Smart Bra Aids Overeaters

Microsoft Research scientists have created a high-tech bra designed to monitor users to curb stress-related overeating. The undergarment is laden with sensors that record heart rate, respiration, skin conductance – the electrical conductance of the skin, which varies with moisture levels and indicates how much a person is perspiring -- and the individual’s movement, which are indicative of stress and other emotions that can lead to overeating. The bra feeds the data to a smartphone application, which sends prompts to users asking them to visit social media sites or write positive e-mails as simple ways of elevating their mood. The researchers say a bra is an ideal garment for such technology because it is close enough to the heart to take meaningful readings; however, the batteries in the undergarment had to be changed every four hours, which they say is prompting them to explore alternatives. They presented their findings at the Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII 2013) held in September. (SlashDot)(Care2)(Mashable)(Discovery News)(Microsoft Research)

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Microsoft Plans Cryptic Operating System Releases

Microsoft is planning a wave of operating system releases in spring of 2015 across all its various platforms, including Windows, Xbox One, and Windows Phone. This is according to new information reported by ZD Net, which obtained information from an internal Microsoft e-mail. “Threshold” is reportedly updating all three OS platforms in such a way that they will share more common elements. This will apparently be through sharing applications. It is unclear precisely how Microsoft plans to move forward or if it intends to take a device-agnostic approach. “If Microsoft is heading toward some sort of unified programming model, that’s going to require possibly years of work,” noted PC World’s Mark Hachman. “But other elements, such as the UI, services, and user data stored in the cloud, can be more easily manipulated.” Microsoft has indicated it will offer “Update 1” to Windows 8.1 in spring of 2014. (ZD Net)(Engadget)(PC World)
 

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Report: Chinese Hackers Spy on Foreign Ministries

Chinese hackers reportedly eavesdropped on the computers of five European foreign ministries prior to the September 2013 G20 Summit of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major global economic powers, according to research by computer security firm FireEye. The hackers reportedly employed a phishing campaign that used malware-tainted e-mails, to load malicious code on victims’ PCs. FireEye researchers say they monitored the hackers’ main server used for about a week in late August 2013 but lost contact when operations moved to another server. FireEye did not identify the affected nations but said all were European Union members. The company reported the attacks to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has declined comment. FireEye used technical evidence, including the language used on the control server, to determine the hackers are based in China. According to FireEye, the Chinese attackers are allied with the Ke3chang hacking group, which has been active since 2010 and typically targets aerospace, energy, and manufacturing firms. Whether the group is government-supported is unclear. The Chinese government has reportedly continued to deny any claims it has hacked foreign governments. (Reuters)(CNET)(BBC)
 

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China Wants Extended XP Support from Microsoft

The Chinese government wants Microsoft to extend its support for Windows XP to halt the traffic in pirated Microsoft software. A state copyright official claims the release of Windows 8 translates into higher prices for Windows-based computers, which leads consumers to purchase less expensive, pirated versions of the software. Windows XP is still used by a large percentage of Chinese. Ending the support would also increase security threats to users. (SlashDot)(Network World)

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“Native Advertising” Practices Illegal, Confusing

The increased use of advertisements that are indistinguishable from editorial content on a website – known as "native advertising" or “sponsored content” -- may be illegal in some instances, according to the US Federal Trade Commission. Seventy-three percent of online publishers use native advertising, while 41 percent of brands and one-third of advertising agencies use it. The commission recently held a workshop to determine whether it should issue additional guidance on the issue to help both advertisers and publishers avoid enforcement actions. The net result: "This has raised more questions than it answered," Mary Engle, the FTC's associate director of the advertising practices division, said. The industry is being proactive. Trade groups including the American Society of Magazine Editors have released guidelines for native advertising practices. (Reuters)(Adweek)(The New York Times)
 

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Tech Giants Pledge US$9 Million for School Broadband Access

Digital learning is increasingly the norm in classrooms across the US; however, many schools do not have the backbone capability that would allow classrooms to have sufficient data transmission or bandwidth. Foundations started by Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates contributed a combined $9 million to the nonprofit EducationSuperHighway, a San Francisco-based nonprofit designed to address connectivity issues. The US government has a goal of ensuring 99 percent of students have high-speed Internet connections within five years. Now, about 80 percent of schools in the US have connections that are too slow or are isolated with connections prone to crashing. It costs between $30,000 to $50,000 per school to install broadband, with additional costs associated with installing fiber optics into the school. What’s driving the push? Lower cost of tablet computers and increased funding for digital learning, plus the advent of computer-based testing to meet Common Core academic standards. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told the Associated Press the challenges run much deeper than having broadband access. Roughly half of American children live in poverty and many students don't have technology at home. (The Associated Press)(Tech Crunch)

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Plethora of Purloined Passwords Posted

Researchers with Trustwave's SpiderLabs discovered two million stolen passwords posted online. The finding was made while they were investigating the server or controller associated with a botnet known as Pony. The passwords were taken from users of popular sites and services including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Twitter. Victims were from the US, Germany, Singapore, Thailand, and other nations. Researchers said the stolen data included roughly 1,580,000 website login credentials;  320,000 e-mail account credentials; 41,000 FTP account credentials; 3,000 Remote Desktop credentials; and about 3,000 Secure Shell account credentials. They surmise the information was taken using keylogging software. An associated problem is most of the passwords are useless and many users use the same passwords across different websites. Both Facebook and Twitter have reportedly reset affected users’ passwords. (Reuters)(BBC)(Trustwave Spider Labs Blog) 

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