Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

The effectiveness of the CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) security system is still being debated. It’s far from bulletproof, but at the least it provides one more stumbling block to someone or something trying to compromise a website’s security. So D-Link has now added an integrated CAPTCHA system to some of its more popular routers including the DIR-615, DIR-625, DIR-628, DIR-655, DIR-825, DIR-855, DIR-685, and DGL-4500. The company is hoping the added level of security will reduce the number of incidents where routers have been used to compromise a home or small office network.

And if you’re currently using any of the aforementioned D-Link routers you’ll actually be able to download and install a firmware update from support.dlink.com that adds the CAPTCHA security functionality .

[ D-Link ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Are you serious about backing up and protecting your company’s data? I mean really, really serious? Because if you are, you’ll want to take a look at Axxana’s Phoenix System which includes this nearly indestructible Black Box solid-state disk array. It’s designed to sit on-site and in the event of a worst-case-scenario it’s built to withstand earthquake level shocks up to 40 G’s and 5,000 pounds of pressure in case this thing gets buried in rubble.

In terms of fire, it can also endure direct flames with a temperature of 2000 degrees F for an hour, or 450 F for up to 6 hours. It can even survive being submerged up to 30 feet underwater, in the event your corporate HQ goes all Atlantis. And for an added bit of peace of mind the Phoenix Black Box is also equipped with wi-fi and 3G antennas allowing you to remotely retrieve your data should you not have access to the array. As for the cost? Well not surprisingly it’s not listed on the Axxana website, but anyone seriously interested in this type of data protection probably wouldn’t be concerned with the price anyways.

[ Axxana Phoenix System ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Today Fujitsu Laboratories announced a couple of new technologies that should help prevent data stored on a USB flash drive from ending up in the wrong hands. The first is the secure USB memory device prototype pictured above that may have been inspired by a piece of Babybel cheese. It works like your standard USB flash drive, but it’s got a processor and battery on-board that can be used to automatically erase the data after a specified amount of time, or if the flash drive is plugged into an unregistered computer.

The second development is a file redirect technology that can prevent files on a USB flash drive from being saved to another computer, or uploaded to an unapproved server. I’m not exactly sure how that technology is designed to work, since the Fujitsu press release is a little vague on the details, but the goal is to prevent confidential files from being emailed outside the office, or even printed.

[ PR - Fujitsu Develops Secure USB Memory Device Featuring Automatic Data-Erase Function ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

By Evan Ackerman

Remembering and entering passwords in anything is a major hassle, which is why everything should have seamless biometric identification built in. Failing that, KDDI has come up with a gesture based system that at least eliminates annoying number codes. Using an accelerometer, the phone looks for a specific pattern of movements as you bring it up to your ear. These movements depend on things like arm length, muscle structure, and patterns such as holding methods and other habits. According to KDDI, the error rate is only 4%, which is easily good enough for casual use.

As far as I can tell, there’s no reason why something like this couldn’t be implemented into any phone with an accelerometer, even without KDDI’s fancy arm length etc. analysis software. You just have to turn the phone on, and shake shake shake it in a particular way, and it’ll unlock. KDDI eventually plans on taking this technique a little further, allowing you to use specific motions to run programs or unlock your porn folder.

[ Tech-On! ] VIA [ DVICE ]

By Andrew Liszewski

At the International Security Conference in Las Vegas last week, Seoul Commtech, a division of Samsung, showed off the company’s EZON SHS-1210 digital door lock. Instead of using physical buttons for the individual numbers, the SHS-1210 features a touch sensitive display integrated into special black tempered glass. So the numbers are only visible after the user has pressed a control button which activates a backlight. For added security the SHS-1210 is also made from aluminum alloy to enhance its strength, has built-in fire detection and is even able to withstand electric shocks up to 30,000 volts.

[ AVING.net - Seoul Commtech to present its digital door lock ' EZON (SHS-1210)' ] VIA [ Cribcandy ]

By Evan Ackerman

Hey. Hi there. How’re you doing, good? Good. So, when’s the last time you backed up your computer? I only bring this up because last Friday, someone broke into my apartment and stole my laptop. This, to put it mildly, really sucks for me. But luckily, I had backed up most of my data, which downgraded this whole experience from utterly catastrophic to a serious inconvenience. With this in mind, I would like to spend just a little bit of time suggesting ways in which you can prepare yourself for something happening to your computer which, if you’re anything like me, probably has stuff on it that represents a significant chunk of your life and sanity.

Now, I realize that many (if not most) of you probably have never had to deal with serious data loss. Yeah, maybe some file gets misplaced or eaten every once in a while, but that’s about it. I won’t belabor the multitude of ways in which totally unexpected and really bad stuff can happen to your computer, but you should just spend a minute thinking about what exactly is stored on your hard drive and what the implications would be if you were to come home one day and find that it had just disappeared. Never mind the actual physical computer, that’s replaceable. But think about your music. Your documents. Your email. Your pictures. A lot of that stuff is just not recoverable, and some of it (pictures especially) are priceless. I’m not saying you should be super paranoid all the time, but I am saying that you should recognize what some of the data on your computer is worth, and treat it accordingly. Some suggestions, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

By Evan Ackerman

Every night, farmer Bob tried to chase down those stupid little gray aliens with the big black eyes who were stealing his cows. And every day, farmer Bob’s friends would call him crazy. Until, that is, they saw the footage from his video recording flashlight with infrared LEDs. Knowing that aliens have deceptively poor eyesight, farmer Bob was able to sneak up to within 13 feet of them and use the 17 infrared LEDs on the flashlight to covertly illuminate the scene. Then, the integrated video camera captured the cownapping shenanigans in 640×480 video at 30 fps onto the 128 mb of internal memory, supplemented by a microSD card slot. Of course, it was easy for farmer Bob to find his way home later when he turned on the bright 3 watt white LED, and he could always look at the flashlight’s LCD screen to check on how much power was left in the 3 C batteries as well as the status of his recordings. All in all, farmer Bob was proud of his $399.95 investment, and it served him well, until one night, farmer Bob never came back.

So, let this be a lesson to you: if you go out stalking cow stealing aliens with a $400 infrared video recording flashlight, and your friends call you crazy, listen to them, ’cause man, you’re crazy.

[ Hammacher ] VIA [ Gizmowatch ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Let’s face it, even after you’ve signed your life away with a 2 or 3-year contract, many high-end cellphones still aren’t cheap. So it only makes sense that you’d want to protect your investment. The nio from Tenbu Technologies is a bluetooth-equipped keychain-sized device that includes an alarm and a flashing LED. It connects to your cellphone (over bluetooth of course) and allows you to establish a “security zone” of up to 20 meters. When the distance between the nio and your phone is greater than the preset range, it assumes the phone has been nabbed or forgotten, and sounds the alarm.

The nio also appears to be highly configurable thanks to a mini-USB port and included software, even to the point of setting up specific times and dates when the alarm is activated. At around $57 it’s not outrageously expensive either, though according to their compatibility list, the nio isn’t iPhone friendly.

[ Tenbu nio ] VIA [ PMP Today ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Don’t tase me bro. I know that almost everyone has heard that phrase. Well unfortunately (for those on the business end of a Taser) it’ll be even easier in the future for law enforcement officials to take you down, because they’ll be standing a comfortable 88 feet away. The new X12 Taser LLS (Less Lethal Shotgun) has just been launched, and it’s not something I’d want pointed at me.

After a bit of digging it looks like this gun and the XREP rounds used with it were announced early last year, though it has only just now finally been launched. This thing looks brutal, as it is essentially a 12-gauge shotgun that fires a wicked projectile up to roughly 88 feet. One good note for those that find themselves on the wrong end of the law is that the wireless rounds will cause paralysis without pain by using electrical impulses. Painless or not, one look at this thing should be enough to make anyone think twice about what they’re doing.

[ Press Release ] [ Taser XREP ] VIA [ Gizmodo ]