Geekly Update - 15 October 2020

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

DoNotPay, the robot lawyer service, says you can forward any email to spam@donotpay.com, and it will automatically unsubscribe you, and possibly earn you some cash. Details are sketchy, but DoNotPay says they'll include you in a class-action lawsuit against the spammer, and share the spoils if there is a settlement. It's a gamble, though. You must sign up for the service which costs $36 a year, and there's no guarantee you'll get a payout.

Researchers have demonstrated that self-driving cars can be fooled into slamming on the brakes by an image of a stop sign on a hacked billboard. The same effect can be achieved by shining an image on the road, possibly causing accidents or traffic jams.

Artificial photosynthesis holds promise for harnessing energy that can be efficiently stored. Prof Erwin Reisner's team at Cambridge University has studied how leaves use photosynthesis to create carbohydrates, and are developing a system that mimics natural photosynthesis, using enzymes to split water and create hydrogen for fuel.

Researchers at MIT have developed a solar-powered system that can efficiently extract drinkable water from “dry” air. By scaling up, it could become a practical water source for areas with limited access to water and electricity.

Encryption faces new challenges from law enforcement agencies worldwide, who are warning of "the dangers of encryption" and calling for "backdoors" that can be used to lawfully gain access to encrypted devices and transmissions. Encryption experts fear that any such backdoor would inevitably be used by criminals.

KrebsOnSecurity reports that a coordinated attack designed to disrupt the Trickbot botnet was carried out by the U.S. military’s Cyber Command. Trickbot has infected millions of computers and is often used to spread ransomware.

CNet says the biggest reason to buy a 5G iPhone 12 is FOMO -- Fear Of Missing Out. In most cases, they say, the boost in speed that comes from a 5G connection isn't significant enough to really matter.

NASA has signed a space exploration cooperation agreement with eight nations. The Artemis Accord involving the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates seeks to establish "a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in the agency’s 21st century lunar exploration plans." NASA plans to send a manned crew to the moon in 2024, the first time since 1972.

Singapore Airlines is offering reservations to eat gourmet dinners on A380 jets grounded at Changi airport by the pandemic. The initial seats sold out in just 30 minutes.

The US Army is testing augmented reality goggles for dogs. The goggles have a built-in camera and a display that can be used to send commands to the dogs from a remote location.

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