FBI warns of ‘destructive’ malware in wake of Sony attack

According to the recent reports, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) has already intimated all the businesses in The United States of America, that the hackers have been using malicious software to launch a destructive cyber attack in the United States of America.

This was announced post the devastating breach that took place at Sony Pictures Entertainment last week. As per the Cyber security experts, the malicious software that has been described in the FBI alert looks to be describing the software that affected Sony.

This can be considered as the first key destructive cyber attack waged against a company operating on the soil of the United States of America. Until now, these kind of attacks has been seen in the Middle East and Asia, but nothing has been reported in the United States of America. At present, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had not disclosed as to how many companies have actually been victimized by these destructive attacks.

Confidential "flash" warning

According to Tom Kellermann, who is the chief cyber security officer with security software maker Trend Micro Inc, this synchronized cyber attack with the destructive payloads against a business in America clearly represents a turning point event.

For these destructive cyber attacks, Geopolitics will serve as the forerunners. The 5 page confidential "flash" warning issued by the FBI was released for the businesses on Monday; it has all the technical details pertaining to the malicious software that was used on this attack.

As per the reports, the malware has the ability to overrides all data stored on the hard drives of computers, which includes the master boot record. Due to this, the computers will not be able to boot. The reports also highlights that if the companies are unable to restore their data through the standard forensic methods, then overwriting of the data files will become more costly and extremely difficult.

This document was sent through mail with the clear instruction of not sharing the same with anyone else. This document was released post the unprecedented attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, which affected the entire systems and the email line of the company. This has affected the company as they have crucial movies to be released during the holiday season.

The company’s spokeswoman stated that they are working with the federal and law enforcement officials to check on this issue and the company has been able to restore some of their important services. She declined to comment on the warning issued by FBI.

Actions currently being taken

Currently the FBI is working along with the Department of Homeland Security to investigate these attacks while FireEye Inc's has been hired by Sony to carry out the post attack clean up. Although FBI didn’t reveal the name of the victim of this attack; cyber security experts stated that it is a California-based unit of Sony Corp.

According to technical section of the report, some of the software used in this attacks have been compiled in Korea but no correction has been established with North Korea.

Intel Launches ‘Digital Skills for India’ Programme

World’s renowned US-based Chip maker Intel is going to launch the programme, “Digital Skills for India” with Government of India to digital literate in more than 1,000 panchayats and it is expected that by the end of 2015, this move will impact five million citizens.

As the part of programme 'Digital Skills for India', Intel India has launched a digital skills training application, which includes the modules on digital literacy, healthcare and cleanliness and financial inclusion in five Indian languages. According to Intel officials, that app will be free on Android Play Store from December 6, 2014 in five different languages such as; Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, English, Kannada and Gujarati. Whereas the similar offline training module will be available in seven different Indian languages.

Intel India is also working with BBNL (Bharat Broadband Network Limited) to provide the facility for digital literacy training to key person in the first 1,000 panchayats of India under the NOFN (National Optic Fiber Network) roll-out in India. According to of DeitY (Department of Electronics and Information Technology), R S Sharma, “Digital transformation in India, it’s essential that Government of India and corporate works together to create the sustainable model for the education in digital sector”.

The main aim of this program is to digitally empower the citizens of India. PM, Narendra Modi was stated on Independence Day while addressing the nation, “We will transform the whole country with Rs.1 lakh crore projects and soon country will witness the digitally empowered economy and he asked the private sector to join the government for the success of this vision”.

Intel’s Digital Footprints in India: 


i. In past few decades, Intel has trained more than 18 lakh teachers via; Intel Teach programme.
ii. More than 4,500 faculty 2.35 lakh students in 450 institutes have been impacted with the help of Intel Higher Education programme.
iii. Intel Learn programme has reached more than 1.8 lakh students in India.
iv. In 2012, NDLM (National Digital Literacy Mission) was launched by Intel along with Nasscom.
v. More than 16,000 youth were trained by 400+ volunteers with the help of 10 NDLM partners just in 7 days during Digital Literacy Week in Dec. 2102.
vi. Intel has achieved 100% digital literacy in some villages.
vii. Intel has adopted 3 villages in Andhra Pradesh, Tripura and Rajasthan and set up digital literacy training camps.

Recently, Intel has announced the 'Innovate for India Challenge', to create the solutions that are relevant for the country like India. Earlier, in 2012, US-based firm had launched the same National Digital Literacy Mission and it was able to reached more than 38 lakh Indian citizens.

According to Timothy Q. Parker, GM Asia Pacific Japan and Vice- president of sales and Group of marketing, “As we all aware that India is developing very fast with technological innovations and that why we are strive to provide Indian citizens with computing solutions in affordable cost with easy accessibility”.

Bringing Your Medical Practice into the Present

This is the computerized age. Everything is accessible via technology and that means your medical practice needs to catch up. If you've been old school, it's time to modernize. You're not going to change your bedside manner or the way you approach your patients.

If they are happy with you as a doctor, make them happy on all levels when you make life simpler for them. When you tap into all of the innovations that surround you, you'll actually give back more to the people you serve on a daily basis. Happy patients will be healthier, thanks to your efforts.

Create a Website

It doesn't matter if everyone in the area knows where you are because you've been around for twenty years. You can still create a website that will provide your patients with more ways to interact with you. Turn to a skilled website team to design a site that suits your practice.

This is an ideal way to provide people with background information, directions to your office, answers to typical questions, and online communication. Make it clear that your website is not for emergencies. You can still connect with patients when they have questions. Your receptionist can sift through e-mail and take care of online appointments.

Make Information More Accessible

Find ways to communicate more clearly with your patients. From spending more time for consultations to using patient friendly statements, you need to remember that their satisfaction is key. Your livelihood depends on your patients. If they are not happy, they can always go elsewhere. Establish an area in your office that has free literature for your patients.

Provide them with a list of important phone numbers that pertain to health concerns. Have a licensed practical nurse or nurse practitioner on your staff who can field questions when you are not available. Stay on top of things and respond to phone calls when your patients need personal interaction with you.

You need to give your patients the impression that the door is always open at your office. When you are not available, always have someone on call to assist any patients in need. When you have true loyalty, your patients will keep coming back. You'll also have more referrals coming your way.

Discover and Monitor Your Wi-Fi Network

Who doesn’t love a speedy Wi-Fi connectivity and in order to accomplish our task faster we get a Wi-Fi network connected. But do we have any idea about the Wi-Fi network on which we rely? Many times we complain that our Wi-Fi speed is slow or not up to the mark, but do you know that most of the time the problem is from the user end rather than from the ISP or the service provider. You should always be aware of your Wi-Fi network connection, its setup and also should be aware who is using your connection and when.

Fing application 

Fing is that android/iOS application which shows all the devices, manufacturer, IP address and host name that are connected with your wireless network. It is free and fast application which can be used in order to control your network and use it efficiently. Most of the time an individual may configure a weak or default password but with the help of Fing application we can verify the users those are connecting with our network. If we find a doubtful user we can directly deny their access by changing the password and include couple of more strong security mechanisms.

Amazing features of the application

The features of the app that cannot be missed out are stated below.

• Firstly, helps the user to identify the devices those are connected to their wireless network. 
• The application is relatively accurate and fast. 
• Accurately displays the MAC address, IP address and the manufacturer of the device. 
• It is user friendly. 
• The application is free from the banner ads and also it is free of cost. 
• You can easily assess the security levels, detect invaders and solve several kinds of network related issues easily with the help of  app.
• For further usage the history of all the discovered wireless networks will be securely stored. 
• If you feel like sharing any kind of stuffs you can do it easily via E-mails, Facebook, Twitter and text message. 
• The launching of application for particular ports like FTP, SSH and browser is possible. 
• Within fraction of seconds you can find hundreds of open ports. 
• For comfort access of the app you can sort by name, MAC, state, last change, IP address and Vendor. 
• The application merges with the Fingbox to backup and sync the customization, monitor remote network and much more. 
• The application is available for android, windows, iOS and Linux.

On September 13, 2014 the application was updated and if your handset have an android version of 2.1 and above you can easily install this application in your handset. The application has seen the total downloads from 1,000,000 to 5,000,000.

So what are you waiting for? Get that app installed in your handset and secure your wireless network from unwanted users and maintain the speed of your network. Stay connected stay safe and be in the race of high speed.

Mycestro - 3D Mouse, Thumb Activated Wireless Mouse

The latest in the tech world is now the Mycestro 3D mouse, a thumb activated wireless mouse which can be attached to the index finger. A computer mouse which wraps round the finger could be good for a while though it could get a bit awkward. `Mycestro’, as the device is named is like a bulky futuristic ring which is around 4.5 cm long and appears like a sort of an arrowhead placed on the index finger, presently for now, only the right one.

The side closest to the thumb comprises of touchpad with three small buttons for scrolling, selecting and clicking and to use the Mycestro, one needs to plug a small Bluetooth dongle which comes with it in a USB port on the computer. Thereafter one can slide the ring on and touch the thumb anywhere on the side touchpad and begin waving the hand to see the movement of the cursor.

Though this mouse weighs only half an ounce, it tends to feel heavy really quickly and wearing it for more than half an hour while typing is a challenge. When it comes to human computer interface scenarios,we face these days; the traditional mouse has its limitations, which led to the original inspiration for this design.

Prototype Utilises 3D Space Recognition 

Nick Mastandrea, Founder of Ohio based Innovative Developments LLC, worked on the design for about two years. The present prototype utilises 3D space recognition in order to control the computer without the need for dedicated mouse space or a touchpad on the device.

Mycestro, which is the size of a Bluetooth earpiece is designed to be worn on the index finger and uses a combination of sensors as well as algorithms to collect finger movement information with a touch sensitive panel which is located at the side of the finger closest to the thumb.If the hand is removed from the mouse, the it remains inactive till it is touched and held anywhere on its side panel indicating that one can type or make a coffee without having to remove it. When the cursor gets active, finger movements together with the active thumb press directs it to the desired location while further thumb motions on the touch panel button provides a full range of mouse clicks as well as scroll functions.

Compatible with Bluetooth Smart Ready Devices 

The 3D mouse helps users to personalize programmable gesture commands along with the usual mouse functions like a flick or swipe movements. This device started at Kickstarter project in 2013 and presently being sold online for $149. The Kickstarter campaign is on to raise funds for tooling as well as preproduction prototype run. This mouse uses BLE – Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy Protocol in order to provide a range of 30 ft. and is compatible with Bluetooth Smart Ready devices which include iPads, MacBooks as well as any PC with a compatible BLE dongle. Android devices should probably be online by the end of the year according to its creators. The present version has two interchangeable clip sizes for different digits and can be charged through USB where a single charge is believed to provide eight hours of battery life based on its usage.