Electronic gadgets latest sources of computer viruses

(AP) -- From iPods to navigation systems, some of today's hottest gadgets are landing on store shelves with some unwanted extras from the factory: pre-installed viruses that steal passwords, open doors for hackers and make computers spew spam.

Computer consultant Jerry Askew says a digital photo frame tried to infect his computer with four viruses.

In most cases, Chinese factories -- where many companies have turned to keep prices low -- are the source.

So far, the virus problem appears to come from lax quality control, perhaps a careless worker plugging an infected music player into a factory computer used for testing, rather than organized sabotage by hackers or the Chinese factories.

It's the digital equivalent of the recent series of tainted products traced to China, including toxic toothpaste, poisonous pet food and toy trains coated in lead paint.

But sloppiness is the simplest explanation, not the only one.

If a virus is introduced at an earlier stage of production, by a corrupt employee or a hacker when software is uploaded to the gadget, then the problems could be far more serious and widespread.

Knowing how many devices have been sold, or tracking the viruses with any precision, is impossible because of the secrecy kept by electronics makers and the companies they hire to build their products.

But given the nature of mass manufacturing, the numbers could be huge.

"It's like the old cockroach thing: You flip the lights on in the kitchen, and they run away," said Marcus Sachs, a former White House cybersecurity official who now runs the security research group SANS Internet Storm Center. "You think you've got just one cockroach? There's probably thousands more of those little boogers that you can't see."

Jerry Askew, a Los Angeles computer consultant, bought a Uniek digital picture frame to surprise his 81-year-old mother for her birthday. But when he added family photos, it tried to unload a few surprises of its own.

When he plugged the frame into his Windows PC, his antivirus program alerted him to a threat. The $50 frame, built in China and bought at Target, was infected with four viruses, including one that steals passwords.

"You expect quality control coming out of the manufacturers," said Askew, 42. "You don't expect that sort of thing to be on there."

Security experts say the malicious software is apparently being loaded at the final stage of production, when gadgets are pulled from the assembly line and plugged in to a computer to make sure everything works.

If the testing computer is infected -- say, by a worker who used it to charge his own infected iPod -- the digital germ can spread to anything else that gets plugged in.

The recent infections may be accidental, but security experts say they point out an avenue of attack that could be exploited by hackers.

"We'll probably see a steady increase over time," said Zulfikar Ramzan, a computer security researcher at Symantec Corp. "The hackers are still in a bit of a testing period; they're trying to figure out if it's really worth it."

Thousands of people whose antivirus software isn't up to date may have been infected without even knowing it, experts warn. And even protective software may not be enough.

In one case, digital frames sold at Sam's Club contained a previously unknown bug that not only steals online gaming passwords but disables antivirus software, according to security researchers at CA Inc.

"It's like if you pick up a gun you've never seen before. Before you pull the trigger, you'd probably check the chamber," said Joe Telafici, vice president of operations of McAfee Avert Labs, the security software maker's threat-research arm.

"It's an extreme analogy, but it's the right idea. It's best to spend the extra 30 seconds to be sure than be wrong," he added.

Consumers can protect themselves from most factory-loaded infections by running an antivirus program and keeping it up to date. The software checks for known viruses and suspicious behaviors that indicate an attack by malicious code, whether from a download or a gadget attached to the PC via USB cable.

The AP contacted some of the world's largest electronics manufacturers for details on how they guard against infections, among them Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which is based in Taiwan and has an iPod factory in China; Singapore-based Flextronics International Ltd.; and Taiwan-based Quanta Computer Inc. and Asustek Computer Inc. All declined comment or did not respond.

The companies whose products were infected in cases reviewed by the AP refused to reveal details about the incidents. Of those that confirmed factory infections, all said they had corrected the problems and taken steps to prevent recurrences.

Apple disclosed the most information, saying that the virus that infected a small number of video iPods in 2006 came from a PC used to test compatibility with the gadget's software.

Best Buy, the biggest consumer electronics outlet in the U.S., said it pulled its affected China-made frames from the shelves and took "corrective action" against its vendor. But the company declined repeated requests to provide details.

Sam's Club and Target say they are investigating complaints but have not been able to verify that their frames were contaminated.

Legal experts say that manufacturing infections could become a big headache for retailers that sell infected devices and the companies that make them, if customers can demonstrate that they were harmed by the viruses.

"The photo situation is really a cautionary tale. They were just lucky that the virus that got installed happened to be one that didn't do a lot of damage," said Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "But there's nothing about that situation that means next time, the virus won't be a more serious one."

A very challenging article by Joshua Dowling that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald on August 3rd 2007.

 

WHAT EVERY MOTORCYCLE SHOULD HAVE

Each time a motorcyclist sets off on a journey, be it for work or a weekend escape, he or she is four times more likely to die than a car driver.

If a motorcyclist happens to be involved in a crash with another vehicle, the risk of death increases yet again. In that event, a motorcyclist is 20 times more likely to die than a car driver.

Despite these chilling statistics from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority, safety technology has largely bypassed those at most risk of death on our roads. Motorcycles account for about 3 per cent of all registered motor vehicles but, last year, motorcycle riders were involved in 14.8 per of all road fatalities.

Almost half of all motorcyclist deaths in Australia are the result of "single-vehicle crashes", that is, the motorcycle ran off the road and no other vehicles were involved. Many of these crashes could have been
prevented, experts say, if technology such as anti-lock brakes and traction control were more widely available.

Such safety systems are increasingly commonplace on cars, yet motorcycle manufacturers have been slow to adopt the technology because, they say, motorcyclists don't want it.

"That's just nonsense," says the head of Insurance Australia Group's research centre, Robert McDonald, a motorcycle rider with 30 years' experience. "Why would motorcyclists not want technology that could save
their lives and potentially save them money?"

McDonald says new safety technology has not been properly explained to the motorcycle community and many riders are concerned such systems would take away the exhilaration of riding.

"People don't ride motorcycles because they're safe. There is a known risk involved," McDonald says. "But we can take advantage of readily available technology to minimise the risk of death and injury.

"No one has accused Porsche and Ferrari of building boring cars since they embraced traction control and anti-lock brakes. Motorcycle makers simply need to adapt the technology without sacrificing performance or enjoyment, just like car makers have."

McDonald points to a study by German road safety authorities which showed most single-vehicle motorcycle crashes could have been prevented by anti-lock brakes or traction control because riders often overreacted in an emergency. As a result of these findings, the authorities are considering making anti-lock brakes compulsory on motorcycles sold there.

Mick Matheson, the editor of Australian Motorcycle News, a motorcycle journalist for 19 years and motorcycle rider for 25 years, says safety technology is overdue. "If the technology was unobtrusive, didn't cost more and ended up saving money in insurance premiums, motorcycle riders would more readily accept it."

Anti-lock brakes were fitted on motorcycles built by BMW 19 years ago, but less than 10 per cent of all motorcycles sold in Australia have the technology. Some models, including scooters, sold with anti-lock brakes as standard in Europe are shipped to Australia without this option.

Experts say anti-lock brakes are a crucial improvement because they enable motorcycles to stop better in slippery conditions and prevent the wheels from locking.

"You don't get a second chance when you lock a wheel on a motorcycle," says McDonald, who believes anti-lock brakes have the potential to be to motorcycles what the seatbelt was to the car.

The editor of Two Wheels magazine, Jeremy Bowdler, who has been riding for 28 years and writing on the subject for 17 years, is another strong advocate of improved safety systems on motorcycles. He says anti-lock brakes in particular could also prevent many rear-end crashes.

"Generally speaking, most modern cars can brake in a shorter distance than a motorcycle [because car tyres are wider]," he says. "Anti-lock brakes would at least give riders a better chance of stopping in time. When a motor- cyclist brakes in an emergency it's all too easy to grab too much brake and lock a front or rear wheel, or upset the bike so much they fall over."

There are two anti-lock braking systems available for motorcycles: a linked system that applies pressure to front and rear brakes via an apportioning valve and a twin system, enabling the rider to distribute different pressure to front and rear wheels.

The experts Drive spoke to agreed the twin system is better; it's also more commonly used by manufacturers. "You need to be able to modulate the front and rear brakes," McDonald says, "but wouldn't it be good to know that no matter how hard you pulled the brakes, they wouldn't lock up and cause the tyre to skid?"

Matheson prefers riding a motorcycle equipped with anti-lock brakes. "It's the panic grab that gets most riders into trouble. Once a rider has gone beyond their ability, [anti-lock brakes] can help them."

The next step in motorcycle safety is traction control but it's still under development even though it is widely available on cars. Honda introduced traction control on one of its bikes in 1995 but it was a rudimentary system that was eventually phased out. BMW revived the technology, developed its
own traction control system and introduced it in Europe last year. It is expected to be available on some BMW motorcycles in Australia by the end of this year.

Traction control prevents unintended wheelspin and would be especially useful on high-powered motorcycles, some of which can accelerate faster than a formula one car and reach 100kmh in less than three seconds. Part of the reason for the delay in traction control on motorcycles is because the system needs to be more sensitive than it is on cars.

"Everything happens so quickly on a motorcycle and there are so many variables to take into account," Bowdler says. "There are varying levels of grip in the tyre as it leans over, the amount of contact the tyre has with the road changes and then there is the balance and the angle of the bike and the weight of the rider.

"Any type of traction control has to work so much quicker than it does in a car and calculate so much more information."

Matheson says motorcycle makers are working on better safety technology but it is yet to reach showrooms. "There are some sophisticated traction control systems being used in top level motorcycle racing, so hopefully it's not far away from filtering down to street bikes," he says.

The safety of motorcycles has come under closer scrutiny because of their significant increase in popularity and the subsequent rise in deaths. Scooter sales have more than tripled in the past five years and motorcycle sales have more than doubled. Deaths have increased accordingly - by 26.5 per cent between 2003 and 2006.

The uptake of motorcycles and scooters in Australia reflects the trend towards high-density inner-city living and the increases in traffic congestion, says the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Many buyers are replacing small cars with scooters and low-powered commuter motorcycles.

The ease of parking and low running costs are part of the appeal, however, the increased activity has led to a steady rise in insurance premiums. The FCAI is concerned that, if steps are not taken to make them safer, cheaper and easier to repair, motorcycles and scooters could lose their appeal to budget-conscious buyers.

Motorcycles are customarily more expensive to insure than cars but premiums are on a sharp upward spiral. According to industry estimates, the cost of motorcycle insurance has risen by 30 per cent in the past five years. Depending on the age of the driver or rider, it costs about $500 a year to insure a $20,000 car but about $2000 a year to insure a $20,000 motorcycle. In addition to a motorcyclist's increased risk of crashing, the other main reason for this anomaly is because motorcycles are more easily damaged than cars.

"It's not uncommon for a $20,000 motorcycle to sustain more than $15,000 worth of damage simply because it fell over in the garage. That effectively makes it a write-off," McDonald says. "A road crash may cause more physical damage but a scratch is a scratch and if the frame is damaged, it needs to be replaced." The cost of stripping and rebuilding a near-new motorcycle in some cases is as much as buying a brand-new bike.

Some budget-priced scooters, too, are becoming prohibitively expensive to insure because of their pearlescent paintwork and intricate body mouldings. "Scooters are written off for ridiculously [minor] damage because they often have fully enveloping bodywork and they're most vulnerable to damage,"
McDonald says.

More car drivers are backing into motorcycles and scooters than ever before and not all motorists are decent enough to leave their insurance details, leaving the motorcycle or scooter owner to fork out the claim fee.

With all of the above in mind, late last year the FCAI contacted Insurance Australia Group, the parent company of Swann Insurance, the largest insurer of motorcycles in Australia, and asked it to investigate ways to make motorcycles safer and cheaper to repair.

With the help of IAG's research centre, independent motorcycle designer Tim Cameron created a concept bike for the future. From his home in suburban Haberfield, Cameron contrived to do what the biggest motorcycle makers from Europe and Japan have not done: design a performance bike with a focus on
safety and repairability.

Cameron, with seven years' experience designing motorcycles, had a good incentive to explore every available technology. A motorcyclist for 25 years, he rides every day.

Using the latest 3D modelling technology, the same software used by the world's biggest motorcycle manufacturers, he included all available safety equipment in his design, as well as some ideas not yet introduced on motorcycles.

In addition to anti-lock brakes and traction control, Cameron's bike has a blind spot warning system on its side mirrors to prevent crashes or near misses (similar to that used by Audi, Volvo and Fiat) and a tyre pressure monitoring system to detect punctures or slow leaks.

Several commonly damaged parts are designed in such a way to make them more easily replaced. And in an attempt to reduce an increasing cause for insurance claims, the bike of the future has an on-board warning beeper that sounds loudly and more frequently as a car reverses closer to it.

The bike magazine editors are keen on his ideas. Bowdler says: "These suggestions are absolutely feasible, in fact a lot of them already exist, just not on one motorcycle." Matheson agrees: "A lot of this stuff is so obvious it's not funny. It makes you wonder why someone hasn't thought of it earlier."

Both thought the parking sensor was a genius idea; both have a long lists of motorcycles damaged by careless parkers. They can also see the benefit of motorcycle makers paying more attention to repair costs.

"Insurance premiums are a greater proportion of the cost of ownership of a motorcycle or scooter than they are for a car," Bowdler says. "If motorcycle manufacturers don't do something about it, the risk is that bikes and scooters may lose their appeal."

Over the past decade, car makers have become more focused on insurance and repair costs because these limit the appeal of a car to private buyers and fleets alike.

Motorcycle makers, on the other hand, have continued to focus on the performance and weight reduction of their bikes, often using exotic and expensive materials. With a few exceptions, they've had little regard to repair costs and potentially life-saving safety features.

"If motorcycle manufacturers want their industry to continue to prosper they need to change their approach to motorcycle design," McDonald says. "There are a lot of forces out there that would rather motorcycles go away, so the industry needs to act of its own accord or risk strict legislation.

"Rather than blame the customer for not wanting safety devices, they should be trying to get the most acceptable version of this technology into their motorcycles as quickly as possible. As long as car deaths and injuries continue to fall, motorcycle safety is going to receive more attention."

TYRE CARE

 Inspect for proper inflation, tread wear, and the presence of any damage.  Serious injury may result from tyre under inflation/overloading. Proper inflation pressure is necessary for optimum tyre performance, safety and fuel economy. Frequently check tyres (when they are cool) with an accurate tyre pressure gauge. Always maintain inflation pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer owner's manual. Higher inflation pressure increases stiffness, which may deteriorate ride and generate unwanted vibration. Under inflation is the most common cause of failures in any kind of tyre and may result in severe cracking, component separation or "blowout," with unexpected loss of vehicle control. Under inflation increases sidewall flexing and rolling resistance resulting in heat and mechanical damage.

Tyre Markings

A tyre marked with 160/70/ZR18 for example.

160 = nominal section width of tyre in mm.

70 = the height of the tyres cross section expressed as a percentage of the width.

Z  = speed category.

R = radial construction.

18 = diameter of the rim to which the tyre should be fitted expressed in inches.

Speed symbols

Tyre Pressure Conversion Chart

Ever been run over by your own bike…?

May 30th, 2007 by megarider

Just remember that you are almost always being neurotic when you think that a car driver is out to kill you.

Almost always, the incident occurs simply because the errant driver is incompetent.

I mean, they even get run over by their own cars…

Three people in Orange County, USA were killed in seven weeks in 2003 after they were pinned by their own vehicles.

On Wednesday, October 22, 2003, a 50-year-old man died after he was run over twice by his 1987 Jaguar. Witnesses said the car was circling in reverse in a Brea parking lot. Quoc Nguyen of Pomona was chasing the car when it hit him.

The month before, two people were killed when their driverless cars suddenly rolled backward. A 67-year-old woman was crushed against a cinder-block wall in Laguna Beach after trying to stop her BMW 328 from rolling.

And in Newport Beach, a 44-year-old woman was caught under the left front wheel of her Honda Accord when she tried to stop the car from rolling backward.

Now, when they are incompetent enough to be run over by their own car…

But, come to think of it, perhaps we shouldn’t point a finger.

Most of us have tipped over on a motorcycle at some time and had the bike land on us.

A Sideways look at Synthetic Oils

There are so many discussions these days on whether we should/should not use synthetic oils in bikes, that I thought I would just clarify the position for all:

Beware of synthetic oil, it can do terrible things to you and your beloved motorcycle. It will not only leak out of your engine faster than you can put it in, but it will also cause your oil filter to clog and implode, dumping debris and dirt into your lubrication system. It also will make every part of your bike permanently slippery because of its linear molecular chain dispersion action. Then it will leak onto your kickstand causing it to retract automatically, dropping your bike on the ground! But that's not all...

Synthetic oil will round off your gears and spin your bearings. It will also splatter onto your seat causing your girlfriend to fall off in the apex of a turn and she'll never ride with you again. Synthetic oil coats your sight window and your timing window with a whitish pro-emulsification additive that is both non-removable and highly corrosive. Synthetic oil will completely leak onto the ground overnight and your dog will drink it and die.

Synthetic oil will wear out your tires and make your battery leak. It will give you the desperate need to urinate after you put your full leathers on and then jam your zippers shut. It will contaminate your gasoline causing your bike to stall on railroad tracks and accelerate uncontrollably near police cars. It will make it rain during rallies and on weekends. It will lubricate four timing belts causing them to jump teeth and break your valves to bits.

Synthetic oil chemically weakens desmodromic valves and causes the clearances to change every six miles. Then it melts the black soles of your riding boots right before you walk across your new carpeting.

While riding past groups of attractive women it will cause both of your handlebar grips to slip off at the same time so you smash your windscreen with the bridge of your nose. It also causes your swingarm to crack, your studs to break, and your rotors to warp, and then it voids your warranty by changing your odometer reading to 55,555. It also dries out your wetclutch and wets your dryclutch. It makes your clutch slave cylinder seal fail in the heaviest traffic on the hottest day of the year while putting an angry wasp in your helmet for good measure.

Synthetic oil hides your 13mm socket and puts superglue on your earplugs. Synthetic oil will scratch your faceshield and make your gloves shrink two sizes night before trackday. Synthetic oil stole your neutral and sold it to the Chinese for $1.25.

Synthetic oil will make you grow a tail.

Synthetic oil will write long crazy e-mails to your Internet friends and then sign your name at the bottom!

Author unknown.
 

Los Gatos Trio Arrested For Using Rope To Knock Down Dirt Biker

KNTV-TV
1:52 p.m. PDT May 17, 2006
LOS GATOS, Calif. - Three Los Gatos residents face assault with a deadly weapon charge after allegedly stringing a rope across a roadway and seriously injuring a fellow biker. The Santa Clara Country Sheriff's Department told NBC11 News that two groups of neighbors have had several conflicts over who has rights to use the road outside their homes, and those conflicts came to a head two weekends ago.

Tuesday Santa Clara County Sheriff?s Detectives arrested Los Gatos residents Donald Bryant, age 62, Donna Olsen, age 46, and Edward Anderson, age 48 on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury. The incident happened on the evening of May 6. Investigators said a group of dirt bikers was returning home on Loma Chiquita road following a ride in the hills.

Deputy Serg Palanov said Bryant, Olsen and Anderson tied a rope to a tree on one side of the road and waited in some nearby bushes for two other bikers to approach.

Palanov said when the motorcyclist approached the rope, the trio pulled it taut, causing the man to hit the rope at about 20-25 miles per hour.

That man was thrown backward off his motorcycle and suffered severe injuries.

A second rider also approached the scene. Palanov said he saw his friend lying on the ground and was able to slow his bike down enough to escape injury.

The original victim was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose where he laid comatose for five days. The man suffered severe bone damage and he required over 500 stitches. He also had several titanium plates inserted in his face.

It's not clear if the suspects knew how badly they would hurt thier neighbor, but the spokesman for the Sheriff's office said they should have known.

Anyone with further information on this case is asked to contact Sheriff?s Office Detective Dean Baker at (408) 808-4500.

 

Don't cut her off !

I was riding to work yesterday when I observed a female driver cut right in front of a pickup truck causing him to have to drive on to the shoulder. This evidently pissed the driver off, enough that he hung out his window and flipped the woman off.

"Man, that guy is stupid" I thought to myself I ALWAYS smile nicely and wave in a sheepish manner whenever a female does anything to me in traffic and here's why.

I drive 38 miles each way every day to work, that's 76 miles. Of these, 16 each way, is bumper-to-bumper, most of the bumper-to-bumper is on 8 lane highway. So if you just look at the 7 lanes I am not in, that means I pass something like a new car every 40 feet per lane. That's 7 cars every 40 feet for 32 miles. That works out to be 982 cars every mile, or 31,424 cars. Even though the rest of the 34 miles is not bumper to bumper. I figure I pass at least another 4000 cars.

That brings the number to something like 36,000 cars I pass every day. Statistically half of these are driven by females; that's 18,000. In any given group of females 1 in 28 are having the worst day of their period. That's 642.

According to Cosmopolitan, 70% describe their love life as dissatisfying or unrewarding, that's 449, according to the National Institutes of Health 22% of all females have seriously considered suicide or homicide, that's 98, and 34% describe men as their biggest problem, that's 33.

According to the National Rifle Association 5% of all females carry weapons and this number is increasing.

That means that EVERY SINGLE DAY, I drive past at least one female that, has a lousy love life, thinks men are her biggest problem, has seriously considered suicide or homicide, is having the worst day of her period, and is armed.

No matter what she does in traffic, I wouldn't DREAM of flipping her off!

  This page last updated     10-Jul-08