CastAR Inc., a Silicon Valley-based augmented reality startup founded by two former Valve Corp. employees and backed by Android creator Andy Rubin, has shut down after failing to raise new venture capital funding. Founded in 2013, castAR, originally named Technical Illusions Inc., launched with an initial Kickstarter campaign that raised $1 million to deliver a ...

“Petya,” the ransomware that made headlines Tuesday as it spread across the globe, is neither ransomware nor Petya, according to research from multiple security professionals published Wednesday. Now dubbed “NotPetya” by some, the darknet-sold software is claimed to only be masquerading as Petya ransomware — a strain released in 2016 — and is instead a “wiper,” a ...

A critical new flaw in Microsoft Corp.’s Skype messaging service could allow hackers to crash systems and execute code in them, according to a report published Tuesday. Discovered by Vulnerability Lab security researcher Benjamin Kunz Mejri, the flaw, described as a stack buffer overflow vulnerability, affects the official Skype clients in versions v7.2, v7.3.5 & v7.3.6. The flaw ...

Anthony Murgio, the operator of the now-disgraced bitcoin exchange Coin.mx, has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison following his guilty plea in January. Murgio, a 33-year-old from Tampa, Florida, was arrested in July 2015 on charges of breaching federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations, as well as on the allegation that he enabled criminal activity by ...

Petya, the malware that is a creating headlines as it infects computers worldwide, is being offered as a ransomware as a service product. The software, also known as Petrwrap and Diskcoder.C, even comes complete with an affiliate program on the darknet, the hidden part of the web only reachable through special software, according to two security ...

Flying cars may still be primarily the realm of science fiction despite decades of promises. But autonomous flying car drones may soon be taking to the skies thanks to a new prototype developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The unnamed self-driving/flying drone from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab has been designed to ascertain the ...

Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google Inc.’s YouTube have come together to form a new partnership that aims to tackle terrorism. Called the “Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism,” the group will not be sending drones into the Middle East but will instead be collaborating on the best ways to make their hosted consumer ...

Avis Budget Group and Hertz Global Holdings Inc. want a slice of the self-driving car market. Each of the rental car companies signed separate deals with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and Apple Inc., respectively. The deal between Avis and Waymo will see the rental car giant joining former Google Inc. self-driving car unit’s efforts to deliver ...

Apple Inc. has acquired SensoMotoric Instruments GmbH, a German firm that develops computer vision technology and eye tracking systems for research and industry. The acquisition of SMI was first reported Monday by MacRumors and confirmed by a traditional “non-confirmation” from Apple received by Axios. Founded way back in 1991, SMI delivers eye tracking solutions for business, researchers and professionals serving ...

Everyone dreams of making it big with a small investment — even a teen from Idaho, who has done just that. Eighteen-year-old Erik Finman (pictured) began investing in bitcoin in May 2011 at the age of 12 using a $1,000 gift from his grandmother. Back then, bitcoin was valued at $12 a coin, allowing Finman to build up ...