Facebook Has Intermittent Outages, Internet Can’t Even Deal

(Maria Elena)

As the clock struck approximately lunchtime on the east coast of the United States, the unthinkable happened: Facebook outages. Oh, no! How could the Internet cope? On a Friday, no less? Let’s all band together and try to get through this terrible time. …Wait, it’s back up? NEVER MIND.

Naturally, people unable to deal with reality or with doing their actual work turned to Twitter in order to make sure their inane thoughts were being shared with as many people as possible. Though the posts weren’t all inane: hardship led to funny jokes from professional comedians and random people alike about the important role that Facebook has taken in our lives in just a few years.

The #facebookdown hashtag has been a solid source of ranting, self-righteous “I don’t use Facebook anyway” huffing, and entertainment.

There is a gap in my twitter feed between those worrying about Facebook being down and those worrying about Ebola coming to US.—

Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) August 01, 2014

Website social media workers shriek in terror for lack of referral traffic due to #facebookdown—

Clint Durrett (@Phanclan) August 01, 2014

It’s funny because it’s true.

People accept that God exists & created the universe without evidence or proof but if you tell them Facebook is down they immediately check.—

Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) August 01, 2014

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Nobody Wants To Sleep In A Driverless Car

Mariordo/Wikipedia

Driverless cars are either a strange folly on Google’s part, or everyone’s inevitable future. While Google continues testing, researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed the public to find out how we feel about the prospect of self-driving cars. The sort of surprising result is that while people generally have a positive opinion of the technology, the prospect of riding in a self-driving car makes most people nervous.

People who took part in this survey were adults who live in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. There were about 1,533 respondents, and the findings were pretty consistent across all three countries surveyed.

One of the chief advantages of the vehicles is supposed to be fewer accidents, and survey participants agreed with that. In theory. When asked how they would probably spend their time in a self-driving vehicle, 41% of all respondents said that they would still watch the road even though it’s not necessary when they aren’t driving.

8.3% of people say that they would probably read, 5.3% say that they would watch TV (that’s probably a gross underestimate) and only 7% of respondents say that they would sleep. Wouldn’t commute snoozing or being able to have your car chauffeur you overnight on road trips be one of the main advantages of a self-driving vehicle?

Respondents generally had positive ideas about self-driving technology, but seemed nervous about the loss of control and about adopting the cars in their real lives when the time comes. They also didn’t want to pay extra for the option of a self-driving car.

A Survey of Public Opinion about Autonomous and Self-Driving

Vehicles in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia [University of Michigan]

Survey: People Like Self-Driving Cars, But Not Enough to Sleep in Them [Wall Street Journal]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Former Work-At-Home Schemer Hid Assets From FTC, Must Now Pay Previously Suspended $26.9M Fine

(PaulBarwick)

When your company is under investigation by federal regulators it’s best to be forthcoming with your net worth, because, you know, secrets come out. And when that secret happens to be hidden money, the subsequent fine will likely increase – by a lot.

A former work-at-home scheme operator, who allegedly tried to hide his assets from the Federal Trade Commission in reference to a 2009 case, went from owing nothing to a hefty tab of $26.9 million for his alleged additional deceptive actions, the FTC announced Thursday.

Jonathan Eborn, one of the operators behind operations such as “Google Money Tree,” “Google Pro” and “Google Treasure Chest,” allegedly hid at least $274,828.80 in assets from investigators during the settlement portion of the earlier case by misrepresenting his control over the businesses.

This summer, based on the new findings, a U.S. District Court in Nevada reinstated the full judgement against Eborn: $26.9 million.

The amount stems from his company’s part in marketing an alleged work-at-home scam, in which consumers purchased a low-cost kit with promises they would earn $100,000 in six months.

Back in 2009, the FTC charged Eborn and other operators with using the scheme to lure consumers into divulging their financial account information and failing to disclose that they would be charged $72.21 a month.

As part of the settlement, the defendants gave up more than $3.5 million in cash and other assets. At the time, Eborn was excused from liability for the bulk of the judgement based on his sworn financial stateless that showed his inability to pay.

However, part of the settlement included a provision that stated if any defendant misrepresented their financial condition, the full judgement would become due.

FTC Obtains $26.9 Million Judgment Against Work-at-Home Scammer Who Tried to Hide His Assets from 2010 Court Judgment [Federal Trade Commission]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Can ATM Operators Beat Skimmers By Simply Rotating Card Readers 90 Degrees?

One example of a skimming device that’s been ripped from an ATM. Diebold thinks that changing the orientation of a machine’s card reader will help stop skimming. (photo: Aaron Poffenberger)

For decades, we’ve been sliding our credit and debit cards into ATMs with the shorter side of the card entering the reader. All this while, ID thieves have been improving their card-skimming devices to fit this well-established mold. The skimmers have gotten smaller, sleeker, and smarter, to the point where even a trained eye might be fooled. So what’s the best way to upend all those years of hard work by the bad guys? According to ATM biggie Diebold, it’s just as simple as turning the reader 90 degrees.

The company is now making the push for its ActivEdge card reader, which Diebold claims in the video below thwarts every currently known type of skimming.

The most obvious feature of the reader is that cards would now be inserted with the longer side facing the machine — a change that both customers and, more importantly skimmer creators, would require some time to get adapt to.

Of course, the hope is that a consumers will more readily get used to inserting their cards a different way before ID thieves figure out a way to clone the new readers.

That said, there’s a lot of money to be made from card skimming so merely rotating the reader is really just a speed bump.

So Diebold says it also incorporated other ways of defeating skimming technology.

For example, each of these new devices is specifically paired with the machine to which it’s attached. Thus, it would be impossible — or at least really difficult — for someone to swap out a fake card reader for the original.

Additionally, Diebold says the new reader will have an encrypted read head, and that the data going from the reader to the ATM’s computer is likewise encrypted, meaning that your card information is not freely available to anyone tapping into that connection.

The company says it’s done real-world testing of the ActivEdge readers and it claims that consumers weren’t put off by having to rethink how they insert their cards into the ATM.

While we haven’t tried these new readers — and we’re always concerned when a company entrusted to protect our money makes hubristic statements like these — it’s nice to see someone try a new way to fight card-skimming.

It certainly can’t be worse than the pointless anti-skimming gas pump stickers that Shell employees can’t seem to figure out.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Hyundai Announces Three More Recalls, Bringing This Week’s Total To 1.3M Vehicles

(funky_abstract)

Hyundai managed to remain relatively unscathed when it came to what I’m now referring to as “year of the recall,” but that changed this week. Hot off the heels of an 800,000-vehicle recall on Wednesday, the South Korean manufacturer is now issuing three additional recalls – for a host of issues – totaling more than 420,000 cars.

According to notices from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there have been no injuries or accidents associated with the three new recalls.

The first recall [PDF] focuses on about 225,000 model year 2001 to 2006 Sante Fe Crossover vehicles in which a rusted coil spring could fracture and puncture a tire, increasing the risk of a crash.

Affected vehicles are located in 20 cold-weather states were road salt is used including: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia.

The second recall [PDF] involves 133,000 model year 2011 Sonata sedans because the car’s brake system master cylinder seal may be insufficient. If the seal doesn’t hold, the brake line could leak significant amounts of fluid, increasing the distance required to stop the vehicle.

Sonatas were also at the center of this week’s earlier Hyundai recall. In that case, 883,000 model year 2011 to 2014 sedans were recalled because a transmission-shift cable could detach from the shift lever pin, causing the gear selection not to match the indicator gear; meaning when the car appears to be in “park” it might not be.

Friday’s final recall [PDF] includes 61,000 model year 2007 to 2012 Veracruz crossovers with a possible oil leak. The leak make damage the vehicle’s alternator and charging system, which could cause full loss of power.

Hyundai will notify owners of the three models and dealers will repair the issues beginning in September.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Find Out If Your State Has A Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday This Month

(Don)

Earlier today, the calendar flipped from July to August, and kids everywhere groaned with the realization that they will soon have to be going back to school. But the even louder grousing you’re hearing this morning is from parents envisioning their bank accounts being drained by purchases of backpacks, clothes, pencils (do kids even use those anymore?), and those individual packs of tissues that will never be used but you buy anyway. What some of these parents don’t know is that a number of states have sales tax holidays in August — many of them starting today — to ease the burden of back-to-school spending.

Below is a state-by-state list of tax holidays coming up this month, culled mostly from this annual list from the Federation of Tax Administrators.

Some things to remember:

• Unless otherwise mentioned, the price mentioned in parentheses is per item, so “no sales tax on clothing (up to $100)” means “no sales tax on any individual item of clothing up to $100, not the total value of the purchase.

• In some states, local taxes may still apply.

• We recommend you check the specific link for your state’s tax holiday before shopping, to make sure you’re aware of any conditions involved.

Alabama

Aug. 1-3

No sales tax on clothing (up to $100 per item); computers (up to $750); school supplies (up to $50); books (up to $30).

More information HERE.

Arkansas

Aug. 2-3

No sales tax on clothing (up to $100); certain accessories (up to $50); or school supplies, including art supplies and instructional materials.

More information HERE.

Connecticut

Aug. 17-23

No sales tax on certain clothing or footwear (up to $300)

Examples of eligible and ineligible items HERE.

Florida

Aug. 1-3

No sales tax on clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling (up to $100); certain school supplies (up to $15); personal computers and certain computer-related accessories (only on the first $750 of the sales price, and only when purchased for noncommercial home or personal use).

More information HERE.

Georgia

Aug. 1-2

No sales tax on clothing and footwear (up to $100); computers, computer components, and computer software purchased for noncommercial home or personal use (up to $1,000); ; school supplies, including art supplies, computer supplies, and instructional materials (up to $20).

More information HERE.

Iowa

Aug. 1-2

No sales tax on clothing and footwear (up to $100)

More information HERE.

Louisiana

Aug. 1-2

No sales tax on “all consumer purchases of tangible personal property,” meaning most purchases you would make for back-to-school purposes.

More information, including examples of which types of purchases would still be taxable, available HERE.

Maryland

Aug. 10-16

No sales tax on clothing and footwear (up to $100; accessories not included).

More information HERE.

Missouri

Aug. 1-3

No sales tax on clothing (up to $100); school supplies (up to $50 per purchase); software (up to $350); personal computers and peripherals (up to $3,500).

More information HERE.

New Mexico

Aug. 1-3

No sales tax on clothing or shoes (up to $100); computers or tablets (up to $1,000); computer accessories (up to $500); school supplies (up to $30).

More information HERE.

Oklahoma

Aug. 1-3

No sales tax on clothing or shoes (up to $100).

More information HERE.

South Carolina

Aug. 1-3

No sales tax on: clothing, clothing accessories, footwear, school supplies, computers, printers and printer supplies, computer software, bath wash clothes, blankets, bed spreads, bed linens, sheet sets, comforter sets, bath towels, shower curtains, bath rugs and mats, pillows, and pillow cases.

More information HERE.

Tennessee

Aug. 1-3

No sales tax on clothing (up to $100); school supplies (up to $100); computers (up to $1,500).

More information HERE.

Texas

Aug. 8-10

No sales tax on most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks (up to $100).

More information HERE.

Virginia

Aug. 1-3

No sales tax on certain school supplies (up to $20); clothing and footwear (up to $100).

More information HERE.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Teen Hacks Gift Card Database: Was It For Research, Or To Score Free Stuff?

(The Joy of the Mundane)

Running out of funds on your store gift card is a total bummer. While most of us would just pay with our own cash or buy another gift card. For a Virginia teen, there was another option: circumvent a computer database

The computer whiz contends that the hacking effort was just for research, but that hasn’t stopped federal investigators from probing the situation, NBC Washington reports.

In all, the teen admits he was able to load a Sears card with at least $500, a K-Mart card with $495, a Whole Foods card with $300 and a Starbucks card with $100, but he says he never used any of the cards to make purchases.

“My mission is just to see where the loopholes are, where to expose them and probably develop solutions to counter them,” the teen says.

The investigation began when the 19-year-old allegedly boasted to a coworker at his cyber security job about a code he’d created that enabled him to take an ordinary $25 gift card and add value to it.

A short time later, federal investigators searched the teen’s home and seized computers, phones and other electronics.

According to a search warrant affidavit filed by the Department of Homeland Security, the teen is under investigation for computer fraud.

A sworn signed statement was obtained from the subject. In the signed sworn statement, subject admitted to creating computer codes on his personal notebook computer to gain unlawful access to multiple e-commerce sites, including Shell Gas, Whole Foods, K-Mark, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. [He] has used his codes to trick the e-commerce systems into adding funds to gifts cards he has possession of without actually expending any money to do so. He admitted to using his program to add funds to other individuals’ gift cards without the need to actually expend funds.

Despite all eyes on him, the teen doesn’t seem too concerned by the situation.

“I’ve heard stories of a lot of other hackers who have had similar experiences so I don’t think it’s a big deal,” he tells NBC Washington. “They should be more worried about what the tool can do if a malicious actor took it.”

GMU Grad Investigated for Hacking Gift Cards [NBC Washington]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Plane Diverted After Drunk Woman Allegedly Demands A Parachute, Attacks Crew With Prosthetic Leg

(kejreeves)

It doesn’t matter what weapon you use — threatening anyone with bodily harm is never okay. That’s why a flight from Tunisia to Edinburgh, Scotland was diverted to London after a woman who was reportedly drunk allegedly attacked cabin crew with her prosthetic leg, after demanding “cigarettes and a parachute.”

According the Edinburgh Evening News, a fellow passenger on the Thomson Airways flight says he saw a 48-year-old woman slap a young girl in a seat nearby, before unfastening her leg and swinging it at cabin crew.

The witness says she was “off her face on drink” during the alleged incident, first announcing she wanted smokes and something to help her jump off the plane. That’s when she allegedly grabbed for her prosthesis.

Crew were able to wrest it away from her, but the witness says then she started kicking with her good leg.

“It sounds funny, but it was not a laughing matter at the time. It was serious. She was totally drunk. It was pretty shocking.”

Flight attendants were able to restrain her and put her in handcuffs, while the pilot made an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport. She was escorted from the plane by cops, leaving the rest of her fellow travelers to sit on the runway for a bit while police took statements.

A police spokesperson confirmed there was an incident, saying: “The flight was diverted into Gatwick after it was alleged the woman had been abusive and had thrown a prosthetic leg and food at cabin crew.”

A rep for Thomson Airways apologized, saying Thomson is sorry for any passengers who were upset or inconvenienced by the incident.

“We would like to reassure customers that their safety is our priority at all times,” the spokesperson said. “Thomson Airways operates a zero tolerance policy with regards to any disruptive behavior on board and incidents of this type are extremely rare.”

Drunk plane passenger attacks crew with fake leg [Edinburgh Evening News]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

Here are nine of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

(coneslayer)

(jayRaz)

(Corey Templeton)

(Hammerin Man)

(Mike Matney)

(Derelict Compositions)

(Benjamin Thompson)

(Freaktography)

(Ben Husmann)

Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Want to see your pictures on our site? Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

La mejores aplicaciones para el aprendizaje en el 2014

via Educación tecnológica http://ift.tt/1uNRK85 www.bscformacion.com