February 8, 2016

Top News Stories –

Power being restored after Storm Imogen hits England and Wales –
More than a thousand properties remain without power after Storm Imogen brought heavy rain and strong winds. South-west England and south and mid-Wales bore the brunt, with rail and ferry services disrupted and some schools closed. Waves of up to 19.1m (63ft) were measured off the Cornish coast, and winds of 70-80mph felt in many areas. Winds of more than 80mph were recorded in many areas, including 81mph on the Isles of Scilly, 84mph in Pembrey Sands, Carmarthenshire, and 96mph at The Needles, off the Isle of Wight. The Met Office said “phenomenal” sea conditions were also measured at several points offshore. Defined as waves of more than 14m (46ft), it is the highest level on the World Meteorological Scale. [BBC]

Thousands flock to ‘malware museum’ –
An online archive of old computer malware has attracted more than 100,000 visitors since it launched four days ago. Some of the software showed an animation or messages. Others invited the infected user to play a game. Many of the viruses were created by “happy hackers” rather than organised criminals, said cybersecurity expert and curator Mikko Hypponen. The malware all dates from the 1980s and 1990s. The versions online have all been stripped of their destructive capabilities, but show the messages they would have displayed within emulator windows. His personal favourite is a virus called Casino, which overwrote a crucial part of the computer’s file system but took a copy of personal files and then offered the user the opportunity to win them back in a game of Jackpot. “Casino was a real problem,” Mr Hypponen, who works at security firm F-Secure, told the BBC. “At the time the advice was, you lose nothing by playing. In the early 1990s very few people had back-ups so you had lost your files anyway.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

The All-New 2016 Toyota Prius | The Longest Chase #GoPriusGo | Toyota

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