Iran Might Switch off the Web

The information below wasn’t confirmed by any official entity, i.e. thus far it is just a rumor, but still…
Iran is said to take a decision to completely disconnect the worldwide web from the country in favor of its own “clean” alternative.

Some of the media reports claim that the current plan is that the country will institute a nationwide intranet which will be isolated from the regular web, and, of course, strictly regulated by the Iran authorities. This wasn’t the first time such reports hit the web: the plan was reported before, because it was said to be first proposed last year and aimed at the great unwashed.

However, according to the plan, elite users will keep access to the regular Internet. Among those users would be institutions like banks, ministries, and major companies. In addition, the country’s government is also said to be developing its own custom e-mail service along with new national search engine dubbed Ya Haq.

Those users who want an e-mail account with Ya Haq will be required to register their identity with the government. In order words, the Iran authorities will be able to monitor all the letters the citizens send and receive. Before, the country promised to launch its alternative service in August, but Iranian officials later denied this promise.

In fact, the country is officially claiming that it isn’t going to cut access to the worldwide web inside the country at all, and is calling the media report absolutely baseless. But industry experts for some reason don’t believe Iranian representatives, pointing out that they might hope to get away without telling anyone. The only thing the authorities confirmed was that the country was developing a national information network.

Five myths about autism

As knowledge and awareness of autism grows in the community, so do the myths.

Autism is currently diagnosed according to behaviours which fit into three broad areas: social difficulties, communication impairments, and patterns of restrictive, repetitive behaviours and interests. A minimum number of behavioural symptoms must be present in each area of impairment for a diagnosis.

The difficulties associated with autism can be obvious, such as language delays or stereotypical motor movements like hand flapping. But some deficits can be much more subtle and only become apparent in social situations, such as problems with play or initiating conversation.

Although all three areas of difficulty are required for a diagnosis of autistic disorder, autism can present differently and each child will have a unique pattern of symptoms. This can sometimes create confusion – and from this, myths about autism emerge. Here are the five most common myths we encounter.

1. Children with autism don’t look at you

Unusual eye gaze is common among many, but not all, individuals with autism.

Typically developing children tend to instinctively look other people in the eye when talking with them. This can help them understand the other person’s feelings and gain meaning during a social interaction.

Some children with autism may not intuitively look a person in the eye when talking to them and will focus, instead, on other parts of the face or body to try to gain meaning. Studies suggestthat people with autism lack this social instinct because their underlying brain circuitry – which processes social information – may be different.

2. Children with autism are not interested in social interaction

Most children with autism are very keen to have friends and interact socially, but often have difficulties knowing how to make, and keep, friends. Social graces don’t come naturally to people with autism, so they often need to be explicitly taught the hidden social rules. This can be done through role playing activities with peers, parents or carers, or through structured learning programs such as social stories™.

Because of their social awkwardness, children with autism can become socially anxious and withdrawn, despite wanting friendships and social contact. This is a life-long problem for people with autism.

3. Children with autism are not affectionate

This isn’t true – children with autism can and do show affection. But this expression may differ from other children because of unusual responses to sensory stimuli. Children with autism may be oversensitive to touch or hugs, for instance, but may have a high threshold for pain.

Children with autism can appear to be detached, but this doesn’t mean a lack of interest in being affectionate – it may be underpinned by a desire to engage in a pursuit they’re more interested in. Likewise, some children don’t understand the purposes of hugging and need to be taught this social convention.

4. Girls have different core autistic symptoms to boys

There is no consistent evidence that the core autistic symptoms are different in boys and girls, but there is a trend for girls to have fewer restricted and stereotyped behavioural patterns than boys. Boys, for instance, may line up toys according to size and colour more than girls.

Any differences could have a biological base, but they might also be due to the socialisation of boys and girls. Gender stereotypes dictate that girls are better at communicating and socialising. And expectations that boys will be louder and more aggressive may affect the way the two sexes develop.

Research in this area is yet to tease apart the contribution of nature versus nurture. But any differences are likely to be small. Most studies find boys and girls have similar symptoms, of similar severity.

5. Autism and Asperger’s are the same

Autism and Asperger’s disorder are currently defined as separate conditions which fit under the umbrella term of Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

Asperger’s disorder differs from autistic disorder in that language development must have been within normal milestones (single words by two years of age, phrase speech by three) and intellectual ability must be within the normal range.

In the clinic, children with Asperger’s present as verbally precocious “little professors”. Often, they are not referred for assessment until they enter a social environment such as primary school, where their social difficulties are noted.

In contrast, children with autistic disorder are likely to be diagnosed earlier because of language delays and more typical autistic behaviours.

But under the new mental health classification system – the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is due for release in 2013 – the distinction between Asperger’s disorder and autistic disorder will be dissolved and both will be replaced by Autism Spectrum Disorder. This presents a number of challenges for treatment and diagnosis to ensure that children get specialised care, tailored to their needs.

When a child is diagnosed with autism, the whole family is undoubtedly affected. But the more the broader community can learn about the condition, the better they can understand and support these families through the difficult journey of diagnosis, intervention and management of autism.

Android Can Be Hacked through SMS

Security experts from NQ Mobile have recently detected new Android malware which is controlled through SMS messages. The malware, dubbed TigerBot, is able to record calls and surrounding noise.

TigerBot was detected while circulating in the wild through non-official Android channels.

The malware is wise: it can hide itself on a targeted device. TigerBot refuses to install an icon on the home screen, and masks itself with an ordinary application name like Flash or System.

Once active, TigerBot registers a receiver marked as a high priority in order to listen to the intent with action “android.provider.Telephony.SMS_RECEIVED”.

NQ Mobile explained that when a user receives a new SMS message, the malware would run a check to find out whether the message is a specific bot command. In the event it is TigerBot will prevent it from being seen by the user, after which it will execute the command.

The malware is able to record sounds in the immediate area of the device, along with the calls themselves. It is also able to alter network settings and report the current GPS coordinates of the device. TigerBot was proved to manage capturing and uploading pictures, killing other processes and rebooting the infected device.

However, the malware isn’t written perfectly enough. For instance, some of its commands aren’t routinely supported: the command to kill other processes can only be performed on early Android versions. Still, the mobile security company points out that the fact that this piece of malware and any of its variants might be controlled without your knowledge does mean that it is a serious threat. The insecurity specialists added that users are recommended to always reject unknown application requests and attentively monitor permissions requested by any program.

গুগল প্লাসকে অনুকরণ করছে ফেইসবুক

ফেইসবুকও প্রোফাইল পিকচারের আকার বড় করা শুরু করলো। কিছুদিন আগে গুগল প্লাস তাদের ডিজাইনে আমূল পরিবর্তন আনে। এতে গুগল প্লাসের প্রতিটি সেকশনেই পরিবর্তন আনা হয়, বড় করা হয় ছবির আকার এবং ব্যতিক্রম করা হয় প্রোফাইল ও স্ট্রিম। দেখা যাচ্ছে ফেইসবুকও সেই পথেই এগুচ্ছে। খবর দি নেক্সট ওয়েবের।

গুগল প্লাসের নতুন ডিজাইনে আগের চেয়ে কিছুটা বড় আকারের প্রোফাইল পিকচার দেয়ার সুবিধা চালু করা হয়। সেই সঙ্গে ফেইসবুকের মতোই প্রোফাইল পিকচারের পেছনে ব্যাকগ্রাউন্ড বা কভার ছবি দেয়ার সুবিধা চালু করে। তবে গুগল প্লাসের বড় আকারের প্রোফাইল ছবির সুবিধা দেখে ফেইসবুকও ব্যবহারকারীদের আগের চেয়ে বড় আকারের ছবি প্রদর্শনের সুযোগ করে দিয়েছে।

দি নেক্সট ওয়েব জানিয়েছে, এর আগে টাইমলাইনে কভার ফটোর উপরে প্রোফাইল পিকচার দেখা যেত ১৩০ বাই ১২৫ পিক্সেলের। যেটায় ক্লিক করলে পুরো ছবি লোড হতো। তবে সম্প্রতি টুইটারের অনেক ব্যবহারকারী জানিয়েছেন, তারা তাদের ফেইসবুক প্রোফাইল পিকচারের ছবির আকার দেখতে পাচ্ছেন ১৬৬ বাই ১৬০ পিক্সেল।

উল্লেখ্য, নতুন গুগল প্লাস ডিজাইন চালু হওয়ার পরই অনেকে সোশাল মিডিয়ায় বলতে শুরু করেন এবার ফেইসবুকের ‘কপি-পেস্টের’ পালা। অনেকটা চুপি-চুপি এই প্রোফাইল ছবির আকার বড় করা হলেও তীক্ষ্ম নজরের ব্যবহারকারীদের দৃষ্টি এড়াতে পারেনি ফেইসবুক।

নতুন গ্যালাক্সি স্মার্টফোন (SAMSUNG GALAXY S3) আসছে শীঘ্রই

স্মার্টফোন এবং ইলেকট্রনিক্স সামগ্রী নির্মাতা প্রতিষ্ঠান স্যামসাং সম্প্রতি বিভিন্ন সংবাদমাধ্যমে আমন্ত্রণ পত্র পাঠানো শুরু করেছে। জানা গেছে, স্যামসাং গ্যালাক্সি সিরিজের পরবর্তী স্মার্টফোনের ঘোষণা দেয়া হবে মে মাসের ৩ তারিখে। খবর ম্যাশএবল-এর।

ম্যাশএবল জানিয়েছে, আমন্ত্রণ পত্রে পরবর্তী গ্যালাক্সি ফোন সম্পর্কে বিস্তারিত কোনো তথ্য জানায়নি স্যামসাং। এতে লেখা হয়েছে, 'আসুন এবং আগামী গ্যালাক্সির সঙ্গে পরিচিত হোন।'

তবে ম্যাশএবল ধারণা করছে, স্যামসাং গ্যালাক্সি এস ৩ উদ্বোধন করা হবে এই অনুষ্ঠানে।  ২০১১ সালের সেরা স্মার্টফোনের পুরস্কার জিতে নেয় স্যামসাং গ্যালাক্সি এস ২। এরপর গত মাসে বার্সেলোনায় অনুষ্ঠিত মোবাইল ওয়ার্ল্ড কংগ্রেসেই গ্যালাক্সি এস ৩ অবমুক্ত করা হবে বলে জানায় স্যামসাং। কিন্তু শেষ পর্যন্ত অবমুক্ত করার দিন আরো পিছিয়েছে স্যামসাং।

এরপর এটাই গ্যালাক্সি স্মার্টফোন বিষয়ক প্রথম অনুষ্ঠান হওয়ায় এতেই গ্যালাক্সি এস ৩ অবমুক্ত হওয়ার ধারণা জোরদার হয়েছে বলে মন্তব্য করেছে ম্যাশএবল।

ফেইসবুকে বিনামূল্যে অফার

সামাজিক যোগাযোগের সাইট ফেইসবুক সম্প্রতি অফার নামের নতুন একটি সুবিধা চালু করছে যার মাধ্যমে বিভিন্ন কোম্পানি তাদের ফ্যানদের নিউজ ফিডে বিভিন্ন অফার দিতে পারবেন বিনামূল্যে। খবর মার্কেটিং ল্যান্ড ডটকমের।

সূত্র জানিয়েছে, নতুন এই সেবার ফলে, যে কোনো কোম্পানির তৈরি অফারগুলো ব্যবহারকারীর ফেইসবুক পেজে বা নিউজ ফিডে দেখা যাবে। উদাহরণ হিসেবে বলা যায়, কোনো রেস্টুরেন্ট যদি বিশেষ কোনো ছাড় অফার করে ফেইসবুকের মাধ্যমে, তাহলে রেস্টুরেন্টটির পেইজ যারা লাইক করেছেন তাদের নিউজ ফিডে ওই অফারটি দেখা যাবে। ব্যবহারকারীরা ‘গেট অফার’ বাটনে ক্লিক করার মাধ্যমে অফারটি পাবেন।

মার্কেটিং ল্যান্ড আরো জানিয়েছে, অফার দাবি (ক্লেইম) করলে ফেইসবুক ওই কোম্পানির পক্ষ থেকে একটি ইমেইল পাঠাবে ব্যবহারকারীর ইমেইল ঠিকানায়। এরপর সংশ্লিষ্ট স্থানে ওই ইমেইলটি দেখালে অথবা প্রিন্ট করে নিয়ে গেলেই অফারটি পাওয়া যাবে। অর্থাৎ, রেস্টুরেন্টের ক্ষেত্রে ফেইসবুক থেকে আসা ইমেইলটি দেখালেই ছাড় পাওয়া যাবে।

ফেইসবুক জানিয়েছে, প্রাথমিকভাবে বিনামূল্যেই পেইজ অ্যাডমিনরা বিভিন্নরকম অফার দিতে পারবেন। তবে বেশি ব্যবহারকারীর কাছে পৌঁছুতে এবং অফার সংখ্যার সীমাবদ্ধতা কাটাতে বিজ্ঞাপনও দেয়া যাবে।

ফের অ্যানোনিমাসের হামলা সিআইএতে

সম্প্রতি হ্যাকার গ্রুপ অ্যানোনিমাস টুইটারে দাবি করেছে, দুই মাসের মধ্যে দ্বিতীয়বারের মতো তারা মার্কিন গোয়েন্দা সংস্থা সেন্ট্রাল ইন্টেলিজেন্স এজেন্সির ওয়েবসাইট অচল করে দিয়েছে। খবর দি নেক্সট ওয়েব-এর।

সূত্র জানিয়েছে, ডিডিওএস আক্রমণ করার ফলে প্রায় ৪৫ মিনিটের জন্য ওয়েবসাইটটি অচল থাকলেও কোনো তথ্য বা ডেটা চুরি হয়নি। দি নেক্সট ওয়েব জানিয়েছে, এর আগের বার গত ফেব্রুয়ারিতে অ্যানোনিমাস সিআইএর ওয়েবসাইট অচল করার দায়িত্ব স্বীকার করে। তবে সেবার প্রায় তিন দিনব্যাপী সিআইএর সাইটে ঢোকা যাচ্ছিলো না।

মূলত পাইরেসির বিরুদ্ধে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের চলমান অভিযান, যা আরো ব্যাপ্তি পেয়েছে মেগাআপলোড বন্ধ করার মাধ্যমে, এর বিরুদ্ধে নিজেদের অবস্থান জানাতেই হ্যাকারদের এই গোপন সংগঠন বিভিন্ন সময় বিভিন্ন ওয়েবসাইট ডিস্ট্রিবিউটেড ডিনায়াল অফ সার্ভিস অ্যাটাক নামের বহু প্রচলিত পদ্ধতিতে সাইট অচল করে দিচ্ছে। এই আক্রমণের ফলে যে সার্ভারে ওয়েবসাইটের ডেটা থাকে সেখানে একই সঙ্গে লক্ষ-কোটি রিকোয়েস্ট যাওয়ায় তা সাময়িকভাবে 'ওভারলোড' হয়ে পরে এবং এর ফলে সাধারণ ভিজিটররা সাইট দেখতে পারেন না।

“We’re Not Winning” the CybeLaw Enforcement Fights Back Against Hacker Attacks-War

There’s little question that our online security, our digital well-being as it were, has come under attack these past few months, with hacker organizations conducting brazen attacks on both corporate and government sites; stealing information and leaving a trail of virtual destruction in their wakes.

Like many of the writers here at TheTelecomblog, I have long questioned the response of law enforcement agencies that seem ill-equipped to handle this cyber-crisis, as it has seemed like hackers are far more advanced then even our best online security measures.

That said, the FBI launched a coordinated attack on the popular hacker commune Anonymous, a move that that conjunction with authorities from Britain and the Netherlands collared some 21 people. But will these arrests stop the wave of cyber-attacks? Don’t bet on it.

One might say that hacking has become an epidemic this summer, as it seems that no one is safe from the likes of Anonymous or LulzSec (the hacker group that recently called it quits, only to resurface a few short weeks later). From popular technology companies like Sony and Nintendo to government databases around the world, it’s become clear that our online security measures are both antiquated and insufficient to combat this threat.

That said, there’s little question that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies around the world consider this most recent sting a success, as they have shown that they can find these hackers no matter how anonymous they may think they are. But the question remains, who has the FBI really found?

The truth is, as victories go, this one is most likely symbolic, a gesture to the hacking community that the police can—and perhaps will—find you, while the reality is that this action will likely do little to stem the tide of hacker attacks. In fact, analysts speculate that it’s incredibly unlikely that any of the 21 hackers arrested are of any true import in the Anonymous hacker network, with them more likely being small fish.

But while such arrests in the past may have driven normal gang or mob leaders underground in attempt to wait out the heat, things are much different in this technological age. In fact, I would wager a guess that the core leadership group of the Anonymous hackers are so well-trained and well-equipped that law enforcement really has no chance to find them, a fact that the hackers themselves know all to well.

So what does this mean? In a word, “retribution.” Don’t be surprised if rather than being intimidated by these arrests, the hacker attacks become even more brazen, perhaps focusing on the FBI and other agencies responsible. While I’m sure the FBI will think it’s ready to defend itself, it’s likely not, as these hacker communes have shown they are so adept at covering their tracks that they can tell companies they’re being hacked, and still get away with it.

In the end, I have to give credit where credit is due, applauding the FBI and others for their work to keep the online world safe, but its likely not enough to offer us any real safety.

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Research brings cloud computing costs back to earth

Researchers are looking for ways to reduce the high cost of internet data storage and retrieval in cloud computing.

Key points

• The search is on to cut the costs of data storage on web-based and remote servers
• Savings for heavy users of cloud computing – science, government and industry – are potentially huge
• Swinburne researchers have set out to change the way users manage remote databanks

Researchers are looking for ways to reduce the high cost of internet data storage and retrieval in cloud computing – running software and managing data on a remote computer, rather than your own.

Social media such as Facebook and Flickr are simple examples of cloud computing, but the drain on resources from these doesn't compare to the volumes of high-end data generated by the world’s research institutions, healthcare systems and industries.

Government agencies such as the Australian Taxation Office, Bureau of Statistics, and Treasury are examples of heavy users of cloud computing services, and the costs to them and others are high and rising. A new, more cost-effective model is needed for heavy users of cloud computing and this is the task of a team at Swinburne University of Technology.

As Professor Yun Yang from the Swinburne University Centre for Computing and Engineering Software Systems (SUCCESS) explains, cloud computing offers almost unlimited space for data storage and processing, but the current usage charges mean the costs are expanding at the same near-limitless rate.

Savings to be made

“Users have to pay for data storage, computation and data transfer for these pay-as-you-go services. Also, unnecessary data storage means greater electricity consumption, it is less environmentally friendly, lessening the benefits of using cloud computing.

“In his report to the federal government, Sir Peter Gershon estimated $1 billion can be saved if the Australian government develops a data centre strategy – the core for cloud computing – for the next 15 years.”

Professor Yang, who is working with Professor John Grundy and Dr Jinjun Chen, illustrates the issue facing cloud computing when he notes that  scientific fields such as astronomy, high-energy physics, bioinformatics and medical imaging technology can generate gigabytes of data per second.

Professor Grundy, director of SUCCESS, also points out that a complication for the Swinburne team is that researchers store two kinds of data: raw data and the intermediate data generated from processing this initial data. Raw data must be securely stored because it cannot be regenerated.

The main catch, Professor Grundy says, lies in storing intermediate data, and this gets expensive. But if the user deletes all the intermediate datasets and has to regenerate them later through further computation, the costs can be even higher.

“The trade-off is going to be between storage cost and computation cost. Finding this balance is complex, and there are currently no decision-making tools to advise on whether to store or delete intermediate datasets, and if to store, which ones,” Professor Grundy says.

Cloud cost calculators

With funding from an Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant, the researchers have developed two potential strategies to make cloud computing more affordable.

In the first, they have developed a mathematical model that lets users calculate the minimum storage cost. The formula factors in the size of the initial datasets, the rates charged by the service provider and the amount of intermediate data stored in the specified time. “The formula can be used to find the best deals for storing data in the cloud,” Professor Yang says.

The second proposal, the Intermediate Data-dependency Graph (IDG), answers whether to spend on storage or computation for intermediate datasets.

“IDG records how each intermediate dataset is generated from the ones before it. It shows the generation relationships of the datasets.” Or in other words, how A leads to B, then C, and then to D. “The (data centre) strategy can then decide which ones to delete.”

If deleted intermediate datasets need to be regenerated, the system wouldn’t have to start at the original data. Instead, guided by the IDG, the system could find the nearest predecessors of the datasets. If the process has been A, B, C, D and C is removed, the model would revert back to B for computation, rather than A. “This can save computation cost, time and electricity consumption,” Professor Grundy says.

The researchers have been evaluating the two solutions in tandem by simulating a pulsar survey used to crunch information from radio telescopes.

“Searching for pulsars – rapidly spinning stars that beam light – is a typical scientific application,” Professor Yang says. “It generates vast amounts of data – typically at one gigabyte per second. That data will be processed and may be reanalysed by astronomers all over the world for years to come.

“We used the prices offered by Amazon cloud’s cost model for this evaluation. For example, 15 cents per gigabyte per month for storage, and 10 cents per hour for computation.”

From one set of raw beam data collected by the telescope, the pulsar application generated six intermediate datasets. The model generated three different cost scenarios. The minimum cost for one hour of observation data from the telescope and storing intermediate data for 30 days was $200; for storing no data and regenerating when needed, $1000; and for storing all intermediate data, $390.

This gave the researchers options for which data to keep, and which to delete. “We could delete the intermediate datasets that were large in size but with lower generation expenses, and save the ones that were costly to generate, even though small in size,” Professor Yang says.

These are only a few of the solutions the researchers have come up with so far. To cater to different sectors, the group is also working on models that will allow users to determine the minimum cost on-the-fly, and as frequently as they wish.