Pinterest is now blocked by China's The Great Fire Wall

The site has followed the example of Facebook, Twitter and many others after the photo sharing site was blocked in China, according to data from censorship monitoring organization GreatFire. GreatFire checks a range of the internet’s top websites for accessibility in China on a regular basis, and its system noted that Pinterest.com has been unavailable in China for the past seven days.

The Great Fire Wall, China’s internet censorship system, is prone to glitches and temporary blocks, but the fact that Pinterest has been inaccessible from China for a week now suggests that it has been very deliberately censored. Which brings us to the question of which a site that is famed for sharing images of animals, wedding dresses, recipes and other photos would be targeted by the Chinese government and deemed unfit for purpose in the country.

Pinterest is not exactly a mainstream service in the country, a number of clones sprouted up in China when the U.S. service struck out in 2012, but the block is significant as it represents one of the few popular Western social media sites that was freely accessible in China. It’s not exactly clear why the site is being blocked, but it could well be related to timing. ‘Two Sessions,’ the annual gathering of China’s governing classes, is taking place right now in Beijing which puts the government on high-alert for potential problems. Pinterest, it seems, had caught the eye.

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From MSI-ECS: HP Elite X2 is a 2-in-1 for the Mobile Workforce

HP Elite X2: Masterfully Crafted 2-in-1 Business Tool

Are you planning to get a new device to help you with your workloads? Something light and slim but extremely powerful? The HP Elite X2 might just be the one you’re looking for.  

The HP Elite X2 is set to exceed expectations with its tested-tough and precision-crafted keyboards, and a thin and light powerhouse designed to the exacting standards of the enterprise. It’s a versatile device that can be both a PC and a tablet; all without compromising the power of performance. 

Mobility and Style with Power

Elegantly slim and stylish, the Elite x2 1012 is a 2-in-1 designed for the mobile workforce and executives who want no compromises when it comes to enterprise-class power, durability, connectivity, long battery life and productivity on the go, in a stylish design.

The 6th Gen Intel® Core™ M series with the Intel® Core™ m7 processor combines great mobile performance and amazing battery life, so you never have to worry about losing power while you’re out and about working outside the office. 
It’s equipped with Corning® Gorilla® Glass that provides exceptional damage resistance to the scratches and bumps of everyday use. Charge devices, transfer data quickly, and connect to 4k devices with the USB-C™ port with Thunderbolt™ technology.

Its unique kickstand design rotates 150 degrees to adjust smoothly to any viewing angle. Giving you productivity while on mobile is the detachable keyboard and the full-size Wacom pen and digitizer. They are he preferred choice of creative professionals around the world.

Connect and Collaborate in Style

Conduct successful virtual meetings from practically anywhere with optional WWAN, front and back facing cameras, and HP Noise Reduction Software and Audio by Bang & Olufsen.

Enterprise-class security

BIOS configuring and recovery using HP BIOSphere and HP Sure Start Technology can streamline client deployment and maintenance. Keeping sensitive information safe is made sure with the pre-installed HP Client Security, Intel® vPro™, and optional features like a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and self-encrypting drive (SED).

Extra assurance from Windows 10 Pro authentication and the optional integrated fingerprint reader provides effective authentication. Upgrade from the detachable travel keyboard to the optional advanced backlit keyboard with integrated NFC and smartcard reader is possible. 

Built for wherever you work

Whether you are in the healthcare, retail or the education industry, every aspect of the Elite x2 1012 is designed to exceed expectations and meet the specific needs of your workday.

The Elite X2 is engineered to pass MIL-STD-810G testing and can go everywhere you need to go and stand up to the wear and tear of any healthcare environment. Or the drops and spills when one is working in the retails business. It also provides educators the tools they need to keep the class on track no matter how messy it gets.

HP Elite X2 is the hardworking device built for the hardworking you. It’s the hybrid you need for business.

For further specs and pricing, contact the exclusive distributor of HP Elite X2 in the Philippines, MSI-ECS, at (02) 688-3512 or email inquiry@msi-ecs.com.ph.

About MSI-ECS: MSI-ECS is one of the country's leading providers of innovative and reliable computing solutions. Specializing in IT distribution as its core competence, MSI-ECS has continuously redefined and broadened its portfolio of IT products and services to fully address the evolving needs of the local IT community. More information about MSI-ECS is available at http://www.msi-ecs.com.ph.

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After 12 years Harvard dropout and CEO of a company will be getting a college degree

Harvard dropout and CEO of a company worth nearly $400 billion, will be getting a college degree more than a decade after leaving his classes behind. The Facebook co-founder and chief executive left Harvard’s undergraduate computer science program in the fall of 2005 to devote himself full-time to building the young social network, which even then was seeing meteoric growth. Now, 12 years later, Zuckerberg will be giving the commencement address to Harvard’s class of 2017 and nabbing an honorary degree in the process.

The news was announced today in a post on Harvard’s website. “Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership has profoundly altered the nature of social engagement worldwide. Few inventions in modern times can rival Facebook in its far-reaching impact on how people around the globe interact with one another,” Harvard President Drew Faust said in a statement. “And few individuals can rival Mark Zuckerberg in his drive to change our world through the innovative use of technology, as well as his commitment to advance science, enhance education, and expand opportunity through the pursuit of philanthropy.”

Zuckerberg is of course not the first big name in Silicon Valley to have dropped out and gone on to find success. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College in Oregon before starting his company with Steve Wozniak in 1976.




Bill Gates, a fellow Harvard dropout, also left school after just two years to co-found Microsoft with Paul Allen. Because of their shared history, Zuckerberg even made a slightly cringe-worthy video with Gates in which the younger entrepreneur asks the older, wiser Microsoft alum for tips on writing his commencement speech. (Gates gave one to Harvard 10 years ago, which Zuckerberg watched from the crowd incidentally because his future wife, Priscilla Chan, was graduating that year.)

Bill Gates commented he's happy to help

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'Cash Me Ousside' Girl's Instagram Hacked By A Group Called FACE

The current popularity of Danielle Bregoli, better known as 'Cash Me Ousside girl'. Her rise to internet stardom has split people - there are those that think she's awful, those that think she's funny, and those that literally don't give a shit.

Someone apparently cares enough, though, to hack her Instagram to post an eerie yet understandable message.

Her profile picture and bio appear to have been changed too, alonside a security group named 'FACE' posting two videos which question why she is popular in modern culture.

A post shared by ᵰ⌀ ᶃ⌀ᶑ i ᶏᵯᶂ Ă ᶘ ᶊ ᶓ (@bhadbhabie) on Mar 7, 2017 at 12:28pm PST

i ᶏᵯ ᵰ⌀ ᶃ⌀ᶑ ᶂ ᶏ ᶘ ᶊ ᶕ  ᶖ  Ð 0 Ꞁ Демократия умирает во мраке

A post shared by ᵰ⌀ ᶃ⌀ᶑ i ᶏᵯᶂ Ă ᶘ ᶊ ᶓ (@bhadbhabie) on Mar 7, 2017 at 10:16am PST

"This is the modern day celebrity? This country glorifies and makes famous a young girl for being disrespectful to her mother. She is no role model. She is no idol. She is no god. Pay close attention to what happens next," the first video says.

The second one continues: "Citizens of the world. Too long have we stood by idly and observed. It is time we take matters into our own hands. The time for change is now. The leaks begin Wednesday."

It's quite creepy. It could be some kind of genuine hack, which will leak things; a bit like Anonymous. Or it could be someone just simply having fun at her expense.

However, the change in her bio, which now features Russian writing, apparently translates to: "Democracy dies in darkness."

I guess we wait to see what happens next...

update: its a Russian not Arabic writing.

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Notorious spamming organization called River City Media (RCM) Operation Exposed

Security researcher Chris Vickery of MacKeeper and Steve Ragan of CSOOnline discovered an unsecured and publicly exposed repository of network-available backup files linked to a notorious spamming organization called River City Media (RCM), led by notorious spammers Matt Ferrisi and Alvin Slocombe.

The database contains sensitive information about the company's operations, including nearly 1.4 Billion user records, which was left completely exposed to anyone – even without any username or password.

According to MacKeeper security researcher Vickery, RCM, which claims to be a legitimate marketing firm, is responsible for sending around a billion unwanted messages per day.

Besides exposing more than a billion email addresses, real names, IP addresses and, in some cases, physical addresses, the leak exposed many documents that revealed the inner workings of RCM's spam operation.

The company employed many illegal hacking techniques to target as many users as possible. One of the primary hacking methods described by the researchers is the Slowloris attacks, a method designed to cripple a web server rather than subvert it in this manner.

Wondering how spamming operations can be profitable? One leaked text shows a single day of activity of RCM that sent 18 million emails to Gmail users and 15 million to AOL users, and the total take of the spamming company was around $36,000.

The researchers have reported that details of RSM’s operations and its abusive scripts and techniques have been sent to Microsoft, Apple, Salted Hash, Spamhaus, and others affected parties.
Meanwhile, the researchers have also notified law enforcement agencies, which they says, have expressed keen interest in the matter.

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NBI Arrested A Student From Isabela For Credit Card Phishing Scam

Inaresto ng mga awtoridad ang isang estudyante sa Isabela na lumikha ng isang pekeng bank website. Sa pamamagitan niyan ay nakuha niya ang account information ng kaniyang mga biktima na kaniyang pinagkakitaan. Ang suspect, dean's lister pa naman sa kaniyang eskwelahan.

A Student created a Fake Bank website where he collects sensitive information of the card holder then sale it. It must be big money money involved because  he  bought a new car and live on a nice apartment.

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Wireless Transfer Photos/Videos/Files from Computer to iPhone/iPad/Android

Tunes is the default application that manages your iPhone Photos and Vidoes, you can use the "Import Pictures and Videos" utility to transfer photos from your Windows computer to iPhone's Camera Roll. However, to transfer photos and videos to your iPhone using iTunes, cable is required, What if there is no cable at hand? So this tutorial will show you how to transfer photos/videos from your computer to your iPhone camera roll wirelessly (without cable). 

Instruction

Download

• Make sure your iOS device and the computer are connected to the same WiFi network.
• Go to App store and install airmore application. 

Connect iPhone to AirMore web

•     Open airmore application on your phone and from your computer go to airmore.com
•     If you choose QR code for connecting your computer to your iPhone, Tap “Scan to connect” on your iPhone and scan the QR code that you see in airmore.com website.
•     If you choose to connect in Radar, click your device icon in Radar on the AirMore web and tap “Accept” when a connection request pops up on your phone. Again, Make sure your phone and PC are in the same WiFi network for successful connection.

Transfer Photos/Videos

•     Once connected, click “Pictures” on the left hand of the webpage, where you can see all the photos stored on your phone.
•     Click “Import” and you can transfer photos from computer to your iPhone without cable.

Note: If you want to transfer videos, Just click the Videos" on the left hand of the webpage and do the same process of how you transfer your photos.

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Guy tries to navigate huge 50ft boat with iPad, crashes when it loses Wi-Fi

It lose Wi-Fi and crash

If Apple’s marketing is to be believed, the iPad is a versatile device, capable of being used in a number of different situations and contexts. 34-year old British skipper, David Carlin clearly took this to heart after he set sail in a World War 2-era Royal Navy training vessel, using just his iPad for navigation.

Sadly, things didn’t go to plan, as his iPad was connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi. As he left the port in the 50ft wooden Peggotty, he lost the data connection.

Without a working guidance system, Carlin’s boat drifted into a busy maritime shipping lane, where he was struck by a passing ferry. The humbled would-be sailor then had to issue a mayday call, as his vessel sunk to the bottom of the Humber Estuary.

Life, as they say, comes at you fast.

For his trouble, Carlin has been suspended from his job, and fined over £3000 for breaking UK maritime laws. Consider it a stupidity tax.

Perhaps what’s most unfair about this story is the 60-year old Danish captain of the ferry, called Petunia Seaways, was oblivious to the collision, and was also fined £3000.

source: Metro UK

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Scientists Store an OS, a Movie and a Computer Virus on DNA

Do you know — 1 Gram of DNA Can Store 1,000,000,000 Terabyte of Data for 1000+ Years.

Just last year, Microsoft purchased 10 Million strands of synthetic DNA from San Francisco DNA synthesis startup called Twist Bioscience and collaborated with researchers from the University of Washington to focus on using DNA as a data storage medium.

The researchers believe that DNA is the perfect storage medium – as it is ultra-compact and can last hundreds of thousands of years if kept cool and dry – and suggests this is the "highest-density data-storage device ever created."

However, in the latest experiments, a pair of researchers from Columbia University and the New York Genome Center (NYGC) have come up with a new technique to store massive amounts of data on DNA, and the results are marvelous.

 The duo successfully stored 214 petabytes of data per gram of DNA, encoding a total number of six files, which include:

• A full computer operating system
• An 1895 French movie "Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat"
• A $50 Amazon gift card
• A computer virus
• A Pioneer plaque
• A 1948 study by information theorist Claude Shannon

The new research, which comes courtesy of Yaniv Erlich and Dina Zielinski, has been published in the journal Science.

Movie Stored and Retrieved from DNA Molecules


 A copy of this 1895 French film, “Arrival of a train at La Ciotat,” was encoded into synthetic DNA molecules and later retrieved using a new coding strategy developed by Yaniv Erlich and Dina Zielinski at Columbia University and New York Genome Center.

Calling their process a "DNA Fountain," the researchers first compressed all the data into a single master archive and split it into short strings of binary digits, made up of ones and zeros.Next, the duo used an "erasure-correcting algorithm called fountain codes" to randomly packaged the strings into droplets. Each droplet contains a barcode in the sequence that helped the researchers reassembling the file.

The researchers then "mapped the ones and zeros in each droplet to the four nucleotide bases in DNA: A, G, C and T," and ended up with a digital list of 72,000 DNA strands that contained the encoded data.

This code was then sent in a text file to Twist Biosciences, the same DNA synthesis startup from which Microsoft purchased 10 Million strands of synthetic DNA last year, that then turned that digital information into biological DNA.

Since the digital universe is large and by 2020 containing nearly as many digital bits as there are stars in the universe, the data will reach 44 zettabytes or 44 trillion gigabytes.
So, DNA data storage could help big organizations store an enormous amount of information in a way that one can still be able to read it in a hundred years.
However, cost is still an issue. The researchers spent around $7,000 to synthesize the 2MB of data and another $2,000 to read that data.

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Google Increases Bug Bounty by 50 percent rise plus a bonus

Both tech giants Google and Microsoft have raised the value of the payouts they offer security researchers, white hat hackers and bug hunters who find high severity flaws in their products.
While Microsoft has just doubled its top reward from $15,000 to $30,000, Google has raised its high reward from $20,000 to $31,337, which is a 50 percent rise plus a bonus $1,337 or 'leet' award.
In past few years, every major company, from Apple to P*rnHub and Netgear, had started Bug Bounty Programs to encourage hackers and security researchers to find and responsibly report bugs in their services and get rewarded.

Sophisticated and remotely exploitable vulnerabilities are a thing now, which takes more time and effort than ever to discover.

So, it was needed to encourage researchers in helping companies find high-severity vulnerabilities that have become harder to identify.

Until now, Google offered $20,000 for remote code execution (RCE) flaws and $10,000 for an unrestricted file system or database access bugs. But these rewards have now been increased to $31,337 and $13,337, respectively.

For earning the top notch reward of $31,337 from the tech giant, you need to find command injections, sandbox escapes and deserialization flaws in highly sensitive apps, such as Google Search, Chrome Web Store, Accounts, Wallet, Inbox, Code Hosting, Google Play, App Engine, and Chromium Bug Tracker.

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Beats X Available Now in the Philippines! via MSI-ECS

Beats X Available Now in the Philippines

Your perfect wireless companion is finally here.

Beats by Dr. Dre latest audio product, the Beats X, is now finally available in the Philippines.

With up to 8 hours of battery life and Fast Fuel charging, you can experience authentic, clear sound throughout your day. Its unique Flex-Form cable provides all-day comfort and easy pocket portability, while ear tip options provide a personalized fit and secure-fit wingtips offer added stability.

Wireless the way it should be

Beats X is sleek, light, and compact – the kind you can bring with you wherever you go. It’s easy to set up – just power on and hold near your iPhone – and then simultaneously connect to your Apple Watch, iPad and Mac. Equipped with Class 1 Bluetooth technology, Beats X efficiently goes wherever you go, wirelessly. 

Sound that stays with you

The authentic, clear sound paired with optimized noise isolation of Beats X delivers an immersive listening experience. An innovative acoustic design feature allows for a clean treble response and distortion-free bass for the most natural tonality across a broad range of genres.

Fit for your life

Whether playing in your ears or hanging around your neck, Beats X is incredibly sleek and comfortable for all-day wear. The unique Flex-Form cable provides a flexible fit, a variety of eartip options provide personalized comfort and secure-fit wingtips offer added stability. And when you’re not wearing them, magnetic ear buds keep your earphones tangle-free and they easily coil up for compact portability. So whatever choice of music you listen to, Beats X promises a unique listening experience. 

Always ready

Featuring an 8-hour battery powered by the efficiency of the Apple W1 chip, it is ready when you are. Fast Fuel gives you 2 hours of playback from a 5-minute charge. RemoteTalk allows you to take calls with a built-in mic, play music, adjust volume and activate Siri. With easy to use controls, you can seamlessly switch back and forth as you go about your day. Beats X is your perfect wireless companion, fit for life.

For availability of Beats X, contact the sole distributor of Beats by Dr. Dre in the Philippines, MSI-ECS. Call (02) 688-3512 or email inquiry@msi-ecs.com.ph.

 

About MSI-ECS: MSI-ECS is one of the country's leading providers of innovative and reliable computing solutions. Specializing in IT distribution as its core competence, MSI-ECS has continuously redefined and broadened its portfolio of IT products and services to fully address the evolving needs of the local IT community. More information about MSI-ECS is available at http://www.msi-ecs.com.ph.

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