Google gives everyone machine learning superpowers with TensorFlow 1.0

It wasn’t that long ago that building and training neural networks was strictly for seasoned computer scientists and grad students. That began to change with the release of a number of open-source machine learning frameworks like Theano, Spark ML, Microsoft’s CNTK, and Google’s TensorFlow. Among them, TensorFlow stands out for its powerful, yet accessible, functionality, coupled with the stunning growth of its user base. With this week’s release of TensorFlow 1.0, Google has pushed the frontiers of machine learning further in a number of directions.

Capturing WPA Passwords by Targeting Users with a Fluxion Attack

With tools such as Reaver becoming less and less viable options for penetration testers as ISPs replace vulnerable routers, there becomes fewer certainties about which tools will work against a particular target. If you don't have time to crack the WPA password, or it is unusually strong, it can be hard to figure out your next step. Luckily, nearly all systems have one common vulnerability you can count on—users!

Social engineering goes beyond hardware and attacks the most vulnerable part of any system, and one tool that makes this super easy is Fluxion. Even the most antisocial hacker can hide behind a well-crafted login page, and Fluxion automates the process of creating a fake access point to capture WPA passwords.

This week in space: Pluto, Europa, and 96 nanosats

India just set a world record by sending 104 satellites into space in a single launch. One hundred and three of them were nanosats, but they were crated beside Cartosat-2D: a three-quarter-ton beast the Indian government is going to use for cartography, imaging and maybe weather mapping. Ninety-six of the 103 were actually American spacecraft from a company called Planet, which was founded by ex-NASA scientists to “image the entire Earth every day.” Counting the 96 new ones, that brings Planet’s constellation to 149, which is also a world record.

The latest news on Proxima b is that scientists have revised the odds on its habitability, probably downward. The reason is its parent star: Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf. To call a red dwarf’s early life violent would be an understatement of British proportion. X-ray and extreme UV (XUV) “superflares” wreak themselves upon any hapless planets in their paths, ionizing and driving away the lighter elements in the atmosphere: trivial stuff like carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Proxima Centauri is likely no exception to this rule, which means that it probably roasted Proxima b to a crisp and drove off its atmosphere long ago.

Nokia is resurrecting the iconic 3310 phone

Back before the iPhone was a gleam in Apple’s eye, Nokia was the smartphone vendor everyone was trying to beat. For over a decade, Nokia dominated the smartphone and feature phone markets — and one of the devices that cemented its position as an early leader in the cell phone industry was the Nokia 3310. Now HMD Global, the company that manufacturers devices for Nokia, will refresh the device for MWC 2017 with the same candybar design, according to Evan Blass at VentureBeat.

At first glance, the Nokia 3310 doesn’t look like the kind of device anyone would care about in 2017. The original phone launched in 2000 with features like an 84×48 monochrome screen, games like Snake II, a calculator, a stop watch, and a reminder function. The 3310 could store seven custom ringtones, and supported SMS messages of up to 459 characters. In 2017, these “features” are so basic they could practically be integrated into a toaster. (Please don’t -Ed).

Hubble could get another repair mission after all

The Hubble Space Telescope has been orbiting Earth for more than a quarter century. It’s sent back some amazing photos during that time, while also expanding our knowledge of the universe. The telescope got its last maintenance sweep in 2009, but now there’s talk in the government of sending another to the 27 year-old telescope. Of course, that’s going to be tricky without a Space Shuttle.

Hubble was launched in 1990 with great fanfare, but astronomers quickly realized it wasn’t working correctly. A defect in the mirror resulted in blurry images of objects the telescope should have been able to see in crystal clarity. Astronauts repaired the telescope in 1993 by adding an instrument to correct for the lens aberration — essentially eyeglasses for Hubble. That was the first of five service missions that added new cameras, repaired gyroscopes, and replaced the batteries.

The last Hubble service mission was in 2009, prior to the end of Shuttle flights in 2011. Hubble has long outlived its original life span, and it’s due for replacement soon. The James Webb Space telescope is going to launch in the next few years, but Hubble could get a new lease on life with another service mission. This is still in the early stages, but officials think that private space firm Sierra Nevada could have a vehicle capable of going on a Hubble refurbishment mission.

Sierra Nevada flies an unmanned “mini-shuttle” called the Dream Chaser, which it has developed over the course of the last several years. Dream Chaser is based on designs generated in the early days of the Shuttle program, as well as the Air Force’s X-37B space plane. An unmanned version of the Dream Chaser could be used for Space Station resupply missions as soon as 2018, but a Hubble service mission would require a manned flight.