Interlocked is a three-dimensional brain teaser

Back when I was a kid, I used to love crafting ornate puzzle boxes out of Lego. There would be just one way to open the box, by carefully shifting and rotating a bunch of pieces. Well, either that, or breaking the box in frustration.

Interlocked takes that spirit and turns it into a beautiful Flash game. It's a good thing the soundtrack is soothing, because the game itself can get pretty frustrating.

At the start of each level, you're presented with a box built out of blocks in different colors. You can click and drag the mouse to rotate the box any which way. Once you decide you want to shift a part of the box, hit SPACE to switch into "move" mode. You can then click any part of the box and drag it. Of course, you can only move a part as long as nothing is in its way. So it becomes a matter of understanding how the box is built, and what parts you need to move around so you could eventually take the box apart.

It's a tricky, difficult game, but it's a great brain teaser -- and definitely a keeper.

Interlocked is a three-dimensional brain teaser originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gargantuan SQL injection infects 3.8 million URLs, installs rogue antivirus

Over the last few days, a mass SQL injection attack has been quickly gathering speed. Just three days ago only 28,000 URLs were affected, but at the time of writing, there could be up to 3.8 million infected URLs.

Websense has a complete write up the attack, dubbed 'LizaMoon,' but here's the basic gist: it looks like someone is exploiting a vulnerabilty (or vulnerabilities) in hundreds of thousands of websites running on Microsoft SQL Server 2003 and 2005. It's not yet known whether this is a vulnerability in SQL Server, or simply a case of outdated, unmaintained, and easily-exploitable CMSes.

The attack takes the form of an SQL injection, which then inserts a link to a JavaScript file hosted on the attacker's server. This is repeated over and over until every Web page in the SQL database has been infected -- and considering 3.8 million URLs have been infected, you can see that this is a very easy, and automated, attack.

Fortunately, the JavaScript isn't particularly malicious: it pops up a rogue AV program called Windows Stability Center, but that's it. Better yet, the rogue antivirus is already recognized by a bunch of real antivirus suites, including Avast, Panda and Microsoft Security Essentials.

The real problem with SQL injection attacks is that there's nothing we surfers can do about them. There will always be old and unmaintained websites, and thus SQL injections will remain one of the easiest and most lucrative tools of hackers and spammers alike. All you can do is keep your antivirus and anti-malware software up to date, and pray.

Gargantuan SQL injection infects 3.8 million URLs, installs rogue antivirus originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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March 31 is World Backup Day 2011

Those benevolent armchair philanthropist Redditors are at it again! Four days ago a 'self' post extolling the potential virtues of a Backup Day exploded with 2500 upvotes and 1000 comments -- and now World Backup Day 2011 is actually happening.

On March 31, as part of the global data-saving initiative, you are encouraged to back up all of your cherished photos and videos, and important documents. If you've ever had a hard disk fail, and not had a backup to fall back on, you'll know that it's a bit like losing a sizable fragment of your soul. If you've never backed up your important files -- or if you only back up sporadically -- do it on World Backup Day!

It's not hard to back up your data, either. A 2TB drive costs only a fistful of dollars, and it takes just a few minutes to set SyncToy for Windows, or Time Machine for Mac, to mirror your data every night. If you prefer a cloud-based solution, there's always SugarSync and Dropbox. Finally, don't forget that Bundlelytic has a charity giveaway for three excellent data-backup-and-recovery tools -- $160 of software for only $25, and 100% of the proceeds to go the Japanese Red Cross.

For even more backup options, for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, check our list of 13 great backup programs.

March 31 is World Backup Day 2011 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola considering Nike+ SportWatch contender?

It looks like Motorola might be prepping to give the Nike+ SportWatch a run for its money. An intrepid tipster sent along a screenshot from a recent survey showing off what looks like a tricked out nano watch. Described as an "all-in-one fitness and music personal fitness device" (redundant much?) that packs a GPS for "accurate performance tracking," the as of yet unnamed gadget also sports a "smart music player" that compiles a list of songs based on the tunes that help you sweat your best. It also lets you wirelessly sync to your PC for workout analysis, and apparently does the same for Android devices. Among the possible names listed in the survey is the MotoActive, hinting at, but certainly not pinning down, Motorola branding. Of course this is just an online survey, so we wouldn't get too excited about your new running mate just yet.

[Thanks, Anon]

Motorola considering Nike+ SportWatch contender? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hard Graft Back Up Case for iPad 2

The Smart Cover for iPad 2 is a wonderful screen cover and stand, but it leaves the back of your expensive device exposed. �There are a variety of skins, cases, and covers available for iPad 2, but not all of them work with the Smart Cover. �Hard Graft is introducing their new Back Up Case [...]

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Daily Crunch: Ride The Lion Edition

Smart Design: Fanless Heatsink Spins Itself Concrete Speakers Look Good, Yet I Question Their Fidelity The Five Best Things About OS X Lion Watch The Final Space Shuttle Mission Here (Maybe) CrunchGear Is Headed To TechCrunch/Gadgets

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A Cable That'll Give Your iPad Mid-90s Style [Cables]

I'm forced to ask why you'd ever want to connect your iDevice to an old school printer, but Redpark is making the case that people want apps with some retro chic. So the iOS Serial Cable was born. More »

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