So what is this “heartbleed” bug?

OpenSSL is an open-source encryption security service that a large percentage of websites utilize to secure your information like passwords, messages, and credit card transactions. Sometimes, a computer needs to check if it is still talking to another computer/server, so it sends out a small data packet called a heartbeat. The security flaw, known as a heartbleed, allowed a cleverly-disguised packet of data that appeared to be a heartbeat to communicate with the server, and tricked the server into sending back saved data. Additionally, taking advantage of the flaw does not leave a trace.

Uh oh…what are the risks?

All websites capture data, and websites that you frequent will capture data such as passwords, bank information, and more. The security flaw unfortunately allowed hackers to gain access to encryption keys, which, in turn, can be used to decipher the encrypted data that is sent from your computer to a website and back.

OHGAWD NOW WHAT

For the most part, the security flaw was patched and fixed on servers before they released that there was a bug in the system. You should still take precautions and check your accounts with the sites you normally use, especially those with passwords and credit card information.  You can easily double check to see if sites you frequent were affected by visiting:

http://filippo.io/Heartbleed/

Quickly tells you if the site was vulnerable, fixed, or unaffected. If you get an error code, check out their FAQ, and then visit:

 

https://lastpass.com/heartbleed/

Tells you the last date their SSL was updated, if it is vulnerable, or if it does not use OpenSSL

 

Or CTRL+F to see if a site was vulnerable at the time:

https://github.com/musalbas/heartbleed-masstest/blob/master/top10000.txt

For the most part, this under control, but you should check it out for yourself to put your mind at ease. Enhance your calm.

Sources: heartbleed.com | GitHub | GitHub Gist

The post How to Check for the OpenSSL Heartbleed bug appeared first on What The Flux.

University of Rochester

Head over to their page to see their campus and majors transformed into Legos. New majors like “Music Chemist” and “Quiddich” have also been added.

Wayne State

Google Plus is not the only one celebrity photobombing today. Find Kevin Bacon hiding in their main page.

Missouri University of Science and Technology

MST’s page was taken over by Doge

Oakland University

OU is offering a new major: Post-Apocalyptic Survival Studies.

Colgate University

Colgate has finally offered a program that fits! The Colgate School of Dentistry

The post April Fool’s Day 2014 – University Edition appeared first on What The Flux.

Hinted at SXSW by Sundar Pichai, today Google’s Android officially announced “Android Wear” – a new platform for Android developers to work on apps specifically for the upcoming wearables line.

Features for Android Wear:

• View latest posts and updates from social apps
• Chats from messaging apps
• Notifications from shopping, news and photography apps, etc.
• “Ok Google” commands like Google Now
• Monitor your fitness
• Control other devices

Developers can download the Developer Preview to start adapting their current apps, with more resources and APIs on the way.

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You’ve seen nothing until you’ve seen a picture of a pigeon having a job interview to become a pigeon.

via Imgur

The post Pigeon Interview appeared first on What The Flux.

source: via reddit

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