The British government’s emergency committee met Thursday after two Muslim terrorists wielding a machete and a cleaver hacked a soldier to death on a busy London street Wednesday while yelling “Allahu Akbar,” in an attack that was caught on video and left the nation shocked and horrified. Prime Minister David Cameron says there are strong indications it was an act of terrorism, and his top advisers will be examining the potential security implications of the attack, which took place near a London military barracks. British police confirmed Thursday the man killed at the scene was a serving soldier. They say they believe they know the man’s identity but will not be releasing it at his family’s request. The alleged attackers Read More

Twitter Inc. is adding a new security tool to its website, making it harder for outsiders to gain access to accounts, a month after a false posting triggered a stock-market decline. The two-step authentication measure, available as an option starting today, requires users to input a code sent via text message to a mobile phone in order to log in, Jim O’Leary, a member of Twitter’s product security team, said in a blog post yesterday. Twitter, which has more than 200 million users, follows Apple Inc. (AAPL), Google Inc. (GOOG), and Facebook Inc. (FB) in introducing two-step authentication, as people put more information online. The hack of an Associated Press account last month resulted in tweets about explosions at the Read More

It’s no secret that major US companies have been victims of a growing number of hacks from overseas in recent years, allegedly by attackers looking to steal corporate information and intellectual property, such as patented software. The Department of Defense and US diplomats have also accused China’s government and military of being behind some of these attacks. Now, a new report by a group of influential former government officials and private executives says that if intellectual property theft continues at future levels, Congress should consider passing laws allowing US companies to “counterattack” against such hackers, whoever they may be. “physically disabling or destroying the hacker’s own computer or network.” The report, released today, calls this type Read More

Authorities in London are investigating what British Prime Minister David Cameron says is likely a terrorist attack. On Wednesday, two suspects brutally attacked a man near a London military barracks. Attackers Hack To Death Man In London – NPRhttp://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGUDB5JWq5BLoG8WJ19Ea1Qx-8Fuw&url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId%3D186195971http://news.google.com/news?q=hack&output=rsshack – Google NewsGoogle Newshttp://www.gstatic.com/news-static/img/logo/en_us/news.gif

Welcome to our next Hacker Challenge! Each week, we issue a new challenge. You get until Sunday to prepare your submission and send it to us. That gives you a few days to think about it and a whole weekend to work it up. Our editors pick the best submissions and our favorite will win a copy of the Lifehacker book! Let’s get started! This Week’s Hacker Challenge: Share Your Best Vacation Hack With Summer fast arriving, Summer vacations won’t be far behind. For this week’s challenge, we’d like to see your best vacation hack—any clever tips or hacks that you use before, during, or after a vacation. We’ve shown you how you can save on plane tickets by searching Read More

Nextdoor, a private social networks for neighborhoods, has launched an iOS app for its service. In doing so, the company is giving the 12,000-plus communities that are currently on the service more flexibility and options. Previously only available through the browser, Nextdoor has been growing quite rapidly since its founding. According to the company, in its first year, it had signed up residents in 176 neighborhoods across 26 states in the US. In February, there were more than 8,000 in all 50 states. Now, it is available in more than 12,600 neighborhoods. The five cities where Nextdoor is used the most are San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, San Diego, and Dallas. A mobile app had been one of the most popular requests Read More