1,850 research outputs found
Detection and Prevention of Android Malware Attempting to Root the Device
Every year, malefactors continue to target the Android operating system. Malware which root the device pose the greatest threat to users. The attacker could steal stored passwords and contact lists or gain remote control of the phone. Android users require a system to detect the operation of malware trying to root the phone. This research aims to detect the Exploid, RageAgainstTheCage, and Gingerbreak exploits on Android operating systems. Reverse-engineering 21 malware samples lead to the discovery of two critical paths in the Android Linux kernel, wherein attackers can use malware to root the system. By placing sensors inside the critical paths, the research detected all 379 malware samples trying the root the system. Moreover, the experiment tested 16,577 benign applications from the Official Android Market and third party Chinese markets which triggered zero false positive results. Unlike static signature detection at the application level, this research provides dynamic detection at the kernel level. The sensors reside in-line with the kernel\u27s source code, monitoring network sockets and process creation. Additionally, the research demonstrates the steps required to reverse engineer Android malware in order to discover future critical paths. Using the kernel resources, the two sensors demonstrate efficient asymptotic time and space real-world monitoring. Furthermore, the sensors are immune to obfuscation techniques such as repackaging
Large N and the renormalization group
In the large N limit, we show that the Local Potential Approximation to the
flow equation for the Legendre effective action, is in effect no longer an
approximation, but exact - in a sense, and under conditions, that we determine
precisely. We explain why the same is not true for the Polchinski or Wilson
flow equations and, by deriving an exact relation between the Polchinski and
Legendre effective potentials (that holds for all N), we find the correct large
N limit of these flow equations. We also show that all forms (and all parts) of
the renormalization group are exactly soluble in the large N limit, choosing as
an example, D dimensional O(N) invariant N-component scalar field theory.Comment: 13 pages, uses harvmac; Added: one page with further clarification of
the main results, discussion of earlier work, and new references. To be
published in Phys. Lett.
Derivative expansion of the renormalization group in O(N) scalar field theory
We apply a derivative expansion to the Legendre effective action flow
equations of O(N) symmetric scalar field theory, making no other approximation.
We calculate the critical exponents eta, nu, and omega at the both the leading
and second order of the expansion, associated to the three dimensional
Wilson-Fisher fixed points, at various values of N. In addition, we show how
the derivative expansion reproduces exactly known results, at special values
N=infinity,-2,-4, ... .Comment: 29 pages including 4 eps figures, uses LaTeX, epsfig, and latexsy
Momentum Scale Expansion of Sharp Cutoff Flow Equations
We show how the exact renormalization group for the effective action with a
sharp momentum cutoff, may be organised by expanding one-particle irreducible
parts in terms of homogeneous functions of momenta of integer degree (Taylor
expansions not being possible). A systematic series of approximations -- the
approximations -- result from discarding from these parts, all terms
of higher than the degree. These approximations preserve a field
reparametrization invariance, ensuring that the field's anomalous dimension is
unambiguously determined. The lowest order approximation coincides with the
local potential approximation to the Wegner-Houghton equations. We discuss the
practical difficulties with extending the approximation beyond .Comment: 31 pages including 5 eps figures, uses harvmac and epsf. Minor
additions -- not worth the bandwidth if you already have a cop
On Machine-Learned Classification of Variable Stars with Sparse and Noisy Time-Series Data
With the coming data deluge from synoptic surveys, there is a growing need
for frameworks that can quickly and automatically produce calibrated
classification probabilities for newly-observed variables based on a small
number of time-series measurements. In this paper, we introduce a methodology
for variable-star classification, drawing from modern machine-learning
techniques. We describe how to homogenize the information gleaned from light
curves by selection and computation of real-numbered metrics ("feature"),
detail methods to robustly estimate periodic light-curve features, introduce
tree-ensemble methods for accurate variable star classification, and show how
to rigorously evaluate the classification results using cross validation. On a
25-class data set of 1542 well-studied variable stars, we achieve a 22.8%
overall classification error using the random forest classifier; this
represents a 24% improvement over the best previous classifier on these data.
This methodology is effective for identifying samples of specific science
classes: for pulsational variables used in Milky Way tomography we obtain a
discovery efficiency of 98.2% and for eclipsing systems we find an efficiency
of 99.1%, both at 95% purity. We show that the random forest (RF) classifier is
superior to other machine-learned methods in terms of accuracy, speed, and
relative immunity to features with no useful class information; the RF
classifier can also be used to estimate the importance of each feature in
classification. Additionally, we present the first astronomical use of
hierarchical classification methods to incorporate a known class taxonomy in
the classifier, which further reduces the catastrophic error rate to 7.8%.
Excluding low-amplitude sources, our overall error rate improves to 14%, with a
catastrophic error rate of 3.5%.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figure
ARC: A compact, high-field, fusion nuclear science facility and demonstration power plant with demountable magnets
The affordable, robust, compact (ARC) reactor is the product of a conceptual design study aimed at reducing the size, cost, and complexity of a combined fusion nuclear science facility (FNSF) and demonstration fusion Pilot power plant. ARC is a ∼200–250 MWe tokamak reactor with a major radius of 3.3 m, a minor radius of 1.1 m, and an on-axis magnetic field of 9.2 T. ARC has rare earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) superconducting toroidal field coils, which have joints to enable disassembly. This allows the vacuum vessel to be replaced quickly, mitigating first wall survivability concerns, and permits a single device to test many vacuum vessel designs and divertor materials. The design point has a plasma fusion gain of Q[subscript p] ≈ 13.6, yet is fully non-inductive, with a modest bootstrap fraction of only ∼63%. Thus ARC offers a high power gain with relatively large external control of the current profile. This highly attractive combination is enabled by the ∼23 T peak field on coil achievable with newly available REBCO superconductor technology. External current drive is provided by two innovative inboard RF launchers using 25 MW of lower hybrid and 13.6 MW of ion cyclotron fast wave power. The resulting efficient current drive provides a robust, steady state core plasma far from disruptive limits. ARC uses an all-liquid blanket, consisting of low pressure, slowly flowing fluorine lithium beryllium (FLiBe) molten salt. The liquid blanket is low-risk technology and provides effective neutron moderation and shielding, excellent heat removal, and a tritium breeding ratio ≥ 1.1. The large temperature range over which FLiBe is liquid permits an output blanket temperature of 900 K, single phase fluid cooling, and a high efficiency helium Brayton cycle, which allows for net electricity generation when operating ARC as a Pilot power plant.United States. Department of Energy (Grant DE-FG02-94ER54235)United States. Department of Energy (Grant DE-SC008435)United States. Department of Energy. Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (Grant DE-FC02-93ER54186)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant 1122374
Equilibrium shapes of flat knots
We study the equilibrium shapes of prime and composite knots confined to two
dimensions. Using rigorous scaling arguments we show that, due to self-avoiding
effects, the topological details of prime knots are localised on a small
portion of the larger ring polymer. Within this region, the original knot
configuration can assume a hierarchy of contracted shapes, the dominating one
given by just one small loop. This hierarchy is investigated in detail for the
flat trefoil knot, and corroborated by Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Strategic and practical guidelines for successful structured illumination microscopy
Linear 2D- or 3D-structured illumination microscopy (SIM or3D-SIM, respectively) enables multicolor volumetric imaging of fixed and live specimens with subdiffraction resolution in all spatial dimensions. However, the reliance of SIM on algorithmic post-processing renders it particularly sensitive to artifacts that may reduce resolution, compromise data and its interpretations, and drain resources in terms of money and time spent. Here we present a protocol that allows users to generate high-quality SIM data while accounting and correcting for common artifacts. The protocol details preparation of calibration bead slides designed for SIM-based experiments, the acquisition of calibration data, the documentation of typically encountered SIM artifacts and corrective measures that should be taken to reduce them. It also includes a conceptual overview and checklist for experimental design and calibration decisions, and is applicable to any commercially available or custom platform. This protocol, plus accompanying guidelines, allows researchers from students to imaging professionals to create an optimal SIM imaging environment regardless of specimen type or structure of interest. The calibration sample preparation and system calibration protocol can be executed within 1-2 d
Phase Structure and Compactness
In order to study the influence of compactness on low-energy properties, we
compare the phase structures of the compact and non-compact two-dimensional
multi-frequency sine-Gordon models. It is shown that the high-energy scaling of
the compact and non-compact models coincides, but their low-energy behaviors
differ. The critical frequency at which the sine-Gordon model
undergoes a topological phase transition is found to be unaffected by the
compactness of the field since it is determined by high-energy scaling laws.
However, the compact two-frequency sine-Gordon model has first and second order
phase transitions determined by the low-energy scaling: we show that these are
absent in the non-compact model.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, minor changes, final version, accepted for
publication in JHE
Can Asymptotic Series Resolve the Problems of Inflation?
We discuss a cosmological scenario in which inflation is driven by a
potential which is motivated by an effective Lagrangian approach to gravity. We
exploit the recent arguments \cite{ARZ} that an effective Lagrangian
which, by definition, contains operators of arbitrary dimensionality is in
general not a convergent but rather an asymptotic series with factorially
growing coefficients. This behavior of the effective Lagrangian might be
responsible for the resolution of the cosmological constant problem. We argue
that the same behavior of the potential gives a natural realization of the
inflationary scenario.Comment: 12 pages, uses Late
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