Fancy a real treat for halloween? Ghostwatch!

It was billed as a spoof, but many of Ghostwatch's 11 million viewers were taken in by the BBC's fake investigation, which in one tragic case led to a teenager taking his own life. On its 25th anniversary, his parents and the creator of the show talk about its impact.

It's Halloween night in 1992, and families across the UK are excitedly huddled around the television. Saturday night TV is at its peak - Gladiators has just premiered on ITV, Casualty is enjoying its seventh series and Noel's House Party is pulling in 15 million viewers a week.

But tonight's big draw is the BBC's heavily-promoted Ghostwatch, a supposedly "live" investigation into paranormal activity being recorded at a family home in Northolt, north-west London.

The programme was the brainchild of horror writer Stephen Volk, who had originally conceived it as a spooky six-part drama, but who was instead asked by producer Ruth Baumgarten to create a 90-minute ghost story for the broadcaster's Screen One series.

I watched this "live" on the night, and although there were some bits that weren't quite right (& therefore smelled a bit of a rat), the show was brilliant & very scary! Since then I have rewatched the show many times & still love it. Highly recommended!

Read more here: www.bbc.co.uk

Read even more here: www.wikipedia.org

Need more still? www.facebook.com/behindthecurtains

Then buy your own copy: www.amazon.co.uk

Thousands driving without crucial diesel filters

Thousands of motorists are breaking the law by driving diesel cars without pollution filters, experts have told BBC 5 live Investigates.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency says 1,800 cars have been caught since 2014.

But experts say they believe the number is much higher, claiming the current MOT test, which requires only a visual inspection, is not fit for purpose.

The DVSA says it plans to introduce changes to improve the test next year.

All new diesel cars produced after 2009 have diesel particulate filters designed to reduce pollution levels, but they can sometimes get clogged up and break down, costing thousands of pounds to replace.

Because of the cost involved, some motorists are opting instead to have them removed.

It is illegal for drivers to use a car with the DPF removed, but it is not illegal for garages to take them out.

Irresponsible & shabby behaviour! Over the years I have driven diesels. I've had failures of one EGR valve (replaced) & one DPF (cleaned/repaired). Alternatively, save a few bucks & contribute to environmental pollution & serious ill health. 

www.bbc.co.uk

Donline very happy to again support the Denmead Beer Festival :0)

19th Annual Beer Festival

Saturday 28th Oct

1900 - 2330

Denmead Community Centre

School Lane PO7 6LU

Tickets £9 includes souvenir glass tankard & complimentary drink

With over 20 real ales, plus a selection of wines, cider and soft drinks

Live music from "Checkers"

Raffle and BBQ

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM:

DENMEAD COMMUNITY CENTRE 02392 256132

DISCOVER WINE 02392 255037

FLEURTATIONS 02392 255344

FOREST OF BERE 02392 263145

SIR LOIN OF BEEF, SOUTHSEA 02392 820115

TICKETS SPONSORED BY SIR LOIN OF BEEF

There will be four levels of sponsorship this year:

Platinum sponsorship: The Denmead Community Association are pleased the announce that this year's Platinum Sponsor of the 19th Denmead Beer Festival will be "Charles Church South Coast" .

Silver sponsorship: Those who sponsor a barrel at a cost of between £40 and £60, depending on the beer, will receive two complimentary tickets to the Beer Festival.

Already pledged:

Aubrey Madgwick Groundworks

Barrells Funeral Directors

Charles Church South Coast

Corals Bookmakers

Denmead Garage Services

Denmead Tyre Services

Discover Wine

Donline Computer Consultancy

Downland Veterinary Group

Fairways Electrical Services Ltd

Gas-Fix

Harvest Home

Jeffries Estate Agents

Jewson Ltd

Peter Pearcey

Salnos Hairdressing Supplies

South Downs Financial Planning

South Downs Funeral Services

Sir Loin of Beef

Speedymech Garage Services

Waterlooville Vets4Pets

www.denmeadca.com

A new type of neural network has cracked CAPTCHAs

It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an artificial intelligence has finally cracked a widely used tool that was literally made to differentiate humans from robots: the CAPTCHA.

CAPTCHAs are the annoying puzzles that might ask you to rewrite a piece of distorted text or click on all the automobiles in a photograph to log on to sites like PayPal. According to research published today in Science, a new type of AI was able to solve certain types of CAPTCHA with up to 66.6 percent accuracy. 

To put this in perspective, humans can solve the same type of CAPTCHA with about 87 percent accuracy due to multiple interpretations of some examples and a CAPTCHA is considered broken if a bot can pass it 1 percent of the time.

Erm... Yesterday I posted this. 

Today we have a neural network with an accuracy of 66.6%.

Oh dear...  

www.motherboard.vice.com

Elon Musk is worried about people who talk of “AI gods”

The Tesla founder tweeted his alarm in response to a VentureBeat article about the possibility of an AI “god” emerging by 2042, reports CNBC. One of the people featured in the article was Anthony Levandowski, Google’s self-driving car engineer who has established a nonprofit religious organization called Way of the Future. Way of the Future’s mission statement is “to develop and promote the realization of a godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the godhead contribute to the betterment of society.”

And Elon Musk was having none of that. He tweeted a link to the article with the words: “On the list of people who should absolutely *not* be allowed to develop digital superintelligence . . . ” 

So watch out Levandowski, when it comes to the world of AI, it looks like you’ve just made a very influential and outspoken enemy.

Anthony Levandowski is clearly a dangerous looney!

Invent your own computer god & start worshiping it.

What could possibly go wrong...

www.fastcompany.com

All-New Fire 7 Tablet with Alexa, 7" Display, 8 GB, Black - under £40!

The next generation of our bestselling Fire tablet ever - now thinner, lighter, with longer battery life and an improved display.

Beautiful 7" IPS display with higher contrast and sharper text, a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and up to 8 hours of battery life. 8 or 16 GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for up to 256 GB of expandable storage. Available in all-new colours: Black, Marine Blue, Punch Red and Canary Yellow.

Alexa gives you quick access to the information and entertainment you want. Ask questions, play music, get the news, weather, control your smart home and more - just press the home button and ask. (Enabled via an over-the-air software update)

Enjoy millions of movies, TV shows, songs, Kindle eBooks, apps and games - including Amazon Video, Netflix, Facebook, Spotify, TuneIn, Instagram and more.

Prime members get access to over a thousand books and magazines, more than two million songs, thousands of movies and TV shows and secure photo storage - at no additional cost.

Watch downloaded videos offline anywhere with a Prime membership or Netflix subscription.

Enhance your entertainment experience with features you only get from Amazon - including ASAP, X-Ray, On Deck, Blue Shade and Fire for Kids Parental Controls.

www.amazon.co.uk

2018 Honda Gold Wing Launch

Not many manufacturers can say they’ve had a model in continuous production for 43 years, but Honda can make that claim with their legendary Gold Wing. Over those model years, Honda has set aside just six versions representing what it calls milestone models – the last of which was produced way back in 2001 with the introduction of the GL1800 Gold Wing. The Wing has been well overdue for an upgrade, and the rumor mill was in full-on salivation mode about the prospects of a ground-up remake for 2018. 

One might imagine how excited we were at the opportunity to see the new 2018 Gold Wing in the flesh a full day before it would be unveiled to the rest of the world. With that modest head start, we could have a story – and video – ready in time to showcase the new model and its changes the moment our NDA with Honda expired.

www.motorcycle.com

Vote for Waterlooville Events Team - in the Aviva Community Fund

Please vote on the Aviva Community Fund website for Waterlooville Events Team to get £1000 to pay for free children's activities at next year's summer fete. 

It is the 5 first to get to 1000 votes that get the money! 

 Go to/register www.aviva.co.uk/community-fund

 Press "vote now"

 Scroll down

 Search "Waterlooville Events Team"

 Give up to 10 votes

Thanks for your support!

Kawasaki’s original king of cool Z1 – finds expression in the Z900RS

There’s no place for fake in the lifestyle you choose. 

Kawasaki alone has the heritage to deliver yesterday’s values to today’s riders in a truly authentic Modern Classic bike.

The visceral spirit of a 1970s legend – Kawasaki’s original king of cool Z1 – finds expression in the Z900RS, to satisfy the very essence of the rider you are now.

www.kawasaki.co.uk

How did British Pubs end up with their names?

Above you see dear Kim & Calli outside one of our favourite haunts: Cams Mill, in Fareham. Note the bottle of Golden Pride sur la table. Heavenly Ambrosia - I tell ya!

From The Red Lion to the Bucket of Blood, how did your local get its name? 

Michael Rosen asks Word of Mouth's resident linguist Dr Laura Wright about her research into pub names. 

Guest Eddie Gershon explains how the JD Wetherspoon pub chain goes about naming new pubs.

www.bbc.co.uk

Intego Mac Premium Bundle X9 - with 70% discount!

October 2017 marks a very special time for Intego: We’re celebrating twenty years of innovation in Mac security software, devoted to protecting Mac users from the dangers of the Internet.

Through October only, take 70% off Mac Premium Bundle X9.* 

Use coupon code INTEGO20YEARS at checkout.

*Discount only applies to households, limit 10 Macs per customer. 

Regular renewal rates apply. 

This offer expires Tuesday, October 31 at 11:59PM PST.

HP "The Wolf" - great short films about Cyber Security

If you're not taking your security seriously, someone else might be...

From director Lance Acord comes The Wolf starring Christian Slater.

The Wolf - episode 1

The Wolf - episode 2

People ask me: why do hackers do what they do?
It's a complex reply, and there is no one answer: 
1) They are criminals, and it's their business.
2) They have a grudge against the victim.
3) Its a power trip.
4) Kudos amongst their peers. 
5) For the LOLZ.
6) Etc...

Bible Sunday is coming: 29 October 2017

Bible Sunday is on its way! 

Each year, churches the length and breadth of the country celebrate the Bible and this year’s celebrations will be held on Sunday 29 October 2017.

1189 Chapters

31173 verses

804, 566 words

is what you could say if someone asks you what's in the Bible. But that would be like trying to draw the Sistine chapel using crayons...blindfolded...and wearing handcuffs as you do it. 

I mean it just wouldn't do it justice would it.

Where would we be without the Bible?

Psalm 119 tells us that scripture is 'a light to our path' - it gives us spiritual direction. 

So where would we be without it?  We'd be directionless, trying to follow God but stumbling in the dark. As there are millions who are still waiting for this precious book - may we be people who are passionate about 'living it' and also 'giving it'

Written and performed by Dai Woolridge

Produced by Spoken Truth for The Bible Society

Arnie rides out. Bike of choice: Indian Chief

Sunday, August 13, 2017 - Arnold Schwarzenegger pulled on some high leather boots, a Terminator leather jacket and leather pants for a ride on his 2009 Indian Chief motorcycle out to Starbucks in Malibu.  The star smiled for photos and shook hands with fans.

www.youtube.com

Honda's new self balancing (concept?) eBike

We all know that a motorcycle's natural state is lying on its side in a pool of gasoline, and that it will do anything in its power to reach that state. What if someone built a bike that didn't fall over at the least provocation, though? It looks like the House that Soichiro built has finally come up with a way to tame the motorcycle's natural tendency to flop over with their newest concept – the Riding Assist-e.

According to Gas2, this new technological wonder is scheduled to be unveiled at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show. The self-balancing feature is designed to keep the motorcycle upright at very low speeds, a potential boon to beginning riders, the elderly, and disabled. There's precious little info out there on the bike's systems, but but the images available allow us to make some educated guesses. The electric motor appears to be located below the seat rather than in the rear hub, as indicated by the massive swingarm. We’re guessing that both the battery pack and self-balancing gyroscopics are centralized low in the chassis amidships.

www.rideapart.com

How to get the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

Beginning today (17th Oct 2017) at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will start rolling out to Windows 10 PCs across the world in phases, starting with newer machines first.

As with the Creators Update, the key to our phased approach is actively listening to all available feedback mechanisms and making the appropriate product updates during the rollout. This allows us to provide a high-quality experience for the broadest set of users at an accelerated rate, while also continually increasing the quality and security of Windows 10. This was our approach with the Creators Update released in April and user feedback on this approach was very positive.

For the best experience, we recommend you wait until Windows 10 is automatically offered to your device. You don’t have to do anything to get the update; it will roll out automatically to you through Windows Update if you’ve chosen to have updates installed automatically on your device. Once the download is complete and the update is ready to install, we’ll check with you, so you can pick the right time to finish the installation and reboot.  We do this so we can ensure the update does not disrupt you, and we use active hours to help suggest a good time.

If you don’t want to wait for the update to roll out to you, you can manually check for updates on your personal PC using the steps below. This will only work if your device is eligible to get the Fall Creators Update as part of the initial roll out phase. Alternatively, you can manually get the update today via the Software Download Site. This option is only recommended for advanced users on devices running a licensed version of Windows 10. If you’re using a Windows 10 PC at work, you will need to check with your IT administrator for details on your organization’s specific plans to update.

blogs.windows.com

A cleaner, safer web with Google Chrome

Unwanted software impacts the browsing experience of millions of web users every day. Effects of this harmful software are often quite subtle—search results are modified to redirect users to other pages or additional ads are injected in the pages that users visit. But in some cases, the changes are so severe that they can make the web unusable—people are redirected to unwanted sites full of ads, and it can be next to impossible to navigate away from these pages.

Chrome already has tools to help people avoid unwanted software. For example, Safe Browsing prevents many infections from taking place by warning millions of users. But sometimes harmful software slips through.

Recently, we rolled out three changes to help Chrome for Windows users recover from unwanted software infections: Hijacked settings detection, a simpler Chrome Cleanup, & a more powerful Cleanup engine. 

We’ve begun to roll this out to Chrome for Windows users now. Over the next few days, it will help tens of millions of Chrome users get back to a cleaner, safer web.

 Donline has recommended Chrome for many years: as the go-to web browser for all. It's web standards compliant, fast & secure. Get it & enjoy the web as it's meant to be!

www.blog.google

How toxic is your car exhaust? Old bangers must be worse than a new car, right?

One would think that an 8 year old diesel car or a 23 year old petrol car would be give far worse exhaust emissions than a modern Euro6 compliant car. Surely?...

A great (lengthy, but stick with it) article showing just how counter intuitive & controversial vehicle emissions can be.

Last year I traded in my diesel Vauxhall Astra & have now gone back to petrol. I like to think it's better for the environment, but it looks like there is no easy way to be sure! :0~

www.bbc.co.uk

Severe WiFi WPA2 security flaw puts millions of devices at risk

Researchers have discovered a key flaw in the WPA2 WiFi encryption protocol that could allow hackers to intercept your credit card numbers, passwords, photos and other sensitive information. The flaws, dubbed "Key Reinstallation Attacks," or "Krack Attacks," are in the WiFi standard and not specific products. 

That means that just about every router, smartphone and PC out there could be impacted, though attacks against Linux and Android 6.0 or greater devices may be "particularly devastating," according to KU Leuven University's Mathy Vanhoef and Frank Piessens, who found the flaw.

Attackers find a vulnerable WPA2 network, then make a carbon copy of it and impersonate the MAC address, then change the WiFi channel. This new, fake network acts as a "man in the middle," so when a device attempts to connect to the original network, it can be forced to bypass it and connect to the rogue one.

www.engadget.com

Reading for Today: On Jesus' Suffering

I have heard some people complain that if Jesus was God as well as man, then His sufferings and death lose all value in their eyes, ‘because it must have been so easy for Him’. 

Others may (very rightly) rebuke the ingratitude and ungraciousness of this objection; what staggers me is the misunderstanding it betrays. In one sense, of course, those who make it are right. They have even understated their own case. 

The perfect submission, the perfect suffering, the perfect death were not only easier to Jesus because He was God, but were possible only because He was God. But surely that is a very odd reason for not accepting them? 

The teacher is able to form the letters for the child because the teacher is grown-up and knows how to write. That, of course, makes it easier for the teacher; and only because it is easier for him can he help the child. If it rejected him because ‘it’s easy for grown-ups’ and waited to learn writing from another child who could not write itself (and so had no ‘unfair’ advantage), it would not get on very quickly. If I am drowning in a rapid river, a man who still has one foot on the bank may give me a hand which saves my life. Ought I to shout back (between my gasps) ‘No, it’s not fair! You have an advantage! You’re keeping one foot on the bank’? That advantage—call it ‘unfair’ if you like—is the only reason why he can be of any use to me. 

To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?

By C.S.Lewis

From Mere Christianity

Compiled in A Year with C.S. Lewis

Does your computer seem really slow when visiting certain websites?

Over 500 million people are inadvertently mining cryptocurrencies through their computers after visiting websites that are running background mining software, researchers have discovered.

Research by ad blocking firm AdGuard found 220 popular websites with an aggregated audience of half a billion people use so-called crypto-mining scripts when a user opens their main page.

Visitors to the websites come from all over the world but the worst affected country is the U.S., with 18.7 percent of websites engaged in using in-browser cryptocurrency mining scripts coming from the United States.

The mining tool works by hijacking a computer’s central processing unit (CPU), commonly referred to as “the brains” of a computer. Using part of a computer’s CPU to mine bitcoin effects the machine’s overall performance and will slow it down by using up processing power.

www.newsweek.com

Looks like Win10 Fall Creators update is on the way to Donline!

Using the command "WINVER" - the OS now reports as “Version 1709” which is the official version number for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update release. 

Hmm, I though the network seemed to be running slow - it's a big download!

donlineuk.blogspot.co.uk

Still using Kaspersky software? You have been warned...

Israeli spies looked on as Russian hackers breached Kaspersky cyber-security software two years ago, US media report.

The Russians were allegedly attempting to gather data on US intelligence programs, according to the New York Times and Washington Post.

Israeli agents made the discovery after breaching the software themselves.

Kaspersky has said it was neither involved in nor aware of the situation and denies collusion with authorities.

Last month, the US government decided to stop using the Russian firm's software on its computers. The Israelis are said to have notified the US, which led to the ban on Kaspersky programs.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reading for today: Be Encouraged!

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Read at Bible Gateway

Read all of Jeremiah 29

Rest In Peace Chester - thanks for the incredible music

An episode of Carpool Karaoke starring Linkin Park - recorded less than a week before lead singer Chester Bennington killed himself - has been released.

The 23-minute episode is being streamed for free on Facebook with the permission of Bennington's family.

It was filmed for Apple Music on 14 July this year - six days before his body was found at a private home in LA County on 20 July. The coroner ruled that Bennington, 41, had apparently hanged himself.

The episode sees Bennington, along with band mates Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn, driving around Los Angeles with US comedian Ken Jeong and singing along to their hits, including Numb, In The End and Talking To Myself.

www.bbc.co.uk

Equifax: hackers actually stole records of 15.2 million Brits. Not 400,000 as first reported

Equifax has confirmed that a recent data breach exposed a file containing 15.2 million UK personal information records.

On 10 October 2017, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) confirmed the Equifax data breach disclosed in September 2017 actually compromised 15.2 million UK records.

That's considerably more than 400,000, the number of consumers living in the United Kingdom which Equifax originally thought had been affected by the security incident.

Have you EVER used Equifax? 

Be aware of this data breach & how it might affect you.

www.grahamcluley.com

Malicious iOS app popup windows could be stealing your Apple ID

Cybercriminals have a surefire way to steal Apple ID credentials: Just ask users to provide them.

A blog post by software engineer and fastlane founder Felix Krause reveals that it's dead simple to spoof iOS popups that ask for Apple ID passwords. What makes it worse, Krause said, is that we're trained to put in passwords for a variety of reasons in a variety of apps.

The average user won't question the legitimacy of an Apple ID password request, which makes the spoof a very dangerous form of phishing. All an app needs to do is show a UIAlertController popup—an incredibly common part of an app.

As impossible as it may be for a user to tell the difference between a fake and legitimate dialog window there are still things that iOS users can do to protect themselves.

• If you get a popup asking for a password inside an app, hit the home button. If you can quit back to the home screen it's not a legitimate request. Real system dialogs that ask for passwords are run as a separate process and can't be quit in that fashion.
• Treat password requests inside apps like you would a link in an email—don't use it. Instead, open the Settings app and put the password in there, similar to going directly to a website that wants you to verify your information.
• Don't type anything into a password-requesting popup. Even if you press the cancel button the information has already been captured.

www.techrepublic.com