In this edition of the Worldwide wrap: Britain's tech start-ups have been asked to contribute their ideas for improving the nation's health in a new programme and Lego has unveiled a reality app that brings real-life toys built out of the bricks to life. Get the details on these stories and more below.
Phishing on dating sites
Criminals are running massive dedicated phishing campaigns against online dating sites, marking an interesting - but not unusual - shift in focus from the traditional phishing targets such as banks and other financial institutions.
The most recent attack used a single compromised Web site to host hundreds of fraudulent PHP scripts, most of which were designed to steal usernames and passwords from users of the most popular dating sites.
The online dating sites targeted by the latest attack include match.com, Christian Mingle, POF (PlentyOfFish), eHarmony, Chemistry.com, SeniorPeopleMeet, Zoosk and Lavalife, among others. Only eight of the 862 fraudulent scripts on the server targeted banks.
Via: Netcraft
UK seeks tech inspiration
Britain's tech start-ups are being asked to contribute their ideas for improving the nation's health in a new programme.
PHE Health X, a new initiative from Public Health England, is offering £15 000 funding, mentoring and ongoing business support from healthcare, marketing and product design experts for the three best entries.
Suggestions can be anything from fitness apps and family activity promotions to food planners and well-being journals, across a variety of platforms.
Via: Telegraph
Software dissects corpses
A medical Web site has unveiled software Anatomedia for medical students to practice dissections. Medical students can use 'virtual dissection software' to explore the human body in the absence of real corpses, which are in short supply.
The software called Anatomedia and claims to be a "comprehensive, self-paced learning programme that explores anatomy from four different perspectives" in order to teach students how the body is constructed.
It even allows people to complete practical dissections and post mortems, as well as being able to see 'sections' of the human body.
Via: Daily Mail
Goggle, MS ponder 'kill-switch' feature
Google and Microsoft will add a "kill-switch" feature to their Android and Windows phone operating systems.
The feature is a method of making a handset completely useless if it is stolen, rendering a theft pointless.
The move by Google and Microsoft means that kill switches will now be a part of the three most popular phone operating systems in the world.
Via: BBC
New solar innovation
A house in Australia has installed the world's first building integrated solar system that generates electricity and heat.
The rooftop array combines thin-film solar photovoltaic (PV) panels with a solar thermal duct system that warms and cools the air. The top layer produces electricity from the sun just as a normal PV panel would, while heat is trapped between the layers and distributed to the home.
Australian steel manufacturer Bluescope produced the $5 million integrated PV thermal system with government assistance via a $2.3 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
The integrated solar system could eventually reduce installation and energy costs, improve building energy efficiency and reduce peak demand pressure on the power grid.
Via: Inhabitat
Lego app debuts
Lego has unveiled a radical augmented reality app that brings real-life toys built out of the bricks to life when viewed through a tablet or phone.
Each $35 Lego Fusion box, which go on sale in August, will contain some 200 bricks and a special baseplate to build on.
Creations on the plate can be photographed with Apple or Android phones or tablets and imported into free, downloadable games.
When children point their tablet camera at the finished toy, it springs to life and lets them play games.
Via: Daily Mail
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