disguises Itself as a Settings App, Steals SMS Messages
MisoSMS infects Android systems by deploying a class of malicious Android apps. The mobile malware masquerades as an Android settings app used for administrative tasks. When executed, it secretly steals the user’s personal SMS messages and emails them to a command-and-control (CnC) infrastructure hosted in China. FireEye Mobile Threat Prevention platform detects this class of malware as “Android.Spyware.MisoSMS.”
via MisoSMS: New Android Malware Disguises Itself as a Settings App, Steals SMS Messages | FireEye Blog.
Once the app is installed, it presents itself as “Google Vx.” It asks for administrative permissions on the device, which enables the malware to hide itself from the user, as shown in Figure 2.
Right there is a clue that something is not right.