Blogs

Your money or your documents: how hackers can hold your files to ransom

By Chris Hall | Yahoo News – Tue, Nov 19, 2013

Yahoo News - The Cryptolocker software locks users out of their files, and asks for payment in return for the key - which is unlikely to be delivered. (Symantec)
Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) has issued a warning to businesses over a wave of hacking attacks that have seen hackers take control of computer files and demand a £900 ransom to unlock each one.

The attackers use spam emails to target small and medium-sized businesses, with attachments that look like invoices, voicemails or other business documents.

An example of a Cryptolocker-infected email, with malware attachment, as found by Symantec

The NCA says that 'tens of millions' of people may have been targeted in Britain, and noted that the attacks seemed to be aimed predominantly at companies. It described the attacks as a 'significant risk'.

The attachments contain a piece of malware called Cryptolocker - an automated piece of ransom software that, if activated, will search for documents and encrypt them so that they cannot be opened or read by the user.

Microsoft Office documents were the most commonly affected, but different variations of the malware also searched for other documents, such as .pdf files.

Cryptolocker then prompts the owner of the files to pay two Bitcoins (each worth £449 as of 19/11/13) for the key to unlock the files.

Bitcoins are a private and anonymous digital currency that can be traded against other major world currencies. The exchange rate can fluctuate wildly.
Ransomware has been on the rise since last year. A report from Symantec Internet Security noted that for a much cheaper ransom, of 5,300 computers infected, 'About three percent of victims paid the ransom, which netted the criminals about $30,000.'

The NCA said in its statement that it 'would never endorse the payment of a ransom to criminals and there is no guarantee that they would honour the payments in any event'.

Lee Miles, Deputy Head of the NCCU says "The NCA are actively pursuing organised crime groups committing this type of crime. We are working in cooperation with industry and international partners to identify and bring to justice those responsible and reduce the risk to the public."

The malware should be detected by up to date antivirus software. Users should exercise caution over opening unfamiliar attachments. Some of the attachments are notable for having a double file extension, such as " FORM_101513.pdf.exe."

Decrypting files that Cryptolocker has been able to encrypt is 'not feasible', according to Symantec. But there are ways that affected users can recover their files even if they have been locked out, using free Windows tools.

If you have made backups of your files, Windows Backup will be able to revert the file to its pre-locked state. Similarly, you can right-click on a file before opening it and choose to open a previous version, giving you the chance to retrieve data from the file.

If your computer does become infected, you should disconnect it from your network, and run a full antivirus scan to identify and quarantine the affected files.

A spokesman for Symantec said: 'Symantec does detect and protect against this threat. We continuously work to protect customers against this threat through various technologies, including the Symantec Email Security.cloud solution.'

The plant that could cost you your home

The spread of Japanese knotweed is cause for concern for all homeowners

If, like me, you are not particularly green-fingered, you might think that one plant looks pretty much like another. In which case you are in danger of missing a silent assassin gaining strength within your garden.

Japanese knotweed looks like lots of other weeds to the untrained eye, but it has the power to ruin your home and cost you thousands of pounds.

Pity the couple in Hertfordshire that were told a couple of years ago that their £300,000 four-bed home needed to be demolished in order to treat the scourge of Japanese knotweed that had penetrated their walls.

The plant had spread from waste ground near the newly-built property and quickly advanced the length of the garden to enter their home through walls and skirting boards. Surveyors told them that the value of the property had dropped to just £50,000, and that the only way to effectively remove the scourge was to knock the house down, treat the plant and then rebuild.

And imagine the disappointment of the home seller who saw his deal fall through within weeks of exchange because a tiny 3cm piece of Japanese knotweed had been found in his garden. His buyer’s lender panicked and refused to lend the mortgage.

These are clearly extreme examples but Japanese knotweed is almost always a problem for homeowners (and potentially their neighbours).

What exactly is Japanese knotweed?

Japanese knotweed has been in the UK since the 1800s, having been introduced as an ornamental plant by the Victorians.

It looks pretty innocuous, like many plants or weeds, and is described by the Environment Agency as lush green in colour with shovel shaped leaves and a stem that looks like bamboo. It also produces white flowers in autumn and grows rapidly, up to 10cm a day.

It spreads like wildfire through its stems underground, growing a metre in a month and potentially causing heave below buildings.

Once the concrete or tarmac cracks from the heave, the plant has a way into your home, working its way through the tiny gaps and potentially causing structural damage or blocking drains. It’s the most invasive plant in the UK and very persistent indeed.

What to do about it?

Whatever you do, don’t ignore it. Japanese knotweed grows rapidly and if it infects your neighbours’ gardens and properties you could be liable for damages. So if you see it in your garden, deal it with properly and quickly.

You need to focus on stopping the plant spreading and getting rid of it. Believe it or not the Environment Agency takes this problem so seriously it has produced a knotweed code of practice to guide those involved in the disposal of the plant through the specific measures that should be undertaken.

It’s targeted towards firms that are involved in the disposal of the plant, but if you have Japanese knotweed on your land it is still essential reading, as it will give you an idea of what you should expect any professionals you employ to be doing.

Key things to be aware of are:

• If you are having the weed fully excavated and disposed of, any contractor you employ needs to be registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier. The agency’s website also allows you to search for contractors in your area on its Waste Directory.

• You can also treat the knotweed more slowly with a combination of herbicide treatment and careful excavation if you have no urgent need to get rid of it. But this will take at least three years and you will still have to dispose of the soil in line with the code of practice mentioned above. Plus you should still get a qualified person to carry out the treatment and if you live near a river or stream, you need permission from the Environment Agency before using any chemicals.

• You can burn the waste from Japanese knotweed but you should inform your Local Authority and pay heed to best practice guidelines.

• Soil containing burnt remains of Japanese knotweed may also be buried on the site where it was produced, but very specific guidelines need to be adhered to. Plus you need to inform the Environment Agency a week in advance if burying the waste from your knotweed.

As you can see, there are a lot of hoops to jump through to get rid of this plant properly and it’s little wonder many people pay a contractor to ensure the job is done properly.

But what should you do if you notice this plant and you are about to sell your home? Do you need to go through all of these measures first, or can you sell up with the knotweed in your garden?

Or can you take a risk and just cut it down the day before the viewings and the survey and hope for the best? No!

Be upfront

To be blunt, if you are trying to sell your home and you discover Japanese knotweed in your garden, it is likely to cause you problems. Some buyers won’t touch a house if they know this plant is in the garden, or even neighbouring gardens. And even those that are willing to deal with it may find their mortgage lender will not offer them a loan once they learn of it, because of its potential to cause damage.

But it’s not all bad news. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders many lenders will now consider lending on a property with Japanese knotweed (and they expect their surveyor to spot it during the valuation). They usually consider applications on a case-by-case basis and look for evidence of an initial treatment, with a commitment to an ongoing treatment programme.

Another reason not to contemplate hiding the presence of Japanese knotweed in your garden is that the Property Information Form used during the property sale transaction has recently been updated to specifically ask a question about it.

However, if you lie on this form you are leaving yourself open to a misrepresentation claim from your buyer, since the documents form part of the pre-contract enquiries and are legally binding.

Japanese knotweed can be a major problem for homeowners but it can also be dealt with if caught early and treated effectively by an experienced contractor. If you have the weed in your garden, tackle it head on because, one thing is certain, it won’t go away without a fight!

Japanese Knotweed Recipes
last modified September 05, 2008

After harvesting this thug, try some of these delicious recipes.

Recipes Utilizing Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)

Applesauce-Knotweed Cake

For this recipe, you’ll need to harvest Japanese Knotweed stalks at the “wild rhubarb” stage, which typically shows up around the end of April in the Boston area.

Look for stalks about 18-24 inches long, select the fattest stalks you can (at least 3/4 inch in diameter – they’re easier to peel that way), cut at ground level, lop off the top cluster of leaves and bring the stalks home.

Once you’ve got them home, peel the very outer layer (which is stringy) off of each stalk;

Japanese Knotweed stalks are hollow, though, so don’t peel too deeply or all you’ll have left is the hole.

You can eat the peeled stalks raw if you want (their tart, juicy, crunchy texture and flavor is somewhat like that of a Granny Smith apple), or just chop them up for use in the recipe below or just about any other recipe calling for rhubarb.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup plain applesauce
• 4 firmly-packed cups peeled Japanese Knotweed stalk pieces

(chop or knead the peeled stalks into small pieces <1” long).

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• powdered sugar Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 13” by 9” baking pan.

Beat eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until blended.

In the meantime, mix the flour, baking soda and spices together in a separate bowl.

Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, then add the applesauce, knotweed pieces and walnuts and mix until blended.

Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and spread evenly.

Bake at 350ºF for one hour, then remove from the oven and cool on a wire drying rack.

Dust the top with powdered sugar.

Serve warm or cold.

Makes 15 good-sized servings.

Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for use in the next few days or frozen for longer storage.

Go Anywhere Knotweed Squares

You’ll need to harvest Japanese Knotweed stalks at the “wild rhubarb” stage for this recipe, which typically shows up around the first week of May in the Boston area.

Look for stalks about 18-24 inches long, select the fattest stalks you can (at least ¾ inch in diameter – they’re easier to peel that way), cut at ground level, lop off the top cluster of leaves and bring the stalks home.

Once you’ve got them home, peel the very outer layer (which is stringy) off of each stalk; Japanese Knotweed stalks are hollow, though, so don’t peel too deeply or all you’ll have left is the hole.

You can eat the peeled stalks raw if you want (their tart, juicy, crunchy texture and flavor is somewhat like that of a Granny Smith apple), or just chop them up for use in the recipe below or just about any other recipe calling for rhubarb.

Ingredients For bottom crust:

• 1 cup flour

• 1/3 cup confectioners sugar

• 1/3 cup butter (cold) For filling:

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup flour

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 3 firmly-packed cups peeled Japanese Knotweed stalk pieces (chop or knead the peeled stalks into small pieces <1” long) Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Grease an 11” by 7” by 2” baking pan.

Put crust ingredients into a food processor and pulverize until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Press into the bottom of the baking pan and bake at 350ºF for 12 minutes.

To make the filling,

place all the ingredients except the Knotweed into a bowl and mix together; then stir in the Knotweed pieces.

Pour filling mixture over the warm crust and spread evenly.

Bake at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into it comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack.

Cut into brownie-sized pieces and serve warm.

Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for use in the next few days or frozen for longer storage.

Russ Cohen’s Sour Cream Knotweed Crumb Cake

You’ll need to harvest Japanese Knotweed stalks at the “wild rhubarb” stage for this recipe, which typically shows up around the first week of May in the Boston area.

Look for stalks about 18-24 inches long, select the fattest stalks you can (at least ¾ inch in diameter – they’re easier to peel that way), cut at ground level, lop off the top cluster of leaves and bring the stalks home.

Once you’ve got them home, peel the very outer layer (which is stringy) off of each stalk; Japanese Knotweed stalks are hollow, though, so don’t peel too deeply or all you’ll have left is the hole.

You can eat the peeled stalks raw if you want (their tart, juicy, crunchy texture and flavor is somewhat like that of a Granny Smith apple), or just chop them up for use in the recipe below or just about any other recipe calling for rhubarb.

Ingredients For cake:

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

• 3/4 cup butter, softened

• 3 eggs

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup dairy sour cream

• 5 firmly-packed cups peeled Japanese Knotweed stalk pieces (chop or knead the peeled stalks into small pieces <1” long), tossed with 1/2 cup flour,

1 teaspoon cinnamon,

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and

1/4 teaspoon allspice in a bowl

For topping:

• 1/2 firmly-packed cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon allspice

• 1/4 cup cold butter, cut up into small pieces Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Grease a 13” by 9” baking pan.

Cake:

Beat sugar and butter in a in a large bowl on medium speed until blended.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until creamy.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl,

then add to the creamed mixture alternatively with the sour cream, mixing well.

Stir in the floured/spiced Knotweed pieces and mix well, then pour the cake batter into the baking pan and spread evenly.

Topping:

Place brown sugar, flour and spices into a food processor and pulse until well-blended;

then add the cold butter pieces and pulse until the entire topping mixture is uniformly crumbly.

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter.

Bake at 350ºF for 50-60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack; serve warm.

Makes 15 good-sized servings.

Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for use in the next few days or frozen for longer storage.

More info about Russ Cohen’s schedule of public foraging programs: http://users.rcn.com/eatwild/sched.htm More info about Russ’ foraging book, Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten: http://users.rcn.com/eatwild/press_release.htm More info about Russ Cohen: http://users.rcn.com/eatwild/bio.htm

Japanese Knotweed Recipe - Knotweed Summer Rolls

Since Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) is so common and highly invasive here in southern New England, it is easy to find in quantity in the early spring.

It is best picked as a tart, toothsome shoot before it gets much bigger than 8" tall.

As it grows, it get tough and stringy and more difficult to incorporate into a recipe.

We have made quite a few sweet recipes with knotweed, like dessert bars, jelly and tapioca.

Here is a savory idea made with raw, sliced knotweed shoots to eat as part of an early spring, edible weed dinner.

We added some other spring edibles as well, all of which are optional or have similar common substitutes.

Any Thai style sweet-sour-spicy dipping sauce is great on the side, and most of the more exotic ingredients are available at an Asian grocery store.

To dip and soften the rice paper wrappers, I use a large pie plate filled with warm water.

It is a good idea to have extra wrappers, since they may rip. Depending on how full you make the wrappers, there will be 6-8 rolls.

Japanese Knotweed Summer Rolls makes 6-8 rolls

6-10 8" Vietnamese rice paper wrappers
3 oz. bean thread noodle cakes
1 c. thinly sliced Japanese knotweed shoot stems
1/2 c. chickweed greens, or parsley and cilantro leaves
3 Tbsp dandelion flower petals
2 Tbsp chopped ramps leaves, or chopped scallions
4 Tbsp shredded carrots

Thai dipping sauce

1. Soak the bean thread noodles in hot water for 10 minutes, until they soften. Rinse and drain well.
2. In a bowl, add the chopped knotweed, chickweed greens, dandelion petals, ramps, and carrots to the bean thread noodles. Toss well.
3. Soften the rice paper wrappers in warm water for about 15 seconds until they are pliable. Place on a smooth surface.
4. Take about 1/2 cup of the noodle filling and place it in the center of the top third of the wrapper. Fold over the top of the wrapper to cover the filling, then fold in the two sided toward the center. Now roll the filled wrapper towards the bottom, enclosing the filling completely. This may take some practice!
5. Chill the summer rolls for 15 minutes, and serve with a spicy-sweet Thai dipping sauce.

Japanese Knotweed Recipe - Knotweed Dessert Bars

We put his recipe up last year, but it really is good and the knotweed is at the optimum height right now. This should be made ideally with the thickest, but shortest stalks you can find so they will be fleshy without any woodiness.

Japanese Knotweed Dessert Bars makes a 11" x 7" pan

Crust:

1 c. flour
1 c. confectioners sugar
6 T cold butter

Filling:
2 large eggs, beaten
2/3 c. white sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated fresh nutmeg
3 c. chopped knotweed stalks, leaves removed

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease the 11" x 7" baking pan.

2. In a food processor, pulse the crust ingredients together to resemble coarse crumbs. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan evenly. Bake the crust for 12 minutes.

3. For the filling, combine the eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, and spices with a whisk. Stir in the chopped knotweed pieces and coat them evenly. Pour the filling mixture over the warm crust and spread it evenly.
4. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the egg mixture is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool. Cut into 1" squares and serve.

Unbaked Knotweed Bars

Video: Why "Liking" Facebook pages can be a bad idea

Facebook pages which say things like "Type ‘move’ into the comments and watch what happens” are usually a scam.

Watch this Video

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/video/upgrade-facebook-scam-alert-140000071.html

You’ve seen those pictures posted on Facebook “type ‘move’ into the comments and watch what happens” or “If I get a million likes my dad will get me a car.” They seem innocent enough, but they are big business, and you are not doing yourself any favours if you like or comment.

The classic example is a colourful picture of a prism with the image from the cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album in it. It’s accompanied buy the caption: “OMG it really works ♥ Step 1: Click on the Picture. Step 2: Hit Like.Step 3: Comment "MOVE" Then see the Magic!!” You see in your news feed that your friends have liked and commented on the image, so clearly something amazing must happen when you interact as directed. So you click, you comment, and... nothing happens.

Or at least you think nothing happens. But your activity has now spread this image and the page into the news feed of all your friends.

It’s called Like Farming. Here’s how it works. Someone creates a page and starts posting photos inspirational quotes or other innocent content. You like the page and it now shows up regularly in your news feed. Anytime you interact with a post, that activity shows up in your friends’ news feeds.The more likes the page gets, the more it shows up. The more comments each picture gets, the more power the page gets in the Facebook news feed algorithm.And that makes it more and more visible.

The social engineering of these sites is impressive, stimulating pictures like the Pink Floyd image described above or moving stories of‘causes’ that need your likes for support. The most famous of these revolved around a girl called “Mallory”

"This is my sister Mallory. She has Down syndrome (sic)and doesn't think she's beautiful. Please like this photo so I can show her later that she truly is beautiful." But there is no Mallory. The picture is of a girl named Katie whose mother is horrified that her daughter’s image is being used for the scam.
Scammers Are Making Money Off Your Likes

So why would the owners of these fan pages go to such lengths to scam us into liking? Because there’s money to be made from them.

When the page gets enough fans (a hundred thousand or more)the owner might start placing ads on the page. Those ads show up in your news feed. They could be links to an app, a game, or a service they want you to buy. It could be a “recommendation” for a product on Amazon where the page owner gets a commission for every purchase made through the link. Or more nefariously, the page owner could be paid to spread malware by linking out to sites that install viruses on your computer for the purposes of identity theft. Bottom line: access to your news feed is lucrative.

Fan Pages For Sale

Just as a magazine that sells ads, these pages are a business, and they can be bought and sold just like any other business. Online message board, Warriorforum.com listed multiple sites for sale like this page with almost 500,0000 fans of hamburgers. Price tag to buy the site: $5000. Another site about cuddling has over a million fans and was listed for sale on Warrior Forum for $7000. Many of these postings on Warrior Forum come and go for fear that Facebook will find out about them and take the sites down. For example, I found this Friends TV show page for sale for $8500 but the Warrior Forum listing has since been removed. This page has 1.8 million likes and posts a note right on Facebook stating it’s for sale – no price listed – just a warning against “low offers.”

A spokesperson for Facebook says selling pages is specifically against the terms of service, and any page that is sold or engages in fraudulent behavior can be removed. But clearly this is a cat and mouse game,with Like Farms popping up on a regular basis.

How To Unlike

If you’ve liked something and now regret it, you can unlike it. Go to your profile,choose “more” button and choose “likes” from the drop down menu – then “Unlike.”

If you have friends who are over-liking on scammy posts,share this on your Facebook Page so they’ll get the message.

Facebook 'Likes' can reveal secrets - including politics, IQ and drug use

Your Facebook page could reveal more about you than you realise - including your sexuality, your IQ and even whether you abuse drugs.

By Rob Waugh | Yahoo! News – Mon, Mar 11, 2013

Your Facebook page could reveal more about you than you realise - including your sexuality, your IQ and even whether you abuse drugs.

Simply looking at all of a person's Facebook 'Likes' can reveal everything from a person's race to a person's political views - with up to 95% accuracy.

Distinctive patterns of 'Likes' correspond very strongly to different personality traits, say researchers at the University of Cambridge who studies the patterns of 58,000 volunteers' 'likes'.

Facebook users were warned that this information could be visible even on accounts with high privacy settings - possibly alerting employers to details users might wish to be private.

Users were more likely to have a higher IQ if they liked 'Mozart', 'The Godfather' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

People who liked 'I Like Being a Mom' and 'Harley Davidson' were more likely to have a lower IQ, the research found.

People in a relationship liked pages including 'Weight Watchers' and 'Scrapbooking' while singletons followed sports stars such as Usain Bolt and Maria Sharapova.

Heavy drinkers tend to like pages such as 'Tattoo Lovers' and 'Getting A Text That Says I Love You'.

The statistical research method proved 88 per cent accurate for determining male sexuality.

It was 95 per cent accurate for distinguishing race and 85 per cent accurate in determining political views.

Christians and Muslims were correctly identified in 82 per cent of cases, and accurate predictions were also achieved for relationship status and substance abuse.

Even personal details such as whether users’ parents separated before that person reached the age of 21 were accurately predicted to 60%.

The researchers were able to work out their conclusions without relying on obvious 'Likes'- for example only five per cent of gay men and women liked a Gay Marriage page.

The researchers said the observation of 'likes' alone was now believed to be as informative as a personality test.

But worryingly they warned all of the information needed for the telling analysis is readily available to the public - even if your profile adopts the highest privacy setting.

Michal Kosinski, Operations Director at Cambridge University's Psychometric Centre, said: "Given the variety of digital traces people leave behind, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for individuals to control.

"I am a great fan and active user of new amazing technologies, including Facebook.

"I appreciate automated book recommendations, or Facebook selecting the most relevant stories for my newsfeed.

However, I can imagine situations in which the same data and technology is used to predict political views or sexual orientation, posing threats to freedom or even life.

"Just the possibility of this happening could deter people from using digital technologies and diminish trust between individuals and institutions - hampering technological and economic progress.

"Users need to be provided with transparency and control over their information."

David Stillwell from Cambridge University added: "I have used Facebook since 2005, and I will continue to do so. But I might be more careful to use the privacy settings that Facebook provides."

The research was carried out at Cambridge’s Psychometrics Centre in collaboration with Microsoft Research Cambridge and published yesterday (Mon) in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

Researchers said their findings could signal the beginning of a revolutionary method of psychological assessment.

Thore Graepel from Microsoft Research said he hoped the research would contribute to the on-going discussions about user privacy.

He said: "Consumers rightly expect strong privacy protection to be built into the products and services they use and this research may well serve as a reminder for consumers to take a careful approach to sharing information online, utilising privacy controls and never sharing content with unfamiliar parties."

You can manage that anger by…

• recognizing the difference between an annoyance or inconvenience and a bona fide reason to get mad - somebody hurting you, hurting somebody you care for or damaging your property are all good reasons to get mad; somebody “disrespecting” you, getting in your way, slowing you down, being luckier than you, or doing something better than you do it are not reasonable causes of anger,
• taking a deep breath, stepping away from the situation and asking yourself “Why am I really mad?”, often people misdirect anger caused by a valid yet bigger issue on to everyday annoyances and inconveniences,
• know your triggers, if there are certain things that you know bother you or that you can’t accept know what they are, take steps to avoid them, and play out an appropriate reaction in your head when you're feeling calm to train your mind to react that way when the problem arises in real life,
• plan your time wisely, one of the most common anger stressors is poor time management, when you’re in a rush and something slows you down even more you are very likely to react in anger, the simplest way to avoid this is to exercise effective time management,
• exercising regularly, it’s true that exercise is an excellent way to de-stress body and mind, people who exercise regularly are less likely to overreact to annoyances and inconveniences,
• talk it out, reacting in anger often causes the reasoning center of the brain to shut off for a time and the way you can turn it back on is to talk rather than act out when anger takes hold, it may sound crazy but taking a few minutes to gather your thoughts and speaking them out loud can do wonders to diffuse an angry situation.

http://teenadvice.about.com/od/violencebullying/a/angermanagement.htm

I am not trying to sell anything on the post. I found it interestinmg and loved the painting and the only way I felt I could share it was to put the full post here. Blessings. Melodie

Keep this painting in your room and it can help clear away negative vibrations

Buddhist Monks Energy Clearing Painting Giclee Print Zoom

Unleash the power of energy clearing, spiritual transcendence and astral projection.

About

This exquisite piece captures the energy of deep Buddhist meditation, assisting in astral projection and energy clearing.

In the image, four monks hit a large drum to help us resonate with a higher state, project ourselves through that energy and to help us clear bad energy from an area. They channel the primary chakra colors through their bodies, through their surroundings and through the sound waves emanating from the drum.

While many place this piece in their meditation rooms, others choose to put it beside their bed to alleviate bad dreams and assist in astral projection while sleeping.

This is a top quality, museum grade archival print that is hand signed by energy artist Julia Watkins. It will not fade for over 100 years.

Size: 11 x 14 print in a 16 x 20 matt.

How To Use It

Place this print in any area where you feel low or negative energy and over time it will
change the feeling you get when you go there. You can also place where you meditate
to greatly enhance results from these efforts. Place it close to where you sleep to assist
in astral projection.

About This Art Style

The swirls in this image represents the spiritual energy that exists all around us. Pioneered by artist Julia Watkins, this art style, known as energism seeks to use art to help humanity connect to universal energy flow.

Ms. Watkins artwork is currently in the collections of such notables as Deepak Chopra and Carnegie Mellon University.

For more information on Julia Watkins, visit the Platris Fine Art website at http://www.platris.com or visit the facebook page Energy Artist Julia.

Astronomers claim to have found 'tens of billions' of rocky planets in our galaxy where life can exist

A handout released in 2010 by the European Southern Observatory shows an artist's impression of the atmosphere around a super-Earth exoplanet. A scan of small, cool stars in the Milky Way suggests our galaxy has "tens of billions" of rocky planets located like Earth in zones where life can exist, European astronomers say

NASA satellite image shows the Carina Nebula, a star-forming region in the Sagittarius-Carina region of the Milky Way that is 7,500 light years from Earth. A scan of small, cool stars in the Milky Way suggests our galaxy has "tens of billions" of rocky planets located like Earth in zones where life can exist, European astronomers say

A scan of small, cool stars in the Milky Way suggests our galaxy has "tens of billions" of rocky planets located like Earth in zones where life can exist, European astronomers say.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) says it found nine "super-Earths" in a sample survey of 102 stars known as red dwarves.

"Super-Earths" are rocky planets -- as opposed to gassy giants -- that orbit their stars in the so-called Goldilocks zone, where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold but just right to have the potential to nurture life.

In this balmy region, the planet is neither scorched nor frozen, and water can exist in liquid form.
The ESO team used a powerful 3.6-metre (11.7-feet) telescope, known by its acronym of HARPS, at their observatory in Chile's Atacama desert.

"Our new observations with HARPS mean that about 40 percent of all red dwarf stars have a super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone where liquid water can exist on the surface of the planet," said Xavier Bonfils of the Observatory of the Sciences of the Universe in Grenoble, southeastern France.

"Because red dwarves are so common -- there are about 160 billion of them in the Milky Way -- this leads us to the astonishing result that there are tens of billions of these planets in our galaxy alone," he said in an ESO press release issued on Wednesday.

By ESO's estimate, there could be around 100 "super-Earths" in stars less than 30 light years from Earth.

In cosmic terms, such distances are just a flea jump, but they are an impossible gap for Man to bridge with current space technology.

A total of 763 exoplanets, the term for a planet in another solar system, have been found since the first was detected in 1995, according to the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia (http://exoplanet.eu/

DailyOm - How you can help the Gulf oil spill tragedy
July 20, 2010

How you can help the Gulf oil spill tragedy

Dear DailyOM Readers,

We have all felt a range of emotions around the recent and ongoing Gulf oil spill tragedy. Some of you, I know, have been suffering from feelings of hopelessness and depression which can be very common in souls that are sensitive. We all wonder what we can do to help beside sending prayers and light to the ocean, animals and people that have been affected.

I want to share a story with you. Shortly after the spill began back in April, my husband, Scott Blum, was working on putting the finishing touches on a song he had been working on called "Fragile Day." While he was in the studio with his producer, he was asked what the lyrics meant, "Fish are dimming while they're swimming / Blackened ocean of foam", and he explained that this song, the song he had written two years ago was about an oil spill. Immediately upon hearing this I told him that he needed to release the song and give proceeds to charity. It didn't take long at all before everybody was on board to help, including DailyOM. I really love it when things come together smoothly without roadblocks; this told us very clearly we were doing the right thing.

Click here to watch the video and download the song

If you are looking for an easy way to help, you can do so by downloading the song, Fragile Day, and 100% of proceeds will go to these charities: The Gulf Restoration Network, EarthShare and The WILD Foundation.

The song is for sale on iTunes for only $1.98. Imagine if all 1.2 million DailyOM subscribers downloaded this song, now that would make a difference! If this doesn't feel like something you want to do, please keep sending light to our precious Mother Earth. To watch the Fragile Day video and download the song, go to this link:

http://www.FragileDay.com

Blessings,

Madisyn Taylor
Co-Founder, Editor-In-Chief, DailyOM
For more information visit FragileDay.com