Month: June 2018

Enlarge / Who's this? If your answer didn't include "Albert," you're pretty typical. (credit: Columbia University)

When we talk about the most famous scientists, we're often on a last name basis. For figures like Darwin and Einstein, first names and even titles like "professor" seem irrelevant. We know who they are, and a single name is enough to conjure up all they accomplished.

But can you think of any female scientists where the same is true? A new study suggests that using a scientist's surname may be helping perpetuate a bias against female scientists. A variety of studies show that people are more likely to refer to males only by their last name. And a separate set of experiments indicate that people will attach more prestige to anyone deemed worth of being referred to by their last name.

True in politics and science

The studies were performed by Stav Atira and Melissa Ferguson of Cornell. The first set asked a relatively simple question: is there any evidence of a gender bias in referring to people by their last name?

(credit: BAZ Antennen)

The Long Term Evolution mobile device standard used by billions of people was designed to fix many of the security shortcomings in the predecessor standard known as Global System for Mobile communications. Mutual authentication between end users and base stations and the use of proven encryption schemes were two of the major overhauls. Now, researchers are publicly identifying weaknesses in LTE that allow attackers to send nearby users to malicious websites and fingerprint the sites they visit.

The attacks work because of weaknesses built into the LTE standard itself. The most crucial weakness is a form of encryption that doesn’t protect the integrity of the data. The lack of data authentication makes it possible for an attacker to surreptitiously manipulate the IP addresses within an encrypted packet. Dubbed aLTEr, the researchers’ attack causes mobile devices to use a malicious domain name system server that, in turn, redirects the user to a malicious server masquerading as Hotmail. The other two weaknesses involve the way LTE maps users across a cellular network and leaks sensitive information about the data passing between base stations and end users.

Well-known attack vectors

The attacks, which are described in a paper published Thursday, require about $4,000 worth of equipment that must be within about one mile of the targeted user. Because the weaknesses are the result of design decisions made when the LTE specification was under development, there is no way to patch them now. End users, however, can protect themselves against aLTEr by only visiting websites that use HTTP Strict Transport Security and DNS Security Extensions.

Enlarge (credit: Petar Milošević)

A Wisconsin man's plan to use a shoe camera to take photographs up women's skirts was foiled this week when the battery exploded, injuring the man and causing him to rethink his pervy plan.

“When the explosion happened, he got treatment for minor burns, then disclosed what happened to his mentor, a clergyman,” Madison police officer David Dexheimer told the Wisconsin State Journal. The clergyman told him to visit the police.

Taking upskirt photos without a subject's consent is a felony under Wisconsin law, carrying a penalty up to "3½ years of combined prison and extended supervision," according to the Journal.

Enlarge (credit: Tesla)

For people who put down a $1,000 deposit for a Tesla Model 3 as long as two years ago, the big day has arrived. Specifically, the day has arrived when they can give Tesla another $2,500 and then wait a few more months for their car to arrive.

Days before the end of the second quarter, Tesla is now allowing all reservation holders in the United States and Canada to place orders for the Model 3.

Customers will be able to choose between several variants of the Model 3—including the high-end "performance" model—as well as choosing colors and option packages. However, the low-end version of the Model 3 with its long-promised $35,000 price tag isn't available to order yet.

The OnePlus 6. (credit: Ron Amadeo)

OnePlus has been releasing great bang-for-your-buck smartphones for several years now. The company usually combines the same high-end specs as the competition but with a price that is a few hundred dollars lower. One of the big tradeoffs for that low price has been OnePlus' update policy, which has always been something along the lines of " ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ." The company wouldn't commit to a support timeframe for its devices, which made investing $400-500 in one of its devices a bit of a gamble. It's something we've complained about in pretty much every OnePlus review from the past few years.

In a recent post on its forums, OnePlus has finally addressed update complaints by announcing a formal support policy. The company is promising major Android OS updates for two years and security updates for three years. The security updates aren't quite "monthly" security updates: OnePlus is only promising "bi-monthly" security updates. It's still a good start, however.

OnePlus' new update policy. (credit: OnePlus)

Several other flagship Android phones offer a two-year update plan with monthly security updates, while Google offers three years of major updates on the Pixel phones. No Android OEM wants to compete with Apple, though, which has been supporting iPhones for a whopping five years.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | baona )

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has asked a court to invalidate a new anti-prostitution law, saying that it amounts to unconstitutional censorship of the Internet.

The Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) was approved by Congress and signed by President Trump in April. Websites responded to the new law by shutting down sex-work forums, potentially endangering sex workers who used the sites to screen clients and avoid dangerous situations.

The EFF filed the lawsuit in US District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of several plaintiffs.