Experts crack nasty ransomware that locks your PC and your backup

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/12/experts-crack-petya-ransomware/

Petya, a brutal piece of malware, surfaced two weeks ago. It's a mean bit of crypto-extortion that hits its victims where it hurts: right in your startup drive. Because it encrypts your master boot file, if attacked, not only will you be unable to start up your PC and not even access your startup disk. Eeesh. Fortunately, there's help. Leostone has come up with a tool that creates the password needed to unlock your startup disk. It's not all that simple, however.

You'll need to remove the startup drive and connect it to a separate (not infected) Windows PC, and then pull some specific bits of data to plug into this web app — and craft your password. (There's also another free tool that can grab the necessary data nuggets here.) From there, you'll be able to decrypt that all-important master boot file — and forever learn the lesson of vigilance when it comes to possibly fake CHKDSK antics.

Source: Ars Technica, Twitter (@Leo_and_stone)

Read More...

Summary only...

Solar cell generates power from raindrops

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/11/solar-cell-generates-power-from-raindrops/

Rain is normally a solar energy cell's worst nightmare, but a team of Chinese scientists could make it a tremendous ally. They've developed a solar cell with an atom-thick graphene layer that harvests energy from raindrops, making it useful even on the gloomiest days. Water actually sticks to the graphene, creating a sort of natural capacitor -- the sharp difference in energy between the graphene's electrons and the water's ions produces electricity.

The catch is that the current technology isn't all that efficient. It only converts about 6.5 percent of the energy it gets, which pales in comparison to the 22 percent you see among the world's better solar panels. If the creators can improve the performance of this graphene-coated cell, though, they could have a dream solution on their hands -- you wouldn't have to live in a consistently sunny part of the world to reduce your dependency on conventional power.

Via: Science News Journal

Source: Wiley Online Library

Read More...

Summary only...

State-run healthcare websites aren't as secure as you'd think

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/07/state-run-healthcare-websites-arent-as-secure-as-youd-think/

Health insurance websites in California, Kentucky and Vermont apparently aren't as secure as they should be. According to the Associated Press, based on the vulnerabilities found by the Government Accountability Office, other states' health care websites could be just as ripe for intrusions. Without naming names, the GAO reported that one state didn't encrypt passwords, another didn't have the right type of encryption server-side and the last anonymous state failed to "properly use a filter to block hostile attempts" to visit its site.

The scary part is that some of the issues still exist, even though the GAO's examination concluded last March. Former Kentucky governor Steve Beshear says that no information was compromised and there were never any security breaches, however. The GAO says that Healthcare.gov isn't much better about security either, but, that like Kentucky, private data has not been lost or pilfered despite numerous "security incidents." Comforting!

It isn't all unsettling news though. From the sounds of it, the Golden State's Covered California site is trying its best to prevent intrusions and fix any new holes since the GAO's investigation concluded. There's a joke that could be made here about the government's attitude toward encryption given current events, but I'm going to let the comment section sort that one out.

Source: Associated Press

Read More...

Summary only...

Basis Peak gets smarter with music control and activity editing

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/06/basis-peak-gets-smarter-with-music-control-and-activity-editing/

The Basis Peak fitness tracker just got an update that controls the music playing on an Android or iOS device and lets users manually enter the type and duration of a workout. Good news for music fans that get in shape with activities that might necessarily get tracked like yoga or surfing.

Workout editing is done within the app and can be applied to old activities as well as recent ones. To control your jams, a music app will have to playing on your phone before you can adjust the volume and change tracks. It supports any media app on iOS and Google Play, Amazon and Spotify on Android.

The Peak with its black and white display has been marketed as more of a workout companion than a full on smartwatch like the Apple Watch or Android Wear. But Basis has added smarter features like notifications to appease people that don't want to take their phone out of their pocket just see who's texting them.

Today's update along with last year's update that let it talk to other fitness apps is more inline with the band's original workout ethos.

Source: Basis

Read More...

Summary only...

Panasonic's Lumix GX85 is a compact camera that packs a punch

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/05/panasonic-lumix-gx85/

The Lumix series is expanding with the GX85, an interchangeable lens mirrorless camera featuring a compact body and impressive specs. Panasonic says this shooter combines the best of its GX8 and GX7, but with some improvements over both. For starters, the Lumix GX85 sports a 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor and a new Venus Engine processor, along with a max ISO of 25,600, WiFi, up to 8-fps continuos shooting and in-camera image stabilization. Panasonic's also eliminated the low-pass filter, which should help you capture sharp and color-accurate pictures.

Not surprisingly, given how Panasonic has been a big proponent of 4K, the GX85 also records Ultra HD (3,849 x 2,160) videos at 24 and 30 fps, as well as 1080p at 60 fps. And if you're familiar with the Lytro camera, you'll probably like playing around with Panasonic's Post Focus function. So how does that work? The GX85 uses 49 areas from its autofocus system, near or far, to record every single focal point and, after you take a shot, you tap anywhere on the 3-inch screen to choose your preferred focus area. That means you could end up having 49 different pictures.

Panasonic's Lumix GX85 is coming to the US in mid-May for $800, which includes a 12-32mm kit lens and your choice of a black or silver model.

Read More...

Summary only...