Card payment verification has “major” security loophole

The card payment industry has rejected claims by British researchers that a system used for validating in-person payments has a major security flaw. Computer scientists at Cambridge University have been investigating the “chip and pin” system. That’s a branding name used in the country for EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa), a technology used increasingly around […]

Is Facebook Bad for Teens?

You’ve heard it before: parents groups and educators worldwide are growing more and more concerned regarding children and teens using social networking sites. But while online social networking shows a great deal of promise in respect to reaching out to teenagers, some critics worry that too much focus on the superficiality of sites, especially Facebook, […]

Scientists not cancelling Christmas plans for 2012

The world will end after being hit by the planet Nibiru on 21 December 2012. That’s a nice story, but it’s not true. And a senior scientist at NASA’s Astrobiology Institute says so. David Morrison (pictured), writes a regular column with the wonderfully Onionesque title Ask an Astrobiologist for the Astronomical Society of Pacific newsletter. […]

Konami Code Works on theglobeandmail.com

Well folks, it looks like the Globe and Mail’s website (Canada’s largest-circulation national newspaper) has been hacked into recently (unless this is a clever marketing ploy), because after loading its front page, if you enter the Konami code via your keyboard, you’ll get a surprise. Go ahead, try it. up, up, down, down, left, right, […]

How Much Are You Worth Online?

I don’t know whether to be scared, insulted or flattered: Apparently I’m worth $695 to the “underground community”. The figure comes from an online promotional tool by Symantec designed to value your online security. It’s based on a 10-page quiz asking general questions about what type of activity you carry out online, how much money […]