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How you may have inadvertently participated in recent DDoS attacks

The risk that an Internet-connected computer is infected with malware will never be reducible to zero. It's just the nature of software that errors happen. Where there are software-design errors, there are people who will exploit those errors to their advantage.

The best PC users can hope for is to minimize the chances of an infection and to mitigate the damage a piece of malware can inflict -- whether it intends to steal a user's sensitive data or to commandeer the machine as part of a cyber attack on servers thousands of miles away.

Last week, Internet users … Read more

Download and manage your files with the Internet Download Accelerator

The Internet Download Accelerator is designed to help you quickly find and download videos, music, games and more. While it proved very easy to user, but the search feature didn't always find files even when we searched for videos we knew were on the site.

The interface presents as a file directory, much like Windows Explorer. In the left pane, you can see the main categories, All Downloads, Top Downloads, and Status, and easily drill down to see items in these categories. You can also set up your own categories to help you manage the files you download. All … Read more

Grab YouTube Videos with Wondershare Free YouTube Downloader for Mac

Wondershare Free YouTube Downloader for Mac is a lengthy name for a utility that does pretty much exactly what the name suggests. You can use this app to download videos from YouTube onto your Mac, convert YouTube videos for your portable iDevice, and format them for playback on your Mac using the built-in FLV player.

Wondershare Free YouTube Downloader for Mac installs quickly. The free version is a stripped-down version of a premium package that sells for $29.00, but many will find the free app is all they need. The features in the full version include better support for … Read more

Keep your kids from accessing adult sites with Anti-Porn

One of parents' biggest Internet worries is "adult content," i.e. pornography. Anti-Porn from tuEagles is an easy-to-use program that helps parents take control of what their kids are exposed to online. Its filters block suspicious sites. If the parents or guardians (or whoever holds the password) approves of the site, they can allow access. Parents and adults can restore unfiltered access quickly without shutting down Anti-Porn by toggling to Parent mode. Anti-Porn takes screenshots and logs online activity when it's running, so parents can see just where their kids are hanging out online. It can even … Read more

Norton 2013 offers good Windows 8 support, but struggles on benchmarks

Review: Symantec has moved Norton 360 to the same release schedule as Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiVirus, making them into a three-tiered strategy for consumer security. Norton AntiVirus is the entry-level product, with Norton Internet Security occupying the middle rung and Norton 360 aimed at people who want the most bang for the most buck.

Notoriously slow to respond to trends, the consumer security field is surprisingly not taking Windows 8 lying down. Norton and many of its competitors are optimizing their suites for Microsoft's new operating system ahead of its release, and Norton is combining that strategy … Read more

Brain scans may detect autism in babies and toddlers

Two separate studies published this month indicate that it may be possible to use brain imaging techniques to reliably detect autism in children as young as 6 months of age.

In the first study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers from across North America working on the larger and ongoing Infant Brain Imaging Study used a type of MRI called diffusion tensor imaging to study 92 6-month-olds deemed high risk because their older siblings had been diagnosed with autism.

What they found is that the organization of white matter in the brain plays a key role. Specifically, they … Read more

Photo fun with Photofunia

Photofunia is a ridiculously simple photo effects app that lets you drop your photos into funny and interesting scenes, similar to those you might find at an amusement park photo booth. If, say, you want to see what your face might look like on a billboard in Times Square, Photofunia has an effect for that. How about on the cover of Esquire Magazine? Photofunia's got that covered, too. With an incredible number of effects available, the possibilities seem endless.

To get started with Photofunia, just fire up the app and start looking for an effect you like. You can … Read more

Early-warning software could reduce false alarms of seizures

Of the 50 million people worldwide estimated to have epilepsy, almost a third do not respond to treatment. Those patients must rely on implantable anti-seizure devices that detect pre-seizure electrical activity and shoot small electrical impulses to the brain to interrupt the seizures.

The downside is that the tech, still early in development, also produces false positives, causing devices to send currents to the brain when a seizure is not actually occurring. One new approach, developed by a biomedical and electrical engineer at Johns Hopkins University, appears to reduce those false alarms.

Tested on real-time recordings of brain activity in … Read more

ABCs of Car Tech: Driver aid systems

Last time, we took a look at how cars protect their passengers in the event of a crash. This week, we're taking a look at a few high-tech ways that modern vehicles can help prevent accidents in the first place.

Modern tech cars can be equipped with a host of driver aid systems that help make driving easier for your average commuter. From road-aware cruise control systems to self-aware headlight systems, cars are getting smarter every day.

Adaptive cruise control If the standard cruise control system was the first step toward vehicular autonomy, then adaptive cruise control system is … Read more

Photoacoustic device identifies cancer before tumors form

Early detection of skin cancer may soon be possible, thanks to researchers who compare their approach to looking for a black 18-wheeler in an eight-lane highway of white cars.

The new technique for melanoma detection, proposed by researchers at the University of Missouri, uses photoacoustics (laser-induced ultrasound) to find cancer cells before they form into tumors. Testing could cost just a few hundred dollars. The current method of detection, by comparison, requires waiting for tumors to form and can cost thousands of dollars.

"Using a small blood sample, our device and method will provide an earlier diagnosis for aggressive … Read more