My Science School

Worms

Worms are similar to viruses in damaging the computer. A computer worm is a type of virus that replicates itself, but does not alter any files on your machine. It is a type of malware that can self-replicate without a host program. Worms cause damage by multiplying so many times that they take up all the available memory or hard disc space. As a result, the computer works very slowly and may even crash. If the worm affects the hard disc space, it takes a long time to access files. The user will not be able to save or create new files until the worm has been eradicated. Worms are hard to detect and often go unnoticed until the computer begins to slow down or starts having other problems. Some of the most prevalent examples of worms are the famous “I loveyou”, “Blaster” and “conficker” worms It is good to have an anti-virus program installed on the system that can detect and remove worms before they have a chance to replicate or spread to other computers.

Trojans

Trojan is a small program that is hidden inside another software. It does not get installed automatically like a virus. It is a malicious program that is designed to appear like a normal program. You have to run or install the program. Once activated following installation, Trojans can execute their malicious functions.

Unexpected changes to computer settings and unusual activity even when the computer is idle are signs of presence of Trojans or other malware on a computer. You have to be very careful while installing or running any program. Do not install any program unless you are sure that it is free from all malware. If your computer gets infected with a Trojan, run anti-malware tool to scan and remove it.

What can be done about malware?

Malware is a very prevalent problem. Many companies develop certain programs called anti-malware programs that helps stop and remove malware. These anti-malware programs use different ways to find malware present in a system. One has to install and run these anti-virus and anti-malware software on the computer to remove any malware from it.

How can you prevent malware?

• Don't open email attachments from unknown people or unexpected sources.
• Ensure that your USB drive is secure before you use it on your own computer.
• Remember to scan your computer periodically by using a malware scanner.

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Malware is the short form for malicious software. Any type of software that can harm your computer is called malware.

What do malware do?

These malware (software programs) can collect personal information, delete files, steal passwords, or cause any kind of damage to a computer. Some malware programs transmit information about your Web-browsing habits to advertisers without your knowledge. Some other malware may make your computer stop from working.

How did such malware come into existence?

Well, some people develop malware to harm others and make money usually by stealing passwords and getting important information or deleting files. The owner of the computer will not be able to use their own computer after that.

How do malware get into someone's computer?

The most common way through which malware get into a computer is the Internet - via email, free subscriptions, hacked websites, music files, game demos, or anything else you download from the Web. The developers of malware use a number of tricks to get users to download their malware. For example, a software that promises to speed up the Internet connection or assist with downloads may contain malware. An email may have a link or an attachment. A computer can also get affected from using any infected file from an external storage device such as a flash drive.

There are different types of malware. Here's a peek into an important one

Virus

Virus is a software program that duplicates itself. It damages a computer by deleting files or affecting computer memory. It easily spreads to other computers and infects all of them in a network. Your computer can get affected by virus through USB drives, email attachments, clicking on an executable file, or visiting an infected website. Viruses can attach themselves to other programs to hide and run automatically when the program is executed. Once a virus has infected the host, it can infect other system software or resources. Some types of viruses are: file infectors, macro viruses, overwrite viruses, polymorphic viruses, and system or boot-record infectors. Some famous examples are Zeus, Melissa, etc. One must use a good anti-virus program to save the computer from getting infected by viruses.

The following symptoms indicate a computer being virus-infected

• Crashing of the computer
• Restarting of computer randomly
• Slow execution of programs
• Too many pop-up ads while browsing the Internet
• Text and graphics getting distorted
• Passwords not working properly

Did you know?

• The first-known computer virus was developed in 1971 by Robert Thomas, an engineer at BBN Technologies.
• Known as the "Creeper" virus, it infected mainframes on ARPANET, displaying the teletype message. "I'm the creeper: Catch me if you can."

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Thermonuclear weapons are nuclear weapons whose design uses the heat generated by a fission bomb to compress a nuclear fusion stage. Also called a fusion bomb, hydrogen bomb or H-bomb, a thermonuclear weapon is a second-generation nuclear weapon design that is vastly superior to the first-generation atomic bombs. In fact, their destructive power is so great that they are among the most dangerous weapons ever made by humankind, even posing a threat to humanity as a whole.

U.S. research on thermonuclear weapons began in 1941 following a conversation between Italian physicist Enrico Fermi - the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor-and Hungarian-American theoretical physicist Edward Teller. Fermi wondered if the explosion of a fission weapon could ignite a mass of deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, to begin nuclear fusion.

Teller analysed thermonuclear processes in detail and presented the findings to other theoretical physicists in the summer of 1942. Tritium, another isotope of hydrogen, was suggested as a nuclear fuel, and based on the discussion that followed, the participants concluded that a weapon based on thermonuclear fusion was possible.

Plans for a superbomb

When the Los Alamos laboratory was planned for the design of nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project, a small research programme on the Super - the name given to the thermonuclear design - was included.

The success of the atomic bombs and the end of World War II in 1945, however, meant that the future of the Manhattan Project remained unclear. U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed the Atomic Energy Act in 1946 and established the Atomic Energy Commission, giving it authority over all aspects of atomic energy.

Following nearly four years of lull, four months of intense debate was stimulated in the U.S. when the Soviet Union succeeded in testing an atomic bomb in August 1949. Even though many voiced their reservations, opposition, and even concern over building a superbomb, Truman made the controversial decision of pushing ahead with the research and production of the weapon.

"Part of my responsibility"

"It is part of my responsibility as commander in chief of the Armed Forces to see to it that our country is able to defend itself against any possible aggressor." Truman said, while announcing his plans to build hydrogen bombs on January 31, 1950. "Accordingly, I have directed the Atomic Energy Commission to continue its work on all forms of atomic weapons, including the so-called hydrogen or superbomb. Like all other work in the field of atomic weapons, it is being and will be carried forward on a basis consistent with the overall objectives of our program for peace and security.”

When Polish mathematician and nuclear physicist Stanislas Ulam undertook calculations to determine the amount of tritium that would be required to ignite a classical design that had been suggested for an H-bomb, he estimated it to be enormous. Ulam's estimates were confirmed in the summer of 1950, meaning the cost of constructing such a bomb would be prohibitively high. In that summer, Fermi and Ulam also calculated that liquid deuterium would probably not burn, meaning there would be no self-sustaining, propagating reaction.

With every important assumption regarding the viability of the classical design proven wrong, other means were now necessary for constructing these weapons. Those means came in 1951, following breakthroughs at Los Alamos.

Teller-Ulam principle

Ulam and Teller were behind these breakthroughs, which were made by April 1951. They suggested achieving a high density in the thermonuclear fuel by compression using a fission primary, and for the first time scientists knew that they had a firm basis for constructing a fusion weapon.

Los Alamos adopted the new J programme, leading to the active pursuit of the Teller-Ulam principle. By May, a test explosion used a fission bomb to successfully ignite a small quantity of deuterium and tritium. In September, Los Alamos proposed testing the Teller-Ulam concept in November 1952.

More destructive than all the wars

A 23-year-old postgraduate student of Fermi, Richard L. Garwin was responsible for transforming Teller and Ulam's theoretical ideas into an engineering design that was workable. The explosion of this device on November 1, 1952 had a yield that was 500 times larger than the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, and obliterated an entire island in the Pacific Ocean.

By 1955, the Soviet Union had detonated their first hydrogen bomb. And even though Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had observed in 1959 that "the explosion of one hydrogen bomb releases more energy than all the explosions effected by all countries in all the wars in the history of mankind", it did not stop them from creating Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever produced and tested. A hydrogen bomb, the explosion of Tsar Bomba in 1961 had a yield that was over 1,400 times the combined yield of the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

H-bombs are still very much a part of modern weaponry, even though everyone involved is well aware of its destructive capabilities. While it took a couple of years to build the first hydrogen bomb, a world without nuclear weapons might well take generations to achieve... if it were to ever materialise.

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Scientists at the University of Texas have developed a hydrogel tablet that can purify a litre of river water and make it suitable for drinking in an hour or less.

Contaminated water is linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, hepatitis A and dysentery. According to WHO, over 2 billion people use a drinking water source that has been contaminated with faeces, while about 785 million people don't have a basic drinking water service, including 144 million that rely on surface water. Half the world's population could live in water-stressed areas by 2025. Finding a solution to this problem could save and improve the lives of millions of people.

The hydrogel tablet generates hydrogen peroxide to neutralise bacteria at an efficiency rate of more than 99.999%. The hydrogen peroxide works with activated carbon particles to attack essential cell components of bacteria and disrupt their metabolism. The process requires zero energy input and doesn't create harmful by-products. The tablets can easily be removed, and don't leave any residue.

The team is working to improve the hydrogel tablets by increasing the different types of pathogens and viruses in water that they can neutralise.

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The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development will span the years 2021-2030. This "Ocean Decade" is an opportunity for ocean actors across the world to come together to generate knowledge and foster the partnerships needed to support a well-functioning, productive, resilient, sustainable and inspiring ocean.

Goals for a clean ocean in 2030 include: Reducing and removing top-priority forms of pollution (e.g., marine debris) by 50-90 per cent; increasing public engagement with access to information associated with behavioural shifts favouring the motto of "reduce, reuse and recycle"; encouraging participation in citizen science as part of events involving sailing, surfing, and other activities dependent on a clean ocean.

The importance of oceans was also underscored at a major conference this past June at the UN Headquarters, in New York.

However, the cumulative effects of human activities on this vital important, including the impact of pollution, warming and acidification are yet to be fully evaluated scientifically and surveying the ocean requires costly ships and equipment, satellite imaging, underwater robots and remotely controlled vehicles.

It also requires thousands of scientists collecting and analysing the data, either in laboratories or in marine environments.

“One of the priorities of the Decade will be to strengthen and diversify financial sources, particularly for small island developing States and least developed countries,” said UNESCO.

“This Decade, will provide a framework for international coordination and partnership to reinforce research capacities in marine sciences and the transfer of technology,” it added.

Credit : United Nations 

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Recent reports estimate that there is enough oxygen contained in the top 33 feet of the moon's surface for Earth's 8 billion people for the next 100,000 years!

Although the Moon has an atmosphere, it's very thin and composed mostly of hydrogen, neon and argon - a gaseous mixture that would not sustain oxygen-dependent humans. But within the regolith, the fine powder and rocks that cover the lunar surface, there is an abundant amount of oxygen. Also known as 'moondust, this fine dust is the result of billions of years of impacts by meteors and comets.

The Moon's regolith contains approximately 45% oxygen bound up in oxidized minerals like silica, aluminium, iron and magnesium. For this oxygen to be usable by future astronauts and lunar inhabitants, it needs to be extracted from the regolith. On Earth, the extraction process (known as electrolysis) is commonly used to manufacture metals, where melted-down oxides are subjected to an electrical current to separate the minerals from the oxygen. In this case, oxygen is produced as a by-product so that metals can be produced for construction and fabrication. On the Moon, oxygen would be the main product while the metals would be set aside as a potentially useful by-product, most likely for habitat construction. But the process needs to be energy efficient to be considered sustainable; it would need to be supported by solar energy or other energy sources available on the Moon.

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Messenger's Secret Conversation feature enables end-to-end encryption for your chats so that no one can intercept and read them. The option is only available on Android, iPhone and iPad. Here's how to enable it: Open Messenger on your phone. Tap the compose button in the upper right corner.

Enable lock toggle at the top. Tap on a contact you want to have a conversation with and start sending messages. Secret Conversations are separate from normal chats, the app creates another chat thread with the same person. A lock button icon below the contact's profile picture distinguishes it from normal chats. Your chat is restricted to the device you initiated it on.

You can view your secret conversations like any other message; just choose it from the list of open message threads on the main screen of the Messenger app. There will be a lock symbol next to the contact name, which indicates that it’s not a regular chat.

Remember that you will only be able to view hidden Facebook messages that were created on that particular device. If you send a secret message on your Android or iOS device, you won’t be able to view them on your laptop or tablet.

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According to Meta, English is the dominant language used online by Indian women, but it has limited rural women's access to social media. 91 per cent of female users in India use English, followed by 6 per cent who use Hindi and 1 per cent, Bengali. "Women from urban areas constitute the major portion of social media users. Upper class women in urban areas are more aware about data privacy and cyber security compared to those from low-income backgrounds or rural areas.

Currently, online communication and content is in English with an absence of regional languages. Such women can't read terms and conditions of social media use, privacy updates and other app updates in English, which is stopping them from meaningfully accessing social media platforms."

The insight comes from a Meta tool called Facebook Audience Insights, a feature meant for businesses to improve target content and advertise to users. The findings come from "secondary research", including sources such as news reports, and research from universities. The results are supported by "select one-on-one interviews" with women who are journalists, domestic workers, online urban entrepreneurs, "urban and rural homemakers", and university students.

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Toucan helps you learn a new language while browsing the internet. When you visit a website, Toucan automatically converts certain words into the language you want to learn. Mouse over the word to see it in your original language, play the audio for pronunciation or save it in a personal dictionary. This way, you learn words in your new language within the context of a language you're already comfortable with. Tap the checkmark icon if you already know a word, and Toucan shows you other words. New words and more complex phrases are introduced as your skills improve. Assess your vocabulary skills with quizzes and mini-games. The feature 'Own a Word' sees your name appear for a week anytime the word is translated. You can opt to pause translations on a specific site. Toucan comes as a free extension for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge browsers.

The startup was founded by CEO Taylor Nieman, CTO Shaun Merritt and CPO Brandon Dietz. Today, it’s announcing that it has raised $3 million in seed funding led by GSV Ventures, with participation from Amplifyher Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Golden Ventures, Halogen Ventures, Vitalize Ventures and strategic angel investors.

Nieman’s past roles include business development roles at Headspace (where Dietz was a senior product manager), startup studio Science and car leasing startup Fair.com (where Merritt was an iOS developer). She told me that one thing she learned from across all those experiences is “habit formation — how hard it actually is to do anything that steals people’s time.”

Dietz made a similar point, arguing that while language learning software like Rosetta Stone and Duolingo has had its share of success, “It’s just such a high ask to get people to change their behavior and go to this one website,” particularly on a daily basis.

Credit : Tech Crunch 

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Wearing the ESUB Tracks Helmet is like having eyes at the back of your head! German design firm Werteloberfell's helmet uses technology to let you know when a vehicle is approaching from behind. It is covered with flat-printed, organic photovoltaic cells that soak up the sun and recharge the batteries, powering all electronic components including proximity sensors that monitor the area behind you.

If a vehicle is approaching from behind, the helmet's haptic patches vibrate to warn you. Its built-in microphone picks up voice commands. Turning right? Let the helmet know, and it will illuminate an indicator light on the back to signal vehicles behind you. Bone conduction speakers on the straps conduct sound to the inner ear primarily through the bones of the skull, so that you can hear audio content without blocking the ear canal, and still be aware of your surroundings.

An electric drive fastens the straps of the chin buckle until the helmet sits safely on your head. The helmet connects to smartphones via Bluetooth.

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UNESCO has conferred the title of ‘City of Literature’ on Lahore Pakistan. It is the first city in the country to receive the title. To celebrate the same, the government declared 2021 as the year of literary activities.

UNESCO's City of Literature programme is a part of its Creative Cities Network programme launched in 2004. As part of the Creative Cities Network, member cities are conferred titles in one or more of seven creative fields based on their history and culture. The seven creative fields are Literature, Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Media Arts, and Music.

Alhamra Executive Director Dr Aslam Dogar and Unesco Country Head for Pakistan Patricia McPhillips signed the MoU at a ceremony.

Provincial Minister for Culture Khayal Ahmed Kastro, Parliamentary Secretary for Culture Nadeem Qureshi, Alhamra Chairperson Moneeza Hashmi, Public Relations Director General Saman Rai, veteran architect Nayyar Ali Dada, artist and writer Amna Pataudi, Kinnaird College for Women Principal Rukhsana David, artist Ayesha Shahnawaz, singer Waris Baig and others were also present on the occasion.

Minister Kastro said the Punjab government was making significant achievements in literature and culture.

Ms Hashmi called the signing of the MoU significant, saying Alhamra was currently the largest institution in Punjab working on culture and followed the same mandate as the UN organisation. These institutions will work together to promote and project the culture of Punjab globally, she added.

Ms McPhillips said that signing of the MoU was a happy moment and it will have positive effects.

Dr Dogar said the agreement with Unesco was a historic moment, and hoped it would prove to be a milestone in the field of art and culture as both organisations shared a common goal.

Participants of the ceremony commended the initiative of Alhamra that they said will further improve the image of the country. Souvenirs were also exchanged at the ceremony.

Credit : Dawn 

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5G trials sites were established by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio in select cities in 2021. Some of the first cities that are likely to get 5G connectivity will be Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata among others.

5G is said to offer much higher speeds of Internet connectivity and connect many more devices other than smartphones.

Eight agencies - Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER) and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT) - are involved in the research project called 'Indigenous 5G Test bed project'.

The Indigenous 5G Test bed project started in 2018 and is set to be completed by December 31, 2021. The project has been funded by the Department of Telecom. The department has spent Rs224 crore on this project.

5G mainly works in 3 bands, low, mid, and high-frequency spectrum. In the low band spectrum, the speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second). The mid-band spectrum, on the other hand, offers higher speeds compared to the low band but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals. Internet speed in the high-band spectrum goes up to 20 Gbps (giga bits per second). The highest internet speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.

While 4G networks are mostly designed for phones, 5G networks is designed for much more flexible use, replacing the need for many special-purpose networks. They can even function as many separate networks - all at the same time.

Credit : The Economic Times

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Indian born Parag Agrawal became the Chief Executive Officer of Twitter after Jack Dorsey, the former CEO and co-founder stepped down from the post he helmed for 16 years. Agrawal is an IIT Bombay and Stanford University alumnus and was the Chief Technology Officer of Twitter before becoming the CEO.

Earlier in the year, Twitter was also in the news for permanently blocking former United States President Donald Trump's account stating that his posts were glorifying violence and went against the company's rules. The social media giant banned several accounts belonging to Indians who were supporting the farmers protest.

Since December 2019, Agrawal has also been working on Project Bluesky, an independent team of open source architects, engineers and designers to combat abusive and misleading information on Twitter.

Bluesky is seeking to introduce a new decentralised technology, the idea being that Twitter and others will become clients of Bluesky and rebuild their platforms on top of the standard, Dorsey has said previously.

Before joining Twitter, Agrawal worked at Microsoft Corp, Yahoo and AT&T Labs Inc. in their research units, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Agrawal has a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, according to his profile on Twitter’s “about” page.

Credit : The Economic Times 

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Facebook has rebranded and changed the parent-company's name to Meta. All Facebook apps and technologies will now come under the company brand Meta. The reason behind this rebranding is Facebook's focus on building the metaverse and bringing it to life.

First coined by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in 1992 for his novel 'Snow Crash, metaverse is a virtual environment that one can go inside of instead of looking at something on the screen. It is the Internet brought to life. It will be a space where endless interactions can take place between people for meetings, work and play using gadgets such as virtual reality headsets, smartphone apps and augmented reality glasses.

The rebranding is a component of Facebook’s intent to move away from the social media company tag and build the story around CEO Zuckerberg’s plan of creating a ‘metaverse’.

In a blog post, Zuckerberg said the move will not impact the corporate structure of the company but will have an effect of how Facebook reports its financials. He wrote, “Starting with our results for the fourth quarter of 2021, we plan to report on two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs. We also intend to start trading under the new stock ticker we have reserved, MVRS, on December 1. Today’s announcement does not affect how we use or share data.”

In a similar kind of move, Google rebranded itself and the brand was reorganised as one of the many company's under the umbrella of parent company Alphabet. 

Credit : DNA 

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Tomb Raider, the popular media franchise which started as an action-adventure video game series, celebrated its 25th anniversary. Created by British gaming company Core Design, the game was originally developed by a small six-member team. Tomb Raider went on to become one of the most popular video game franchises, selling over 84 million copies and adapted into movies.

Development of the game began in 1994 and it was released on October 25, 1996.

The second of the original Tomb Raider franchise today is a collaboration between Crystal Dynamics and Feral Interactive. A collaboration will take Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris to the Nintendo Switch in 2022. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris are arcade-inspired action-adventure games that combine the hallmarks of Tomb Raider with exploration and discovery, platforming and puzzle solving, and co-operative multiplayer, character progression, and fun fast-paced combat. For further updates, follow Feral Interactive on Facebook or Twitter.

Square Enix today revealed that the three original English-language Lara Croft voice actors will join Keeley Hawes to launch the game Tomb Raider Reloaded when the mobile game begins next year. For a limited time, players can embrace their nostalgia by picking the Classic music they want for the iconic explorer Lara Croft: Judith Gibbins, Tomb Raider II, The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider, Death, Tomb Raider, Armito’s Guardian, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris).

Credit : Game News24

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