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Terrill Frantz, a cybersecurity associate professor at Harrisburg University, compares smart TVs to your smartphone. TVs on the market now have the ability to connect to the internet. They’re equipped with cameras, microphones, and in some cases, facial recognition technology. “How easy is it for somebody to hack into a smart TV,” I asked. “Well, presently, it’s fairly easy,” answered Frantz. The FBI says smart TVs are often poorly secured by their manufacturers, compared to computers or smartphones. Experts say cyber-criminals can hack in and change channels, play with the volume, and in a worst-case scenario, watch and listen to...

An overview of modern surveillance technology including the antennas done. Presentation by wireless expert Kent Britain, WA5VJB

Most people know of the great construction achievements of the dynastic Egyptians such as the pyramids and temples of the Giza Plateau area as well as the Sphinx. Many books and videos show depictions of vast work forces hewing blocks of stone in the hot desert sun and carefully setting them into place. However, some of these amazing works could simply not have been made by these people during the time frame that we call dynastic Egypt. Up until the 7th century BC there was very little iron present in Egypt, as this material only became commonly used once the...

For China, technology is a weapon that is to be used to dominate the world. A number of American high-tech corporations are helping China to achieve the objective.Long before Xi Jinping introduced in 2014 the Social Credit system that is supposed to be fully functioning by 2020, a forerunner existed for more than a century in the United States. The early form of what is a credit bureau appeared in 1899 under the name of the Retail Credit Company to be rebranded Equifax in 1975. It has been followed by Trans-Union and Experian that comprised the three main bureaus in...

If talking politics at Thanksgiving is not enough to get you removed from the guest list for holidays in December, here's some gift ideas that will ensure you won't get invited back next year. Ever find yourself in a position to need to buy a gift for someone you just don't like? Perhaps an in-law, or obstinate niece or nephew? Or, just looking to avoid terrible gifts? TechRepublic assembled the worst possible gift ideas—products that you can give to people that serve as the holiday equivalent of "Here, it's your problem now." In other words, the digital equivalent of buying...

She told the cheering crowd that OneCoin was on course to become the world's biggest cryptocurrency "for everyone to make payments everywhere". Documents leaked to the BBC show that British people spent almost €30m on OneCoin in the first six months of 2016, €2m of it in a single week - and the rate of investment could have increased after the Wembley extravaganza. Between August 2014 and March 2017 more than €4bn was invested in dozens of countries. … It took McAdam three months to go through it all, but questions were starting to form. She started asking the leaders...

With the aim of improving accuracy in reporting about Israel, the Israeli government press office hosted Christian Media Summit 2019 from Nov. 3-6. It kicked off at the Friends of Zion Museum, featuring speeches by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin. As a Summit delegate, I represented the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem-Canada. Most striking to me amid the pomp-and-ceremony, impressive lectures and historic sites was Israel’s embrace of life, which was evident in the fabric of its culture. Israel is like a world unto itself and the epitome of diversity, despite the tainting of the word “diversity”...

Former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) says the fires now consuming large swaths of the state are the fault of Republicans. "Both myself and current Gov. Newsom have been striving to return California to the kind of ecological balance that prevailed before the white man invaded the area," Brown asserted. "It is the GOP's insistence on imposing modern technology that is the true cause of the conflagration. If it weren't for the massive amounts of electricity needed to power the unnatural lifestyles of the white man we wouldn't need the PG&E electric lines that are setting our forests on fire." Prior...

God bless our military. The complete success of the raid that took out ISIS founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Bahgdadi is just the latest reminder of how good our forces are at taking the fight to the enemies of the United States. But not every threat to our safety can be eliminated by a daring helicopter raid and brave group of special forces. For most of them, we need to maintain our dominance in force training and technology. As was most famously President Ronald Reagan’s philosophy, we can only maintain peace through strength.The idea should not be controversial – if...

In early August, Elizabeth Warren released a plan that promises free internet access to every household in America. As with most Democratic proposals, the intentions are loudly touted, but the costs and dangers are hidden. Warren's ‘free’ internet comes with a hefty taxpayer bill of $85 billion to fund public and non-profit firms across the country. If the proposal were to pass, construction cost overages should be expected. Once established, the federal apparatus will always demand more cash for their budgets. Lest we forget, in the mind of a Democrat, the Government is always understaffed and the need for new...

When I visited UCLA’s Boelter Hall last Wednesday, I took the stairs to the third floor, looking for Room 3420. And then I walked right by it. From the hallway, it’s a pretty unassuming place. But something monumental happened there 50 years ago today. A graduate student named Charley Kline sat at an ITT Teletype terminal and sent the first digital data transmission to Bill Duvall, a scientist who was sitting at another computer at the Stanford Research Institute (now known as SRI International) on the other side of California. It was the beginning of ARPANET, the small network of...

The 12c calculator from Hewlett-Packard is one of those products that is so ubiquitous and familiar that you almost forget it exists, yet at the same time is so different that there's almost nothing like it. Whenever someone pulls it out of a drawer or pocket to do a calculation, no matter how trivial, you know you are dealing with a professional. Remarkably, it has been in continuous production for over 35 years, with very few changes. While there are now fancier and in some ways more sophisticated calculators, such as with screens for doing graphs, the 12c remains a...

I locked my car. As I walked away I heard my car door unlock. I went back and locked my car again three times. Each time, as soon as I started to walk away, I would hear it unlock again!! Naturally alarmed, I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. They were obviously watching me intently, and there was no doubt they were somehow involved in this very weird situation . I quickly chucked the errand I was on, jumped in my car and sped away. I went...

https://twitter.com/InterestingSci1/status/1186250945073733633

Known as Quantum Stealth, the new invisibility cloak takes the form of a thin, inexpensive material that makes objects vanish from sight even though the background is still visible. The brainchild of Canadian camouflage design company Hyperstealth Biotechnology, the new material can conceal the presence of entire vehicles and could prove invaluable on the battlefield. It even works for non-visible wavelengths from mid- and near-ultraviolet to the infrared.

Includes setting to turn ads off – stop hissing at the back, Google Alternative search engine DuckDuckGo has announced improvements to its search options and an enhanced dark theme, but its tiny market share shows that most people are content to stick with Google, despite privacy issues.DuckDuckGo says it offers search without any user profiling, in contrast to the trend towards personalisation and targeted advertising favoured by its competitors. Founder Gabriel Weinberg says that profiling and tracking is unnecessary since simply presenting ads based on the keywords you type is sufficient for a business model. "If you type in 'dishwasher',...

Jeffrey Epstein, a powerful pedophile who got a pass from multiple justice systems, until his luck ran out, is dead. These are bits and pieces of a much bigger picture about the powerful relationships that he maintained with some very powerful people. We know that Epstein had a relationship with Bill Gates that was compelling enough to get the Microsoft kingpin to donate millions on his behalf. In October, 2014, the Media Lab received a two-million-dollar donation from Bill Gates; Ito wrote in an internal e-mail, “This is a $2M gift from Bill Gates directed by Jeffrey Epstein.” Cohen replied,...

China's biggest tech group moves on senior research scientists following US crackdown TAIPEI -- Huawei Technologies is redeploying senior executives and scientists who have U.S. links due to growing concern inside China's biggest tech company that they could be co-opted by American agents and leak confidential data, multiple sources have told the Nikkei Asian Review. The world's biggest telecom equipment builder and second-largest smartphone maker, which Washington insists is involved in covert surveillance by Beijing, has also reinforced electronic security systems between its overseas offices and Chinese headquarters to minimize security leaks, the Nikkei Asian Review has learned. Huawei lies...

Those Knightscope security robots may not be so great at their jobs. When a woman in a park near Los Angeles saw people fighting and tried to summon help via a police robot patrolling nearby, the robot merely told her to "step out of the way" and continued along its pre-determined route, according to NBC News. No help came until the spectators called 911 directly, raising the question of what, if any, function these robots are actually supposed to serve. It turns out that the robot, a K5 model named "HP RoboCop", patrols the park on behalf of the police...

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A Colorado physicist is putting his scientific expertise to a practical purpose -- using a 3D printer to build a Lamborghini with his 11-year-old son. Erie resident Sterling Backus and his son, Xander, 11, started work on their full-size, working model of an Italian supercar -- specifically the Lamborghini Aventador -- when the boy asked his father if it was possible. "One day I said to him, hey can we build one of those?" Xander Backus told WCNC-TV. Sterling Backus said his background as a "gear head" has thus far been more helpful than his training...