Anonymous Hacker Pulls Plug on Thousands of Dark Net Sites

Twenty percent of the Dark Net was taken offline last week, when a hacker compromised a server hosting some 10,000 websites on the Tor network.

Tor, designed to hide the identities of its users, is widely used on the Dark Web, which isn't indexed by mainstream search engines and serves as a hub for illegal online activities.

Visitors to the affected pages were greeted with the message, "Hello, Freedom Hosting II, you've been hacked." Freedom Hosting II is the server that hosted the Tor pages.

The attacker, who has claimed to be part of the hacker collective Anonymous, reportedly took Freedom Hosting II offline because 50 percent of its sites contained child pornography.

The original Freedom Hosting sites hosted as much as 50 percent of the Dark Web's pages as of 2013, when it was taken down by law enforcement. A number of child porn prosecutions followed that action.

Rudimentary Hack

This incident supposedly was the first hack carried out by the attacker, who claimed responsibility in an interview with Motherboard. In addition to taking Freedom II offline, the person stole 74 gigabytes in files and a 2.3-GB database.

The database stolen from Freedom II contains 381,000 email addresses -- thousands of them with .gov extensions, Troy Hunt, who runs the Have I Been Pwned website, told Wired.

However, those .gov addresses may not be legitimate, he noted.

The hack of Freedom II was relatively rudimentary, said Tim Condello, technical account manager and security researcher at RedOwl.

"They identified a configuration issue and used it to identify the root user of the system and gain control of it that way," he told TechNewsWorld. After gaining control of the system, "they overwrote the index file and redirected the landing page for all the websites to a landing page containing their message."

Shared Vulnerabilities

This attack demonstrates that when it comes to resistance to vulnerabilities, the Dark Web doesn't have an edge.

"The underlying technology of the Dark Web isn't anything revolutionary. The way a content management system or a hosting service operates is identical to how it's done on the open Web," Condello said.

"The difference is how the content is communicated, so it's accessible only through the Dark Web," he continued.

"The code that's used for a forum on the Dark Web is the same code that's used on the clear Web," Condello explained, "so if there's a vulnerability identified for WordPress, that vulnerability can be exploited on a Dark Web website using WordPress just as it would on the open Web."

Flaws in Dark Web

The attack on Freedom II also shows the danger of concentrating resources in a central location.

"The fact that so many sites used this single particular hosting provider meant that a breach of that provider meant a breach of thousands of sites," noted Danny Rogers, CEO of Terbium Labs.

"The anonymity of the Dark Web relies on its distributed nature," he told TechNewsWorld. "These sorts of centralizations create significant weaknesses."

Although breaking into servers and stealing data on the open Web is illegal, it remains to be seen what the consequences may be for the hacker of Freedom II.

"I'm sure they angered a lot of people, but I'm not sure how much anyone can do about it," Rogers said.

There may be legal ramifications from the attack, but they could be for the people identified in the dump of stolen data rather than for the hacker.

"The data release is going to be a major boon to law enforcement," Rogers observed.

More Attacks to Come

Attacks on the Dark Web are commonplace, but they don't often get the visibility of the assault on Freedom II.

"These attacks will continue on a pace with what we see on the clear Web," Condello maintained.

"I think the new pattern is going to be that as vulnerabilities are revealed on the open Web, people are going to go to the Dark Web and see if there are any sites with those same vulnerabilities," he suggested. "Getting access to sites built around anonymity and pulling the curtain back on that can give you power and money."

Use talk not tech to tame your children's online habits

The complaints have got louder over the past few months as I have tried to manage how much time two of them (teenage children) spend online and to restrict what they see.

A patchwork of different technologies help me do this. It includes:

• rules on the router to limit net time
• apps on tablets to watch content
• software on PCs to spot malware and filter searches

It works, after a fashion, but I know it has holes and that is why I also use a lot of sneakernet.

This involves me walking around the house, kicking my kids off the game console, tablet, phone or TV (delete as appropriate) they are using when they should be doing homework, cleaning out the rabbit or getting ready for school.

Locked off

Research suggests I'm not alone in using tech to oversee online time - both to limit it and to help them stay safe.

About 44% of parents use apps to oversee online activity, 39% check browser histories and 37% put controls on the router, suggests statistics gathered by security company Symantec.

I use all three of those and want to use more. And it looked like technology was going to get even more useful as electronics companies released products with comprehensive parental controls onboard.

It's perhaps no surprise that parents are keen to turn to technology to help manage time online, says Nick Shaw, European general manager at security company Norton, because it's one area where they struggle to find help.

"When people have a parenting problem with their children, they might go to their own parents for advice," he says, "but this is the one area where your parents are not as clued up as you are."

And, he says, children are even more clued up and easily capable of running rings around their parents.

"A lot of parents are very naive about this," he says.

Even I got complacent because none of the tech I had put in place was sending me alerts. I thought it was all working fine and my children were browsing and gaming in an impenetrable bubble of safety.

Wrong.

Slowly I found out that by fiddling with system clocks, using safe mode and putting home PCs into sleep states, my two teenagers could avoid most of the locks and blocks.

My schoolboy error, says Mr Shaw, was to let the hardware do the heavy lifting.

"Technology is going to help you," he says, "but it's not going to get away from the fact that you should be having more conversations about this with your kids".

What I should be doing, he says, is helping them to understand why the controls are needed.

Explaining the reasons, he says, can help to defuse some of the objections.

It is fair to say that my children and I have had some of these conversations. But they have been more of the "play-less-games-and-do-more-maths" type rather than the "anti-virus-stops-your-YouTube-account-being-stolen" sort.

Rights and respect

Tony Anscombe, security evangelist at anti-virus company Avast, says talking to children about safe ways to use the web is better than just imposing restrictions.

"Sure," he says, "set some rules about how they should use it, but you should also educate your kids about basic security principles.

"A lot of parents just do not have the conversation, talking to them about what is acceptable and what is not."

This should cover not sharing passwords and thinking before they share personal data such as contact information, images and videos.

Naivety puts many children at risk, he says, and it is worth reminding them about what can be done with that information and who might want it.

It might not just fall into the hands of cyber-thieves, he says, it might also expose them to cyber-bullying or just be inappropriate to share.

Warnings about the hidden features in popular apps are worth passing on, he says, as they often seek to scoop up more information than they really need.

"The biggest and most important thing that parents can do is run the apps their children do," he says.

This will help parents understand what information children might share and uncover any hidden features the apps possess.

Some, he says, look innocuous but are designed to help children conceal what they are doing.

"Gadgets are only half the story, if that," says Dr Sonia Livingstone, from the London School of Economics, who studies how children use the internet, as part of her work with the long-running EU Kids Online project.

Companies should concentrate on doing less selling and more on designing services that do not need the protections they peddle, she says.

In addition, she says, parents should encourage children to do the right thing by doing it themselves, rather than just by dictating terms.

It's about respect too, she says, helping children make good decisions instead of arbitrarily imposing rules.

Tomorrow's Cities - the future of a good night out

It's 18:00, and our day in the smart city is almost over.

The evening rush hour is generally considered to be even worse than the morning one so forget that - it's time to head for a night out.

Let's begin with an app. If you are in London, Paris, New York or Berlin you could make use of CityMapper, which draws on public data to plot the best route between A and B, even offering a rain-safe route.

And there are no shortage of information apps to make sure that you get the best out of your city - from specific city-based ones such as I love Beijing, which offers insights into the best places to go in the city, to Spotted by a Local, which offers tips on the best or cheapest restaurants.

And if you have a specific interest, there are apps for that too, such as Guerrilla Queer, which arranges meet-ups for the LGBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) community in Boston and New York away from the traditional gay bars.

If you are fed up with the traditional night out at the cinema, virtual reality technology is offering you a chance to feel like you are actually inside a movie.

The Void (vision of infinite dimensions) wants to take VR headsets to public spaces and create theme parks around them.

Its first foray is a "Ghostbusters experience" at Madame Tussauds on Times Square, New York.

Visitors enter a series of Ghostbuster-inspired spaces, including a musty old hallway and a lift shaft, surrounded by digital apparitions.

They wear a VR headset, a chest plate that provides haptic feedback and a backpack with a computer in it.

Each virtual object in the space has a real-world counterpart, and visitors take part with up to three others, who appear as avatars next to them.

Since it opened in July, it has had 17,000 visitors who, apart from complaining about long queues, have given largely positive feedback.

It was, said Void spokeswoman Whitney Thomas, one of the first examples of "hyper-reality" entertainment.

The company had been hoping to start work on a VR theme-park in Salt Lake City in October, but the land earmarked for the project is yet to be built on.

If the Pokemon Go craze taught us anything, it was that the digital and real worlds are going to be increasingly blended together in future entertainment, and there is no better playground than a city.

Increasingly, people can take part in urban games such as Parkman Murders, a smartphone app available in Boston that tells the story of a Victorian murder in the city and invites listeners to take part in the story via a series of location-based experiences.

And last year, visitors to London's financial district could join an interactive theatre piece, Adventure 1, which invited the audience to download MP3s with instructions on how to track a trader (played by an actor) around the City of London.

Increasingly our smartphones are becoming an important social tool, helping us make decisions about where we eat, drink and meet.

Technology can play a huge role in bringing people together, but ironically there is a huge disconnect between our increasingly tech-driven cities and its citizens.

What do you know about your city, for example? Can you see any concrete examples in it of how city-instigated technology is improving your life?

If the answer to this is no, then you are not alone.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Institution of Engineering and Technology, only 18% of people had heard of a smart city, 8% thought it referred to a city with a higher than average proportion of universities and colleges, while 5% thought it was a city with a strict cleaning regime.

Much of that is down to the fact that technology for city authorities is often related to efficiency and making infrastructure and other systems work better.

"Waste management tends not to be high on people's agenda," is how Tom Saunders, author of innovation charity Nesta's report Rethinking Smart Cities from the Ground Up, puts it.

Cities are trying to engage citizens more - offering apps that allow them to report issues such as uncollected rubbish, potholes or abandoned cars.

They are also hosting hackathons for tech-savvy citizens to come up with innovative people-centric tech solutions to a variety of issues.

But for the foreseeable future, the tech agenda of cities and that of citizens is likely to remain poles apart.

Need more battery? 6 tips to make the phone last longer

How long a phone should last once its battery has been charged fully? Different people will give a different answer to this question. The upper ceiling of the battery life in a modern smartphone even is many wishes for it to be true, would be something like what the old Nokias used to provide. Once charged, they would last days. But that is not possible with a smartphone. A smartphone does so many things that it just can't last for days unless you are only using it to make calls. On the other spectrum, we all can agree that a smartphone that is constantly plugged to the charger is no good. In fact, if you are charging your phone more than twice in a day, it is safe to say that it has a poor battery life.

The ideal battery of smartphone nowadays is somewhere in between these two extremes. And most smartphones do manage to meet this ideal line. But just in case, it is not enough for you the user, there are ways to prolong the battery life of your phone. These steps, ideally, shouldn't be required. But in case you need more battery life you can try them.

Switch off GPS

On an Android phone, or even on an iPhone, the GPS, or "Location" as it is identified in the phone, is one of the biggest battery hogs. If you want more battery from your phone, turning it off is a good idea. When you need it again, for example, while using a phone-based taxi app like Ola or Uber, you can manually turn it on. Just turning off the GPS, especially on an Android phone, will net you something like 2-3 hours of more battery life.

Use Wi-Fi

Another big battery guzzler in the phone is the telecom network, particular in India where the network is always poor and the phone has to work extra hard to keep the signals nice and proper. The solution? Use Wi-Fi whenever you can. This means when you are at your home or office, ensure that your phone automatically switches to Wi-Fi from 3G or 4G.

Keep the screen on auto

It is tempting to switch off the auto brightness in a phone. On some occasions, the phone's screen is just too dull and you wish for more brightness. On these occasions, even if you manually turn the brightness up, don't forget to put it back on the auto once you have finished reading that big article. The screen is one component that uses the maximum amount of battery. If you keep it on the manual brightness mode, it's battery use will shoot up exponentially.

Check for Rogue apps

On Android, as well as in the iPhones, on occasions, you may end up with poor battery life on the phone due to a rogue app. This could be a poorly-coded app or it could be a just temporary glitch in some app. If you are seeing abnormal battery drain on your phone go to Settings > Battery and then see the list of apps using the battery. Of these some heavy battery users like Screen, Android OS etc are fairly normal. But if you see other apps using more than 10 per cent battery life, there could be some problem with that app. One way to fix this is by restarting the phone. This would get rid of the temporary issues. If it doesn't, you can opt to disable that particular app by going to Settings > Apps.

Tame Facebook

Studies after studies have shown that Facebook app loves to sip battery. Considering it is also one of the most highly used apps, the Facebook app can have a significant effect on the battery life of a phone. Now, ideally, you will not like to tinker with Facebook, especially if you love the service. But if you value the battery life more, you can try turning off notifications in the Facebook app. You can also uninstall it and use Facebook Lite, which is less feature-rich but is frugal with data and battery use. Finally, if you can, you can also try uninstalling or the disabling the app.

Use battery saver mode (in emergency)

Almost all phones nowadays come with the battery saver mode. When applied, some of these modes reduce the phone's performance and switch off some non-critical functionality. A few go even beyond that, apply a monochrome -- black and white user interface -- and turn off everything except critical functionality like calls. It is worth using these modes when you absolutely have more battery life, even if it means reduced functionality. In the most phone, you can toggle battery saver mode by going to Settings > Battery.

How to get Jio SIM & 3-month free data offer for any 4G phone

So there are lots of updates for all of you potential Jio buyers, or rather, testers at this point of time. You can now get a free Jio 4G Preview SIM, if you broadly have a number of select Samsung and/or LG 4G compatible phones. Reliance Jio has extended the availability to a few more Samsung 4G phones, in addition to the existing ones, and has also tied up with LG to offer Jio Preview on a few of its 4G phones.

Samsung 4G phones that qualify to get a free Jio SIM include, Samsung's Galaxy J-series phones along with the Galaxy A5 2015, Galaxy A7 2015, Galaxy A8, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy Note 5 Duos, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy S7, and the Galaxy S7 Edge. 

LG 4G phones that qualify for free Jio SIM offer include: the K332 (K7 LTE), K520DY (Stylus 2), K520DY, H860 (LG G5), K500I (X Screen), K535D (Stylus 2 Plus), LGH630D (G4 Stylus 4G), and LGH 442 (LGC70 Spirit LTE). 

If you have any of the above-mentioned phones, you're eligible to get a free SIM from Jio that comes bundled with its Preview 4G scheme. Additionally, the scheme remains applicable for Jio's own Lyf-branded smartphones.

The launch of Reliance Jio 4G is still some time away. If you take the optimistic view, it's around a few weeks away. But if you believe today's note from investment group CLSA, the launch will happen only in October. But as we have noted earlier, it is possible to get Jio SIM card for almost any 4G-enabled phone.

Lyf phone method

This is the easiest way to get access to the fast 4G provided by Jio along with the free data offer. Earlier you would need a code, only available to Reliance employees, to buy a Lyf phone with Jio SIM. Officially, nothing has changed. But on the ground the situation is different. If you walk into a Jio Mini store or Reliance Digital Store and ask for a Lyf phone with the Jio SIM, chances are you will get it.

iPhone & Samsung phone method

It this offer provides is access to Jio SIM for selecting Samsung and Apple phone users along with the 3-month free unlimited 4G data.

However, once you have managed to get a Jio SIM for an eligible Apple or Samsung phone, and have this SIM activated, you can use it in almost every 4G phone.

So, the eligible Samsung and Apple phones for Jio 4G SIM are:

• Galaxy A5 2015 and A5 2016
• Galaxy A7 2015 and A7 2016
• Galaxy A8
• Galaxy Note 4
• Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy Note 5 Duos
•  Galaxy Note Edge
• Galaxy S6
• Galaxy S6 Edge
•  Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
•  Galaxy S7
• Galaxy S7 Edge
•  iPhone 6
• iPhone 6S
• iPhone 6 Plus
•  iPhone 6S Plus
•  iPhone SE

If you have any of these phones, you can download the My Jio app from the iPhone and Android app store. Once you have downloaded the app, when you open it, it will give you the option to generate a code for the Jio SIM. Once you have this barcode, you can visit a Jio store nearby and get your SIM, which will then have to be activated with a call to 1977.

Once, the SIM is activated, you can take it out and use it in almost any 4G-enabled phone in India.

The Jio app method for all 4G phones

It works similar to the method for the Samsung and the Apple phones. To get a Jio 4G SIM through this method you must have a 4G phone. We tried it on Moto X Play and it works fine. Here is how to get Jio SIM through this method:

1. Install My Jio app
2. Install all 10 Jio apps listed in My Jio app
3. Switch off your data connection and Wi-Fi
4. Close all Jio app that might be open in background
5. Open My Jio app
6. The app will show an option to "Get Jio SIM"
7.  Tap on "Get Jio SIM"
8. On a separate page, it will show an error that there is no internet connection
9. Switch on the Wi-Fi on your phone
10. Go back to the My Jio app and tap again on "Get Jio SIM"

Follow the instructions on the screen. If it shows that the SIM is not available in your locality, change it to some nearby city or town.

Generate the code.

Now get the Jio SIM...

You will have to visit your nearby Jio center to get the Jio SIM using the barcode you generated. Now, the chances of you getting the SIM are 50-50. Technically, your phone is eligible for the Jio SIM but the staff at the Jio center may refuse to give you the SIM. Some people will succeed in getting the SIM, some may not. 

Jio SIM not working in your phone? Some tips to fix it

Soon -- or rather on September 5 to be precise -- everyone in India with a phone that supports 4G technology will be eligible for the Jio Welcome Offer from Reliance. This means you will get a Jio SIM for free along with the benefits that come with it. What are these benefits? The benefits are "unlimited" data, calls and messages for almost three months. Although there is a fine print in all this -- the unlimited data is actually 4GB per day, which too is generous -- it is safe to say that the offer is fairly amazing. And tempting. No wonder, a lot of people are going to get the free SIM.

The problem is that in many phones that people have right now, the Jio SIM is not going to work. And in many, where it is supposed to work, it may not work until you troubleshoot it. But before we come to that, don't get the Jio SIM if:

• You have a feature phone.
•  You have a phone that only supports 2G or 3G. Even some high-end phones that are older than 2 years -- Xiaomi Mi 4 for example -- doesn't support for 4G.
• You have only one phone and you are not willing to change your phone number.
• You have a Dual-SIM phone but 4G is supported on only one SIM and you are not willing to move your existing SIM card out of it.

Now, that we have taken care of these basics, let's look into the problems you may face after you put in the Jio SIM in your phone. The good bit about the Jio SIM is that it is a nano SIM with the micro and Full size adapters in built. So, see which size will fit your phone and then accordingly use the adapter. If you have a phone bought this year, chances are that it will use nano or micro size.

The SIM is not recognized

If this is the problem you face, ensure that you are putting the SIM in a 4G compatible slot. In many dual-SIM phones, only the primary slot -- the number 1 slot is the full-speed, fully supported SIM slow. So, put the Jio SIM in that.

• Restart your phone.
• Take out the SIM and put it again.
• Even after all this the SIM card doesn't work, chances are that the Jio SIM won't probably work with your phone.

SIM recognized but no signal

• Ensure the SIM is in the primary SIM slot (slot 1) if your phone has dual-SIM functionality.
• Ensure that data is turned on for the SIM. On an Android phone, this can be accessed by tapping on the network sign in the notification shade. on the Mobile Data screen, ensure the data is turned on.
• Ensure that in the network settings are all good and that you have opted the SIM 1 as your primary SIM for data.
•  Ensure that the phone is set to work with LTE Network. You can do so by going to Settings > Mobile Networks > Preferred network type.
•  If required, set the APN to Loop Internet. This is accessible only if Jio SIM is getting recognised in your phone. To check this go to Settings > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names.
•  Try choosing Jio as network operator manually by going to Settings > Mobile Networks > Network Operators.
• If the Jio SIM still doesn't work, chances are that it has some software or hardware incompatibility in your phone.

SIM working but no calls

• Install the Jio Join app from Google Play Store. This will most likely fix the issue. Although, the app currently doesn't seem to work on Android Nougat, in case you have that software on your phone.

Options in case Jio SIM doesn't work in your phone: What are your options in case the Jio SIM doesn't work in your phone and you want to use the Jio network. Two options: get a new phone or get the JioFi, which is a kind of Wi-Fi hostspot router. The JioFi is the cheapest option, although if your phone is too old, something like 3 to 4 years and if you are thinking of replacing it, maybe you can go with a phone that supports 4G  and will work with the Jio SIM.

Tips to take stunning photos using smartphone

Smartphone cameras have seen dramatic improvements, but technology alone won't produce shots that grab attention.

That's where the human eye comes in. Here are eight tips to keep in mind when composing that shot, whether of a family during the holidays or sights during a vacation. You don't need to own a fancy camera or mess with manual controls.

What's the subject?

Give people something to latch onto when viewing your photo. As a rule of thumb, close-ups are better.

At a party, for instance, avoid wide shots of random people mingling in a room, as the room becomes the subject - and that's boring. Instead, get close-ups of the guest or two who's laughing or singing. The photo is now about people having fun at a party.

People mingling can still be part of the shot, but in the background, to give people a sense the party's well attended. The same principle applies to parades: It's better to home in on one or two drummers than on the entire marching band, though the rest of the band can still be in the background.

For landscapes, keep in mind that it's tough to give viewers the same sense of grandeur you get from being there in person. But you can nudge viewers by focusing on specific elements, such as mountains or some trees. And of course, if there's wildlife - well, that's your subject.

Beyond eye level

Be willing to crouch down or even lie on the ground to give viewers a fresh perspective. When I encountered a lizard in my village, my instinct was to snap while standing up. But the lizard looked generic from that angle and distance. It wasn't until I brought my camera near the ground and get close up did the lizard look ferocious. The good thing about smartphone cameras is that you can change the perspective easily by just lowering the phone.

Play around with depth

For those obligatory poses next to landmarks, there's no law saying you must actually stand next to the landmark. If the landmark is huge, you'll look tiny by comparison. Why not stand closer to the camera? Since photos are two-dimensional, it'll still look as though you're next to the landmark, but you'll look appropriately sized. You might need to try various depths until you get it right.

Consider the background

While it's important to have a clear subject in your shot, the background can enhance it by placing the scene in context.The other shots could have been taken anywhere, such as a local zoo. 

Watch the lens

In general, aim for horizontal and vertical lines in shots. For a skyline or a bench, that means taking the shot straight on and avoiding tilt. But diagonal lines can enhance photos at times. For instance, they can lead the eyes outward to give the viewer a greater sense of depth. But make sure you're trying to say something with the diagonal. If the skyline or the bench is tilted, it will just look lazy, not artsy.

The rule of thirds

Divide your frame into thirds horizontally and vertically, like a tic-tac-toe board. Some cameras will even draw these lines for you on the screen (but won't include them in the final shot). Ideally, keep your main subjects where those lines intersect, as eyes tend to gravitate there first. If you're shooting a horizon or skyline, have it match one of the imaginary horizontal lines. For shots of people, have the eyes fall along one of those lines.

Lighting matters

You'll typically get the best lighting shortly after sunrise or before sunset. During these "golden hours," sunlight is softer, and subjects look better.

But it's not practical to constrain your sightseeing to just a few hours a day. At least try to avoid having the sunshine toward the camera, as that leads to dark subjects. If you can't avoid it, some cameras have an "HDR" mode to help. The camera basically stitches together separate shots of the subject and the background adjusted to different lighting conditions. Turning on the flash - yes, in daytime - can also help light up an otherwise dark subject.

At night, though, you should try to keep the flash off, as light distribution can be intense and uneven. Cameras have gotten much better at low-light shots, such that you're often better off working with ambient light. Bonus tip: Use the flashlight on a friend's phone to add a bit more light to a scene.

Know your camera's limitations

While many cameras now have auto-focus, they don't always pick out the subject correctly. If you're shooting with a smartphone, just tap on the intended subject on the screen. This also has the effect of adjusting the exposure to that subject, rather than something in the background you might not care as much about.

And unless you have an iPhone 7 Plus or a Motorola Moto Z with True Zoom, avoid zooming. With most smartphones, you're just getting a fake zoom, also called digital zoom. The image isn't actually getting larger - it's just stretched out like elastic using software. It might be fine on the screen, but it'll look fuzzy blown up on a desktop web browser or printed out for a photo frame.