Yahos malicious software architects busted, blamed for infecting 11M computers and $ 850m losses

0

11 Dec 2012

botnet,Virus,Yahos

by admin

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigations aided by social media giant, the Facebook has busted an international criminal gang that was involved in massive identity theft and infecting nearly 11 million computers with botnet, a FBI news release said here on Tuesday.

 The Department of Justice and the FBI, along with international law enforcement partners, announced the arrests of 10 individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, New Zealand, Peru, the United Kingdom, and the United States and the execution of numerous search warrants and interviews.
The operation identified international cyber crime rings that are linked to multiple variants of the Yahos malicious software, or malware, which is linked to more than 11 million compromised computer systems and over $850 million in losses via the Butterfly Botnet, which steals computer users’ credit card, bank account, and other personal identifiable information.
“Botnet” is short for robot network; botnets are made up of compromised computer systems and can be utilized by cyber criminals to execute distributed denial of service attacks, send spam e-mails, and conduct underground organized criminal activity, to include malware distribution.
Facebook’s security team provided assistance to law enforcement throughout the investigation by helping to identify the root cause, the perpetrators, and those affected by the malware. Yahos targeted Facebook users from 2010 to October 2012, and security systems were able to detect affected accounts and provide tools to remove these threats.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Cyber Division, International Operations Division, and the following field offices: Albany, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, El Paso, Honolulu, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New Haven, New Orleans, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Diego, San Juan, St. Louis, Tampa, and Washington Field; the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The FBI received invaluable international cooperation, assistance, and response from the following partner organizations: Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior; Republic of Croatia, Ministry of Interior General Police Directorate, National Police Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime; New Zealand Police; Peruvian National Police; and the United Kingdom’s Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Recommendations
It is recommended that computer users update their applications and operating system on a regular basis to reduce the risk of compromise and perform regular anti-virus scanning of their computer system. It is also helpful to disconnect personal computers from the Internet when the machines are not in use. Computer users who believe they have been victimized should file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov

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Sex offender detector introduced in Korea

0

25 Nov 2012

by admin

A Korean engineer has come up with an unique invention to keep sex offenders away from their victims.

The simple device size of an iPod would set of an alarm if a sex offender is 100 feet from his intended victim.
South Korea has been enacting more stringent punishments for violent sexual crimes which appear to be on the rise in the country.  As the government is recommending castration as a possible solution one citizen is doing his part to prevent these awful crimes.
His name is Hong Gwang Ui, a 43 year-old father of a four year old son, and using his knowledge as an engineer for the military he crafted a simple device which sets off an alarm if within 30 meters of a convicted sex offender.
Mr. Hong said he invented the machine because “as a father of a four year-old son, every time I hear a news story about a heinous sexual crime the anger swells up inside.  After thinking over ways to help prevent these crimes, I developed this device.”
He explained that the way it works is simple but you can probably figure it out by the name; the Electronic Ankle Bracelet Detector (EABD).
A few years ago South Korea passed a controversial law forcing people with prior sexual offenses to wear ankle bracelets which tracked their location. Some argue that this type of electronic tagging is a violation of human rights.
The ankle bracelets emit a signal on a specific frequency to the control center every 6 seconds providing the authorities with the person’s location.  Mr. Hong’s EABD simply beeps when this signal is detected within 30m.
He received the go-ahead from the Ministry of Justice to start selling these devices online from next month.  To avoid further human rights issues, Mr. Hong only plans to sell to fixed locations like schools and playgrounds.
Mr. Hong said “I wanted to help prevent sexual crime even if it’s just a little bit.” No one can argue that he’s doing his part.
Source: Rocket News

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Call of Duty addict smashes world record-135 hours and 50 minutes non-stop playing

0

20 Nov 2012

by admin

A gaming addict has written his name into record books by playing Call of Duty and Black Ops continuously for five and half days without a wink of sleep.

The Sydney man Okan Kaya, 28, clocked in 135 hours and 50 minutes, according to Daily Mail.
He has stayed up for 5 ½ days sipping on energy drinks and having light meals. He began is epic session last Tuesday continuously fortifying his fingers with soft clothes and padding up the controllers.
A Sales manager by profession he has said that his hands were cramping up and went through a lot of bandages.
Last year a Taiwanese teenager died when playing Diablo 3 for 40 hours non-stop.

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#OpIsrael launched by anonymous-hackers against attacks on Gaza enclave

0

15 Nov 2012

by admin

In retaliation to the killing of a Hamas military commander by Israeli Defense Forces, the Anonymous group has taken down at least 40 websites belonging to Israel government and financial institutions.

In a web of well-coordinated attacks, the group attacked Israel Prime Minister’s office, the Defense Forces and several other institutions.

The group in a message posted on Pastebin said:-
Anonymous does not support violence by the I.D.F. or by Palestinian Resistance/Hamas. Our concern is for the children of Israel and Palestinian Territories and the rights of the people in Gaza to maintain open lines of communication with the outside world.
The group flooded the Israeli institutions with web traffic and replaced the IDF home page with a blog belonging to a private security company.
The attack was named  #OpIsrael.

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McAfee founder on the run, Belize Trojan Horses launch search

0

13 Nov 2012

by admin

Murder mystery involving John McAfee, the founder of McAfee anti-virus is turning unequivocally bizarre.

Belize police launched a search for McAfee to question him regarding the murder of his neighbor Gregory Faull.  According to CNBC police have interrogated his neighbors, but the virus founder has given them the slip.
According to some media outlets John McAfee when noticing policemen at his door-step has concealed himself in the sand because he feared for his life. He told the CNBC that he is being searched by police for something he did not commit.
He has stated since the police launched a search he is on the move every four hours.
McAfee has told a technology reporter the Belize police is attempting frame him for the murder and if they find him they would kill him. He has stated that Faull would be not the attacker’s target and he was the intended victim.
“I thought maybe they were coming for me. They mistook him for me. They got the wrong house”. “He is dead. They killed him and it spooked me out”, he told the Wired reporter.
See updates on Twitter…

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Founder of Mcafee Virus wanted by Belize police in connection with murder

0

12 Nov 2012

Belize,John Mcafee

by admin

John McAfee, the founder of Antivirus software is wanted by Belize police in connection with the murder of an American expatriate Gregory Faull, who was gunned down on Saturday night in San Pedro on the Island of Ambergris Caye over a dog dispute, according to reports.

The Gizmodo reported that Faull, a native of California, involved in construction lodged a complaint with police last Wednesday stating that McAfee fired off his guns and displayed a “roguish behavior”.
MURDER
On Sunday the 11th November, 2012 at 8:00am acting upon information received, San Pedro Police visited 5 ¾ miles North of San Pedro Town where they saw 52 year old U.S National Mr. GREGORY VIANT FAULL, of the said address, lying face up in a pool of blood with an apparent gunshot wound on the upper rear part of his head apparently dead. Initial investigation revealed that on the said date at 7:20am LUARA TUN, 39years, Belizean Housekeeper of Boca Del Rio Area, San Pedro Town went to the house of Mr. Faull to do her daily chores when she saw him laying inside of the hall motionless, Faull was last seen alive around 10:00pm on 10.11.12 and he lived alone. No signs of forced entry was seen, A (1) laptop computer brand and serial number unknown and (1) I-Phone was discovered missing. The body was found in the hall of the upper flat of the house. A single luger brand 9 mm expended shells was found at the first stairs leading up to the upper flat of the building. The body of Faull was taken to KHMH Morgue where it awaits a Post Mortem Examination. Police have not established a motive so far but are following several leads.

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Breaking News: Zynga, Facebook to come under Anonymous attack on November 5th

0

28 Oct 2012

anonymous,attack DDOS,Facebook,hackers,zynga

by admin

The hackers group, Anonymous, has threatened to mount to Distributed Denial of Service attack on November 5^th against Facebook and  the gaming giant, Zynga in retaliation to the gaming company  laying off employees.

The group said in a statement posted on Anon News website that” we did launch phase 1 of operation maZYNGA with release of the confidential documents leaked from the executives of Zynga. On November the fifth we will release the key to the data files. Remember, Remember the 5TH of November”
The full text of the statement below…
Zynga customers and Facebook users , We are anonymous . During the last few days anonymous has been targeting Zynga for the outrageous treatment of their employees and their actions against many developers .
We have come to believe that this actions of Zynga will result in massive layoff of a thousand people and legal actions against everyone that speaks to the public about this plan.
It will also come to end of the US game market as we know it as all this jobs will be replaced in other more convenient financial countries.

With a billion dollars cash sitting in a bank we do believe that such actions are an insult to the population and the behaviour of corporations like Zynga must change.
Anonymous could not allow this to happen so it’s starting to release confidential documents we have leaked on this plan
As we speak we are planning to release also all the games we’ve taken from their servers for free.
That being said we will stop the idea of the distribution of such games if Zynga will cease immediately the plan.
The leaked strategy of Zynga , transcript:
Following the preliminary announced of this week the final strategy for the next two quarters has been successfully set to delivery by november 23 an additional but of 800 jobs with further raising of new capital from the market to support businesses.

We’ve identified our global gambling strategy with bwin.party and as we speak discussions are progressing with a partner to cover the US market.
Work is focused and on-going to completely outsource our development teams in our offices in Bangalore , India to hedge our position in the long term.
We’ve identified key new products from third parties such as Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime , Shove Prod and Music Invaders in which we are starting business contacts to buy these IP for transaction value of approximately 20 million.

We strongly believe we will conclude these deals this month and compete with this titles against mobile competitors with ease.

Our business continues to evolve and we must evolve with it. We operate in a exciting and challenging industry and I am very pleased that our senior leadership team continue to strengthen and develop with us.
In the recent past the Anonymous group launched Distributed Denial of Service against many Swedish private and government organizations in retaliation to Sweden’s police raid on a web hosting company, that previously hosted Wiki Leaks and Pirate Bay.
The group gave 24 hours warning before carrying out attacks on the sites.

A video about the announcement of the attacks was posted on popular video sharing site, the You Tube. But You Tube removed the video stating it’s a violation against the site’s police.
The Guardian Express of Los Angeles learns that the group would release many (paid) games stolen from the Zynga servers to the public free of charge. The Facebook is being targeted because of the Game Farmville which is very popular among millions of Facebook users.

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Apple opens largest retail store in Asia in China

0

18 Oct 2012

Apple

by admin

A new Apple store scheduled to be opened in Beijing this Saturday would be the largest store in Asia, the company announced, according to Chinese media.

The store with more than 300 employees would be opened in the Wanfujing shopping district.
John Browlett, company Vice President told a group of journalists on the eve of the opening that Apple is Apple is stepping up its efforts to expand its presence in China. Browett said a store in south China’s city of Shenzhen is “just about to open” and “more stores are coming across China.”
“We are looking forward to serving every Chinese customer in every city,” said Browett. “But that’s going to take us some time.”
Smart phones have overtaken desktop computers as the primary means of accessing the Internet for most Chinese, according to data from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).
CNNIC data indicates that 388 million Chinese regularly surfed the Internet via their mobile phones as of the end of June.
Apple has 390 retail stores around the world. The Wangfujing store is its third in Beijing and sixth on the Chinese mainland
Source: Shanghai Daily

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Inside Google: Never seen pictures from Iowa to Finland

0

17 Oct 2012

Google

by admin

Server Farm, Iowa

Color Codes inside Google

Google, Georgia

Oklahoma

Iowa Campus

Oregon

Google Finland

Iowa server farm

CPU center

Iowa

Server Rack switches

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No More! 1234# passwords: Eye movement could be your new password

0

14 Oct 2012

eye movement,Password

by admin

Taking cue from iris scans used in UID in India, researchers are developing a new biometric system that can identify people by the way they flicker their eyes while looking at a computer screen.
Oleg Komogortsev, a computer scientist at Texas State University-San Marco, is making use of the fact that no two people look at the world in the same way .
When looking at a picture, different people will move their eyes among points of interest in different sequences, researchers observed.
Even if two people trace the same paths, the exact way they move their eyes differs, the ‘LiveScience’ reported.
“We are seeing there are enough differences so we can talk about this as a biometric,” Komogortsev told TechNewsDaily.
A biometric is a measurement of something on the body fingerprints, for instance used to identify people. Computer scientists all over the world are studying biometrics for crime solving, for border security, and just as a high-tech way to sign into smartphones, tablets and other devices.
Komogortsev’s research is in its earliest stages and needs years of work before it might show up at airports, high-security workplaces or even home computers.
However, he thinks eye movements could be part of the next generation of a more established biometric iris scans, which are already used in some airports and private companies, and in a countrywide ID effort in India.
Previously, researchers showed that crooks could fool an iris scanner with printed contacts, or by holding up a high-quality printout of the correct person’s eye in front of the scanner.
Komogortsev hopes adding an eye-movement sensor could prevent this type of counterfeiting.
“The strength of our method is it can work together with iris [scanning],” he said.
Komogortsev’s system records eye movements and analyzes two features. In one, the system measures “fixations”, the times when people linger their gaze over a point on screen.
In another, it measures “saccades”, the swift movements the eye makes when it flies between points.
His system considers both the exact path that people’s gazes take and the fixations and saccades they make along the way.
From those movements, the system calculates unique properties about people’s eyes, including the force their eye muscles use and other properties about the fat and flesh around the eye and the eyeball itself, Komogortsev said.
UID is an initiative of Unique Identification Authority of India of the Indian government to create a unique ID for every Indian resident.
Source: Press Trust India

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Battle of the Titans: Wikileaks to be attacked by Hackers’-Anonymous

0

12 Oct 2012

Anon Paste,hackers,Hackers-Anonymous,MasterCard,Paypal,Visa,Wiki Leaks

by admin

In its last ditch attempt to raise funds, the whistle blowing site, the Wikleaks has introduced a Paywall system for users to gain access to secret government files, a move that has infuriated the nameless, faceless hackers’ group, the anonymous.

Calling the tactic “filthy and rotten,” a post to the “AnonPaste” website Thursday night said that WikiLeaks has gone too far for the hacker community to abide, so they’re taking matters into their own hands and plotting revenge.
WikLeaks has been in deep financial crisis for some time. In 2010 the world’s most powerful credit card companies, the Master Card and Visa refused to do any business with the site.
The group, Anonymous came to Wikileaks’ aid by launching counter-offensive cyber war against PayPal, MasterCard and Visa. But it may in the past. Now the group is plotting for a cyber offensive against its old ally because of the members have to pay to gain access to the files on the site.

What is Paywall? A paywall — coding that prevents an online user from accessing a website or service without paying for it first. Implemented October 10, if you attempt to access the Global Information files, you are faced with such a system. Proudly declaring “In this election, vote with your wallet – vote Wikileaks’, you are required to donate before being granted access. Interestingly, you can pay by MasterCard or Visa, according to ZDnet

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Lenovo knocks-out HP as world’s largest PC maker 0

Lenovo knocks-out HP as world’s largest PC maker

0

10 Oct 2012

Acer,Apple,HP,Lenovo,Msi

by admin

Chinese made Lenovo has overtaken Hewlett-Packard as the biggest global vendor of personal computers, the AFP news agency reported.

The survey by the research firm Gartner showed Lenovo took over the top vendor spot for the first time with 15.7 percent of the market in the third quarter of 2012, edging HP with 15.5 percent, the news agency said.
Gartner pointed out that Lenovo has used “aggressive” pricing, especially in the professional market and has boosted its market share across all regions even as PC sales weaken.
Gartner said worldwide PC shipments totaled 87.5 million units in the quarter, a sharp decline of 8.3 percent from a year ago, as many retailers and consumers held back for the new Windows 8 PCs due in late October.
Mikako Kitagawa, analyst at Gartner, said, “Retailers were conservative in placing orders as they responded to weak back-to-school sales. By the end of September, retailers were focused on clearing out inventory in advance of the Windows 8 launch later this month.”
Gartner said Dell was the number three maker with a 10.5 percent global market share followed by Taiwan’s Acer with 9.8 percent and another Taiwan firm Asus with 7.3 percent.
In the US market, HP remained the largest maker, followed by Dell, Apple and Lenovo in that order.
A separate report showed global sales of personal computers are set to show a decline for the first time in 11 years.
The survey by IHS iSuppli said the total PC market in 2012 is expected to contract by 1.2 percent to 348.7 million units, down from 352.8 million in 2011.
That would be the first drop since 2001, but sales have been sluggish for the past two years.
“There was great hope through the first half that 2012 would prove to be a rebound year for the PC market,” said Craig Stice, an IHS analyst.
“Now three-quarters through the year, the usual boost from the back-to-school season appears to be a bust, and both AMD’s and Intel’s third-quarter outlooks appear to be flat to down.”
IHS said a strong rebound could still occur in 2013, with more adoption of Windows 8 computers and newer, thinner notebook computers gaining tracking.
“Whether a newly configured PC space could then stand up to the powerful smartphone and tablet markets, however, remains to be seen,” IHS said.

Analysts say PCs have taken a back seat to tablets and smartphones in recent months.

IHS said last month that global sales of tablet computers are expected to surge to 126.6 million in 2012, driven by the iPad and rivals.

Some analysts say tablet sales will overtake that of PCs by 2016, or possibly earlier.

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RedHack members face nearly quarter-century in prison

0

08 Oct 2012

hackers,RedHack

by admin

Ten members of the “RedHack” hackers group affiliated with the International hactivists Anonymous are facing 24 years behind bars by a Turkish court on terrorism charges.

The group has denied allegations and has said that ten members held by Ankara department of police have no links with the group and the allegations leveled against the group just “fabrication”.
“We just demand freedom and unlimited information. That’s why they call us terrorists. Those 10 people have no ties with us, they are only innocent people who shared the news [on online platforms] about us,” a RedHack member has told Turkish media.
The indictment filed at the Ankara courts revealed that “It has been determined that [RedHack] has lent support to Marxist, Leninist, Maoist, leftist and separatist terrorist organizations. Hence, even though they are not members of those terrorist organizations, RedHack Kızılyıldızlar [RedStars] members can be considered to have perpetrated crimes in the name of those organizations,”

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U.S judge freeze assets of Indian tech companies over virus “support” scam

0

08 Oct 2012

tech,tech support,Virus

by admin

The U.S Federal Trade Commission has ordered six tech companies, mostly located in India to halt their business practices for alleged support scams, a news release from the FTC said.

Tens of Thousands of Consumers Allegedly Tricked Into Paying for Removal of Bogus Viruses and Non-Existent Spyware, and Allowing Scammers to Remotely Access their Computers
The Federal Trade Commission has launched a major international crackdown on tech support scams in which telemarketers masquerade as major computer companies, con consumers into believing that their computers are riddled with viruses, spyware and other malware, and then charge hundreds of dollars to remotely access and “fix” the consumers’ computers.
At the request of the FTC, a U.S. District Court Judge has ordered a halt to six alleged tech support scams pending further hearings, and has frozen their assets.
“The FTC has been aggressive – and successful – in its pursuit of tech support scams,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.  “And the tech support scam artists we are talking about today have taken scareware to a whole other level of virtual mayhem.”
The FTC charged that the operations – mostly based in India – target English-speaking consumers in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the U.K.  According to the FTC, five of the six used telemarketing boiler rooms to call consumers.  The sixth lured consumers by placing ads with Google which appeared when consumers searched for their computer company’s tech support telephone number.
According to the FTC, after getting the consumers on the phone, the telemarketers allegedly claimed they were affiliated with legitimate companies, including Dell, Microsoft, McAfee, and Norton, and told consumers they had detected malware that posed an imminent threat to their computers.  To demonstrate the need for immediate help, the scammers directed consumers to a utility area of their computer and falsely claimed that it demonstrated that the computer was infected.  The scammers then offered to rid the computer of malware for fees ranging from $49 to $450.  When consumers agreed to pay the fee for fixing the “problems,” the telemarketers directed them to a website to enter a code or download a software program that allowed the scammers remote access to the consumers’ computers.  Once the telemarketers took control of the consumers’ computers, they “removed” the non-existent malware and downloaded otherwise free programs.
FTC papers filed with the court alleged that the scammers hoped to avoid detection by consumers and law enforcers by using virtual offices that were actually just mail-forwarding facilities, and by using 80 different domain names and 130 different phone numbers.
The FTC charged the defendants with violating the FTC Act, which bars unfair and deceptive commercial practices, as well as the Telemarketing Sales Rule and with illegally calling numbers on the Do Not Call Registry.  It asked the court to permanently halt the scams and order restitution for consumers.
The FTC acknowledges and appreciates the support it received from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), and the United Kingdom’s Serious Organized Crime Agency, each of which provided invaluable assistance to the FTC.  The CRTC and ACMA also brought administrative actions for violations of their Do Not Call laws.  The FTC also acknowledges investigative assistance it received from Microsoft, as well as from other computer companies.
The FTC cases targeted 14 corporate defendants and 17 individual defendants in 6 legal filings, Pecon Software Ltd., Finmaestros LLC,  Zeal IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Virtual PC Solutions, Lakshmi Infosoul Services Pvt. Ltd., and PCCare247, Inc., and individual defendants in each of the cases.
The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the complaints was 5-0.  The complaints were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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Two million downloads in just 18 days

0

03 Oct 2012

iphone app,Manga software,super software

by admin

A Japanese software developer, Super Software announced on Wednesday that its free application on iPhone, the Manga Camera has been downloaded two million times within the space of 18 days since the launch.

The app which was launched on September11th has quickly become popular among Japanese iPhone users. The application allows images to be transformed into cartoon characters, as they have been lifted straight from comic books.

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Swedish central bank site down in cyber attack

0

03 Oct 2012

Cyber attack,DDOS,Riksbank,Sweden

by admin

Hackers as pledged launched Distributed Denial of Service attack on Swedish central bank website and crippled two other government sites to avenge Tuesday’s police raid on PRQ web hosting services that previously hosted whistle blowing site WikiLeaks and Pirate Bay, a file sharing site.
As reported on Guardian Express LA, Hackers’: Swedish central bank will come under cyber attack tonight, the cyber attack was launched just before midnight. The hackers on a cyber chat posted that attack would commence at 10.00pm Swedish time.
The Reuters news agency reported that hackers targeted the external website of the bank and bank’s IT people were working to restore services.

Previous Story
Hackers network Anonymous have warned Swedish government that major financial institutions including the central bank would come under Distributed  Denial of Service (DDOS) Wednesday night in retaliation for Tuesday’s police raid on a web hosting company, the PRQ-which previously hosted whistle blowing site WikiLeaks and Pirate Bay.

“It’s come to our attention that Swedish government raided PRQ servers in order to shut down numerous file sharing and torrent websites,” wrote the Anonymous group on English-language image board website 4chan on Wednesday.
“This has gone too far. This is unacceptable. Anonymous says these stops right now. You don’t fuck with The Internet… Today we hit their wallets hard.”
The group has said the attacks will commence at 10.00 pm on Wednesday night.
Swedish police raided PRQ on Tuesday for violations of file sharing. During the raid several servers were taken away by police for further investigations.
The Riksbank has said that it is taking necessary step to prevent DDOS attack.
Source: The Local

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Hackers’:Swedish central bank will come under cyber attack tonight

0

03 Oct 2012

Cyber attack,DDOS,Riksbank,Sweden

by admin

Hackers network Anonymous have warned Swedish government that major financial institutions including the central bank would come under Distributed  Denial of Service (DDOS) Wednesday night in retaliation for Tuesday’s police raid on a web hosting company, the PRQ-which previously hosted whistle blowing site WikiLeaks and Pirate Bay.

“It’s come to our attention that Swedish government raided PRQ servers in order to shut down numerous file sharing and torrent websites,” wrote the Anonymous group on English-language image board website 4chan on Wednesday.
“This has gone too far. This is unacceptable. Anonymous says these stops right now. You don’t fuck with The Internet… Today we hit their wallets hard.”
The group has said the attacks will commence at 10.00 pm on Wednesday night.
Swedish police raided PRQ on Tuesday for violations of file sharing. During the raid several servers were taken away by police for further investigations.
The Riksbank has said that it is taking necessary step to prevent DDOS attack.

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Mobile wars continues; Samsung says iPhone5 infringes eight of its patents

0

02 Oct 2012

Mobile wars continues; Samsung says iPhone5 infringes eight of its patents

by admin

South Korean tech giant, Samsung Electronics filed a a motion  with U.S court on Tuesday against the Apple Corporation’s iPhone 5 to the ongoing patent war.

Samsung said that the new iPhone5 infringes eight of its patents.
“We have always preferred to compete in the marketplace with our innovative products, rather than in courtrooms. However, Apple continues to take aggressive legal measures that will limit market competition.”, Samsung said in a statement.
“we have to take necessary stepts to protect our innovations and intellectual property rights”, it further added.
Both giants are locked in a bitter battle to regain supremacy in the global mobile market.

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Apple reps to meet Swiss train operator for using its clock design without prior consent

Tech giant, Apple seems to be heading for another confrontation; this time with a Swiss train operator, the SBB, for using its famous clock design on a new application for iPad and iPhone without prior consent.

“There were no agreements or were requests made by Apple to use our design”, the SBB spokeswoman was quoted.
The spokeswoman has stated that they have no intention of requesting for a financial compensation, but the company lawyers would like to meet with Apple representatives over the violations.
“We are proud that Apple used the design on its iOS 6”, she added.
The clock was designed in 1944 by Swiss engineer Hans Hilfiker.

previous post: Hilarious “Gangnam style” dance performed by Ohio University Marching Band~Must Watch Video!

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New iPhone, old abuses, Foxconn factory closed in China due to riots, 40 workers hospitalized

Foxconn Technology, a major supplier to some of the world’s leading electronic manufacturers, including apple was forced to closed down its factory on Monday after workers begun rioting against deplorable harsh working conditions.

The incident comes hard on the heels after a human rights group accused the company for violating workers rights by over working them without over time payment and added that the working conditions at the plant as “deplorable’. On Monday’s brawl at least 40 workers who sustained injuries were hospitalized, but their conditions were not known at the time this article went on line.l
On Monday the company said the disturbance begun on Sunday and continued till Monday and according to unconfirmed reports the workers smashed windows and other equipment in the premises.
Foxconn is part of Taiwan’s Hon Hair Group and also a key supplier to Apple and other electronics giants.

The Hongkong based human rights group SACOM rweleased this report recently
Whenever there are new products launched by Apple, consumers are thrilled. All over the world they queue up outside Apple stores in order to have their beloved products immediately. At the same time, workers are queuing up for the company bus and lining up to swipe their staff card at Foxconn, but without similar excitement. When the peak season comes, they are tied to the production lines with just 1 day off in 13 working days, or no rest day at all in a month, all to cope with the public demand for the new Apple products. It is sad to say that to some extent, workers also yearn for the peak season because their base pay is insufficient to meet their basic needs, especially for those who have to support their dependents.
Now, in September 2012, our researchers revisited Foxconn’s plants in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, whose sole product is the iPhone. Most of the 60 interviewees who SACOM talked to are new workers recruited by the government. The high turnover rate and the government’s need to recruit workers and take other special steps to smooth production implicitly suggest that job satisfaction is not high. More than that, SACOM’s new investigation finds that Foxconn workers in Zhengzhou are still facing deplorably harsh working conditions. It is disappointing that no matter how advanced the technology introduced by Apple is, the old problems in working conditions remain at its major supplier Foxconn.
The following are the key findings at Foxconn in Zhengzhou:
- Excessive overtime: Since August, monthly overtime hours have been between 80-100 hours in some of the production lines at Foxconn. These high levels often exceed the levels reported by the FLA in its recent progress report, and are two to three times that allowed by Chinese law.
- Unpaid overtime: Workers have to attend the daily work assembly without payment. On some production lines, workers must accomplish the production target before they can stop working even if that means working overtime without pay.
-Comprehensive working hour: By Chinese law, workers should receive double overtime premiums for work on the weekends, but workers are given compensation leave instead of extra payment.
- Denial of ergonomic break: Foxconn and Apple have promised to offer two daily ergonomic breaks for workers, but SACOM found that most of the interviewees have not enjoyed the break at all.
- Meager wages: Foxconn has modestly increased the basic salary in Zhengzhou, but it is still insufficient for workers to meet their basic needs, especially when they have to support the living cost of their dependents.
- Student intern: The provincial government is using different channels to supply workers to Foxconn. Student internships are one of the means. As such, vocational schools are sending students to Foxconn to cope with the peak season.
- Dispatch labour: Foxconn is hiring dispatched labour in Zhengzhou. The sub-contractual workers do not know if they have social insurance.
- Arbitrary relocation of workforce: In the rush to complete iPhone 5 orders, Foxconn is relocating workers from other provinces to Zhengzhou to meet production goals. Workers may not have a choice in these transfers, do not always know how long they are going to stay in Zhengzhou, and sometimes have to stay long past the promised time.
- Occupational health and safety: Inadequate training and protection for workers. Workers feel the chemicals that they contact regularly, such as “cutting fluid,” glue and thinner, have strong odors. Workers worry about their health, but there is a lack of effective protection for them.
- Inhumane management practices: Workers need to acquire an “off-duty permit” for a toilet break; this is inhumane and unreasonable. A worker who did not sit properly in a standard position was asked to write a confession statement, repeating a longstanding unacceptable practice by Foxconn.
- Crackdown on strikes: Workers reported a number of strikes in Zhengzhou because of low wages or unfair treatment. In one very recent example, the workers concerned were dismissed by Foxconn.
Company-controlled union: Supervisors passed around a book for workers to sign up for trade union membership at Foxconn without explaining how the union is relevant to

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