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Sunday, 26 February 2017

5 signs she definitely wants sex

Focus on what she's not telling you in bed by reading her body language
It's a universally accepted fact that women are complicated, confusing beings who, in spite of talking incessantly, rely a lot on non-verbal communication to convey their inner-most thoughts. So it's left to you to unravel the mystery of their look, sigh or grump.
Since they manage to take the same trait into the bedroom and you might find yourself befuddled at her reactions, wondering if she's rubbing up against you out of extreme desire or as a distraction tactic to get you to stop doing what you're doing. We help you decode her subtle body language in bed, so you're abreast of whether you're doing it right or need to up your ante. If you manage to read your cues right, you'll be suitable rewarded and her body will display overall signs of arousal that can't be faked. Here are a few:

In her arms

If instead of holding you, her arms are held close to her body, there might be a little something going on, you should take note of. In some positions she might need her arms to support her weight, but in most cases, if she's consciously holding her arms close, she is clearly not letting go with wild abandon. She shouldn't want to be covering herself up. If however, they're above your or her head, on your chest, splayed out on the sheets or held out on either side, it's her way of telling you, she's comfortable with where she is and there's no need to hold back.

Breathing heavy

This is usually a dead give away and impossible to mask or fake. As the body is excited and turned on, the breath becomes more urgent and rapid. Involuntary moans are made as air rapidly makes its way through her vocal chords. The heart rate increases as the body prepares for an orgasm, making her internal organs demand more oxygen. A thumping heart rate and urgent breathing should let you know that you're on the right track. However, if immediately after a big orgasm, she's back to a slow restful pace of breath, you just witnessed a big show.

Writhing heights

When a body enthusiastically responds to another, it urges for proximity. If she's grinding or pushing herself against you, trying to hold or hug you, her body language is as inviting as it gets. Curling toes are another good indicator, but try to catch a glance offhand. If the motion is subconscious, it's probably genuine. If however, she's lying there waiting for you to do all the hard work, there's probably a little that's happening in terms of arousal for her. You need to regroup and restart. Try changing positions or focus on her erogenous zones to get her attention.

Hip action

A little known secret about good sex is that it's tremendously synchronized. The way the bodies were designed, they were meant to move repeatedly in the same motion until both achieved a climax. So if you find her matching your moves, you've hit the right notes and just need to make it to the finish line. Sometimes it takes a little time to get in sync but if you don't see it happening, chances are that her body is telling you it wants something else, another position perhaps. Wait for her to respond with the same intensity.

In the deep

Once you are in the zone and aiming for the finish, given the sensitivity of organs involved, you should be able to feel her strong internal muscles act against yours. With spasms and some amount of clenching, you'll get a good idea of how well you're doing. However, don't use it as a benchmark since not all women have the same amount of control over their kegel muscles. Some amount of contraction and relaxation that you may feel could be for her own pleasure, but pay close attention to what her overall intensity is telling you.
What works for one woman may never work for another but the idea is to be attuned to the feedback her body language is giving you. If you feel like you're not in sync, pause and try something new. Avoid sticking to a routine or becoming predictable. Spice things up with experimentation, teasing and tantalizing your partner and keep an eye out for fake moans and forced emotions.
mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com

Dimple Yadav takes a dig at PM Modi over his 'Diwali-Ramzan' remarks

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, wife of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, today launched a fresh salvo against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making statements with communal overtones during the state assembly polls.
Barely hours after the airing of PM Modi's monthly radio address " Mann ki Baat ", Dimple addressed an election rally in Jaunpur and said, "Jo teen saal se mann ki baat kar rahe the, unke mann ki baat mein thi bhedbhaav, jaati-dharm, Diwali-Ramzan, Shamshaan-Kabristaan ki baat."
"The people who were saying Mann ki Baat for the last three years, they had discrimination in their hearts, on the lines of caste-religion, Diwali-Ramzan, Shamshaan-Kabristaan," the Samajwadi Party leader said.

Dimple's charge was with respect to PM Modi's controversial remarks during a campaign rally in Fatehpur last week, when he had said, "If you create kabristaan (graveyard) in a village, then a shamshaan (cremation ground) should also be created. If electricity is given uninterrupted in Ramzan, then it should be given in Diwali without a break."
Questioning the Prime Minister's pitch to give up the LPG cylinder subsidy+ for the benefit of the poor, Dimple asked the people if they were aware that the prices of cylinders had risen from Rs 400 to Rs 700 over the last three years
.
"Teen saal 'Mann ki Baat' karte karte kab humari behano, maataon ka cylinder Rs 400 se Rs 700 ka hogya aapko pata chala?" the Kannauj MP demanded.
Taking a dig at the BJP's poll promise of distributing five crore gas connections, Dimple said that for every gas stove purchased, her party would give a pressure cooker.
Yesterday, Dimple also hit back at BJP chief Amit Shah's for coining the 'KASAB' , saying that 'Ka' stands for computer+ and 'Sa' for smartphone.
"BJP is teaching us 'ka se Kasab' and your Akhilesh Bhaiya says 'ka se' computer and 'sa se' smartphone, with which you could get information about government schemes and policies and benefit," she said at a public meeting.
The ruling Samajwadi Party has a scheme to distribute laptops to meritorious students and promised to give smartphones if it returns to power in the state.
Dimple has been campaigning for husband and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav during the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, courting women voters and creating an image as a political 'power couple'.

Thousands join Kargil martyr's daughter in war against ABVP on FB

Days after Delhi University’s Ramjas college saw violent clashes, a Lady Sri Ram College student who is a Kargil martyr’s daughter has initiated a social media campaign, “I am not scared of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad”, which has gone viral.



Gurmehar Kaur, daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, changed her Facebook profile picture holding a placard which read “I am a student from Delhi University. I am not afraid of ABVP. I am not alone. Every student of India is with me. Students AgainstABVP”.

“The brutal attack on innocent students by ABVP is very disturbing and should be stopped. It was not an attack on protesters, but an attack on every notion of democracy that is held dear in every Indian’s heart. It is an attack on ideals, morals, freedom and rights of every person born to this nation,” she said in a Facebook status.


Saturday, 25 February 2017

Ghosts of past tech IPOs could haunt Snap’s performance

Snap Inc appears set to make a splash next week with the biggest tech stock debut since Facebook Inc, but history suggests investors shut out of the initial public offering would be better off waiting a bit to chase this unicorn on the open market.

Globally, shares of most of the 25 largest technology IPOs have languished in their first 12 months on the public market, with 16 of them notching a hefty decline from their debut day closing price, according to a Reuters analysis of market performance.

Eight of the 10 biggest fell by between 25% and 71%.

Among U.S. tech IPOs, 14 of the 25 biggest fell in their first year, including nine of the 15 to raise at least $1 billion in their listings. Declines ranged from 9% to more than 80%.

Snap, the company behind the popular Snapchat app, is expected to raise between $2.8 billion and $3.2 billion, which could vault it into the five largest global tech IPOs of all time, according to Thomson Reuters Deals Intelligence data. It would rank third on the U.S.-only list.

Company executives have been on the road for the last week meeting with potential investors, and Thomson Reuters IFR reported on Friday that the deal is oversubscribed, meaning far more fund managers want a slice than can be accommodated.

Potential IPO buyers appear willing to look past concerns about the company’s governance and lack of profitability and see it as a vehicle to play a red-hot market for tech stocks, the leading sector so far in 2017.

The deal is expected to price next week, and the stock will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SNAP on March 2. One red flag

Still, the track record for the largest tech IPOs may be one red flag.

The median year-one performance among the biggest tech debuts globally was a decline of 22.3%, with big stumbles among marquee names like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Facebook, ranked Nos. 1 and 2 respectively. Each dropped about 30% in their first 52 weeks. One did not even survive a year: World Online BV, ranked as the No. 6 tech IPO of all time. The Netherlands-based internet service provider raised $2.8 billion in March 2000, the month marking the peak of the dot-com bubble, and slid 68% before being bought by Italy’s Tiscali SpA 10 months later. The U.S. tech group, which suffered from the inclusion of notable casualties from the internet stock bust of the early 2000s, such as Palm Inc, Viasystems Group, Genuity and Infonet, had a median decline of 17.2% in their first year.

And unicorns like Snap are no exception to the rule. The last five tech names in the U.S. top 25 with a pre-IPO valuation north of $1 billion, Groupon Inc, Zynga Inc, Facebook, Twitter Inc and Fitbit Inc, all nosedived in their first year.Only Facebook has since recovered.

Some notable out performers do dot the list.

Alphabet Inc stands out as the top year-one performer both globally and domestically. Debuting as Google in August 2004, it soared nearly 180% in its first year. Next best was German electronics company EPCOS AG, which is now private but gained 140% after its October 1999 IPO.

For some of the most prominent names on the list, performance did turn a corner after that dismal first year.

Facebook, which raised $16 billion in May 2012 only to have technical glitches mar its debut on Nasdaq, lost more than half its value in its first four months of trading. But its shares have been off to the races since, surging more than 660% from their low-water mark that September to more than 250% above the day-one closing price.

Alibaba’s shares, which rose more than 30% in their first month only to falter over most of the next two years, are also back in the black, though barely.

The stock is up about 9 % from its closing price on Sept. 19, 2014, having gained nearly 80% from its low point a year after the IPO.

By the end of either year five or their latest price, whichever is longer, the biggest U.S. tech IPOs posted a median gain of 29.1%.

It takes a village to break free of party affiliationsa

In Yadav-majority Bhabhaura, where Thakur families number fewer than a dozen, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is the toast of the village. Parshuram Yadav, who was six years the Minister’s senior in school, puts it this way, “We are all honoured by the fact that he was born in this remote village in eastern Uttar Pradesh. It is he who has put Bhabhaura on the map.”

This is election time, so who will the village vote for? “Barring the Dalits, we will all vote for the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] because the honourable Minister is from our village,” says Bholanath Yadav, who was Mr. Singh’s classmate. Even the Yadavs? Of course, the Yadavs say.

Parshuram Yadav explains, “After Independence, the village would vote for the Congress, then we used to vote for Charan Singh’s party, but after Rajnathji became Chief Minister, we have been voting for his party.” The current narrative of the BJP’s campaign is that only the Yadavs have benefited from Samajwadi Party (SP) rule.

“That is just Modi’s chunavi [election time] stunt. He knows Akhilesh has worked for the poor, not just for Yadavs. He is trying to fool people but we believe in Rajnath Singh,” Parshuram Yadav says. “We vote for the man, not his party.”

If the Minister was not from this village, would the Yadavs still vote for the BJP? Bholanath Yadav is about to respond when Parshuram Yadav stops him: “That is a trick question: don’t answer it.” But later, he relents: “One should tell the truth. A few Yadavs will vote for the SP.”

Rajnath Singh is not just the pride of his village, he has brought benefits to Bhabaura. When IDBI Bank offered a sum of money under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme to two villages, Bhabhaura and another in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency were selected.

But today, the money that was allotted has become a bone of contention.

In Bhabhaura, its youthful gram pradhan, Awdhesh Singh Yadav, and village elders meet under a thatched sit-out, discussing the status of an ongoing project being implemented by the Central government. “I hear ₹25 lakh has been spent on toilets for our village school,” says Bholanath Yadav solemnly. “But tell me, is it true that 25 children will be able to defecate simultaneously with these facilities?”

There is an embarrassed laugh, and then the explanation: no, 25 lakh has been sent to improve the school and only two toilets have been constructed.

Friday, 24 February 2017

7 fat-burning exercises for a flat tummy

 Flat tummy



Losing belly fat is the hardest, they say. And when you want to strengthen your core and lose the flab, we most commonly resort to crunches. Here are some moves that can help you lose fat from the mid-section. Each of these moves stimulate and tighten the core muscles while burning calories.

Pike and stretch



Lie straight on the floor with your legs extended over your hips. Pull yourself up, like one would do while doing crunches ensuring that your hands reach towards your feet. Bring your arms back overhead, lowering your right leg towards the floor. Repeat the same with left leg. Repeat 20 times.

Bicycle crunch



Lie down with your back onto the floor. Bring your hands behind your head. Start with your legs bent at approximately 45 degrees angle; bring the right knee into the chest while straightening out your left leg. At the same time, rotate your top half bringing your right elbow to your left knee, then switch to the other side

The boat pose



Begin in a seated position with your knees bent. Extend your legs so your body forms a right angle. Breathe comfortably throughout the move. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat 5 times.

The plank



Lie on your stomach. Bend your elbows directly under shoulders and clasp your hands. Your feet should be hip-width apart, and elbows shoulder-width apart. Contract your abs, then tuck your toes to lift your body. You should be in a straight line from head to heels. Hold for 30-40 seconds and repeat.

Lunge

Image result for Lunge

Stand with your upper body straight and shoulders back and relaxed, and chin up. Step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at 90-degree angle. Make sure your front knee is directly above your ankle, not pushed out too far. Your other knee should not touch the floor. Keep the weight on your heels as you push back up to the starting position. Repeat with alternate legs.

Push-ups

Image result for Push-ups

Get into a high plank position. Begin to lower your body and keep your back flat and eyes focused about three feet in front of you. Push back up and keep your core engaged, exhale as you push back to the starting position. Repeat for 10- 20 times.

Squats

Image result for Squats

To perform this exercise, first stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Extend your hands straight out in front of you. Sit down like you're sitting on an imaginary chair. Keep your back straight. Your thighs should be parallel to the floor. Keep your body tight, and push through your heels to bring yourself back to the starting

Here’s what happens to your body when you skip breakfast



The old saying, 'Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper' couldn't ring truer. Beginning your day with a heavy breakfast will give your body enough fuel to keep you going without feeling sluggish or lethargic. Yet, statistics point towards a rather alarming picture — millions of people around the world tend to skip breakfast, choosing to have lunch as the first meal of the day. While recent years have seen increasing awareness about the importance of daily breakfast, health experts say that a large number of the population tends to skip it.

Why breakfast is so essential

Dietitian says, "This is the first meal of the day after your body stays empty throughout the night, hence, breakfast helps kickstart the day. The work 'breakfast' itself means to break the fast that was maintained overnight. This important meal provides fuel to the body and brain, and also helps you meet the daily energy requirement to get you ready for the day. It restores glucose levels that help the brain function and enhances concentration and memory apart from lowering stress levels."
Adds nutritionist Kim, "People need to remember to have their breakfast within one hour of waking up. Studies find that food eaten at breakfast influences what you indulge in eating the rest of the day. The body is in a state of catabolism (muscle breakdown to sustain energy levels) in the night. Hence, it is imperative to replenish or fuel the body as soon as you wake up with the right kind of foods that help in kickstarting the metabolism for the day."

Focus on a well-balanced meal

"An ideal breakfast includes complex cereals, portion of milk and a fruit. Food items like poha, upma, dalia, bhakri, idlis can sometimes be replaced with ready-to-eat cereals like oats, bran, cornflakes or wheat flakes. If you are in a hurry, eat a handful of nuts with cereal and milk," advises Priya.
"An ideal breakfast must comprise energy enhancing foods like complex carbohydrates and low fat protein. The former helps maintain steady energy levels and give calories with minimal chance of fat storage. Low fat protein helps improve muscle growth, increases metabolism and fat burning. It also improves body composition and workout performance," says Kim.

For example:

Oats with low skim milk + egg whites
Wholewheat/ muesli (plain ) in skim milk
Oats/ moong dal chillas + egg whites or whey powder
Oats powder + skim milk + low GI fruit made like a smoothie

Urban professionals inviting health problems due to erratic eating habits

"Erratic meal timings affects the energy requirements leading to digestive problems, heart diseases, obesity and acidity. Small meals at regular intervals will be the best option for those with a busy schedule so that even if they do skip a meal, there will not be a huge gap between meals. The consequences will not be as bad in the long run in such incidents," says Payal.
Ends Kim, "It is important to eat every two to four hours to sustain energy levels, maintain metabolism to improve body composition (body tone) and sustain good blood sugar levels. Having an erratic meal pattern leads to low energy levels, low metabolism leading to fat gain and low blood sugar levels, which lead to headaches, fatigue and irritability."

What happens when you skip the first meal of the day

Explains Palan, "Skipping breakfast has an impact on the calorie count, which affects the intellectual development in infants and children. It reduces attention level, leading to slow learning and increases the risk of hypoglycemia wherein sugar level reduces causing dizziness, headache, lethargy and weakness. It could also lead to a decrease in levels of physical activity, triggering bad eating habits, which in the long run, can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle."
Skipping breakfast basically means you are letting the body be in a state of metabolism — definitely not a desirable environment for your body. "It further results in lowering the BMR (Body Metabolic Rate) to conserve calories, leading to fat gain and triggers off acidity. It also causes one to binge eat during the rest of the day,"



'I just did what was right to do,' says American who stood up for the two Indians

Twenty-four-year-old Ian Grillot, who stood up for Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, when they were racially abused by Adam Purinton has said he did what was right to do. He was injured in the shooting that followed, which killed Kuchibhotla.

Bartender Garret Bohnen told the Kansas City Star that Kuchibhotla and Mr. Madasani stopped at Austins for a drink once or twice a week.
“From what I understand when he was throwing racial slurs at the two gentlemen [Kuchibhotla and Madasani], Ian [Grillot] stood up for them,” Mr. Bohnen said. “We’re all proud of him.”

Witnesses told The Star that Purinton, 51, yelled “get out of my country” before opening fire.

Mr. Grillot said in an interview from his hospital bed that when the shooting broke out, he hid until nine shots were fired and he thought the suspect’s gun magazine was empty.

“I got up and proceeded to chase him down, try to subdue him,” Mr. Grillot said in a video from the University of Kansas Health System posted on The Star website. “I got behind him and he turned around and fired a round at me.”
Mr. Grillot said the bullet went through his hand and into his chest, just missing a major artery.

“It’s not about where he [victim] was from or his ethnicity,” Mr. Grillot said. “We’re all humans, so I just did what was right to do.”

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas posted a statement on Facebook, saying he was very disturbed by the shooting. “I strongly condemn violence of any kind, especially if it is motivated by prejudice and xenophobia,” he said.
Brian Eric Ford, 39, set up the account on GoFundMe, jointly for the family of Kuchibhotla and Mr. Madasani.

“I’ve been pretty closely following the rise in white nationalism since the election,” the Kansas City graphic artist told The Star. “I thought this was a chance to do something to show support for these communities that are being attacked.”

As of Thursday night, 816 people had contributed $29,726 to the fund, which has a target of $50,000.                    

Ignoring Indian talent China’s mistake: Global Times

Ignoring Indian talent and attaching too much importance to the workforce from the United States and Europe was China’s mistake, a Chinese daily said on Friday.

However, the editorial in Global Times caustically said it was way cheaper to hire Indians as “the cost of employing an Indian engineer is just half the cost of hiring a Chinese worker.”

The paper said wooing high-tech talent from India would help China in innovation.

Wooing S&T talent

“China has perhaps not been working hard enough to attract science and technology talent from India to work in the country,” the daily said.

“Over the past few years, China witnessed an unprecedented boom in tech jobs as the country became an attractive destination for foreign research and development centres. China has made the mistake of ignoring Indian talent, and instead has attached a greater importance to talent coming from the US and Europe,” it said.

Citing some reports, the paper said: “The cost of employing an Indian engineer is just half the cost of hiring a Chinese worker, which means Indians could see their revenue more than double if they came to work in China.

“However, now some high-tech firms are turning their attention from China to India due to the latter’s relatively low labor costs. Attracting high-tech talent from India could be one of China’s options for maintaining its innovation ability,” it added.

India increasingly attractive

The report cited how an American software firm had shut its research and development team of 300 people unit and set up a unit in India with some 2,000 professionals.

“With a sufficient young talent pool, India is becoming increasingly attractive. China cannot afford to risk a decline in its attractiveness for high-tech investors. The nation is among the third echelon in cutting-edge technology fields and is working to catch up with the U.S. and the result of its efforts will decide whether China will maintain its status as an emerging global economic power,” it said.

China’s talent pool not enough

The report said China’s talent pool was not large and flexible enough to meet the demand for the rapid expansion of innovation capability.

“Some enterprises in Guizhou province provide convenience for Indian talent in terms of housing, insurance and transportation who could enjoy a much better standard of living in [China] than in Bangalore,” it said.

Hacker Who Knocked Million Routers Offline Using MIRAI Arrested at London Airport

British police have arrested a suspect in connection with the massive attack on Deutsche Telekom that hit nearly 1 Million routers last November.
Late last year, someone knocked down more than 900,000 broadband routers belonging to Deutsche Telekom users in Germany, which affected the telephony, television, and internet service in the country.
Now, Germany's federal criminal police force (BKA) revealed today that the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) reportedly arrested a 29-year-old British suspect at Luton airport in London on Wednesday, who is accused of being the mastermind behind the last year's attack.

 In a statement, the German police said the last year's attack was especially severe and was carried out to compromise the home routers to enroll them in a network of hijacked machines popularly known as Botnet, and then offer the DDoS services for sale on dark web markets.
But ultimately, the attack created a denial-of-service situation, which resulted in more than 900,000 customers losing Internet connectivity for a while.
"From the outset, Deutsche Telekom cooperated with law enforcement agencies," BKA said. "Technical assistance was also provided by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) in the analysis of the malicious software used."
The Botnet of hacked machines is used to carry out "distributed denial of service" (DDoS) attacks to knock any site or server offline by sending them a larger number of rogue requests than they can handle.
It is believed that a modified version of the infamous Mirai malware – a piece of nasty IoT malware which scans for insecure routers, cameras, DVRs, and other IoT devices and enslaves them into a botnet network – was used to create service disruption.

 Mirai is the same botnet that knocked the entire Internet offline last year, crippling some of the world's biggest and most popular websites.
The BKA got involved in the investigation as the attack on Deutsche Telekom was deemed to be a threat to the country's national communication infrastructure.
German police from the city of Cologne identified the suspect and issued the international arrest warrant.
The BKA said the cops would extradite the 29-year-old man to Germany to face charges of computer sabotage. If convicted, he can get a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
The department said it would release further information by the ongoing investigations.

Sunday, 12 February 2017

Fashion Show


















Watch Out! First-Ever Word Macro Malware for Apple Mac OS Discovered in the Wild

After targeting Windows-based computers over the past few years, hackers are now shifting their interest to Macs as well.
The emergence of the first macro-based Word document attack against Apple's macOS platform is the latest example to prove this.
The concept of Macros dates back to 1990s. You might be familiar with the message that reads: "Warning: This document contains macros."
Macro is a series of commands and actions that help automate some tasks. Microsoft Office programs support Macros written in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), but they can also be used for malicious activities like installing malware.
Until now, hackers were cleverly using this technique to target Windows.
However, security researchers have now detected the first in-the-wild instance of hackers are making use of malicious macros in Word documents to install malware on Mac computers and steal your data – an old Windows technique.
The hack tricks victims into opening infected Word documents that subsequently run malicious macros. One such malicious Word file discovered by the researcher was titled "U.S. Allies and Rivals Digest Trump's Victory – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.docm."
However, after clicking on the malicious Word document and before running it on your system, Mac users are always prompted to enable macros.
Denying permission can save you, but if enabled ignoring warnings, the embedded macro executes a function, coded in Python, that downloads the malware payload to infect the Mac PCs, allowing hackers to monitor webcams, access browser history logs, and steal password and encryption keys.
According to a blog post published this week by Patrick Wardle, director of research at security firm Synack, the Python function is virtually identical to EmPyre – an open source Mac and Linux post-exploitation agent.
"It’s kind of a low-tech solution, but on one hand it’s abusing legitimate functionality so it’s not going to crash like a memory corruption or overflow might, and it’s not going to be patched out," said Wardle.
Wardle tracked the IP address from which the malicious Word documents were spread to Russia and that IP has previously been associated with malicious activities like phishing attacks.
Another malicious attack discovered by researchers this week also relied on standard Windows techniques by prompting users to download and install a fake software update, but actually harvest the user Keychain, phish usernames and passwords, and other sensitive data.
The MacDownloader nasty virus presented itself as both an update for Adobe Flash and the Bitdefender Adware Removal Tool, which are always annoying and dismissed by most users.
This is what all attackers want. Once the user clicks on either reject the updates or just press yes to dismiss it once and for all, the malware gets the green signal to harvest user keychain, phish usernames and passwords, collect private and sensitive data, and then send them back to attackers.
Researchers have spotted macOS malware targeting mostly the defense industry and reported to have been used against a human rights advocate.
The best way to avoid these kinds of attacks is to just deny permission to enable macros from running when opening a suspicious Word document and avoid downloading software from third-party App Store or un-trusted websites.

North Korea test-fires missile, Abe condemns

PYONGYANG: North Korea appeared to fire a ballistic missile early Sunday in what would be its first such test of the year and an implicit challenge to US President Donald Trump, who stood with the Japanese leader as Shinzo Abe called the move 'intolerable.'
There was no immediate confirmation from the North, which had recently warned it was ready to test its first intercontinental ballistic missile. The US Strategic Command said it detected and tracked what it assessed to be a medium- or intermediate-range ballistic missile.
North Korean media are often slow to announce such launches, if they announce them at all. As of Sunday afternoon, there had been no official announcement and most North Koreans went about their day with no inkling that the launch was major international news.
The reports of the launch came as Trump was hosting Prime Minister Abe and just days before the North is to mark the birthday of leader Kim Jong Un's late father, Kim Jong Il.
Appearing with Trump at a news conference at the president's south Florida estate, Abe condemned the missile launch as 'absolutely intolerable.'
Abe read a brief statement in which he called on the North to comply fully with relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. He said Trump had assured him of US support and that Trump's presence showed the president's determination and commitment.
Trump followed Abe with even fewer words, saying in part: "I just want everybody to understand and fully know that the United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent."
South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that the missile was fired from around Banghyon, North Pyongan Province, which is where South Korean officials have said the North test-launched its powerful mid-range Musudan missile on Oct. 15 and 20.
The military in Seoul said that the missile flew about 500 kilometers. But South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that while determinations were still being made, it was not believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The missile splashed down into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to the US Strategic Command. Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the missile did not hit Japanese territorial seas.
The North conducted two nuclear tests and a slew of rocket launches last year in continued efforts to expand its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's address that the country had reached the final stages of readiness to test an ICBM, which would be a major step forward in its efforts to build a credible nuclear threat to the United States.
Though Pyongyang has been relatively quiet about the transfer of power to the Trump administration, its state media has repeatedly called for Washington to abandon its 'hostile policy' and vowed to continue its nuclear and missile development programs until the US changes its diplomatic approach.
Just days ago, it also reaffirmed its plan to conduct more space launches, which it staunchly defends but which have been criticized because they involve dual-use technology that can be transferred to improve missiles.
Kim Dong-yeop, an analyst at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, speculated that the missile could be a Musudan or a similar rocket designed to test engines for an intercontinental ballistic missile that could hit the US mainland. Analysts are divided, however, over how close the North is to having a reliable long-range rocket that could be coupled with a nuclear warhead capable of striking US targets.
South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is also the acting president, said his country would punish North Korea for the missile launch. According to the Foreign Ministry, South Korea will continue to work with allies, including the United States, Japan and the European Union, to ensure a thorough implementation of sanctions against the North and make the country realize that it will 'never be able to survive' without discarding all of its nuclear and missile programs.

Friday, 3 February 2017

Paris: Man shot, wounded after attacking soldiers outside Louvre museum

A police union official said the attacker was carrying two backpacks and had two machetes.
A knife-wielding man shouting “Allahu akbar” attacked French soldiers on patrol near the Louvre Museum Friday in what officials described as a suspected terror attack. The soldiers first tried to fight off the attacker and then opened fire, shooting him five times. The attack at an entrance to a shopping mall that extends beneath the museum sowed panic and again highlighted the threat French officials say hangs over the country, which was hit repeatedly by extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016.
A police union official said the attacker was carrying two backpacks and had two machetes. He said the man launched himself at the soldiers when they told him that he could not bring his bags into the Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall underneath the world-famous museum where the “Mona Lisa” hangs.
“That’s when he got the knife out and that’s when he tried to stab the soldier,” said the official, Yves Lefebvre. The four soldiers first tried to fight off the attacker before opening fire, said Benoit Brulon, a spokesman for the military force that patrols Paris and its major tourist attractions. The French interior ministry said anti-terrorism prosecutors are investigating. There were no immediate details about the identity of the attacker. “Allahu akbar” is the Arabic phrase for “God is great.”
The patrols – numbering about 3,500 soldiers in the Paris area – were instituted following the January 2015 attacks on Paris’ satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and reinforced after Nov. 13 suicide bomb and gun attacks that left 130 people dead at the city’s Bataclan concert hall and other sites. The attacker slightly injured one of the soldiers, in the scalp, officials said. Another soldier opened fire, gravely wounding the attacker.
“He is wounded in the stomach,” said police chief Michel Cadot. “He is conscious and he was moving.”
Checks of the man’s two backpacks found they didn’t contain any explosives, he said. Cadot said a second person who was “acting suspiciously” also was arrested but appears not to have been linked to the attack. Restaurant worker Sanae Hadraoui, 32, was waiting for breakfast at the Louvre’s restaurant complex when she heard the first gunshot, followed by another and then a couple more.
“I hear a shot. Then a second shot. Then maybe two more. I hear people screaming, “Evacuate! Evacuate!” “They told us to evacuate. I told my colleagues at the McDonalds. We went downstairs and then took the emergency exit.” Hadraoui, who has worked at the Louvre for seven years, said the evacuation was orderly. She was smoking a cigarette when her managers told her people were going back inside.
The museum in the center of Paris is one of the French capital’s biggest tourist attractions. Police sealed off entrances around where the attack took place and closed the area to vehicles, snarling traffic in a busy part of central Paris. Officers shooed away confused tourists. Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said about 1,000 people were inside the actual museum and were held inside in safe areas before the all-clear was given and they were allowed to move around as normal again.
Exterminator Olivier Majewski says he was just leaving his scooter in the parking lot beneath the Louvre when he saw a crush of people running and screaming “there’s been a terror attack.” The 53-year-old says he hid for about 15 minutes before gingerly making his way upstairs.
“They were panicked,” he said.

Donald Trump says conversation with Malcolm Turnbull was 'very civil

US President Donald Trump says his conversation with Malcolm Turnbull was "very civil", after news of an adversarial phone call between the allies hit headlines around the world.

On Thursday, the Washington Post broke news of the tense call, with White House sources saying Mr Trump labelled a refugee deal between the US and Australia "the worst deal ever".
He also complained the call was "the worst by far" of any world leader that day, before abruptly ending the conversation 25 minutes into the scheduled hour, sources said.

This account was confirmed to Fairfax Media by an Australian cabinet minister, who described the report as being "broadly accurate".
Speaking on radio on Thursday, Mr Turnbull would only deny he had been hung up on. He said the call, which he described as "frank" and "forthright", ended courteously.

Late on Friday evening, Donald Trump responded to thank him for his comments.
"Thank you to Prime Minister of Australia for telling the truth about our very civil conversation," Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump accused "fake news media" of lying about the phone call.

However, Mr Turnbull did not publicly denounce the report, and government sources told journalists in Australia it was true.

Further government sources briefed numerous journalists on Thursday to say Malcolm Turnbull held his own in the phone call, which they characterized as being bullying.

At a prayer breakfast on Thursday, Trump also appeared to acknowledge he had been having "tough" phone calls.

"When you hear about the tough phone calls I'm having, don't worry about it," Mr Trump said. "Just don't worry about it. They're tough. We have to be tough.

"It's time we're going to be a little tough folks. We're taken advantage of by every nation in the world virtually. It's not going to happen anymore. It's not going to happen anymore."

Later, as diplomats in the US and Australia scrambled, Mr Trump held a meeting at the White House where he sent more mixed messages, implying Australia had taken advantage of the United States.

"A lot of people taking advantage of us, a lot of countries taking advantage of us, really terribly taking advantage of us," he said.

"We had one instance in Australia - I have a lot of respect for Australia, I love Australia as a country - but we had a problem where, for whatever reason, President Obama said that they were going to take probably well over a thousand illegal immigrants who were in prisons," he said.

"They were going to bring them and take them into this country. And I just said why?

"Why are we doing this? What's the purpose? So we'll see what happens. But a previous administration does something, you have to respect that."

Mr Turnbull has maintained the refugee deal - which will see 1250 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru taken to the US - will go ahead.

François Hollande leads attacks on Donald Trump at EU summit

François Holland has led a series of damning attacks on Donald Trump by EU leaders arriving at a summit in Malta to discuss the future of the union.

The French president described recent comments by the US president as unacceptable and warned there would be no future for Europe’s relations with the US “if this future isn’t defined in common”.

The Austrian chancellor, Christian Kern, said Trump’s ban on travelers from some Muslim-majority countries was “highly problematic”.

Dalia Grybauskaitė, the Lithuanian president, offered a withering verdict on the recent meeting between Trump and Theresa May. “I don’t think there is a necessity for a bridge. We communicate with the Americans on Twitter,” she said.
The British prime minister, with the UK’s recently appointed permanent representative to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow, by her side, was one of the few leaders not to comment as she entered through the door of the Grand Masters Palace, where the 28 member states are holding talks.

Holland was scornful of Trump’s first days in the Oval office, and warned him to stay out of the EU’s internal affairs. “It cannot be accepted that there is, through a certain number of statements by the president of the United States, pressure on what Europe ought to be or what it should not be,” he said.

On Thursday the Guardian revealed that leaders of the parties in the European parliament were seeking to block the expected appointment of Ted Malloch as the US ambassador to the EU following his claim that he intended to “tame” the union.

Asked what he thought of EU leaders, like those of Hungary and Poland, who were leaning towards Trump, Holland said: “Those who want to forge bilateral ties with the US are of course well understood by the public.

“But they must understand that there is no future with Trump if it is not a common position. What matters is solidarity at the EU level. We must not imagine some sort of external protection. It exists through the Atlantic alliance, but it cannot be the only possible route, because who knows what the US president really wants, particularly in relation to the Atlantic alliance and burden-sharing?

“We in France have a defense policy. We fear nothing … We must have a European conception of our future. If not, there will be – in my opinion – no Europe and not necessarily any way for each of the countries to be able to exert an influence in the world.”

The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said he did not feel “threatened” by Trump, but voiced his concern that the US administration was not on top of world affairs. “There is room for explanations because of the impression that the new administration does not know the EU in detail, but in the European Union details matter,” he said.
Austria’s leader, Kern, said of Trump’s decision to ban nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries: “We should win these countries as allies in the fight against [radical] Islamism, not as adversaries, and we shouldn’t corner them.”

He went on to highlight what he described as America’s “responsibility for the refugee flows through the way it intervened militarily”.

Kern said: “It’s not acceptable for the international community if America shirks responsibility. We need to make this clear to our American friends. I’m convinced that there will be a high degree of unanimity [among EU leaders] on this question … The tangible aspects of Trump’s politics are raising some concern.” He added that Trump could be a catalyst for a stronger Europe.

Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg’s PM, said it was too soon to draw conclusions on Trump but his were “not the values I’m fighting for in politics”.

The European commission’s high representative, Federica Mogherini, said the EU did not “believe in walls and in bans”, and claimed the union would be a reference point for the world. She said: “We are and we will remain friends with the American people and the American administration on the basis of our own strong values, principles and interests.”

The European commissioner Günther Oettinger warned the EU not to allow Trump to divide them. “First of all, we must be careful not to accept his game,” Oettinger, a German, told Deutschlandfunk radio.