Facebook New Security Features - Onetime Passwords and Remote Logout

Social networking site Facebook recently introduced two new features that according to Facebook will add more security to users - one time passwords and remote logout. Let us first examine what these two features are:

OneTime Passwords

The one time password is intended primarily for those who login the Facebook from computers at public places, such as Internet cafes. Any user just needs to send an SMS to a short number, and he/she will immediately receive a one-time password, which will be valid for 20 minutes. As of now the service will be available in US only.

According to the Facebook blog: "Simply text "otp" to 32665 on your mobile phone (U.S. only), and you'll immediately receive a password that can be used only once and expires in 20 minutes. In order to access this feature, you'll need a mobile phone number in your account. We're rolling this out gradually, and it should be available to everyone in the coming weeks."

Remote Logout

As the title suggests, the feature allows users to sign out of Facebook remotely and is now available to everyone. These session controls can be useful if you log into Facebook from a friend's phone or computer and then forget to sign out. So now that we know what the two new features is all about, will it now be safer to use Facebook? The answer is maybe yes, maybe no. The safety of using Facebook really depends on the user. Technology can only offer a certain level of security, but how a Facebook user uses his/her account is key. Let's site some examples:

1. If a user opens his/her account on a public PC like internet cafe for example. Now why would you open your Facebook account when you don't even know if the cafe's PC is secure or not? What is that PC contains a malware or a keylogger?
2. Opening your Facebook account on a free wifi. Free wifi in malls and restaurants are great, it allows people to surf the web for free, provided of course if you have your own PC with you. But free wifi is not secure. Have you noticed the agreement notice of free wifi services? That it is not secure and you have to use their services at your own risk.

Despite the given dangers, users still open their emails and Facebook accounts for some reasons I don't know. Is it really a matter of life and death that you need to open your accounts in unsecure connections? That is why I am saying the effectivity of these two new features will highly depend on how users uses their accounts. It's a cool feature to have a one time password or a remote logout function but do I really them if I am a responsible user? Just asking.

Steiner 7x50 Commander XP Binoculars

The most important innovation in the Commander XP are the XP Optics; a new high definition, broad band optical formula that features record setting light transmission for times in the dark and clear, sharp, high contrast and comfortable images in daylight.

In addition to the XP Optics, is a new high-tech optical coating on both the objective and eyepieces called "NANO Protection". This new coating repels water and moisture off the lenses leaving them clear of water or moisture. Like windshield wipers for your binoculars, you won't ever have to wipe them clean of moisture. The secret lies in a unique permanent molecular bonding substance that makes the lenses so smooth, that absolutely nothing adheres to them. Each Commander XP is hand-built to be mil spec waterproof and shock resistant.

Cybertecture Egg

Cybertecture Egg integrates technology, multimedia, intelligent systems and user interactivity to create customizable living and working spaces that focus on experience. The Cybertecture Egg takes this principle working theme a step further with ‘cybertecture health’ – interactive features that monitor occupant’s vital health statistics, like blood pressure and weight. In keeping with the focus on health and wellness, users can customize their views with real time virtual scenery.

The oblong office building incorporates passive solar design to decrease heat gain and lower energy loads. An elevated garden also moderates temperate by using natural vegetation to assist with cooling the building envelope. The Cybertecture Egg will use solar photovoltaic panels and rooftop wind turbines to generate onsite electricity. Water conservation will be managed with a greywater recycling system that will harvest water for irrigation and landscaping.

The building is due for completion by the end of 2010.

Proof-of-Concept CarShark Software Hacks Car Computers, Shutting Down Brakes, Engines, and More

Using homemade software and a standard computer port, a team of scientists has figured out exactly how easy it is to hack into a modern car -- scary news for motorists already wary of faulty brake and accelerator systems.

The research team wrote code that allows them to turn off the brakes in a moving car, change the speedometer reading, blast hot air or music on the radio, and lock passengers inside the car, PCWorld reports.

The team, led by Stefan Savage, an associate professor with the University of California-San Diego, and Tadayoshi Kohno of the University of Washington, will report on their findings in
a paper to be presented at a security conference next week.

While hacking modern-day autos is nothing new, the team's work is meant to encourage the auto industry to highlight security as it develops new computer systems. As the researchers note, many computer systems were designed to increase security -- think anti-lock brakes.
"It is not clear whether vehicle manufacturers have anticipated in their designs the
possibility of an adversary," the paper says.

The team didn't identify which cars they used, not wanting to single out a particular automaker. But all cars share the apparent Achilles heel: the Controller Area Network (CAN) system, required as a diagnostic tool on all US cars built since 2008. The team wrote software called CarShark that listened to CAN traffic, and then added their own network packets.

They used a shotgun approach, called "fuzzing," in which they sent a large number of random info packets to see what happened. The results were sometimes surprising -- brakes that didn't work, no matter how hard the driver smashed the pedal; popped trunks and engine hoods; and others.

Some attacks were deceptively simple. One attack called "self-destruct" required less than 200 lines of code to start a 60-second countdown on the dashboard, accompanied by a clicking noise. The horn honks in the final seconds, and as the clock strikes zero, the car's engine shuts off and the doors are locked. Most of that code was devoted to keeping time, PCWorld notes.

Still, the researchers say hacks like these aren't easy. A would-be criminal would have to have some serious computer skills, not to mention access to the car's physical computer in order to launch the attacks. So motorists shouldn't be worried.

Disabling Autorun CD

In windows XP you can enjoy a good feature to run CD or DVD automatically when you loaded it into you CD drives on your computer. This is a defaults feature in windows XP but you can disable and enable it according to your nature of work. In user interface mode there is no option to disable or enable this feature, you must edit the registry of windows and be careful to work registry. Click Start button then type regedit in Run option then press Enter for next. Here locate the location to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom Here you can disable or enable automatically running your CD. Change the value of Autorun to 0 for disable and change the value to 1 for enable. At the end restart your computer for this change.