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MSNBC.com: Technology & Science

'Drive-by' email infects readers immediately

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 6:56pm MST

For the past few years, drive-by downloads have been the bane of computer-security professionals. These malicious Trojans lurk inside seemingly innocuous Web pages and try to infect any browser that visits them. If a user doesn't have strong anti-virus software installed on his PC, he'll be immediately infected just by looking at the Web page.
Spider's detachable penis finishes without him

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 6:24pm MST

Sex can be dangerous, even deadly if your partner has plans to eat you. When the male orb-web spider has its first, and sometimes last, sexual encounter it has a trick up its sleeve: detachable genitalia which keep pumping even after their owner's moved on.
Occupy protester's Twitter posts subpoenaed

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 6:08pm MST

Prosecutors have subpoenaed the Twitter records of an Occupy Wall Street protester who was arrested in October during a mass protest on the Brooklyn Bridge. The subpoena from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office seeks "user information, including email address," along with three months' worth of tweets from one man.
Isolated Peru tribe makes uncomfortable contact

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 6:05pm MST

Peruvian authorities say they are struggling to keep outsiders away from a clan of previously isolated Amazon Indians who began appearing on the banks of a jungle river popular with environmental tourists last year.
Netflix asks Congress to amend video legislation

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 6:00pm MST

Netflix on Tuesday urged a panel of U.S. senators to support legislation that it said would allow the company's U.S. users to share information on Facebook about the TV shows and movies they are watching through Netflix's service.
Review: Super Bowl online decent, won't replace TV

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 5:36pm MST

The television set won't be the only place to watch video of the New York Giants and the New England Patriots this Sunday. For the first time, U.S. football fans will be able to watch the Super Bowl live on a computer or on a phone.
What's so super about super-Earths?

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 5:07pm MST

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Astronomer Dimitar Sasselov used to shock the world with his claim that there were millions of Earths out there. Now it turns out he was guessing too low.
Protesters turn on Occupy Wall Street videographer

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 5:05pm MST

The videographer who has brought Occupy Wall Street to many who've never made it to New York City says he’s under increasing attack from other protesters, and was assaulted recently during a march. Msnbc.com's Bob Sullivan reports.
It costs over $17,000 a year to be a gamer apparently

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 5:03pm MST

Bloomberg recently ran a piece called "The Real Cost of Being a Video Gamer" and the price tag seems a bit high.
Video: Droid Razr Maxx and LG Spectrum battle it out

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 4:54pm MST

We used the best mobile games to test the hardware of Verizon's latest smart-phones. In-Game's Todd Kenreck reports. (In-Game)
'Smart clothing' could become wearable gadgets

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 4:47pm MST

Today's ordinary clothing has the untapped power to become tomorrow's wearable electronics. A Canadian lab has tested special fibers that can help make soft, flexible touch screens and batteries woven directly into the fabrics of modern life.
Cyber threats: New weapons and revised old ones

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 4:35pm MST

In its 2012 Threat Predictions report, the security firm McAfee says cybercriminals are developing new weapons, and refining some old ones. Unfortunately, no matter how well the security world readies itself, it will always be one step behind the bad guys.
Don't get sidelined by a Super Bowl cyberscam

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 4:08pm MST

In the days leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, the Web most likely will be filled with "one-of-a-kind" and "exclusive" football-themed offers, from tickets to the sold-out game to phishing sites playing off Tom Brady's or Eli Manning's popularity. The Web pages may look legitimate and the offers may look real but, as with any major event that draws the attention of millions of people, clever cybercrooks are looking to cash in.
NASA probe finds 'alien' matter outside solar system

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 2:51pm MST

For the very first time, a NASA spacecraft has detected matter from outside our solar system — material that came from elsewhere in the galaxy, researchers announced Tuesday.
Students busted for high-tech grade-changing scam

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 2:14pm MST

Three Southern California high schoolers are facing a punishment much more severe than detention for allegedly hacking into their schools' network, changing their grades and selling test answers to classmates.
Online petition asks Apple for 'ethical' iPhone

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 2:09pm MST

An online petition asking Apple to "address dangerous conditions in factories" making the next iPhone has gotten 35,000 signatures in the first 24 hours of the effort.
Game's origins under increasing scrutiny

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 1:47pm MST

It used to be that social game makers could lift ideas from one another, sometimes brazenly, and go about their business without much incident. Not anymore.
Tech moves still life painting

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 12:58pm MST

Life isn't still. Paintings don't have to be either. And now, thanks to Seattle-based artist Scott Garner, still life art is catching up with the times. It comes to life when tilted.
Microsoft Office 15 goes out for testing

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 12:31pm MST

The next version of Microsoft Office is being previewed and tested by some customers selected by the company.
Online game theft earns real-world conviction

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 12:30pm MST

The amulet and mask were a 13-year-old boy's virtual possessions in an online fantasy game. In the real world, he was beaten and threatened with a knife to give them up.
Carrier IQ spawns cellphone privacy bill

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 12:02pm MST

In the wake of tracking software Carrier IQ being discovered on many cellphones, one Congressional representative has proposed a bill that would make providers reveal such Big Brother installations to subscribers.
Strangely moving Antarctic lakes surprise researchers

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 11:38am MST

Researchers recently uncovered a startling phenomenon — a set of teardrop-shaped lakes in Antarctica that mysteriously move, jogging along at a pace as fast as 5 feet (1.5 meters) per day.
'Smart bullet' hits targets a mile away

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 11:27am MST

Smart weapons have been growing smaller since the first guided cruise missiles took off with a roar. Today's soldiers may soon shoot farther and more accurately with a new "smart bullet" that uses tiny fins to steer itself toward anything targeted by a laser beam.
Deals of the day: 'Valentine's Day,' video games and more

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 11:23am MST

Here's what's worth considering today: "Valentine's Day" on DVD for $5, discounted video games, free apps and more.
Facebook IPO will be big, but it doesn't matter

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 11:08am MST

Facebook could sell shares to the public in an IPO — valuing the social network from $75 billion to $100 billion — sometime between April and June. But there are four good reasons why this will be a non-event.
EU probes Samsung, Germany blocks its tablets

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 10:54am MST

Samsung took a hit in its battle against arch-rival Apple on Tuesday, when the European Union announced it will investigate whether it is illegally trying to hinder competitors and Germany blocked sales of some of its tablets.
Firefox 10 now available for download

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 10:49am MST

Firefox 10, the latest version of Mozilla's popular Internet browser, is now available for download.
Facebook spam attack pushes diet 'miracle'

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 10:48am MST

It's still early enough in the year to keep those New Year's resolutions and to be flooded by diet commercials in magazines, on TV — and on Facebook.
Android users most likely to use phones on toilet

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:53am MST

The next time an Android user mocks your shiny new iPhone or BlackBerry, just smile, nod ... and avoid touching his phone. Because odds are quite high that the device has been used while its owner sat on the toilet at some point — and who knows if he even washed his hands.
Top rugged camera gets update ... and $180 baby brother

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:45am MST

Panasonic's Lumix DMC-TS3 was already the one camera you'd probably want to take on "The Amazing Race," but now there's an update called the Lumix DMC-TS4, and an entry-level rugged, the TS20.
Pre-caffeine tech: Twitter murder, Ron Paul memes!

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:26am MST

Besides some slight technical difficulties at the beginning, the livestream Monday was nearly flawless on YouTube, and the first Google+ Hangout broadcast publicly with President Barack Obama lasted just over 49 minutes.
Gigantic radio telescope to search for first stars and galaxies

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:22am MST

More than 20,000 radio antennas will soon connect over the Internet to scan largely unexplored radio frequencies, hunting for the first stars and galaxies and potentially signals of extraterrestrial intelligence.
Report: Megaupload data safe for two more weeks

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:12am MST

On Monday, federal prosecutors said that data from Megaupload's 50 million users could be deleted as soon as Thursday. A new report, however, offers fresh hope to those desperate to save their data — which includes personal photos and documents.
Did Leonardo da Vinci copy 'Vitruvian Man'?

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:07am MST

New research suggests that Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing of a male figure perfectly inscribed in a circle and square, known as the "Vitruvian Man," may be a copy of an earlier drawing by Leonardo's friend.
NASA to solicit private space taxi proposals

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 8:26am MST

NASA plans to solicit proposals Feb. 7 for the third round of its commercial crew program and award at least two funded Space Act Agreements this summer that will run through 2014 and prepare competing astronaut transportation concepts for production.
Twitter CEO says new policy is for transparency: report

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 6:18am MST

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo clarified that the company's new online content policy does not mean that Twitter is actively monitoring tweets.
Russia blames radiation for space probe failure

Posted: January 31st, 2012, 6:11am MST

The head of Russia's space agency said Tuesday that cosmic radiation was the most likely cause of the failure of a Mars moon probe that crashed to Earth this month, and suggested that a low-quality imported component may have been vulnerable to the radiation.