FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) accepted that a group of cyber criminals hacked a conference call on cyber crime between its agents and international law enforcement official.
'Anonymous' intercepted FBI's conference call
The hackers group ‘Anonymous’ claimed the responsibility of breaching into the 16-minute long call, which was released on Internet on last Friday. On the other hand, FBI didn’t name the exact hacking group behind this attempt and announced an inquiry was going to be carried out.
In the mean time, ‘Anonymous’ said that breaching of FBI’s call public was an addition to the series of similar hacks they did against many other law enforcement agencies around the world. Anonymous is a loose collective of hackers & activists having no membership or formal structure.
The latest cyber breach has been proved as an awkward one for the FBI, which is currently fighting out to stop cyber crime that have no boundaries and challenges to cross the international borders.
A Twitter account holder has claimed to have connection with the Anonymous suggesting that hackers have been keeping FBI’s communications under observation.
A message is circulating which claims that plastic bottle containing Drano, tin foil and specific amount of water can be found anywhere in unsuspecting people’s houses where any stranger can access without the knowledge of residents like court-yards, lawns, mail-boxes and driveways. According to message this is not a mere plastic bottle but it is a real ‘BOMB’ which can explode once picked up by anyone causing serious injuries.
Let’s have a look to the screen shot of the message below; but remember the message contents might be different with the same intent:
Beware! It’s a Cyber World - - Explantion:
The warning in the message is based on few real incidents in United States after which police have to issue the warning to the residents of York Township. This is happening in the USA and in the other parts of the world, but the chemistry is very simple and, no doubt, will spread. Friends, please be very, very careful. Such bottle BOMBS are also known as MacGyver bombs, acid bombs, works bombs and soda bombs.
Few youngsters are putting Drano or Drain-o (sodium hydroxide), a common household item, and a little water in soda bottles and capping it up - leaving it on lawns. When you go to pick up the trash and the bottle is shaken just a little while you pick it up - in about 30 seconds or less it builds up a gas and explodes with enough force to remove some of your extremities. The liquid that comes out is boiling hot as well.
Don't pick up any plastic bottles that may be lying in your yards or in the gutter, etc. Pay attention to this. A plastic bottle tightly capped with a little Drano in it along with a little amount of water is really dangerous because when anyone shakes it or moves it then just BOOM!! No fingers left and other serious effects to your face, eyes, etc.
This is evil in its purest form. Violence for the sake of violence. Destruction for its own sake. No goal. No point. No purpose. No way to negotiate. A step beyond political terrorism.
A fast spreading email message claimed to be from Google Romance pushes recipients to follow a link in order to log-on to Google Romance to read messages.
The reality is just an attempt to fool the recipient. In fact, the email is not from Google Romance. Clicking the given logon link opens a fake website that attempts to redirect the user's browser to other malicious websites that may contain further malware. In any case, "Google Romance" it is not a real dating service. Some of the readers may remember that I was just an April fool joke launched by company back in 2006 just for fun and humour.
The said Google Romance email message look like the given below:
This email, as we summarized earlier looks to be from "Google Romance", tells the recipient to click a link in the message, apparently, in order to logon to the service and view other messages. The message, which arrives complete with the Google Romance logo, rather helpfully includes the user's supposed log-on user-name and password. It claims to be an auto generated message from the Google Romance mail delivery system.
Still, the email is definitely not from Google Romance. Following the link launches a trojan that attempts to redirect the user's web browser to other malicious websites that may in turn try to download further malware components.
Like many similar malware emails, the message attempts to fool the user into following the link out of interest or curiosity as well as by masquerading as a legitimate message from what appears to be a genuine online entity. Unlike others of its kind, however, this rather quirky malware campaign uses a well known April Fool's joke as its bait rather than a real online service. Google Romance is not, nor was it ever, an actual, working dating service. The whole thing was just a joke, consisting of a superficially genuine Google website, launched by Google back in April 2006. There was never an option to actually register for the "dating service". Of course, a viewing of the Google Romance website quickly reveals that the "service" is not meant to be taken seriously:
Google Romance is a place where you can post all types of romantic information and, using our Soulmate Search™, get back search results that could, in theory, include the love of your life. Then we'll send you both on a Contextual DateTM, which we'll pay for while delivering to you relevant ads that we and our advertising partners think will help produce the dating results you're looking for.
And, even if you didn't quite realize that Google Romance was a joke straight away, following other links on the page - such as the "Post Your Profile" option - rapidly sets the record straight once and for all. In fact Google has been responsible for a number of clever April Fool's jokes and other pranks.
The choice of Google Romance as the bait for this malware campaign seems rather curious. Perhaps it just goes to show that even morally bankrupt scumbag scammers may still have a sense of humour.
Message claims that a series of attached photographs depicting buildings embedded snugly into rocky caves and cliffs were taken in a "strange city" in Greece.
In fact, these photographs are genuine and depict a real town existed on this planet. However, the town, called Setenil de las Bodegas, is actually located in Spain, not Greece.
The message contains following photographs:
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Subject: STRANGE CITY IN GREECE
Really strange city. Interesting, do you want to know where is it located?
Its in "Greece"
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Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Explanation:
These photographs showing an unusual town that features buildings carved into rocky cliffs circulate via email as well as blogs, forums and social network posts. The pictures depict dwellings, shops and eateries that appear to be built right into natural rock walls or are nestled underneath huge rocky overhangs. The message claims that the photographs depict a strange city in Greece.
The photographs are genuine and certainly do depict a real town. However, the town is located in Spain, not Greece as claimed in the message. The town shown in the images is named Setenil de las Bodegas and is situated in the Spanish province of Cádiz. The town, which has a population of around 3000 people, is a popular tourist destination, largely because of the way its buildings are carved and moulded into the local landscape's rocky cliffs and caves. A Wikipedia article about Setenil de las Bodegas notes:
The main attractiveness of this village is the beauty and originality of its urban framework set within a huge mountain gorge. People have created dwellings by chipping away at the mountain’s base adding an external wall. The village below is moulded along the course of the local river Trejo with houses being built into the mountain.
Named after its once flourishing wineries - bodegas - Setenil is probably unique among the pueblos blancos, white villages, of Andalucia. Where most pueblos blancos were built on protective bluffs and pinnacles, this town grew out of a network of caves in the cliffs above the rio Trejo north-west of Ronda. Its blinding white houses seem to emerge from the rocks, and some have rock roofs and even olive groves on their roofs.
There has been a human settlement here since at least the Arabic Almohad period in the twelfth century. Given the evidence of other nearby cave-dwelling societies, such as those at the Cueva de la Pileta west of Ronda, where habitation has been tracked back more than 25,000 years, it is possible that Setenil was occupied much much earlier. Most evidence of this would have been erased in its continued habitation. It was certainly occupied during the Roman invasion of the region in the first century AD.
The following YouTube video provides further views of the town and its unusual buildings:
Electronically circulating photographs and videos purportedly depict an iceberg floating in the ocean near Cape Town, South Africa.
In fact, the videos and photographs do not depict a genuine iceberg in Cape Town. The shown Cape Town iceberg is in fact part of a viral marketing campaign for South African based fruit beverage maker Liqui-Fruit.
Photographs and video are shown as below:
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Subject: FW: Iceberg spotted in Cape Town!! Global warming?
This must be the first time ever that an Iceberg was spotted in Cape Town South Africa
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Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Explanation:
Circulating photographs and videos that appear to show an iceberg off shore at Cape Town, South Africa have generated quite a buzz online. Of course, the arrival of an iceberg in that particular part of the world would certainly be a newsworthy event.
However, the truth is less intriguing. The images and video are in fact part of a viral advertising campaign created for South African based fruit beverage maker Liqui-Fruit. The campaign, part of Liqui-Fruit's Summer Meltdown promotion, was created by South African ad agency, Liquorice. An article about the campaign on the Memeburn website explains:
In fact, it was all CGI-footage and there never was any real iceberg off Clifton.
The campaign was launched by Liqui-Fruit as part of their “Summer Meltdown” which will see 100 activation points all over the country, in the form of icebergs, where people can gather, take pictures of themselves, win prizes and generally be part of the Liqui-Fruit lifestyle.
Details of the full marketing campaign remain vague at this point, which is probably due to the fact that the brand was hoping to keep it mysterious for a little while longer, while they worked on the plan.
The videos and images of the "iceberg" were apparently intended to generate interest and discussion before the release of the full ad, which can be viewed in the following Youtube video:
In recent years, a number of companies have used the "viral video" method to effectively - and inexpensively - promote their products and services. Earlier in 2010, a widely circulated video supposedly showing the new sport of Liquid Mountaineering turned out to be a viral ad for footwear company Hi-Tec. In 2009, another viral video supposedly showing a man rocketing down a giant water slide was later revealed to be an advertising campaign for a Microsoft product. And, in 2008, another famous viral video that appeared to show corn being popped by the radiation from mobile phones was in fact a clever ad for Bluetooth headsets.
A much debatable footage, in form of Youtube clip, from a 1928 Charlie Chaplin film appears to show a woman using a mobile (cell) phone decades before they were invented. Commentators have suggested that the Chaplin film may have inadvertently captured a time traveller.
Though the footage has certainly generated a great deal of debate, the most likely explanation is that the woman is using an early model hearing aid.
The actual message seems like below:
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Subject: Cell phones in 1928?
Cell phones in 1928? A Charlie Chaplin film from 1928 showing a woman using a mobile phone has left viewers stumped. Is the scene real or doctored?
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Beware! It's a Cyber World -- Explanation:
Footage allegedly depicting a time-travelling mobile phone user in a 1928 Charlie Chaplin film has generated a great deal of buzz. The footage, which circulates "virally" via a number of YouTube videos, shows an elderly woman walking with what looks like a mobile phone up to her ear. The woman appears to be speaking into the phone. The footage reportedly comes from extra, behind-the-scenes material included with DVD versions of Charlie Chaplin's 1928 film, The Circus.
Since mobile phones did not exist in 1928, it has been suggested that the woman was actually a time-traveller from the future who was inadvertently caught on film making a mobile phone call.
George Clarke's YouTube video about the "discovery" of the 1928 mobile phone user
In October 2010, Irish filmmaker George Clarke published a YouTube video discussing the "unusual" footage. Clarke claims that after repeated viewing of the footage, which he discovered in some behind-the-scenes material showing the film's Hollywood Premiere, he was unable to come up with an explanation for the apparent anomaly. Nor, he claims, were 100 other people to which he subsequently showed the film.
The footage is certainly intriguing. It does appear that the woman is not only holding a mobile phone to her ear, but also speaking periodically as one would during a normal phone conversation. Thus, it is not surprising that the footage has generated so much debate and commentary.
The time travelling explanation is certainly an interesting one, and as something of an SF fan, I almost wish it were true. However, sadly, a much more mundane explanation seems vastly more likely. Many have suggested that the woman is in fact using a hearing aid device which would have been held to the user's ear as seen in the footage. The device may well be an early hearing aid created by hearing instrument company, Siemens. A hearing aid of some description does seem to be the most likely explanation. A photograph of a woman using one such hearing device available on the Siemens website is quite reminiscent of the "mobile phone using" woman in the Chaplin footage.
Of course, many commentators have asked why the woman would actually be talking if the device was a hearing aid rather than a mobile phone. But perhaps she was simply talking to herself, testing the functionality of the device, or even just cursing the device's inadequacies.
And, in any case, if a time traveller went to all of the trouble of going back in time and carefully donning period costume in order to blend in, you would hardly expect her to whip out a mobile phone and start chatting openly in such a public place. Moreover, given that there were obviously no mobile phone towers or other necessary infrastructure back in 1928, one wonders how she got service at all! And who would she be talking to? Perhaps other time travellers, or was this "phone" a Dr Who type instrument that could work through both space and time? Either way, I'd really like to find out which phone company she users, as she is certainly getting better coverage and service than I'm currently getting from my provider!
A more cynical observer might also point out that George Clarke's film about his "discovery" - which prominently features posters and other promotional material for the filmmaker's productions - has provided him with a great deal of valuable exposure.
Message claims that a series of photographs showing incredible "cave" dwellings cut in to natural cone-shaped rock formations depict a village in Afghanistan.
The reality of the shown photographs can't be challenged; as the village is real and the photographs are genuine. However, the village is not located in Afghanistan as claimed in the message. In fact, the photographs show a village named Kandovan that is located in Iran.
Before going towards the detailed explanation; let's have a look to the contents of the mail and the attached photographs:
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Subject: Village in Afghanistan ... Incredible!
Village in Afghanistan . Can you believe it?
Very interesting.
And you wonder why they can't find Osama Bin Laden?
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Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Explanation:
According to the description that comes with this very interesting series of images, they depict a village located in Afghanistan. The images show a small town, complete with dwellings, stairways, paths and walk bridges, that has apparently been carved out of strange cone-shaped natural formations nestled on a hillside. The message suggests that it is not surprising that terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden has not been found given that such hidden "cave" dwellings exist in Afghanistan.
However, while the images themselves are genuine, the accompanying description in this message is inaccurate. The village depicted in the photographs is not located in Afghanistan at all. In fact, the village can be found in the northwest corner of neighboring Iran, about 60 kilometers from the city of Tabriz. Known as "Kandovan", the village is thought to be over 700 years old. Many of the dwellings in Kandovan have been carved out of natural cone-shaped formations made from compressed volcanic ash. Information about the village published on The Heritage Institute website notes:
What makes Kandovan village so unique is that many of its homes have been made in caves located in cone-shaped, naturally formed compressed volcanic ash formations that make the landscape look like a gigantic termite colony. This method of dwelling makes the residents modern-age cave dwellers or troglodytes. (Troglodyte means cave dweller: somebody living in a cave, especially somebody who belonged to a prehistoric cave-dwelling community. Troglodyte also means somebody living in seclusion.)
It is our understanding that the unusual cone formations were formed from volcanic ash and debris spewed during an eruption of Mount Sahand being hardened and shaped by the elements over thousands of years. The formation of volcanic ash cones is local to Kandovan. Elsewhere, the ash blanketed the land. The existence of a high volume of ash and pumice far from Sahand's crater indicates that Mount Sahand erupted with a gigantic explosion in the distant past.
Tourists from all around the world visit Kandovan. A modern and well-appointed hotel, built in the tradition of the village's centuries old homes, is available in the area to accommodate visitors. Despite their age, many of the homes in the village are very comfortable and feature all the facilities of more modern Iranian homes. The following YouTube video provides more insight into this unique village and its residents:
Email warns that guns disguised as cell phones have been discovered and that the devices may pose a security threat at high risk locations such as airports.
The mail contents are true up to some extent; as cell phone guns are real and law enforcement authorities and airport security staff are certainly well aware of them. However, they are by no means "very new" as suggested in the warning message. Such devices have been around for a number of years.
Email contents are like follows:
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Subject: Fw: MUST SEE: Airport security
MUST SEE - Airport security This is a must read and something very new
Most of us see airport security as a pain. Some of us even feel violated. When you see the pictures below, you will understand why they want our cell phones through the x-ray machine. If you get asked to test your cell phone at the airport, this is the reason.
Cell phone guns have arrived. And they are real.
Beneath the digital phone face is a .22 caliber handgun capable of firing four rounds in rapid succession using the standard telephone keypad. European law enforcement officials are stunned by the discovery of these deadly decoys. They say phone guns are changing the rules of engagement in Europe.
Only when you have one in your hand do you realize that they are heavier than a regular cell phone.
Be patient if security asks to look at your cell phone or turn it on to show that it works . They have a good reason! Wake up to our NEW WORLD!! We shouldn't complain about airport security invading your privacy.
(Note: Some versions of the message also arrive with the following video as an attached file)
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Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Explanation:
According to this warning message, .22 caliber handguns that look like cell phones have been discovered by law enforcement officials in Europe. The message contains attached images of such a device along with a graphic depicting how a cell phone gun works. An apparently authentic video clip of a cell phone gun being fired is also included with some versions of the email. Two of the images contained in the message are in fact stills taken from this video. The message notes that such guns can fire up to four rounds by pressing numbers on the cell phone keypad.
Guns like the one described in the message are certainly real. However, they are not a new development as suggested in this warning message. In fact, reports of cell phone guns go back to at least the year 2000. The same images along with the video clip of a cell phone gun in action have been posted to numerous websites, blogs and social networks over several years
The video was shown as part of a WCBSTV news report in May 2006. According to the accompanying article on the WCBSTV website, New York City police were warned to keep an eye out for the cell phone guns via an internal memo. Cell phone guns have several times been the subject of security alerts in the United States and elsewhere. A 2004 article in Time magazine notes that screening equipment at airports is normally able to detect cell phone guns and other such devices. Cell phone guns are considerably heavier than normal cell phones.
A cell phone gun could certainly kill or seriously injure someone. However, a CNN report about the weapons notes that they are "extremely inaccurate" and therefore effective only at very close range.
Although cell phone guns are real, I could find no reports of the devices actually being used in major crimes such as attempted hijackings or terrorist activities. However, there have been several reports of cell phone guns being seized from criminals in Europe.
The concept of disguising guns as everyday items is actually nothing new. For many years, guns and other weapons have been disguised to look like pens, calculators, cameras, canes and a number of other commonplace objects.
Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Summary: Circulating video supposedly shows young men floating above the ground and jumping safely from a high bridge solely with the aid of a chewing gum bubble filled with helium.
Actually, all has done and shoot quite masterly using special effects. The video is not want it seems. The men are not really being lifted off the ground by helium filled gum bubbles. Its creators have used clever special effects to make it appear that the men are floating using gum bubbles.
Let's see the main contents and video clip annexed with the mail:
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Subject: Chewing gum and helium experiment
This is incredible! Is this possible, as depicted in the wmv?
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Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Explanation: This quite entertaining video circulates via YouTube and other video sharing websites as well as via email. Ostensibly, the video depicts a group of young men experimenting with chewing gum bubbles filled with helium gas. The footage shows the men floating in the air and even jumping safely off a high bridge, after blowing gum bubbles using helium that they sucked into their mouths. Supposedly, the helium trapped in the gum bubbles is able to quite easily lift the boys off the ground, at least until the bubble bursts.
Not surprisingly however, things are not as they seem. The makers of the video have actually used swings suspended below large booms to carry the boys through the air. With the aid of some clever special effects, the swings and booms have been removed from the footage, thus making it appear that the boys are flying through the air solely with the aid of the helium filled gum bubbles. A subsequent "reveal" video shows just how the stunts were achieved:
The video was created as an advertising related viral test. Viral video advertising is a relatively new and quite effective advertising strategy that has been used by an increasing number of companies. In such advertising campaigns, an entertaining video often depicting an outlandish stunt or event is launched on an unsuspecting Internet public. The companies hope that their videos will "go viral" thereby generating a lot of exposure for their products. In some cases, the video will include logos and other material promoting the company. In other cases, the advertiser is not immediately apparent. In this latter version of the tactic, the advertiser will "own up" to the video only after it has become popular and the object of a great deal of online debate. This strategy ensures that the name of the company or product is eventually discussed on a great many websites, blogs, forums and social networks, thereby providing the company with a great deal of free advertising.
The helium chewing gum video is designed to gain the interest of companies who may wish to try this manner of advertising and is hosted on its own "Viral Test" website. Potential advertisers are invited to test out the concept for free by having their company logo added at various places within the footage and then distributing the "personalised" version of the video "far and wide on the Internet".
Details about the makers of the video along with how to try out the concept test are available on the Viral Test website.
And, just for the record, there is no possible way that even a large helium filled gum bubble could lift an average size person. An article on the HowStuffWorks website calculates that it would take a whopping 4000 regular-sized helium-filled balloons to lift a 50 kilogram person.
Email claims that a series of attached images depict new US dollar notes, including a $200 bill, that are to be released by the US government in 2010.
In fact, the subjected mail's contents and images are totally untrue. This is just an imagination of somebody and there is no such official news from US Government.
First of all, just review the mail contents and then we'll explain the motive of he mail in detail:
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Subject: 2010 U.S. DOLLAR NOTE PREVIEW - FIRST CRACK
2010 new U. S. Dollars
Be the first to witness the new U.S. Dollars. A $200 bill will start next year i.e. from 2010
Editor's Note: This email forward circulates with front and back images of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar notes as well as the $200 note images included above. Images credit: Michael Tyznik
====================================== Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Explanation:
This email forward claims that a series of attached images that come with the message are a preview of new designs for US paper currency that will be released in 2010. The images, which consist of front and back views of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 dollar notes, depict a radically different design and appearance than the traditional US "greenback".
However, the images are not a preview of soon to be released dollar notes. Instead, they are one person's concept of a possible new design for future US currency. There are no official plans to actually issue such newly designed notes.
The images were created by graphic designer Michael Tyznik. The original images are available on Michael Tyznik's website and were also submitted as a contest entry on the Dollar ReDe$ign Project blog. In their original context, it was perfectly clear that the images represented only a possible design for dollar notes and there was no suggestion that they had been commissioned by the United States government or in any other way officially endorsed. Tyznik has added the following disclaimer on his website in an effort to dispel the false claims:
Note: Contrary to rumors circulating in chain emails, this design is not the work of or in any relation to the U.S. government. It was my entry to the Dollar Rede$ign contest and is purely speculative.
Apparently, out of misunderstanding or mischief, someone has taken the images out of their original context and relaunched them in the form of an email forward that falsely claims that the speculative designs will actually replace current US dollar designs in 2010.
WNCT, a CBS Eyewitness News Channel has also debunked the hoax email:
Tysnik was just one of a number of designers who submitted new designs to the Dollar ReDe$ign Project. Although the spreading of the hoax was certainly not the fault of Michael Tyznik, it is nevertheless a testament to his outstanding design skills that his dollar designs were good enough to fool so many recipients into believing that they were the real thing.
Circulating video supposedly shows a bungee jumper having his head bitten off by a crocodile as he reaches the water.
In fact, video is a beer commercial and does not depict a real incident.
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Subject: FW: Northern Territory Bungee Jumping - Watch the water closely..
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Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Explanation:
This video, which has been circulating via email, social networking and video sharing sites for several years, supposedly shows a terrible bungee jumping accident in which the unfortunate jumper has his head snapped off by a large crocodile as he nears the water at the end of his jump. "Big Doug", the hapless bungee jumper, is shown leaping from a high platform built over an Australian waterway while two sports commentators report on the action.
However, the video is not footage of a real incident, but instead a TV commercial for Foster's, an iconic Australian beer. The commercial was first shown on British television back in 2003.The version of the video currently circulating omits the final part of the commercial, which features shots of Foster's hit tap, a type of beer that is made to retain its head more than other beers. The commercial ends with the voice-over, "New Foster's Hit Tap...Don't lose your head!".
Of course, as the complete version shows, the vast majority of viewers who saw the original TV ad would have realized almost immediately that the footage did not show a real incident. The words of the commentator after "Big Doug" loses his head, ("Crikey! That's gunna hurt in the morning, son!"), along with the product shots and "Don't lose your head" voice-over made it abundantly clear that the footage was intended only as a humorous way of promoting beer. However, once it escaped out of the confines of its original TV context and with the final portion of the video omitted, many recipients believed that it depicted a real incident.
When it aired in Britain, the ad caused some controversy, with 186 viewers submitting complaints that they "were startled by the ad and found it in bad taste". However, Britain's Independent Television Commission (ITC) investigated the complaints and concluded that, while the ad may have been startling, it was "clearly humorous" and the "actual images were not graphic, bloody or realistic". The ITC stated that the existing scheduling restrictions were adequate although it recognized that the style of humour would not suit all tastes.
Email claims that an attached photograph shows a flower in Mexico that is the largest in the world and only blooms once every forty years for four days.
This is an amazing mail claiming something very strange. But reality of this mail is just 50/50; as the photograph is genuine and real but the claim in this mail is just an overstatement or exaggeration.
The circulated mail is presented here below:
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Subject: Awesome flower!!
This flower in Mexico only blooms once every 40 years for 4 days. How magnificent is God's creation!
The largest flower in the world is blossoming in the mountainous region of Rio Blanco, Veracruz, Mexico . Two meters high, it has the peculiarity of blooming only during four days every 40 years.
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Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Explanation:
This email forward claims that an attached photograph depicts a flower growing in mountains near Rio Blanco, Veracruz, Mexico that is the largest in the world and only blooms once every forty years for four days.
However, while the image itself is genuine, the email is inaccurate in its description of the flower. The flower shown in the image - Amorphophallus titanum or Titan Arum - is indeed considered the largest in the world. Also known as the "Corpse Flower" because of its foul smell, Amorphophallus titanum is a prized addition to a number of well-known botanical gardens around the world, including London's Kew Gardens, California's Huntington Botanical Gardens and Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens.
The plants have become quite famous and always attract large crowds when a particular specimen blooms at one of the above locations or at a number of others gardens around the world. One such plant was also featured in Sir David Attenborough's outstanding BBC documentary The Private Life Of Plants.
However, while specimens of the Corpse Flower may exist in gardens in Mexico, the plant certainly does not grow wild in that country as implied in the email. In fact, the native habitat of Amorphophallus titanum is the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia.
Moreover, the photograph of the Titan Arum included in the message was not taken in Mexico. The photograph was actually taken at Stuttgart, Germany's Wilhelma Botanical and Zoological Gardens by Lothar Grünz in October 2005.
The same photograph along with details about where, when and by whom the picture was taken, is available on the Wikimedia Commons website. And, another shot published on the Wilhelma website clearly shows the same building in the background as that shown in the above photograph.
While bloomings of the Amorphophallus titanum are certainly rare, and the flowers only last for two or three days, it is not true that they only bloom once every forty years as claimed in the message. The specimens kept in various botanical gardens often go for several years between blooms. However, the plants are not set to a forty year blooming cycle and many specimens have bloomed much more regularly. In "The Private Life Of Plants", David Attenborough suggests that Amorphophallus titanum in the wild bloom about once every 1000 days.
Thus, it seems clear that an unknown prankster has simply taken the picture of the Wilhelma Titan Arum and tacked on some fanciful information about Mexico and a fictitious forty year bloom cycle.
Email forward claims that a series of attached photographs show a very colourful and spectacular display created by many varieties of algae and moss growing on an isolated river at a certain time of year.
These photographs look like worked out by any computer master; but fact is really otherwise, these photographs are very real and genuine.
The details will follow the mail spreading all over:
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Subject: FW: The Most Colourful River In The World
The river that ran away to paradise -
During a brief span between wet and dry seasons, when the water level is just right, the many varieties of algae and moss bloom in a dazzling display of colors.
Without any roads leading to this river, it must be accessed by horse.
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Beware! Its a Cyber World - - Explanation:
According to this email forward, an attached series of photographs depict an unnamed river made spectacularly colourful by the blooming of different coloured algae. The message suggests that the river is the most colourful in the world and notes that the algae display only occurs for brief periods when water levels and climatic conditions are optimal.
The information in the message is factual and the photographs are genuine. The river shown in the photographs is the Caño Cristales, which is located near the town of La Macarena in Columbia, South America. The river, world famous for its colourful display, has been called "the river that ran away to paradise", "the most beautiful river in the world" and "the river of five colours". Information about the river published on the Atlas Obscura website notes:
During Colombia's wet season, the water flows fast and deep, obscuring the bottom of the river and denying the mosses and algae that call the river home the sun that they need. And during the dry season there is not enough water to support the dazzling array of life in the river. But during a brief span between the wet and dry seasons, when the water level is just right, the many varieties of algae and moss bloom in a dazzling display of colors. Blotches of amarillo, blue, green, black, and red - and a thousand shades in between - coat the river.
As noted in the message, the part of the river where the colourful blooms occur is quite isolated and is not accessible by road. Adventurous tourists can now fly into La Macarena and then make their way to to the river site on foot as part of guided tours. The site was effectively closed to tourists for several years because of FARC guerrilla activity in the region along with concerns about the impact of unregulated tourist traffic. However, the site was reopened to visitors in 2009. The Colombia Reports website notes:
The Caño Cristales site, located about two hours walk from the town of La Macarena, will be open to visitors until November 10, when the summer season dries out the algae and the river loses it magnificent colours.
So far, some 1,000 people have visited Caño Cristales, including around 100 foreign tourists.
According to new regulations visits to the site are made up of groups of up to 20 people, taken throughout the day by four guides. The tours will follow four clearly marked and authorized paths and one is no longer permitted to stay overnight or cook, as this was ruining the area previously.
Even so, reports indicate that some intrepid visitors still made it to the river during the years it was officially closed to tourists.
Many other photographs of the river in all its glory have been published on various travel blogs and photo sharing websites. The following Youtube posting depicts an excursion to La Macarena and Cano Cristales:
While a great deal has been published about Cyber Crimes Act in Pakistan, the premise of the law seems to be faulty. If you compare the local Cyber Crimes to that in effect in other countries, the language seems to be more vague, giving law enforcement even more risky authority than is advisable.
While the Cyber Crimes laws were devised and put into effect at the time of Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping, the language since then, has turned into encapsulating most activity online, and categorizing it as illegal. While there is no question about the critical importance of the law itself, the unquestionable authority it gives to trigger-happy untrained law enforcement agents or judiciary who may not understand how IPs are spoofed or firewalls are circumvented, puts the average user, at risk.
Privacy is an ethical, legal and birth right of every individual on the planet. Who decides when it is okay to log your SMS or telephone conversations, is something that has been up for heated debate in all corners of civil society.
The integrity of your business is at stake if clients who use your services, can be exposed to unauthorized third parties perusing their personal information. That is a business risk. Laws are meant to facilitate and enable trade, not destroy it.
As more and more of our lives get integrated into the Cloud, it is more realistic that our every move is being tracked in real time. But practicing a few safeguards and measures will help to keep you and your information, well, safe. Privacy is your right. Know it. Fight for it.
