9 Year Old Suspended for Saying Merry Christmas’ – Hoax

There are reports circulating claiming that a fourth grade boy from San Francisco was suspended from school for wishing his atheist teacher a Merry Christmas.

The claim in reports are not true.  There was not a suspension, nor was there a boy getting in trouble for saying Merry Christmas at school.

The story originates from a satirical fake-news website, National Report.

The National Report, reads “America’s #1 Independent News Team as the headline in search engines.

Only if you look at the “Disclaimer”, you will see this is a satire website.  There is no where in the description that tells visitors the website is fake.

 

Analysis

This story is a report that is going around via social media, blogs, and forums.  The tale of Timothy Dawson, a 9-year old boy was suspended from his San Francisco elementary school, because he wished Paul Horner, his atheist teacher a Merry Christmas.

Supposedly, the teacher was offended by Timothy’s Christmas greeting and arranged for him to be suspended for the rest of the week as a punishment.  The report is advertising this as an ongoing “war on Christmas”.

This story is fake, but the school really exists.  The fake news story originally referred to the “Argon Elementary School”, close enough to San Francisco’s “Argonne Elementary School” for false assumptions to be made.  The school was forced to publish the following notice on its website:

Dear Argonne School Community,

I am writing to inform you that a news story was published stating that a fourth grade student from Argon Elementary in San Francisco was suspended for saying “Merry Christmas” to a teacher. The incident did not occur at our school, Argonne Elementary or any school in the San Francisco Unified School District.

Thank you for continuing to support our school community.Warm regards,
Cami Okubo Principal at Argonne Elementary

Since the report, the National Report article has changed the name of the school it mentions to “Anon Elementary School”.  Even-though,  the damage is already done.

Paul Horner, the supposed atheist teacher, is not new to National report stories.  He was supposedly the first man to marry an animal in a “State Recognized Human-Animal Marriage”.  Also, he is the same man to have won an award for having a very large appendage.

This goes to show, not everything you read in the news is true.  What stories have you seen spreading through social media that are made up?  Please leave your comments below.

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References:

Hoax – ’9 Year Old Suspended From School for Saying Merry Christmas’ – Hoax-Slayer
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/nine-year-old-suspended-merry…
December 18, 2013

A look at the “techies” we lost in 2013

There have been amazing technological advances in the past century.  2013 saw it’s share of  innovative, pioneers that have impacted the industry dramatically.  Young and old, each person on this list helped shape our technology industry with a lasting impression.

Here are the trailblazer’s and their accomplishments:




Hank Asher (Pioneered Databases)
Hank Asher didn’t make it through highschool but he did create “data fusion”.   A software integrating databases and mining them.  Asher founded two data companies; Database Technologies, and Seisant.  AutoTrack, Accurint and Matrix are some of his products used by law enforcement for data-mining.

He died peacefully at his home at the age of 61.






Aaron Swartz (Programming Prodigy)
At 14 years old, Swartz contributed to RSS standard code.  In his teens, he founded a company that merged into Reddit.  Swartz became an activist, hacking the legal database PACER, so public court decisions were freely available. JSTOR was also hacked by Swartz, an academic database, which resulted in his arrest and charged with multiple felonies.

He committed suicide days before his trial at the age of 26.






Amar Bose (Genius of Boss)

Amar Bose the problem solver.  In 1956 Bose had a problem with some hi-fi speakers he purchased, so figured out how to make them better.  He started his “Bose” speaker company in 1964 and developed new approaches on acoustics and noise-canceling headphones.  Bose made breakthrough’s with aviation, defense, and even nuclear physics.

He died at the age of 83 in Wayland, Massachusetts.






Ken Brill (Father of Datacenters)

Brill was an electrical engineer in training when he founded the UpTime Institute in 1993.  He used the platform to mark the data center, which built the foundation on which cloud computing emerged.  UpTime is known best for its tier classification for comparing data centers.

Brill died at the age of 69 after developing cancer.






Doug Engelbart (The Mouse of Man)

One of computing’s greatest visionaries, Engelbart invented the computer mouse.  He contributed to the development of hypertext, word processing, graphical user interfaces, networking and real-time collaboration, including videoconferencing.  Although he was the visionary and inventor, he didn’t commercialize his ideas.  That was left to others at the Stanford Reasearch Institute.

Engelbart died at the age of 88.






Barnaby Jack (“Jackpotter”)

Barnaby Jack was able to make cash spit out money from atm’s like it was “jackpotting”.  He showed his ability to hack a pacemaker from 30 feet to make it discharge enough electricity to kill its user.  Jack was able to find flaws embedded in the devices.

The New Zealand-born hacker died the week before giving a talk to the Black Hat security conference on how pacemakers and other medical devices could be hacked.  Barnaby Jack died at the age of 35 in his home in San Francisco, with the cause unknown.







Ray Dolby (Amplification & Clarification)

In 1971, starting with A Clockwork Orange, Dolby revolutionized movies with surround sound.  Sound became an art form, Dolby pioneered to work on inspiring technologies that fueled the imagination of the entertainment and communications industries.

The modest Dolby, died at the age of 80.






Wayne Green (Take a Byte out of life)

Wayne Green began writing on amateur radio in the 1950′s.  The facinator of laptops, cell phones, e-mail, and consumer computing. Wayne was the editor of CQ magazine before he went on to 73, 80 Micro, Byte, CD Review, Cold Fusion and many more in his career.  In the 1980′s, Green created the groundbreaking Brazilian microcomputing magazine.

Wayne Green died at the age of 91.







Hiroshi Yamauchi (Game Man)

Hiroshi Yamauchi took over his family’s Japanese playing-card company Nintendo in 1949, at the age of 21.  Nintendo was revolutionary in the gaming industry.  Even though Yamauchi was not a gamer, Nintendo dominated the business.

Hiroshi Yamauchi died at the age of 85 from phenumonia.







Willis Ware (Electronics Visionary)

Few saw the future of computing like Willis Ware did.  Ware worked on classified electronics during World War II.  Ware built an early digital computer with John von Neumann, then another for RAND.  In 1972, Ware recommended against secret databases, saying that people should know what data is help on them and how it is used.  He was ignored.

Ware died at the age of 93.


Don’t miss out on the latest tech news and computer security alerts! Follow us on Twitter at @hyphenet, “Like” us on Facebook or add us to your circle on Google+.

References:

Tech luminaries we lost in 2013 – ComputerWorld
http://www.computerworld.com/slideshow/detail/133540#slide1

Apple webcam bug allows spying on you

http://www.hyphenet.com/blog/2013/12/20/apple-webcam-bug-allows-spying-on-you/

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) webcams are known to be vulnerable to a malware attack.
It was believed that no one could turn your iSignt webcam on without you knowing, thus illuminating the LED light on the webcam.

Security researchers at Johns Hopkins University have debunked that theory, the flaw is not only limited to older MacBooks and iMacs, but newer computers may be hacked as well.

The target attacks the firmware inside the iSight camera’s controller chip. Apple designed the iSight camera with a “hardware interlock” between the camera sensor and the indicator LED.  When the camera is activated the sensor is triggered and the light turns on.

The LED is connected straight into the standby pin on the camera sensor, which sparks the light.  When the camera comes out of standby mode, the LED immediately turns on.

The system is able to be bypassed by interlocking and reprogramming the firmware on the camera’s micro-controller.  The camera ignores standby signals sent by the USB interface that the camera uses to connect with the rest of the computer.

Ashkan Soltani and Timothy B. Lee tag-team to tell thee this: The woman was shocked when she received two nude photos of herself by e-mail. … Most laptops with built-in cameras have…a light that is supposed to turn on [when] the camera is in use. But Wolf says she never saw the light…go on.
…
That wasn’t supposed to be possible. … New evidence indicates otherwise. … Johns Hopkins University provides the first public confirmation that it’s possible to do just that, and demonstrates how.
…
The vulnerability they discovered affects “Apple internal iSight webcams found in earlier-generation Apple products.” … Researchers like Charlie Miller suggest that the attack could be applicable to newer systems as well. … Apple did not reply to requests for comment.

http://www.hyphenet.com/blog/2013/12/20/apple-webcam-bug-allows-spying-on-you/

These attacks are alarming because it does not require administrator-level privileges or access to laptops.  At this time, Macbooks and iMacs manufactured prior to 2008 with built-in iSight cameras are being effected.

Researchers disclosed the vulnerability to Apple’s security team already.

According to the paper this was stated, “Apple employees followed up several times but did not inform us of any possible mitigation plans.”

So double tap your webcam, close your laptop when it’s not in use, do what would you can to take preventative measures not to be spied on from cybercriminals.

 
Don’t miss out on the latest tech news and computer security alerts! Follow us on Twitter at @hyphenet,  “Like” us on Facebook or add us to your circle on Google+

References:
iSeeYou: Apple webcam bug allows creepy peeps to peep in on you – ComputerWorld
http://blogs.computerworld.com/malware-and-vulnerabilities/23300/iseeyou-apple-webcam-bug-itbwcw
Researchers find way to activate iSight cameras without alerting users – Apple Insider
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/12/18/researchers-find-way-to-activate-isight-cameras-without-alerting-users
Research shows how MacBook Webcams can spy on their users without warning – Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/12/18/research-shows-how-macbook-webcams…

The Biggest Security Stories of 2013

As the year ends, lets take a look at all the security activity that has taken place in 2013.  

Information security is priority for companies.  Security threats and data privacy have been a major concern, there have been big stories of success and failures in the tech industry.
Here are some of cybersecurity’s highs and lows:

Apple Biometrics

Apple launched the iPhone 5s with a fingerprint sensor for identification.  Biometrics has been adopted by smartphones but have been used for years on Corporate laptops as an alternative form of identification.

Companies Embrace Two-Factor Authentication

LinkedIn, Twitter and Evernote launched a two-factor authentication feature.  Providers require stronger passwords including encryption of customers passwords stored on their servers.

Cryptolocker

Cryptolocker ransomware is a high-grade encryption against victim’s files which is spread to network-based storage applications and cloud-based backup services.
Bitcoin payments are demanded to retrieve keys needed to unlock the files from the infection.

Huawei Turmoil

China-based Huawei is under surveillance, following concern from the U.S.  that its hardware components could contain back-door access for Chinese spies.

Cisco’s Sourcefire

Sourcefire founder and CTO Martin Roesch  leads security product innovation under Cisco.  Sourcefire’s intrusion prevention system conducts real-time traffic analysis, sniffing and packet logging.

FireEye is Public

At the core, FireEye’s technology is a virtualized sandbox. With cloud-based mobile and email protection service, and detects suspicious files for malware threats, FireEye is the next generation firewall.

Java Attacks

The Java platform saw an increase of attacks targeting weaknesses in the programming language.  Java vulnerabilities accounted for more than 90 percent of attacks in 2013.

Adobe Source Code Breach

More than 35 million customers passwords were exposed as well as the product source code.  Investigators are still figuring out the cause of the massive fallout.

 

Mandiant APT1 Report

The Mandiant APT1 report exposed China as the source of cyberspionage activity towards the U.S.  The report discovered attacks designed to steal intellectual property from many government agencies and defense contractors.

Edward Snowden’s Leaks

The government contractor stole thousands of classified documents outlining the extent of the National Security Agency’s surveillance.  Cell phone metadata collection, used encryption algorithms to gather massive amounts of Internet communication from major firms.
Lets hope next year tech industries will have more achievements than defeats…

Don’t miss out on the latest tech news and computer security alerts! Follow us on Twitter at @hyphenet,  “Like” us on Facebook or add us to your circle on Google+

References:
The 10 Biggest Security Stories Of 2013 – CRN
http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/security/240164781/the-10-biggest-security-stories…

ESET’s Threat Predictions for 2014

ESET predicts the three new trends for 2014: battle on internet privacy, new assaults on Androids, and a new wave of malware in the hi-tech industry.





The concern for privacy on mobile devices has sky rocketed.

After the reaction from Edward Snowden’s leaks, the US National Security Agency (NSA) reveals that Internet users are fearful about their privacy and security in the digital age.

ESET experts are ensuring data is locked down (using encryption) which is the first step towards substantial security.

“The challenge to internet privacy has not meant a decrease in cases of people affected by any malicious code or other kind of computer threat,” the researchers write. “Concern about privacy is a good starting point, but it is essential for people to be aware of all aspects of Information Security. Otherwise, it is not possible to mitigate the impact of computer threats.”

ESET predicts an increase in serious threats targeting Android phones and tablets.  Detections show malware increased more than 60% between 2012 and 2013.  The increase is predicted to continue thru 2014.

The Latin American Research Laboratory for ESET in Buenos Aires points out that malware infested Androids use native PC attack methods to discover vulnerabilities.  Then they are exploited through malicious code.

Filecoders like ransomware Cryptolocker is the year’s most well-known attacks.  Cryptolocker is still spreading worldwide and is expected to continue in 2014.  Bitcoin and other e-currencies are targets for cybercriminals, along with threats against smart cars, game consoles, and smart TVs.

Here is the full Trends 2014 Report: The Challenge of Internet Privacy.

Don’t miss out on the latest tech news and computer security alerts! Follow us on Twitter at @hyphenet,  “Like” us on Facebook or add us to your circle on Google+


References:
ESET’s Threat Trends Predictions 2014: – We Live Security
http://www.welivesecurity.com/2013/12/17/esets-threat-trends-predictions…
December 17, 2014

Mavericks fixes Gmail bug [Update]

Mavericks OS X, the new software for Mackintosh had it’s share of bugs after the release of Mavericks OS X 10.9.1.  There was a compatibility issue between Gmail and Mail, which contained a handful of security flaws in Safari.

The update, released overnight, should give relief for Gmail users who upgraded earlier last month to Mavericks.

Users who installed Mavericks reported the OS was slow, and Gmail to Mail delivery lagged.

The folders re-indexed, and ended up cramming up the storage inbox with already read messages.  Smart Folders and the folder rules also were removed.

Apple knew about the complaints and addressed them in November, leading to an update for Mail in Mavericks.

Apple’s support documentation stated, Mavericks v10.9.1 comes with “improved support for Gmail in OS X Mail, and fixes for users with custom Gmail settings”.

Apple also released a new version of Safari 6 and Safari 7, which address nine other vulnerabilities affecting the browser.  A huge security flaw was one that autofilled users names and passwords.

Other issues Apple says are addressed in Mavericks include:

• Fixes an issue that prevented iLife and iWork apps from updating on non-English systems
• Addresses an issue that may cause multiple prompts to unlock “Local items” keychain
• Addresses an issue that may cause Japanese keyboards to retain a previously used language
• Includes Safari 7.0.1
• Fixes an issue that could cause Safari to become unresponsive when filling out forms on fedex.com, stubhub.com, and other websites
• Improves Credit Card Autofill compatibility with websites
• Improves VoiceOver compatibility with facebook.com
• Updates Shared Links periodically when open in the Safari Sidebar

The patch fixes a variety of concerns, including an issue that prevented VoiceOver from working with emoji.
If you are running an OS X Mavericks, an update is recommended.  There are always fixes coming out to help and improve your web experience.

Don’t miss out on the latest tech news and computer security alerts! Follow us on Twitter at @hyphenet,  “Like” us on Facebook or add us to your circle on Google+


Research:
Apple delivers OS X Mavericks update with Mail fixes – CNet
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57615782-263/apple-delivers-os-x-mavericks-update-with-mail-fixes/
December 16, 2013

Apple releases OS X 10.9.1 with Mail fixes – MacWorld
http://www.macworld.com/article/2080846/apple-releases-os-x-10-9-1-with-mail-fixes.html
December 16, 2013

Buy of the Week: Dell Laser Printer B1260dn for only $97 + tax!

http://www.hyphenet.com/blog/2013/12/16/buy-of-the-week-dell-laser-printer-b1260dn-for-only-97-tax/


An efficient printer to help improve productivity with the compact B1260dn Mono Laser Printer from Dell.
It can bring value to any small office or workgroup. It provides two-sided printing, high-quality printouts, network connectivity with built-in Ethernet and high-speed printing. Now it’s easy to print directly from a wide variety of mobile devices right to your printer.

The Dell B1260dn lets you and your team easily prints documents, photos, images and reports directly from a wide range of mobile phones and tablets. This printer gives vital office network connectivity with a built-in Ethernet. Easily share your printer with multiple users on the network. Additionally, it gives convenience of high-speed mono printing.

• Experience the convenience of high-speed mono printing
• Get a high-duty cycle of up to 20,000 pages per month
• Prints large files quickly

Product Description	Dell Laser Printer B1260dn – printer – monochrome – laser
Printer Type	Workgroup printer – laser – monochrome
Weight	15.9 lbs
Max Media Size (Standard)	Legal, A4
Print Speed	Up to 28 ppm – A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in) Up to 29 ppm – Letter A Size (8.5 in x 11 in)
Max Resolution ( B&W )	1200 dpi
Automatic Duplexing	Yes
Interface	USB, LAN
Processor	ARM11 533 MHz
RAM Installed ( Max )	64 MB DDR2 SDRAM
Language Simulation	PCL 6, SPL (Samsung Printer Language), XPS
Media Type	Envelopes, transparencies, labels, plain paper, cards, bond paper, recycled paper, cotton paper, thick paper, thin paper
Total Media Capacity	250 sheets
Media Handling	250-sheet paper cassette, 1-sheet multipurpose tray
Monthly Duty Cycle (max)	20000 pages
Networking	Print server – Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
System Requirements	HP-UX 11.0, Microsoft Windows 2000, Novell NetWare 5.x, IBM AIX 5.2, IBM AIX 5.1, Novell NetWare 6.x, SunSoft Solaris 9, HP-UX 11i v2, HP-UX 11i v1, openSUSE 11.0, openSUSE 11.1, IBM AIX 5.3, Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4, IBM AIX 5.4, Red Hat Fedora Core 9, Red Hat Fedora Core 10, Ubuntu 8.10, Ubuntu 9.04, Ubuntu 6.06, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11, SuSE Linux 10.1, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, Red Hat Fedora Core 5, HP-UX 11i v3, Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 5, Red Hat Fedora Core 6, openSUSE 10.2, openSUSE 10.3, Red Hat Fedora Core 7, Debian Linux 4.0, Mandriva Linux 2007, Red Hat Fedora Core 8, Ubuntu 6.10, Ubuntu 8.04, Microsoft Windows Vista (32/64 bits), Ubuntu 9.10, openSUSE 11.2, Ubuntu 7.10, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 Edition, Red Hat Fedora 13, openSUSE 11.3, Ubuntu 10.04, Ubuntu 7.04, Microsoft Windows 7 (32/64 bits), Microsoft Windows XP (32/64 bits), Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (32/64-bits), Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (32/64-bits), Oracle Solaris 10, Red Hat Fedora 11, Red Hat Fedora 12, Red Hat Fedora 14, Mandriva Linux 2009.1, Debian Linux 6.x, Red Hat Fedora 15, Apple MacOS X 10.4 – 10.7, openSUSE 11.4, Mandriva Linux 2008, Mandriva Linux 2009, Mandriva Linux 2010, Ubuntu 11.04, Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 6, Debian Linux 5.0
Microsoft Certification	Compatible with Windows 7
Manufacturer Warranty	1 year warranty
Dimensions (WxDxH)	13.7 in x 13.3 in x 7.8 in

Extended Specifications

General

Printer Type Workgroup printer – laser – monochrome

Printer

Print Speed Up to 28 ppm – A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in) Up to 29 ppm – Letter A Size (8.5 in x 11 in) Connectivity Technology Wired Interface USB, LAN Max Resolution ( B&W ) 1200 dpi Automatic Duplexing Yes PostScript Support Included Language Simulation PCL 6, SPL (Samsung Printer Language), XPS Media Handling 250-sheet paper cassette, 1-sheet multipurpose tray

Processor

Processor ARM11 533 MHz

RAM

RAM Installed ( Max ) 64 MB Technology / Form Factor DDR2 SDRAM

Media Handling

Media Type Envelopes, transparencies, labels, plain paper, cards, bond paper, recycled paper, cotton paper, thick paper, thin paper Media Weight 60 g/m2 – 220 g/m2 Total Media Capacity 250 sheets Media Feeder(s) 1 x manual load – 250 sheets – Legal (8.5 in x 14 in) weight: 60 g/m2 – 163 g/m2 1 x manual load – 1 sheets – Legal (8.5 in x 14 in) weight: 60 g/m2 – 220 g/m2 Output Trays Capacity 150 sheets

Duty Cycle

Monthly Duty Cycle (max) 20000 pages

Networking

Networking Print server Data Link Protocol Ethernet, Fast Ethernet

Expansion / Connectivity

Connections 1 x LAN – RJ-45 1 x USB 2.0 – 4 pin USB Type B

Miscellaneous

Consumables Included 1 x toner cartridge ( black ) – up to 1000 pages Compatible with Windows 7 “Compatible with Windows 7″ software and devices carry Microsoft’s assurance that these products have passed tests for compatibility and reliability with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7. Supported Windows 7 Features Windows HD Imaging Compliant Standards RoHS

Software / System Requirements

Software Included Drivers & Utilities, Dell Printer Manager, Dell Supplies Ordering Utility, Lite StatusMonitor OS Required HP-UX 11.0, Microsoft Windows 2000, Novell NetWare 5.x, IBM AIX 5.2, IBM AIX 5.1, Novell NetWare 6.x, SunSoft Solaris 9, HP-UX 11i v2, HP-UX 11i v1, openSUSE 11.0, openSUSE 11.1, IBM AIX 5.3, Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4, IBM AIX 5.4, Red Hat Fedora Core 9, Red Hat Fedora Core 10, Ubuntu 8.10, Ubuntu 9.04, Ubuntu 6.06, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11, SuSE Linux 10.1, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, Red Hat Fedora Core 5, HP-UX 11i v3, Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 5, Red Hat Fedora Core 6, openSUSE 10.2, openSUSE 10.3, Red Hat Fedora Core 7, Debian Linux 4.0, Mandriva Linux 2007, Red Hat Fedora Core 8, Ubuntu 6.10, Ubuntu 8.04, Microsoft Windows Vista (32/64 bits), Ubuntu 9.10, openSUSE 11.2, Ubuntu 7.10, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 Edition, Red Hat Fedora 13, openSUSE 11.3, Ubuntu 10.04, Ubuntu 7.04, Microsoft Windows 7 (32/64 bits), Microsoft Windows XP (32/64 bits), Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (32/64-bits), Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (32/64-bits), Oracle Solaris 10, Red Hat Fedora 11, Red Hat Fedora 12, Red Hat Fedora 14, Mandriva Linux 2009.1, Debian Linux 6.x, Red Hat Fedora 15, Apple MacOS X 10.4 – 10.7, openSUSE 11.4, Mandriva Linux 2008, Mandriva Linux 2009, Mandriva Linux 2010, Ubuntu 11.04, Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 6, Debian Linux 5.0

Environmental Standards

ENERGY STAR Yes

Manufacturer Warranty

Service & Support 1 year warranty Service & Support Details Limited warranty – 1 year

 

Call (619) 325-0990 to order a HP Laser Printer B1260dn today!

Buy of the Week offer valid through December 20th, 2013.

Note: Shipping and taxes apply.

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