cyber

Was U.S. water utility hacked last week?

Intruders compromised a water utility network last week and destroyed a pump, according to a state government report cited by a critical infrastructure security expert today.

It appears that hackers breached the network of a company that makes SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) and stole customer usernames and passwords, said Joe Weiss, managing partner of Applied Control Solutions. "There was damage--the SCADA system was powered on and off, burning out a water pump," he wrote in a brief blog post.

The report did not identify the water utility attacked or the SCADA software vendor compromised, Weiss said … Read more

HDTV doorbuster deals to avoid

Every year, retailers tempt consumers with too-good-to-be-true deals designed to tempt them into the stores and buy...something else.

Chances are, these deals are too good to be true. Before you head out to join the mad rush, here are some so-called "deals" to avoid.… Read more

Look for $99 Kinect, other Xbox deals for Black Friday

The Kinect motion-control camera peripheral for the Xbox 360 will be available for $99 during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period, according to Microsoft.

The discounted Kinect (it's usually $149) will be available from "participating retailers" from November 24 through November 28. Microsoft pointed us towards a few other deals on Xbox hardware and games as well, which include:

Kinect from $99 (regularly $149) Three-month Xbox Live Gold subscription for $12.99 (regularly $24) Gears of War 3 for $39 (regularly $59) Forza Motorsport 4 for $39 (regularly $59) Dance Central 2 for $29 (regularly $49) Kinect Sports 2 for $29 (regularly $49) Xbox 360 consoles ($199 - $399) discounted by $50 to $100 (from November 24 through November 26 only)… Read more

Ship or shop? Two good apps for the holiday buying season

I have two useful new mobile apps to recommend for those gearing up for the holiday gift shopping orgy that will soon be upon us.

Shipping tracker First, Slice is releasing a mobile app. Slice is a useful utility that reaches into your Yahoo or Google e-mail inbox and extracts all the receipts that are sent to you. It gives you a list of everything you've bought online. It also collects all your shipping alerts and then tracks packages that are on their way. It will send you a nice alert when a package is out for delivery. If, … Read more

The best sites to track Black Friday deals

Are you ready? Black Friday 2011, the day that U.S. retailers and thrifty consumers have been waiting for all year, is just around the corner.

Whether you're looking for a $2 toaster or a $200 laptop, you're going to need a plan of attack to help you succeed. Here are a few sites that will help you develop and carry out your strategy this year:

FatWallet FatWallet has been around a long time and is a popular destination for deal hunters. It maintains a Black Friday section each year, to help you sort out all the deals. … Read more

Buy it now, for real: eBay to refer sales to nearby stores

SAN JOSE, Calif.--eBay knows that half of all Christmas shoppers miss its December 16 shipping deadline for getting presents under the tree in time, and it wants to help the stragglers.

The e-commerce giant's idea is to make it easy for shoppers to find the item they're looking for--say, a Nintendo Wii--that's for sale and in stock at a store near them and to select and pay for it in advance through a mobile app.

The technology has been rolled into the latest version of eBay's RedLaser mobile app, which allows users to search for … Read more

Adidas shuts down sites after cyber attack

Some Adidas Web sites remain offline today as a result of a "sophisticated" cyber attack discovered last week, the German sportswear company said.

"On November 3, 2011, the adidas Group found out that it was the target of a sophisticated, criminal cyber-attack. Our preliminary investigation has found no evidence that any consumer data is impacted," the company said in a statement on its news stream site. "But, while we continue our thorough forensic review, we have taken down affected sites, including adidas.com, reebok.com, miCoach.com, adidas-group.com and various local eCommerce shops, in … Read more

This Day in Tech: Google Wallet launches

Too busy to keep up with today's tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET and elsewhere for Monday, September 19.

Google Wallet launches today, but you probably can't use it yet. The digital wallet is available for the Samsung Nexus S on the Sprint Nextel network. The wallet uses near-field communication to allow you to pay with your mobile phone. "In the future, our goal is to make it possible for you to add all of your payment cards to Google Wallet, so you can say goodbye to even the biggest traditional … Read more

Richard Clarke on Patriot Act, WikiLeaks, privacy (Q&A)

In an increasingly digital world, the real threat to citizens' privacy is data collection by corporations and not the Patriot Act, said former U.S. cybersecurity and counterterrorism advisor Richard Clarke.

Clarke, who ruffled Bush administration feathers when he complained that U.S. officials ignored warnings about the al Qaeda threat before the attacks, says Americans are safer from terrorism now, partly because of the Patriot Act. Critics, however, have maintained that the law, enacted after September 11 to root out terrorists, has been interpreted broadly to include citizens with no links to terrorism.

U.S. companies, meanwhile, are facing … Read more

Which mini-speaker annoys the neighbors most?

The mission is simple: gather three brands of popular mini-speakers and see which is powerful enough to annoy a grumpy building superintendent.

The briefing: I reside in a quiet, courtyard complex in Studio City, Calif. On most Sundays, the residents gather around the pool for a casual barbecue. Such an event recently presented the perfect opportunity to test three mini-speakers: an X-mini Capsule Speaker from ThinkGeek, a Soundmatters foxL Bluetooth Soundbar, and a Cyber Snipa Sonar Portable Mini Speaker to see which could produce enough quality sound to prod our cranky 60-plus-year-old supe to leave his recliner and tell us to knock off the hubbub. Join us, won't you?

To expedite the outstandingly unscientific experiment, I chose Dubstep, which is electronica in the extreme. In fairness, some wouldn't call it music as much as well-organized static. When the uninitiated listen to Dubstep, they're often uncertain if the CD might be skipping. As a bleeding goat will draw the hungry, Dubstep pouring from my iPhone will attract the crotchety handyman if we can get the racket loud enough. … Read more