All posts tagged: secret

You Need to Create a Secret Password With Your Family

You Need to Create a Secret Password With Your Family

Scammers are out of control. Every year, fraudsters and cybercriminals make billions by tricking people into parting with their cash. Romance fraud, business email compromise, investment scams, sextortion—the list of ways criminals prey on people is virtually endless and constantly changing. Add to that impersonation scams, where a criminal pretends to be someone known to their target and extracts money. There have been increasing calls for people, and particularly families, to create passphrases or passwords with each other. At the start of December, the FBI issued a recommendation that people create a “secret word or phrase with your family to verify their identity,” and British bank Starling has also published guidelines on creating safe phrases with others. It’s a simple, if not new, approach—one that can potentially be effective. For instance, if you receive a message or call from your “son” or “daughter,” and they’re urgently asking for money to get out of a jam, asking them to provide a pre-agreed passphrase can reveal whether it’s really them. “Fraudsters will use manipulation tactics to put …

The secret world of plants living in our limestone pavements

The secret world of plants living in our limestone pavements

Anyone out winter walking in the Yorkshire dales will probably be familiar with the dramatic scenery of limestone pavements. Distinctive and beautiful, they can also be found elsewhere in Britain, as well as in mainland Europe and Canada – not to mention in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where Harry and Hermione set up camp in a rocky clifftop. Limestone pavements were formed more than 300 million years ago in the Dinantian period, when the ice sheets scraped away soil, leaving limestone rock exposed. Over time, rainfall wore away the rock into the uneven patterns that we see today. Mountain avens. Sophia Granchinho Limestone pavements are made up of large slabs of rock called clints, interspersed with cracks called grikes that can be a few metres deep. Living in these grikes is a secret world of plant life, including rare species such as the pretty white mountain-avens, the poisonous baneberry and the rigid buckler fern, which only ever grows on limestone. Why these areas matter The habitats in these grikes are important for conservation, …

At a secret Ukrainian drone command post, Russian soldiers are hunted : NPR

At a secret Ukrainian drone command post, Russian soldiers are hunted : NPR

Callsign “Sonic”, 34, a сommander of the strike unmanned aerial vehicle platoon, known as Dovbush’s hornets, a unit of 68th Separate Jäger Brigade. He watches the live streams of drone pilots operating in the Donbas Region on Dec. 19, 2024. Anton Shtuka for NPR hide caption toggle caption Anton Shtuka for NPR NEAR POKROVSK, Ukraine — In a small town outside Pokrovsk, a city in eastern Ukraine under siege by Russia, a soldier guides an armored vehicle down a muddy, snow-swept lane. In the early winter darkness, lights flash on the horizon as the two armies trade artillery fire. In the driveway of a rundown house, two soldiers work quickly under the glow of headlamps, loading weapons from a shed into the back of a battered truck. “They’re going to take one of our drones into the field,” says a 35-year-old military technician named Yurii. For security reasons, Yurii declines to be photographed and shares only his first name. He says he was a video game programmer before enlisting in Ukraine’s army earlier this year. …

Secret Renaissance Passageway Reopens in Florence

Secret Renaissance Passageway Reopens in Florence

The Vasari Corridor in Florence. Source: Sailko/Wikimedia Commons.   A private passageway with exclusive city views—once reserved for the wealthy Medici family of Florence—is opening to the general public for the first time in its nearly 500-year history. Following eight years of renovations, the new-and-improved Vasari Corridor welcomed its first visitors this week.   What Is the Vasari Corridor? Map of the Vasari Corridor. Source: Towns of Italy.   The Vasari Corridor was designed by Giorgio Vasari, the Italian Renaissance architect and author whose work laid the foundation for modern-day art history. Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici commissioned Vasari to construct the private passageway so the Grand Dukes could travel undisturbed from their residence at Pitti Palace to the seat of government in the Palazzo Vecchio. Construction on the elevated tile-roofed corridor lasted just five months. The result was a secret passageway measuring over 750 meters, beginning at the Uffizi Galleries and ending in the Boboli Gardens.   The Vasari Corridor passes over the streets of Florence, running along and crossing the Arno River atop …

The Secret of the Three Fates by Jess Armstrong

The Secret of the Three Fates by Jess Armstrong

In The Secret of the Three Fates, Jess Armstrong’s second installment of the Ruby Vaughn Mysteries, we return to the world of the intrepid American heiress-turned-bookseller Ruby Vaughn. After her supernatural encounters in Cornwall in The Curse of Penryth Hall, Ruby finds herself reluctantly drawn into another mystery involving mediums, murder, and long-buried secrets in the misty Scottish Borders. Plot and Setting The story begins with Ruby accompanying her employer, the mysterious Mr. Owen, to Manhurst Castle under the pretense of acquiring illuminated manuscripts. However, she quickly discovers there’s more to their visit when she learns of an upcoming séance by three mediums calling themselves The Three Fates. The atmospheric setting of 1922 Scotland provides the perfect backdrop for this gothic tale, with its fog-shrouded castles, treacherous cliffs, and the ever-present specter of post-World War I grief. Character Development One of Armstrong’s strengths lies in her character development. Ruby Vaughn continues to be a compelling protagonist, whose sharp wit and independence make her stand out in the conservative 1920s society. Her relationship with Mr. Owen …

5 Secret Tests To Immediately Determine Your Child’s Love Language

5 Secret Tests To Immediately Determine Your Child’s Love Language

Most people are familiar with the concept of love languages. They originated with Gary Chapman’s 1992 book “The 5 Love Languages” and describe the different ways in which people express and experience love.  While love languages are usually discussed regarding romantic relationships, parenting expert Emma Christmas says they are relevant for parents and children too. In a recent Instagram post, she shared a few ways to identify your child’s love language and use that knowledge to strengthen your bond.  Here are 5 secret tests you can use to determine your child’s love language: 1. Words of affirmation buritora | Shutterstock How to know: If your child frequently seeks compliments, praise, and opinions, words of affirmation are likely their primary love language. Constant questions are another indication of this. How to speak it back: Let your child hear you say good things about them, whether you directly tell them or not-so-casually allow them to “overhear” you. This doesn’t just have to be verbal — notes from you would also be treasured. RELATED: Kate Winslet Gives Brilliant …

Scientists discovered the secret to a longer life and it may just be in your head

Scientists discovered the secret to a longer life and it may just be in your head

Scientific research has increasingly highlighted how the body’s organs rely on intricate communication networks to maintain vitality. These pathways, much like a symphony, keep the body in harmony when they function efficiently. But as we age, these connections weaken, disrupting the molecular and electrical signals that ensure organs work properly. A groundbreaking study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shed light on a critical communication pathway in mice. This pathway forms a feedback loop between the brain and fat tissue, playing a key role in regulating energy production across the body. The findings suggest that as this loop deteriorates with age, it may contribute to the cascade of health issues commonly associated with aging. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a key feedback loop between the brain and the fat tissue that governs aging in mice. Key neurons (shown in green) in the dorsomedial hypothalamus of the brain activate fat tissue to produce cellular fuel. When these specific neurons are activated in older …

Cormac McCarthy’s Longtime Secret Muse Revealed to Be 16-Year-Old Girl

Cormac McCarthy’s Longtime Secret Muse Revealed to Be 16-Year-Old Girl

Augusta Britt was just 16 when she met a 42-year-old Cormac McCarthy at a Tuscon motel pool. At the time, she was in and out of foster care—where she encountered a lot of abuse and inappropriate attention from men—and saw in McCarthy some sense of security. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, she recounts their longstanding relationship, which inspired a number of the highly acclaimed author’s stories and characters. Some of the characters seem to mirror the inappropriate power dynamic that existed between Britt and McCarthy. And, despite her slight discomfort with fully labelling McCarthy a groomer—though she calls him one twice during the interview, and details how the police were after him for statutory rape (she was 17 and he 43) and human trafficking—she does feel like he violated her at least in an emotional sense. When he sent her the manuscript for All the Pretty Horses, she expressed how seeing so much of her trauma on the page felt hurtful. “The first thing I see, obviously, is the title. And I thought, …

NASA Keeping Issue With Moon Rocket a Secret

NASA Keeping Issue With Moon Rocket a Secret

In late 2022, NASA launched its uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back to Earth as part of its Artemis I mission, setting the stage for the first human lunar landing in over half a century several years from now. But Orion’s fiery reentry through the Earth’s atmosphere left behind plenty of scars — and several glaring questions unanswered. Orion’s heat shield started disintegrating, with subsequent reviews finding it had cracked and chipped. While the space agency now says it’s identified the issue, as Ars Technica reports, officials are being strangely secretive about what exactly went wrong. “We have gotten to a root cause,” assistant deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Moon to Mars program office Lakiesha Hawkins told Ars during an event on Monday. “We are having conversations within the agency to make sure that we have a good understanding of not only what’s going on with the heat shield, but also next steps and how that actually applies to the course that we take for Artemis II,” she said, referring to the first …

From Adriana Lima to Tyra Banks: The wealthiest Victoria’s Secret Angels revealed

From Adriana Lima to Tyra Banks: The wealthiest Victoria’s Secret Angels revealed

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returned on Tuesday after a six-year hiatus, and the world watched as our favorite Angels hit the runway once again. The annual show took a break in 2019 thanks to controversy surrounding the lack of diversity in the brand, leading to low ratings and a bid for the company to take stock and regroup.  This year, the Angels returned with a bang, and the runway featured famous faces like Adriana Lima and Tyra Banks showcasing their VS wings. As the iconic brand returns to the zeitgeist, join HELLO! as we discover who the richest Victoria’s Secret models are.  The figures below are as per the Daily Mail.  You may also likeVictoria’s Secret launches new campaign with history-making Down Syndrome model Adriana Lima: USD 95 million © ANGELA WEISSAdriana began modeling for the brand in 2000 The Brazilian bombshell has capitalized off her VS fame and made her fortune on brand deals, including her long-standing partnership with Maybelline.  She is also the longest-running VS Angel, modeling for the brand from 2000 …