Mt. Gox sees its source code and customer data leaked by hackers

Charles Gantt | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Mar 5, 2014 7:08 PM CST

Things just got a lot worse for former Bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox. Today a Russian leakster announced that he has accessed then entire source code that ran Mt. Gox's operations. The code is only 1,700 lines long, so it is highly unlikely that the entire thing is there, but it does provide enough information to show how Mt. Gox handled Bitcoin transactions, and the methods used to transmit and receive Bitcoin hashes.

Along with the source code, the leakster / hacker claims to have a 20GB data dump of customer and employee information that includes passport scans, and every piece of contact information customers and employees entered into the system. With a breach this big, it leaves us to wonder how many other exchanges were using a part of this source code, and how many are now venerable to even more attacks now that the information is public? If you are interested, the source link below has links to the stolen code.

It's incidents like this that further undermine the security and trustworthiness of Bitcoins as a viable digital currency. This is the exact reason that US Congressmen are calling for Bitcoin trading to be banned in the us. With such a large economy growing around the virtually unregulated Bitcoin market, a simple crash like Mt. Gox experienced, or major Bitcoin heist like Flexcoin experienced over the weekend could send the entire market crashing down and millions of people would lose everything they have invested in Bitcoins.

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Comcast using its subscriber's home routers into Wi-Fi hotspots

Roshan Ashraf Shaikh | Internet & Websites | Mar 5, 2014 6:55 PM CST

Comcast is planning to use its customer's Wi-Fi routers to act as a Wi-Fi hotspot in Chicago. The Internet Service provider has started to convert a large number of Wi-Fi routers in homes into Xfinity hotspots using its existing equipments.

The company will be using a separate Wi-Fi signal and sending it through Comcast-owned wireless routers. Such signals from Comcast's home equipments can be identified by Comcast Xfinity's Wi-Fi mobile app. According to Comcast, by using such measures, it will not affect its subscriber's speed and privacy.

Comcast earlier did a test to see if they can do so, and made sure that such concerns are dealt with. During the time of testing, few users were found the need to opt-out of this service. Nagel said that Comcast provided a manual setting on the router should the customer choose to de-activate it. But by default, the Xfinity Wi-Fi signal will be switched on.

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ROKU unveils new HDMI Streaming Stick for just $50

Charles Gantt | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Mar 5, 2014 4:44 PM CST

This week, Roku unveiled a new version of its Streaming Stick, a major upgrade from the $99 model it released in late 2012. The major difference is that the new Roku Streaming Stick will work with any TV with a HDMI port instead of only working on models that are deemed "Roku Ready."

The Roku Streaming Stick works on the same principal as Google's Chromecast, and features both iOS and Android apps to control the device. Not everyone likes using their tablet or smartphone to control their TV though and Roku has included a remote for those who still like to use them. The stick is basically an HD version of the Roku 1 that fits into a package the size of a large USB thumb drive and has more than 1000 channels of video programming.

The Roku Streaming Stick retails for about $50 which is $15 more than the Chromecast, and it includes major players like Showtime, HBO, Netflix, Hulu Plus, PLEX, and many more. It is up to you to decide if the extra $15 is worth it to you or not, but with Google recently opening up its SDK for the Chromecast, there is bound to be a wealth of apps arriving for it as well.

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New malware makes anti-virus software 'totally useless'

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Mar 5, 2014 4:20 PM CST

There is a security transition from defending against various virus and Trojan formats to sophisticated malware, and anti-virus programs are "totally useless," according to Mohammad Mannan, Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering assistant professor.

In a recent survey from Visa, almost 92 percent of respondents said they have been targeted by attempted phishing attempts - and the complexity of these attacks continues to evolve.

Just a few years ago, if a user was infected with malware, it was a major disruptive problem that directly led to PCs running poorly. However, malware is largely being written by cybercriminals aiming to either hijack compromised devices, or steal personal information and make money, so malware runs in the background a lot more efficiently.

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LG G Pad 8.3 LTE tablet lands at Verizon Wireless March 6

We first talked about the LG G Pad 8.3 tablet back in September of last year when it went official. If you like the idea of that tablet, but want one with baked in LTE connectivity Verizon has just announced exactly what you are looking for. The LG G Pad 8.3 will land on the Verizon network on March 6.

The tablet will cost $99.99 with a new 2-year contact between March 6 and March 10. After that, the tablet will sell for $199.99. If you want one of these, you should really pick it early up and save the hundo. The tablet can be added to a More Everything plan for $10 per month.

The tablet has a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor and an 8.3-inch screen. The screen has a native resolution of 1920 x 1200. Other hardware features includes 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a 5MP rear camera.

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Titanfall will get a season pass, DLC, and free feature updates

Shane McGlaun | Gaming | Mar 5, 2014 12:34 PM CST

We are pretty excited about Titanfall around here. If you are an Xbox One gamer or a PC gamer, you should be excited too. We think that Titanfall is going to be a strong contender for game of the year even though it's very early in 2014. Some new tidbits about the game have surfaced today.

A rumor was going around that Titanfall might not have a season pass. That has been proven false after Respawn's Vince Zampella talked recently about the game. Zampella said that Titanfall would indeed get a season pass option. That means paid DLC is coming to the game.

Another interesting tidbit is that the developers will offer free feature updates to gamers. Zampella says that there were things that the team wanted in the final game that didn't make it. Those features will be added for free at a later date.

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New trailer video released for Batman: Arkham Knight

Charles Gantt | Gaming | Mar 5, 2014 11:44 AM CST

Yesterday Warner Bros. announced the next title in the Batman: Arkham franchise and we were one of the first sites to break the news. Today WB has unveiled the first trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight, and after watching the three-minute long video, it appears that the rumors were true. Batman: Arkham Knight could be the best Batman game ever made.

Batman: Arkham Knight will be a PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One only title, and is rumored to take full advantage of HD and Ultra-HD resolutions depending on which platform you prefer. The developers are able to take full advantage of today's graphics power by choosing not to launch on the PS3 or Xbox 360, and will allow them to take the franchise to the next level. More importantly, Rocksteady Studios is back at the helm which should make up for Batman: Arkham Origin's short falls.

The game will center around a villain named Hush, who will be accompanied by Scarecrow, Penguin, Harley Quinn, and Two-Face in an effort to take over Gotham City and clip Batman's wings forever. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Batmobile will finally be driveable a first for modern Batman games, and if anyone can pull it off, Rocksteady is the studio to do it.

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Kingston DataTraveler microDuo works with microUSB ports

Shane McGlaun | Storage | Mar 5, 2014 11:32 AM CST

Kingston has unveiled a new storage device that will make getting large video files off your Android device quick and easy. The storage device is called the DataTraveler microDuo. The duo in the name comes from the fact that the flash drive is able to work in a USB port or a microUSB port.

If you are an Android smartphone or tablet user, odds are that microUSB port is all you have. If your device supports USB OTG, you can plug the microDuo directly into that port and use a free app to move files to and from the storage device.

The drive is offered in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities. The flash drive is very small and compact and should be easy to take with you on the go. Since it works with regular USB ports as well, transferring files to and from your smartphone and computer will be easy.

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Asteroid passing between Earth and moon is a "non event" says NASA

NASA is always-on the lookout for asteroids that are coming close to the Earth to ensure that we have some warning of one if them is going to hit the planet and to study ones that pass nearby for science. Today an asteroid that is about 90-feet in diameter is going to streak by the planet between the Earth and moon's orbit.

That sounds close if you don't keep in mind the vast distances in space. The asteroid, called 2014 DX110, will be about 217,000 miles from the Earth at its closest point. It is actually very far away from the planet, even though on a cosmic scale this is a close call.

The asteroid will pass the earth at 33,000 mph. At 217,000 miles away from the Earth, it is about 9/10ths of the distance to the moon from the Earth. The asteroid will be at that distance from the planet for about seven hours.

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11-percent of Americans think HTM is actually a STD

Charles Gantt | Current Affairs | Mar 5, 2014 10:30 AM CST

phA recent study conducted by a coupon website is lending some valuable insight this morning into how much knowledge Americans have about tech-related terminology. Published by the LA Times, the study consisted of 2,393 men and women of 18-years of age or older, and were asked a series of questions about several common terms used in every day technology. As someone who lives and breathes tech, the results were quite shocking to say the least.

When asked what HTML was, 11-percent thought that it was a sexually transmitted disease rather than the coding language that powers the internet. HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, and is the main markup language for creating web pages and other information that can be displayed in a web browser such as Chrome, Internet Explorer or Safari.

27-percent of respondents thought that a GIGABYTE was actually an insect found in South America. In reality, a GIGABYTE is the term used to describe 1024 Megabytes when using the base-2 system of computational measurement.

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