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Computers/Internet (General/Chat)

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  • Trying to Rid the World of 'Fat Axl'

    06/08/2016 2:47:53 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 55 replies
    CNN ^ | Wed June 8, 2016 | Lisa Respers France
    Welcome to the meme jungle Axl Rose. A less than flattering photo of the Guns N' Roses front man is being used for a series of mean memes, and now the singer is reportedly trying to get the image scrubbed from the internet. According to the Washington Post, a batch of DMCA copyright notices were filed on behalf of Rose and sent to Google requesting the removal of the photo that sparked the "Fat Axl" memes because of copyright infringement. The memes change the lyrics to Guns N Roses songs to poke fun at the picture of Rose, who is...
  • Vanity: Suggestions for a high-performance business laptop?

    06/08/2016 6:19:23 AM PDT · by freedumb2003 · 47 replies
    me ^ | 6/8/2016 | Me
    I am about to embark on a career as an Independent Contractor -- I am a computer consultant (37 years) in the ERP space. I have some pretty good laptops now but I really think I need a high-powered, high-performance Wintel laptop. I would like to keep it at 15" to take with me, although I have a Surface (which I like but has idiosyncrasies) I use for mobility. This is business, not gaming (which I eschew), so I don't think Alienware and its derivatives are what I am looking for.
  • Big DDoS attacks reach record levels: Akamai

    06/07/2016 9:14:33 PM PDT · by Utilizer
    iTnews (.com.au) ^ | Jun 8 2016 8:45AM (AUS) | Juha Saarinen
    Nineteen distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks exceeded 100 Gbps during the first three months of the year, hitting a new record, according to researchers from Akamai. The year prior, just eight attacks were over 100 gigabit per second, the firm said. In its latest state of the internet report [pdf], the content delivery network provider analysed more than two petabytes of threat intelligence data and found the total number of DDoS attacks increased by over 125 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2016. Most of the attacks were achieved through abusing vulnerable network time protcol (NTP) servers,...
  • NFL Account Hacked, Falsely Reports Goodell's Death

    06/07/2016 10:28:15 AM PDT · by nickcarraway · 4 replies
    A NFL spokesman says Goodell "is alive and well"NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is not dead. The National Football League's Twitter account was hacked Tuesday and a message posted around 12:30 pm. ET said Goodell has died. "We regret to inform our fans that our commissioner, Roger Goodell, has passed away. He was 57. #RIP," the tweet read. The NFL Commissioner's Office confirmed to NBC the account was hacked. Additional messages were posted after the first false tweet. "Oi, I said Roger Goodell has died. Don't delete that tweet," one message read, followed by, "OK, OK, you amateur detectives win. Good...
  • I feel like I'm being scammed.

    06/07/2016 9:38:51 AM PDT · by The Louiswu · 16 replies
    Me ^ | 6/7/2016 | The Louiswu
    I am being told by a representative of Yext.com that in order to change any of my business listings on the internet I have to PAY - that all of this information has been monetized and that information, even if I want to remove to is basically owned by someone else. Is this true? Is there a way I can correct errors in my business info without paying an arm and a leg?
  • Skyrim Remaster, Evil Within 2, Wolfenstein 2, and More Will Be Announced at E3 - Report

    06/07/2016 7:24:59 AM PDT · by BenLurkin · 18 replies
    gamespot.com ^ | June 7, 2016 | Eddie Makuch on
    In November last year, Bethesda revealed that it ported Skyrim to Xbox One, but only as a technical exercise. It appears Bethesda now has grander plans. ... The Skyrim remaster project will reportedly include "mods, all DLC [and] improved visuals," according to Eurogamer's report, which cited a NeoGAF user with that information. The inclusion of mods is particularly interesting, given that mods just recently came to the Xbox One version of Fallout 4 and are on the way for the PS4 edition. A Bethesda representative told GameSpot, "We don't comment on rumors and speculation."
  • Man Sells $40 Printer on Craigslist, Gets Sued for $30,000

    06/06/2016 10:56:14 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 25 replies
    KFOR ^ | JUNE 6, 2016 | NADIA JUDITH ENCHASSI
    Next time you innocently put something up for sale on Craigslist, remember the tale of Doug Costello. As the Indianapolis Star explains, Costello sold a $40 printer in 2009 to Indianapolis resident Gersh Zavodnik. The 54-year-old Zavodnik claims it didn’t work and soon initiated legal action. It’s something he’s very good at, having been described by the Indiana Supreme Court as a “prolific, abusive litigant” who has brought dozens of suits against both companies and individuals. In this case, Zavodnik actually won a $30,000 judgment at one point against Costello, though it has since been tossed. In the meantime, Costello...
  • Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter and Pinterest password was 'dadada' (NOT satire; he's really an idiot)

    06/06/2016 6:26:50 PM PDT · by dayglored · 58 replies
    The Register ^ | Jun 6, 2016 | John Leyden
    'Idiotic' doesn't even come close to describing this Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter and Pinterest accounts were hacked over the weekend. The breach apparently happened after the Facebook boss’s login details were exposed via the recent LinkedIn password dump. This implies Zuckerberg reused passwords across multiple sites or perhaps that the format of the password he chose for other sites was guessable after breaking his LinkedIn login credentials. Zuckerberg’s Facebook account was not affected. A previously unknown prankster hacking group called Ourmine boasted about the alleged hacks, The hackers claimed that they found his password – dadada – in the LinkedIn dump....
  • Twitter Trending Now: #MakesHillaryEmotional LOL Funny!

    06/06/2016 6:25:20 PM PDT · by SoFloFreeper · 8 replies
    You guys gotta go to Twitter and check out the hashtag #MakesHillaryEmotional ! The thing is on fire and hilarious! Below are a couple of examples:
  • Traffic-weary homeowners and Waze are at war, again. Guess who’s winning?

    06/06/2016 4:17:05 PM PDT · by dennisw · 70 replies
    Washingtoon Post ^ | June 5 at 9:29 PM | By Steve Hendrix
    “It used to be that only locals knew all the cut-through routes, but Google Maps and Waze are letting everyone know,” When population growth began to overwhelm a set of major intersections in his district, there was an increase of 45,000 cars a day on some residential streets, as app-armed commuters fought their way to nearby Interstate 85. In response, the city is posting signs to restrict left or right turns at key intersections. ____________________________ When the traffic on Timothy Connor’s quiet Maryland street suddenly jumped by several hundred cars an hour, he knew who was partly to blame: the...
  • 831 1 364 He sold a $40 printer. Then he was sued in Indiana for $30,000.

    06/06/2016 10:29:09 AM PDT · by DUMBGRUNT · 29 replies
    dailymail ^ | 6 june 2016 | Kiri Blakeley
    Selling a used, black-and-white printer through Craigslist seemed simple and straightforward to Doug Costello. It wasn't. What the 66-year-old Massachusetts man didn't know then is that he would spend the next 6 ½ years embroiled in a complicated and confusing legal dispute in Indiana over that printer, which, according to its buyer, was broken.
  • Even in remotest Africa, Windows 10 nagware ruins your day: Update burns satellite link cash

    06/05/2016 8:31:16 AM PDT · by Utilizer · 42 replies
    The Register ^ | 3 Jun 2016 at 22:11 | Iain Thomson
    When you're stuck in the middle of the Central African Republic (CAR) trying to protect the wildlife from armed poachers and the Lord's Resistance Army, then life's pretty tough. And now Microsoft has made it tougher with Windows 10 upgrades. The Chinko Project manages roughly 17,600 square kilometres (6,795 square miles) of rainforest and savannah in the east of the CAR, near the border with South Sudan. Money is tight, and so is internet bandwidth. So the staff was more than a little displeased when one of the donated laptops the team uses began upgrading to Windows 10 automatically, pulling...
  • YouTuber Gives Children Laxatives As A Prank. Then Films Their Anguish.

    06/04/2016 6:13:11 AM PDT · by Dallas59 · 22 replies
    Live Leak ^ | 6/4/2016 | Live Leak
    Famous (and I use the term lightly) YouTuber "CJ So Cool" pulls off what he likes to call a "prank" as he gives children laxatives mixed in their ice cream treats. As if that's not bad enough, this disgusting gorilla humiliates them further by filming and mocking them while on the toilet. The video has since been deleted from YouTube because it caused him trouble, but several uploads are re-appearing. His girlfriend even uploaded a video DEFENDING him and going so far as even saying if it did anything IT HELPED her kids. That video was also taken down (what...
  • Baidu: Driverless Cars Will Be Better Drivers Than Humans

    06/04/2016 5:45:43 AM PDT · by BenLurkin · 54 replies
    wsj ^ | 06/02/2016
    At the Converge tech conference in Hong Kong, Baidu’s Wang Jing says driverless cars will reduce traffic and be used as a sharing vehicle that can talk with police.
  • Seth MacFarlane takes nasty swipe at Trump on Twitter

    06/03/2016 7:52:16 AM PDT · by SoFloFreeper · 40 replies
    Twitter ^ | 6/2/16 | sff
    There are four living former Presidents... as well as [Valerie's man child]. None of them support Donald Trump. That's called bipartisanship. Perhaps America should pay attention to the people who actually know what the job entails.
  • Lenovo tells users to remove its unsafe bloatware

    06/02/2016 11:52:22 PM PDT · by Utilizer · 9 replies
    iTnews ^ | Jun 2 2016 8:50AM (AUS) | Juha Saarinen
    PC maker Lenovo is advising its customers to remove bundled software from its laptops and desktops due to its potential to be used for remote code execution. The software is the Lenovo Accelerator Application. The company warned that an attacker with man in the middle position on a network could exploit the vulnerable update mechanism, and run arbitrary code on users' systems. The vulnerability is rated as high risk by Lenovo. To protect against the vulnerability, Lenovo said users should uninstall the Accelerator Application, which is bundled on a large number of the company's retail notebooks and desktop computers.
  • Mysterious Stuxnet copycat discovered

    06/02/2016 10:29:27 PM PDT · by Utilizer · 12 replies
    iTnews (AUS) ^ | Jun 3 2016 9:43AM (AUS) | Allie Coyne
    Security researchers have uncovered new malware targeting industrial control systems that uses similar techniques to those employed by the infamous Stuxnet worm. Infosec firm FireEye today published a report on the 'Irongate' malware it discovered at the end of last year. The researchers found the malware within the database of the Google-owned VirusTotal website, which allows users and security researchers to submit suspicious files for scanning by antivirus software. Two samples of Irongate had been uploaded in 2014 by different sources, the researchers said, but had not been flagged as malicious by any antivirus vendors' scanners. FireEye only discovered the...
  • I Want To Buy My First 3D Printer- Any Advice?

    06/02/2016 8:56:04 PM PDT · by ghosthost · 49 replies
    3dprinting ^ | 6-2-2016 | Self
    I am looking to purchase my first 3d Printer. I assume I have waited long enough for the bugs to have been worked out. Ha. I would like one with a good-sized stage/printing platform and I don't want to invest in a clunker or off-brand. I don't even know what the good brands are. Any advice from you good folks would be appreciated. If you can include links, that would be wonderful. The plastic resin-type ones are fine. I don't need to print metallic objects. Just something sturdy with a good warranty as I assume they break easily? Also, I...
  • Is This The World's Most Secure Smartphone?

    06/02/2016 5:28:57 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 4 replies
    Emirates 24/7 ^ | Thursday, June 02, 2016 | Joseph George
    Android phone with military grade security priced at Dh64000A new tech startup unveiled its first device yesterday, promising to be the world's fastest, most secure device. Offering worldwide network compatibility and military grade security, Solarin comes with a price tag of $17,400 (about Dh64000). Sirin Labs was formed in December 2014 with $72million as seed capital and as the founders say with an aim to produce the best and most secure smartphone. The company has partnered with multiple solutions providers in its attempt to create the device which they say is aimed at world's top businessmen who want every...
  • Apple applies the falling-cat method to keep dropped iPhone intact

    06/02/2016 12:16:12 PM PDT · by Swordmaker · 35 replies
    SiliconBeat ^ | June 2, 2016 | By Ethan Baron
    By Ethan Baron / June 2, 2016 at 10:52 AM We will give Apple engineers the benefit of the doubt and assume they weren’t inspired to create new drop-protection technology for iPhones by throwing cats out of a fourth-story window.Yet the method they’ve proposed in a new patent application for keeping dropped phones from breaking bears a remarkable resemblance to the behavior of a plunging cat, which can orient itself mid-air for the safest landing, on its feet.“As mobile electronic devices impact a surface after freefall they may be substantially damaged, even if they are encased within a cover or other protective device,” the patent application begins. “Smart phones with...