Apparently a trojan/virus has been released alongside copies of Cross Days flowing through the Japanese P2P networks, disguised as a fake installer. When activated, the program gathers data from the computer and pretends to take a survey of players, including asking for personal information. Once it's done, everything gets uploaded to a public website, alongside a screenshot of their desktop.
Once discovered, users can ask for their data to be deleted, but must first click a button acknowledging that they have illegally downloaded Cross Days. Better yet, the whole scheme is revealed in the fake installer's terms of service agreement, something no one reads.
It seems that public shaming is now a weapon being wielded in the war against warez, though obviously the implications for identity theft and blackmail mark this particular stunt as somewhat dangerous in its own right.
Japanator
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Warner Bros. Recruits Students to Spy on Pirates
Warner Bros Entertainment UK is recruiting tech-savvy students to help the company with their anti-piracy efforts. During the 12 month internship the students will have to maintain accounts at private BitTorrent sites, develop link-scanning bots, make trap purchases and perform various other anti-piracy tasks.
TorrentFreak
Galactic Empire State of Mind
Galactic Empire State of Mind Lyrics
[DARTH VADER/JAY-Z]
Yeah
No longer Anakin
Formerly a Skywalker
Son's next rebel hero
But I'll be Sith forever
I'm the newest Dark lord And since my training years
I can choke from anywhere
Yeah my force is everywhere Used to run with Obi Wan We were both best buds foreva
But after three movies Now I've got a blood vendetta Grew up on Tatooine
No vegetation Catch me rolling through the cosmos in a moon-like station to Leia's home nation Death Star wrecks it Now princess knows, Vader ain't one to mess with
Flying through the trenches
Blasting rebel noobies
What happened to the fat one
Think he died of heart disease All that's left is this guy
Chasing him in my TIE I won't deny That his force is pretty damn high
Damn i just got wiped out
Falcon shot the back of me
Spinning into outerspace
But I'll be back definitely
[PRINCESS LEIA/ALICIA KEYS]
In Star Wars Empire is out to find Leia Death star plans in R2 Shoot the exhaust port Kenobi may now be see-through But the force is within Luke
Let's hear it for new hope, new hope, new hope
[Vader: You're welcome Obi Wan... I made you a ghost!]
[DARTH VADER/JAY-Z]
Catch me rockin boots and a cape like superman
Hell, I made wearing black more famous than that Jay-Z can
You should know I'd find you, hiding out at Echo
Now I got a Blizzard Force eliminate you quick yo
Welcome to the planet Hoth AT-ATs hit the spot Walking tanks are too legit
But they fall down a lot Check the front, check the back, cant find the Falcon yet
We need them all alive, so no disintegrations Boba Fett 8 million asteroids, where'd your little ship go?
Get me to Cloud City, I got Lando on my payroll
Me I gotta double check if carbonite's ok If freezin's safe for Han
Doing Luke the same way
New deal Lando
Ain't no pardon
Kid blew up my boys
Rest in peace Moff Tarkin
Turns out we are family
Embrace your dark fate
Dad and son together, yo No way the emperor's safe, cause...
[PRINCESS LEIA/ALICIA KEYS] In Star Wars
Now Han Solo's a coffee table
There's nothing Luke can do [Vader: Should've joined me, bro!]
He's on Dagobah
With some dyslexic Jedi dude
Right hand still got sliced through Looks like they struck back, struck back, struck back
[DARTH VADER/JAY-Z]
Lightsabers grinding
Palpatine's smiling
Cause he knew it would come to this The light side is blind with casualties
Who do evil casually, then gradually become worse
Don't fight your destiny
Wasn't a great dad, true
Absent all the while
No happy times behind us, and plus, now I'm killin' you
Keep fencing mister, 'cause now I sense a sister
You don't go bad, maybe I'll enlist her
Now Emperor wants you, only wants me rubbed out You controlled your anger, stayed light side devout Watch out kid, he's got lightning bolts to immolate Uh-uh, hell no, daddy powers activate
End this prune with a badass murder suicide
Bald headed, mask off, heart melted kid you were right Burn all my gear so those Ewoks can't wear it again
Do it, I'll be watching you, a ghost, name of Anakin
[PRINCESS LEIA/ALICIA KEYS] In Star Wars
Destroy new Death Star's generator
Ewoks to the rescue
Blast through to the core
This Regime's gonna be brand new
Galactic Empire's through
The Jedi have returned, returned, returned
Friday, March 26, 2010
Developers! Developers! Developers! – The Flow Chart
This is by no means the be all, end all, definitive history of video game development studios. There is still room for additional studios and for clarification of individual studio history, as well as more connections between the shift of studio talent from one company to another.
Games Are Evil
Games Are Evil
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
11 Old School WWF Wrestlers With the Worst Side Jobs
Here are the 11 old school WWF wrestlers who have the lowest-paying side jobs, based on the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
11 Points
Monday, March 22, 2010
Counter-Strike Cheater’s Brain Stabbed in Wallhack Brawl
A gamer accused of cheating in a net café game of CounterStrike narrowly escaped death after irate players skewered his head on a knife.
The incident began in a net café in China’s northern province of Jilin, when a group of youths apparently noticed a 17-year-old boy they had been playing CounterStrike with had been cheating by using a “wallhack” to allow himself to see through walls.
An argument began and a fight broke out outside the café. During the fight the cheater had a 30cm knife thrust into his left temple, with the blade only being stopped by the other side of his skull.
Sankaku Complex
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Steve Jobs Cheese Head
Try Spicy Steve Nachos, iPad Thai and an Apple Cheese Plate and pay homage to the greatest consumer electronics company of all time.
The Cooks' Den
Cops: Burglar logs into MySpace on store computer
KENNEWICK, Wash. – A burglar who spent about five hours on a store's computer after breaking into the business gave police all the clues they needed to track him down. Investigators said the 17-year-old logged into his MySpace account while at Bella Office Furniture and that made it easy for them to find him. He also spent time looking at pornography and trying to sell stolen items, all while using the business' computer.
He was arrested Tuesday and charged with first degree burglary. Kennewick Police said he helped officers recover a cell phone stolen in the break-in.
Yahoo!
He was arrested Tuesday and charged with first degree burglary. Kennewick Police said he helped officers recover a cell phone stolen in the break-in.
Yahoo!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Command & Conquer Copies Ubisoft's Awful DRM
In a post over on Command & Conquer 4's forums, EA community manager Apoc writes "First thing to be clear about, Command & Conquer 4 has NO DRM. Zip, zero, zilch, none."
Sounds great! Until, a few lines later, he says this. "To play Command & Conquer 4, the computer needs to be connected to the internet."
C&C 4 Installation/Online Update
Kotaku
Sounds great! Until, a few lines later, he says this. "To play Command & Conquer 4, the computer needs to be connected to the internet."
C&C 4 Installation/Online Update
Kotaku
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Complete Archive Of Popular Science
We've partnered with Google to offer our entire 137-year archive for free browsing. Each issue appears just as it did at its original time of publication, complete with period advertisements. It's an amazing resource that beautifully encapsulates our ongoing fascination with the future, and science and technology's incredible potential to improve our lives. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
In the future, we'll be adding more advanced features for searching and browsing, but for now, enter any keyword into the box below and dive in.
Popular Science
Rock Band to Release Cartman's "Poker Face"
It was announced today that four Lady Gaga songs are being released in the Rock Band Music Store for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. And in a classic case of lead-burying, it was additionally revealed that Eric Cartman's version of Gaga's "Poker Face" would also be made available in the store. Of course, as exciting as this is, I'm pretty sure that if Lady Gaga herself ever sings Cartman's cover of her song, it will cause a temporal loop and tear apart the very fabric of space-time.
Comedy Central
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Ubisoft DRM authentification server is down, Assassin's Creed 2 unplayable
According to numerous reports from prospective players of the game, Ubisoft's DRM authentification servers have crashed, forcing some players to suffer lengthy login periods when booting up Assassin's Creed 2, and locking some folks out of the game entirely.
Joystiq
Joystiq
Saturday, March 6, 2010
South Korean couple starved child while raising 'virtual baby'
A South Korean couple arrested for allowing their baby to starve to death had been raising an online child, state media reported citing police sources.
The couple, residents of a Seoul suburb, allegedly neglected their prematurely born three-month-old daughter, feeding her just once a day in between 12-hour stretches at a neighborhood internet cafe, the official Yonhap news agency reported.
Police said the couple had become obsessed with raising a virtual girl character called "Anima" in "Prius Online", a popular role-playing game in South Korea.
"The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life, because they didn't have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby," said Chung Jin-won, a police officer.
"They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby."
CNN
The couple, residents of a Seoul suburb, allegedly neglected their prematurely born three-month-old daughter, feeding her just once a day in between 12-hour stretches at a neighborhood internet cafe, the official Yonhap news agency reported.
Police said the couple had become obsessed with raising a virtual girl character called "Anima" in "Prius Online", a popular role-playing game in South Korea.
"The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life, because they didn't have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby," said Chung Jin-won, a police officer.
"They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby."
CNN
Friday, March 5, 2010
24 Secret Restaurant Menus Revealed
Mention "secret menus" and many people think of hidden functions on Blackberries or Xbox games. Actually, secret menus refers to items you can special order at restaurants that aren't mentioned on standard menus.
Some places, like Chipotle Mexican Grills, have a whole secret menu that's limited only by your imagination. On the other hand, In-N-Out Burger's secret menu" is so unsecret it's posted on their Web site. Kind of takes the cool factor out of having the inside scoop, doesn't it?
If you're looking to impress a date or just like that feeling of "knowing the chef," here are 24 restaurants that offer secret menus. Remember, not all may participate in the hidden menu. However, if you try to order something and the server looks at you with a blank look, don't give up. Describe the dish and usually they'll make it for you anyway.
Just keep it under your hat.
Coupon Sherpa
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Petition to make "Hella" the prefix for 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
The Southern versus Northern California slang rivalry may soon be put to rest thanks to the help of UC Davis physics student Austin Sendek.
"Hella," the popular NorCal slang word meaning "a lot" or "very" is commonly contested among Northern and Southern Californians and until this point has not been associated with any specific measurement.
Now, Sendek hopes to give hella new meaning - representing 10 to the 27th power to be exact.
Boing Boing
The Califoria Aggie
MakeHellaOfficial
"Hella," the popular NorCal slang word meaning "a lot" or "very" is commonly contested among Northern and Southern Californians and until this point has not been associated with any specific measurement.
Now, Sendek hopes to give hella new meaning - representing 10 to the 27th power to be exact.
Boing Boing
The Califoria Aggie
MakeHellaOfficial
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Springfield Punx
Simpsons + Mr. Bean = WIN!
From the profile of Springfield Punx: Springfield Punx is a little pet project of mine. The idea of doing fan art parodying some of my favorite characters and stars in such a fun and simple style got me hooked immediately. Some of these guys and gals have appeared on the Simpsons and I could just work from that, but most I had to do from scratch. Check back often for new Punx!
Springfield Punx
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