Researchers develop a new technique to identify faces from reflections

Researchers conducted an experiment where image of bystanders were extracted from the corneal reflections of the photo images of an individual.

Scientists have developed a new forensics technique in which they were able to extract images from the corneal reflections of an individual of people standing nearby. The technique can be useful while conducting criminal investigations.Researchers Rob Jenkins from the University of York in Britain, and collaborator Christie Kerr, from the University of Glasgow, conducted the experiment in which they found that faces can be reconstructed from images taken of an individual with commercial digital cameras and enhanced with off-the-shelf image-processing software.

For the experiment, the scientists used a high-end digital camera and sat five volunteers for a passport-photo-like shot, using studio lighting. All the five people where in the room even when not being clicked and stood close to the photographer to be included in the reflection off the subject's corneas.

Then they asked the subjects to identify images from the reflections as well as the original digital images. Nine out of 10 volunteers were able to correctly identify from the corneal images. The group which was familiar with the five subjects were able to identify the persons with 84 percent success rate and those unfamiliar with the subjects in the photographs were able to identify with 71 percent success rate.

The researchers added that this forensics technology can be used in crimes where the victims are photographed, like abductions or child sex abuse. The reflections in the eyes of the photographic subject could help in identifying perpetrators. They added that the images of people retrieved from cameras seized as evidence during criminal investigations may be used to piece together networks of associates or to link individuals to particular locations.

"The pupil of the eye is like a black mirror. To enhance the image, you have to zoom in and adjust the contrast. A face image that is recovered from a reflection in the subject's eye is about 30,000 times smaller than the subject's face. Our findings thus highlight the remarkable robustness of human face recognition, as well as the untapped potential of high-resolution photography," Jenkins said.

"You could think of it as a foray into extreme facial recognition. Yes, the camera can resolve the face, and yes, the brain can identify it," he writes, "but both systems are pushed to their limits, and neither could perform the feat alone."

SMS to be soon accepted as official Docs in Govt dealings in India

MSs will soon be acceptable as "documentary proof" for a variety of citizen-services ranging from making payments to registrations.

  

People may soon be able to use SMSs as documentary proof with government departments. The government is launching a 'Mobile Seva' service with over 241 applications relating to health, Aadhaar, Education, RTI, and much more.

Launching the 'Mobile Seva' service, Department of Electronics and IT secretary J Satyanarayana said: "Like Railways, we have to bring in a system wherein by showing (transaction) SMS or, whatever be the case (like e-mail), the proof on mobile is accepted as valid document. To increase our reach we need to bring this kind of practice in mobile and e-governance."

India has over 90 crore mobile subscribers and with the launch of this app it will be easy for them to make transactions with various government departments. At present the digitally signed certificates are accepted as valid document and soon an SMS or a communication available on mobile phone will be accepted as valid proof.

Joint Secretary at DEITY Rajendra Kumar stated that the department is ready with digital signature for mobile phones that the government can use in messages that are to be sent to the citizens applying for a service. "We will start allocating digital signature (Public Key Infrastructure) to all government department on board in first quarter of 2014. Government departments can send communication on mobile of citizen seeking service," Kumar said. DEITY Additional Secretary Rajiv Gauba stated that about 830 departments from the Centre, state and local authorities have come on board, and the department is working on the third phase to further scale up the mobile governance platform and bring more services under its ambit.

"We have to go through inter-ministerial consultations to scale this m-governance store for launch of third phase. The third phase will have many more departments and capacity to add more services application on this store. Final shape of third phase can be known only after consultation process is complete," he said.

The app is available for Android and Java enabled phones for now. Kumar added that the department is aiming to bring all the applications to HTML5 standard which will make them compatible with all mobile platforms in the next six months.

Microsoft's Guardian App For Women's safety

Exclusively available for Windows Phone platform, the Guardian app sends alerts to select contacts, mails and posts to Facebook groups along with your location details.

The Guardian app has a 'track me' feature that allows select users in contact to track the user in real time, using Microsoft Windows Azure cloud services and Bing Map APIs. Users can also send an 'SOS' alert, connect to security agencies, police and hospitals in case of any emergency through this app.

To use the app, users need to add names of select contacts to the settings who can be reached out to in an emergency situation. Users can alert them through the SOS button. Clicking the SOS button will send a distress message to selected contacts, alerting them along with users' location. The SOS button also sends emails to select email ids and posts to private Facebook groups.

A group of Microsoft employees developed the Guardian app in a span of over six months. Microsoft's new distress app comes in the awake of recent cases of violence against women in the country, especially the last year's Nirbhaya case. So far, quite a few distress apps have been launched. Notion Ink recently launched “I'm Shakti” application for the Android platform.India’s first managed security company, SMART 24X7, recently launched ‘Panic’ Button, an Android operating system for smartphones. Some of the popular safety apps available for smartphones are Channel V's VithU, Me Against Rape, Fight Back by Whypoll, Street Safe and The Eye watch.

                     

"Our employees wanted to do something to enable people to feel safer in our cities. So they used their spare time to develop Guardian. It is a robust personal security app with more safety features and capabilities than any other comparable app available to Indian smartphone users today, Microsoft IT India Managing Director Raj Biyani is quoted as saying.

Your Smart TV can Monitor You

Smart TVs have been around for a while and most of them equipped with a whole plethora of apps as well as in-built internet connectivity, to let you stream any content of your liking. However, a few exploits were recently discovered in certain Samsung Smart TV models, which would let hackers ‘watch’ you through the built-in cameras.The security loophole, which was recently discovered and patched, essentially allowed any hacker around the globe to remotely turn on the built-cameras of the Smart TV and watch you while you watch TV.Samsung was quick in fixing this security loophole. However, the instant brings out attention to a greater problem. People are increasingly interested in Smart TVs, so they must be made aware that they come with such possible security issues. Not only that, the vendors of such electronics must make every possible attempt to ramp up their security so that they are not misused.In today’s digital age, everything is fast becoming a part of the automation equation. From home automation systems to our mobile devices, everything is virtually connected to something larger – most of the times a network, or the internet itself. And this essentially opens up the door for thousands of hackers out there to find loopholes and exploit them, in turn harming the user at the end of the day.Although companies like Samsung pay hackers for different security loopholes, so that these exploits could be patched before they are misused. But quite frequently, an exploit is discovered by the vendor company only after it has been used by a number of hackers.

WhatsApp Conversations Stolen By Malicious Android

  
 Gaming App Google recently removed 'Balloon Pop 2' from the Play store after it transpired  that they app stole users WhatsApp conversations

Google has recently identified an Android gaming app on its Play store which is potentially malicious and steals the users WhatsApp conversations. The app has been removed from the Play store. WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps across all major mobile platforms. This is precisely why many hackers and malware programs try to target the app and steal user conversations which are then sold on hacking forums and sites.‘Balloon Pop 2‘ was a legitimate Android app until recently. The app was available on the official Play store and from the looks of it, looked perfectly benign. However, beneath the balloon-shooting game is a malware that copies the WhatsApp conversations on a mobile device and then sends them to the WhatsAppcopy site.The conversations are made available on the said site where they are also resold to others. Interestingly, the WhatsAppcopy site claims that ‘Balloon Pop 2‘ is a legitimate way of ‘backing up‘ your WhatsApp conversations. However, the details of this operation are very murky.For instance, the description on the website reads, “Execute our game on a mobile, whatsapp conversations are sent to this website, an hour later looking for the phone, and you can read the conversations.In other words, as soon as you download and install the game, it sends a copy of your conversations to the online site. On the site, anyone can search for WhatsApp conversations by providing a phone number. If conversations from a particular phone number are available, they can then be purchased by paying a certain fee.Although the creators of the app maintain that it is a perfectly legitimate app to back up conversations, security experts say otherwise. Moreover, the fact that Google has removed it from the Play store further puts a huge question mark on its credibility

Android applications that Upgrade Bitcoin Wallets

Recently, a serious cryptography problem was discovered in Android. The exploit, when used by hackers to break into Bitcoin wallets, would’ve enabled them to steal the currency. In view of the security loophole, several Bitcoin applications have upgraded their wallets.The Android exploit could affect any such Bitcoin applications which rely on an Android component. Specifically, the Java SecureRandom class, which is used to generate random numbers automatically, was found to be problematic when it started generating same numbers for different transactions.Such repetition in what are supposed to be random transaction numbers can allow a hacker to figure out a user’s private key and by using it, steal the user’s Bitcoins.Bitcoin.org was quick to dish out a solution for this problem, “This involves generating a new address with a repaired random number generator and then sending all the money in your wallet back to yourself. Once your wallet is rotated, you will need to contact anyone who has stored addresses generated by your phone and give them a new one.”So far, a number of Bitcoin clients relying on Android have been fixed. These include Blockchain, Bitcoin Wallet, BitcoinSpinner and Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet. It has been reported that in the past, similar security exploits have been used to hack into PS3 machines, which goes on to show that the said Android exploit is serious in its nature. We hope that other Bitcoin clients too will be upgraded soon before hackers make use of this exploit.

A New Era of Hacking through Sounds

Sounds Made By A PC Can Be Used To Hack Personal Details

With every passing day, new and astonishing PC exploits are discovered. Scientists have, for instance, now revealed that the sounds made by a PC can be used to hack the personal details of its users.

This is a fairly astonishing claim because normally, the sounds made by a PC come from its CPU and are not only complex but also quite low. The exact method involves listening in on the CPU sounds very closely as it encrypts secure information. Whenever any information needs to be encrypted using the widely used RSA algorithm, such as when providing login details to a secure site, the CPU makes unique sounds known as loops. Each of these loops corresponds to a particular step in the whole encryption and decryption process. These sounds can be recorded using a mobile microphone. The next part is to take these recorded sounds and match them against unique sounds that correspond to RSA algorithms. Such an analysis of the recorded sounds can reveal the exact RSA key that is used in encryption.

Once a hacker has this information, he can not only access the personal details sent online by a user but may also be able to tap into his login information for online accounts. However, a hacker will need to physically place a low-power microphone near the PC in order to record the sounds. This microphone can be placed within a 13 feet distance of the PC which has to be tapped. Although there have been no instances where such attacks have been reported to have taken place yet, the researchers say, “We experimentally demonstrate that such attacks can be carried out, using either a plain mobile phone placed next to the computer, or a more sensitive microphone placed 4 meters away.”

What is BITCOIN?

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Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer currency. Peer-to-peer means that no central authority issues new money or tracks transactions. These tasks are managed collectively by the network.

A Bitcoin is the base currency of the Bitcoin market. It is like how we reference a Dollar or a Euro, and like the different currencies in the world, the Bitcoin trades at different values based primarily on speculation, supply and demand. One of the most attractive features of Bitcoins is that they are not controlled by any government. They cannot be artificially inflated or deflated. A monetary authority cannot pump more of them into the market to boost the economy. Basically, there is a set amount going out over time and as time goes on the amount entering the market decreases.

It is a digital currency that has made countless headlines in recent days. Its protocol is highly secure, it is anonymous and its value has soared sky high since it initially started. If you want in on the whole thing, here’s how to get you started.

Right now, the value of a single Bitcoin is fluctuating between $600 and $700. It started from virtually nothing but a few dollars per Bitcoin and soared to some $1300 before coming down and stabilizing in the current slot. This should give you an idea that Bitcoin is still a wildly fluctuating digital currency, although many herald it as the future of digital payments.

Bitcoin account and wallet:

To start in the Bitcoin business, the first thing you need is a wallet. A wallet is like your digital account where you  can receive Bitcoin, send Bitcoin from and keep your Bitcoin wealth safe. The second thing you need is link to a Bitcoin exchange so that you can directly buy Bitcoin against your dollar payments.

Coinbase is an excellent place to start because it is a fine combination of the two aforementioned features. It is a wallet plus an exchange and is fairly reliable and reputed. To create a Coinbase account, you will need to furnish your bank account and verify the phone number you provide. There’s also the option of adding a credit card which can speed up your online transactions but that’s your call.

Once you provide all this information, Coinbase will take a few days to verify these details. At times, the company may take many days to verify your details, being wary of Bitcoin-related frauds that have been perpetuated by hackers in the past. As soon as your account is verified, you can start Bitcoin-related transactions right away.

Bitcoin Address:

You will be provided a BTC address, a key which is the digital equivalent of your bank account number. Whenever you want to receive Bitcoin from someone, you will be asked to provide the BTC address. Similarly, if you want to send Bitcoin to another user, you will need that user’s BTC address.

These basics will get you started on the basics of Bitcoin. Given the digital nature of the currency, you must take every measure to keep your Bitcoin-related account information safe from possible hackers.

Bitcoin uses public-key cryptography, peer-to-peer networking, and proof-of-work to process and verify payments. Bitcoins are sent (or signed over) from one address to another with each user potentially having many, many addresses. Each payment transaction is broadcast to the network and included in the blockchain so that the included bitcoins cannot be spent twice. After an hour or two, each transaction is locked in time by the massive amount of processing power that continues to extend the blockchain. Using these techniques, Bitcoin provides a fast and extremely reliable payment network that anyone can use.

 Is bitcoin a real Capitalism?

jingle bells.. jingle bells.. jingle all the way...!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I hope that you've accomplished everything you've set your mind on during that past year. If not, let 2014 be the year of your personal success. I wish you all the love in the world along with the peace to enjoy it.

I myself have been enjoying a wonderful readership from all over the world this past year and I hope to see you all back next year. There are some of you not celebrating Christmas, but I know that the Christmas values are there deep inside everyone. Compassion, sympathy, and love for each other is what makes us humane no matter what God you believe in and how you celebrate it.

So I am sending this warmest Christmas wishes to you and your family. Let Love, Peace and Joy fill your world this Holy season.

First Look of JOLLA

Jolla may be a completely new name in the smartphone game, but the people in charge are no rookies. Founded by former Nokia employees, the Finnish company is looking to give the MeeGo platform a new lease of life. Established in 2011, it took Jolla two years to unveil its first product.

Their first handset is called just like company itself - Jolla, but while the naming wasn't particularly innovative the Sailfish-based smartphone certainly is. It's pretty clear that plenty of fresh new ideas went into its development and the result is quite different from anything else you can get in the market.

The Jolla smartphone runs Sailfish OS - a successor of the MeeGo open platform, which Jolla took and developed further. In a way, it could be viewed as MeeGo 2.0 However, Jolla would like to start fresh and not carry the burden of its neighbor, who abandoned the project that many truly loved.

We are yet to see if the new Finnish kid on the block will feature the same sort of magic as the Nokia N9, which made so many mourn the end of MeeGo. For starters here are the key Jolla specs.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Dimensions: 131 x 68.0 x 9.9mm, 143g

Display: 4.5" IPS LCD display of 960 x 540 pixels resolution, Gorilla Glass 2, 245ppi pixel density

Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 400; dual-core Krait 200 at 1.4GHz, Adreno 305 GPU, 1GB RAM

OS: Sailfish OS

Camera: 8MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

Video camera: 1080p @ 30fps video capture with main camera

Storage: 16GB built-in, microSD card slot with support of up to 64GB

Connectivity: NFC, A-GPS+GLONASS, WLAN (2.4) a/b/g/n, microUSB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0 LE

Battery: 2,100mAh Li-Ion

Misc: Android app compatibility via the Yandex.Store and Amazon Appstore

Given the price tag, the mid-range specifications came as somewhat of a nasty surprise when Jolla unveiled its smartphone. However history has shown that a smartphone can be much more than a sum of its parts and we shouldn't write off any device before giving it a proper test.

And while the screen resolution could have certainly been higher, you can't blame this one for skimping on innovation. The Jolla phone is made out of a unique combination of aluminum and premium plastic and sports a replaceable back panel dubbed "the Other Half", which allows you to automatically change profiles with covers.

5 Top Social Media lessons to be learnt

It was a big year for social media. Twitter made its successful debut on the stock market while Facebook recovered from its troubled IPO a year earlier. We also saw the launch of Vine, the rise of Snapchat and the acceptance of social media by the SEC, which said public companies could use these sites to disclose information And that was just in the United States.

In China, which has the world's biggest population of Internet users, ecommerce giant Alibaba spent $586 million for a stake in Weibo, the country's top microblogging service and a rival to Tencent's popular WeChat instant messaging app. Meanwhile, in the Ukraine, mobile phone operators were expecting a boom in data traffic as protests against the country's president were organized over social networking sites, similar to the Arab Spring of 2011.

All of which is to say that if 2013 showed us one thing, it's that there's a growing global business in accumulating friends and followers. there's a growing global business in accumulating friends and followers.

Of course, similar to previous years, there were also social media gaffes and hacks mixed in, along with plenty of celebrity narcissism and, unfortunately, twerks. We still have a ways to go in understanding and applying social media to the business world, but there was no shortage of lessons to glean from 2013.

Social Media Can Move Markets

On April 23, the Associated Press’ Twitter account was hacked, sending a fake tweet that there were “two explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured.” In a matter of seconds, the Dow dropped 150 points. Then in June, activist investor Carl Icahn joined Twitter, first using it primarily as a megaphone in his battle with Dell and later to announce his stake in companies, most notably Apple. On Aug. 13, Icahn tweeted that he had a "large position" in the iPhone maker, pushing the shares of the tech titan up about 5%.

Witnessing a single tweet swing the pendulum of markets proved that social media is every bit as valuable to day traders as it is to newsmakers.

Social Media Is Increasingly Visual

Sure, you can say a lot in 140 characters, but a picture is still worth a thousand words. In January, Twitter-owned Vine launched as a mobile service for sharing six-second looping videos. Then, in June, Facebook responded by enabling video on Instagram. 

We also saw the rise of Snapchat, a service that allows users to share photos and videos without the permanency of other social networks. That’s because users control how long (one to 10 seconds) the recipients can see their "Snaps." Once the time is up, the photo or video disappears. The service has become so popular among young Internet users that Facebook reportedly recently offered to buy it for $3 billion. Snapchat declined.

And days before its IPO, Twitter launched a product update so that tweets with Twitter photos or Vine videos display a preview thumbnail. While this facelift is still in its early days, it's already made Twitter feel like a more visual and less-textual platform.

Social Media Isn’t Just for the Kids

From Warren Buffett joining Twitter to Jamie Dimon joining the LinkedIn Influencer program, 2013 showed us that global leaders are embracing social media. 

Sometimes, the business impact can be unpredictable, as Rupert Murdoch's tweets have shown.

Social Media Advertising Is Growing, Evolving

During the Super Bowl, the most talked about advertisement wasn’t a coveted 30-second TV commercial, but rather a tweet. After a power outage at the Superdome prompted a 34 minute break in play, Oreo responded by tweeting "No power? No problem" and an image of an Oreo with the text "you can still dunk in the dark." The tweet generated strong press and proved a turning point in the opportunities for advertising on social media. 2013 also showed how much money could be made from social media advertising. In the third quarter, Facebook reported revenue grew 60% compared with a year earlier, with a large piece of that from mobile advertising. Around the same time, Facebook-owned Instagram announced sponsored posts would be coming to user newsfeeds in the United States.

Social Media Could Be TV’s Best Ally

In October, Nielsen Ratings released an analysis showing a correlation between live-tweeting during TV and having a larger, more engaged audience.The data illustrated that 19 million people in the U.S. composed 263 million tweets about live TV in the second quarter of 2013.Social TV is still in the early days but with television as the home to coveted big dollar ads and social media as the venue for audience amplification and engagement, this could be the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship.

Milktape Is a Modern-Day Mixtape for Music Lovers

Product Name: Milktape

Price: $15

Who would like this?: Hopeless romantics, significant others, high school crushes and BFFs

      "I made you a mixtape" is a phrase you probably haven't heard since 1992. Even burning CDs is passé in the era of Spotify. But somehow, sharing a playlist with the click of a mouse just doesn’t pack the same romantic punch as an actual, physical gift. Let's face it, nobody is going to blush like a schoolgirl over a file shared on Dropbox.

Awaken your inner awkward teenager with Milktape, USB cassette tapes that are breathing life into the romantic (albeit antiquated) tradition of exchanging mixtape cassettes with loved ones. Milktape adds a 21st century twist to the gesture by hiding a pop-out USB drive within an iconic cassette case, enabling users to upload 128 megabytes to the device (or approximately 15 songs).

Ladies and gentlemen — this is a great way to step up your game during the holiday season

Milktape is customizable –- drag and drop your favorite tunes onto the drive, eject the device, and then decorate the blank label, case and stickers any way you choose (leave it blank, bust out the Sharpies or simply scribble down the song titles).

Playlist Ideas

Need a few ideas for the perfect Milktape playlist? From sappy to laugh-out-loud, here are a few theme suggestions to boost your creativity:

SEE ALSO: How Spotify Engineered the New Music Economy

1. 'Tis the Season — Christmas carols/seasonal playlists

2. Love Through the Ages — love songs through the years

3. Old Time Rock & Roll — old-school classic rock

4. Drive — great road trip songs (perfect for anyone traveling over the holidays)

5. Year in Review (in Music) — best or top songs from 2013 (or year you met or married)

6. Country Classics — nothing says romance like a sappy country song

7. All-Time Faves — share your all-time favorite album or jams

8. Classically — exude classiness with a few classical tracks

9. Best Of — personal favorite artist compilations

10. Winter Weather — rainy (or snowy) day playlist

11. Pump It Up — party playlist (or a workout playlist for your gym buddy)

12. The Drop — different versions of one EDM beat or song (or just various house songs)

13. LIVE from... — compilation of live songs from a show attended together

14. By Candlelight — songs for a romantic evening

15. Guilty Pleasures – songs you’d never publicly admit to listening to (on repeat, obviously)

16. I Love the ‘90s — or ‘80s, or ’70s, etc.

17. Cash & Cline — Johnny and Patsy

18. LOL — favorite comedy standup sketches

19. Desert Island — the 15 tracks you'd listen to if stranded

20. Exclusively Acoustic -– acoustic versions of favorite tracks

For the musically inclined, recording your own versions of popular songs (or, depending on your level of ambition, original tunes) is a surefire way to give a one-of-a-kind gift. Fellas, here’s your chance to make up for last year's oh-so-thoughtful “as seen on TV” eyebrow-waxing kit.

Bands, agencies or organizations looking for more customization (or to buy in bulk), check outUSBtape, Milktape's sister company.

What would you put on your playlist, or what songs would you hope to hear on a Milktape made for you?

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. :)

10 Gbps USB 3.1 specification completed

The specification for 10 Gbps USB 3.1 has been finalized

10 Gbps USB transfer speeds are a step closer following completion of the new specification by the USB 3.0 Promoter Group.

First floated back in January and now going under the moniker of SuperSpeed USB 3.1, the specification promises a doubling of throughput performance compared to USB 3.0.

"The USB 3.1 specification primarily extends existing USB 3.0 protocol and hub operation for speed scaling along with defining the next higher physical layer speed as 10 Gbps," says Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman.

The announcement enables vendors to begin the work of incorporating support for USB 3.1 into their chip designs and while there is no definite time-frame for the arrival of USB 3.1, it's expected that these devices will start appearing on the market late in 2014.

While the predicted USB 3.1 transfer speed matches existing Thunderbolt technology at 10 Gbps, Thunderbolt has four lanes, so connect four Thunderbolt devices and technically you’re capable of transferring data at a rate of 40 Gbps.

Thunderbolt2 is also on the way with Intel recently announcing that it will become available by the end of the year with transfer speeds of up to 20 Gbps.

One definite advantage that USB has over its rival is that its use is far more widespread, and the boost in speed will certainly be welcomed by consumers. Whatever way you look at it, the future looks bright for transfer speed demons

6-inch Nokia Lumia 1520 to ship with massive 3400mAh battery

Your awesome smartphone’s awesomeness is often tempered by its somewhat-less-than-awesome battery. Nokia has decided that it’s going to make sure that isn’t a problem with the Lumia 1520, which will reportedly ship with a 3400mAh battery.

That’s 200mAh more than the Galaxy Note 3, and it’s even larger than the battery in the Droid Razr Maxx. It’s bordering on tablet territory, really. Of course, so is a 6-inch smartphone.

Yes, that might make the Lumia 1520 a tad on the heavy side compared to other phones on the market. Will people mind? Probably not. It’s hard to imagine anyone being surprised by a slightly-heavy 6-inch device. People will buy the Lumia 1520 because of its size–and perhaps in spite of it, if they’re looking for a device with really great standby time.

We’ll find out for sure whether the 3400mAh battery is part of the 1520′s spec sheet on September 26. That’s the date Nokia recently slapped on invitations to the tech press. The big reveal is set to go down in New York, though plenty of other details about the new Lumia have already been leaked.

The biggest Lumia yet is expected to ship with a muscularSnapdragon 800 processor, 32GB of internal storage, a full 1080p HD display (that can squeeze in more tiles than any other  Windows Phone), and a 16MP/5MP rear-facing PureView camera.

Many of these details have come from @evleaks, who’s repeatedly proven him or herself to be a highly accurate source of pre-reveal information. It all adds up to make the Lumia 1520 a seriously interesting phone… to some !!!

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Android Malware discovered in Google Play, already downloaded millions of times

Lookout has posted on their blog to inform Android users of the new malware family, named 'BadNews' that has been lurking in Google's Play Store.

According to Google Play statistics, the malware has been downloaded millions of times and can be found in 32 apps across four different developer accounts.

Marc Rogers, Principal Security Researcher at Lookout, wrote on the blog to say, "We have notified Google and they promptly removed all apps and suspended the associated developer accounts pending further investigation.

The Android malware poses as advertisements with the ability to, "send fake news messages, prompt users to install applications and sends sensitive information such as the phone number and device ID to its Command and Control (C&C) server," Lookout states.

About half of the infected apps are in Russian and BadNews was recorded as sending AlphaSMS, premium rate SMS fraud in the Russian Federation, to infected devices.

The servers have been noted in Russia, Ukraine, and one in Germany. Lookout inform Android users to make sure the Android system setting 'nknown sources' is unchecked to prevent dropped or drive-by-download app installs and to download a mobile security app, like Lookout's.

A recent annual report, published by mobile security company NQ Mobile, has estimated that Android Malware has more than doubled worldwide last year with nearly 33 million devices infected, from 11 million in 2011.

32 apps infected with malware found on Google Play store

COMPANIES WARNS APP DEVELOPERS TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THIRD PARTY CODE THEY USE IN APPS

Google has once again come under fire from security experts over its laissez-faire approach to its Play app store.

Security researchers at Lookout found 32 apps on Google Play that were infected by malware called BadNews.

The malware sends messages to premium rate text numbers. It is designed to lay dormant for weeks after being downloaded to avoid detection.

Premium rate malware is prolific in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Experts have warned that despite stronger regulation and monitoring, Western European and North American based criminals could still attempt to replicate the malware.

The malware specifically targeted Android owner in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and a number of other Eastern European customers.

Lookout said it was difficult to estimate how many handsets could have been infected before Google finally removed the apps. It estimates between two and nine million infected apps may have been downloaded.

Amongst the apps BadNews was found in were recipe generators, wallpaper apps, games, and porn apps.

All of the infected apps were released by four separate accounts. They have since been suspended.

According to Lookout, the infected apps tricked users into installing what was described as an update for either Skype or popular Russian social network Vkontakte. It then started stealing credit by sending texts to premium rate numbers.

The firm also said it was concerned that many of the developers had included the code in their apps willingly. Lookout said many had been convinced BadNews was little more than a advert network.

It urged developers to be more careful about the third party code they use in their apps.

In the past, major security companies – including Russian firm Kaspersky – have criticised Google for putting its users at unnecessary risk.

Hand of Thief' Linux trojan steals Internet banking information

One of the benefits of using an obscure operating system like Linux is that, well, nobody uses it. That means you don’t really have to deal with all of the virus and malware associated with Windows and to a lesser extent, OS . Those times, however, may be changing as a new Linux trojan has been discovered in the wild. According to the RSA (the security division of EMC), a Russian-based cybercrime team has unleashed a banking trojan known as the Hand of Thief.

The trojan is said to be no different than what you’d find on a Windows machine. At its core, it consists of a “form grabber” designed to steal the login credentials of those using Internet banking. Specifically, the trojan captures the username and password in addition to the timestamp of when you logged in, the URL of the site you logged in to and perhaps even your web browser’s cookies.The collection of data is then sent to a command-and-control server at which time your information will likely be sold to the highest bidder. From there, a crook would begin to rack up charges on your behalf either until the account is drained or you notice the suspicious behavior.The trojan is said to work on 15 different Linux distributions including popular choices like Ubuntu, Fedora and Debian. It attacks the most common web browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Aurora and Ice Weasel. The good news at this point is that there isn’t really a solid delivery mechanism for the package. The trojan’s “sales agent” suggests using e-mail and social engineering as methods of infection.

Smart trash cans collect more than your discarded garbage

A high-tech trash can from a UK startup by the name of Renew is up to more than just collecting your garbage. These Renew Pods, deployed around certain parts of London ahead of last year’s Olympic Games, were initially designed to serve up video advertisements thanks to large displays on either side.

A dozen units have since been retrofitted with what the company is calling Renew ORB, a device that uses Wi-Fi technology to quietly sniff out and collect information from nearby smartphones. Considering there are at least 100 of these recycling bins scattered across the city, there’s a wealth of data being mined without consent.

Specifically, the refreshed cans are able to capture the proximity of a smartphone to the ORB, how fast it is traveling (how fast you are walking) and how long it is within range. Additionally, Renew can even determine the manufacturer of your mobile device from its MAC address.

Why exactly would a company want to collection information like this from unsuspecting passersby? A statement on Renew’s website said the idea is to measure variables in market share between mobile handheld providers within the City’s Square Mile — the highest concentration of professionals in Europe.

In other words, they’re collecting your information for advertising purposes. Quartz suggests the data will be sold to advertisers in an effort to help them better target their campaigns – campaigns that would be run via video on the Renew Pods.

We’re told that users can “opt out” of being tracked by disabling Wi-Fi or filling out a form online. Those are both a bit of a hassle, especially when you consider that 80 percent of people in London leave Wi-Fi enabled on their mobile devices.

WhatsApp adds push-to-talk voice messaging, breaks past 300M monthly active users

Mobile messaging service WhatsApp has been steadily growing in popularity and just recently announced it broke past 300 million monthly active users. To accompany such momentuous achievement the company is also revamping the way voice messaging works on its app across all five supported platforms.

WhatsApp has supported audio attachments for a while now, but now this is fully integrated as a push-to-talk feature, allowing users to record and send voice memos with the tap of a button without ever leaving the chat screen. Users on the other end can play them back from within the app without opening a media player.

The mic icon accompanying voice messages will turn blue whenever recipients have listened to it, and since you never leave the chat screen, users on the other end will be able to reply with voice, text, photo or videos without switching modes. Messages are played back by tapping on them and WhatsApp will send the audio either though you phone's ear piece if you hold it to your head, or through the speaker if holding it away.

Last but not least, WhatsApp has also removed the audio recording length limitations. The company toldEngadget that it has "spent a lot of time refining [voice messaging] and made it really simple to use."

WhatsApp just keeps getting bigger and shows no signs of slowing. The company has reported that its users currently send 31 billion messages per day, a number steadily rising from the 27 billion reported back in June. In comparison to the up and coming Snapchat that pushes 200 million photo messages per day, WhatsApp's users send about 325 million of them, though admittedly photo sharing is fundamentally different on both services.

The new voice memos will be available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BB10 and Symbian.

Samsung shows off Origami printer made from cardboard

In their latest bout of innovation, Samsung has decided to tackle the design of the home-office printer. With an aim of simplifying the manufacturing process and lowering costs for consumers, Samsung has unveiled a range of unusual printer designs, the most interesting of which is perhaps the Origami.

The latter features two pieces of corrugated cardboard that are folded into a box-like shape, which is then used to house a compact printer core. The idea is that this printer housing can be recycled once the printer has run its course, reducing waste material after it has been thrown away. The remarkably cool design is also fire and water resistant, according to Samsung, which should help improve the printer's durability.

Another one of Samsung's innovative designs is called Clip, a printer shell similar to the Origami design, albeit made of plastic instead of cardboard. Folded and clipped together from a single piece of compressed polyethylene, the Clip design is more sturdy than the Origami design, and should provide similar cost savings to consumers thanks to lower construction times.

The final design is the Mate, which focuses more on customizability than cost savings. It features a pre-constructed printer with several colorful, removable exterior panels that can be swapped and replaced, the idea here being you can fit the color scheme of the printer to the colors in the room.

For videos,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qfIg8oXDwx8

All the designs are currently still in the prototype phase, although the Clip is perhaps the closest to reaching store shelves. Senior Samsung designer Juehyun Jung says there's "no barrier for production" of the Clip after a "few engineering problems are solved", and that the unit could potentially cost 10% less than other similar products.

Liquipel -Literal shock absorbers for smartphones

Liquipel, The waterproof nanocoating that protects your smartphone from water and other liquids. With Liquipel 2.0, users could mail in their mobile devices to the company, and for $59.99, they would receive a waterproofing treatment that supposedly lasts forever. Not only is the coating nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, it offers an impressive protection rating of IPX7, allowing your smartphone to be immersed in liquids at depths of over 1 meter for 30 minutes at a time.

Although the “watersafe” coating is a nifty innovation, it offers little to no protection on a physical level. To address this concern, Liquipel has launched Skins, a new high-impact film that safeguards the device against both scratches and heavy blows.

To achieve this level of protection, Liquipel has opted for a four-layer system that reportedly serves as a system of “literal shock absorbers”. According to the official press release, the film can be installed in three easy steps and the silicon adhesive formula allows for a completely dry installation process, thus eliminating the need for annoying spray bottles and squeegees.

The Liquipel Skins are currently being offered for under $15 for the iPhone 4, 4S and 5. Skins for the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4 should also be available at this time, but are currently listed as “out of stock”. Liquipel intends to diversify its list of compatible smartphone models over the next few months.

Those interested can check out the company’s webpage for more details about Liquipel Skins, as well as ordering information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lZJLdy_YeQg

Lightning Strike Electrifies Train in Japan

During a thunderstorm rumbling over Tokyo on Monday, a flash of lightning struck a commuter train.
Video footage captured the precise moment the lightning illuminated the entire urban skyline before crashing into a train carriage full of passengers. You can hear the shocked cameraman reacting to the massive burst of light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EtDUBU2LTlU 

20 Gripping Photos of Extreme Weather

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  Lightning Hits Chicago

  Lightning strikes the Willis Tower in Chicago on June 12, 2013.

  IMAGE: SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

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  Extreme Drought in New Zealand

  Cows search for edible grass in drought strickened paddocks of Waiuku, New Zealand on March 12, 2013.

  IMAGE: SANDRA MU/GETTY IMAGES

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  Aurora Over Alaska

  The digitally enhanced photograph taken in January 2005 shows a spectacular aurora borealisabove the frozen landscape of Bear Lake, Alaska. The image was voted Wikipedia Commons Picture of the Year for 2006.

  IMAGE: JOSHUA STRANG, USAF, WIKIPEDIA, CAPTION VIA NASA

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  Mud Volcano Demonstration in Indonesia

  Displaced residents immerse themselves in massive mud deposits from the mud volcano in Sidoarjo village, located on Indonesia's eastern Java island on May 29, 2013 to dramatize their sufferings during a protest marking the seventh year of the disaster.

  IMAGE: UNI KRISWANTO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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  Typhoon Waves in Qingdao, China

  A child watches as high waves caused by typhoon Bolaven crash over the side of a road barrier on Aug. 28, 2012 in Qingdao, China.

  IMAGE: CHINAFOTOPRESS VIA GETTY IMAGES

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  Roller Coaster Adrift in the Atlantic

  A roller coaster sits in the Atlantic Ocean after the Fun Town pier it sat on was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy on Nov. 1, 2012 in Seaside Heights, N.J. The roller coaster was removed by crane in May.

  IMAGE: MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES

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  Sandy Powers Down NYC

  Half of the New York City skyline sits in darkness after Hurricane Sandy, on Oct. 30, 2012. Photo taken in Weehawkin, N.J.

  IMAGE: ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES

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  Undersea Volcano in Tonga

  Picture dated March 18, 2009 shows an undersea volcano eruption about 6 to 7 miles off the Tongatapu coast of Tonga, sending plumes of steam and smoke hundreds of feet into the air. Tonga's head geologist, Kelepi Mafi, said there was no apparent danger to residents of Nuku'alofa and others living on the main island of Tongatapu. Image via Images

  IMAGE: LOTHAR SLABON/AFP/GETTY

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  Washington D.C.'s Historic Blizzard

  Three people assemble a snowman at the foot of The Washington Monument in Washington D.C., during a winter snowstorm that buried the city under record-breaking snowfall on Feb. 6, 2010.Image via CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images

  IMAGE: CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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  Surfer and Tornado in Sydney

  A water spout (tornado) hits the sea behind a surfer on Sydney's Bondi Beach on May 17, 2010. A rare sight in Australia, the water spout lasted around five minutes and expired before landfall.

  IMAGE: JAMES ALCOCK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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  Melting Ice in Greenland

  Ice boulders left behind after a flood caused by the overflowing of a lake, east of the town of Kangerlussuaq on Sept. 1, 2007 in Greenland. Scientists believe that Greenland, with its melting ice caps and disappearing glaciers, is an accurate thermometer of global warming.

  IMAGE: URIEL SINAI/GETTY IMAGES

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  Wall of Ash From Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland

  Volcanic scientists leave the area after collecting samples of ash to send to labs to analyze its content, in eastern Iceland on April 15, 2010. A cloud of ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, which erupted on the morning of April 14, 2010 disrupted European airspace for several days. Image via OMAR OSKARSSON/AFP/Getty Images

  IMAGE: OMAR OSKARSSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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  Tsunami Waves in Thailand

  This photo, taken Dec. 26, 2004, shows people fleeing as a tsunami wave comes crashing ashore at Koh Raya, part of Thailand's territory in the Andaman islands. The photographer who took this picture escaped without injury, but retreated at the first wave and watched as a second wave tore apart the wooden buildings, with a third and largest wave coming forward and "ripping apart the cement buildings like they were made of balsa wood."

  IMAGE: JOHN RUSSEL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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  Puyehue Volcano Erupts in Chile

  A cloud of ash billowing from Puyehue volcano near Osorno in southern Chile on June 5, 2011. Puyehue volcano erupted for the first time in a half-century on June 4, 2011, producing a column of gas 6 miles high. Image via CLAUDIO SANTANA/AFP/Getty Images

  IMAGE: CLAUDIA SANTANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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  Red Crabs in San Diego

  Children look at the thousands of pelagic red crabs that washed ashore in San Diego on May 7, 2002. The phenomenon was a signal of a brewing El Nino event. The crabs, also known as tuna crabs, normally live off Baja California, Mexico, but they rode ocean currents as warm waters from the tropical Pacific migrated farther north than usual in a growing El Nino event.

  IMAGE: DAVID MCNEW/GETTY IMAGES

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  Tsunami Flood Waters in Japan

  This picture, taken by Sendai city official Hiroshi Kawahara on March 11, 2011 and released through Jiji Press on March 25, 2011, shows muddy tsunami water swallowing vehicles and houses at a bridge in Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture. Image via HIROSHI KAWAHARA/AFP/Getty Images

  IMAGE: HIROSHI KAWAHARA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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  Tavurvur Volcano in Papua New Guinea

  Evacuated Matapit Islanders watch Tavurvur volcano erupt, sending ash and rocks over the already devastated city of Rabaul on New Britain Island in Papua New Guinea on Oct. 7, 2006.Image via BRUCE ALEXANDER/AFP/Getty Images

  IMAGE: BRUCE ALEXANDER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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  Japanese Monkeys After Snow

  Japanese macaque monkeys relax in the hot springs at Jigokudani-Onsen (Hell Valley) on Dec. 27, 2005 after record snowfall hit Jigokudani, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

  IMAGE: KOICHI KAMOSHIDA/GETTY IMAGES

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  Rainbow Over San Francisco

  Rainbow stretches across AT&T Park during the first inning between the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sept. 5, 2012 in San Francisco.

  IMAGE: JASON O. WATSON/GETTY IMAGES

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  Rare Cloudless Alaska

  The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite acquired this rare, nearly cloud-free view of Alaska on June 17, 2013. Under normal conditions, this area of the state is known for being the cloudiest region of the United States.