Poetic Justice -- DDoS service operated by Lizard Squad gets hacked, user data leaked
The past few weeks have not been kind to hacking group Lizard Squad. They've managed to raise the ire of the last possible group of folks you'd wish to anger -- Anonymous. The organization is also experiencing arrests of its members, thanks to poor procedures put in place for identity protection. But the latest blow may come as poetic justice to many people.
The loosely-knit hacker communicative has been trying to sell its wares online -- namely DDoS for hire services. Unfortunately for it, and rather fortunately for the rest of us, the offering has been hacked. According to multiple reports LizardStresser.su was compromised.
I sold my MacBook Pro and bought a Chromebook
Yesterday afternoon, a San Diego State University student bought my MacBook Pro—13-inch Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD—for $1,100. I purchased the laptop from local dealer DC Computers in late-August 2014 for a few hundred dollars more. The buyer's interest was my own: Mac, large SSD, and extended warranty (expires April 2017).
The proceeds go to buying Toshiba Chromebook 2 (two, another for my wife) and Android phone for her. She moves from iPad Air, which has been, since September 2014, her PC—and that experience should be another story (be patient). If time travel was possible, I would keep, rather than sell, my Chromebook Pixel early last summer. The Chromie lifestyle suits me best, and I am excited to be back to it. However, in December, when reviewing the tech products that changed my digital lifestyle last year, including the switch to Apple's platforms: "I can’t imagine using anything else". I lied to myself, and unintentionally to you.
Minecraft usernames and passwords leak online
Minecraft is a phenomenon. The online game is incredibly popular with well over 100 million PC downloads to date. When Microsoft bought developer Mojang last September it had to shell out a cool $2.5 billion to do so.
So it’s perhaps no surprise that players of the game have been the target of hackers keen to get their hands on poorly guarded gaming credentials. Armed with a valid user name and password, anyone can log into a game, or download a full copy of Minecraft.
US government -- 'Do as we say, not as we do' when it comes to hacking
While the news of the recent Sony hack has died down, it certainly isn't forgotten. The simple fact remains that we still have no clear answer on who was responsible. The US government blamed North Korea and initiated sanctions on the nation, though no real evidence was put forth to support this alleged misdeed, leaving the move to reek of political motivation.
The simple fact that the hackers originally asked for money, as if it were a hostage situation, seems to point away from state-sponsored wrongdoing, but we simply don't know the real truth, and perhaps never will. All we really know is there's a lack of evidence for this case. We'd be safe in speculating a jury would be unlikely to convict the country.
Technology excites developing countries but concerns the developed world
A poll by Microsoft shows that there are vastly differing views to the technological lives we now lead. While most people believe that technology has made life better in a number of ways, there are key differences in opinion between developing and developed nations.
Countries in which advanced technology is more commonplace -- so-called developed countries -- there is an element of fear and concern that is not found in developing countries. Despite this difference in views, the overall consensus between internet users is that personal technology has had a positive impact.
Identifying malware with PEStudio
There are many technical tools which can help you identify and understand malware, and we used a few of these very recently while investigating Easy Disk Drive Repair.
You don’t have to master all of these to pick out potential threats, though. The compact and portable PeStudio can help you identify suspect programs in seconds.
Spotify for Windows Phone gets an updated look
For a while Windows Phone users complained about the lack of apps, one of which was Spotify. The music service is now there and things are improving in general for the platform. Now Spotify has a major new update for Microsoft's mobile devices, bringing it more in line with versions on competing handsets.
The big feature is the addition of Your Music. This option allows customers to better organize and browse their tunes, as well as create playlists and view cover art. If you find something to your liking, you can simply hit "save" and move on -- it will be there for you in the future.
North Korea blamed for Sony hack because NSA had been spying since 2010
When Sony Pictures was hacked, the US was quick to point the finger of blame at North Korea. Security experts may have disagreed, but newly declassified documents show that the NSA had been monitoring the nation as far back as 2010 -- and there are even hints that the US was aware of the possibility of North Korea launching some form of cyberattack.
With the help of allies such as South Korea, US intelligence services were able to tap into North Korean web traffic. The NSA also went as far as installing malware on North Korean computers with a view to monitoring the activity of key systems. New papers published by Der Spiegel show that it is this spying that helped to pin the blame for the Sony attack on NK.
Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with Microsoft's Bing Maps
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Today, we celebrate the birthday of one of the most important figures in USA history. Heck, his impact on civil rights transcended America and had an impact globally. While today is not technically his birthday -- that is on January 15 -- the federal holiday is always on the third Monday of every January. To have a federal holiday is a great honor, putting him in the same league as other American heroes like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Sadly, racism and prejudice are still alive today, although far less so. Dr. King's inspiration helped plant a seed that causes generations of Americans to become less hateful as time marches on. Even seemingly simple things like sports and music have helped bridge the gap between cultures and skin color. Today, in celebration of Dr. King, Bing Maps will take you on a virtual tour of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA. Won't you join the ride?
The FUZE gets an update and new features
It was over a year ago that the FUZE, a machine aimed at getting a new generation interested in programming, hit the market.
Now there's a revised T2 version of the Raspberry Pi- based machine that brings a number of useful updates and new features.
MiniTool Partition Wizard Free 9 simplifies OS migration, adds Storage Spaces support
MiniTool has unveiled a major new update to its partition management software for Windows with the release of MiniTool Partition Wizard Free 9.0, which is free for personal use.
The new build -- also available in bootable form -- adds a new wizard for migrating the OS to a new hard drive as well as extending full support to Windows 8, 8.1 and the Windows 10 Technical Preview.
Get OnePlus One without invite on January 20
Selling your first smartphone through an invite-only system is a risky business model. Lots of things can go wrong, quickly, if it doesn't pique consumers' interest. For newcomer OnePlus it, however, worked out great so far. Its One "flagship-killer", which sold half a million units by early-November 2014, has received near-instant recognition from enthusiasts, despite being backed by a company that, at the time of its launch, was less than half a year old.
Since its launch, OnePlus also made One available to those without an invite, on a number of occasions. Things didn't go smoothly every time, as lots of consumers rushed to get their hands on the device, causing issues with the ordering system. If you were among the unlucky ones, or you are just now considering getting one, One (no pun intended) will once again be available sans invite tomorrow, January 20.
How to disable Google Chrome's profile switcher button
If you've joined the beta channel for Google Chrome you'll have seen the browser's profile switcher some time ago. For anyone who has decided to stick with the stable channel it may just have appeared. But what's the point? Nestling in the upper right hand corner of the browser window next to your tabs, you'll see a button with your name on it.
This is not to serve as a name reminder to the forgetful, but to show which Chrome profile you’re signed into. If you've set up more than one profile you can use the menu to switch between them with ease, but if -- like most people -- you only use one, it's a waste of space and looks rather ugly. Here's how to remove the pesky profile switcher button from Chrome.
Transform photos into 3D animations with PhotoAnim
Converting regular 2D images to 3D can be a very effective way to give them some extra impact, and it’s simpler than you might think.
PhotoAnim is a formerly commercial, now free application which helps you edit, morph, transform and animate 2D objects, then share the results online, in videos and various 3D formats.
'Easy Disk Drive Repair' is not what it seems
"Easy Disk Drive Repair" looked like a promising program. "An incredibly easy to use, yet powerful drive repair and maintenance tool", the developer claimed. Works with all drive types. More than one million downloads, five star awards plastered all over their product pages, and listed at big sites like Softpedia and ZDNet.
Sounded great, but we don’t like to copy and paste a developer’s description onto our own pages. We wanted to try it out, first.
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