Who knows security better than a thief?

Romanian computer expert Valentin Boanta used to supply thieves with the skimmers they used to gather information to create fake bank cards and then steal cash from ATMs.

Boanta, 33, was caught in 2009. And now, six months into his five-year sentence, the former thief has developed a technology that would safeguard ATMs from the very attacks in which he used to participate.

“When I got caught, I became happy,” Boanta told Reuters. “This liberation opened the way to working for the good side.”

Skimming is the act of copying a credit or debit card by scanning the magnetic strip on the card’s back. Thieves then use these cloned cards to withdraw money from the cardholder’s bank account at an ATM.

Boanta supplied a Romanian criminal gang with gadgets that hid any evidence of foul play and made the cloned cards seem almost exactly like the originals.

His invention, called Secure Revolving System or SRS, can prevent skimming from happening in the first place.

Users insert their card into the SRS long edge first, instead of the narrow end. That way, any attached skimmer or other surveillance gadget would be unable to scan the card’s magnetic strip. Once the card is safely inside the ATM, the device rotates it, reads it and spits it back out — long edge first.

Essentially, the SRS is a long-overdue upgrade for ATMs whose aging hardware can’t compete with modern digital theft technologies.

Boanta designed the SRS from his cell in a Romanian prison, which he shares with five other burglars and a shelf full of books and technical manuals.

But he’s not without outside help: His research is funded by Romanian tech firm MB Telecom, which has patented the SRS and says it will be available soon, though an exact release date has not yet been announced. MB Telecom President Mircea Tudor also told Reuters that Boanta would definitely have a job with the company when the reformed thief gets out of prison in four and a half years.

Romania is a frequent source of computer hacks, scams and malware. The former communist country has a history of both social unrest and technical education. The combination has made the country a haven for hackers; it’s second only to China in incidents of reported cyberattacks, according to Verizon’s 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report.

Image via iStockphoto, robyvannucci

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This article originally published at TechNewsDaily
here

Whether you’re producing a title card for your new company, or just looking to wow your co-workers with a dazzling presentation on the dangers of hydraulic fracking, a little animation is never a bad idea. Things are more interesting when there’s a little flare involved, right?

Lucky for you, a handful of programs are out there to help you create your own animations. From branding to marketing to entertaining, their purposes are endless, and extremely customizable for whatever it is you’re going for.

Check out these five animation tools to help you get started.

1. Apple Motion

Functions: Titling, motion graphics
Price: $49.99

Apple Motion, a downloadable graphics app for Mac OS X, is ideal for creating simple titling animations for your business or independent projects. The updated versions include more complex features like 3D-compositing, vector painting and motion tracking.

We threw together a simple animation of our own (above) using the text and “sparkle” features. Emphasis here on simple — it’s about as bare-boned as you can get (please feel free to make fun of the quality in the comments below). But it did only take a few minutes, and if you spend more time toying around with the various features and customizing your animated logos, the results can be pretty worthwhile.

2. Adobe After Effects

Functions: 2D animation, motion graphics
Price: $999 — but, you can subscribe for $19.99 per month or sign up for a free 30-day trial

Adobe After Effects is typically used for high-end motion graphics and post-production video effects. But don’t let its complex features intimidate you — you can also use the program on a smaller scale for basic 2D animations. Similar to Apple Motion, you can choose from a handful of default animations and drag them into an easy-to-use edit space. Again, it’s a great way to create quick animations for content series or titles.

3. Go! Animate

Functions: Animated shorts, character and background template varieties
Price: $25 per month for business plan

Go! Animate is an online application you can use to make customized video animations — for work presentations, school lessons or just after-work side projects. The website offers 50 template cartoon characters (with 150 different poses) to choose from, as well as 20 backgrounds, 20 music tracks and 200 props. You can use the program’s template voices for your characters or customize them even further by recording your own.

4. Xtranormal

Functions: 3D-animated videos
Price: $50 per month for professional plan

Xtranormal operates similarly to Go! Animate, only here the animations are 3D. You can choose between 500 characters (with 80 gestures), 200 background sets and 20 languages and direct up to 12 characters per “scene.”

5. Wideo

Functions: Animated shorts, product promotion
Price: Free

An up-and-coming program (it’s still in its beta phase), Wideo is a free platform for creating basic animations. You can choose a template, as well as pictures from your personal library, and customize them into short informational videos. The company says its main purpose is to help businesses create simple animated commercials.

That’s a wrap for now — but keep in mind that these are only a few of our favorites. Are there any good ones we forgot to include? Share them with us in the comments!

And remember: Eat your fruit, alright?

Thumbnail image courtesy of Go! Animate

Sofia Vergara, whose role as the passionate and funny Gloria on ABC’s Modern Family has earned her three Golden Globe nominations and three Emmy nods, wasn’t lost when she appeared at a rival network’s red carpet event this month. In fact, the carpet was blue and rolled out for her and other stars by USA Network executives, which had just announced they would begin airing Modern Family reruns on Sept. 24.

The announcement at USA’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York City somewhat surprisingly attracted Vergara and castmates Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet.

Networks typically tout new programming rather than rerun pickups during upfronts.

But USA emphasized adding Modern Family to its fall lineup because it hopes to leverage the popularity of the show as “a powerful launch pad” for the network’s new — and first— original half-hour situation comedies: Sirens and Playing House.

• Sirens: This comedy “follows three of Chicago’s best EMTs whose sometimes silly, self-righteous and even self-destructive personalities make them unqualified for sustaining relationships, friendships and most occupations. They are, however, uniquely qualified for saving anyone who winds up in their ambulance.”

• Playing House: This comedy “is about what happens when two best friends come back together, just when they need each other most.”

• Love Is Dead: This pilot order “is set at a unique company that specializes in breaking-up romantic relationships — rationally, compassionately, thoroughly — on behalf of those who are willing to pay to not be around when it happens. It’s the unconventional romantic comedy that asks: ‘Why, if love is so fickle, do we keep coming back for more?’”

Amid the comedy news, the cast of Suits also unveiled the slate of new and returning dramas as well as alternative series, including The Choir and Summer Camp.

Modern Family season four’s finale airs May 22. ABC describes it as such:

“Everyone flies down to Florida to be with Phil after his mom’s passing. Claire helps Phil with Gracie’s last wish for Frank, and the kids reflect on the gifts grandma left for them. Gloria has to contend with an outstanding arrest warrant in Florida, Cam finds himself fitting right into an elderly women’s group at Frank’s retirement community, and Jay runs into a pivotal person from his past.”

Here are the funny moments from the May 15 episode:

Homepage image courtesy of ABC/Peter “Hopper” Stone

Sofia Vergara, whose role as the passionate and funny Gloria on ABC’s Modern Family has earned her three Golden Globe nominations and three Emmy nods, wasn’t lost when she appeared at a rival network’s red carpet event this month. In fact, the carpet was blue and rolled out for her and other stars by USA Network executives, which had just announced they would begin airing Modern Family reruns on Sept. 24.

The announcement at USA’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York City somewhat surprisingly attracted Vergara and castmates Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet.

Networks typically tout new programming rather than rerun pickups during upfronts.

But USA emphasized adding Modern Family to its fall lineup because it hopes to leverage the popularity of the show as “a powerful launch pad” for the network’s new — and first— original half-hour situation comedies: Sirens and Playing House.

• Sirens: This comedy “follows three of Chicago’s best EMTs whose sometimes silly, self-righteous and even self-destructive personalities make them unqualified for sustaining relationships, friendships and most occupations. They are, however, uniquely qualified for saving anyone who winds up in their ambulance.”

• Playing House: This comedy “is about what happens when two best friends come back together, just when they need each other most.”

• Love Is Dead: This pilot order “is set at a unique company that specializes in breaking-up romantic relationships — rationally, compassionately, thoroughly — on behalf of those who are willing to pay to not be around when it happens. It’s the unconventional romantic comedy that asks: ‘Why, if love is so fickle, do we keep coming back for more?’”

Amid the comedy news, the cast of Suits also unveiled the slate of new and returning dramas as well as alternative series, including The Choir and Summer Camp.

Modern Family season four’s finale airs May 22. ABC describes it as such:

“Everyone flies down to Florida to be with Phil after his mom’s passing. Claire helps Phil with Gracie’s last wish for Frank, and the kids reflect on the gifts grandma left for them. Gloria has to contend with an outstanding arrest warrant in Florida, Cam finds himself fitting right into an elderly women’s group at Frank’s retirement community, and Jay runs into a pivotal person from his past.”

Here are the funny moments from the May 15 episode:

Homepage image courtesy of ABC/Peter “Hopper” Stone

Sofia Vergara, whose role as the passionate and funny Gloria on ABC’s Modern Family has earned her three Golden Globe nominations and three Emmy nods, wasn’t lost when she appeared at a rival network’s red carpet event this month. In fact, the carpet was blue and rolled out for her and other stars by USA Network executives, which had just announced they would begin airing Modern Family reruns on Sept. 24.

The announcement at USA’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York City somewhat surprisingly attracted Vergara and castmates Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet.

Networks typically tout new programming rather than rerun pickups during upfronts.

But USA emphasized adding Modern Family to its fall lineup because it hopes to leverage the popularity of the show as “a powerful launch pad” for the network’s new — and first— original half-hour situation comedies: Sirens and Playing House.

• Sirens: This comedy “follows three of Chicago’s best EMTs whose sometimes silly, self-righteous and even self-destructive personalities make them unqualified for sustaining relationships, friendships and most occupations. They are, however, uniquely qualified for saving anyone who winds up in their ambulance.”

• Playing House: This comedy “is about what happens when two best friends come back together, just when they need each other most.”

• Love Is Dead: This pilot order “is set at a unique company that specializes in breaking-up romantic relationships — rationally, compassionately, thoroughly — on behalf of those who are willing to pay to not be around when it happens. It’s the unconventional romantic comedy that asks: ‘Why, if love is so fickle, do we keep coming back for more?’”

Amid the comedy news, the cast of Suits also unveiled the slate of new and returning dramas as well as alternative series, including The Choir and Summer Camp.

Modern Family season four’s finale airs May 22. ABC describes it as such:

“Everyone flies down to Florida to be with Phil after his mom’s passing. Claire helps Phil with Gracie’s last wish for Frank, and the kids reflect on the gifts grandma left for them. Gloria has to contend with an outstanding arrest warrant in Florida, Cam finds himself fitting right into an elderly women’s group at Frank’s retirement community, and Jay runs into a pivotal person from his past.”

Here are the funny moments from the May 15 episode:

Homepage image courtesy of ABC/Peter “Hopper” Stone

Sofia Vergara, whose role as the passionate and funny Gloria on ABC’s Modern Family has earned her three Golden Globe nominations and three Emmy nods, wasn’t lost when she appeared at a rival network’s red carpet event this month. In fact, the carpet was blue and rolled out for her and other stars by USA Network executives, which had just announced they would begin airing Modern Family reruns on Sept. 24.

The announcement at USA’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York City somewhat surprisingly attracted Vergara and castmates Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet.

Networks typically tout new programming rather than rerun pickups during upfronts.

But USA emphasized adding Modern Family to its fall lineup because it hopes to leverage the popularity of the show as “a powerful launch pad” for the network’s new — and first— original half-hour situation comedies: Sirens and Playing House.

• Sirens: This comedy “follows three of Chicago’s best EMTs whose sometimes silly, self-righteous and even self-destructive personalities make them unqualified for sustaining relationships, friendships and most occupations. They are, however, uniquely qualified for saving anyone who winds up in their ambulance.”

• Playing House: This comedy “is about what happens when two best friends come back together, just when they need each other most.”

• Love Is Dead: This pilot order “is set at a unique company that specializes in breaking-up romantic relationships — rationally, compassionately, thoroughly — on behalf of those who are willing to pay to not be around when it happens. It’s the unconventional romantic comedy that asks: ‘Why, if love is so fickle, do we keep coming back for more?’”

Amid the comedy news, the cast of Suits also unveiled the slate of new and returning dramas as well as alternative series, including The Choir and Summer Camp.

Modern Family season four’s finale airs May 22. ABC describes it as such:

“Everyone flies down to Florida to be with Phil after his mom’s passing. Claire helps Phil with Gracie’s last wish for Frank, and the kids reflect on the gifts grandma left for them. Gloria has to contend with an outstanding arrest warrant in Florida, Cam finds himself fitting right into an elderly women’s group at Frank’s retirement community, and Jay runs into a pivotal person from his past.”

Here are the funny moments from the May 15 episode:

Homepage image courtesy of ABC/Peter “Hopper” Stone

Sofia Vergara, whose role as the passionate and funny Gloria on ABC’s Modern Family has earned her three Golden Globe nominations and three Emmy nods, wasn’t lost when she appeared at a rival network’s red carpet event this month. In fact, the carpet was blue and rolled out for her and other stars by USA Network executives, which had just announced they would begin airing Modern Family reruns on Sept. 24.

The announcement at USA’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York City somewhat surprisingly attracted Vergara and castmates Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet.

Networks typically tout new programming rather than rerun pickups during upfronts.

But USA emphasized adding Modern Family to its fall lineup because it hopes to leverage the popularity of the show as “a powerful launch pad” for the network’s new — and first— original half-hour situation comedies: Sirens and Playing House.

• Sirens: This comedy “follows three of Chicago’s best EMTs whose sometimes silly, self-righteous and even self-destructive personalities make them unqualified for sustaining relationships, friendships and most occupations. They are, however, uniquely qualified for saving anyone who winds up in their ambulance.”

• Playing House: This comedy “is about what happens when two best friends come back together, just when they need each other most.”

• Love Is Dead: This pilot order “is set at a unique company that specializes in breaking-up romantic relationships — rationally, compassionately, thoroughly — on behalf of those who are willing to pay to not be around when it happens. It’s the unconventional romantic comedy that asks: ‘Why, if love is so fickle, do we keep coming back for more?’”

Amid the comedy news, the cast of Suits also unveiled the slate of new and returning dramas as well as alternative series, including The Choir and Summer Camp.

Modern Family season four’s finale airs May 22. ABC describes it as such:

“Everyone flies down to Florida to be with Phil after his mom’s passing. Claire helps Phil with Gracie’s last wish for Frank, and the kids reflect on the gifts grandma left for them. Gloria has to contend with an outstanding arrest warrant in Florida, Cam finds himself fitting right into an elderly women’s group at Frank’s retirement community, and Jay runs into a pivotal person from his past.”

Here are the funny moments from the May 15 episode:

Homepage image courtesy of ABC/Peter “Hopper” Stone

Summer isn’t just the season of love — it’s also the season of travel. If you’re planning a getaway in the next few months, either large-scale or small, you most likely have a budget to abide by (if not, you might want to look into drafting one.)

We did some research and in-staff sourcing to track down the best digital resources to help you, the traveler, save money during your upcoming summer journeys.

Granted, they do depend in part on the type of travel you’re planning. Some are great if you’re looking to crash for free or find last-minute rooms; others are more ideal for long-term trips where you’ll be working for the roof over your head. You can try one, two or a combination of them all — it’s a win-win regardless.

Take a look through them below. Are there any must-use tools we missed? Share your favorites with us in the comments!

1. CouchSurfing

CouchSurfing.org is a hospitality sharing platform that’s been around since 2003. Its goal is exactly what it sounds like: to set you up with a couch to “crash” on. To use it, you need to register and fill out a basic profile, with your name, location, hobbies, etc. Once your profile’s public, you can indicate how many travelers you’re willing to accommodate (it’s a rule that you need to be open to hosting if you’ll be surfing.)

If you’re looking to travel out of town for a week — say, to London — you can search the city for hosts who’s accommodation information lines up with your request. From there, it’s up to you to contact them and set up and time and place to meet.

There are, of course, understandable hesitations about meeting and staying with complete strangers. The website allows users to leave comments on a host’s page — generally speaking, then, the more positive comments a user has, the more likely it is that they’re trustworthy. But still be cautious and use your best judgment.

Other sites, like Global Freeloaders, Servas and The Hospitality Club are similar to CouchSurfing, just on a lesser-known scale.

2. WorkAway

We told you about WorkAway back in November, but it’s worth mentioning again. In short, it’s a website that connects you to participants abroad who are willing to provide food and accommodation in return for work. The site’s database consists of more than 4,500 participants from 115 countries. The type of work varies — building, gardening and teaching all pop up on the front page — but the understanding is that you’ll work four or five days each week, then be free to travel on the weekends. If you find work in a city you’d like to explore, it gives you the opportunity to save on costs while still experiencing both the environment and culture.

3. WWOOF

Similar to WorkAway, the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is an exchange program that pairs volunteers with hosts in different parts of the world. The niche here is “organic farm,” which is where you’ll be working. The typical workload consists of 4-6 hours a day for a full day’s worth of food and accommodation, so like with WorkAway, there will still be time to travel.

4. HelpX

Similar to the previous two, HelpX is an online platform that connects travelers to hosts willing to provide food and board for work. Locations include farms, bed-and-breakfasts, ranches and hostels, among others.

5. WeHostels

This iPhone app describes itself as a “combination of CouchSurfing and Airbnb.” It’s free to download, and you can use it to find hostels and book beds at the last minute wherever you’re traveling. Once you check in, you can use it to meet other travelers who are staying at the hostel as well.

Image via iStockphoto, franckreporter

Samsung will be displaying some of its latest and greatest notebook and tablet screens at the Society for Information Display’s Display Week 2013. Among them, one stands out: a 13.3-inch notebook display with a 3,200×1,800 (WQXGA+) pixel resolution.

For those keeping count, that’s quite a bit better than Apple’s 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, which has a maximum 2,560×1,600 pixel resolution. To make things even better, Samsung claims that LCD can deliver “30 percent” greater power savings than existing LCD displays.

Of course, we’re not quite sure what we’d do with such a high resolution on a 13.3-inch screen, but it’s comforting to note that the 1,600×900 pixel resolution — exactly half of the screen’s maximum and much better suited for 13-inchers — will be perfectly crisp.

On the tablet front, Samsung will be showing a 10.1-inch WQXGA (2,560×1,600) LCD for tablets, which also boasts 30 percent better power savings than current tablet displays.

Visitors of the exhibition, held May 21-23, 2013 in the Vancouver Convention Centre, will also be able to see Samsung’s Full HD (1,920×1,080 pixels) mobile AMOLED display, as well as an 85-inch Ultra HD (4,840×2,160 pixel) LCD TV panel.

Image courtesy of Samsung

Samsung will be displaying some of its latest and greatest notebook and tablet screens at the Society for Information Display’s Display Week 2013. Among them, one stands out: a 13.3-inch notebook display with a 3,200×1,800 (WQXGA+) pixel resolution.

For those keeping count, that’s quite a bit better than Apple’s 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, which has a maximum 2,560×1,600 pixel resolution. To make things even better, Samsung claims that LCD can deliver “30 percent” greater power savings than existing LCD displays.

Of course, we’re not quite sure what we’d do with such a high resolution on a 13.3-inch screen, but it’s comforting to note that the 1,600×900 pixel resolution — exactly half of the screen’s maximum and much better suited for 13-inchers — will be perfectly crisp.

On the tablet front, Samsung will be showing a 10.1-inch WQXGA (2,560×1,600) LCD for tablets, which also boasts 30 percent better power savings than current tablet displays.

Visitors of the exhibition, held May 21-23, 2013 in the Vancouver Convention Centre, will also be able to see Samsung’s Full HD (1,920×1,080 pixels) mobile AMOLED display, as well as an 85-inch Ultra HD (4,840×2,160 pixel) LCD TV panel.

Image courtesy of Samsung