FBI argues keep its Tor hacking tool secret be classified

Defense teams across the US have been trying to get access to a piece of malware the FBI used to hack visitors of a child pornography site. None have been successful at obtaining all of the malware's code, and the government appears to have no intention of handing it over.

Now, the FBI is classifying the Tor Browser exploit for reasons of national security, despite the exploit already being used in normal criminal investigations well over a year ago. Experts say it indicates a lack of organization or technical capabilities within the FBI.

In the legal back-and-forth surrounding the FBI's hack and subsequent arrest of 1,500 users of a dark web child pornography site called Playpen, the FBI has now moved to classify the Tor Browser exploit they used, Motherboard reports, citing reasons of national security. 

Last month, Mozilla -- whose code much of the Tor Browser is based on -- asked the FBI to identify the exploit the agency used to install location-tracking malware on users' computers. That request was approved and then quickly thrown out by a judge in Washington state, who reversed his decision when the Justice Department also convinced him that the exploit was a matter of national security.

"The FBI has derivatively classified portions of the tool, the exploits used in connection with the tool, and some of the operational aspects of the tool in accordance with the FBI's National Security Information Classification Guide," the government's attorneys wrote in a filing made in response to one of the defendants earlier this month. As Motherboard points out, the FBI originally wanted to classify their reasons for not handing over the exploit, rather than the exploit itself. That filing has been amended and is simply waiting on a signature from the FBI Original Classification Authority to confirm it will be hidden from public view. While experts believe the national security excuse is tenuous, the Department of Justice does have a recorded history of classifying inappropriate information. A 2013 report from the DOJ's own office of the Inspector General revealed several documents in which "unclassified information was inappropriately identified as being classified."

If the FBI is successful in classifying their exploit tool, it would make it difficult to verify that their evidence, which affects over 1,500 related cases, was obtained through legal means. On the other hand, a legal loophole set in place by the Classified Information Procedures Act could allow the defense teams in these cases to review certain classified materials, although that's not guaranteed.

As for the Tor Project, the problems here are clear: how can an open, yet unknown, security flaw endanger the lives or human rights of those around the world who legitimately rely on a browser built for privacy and security?

WHAT IS DARK WEB/DEEP WEB?

 The “dark web” is a part of the world wide web that requires special software to access. One these, the most popular is Tor (originally called The Onion Router), partly because it is one of the easiest software packages to use. Tor downloads as a bundle of software that includes a version of Firefox configured specifically to use Tor.

Example Dark Web onion without Tor you can NOT access

Where can I find more .onion sites?

.onion site list

• http://idnxcnkne4qt76tg.onion - The TOR Project
• http://v6pgrjno6mzbjicf.onion - The Onion Press
• http://am4wuhz3zifexz5u.onion - The TOR Library
• http://zbnnr7qzaxlk5tms.onion - WikiLeaks mirror
• http://kpvz7ki2v5agwt35.onion - Hidden Wiki
• http://dg6exbqq42btatnw.onion - GNUnet file sharing
• http://3g2upl4pq6kufc4m.onion - Duck Duck Go search engine
• http://utup22qsb6ebeejs.onion - "My Hidden Blog" privacy blog
• http://hpuuigeld2cz2fd3.onion - Deep Search

Other external resources:

• TOR hidden services - on Wikipedia
• How to find active .onion sites - external article
• http://ahmia.fi - Onion Site List

 
Once inside, web sites and other services can be accessed through a browser in much the same way as the normal web.

However, some sites are effectively “hidden”, in that they have not been indexed by a search engine and can only be accessed if you know the address of the site. Special markets also operate within the dark web called, “darknet markets”, which mainly sell illegal products like drugs and firearms, paid for in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

Now Dark Web is not Dark anymore because of FBI and NSA



Source: Motherboard

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New settings for Google 2-Step Verification Much Easier and Faster

Now, Google has made the 2-Step Verification (2FV) process much easier for its users, allowing you to login with just a single tap instead of typing codes.
Previously, you have had to manually enter a six-digit code received via an SMS or from an authenticator app, but now..
Google has introduced a new method called "Google Prompt" that uses a simple push notification where you just have to tap on your mobile phone to approve login requests.

In other words, while signing in to your account, just enter your password, and you will get a pop-up message on your mobile phone asking you if you want to sign in. If you want, then press "Yes" and you're in.

You can now choose any of these options in the Sign-in & Security > Signing in to Google > 2-Step Verification section of My Account. The Help Center will be updated with detailed instructions soon; check back here for links to the relevant articles.

Here's how you can enable Google Prompt for your Google accounts:
Before enabling Google Prompt, first enable two-step verification for your Google account and you have already enabled two-step verification, you can skip this part.

• Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in to your Google account.
• Select 'Signing in to Google,' using 2-Step Verification.
• Click on 'Get started' and enter your password once again.
• Now provide your phone number you want to use for authenticating, and choose either an SMS or phone call for verification, and click on 'Try it.'
• Enter the 6-digit code from the SMS or phone call and select 'Next.'
• For setting up two-step verification, click 'Turn ON.'

Now, once you have enabled two-step verification, follow these simple steps that will just take a few second. All you need is an Android or iOS device nearby.

• Under 'Set up alternative second step,' click on the Google prompt option
• Add phone and click Get started.

Then just follow the on-screen instructions and you're all set to go.

Notes: 
Currently, you can't have Security Keys and Google prompt enabled at the same time.
A data connection is required to use Google prompt.
Android users will need updated Google Play Services to use Google prompt.
iOS users will need the Google Search app installed on their phone to use Google prompt.
 


If you have an iPhone, you are required to download the Google Search app first and sign in before using Google Prompt. But, if you are an Android user, just update your Google Play Service.

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A Megaupload developer tells his story, from file sharing to prison

The now-defunct Megaupload.com grew into one of the world's most popular file-sharing sites. At its peak, the site engaged nearly 50 million users a day and took up around four percent of the world's Internet traffic. Users uploaded nearly 12 billion files overall.

But the infamy of the site's rise is only matched by the infamy of its fall. In January 2012, US authorities closed down Megaupload.com and the network related to it. The feds arrested seven people and froze $50 million in assets. The FBI claims that the site not only failed to take down illegal material, Megaupload also helped to spread it. Perhaps it was simply a case of brazen arrogance. When the authorities finally raided founder Kim Dotcom's large villa in New Zealand, they found a number of luxury cars (Lamborghini, Maserati, Rolls Royce) with the license plates "God," "Mafia," "Hacker," "Evil," and "Police."

In total, seven men associated with the site were arrested and indicted on 13 charges (including copyright infringement and money laundering). Dotcom remains notably free and has been continually fighting in New Zealand against his extradition to the USA. Others were not as lucky.

Take for instance self-taught programmer Andrus Nõmm. The now 37-year-old grew up in a small Estonian town called Jõhvi. When he built up the Mega advertising platform Megaclick and the video hosting service Megavideo, Nõmm earned as much as $10,000 a month—more than he could've ever imagined as a child. But when US authorities came after the entire Megaupload operation, suddenly he found himself in the middle of the world's most sensational criminal copyright infringement scandal.

The legal saga dragged on for three years. In 2012, Nõmm was first arrested by authorities in the Netherlands and placed under house arrest. Like Dotcom, Nõmm next spent a significant amount of time fighting extradition. But eventually in 2015, he voluntarily traveled to the US and was arrested in Virginia. Nõmm pleaded guilty to felony copyright infringement and was sentenced to a year and a day in a US federal prison. The US Attorney General's office called the conviction, "a significant step forward in the largest criminal copyright case in US history.” In court documents, Nõmm acknowledged the financial harm to copyright holders "exceeded $400 million."

While in prison, Nõmm's teenage son and Turkish wife lived through all of this drama back in their home in Izmir, Turkey. Today, Nõmm is back with them. He' a free man looking to set his life back on track. And recently, he agreed to share his side of the story—from Megaupload glory through prison time—with Estonian journalist Toivo Tänavsuu.

The following Q&A is made of selected excerpts from Tänavsuu's interview, which was originally published in the Estonian weekly Eesti Ekspress this past April. It has been translated into English and lighted edited for clarity. It's reprinted here with permission from Tänavsuu.

Tänavsuu: Describe your life in the Netherlands up to February 2015.
Nõmm: I lived on Katendrecht Peninsula in Rotterdam. At first I had to wear a GPS device and stay within 500 meters of my home. The supermarket was 550 meters away. I had to walk to the edge of this area and wait there until someone bought my goods and brought them to me. After a while, they relaxed the restrictions and the area in which I was allowed to move increased until finally the GPS device was removed altogether. I was allowed to move around everywhere in the Netherlands, except anywhere within 50 kilometers of the border. When my son was visiting and we wanted to go to an amusement park in a town near the border, I had to get a special permit.

I wasn’t allowed to go to the airport either. Since most trains run through Schiphol, I had to drive the long way around to get from Rotterdam to Amsterdam.

Why did you initially fight against your extradition?
First of all, I couldn’t understand why I was being hunted down. The Dutch court papers didn’t include at least half of the accusations which had been in the media. For example, we do not have a single section in the law in Europe about racketeering, which in the USA automatically leads to a 25-year sentence. Secondly, I did not know what was going to happen to me if I went to the USA. The maximum possible penalty for all 13 counts would have been 55 years in prison.

Were you able to work?
The Netherlands wanted me to work. I didn’t have any money because my bank accounts in Turkey and Hong Kong had been seized and the US government confiscated about $40,000 from them. The FBI put me on the black list, which meant that I couldn’t transfer my earnings to a bank. I had to let them transfer my salary to a friend's account.

The Americans wanted to use you against Kim Dotcom. What were the FBI’s proposals?
They tried to get in contact with me, but when my lawyer asked why, they didn’t reply.
I had three lawyers in total. The first, appointed by the state, didn’t even notify me that the FBI were trying to get in contact. The second was famous but turned out to be a complete fake—taking money from clients, but not doing much at all and now facing trial. My last lawyer came through Megaupload and was really good. But Kim never paid the man a single cent. All Kim ever cared about was how to promote himself on Twitter. He has never given me any real help.

In February 2015, you voluntarily decided to fly to the US. Why?
The US prosecutors kept insisting that I should talk to them. Finally, we met with a couple of FBI representatives at my lawyer's office in Amsterdam. The Americans confirmed that they had strong evidence against me, and that I didn’t stand a chance. They claimed that I had either uploaded or downloaded some sort of illegal movie in Megaupload. Since I myself programmed the video converter system for the site, I downloaded and uploaded files constantly without watching them.

They wanted me to confess to knowing that Megaupload was earning big money from illegal movies. This I read only later on the Internet. I didn’t deal with financial issues in the company.

What options did you have?
I had the chance to fight for another 10 years and .00001 percent probability of winning in court, to live week-to-week worried about how to support my family. They would’ve extradited me sooner or later and I would’ve received a tough punishment in the USA: I most likely would have spent 5-10 years behind bars.

I chose a shortened procedure. I pleaded guilty to felony copyright infringement and made an agreement with the prosecutors to sit in prison for a year. All the bigger accusations, such as money laundering, dropped away since I wasn’t the owner of the company. I also had to sign my name to all of the evidence that had already been collected—for example, to the fact that Megaupload ignored complaints from time to time and did not remove illegal content fast enough. If anyone had any doubts about a file, Kim always calmed them down and said there was nothing to worry about. I had to be made an example of as a warning to all IT people who were intending to work in similar companies.

Deep down, did you feel guilty of anything?
I still think I shouldn’t have been on the list of defendants.

At the beginning, the Dutch Attorney-General was involved, then less and less important prosecutors until my case landed in the lap of some random intern. That shows how important the issue really was. It turned out that I was the only defendant in the last 29 years to voluntarily go from the Netherlands to the USA. I was asked to come to the police station 24 hours earlier. There I was shoved in the punishment cell with all the lowlifes. Since I’d been playing computer games and talking to my friends from dusk till dawn for two or three days in a row, I was so tired that I immediately fell asleep.

Did they think you were some kind of gangster?
I quickly learned that if you act normally and don’t do anything stupid, they treat you normally. I watched some movies during the flight and asked them to loosen the handcuffs while I was eating.

Did you fly on an ordinary commercial flight?
Yes, we flew to Washington, DC. From there, I was taken by car to Alexandria in Virginia. I was held in a detention center for a few weeks, and that was worse than prison. You share a closed room which is maybe two by three meters, and you only get out for six to seven hours a day. There are no beds. You only get a 3-4 centimeter thick piece of polyurethane foam which you can lay down on the concrete floor. The toilet is in the same room. If you need to "feed the jaruzel" [Polish saying] as they call it, you try and time it to coincide with your daily walk.

There are no books. You just stare at the wall or talk to your cellmate. My cellmate had been caught drunk-driving for the third time. Luckily, we’d both travelled a lot and this made it easy to talk to each other.

And outside the cell?
You just got to sit around and watch those meaningless American TV shows, take a shower, or eat.

Did they give you enough food?
They gave us enough so that we didn’t die. I was starving all the time. There were three or four different menus with a list of different things: hamburgers, meatloaf, steak. But no matter what you asked for, they always brought you a tiny, bland burger.

Did you go to court?
They took me from the detention center to the court across the road about four or five days after I arrived. Virginia is an army state and its courts have the toughest laws going. If you do something wrong, do it anywhere else—not in Virginia. It turned out at the court that the agreement I’d signed in the Netherlands had disappeared!

I actually had to sign a paper with counts to which I hadn’t confessed—for example, the claim that I knew that Megaupload was earning millions.

Did you feel as if you were being blackmailed?
The whole case was blackmail. They were just waiting for the defendant to get tired of fighting and give up. It’s not the one who’s in the right who wins, but the one who has the most staying power.

We signed the new agreement half an hour before the hearing. But then the judge started rambling on that the case was big and he needed at least 90 days to decide—something else new! They brought in a bunch of papers again and my financial and psychological profile was compiled. They used very specific English in court, but nobody was interested in whether I needed an interpreter or not.

In the end, you were sentenced to a year and a day in prison with three years’ probation, right?

As was agreed. The lawyer put me under pressure and demanded that I agree to a year and a day because if you are sentenced to a prison for less than a year, then there is no way to be released 15 percent earlier for good behavior.

It was said in the media that you gave the FBI valuable information which will help put together a better case against others involved in Megaupload. Is that true?

Kim Dotcom living the high life on twitter.

I wasn’t interrogated. They had factual evidence in the form of digital correspondence and Skype logs. I didn’t tell them anything they didn’t already know.


You didn’t turn your friends in?
Kim wasn’t my friend. We worked in different countries. I talked to him online a couple of times a year. The last time we met was at a company party in Hong Kong in 2010. I was just dealing with technical stuff. I didn’t get wasted like the others.

It was also said that you all had to pay a couple of million dollars to compensate losses.
To be precise, the deficit is $450 million! Hollywood lost $500 million in revenue due to piracy, minus $50 million in seized property. Since I didn’t have a penny and I wasn’t a shareholder of the company, the judge decided I only had to pay $100 in legal costs. I’ll never get back the $40,000 that was seized by the USA.

Did they take you to prison by car?
Prisoners in the US are taken from one place to another on grey buses with bars just like in the movies. You’re put in shackles, so you can only take very small steps at a time, and you’re handcuffed. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a high or low security risk. Everyone’s put on the same bus. You don’t get any food, you can’t go to the toilet, and sometimes you drive for 12 hours straight.

They never send you straight to where you’re going. You drive through a number of other prisons first. If you make trouble, say by complaining to the judge that your rights are being violated, you’re put through this thing called "diesel therapy." They bounce you back and forth between prisons like a ping-pong ball.

Did they do this to you, too?
I was taken from Alexandria to Brooklyn, from there to Pennsylvania, from there back to Brooklyn, and from there to Pennsylvania again—a total of about 16 hours of driving. Before I got to where I was meant to be going, I was put in two different prisons, one of which was a supermax prison where they keep the worst of the worst. I was there for 10 days. There are more than 2.5 million prisoners in the United States. Almost one percent of the whole population is in prison, and that’s a huge problem. But what surprised me most was that there are private prisons in the US. The more prisoners, the more money you get from the state. It’s big business.

You were sent to Moshannon Valley prison in Pennsylvania. What kind of place is it?
Since I was an immigrant, I’d never been to the US. I went there without a visa and I’d leave without one—they put me in the correctional center for foreigners. It was in a forest in the middle of nowhere. An acquaintance of mine wanted to visit me and it took him several hours just to find the place. GPS didn’t help. The nearest airport was 6-7 hours’ drive away.

The prisoners were in barracks, 80 men to a block. There were five buildings altogether, each of them with six blocks like some kind of big hospital. We had two large gardens with a soccer field on one side and a baseball field on the other. In the middle was a large area where you could lift weights. Most of the inmates did sports. I wasn’t interested in body-building or getting tattoos. I just walked around for hours or read.

There were no walls, just a chain-link fence and barbed wire. Every now and then some girls drove past and stuck their heads out of the window, waving and screaming. Half the guys rushed to the fence to stare at them.

Who did you share your cell with?
In Brooklyn, I shared my cell with a young American IT guy. We could talk for days. We played soccer barefoot just to fill in the time. The worst thing was if you didn’t get tired during the day that meant you couldn’t sleep.

What did you do in the prison in Pennsylvania?
I read a lot, four or five books a week. I scribbled some plans and specifications for my projects, or watched stupid American TV series. I took Spanish and Chinese courses. Not much of either stuck, but at least it took up my time. I also took alternative energy courses; one of the prisoners was the former owner of a huge green energy company. In my last few weeks there I myself gave some computing courses. I talked about how to make a website, what HTML was, and so on.

You had computers there?
No, I taught them on paper. I talked about the hardware: what a hard drive is, and a monitor, and a smartphone; why we need passwords. Some of the men had been in prison for 20 years. There were Jamaicans, Slavic guys, and Spanish-speaking people in the group.

Did the Estonian state support you while you were in prison?
Estonia was the only country that didn’t give its people any support. All the other countries gave their prisoners at least some pocket money. Even 10-20 euros would’ve been a great help, because you don’t even get normal soap for free there, not to mention shampoo. You’re given toothpaste whose "best before" was in 2005 and two 20 x 40 cm towels for your whole body for half a year.

But there’s a shop. If you have money, you can buy everything. Some friends and my family sent me money.

Did you get your own little corner?
I was given a tiny metal box, but it was impossible to lock it. Still, nobody stole from anyone else. Otherwise they would have been blacklisted. The guards don’t have full control of prisons in the US. Each nationality group has its own go-between who, if they need to, sorts out strife. The Hispanics have their own, the black guys have their own, the Chinese have their own, and so on.

Weren’t you afraid?
It was a low-risk prison. Most of the inmates had come across the border or been caught living in the US without a passport. There were some habitual criminals, of course. You just need to know when to keep your mouth shut and walk away. I come from Ida-Viru County. I have some experience with people like that. It wasn’t particularly easy being an Estonian in Ida-Viru County when Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union.

I only ever saw two fights in prison. One of them started because somebody switched the channel on the TV. The second one was when somebody made a bad joke about the other guy's girlfriend.

Did you also get to work and earn money?
Everybody had to work at least 20 hours a week: unclogging the toilets, digging pits, painting, or helping sort the books. But guess how much we were paid per hour? Twelve cents per hour! A pack of coffee cost $4. You work for a month and get a pack of coffee! One prisoner told me he’d started fighting in his last prison so he’d be sent away. It was located near a cornfield in Louisiana and the prisoners were working in the field for a dollar a day.

What was the most frustrating aspect of the whole experience?
You’re like a sheep in the US prison system. When you’re being transported from one place to another and it’s cold outside, they make you stand outside in your socks and T-shirt. It’s perfectly normal to be put in solitary for three weeks with nothing to read. It’s your own problem if you go crazy. You don’t have any rights.

What about your health?
I had a few problems. All of them were solved with painkillers.

You were in prison for 10-and-a-half months. Then you applied for parole?
If you don’t do anything wrong, freedom’s granted automatically after you’ve served 85 percent of your time. I was taken to a prison in New York for a few days before my flight home. My release day was 25 November—Thanksgiving. As this was followed by days off, I was held in prison for five days longer. I called the Estonian Embassy and said that in my view this wasn’t right. They didn’t see the problem. Other countries vigorously defended the rights of their own prisoners. It’s weird how the Estonian government kowtows before the USA.

I had two options: either I buy a plane ticket myself or let the US government buy one for me. My family bought me the ticket. One Belarusian guy who was meant to be released on the same day let the officials buy him a ticket. So he sat in prison for another three months.

How are you different today to the person you were a year ago?
Prison didn’t change me. It was like detention in school. But I’m different today from what I was before 2012. I have less trust in all sorts of state affairs, especially big countries. I saw the dark side of the American dream in all its glory. Many people think it’s some paradise. Actually, it’s just one big system. The US, China, Russia—take your pick.

It sounds like you’ve lost faith in American democracy.
Can you call forcing your policies on other countries "democracy?" If you have the money, you have the right. Since the US is a capitalist country, that principle is particularly relevant.

I don’t believe the US will help Estonia in any war. They also promised to help Ukraine, but did they really?

What do you regret most?
I was a bit blind before. It cost me several years of my life. I learned a lot of new things while working in Megaupload. I met some brilliantly clever people. But I should have understood better what kind of person Kim actually was.

Kim has said that he sent you money during the hard times in Rotterdam.
Bramos (Bram van der Kolk, one of the key Dutch players in Megaupload) helped me. His parents transferred some money to me. I don’t know who was actually behind the transfer. Some of the guys were flying around in helicopters in New Zealand while I was languishing in Rotterdam. Kim keeps babbling on about how he helps everybody and is such a great freedom fighter, but the reality is something else. Kim’s always been interested in the well-being of just one person, and that’s Kim himself. As time went by, I realized more clearly that I was fighting on my own.

 Kim Dotcom (right) shares a lighthearted moment with colleague Finn Batato.



You’re the only one from Megaupload who’s faced court in the USA, right?
The police used the special unit, helicopters, semi-automatics, and dogs to catch Kim Dotcom during a raid in New Zealand, which turned out to be a total mess. A lot of those things weren’t in accordance with the law. They put on a show of strength to win the favor of the United States. The whole extradition process got stuck in court. As for me, everything in the Netherlands was done exactly as in the papers, which means correctly.

When did you last talk to Kim?
He called me two or three months after all of this began, but we haven’t communicated since.

I know how much money they were wasting in the company, and my salary wasn’t worth doing the job for that last year. Kim offered me a million dollars as an option if he would eventually sell the company. Back then I believed him.

He has said he understands your decision to plead guilty, do the time, and move on?
He’s only saying that to make himself look better. He even tried to go into politics in New Zealand to win the elections and change the law so they couldn’t extradite him.

Does he hold a grudge against you?
Even if he does, he’s not stupid. He understands that social media has a massive influence. Civil war within Megaupload isn’t in his best interests. He’s this martyr, this freedom fighter....

He’ll eventually end up in the US. He’ll most likely throw everyone under the bus. Kim’s only interested in Kim. The show he gives online isn’t Kim.

How did your son cope with all of this?
He’s 13. He knows exactly what happened. He’s not a kid any more.

At least you’re famous now.
Yes, loads of US publications have requested interviews. I've turned them all down. For example, Vice TV kept on me for several months. I'm not interested in the tabloid press. I was afraid that when I got out of prison, I’d really have to work hard to find a job. But it wasn’t a problem. I received all sorts of interesting offers during my last couple of months in prison. I was asked to contact them as soon as I got home. I still don’t understand how everybody knew when I was getting out. There’s enough work, but I avoid sharing any files!

So, your life is now back on track?
There are still a few problems I have to deal with. I need to pay my friends back for the Rotterdam period. I also owe the bank money. They didn’t care that I was in another country for some time and couldn’t pay my bills.

Are the FBI haunting you any more?
I’m a 100 percent clean, and that won’t change. However, they might start questioning me if Kim faces court in the USA.

What do you dream of?
All my dreams were fulfilled by the time I was 25. I grew up in a poor family and left Estonia in 2000. My goal was to find a decent place to live—not some villa, but not a one-bedroom apartment in a dodgy neighborhood either. I wanted a normal car, a family, and an income which could get me anything I wanted. I had all of this before 2006, when I started working for Megaupload. At the moment, I just want to heal all of the wounds from the last four years.


source: arstechnica

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Oculus removes hardware DRM that preventing VR games from working with HTC's Vive

In a big move for openness in the VR landscape, Oculus has stepped back from its position of blocking its games from working on the HTC Vive. The company quietly issued an update for its desktop software today which strips away the headset exclusivity check that has caused VR fans so much consternation, Ars Technica reports.

The update, Runtime 1.5, doesn’t include the feature retraction in the release notes. The news came from the creator of Revive, a tool that allowed Oculus software to be played on Valve and HTC’s Vive headset — and which was seen as the target for the hardware lockdown in the first place.

That limitation pushed the developers of the Revive tool, which lets Vive owners play Oculus games, to completely crack Oculus's DRM last month. But in response to today's news, the Revive devs have dumped their DRM cracking technology.

"I've only just tested this and I'm still in disbelief, but it looks like Oculus removed the headset check from the DRM in Oculus Runtime 1.5," a Revive developer wrote on GitHub. "As such I've reverted the DRM patch and removed all binaries from previous releases that contained the patch."

While console gamers are used to games being exclusive to certain hardware, that's new territory for PC gamers. It's hard to blame PC fans for getting annoyed, though -- even Oculus founder Palmer Luckey has said he doesn't want to lock games to the Rift. Given that the VR landscape is so young, it makes more sense to encourage cross-compatibility. Oculus came under fire at E3 for striking deals to land exclusive games, but today's update shows it's actually listening to its critics.

The removal is essentially a mea culpa from Oculus, which over the last few weeks has faced hard questions from press and users about its strategy in locking down content to its own platform. Restricting games to its own hardware was seen by many as a move that benefited no one but Oculus, and harmed the VR community at large. 

Oculus confirmed to Ars that it removed the headset in today's update, and it also added "we won't use hardware checks as part of DRM on PC in the future." Still, the company doesn't plan to give up entirely on copy protection. 

"We believe protecting developer content is critical to the long-term success of the VR industry, and we'll continue taking steps in the future to ensure that VR developers can keep investing in ground-breaking new VR content,"

HTC Vive and Oculus Rift owners generally have a lot in common, including access to many of the same apps and games.


Source: Reddit, Oculus , Ars Technica

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DJI Phantom 3 drone hit a Quebec woman in the head while enjoying a sporting event

You're out enjoying a sporting event, just minding your own business. All of a sudden a 2.7-pound DJI Phantom 3 drone falls from the sky and beans you squarely in the head. What do you do? You file a lawsuit.

That's exactly what happened to 38-year-old Stéphanie Creignou, who unfortunately suffered injuries when the drone fell from the sky and crashed directly into her head. She has yet to get back to work, and as a result of her injuries, she was forced to cancel a vacation she had already planned with her husband.

You can see it in the video footage captured by VTOL-X Drones, a professional drone provider that was hired by event organizers to obtain aerial footage of the event.

Drone operator Rosaire Turcotte is unsure of how he lost control of the drone or how the incident occurred. In an interview with VAT News, he attests that he has "zero explanation" and believes he "acted in the safest way possible."

According to VTOL-X Drones company CEO Flavio Martincowski in an interview with PetaPixel, the man was actually operating the drone without the proper permits and (clearly) flying too close to a gathering of people. In fact, the incident transpired just after VTOL-X Drones questioned Turcotte about those very things.

Currently the Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the crash, which could easily have been avoided had the drone's operator paid more attention to regulations in place to keep this things from happening. Accidents do happen -- but this is a very unfortunate and preventable one.


Source: PetaPixel, VTOL-X Drones Inc.

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Why Men pass on less DNA to their children than Women do

Fact: Men pass on less DNA to their children than Women do. The reason for this has been a long-standing mystery, though a study published today leads us closer to understanding.

When humans reproduce, women are the only ones who pass on a type of DNA called mitochondrial DNA. Unlike most of our genetic material, this kind of DNA comes from tiny cellular subunits, called mitochondria, located inside the cell's cytoplasm, but outside the nucleus. That DNA is crucial because mitochondria provide energy to the rest of the cell. Both men and women have this kind of DNA, but like I said — women are the ones who pass it on.

Now, a roundworm study published in Science reveals that sperm produce an enzyme that attacks the sperm’s mitochondrial DNA shortly after it merges with the female egg. And when the paternal mitochondria stick around for longer than they should during an embryo’s development, that embryo is a greater risk of dying. Because of this, the researchers speculate that it’s evolutionarily advantageous for roundworms — and other organisms like humans — to do away with that extra dad DNA.

Mitochondrial DNA is actually just a tiny part of what makes people who they are. In total, mitochondria contain 37 genes — which is a lot less than the 25,000 other genes that a mother contributes to her child. Still, mutations in mitochondrial DNA can lead to serious health conditions in humans, such as blindness, heart problems, and liver disease. That’s why researchers are so interested in it; despite its tiny contribution, the sum of its properties make it unique.

In the study, the researchers used electron microscopes to observe roundworm embryos as they developed. They found that when sperm merges with an egg to make an embryo, paternal mitochondria inside the sperm gets attacked by an enzyme called endonuclease G. The enzyme enters the mitochondria and starts cutting away at the paternal DNA. And that, in turn, makes it easier for mechanisms provided by the egg to finish off the sperm’s mitochondria — and all the paternal DNA it contains. "So there's a collaboration to coordinate the rapid removal of this paternal mitochondria," says study co-author Ding Xue, a molecular genetic at the University of Colorado Boulder.

So why do sperm spend so much energy sabotaging themselves? The answer to that probably has to do with the fact that paternal mitochondrial DNA is a lot more prone to mutations than its maternal counterpart, Xue says. "If mutated paternal mitochondrial DNA isn’t removed promptly, then mutations can accumulate through generations" — and that can cause problems for the species.

To prove their point, the researchers used sperm that contained mutated mitochondria. As expected, when these mitochondria hung around in the embryos, those embryos were more likely to die. And that, Xue says, might also be true for humans, because our species also produce this enzyme. "So, if this mechanism is not there, then you basically increase the chance that a human embryo potentially will have problems," he says. But that’s just speculation.

The finding is "of great importance," says Kateryna Makova, a geneticist at Penn State University who wasn’t involved in the study. Even though many animals — including humans — pass only their maternal mitochondria on to the next generation, researchers haven’t spent a lot of time studying how paternal mitochondria are destroyed, or what the evolutionary consequences might be, she says. So, gaining a better understanding of what’s going on is welcome — a sentiment echoed by Ken Sato, a molecular biologist at Gunma University in Japan. The questions surrounding why only the maternal version is inherited to offspring are "very mysterious and attractive," he says, and today’s paper provides some interesting answers.

There’s a lot more to figure out, still. For one thing, it’s not clear how endonuclease G manages to distinguish paternal mitochondria from maternal mitochondria, Makova says. The study also didn’t demonstrate that the same mechanism takes place in humans. But now that the role of endonuclease G has been discovered, researchers will probably start looking into its role in humans, too. And that could prove very interesting, she says.

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Ex-NASA Engineer Builds World's Largest NERF GUN

Childhood Nerf wars are a common sight, but three engineers have stepped things up a notch with this modified piece of kit which can fire ammunition at a staggering 40mph (64kph) over 130 yards (118 meters).

An ex-NASA engineer got the bright idea to manufacture the world’s largest Nerf gun that resembles what would likely be the toy of choice for Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant. How big is it, you ask?

Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer who worked on the Mars Rover project, joined forces with Ryan and David from Eclectical Engineering, and together created one giant Nerf gun that has no problems obliterating watermelons or shattering glass

Perhaps more impressive than the contraption’s sheer size is the fact it has the ability to shoot makeshift Nerf darts at an astounding 40 mph. Essentially a Nerf rocket launcher, Rober’s DIY project was completed by inserting a 3,000 psi paintball tank into the grip of the gun which helps transfer pressure into its air tank. Once the trigger is pulled, the air tank releases, causing whatever’s put into the chamber to come barreling out.

To test the upgraded giant Nerf gun, the team headed to a desert seemingly in the middle of nowhere to fire more 3D-printed projectiles, only this time they also had a few wooden dowels on hand and a handful of unsuspecting watermelons. Expectedly, the Nerf gun annihilates the watermelons, leaving nothing but a few chunks of rind in its wake.

“The darts exit the gun at about 40 mph,” Rober stated in published YouTube video below. “And they’re made of pool noodles with toilet plungers on the end, which means they can actually stick to things. So you can use it for skeet shooting or Dude Perfecting.”


via GIPHY
Rober and his engineering team — a duo from a YouTube channel called Eclectical Engineering — even 3D-printed a projectile which they were able to shoot an astounding 130 yards. As is typical with Mark’s prior projects (i.e. the semi-automatic snowball launcher), he felt it necessary to try out his newest invention on his nieces and nephews who just so happened to be picking on him.



It goes without say that Mark Rober knows a thing or two about how to have fun. We know what you’re thinking, how do I build one of these for myself? Luckily, the guys at Eclectical Engineering put together a handy walkthrough for anyone interested in fabricating one of their own.

Would you hit your nephew with a plunger traveling 40 MPH?

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: http://tinyurl.com/MarkRober-YouTube

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/MarkRoberYouTube

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/#!/MarkRober

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/markrober/

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Facebook Live is rolling out MSQRD, a Snapchat-like video app with live filters

Facebook Live is rolling out a handful of nice update these coming weeks, starting with the ability to broadcast straight from MSQRD (Masquerade). Fidji Simo, the social network's director of product, has announced at VidCon that you'll be able to choose the audience you want to show your face-swapping shenanigans to within the app itself. For instance, you could only make a video visible to close friends rather than to everyone. You'll also be able to choose your first mask before going live and to keep changing it throughout the show.

MSQRD, if you're not familiar, is a Snapchat-like video app with live filters that the social network snapped up in March after face-swapping skyrocketed in popularity. Simo said iOS users around the globe will be able to take advantage of Facebook Live integration these next few weeks. Unfortunately, he didn't say when the feature will come out for Android users.

Simo has also revealed that viewers will be able to join a broadcast that's already airing, so you can go live with friends or fans to host talk shows, debates and discussions. Finally, when you schedule a video, viewers will be given the choice to be notified when it starts airing or to join a lobby where they can chat with other fans. The bad news is that only Verified Pages will get both these features in the near future, though Facebook plans to eventually make them widely available.


source: Engadget,

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Drone collision avoidance using radar soon!

Arbe Robotics, an Israeli startup pioneering the use of a trusted technology, radar, in the emerging market of drones, publicly unveiled its collision avoidance technology today. By bringing radar into the drone industry, Arbe Robotics is building a safer drone experience that will not only protect people and property, but drones themselves.

To avoid injuries, lawsuits and costly repairs, techies have built collision avoidance systems so your unmanned aerial vehicle automatically swerves away from people and obstacles. But existing camera-based solutions drain batteries and slow down flight speed when dodging things. Arbe Robotics just won TechCrunch's first Tel Aviv Meetup and Pitch-Off last night with its own avoidance system, which counters these drawbacks by using radar to guide drones without stunting flight time.

The system consists of a mountable hardware band that scans up to 200 meters in every direction along with software that automatically avoids detected obstacles. If objects larger than a meter enter that radius, the radar system will detect it and automatically move the drone to avoid a collision. Arbe Robotics claims that its solution only uses 5 percent battery life throughout the flight.

Obviously, this is for a civilian solution detecting slow-moving obstacles. DARPA has been innovating a collision avoidance system for drones to dodge speedy things like small aircraft and other drones. Since it's currently the size of a shoebox, it won't be coming to small commercial UAVs any time soon. It's also unclear when Arbe Robotics' solution will hit the market, but until then, there's always drone crash insurance.


Source: Arbe Robotics

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Mark Zuckerberg Covers His Laptop Camera and Mic Jack

On Tuesday, observers were reminded that Mr. Zuckerberg, 32, is not just a normal guy who enjoys running and quiet dinners with friends. In a photo posted to his Facebook account, he celebrated the growing user base of Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. An eagle-eyed Twitter user named Chris Olson noticed that in the image’s background, his laptop camera and microphone jack appeared to be covered with tape.

The tweet to raise the question: Was this paranoia, or just good practice?

The taped-over camera and microphone jack are usually a signal that someone is concerned, perhaps only vaguely, about hackers’ gaining access to his or her devices by using remote-access trojans — a process called “ratting.” (Remote access is not limited to ratters: According to a cache of National Security Agency documents leaked by Edward J. Snowden, at least two government-designed programs were devised to take over computer cameras and microphones.)

Security experts supported the taping, for a few good reasons:

• The first is that Mr. Zuckerberg is a high-value target.

“I think Zuckerberg is sensible to take these precautions,” Graham Cluley, an online security expert and consultant, wrote in an email Wednesday. “As well as intelligence agencies and conventional online criminals who might be interested in targeting his billions, there are no doubt plenty of mischievous hackers who would find it amusing to spy upon such a high-profile figure.”

• The second is that covering photo, video and audio portals has long been a basic and cheap security safeguard.

“Covering the camera is a very common security measure,” Lysa Myers, a security researcher at the data security firm ESET, said in an email. “If you were to walk around a security conference, you would have an easier time counting devices that don’t have something over the camera.”

• Third, Mr. Zuckerberg is not immune to security breaches.

A recent hacking of his Twitter and LinkedIn accounts shows that he most likely committed two basic privacy faux pas: He may have used the same password across several websites and did not use two-factor authentication.

Judging from his photo, however, it appears that Mr. Zuckerberg was taking simple precautions to protect himself from anyone who may try to gain remote access. The practice is fairly technologically simple: Hackers trick people into clicking on links or unfamiliar websites containing malware that allows them access to the devices.

Mr. Zuckerberg is not the only high-profile case: James Comey, the director of the F.B.I., also puts tape over his computer’s webcam, for surprisingly simple reasons, according to NPR:

“I saw something in the news, so I copied it,” Mr. Comey said. “I put a piece of tape — I have obviously a laptop, personal laptop — I put a piece of tape over the camera. Because I saw somebody smarter than I am had a piece of tape over their camera.”

People who are not billionaires or high-ranking government officials are not without risk, said Stephen Cobb, a senior security researcher at ESET.

“For people who are not C.E.O.s, the threat is people scanning the internet for accessible webcams for a range of motives, from voyeurism to extortion,” Mr. Cobb wrote in an email.

Experts don’t have a good estimate for how often such attacks occur, but according to a 2015 report released by the nonprofit Digital Citizens Alliance, the practice is a growing problem for consumers, especially young women. The report also said that trojans account for some 70 percent of all malware.

“They’ve been one of the most popular types of malware on every operating system, for quite a long time,” Ms. Myers, of ESET, said. “The best ways to protect against them are to update all your software on your machine regularly, and use reputable security software, including anti-malware and a firewall.”

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First double-decker bus in Palawan by U-Hop ready to operate next week

According to U-HOP (Palawann-news), the 59-seater bus is an alternative transport system to the traditional bus types currently operating in the province, with services akin to “traveling via airplane”. 

The bus has a VIP lounge where one can enjoy videoke while traveling, and reclining seats where passengers can sit comfortably. TV, Wifi and a comfort room are also provided, with travel attendants ready to assist passenger needs. 

Security of the passengers will be ensured through CCTV monitoring, while GPS features are also activated for easy assistance to the bus during emergencies.

The very first unit of double-decker bus in Palawan, is now ready to operate its Puerto Princesa—El Nido and vice-versa route starting next week, according to Joy Tabuada, Marketing and Operations Manager of U-Hop. Five more units will arrive in the next few weeks and will operate other routes, including those to the South.

 Photo Credit ( Jarrod Lorenz)

 Photo Credit ( Jarrod Lorenz)

 Photo Credit ( Jarrod Lorenz)

U-Hop, a transport service similar to Uber and GrabCar which are currently operating in Metro Manila, seeks to provide alternative solutions to daily transportation. The company aims to resolve current struggles in commuting through a global member-based interconnected shuttle service, and to lessen road traffic by utilizing shuttle vans that can reduce the number of private vehicles on the road.

For more information on how to avail of the bus and other services of U-hop one can text/call 0927 6417 100/0928 1717 595 or visit their FB Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/uhop.palawan.

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