Details of iOS and Android Device Encryption

swillden writes: There’s been a lot of discussion of what, exactly, is meant by the Apple announcement about iOS8 device encryption, and the subsequent announcement by Google that Android L will enable encryption by default. Two security researchers tackled these questions in blog posts: Matthew Green tackled iOS encryption, concluding that the change really boils down to applying the existing iOS encryption methods to more data. He also reviews the iOS approach, which uses Apple’s "Secure Enclave" chip as the basis for the encryption and guesses at how it is that Apple can say it’s unable to decrypt the devices. He concludes, with some clarification from a commenter, that Apple really can’t (unless you use a weak password which can be brute-forced, and even then it’s hard). Nikolay Elenkov looks into the preview release of Android "L." He finds that not only has Google turned encryption on by default, but appears to have incorporated hardware-based security as well, to make it impossible (or at least much more difficult) to perform brute force password searches off-device.

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Details of iOS and Android Device Encryption

Google’s Software Removal Tool Removes Crapware, Resets Your Browser

Google's Software Removal Tool Removes Crapware, Resets Your Browser

We’re no strangers to unwanted toolbars and browser-hijacking malware. Neither is Google. The company has released a tool that helps combat the problem by scanning for bad software and (optionally) resetting your browser if it’s misbehaving.

This Software Removal Tool can be thought of as a last resort, nuclear option for fixing Chrome without completely reinstalling Windows. The app runs in two phases. The first scans your computer for any toolbars or other junk that may have been installed that can affect Chrome. The second step—which can be canceled—offers to uninstall your extensions, reset your browser settings, and clear various cache and cookies.

In most cases, you probably won’t need to use this to fix a simple problem. However, if you frequently find yourself fixing a family member’s computer (and they use Chrome), this tool is a handy do-it-all method of clearing out junk and starting fresh. It’s no substitute for proper security software, but it can definitely help fix many problems in one fell swoop.

Google Software Removal Tool | Google via Ghacks


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Google’s Software Removal Tool Removes Crapware, Resets Your Browser

Photographer chases the sun in a plane to shoot 24 sunsets in one day

Photographer chases the sun in a plane to shoot 24 sunsets in one day

Photographer Simon Roberts took to the skies above the North Pole to shoot the sunset in each of the Earth’s 24 time zones over the course of 24 hours. Above you see a composite of 24 of the photographs spliced together.

The whole Chasing Horizons project is really an advertisement for Citizen watches. Head over to their site to see how Roberts and his pilot pulled off the stunt. There you an also explore an interactive version of the composite above. Each of those slices expands to a full size image from the project. (You’ll have to scroll through a bit of narrative to get to the goods, but it’s worth it.)

Photographer chases the sun in a plane to shoot 24 sunsets in one day

They flew over the North Pole because the distance between time zones is very short there and the airplane can actually keep up the linear velocity of Earth—while the angular velocity is the same through Earth, the linear velocity changes. At the Equator you would need to fly at more than 1000mph.


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via Gizmodo
Photographer chases the sun in a plane to shoot 24 sunsets in one day

New Ruger 10/22 Compatible Magazines

ZX-10-Compliant-Factory-Mag-3-380Two different companies have some new magazine options for the Ruger 10/22. The first, ZiPFactory (http://ift.tt/1rG6PGV) announced they are featuring their new ZX-30 Series Magazine (http://ift.tt/1vlIUKB). There are four items that make up the product line: Field Upgrade Kit (http://ift.tt/1rG6Nz0) Full High Capacity magazine (standard 20 round which should be legal in MD) 10 and 15 round […]

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The post New Ruger 10/22 Compatible Magazines appeared first on The Firearm Blog.


via The Firearm Blog
New Ruger 10/22 Compatible Magazines

Generated Columns in MySQL 5.7.5

Generated Columns is a new feature available in the latest lab release. This work is based on a contribution by Andrey Zhakov. Thanks, Andrey! The Optimizer team modified it to follow the current MySQL design, and to lift a number of limitations.
The syntax is:
<type>   [ GENERATED ALWAYS ]   AS   ( <expression> )   [ VIRTUAL|STORED ]
[ UNIQUE [KEY] ]   [ [PRIMARY] KEY ]   [ NOT NULL ]   [ COMMENT <text> ]
There are two kinds of Generated Columns: virtual (default) and stored. Virtual means that the column will be calculated on the fly when a record is read from a table. Stored means that the column will be calculated when a new record is written in the table, and after that it will be treated as a regular field. Both types can have NOT NULL restrictions, but only a stored Generated Column can be be a part of an index.
There are still a few limitations on Generated Columns:
The generation expression used can only call native deterministic functions; stored routines and UDFs are not yet supported.
The length of the generation expressions for a table are subject to the limitations of the .frm file, and thus they can’t be longer than 64K in total. So you can have one field with a generation expression length of 64K, or you can have 30 fields with an average expression length of 2K each.
A Generated Column can’t refer to itself or to other Generated Columns that are later defined, but it can refer to any previously defined Generated Column. This limitation does not apply to regular columns. A Generated Column can refer to any regular one, no matter where it’s defined.
mysql> CREATE TABLE sales ( -> name VARCHAR(20), -> price_eur DOUBLE,
-> amount INT,
-> total_eur DOUBLE AS (price_eur * amount),
-> total_usd DOUBLE AS (total_eur * xrate),
-> xrate DOUBLE);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0,16 sec)
What can Generated Columns can be used for? Many things. To name few:
As a materialized cache for often used expressions:
CREATE TABLE xmltable (
username VARCHAR (20) AS (ExtractValue(doc,’/user/username’)),
doc TEXT);
INSERT INTO xmltable (doc) VALUES
(‘<user>
<id>1</id>
<username>tony</username>
<name>Tony Stark</name>
<info>A cool one</info>
</user>’),
(‘<user>
<id>2</id>
<username>ned</username>
<name>Eddard Stark</name>
<info>A cold one</info>
</user>’),
(‘<user>
<id>3</id>
<username>berty</username>
<name>Albert Stark</name>
<info>A farmer</info>
</user>’);
SELECT ExtractValue(doc,’/user/id’)
FROM xmltable
WHERE   ExtractValue(doc,’/user/username’) = ‘tony’ OR
  ExtractValue(doc,’/user/username’) = ‘ned’ OR
  ExtractValue(doc,’/user/username’) = ‘berty’;
+——————————+
| ExtractValue(doc,’/user/id’) |
+——————————+
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 3 |
+——————————+
SELECT ExtractValue(doc,’/user/id’)
FROM xmltable
WHERE username = ‘tony’ OR username = ‘ned’ OR username = ‘berty’;
+——————————+
| ExtractValue(doc,’/user/id’) |
+——————————+
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 3 |
+——————————+
The result of those two queries is exactly the same, but in the first one ExtractValue(doc,’/user/username’) will be evaluated 3 times per record read, while in the second only once per record read. If the “username” columns would be defined as STORED then the generation expression will be evaluated only when a record is inserted or updated.
Another similar case is that Generated Columns (GC) could be used to add flexibility by replacing often used expressions with a GC. For example, if you have a bunch of applications that work on the same database then it might be practical to have a unified way to access data without need to keep all apps in sync.
Providing indexes for joins with non-relational data:CREATE TABLE users (userid INT, username VARCHAR(16));
CREATE TABLE comments(
userid int AS (ExtractValue(comment,’/comment/userid’)) STORED,
comment TEXT,
KEY(userid));
INSERT INTO users VALUES (1, ‘tony’),(2, ‘ned’), (3, ‘berty’);
INSERT INTO comments (comment) VALUES
("<comment>
<id>1</id>
<userid>1</userid>
<text>I definitely need a new suit</text>
</comment>"),
("<comment>
<id>2</id>
<userid>2</userid>
<text>No sight of global warming yet</text>
</comment>"),
("<comment>
<id>3</id>
<userid>2</userid>
<text>Traffic jams in King’s Landing is truly horrible</text>
</comment>");
SELECT
extractvalue(comment,’/comment/id’) as id, extractvalue(comment,’/comment/text’) as text
FROM users JOIN
comments ON users.userid=comments.userid
WHERE username = ‘ned’;
+——+————————————————–+
| id   | text                                             |
+——+————————————————–+
| 2    | No sight of global warming yet                   |
| 3    | Traffic jams in King’s Landing is truly horrible |
+——+————————————————–+
EXPLAIN SELECT
extractvalue(comment,’/comment/id’) AS id, extractvalue(comment,’/comment/text’) AS text
FROM users JOIN
comments ON users.userid=comments.userid WHERE username = ‘ned’\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
id: 1
select_type: SIMPLE
table: users
partitions: NULL
type: ALL
possible_keys: PRIMARY
key: NULL
key_len: NULL
ref: NULL
rows: 3
filtered: 33.33
Extra: Using where
*************************** 2. row ***************************
id: 1
select_type: SIMPLE
table: comments
partitions: NULL
type: ref
possible_keys: userid
key: userid
key_len: 5
ref: test.users.userid
rows: 2
filtered: 100.00
Extra: NULLHere ref access over an index is used to access a table with XML data.
Working around a limited set of partitioning functions:CREATE TABLE characters (
race VARCHAR(16) AS (ExtractValue(chars,’/character/race’)) STORED,
chars TEXT)
PARTITION BY LIST COLUMNS (race) (
PARTITION hum VALUES IN ("human"), PARTITION hlf VALUES IN ("halfling"), PARTITION elf VALUES IN ("elf"), PARTITION orc VALUES IN ("orc") );
INSERT INTO characters(chars) VALUES
(‘<character>
<name>Elrond</name>
<race>elf</race>
</character>’),
(‘<character>
<name>Bilbo</name>
<race>halfling</race>
</character>’),
(‘<character>
<name>Frodo</name>
<race>halfling</race>
</character>’);
SELECT
ExtractValue(chars,’/character/name’) FROM characters
WHERE race=’halfling’;
+—————————————+
| ExtractValue(chars,’/character/name’) |
+—————————————+
| Bilbo |
| Frodo |
+—————————————+
EXPLAIN SELECT
ExtractValue(chars,’/character/name’) FROM characters
WHERE race=’halfling’\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
id: 1
select_type: SIMPLE
table: characters
partitions: hlf
type: ALL
possible_keys:
NULL key: NULL
key_len: NULL
ref: NULL
rows: 2
filtered: 50.00
Extra: Using whereNote that only one partition is going to be scanned due to partition pruning.
As always, there are more than one way to do things. Generated Columns adds yet another means of solving a variety of interesting challenges. It now also becomes more convenient to deal with derivatives of relational and non-relational data. We look forward to seeing all of the interesting ways that you apply the feature!
via Planet MySQL
Generated Columns in MySQL 5.7.5

Lost Sense of Smell Is a Strong Predictor of Death Within 5 Years

HughPickens.com writes: Mo Costandi reports at The Guardian that a new study shows losing one’s sense of smell strongly predicts death within five years, suggesting that smell may serve as a bellwether for the overall state of the body, or as a marker for exposure to environmental toxins. "Olfactory dysfunction was an independent risk factor for death, stronger than several common causes of death, such as heart failure, lung disease and cancer," the researchers concluded, "indicating that this evolutionarily ancient special sense may signal a key mechanism that affects human longevity." In the study, researchers tested a group of volunteers for their ability to correctly identify various scents. Five years later, they retested as many of the volunteers as they could find. During the five-year gap between the two tests, 430 of the original participants (or 12.5% of the total number) had died. Of these, 39% who had failed the first smell test died before the second test, compared to 19% of those who had moderate smell loss on the first test, and just 10% of those with a healthy sense of smell. Despite taking issues such as age, nutrition, smoking habits, poverty and overall health into account, researchers found those with the poorest sense of smell were still at greatest risk. The tip of the olfactory nerve, which contains the smell receptors, is the only part of the human nervous system that is continuously regenerated by stem cells. The production of new smell cells declines with age, and this is associated with a gradual reduction in our ability to detect and discriminate odors. Loss of smell may indicate that the body is entering a state of disrepair, and is no longer capable of repairing itself.

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Lost Sense of Smell Is a Strong Predictor of Death Within 5 Years

Clean a Grill Grate Without a Brush

Clean a Grill Grate Without a Brush

Your grill has served you well over the long summer, so make sure you treat it right with a good cleaning. If you don’t have a wire brush handy, here’s a quick and natural way to clean your grill grate.

Pull the grate from your grill and place it in a bed of stone or large gravel. Massage it into the stone so it rests with about an inch of stone on top. Commence rubbing of stone across the grate. Flip and repeat.

This technique will not only clean the top of the grill but also the bottom, unlike a typical scrub from a wire brush.

After a quick rinse with soap and water, your grills are ready for use again. Check out the guide at MyFixItUpLife for more details and pictures of the process.

How To Clean Grill Grates | MyFixItUpLife


via Lifehacker
Clean a Grill Grate Without a Brush

This Is How Conan Thinks Texas Doctors Will Respond to Ebola

With the first confirmed case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. at a hospital in Dallas, Texas doctors now have their work cut out. Here’s how Conan reckons they’ll respond.

Of course, there’s no point freaking out about the first case of Ebola in the U.S.. Instead, read about how scientists are working as hard as they can to create a vaccine for the virus. [Team Coco]

via Gizmodo
This Is How Conan Thinks Texas Doctors Will Respond to Ebola