Latest News - Page 2709

The Houston Zoo and Baylor College of Medicine teamed up to help Smaug, a 16-year-old Komodo dragon, use his right foot more effectively. The custom spring-loaded and rubberized orthosis is made of a flexible material that can be easily taken off and off by zoo caretakers.

The 7-foot, 200-pound animal struggled because he was unable to use his muscles to pull his right foot forward properly, and would land awkwardly - essentially causing him to roll his wrist underneath of his heavy weight with each foot step.

"About a year ago, we noticed that Smaug wasn't using his right, front foot normally and that occasionally he was flipping it underneath and walking on the top of his toes," said Dr. Lauren Howard, associate veterinarian of the Houston Zoo. "So that started the last year-and-a-half of our diagnostic investigation into what was going on with him. We're still trying to determine why he's not holding his foot the right way, but in the meantime our goal is to keep him holding his foot upward so he doesn't continue to walk on the tops of his toes."

Phishing remains a successful social engineering tactic used by cybercriminals, taking just 82 seconds to catch the first victim, according to a new report compiled by Verizon. An unfortunately alarming number of 25 percent of phishing email recipients are likely to open the fraudulent email - and trying to educate employees remains difficult for companies.

Instead of worrying about using a complicated software exploit, it's easier - and extremely effective - for hackers to just phish a victim and get them to turn over usernames and passwords. Companies that properly teach their employees to identify and avoid phishing emails reduce their likelihood of falling victim from one in four down to one in 20, according to researchers.

"They should be treating employees as tools in the fight rather than as lambs to the slaughter," said Bob Rudis, lead author of the Verizon report, in a statement published by BBC.

The US Department of Education hopes to bring teachers, gaming studios, researchers and students together in an effort to find ways to increase educational opportunities. As students rack up even more hours playing video games, the education community wants to find more innovative and proactive methods to teach students.

"If you look at the life of a student a lot of [them] play an average of about 10,000 hours of video games by the time they are graduating high school," said Erik Martin, head of the Department of Education's Games for Learning program, while speaking to Polygon. "That is almost the same amount of time they are spending in schools. You can imagine a lot of the time which of the two activities they might feel more engaged in or more relevant."

Understanding that students are playing games, whether mobile, PC or console gaming, it's something that educators can depend on.

HP has just announced its new DreamColor Z32x monitor, a new professional-grade 31.5-inch 4K monitor. What makes the new HP display stand out is that it features an IPS-based display pumping out 3840x2160, or 4K.

The new HP DreamColor Z32x not only features the IPS-based 4K panel, it does so with 10-bit color. We have HDMI 2.0 and HDMI 1.4, as well as a full-sized DisplayPort 1.2 and miniDP 1.2 port. HP has provided an integrated USB 3.0 hub with fast-charging support for mobile devices, such as the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge from Samsung.

HP has also provided picture-in-picture mode that allows owners of the DreamColor Z32x to view feeds from each of the four display inputs, simultaneously. Wrapping up the specs side of things, there's 1000:1 static / 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast, an 8ms gray-to-gray response time, and a weight of 23.5 pounds. HP hasn't announced any pricing, but we can be pretty sure it will not be on the cheap side.

Pedophiles are adapting their habits and using the so-called "dark net" to find children to exploit, while creating new business opportunities.

Even though most people use the dark net to avoid government detection, 80 percent of traffic to dark net sites were believed to be related to child pornography, according to a recent British research study. There is an increased effort to prevent this type of dark net use, but cybersecurity experts believe the problem is just getting worse.

"It was just an awful realization, discovering there were tens of thousands of people who are not only trading child pornography, but planning to exploit children," said Greg Virgin, a cybersecurity consultant, in a statement published by CBS News. "We found one site where users openly advertised the ages of the children they were interested in. The average youngest age they were seeking for girls was zero years old. And the average age for boys was one."

Mobile game publishers are breaking out their checkbooks to invest in expensive TV advertisements, outpacing console game publishers, according to the iSpot.tv advertising tracking firm. Companies such as Machine Zone, Supercell and King want to attract more mobile gamers to their products, and don't have the name recognition as larger, traditional game studios.

Thirty percent of the overall TV advertising revenue spent during Q1 was dedicated to King, Machine Zone and Supercell, with mobile game companies spending $130 million so far in 2015. Companies such as Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, 2K Games, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft all trail the mobile gamers - and it looks like gamers are paying attention.

"These spending patterns may merely indicate that mobile games are taking advantage of the relative lull in major game console advertising," said Sean Muller, CEO of iSpot.tv, in a guest post on Venture Beat. "But so long as this TV ad push results in more app downloads, we may likely be seeing a new long-term competitor to the mix."

As part of the US Defense Department's "Better Buying Power 3.0" initiative, the government wants to see closer relationships forged with the private sector. The main goal of the program is to make sure the US doesn't lose a technological edge over foreign adversaries, as the DoD dumps money into new R&D efforts.

A major effort will focus on keeping next-generation weapons technology and defense systems secure from cyberattacks - something that is of major concern, especially from China, Russia, and other countries with sophisticated cyber militaries.

"It includes the industrial base that supports us and their databases and their information," said Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, in a statement. "It includes what we hold in government. It includes the logistics support information, the sustainment information, the design information, the tactical information. Everything associated with the product is a potential point of attack. And we are under attack in the cyber world, and we've got to do a better job protecting our things."

The Apple Watch has drawn intense media attention and interest from consumers, but people not interested in spending $349 - or more - have plenty of alternatives they can choose from. The overall smartwatch market is still extremely small, but with a growing number of vendors stepping up to release products, there is great hope that consumers will begin adopting wearables in the future.

"Apple (has) left room for the competition with their fairly high price," said Nick Spencer, senior practice director of ABI Research, in a statement published by CNBC. "I think this enables the consumer scenario of, Apple has launched a smartwatch, therefore I need one, but don't want to pay $349, so I'll buy a (cheaper) Android watch instead."

There were more than 5 million smartwatches shipped in 2014, with Samsung selling 2.15 million units - and no other competitor selling more than 1 million - and those numbers are expected to accelerate in 2015. The launch of the Apple Watch, however, has brought new attention to the smartwatch market, and could help bring even more attention to the market.

Consumer electronics company SOUL Electronics has introduced the Run Free Pro, Bluetooth-powered in-ear headphones designed for athletes. The waterproof in-ear unit also includes wind noise reduction technology to help eliminate wind interference, which often times can ruin audio quality.

The custom design is guaranteed to stay in your ears using an interchangeable lock system, so athletes and active users don't need to worry about earbuds falling out. The Run Free Pro uses Bluetooth 4.0 and is now available with a $129 MSRP.

"The Run Free Pro exemplifies an audio accessory that perfectly complements hitting the streets for a run or sustaining an active lifestyle," said Jerry Lai, Marketing Manager at SOUL Electronics. "This means as someone is running and, often times, earbuds will fall out, the lock will securely keep the earphone body tight and in place. We wanted to create more products for the fitness and active lifestyle, with the goal to maintain the same SOUL Electronics brand identity."

The Europol Cybercrime Centre and the FBI teamed up to bring down the Beebone botnet, a custom operation that installed malware on unknowing victims. At least 12,000 machines were infected - with an estimate up to 100,000 zombie PCs - hijacked by cybercriminals. The malware was used to collect stolen passwords and download third-party applications onto victim PCs, officials noted.

"The fact that it [the malware] is complicated suggests that it could be used for more targeted attacks," said Paul Docherty, director of Portcullis Security, recently told the BBC. "If those responsible were able to harness similar difficult-to-detect code they could potentially move the point of attack from home users to corporate users or other entities which typically hold large amounts of sensitive, valuable data."

The polymorphous malware utilized its unique ability to change its "shape" so it was better able to evade cybersecurity defenses - and continue hijacking new users.

Roberts Space Industries has taken to its website to provide a very in-depth article on how the first-person side of Star Citizen will work, teasing that there will be three different stances, as well as having your breathing impact gameplay.

First, the three different stances will include: lowered stance, ready stance, and ads stance. RSI explains that having three different stances means "that the game will have a more realistic system of weapon handling, which will immediately impact gameplay. Star Citizen's three stances are Lowered, Ready and Aim Down Sights (ADS). The Lowered stance trades the ability to fire for maneuverability. The Ready stance slows a soldier's movement while making reactionary fire and aiming a lot faster and more accurate. The ADS stance is the most accurate, but has the slowest movement and most restricted visibility of the three stances".

Not only that, but breathing will have a big part to play in the Star Citizen first-person shooter mode, which is "simulated in order to make first person combat a much deeper and more tactical experience than many familiar FPS titles". A big part of this is stamina, which is "a resource you will need to manage" according to RSI. The developer continues: "Performing actions such as sprinting, vaulting, mounting, climbing and breath control (detailed below) will lower your stamina. Low stamina will have several temporary knock-on effects, such as drastically reduced sprint distance, diminished ability to aim properly, and even a reduced amount of time that breath can be held".

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was revealed last week, but now the full marketing campaign is beginning to ramp up, with Game Director Jean-François Dugas, teasing Deus Ex fans through his Twitter account.

Dugas was asked if Deus Ex: Mankind Divided would be ghostable, to which he replied that it would, and for the first time in a Deus Ex title, even during boss fights. Dugas said: "As always and even on boss side, finally!". Ghostable means you can play through the entire level, including boss fights, without being seen - providing the true stealth side of Deus Ex.

He continued, adding that the boss fights from Deus Ex: Human Revolution are coming back, which has fans excited. Dugas continued, when he was asked if Mankind Divided would be as hard as the original Deus Ex from 1999, where he said: "We'll have the 'Give me Deus Ex' again. Not exactly like the 1999 mode but you should expect a real challenge". When asked if the same team members from Human Revolution are working on Mankind Divided, Dugas replied with "For the most part, yes".

Grand Theft Auto V unlocks for PC gamers across the world in a little under 24 hours now, so after multiple delays, it doesn't even feel like it's happening - but it is, and in a big way.

Rockstar Games sat down with PC Gamer recently to talk about the game and how it runs at 60FPS, 4K and more. PC Gamer asked if GTA V on the PC was "locked at 60FPS", to which Rockstar replied: "The target framerate for the PC build of the game is 60fps, when you start up GTA 5 for the first time it chooses settings to maximise the framerate and visual quality on your PC. These are simply recommendations though, and players can change these to whatever they want. We will never be able to guarantee the framerate when someone decides to push their texture, shader or post-fx quality to a level that their PC can't support. That said, if your monitor and PC support it you can choose to run at even higher framerates".

PC Gamer also talked about 4K, asking "GTA 5 supports 4K resolution on PC - how much of a big deal do you think 4K will be for players? Do you think it'll transform the way they experience that world?" Rockstar's reply is pretty exciting, with the developer saying: "4k is an eye opener when you see if for the first time, it really does make you look at the world differently and in greater detail as you would expect. That said, you could probably say the same thing about a lot of the other high-end graphical options and ultimately it will be personal preference which particular resolution and graphical settings that each player decides to settle on".

Apple has had a big few days, with the Watch pre-orders opening up and the launch of its new Retina-capable MacBook. The new Retina MacBook is reportedly not being stocked at many Apple Stores, leaving consumers furious.

Apple Stores in the US are reportedly not stocking the new MacBook, which seems to be limited to online purchases, for now at least. MacRumors has taken a look at multiple Apple Stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, which all resulted in the new Retina MacBook being unavailable at all locations, "at least on launch day" they reported.

The new Retina MacBook has seen its shipping times already expand, with custom models shipping in 3-4 weeks as soon as orders became available. The new 12-inch Retina MacBook starts at $1299, featuring a super-slim design, a single USB-C port, a redesigned keyboard and an all-new butterfly mechanism, Force Touch trackpad, fanless architecture and an all-day battery.

The NSA has virtually got unrestricted access to most users data, but that doesn't stop the US spy agency from wanting more. NSA chief Michael Rogers has now called for a "front door" encryption key that would provide the NSA with access to your data, but the key would be broken into multiple parts so that no one agency or person could easily get in.

This method would theoretically stop thieves from getting in and taking your data, but it would let government officials access your data at any time, if they have 'permission'. The White House is considering the move, along with others like letting courts order the creation of mirror accounts, so that US agencies can access any and all messages as they arrive, or so that they can back up the data as it's unencrypted. President Obama is considering these new policies, where he should receive a report by the end of the month, with the possibility of a new policy revealed shortly after.

Rogers' solution isn't a one key fits all scenario, with fellow institutions like the National Institute of Standards and Technology against the idea. They note that any door that is introduced would arrive with security holes, even if a split key is created. US agencies like the FBI and NSA don't like widespread encryption because it works so well, but it only works as long as there are key holders that won't just provide the key when asked, or requested.

An investigation that CSO Online conducted has found that if you do not have your network-connected HDDs configured correctly, your files could be ending up in the wrong hands.

Their report stated that some personal cloud devices with external HDDs connected to routers with FTP enabled have been indexed by Google, which has seen personal files found on the Internet, and on search results. This includes very personal data such as emails, journal entries, passports, tax records, financial statements, mortgage documents, passwords, private photos and more.

The organization was able to map a family's personal and financial history all the way back to 2009 just by searching their name as their data was archived on a Western Digital HDD that they had connected through a Linksys WRT1900AC router. But when the family was warned about this, it was too late. The family noted: "I simply could not figure out how someone got the [card] info minutes after I'd activate them. My system was clean and secured more than the average person," said one member of the family. Now I know. [It's not] difficult when my backups were public and being indexed on Google".

Intel has provided more details on its upcoming Xeon Phi line of processors, which will see up to 72 cores on a single processor, thanks to the Silvermont architecture. Not only that, but we can expect up to 384GB of DDR4, too.

Not only that, but the current prototype of the Xeon Phi coprocessor is capable of handling up to 32 cores, with each core capable of handling four threads for a total of 128 threads. Currently, we 8-core processors with 16 threads in total thanks to Hyper-Threading on the consumer side of the market. These new Xeon Phi processors would handle up to 36MB of shared L2 cache, and up to 16GB of the new stacked High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

All in all, we can expect a six-channel DDR4 memory controller that can handle 2400MHz, and up to 384GB of DDR4 RAM. This is up from the quad-channel memory architecture we know and love with the X99 chipset from Intel, and the current flagship processor: the Core i7-5960X. It's interesting to note that we're seeing Intel move into HBM quickly.

GALAX is back, and in a big way lately, but it's not stopping with its handful of GeForce GTX 980s. The company has just added two more to its list of five, which is now a list of seven, with the new GALAX GTX 980 HOF TecLab Edition, and GTX 980 HOF DUCK Edition.

Starting with the GALAX GTX 980 HOF DUCK Edition, which is currently second place in the official 3DMark Fire Strike competition (with 10,580 points). We don't know the clock speeds of the card, but we do know it has been cranked all the way up to 2123MHz (but obviously not with its aftermarket cooler). We have a custom-made white PCB and triple-fan cooler that is sure to impress.

Next, we have the GALAX GTX 980 HOF TecLab Edition, which is a 2.5-slot card with a new color scheme. We have a backplate on this card too, as well as an OC button on the rear of the card next to its display outputs. The GALAX GTX 980 HOF TecLab Edition should be the fastest GTX 980 in the GALAX lineup.

We know it's coming, but it's just a matter of when. NVIDIA is preparing the GeForce GTX 980 Ti that should better counter the upcoming Radeon R9 390X from AMD, with a full GM200 core.

The GM200-powered GeForce GTX 980 Ti should be released in September, a couple of months after AMD's launch of the Radeon R9 390X which is expected to happen during Computex in June. There are some suggestions that NVIDIA would spoil AMD's fun during the R9 390X launch, so we could see a big announcement before, during or after Computex from NVIDIA.

NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 980 Ti should be close to identical to the behemoth that is the GeForce GTX Titan X, but knock down its VRAM from 12GB to 6GB. We should also see AIB partners free to slap on aftermarket coolers, which didn't happen with the Titan X, which is going to open up a can of whoop ass on the market.

Just as the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge have launched, rumors are flying that the forthcoming Galaxy Note 5 from Samsung would feature a 4K display - providing a record-breaking number of pixels on a smartphone.

According to new reports, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 5 later this year with a 3840x2160 resolution. We should expect an official unveiling in August, which is about the time IFA kicks off for the year. If the Galaxy Note 5 arrives with its rumored 5.89-inch screen and 4K display, we can expect an insane 748 pixels per inch (PPI).

We're also hearing that a dual edge variant will be unveiled, which will arrive with a 5.78-inch curved panel that would rock 762 PPI. Now we just have to play the waiting game.