MakeUseOf: How to Use Your iPhone as a Webcam: 5 Methods That Work. “Did you know it’s possible to use your iPhone as a webcam? It’s never going to quite mimic a webcam in the traditional sense, but there are a few apps that’ll record the phone’s camera and send it to a Mac, a Windows PC, another mobile device, or even to the web.”
hardware
Business Insider: Facebook accidentally put hidden messages like ‘Big Brother is Watching’ and ‘The Masons Were Here’ in ‘tens of thousands’ of VR controllers
Business Insider: Facebook accidentally put hidden messages like ‘Big Brother is Watching’ and ‘The Masons Were Here’ in ‘tens of thousands’ of VR controllers. “Facebook said it accidentally hid bizarre and ‘inappropriate’ messages inside ‘tens of thousands’ of virtual-reality controllers, including ‘Big Brother is Watching’ and ‘The Masons Were Here.'” This company is worth over 500 billion dollars.
TechCrunch: Spy on your smart home with this open source research tool
TechCrunch: Spy on your smart home with this open source research tool. “In a blog about the effort the researchers write that their aim is to offer a simple tool for consumers to analyze the network traffic of their Internet connected gizmos. The basic idea is to help people see whether devices such as smart speakers or wi-fi enabled robot vacuum cleaners are sharing their data with third parties. (Or indeed how much snitching their gadgets are doing.)” Mac only for now, Windows and Linux on a wait list.
Ars Technica: DHS, FBI say election systems in all 50 states were targeted in 2016
Ars Technica: DHS, FBI say election systems in all 50 states were targeted in 2016. “A joint intelligence bulletin (JIB) has been issued by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation to state and local authorities regarding Russian hacking activities during the 2016 presidential election. While the bulletin contains no new technical information, it is the first official report to confirm that the Russian reconnaissance and hacking efforts in advance of the election went well beyond the 21 states confirmed in previous reports.”
OPEnS Hub: Real-time Data Logging, Connecting Field Sensors to Google Sheets (ScholarsArchive@OSU)
ScholarsArchive@OSU: OPEnS Hub: Real-time Data Logging, Connecting Field Sensors to Google Sheets. “In Earth science, we must often collect data from sensors installed in remote locations. Retrieving these data and storing them can be challenging. Present options include proprietary commercial dataloggers, communication devices, and protocols with rigid software and data structures that may require ongoing expenses. While there are open-source solutions that include telemetry, such as EnviroDIY’s Mayfly, none presently generate real-time, remotely accessible workbooks (EnviroDIY, 2018). The Openly Published Environmental Sensing (OPEnS) Lab developed the OPEnS Hub, a new approach to using low-power, open-source hardware and software to achieve real-time data logging from the field to the web.”
BetaNews: Check to see if your computer was targeted by the ASUS ShadowHammer malware
BetaNews: Check to see if your computer was targeted by the ASUS ShadowHammer malware. “Yesterday we reported about a warning from Kaspersky that the ASUS Live Update Utility had been hacked to deliver ShadowHammer backdoor malware. ASUS has now released a patch to secure systems, and Kaspersky has released a tool that you can use to check whether you have been affected by the malware.”
Reuters: Google glass helps kids with autism read facial expressions
Reuters: Google glass helps kids with autism read facial expressions. “Children with autism may have an easier time reading facial expressions and navigating social interactions when they use Google Glass paired with a smartphone app, a small experiment suggests.”
