Viral attack to Internet banking applications

The PC Bank may be the most timesaving banking innovation since the ATM (Automatic Teller Machine). However, it also brings new possibilities for thieves. This is mainly because we have not completely solved the growing problem of computer viruses and Trojans that can act on our computers against our will. Several methods are used against them, although none can be considered 100% effective. Even more, most personal computers have little or no virus protection, so they are very easy to attack. This can become a problem as nearly all PC banking systems rely on authentication with identification passwords. This system is vulnerable and we will show that it does not provide enough protection for the users that want to make transfer operations from their accounts     

The pharao project: Towards a space clock using cold cs atoms

For several years, the “BNM-Laboratoire Primaire du Temps et des Fréquences” has worked on a cold atom frequency standard. With a cesium atomic fountain a resonance line width of 700 mHz has been obtained leading to a short-term stability of 2 × 10⁻¹³ τ^−1/2 down to 2 × 10⁻¹⁵ at 10⁴ s. A first evaluation of the fountain accuracy has been performed resulting in an accuracy of 3 × 10⁻¹⁵, three times better than previously achieved with thermal beams frequency standards. In the atomic fountain, gravity limits the interaction time to ˜1 s, hence the resonance line width to ˜0.5 Hz. A factor of 10 reduction in the line width could be obtained in a micro-gravity environment. The “Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales” (the French space agency), the “BNM-Laboratoire Primaire du Temps et des Fréquences”, the “Laboratoire de l'Horloge Atomique” and the “Laboratoire Kastler Brossel” have set up a collaboration to investigate a space frequency standard using cold atoms: the PHARAO project. A microgravity prototype has been constructed and operated first in the reduced gravity of aircraft parabolic flights in May 1997. It is designed as a transportable frequency standard. The PHARAO frequency standard could be a key element in future space missions in fundamental physics such as SORT (solar orbit relativity test), detection of gravitational waves, or for the realization of a global time scale and a new generation of positioning system.     

On the association of eruptive prominences, coronal holes and current sheets with the coronal mass ejections

In this paper, a study of the coronal mass ejections (CMEs) observed by Solar Maximum Mission satellite (SMM) during the period March – September, 1980, is presented. An attempt to identify various possible associations of the solar phenomena, for example, the location of coronal holes, the role of eruptive filaments or prominences, and current-sheets with the CMEs is carried out. It is shown that the combined associations of these three play an important role in the occurrence of geoeffective CMEs and also act as a tool to predict the associated geomagnetic activity.     

Interplanetary shocks and geomagnetic activity during solar maximum (2000) and solar minimum (1995–1996)

Plasma and magnetic field parameter variations through fast forward interplanetary shocks were correlated with the peak geomagnetic activity index Dst in a period from 0 to 3 days after the shock, during solar maximum (2000) and solar minimum (1995–1996). Solar wind speed (V) and total magnetic field (B_t) were the parameters with higher correlations with peak Dst index. The correlation coefficients were higher during solar minimum (r² = 56% for V and 39% for B_t) than during solar maximum (r² = 15% for V and 12% for B_t). A statistical distribution of geomagnetic activity levels following interplanetary shocks was obtained. It was observed that during solar maximum, 36% and 28% of interplanetary shocks were followed by intense (Dst  −100 nT) and moderate (−50  Dst < −100 nT) geomagnetic activity, whereas during solar minimum 13% and 33% of the shocks were followed by intense and moderate geomagnetic activity. It can be concluded that the upstream/downstream variations of V and B_t through the shocks were the parameters better correlated with geomagnetic activity level, and during solar maximum a higher relative number of interplanetary shocks can be followed by intense geomagnetic activity than during solar minimum. One can extrapolate, for forecasting goals, that during a whole solar cycle a shock has a probability of around 50% to be followed by intense/moderate geomagnetic activity.     

CME dynamics using coronagraph and interplanetary ejecta data

In this work, we present a study of the coronal mass ejection (CME) dynamics using LASCO coronagraph observations combined with in-situ ACE plasma and magnetic field data, covering a continuous period of time from January 1997 to April 2001, complemented by few extreme events observed in 2001 and 2003. We show, for the first time, that the CME expansion speed correlates very well with the travel time to 1 AU of the interplanetary ejecta (or ICMEs) associated with the CMEs, as well as with their preceding shocks. The events analyzed in this work are a subset of the events studied in Schwenn et al. (2005), from which only the CMEs associated with interplanetary ejecta (ICMEs) were selected. Three models to predict CME travel time to Earth, two proposed by Gopalswamy et al. (2001) and one by Schwenn et al. (2005), were used to characterize the dynamical behavior of this set of events. Extreme events occurred in 2001 and 2003 were used to test the prediction capability of the models regarding CMEs with very high LASCO C3 speeds.     

Periodic Job Scheduling in a Distributed Processor System

This investigation considers the problem of the nonpreemptive scheduling of a set of independent periodic jobs in a computer system characterized by a collection of processors, memories, and interconnection mechanisms. Such a collection of resources can be used to perform the functions of a process control environment as are found, for example, in the avionics of a military or commercial aircraft. The distribution of these resources permits weight, volume, power, cost, and reliability requirements to be satisfied. Each periodic job is characterized by its frequency and its execution time. The inverse of the frequency, the period, is assumed to be an integer, and the initiation time and the completion time of job must be strictly met. An optimal algorithm is developed for a job set whose members are related by a binary frequency distribution. That is, if the jobs in the set are ordered in terms of decreasing job execution frequency, then fi = 2fi+1. The optimal result is generalized to include conditions in which the jobs are related by fi = kfi+1, where k is an integer.     

Study of multilayer thermal insulation by inverse problems method

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new method in the research of radiative and thermal properties of materials with further applications in the design of thermal control systems (TCS) of spacecrafts. In this paper the radiative and thermal properties (emissivity and thermal conductance) of a multilayered thermal-insulating blanket (MLI), which is a screen-vacuum thermal insulation as a part of the TCS for perspective spacecrafts, are estimated. Properties of the materials under study are determined in the result of temperature and heat flux measurement data processing based on the solution of the inverse heat transfer problem (IHTP) technique. Given are physical and mathematical models of heat transfer processes in a specimen of the multilayered thermal-insulating blanket located in the experimental facility. A mathematical formulation of the inverse heat conduction problem is presented as well. The practical approves were made for specimen of the real MLI.     

The Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget Edition 1 data processing algorithms

The Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument is the first to measure the earth radiation budget from a geostationary orbit. This allows a full sampling of the diurnal cycle of radiation and clouds – which is important for climate studies, as well as detailed process studies, e.g. the lifecycle of clouds or particular aerosol events such as desert storms. GERB data is now for the first time released as Edition 1 data for public scientific use. In this paper we summarise the algorithms used for the Edition 1 GERB data processing and the main validation results. Based on the comparison with the independent CERES instrument, the Edition 1 GERB accuracy is 5% for the reflected solar radiances and 2% for the emitted thermal radiances.