Technology

Xbash targets Microsoft Windows and Linux servers.  It has crypto-mining and ransomware capabilities. Initially written in Python, the malware is still under development.  Within a year, detection of crypto-mining malware has increased 459%, reported by Cyber Threat Alliance, citing data gathered by multiple companies. As long as cryptocurrencies hold value among attackers, illegal mining activity ...

The new AI optimally splits multiple scenes within a video and tags each scene with metadata.  It generates an inverted index of video content that can be searched via text input.  This can help users and organizations utilize video content in a new manner. In the recent years, the volume of video content has significantly increased, ...

MIT researchers develop a new machine learning-based model to automate many parts of the photo editing process.  It can be used for simulating certain types of cameras, replacing backgrounds, and adjusting colors.   Most expert editors use Photoshop to make photos look great with creative enhancements. However, making these pictures look realistic is not as simple ...

What happens when you try to open a video, news article, urgent email, or social profile in Chrome browser and suddenly lose internet access? We all know the answer: you’re presented with a page displaying ‘No internet’ and a pixelated image of T-Rex. The dinosaur starts running when you hit space (on laptop) or touch ...

Facebook develops an AI tool that performs automated end-to-end testing and repair in a large-scale codebase.  It lets programmer spend less time on debugging code and more on focusing what’s next.  The tool is still in development phase and intended for open source release.  Programmers like to write code, not debug it. Sadly, it’s an ...

Scientists have found a new way to communicate with battery-free devices implanted inside the body.  These tiny devices are powered by radio waves that are harmless to human tissues.  It can be used to monitor internal conditions and deliver drugs at appropriate times.  For many years scientists all over the world have been trying to ...

DeepIM is a deep learning based system that accurately estimates 6D pose of objects using color images only.  It considerably outperforms the state-of-the-art methods that use depth images for pose refinement.  Several real-world applications require object localization in 3D from a standard image. For example, in virtual reality apps, the ability to recognize 6D pose (3D location ...

New deep learning-based algorithm tracks and labels body parts of moving species using minimal training data.  It doesn’t require any computational body model, time data and stick-figure.  To understand the brain of any species, it’s necessary to accurately quantify their behavior. Video tracking is one of the best options to observe and record animal behavior in different ...

Researchers develop translational acoustic radio frequency to enable seamless air-water communication. It only needs two components to work: an underwater transmitter and a receiver above the water surface.  Did you know that underwater machines (like submerged submarines) can’t communicate wirelessly with those on land? Both use different signals to send/receive data: Submarine uses SONAR (acoustic signals), ...

A new acoustic side-channel attack uses smartphone’s speaker and microphone to steal user’s information.  It works by generating sound waves to track movements of user’s fingers on the touchscreen.  It can reduce the number of possible unlock patterns in Android phones by 70%.  In the last couple of decades, radar and sonar systems have been ...

Quantum computers are not supposed to check your emails, update status, or do normal software/hardware tasks. Instead, they are based on something more complex – Quantum Mechanics. Quantum computer deals with particle much smaller than the size of atom. At such smaller scale, rules of physics do not make any sense. This is where exciting ...

A new neural network can analyze raw audio and text data to discover patterns indicating depression.  It’s a context-free model that doesn’t rely on any specific sets of questions and their responses.  The average prediction accuracy of the model is 77%.  Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is the standard procedure for screening and diagnosing depression. It ...