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From Engadget: Source code theft prompts Symantec to issue warning to customers

It’s a good thing I abandoned Symantec software long time ago! 😀
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Source code theft prompts Symantec to issue warning to customers

Security software publisher Symantec has confirmed it was the victim of a cyber attack, resulting in the theft and disclosure of product source code. Earlier this month, the online-collective Anonymousstated, via Twitter, that it possessed portions of the code in question and planned to release it in support of a class-action lawsuit filed by consumers — the suit claims Symantec employed scare tactics to encourage users to purchase its wares. Via its website, the company affirmed Anonymous’ claims, citing a source code heist dating back to 2006. The post goes on to suggest that users running Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition, Norton Internet Security, Norton SystemWorks, Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0, or Symantec AntiVirus 10.2 apply the latest maintenance patches. If you have the company’s pcAnywhere solution deployed, Symantec suggests only using it for “business critical purposes,” as this software is “at increased risk.” Those looking to stay up-to-date on the breach and what Symantec is doing to ameliorate its effects can get the blow-by-blow from the source link below.

Source code theft prompts Symantec to issue warning to customers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From Engadget: Quantum dots could increase fiber optic bandwidth up to 10 times

Quantum dots could increase fiber optic bandwidth up to 10 times (video)

Nothing screams World of Tomorrow quite like quantum dots. Alongside the possibility of paint-on solar cells, the technology could also multiply optic fiber bandwidth by up to ten times. The Photonic Network Research Institute at NICT has been able to crank up the capacity of the data transmission system by combining a light source and photonic crystal fiber. The quantum dots act as the light source, and via the NICT’s new “sandwiched sub-nano separator structure” [above], they can be tweaked to work at 70THz — far in excess of the 10THz frequencies typically used. Aside from optical communications, the potency of these high frequencies allow it to pass beyond skin, opening up the use of quantum dots to medical scanning and high resolution cell imaging. Is there anything these dots can’t do? Catch a slightly more technical explanation in the video right after the break.

 

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From Coolest Gadgets: Command & Conquer coded in HTML5

There are moments in life when we look at a particular object and think, “Now why didn’t I think of this before?” I am quite sure that many of us who spent our teenage years in the mid-1990s would have played the game Command & Conquer at some point in time or another, where the almighty tank could be stopped by something as simple as sandbags, and had hours and hours of fun honing our RTS skills in front of the computer. Well, a hardcore coder decided that playing the game today on a legacy system is just too mainstream, and coded the entire Command & Conquer in HTML5, where the entire thing runs on 69k of Javascript.

Aditya Ravi Shankar built the clone as part of his attempt to improve his coding skills, where he gave himself an entire month to do so, building the game in the browser while going through the original game’s files in order to get sprites, sounds and specs just the way it was. According to Shankar, “In hindsight, I might have wanted to take smaller steps and make a tower defense game instead of jumping directly into an RTS. Trying to do the whole thing in under a month all by myself wasn’t the smartest idea.”

Still, he got the job done, and there were some glitches here and there during testing, such as tanks getting stuck in the sea, and it works best in Chrome or Firefox. If you want to help improve Shankar’s work, check out the source code here.

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From Geeks are Sexy Technology News: 3D Piracy Takes a New Twist

Whoa!  That is going to be…  interesting… and weird… 3D printing pirates?!

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Filesharing as we know it involves transferring 0s and 1s that usually turn into pixels and electronic sounds. But if The Pirate Bay’s latest idea takes off, filesharing — and digital piracy — will get a whole lot more physical.

In what appears to be as much as a publicity stunt as a serious feature, the site has added a new category alongside the usual audio, video, applications, and games. The physibles category is intended for data that either can, or feasibly could, become a physical object.

Specifically the site is thinking of data for 3D printers, a concept that sounds like science fiction but already exists. One company at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show launched, and is now selling, a $1,749 device that can take a computer 3D model and turn it into a physical object using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, the same plastic material used to create Lego bricks. The machine also works with polylactic acid, derived from corn starch.

Users can create any object up to 300 cubic inches, roughly the size of a loaf of bread. The standard model only produces objects in one color, though for $250 extra users can have two-color printing. Of course, you can’t make either batteries or mains power cables, so we’re not yet at the terrifying stage when these machines are able to self-replicate.

The PirateBay currently has a dozen torrents for “physible” files, which appear to be largely or entirely compliant with copyright laws. It’s certainly at the demonstration novelty stage, with two of the choices including a toy pirate ship taken from the site’s logo, and a 3D picture of MPAA chief Chris Dodd along with part of the encryption key for Blu-ray discs.

Given the nature of the site and its user base, it will be interesting to see if we ever get to the stage when copyrighted 3D printing design files start getting shared. The Pirate Bay predicts that “you will download your sneakers within 20 years”, which does make you wonder if one day you’ll be able to get counterfeit Nikes without even needing to find a shady street market.

 

from Geeks are Sexy Technology News

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From Lifehacker: Most Popular Online Meeting Service: Google+ Hangouts

This is the best value in holding online meetings! Why? ’cause it’s FREE!!!  😮

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Online meeting services run the gamut from expensive, feature-filled, and designed for businesses to individual solutions made for people who work on remote teams, or just want an easy way to collaborate with a few coworkers of a vendor without spending a ton of money on an enterprise product. Last week, we asked you which services you use when you needed to share screens, work on documents, or even conference face to face with colleagues. Then we took a look at the top five online meeting services and put them to a vote. Now we’re back to highlight the winner. More »
from Lifehacker