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The best smart lock
By Jon Chase This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. After spending more than three months researching and testing eight leading models in both side-by-side tests and real-world everyday use, we feel that the Kwikset Kevo with the optional Kevo Plus module is the best choice for most homeowners. It's the most versatile lock we tested—you can control it via a standard key, a wireless key fob, or a smartphone (at close range or remotely, over the Internet). It consistently had the fastest unlock/lock response times of all the locks we tested, and the mechanical whir of its moving parts was among the quietest.
Lock your Mac Pro to your desk with Apple's Security Lock Adapter
Macs are great computers, but they don't come cheap. The desktop Mac Pro model in particular will set you back $2,999 just for its most basic version. If you're worried about security, there's good news today. Apple has made it easier to protect your investment with the Mac Pro Security Lock Adapter. The $49 adapter lets you use a compatible Kensington or similarly styled third-party lock to attach your Mac Pro to your desk. You can attach the adapter to the computer without using any tools, or permanently modifying or damaging your computer. Beyond securing the machine to your desk the lock adapter also blocks internal access to your computer. Sadly, you have to buy your own lock on top of the $49 lock adapter and $2,999 computer, but when you've already invested so much it makes sense to keep it nailed down. The Security Lock Adapter is compatible with the following locks. You can buy it now in the Apple Store. Kensington MicroSaver Lock Kensington MicroSaver DS Keyed Lock Kensington Combination Laptop Lock (2011) Kensington Portable Combination Laptop Lock Kensington WordLock Portable Combination Laptop Lock
This is the Modem World: I hate passwords
Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology. I get it: The Internet is a dangerous place. People want my stuff. There are bad people out there, yadda yadda yadda. But the password requirements and security verification processes in place are Kafkaesque, mind-bending, and straight-up annoying. Every time I need to access my online mortgage account, I am forced to reset my password because, without fail, I enter the wrong one three times. I couldn't tell you what my Apple ID is because it has an even itchier verification trigger finger, especially when you have more than one device accessing the same account. Get it wrong on one, and all your devices are borked.
Google Maps to soon include waterway travel in England and Wales
Here in America, avid motorists tend to tick that 'Avoid Ferries' option whenever possible. In England and Wales, however, travel including waterways is looked quite fondly upon. To that end, Google has reportedly started the process of mapping towpaths in the two nations, as it attempts to map bridges, locks and some 2,000 miles of canal / river paths. The Guardian quotes Ed Parsons, a geospatial technologist at Google UK, as saying the following: "Canal towpaths offer green routes through our towns and cities, and by working with the Canal and River Trust we're adding towpaths to Google Maps and encouraging people to discover their local waterway." As delightful as the news may be, we still can't help but focus on a single mental image. That image, if you're curious, is embedded after the break.
Warlock green fire spells spotted in MoP beta files
Green fire is coming, again! Maybe. Side effects of speculation may vary. Not only has the Codex shown up in recent datamining, but curiously also warlock spells with green fire as icons. Conflagrate, Fel Hellfire, Rain of Chaos, and Fel Immolate all have minimal descriptions and could very well be just creature or boss spells. But Fel Incinerate gives me hope, for it has not only the range and cast time, but the base mana that the real warlock Incinerate does. What boss would need to know the base mana cost, hmm? After the original flurry of excitement, Wryxian noted in the subsequent denial of green fire implementation that the devs wanted green fire "to be an epic accomplishment" for players. With the beta appearance of The Legacy of the Masters (Part 1), players are speculating among other things about a Quel'Delar-like quest line again. In the end, nothing might happen and green fire will stay unfulfilled on our warlock wish lists. But I for one haven't been so excited since I got my Dreadsteed the old way. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Kensington's SecureBack case is like The Club for iPads (video)
Kensington already came out and admitted that employees don't actually use the locks handed to them on their first day of work. And yet, it's betting folks will want to swaddle their iPads in a thick layer of plastic and chain them to their desks. That, in a nutshell, is the idea behind the SecureBack, an iPad 2 case that allows you to lock down the tablet, armor and all, just as you would a laptop. That beaut you see up there is a three-part affair, with two pieces of plastic that come together to cover the back and are held together by a sliding slat. That's just the case, mind, you -- to lock it down you'll also need one of Kensington's ClickSafe locks, which the company already makes for laptops. It's up for pre-order now, with a standard version fetching $50 and a souped-up one with a kickstand going for $70. If you don't already have a compatible lock, you can also buy one bundled with the case, with that extra hardware adding thirty bucks to the cost. Full PR and a demo video after the break because really, what's more hypnotic than watching a set of hands dissemble a case? %Gallery-133544% %Gallery-133539%
GC on Hunters and their DPS
It took a few tries, but Ghostcrawler has finally agreed to post a "state of the Hunters" on the forums, and there's both good and bad news. First of all, GC flatly lays out that Hunter DPS was too high in Naxx -- Blizzard wants Hunters to be fighting with Locks, Rogues, and Mages for top DPS, not head and shoulders above them. And Survival is still the top DPS build in PvE; while GC says it's probably not a huge increase from the other specs, they are seeing it do better consistently. That said, Hunter DPS may be a little low now, but Blizzard isn't quite sure, for two reasons. First, people are still learning the Ulduar fights, and they don't completely trust the data they've gotten so far. And second, the main goal for fights in there was supposed to be variety, so there are very few places where DPS can just go all out and test how powerful they really are. GC says you should be asking "what's my DPS in this fight," rather than just "what's my DPS?"As for PvP, he says that the T.N.T. stuns and the big mana drains that Hunters could pull off in the past were just plain overpowered, and they won't be coming back. But as for where Hunters are going next, he says it's more of a function of nerfing other classes rather than buffing Hunters -- it's not that Hunters aren't going into Arena because they suck, it's because other classes are taking their place because they're better. He does say that Hunters are better in 5v5 (which makes sense -- Hunters have always been better from the back rather than forced into the middle of things like they might be in 3v3, and 2v2), and Blizzard is fairly OK with that, as not all classes are going to rock at all Arena levels.
Scientists copy keys with computer imaging to make sure we feel insecure
Not satisfied with the time-honored traditions of lockpicking or bump keying, computer science professor Stefan Savage and a handful of grad students at the University of California at San Diego have developed a computer system that makes a functional copy of a key based solely on a photograph, regardless of angle or distance -- the image resolution just has to be high enough to make out the details. They claim they did this "to show people that their keys are not inherently secret" so they'll be more careful about flaunting them around in their Flickr photos, but we're worldly enough to know that they really did it to steal beer from rival frat houses. Shame![Via Switched]
Schlage LiNK web-controlled Z-Wave door locks priced right out of consideration
We first spotted Schlage's web-controlled Z-Wave door locks back in May, but Schlage was still working out details on everything from the name to pricing, and it looks like ditching that key for online access will be pretty pricey: a LiNK lock "starter kit" will run $299 for a lock and Z-Wave Ethernet bridge that enables network control, with additional locks going for $199. On top of that, you'll be charged $12.99 a month for access to the LiNK portal and mobile apps, including 100MB of video storage if you add a video camera to the system. Good luck with that, Schlage -- turns out regular keys don't charge a monthly fee to keep doors locked.
The Lockdown: Gun locks - unsafe at any caliber
Noted security expert Marc Weber Tobias contributes The Lockdown, exposing the shoddy security you may depend on.Two years ago I published an alert on my site regarding the inherent insecurity of gun trigger locks in the hope that manufacturers would remove them from the market or modify their design to make them more child-proof. Although some manufacturers now produce a more secure model to meet statutory requirements in California, even some of these can be easily compromised. Essentially nothing has changed: many manufacturers continue to sell products that are poorly designed, the consequences of which can be fatal -- literally. Even the cable locks that are provided under a US Justice Department grant to law enforcement agencies through Project ChildSafe for free dissemination to gun owners are inadequate.I hope that this article will once again place all gun owners on notice of the dangers stemming from any form of trigger or cable lock to protect a weapon from unauthorized use by anyone -- but most importantly children. Have you ever seen an untrained eleven year old demonstrate the removal of three of the most popular trigger locks on the market from a rifle in just a few seconds? You will today. Read on.
Warlocks nerfed; every other class throws a party
Rumors have been flying all day, and now it's official: warlocks on the beta realms have been nerfed. From Nethaera: I just wanted to take some time to drop in and reassure people that the change to the dots is intentional as a part of ongoing balancing that we have been doing. It is not a bug. Just so that everyone knows a bit more the approximate damage reduction is 10% for "Curse of Agony" and "Corruption" for the average Warlock. It looks like this is achieved through lowering the +damage coefficient for DoTs; specifically, Warlock DoTs now seem to be receiving somewhat less than 100% of your +damage. This means that well-geared Warlocks with high +damage will feel more pain from this.Well, everyone asked for it, and now they've got it. Warlocks got a whack with the nerf bat. Did they deserve it?
Bump keying: $1 keys open any lock
Anyone who knows anything about locks and lock picking knows that most locks on most doors -- the tumbler variety -- can be picked with a little skill and a couple of tools. But what would you say to the frightening truth that lying before the world these hundreds and hundreds of years we've been using tumbler locks, was a simple technique that allows an intruder to quietly, quickly, easily open any lock for the cost of a copied key? It's called bump keying, and we can assure you it has nothing to do with certain white narcotics. By simply cutting some keys down to serrated-like edges of sharp, even peaks and valleys, an amateur can break into a home in less time than it takes to disassemble a bic pen. Watch as a master locksmith walks up to his own shop, bumps a key, and cruises right in only to declare that his own front door is now no longer more secure than it would be using a $10 lock (after the break). The cheap, easy, no-mess skeleton key: coming to a robbery near you. Alert your insurance agents, everybody. [Warning: PDF link!][Via MAKE: Blog]
