Smart water tech to save big bucks

Wood is good: Japanese scientists are sending LignoSat, a wooden satellite, into orbit. Crafted from magnolia and no bigger than a coffee mug, it’s on a mission to minimize the alumina particles produced when metal satellites burn upon re-entry. Cool, huh?

When folks living in caves routinely ate each other. Wait, what? Yep, scientists have found lots of evidence of cannibalism in ancient societies — primarily as a way to honor and respect the dead. Yum.

⚠️ Samsung security alert: Your Galaxy might be under attack by a sly malware called Anatsa. It slips in via apps that say they’ll clean up your phone’s clutter and cache. The takeaway? Keep a tight leash on app permissions, and remember — if an app’s free, you’ll pay in other ways.

Can’t spell crypto without “cry”: The Apple App Store’s security just took a hit. Fake app Rabby Wallet & Crypto Solution duped customers into giving up private crypto keys, scamming them out of their money. One user lost $100,000! Always triple-check the app developer when money is involved.

Router rescue: In a hush-hush operation named “Dying Ember,” the DOJ stepped in and wiped malware from over 1,000 Ubiquiti routers. Russian hackers broke in using default passwords, creating a botnet for spearphishing and credential theft. Let this be a wake-up call: Change the default passwords on every device you own.

Hard drives byte: At CES 2024, Phison unveiled a 128TB SSD, pushing us closer to the 1PB dream. Nerd speak warning: With specs like PCIe Gen5x4, TSMC’s 12nm technology and insane read and write speeds, this is the biggest thing in storage since … OK, not quite the cloud. If you want to impress a geek in your life, tell them about this.

How much a 27-year-old government contractor made in a year. That year, though, she worked 92 hours a week in Taiwan. Ouch. Fascinating read.

Not so wise: Home security company Wyze dropped the ball big time. A glitch flashed 13,000 customers’ private moments to strangers. They’re blaming a “third-party caching client library” integrated into their system. Wyze says it’s tightening its security. I say you ditch them. Btw, score a discount on a SimpliSafe system with my link.