'123456' as the worst password of 2013

Online security firm Splash Data has released the Worst Passwords list for 2013, and the number sequence "123456" tops the list as the most common password among internet users. In the third place was the number 12345678, followed by "qwerty" and abc123.SplashData stated that a major security breach involving Adobe software had highlighted the weak passwords among users of such Adobe products as Photoshop. Stricture Consulting Group decrypted the leaked Adobe passwords and released an estimate that almost 2 million of the more than 130 million users affected by the breach appeared to be using "123456" as a password.Splash Data suggested that users should use a password application manager that organises and protects their passwords. Further, password should be of atleast eight characters or more and include mixed characters. The firm also suggests using passphrases with short words with spaces that are difficult to hack, but easy for the user to remember.

Cyber Experts at Trustwave's SpiderLabs has recently discovered more than 2 million stolen passwords for websites including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google and Yahoo. The data affected 326,000 Facebook accounts, 59,000 Yahoo accounts, 60,000 Google accounts and approximately 22,000 Twitter accounts. The report highlighted the need for stronger internet passwords for users.

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NRI develops antenna that lets you watch TV channels wirelessly via Internet

Chet Kanojia an Indian immigrant has built Aereo- a stamp size antenna that can grab over the air TV signals and stream them to subscribers on the Internet on any device, whether it's a smartphone, tablet or even your laptop. Users will be able to even record shows for later viewing with cloud-based DVR for a few bucks a month.The new device has lead to a legal battle between the American Broadcasting Companies and. Aereo that will come up in the Supreme Court in April. A case of copyright infringement has been filed by 17 broadcasting giants ranging from Disney's ABC to Comcast NBC to 21st Century Fox against Aereo.

The TV giants have stated that the device is a threat to their business model, and undermines the cable re-transmission fees. Broadcasters maintained that Aereo's transmissions constitute a "public performance" that requires Aereo to pay for retransmitting them.However, the federal appeals court have ruled that Aereo's streams to subscribers were not "public performances," and therefore does not constitute copyright infringement. This has shook the TV giants and lead them to file a court in the Supreme court. Some of the channels are even considering taking themselves off the air and converting themselves to a cable-only channel.

Kanojia who won the case in lower courts and is confident that the Supreme Court will rule in his favor. “I can’t imagine they won’t be on the side of innovation,” he says, “cloud-based innovation, in particular, because it is so consumer-friendly. This is the first battleground for the next 50 years of how copyright is going to extend or apply to the Internet and the cloud,” he said in a recent interview.Kanojia who has an engineering degree from the National Institute of Technology and has a mechanical degree from Northeastern University, US holds patents in more than 14 fields ranging from robotics to data. He sold his first company, Navic Networks, to Microsoft in 2008 for a reported $250 million.

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Sony Vaio Flip 13, 14 and 15 hybrid convertible laptops launched in India

Sony has launched its new Vaio Flip line of hybrid convertible laptops. These machines have a unique new hinge design that lets users flip the screen around and use them as tablets. Going all out, Sony’s introduced not one, not two, but three varying sizes, with the Vaio Flip coming in 13, 14 and 15 inch flavours.What’s common between the three variants is that they are all powered by Intel’s fourth generation processors and they all sport Sony’s Triluminous display technology on an IPS panel boasting a resolution of 1920x1080. The Vaio Fit 13 and 14 come with Intel i5 processors while the top end Vaio Fit 15 sports the most powerful Intel Core i7 processor. All but the top end model ship with 4GB of RAM, but for those looking for a little more punch, the top end model has double that amount.

While the insides of these new hybrids are rather tantalizing, what really sets these machines apart is the unique hinge design. The screen can flip backwards over a hinge that will allow users to not only lay it flat on the keyboard, but also have the screen flip all the way backwards, for presentation purposes.The Hybrid machines start retailing at Rs. 94,990 for the base 14 inch model and can cost as high as Rs.1,19,990 for the top end 15 inch model. Interestingly, the 13 inch variant costs five thousand rupees more than the 14-inch variant.

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