Posts for 'Security' Category

Students in Virginia Tech mechanical engineering Professor Mehdi Ahmadian’s senior design class developed a horizontal light bar to communicate slowing and stopping actions to a driver in a following vehicle. It had several drawbacks, including cost of production. A sensor circuit that will do the same job using the extra lights usually mounted on commercial vehicles has now been developed.

You are driving in heavy traffic. The brake lights on the car in front of you come on. Is the car slowing or is it going to stop? It slows to 25 mph and the lights go off. You drop back. The car in front of you stops suddenly! You stop just in time. The car behind you collects your rear bumper.

“The problem is that brake lights are yes and no – on and off,” according to John Hennage of Montross, Va., a Ph.D. mechanical engineering student in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. “The driver behind does not know the speed at which the car in front is slowing or stopping. The only other signal would be the smoke off the tires.”

The solution is an intelligent brake light system that communicates slowing and urgent stopping – rather than simply that the brake pedal is being touched. “A driver could be tapping his foot in time to music and the brake lights would blink. Or, a driver can rest her foot on the pedal and the lights would glow. It’s not enough information for the following driver,” said Hennage.

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It is often emphasised on the safety and security of our passwords. Ironically, the very same thing that is supposed to keep our date safe and secure can be easily ‘vandalized’ or simply speaking hacked.  

So, someone intelligent enough, came up with a device that would make password breakers’ live a little bit difficult.  

The Mandylion Password Manager is a small device that generates password upon request. All you have to do is type in a name or a phrase and it will generate an appropriate word relating to that name/phrase.  

And it is often a good idea to change your password every six months…..and now you will be able to do so..  

And yes, this handy piece of equipment will cost you US $ 50.

All those absent-minded people raise your hand….huh! no hands, well, why am I not surprised…they probably forget to do so.   Joking aside, it can really be quite stressful to be living with such people. They often forget to remember discussions, things and much more.  

So what to do…..well the answer is…get a Loc8tor Tracking System. Now, at least YOU will be able to keep track of all things.  

This tracking system is a remote control sort of device that transmits radio frequency signals to tags attached to everyday household things. Things such as keys, wallet, remote control, and even children, can be easily located with just one press of button.  

This stress-reducing device comes at a hefty price of US $ 169.99

This is one handy device. The USB SIM Card Reader is a nifty little device that allows us to keep our data safe.  

Data like that of mobile phone contacts can be downloaded via this SIM Card Reader onto your laptop or Palm PC or even to your desktop PC and kept safe.

This is more so necessary, especially when nowadays; there is often the risk of getting your mobile or any hand-held gadget swiped by the ever-present magnetic fields.  

The device comes with software that enables you to do this. All you would need to do is to insert the SIM card into it and connect it to your PC.  

This ‘nifty’ device will cost you BP 9.95.

Stun Master stun guns have been on the market for over 10 years. These personal protection devices have a proven track record, and are some of the most popular and reliable self defense devices in the world! I carried one of these devices while on assignment to some pretty hairy areas of the globe, and always felt more confident and secure knowing I was not totally defenseless. You must realize that there simply are places and situations where it is not wise to be without some type of protection. I found this especially true overseas, where lawlessness can often be the norm rather than the exception. Even in the U.S. there are many unsafe areas and environments. Carry a self defense device like the Stun Master series, might make the difference between life and death.

Folks, I am no “James Bond” believe me, so preparing for a deadly encounter with a thug is not always the foremost thing on my mind. I have always been too busy with my work in forensic entomology to give much thought or time to planning for some kind of assailant. Most of us are in situations where we are very busy with work or family to have extra time. The simplest thing for me, and perhaps you, was to educate myself about some different kinds of personal defense. I found that, with some reading, I could make myself more aware of dangerous situations, and prepare as best I could for my response to these potential threats. I researched different types of deterrents and defense weapons, and finally decided on a stun gun. These non-lethal personal defense weapons are safe to use, compact, and most importantly effective. The effectiveness of any self defense plan is the most crucial aspect of any decision to select a weapon. It is also vitally important for the user to be comfortable with whatever weapon he/she chooses. The Stun Master weapons were a perfect fit for my situation, as they are inexpensive, easy to use, and compact.

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Virginia Tech has started a program which may become the standards for all football programs around the world. They are taking the danger of head injuries incurred during football games which may have an intense impact on the players’ life when they grow old.

Small accelerometers are attached to the player’s head with Head Impact Telemetry Systems (HITS). Every tackle, hit, and fall of the player’s helmet is transmitted to a Sybase database over a 900-MHz wireless signal for cataloguing information for future use.

Players may not notice that they’ve suffered concussions but the Doctors on the sideline can monitor impacts of 98g or more because of the real time data transmitted by the system, so they can effectively prevent the possibility of permanent brain damage that is so common today. Players are pulled aside while the Doctor decides whether or not he should continue to play.

The University is waiting for independent funding from the National Institute of Health because they are hoping to install the chips into every player’s helmet.

If you ever wanted to do an inventory of all your cool (and not so cool) stuff then the Intelliscanner is just what you’ve been waiting for, your own personal barcode scanner.

With the Intelliscanner, you read the barcodes on the items you want to list and monitor and then upload them to your PC. The system comes with software for managing wine collections, home inventory, groceries, books, cds, dvds, comic books, etc. I can see it being useful for DVDs and things but do you really need to know how many cans of beans you’ve got in the cupboard (frozen pizzas maybe).

..Use passwords. Secure the network by setting strong passwords. Set the ability to remotely lock down or wipe the laptop if the user repeatedly fails to enter the correct password.

..Use encryption. Encrypt the data on the laptop so that it cannot be read without the correct key. The encryption should take place on the hard disk in case the hard disk is removed and installed in a different device.

..Use security chips. Purchase laptops with embedded security chips that permanently assign unique identifiers to every computer and cannot be changed. When the laptop is booted, the user must log in using a PIN number or, preferably, a more secure system such as a fingerprint reader.

..Use education. Educate your colleagues and employees. It's amazing how many users keep their network passwords written on a note taped to their monitors. It's like buying an expensive deadbolt for your front door and then leaving it unlocked.

..Use your IT department. Allow your company's IT department to regulate data backup and to wipe the hard drive in case of theft. They can also enable speedy replication of user profiles if a laptop needs to be replaced.

One of the most fabulous looking gadgets bag which is handmade from Turkish leather are named as Celicases , which is a pretty fetching colors as well as more business like colors. They can be attached in four ways, like as a belt clip, bag clip, via an across body use as a clutch for the rare moments when not wanted to feel handfree.Having this pretty gadget bag there can be enough space in the velvet and leather interior for one’s gadgets PDA, phone etc - as well as those important every day items. The belt clip also doubles up as a handy money clip. US$60 for plain leather, $65 for textured.

As the photo sort of makes clear. Both are updates to the classic fanny pack, and both hold a large handful of your favorite .Both the Gadget Shoulder Holster and the Gadget Hip Holster are from Think geek, and both do the same thing, resting on your body in different ways. The pockets are numerous, and the color (jet black) is enough to hide even the most wildly colored mobile phone or MP3 player. Oh, yes, you can use some of the pockets for old-fashioned items like keys, pens, and money—if you have room for that sort of thing once the pockets are crammed with a phone, PDA, flash drive, etc. gadgets, so your hands are free to hold ... even more gadgets.

Now you can maintain your geek-cred and still appear to be the everyman. This comfortable and stylish shoulder holster can hold your portable MP3 player, your cellphone, keys, memory stick, and keep them all within quickdraw distance, and yet still keep them all out of sight.

The monkeys we tested the shoulder holster on have not only described it as “comfortable,” but also “comforting.” It feels good to have all your gear at hand and ready to whip out when the frenzy of the moment requires instant action!