Technabob » virus

Ebola Virus 3D Model: Staring Death in the Face

Range — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:53 +0000

Made famous by its deadliness, the Ebola virus was first described in 1976. It was made famous by The Hot Zone by Richard Preston and some small epidemics that thankfully didn’t kill off most of the planet. While it never reached the epidemic levels feared, it’s still interesting to check out the intricacies of this 3D model of the deadly virus.

This intricate 3D model was done by Visual Science and it’s based on X-ray analysis and data that was published in the last twenty years. Some of the protein structures were predicted using computer modeling techniques.

This new model is 10 times more complex than the last one they did of HIV, which is kind of astounding. Where can I print mine?

[via designyoutrust]

Virus Stay Warm Suits Keep You Toasty with Recycled Coffee Beans

Hazel Chua — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:48 +0000

I’m all for green alternatives. Not green as in “envy” or green as in “cold hard cash,” but green as in “environmentally friendly.” The suits below are from Virus’ Stay Warm line and they’re as green as green can get: making use of recycled coffee beans to add an extra layer of warmth on the suits.

What Virus actually did was grind up these coffee beans to come up with coffee charcoal, which they’ve (not so) cleverly called Coffee Char. The char was then processed and incorporated into a natural fiber, which serves as the base layer fabric that make the garments act more like insulators, raising skin temperature by as much as 10°F.

You might be thinking that sportswear that traps heat will end up making you feel all sticky and gross, right? Wrong, because the Stay Warm suits were made to wick the moisture away from your skin. The suits also have UV shielding and anti-odor properties that make sure you don’t stink while doing whatever it is you’re doing.

You can check out the entire range of suits from the Virus Action Sport Performance Stay Warm line on their site right here.

[via Gizmag]

Watch Your Kids: Hackers Now Planting Viruses into Kids’ Games

Hazel Chua — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:00:42 +0000

Most adults these days have wisened up and refrain from clicking on banner ads that claim “You just one a prize!” or “You just won the 10,000,000th user award!” That means virus writers have to think of other measures to propagate their viruses and malware, and it seems that they’ve decided to go with the realm of free, online games targeted towards kids.

This was revealed in a study by the Avast Virus Labs. Kids are lured into playing games hosted online, while the sites then load programs in the background onto the PC. And before you know it, the PC’s fried and your account information has been stolen.

Ondrej Vlcek, CTO of AVAST Software, says: “Games like these require clicking and children don’t think much about what they are clicking on. This makes them – or their parents’ computer – quite susceptible to malicous software.”

CuteArcade.com has been identified as being one of such sites which has already been able to infect over 12,600 computers. Another site, HiddenNinjaGames.com, has also been said to pose a risk.

So parents, watch your kids when they’re playing seemingly harmless games on seemingly harmless sites, and be sure to keep your anti-virus software up to date. Because you never know what’s happening beneath it all.

[via Daily Mail]

Spread a Virus in Japan and Get Thrown in the Slammer

Hazel Chua — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:38:08 +0000

That’s right, you read that right: if you’re caught with a virus on your computer, then you’ve got to shell out $6,200 in bail or spend three years in jail. This only applies if you’re in Japan, that is. So if you’re not living in the Land of the Rising Sun, then you can go on ahead and spread those corrupt and wormy files without worrying about getting sent to prison.

All kidding aside, the bill that criminalizes the creation or distribution of computer virus was finally enacted last Friday by Japan’s parliament. The law also includes provisions regarding punishment that will be meted out to people who have been caught sending pornographic images to random people.

These laws are meant to crack down on the dirty web of cybercrime; however, some parts of the law border on infringing the privacy of communications as it allows data to be obtained or subpoenaed by authorities from servers for investigation when necessary.

Japan is the first country to enact and implement such a law. Hopefully, we’ll be able to gauge the effectivity of passing the law a few months down the line.

[via Geeky Gadgets]

Ironic Image of the Day: Airport Security

Technabob — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 12:12:47 +0000

I’m sure this is no indication of the level of security in airport computer systems…

…but it sure doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy about flying.

Keep up the good work!

[via flickr via DevicePedia]

Some 5.5g Ipods Infected With Windows Virus

Technabob — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 21:03:29 +0000

Apple has admitted to shipping some 5.5G iPods infected with a Windows virus called “RavMonE.exe.” Apparently the virus infected a PC at an iPod manufacturer’s facility and subsequently found its way onto some of Apple’s players. So far, reports are that less than 1% of players are affected by the virus which spreads via mass storage devices.

Apple has posted details on how to detect and remove the virus here.

[via Engadget ]