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Tag: zeus

  • Zeus Living CEO on How the Startup is Reimagining Housing

    Zeus Living CEO on How the Startup is Reimagining Housing

    The Zeus Living online platform is a new take on the $12 billion corporate housing industry, leasing unfurnished, privately-owned homes and convert them into ‘expertly appointed, convenient, and full-service corporate housing units’ for extended stay travelers. It feels like an Airbnb for extended stays, whether it’s for business relocation or simply a new ‘lighter’ way to live.

    Zeus describes it this way:

    There’s a better way to live and own. We’re using technology, data, and a human touch to build a new light-living experience for residents and homeowners everywhere.

    The service is currently in 3 cities, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. Zeus is funded by Initalized Capital, a venture capital fund co-founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

    Kulveer Taggar of Zeus Living discussed the startup on CNBC:

    Focusing on Digital Native Millennials

    We are noticing digital native millennials, they want to be a bit more asset light, they want more flexibility, and they want more mobility. So we are providing them a rental solution where they don’t have to sign up for a 12-month lease, they don’t have to sign up for an unfurnished place, and everything is tech-enabled and conveniently set up for them.

    There are two facets to our business. The way we get our homes is we are positioned as a property manager for homeowners. The idea is we provide managed ownership. You get all of the benefits of owning a home without the headaches of managing a property. We will sign a two-year lease, then we will furnish the home and then market them to other people to live in. The homes come pretty beautifully designed so the expectation is that you probably don’t want to do a ton of redecorating.

    Zeus is an Alternative to Extended Stay Hotels

    Since we have actually started the business the rental market has softened by about 15 percent in the San Francisco Bay area, which is where we started. What we found is that as prices actually come down the amount we pay to the homeowners reduces as well. It’s on us to do the math as to what we think the market is going to do and then in the price that we are offering homeowners we factor all of those things in. We have a lot of people and businesses that use us for relocations and we are actually a lot more affordable than hotels, extended stay hotels, or traditional corporate housing.

  • The Zeus 3-In-1 3D Printer Is Now On Kickstarter

    Late last month, AIO Robotics announced a really ambitious 3D printer called the Zeus. It combined a 3D printer with a 3D scanner and a 3D design fax machine. They promised that the machine would go up on Kickstarter soon and they did not disappoint.

    AIO Robotics took to Kickstarter today in an attempt to raise $100,000 to fund the Zeus 3-in-1 3D printer. Last month, they said the price would be comparable to a MakerBot Replicator 2 and Digitizer. Both together would cost a little over $3,000, and the Zeus comes in a little cheaper.

    The Zeus will normally cost $2,499, but you can grab one now for the low price of $1,999 if you back AIO Robotics’ Kickstarter campaign. There’s only 30 of the cheap models left, however, and they’ll probably run out before the end of the campaign. After that, the price goes up to $2,499.

    Amazingly, the Zeus has already raised almost half of its goal of $100,000. It’s currently at $42,947 and the campaign started this morning. It looks like the Zeus will continue the fine tradition of 3D printers doing incredibly well on crowdfunding platforms.

    Speaking of which, another 3-in-1 3D printer – the FABtotum – became an overnight sensation on Indiegogo where it has raised more than double the amount of its initial funding goal. Unlike the Zeus, however, the FABtotum is a 3D printer, a 3D scanner and a CNC milling machine. It may not be able to fax 3D printed designs to other printers, but I would be more inclined to support a machine that let me work with wood and metal materials.

    Both the Zeus and FABtotum represent an exciting time for 3D printers. It’s incredible to think that we can now buy a machine that 3D prints and scans for less than $3,000 when such functions just a year ago would require two machines costing over $5,000.

    [Image: AIO Robotics/Kickstarter]

  • Zeus May Just Be The New God Of 3D Printers

    3D printers up until this point have all been able to do one thing – 3D printing. You would need a separate computer and some scanning hardware to turn physical objects into digital design files. Now one company wants to combine the two into a single machine to rule them all.

    AIO Robotics announced this week that it’s currently working on a 3D printer/scanner combo called the Zeus. It’s there intention to bring the device to Kickstarter in the beginning of September, and it may be one of the most innovative 3D printers yet.

    We know that the Zeus can scan and print 3D objects, but it’s also being billed as a 3D printer fax machine. In other words, the Zeus can scan an object and send it to another Zeus thousands of miles away. It eliminates the need for any additional hardware or software as long as your partner has a Zeus as well.

    So, how much is this thing going to cost? Surely, a 3D scanner, printer and fax machine combo must cost thousands of dollars. Surprisingly, the team says that they’re aiming to be “significantly cheaper than the MakerBot Repliactor + Digitizer.” MakerBot hasn’t revealed the price of its Digitizer hardware just yet, but it will probably cost a few thousand dollars. With that in mind, we’re probably looking at a $3,000 to $5,000 price tag for the Zeus. It may seem expensive, but it’s actually pretty cheap when you factor in all the technology being crammed into a single machine.

    The Zeus is poised to debut on Kickstarter starting September 4. The team at AIO Robotics have not shared any details beyond that regarding their initial funding goal or reward tiers, but we’ll let you know all the details once it goes live. The Zeus is an incredibly exciting 3D printer, and the Kickstarter community’s love for 3D printers may just help it succeed.

    [h/t: Quartz]

  • New Zeus Trojan Targets Facebook And Email

    Viruses are pretty funny. You turn your back one moment and the next, they’re stealing your credit card out of your digital wallet. OK, that’s not really funny, but it would be if the virus was wearing a top hat and monocle.

    Disregarding parodies of Victorian England fashion, it gets pretty serious when a new one is found in the wild. Trusteer has found a new P2P variant of the Zeus trojan going after the easily tricked on Facebook with fake offers for free money.

    The current attack via Facebook has the malware present the user with a legitimate looking page to enter your credit/debit card details in return for 20 percent cash back on all Facebook points you buy. It looks like the malware only accepts Visa and Mastercard though so I guess even botnet operators can be picky when it comes to credit card issuers.

    New Zeus Trojan Targets Facebook and Email

    The new Zeus trojan isn’t just going after Facebook either. The malware is going back to an old standby – email. There’s a new scam floating around going after Gmail, Hotmal and Yahoo Mail users that plays on a person’s desire for more security.

    The scam offers to sign them up for a 3D secure service that’s offered by Visa and Mastercard just by entering their credit card information into a form. Trusteer points out that you can only sign up for 3D Secure at the bank that issued your card. That information was probably in the fine print though and the tellers never actually tell you anything, so can’t blame people for not knowing.

    This scam is a little more advanced than just a simple email trick though. It plays upon more trusted brands like Google and Yahoo by saying that they can link their 3D Secure account up with their Google or Yahoo Checkout account to prevent fraud. If you’ve been keeping up, Google Checkout is now called Google Wallet so that should be your first red flag. Also, I’m pretty sure banks aren’t too keen on partnering with Google and Yahoo to offer services through them.

    As Trusteer points out, these latest scams look pretty legit and come from well-respected brands. We also can’t forget the fact that people are usually really gullible on the Internet. If they can fall a simple photoshop that is obviously fake, their chances of falling for a legitimate looking scam are pretty high.

    Like with all malware threats, be observant. Look at the URL of the page and all the text. Even if these scams look legitimate, there are always some obvious signs that they are fake. Use common sense when dealing with something that looks too good to be true, because it often is.

  • Microsoft Subpoenaing Emails In ZeuS Botnet Case

    Surely you’re aware of the ZeuS botnet case now in which a group of hackers from around the world are running a botnet ring that has infected thousands, if not millions, of computers. Microsoft has taken a proactive approach to finding the culprits by raiding the locations where these people were thought to be operating from.

    The Krebs on Security blog reveals that the case has moved along further than originally thought. It appears that Microsoft is now issuing subpoenas to the people listed in their documents as having run the botnet ring. These botmasters have started to receive emails from Google stating that heir information may be handed over to the court.

    Krebs says the order has angered many in the cybersecurity community who have been working for years to uncover the people behind the ZeuS botnet. Microsoft charging in as an Internet vigilante has impacted the work that law enforcement can actually do in the case. By publishing the details of the suspected botmasters, Microsoft also betrays the trust of the cybersecurity community who have worked hard to secure the personal information of said hackers.

    The main issue here according to Krebs is that cybersecurity experts feel Microsoft overstepped their boundary as a private corporation. The company published information that was shared with the confidence that it wouldn’t be published. Current cases open by law enforcement could be pushed back or cancelled by Microsoft’s actions.

    The main point here is that Microosft is trying to be the Batman of the cybersecurity world. Just like with the actual Batman, law enforcement isn’t a fan. Unlike Batman, Microsoft seems to not be doing that great of a job with their law enforcement. Sure, they’re getting names and prosecuting people, but are they the right people and can law enforcement still do their job.

    It makes you wonder why we need CISPA anyway. It doesn’t look like Microsoft wants to share information with law enforcement when they can just start investigating and enforcing the law on their own.

  • Microsoft Releases Video of Scranton Botnet Raid [Video]

    WebProNews’s Drew Bowling reported earlier about a raid conducted by Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) on a botnet operation in Scranton, PA. Microsoft’s DCU, with a court order and aid from U.S. Marshals, raided command and control centers and seized servers and other equipment used to run botnets based on Zeus trojan malware. Late last night the DCU posted a video to YouTube, which includes footage of the raid and a message by the unit about cybercrime and its commitment to tracking and taking down botnets.

    Zeus malware is defined by Microsoft’s Malware Protection Center as a “password-stealing trojan that monitors for visits to certain websites. It allows limited backdoor access and control and may terminate certain security-related processes.” The trojan enables controllers to steal banking passwords and other private information from infected computers, and allows botnet originators to control large networks of infected computers, giving them increased computing power, bandwidth, and anonymity in order to carry out further attacks.

    Here’s the video of Microsoft going all vigilante on botnet servers:

    While I view the dismantling of botnet operations as generally a good thing, it makes me uneasy to see a private company leading raids and seizing equipment. Even when it involves a court order and assistance from federal law enforcement, this practice sets a dangerous precedent allowing private firms to investigate perceived threats and seize property in raids. Our law enforcement agencies and judicial systems are, at least theoretically, beholden to citizens and due process of law to act legally and in the best interest of citizens; companies like Microsoft, on the other hand — while they must still follow the law in their pursuits — are beholden only to company stakeholders and, to a lesser extent, to their users. The potential for abuse under such a precedent makes me squirm a little bit.

    What do you think? Is the Microsoft DCU posse doing a good thing in proactively and preemptively going after cybercriminals? Or does the involvement of private companies in legal execution overstep the bounds of privacy, law, and individual integrity? Or do you think something else entirely? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

    [Main Image and Video Source: Microsoft DCU YouTube Channel]