Security

If you've ever lost track of your child or an elderly relative, it's hard to forget the panic of not knowing where he or she is. This GPS watch is designed to help prevent your loved ones from going missing.

Besides telling the time, the Leo wristwatch from Guardian Lion Wireless is also a phone, GPS locator, and 911 panic button. It can be used as a tracking device to find your wayward child or older relative with dementia.

As an option, the titanium strap can be locked. It has a tamper alert, so you'll know if anyone tries to take the watch off. A criminal would need bolt cutters to remove it. … Read more

We don't know where, we don't know when, but we do know for sure that disaster will strike. The only thing we can do is prepare for a day we hope never arrives: the day something turns our world upside-down, as Sandy has done for so many people in New York, New Jersey, and other parts of the East Coast.

You can help your neighborhood get ready for whatever calamity fate may have in store by creating a neighbor social network that links to emergency-preparedness information customized to your locality. The free Nextdoor private social network launched recently … Read more

Windows 8 and Windows RT will receive their first security fixes when next week's Patch Tuesday rolls around from Microsoft.

The patches are designed to prevent "remote code execution," which means they'll plug holes in the OS that could let someone remotely run malicious code on a PC.

Beyond securing Windows 8, the fixes cover just about every other version of Windows, including XP, Vista, and Windows 7 as well as Server 2003, 2008, and 2012.

The rollout includes six security patches, four of which are considered critical, one important, and one moderate. Most of the … Read more

Next time you get a new card from your bank, don't be surprised if it has a keypad and an LCD on it.

Meet MasterCard's new "Display Card," which basically combines the usual credit/debit or ATM card with an authentication token. The authentication portion features a touch-sensitive keypad and LCD display -- hence the name "Display Card" -- for reflecting a one-time password (OTP).

Yet, according to MasterCard, the Display Card looks and functions almost exactly like a regular credit, debit, or ATM card. … Read more

I never expected to see an iPhone combined with pepper spray or a taser, and, yet, those cases do exist. I therefore shouldn't be so surprised to see an iPhone combined with an ear-bleeding security siren.

The Coyote Case is raising funds on Indiegogo. The case itself looks innocuous enough. You can even get it in pink. What you don't expect on first glance is the over-100-decibel siren built into it.… Read more

Google said today it would include Amber alerts in search and maps as part of an effort to heighten awareness of missing children and assist in their safe return.

Amber alerts, which are coordinated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, will provide data about new cases through Google's Public Alerts platform.

The alerts will pop up in Google Search and Maps in both desktop and mobile whenever a user searches for related information in a particular location where a child has recently been reported missing. The alerts will also appear if users search for a related … Read more

Need to shut down your PC in a hurry? Simple. Here are two handy keyboard shortcuts to save you time and mousing.

Close all open programs A little-known set of keystrokes will shut down all active programs at once in no time.

Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and then Alt-T to open Task Manager's Applications tab. Press the down arrow, and then Shift-down arrow to select all the programs listed in the window. When they're all selected, press Alt-E, then Alt-F, and finally x to close Task Manager.

For those of you keeping score at home, that's seven steps that … Read more

Hackers have found a way to break down one of the toughest defensive walls in Sony's PlayStation 3 software security, ensuring that those who use custom firmware can run homebrew software and pirated games forever.

A group calling itself "The Three Musketeers" on Monday released a secret set of LV0 codes that can decrypt the PlayStation 3's Level 0 (LV0) security layer used by the primary boot loader. This means that hackers should always have the ability to release custom firmware for the device any time Sony updates the console's software. Custom firmware gives PS3 owners the ability to run pirated games, homebrew software (such as retro game emulators), and even Linux. … Read more

You're sweating in your bulky radiation suit, your dosimeter is freaking you out, and you're trying to close a valve that might just save a large portion of the population from some very nasty fallout.

Wouldn't it be nice to have some robotic help?

Japan's robot start-up Cyberdyne is modifying its Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) power suit for use by first responders in nuclear accidents.

The exoskeleton is being improved to help workers who have to wear heavy radiation protection clothing. Japan is still struggling with radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was severely damaged last year during one of the country's most powerful earthquakes. … Read more