Monthly Archives: March 2016

Ransomware

The first ransomware for Mac OS X has been found.

MetaFilter: OS X Ransomware. “First OS X ransomware detected in the wild, will maliciously encrypt hard drives on infected Macs.”

9to5Mac: First OS X ransomware detected in the wild, will maliciously encrypt hard drives on infected Macs [Update: How to fix].

“OS X users have today been hit with the first known case of Mac ‘ransomware’ malware, found in the Transmission BitTorrent client released last week. Infected versions of the app include ‘KeyRanger’ malware that will maliciously encrypt the user’s hard drive after three days of being installed. The malware then asks for payment to allow the user to decrypt the disk and access their data — the ‘ransom’.”

Ransomware has been around for several years in one form or another, but seems to have become much more popular in the past few months. One of my favorite podcasts reported on this problem back in the fall:

Radiolab on September 21, 2016: Darkode.

“It would seem that hackers today can do just about anything they want – from turning on the cellphone in your pocket to holding your life’s work hostage. Cyber criminals today have more sophisticated tools, have learned to work collaboratively around the world and have found innovative ways to remain deep undercover in the internet’s shadows. This episode, we shine a light into those shadows to see the world from the perspectives of both cybercrime victims and perpetrators.”

You can listen to, stream or download the episode for free.

Deutsche Welle on February 25, 2016: Hackers hold German hospital data hostage.

“Several hospitals in Germany have come under attack by ransomware, a type of virus that locks files and demands cash to free data it maliciously encrypted. It will take weeks until all systems are up and running again.”

Die Zeit: Wir haben Eure Daten! “Eine neue Form der Erpressung hat sich etabliert. Cyberkriminelle legen Computer lahm und verlangen Lösegeld. Was passiert, wenn es ein Krankenhaus trifft – eine Rekonstruktion.” Von Karen Grass.

Space Flight

Victoria University of Wellington: Alexander Gerst – Why We Fly To Space. (YouTube, 1:18:15)

“Victoria University of Wellington alum, geophysicist, and astronaut Dr Alexander Gerst speaks about his six-month mission as part of the International Space Station crew from May to November 2014, and why we go to space.”

The movie Zero Gravity – Mission in Space (YouTube channel with trailers in English and German, behind-the-scenes) about “[t]he space adventure of ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman” was released on March 3.

Bonus-Link: Alexander Gerst lässt Papierflieger und Propeller in der ISS fliegen.

Für Besuch kochen und backen

Heute gibt’s für unseren Besuch zum Mittag Pasta mit Fleischbällchen und Tomatensoße und heute Nachmittag zu Kaffee und Tee einen Ribiselkuchen – Rührteig mit Johannisbeer-Baiser obendrauf. Das Wetter draußen ist leider nochmal ungemütlich-winterlich geworden, aber der Kuchen schmeckt bestimmt schon nach Sommer!

Beide Rezepte sind von Chili und Ciabatta. Den Kuchen habe ich schon einmal gebacken, und da bisher alle Rezepte von Petra Holzapfel sehr gut waren, freue ich mich auch schon auf die Fleischbällchen in Tomatensoße!

Update: Die Hackfleischbällchen in Tomatensoße waren seeehr lecker – und zum Glück ist genug für morgen und zum Einfrieren übrig geblieben! Die Torte hat auch beim zweiten Nachbacken wie erwartet lecker geschmeckt! Der süße Rührteig mit Zitrone und die säuerlichen Johannisbeeren sind eine gute Kombination.