Japan’s Kyoto University working with Nasa and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) plan to launch wood rather than metal-based satellites into orbit from next year. LignoSat As part of the LignoSat Space Wood Project, which began in April 2020, as a collaboration between Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, wood...
Security Stop-Press : Scammers Advertise Hacking Services On US Government Websites
A senior researcher at the Citizen Lab has revealed that scammers have been uploading PDFs containing links to multiple government and university websites. Some of the PDFs have been found to contain links to websites offering hacking services for Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat accounts. It's also thought possible that some...
Tech Tip – Customise WhatsApp Notifications
If you’d like to give notifications for a certain WhatsApp group you’re in a different as tone so you know when new messages arrive there without having check, here’s how: - To set a custom notification sound for a specific group: - Open WhatsApp, click on the group chat in...
Tech News : 20 NHS Trusts Shared Personal Data With Facebook
An Observer investigation has reported uncovering evidence that 20 NHS Trusts have been collecting data about patients’ medical conditions and sharing it with Facebook. Using A Covert Tracking Tool The newspaper’s investigation found that over several years, the trusts have been using the Meta Pixel analytics tool to collect patient...
Tech News : Self-Healing Skin Developed For Robots
Hmm, where have we seen this before? Stanford University scientists have created a multi-layered, self-healing electronic skin for robots and prosthetics that has a sense of touch and can realign itself autonomously when cut. Layered Polymers The research team created the synthetic skin using thin layers of rubber, latex (natural...
Featured Article : New Reports Reveal Two Key Cyber Security Insights
With phishing attacks being favoured for their effectiveness by attackers and most ransomware attacks now targeting backup storage, we look at what businesses can do to protect themselves. Spear Phishing Accounted For Two-Thirds Of All Attacks Last Year A recent report from security provider Barracuda has revealed that although spear...
Tech Insight: Viewing Deleted WhatsApp Messages
In this Insight, we look at how it is possible to uncover and read deleted messages on WhatsApp, and what a number of privacy features on the app mean for business users. Changes  WhatsApp have made changes as regards message deletion that focus on giving users more control, such as:...
Sustainability : Artificial Leaf Makes Petrol Alternative
University of Cambridge researchers have developed an ‘artificial leaf’ that uses sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into ethanol and propanol that could be used as a low-emissions petrol alternative to power car engines. Inspired By Photosynthesis The ‘leaf,’ made from thin-film metal oxides and materials known as perovskites...
Security Stop-Press : Mic-Snooping Malware Added To Legit Google Play App
ESET researchers have reported finding mic-snooping hidden malware in the legitimate Android iRecorder – Screen Recorder (screen-and-audio recorder) app while it was still available in the Google Play Store. The malware was added as an update, and it’s thought that tens of thousands of people may have downloaded the app...
Tech Tip – Creating and Sharing WhatsApp Call Links
If you’d like a way to create and share a WhatsApp call link so that anyone with a WhatsApp account can join your call by opening the link, here’s how: - Tap the 'Calls' tab and tap 'Create Call Link'. - Select your call type, video, or voice. - Tap...