Anonymous has released even more data to the public of Stratfor's clients.
Anonymous originally released data days ago but has released even more recently. 75 000 names, and addresses were released. To top that 860 000 usernames, email addresses, and md5 hashed passwords were also released. The data was posted on Pastebin further explaining what was stolen. Approximately 50 000 of the emails end in .gov or .mil.
Stratfor has offered a 1-year subscription identity protection service to those who were affected.
GoDaddy has officially opposed SOPA by trying to rebuild relationships with domain holders who ditched when GoDaddy originally supported SOPA.
When GoDaddy dropped support for SOPA they didn't attempt to rebuild relationships with the domain holders who left. The CEO of GoDaddy, Warren Adelman, issued an apology to rebuild the relationships with domain holders who left because GoDaddy originally supported SOPA.
One of GoDaddy's rivals, Namecheap, is campaigning against GoDaddy by encouraging users to switch their registrations for a low cost. The coupon code is SOPAsucks. On top of that every transfer will donate $1 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) which helps fight SOPA.
Sascha Mehlhase of the Niels Bohr Institute has created a LEGO version of the Large Hadron Collider.
The LEGO version of the Large Hadron Collider is about 1:50 scale to the real Large Hadron Collider.
Sascha Mehlhase spent her personal time after working hours to work on this project. After weeks of building she ended up with this masterpiece.
This is a stunning creation. In all the things I've seen which are made of LEGO, this one is unique. Not many people would mix science and LEGO together and create such a unique creation.
Anonymous has hacked think tank Stratfor and stole thousands of credit card numbers. Anonymous also claimed to have stolen Stratfor's confidential client list.
Stratfor has denied Anonymous stealing the confidential client list.
Stratfor went offline on Monday. It only displayed a "undergoing maintenance" screen. At this moment Stratfor is still offline.
Credit card lists have been published to the Internet by Anonymous. These lists contain thousands of credit card numbers. More lists could be posted in the future.
It was interesting to hear this was done near the holidays. These Anonymous members must have had extra time to hack Stratfor!
GoDaddy, a domain registrar, has dropped support for SOPA.
GoDaddy dropped out because high-profile clients threatened to leave GoDaddy. GoDaddy isn't against SOPA, it just doesn't support it anymore.
Warren Adelman, the CEO of GoDaddy, said “It’s very important that all Internet stakeholders work together on this. Getting it right is worth the wait. GoDaddy will support it when and if the Internet community supports it."
GoDaddy might support SOPA in the future but for now GoDaddy will not support SOPA. GoDaddy has removed past SOPA blog posts to avoid confusion.
There are many reasons to buy a smartphone, but Senseye makes it much more interesting.
Senseye lets the user use their eyes to control the device. You can scroll without using your hands. It also knows when you are looking at the screen so it will only be bright when you are looking at it. This new technology even lets you play games with your eyes.
Senseye has won two awards. ABB Global Innovation Award for best overall technology showcase and 1st runner-up in ICT Championship.
Senseye is a very cool technology. Being able to interact with your smartphone just by looking at it would be convenient and also fun. This technology looks to be the next step for smartphones. It beats a touch interface in some areas but not in everything. Being able to scroll with your eyes is cool, but if you were to try to type with your eyes that would be quite hard to get used to.
Deonet, a Dutch company, has created the worlds smallest USB stick.
This new USB sticks is smaller than any other USB stick. The USB stick is based around the UDP micro chip. All of the components are built to reduce the size of the stick.
The USB stick will come in 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB. I was surprised of the amount of space this USB stick could hold since it`s very small.
This new design is neat and all but there is one problem. Something that is this small with be easy to misplace. You could loose this USB stick very easily. This USB stick will also be coloured black which won`t help at all either! The benefit of having this USB stick is also the size. You won`t have it sticking out of your laptop or PC which could be dangerous for your USB. It won`t have that chance of snapping or being pulled out of the device.
Scammers have found yet another way to get a hold of your Facebook account.
This new method encourages users to install a "plugin" to watch a video. This "plugin" uses Facebook's API to post messages onto your Facebook. These messages can be anything the scammer wants them to be. Websense demonstrates how this scam works here.
The unique thing about this scam is Facebook can't do much about it. It's the user who is downloading the plugin and not knowing what it is doing. Facebook doesn't have control over the users plugins. Facebook can only promote to uninstall these malicious plugins and to try to watch out for any suspicious ones.
Facebook has been fighting scams for years but this specific scam is harder to exterminate. Facebook can only hope the user listens and does the right things. Don't fall for those false plugins or you could see things being posted on your account which aren't from you!
The new deal extends Google and Mozilla's search relationship for another three years. Firefox will continue to use Google as the default search engine.
This deal in the past has earned over 84% of Mozilla's profits. That's $103 million out of $123 million.
News in the past questioned if the contract would be renewed. Some thought the contract wouldn't be renewed because of Google Chrome. Since it has, Mozilla is in good hands for the next three years.
A very interesting question to wonder. Just how much did Modern Warfare 3 make? Modern Warfare 3 made $1 billion in just 16 days.
Modern Warfare 3 is the fastest grossing video game. It also beat Avatar which had the top grossing before Modern Warfare 3 made $1 billion in 16 days.
It is no surprise to see these profits. Modern Warfare 3's trailer must have caught a lot of attention. Everyone plays or has heard of the Call of Duty series.
Microsoft has announced that it will implement automatic updates for Internet Explorer. These silent updates will push users to update to IE8 or IE9 instead of using IE6 or IE7.
This update however will not completely force users to update. Enterprises will have the option to opt out, users who already opted out will not be forced to update. Once opt out they won't be updated.
These silent updates won't completely make everyone update. It will just help users update to newer versions of Internet Explorer.
Microsoft needs to scrap IE6 and IE7. These versions are much to old. Even HTML5 doesn't work correctly with these versions. I hope Microsoft realizes it needs to help IE users which have fallen behind.
Flash Player 11.11 has reached Android Ice Cream Sandwich. This is the last version for Android devices.
Android's latest smartphones will now be able to surf the web using Flash. The updated Flash Player mostly features bug fixes. Nothing major was updated or added.
Adobe will be dedicating the future to HTML5 instead of mobile Flash. Since this is their plan we most likely won't see many updates for Flash on mobile devices.
The Flash Player is slowly fading away and being replaced by HTML5. How much damage will HTML5 do to Flash?
Amazon announced that they have sold over 3 million Kindle tablets in three weeks.
This includes all of the Kindle tablets and not just the Kindle Fire. Usually Amazon never gives out these numbers.
The reason for giving out only the Kindle tablets information is uncertain, but I think there is a key reason for this. Amazon doesn't want the Kindle Fire to be compared to the iPad with sales. The iPad has sold over 40 million iPads worldwide so comparing to the Kindle Fire which is relatively new would be unfair. It could scare customers causing them to buy the iPad since it has sold much more compared to the Kindle Fire.
Microsoft is offering five free Windows Phones to five Android users that have the worst malware stories.
This deal is to promote the Windows Phone while Android is dealing with malicious apps on its store. In other words Microsoft is using another companies problem to its advantage.
This deal was announced on Twitter by Microsoft's Windows Phone promoter, Ben Rudolph. It was then shared on Microsoft's official Twitter feed.
Microsoft has done this in the the past when webOS was being discontinued. Microsoft offered free Windows Phones to webOS developers.
This style of marketing is genius but dark. Using another companies problems to your advantage is a smart idea. But the public might not be too happy with your deal. Some Twitter users complained about the deal saying it was a harsh way to promote the Windows Phone.
Google has extended free Gmail calling for one more year instead of ending it this year as intended.
Gmail lets desktop users call anyone in Canada and the United States for free. This free calling period was supposed to last for one year but has been extended for another year.
The reason for this extension is unknown. Google hasn't given a reason yet.
I think Gmail calling has been doing very well and Google thought it would be best to attract even more customers and then stop free calling. This way they will have more customers hooked on Gmail calling which will earn more profit when you have to pay to call when 2013 begins.
Apple's Mac App Store has reached 100 million app downloads since the app store opened 11 months ago.
The Mac App Store opened in January and since then it has reached 100 million app downloads. The Mac App Store is an online store to purchase apps for Macs which are running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or higher.
Apple hasn't announced how many apps are available in its Mac App Store. It has however announced the iOS App Store's app count no problem which has over 500 000 apps available. Apple has only claimed the Mac App Store has "thousands" of apps available to you.
The Mac Apps Store has interested competitors to follow suit. Microsoft plans to create its own app store called Windows Store in 2012. The Window Store will offer apps to Windows 8 users when it is released to the public next year.
PC app stores are the future of computing. You will probably eventually see app stores on most devices.
Google+ now has a facial recognition feature available. You have the ability to choose to use it or not.
The new feature has been liked by Google+ users. One of the reasons was you could choose to use it or not. Facebook's facial recognition feature doesn't allow you to choose. This has been a bonus to Google+ recently because of this.
The facial recognition feature helps tag people in photos. But it could also be considered an invasion of privacy. Since Google+ lets you choose, it isn't a problem for the users who don't want it.
This one thing which is different from Facebook's facial recognition makes Google+'s much better for the user. Google+ gives you options instead of making you agree to things you might not want.
A recent report by security firm Accuvant revealed that Google Chrome is the most secure browser. It came first out of Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Firefox's security lags behind Chrome's and Internet Explorer's due to it not having JIT hardening. Internet Explorer came in second due to it lacking in sandboxing implementation and JIT hardening.
Google Chrome also had the fastest patches. Chrome with an average of 53 days, Firefox with an average of 158 days, and Internet Explorer with an average of 214 days.
Google Chrome is really proving to be the better browser. The only question is if they can keep it up.
Scientists are planning to clone a mammoth in five years. This mammoth will be a real, live, furry, mammoth.
Russian scientists from Sakha Republic's Museum and Japanese scientists from Kinki University are teaming up to achieve this goal. They plan on reaching this goal in five years.
The scientists will are planning to use bone marrow DNA to clone the mammoth. The mammoth DNA will then be put into the nuclei of an elephant egg. The egg then has to be delivered. This complicated task will need the five years to make sure it works.
One day we could be seeing mammoths roaming the Earth as if they never left. We will find out in about five years.
The Android market has reached 10 billion downloads! With this achievement comes 10 cent apps. For 10 days you can purchase certain apps for only 10 cents.
Check out the Android store now to start shopping. You can also check out Google's blog describing this awesome deal you can be part of.
Today's new apps you can download for 10 cents are:
Fruit Ninja
BB - Bedtime Battle
AirSync by doubleTwist
Flick Golf!
Star Chart
Reckless Racing
Reckless Racing PLAY
Christmas HD
NFL Rivals
Beautiful Widgets
Read It Later Pro
A security flaw in Facebook enabled private pictures to be viewed by anyone.
Private pictures were exposed from reporting the target with an inappropriate profile picture. You then had the option to further help Facebook by selecting other pictures that the target had. Doing this enabled you to see their private pictures without friending them.
This security flaw has been patched recently to prevent further abuse. Facebook released a statement claiming they have shut down that feature and are fixing it as soon as possible.
Firefox has faced a rough year in 2011. Google Chrome took over Firefox as the second most popular browser, and now Google might not renew its contract with Mozilla.
This time was bound to come due to StatCounter showing Google Chrome rising as others were falling. Mozilla's and Google's contract isn't doomed though. Recent reports claim that their contract probably is going to be renewed.
Since this news occurred Mozilla has released a video explaining Firefox's story on how it has helped shape the web.
Firefox isn't doomed though. They are just declining like other browsers. Google Chrome is possibly the future, right now it sure looks like that. But Firefox will still be around and loved by its community.
Youtube recently has had a makeover. Instead of seeing just videos, lots of white space, and the top bar, you are greeted with a gray page featuring your subscriptions, recommendations, and much more on one page.
This new look is supposed to make Youtube easier to use since everything is on one page. You can access everything much quicker and easier.
In Youtube's new layout you have a dark grey bar on the side. This bar features your subscriptions, suggested channels, trending videos, popular videos, and much more. Clicking on these changes the center content based on what you clicked such as popular videos. On the right side are recommended videos.
Make sure to watch Youtube's tour of the new layout:
The new layout is quite convenient. You can easily access everything you want with less clicks. I only find the new look a little crowding. I don't want to see recommended videos because I never use it. That space could be used to see more videos that I'm subscribed too. Do you like the new look?
Ever wanted to see Super Mario World built in Minecraft? You now can.
This project took over 18 million blocks and took 500 hours to make. In the video you watch the first level of Super Mario World which is made up of redstone and pistons.
The GameBoy is 1:1 in size, this means it is the same size as in real life. The GameBoy is 160 blocks wide and 144 high. Just to make it better there is music using note blocks. This makes it feel even more like Mario.
This project is an amazing thing to see. This huge project is one of the coolest things I've ever seen in Minecraft. What will people end up making next?
Google Chrome has surpassed Firefox according to StatCounter. Firefox has finally fallen under Chrome.
Chrome has reached 25.69% this month compared to Firefox which was only at 25.23%. Internet Explorer is still the leading browser however with 40.63%. Chrome seems to be rising while Firefox and IE are slowly falling lower and lower. Other browsers such as Safari and Opera are staying fairly steady.
Since Google Chrome is known for its speed and reliability it has been able to make a stand against other browsers. If Chrome keeps it up they could be the number one browser. They sure seem like they are going to get there eventually.
Anonymous and TeaMp0isoN have teamed up and created a credit card fraud campaign. Their alliance is called p0isAnon.
They named their campaign "Operation Robin Hood" which relates to Robin Hood, the English outlaw who stole money and gave it to the poor.
Operation Robin Hood will focus on stealing credit cards and donating the money to the 99 percent. This money will go towards charities and other organizations.
Anonymous and TeaMp0isoN aim at helping the 99% as much as possible. They also are doing this due to the SOPA bill that may pass soon.
P0isAnon said they are not scared of any police, secret service, or any other government law enforcement.
Could this campaign end up hurting the people they are trying to help?
Google has introduced the new Google bar. Instead of having the grey Google bar, the bar will be build into all of the Google products. This will create more space for the user.
The Google Menu opens on roll-over and provides you with links from the navigation bar. You can access everything with just one click.
Using Google will be much easier and easier to access. You can access everything very easily with the Google Menu since all you have to do is roll-over and voila, you can choose what you want.
Google recently uploaded a video which describes its history and evolution of search.
This video starts from when Google first started and works its way up to present day. The video talks about Google's history and how it came to be what it is today.
One of the main advancements of Google is advertisements and Universal Search. Check out this video, it's quite interesting to learn about how Google came to be what it is today.
Google has modified its HTTPS for its services which use it. This was done for the future when technologies can decrypt general HTTPS.
Instead of just giving the user a private security key. Google's modified HTTPS will delete and create new private keys so they are never the same.
What this will do is stop the attacker from getting anywhere. If they get one key they won't have much because new keys are made. They won't get much data. Even the server admin won't be able to decrypt the HTTPS after its set. Google had to design an extension to support this method since SSL doesn't support it.
Google's modified HTTPS doesn't work in IE. It currently only works in Chrome and Firefox. Google is planning on making it work on IE in the future.
This new HTTPS is very interesting. I think it could make security much stronger. Google just needs to make sure their new method can't be countered.
Black Friday sales are booming! Get them while you can.
Amazon is continuing their Black Friday sales until December 3rd. Otherwise you should be rushing to get those sales before they end at midnight.
If you don't feel like going out to those crazy crowds you could shop online. I myself am considering to buy some things online such as a tablet. With these sales I can't turn them down.
SOPA, the bill that will change the Internet. Will it pass? I hope not.
The SOPA bill in the US will enable the US government to censor websites, punish users, and have general control over the internet.
This bill will affect any website the US government thinks should be blocked. The US government will have general control of the Internet in the US. No citizen can freely browse any site they wish. The population will be controlled. Free speech will be affected enormously. If the government doesn't like it they simply can block it and shut it down.
Even though this bill is for the US only it would still affect the world.
This bill must be prevented. Too much control is never good!
Learn more about SOPA with this infographic(Click to enlarge):
Vincent Ocasla has mastered Sim City 3000. His "perfect" city houses 6 million sims. His design took him 4 years to complete. This includes figuring out the perfect formula to get the most sims in a limited area.
Magnasanti, the city Vincent created has no roads, no schools, no hospitals, no fire stations, and no police stations. This city is built to maximize the population. Magnasanti is a 50 000 year old city. It took very long to reach 6 million sims!
Adobe will be bringing Flash to Android Ice Cream Sandwich before they stop developing the mobile Flash Player.
Adobe plans on releasing one more version of the mobile Flash Player for browsing and one more for the Flash Linux Porting Kit.
When Adobe finishes these releases they will not develop the mobile Flash Player anymore. Adobe will only be updating bug fixes and security updates.
Instead of working on the mobile Flash Player, Adobe will be focusing on developing the Flash Player for PCs as well as making Flash a developing tool for HTML5 and native mobile apps.
Amazon has been sued by Apple over Amazon's Appstore for Android.
Apple is suing Amazon because they believe they own the words "App Store." Apple doesn't want anyone else using those words when selling apps online.
Apple filed a lawsuit in March to stop Amazon from calling there store "Amazon Appstore for Android." The attempt was a failure.
Apple now tries again and also wants any profits made by Amazon's Appstore for Android.
Apple probably won't get this. It appears that way to me because they have tried before and are still trying today.
PayPal recently launched Send Money on Facebook. Send Money allows you to send money to other Facebook users.
You can send the money as a greeting card or choose not too. You can choose from hundreds of greeting cards.
The cards are posted to the recipitents' wall. The message is kept private though.
PayPal is getting out to people through social networks. I think this is a great method for PayPal. They can get to their customers much easier this way.
Intel stated they would be investing in mobile software. They would invest $100 million into companies focusing on mobile software.
The investments will focus on improving Intel's chip presence in the mobile device market.
Intel hopes to have a presence in the mobile market as soon as possible. This investment of $100 million will help Intel greatly. They just need to make sure to use it wisely to get the most out of it.
Google's new music store is showing great reviews so far. Sadly only US residents can access Google Music unless you have a proxy.
I'd have to say it looks very neat. The only problem is it's only available in the US. They should at least let all of North America try it out. Canada isn't that far away from the US!
I hope they release it to the rest of the world soon. I want to give it a try!
QikPad, the new online collaboration tool. With QikPad you can work together on projects with other people in real-time.
To start off all you need to do is create a QikPad. You then can invite other people to join your QikPad. You can share your link on many social network sites or you can just send your link to a friend. QikPad offers real-time updates so you can interact with other people easily.
QikPad is great for collaborating on projects, work, education, working on code, and more. You can easily chat with other people with the inbuilt chat function. With it you can set your name and colour.
When I first tried QikPad out I found it easy to use. The interface was easy to figure out. I would recommend QikPad to anyone interested in working on projects with others.
Try QikPad out today! This tool is great for working on projects with other people.
Skyrim came out today. I haven't played a good game like this since Fallout New Vegas.
The game is very nice to play. The graphics are welcoming to any player. The map is enormous to explore. I can see myself playing this game for hours on end. I like how you are able to explore the world at your own pace. You aren't controlled like some games.
One of my favourite things in Skyrim is the skill system. You gain skill as you preform the skill. The tech tree is huge. You an choose from many possible routes. You can be an archer, swordsmen, mage, or mixed. You can play the game anyway you like!
I have just played 2 hours in or so into the game and I must say it's enjoyable. The landscape you see just makes you want to explore.
If you liked the series or even the Fallout series. I recommend this game!
World of Warcraft has lost 2 million subscribers in the past year.
Everyone should have expected this though. No game can last forever. World of Warcraft is still popular however. They still have 10 million subscribers worldwide. It just won't hit that peak.
I myself do not play World of Warcraft but I sure know it won't become nonexistent. It just won't be as recognized to everyone.
When you think of a trailer you usually expect it to give you some info about the product. Modern Warfare 3's trailer doesn't do this.
The trailer is a live action trailer starring Sam Worthington, Jonah Hill, and Dwight Howard. The trailer gave little to no info on the game itself. There were just gunfights and explosions. A different approach to a trailer. I would prefer to have an idea of what the game is about then to have live gunfights.
Explosions and gunfights are neat to see and all but when it comes to the game you want to know what the game is about. Anyway here is the trailer with gunfights and explosions.
Google released a video today featuring the new add-on to Google+. Pages! Pages enable you to make a page for your business. Much like the pages on Facebook. Not much information is know about them yet. But when they are out I will try them out for Unknownware like I have on Facebook.
--Pages are public!--
You can now create your own page! Simply find another page and look for the "Create a Google+ Page." Then follow the instructions and you will have a page.
What are your thoughts on Google+ pages? Do you think they will be better than Facebook pages?
Gmail changes its look to a new clean and simple design. Gmail's look has been totally remade. It now aims to be clean and simple to use.
Here's a list of new features:
- can fit with any sized window
- new clean and simple to use interface
- Able to choose display density
- able to adjust size of label and chat areas
- new HD themes
- easier to chat
- profile pictures
- new search box