Month: September 2024
How a 15-Year-Old Gamer Became the Patron Saint of the Internet
In 2025, Carlo Acutis will officially become the first millennial saint. But will he help the Catholic Church reach a younger audience?
In 2025, Carlo Acutis will officially become the first millennial saint. But will he help the Catholic Church reach a younger audience?
Fed up with unnecessary white space when printing from the web? AI is here to fix that, and it’s about time
HP Print AI is coming to fix your printing woes, and it’s about time.
There’s a tweet by John Moynes that’s been going around X.com for some time now that I can easily relate to. It goes like this: ‘Rage Against the Machine never specified what type of machine they were furious with, but I reckon it was probably a printer.’
Printing anything out at home remains one of the most frustrating experiences in modern life. Assuming you can actually get your PC to connect to your printer, who knows what you’re going to get out the other end because it rarely resembles the document you’re seeing on screen.
Spreadsheets mysteriously split themselves over several pages, and anything printed from a web page comes with an obligatory page or two of extra blank space at the end, maybe with a line or two random text at the bottom. Why printer companies haven’t managed to fix this yet is beyond me.
AI to the rescue
Well, perhaps it’s beyond human beings because HP has called Artificial Intelligence to fix it. Announced at its recent Imagine AI event, HP Print AI is here to fix the common problems associated with printing documents.
Its stand-out feature, Perfect Output, which is available now as a beta to select users, is designed to make what you see on screen the same as what your printer actually prints out. The first problem it’s designed to solve is to make printing from the web work, at long last.
HP estimates that half of all print jobs at home are from web pages, so it’s crazy to think it’s taken this long to sort it out. Perfect Output intelligently reformats and reorganizes the content of a web page to fit on the printed page. It also detects unwanted content like ads or web text and removes it.
More than that, it actually makes the pages look like they’ve been designed beautifully. Have a look at the before and after screenshots:
Here’s what a web page looks like when you try to print it… (Image credit: HP)
… and here’s how it looks after Perfect Output has reformatted it. (Image credit: HP)
Perfect Output also tackles the thorny issue of printing spreadsheets. These have traditionally been difficult to print out because they tend to be formatted in landscape. Perfect Output does the hard work of making them fit on a page for you, even integrating charts intelligently into the printouts.
HP is also using AI to help you set up your printer, but frankly, we just want better-looking printouts that don’t waste reams of paper when all we wanted was a recipe for spaghetti bolognese. If AI can do that, it’s winning.
While Perfect Output is available to select customers right now as a beta, HP says it will launch HP Print AI capabilities through 2025.
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Exxon Mobil’s ‘Advanced’ Technique for Recycling Plastic? Burning It
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Los Angeles Times:
In recent years — as longstanding efforts to recycle plastics have faltered — Exxon Mobil has touted advanced recycling as a groundbreaking technology that will turn the tide on the plastic crisis. But despite its seemingly eco-friendly name, the attorney general’s lawsuit denounced advanced recycling as a “public relations stunt” that largely involves superheating plastics to convert them into fuel.
At Exxon Mobil’s only “advanced recycling” facility in Baytown, Texas, only 8% of plastic is remade into new material, while the remaining 92% is processed into fuel that is later burned. [California attorney general Rob] Bonta’s lawsuit seeks a court order to prohibit the company from describing the practice as “advanced recycling,” arguing the vast majority of plastic is destroyed. Many environmental advocates and policy experts lauded the legal action as a major step toward ending greenwashing by Exxon Mobil — the world’s largest producer of single-use plastic polymer… Advanced recycling, which is also called chemical recycling, is an umbrella term that typically involves heating or dissolving plastic waste to create fuel, chemicals and waxes — a fraction of which can be used to remake plastic. The most common techniques yield only 1% to 14% of the plastic waste, according to a 2023 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Exxon Mobil has largely used reclaimed plastic for fuel production while ramping up its virgin plastic production, according to Bonta.
The executive director of California Communities Against Toxics complains Exxon Mobil’s “advanced” recycling is “the same technology we’ve had since the Industrial Revolution… a blast furnace.” (The article also quotes her as asking “How is that better than coal?”) And a UCLA researcher who studied the issue blames misperceptions about plastic recycling on “an industry-backed misinformation campaign.” He agrees that the reality is “having to burn more oil to turn that plastic back into oil, which you then burn.”
California’s attorney general “alleges Exxon Mobil has had a patent for this technology since 1978, and the company is falsely rebranding it as ‘new’ and ‘advanced’… It recently reemerged after the company learned that the term ‘advanced recycling’ resonated with members of the public…”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Los Angeles Times:
In recent years — as longstanding efforts to recycle plastics have faltered — Exxon Mobil has touted advanced recycling as a groundbreaking technology that will turn the tide on the plastic crisis. But despite its seemingly eco-friendly name, the attorney general’s lawsuit denounced advanced recycling as a “public relations stunt” that largely involves superheating plastics to convert them into fuel.
At Exxon Mobil’s only “advanced recycling” facility in Baytown, Texas, only 8% of plastic is remade into new material, while the remaining 92% is processed into fuel that is later burned. [California attorney general Rob] Bonta’s lawsuit seeks a court order to prohibit the company from describing the practice as “advanced recycling,” arguing the vast majority of plastic is destroyed. Many environmental advocates and policy experts lauded the legal action as a major step toward ending greenwashing by Exxon Mobil — the world’s largest producer of single-use plastic polymer… Advanced recycling, which is also called chemical recycling, is an umbrella term that typically involves heating or dissolving plastic waste to create fuel, chemicals and waxes — a fraction of which can be used to remake plastic. The most common techniques yield only 1% to 14% of the plastic waste, according to a 2023 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Exxon Mobil has largely used reclaimed plastic for fuel production while ramping up its virgin plastic production, according to Bonta.
The executive director of California Communities Against Toxics complains Exxon Mobil’s “advanced” recycling is “the same technology we’ve had since the Industrial Revolution… a blast furnace.” (The article also quotes her as asking “How is that better than coal?”) And a UCLA researcher who studied the issue blames misperceptions about plastic recycling on “an industry-backed misinformation campaign.” He agrees that the reality is “having to burn more oil to turn that plastic back into oil, which you then burn.”
California’s attorney general “alleges Exxon Mobil has had a patent for this technology since 1978, and the company is falsely rebranding it as ‘new’ and ‘advanced’… It recently reemerged after the company learned that the term ‘advanced recycling’ resonated with members of the public…”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Why European startups should consider moving to Dubai
Dubai is a city on the rise. The first nine months of 2023 saw its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase by 3.3%, while in the same period, its information and communications sector shot up by 4.4%. Alongside its prolonged economic success, the city has also become a haven for startups and the tech sector in general. A big part of this has been the country’s dedication to stoking business, something many feel Europe hasn’t focused on in the same way. While the continent still has a strong global presence with a large market and a highly skilled workforce, many complain…This story continues at The Next Web
Dubai is a city on the rise. The first nine months of 2023 saw its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase by 3.3%, while in the same period, its information and communications sector shot up by 4.4%. Alongside its prolonged economic success, the city has also become a haven for startups and the tech sector in general. A big part of this has been the country’s dedication to stoking business, something many feel Europe hasn’t focused on in the same way. While the continent still has a strong global presence with a large market and a highly skilled workforce, many complain…
This story continues at The Next Web
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sept. 30
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Sept. 30.
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Sept. 30.
The rising threat of SYS01 infostealer: Navigating the malicious mad men of Facebook
Hackers use SYS01 infostealer in malicious Facebook advertisements to steal credentials.
Infostealer attacks are becoming an increasingly serious threat. Over the past few years, infostealer malware has increasingly become the weapon of choice for cybercriminals as a low-hanging fruit tactic to carry out high-impact data breaches due to their simplicity, vast availability, and low cost.
The Trustwave SpiderLabs Threat Intelligence team recently discovered a new version of the SYS01 infostealer during our ongoing research of malicious activity on Facebook. With over 2.9 billion monthly active users and 200 million business accounts on Facebook, this infostealer poses a significant risk.
In this campaign, hackers use malicious advertisements to steal account credentials to take over Facebook business and personal pages, as well as gain access to users’ credentials, history, and cookies in web browsers. The captured information can include saved credit card info, passwords for accounts to other sites, and more. This can then lead to further rippling effects, including disruption of business operations and financial loss.
Expanded Facebook User Targeting
SYS01 represents a new wave of infostealer malware with more sophisticated capabilities and evasion techniques, making it a formidable threat.
Since its emergence in March 2023, SYS01 has dramatically evolved. Initially distributed through Facebook advertisements related to adult content and gaming, this new version which has been operating since September 2023, now includes ads for AI-tools and Windows themes. This evolution advances SYS01’s appearance of legitimacy and extends its reach to target the general population, making it more challenging for users to identify and avoid malicious ads.
As this malware continues to evolve and target a larger pool of potential victims, organizations should implement filtering systems to analyze ad content for signs of malware or malicious intent to help mitigate risks. It’s also crucial for employees to improve their own ability to recognize spoofed ads and maintain good cybersecurity hygiene by staying informed about the latest trends and tools used by cybercriminals.
The Adaptive Nature of SYS01
SYS01 can manipulate antivirus software configurations to avoid detection and maintain presence on infected systems for extended periods. This makes it much more challenging for traditional security solutions to detect the malware. With the ability to identify virtualized environments used by security researchers for malware analysis, SYS01 can further alter its behavior or halt execution to prevent discovery by security tools.
Not only can SYS01 manipulate security tools to evade detection, but its adaptability also allows it to continue to morph and adjust to increase effectiveness with each malicious ad campaign. Leveraging calculated A/B testing, SYS01 adapts and refines its ads to maximize engagement and click-through rates and repeats use of the more successful advertisements.
Given the adaptive nature of SYS01, organizations should ensure they have host-based anti-malware tools to help detect and protect against malicious exploits. Security and IT teams can go a step further by keeping browsers and plugins up-to-date and configuring browsers and tasks to regularly delete persistent cookies to reduce the risk of session cookie theft of sensitive information. When prevention isn’t possible, audit controls can also help detect potential compromises.
One Infostealer After Another
As cybercriminals continue to innovate with their use of infostealers, maintaining vigilance and implementing robust security measures is critical.
SYS01 is just one of many infostealer threats. Many of its tactics exhibit striking similarities to other infostealers, such as Rilide. Disguising itself as a legitimate Google Drive extension, Rilide targets Chromium-based browsers – such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Opera – leveraging Google Ads to carry out attacks that monitor browsing history and capture screenshots before injecting malicious scripts to withdraw funds from cryptocurrency exchanges.
To protect against such threats, security leaders should enforce the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) across their organizations. This adds an extra layer of defense, making unauthorized access more difficult if and when users inadvertently click on malicious ads. Proactive monitoring with tools like endpoint detection and response, alongside MFA, enhances security by detecting anomalies and aggregating data across an organization’s IT infrastructure.
A Call for Proactive Defense
SYS01’s evolution and sophisticated capabilities underscore the growing threat posed by infostealers, particularly in its demonstrated ability to evade detection and continuously evolve. This flexibility highlights the need for cybersecurity professionals to stay ahead of the curve to effectively anticipate and mitigate future threats. By investing in robust defenses, monitoring solutions, and proactive threat hunting, organizations can better safeguard against the rising risks of infostealers and protect their digital assets from potential harm.
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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro