Chester Bennington, Linkin Park lead singer, dies of suspected suicide aged 41

Police say that the singer, who struggled with substance abuse, is suspected to have killed himself in a private residence in Los Angeles County

Police have confirmed that Chester Bennington, the lead singer of band Linkin Park, has died.

His death at his private residence in Palos Verdes Estates in Los Angeles County at approximately 9am Thursday morning was confirmed by the coroner and is being treated as a suspected suicide.

Bennington, who was 41 years old, joined the group in 1999 and became a household name the year after with the release of the band’s debut album Hybrid Theory, which was nominated for a Grammy award for best rock album. Their second album, Meteora, has sold over 27m units and the band collaborated with Jay-Z for 2004 EP Collision Course.

Bennington also fronted the Stone Temple Pilots from 2013 to 2015 and made small appearances in the films Crank and Saw 3D. When his close friend and fellow musician Chris Cornell, lead singer of the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, killed himself this past May, Bennington honored him on Twitter and performed at his funeral.

“You have inspired me in many ways you could never have known,” Bennington wrote. “Your talent was pure and unrivaled. Your voice was joy and pain, anger and forgiveness, love and heartache all wrapped up into one. I pray you find peace in the next life. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life.”

In past interviews, Bennington has spoken candidly about his struggles with drugs and alcohol. “It’s not cool to be an alcoholic — it’s not cool to go drink and be a dumbass,” he said to Noisecreep in 2009. “It’s cool to be a part of recovery. This is just who I am, this is what I write about, what I do, and most of my work has been a reflection of what I’ve been going through in one way or another.”

He also shared details of an abusive childhood. In a 2011 interview with the Guardian, he said: “When I was young, getting beaten up and pretty much raped was no fun. No one wants that to happen to you and honestly, I don’t remember when it started ... My God, no wonder I became a drug addict. No wonder I just went completely insane for a little while.”

Bennington is survived by six children, Jaime, Isaiah, Draven, Tyler Lee and twins Lily and Lila, and his wife Talinda Ann Bentley.

His Linkin Park bandmate Mike Shinoda tweeted that he was “shocked and heartbroken” at the news while other tributes have arrived from Rihanna, Nikki Sixx, Stormzy (with whom Bennington recently worked), Ohio governor John Kasich and Chance the Rapper.

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Online Censorship: A Global Map & Ranking of Every Country’s Internet Restrictions (Infographic)

Do you know what internet activities are illegal in your country?

Online censorship is the latest battleground in the fight for freedom of information, and every country is handling it differently. Russia restricts access to political media, while Finland – their neighbor across the border – only restricts torrents. Some countries’ rankings are obvious (we all know the UK and USA  have relatively few internet restrictions), although others come as more of a surprise.

Many different elements can determine a governments’ desire to restrict access in their country. For example, the blanket ban on all internet access in North Korea is strongly related to a fear of its populous understanding life outside of the closely guarded country. China, Taiwan, and Vietnam restrict internet access for political reasons, while countries like Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen have religious motives. Whatever the reason, it is good to know what your country’s policy is.

Check out the map below to see what’s restricted in your country, and compare it to other countries to see where you rank in the world of online censorship.

Click to see image in full size

This article was originally published on vpnMentor blog.

The link for the article is here.

www.vpnmentor.com/blog/online-censorship-country-rank

5 Tools to Help Protect Yourself From Ransomware

A DEVASTATING GLOBAL cyberattack called WannaCry has alerted millions of people to the dangers of ransomware. Hospitals, utilities, businesses, and more were locked out of their computers, facing payment demands from anonymous hackers. And while it’s too late for over hundreds of thousands of devices across 150 countries that WannaCry hit, there are a few tools you can use to help limit your own risk, both now and going forward.

After all, WannaCry’s hardly the only ransomware out there. Protect yourself now, before the next one hits.

WD My Passport Hard Drive
Really, any external hard drive backup will do; we just like the WD My Passport for its built-in hardware encryption and three-year warranty. What specific model you go for, though, matters much less than how you use it. The key here? Regularly back up your system, but keep your hard drive disconnected from your desktop. Otherwise, the ransomware will find and encrypt your backup just like it did your main system. 

CrashPlan Data Backup
When you think “cloud backup,” you might think “Dropbox.” Don’t! At least not for these purposes. Dropbox offers a lot of value as a syncing service, keeping your files straight across multiple devices. Handy, but not much help if ransomware hits. Instead, look for a true cloud backup service that backs up and encrypts all of your files in a server far, far away. If a hacker locks up your digital life, a cloud backup means you can just wipe and start over with an uninfected version. Crash Plan gets solid reviews from a range of sites for its ease of use and cost, but competitors like Carbonite and Backblaze offer similar functionality.

Windows 10
Are you on an older version of Windows? Are you even still using Windows XP? Please stop that immediately. In fact, thanks in part to a big release of NSA tools by a hacking group called Shadow Brokers, you should consider any Windows version other than the very latest a potential risk. You’re past the free Windows 10 upgrade period at this point, but it’s still worth the investment for the added peace of mind. Just make sure that even once you’re up to date, you’re downloading each patch as soon as it becomes available.

Bitdefender Internet Security
Anti-virus software gets a bad rap sometimes, and not without reason. It gets its hooks into so many parts of your computer that if something goes wrong with your AV, your whole system’s at risk. Then again, if ransomware takes over, you don’t have a system to begin with. There are a lot of fine choices here, but Bitdefender stands out for having repeatedly aced real-world protection testing from independent reviewer AV-Comparisons over the last year. And yes, it protects against WannaCry, as would almost any top AV product.

An iPhone
Don’t get us wrong, Android phones are wonderful! But ransomware doesn’t just hit desktop computers. It’s surging  on smartphones as well. And while both the iOS App Store and Android’s Google Play do a pretty good job of keeping malicious apps off your phone, the prevalence of third-party app stores for Android make it a much bigger risk for ransomware infection. An iPhone is your safest bet; just don’t click on any links in spammy text messages. And if you prefer Android regardless, stick with official downloads only.

How to Improve Your Online Privacy as a Journalist?

What precisely needs to be done to ensure that a journalist’s sources and data are secured and well? In Online Privacy for Journalists, the former Haaretz Deputy Editor, Michael Dagan, will teach you tips and tricks to project your sources and valuable information.

You would be hard-pressed to find a journalist who would disagree that it is harder than ever to protect your data and your sources. And it is only becoming more difficult as technology continues to develop, with a perpetual “technological arms race” between those who want to protect their information and those who want to steal it. It is not enough now just to be a good journalist; one must be tech-savvy and stay up-to-date with the latest communications technologies and know how to protect your information, lest you send a message which is intercepted and ends up in the wrong hands.

One of the worst parts is that merely searching the web for privacy-enhancing software tools can very well cause the NSA to track you. Even if a journalist is to use the Tor network (and many do), this can be easily detected, only causing to be flagged as a suspicious character. So while there is no golden bullet to protecting yourself as a science, political, technology or other journalists, there are steps that you can take to protect yourself from the prying eyes of the government or anyone else who stands to gain from stealing your information.

The guide Online Privacy for Journalists outlines topics such as how to communicate with sources and safeguard sensitive data, how to use two-factor authentication, how to become anonymous online, how to secure your email, and even which search engines are safer to use.

Here is the direct link for vpnmentor
https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/online-privacy-journalists/

KAARI - the film

Synopsis:
Kaari is the story of a girl who went a bit too far, to rope in the crush of her life. She forgets that she will pay a price to play with the entities of the other side. Utlimately she finds it's too late to take charge of the situation.

The film is under production process but sources say that Hallucination Pictures will upload the official trailer soon on the website. There are some teasers available on the Facebook, to see click here.These are uploaded to let people know what is coming next. Although we do not have full information about the project and story but still we can say that this will be something new on Pakistani Cinemas. In the past decade, Pakistan's film industry has entered to the international standards and also producing some top films with brand new concepts. The biggest business on the Box Office of any Pakistani movie till now is of US$2.2 million. Nowadays, this industry is earning a good revenue as so many foreign investments are turned into it.

It is also been observed that there are so many Pakistani students learning film in New York which then are expected to return to their homeland for film making. The production cost in Pakistan is comparatively less than any other country so near future if the social and economical conditions become stable of Pakistan, the talented people who are roaming around the world seeking work will head towards this country.

Arsalan Jilani wishes the luck for the Hallucination Pictures and the film KAARI.
Details:

For more details click here. 

Rihanna Reveals Rogue Fall Fragrance Campaign!

Rogue by Rihanna.

Dang, y'all—between Rihanna's River Island clothing line, MAC makeup collection, and, um, WORLD TOUR, we're not even sure how she has time to breathe, let alone create a brand new perfume. Today RiRi announced her latest scent, Rogue, which will hit Macy’s, Dillard’s and Belk in September. This is her fourth fragrance (following Nude, Rebelle and Reb'l Fleur), which she told WWD has "a flirty, sensual Oriental" scent that combines lemon blossom, jasmine, rose, plum, patchouli, and vanilla—just to name a few.
But, guys, can we talk about this oh-so-sultry photo of Ri for a minute? The black and white image, which was shot by Mario Sorrenti and styled by Mel Ottenberg (duh), features Rihanna looking simply chic in just a slip dress and her signature half-shaved blonde 'do. The entire campaign is supposed to reflect Rihanna's ever-evolving image. She said, "People are always changing and evolving and with Rogue I wanted to switch it up to reflect who I am today. I made it for all women, for every mood, because we all want to project our true selves." The bottle (which has inverted spikes at the bottom!) will retail between $18 and $69, and limited-edition accessories (think: clutches and fashion bracelets) will be available with gift sets. But tell us, will you be swiping up RiRi's Rogue fragrance this fall? Let me know in the comments below!

Pitt Blasts Zombies; ‘Attack’ Blames Muslims, Jews: Film

Brad Pitt, Abigail Hargrove, Mireille Enos in "World War Z." The film, from Paramount Pictures, is playing across the U.S.

How to fight the Zombie Apocalypse? 

Israel builds walls. North Korea yanks teeth. Somewhere in the Middle East, a nuke explodes.
America recruits Brad Pitt. Smart move.
Director Marc Forster’s “World War Z” is a throwback to the full-throttle horror films of the 1970s, posing its zombie what-ifs with the same realism summoned to imagine what might happen if a Georgetown girl met the devil.
Early on, Pitt, as a former United Nations investigator turned stay-at-home dad, sits in a car with the wife and kids on a jammed Philadelphia street.
Within moments, “WWZ” explodes in urban panic (and cinematic panache) as thrilling as anything we’re likely to see this blockbuster season.
Loosely adapted by, among others, Damon Lindelof (“Lost”) and Max Brooks (son of Mel) from the latter’s bestselling 2006 faux oral history, “WWZ” sends Pitt’s Gerry Lane on a global hunt to find the source of a virus that’s turns humans into howling, convulsive, flesh-chomping ghouls.

Hot Zones

Recruited by his old U.N. boss (Fana Mokoena) to join the battle (Gerry’s qualifications, other than being Brad Pitt, are hazy), Lane leaves his wife (Mireille Enos, AMC’s “The Killing”) and two daughters for the world’s undead hot zones.
A series of set pieces follows, some better than others, with hoards of snarling zombies stampeding Jerusalem, a U.S. military base in North Korea, and, in the most horrific scene, an airborne jetliner (word to the wise: pay for that upgrade).
Finally, at an isolated medical facility in Wales, Lane and a small staff of brainy researchers plot to infiltrate a closed-off, zombie-infiltrated wing of the building, where deadly viruses and bacteria -- and a possible vaccine -- are stored.
This troubled, extended final segment -- re-shoots reportedly were a cause of the film’s six-month delay -- scales back the massively populated chaos, recalling, if not matching, the tense isolation of John Carpenter’s “The Thing.”
After the earlier CGI spectacles, the quieter finale can’t help but seem a bit of a let-down.
Pitt, thankfully, isn’t. He’s vulnerable as the family man (Enos gets to do little more than fret), and credible as the world’s possible savior.
The director uses his large cast well, keeping many around just long enough to leave a good impression. To name just two: James Badge Dale as a gung-ho Navy Seal and Daniella Kertesz as an Israeli soldier.
“World War Z,” from Paramount Pictures, is playing across the U.S. Rating: ***1/2 (Evans)

‘The Attack’

Near the beginning of “The Attack,” a suicide bomber strikes at a Tel Aviv restaurant. We see the carnage -- graphically --through the eyes of Amin (Ali Suliman), an E.R. surgeon.
Amin is an assimilated Palestinian, loved and honored by his Jewish friends and colleagues. That night, he learns that the police have identified a suspect in the massacre: his wife.
Brutally interrogated by Israeli security forces, he refuses to accept her guilt and sets out to learn the truth. Eventually he travels to Nablus, in the West Bank.
Working from a novel by Yasmina Khadra, the Lebanese director, Ziad Doueiri, remains carefully if not coldly neutral.
He looks unsparingly at everyone: fanatical, hate-crazed Palestinians; Israelis whose ruthlessness has made life in the Occupied Territories hell; and, not least, Israeli liberals whose eyes turn icy as soon as they suspect Amin of harboring any sympathy for the enemy.
This is not a soft-hearted movie offering quiet hope. Despite -- or perhaps because of -- its refusal to take sides, the Arab League has called for a boycott against it, and it has been banned in Lebanon and other Arab countries.
“The Attack,” from Cohen Media Group, is playing in New York and Washington, D.C. Rating: *** (Seligman)
(Greg Evans and Craig Seligman are critics for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are their own.)
Muse highlights include Jeremy Gerard on theater and New York Weekend.