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Tag: Computer

  • Apple Changes Trade-In Policy, Now Accepts Macs In-Store

    Apple Changes Trade-In Policy, Now Accepts Macs In-Store

    Apple has changed its trade-in policy to accept in-person Mac trade-ins at the Apple Store.

    Prior to the change, Apple excluded Macs from in-person trade-ins, forcing owners to use the website option instead. Alternately, users could opt to sell their Mac via Craigslist, Facebook or some other platform.

    The company’s site promises a competitive trade-in value, saying: “Just answer a few questions about your device. Based on what you tell us, we’ll offer you a competitive trade-in estimate for an Apple Store Gift Card or instant credit at an Apple Store. Or you’ll have the option to recycle it for free.”

    This change is a welcome one for users who want a hassle-free option for applying the value of their existing Mac toward a new purchase.

  • Apple Security Flaw Is “As Bad As You Could Imagine”

    Apple Security Flaw Is “As Bad As You Could Imagine”

    Apple is performing an emergency software fix this week to correct a security flaw putting both iPhone and Mac users at risk.

    After it was brought to their attention that hackers could enter systems by email, Apple, Inc. issued an official announcement acknowledging the oversight and their team promptly began to work on updated software to protect users. On Saturday, the company indicated that damage control would be forthcoming to halt hackers before they could lift private data from iPhones or Macs. Per the Orlando Sentinel on Sunday, Feb. 23, iPhone users probably already received their notification regarding that security update. Mac users, contrarily, remain at risk until updates can be issued for them too.

    Apple says those fixes are coming “very soon”.

    Why did this breach happen? There doesn’t seem to be one concrete explanation. However, researchers have said Apple itself was culpable in that it performed “inadequate testing.” It was likewise described as a “fundamental bug in Apple’s SSL implementation,” by Dmitri Alperovich, chief technology officer at security firm CrowdStrike Inc.

    In addition to iPhones and iPads, the report stated that any kind of desktop device or notebooks that run Mac OS X are also at risk, as the security error is present in them as well. Although iPhones are in the clear, the proverbial bad guys are likely working around the clock to concoct programs that pry into private data of Mac users before their resolution can arrive.

    One way in which tech-villains can do this is by gaining entry to a given mobile user’s network.

    This could be done in a coffee house or restaurant, where an unsecured wireless service is offered. In this situation, a hacker can observe and alter the interactions of someone using a protected website – be it their email or social networking site. Johns Hopkins University cryptography professor, Matthew Green explained that in the absence of a fix, hackers impersonate these sorts of protected sites. Then they can pilfer private data as they watch financial or other data go between the user and the actual site.

    “It’s as bad as you could imagine, that’s all I can say,” Green stated.

    Apple did not acquiesce to comment requests beyond a statement offered this week:

    “We are aware of this issue and already have a software fix that will be released very soon.”

    Image via Youtube

  • Antivirus Software – How Helpful Is It?

    Antivirus Software – How Helpful Is It?

    The recent Target security breach allowed hackers to obtain the credit card numbers and information of several thousand customers. Target was using antivirus software and believed that they were offering secure shopping, but it turns out, the software was not enough. Researchers were able to determine that the breach came from a POS malware that likely originated is Russia or the Ukraine.

    Experts believe that the POS malware is too powerful for any current antivirus software to stop. If this is true, more stores could be at risk for similar breaches, causing more people to become victims of possible identity theft.

    So if certain types of malware and viruses can sneak through the cracks of antivirus software, how helpful are they? Many antivirus software programs are expensive and sometimes even complicated to install. Are these programs worth the money and hassle if they are still going to allow security breaches?

    Although security breaches are possible, even while using antivirus software, security experts still believe it is necessary to use these products for protection. Many software brands are very good at what they do and can protect against almost all viruses and malware attacks.

    POS malware may be dangerous, but it is less common than other types of malware and computer viruses. Even if your current antivirus software is not capable of blocking out the more serious attacks, it is more than likely capable of blocking out the more common ones that try to invade your computer on a daily basis.

    Using the Internet without antivirus software is like leaving the house on a cloudy day without an umbrella. You might not need it, but it’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

    Which antivirus software do you think is the best?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Google Celebrates The Legacy Of The Manchester Baby

    The computer, smartphone or tablet you’re reading this on owes its existence to one very special machine.

    Today, Google is celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Manchester Small Scale Experimental Machine – or the Manchester Baby as it’s become know. It’s importance can not be understated as it was the first computer to run a program electronically stored in its memory. Before it, computers performed instructions by either hardwired storage media or punch cards that had to be constantly switched out.

    Google notes that the Manchester Baby’s ability to run programs stored in its memory was due to its novel use of RAM. The machine, which weighed a ton, only had 1,024 bits of memory from which it could execute programs. Of course, its form of RAM isn’t what we’re used to today. Instead, it used a cathode ray tube to store data.

    The Baby was only ever experimental, but the work done on it led to the creation of the Ferranti Mark 1. This was the first computer to ever be sold commercially. From there, computers became faster, smaller and even started to take on new forms in smartphones and tablets.

    In short, the modern computing experience is in the Manchester Baby’s debt. Without it, we wouldn’t have what we call software today.

    As bonus, Google put together a short video that details the history of this revolution in computing:

  • This Computer Program Is A Pictionary Pro

    This Computer Program Is A Pictionary Pro

    Object identification is one of the major challenges facing computer programmers today. The robots of the future must be able to recognize even the smallest changes in the world around them and react accordingly. A great place to start developing such technology is in sketches.

    Researchers at Brown and the Technical University of Berlin have created a computer program that can correctly identify what a person is drawing in real time. The team created 20,000 unique sketches over 250 object categories and found that humans can correctly identify the object categorie 73 percent of the time. While not as good as humans, the AI was able to correctly identify the sketches with 56 percent accuracy.

    It sounds kind of goofy, but just watch the video below. It’s amazing to see the program being able to guess a sketch in real time while it’s still being drawn. It’s even more amazing that the program gets it right for the majority of drawings. It can even change its guess if the drawing is partially erased and changed to something else entirely.

    Computer program can identify sketches from Brown University on Vimeo.

    The project was mostly intended to show how sketches and drawings are perhaps the most universal form of communication. We as humans are able to make out what something is, even if we haven’t seen it in person, by just looking at the sketch of an object. Being able to identify an object based only on a crude drawing is a huge advancement in machine learning.

    The researchers were awesome enough to release a demo of their software for Windows, Mac and iOS. You can download the iOS app from the App Store right now. The Windows and Mac apps are available on the project’s Web site. You can also find the entire set of 20,000 sketches they used in the research.

  • Apple 1 Computer Goes For $374,000 At Auction

    I’m a Windows fan now, but that doesn’t mean that I hate Apple. In fact, I have a soft spot for the Apple II – my very first computer. I would love to get my hands on its predecessor, but it apparently takes a millionaire to get one.

    According to CBS, there was an Apple 1 on auction in New York City. The computer was one of the original six computers that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built back in 1976. The demand for such a rare item must surely be high. An Apple fan, or maybe just a technology fan in general, has far outstripped what the original demand was valued at.

    When the smoke cleared from what was surely an arduous battle, a victor appeared having won the computer for $374,000. Those in charge of the auction stated that the selling price was two-times higher than what they expected to get for the computer. The last Apple I sold at auction went for $210,000, so here’s hoping the next one goes for over $600,000.

    We don’t know who actually bought the computer, but they’re probably going to put in some kind of collection to never be used. Maybe that’s best as I would totally play around with and probably break it.

    Here’s a video tour of what went inside the Apple 1 back in the 70s. It shows the technical mastery that Wozniak put into the device. Sure, it’s great to see all the new technology that Apple puts out today, but we should never forget where it came from.

  • The Evolution Of The Computer Virus

    The computer virus, or just malware in general, is unique among computer programs because it evolves just like a real virus. It can change and mutate into stronger viruses that can cripple your computer and make you spend hundreds of dollars on malware software that may not even do anything.

    All the computer virus carnage had to start somewhere, but where? The good people at TrendLabs have tossed up a little infographic that seeks to give us a look into how the computer virus has evolved over the years. The origin may surprise you since the first computer virus was made in 1986, created by two Pakistani brothers. It was called Brain and it was a file infector. The next two viruses, Michelangelo (1992) and Melissa (1999), attacked hard drives and servers.

    Once we got into the 2000s, that’s when the virus infection went global and began causing the mass damage that we see today. This era saw the introduction of the Worm virus that could be sent via email. Then things got really nasty with the introduction of Trojans. Viruses prior to this were made, as the infographic points out, for fame and notoriety. People were just doing it for the attention. Trojans were made for an entirely different reason – to steal your information.

    If you thought that it couldn’t get any worse, enter the current era of malware attacks over social networks. Facebook and Twitter users are targeted with fake ads and applications that hijack their account and steal their personal information. Facebook and Twitter are actively waging a war against such attacks, but it’s going to keep happening until virus makers find a new target. The best way to protect yourself is to remain vigilant and not click on that Facebook link that asks you to install an application just to view a picture.

    Check out the full infographic below. It’s absolutely mind blowing that the computer virus has come so far and they will grow even more complex and terrifying. We’re already seeing viruses fusing with worms to become a super virus.

    The Evolution Of The Computer Virus

  • Smart Cars Eliminate Waiting At Traffic Lights

    Have you ever sat at a four-way intersection and wondered if you could zip in and out of oncoming traffic to get across? If you have, you’re a dangerous person and I never want to be in a car with you. Good thing smart cars are here to do all the zipping and weaving for us.

    The Atlantic recently spoke to Peter Stone, a computer scientist at the University of Texas. He is one of the biggest proponents of the introduction of the truly smart car. While we do have smart cars now that offer capabilities that one expects of their smart phone; we don’t really have a car that can drive itself.

    This is where Stone comes in. He and his partner, Kurt Dresner, decided to begin researching the idea of an autonomous automobile. One of the things they addressed was what smart cars would do when faced with an intersection. As you are all painfully aware, drivers currently have to sit at a red light even when nobody is coming in the other direction. Smart cars would eliminate this.

    Under our new smart car overlords, traffic would constantly flow thanks to the computers on board the cars that can detect other cars and swerve in and out to avoid collisions. This would lead to a beautiful ballet of cars all in motion avoiding even the slightest scrape.

    The scientists have provided a simulation of what the future of intersections would look like. Intersections right now scare me enough as it is, this animation absolutely terrifies me. I’m not scared of getting into a collision, it’s just how close the cars are to each other. I jump whenever a car pulls up beside me because I think it’s going to hit me. Good thing smart cars won’t have manual input where I’ll freak out and swerve into somebody.

    Do you like the idea of a driverless car? Does that simulation freak you out? Let us know in the comments.

  • Scary New Virus Will Make Your Computer Cry

    It’s natural for viruses to mutate in nature and become stronger over time. The scary thing is that it’s now happening to computer viruses.

    Mutating viruses are nothing new, they are used to infect machines in a way that can’t be stopped by traditional anti-virus software. The problem comes in with a new report from Softwin, the Romania based anti-virus software company that makes BitDefender, that says they have found multiple instances of computers being infected by worms that have previously been infected by a virus. They consider it a new “Frankenstein piece of malware” that has the potential to cause a lot of damage.

    For those who perhaps don’t know a lot of viruses and worms, a worm is usually an executable file while a virus infects executables. The inevitable problem arises when a virus infects the executable that a worm resides in.

    Fortunately, the researchers at BitDefender have no evidence at this point that the new super virus is any worse than a traditional virus. The concern is that worms are better at moving through systems, so a virus attached to a worm will have an easier time moving through a system.

    The research team found 40,000 instances of the mutated malware out of a sample of 10 million files. One example was a virus designed to create back doors for hackers infected a worm that steals passwords. Their combination resulted in a mutation that could steal passwords while simultaneously creating a backdoor for the hacker to access the stolen information.

    PhysOrg brings up an interesting point in that a virus’ main goal is to cause destruction. So in theory, a virus should destroy whatever it infects including the worm. The researchers never addressed this, but there’s a possibility that the virus could destroy the worm before it does any damage.

    The researchers say that the combination of the two malware types was unintentional. The issue raised now is that hackers know it’s possible to combine the two. If it does occur, it could “pose a very serious threat to computers and networks the world over.”

    For more examples of how this new super virus can destroy your computer, check out an expert analysis here.