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The average Web-based application is hit by a cyberattack once every two minutes, says a report out today by security firm Imperva.

Detailing its findings in its "Web Application Attack Report" (PDF) for July, Imperva found that Web applications are attacked around 27 times per hour. Monitoring the Internet from December 2010 through May 2011, the security firm uncovered and categorized more than 10 million individual attacks targeting both business and government sites.

Automated cyberattacks accounted for a huge number of attempted breaches. The report discovered that attack traffic was characterized by quick spikes of high volumes followed … Read more

Heading camping or on a cross-country road trip? It's a good idea to pack a Road Torq.

This handy little device is the size of a medium-size handheld flashlight. But unlike your other flashlights, the Road Torq doesn't require batteries to blast a bright light (1 watt LED) into the night sky.

The device looks like a toy rocket ship when it's standing up on foldable tripod legs. The top also flips up, allowing a flashing beacon to alert passing motorists.

The device can be charged by cracking the handle--2 minutes of hand-cranking equals about 15 minutes … Read more

General Motors today announced that the 2012 Buick LaCrosse with eAssist will have an MSRP of $29,960 plus $860 destination charge.

The U.S. automaker announced the "mild hybrid" earlier this year. The new LaCrosse is expected to deliver 25 percent better highway fuel economy than the current model.

According to GM, eAssist will be the standard power train for LaCrosse. It works by using a lithium ion battery to help propel the car with up to 11 kilowatts of power from a stopped position. The eAssist system has an electric motor-generator that enables regenerative braking capability, … Read more

The new Buick lineup will offer big-engine performance with small-engine fuel economy thanks to the use of direct injection.

Direct injection works by using high-pressure direct injectors that deliver fuel to the point of combustion in the cylinder so fuel doesn't get left behind on manifold walls or evaporate up out of a carburetor. This process also reduces the temperature of the compressed mixture as the fuel evaporates, which enables a higher compression ratio, allows for more spark advance, and reduces fuel consumption.

"The beefier low-end torque and improved drivability of the direct-injected 2.0L turbo makes it … Read more

Within days of Facebook rolling out new security features designed to block spam, several new social-engineering attacks were spreading that somehow managed to get by the company's antispam defenses.

The spammers have modified their handiwork so it will get past Facebook's scam detection system, company spokesman Fred Wolens told CNET today.

"There are new methods they've picked up after we put out the protections on Thursday," he said. "It's an arms race. We put out new protections and they come up with new campaigns...When we announced the new security features, they were … Read more

Facebook is launching several new security features today designed to protect users from malware and from getting their accounts hijacked.

First, the site will display warnings when users are about to be duped by clickjacking and cross-site scripting attacks in which they think they are following a link to an interesting news story or taking action to see a video and instead end up spamming their friends.

For example, a scam was circulating yesterday in which Facebook users were inadvertently commenting on what looked like a news site with details of the iPhone 5. Clicking on the link leads to … Read more

I am not the type who's well-prepared (my fridge is almost always empty), nor do I want to scare people into getting things that they don't really need.

However, I ran across the American Red Cross Axis from Eton the other day and thought it was a really handy device to have around the house, or in your car.

It's hard to classify the Eton Axis as one specific type of device because it's many things in one. It's a radio (AM/FM/NOAA Weather), a flashlight, and a cell phone charger. Best of all, … Read more

Level 3 plans to acquire Global Crossing to form an expansive network services company.

Under the terms of the deal, announced today, Level 3 will give 16 shares of its own stock for every Global Crossing share. Based on Level 3's closing price on April 8 of $23.04, the company estimates the value of the deal at $3 billion. That figure also includes $1.1 billion of debt, which Level 3 will assume.

Level 3 provides fiber optic-based data, Internet, content delivery, and voice services for companies and government customers. Global Crossing is best known for offering IP-based … Read more

Researchers disclosed on a public security e-mail list today three vulnerabilities in the Web site of security firm McAfee, whose site has been found to have bugs several times before.

The YGN Ethical Hacker Group told the Full Disclosure list that it had reported the problems to McAfee on February 10 and two days later the company said it was working to resolve them. The group disclosed them publicly after noticing that they remained open this weekend--a month and a half later.

McAfee says it is aware of the vulnerabilities and is working to fix them. "It is important … Read more