What’s worse than ransomware? Self-replicating ransomware. “Dubbed ‘Ransom:Win32/ZCryptor.A,’ or simply ‘ZCryptor,’ the malware is distributed by the usual spam email infection vector. Once executed, the malware makes sure it runs once the system is booted. Furthermore, to be able to reproduce itself, it drops an autorun.inf in removable drives, a “zycrypt.lnk” in the start-up folder, […]
Because the Internet isn’t weird enough, there’s now a Werner Herzog chatbot on Facebook. “This is the first thing WernerBot — a whimsical Facebook message bot that claims to be the “best and only way to chat with Werner Herzog over the Internet” — will say to you when first engage it with a simple […]
A new software/tech package lets you do image and video searches by sketch. “Researchers at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Basel have developed a system known as ‘vitrivr’, which allows a search for images and videos by means of a sketch. The user creates a sketch of the desired […]
In Russia, Google is now more popular than Yandex. “The American company’s success over Russian web giant Yandex has been attributed to increasing numbers of users accessing the service through tablets and smartphones, Vedomosti reported. Statistics provided by market research agency TNS showed Google reached 20.5 million Russian users in April 2016. Yandex was only […]
Uh-oh, looks like Google’s Go-playing AI AlphaGo is playing another human challenger. “The world’s top Go (or Weiqi) player, 19-year-old Chinese Ke Jie, is likely to compete with an AI-powered Go-playing system in October in Hainan province, according to a tweet on Chinese Twitter-like Sina Weibo. The tweet is believed to have been posted by […]
Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Microsoft have reached an agreement with the EU over its hate speech rules. ” Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, and YouTube today agreed to European regulations that require them to review ‘the majority of’ hateful online content within 24 hours of being notified — and to remove it, if necessary — as part […]
Zow: researchers in Finland have created a tool that predicts unemployment levels for the 28 members of the EU. “In the UK, 14 different search terms were chosen as likely indicators of someone’s unemployment, with other terms in other languages used in different countries.”
The BBC is making its micro:bit computer available to everybody. “The BBC micro:bit is a small, 32-bit computer, with LED lights and buttons which can be programmed to do your bidding. It also has Bluetooth support, an accelerometer and a compass, widely expanding the number of usage scenarios.”
A US Court has decided that Google Earth does not infringe any patents. “The US District Court for the District of Delaware has determined that the Google Earth technology, which is used to display refined images of the planet, did not infringe a US patent owned by Art+Com Innovationpool (ACI).”
Reddit hasn’t been hacked, it says, but is resetting some account credentials after “account takeovers”. “Reddit has reset more than 100,000 user passwords following a rise in account takeovers. Reddit explained that it hasn’t been hacked, but that it has noticed a surge in account takeovers by malicious, or ‘spammy’, third parties, probably owing to […]
From Northeastern: Researchers mine Twitter to reveal Congress’ ideological divide on climate change. “In a new paper published Monday in the journal Climate Change Responses, [Brian] Helmuth and his Northeastern colleagues analyzed the Twitter accounts of U.S. senators to see which legislators followed research-oriented science organizations, including those covering global warming. Democrats, they found, were […]
From Search Engine Land: 7 essential Google Analytics reports every marketer must know. “You may be using Google Analytics, but are you using it to its full potential? Contributor Khalid Saleh lays out 7 key reports with which every marketer should be familiar.”
KICKSTARTER CORNER: Britanny Bunk (I’m not kidding, that’s her name) is trying to raise money for an open database of California drought solutions. “The database’s goal is reducing preventable water consumption for surviving a drought (esp. in California). The data (in Excel) helps in making conscious decisions that lead to societal changes (within consumer/lifestyle habits […]
Romania has a new online museum for corruption. “Romania’s new Corruption Museum hosts the Bribes’ Gallery, where visitors can find some of the most famous cases of bribery in Romania, and the Bribe Test, which lets people test their knowledge on local corruption. The museum’s website is currently available only in Romanian.” Dang. I tried […]