Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
Shutterstock/leungchopan
Early Detection
This security tool could help stop the problem of ransomware in its tracks
Scientists at the University of Florida developed software that can stop ransomware before it does any serious damage.
5.10pm, 12 Jul 2016
11.2k
9
SEEING YOUR DEVICE, be it your smartphone or laptop, infected by malware is never a good thing, but some are more damaging than others.
One particularly bad example of this is ransomware, which allows an attacker to encrypt and hold your data before demanding a fee for its return. Payment usually goes in the form of bitcoin which is also encrypted and difficult to trace.
But a way to prevent such a thing from happening could be in hand as a team of researchers from the University of Florida developed software which can detect and stop ransomware.
Advertisement
The solution, called CryptoDrop, is able to stop it from carrying out its task by detecting a number of factors early on. By noticing what it’s doing to a user’s files, it’s able to spot it and stop it from encrypting files.
In tests, it was able to detect ransomware 100% of the time, using 492 real-world ransomware samples. It was able to stop the process after an average of 10 files had been encrypted.
“Through reduction of the number of files lost, we demonstrate that CryptoDrop reduces the need for the victim to pay the ransom, choking attackers’ revenue and rendering the malware ineffective,” said the team in their report.
With few files lost, the burden to pay for victims of ransomware is reduced or remove, protecting users and dismantling the economy of attackers.
The team currently has a working prototype that compatible with Windows and is looking for a commercial partner to help bring the software to the public.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
@P.J. Nolan: what was the point of the whole referendum if they were just going to dismiss the largest vote in the history of British democracy, which is now dead.
@Danny Tagert: another referendum, ironically, would be extremely democratic. It would take the current will of the people into account after 20 months of brexit education.
@P.J. Nolan: They basically said ‘we’ll negotiate’, the EU didn’t crack as they expected (delusion and entitlement there), so they said the EU wasn’t being reasonable. The law said there was no impasse to this, the EU weren’t going to give in against their own interests and rightly so. The UK govt said they were waiting for a solution to pop up. There wasn’t and isn’t one. So basically the UK went into negotiations and dragged it out before accepting that there wasn’t a solution. If hey left customs union they’d need a hard border. Both options were unacceptable. The referendum’s question was too general and not planned properly.
@P.J. Nolan: The vote was for either staying in or out of the EU. Staying in the single market or the customs union was never mentioned. The people were not given all the facts about leaving the EU.
Everyone in Ireland seems to dislike Teresa May.- Everything she does is wrong. Varadkar is highly critical.
But do bear in mind,
1) she was pro remain.
2) When she goes, then what.?
It can take a while for sense and sanity to dawn on politicians.
Eventually, Britain will have a form of nominal Brexit, Brexit in name and removed from any real influence and decision making within the EU. It will be a Brexit with significant downsides and no upside.
The madness of Brexit too time to be exposed. Nigel Farage is good a fake facts, followed closely by Boris Johnson.
@Michael Lang: Brexit was down to one thing and one thing only. It was the changes forced on ordinary people that put their communities through severe change quickly to the point that people feel like foreigners in their own country and having to pay for the privilege. It had nothing to do with money in their pockets promised by certain politicians. Those changes made the last few years of my mother’s life hell so I know what people were saying. Its something that people here have no experience of….yet.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: ” It was the changes forced on ordinary people that put their communities through severe change quickly to the point that people feel like foreigners in their own country and having to pay for the privilege”
It is dismaying that this did happen as politicians were living in a bubble and failed to see that there are only so many institutions they are accountable to.
“Whereas backlash arguments address the harm judicial
decisions do to social-change movements, Roe’s critics focus on
the damage done by judicial intervention to the larger society.
This criticism, which the Article calls the “beyond backlash”
argument, has profound legal consequences. Justice Antonin
Scalia has woven this argument into a demand for the overruling
of Roe. In the broader legal academy, scholars believe that post Roe
polarization provides a powerful warning about the
consequences of particular interpretive methods—particularly,
when the Court decides too much too soon. Forty years after Roe,
the decision serves as a central example of the dangers of judicial
review.” Polarization politics
I would have thought that our politicians would have given 20 minutes of their time to look at how societies become polarized by referendum and some never really recover as it sets in motion crippling dynamics in society. We are too small of a nation to be split by entitlement politics and to sleepwalk as the British did into overreaching decisions based on a misguided question.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: That’s absolute and utter rubbish. Those communities are suffering due to Tory austerity. Farage and the other reactionary fools blamed the outsider. Well sorry, Europeans have seen enough of that guff before and we’re not tolerating it.
@Danny Rafferty: Now you’re talking rubbish. What I witnessed with my mother and her close community is actually too distressing for me to detail here. When what you’ve known as a classic civilised community is destroyed by, and living in fear of migrants then they want it back. I saw same happening in many places and predicted Brexit years before it happened. It had nothing to do with what you say. You must be young.
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: I have no doubt many communities have borne much more than their fair share PJ, but no style of Brexit touted is actually going to do anything for those communities. The highly questionable policies put forward still envisage +100K per year. 60% of immigration will still remain uncontrolled, and Tory policies will still ravage the JAM communities.
Brexit is pure reactionary rubbish and lies, but defend it you’ve nothing else to do this evening.
Theresa may is running around like a headless chicken,she’s trying to keep her own party from imploding and keep Arlene the tyrant happy as well.could be possible in a few months that Britain might just have a second referendum on brexit
The British people voted to leave the EU, albeit by a small margin. It has emerged that they were lied to and misled by being presented with false statements by unscrupulous politicians.
The ‘leaving’ part has proven to be not so easy, as GB can’t just walk out the door, without fulfilling their commitments. Surely any person, politician or otherwise, could have seen this and acted accordingly.
For now the only logical solution must be to hold another referendum to allow the British people to decide whether to accept the final negotiated position or not. I think that result could be very different to the last vote. That would be the ultimate Democratic thing to do.
@odonnellp: I have reported your comment. It is a sane, balanced and reasonable comment. Don’t let it happen again. There is no call for that kind of sensible comment.
@Paul Furey: a few hundred unelected Lords can over-rule the democratic vote of 17.5 millon people and stop what was voted for. Democracy is dead, crushed by unelected tyrants.
@neilo: To be fair to him – the House of Lords is an archaic joke. No disputing that.
Not that this is anything new, though. The HoL has been an undemocratic check on democracy from the very beginning. We’re not witnessing the death of democracy, though, we’re seeing the flaws of a bad bicameral legislature being exposed once again.
@Danny Tagert: The “Lords”, have not scuppered anything. All they can do ( and have done) is send the issue back to the House of Commons for them to reconsider. It is for the directly elected single-constituency in the HoC to exercise parliamentary sovereignty as regards the Executive’s proposals. Democracy is an ongoing process.
@Danny Tagert: I have to laugh at the EU being criticised by the British because Commissioners are assigned by elected governments and then you look at the House of Lords.
The real question is whether or not the UK’s current arrangements represent a functioning democracy by modern, representative European standards.
I think the case against is very strong and that is unfortunate for ordinary British people.
This is old news. Downing Street issued a statement last night reaffirming they will not be staying in the customs union.
Is it the EU that are afraid of the UK leaving the customs union, successfully negotiating other trade agreements, together with a form of trade agreement with Brussels to satisfy EU industries ?
Is the EU using the “border” issue to disrupt the UK leaving the customs union ?
She knows full well remaining in the CU will bring down the government.
@Dave Thomas: I suspect you may be wrong. A successful UK outside the increasingly political micro managing of Brussels may just lead to the earlier break up of the EU if there is no meaningful change from within.
Politically, it’s become increasingly centrally controlled, similar to the old Soviet Union.
Oh Damocles i foresee you crying into your cornflakes. We in Dublin will have a say over the rules of the customs union and you Brits can follow along…that ok?
What a ridiculous situation this whole thing is… Why Oh why did did Britian bring this situation on themselves and drag us in to their problems…
Nigel Garage and his accomplices sold nieve voters a total lie and now, stubborn ,
@Chris Kiely: voters who must regret this, just won’t accept the absolutely ridiculous situation they have put themselves in and change it…
When you really think about the situation they are in and all the problems it’s causing, for what, something Nigel Garage and his crue sold them based on lies and misinformation…
@Chris Kiely: because David Cameron wanted his ego stroked and it backfired spectacularly. The English public voted for leave because they believe the EU is to blame for their problems as thats the nonsence they have been fed by their government.
Give back the 6 county’s illegally ocupied by tyrant dictator’s,,a united Ireland better than any border,,,get British politics out of Ireland win,,win situation.
The headline is inaccurate. This is all speculation and today May ruled out staying in the Customs Union and warned of a confidence vote over the issue.
Complicate or not. If GB leaves the customs union, there will be a hard border, the question os where. In the Irish sea, the DUP is against it. Between North and South, the republic don’t want. But the EC need a border, and to avoid a border in Ireland, there s only one place left, between Ireland, GB and the Continent or the DUP must change his mind and stay in the customs union.
Man rescued from destroyed building five days after major earthquake in Myanmar
25 mins ago
182
neurodiversity
World Autism Day: 'My children deserve to be valued by the system for who they are'
30 mins ago
334
Speaking rights row
Verona Murphy wins first-ever Dáil vote of confidence in a Ceann Comhairle by 96 votes to 71
11 hrs ago
30.9k
108
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 161 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 110 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 143 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 113 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 83 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 134 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 74 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 83 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 46 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 99 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 72 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 53 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 88 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say