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 […]

The Net’s Deadliest Celebrities

Apparently Jessica Biel could kill your computer. According to McAfee’s annual report on the riskiest celebs to search for, the 27-year-old actress’ name poses the biggest threat when it comes to viruses, spyware, and other online threats popping up in search results. Search terms like “Jessica Biel photos” and “Jessica Biel screensavers” have a 1 […]