Weird well-times photos that make you go, Huh? - Part 2

Here’s a collection of well-timed photos that give the perception of, well, check for yourself below. I can’t vouch for the legitimacy of some of the photos so feel free to share your opinion in the article comments (which I will, of course, promptly delete if I disagree).

Weird well-times photos that make you go, Huh? - Part 2

US-CERT releases details on SMB worm tool likely used in Sony attack- complete breakdown

US-CERT released alert TA14-353A today detailing a “SMB Worm Tool” recently used by cyber threat actors against a “major entertainment company”. Given the timing of the US formal accusations against North Korea, this certainly hints that the malware toolset being referenced is the one used by the Guardians of Peace (GOP) in the recent Sony Entertainment Pictures attack and data breach. Given my initial review of the malware’s characteristics – now I’m a little more impressed.

US-CERT releases details on SMB worm tool likely used in Sony attack- complete breakdown

Anonymous fights fire with fire - threatens attacks against Sony (and others?) if The Interview is not released

In an odd but not totally unexpected twist to the story, a hacking group claiming to represent Anonymous had threatened Sony with the same type of bitch slap they got from [cough] North Korea’s GOP if the movie The Interview is not released as planned.

Anonymous fights fire with fire - threatens attacks against Sony (and others?) if The Interview is not released

FBI releases official update on Sony Investigation - officially confirms North Korea involvement

The following just went across the wire – released by the FBI.
Today, the FBI would like to provide an update on the status of our investigation into the cyber attack targeting Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). In late November, SPE confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber attack that d...
FBI releases official update on Sony Investigation - officially confirms North Korea involvement

Don't forget the jailed Hacktivists and Whistleblowers this Holiday season!

Political Prisons always need support, but can you imagine spending the holidays in prison? Please, Help us support our jailed Activists, Hacktivists, and Whistle-blowers by brightening up the holidays through writing letters and getting them the things they need at this time.
How Can I...
Don't forget the jailed Hacktivists and Whistleblowers this Holiday season!

Sony's decision to halt release of The Interview may be the only smart move they've made so far

In the wake of Sony’s embarrassing system breach and data leak, their delay of the upcoming movie, The Interview, may not be the cowering, knee-jerk reaction it appears to be. Assuming the attack against their corporate data systems came from the North Koreans, Sony’s play just might be brilliant.

Sony's decision to halt release of The Interview may be the only smart move they've made so far

More hot (but very cool) cosplay action from San Diego ComicCon 2014

The San Diego Comic-Con is legendary – as is the cosplay action that top cosplayers from around the country bring to the event each year. 2014 was no exception with hundreds of cosplayers attending the July 24-24, 2014 show. Here’s more cosplay action from ComicCon 2014.

More hot (but very cool) cosplay action from San Diego ComicCon 2014

Guardians of Peace (GOP) release Sony CEO Outlook data file with threat to movie goers

A Pastebin dump attributed to Guardians of Peace (GOP) was released a few hours ago followed by the purported screenplay for the upcoming movie The Interview. In the dump, the GOP continued to harp on their Christmas Day threat while including an invite to the public for special “requests”. The dump included another little surprise too – a threat to anyone who attends The Interview movie.

Guardians of Peace (GOP) release Sony CEO Outlook data file with threat to movie goers

Guardians of Peace (GOP) release Sony CEO Outlook data file with threat to movie goers

A Pastebin dump attributed to Guardians of Peace (GOP) was released a few hours ago followed by the purported screenplay for the upcoming movie The Interview. In the dump, the GOP continued to harp on their Christmas Day threat while including an invite to the public for special “requests”. The dump included another little surprise too – a threat to anyone who attends The Interview movie.

Guardians of Peace (GOP) release Sony CEO Outlook data file with threat to movie goers

Interesting list of Chinese filtered words, banned domains, and potential username/passwords

That China filters their Internet traffic is no secret – their societal system (many believe) requires that information be filtered. What is more interesting, are the *words* that are filtered. Several research groups have studied China’s walled-off Internet infrastructure (via search engine results, reverse engineered software and hardware products, leaked router or firewall settings, etc.) and compiled lists of words and phrases that are banned or filtered inside China. Here is a large sample of their findings.

Interesting list of Chinese filtered words, banned domains, and potential username/passwords

Put perverted seals with cute little penguins and you get - Oh, the horror...

The Polar Biology journal captured an unusual incident involving seals and penguins on an unnamed remote island in the sub-Antarctic. Yes, the animals were caught having sex with each other – and it’s not the first time sexual predatory seals have been caught having their way with the cute little penguins.

Put perverted seals with cute little penguins and you get - Oh, the horror...

After loss of pre-release movies and confidential data - Sony goes on the offensive with DoS attacks

fter the data breach and loss of pre-release films and confidential data in late November, Sony takes an offensive stance – and I like what I’m seeing. According to reports, Sony is using a deluge of Amazon cloud servers in Tokyo and Singapore to conduct DoS attacks against torrent seeds and websites hosting their stolen data.

After loss of pre-release movies and confidential data - Sony goes on the offensive with DoS attacks

Ultra cool Christmas Tree with no tree!

Although it might not be so easy to decorate, we gotta give this tree two thumbs-up for creativity.

Ultra cool Christmas Tree with no tree!

NFL freak of nature (Odell Beckham) makes greatest catch in NFL history

With his gargantuan 10-inch hands, Giants rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made this touchdown catch on November 23, 2014 in a game against the Dallas Cowboys. Many sportscasters, including Sports Illustrated’ s Peter King, are calling it the “greatest catch ever”. On a long bomb by Eli Manning, Beckham was racing down the sideline when he leaped up and stretched backwards to snag the ball out of the airwith three fingers as he fell into the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown.

NFL freak of nature (Odell Beckham) makes greatest catch in NFL history

Logan Paul jumps over car and lives to tell the tale

Logan Paul posted this Vine video that further demonstrates his unique ability to tell an interesting tale in six seconds or less (i.e. If you can dodge a ball, you can dodge a car) . In the video below, Paul dodges a car, jumps another car that passes under him, then does a dive to the road surface to allow a speeding pickup truck to pass over him. Hats off to Logan – real or fake – we don’t care. Great video that makes our hearts jump!

Logan Paul jumps over car and lives to tell the tale

Hottest (and coolest) San Diego ComicCon 2014 cosplay action

The San Diego Comic-Con is legendary – as is the cosplay action that top cosplayers from around the country bring to the event each year. 2014 was no exception with hundreds of cosplayers attending the July 24-24, 2014 show. Check out the hottest cosplay action in this sexy pictorial.

Hottest (and coolest) San Diego ComicCon 2014 cosplay action

Oldest known photograph of a human being dates back to 1838

The black and white photograph depicting an early 19th century scene was taken by Louis Daguerre in 1838 on the streets of Paris, France. With a seven minute exposure time, two stationary humans were captured on camera, making it the oldest known photograph containing actual images of people. Oddly, there were likely many other people (and horses, carriages, etc.) in the photograph but they were moving too quickly to register on the plate.

Oldest known photograph of a human being dates back to 1838

Silk Road 2.0 bites the dust - Blake Benthall (aka Defcon) arrested and charged

A year after the infamous Deep Web site, Silk Road, was shuttered by federal law enforcement, Silk Road 2.0 (a nearly identical dark web site which opened a month after Silk Road shut down) has suffered the same fate. Officials announced yesterday that they have arrested Blake Benthall (aka Defcon) in connection with the ownership and operation of Silk Road 2.0.

Silk Road 2.0 bites the dust - Blake Benthall (aka Defcon) arrested and charged

Music artists' (e.g. Taylor Swift) power moves over streaming services leaves consumers in uncomfortable three-way

I can’t think of a more uncomfortable three-way than the contradictory relationship between music artists, streaming services, and the music listeners who pay everyone’s bills. Between streaming services trying in vain to keep costs down, listeners trembling at the thought of increasing prices, and the music industry’s million-dollar music artists dreaming that the value their work justifies multi-million dollar payouts per music project, it’s no wonder torrent downloads are starting to shoot through the roof again.

Music artists' (e.g. Taylor Swift) power moves over streaming services leaves consumers in uncomfortable three-way

Rough start for Apple Pay alternative - CurrentC mobile payment data systems hacked today

MCX’s CurrentC payment system, the alternative to Apple Pay backed by Walmart, Best Buy, CVS, Rite Aid, Gap, and others, was hacked today. Reports indicate the data breach involves the theft of email addresses of early beta participants and others who expressed interest in testing the new mobile payment system. No word yet on how the email addresses were stolen but you have to assume it was a backend-database penetration. If the culprits don’t already have the unencrypted login information, they soon will as soon as their phishing campaign begins targeting these users.

Rough start for Apple Pay alternative - CurrentC mobile payment data systems hacked today

List of comic book characters (superheroes and villains) and their real names and true identities

Practically every comic book character has an alternate identity. Many have more than one. Here’s a list of well-known comic book characters, both superheroes and villains, and their real-life identities.

List of comic book characters (superheroes and villains) and their real names and true identities

New Jersey school teachers snaps most terrifying great white shark photo ever!

National Geographic reported this unbelievably terrifying photo of a Great White Shark lunging for bait dangling from shark cage. The photo was taken by 26-year-old Amanda Brewer who acts as a courageous cage diver by night and a, wait for it… New Jersey school teacher by day! She took the photo of the female great white shark off Seal Island in Mossel Bay, South Africa.

New Jersey school teachers snaps most terrifying great white shark photo ever!

JPMorgan Chase security breach not what you think - military attack against key financial institutions turns over keys to the kingdom

Although I’m disappointed that JPMorgan Chase delayed the disclosure of the breach that touched more than 83 million U.S. households (they knew about it at least four months ago), I’m even more upset at what they disclosed – that key customer financial data was not stolen. JPMorgan may tout the expertise of their security team who bravely stopped the attack before the hackers could get their mitts on customer accounts and passwords, I see a pretty good indication that this was *not* what the attackers were after. At this point, there’s a pretty good clue that the attack was a government or military-sponsored endeavor, likely originating from Russia.

JPMorgan Chase security breach not what you think - military attack against key financial institutions turns over keys to the kingdom

Rare cross-platform malware targets iOS and Android devices of Hong Kong protestors

An Israeli security firm has discovered evidence of a cross-platform (iOS and Android) malware attack targeting the Operation Central (Umbrella Revolution) protestors in Hong Kong. The spyware, Xsser mRAT (or Xsser.0day), exposes information on the devices such as SMS and email messages, instant messages (e.g. Tencent Archive), GPS location data, phone call logs, contact information, and of course, usernames and passwords.

Rare cross-platform malware targets iOS and Android devices of Hong Kong protestors

Spike DDoS toolkit details - frightening new DDoS botnet could potentially utilize Linux, Windows, and ARM IoT devices

Security researchers have discovered an unusual, and frightening, new toolkit capable of infecting not only Windows and Linux computers, but also routers and IoTs. Dubbed Spike, it has demonstrated DDoS attacks as high as 215 gigabit/second against targets in Asia and the United States. Spike toolkit interfaces discovered by Akamai used Mandarin and thus, it is believed the kit originates out of China.

Spike DDoS toolkit details - frightening new DDoS botnet could potentially utilize Linux, Windows, and ARM IoT devices

Shellshock vulnerability - critical security vulnerability discovered in Bash (Bourne-Again Shell)

If your Linux/Unix (or Apple Mac OS X) applications are running with root permissions and call on the shell, this vulnerability (called “Bash Bug” or “$hellshock”) is huge as it allows an attacker to remotely execute shell commands by attaching malicious code into environment variables used by the OS. The flaw is present in GNU Bash versions 1.14 through 4.3 (yup, this bug’s been around for 22 years now). Basically the flaw allows the attacker to create environment variables that contain trailing code – and the code gets executed as soon as the bash shell is invoked. And yes, it’s exploitable over the network.

Shellshock vulnerability - critical security vulnerability discovered in Bash (Bourne-Again Shell)

Will Samsung Galaxy Note 4/Gear VR become bigger than the Internet?

The new Galaxy Note 4 is a nice upgrade from your Galaxy Note 3. The new sensors (heart rate sensor, fingerprint scanner, UV sensor) are cool and might prompt some interesting new apps. The CPU is a tad bit faster and the 16MB camera is a step up from the Note 3. But what really shines on the Note 4 is the new retina-searing 2,560 x 1,600 Super AMOLED screen (515 PPI) combined with the Adreno 420 GPU which should enable high-end 3D games at super HD resolutions without dropping too many effects. And these eyeball-popping graphic hardware upgrades are what will allow the Gear VR to drop people to their knees.

Will Samsung Galaxy Note 4/Gear VR become bigger than the Internet?

Online anonymity be damned - if you're using Tor/VPN to protect your anonymity, it's time to up your game

If a recent DOJ proposal to amend Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure passes, granting the FBI the legal right to crack your Tor or VPN connection, you might have to be even more cautious – to the point of keeping up with file checksum/hashes to determine if you’ve been compromised, routinely wiping your machine, or running your OS off of a read-only medium.

Online anonymity be damned - if you're using Tor/VPN to protect your anonymity, it's time to up your game

Does anyone remember Barrett Brown?

I’ve written about Mr. Brown several times before. Barrett Brown is the guy that the government tagged as the “voice of Anonymous”, the young man that suffered a tragedy of injustice from charges that most feel were laughable at best and fragrantly unjust and illegal at worst. Lest we forget (and history repeat itself), let’s review the saga.

Does anyone remember Barrett Brown?

Ten more cool street art murals that provide a unique take on their surroundings

Check out ten more cool street art murals that create an interesting, and unique, take on their environment. The art featured here use various methods – stencil graffiti, wheatpasted poster art or sticker art – to add a bit of flare to their otherwise mundane surroundings.

Ten more cool street art murals that provide a unique take on their surroundings

Hot cosplay action from San Diego Comic-Con 2014 - Part 2

Check out more hot cosplay action from this year’s Comic-Con 2014 in San Diego.

Hot cosplay action from San Diego Comic-Con 2014 - Part 2

Cool food - part 2

Although we cannot confirm that their presentation make them taste any better, here is part 2 of cool art made out of food.

Cool food - part 2

How to secure your Internet connection using a secure VPN through a secure VPN

If you are suspicious of Tor, tired of the laggy connection, or simply want a more stable means to ensure your connection is encrypted and secure, you can easily create a VPN connection through a VPN connection which ensures anonymity and hard-core encryption of your network stream (with kill switches to protect your identity if the VPN connection is dropped).

How to secure your Internet connection using a secure VPN through a secure VPN

Hot cosplay action from San Diego Comic-Con 2014 - Part 1

Every year it gets better and better. Check out the best hot cosplay from San Diego Comic-Con 2014.

Hot cosplay action from San Diego Comic-Con 2014 - Part 1

FBI testimony reveals how they determined Ross ulbricht was owner of Silk Road

As Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts) heads to trial, prosecutor case filings reveal how the FBI determined Silk Road’s server location – and according to prosecutors, they didn’t have to break tor to find it. According to the FBI, Silk Road’s login page leaked the servers IP address through a misconfigured anti-abuse CAPTCHA control.

FBI testimony reveals how they determined Ross ulbricht was owner of Silk Road

Cool food art - part 1

Although we cannot confirm that their presentation make them taste any better, check out the cool art made out of food.

Cool food art - part 1

Interesting facts about Edward Snowden show he was eccentric and a genius among geniuses

Forbes magazine did an investigation piece on Edward Snowden in late 2013. During their investigation, which included interviews with several of Snowden’s fellow coworkers, they discovered a few interesting facts that show Snowden was not only a bit eccentric, but indeed a “genius among geniuses”.

Interesting facts about Edward Snowden show he was eccentric and a genius among geniuses

Ten cool street art murals that provide a unique take on their surroundings

Check out ten cool street art murals to create a new interesting, and unique, take on their surroundings.

Ten cool street art murals that provide a unique take on their surroundings

Indiana Jones cosplay

The Indiana Jones saga began in 1981 with the release of the film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. A prequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, followed in 1984 and the sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. Soon thereafter, Marvel Comics picked up the franchise and began publication of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones in 1983 and Dark Horse Comics jumped in on the action in 1991 when it earned comic book right to the character. Check out the smoking hot Indiana Jones cosplay pictorial below.

Indiana Jones cosplay

Cosplayer Bianca Beauchamp as DC Comic's sexy Harley Quinn

Dr. Harleen Quinzel, also known as Harley Quinn, first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Joker’s Favor” (episode #08, Sept. 11, 1992) where she served as a humorous female sidekick to the Joker. In her first appearances she was depicted as a character completely devoted to the Joker, totally oblivious to his psychotic nature and his obvious lack of affection for her – a characterization that has remained more or less consistent throughout her subsequent appearances. Her name is a play on the word ‘harlequin’.

Cosplayer Bianca Beauchamp as DC Comic's sexy Harley Quinn

AlienQueen cosplay as Emma Frost

AlienQueen is a cosplayer based in the UK who has been cosplaying, modelling and dressmaking since 2010. She makes nearly all of her costumes from scratch. As AlienQueen tells us: “I’m always being inspired by games, comics and films, a lot of the cosplays I choose are different and unusual, I like to stand out from the crowd – I love a challenging designs to make.”

AlienQueen cosplay as Emma Frost

Hannuki as Aphrodite IX cosplay

Hannuki hails from Russia and has done more than a few wonderful cosplay pictorials. Here’s Hannuki as the super-sexy Aphrodite IX from Image Comics.

Hannuki as Aphrodite IX cosplay

No, no "Eugene" did NOT pass the Turing test

I hate to steal anyone’s thunder but I’m afraid Eugene did not pass the “Turing test”, the test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior. Media outlets are reporting that “Eugene”, an AI created by a team based in Russia, has passed a Turing test organized by the University of Reading, by duping one in three judges. What they are not mentioning however, is that Eugene cheated…

No, no "Eugene" did NOT pass the Turing test

Winds of change - Britain toughens up hacking laws - life sentences for some cybercrimes

The UK government has said it wants to hand out life sentences to anyone found guilty of a cyberattack that results in loss of life, serious illness, serious injury, or serious damage to national security (or a “significant risk thereof”. The plan, which frighteningly, is broadly written, is proposed as an update to Britain’s Computer Misuse Act 1990 and would also hand out harsher sentences to any hacker carrying out industrial (commercial) espionage. Even minor hacking crimes can result in sentences up to 14 years.

Winds of change - Britain toughens up hacking laws - life sentences for some cybercrimes

It all depends on your perspective - part 2

It all depends on your perspective – part 2

It all depends on your perspective - part 2

Amazing cosplay - Nidalee Leopard Skin from League of Legends

Calssara looks amazing as Nidalee “Leopard Skin” from League of Legends in a cosplay photoshoot shot by Midgard Photography. Check out more of Calssara’s Cosplay on her Facebook page.

Amazing cosplay - Nidalee Leopard Skin from League of Legends

It all depends on your perspective - part 1

It all depends on your perspective – part 1

It all depends on your perspective - part 1

Whale surfaces for food nearly swallowing a diver who is filming annual sardine run (video)

This video was shot off the coast of South Africa during the annual sardine run. The diver/photographer saw the whale coming up for the bait ball and figured he was a goner

Whale surfaces for food nearly swallowing a diver who is filming annual sardine run (video)

Joslyn Paige - former homeless man entertains public as a Human Transformer

His name is Joslyn Paige, aka the “Human Transformer” and he deserves the Nobel Prize for fun. Watch this talented 28-year-old performer from New Orleans morph out of the shape of a vehicle (looks like a yellow Cadillac Escalade) into a real-life Transformer while the crowd (especially the kids) whoop and holler their approval.

Joslyn Paige - former homeless man entertains public as a Human Transformer

Wow - Hyperrealism art by Sheryl Luxemburg looks too real to be true

Notice anything “off” about the picture above, like maybe it’s not a photograph but rather a hyper-realistic painting by Ottawa, Ontario artist Sheryl Luxemburg. Although her paintings look almost too real to be true, her technique is “classical” in nature.

Wow - Hyperrealism art by Sheryl Luxemburg looks too real to be true

Google AdSense employee launches accusations claiming Google purposely rips off website publishers

As all website operators know, Google can be a bit iron-handed (and vague) when it comes to AdSense ad policies. Website’s must follow strict guidelines on content, placement of ads, and adhere to agreements prohibiting them from running certain competing ads on their sites. And if something goes wrong or Google perceives the website owner has broken the rules, AdSense accounts are shut down – permanently. There is no resolution for the “kiss of death” either. Yesterday a self-proclaimed disgruntled AdSense employee released a bombshell, claiming that Google purposely rips off its AdSense clients through program policies designed to shutdown accounts with opportune timing (for Google). Google swiftly denied the claims.

Google AdSense employee launches accusations claiming Google purposely rips off website publishers

Billie Piper (Rose from Doctor Who) pictorial

Bille Piper is a British singer and actor. We know her as Rose Tyler, the companion of The Doctor in Doctor Who, but she first gained notoriety at the age of fifteen when she released her debut music single “Because We Want To” which shot to the number one position on the UK charts. In 2007, Broadcast magazine listed Billie Piper at no. 6 in its “Hot 100″ list of influential on-screen performers.

Billie Piper (Rose from Doctor Who) pictorial

Insanity on the streets of Ethiopia - video shows bizarre traffic in Addis Ababa

For a foreigner to drive in Ethiopia, you need to get a temporary Ethiopian license, get your own license authenticated by your country’s embassy in Ethiopia, complete a certificate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and provide two photos. As it turns out, this is not to ensure some crazy foreigner doesn’t kill innocent Ethiopian drivers but rather – to protect the foreign driver from the insanity that occurs on Ethiopian roadways!

Insanity on the streets of Ethiopia - video shows bizarre traffic in Addis Ababa

Reddit's r/technology downgraded after bizarre censorship practices discovered

The popular geek subreddit r/technology has been caught censoring posts in what forum moderators are calling “a disaster” for the board. Reddit today removed the “default subreddit” status from r/technology meaning it has lost its “preferred” standing, a status only afforded to two dozen Reddit communities. The move was made after Reddit admins found r/technology was secretly deleting posts if they contained certain words. What types of words? Here’s the known list – and it’s suspected that there are many, many more.

Reddit's r/technology downgraded after bizarre censorship practices discovered

Uh, Hello... What were these advertisers thinking?!?!

Advertisers are paid to be creative, apparently with or without a conscience. Check out the ads below for which we pose the questions, “WTF were these advertisers thinking?!?”

Uh, Hello... What were these advertisers thinking?!?!

North Korean embassy officials request London salon owner remove sign making fun of Kim Jong's hair

NBC news reports the manager of a London hair salon was visited by unhappy North Korean embassy officials after using a picture of their fearless leader as an advertisement promoting a cure for “bad hair days”. Salon manager Mo Nabbach, who runs the M&M Hair Academy, said the salon is just a few miles from the North Korean embassy (which is oddly enough, a detached house on a residential street).

North Korean embassy officials request London salon owner remove sign making fun of Kim Jong's hair

The Jetsons future has arrived - your home responds to commands with new Amazon/Vox technology

We just took a giant step closer to Jetsons-like futuristic living. With Amazon and Vox’s newly announced partnership partnership, if you run out of toothpaste, you simply stand in your bathroom, say “Vox, send me toothpaste”, and Amazon will make sure it’s on its way to your doorstep.

The Jetsons future has arrived - your home responds to commands with new Amazon/Vox technology

Heartbleed OpenSSL (SSL/TLS) vulnerability - analysis of a mind-blowingly simple bug

The OpenSSL encryption flaw, known as the Heartbleed bug, is being called one of the biggest security flaws ever seen on the Internet. One security analyst called it “catastrophic” and said that on a scale of 1 to 10, the vulnerability was an 11. The newly discovered vulnerability isn’t “big news” because of its complexity, but for the fact that the amazingly simple bug existed for two years before anyone noticed allowing millions of servers to remain vulnerable and open to hacker attacks.

Heartbleed OpenSSL (SSL/TLS) vulnerability - analysis of a mind-blowingly simple bug

Eva LaDare (Karen Dyer) Resident Evil 5 Cosplay pictorial

Eva LaDare (who goes by the stage name Karen Dyer) provided voice work and motion capture for Sheva Alomar, agent for the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance in Resident Evil 5. She became an instant hit with fans after releasing a “fan calendar” featuring her cosplay action as Sheva. Unfortunately, the calendar has become very difficult to find.

Eva LaDare (Karen Dyer) Resident Evil 5 Cosplay pictorial

Shocking video - alligator vs. electric eel. Guess who wins?

The electric eel, native to the fresh waters of the Amazon and Orinoco River basins in South America, is capable of generating up to 600 volts which it uses for hunting and, you guessed it, self-defense. They grow to a lengthy 7 foot and can weigh as much as 45 lbs. which means they could provide a substantial meal for a hungry alligator. But can an electric eel generate enough voltage to fend off a 7-foot hungry alligator? Check out the shocking video below (sorry, couldn’t pass up the obvious pun).

Shocking video - alligator vs. electric eel. Guess who wins?

Real-time global security attacks shown while they happen

Kaspersky Labs recently launched this beautiful interactive global map that shows online threats around the world as they happen. Data used to drive the map comes from Kaspersky’s malware monitoring software. The different colored lines represent various attack vectors that are being detected through their software. For instance, pink lines represent an IDS scan while blue represents web vulnerability scans.

Real-time global security attacks shown while they happen

North Korea surprises the world with their stupidly simple military drones - RC planes with GoPro cameras attached

Although they pale in comparison to the United States’ Predator and Global Hawk military drones, North Korea apparently has a military drone program of their own, albeit Kim Jong-un’s version is little more than a RC plane with GoPro cameras strapped on. South Korea said today that two of the drones crashed outside their military installations near Paju, just south of the Korean DMZ.

North Korea surprises the world with their stupidly simple military drones - RC planes with GoPro cameras attached

North Korea's new space agency logo says a lot - NADA

It’s one year old and to celebrate the milestone, North Korea has rolled out a new logo for their space program called, and we’re not kidding here – NADA (as in Spanish for “nothing”). Not surprisingly, the logo is almost a direct copy of NASA’s iconic emblem (see below).

North Korea's new space agency logo says a lot - NADA

National Archives photo mystery solved - 150-year old photos depict Lincoln funeral procession

Experts at the National Archives say it’s long been a mystery – what the photograph depicts, why it was photographed, and where it was shot. But a retired government accountant from Maryland, Paul Taylor, believes the scene was shot on Broadway, outside New York’s historic Grace Church, and that it was shot on Tuesday, April 25, 1864 – 11 days after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated inside Ford’s Theatre in Washington. According to Taylor, the crowd in the picture is waiting on a horse-drawn hearse in order to pay homage to the death of the late President during a 11-stop funeral procession that made its way around the country. If Taylor is correct, a long-standing mystery has been solved while providing another piece of rare historical documentation of the event.

National Archives photo mystery solved - 150-year old photos depict Lincoln funeral procession

New color World War II aerial combat footage rivals that of any great war movie

Check out this amazing eight-minute mini-documentary containing color combat footage of the aerial wars that took place in the skies during World War II that rivals the best commercially-produced war movies. The scenes in the video feature fighter gun camera footage, dogfights, flak fire, kamikaze attacks, aerial combat between fighters and bombers, carpet bombing and huge explosions from above. The video captures the frantic-frenzy of aerial warfare and is all-the-more-exciting because of course, it’s real.

New color World War II aerial combat footage rivals that of any great war movie

2015 Lamborghini Huracan dashboard powered by Nvidia's Tegra 30 graphics chip

The 2015 Lamborghini Huracan was introduced this week and demonstrates that yes, dashboards can indeed be colorful fully-digital screens. The Huracan’s instrument panel displays virtual 3D gauges on a 12.3-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1440×540 pixels and driven by a Tegra 30 chip from Nvidia’s Tegra 3 Series. The processor can spin the gauge’s needles at a frenzied 60 frames per second.

2015 Lamborghini Huracan dashboard powered by Nvidia's Tegra 30 graphics chip

It's python vs. crocodile - guess who won the epic four-hour battle

Pythons and crocodiles – both are deadly carnivores who terrify not only people, but the enumerable members of the animal kingdom who are unfortunate enough to serve as their lunch. Both beasts lie pretty close to the top of the food chain. But what would happen if the two were pit against each other in a head-to-head battle for life and death? Australian visitors to Queensland’s Lake Moondarra found out this week after witnessing (and photographing) an epic four-hour battle between a 10-foot python and a crocodile measuring at least as much. Surprising to many, the python won.

It's python vs. crocodile - guess who won the epic four-hour battle

How different animals see the world around them

Recent scientific research has revealed how animals see the world around them and many possess dramatically different “sights” than humans. For instance, the brain of the dragonfly processes the images it sees so fast, it appears to be in slow motion and pigeons are capable of detecting more subtle color gradations than the most complex computer software. Below is a collection of comparisons between human and animal vision.

How different animals see the world around them

Scientist observe and photograph record-breaking meteorite impact on Moon

On September 11, 2013, Spanish astronomers spotted a meteorite with a weight of nearly 1,000 lbs crashing into the surface of the Moon. Astronomers say the record-breaking impact would have generated a flash of light bright enough to be seen from Earth. The strike was recorded by the Moon Impacts Detection and Analysis System (MIDAS), a series of telescopes in southern Spain

Scientist observe and photograph record-breaking meteorite impact on Moon

Rare photographs of unusual animals before they became extinct

When we think of extinct animals, species which are no longer living, we tend to envision dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, and saber tooth tigers. What you may not know is that several species, some quite unusual, have only recently been wiped out. In fact, some extinct animals ceased to exist after the 1820’s when photography was invented and hence, a few photographs exist of the species. Below is a collection of rare photographs of extinct species before they disappeared.

Rare photographs of unusual animals before they became extinct

Megan Fox pictorial

Megan Fox, American actress and model, has been a long-time geek favorite for her roles in Jennifer’s Body, Jonah Hex (as Leila, a gun-wielding beauty and Jonah Hex’s love interest), and of course, the Transformers movies (playing Mikaela Banes, the lead female role in the movies).

Megan Fox pictorial

Cool robotic clock writes time with pen, erases, starts again

Designed by Thingiverse member Johannes from Nuremburg, Germany and created using 3D printed parts, the Plotclock writes the time, in hours and minutes, on a white board using a dry-erase pen, before erasing it and starting again.

Cool robotic clock writes time with pen, erases, starts again

Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh away - another bonehead business move during OneDrive rollout

Just when you think Microsoft won’t shoot themselves in the foot any longer – they do it again. Today they rolled out OneDrive, their replacement (or revamp) for their cloud storage product, SkyDrive, with a special offer for 100GB of free drive space. Only the forgot to mention that after a year the user must upgrade or lose their files to the cloud’s nether-regions…

Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh away - another bonehead business move during OneDrive rollout

Can you spot the hidden snipers in these pictures?

Driven by the increasing range and accuracy of firearms, camouflage designers have been researching and exploiting optical illusions since World War I and German artist Simon Menner proves that our eyes can often deceive us. Check out the photo montage below and see if you can spot the sniper hidden in each of the landscapes.

Can you spot the hidden snipers in these pictures?

Climactic closing scene from HBO's True Detective S01E04 - dare we call it a cinematic masterpiece?

There’s a lot of buzz going around about the climactic scene from Episode 4 of HBO’s new series True Detective. The complicated, single 6-minute tracking shot follows Rust Cohle (played by Matthew McConaughey) fleeing the scene through two homes and the streets of a ghetto in an attempt to make it to the safety of his partner’s (Martin Hart played by Woody Harrelson) car. To film the scene was no small feat – it required detailed mapping, well-planned traffic control, minute-by-minute placement of nearly a hundred extras, timed special effects, on-the-fly setup of camera tracks, and expert choreography to pull off.

Climactic closing scene from HBO's True Detective S01E04 - dare we call it a cinematic masterpiece?

Why some ISPs are throttling Netflix and what you can do about it

It’s no longer just a theory – despite their denials, major ISPs are ignoring net neutrality rules and throttling Netflix bandwidth and Netflix has the proof in hand which they provide through their publicly-available monthly statistics reports. Here’s how to find out if you’re being throttled by your ISP, why ISPs throttle network traffic from Netflix (and other competing streaming video providers), and what you can do about it.

Why some ISPs are throttling Netflix and what you can do about it

As if they weren't terrifying enough - researchers find alligators perched in trees!

Endowed with natural armor and 6-inch teeth, they hide, deathly still, in dense underbrush waiting for their prey. No problem – just watch where you step. But now a University of Tennessee study has found that the reptiles can climb and perch in trees as far as the crowns. Vladimir Dinets, a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, is the first to thoroughly study the tree-climbing and -basking behavior.

As if they weren't terrifying enough - researchers find alligators perched in trees!

400 Gbps DDoS attack on Monday smashes Spamhaus DDoS record

CloudFlare announced late last night that a 400 Gbps DDoS attack against an unnamed entitym smashed the record set last year during the Spamhaus incident in which a sustained 300 Gbps attack was launched against a European organization who maintains a blacklist of spam-related ISPs. Effects from the attack were especially strong in Europe which caused slowdowns and related problems for ISPs. At the same time, French hosting outfit OVH also reported fending off an attack running at over 350Gbps, though of course it’s impossible to say whether the same attacker was responsible.

400 Gbps DDoS attack on Monday smashes Spamhaus DDoS record

Straight out of Dr. Suess - a fish tank that lets the fish drive around on wheels

Fish on Wheels lets its fish tank occupant steer the tank in whatever direction it feels like going. The prototype tank was built using a standard webcam, battery-powered Beagleboard, and an Arduino controller and uses the contrast of the fish with the bottom of the fish tank to determine the fish’s position in the tank. When the fish moves to the right of the tank, the tank steers in that direction and when it moves left – well, you get the picture.

Straight out of Dr. Suess - a fish tank that lets the fish drive around on wheels

Mind-bending door system uses interlocking triangles and no rails to produce functional door opening system

The folks over at Klemens Torggler’s door in Austria have introduced yet another mind-bending, but functional, door opening design, this time based on a brilliant series of interlocking triangles. Klemens Torggler’s door is an invention based on rotating squares or triangles. The special construction makes it possible to move the door sideways without the use of tracks. We give it two thumbs-up.

Mind-bending door system uses interlocking triangles and no rails to produce functional door opening system

Visual history of Facebook- from its introduction in 2004 to its modern-day design

“The Facebook” went live on February 4, 2004 from Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard University dorm room. Ads began running shortly thereafter. In 2005, Facebook rolled out the News Feed and by 2007, Facebook simplified its design. By 2008, Facebook had 100 million users and launched Facebook Chat. In 2012, Facebook hit 1 billion members and in 2013, the Ticker was killed off. Check out the visual history of Facebook.

Visual history of Facebook- from its introduction in 2004 to its modern-day design

Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) from the Game of Thrones

The beautiful Emilia Clarke currently plays the sexy queen Daenerys Targaryen on the HBO hit show Game of Thrones. Clarke won the 2011 EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for her role as Daenerys. In 2013, she was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the 2013 Primetime Emmys. Check out the sexy pictorial of the beautiful Emilia Clarke below.

Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) from the Game of Thrones

Department of Transportation moves to allow cars to communicate with each other on the road

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced today that it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for automobiles. This technology would improve safety by allowing vehicles to “talk” to each other and ultimately avoid many crashes altogether by exchanging basic safety data, such as speed and position, ten times per second.

Department of Transportation moves to allow cars to communicate with each other on the road

Beautiful animal and nature photographs that'll put a smile on your face - Part 2

Stop and smell the roses? Sometimes is helps to take the time to recognize the beauty of the world that we live in. Here is a collection of nature photographs that will surely put a smile on your face.

Beautiful animal and nature photographs that'll put a smile on your face - Part 2

Fascinating optical illusion - what do you see in this picture?

In the picture below, do you see a man standing on the shores of a lake, reflections of trees on the water? Now rotate the picture 90 degrees counterclockwise to see what is really portrayed in this photograph.

Fascinating optical illusion - what do you see in this picture?

Sexist, racist, funny, or inappropriate advertisements - you decide...

Continuing our ongoing saga of controversial advertisements, this week’s batch is particularly interesting. Some are funny. Some are disturbing. Some are just creepy. And some we’re not sure if the advertisers meant to portray what our eyes are telling us. Your call.

Sexist, racist, funny, or inappropriate advertisements - you decide...

Top 50 by Nirvana - Kurt Cobain lists his all-time favorite albums

Nirvana front man, Kurt Cobain, hand-scrawled a list of his all-time favorite albums. Published in Kurt Cobain’s Journals (a collection of writings and drawings by Cobain), it was titled “Top 50 by Nirvana” and included a few fascinating surprises.

Top 50 by Nirvana - Kurt Cobain lists his all-time favorite albums

Wow! Stunning picture of Milky Way taken from Northern Chile

NASA published this stunning photograph today featuring the road that connects the Northern Cross and Southern Cross – the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Taken from Laguna Cejar in Northern Chile by Nicholas Buer, the photo was shot in October, just after sunset. Included in the photo a...
Wow! Stunning picture of Milky Way taken from Northern Chile

Wave your hands in the air and dance like the Peacock Spider

This festive little critter knows how to party. It’s fancy name is Maratus volans but we prefer the more descriptive term, peacock spider (or “gliding spider”), a species of jumping spider with colorful red, blue, black, and green flap-like extensions on its abdomen that it raises for display du...
Wave your hands in the air and dance like the Peacock Spider

More Snowden leaks - now we find NSA is scraping data from mobile games

The Guardian and New York Times revealed today that the National Security Agency and its UK counterpart, GCHQ, have been working to take advantage of “leaky” smartphone apps, such as the popular Angry Birds game (which according to the report, was used as a “case study” in smartphone surveil...
More Snowden leaks - now we find NSA is scraping data from mobile games

Reminder - this is war

Below is a purported before-and-after shot of a popular street in Syria both before and after a bomb exploded.

Reminder - this is war

Get ready to waste hours finding hidden Easter-eggs in Microsoft's new mind-blowing Gigapixel interactive Seattle image

Get ready to spend mindless hours exploring Microsoft’s new GIGAPIXEL interactive image of Seattle. Why would a picture of Seattle be so much fun? For one, the interactive hi-def image is a mind-boggling 20,000 megapixel super high-resolution 360-degree panorama of Seattle integrated with h...
Get ready to waste hours finding hidden Easter-eggs in Microsoft's new mind-blowing Gigapixel interactive Seattle image

China's lunar rover may have just experienced a catastrophic failure - world holds breath

China’s Jade Rabbit lunar rover is a little over a month into its three-month lunar exploration mission. Today the Chinese State Administration of Space, Technology, and Industry for National Defense has said the rover has experience a “mechanical control abnormality” that was the result of a “co...
China's lunar rover may have just experienced a catastrophic failure - world holds breath

Beautiful animal and nature photographs that'll put a smile on your face - Part 1

Stop and smell the roses? Sometimes is helps to take the time to recognize the beauty of the world that we live in. Here is a collection of nature photographs that will surely put a smile on your face.

Beautiful animal and nature photographs that'll put a smile on your face - Part 1

Nearby record-breaking M82 supernova continues to grow brighter

Three days ago, a white dwarf exploded in the nearby M82 galaxy (aka Messier 82, Starburst Galaxy, or the Cigar Galaxy), the closest galaxy to our own. The explosion created the closest, and brightest, supernova seen by man in over a quarter of a century. In fact, the explosion is so bright,...
Nearby record-breaking M82 supernova continues to grow brighter

Modern day ads can still be racist, sexist, or controversial

Earlier we published an article showing examples of vintage ads that were surprisingly sexiest (by modern-day standards). Still, modern ads continue to push the envelope withs ads that are cunningly sexist, racist, or otherwise controversial. Check out the examples below.

Modern day ads can still be racist, sexist, or controversial

To modern-man, the sexist portrayals in these old ads seem unbelievable

Sex in advertising is nothing new but thirty years ago, advertisers felt women could push a vacuum cleaner but couldn’t drive a car. Check out these vintage sexist ads that’ll remind you that times have indeed changed

To modern-man, the sexist portrayals in these old ads seem unbelievable

Starfire cosplay

Doodle Dot Cosplay (photographed by WeNeals Photography) released this wonderful cosplay featuring Starfire from DC Comics fame. Starfire was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez and was ranked 20th in Comics Buyer’s Guide’s “100 Sexiest Women in Comics” list.

Starfire cosplay

Unusually high sulfur content causes Kawah Ijen volcano to spew beautiful, brilliant, spectral blue lava

Kawah Ijen, part of the Ijen volcano complex, is a group of stratovolcanoes in East Java, Indonesia. With an active crater that’s over 200 meters deep, the volcano complex is also home to the world’s largest turquoise-colored acidic lake, full of sulfuric acid, that produces a highly-unusual eff...
Unusually high sulfur content causes Kawah Ijen volcano to spew beautiful, brilliant, spectral blue lava

Oldest human footprints in North America identified -10,500-year-old footprints smash record

In 1961, during a highway construction project in northeastern Mexico, less than 200 miles from the Texas border, a pair of tracks, one left and one right, were uncovered in the Chihuahuan Desert. The tracks were excavated and taken to a local museum (Saltillo’s Museo del Desierto) for study. N...
Oldest human footprints in North America identified -10,500-year-old footprints smash record

Amazing Life Hacks: Simple tricks designed to make your life easier - Part 3

Life hacks are low-budget tips, tricks and shortcuts, typically using an everyday household product, that are designed to make your life easier and more productive. Check out our third collection of novel life hacks below.

Amazing Life Hacks: Simple tricks designed to make your life easier - Part 3

Cigar box juggling

Although it looks like a video trick, watch carefully. It’s called cigar box juggling and began as a vaudeville act in the U.S. between the 1880’s and 1920’s. Popularized by W.C. Fields, cigar box juggling performers would take actual boxes that cigars were stored in and nail them shut to creat...
Cigar box juggling

Astronomers may have found the impossible - a star within a star

Seemingly impossible, the idea of a nested star has been proposed before – it’s just nobody has ever found an example of the cosmic oddity. That may be about to change though. Scientists are keeping the name of the star a secret right now – at least until their peers can validate their findings –...
Astronomers may have found the impossible - a star within a star

For first time in history, dinosaur fossils found in Saudi Arabia

For the first time in history, confirmed dinosaur fossils have been found in Saudi Arabia. Rare in the Arabian Peninsula, the finding of the 72-million-year-old tail-bones of the plant-eating titanosaur and a fossilized teeth of a sharp-toothed theropod were discovered in the Adaffa formation,...
For first time in history, dinosaur fossils found in Saudi Arabia

Could reincarnation be memories passed through generations in our DNA?

New research has shown that it may be possible for information to be inherited biologically through chemical changes that occur in our DNA, possibly explaining “past memories” or reincarnation claims reported by some people. During the tests, researchers demonstrated that mice can pass on lea...
Could reincarnation be memories passed through generations in our DNA?

Amazing Life Hacks: Simple tricks designed to make your life easier-Part 2

Life hacks are low-budget tips, tricks and shortcuts, typically using an everyday household product, that are designed to make your life easier and more productive. Check out our second collection of novel life hacks below.

Amazing Life Hacks: Simple tricks designed to make your life easier-Part 2

Powerful new road safety video from New Zealand will leave you speechless and in awe

NZTA has created a powerful road safety commercial entitled ‘Mistakes’ that aims to encourage careful consideration before speeding off in your car. In the video, time slows down allowing two drivers on a collision course get out of their car and reason with each other before the accident rea...
Powerful new road safety video from New Zealand will leave you speechless and in awe

The Big Bang Theory intro - a close look at all 109 photos used to create the TV show's opening sequence

The Big Bang Theory television show is centered on five characters living in Pasadena, California and includes roommates Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper; Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon’s equally geeky and socially awkward...
The Big Bang Theory intro - a close look at all 109 photos used to create the TV show's opening sequence

Mind-blowing list of the many famous celebrities who died untimely deaths from drug or alcohol abuse

The following is a partial list of notable celebrities, along with their profession and cause of death, who have died from drug-related causes. Each of these persons met their untimely end from either drug overdose, death from organ-failure due to or exacerbated by drug use, or death from...
Mind-blowing list of the many famous celebrities who died untimely deaths from drug or alcohol abuse

Seven historical, thought-provoking "never-seen-before" photos that defined the times

The following are seven rare, thought-provoking, historical photographs you’ve probably never seen before. Enjoy.

Seven historical, thought-provoking "never-seen-before" photos that defined the times

Amazing Life Hacks: Simple tricks designed to make your life easier - Part 1

Life hacks are low-budget tips, tricks and shortcuts, typically using an everyday household product, that are designed to make your life easier and more productive. Check out the collection of novel life hacks below.

Amazing Life Hacks: Simple tricks designed to make your life easier - Part 1