Here is how it works: the wallet connects to your cellphone via Bluetooth. When the two objects are separated by more than 15-30 feet, the wallet will sound an alarm. So, in reality, it is really protecting you from losing two important items. The wallet also features a biometric fingerprint reader that will only open for its owner. On the other hand, if you leave both your cellphone and wallet behind, you are still screwed. Probably even more so since the wallet was so dammed expensive. The wallets are available for pre-order now in several colors, with shipments starting on December 11th. [iwallet via Gear Diary via OhGizmo via DVICE]

At Giz, we only endorse finger vein security (publicly, because privately we'd rely on nothing short of full colonoscopic verification). Sony's FVA-U1, going on sale December 18 in Japan, will be the smallest finger vein reader on the market conveniently operating over USB. [AkihabaraNews]

Of course, it would have also proven whether or not your wife was using the golf club on your face before the incident. The point is that, unlike most vehicle accident cameras, the Car Cam Dually offers a more complete picture of how an accident went down, making it easier to prove who was at fault and what kind of injuries were sustained. To that end, the device also keeps track of your GPS location and the g-force of the impact. [Spy Gadgets via TRFJ via DVICE]

In a response to Computerworld's article on NSA involvement in Windows 7 development, Microsoft stated: "Microsoft has not and will not put 'backdoors' into Windows."

Not to nitpick here, but doesn't this denial leave another "door" open? As in, couldn't the NSA have stuck their own backdoor into Windows 7 while official Microsoft employees turned a blind eye? Or—and this may come as really shocking—could Microsoft have simply lied to us in the interest of national security??

Of course, but if you freak out over this potential lack of digital autonomy, you're clearly a terrorist. [Computerworld via Digg]

According to the NSA's Information Assurance Director, Richard Schaeffer, it's important for the agency to work with Microsoft and other software makers because otherwise the increasing reliance on "private-sector computing products" could put national security at risk. By creating and maintaining high security standards, the agency hopes to reduce the danger of the "rising threat of cyberattacks." Whew. That actually sounds quite reasonable and like a good thing, rather than cause to panic after seeing "NSA" and "Microsoft" in the same sentence. [NPR via Crunch Gear]

Essentially, it's a polyurethane cage full of goodies that you store in the fridge and secure with a combination lock (included). Of course, there's nothing preventing thieves from stealing the entire cage and working on it later with a hacksaw, but that's a lot of trouble to go through for a can of Beefaroni and a bottle of Mtn Dew. [Perpetual Kid via RGS via OhGizmo]

It's not the first time we've seen this; Swiss developerMogo got busted gathering numbers and then calling people to harass them to buy more apps, which is certainly a more brazen move. Storm8 claims that this was a bug, but they're getting sued anyways. It doesn't pay to be shady, devs! [Boing Boing via Kotaku]

The way the test was conducted is that ten viruses were introduced into a clean install of Windows 7 with the UAC settings on system defaults. While only one virus was blocked, two technically did not function properly for whatever reason. Still, this doesn't leave much hope for those who decide to skip automatic patching, firewalls and anti-virus applications. Let's do the whole "Safer Computing" thing, shall we? [Sophos]

There are a thousand gigabytes in a terabyte, a thousand terabytes in a petabyte, a thousand petabytes in an exabyte, a thousand exabytes in a zettabyte, and a thousand zettabytes in a yottabyte. In other words, a yottabyte is 1,000,000,000,000,000GB.

In terms of data on current human scales, a yottabyte is nearly infinite (though I'm sure the NSA will manage to fill the thing in like 2 weeks, and iPods will come with yottabytes in just a few months).

To be fair, the yottabyte figure is just one estimate generated by a Pentagon think tank. The facility could hold a mere hundreds of petabytes. But either way, the prospect is as unsustainable as it is frightening. This one facility will burn through as much electricity as the entirety of Salt Lake City.

All of this data comes from the book The Secret Sentry: The Untold History of the National Security Agency by Matthew M. Aid. And while the paranoid among you may read it, I, MARK WILSON, HAVE NO REASON TO FEAR THE NSA'S INVOLVEMENT IN MY LIFE OR INFORMATION AT ALL. [NYBooks via CrunchGear]

In other words, this would be a great, inexpensive home surveillance cam. It's supposed to be a snap to set up, and you can access the feed and control the pan and tilt of the camera from any PC or internet capable cellphone. For $300, Astak also throws in motion detection, night vision, two-way audio and a built-in DVR. I have to believe this is as good a feature set as you will find on a webcam at this price point.

ASTAK INTRODUCES WORLD'S FIRST SELF-CONFIGURING, STANDALONE INTERNET CAMERA IDEAL FOR KEEPING AN EYE ON HAPPENINGS AT HOME

YouTube, Twitter and iPhone ready, the affordable and easy-to-use Mole is the first "do it yourself, view from anywhere" solution for remote viewing and sharing

SAN JOSE, Calif.–October 28, 2009–The lowly mole is a victim of poor PR, but that's about to change with Astak Inc.'s innovative new product, the Mole — a standalone Internet camera for consumers who need an easy and affordable way to capture, view and share unattended video over the Internet. Featuring automatic network configuration, the Mole makes it simple for home or business users to remotely view and share video in real-time from any web browser, social networking site, or Internet-capable cell phone, including the iPhone.

Unlike current webcams that require a PC for use, or IP cameras that are complicated to set up and often require customer software to view, the Mole is the first "do it yourself, view from anywhere" solution for home or business surveillance, health and family care (elder or children), social network sharing, pet or , bird watching, and other unfolding events such as social gatherings. The Mole is also an ideal way to keep an eye on business or home while traveling.

"The Mole will redefine home and business surveillance, and it also opens the door to using a remote camera for sharing unattended video, since it's Web 2.0 ready," said Jason Hsia, CEO of ASTAK. "Internet citizens are already uploading over 20 hours of video to YouTube every minute. When interesting or important events are underway, you can't always be there to see or record them in person. That all changes with the Mole, where motion-detected events can be auto-uploaded to YouTube and a tweet auto-sent to your Twitter feed."

A standalone Internet camera with advanced built-in software, the Mole provides auto-configuration so that the user can set up the camera in just a few easy steps and access their video privately without any network knowledge. Once set up, the Mole allows users to adjust the pan remotely to change the view instantly. While easy-to-use and affordable, the Mole camera includes high-end features such as motion detection activation, night vision, two-way audio, and a built-in DVR. The Mole also features both Ethernet or Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Mole is designed for direct access from any web browser, which lets users watch their video instantly, from anywhere, including the iPhone. The onboard software is specifically tailored for seamless Internet sharing including auto-uploads to YouTube. Users can also choose to receive real-time alerts via email or Twitter sent to their mobile phone or any IP-enabled device.

Available in early November 2009, the Mole will be distributed through Astak's network of retail and distribution partners, including Fry's, Costco, Amazon.com, Walmart.com and Astak.com, with an MSRP of $299.00.

[Astak]

Update: Apparently Time Warner has put a "temporary patch" into place while they figure out a permanent solution. [Wired]

Doubt it? Everything from the belongs-on-a-battleship looks to the AES encryption software to the 6-18 digit PIN screams "you will not get the 1TB of porn inside me."

Even the touchscreen keypad is paranoid, as it changes randomly each time you use it so the spies you think are on your tail can't memorize the PIN. One touch drive erase means the hentai secrets get scrubbed instantly the moment your parents those spies catch you.

Pricing starts at $488 for the 750GB version and $652 for the 1TB. [Slashgear]

Microsoft has deemed the hole to be a "critical" security threat, as it gives webmasters the ability to quietly install software on your PC. Last May, Microsoft released an update that made it possible to uninstall the .NET framework. They also released a patch earlier this week that supposedly fixes the problem. The vulnerability can also be exploited on users running any version of Internet Explorer. Needless to say, Firefox and IE users should employ one of those solutions ASAP. [Computer World Image via rootshell.be]

Oh ED, you're a lifesaver! A general who lead an infantry division in Iraq recently said that of the 155 men killed in combat, 122 could have lived if autonomous robots were doing the shooting instead. (Strangely, the other 33 would have died whether robots were around or not.) Replacing infantrymen with robots is a no brainer if you want to save your own boys, but Smokey from The Big Lebowski would probably say if nothing did the killing, even more lives would be spared. [Wired]

Am I reading this right? Slashdot says the entire domain .se—a million souls, I mean sites—up and vanished from the internet. Some didn't deliver successful replies for more than a day. Maybe I need to call Tim Berners-Lee for interpretation, but I don't get why more people aren't freaked out that an entire country up and disappeared, even if it was just for a moment. [Slashdot]

[Edit: This has been one of the most traumatic moments in my life. J.D.]

Someone did a comprehensive study of 836 people to see how people managed to keep username/password logins straight in their head. The test noted that only 4.4% of people showed no "deviations" from the ideal password rules, deviations including jotting down the password, reusing it time and again, using a deliberately short password or—and here's probably where most people failed-having no mix of characters and symbols. Having "best practices" that insanely rigid probably upped the failure rate substantially, but I think the important thing here—as Ars points out—is that the username/password system is a joke to begin with. [Ars Technica]

The 23-year-old guy who founded the International Church of Jediism obviously needs to watch Star Wars a few more times. The other day, he wore his hood into a supermarket and got yelled at something fierce. His very Jedi response? To run to the press and cry like a little bitch:

They said: 'Take it off', and I said: 'No, its part of my religion. It's part of my religious right.' I gave them a Jedi church business card.

No lightsabers, no waving of the hand in the air, not even "Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt!" Just a business card? He continues:

They weren't listening to me and were rude. They had three people around me. It was intimidating.

"Intimidating"? For a Jedi? Just remember, intimidation leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Don't look now, but I think someone's headed for the Dark Side. [Guardian UK]

As you might suspect, the case is watertight, dust-proof and impact resistant. Plus, the foam interior can be shaped to snugly fit whatever gadget you are trying to protect. Also features a carrying handle, pressure release valve and padlock loops. HW models take the overkill one step further with a pull out handle and wheels. [Odyssey via Core77]

Too bad if you've got a sore leg, right? Thankfully, they're still investigating what level of uncomfortable shuffling would be deemed suspicious enough to call for a secondary screening.

The project is called Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST), and has also developed machines to measure the interval between heartbeats, and how deeply someone inhales.

It's still all research, but one of the researchers told CNN the program is "doing significantly better than chance." I'm all for better security, but it sounds pretty invasive. As Joe Stanley of the ACLU is quoted saying: "Nobody has the right to look at my intimate bodily functions, my breathing, my perspiration rate, my heart rate, from afar."

Unless you're entering the U.S perhaps. Welcome to the possible future of travel. [CNN via Kotaku]

"123456" was the most popular password, appearing 64 times. Yes, that's but one digit away from this famous Spaceballs clip:

Other trends? The next top 20 most popular passwords were Spanish names, just under half the population used all lower case letters, and only six percent of the population used an alphanumeric combination.

Also, about 20% of the passwords were only six characters long...though the longest password was the awesome "lafaroleratropezoooooooooooooo". [The Inquirer]

The New York Times says Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have confirmed the addresses are real, and that they're helping affected users recover their accounts.

Even though you generally have to be pretty damn gullible to fall for one of these fake sites (or open strange-looking email attachments), now might be a good time to change your Web mail password...something you should be doing every now and then anyway. [BBC via New York Times]