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Why You Should Think Twice About Logging into Your Hotel’s Wi-Fi

3/25/2018

What's the first thing you do when you arrive at your hotel? Check into Wi-Fi, obviously. Everything else, like unpacking, eating, drinking, and enjoying yourself, comes after.

But a new report by NBC’s Today Show has raised concerns about the safety of your personal information while using hotel Wi-Fi.

According to journalist Jeff Rossen from The Sun, he and a security expert, set up fake Wi-Fi hotspots at a hotel in Cancun, Mexico to see how easy it would be to steal personal information from guests. The pair duped guests by naming their Wi-Fi similar to the official hotspots and were able to see transactions, flight info, and banking info when anyone logged on.

So, what can you do to stay safe? Make sure you ask someone working at the hotel for the official Wi-Fi network name before attempting to log on. Today's advice is to enter the wrong room number in the system when it asks for it. If you are allowed in any way, the Wi-Fi is probably dodgy, while real hotspots won't let you access them without the correct information.

Another option is to invest in a Virtual Private Network (VPN). We covered VPNs in Issue 2-42 and Issue 4-13.

Rossen and the security expert also suggested hitting 'forget this network' whenever you leave a place so that you are never automatically logged onto a network without realizing it.

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Generating Power From Falling Raindrops

3/18/2018

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One of the biggest problems plaguing the widespread adoption of solar power is rainy weather.

Solar panels are designed to convert sunlight into electricity. But when it's cloudy or rainy, they're rendered useless. There are batteries, like the Tesla Powerwall, designed to store electricity for those cloudy days. But the technology isn't quite effective or cheap enough to make using solar power worth it in regions that don't receive a lot of sunlight.

A group of researchers from Soochow University in China has come up with a promising solution to that problem: they've developed solar panels that can generate power from raindrops.

Their research, published last month in the journal ACS Nano, details how technology known as a triboelectric nanogenerator, or TENG, could get added to a solar panel to capture energy from the motion of raindrops that hit it.

Nanogenerators, in simple terms, are devices that convert mechanical energy, or movement, into usable electricity. The TENG would do that on a very small scale for raindrops.

The researchers behind the new study developed a hybrid solar panel that incorporated the TENG technology yet was still lightweight and cheap enough to mount on roofs. To accomplish this, they experimented with different transparent plastics, or polymers, that form a layer between the TENG layer and the solar cells on a panel. The layers were connected, but could function independently — making it possible for the solar panel to generate electricity in a range of weather conditions.

If the researchers can figure out how to bring down the cost of production of such a product, the technology could potentially revolutionize how solar panels are used. It would make solar power an efficient clean-energy solution even in less sunny areas that aren't currently considered ideal for solar-energy collection.

Solar power, despite its weather-related challenges, is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing energy sources worldwide. In the next five years, the share of electricity generated by renewables worldwide is set to grow faster than any other source.

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Amazon Planning Six More Cashier-Less Go Stores in 2018

3/11/2018

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After an extended testing period and one delay, Amazon’s cashier-free grocery store finally opened to the public last month. But it seems that the experiment has already been deemed a success, as the company is reportedly planning six more Amazon Go locations by the end of this year.

According to Recode, which cites people familiar with the plans, at least three of the new stores will open in Seattle – the same city where the current Amazon Go is found – while others will appear in Los Angeles. It’s unclear if Amazon will open more outlets in different locations this year.

Recode adds that Jeff Bezos’ company has held “serious talks” with billionaire developer Rick Caruso about placing one of its stores within The Grove, L.A’s famous 600,000-square foot outdoor shopping center.

Amazon Go’s “Just Walk Out Technology” uses a combination of machine learning, computer vision, deep learning algorithms and sensor fusion to determine when you pick up an item and place it in your basket. It even knows if something is returned to the shelf, should you change your mind. Once shoppers leave the premises, the total cost is automatically charged to their associated Amazon account.

While the system removes the need for cashiers, the stores are still staffed by humans who stock shelves, check IDs for alcohol purchases, and other duties, along with security guards.

After it opened in late 2016, only Amazon employees could use the company’s Seattle Go store during the lengthy beta phase. It was supposed to open in March last year, but the system reportedly struggled when more than 20 people were in the store. As such, the opening was delayed until January, though Amazon claims the delay was due to excessive demand from its employees.

While they are due sometime in 2018, there’s no word on exactly when we’ll see the new Amazon Go stores. Given that the original has only just opened to the public, they’re more likely to arrive in the second half of the year. Eventually, it's thought that Amazon may start implementing the technology in Whole Foods outlets – the company acquired the organic-food chain in 2017. How such a move would affect Whole Foods staff is unclear.

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Study Used DNA Nanorobots to Kill Cancerous Tumors

3/4/2018

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Chinese researchers have developed a method using microscopic robots to kill cancerous tumors and stifle future growth.

The study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology uses nanotechnology to deliver thrombin, an enzyme that helps blood to clot.

The thrombin was placed using DNA origami, a process where DNA is folded into specific shapes. In this case, the DNA-based nanorobot was formed into a hollow tube carrying thrombin, researchers said. When the nanorobot would come in contact with the tumor, the tube automatically would open and deliver the thrombin.

The scientists behind this study tested the delivery bots by injecting them into mice with human breast cancer tumors. Within 48 hours, the bots had successfully grabbed onto vascular cells at the tumor sites, causing blood clots in the tumor’s vessels and cutting off their blood supply, leading to their death.

Remarkably, the bots did not cause clotting in other parts of the body, just the cancerous cells they’d been programmed to target, according to the paper.

The scientists were also able to demonstrate the bots did not cause clotting in the healthy tissues of Bama miniature pigs, calming fears over what might happen in larger animals.

Nanotechnology is viewed as a promising option for treating cancer. It involves work in science, engineering or tech of objects the size of nanometers. For perspective, a human hair is between 80,000 and 100,000 nanometers wide, according to the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

"Our data show that DNA nanorobots represent a promising strategy for precise drug delivery in cancer therapy," read an excerpt from the study.

The goal, say the scientists, is to eventually prove these bots can do the same thing in humans that’s been done in animals. Of course, more work needs to be done before human trials can begin.

Regardless, this is a huge breakthrough in cancer research. The current methods of either using chemotherapy to destroy every cell just to get at the cancer cell are barbaric in comparison. Using targeted drugs is also not as exact as merely cutting off blood supply and killing the cancer on the spot. Should this new technique gain approval for use on humans in the near future it could have impressive effects on those afflicted with the disease.

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Author

Rick Richardson, CPA, CITP, CGMA

Rick is the editor of the weekly newsletter, Technology This Week. You can subscribe to it by visiting the website.

Rick is also the Managing Partner of Richardson Media & Technologies, LLC. Prior to forming his current company, he had a 28-year career in technology with Ernst & Young, the last twelve years of which he served as National Director of Technology.

Mr. Richardson has been named to the "Technology 100"- the annual honors list of the 100 key achievers in technology in America. He has also been honored by the American Institute of CPAs with two Lifetime Achievement awards and a Special Career Recognition Award for his contributions to the profession in the field of technology.

In 2012, Rick was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame by CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. He has also been named to the 100 most influential individuals in the accounting profession in America by Accounting Today magazine.

In 2017, Rick was inducted as a Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achiever, a registry of professionals who have excelled in their fields for many years and achieved greatness in their industry.

He is a sought after speaker around the world, providing his annual forecast of future technology trends to thousands of business executives, professionals, community leaders, educators and students.

Why You Should Think Twice About Logging into Your Hotel’s Wi-Fi

Generating Power From Falling Raindrops

Amazon Planning Six More Cashier-Less Go Stores in 2018

Study Used DNA Nanorobots to Kill Cancerous Tumors

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