tingilinde

ransomware

When someone encrypts all of the files on your PC and demands ransom for a decryption key..

snip

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CryptoWall 2.0 is the latest immunoresistant strain of a larger body of viruses known as ransomware. The virus is thought to infiltrate your computer when you click on a legitimate-looking attachment or through existing malware lurking on your hard drive, and once unleashed it instantly encrypts all your files, barring access to a single photo or tax receipt.

Everyone has the same questions when they first hear about CryptoWall:

Is there any other way to get rid of it besides paying the ransom? No — it appears to be technologically impossible for anyone to decrypt your files once CryptoWall 2.0 has locked them. (My mother had several I.T. professionals try.)

...

what fun

hat tip to Bjarne

virtual chemistry set for kids

The Chemical Heritage Fondation has a virtual chemistry set for kids - free and much more capable than current "safe" physical chemistry sets, but virtual probably doesn't excite or inspire the few who get hooked. Probably worth playing with and some kids may have fun.

 

 

unexpectedly useful - a hidden macpaint program

Preview is Apple's OS X basic image rendering program.  Other than being able to resize, reorient and export to other formats it doesn't do much - at least I thought.  It turns out it has a variation of MacPaint built-in so you can easily annotate images without having to go to something more serious.  Limited, but sometimes a very simple tool is all you need.

a tip of the hat to Josh

 

 

wat - destroy all software talk

For people with a programming background this is very funny - others will find it bizarre.

 

a tip of the hat to Bjarne who notes a clever person could probalby do something like this with any language

 

john siracusa on yosemite

For every version of OS X John Siracusa writes an extensive review.  He's a stickler for detail and spends months on the pieces with the aim of publishing in Ars on or near release day.

For those of you who have a Mac here is John's 10.10 Yosemite piece.

 

A wonderful little video showing the a collaboration of the arts and tech.  No computer animation is used - just drones building on the expertise in distributed autonomous drones from ETH Zurich, choreography from Cirque du Soleil, and Verity Studios.

a background video

It should be noted that Disney has applied for patents in the area.

 

 

a tad obsessive

Stephan Wolfram - of Mathematica, or perhaps Stephan Wolfram fame - shows off some new features of the Wolfram language by looking at beer.  Fun even if you have no interest in the subject matter.

 

the latest innovations in work

 Innovations in serfdom and channeling money to a new class of techno-middlemen.  (via The New York Times)

tip of the hat to Bjarne who notes 'When will people call it "the proletarization of the middle class"?'

 

media hype

On the Turing test success ... (via NewScientist)

 

apps for the color blind

Apps to simulate color blindness and, more importantly, to aid those who are color blind.

(hat tip to Sam)