Google deliberately stole information but executives 'covered it up' for years Work of Street View cars to be examined over allegations Google used them to download personal detailsEmails, texts, photos and documents taken from wi-fi networks as cars photographed British roadsEngineer who designed software said a privacy lawyer should be consultedCalls for police and Information Commissioner to investigate new evidence By Jack Doyle and Daniel Bates Published: 11:50 GMT, 27 May 2012 | Updated: 11:06 GMT, 29 May 2012 Google, pictured street-mapping in Bristol, has always claimed that it didn't know its software would collect the private information Google is facing an inquiry into claims that it deliberately harvested information from millions of UK home computers. The Information Commissioner data protection watchdog is expected to examine the work of the internet giant’s Street View cars. They downloaded emails, text messages, photographs and documents from wi-fi networks as they photographed virtually every British road. MARCH 2009: Street View launches in the UK.
Free 123D Catch App Makes Your iPhone a 3D Scanner 3D scan (using your iPhone camera!) and model for free with 123D Catch. Then send it on to the printer. In three years 3D scanners have gone from $30,000 to $3,000 to—$0.00?! AutoDesk’s free 123D Catch app is now available for the iPhone and iPad. Users can take up to 40 pictures, upload them to the cloud, and receive a digital 3D model. If you’re an architect or manufacturer or computer animator, chances are you already know Autodesk. Autodesk hopes to change all that with its user-friendly, free suite of 3D modeling software. How does it work? Autodesk’s proprietary software will find common points between photos, extrapolate the angle each photo was taken from, and stitch them into a 3D model. Pretty darn simple. You can leave it at that or go further. 123D Catch models made from the iPad or iPhone are compatible with Autodesk’s 123D Catch web app. Perhaps the most amazing part of 123D Catch is its cost—or lack thereof. Similarly, there are other handheld and desktop scanners.
» Judge Napolitano: First Patriot To Shoot Down A Government Spy Drone Will Be A Hero Alex Jones Blasts illegal use of “plastic drones” to spy on Americans in their backyards Steve Watson Infowars.com May 16, 2012 Judge Andrew Napolitano has warned Congress not to act “like potted plants” regarding the increased use of unmanned surveillance drones without warrants over US skies by military, government, and law enforcement agencies. Echoing the recent comments of his Fox News colleague Charles Krauthammer, Napolitano also said that “The first American patriot that shoots down one of these drones that comes too close to his children in his backyard will be an American hero.” The federal government is rolling out new rules on the use of the unmanned drones this week, with the Federal Aviation Administration announcing procedures will “streamline” the process through which government agencies, including local law enforcement, receive licenses to operate the aircraft. Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and Prisonplanet.com. Print this page.
Google Wants to Ditch the Password – Sounds Lovely Memorizing numerous passwords is inconvenient. This is known. To counteract said inconvenience, many people use memorable (read: hackable) passwords on multiple sites. Google knows all this. Yubikey USB stick. Trash talking passwords isn’t in any sense new, and Google’s been at it for a few years. And would it surprise you to learn registration jumped after Wired’s Matt Honan was hacked in 2012? Two-step verification and password generating key fobs may make accounts more secure than they are currently—but you can still lose your phone or Yubikey. Biometrics are an already common alternative solution used on local machines like laptops. Meanwhile, the Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) wants to identify users by their keystrokes. Of course, neither of these options is foolproof—fake hands designed from pilfered fingerprints can fool biometric devices. But just about anything is better than a password. So, maybe this time we really are about to do away with passwords.
The New Pay Phone and What It Knows About You The term pay phone has a new meaning today. For consumers who wish to ditch their wallets, paying through a mobile phone can be awfully convenient. Those same consumers can also, often unwittingly, give up valuable information about themselves to merchants that want to sell them things. A new survey by law professors at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that most Americans are uneasy with the idea that their phones could divulge behavioral and personal information, like phone numbers and in-store browsing habits. The survey was created by Chris Hoofnagle and Jennifer Urban, who study digital privacy issues, and financed by Nokia, which makes cellphones. It found that four out of five of those surveyed “objected to the transfer of their phone number to a store where they purchase goods,” while 15 percent said they would “probably allow” transmission of that information and only 3 percent said they would “definitely allow it.”
Mind-Controlled Videogames Become Reality The Advertising Industry Has Quietly Launched One Of History's Biggest Efforts In Social Profiling - Business Insider Does the Internet empower consumers? Or does it make them more vulnerable to manipulation by companies and potentially the government? While both statements might be correct, the balance tilts definitely toward the latter, according to Joseph Turow, a professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Knowledge@Wharton: At the beginning of your book, you say that the advertising industry has launched what you call one of history’s most massive stealth efforts in social profiling. Joseph Turow: A lot of it is happening because companies feel that they have to know a heck of a lot more about their consumers, the users of their products, than they ever have before. Knowledge@Wharton: Historically, if we look at the rise of the media agencies, what were some of the under-the-hood forces that led to this environment of digital intrusiveness? Knowledge@Wharton: How so? Turow: No question. Turow: Yes.
Dubai police will use facial recognition and Google Glass to look for wanted criminals. Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images The FBI is ramping up its facial recognition database and doctors are trying out Google Glass in emergency rooms. Now the Dubai police want to take it all to the streets. A Dubai police spokesperson told the 7 Days newspaper that custom-made software will allow the officers’ Glass to sync with a database of faces. The Dubai police department will do a pilot phase where officers wear Glass to track traffic violations and look for offending vehicles. Each Glass costs $1,500, a price point that Reuters points out is in line with Dubai police’s $400,000 Lamborghinis.
Massive Data Breach Strikes Visa, MasterCard, Others Four giant card-payment processors and large U.S. banks that issue debit and credit cards were hit by a data-security breach after third-party services provider Global Payments Inc discovered its systems were compromised by unauthorized access. It was not immediately clear how many cardholders became victims of the breach, which affected MasterCard Inc, Visa Inc, American Express Co and Discover Financial Services, as well as banks and other franchises that issue cards bearing their logos. U.S. law enforcement authorities including the Secret Service are investigating and MasterCard said it has hired an independent data-security organization to review the incident. The shares of Atlanta-based Global Payments, which acts as a credit-checking middleman between merchants and card processors, were halted on Friday afternoon after dropping more than 9 percent on the news. Global Payments is holding an investor conference call Monday morning to discuss the issue. "It was very unusual," he said.
Pulse laser projects 3D image into mid-air - Fut-Science The current available 3D holographic displays are based on having a “screen”, surface or substance (such as dust or water vapor) to intersect and interfere with the laser beam. Taking this fact into consideration, the Japanese company Aerial Burton has improved the holographic technology. They created a holographic display that operates without any screen, surface or substance. It projects a 3D image into mid-air, achieved by using a pulse laser that ionizes air molecules, creating a 3D image. According to Aerial Burton, this display can be used to help people in emergency situations, for example, power outage, earthquake or flood.