Is the Government Spying On You?

Are you concerned that the government is spying on you? A consortium of human rights activists claim a new app called Detekt will alert you if spies are watching.

Detekt works like an antivirus scan. Run it on your computer, and it tells you if the machine has been infected with malware that many government-sponsored hackers are known to use to spy on activists and journalists.

For example, the Ethiopian government has been hiring hacking mercenaries to crack down on bloggers. Ethopia has jailed journalists for critical reporting. Their surveillance is widespread: An American citizen in Silver Spring, Maryland with Ethiopian ties recently found this kind of spyware on his home computer, according to a federal lawsuit.
Ala'a Shehabi, a British economist in Bahrain, was among those targeted with FinFisher spyware during that country's lethal military crackdown on pro-democracy protests during the Arab Spring in 2012.

And the Chinese government is widely suspected of spying on its citizens' online activities.
Related: How the NSA can 'turn on' your phone remotely
Detekt is the work of Italian security researcher Claudio Guarnieri, Amnesty International, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and similar groups in England and Germany.

Android 5.0 Hidden Features

The Android 5.0 mobile OS has been released and some Android users already have it installed on their Android enabled devices, but do you know of the hidden features that came with the new OS?

please open the link below to check all the new features.

THE LINK.

Goodnews For WIndows Phone Users

Microsoft is really putting the interest of its mobile phone users into consideration, the company has come up with a major update on the Windows 8.1 mobile operation system.

Microsoft has recently updated Windows Phone 8.1 update 1 to build number 4203.306. This version

 of Microsoft's mobile OS is available to those who are signed up to receive the Windows Phone Developer Preview updates. According to a report published on Sunday, the new build will make it easier for Windows Phone 8.1 users to monitor their phone's battery life in real time, and much more.

With the new build comes an improvement to the Battery Saver tile which will become a Live Tile showing the percentage of battery life remaining until the phone goes dead. You will also be able to add Battery Saver as one of the quick action settings. In India, the highest connection speed will be listed as 4G following the update. The phone's clock will show network time by default, and problems with the Russian Time Zone have been fixed. The dialer will once again include all call details, and Windows Phone updates can be scheduled.

Earlier today, I passed along the word that the Nokia Lumia 930, Nokia Lumia 830 and the Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet will be the first three models to receive the Lumia Denim update, which includes Windows Phone 8.1 update 1. The firmware update will start getting pushed out later this month, according to the latest speculation.

Goodnews For Samsung Fans

 

According to the IDC, Samsung's market share dropped sharply in Q2 2014 to 24.9%, down from 32.2% in Q2 2013. Most analysts agree that this mostly has to do with the success of Chinese manufacturers, who, until recently, weren't really that much of a factor in the global rankings.

To counter, Samsung has already made it clear that it'll be adopting a two-pronged approach. It'll start by moving things around with its low- and mid-range line-ups by positioning them at even lower price points whilst, at the same, reducing the ridiculous number of different models available (up to 30% less), and work on keeping its premium handsets unique by incorporating tech that is either hard or impossible for competitors to mimic. If you've been keeping tabs on Samsung the last few months, you'll know that advanced display solutions are something the company has been working hard on – we've seen it first with the Galaxy Round, and now, with the Galaxy Note Edge. The next step, however, is to produce smartphones with displays that fold in half.

You read that right – according to Lee Chang-hoon, the VP of Samsung Display's business strategic team, who spoke at the Samsung Investor Forum 2014 in New York, the company "will secure production capacity of 30,000 to 40,000" foldable displays per month by the end of 2015. Chang-hoon says that the current plan is to bring a consumer-ready device with a foldable screen by next Christmas, and continue ramping up the company's production capabilities well into 2016. 

Lee also says that Samsung Display is working on lowering production costs associated with the manufacturing of AMOLED displays in order to better compete with LCD solutions which are comparatively cheaper. Apparently, the hope is for the company to reach a 50:50 ratio – or half of the panels that come off the conveyor belt should go to outside accounts.

We'll have to wait and see if Samsung's plans will work out and if the behemoth company will be able to pull out of the quicksand.

Space Travel So Far

It's hard to top the tricky, first-ever landing on a comet, broadcast live on the Internet.

That's what space lovers and other curious types got on Wednesday, when the European Space Agency's probe Philae touched down on Comet 67P.

It was high drama that continued into the afternoon as questions arose about whether the probe, in fact, stuck the landing despite the fact that harpoons designed to anchor it failed to fire. Then the probe's batteries appeared to conk out.

Many in the United States bemoaned the fact that it was a European agency, not an American one, that led the mission (although NASA was part of a consortium of partners for the mission).

Actually, NASA has done something very similar. The space agency made an impromptu landing on an asteroid called Eros on February 12, 2001.

The agency's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous-Shoemaker (NEAR-Shoemaker), the first mission to orbit an asteroid, wasn't designed to land, but when the mission ended, NASA decided to give it a try. It worked. The probe continued to send back data for several days and made its last call back to Earth on Feb. 28, 2001.

There are dozens of other exciting unmanned missions underway -- and several really cool ones that have wrapped up. Take a look at the gallery above, which highlights 11 fascinating space missions.

The New Double Blue Check on WhatsApp

Earlier this month, an update to the Android version of WhatsApp added Read Receipts. This is the feature that shows you a double blue check mark next to your sent messages, which means that the recipient of your message has read it. Of course, with the messaging app's tit-for-tat way of thinking, adding the feature also means that those sending you messages will know if you read their missive.

Not every WhatsApp member was thrilled about the Read Receipts feature, so the messaging app's website is offering an update for Android users to version 2.11.444. After the update, you will be given an option to enable or disable Read Receipts. Keep in mind that if you do disable the feature, you won't be able to get the check marks for messages that you send (tit-for-tat, remember?). Also, you cannot disable the Read Receipts feature for group messages. Once everyone in the group has read a message you sent, the blue double check marks will appear regardless if you've disabled the feature for individual messages.

The update is only available for now from the WhatsApp website, which you can visit by clicking on the sourcelink. Eventually it might be available from the Google Play Store. Additionally, those running an Android phone powered by Lollipops are reporting that heads-up notifications have been added, following the installation of the update. Lastly, profile pictures are reportedly inside circles with Android 5.0. Previous Android versions used a square for profile pictures.

Witricity - Wireless ELectricity

 

Witricity or Wireless Electricity has been envisaged many years before now but so many people have expressed fear on how safe a wireless Electricity really can be. But that fear seems to be fading has wireless Electricity is gradually becoming a reality! Have you given thought to how nice it would be to do away with those many cords in your house? please read on to get a feel of witricity - wireless Electricity.

But please be informed, this article is a bit very technical, enjoy.

 

More than a century ago, engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla proposed a global system of wireless transmission of electricity—or wireless power. But one key obstacle to realizing this ambitious vision has always been the inefficiency of transferring power over long distances.

A sample of a Witricity home in the future

Near the end of the last decade, however, a team of MIT researchers led by Professor of Physics Marin Soljacic took definitive steps toward more practical wireless charging. First, in 2007, the team wirelessly lit a 60-watt light bulb from eight feet away using two large copper coils, with similarly tuned resonant frequencies, that transferred energy from one to the other over the magnetic field. Then, in 2010, they shrunk the coils down and significantly increased the efficiency of the system, noting future applications in consumer products.
Now, this "wireless electricity" (or "WiTricity") technology—licensed through the researchers' startup, WiTricity Corp.—is coming to mobile devices, electric vehicles, and potentially a host of other applications.

Your Gadgets, Devices in the future will be powered and charged wirelessly

The aim is to forge toward a "wire-free world," says Soljacic. Primarily, this means consumers need not carry wires and power bricks. But it could also lead to benefits such as smaller batteries and less hardware—which would lower costs for manufacturers and consumers.
"It's probably a dream of any professor at MIT to help change the world for a better place," says Soljacic, a WiTricity co-founder who now serves on its board of directors. "We believe wireless charging has a potential to do that."

He is not alone. Last month, WiTricity signed a licensing agreement with Intel to integrate WiTricity technology into computing devices powered by Intel. Back in December, Toyota licensed WiTricity technology for a future line of electric cars. Several more publicized and unpublicized companies have recently joined in the licensing parade for this technology, including Thoratec for their implantable ventricular assisting devices, and TDK for wireless electric vehicle-charging systems. There's even talk of a helmet powered wirelessly via backpack, specifically for military applications.
At present, WiTricity technology charges devices at around 6 to 12 inches with roughly 95 percent efficiency—12 watts for mobile devices and up to 6.6 kilowatts for cars. But, with growing research and development, the company is increasing distance, scale, and efficiency. It's also developed repeaters: passive devices that extend the distance of the power transfer. These can be developed into a wide variety of shapes and can be embedded in a carpet to "hop" the power across a room.

 

The United State Government And Their Strange Interest On The Internet

Obama at the White House

On the same morning net neutrality demonstrators showed up at FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's house to protest a plan that could let broadband providers charge for "fast lanes" to the Internet, the demonstrators found unexpected support from the White House.
President Obama released a statement and video Monday in which he makes the same demand as the demonstrators: Reclassify the Internet — and mobile broadband — as a public utility under Title II of the Telecommunications Act.

"I believe the FCC should create a new set of rules protecting net neutrality and ensuring that neither the cable company nor the phone company will be able to act as a gatekeeper, restricting what you can do or see online," Obama said in the statement.
He goes on to make the case that reclassification is the best way to achieve the objectives of an open Internet: No throttling of some content and speeding up others, no paid prioritization — customers getting stuck in a "slow lane" because the sites they are visiting didn't pay a fee — and no blocking content.
It gets pretty thorny, but here's what you need to know: Categorizing the Internet as a utility would allow the FCC to pass a simple, blanket, easy-to-enforce rule on net neutrality for all ISPs rather than going at it piecemeal.
Big ISPs — Comcast, Verizon and Time Warner — and their trade associations and lobbyists argue that the Title II option is going to lead to suffocating regulation that would give them no incentive to invest millions in developing new technologies and maintaining or improving the current network connecting Americans to the Internet.
Proponents of net neutrality say the ISPs haven't invested as much as they could have all along. The U.S. lags behind dozens of other countries in Internet speed, ranking 42nd.
Bottom line, this is a pretty big deal. The president has long supported the principle of net neutrality, but has never before come this far in backing a specific approach to protect it. The FCC just two weeks ago floated a more "hybrid" plan, reported by The Wall Street Journal. Backers of net neutrality didn't like the reported approach because it would still allow Internet service providers to make deals with content providers for special access.
The question is, of course, whether the president's stand will make any difference to rule-makers, who act independently of the White House.

Microsoft And Your Data

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Microsoft — a company most associated with Word documents and Excel spreadsheets — is getting a makeover.
Under new leadership, the software developer is analyzing vast troves of data about its users to create social tools for the workplace. They've got the goods — just think of all those Office emails that bind us together — but the question is, will customers want to cozy up socially with Microsoft, on and off the job?

Old Data, New Strategy
"Microsoft: the social network" is, at first glance, a strange idea. But it makes a kind of sense. While Facebook may have the best map of our personal relationships, Microsoft has the best map of our work lives.
"What drives me, is for you to be able to get more out of every moment of your life," says Satya Nadella, Microsoft's new CEO. "You want to be able to create a document, get to a meeting, be productive in the meeting, have your notes taken in the meeting automatically for you."
While many companies block social media sites in the workplace, companies pay Microsoft to be on the inside, and to store internal documents, calendar items, meeting notes and attendees, contacts and more.

According to a recent quarterly earnings report, more than 1 billion people use Office — that's 1 out of every 7 people on Earth. With just a bit of Big Data analysis, Microsoft could create social tools to help users decide what and who is important to them.
"In a world of abundance of computing, the only thing scarce is human attention," Nadella says. "And our job is to be able to help you get more out of those moments of your life."
And "those moments" don't have to be just from 9 to 5 — Nadella says he wants users to get as much out of the programs in the personal lives as they do at work.
Microsoft is racing to get its web-based version of Office, which is called Office 365, on every smartphone and tablet — which they recently decided to do for free.
That way, Microsoft's personal assistant can follow you everywhere and get more personal. For example, it could integrate your GPS location with your to-do list so that when you step inside your home, you get a reminder.

Here Is A Firefox Web Browser Developer Editions

Firefox has released a Developer version of its web browser, this version will be very useful to web masters and computer software programmers. However, non ICT technical users will also find the new version of firefox very useful and interesting. 

 

Windows/OS X/Linux: Firefox has always been a great browser for development, but this week Mozilla's released Firefox Developer Edition: a browser packed with developer-friendly features like WebIDE, Valence for cross-browser debugging, responsive design view, and more.

The Firefox Developer edition features plenty of developer tools and extensions built right into the browser. WebIDE is the replacement for App Manager, and lets you build fully functioning applications from your browser or Firefox OS device. Responsive Design View lets you see your app or website as you resize it for different platforms, and Valence lets you debug for different browsers, including Chrome and Safari. Other handy tools that we're used to like Page Inspector, Web Console, and Web Audio Editor, are included as well.

From the looks of it, Firefox Developer Edition was primarily created with the mobile developer in mind, but that doesn't mean you can't create desktop applications.

You can get the version from their official website HERE.

US Weather System hacked! - Unbelievable!

Hackers attacked the U.S. weather system in October, causing a disruption in satellite feeds and several pivotal websites.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, said that four of its websites were hacked in recent weeks. To block the attackers, government officials were forced to shut down some of its services.

This explains why satellite data was mysteriously cut off in October, as well as why the National Ice Center website and others were down for more than a week. During that time, federal officials merely stated a need for "unscheduled maintenance."
Still, NOAA spokesman Scott Smullen insisted that the aftermath of the attack "did not prevent us from delivering forecasts to the public."
Little more is publicly known about the attack, which was first revealed by The Washington Post. It's unclear what damage, if any, was caused by the hack.
Related: Welcome to the Age of Hacks
But hackers managed to penetrate what's considered one of the most vital aspects of the U.S. government. The nation's military, businesses and local governments all rely on nonstop reports from the U.S. weather service.
The impact of the hack was real: Scientists at Atmospheric and Environmental Research in Lexington, Massachusetts were unable to send a preliminary report about weather patterns to traders and investors earlier this year.
"We were shut out entirely. That's our one source of data," said Rutgers climatologist David Robinson, whose global snow lab also relies on the satellite data.
The cyberattack on the U.S. weather system is only the latest one on the United States. The White House was hacked last month. Shortly before that, hackers breached USIS, a federal contractor that knows who has top security clearances for the U.S. government -- because it provides background checks.
Typically, cybersecurity experts blame Russia for hacks on the nation's infrastructure -- or sometimes China.