Author: NEWS

According to the Kela analysis, cybercrime forum users have recommended Big Mama in other posts over the past year or shared tips on what configurations people should use. In April this year, security company Cisco launched Talos said it had seen traffic from the Big Mama Proxy, along with other proxies, being used by attackers trying to brute force their way into various corporate systems.

Mixed messages

Big Mama has few details on its website about its ownership or leadership. The company’s terms of service state that a company called BigMama SRL is registered in Romania, although an earlier version of the company website from 2022And now at least one live pagelists a legal address for BigMama LLC in Wyoming. The US-based company was dissolved in April and is now listed as inactive on the Wyoming Secretary of State’s website.

A person using the name Alex A responded to an email from WIRED about how Big Mama operates. In the email, they say that information about free user connections sold to third parties through the Big Mama Network is “duplicated multiple times in the app marketplace and in the application itself,” and that people must accept the terms and conditions to use to be able to use the VPN. They say that the Big Mama VPN is officially only available through the Google Play Store.

“We do not and have never advertised our services on the forums you mentioned,” the email states. They say they were not aware of Talos’ findings in April about the use of their network as part of a cyberattack. “We block spam, DDOS, SSH, as well as local network, etc. We record user activities to cooperate with law enforcement authorities,” the email said.

The Alex A persona asked WIRED to send him more details about the ads on cybercrime forums, details about Talos’ findings and information about teens using Big Mama on Oculus devices, and said they would be “happy” to answer further questions. However, they did not respond to further emails asking additional details about the investigation results and questions about their security measures, whether they believed someone was posing as Big Mama to post on cybercrime forums, the identity of Alex A, or who runs the company.

During the analysis, Trend Micro’s Hilt says the company also found a security vulnerability within the Big Mama VPN, which could have allowed a proxy user to gain access to someone’s local network if exploited. The company says it reported the error to Big Mama, who fixed it within a week, a detail Alex A confirmed.

Ultimately, Hilt says, there are potential risks when someone downloads and uses a free VPN. “With all free VPNs there is a trade-off between privacy or security concerns,” he says. That goes for people loading them onto their VR headsets. “When you download applications from the Internet that are not from the official stores, there is always the risk that it is not what you think it is. And that even applies to Oculus devices.”

NASA has done it again has postponed the return to Earth of Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams astronauts stranded on the international space station after Boeing’s Starliner capsule malfunctioned middle of this year.

The spacecraft crew arrived at the ISS in June. The goal was to test the Starliner’s extensive capabilities, including launch, docking and return systems. The mission would last a week. Five of the capsule’s 28 thrusters failed to function before arriving at the ISS. Boeing claimed that its technology could guarantee the safe return of the astronauts. However, NASA expressed doubts and concluded that the risk was too high. The agency entrusted the task to SpaceX.

Elon Musk’s company launched the Crew-9 mission in September to bring back Williams and Wilmore, among others. Until now, that’s what the stuck astronauts were planning to do return in February aboard the Crew Dragon rocket. However, NASA has announced that it expects the expedition to return to Earth’s surface following the arrival of Crew-10, which will not be shipped until late March 2025 at the earliest.

The adjustment will allow SpaceX and NASA engineers to complete development of a new Dragon spacecraft, which will be shipped to the Florida factory early next month.

“Manufacturing, assembling, testing and ultimately integrating a new spacecraft is a painstaking undertaking that requires close attention to detail,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement. “We appreciate the SpaceX team’s hard work to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crews as we work together to complete the flight readiness of the new capsule.”

NASA said the crews of Crew-9 and Crew-10 will have to go through a “handover period,” during which the ISS residents share experiences and knowledge with the newcomers. This process ensures the proper conduct of scientific experiments on board and the maintenance of the orbital complex.

NASA and SpaceX specialists evaluated several options for coordinating the next crewed delivery. They determined that launching Crew-10 in March was the “best option to meet NASA’s requirements and achieve the space station’s 2025 goals,” according to an agency news release.

A long distance

The ISS underwent two resupply flights in November, ensuring crew members had sufficient food, water, clothing and oxygen. However, some experts have warned of possible health risks for Wilmore and Williams after spending more than nine months in space.

The scientific community has been studying the effects of spaceflight on the human body since the 1970s. In the years since the first moon landing it is has established circumstances such as loss of bone mass, weakened heart function, visual problems and the development of kidney stones.

This is evident from recent research by University College London reveals that the structure and function of the kidneys can also suffer permanent damage, although this is particularly aggressive in the case of astronauts who become too far from Earth, which is not the case on the ISS.

NASA points out that expedition crews to the ISS typically make longer stays, with an average duration of six months. It adds that some astronauts have carried out missions of up to one year to contribute to research into human adaptation to spaceflight, with a view to future explorations of the moon and Mars.

This story originally appeared on WIRED in Spanish and is translated from Spanish.

For example, instead of a ribbon, use compostable rope or rope with a cutting (a sprig of holly, a cutting of eucalyptus or the branch of a fir) in it. It has a rustic look that will hold up even if you pack well in advance. You can also add something less hardy, such as flowers or berries, just before handing out the gifts.

Don’t forget tape!

The last thing you want to do is make all these adjustments and ruin them by using standard plastic tape that cannot be recycled. Sellotape now offers one plastic-free version of its famous tape, which is 100 percent plant-based and fully compostable. You can also consider paper-based options such as washi tape. These often come in pretty patterns too, which can also help brighten up plain brown paper.

Send fewer cards, or go digital

If you have a family that loves Christmas cards, this can be a tough habit to break, but approximately 2.65 billion Christmas cards are sold in the U.S. each year, and sending one less card would mean 50,000 cubic yards save paper. , according to Stanford University.

It helps that there are now fantastic digital options that can be sent via email to friends and family, completely eliminating waste – and can be sent at the last minute when it’s too late to post something. Make the extra effort to discuss with your loved ones in advance whether you will all go the digital route for greater environmental benefit.

If you can’t bear to disrupt family tradition, make sure you choose your cards as carefully as you choose your wrapping paper. Avoid glitter and foil and look for cards labeled as recyclable. Even better: also look at products made from post-consumer recycled materials. You can even buy cards embedded with seeds and cans be planted!

Of course, you only have control over the cards you send. If you receive cards that are not recyclable, consider holding them and cutting them up so you can reuse the Christmas symbol pieces as gift tags for next year.

Choose a real Christmas tree, if you have one

It may seem counterintuitive, but even though real trees are only used once before being thrown away, they create less waste than their artificial counterparts. That’s because a real tree can be completely recycled if disposed of properly, and can be used for things like firewood, wood chips or compost.

Fake trees, on the other hand, are made from materials that cannot be recycled and only go to landfill when the time for spreading Christmas cheer is over. The Carbon Fund estimates that you need to reuse an artificial tree between seven and twenty times (depending on its size) to offset the carbon footprint generated by its production, packaging and shipping. When you buy that real tree (if you haven’t already), make sure you buy something that is locally grown, which is the more sustainable choice because it doesn’t have to be shipped as far.

Get started with decorations

The same rules apply when decorating your tree and your home. Plastic and foil are banned, and being creative is the best way to reduce waste. For great DIY ideas, I’ll send you to YouTube, which is full of DIY holiday decorating tutorials: paper streamers, hanging paper dreidels, salt dough ornamentsA DIY Kwanzaa kinaraand scores more. These decorations may not stand the test of time if stored, but they will be completely recyclable and compostable after the holidays, meaning you can consciously switch up your color theme each year.

Store-bought holiday crackers (cardboard tubes that you pull on both ends to pop open) should be avoided. Traditionally they use shiny and glittery materials, which, like cards and wrapping paper, makes them not recyclable. Not to mention the horrible, often plastic gift inside, which usually ends up in the trash almost immediately.