Congress approves surveillance legislation tucked into budget package

Obama to sign bill that one senator says has “unacceptable surveillance provisions.”

(credit: Brad Clinesmith)

Congress on Friday adopted a $1.15 trillion spending package that included a controversial cybersecurity measure that only passed because it was slipped into the US government's budget legislation.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican of Wisconsin, inserted the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) into the Omnibus Appropriations Bill—which includes some $620 billion in tax breaks for business and low-income wage earners. Ryan's move was a bid to prevent lawmakers from putting a procedural hold on the CISA bill and block it from a vote. Because CISA was tucked into the government's overall spending package on Wednesday, it had to pass or the government likely would have had to cease operating next week.

Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat of Oregon, said the CISA measure, which backers say is designed to help prevent cyber threats, got even worse after it was slipped into the 2,000-page budget deal (PDF, page 1728). He voted against the spending plan.

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Amazon Fire TV sideloaded apps now visible in the main menu

Amazon Fire TV sideloaded apps now visible in the main menu

Amazon is gradually rolling out an update to its Fire TV products that brings a few new features and updates Fire OS to Android 5.1 Lollipop. Among other things, Fire OS 5 adds support for Alexa voice commands if you’re using a voice remote, brings Amazon Prime Stations to the music section, and lets you […]

Amazon Fire TV sideloaded apps now visible in the main menu is a post from: Liliputing

Amazon Fire TV sideloaded apps now visible in the main menu

Amazon is gradually rolling out an update to its Fire TV products that brings a few new features and updates Fire OS to Android 5.1 Lollipop. Among other things, Fire OS 5 adds support for Alexa voice commands if you’re using a voice remote, brings Amazon Prime Stations to the music section, and lets you […]

Amazon Fire TV sideloaded apps now visible in the main menu is a post from: Liliputing

After protests, construction equipment removed from giant telescope site

Court ruling denies construction permit, so the heavy equipment comes down.

An artist's illustration of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea. (credit: Thirty Meter Telescope)

For astronomers seeking to build the world's largest telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, it will be anything but a Mele Kalikimaka. Hawaiian media reported that heavy machinery parked near a construction site atop the mountain since March was removed on Wednesday.

The removal marked another victory for native Hawaiians who are protesting construction of the 55-meter-tall facility on top of Mauna Kea, saying it desecrates sacred ground. “There was a lot of joy and gratitude,” said Hawane Rios of the mood among those protesting construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope.

Earlier this month the organizers of the telescope project, led by the California Institute of Technology, suffered a major setback when the Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated the land use permit that had been issued by the state's Board of Land and Natural Resources. At the time, the telescope's chairman said, "We are assessing our next steps on the way forward. We appreciate and thank the people of Hawaii and our supporters from these last eight-plus years."

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Deals of the Day (12-18-2015)

Deals of the Day (12-18-2015)

Missed out on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and a bunch of other sales? There’s still time to save money on tech gifts (for others or for yourself). The Microsoft Store is selling Surface 3 and Surface 3 Pro tablets for deep discounts, and you can save even more if you add a keyboard cover to […]

Deals of the Day (12-18-2015) is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day (12-18-2015)

Missed out on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and a bunch of other sales? There’s still time to save money on tech gifts (for others or for yourself). The Microsoft Store is selling Surface 3 and Surface 3 Pro tablets for deep discounts, and you can save even more if you add a keyboard cover to […]

Deals of the Day (12-18-2015) is a post from: Liliputing

American grins are just as bad as Britain’s—kind of

The UK has national dental coverage and more teeth, but aesthetics data missing.

(credit: Kat1990's channel)

The stereotype of yellow, slimy, crooked British smiles may not have teeth any more.

In a study comparing American and English dental health surveys, researchers found that American grins tended to have slightly fewer teeth, and those in lower socioeconomic positions had significantly worse oral health than their British counterparts. And researchers found no differences in participants' perceptions of overall oral health between the two nations. The data, published in the Christmas issue of The BMJ—an annual, light-hearted edition of the British medical journal—suggests that the English may have something to smile about as they sip their teeth-staining tea.

But, there are some cavities in the study. When asked about dental pain, function, and whether their teeth were embarrassing, the English self-reported more problems. They study also lacked data on aesthetics and comparisons of wisdom teeth extraction practices, which may skew the counts of missing teeth.

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U.S. Govt. Targets Torrent Sites and Other Piracy Havens

The US Government has pinpointed some of the largest piracy websites and other copyright infringing venues. The USTR calls on foreign countries to take action against popular piracy sites such as KickassTorrents, as well as Canadian domain registrar Rebel and Swiss hosting service Private Layer.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

ustrIn its annual “Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets” the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has listed more than a dozen websites said to be involved in online piracy.

The list draws heavily on input from industry groups and copyright holders including the RIAA and MPAA, who submitted their recommendations a few weeks ago.

While the USTR admits that its overview is not meant to be proof of any actual violations, it encourages responsible authorities to take legal action where it’s appropriate.

“The United States encourages all responsible authorities to intensify efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting, and to use the information contained in the Notorious Markets List to pursue legal actions where appropriate,” they write.

As in previous years several of the top torrent sites are targeted, including ExtraTorrent, Torrentz and Rutracker. KickassTorrents (KAT) is listed as well, with the authorities noting that the site’s operators go to extremes to hide their identities and evade law enforcement.

“Reportedly based in Canada, over the past several years the site operators have changed the domain name numerous times, obscured or hidden their locations, and have used multiple servers in various countries to evade or otherwise frustrate enforcement actions,” USTR writes.

ustrkat

Interestingly, the latest USTR overview no longer lists The Pirate Bay, which was prominently and persistently featured in recent years.

In addition to torrent sites the list of notorious sites includes various streaming portals and cyberlockers such as 4Shared.com, Putlocker.is, Cuevana.tv, Watchseries.it, and Nowvideo.sx.

Russia’s main social network VK.com is mentioned as well, despite the company’s increased anti-piracy measures.

Continuing a trend that was started last year, the USTR also calls out a domain registrar as a rogue actor. According to the Government the Canadian registrar Rebel is servicing a disproportionate number of infringing sites.

“This year’s submissions reflect that, while the role of domain name registrars remains an ongoing subject of important discussion, Rebel’s outlier status is evidence that it is not taking measures that other domain name registrars have found to be reasonable to address infringement,” the report reads.

Several digital rights groups have pointed out that domain registrars are neutral services and shouldn’t be branded as piracy havens. However, according to the USTR companies such as Rebel should implement policies that allow it to act against clearly criminal activity.

In addition to domain registries, the USTR notes that some hosting services have also become piracy havens. The report specifically calls out the Swiss company Private layer which hosts Putlocker.is, Cuevana.tv, Watchseries.it, and Nowvideo.sx.

“This group of websites, all hosted by Private Layer based in Switzerland and Panama, are evidence of the rising popularity among pirate sites of certain Swiss hosting services,” the USTR writes.

Switzerland is currently working on new legislation to address a loophole in its law that makes it hard to take action against pirate sites, but this plan has yet to be implemented.

According to the Government the yearly overview has helped to spotlight several sites and services that were shut down over the past year. This includes the site of the popular release group YTS/YIFY and well as a leading Popcorn Time fork.

Whether similar successes will be booked during the year to come has yet to be seen. The full list of the notorious online sites and services that are highlighted in the report (pdf) are included below.



-Rutracker.org (torrent site)
-ExtraTorrent.cc (torrent site)
-Kat.cr (torrent site)
-Ebooktree.org (linking site)
-Ex.ua (download/streaming)
-4Shared.com (cyberlocker)
-Rapidgator.org (cyberlocker)
-Uploaded.net (cyberlocker)
-Movshare group (which allegedly operates Nowvideo.sx, Watchseries.it, Torrenz.eu, Videoweed.es and Novamov.com)
-Private Layer (hosting company of Putlocker.is, Cuevana.tv, Watchseries.it, and Nowvideo.sx )
-Rebel (domain registrar)
-Segundamano.es (mod-chips)
-Bukalapak.com (e-commerce)
-Dhgate.com (e-commerce)
-VK.com (social network)
-Zippyshare.com (cyberlocker)

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Deutsche Webhoster: Vorerst keine automatische Unterstützung von Let’s Encrypt

Mit Let’s Encrypt können Webseitenbetreiber kostenfreie SSL-/TLS-Zertifikate erstellen. Wir haben bei großen deutschen Webhostern nachgefragt, ob sie den Dienst nutzerfreundlich in ihre Angebote integrieren wollen. Spoiler: Es wird wohl noch etwas dauern. (Let’s Encrypt, Microsoft)

Mit Let's Encrypt können Webseitenbetreiber kostenfreie SSL-/TLS-Zertifikate erstellen. Wir haben bei großen deutschen Webhostern nachgefragt, ob sie den Dienst nutzerfreundlich in ihre Angebote integrieren wollen. Spoiler: Es wird wohl noch etwas dauern. (Let's Encrypt, Microsoft)

ZTE launches Axon Max smartphone with 6 inch screen, big battery

ZTE launches Axon Max smartphone with 6 inch screen, big battery

ZTE is expanding its Axon line of smartphones with a new model sporting a 6 inch screen and a 4,140 mAh battery. The new ZTE Axon Max joins the 5.5 inch Axon Pro and the entry-level Axon smartphones in the company’s line of phones with high-end features and upper mid-range prices. The ZTE Axon Max […]

ZTE launches Axon Max smartphone with 6 inch screen, big battery is a post from: Liliputing

ZTE launches Axon Max smartphone with 6 inch screen, big battery

ZTE is expanding its Axon line of smartphones with a new model sporting a 6 inch screen and a 4,140 mAh battery. The new ZTE Axon Max joins the 5.5 inch Axon Pro and the entry-level Axon smartphones in the company’s line of phones with high-end features and upper mid-range prices. The ZTE Axon Max […]

ZTE launches Axon Max smartphone with 6 inch screen, big battery is a post from: Liliputing

D-Link’s Wi-Fi camera provides a sharp, 180-degree view of your home

Review: $179 camera lets you see more of the house, but has trouble standing out.

(credit: Valentina Palladino)

D-Link promises to watch over much more of your home with its new Wi-Fi security camera. While it resembles other cameras like the Nest Cam and the Samsung Smartcam HD Plus in many ways, its 180-degree field of view is unbeatable. If positioned against a wall, the D-Link camera could watch over an entire room, leaving no hidden nook or concealed cranny. It's not priced badly either, at $179, but it comes with a few caveats worth considering before you decide to choose this camera over another.

Design: The bulging eye returns

SPECS AT A GLANCE: D-LINK DCS-2630L WI-FI CAMERA
CAMERA RESOLUTION Up to 1080p
FIELD OF VIEW 180 degrees
INTERNET 802.11ac (compatible with 802.11n/g)
LIVE STREAMING Yes
NIGHT VISION Yes
MOTION/SOUND DETECTION Motion and sound
MOBILE APP Android, iOS, and Windows Phone
SUBSCRIPTION None; can record locally on a microSD card up to 128GB microSD, but no card is included with the camera
EXTRA FEATURES Two-way talk, activity zone selection, customizable decibel detection level
PRICE $179

I don't know who decreed that home security cameras had to look like bulbous, singular alien eyes, but D-Link certainly got that memo. The DCS-2630L Wi-Fi camera has a large, circular head that's much bigger than both the Nest Cam and the Samsung Smartcam HD Plus, and it's wider, too. Its neck is a piece of U-shaped plastic attached to a flat, round base. You can bend the neck back and forth to adjust the vertical angle of the camera's view, but you can't spin it from side to side.

However, you can rotate the face of the camera (the front part of the circular head) a full 360 degrees to adjust the viewpoint. On the front of the camera lies the built-in microphone, the glass camera lens, the light sensor for switching between day and night vision, six infrared LEDs to support night vision, and two PIR sensors that detect infrared radiation so the camera can tell when someone walks by even in the dead of night. The back of the head is full of small holes for the device's speaker, and there's also a status light, a WPS button, the microSD card slot, and the microUSB port for power. A major bummer is that, unlike the Smartcam HD Plus, the D-Link camera doesn't include a microSD in the box; you'll have to buy one before the camera can save recorded clips locally.

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