A new report on Inside Mobile Apps reports that Microsoft may be looking to phase out its Microsoft Point system that it has used since the inception of the Xbox Live Marketplace in favor of real world money, a move that would effect not only Xbox Live, but the Zune Marketplace, and Windows Phone users as well.

Citing memos sent to company partners, the site claims that Microsoft has reportedly been warning said partners to get ready for the change by the end of 2012. Given the recent rash of Xbox Live Point thefts and phishing scams, one has to wonder whether security is a main reason for the possible change.

After confiscating a Massachusetts woman’s cupcake, the federal Transportation Security Administration is defending their decision according to boston.com.

Rebecca Hains of Peabody was not allowed to take her cupcake on the plain from Las Vegas to Massachusetts, and called the TSA’s defense “terrible logic.”

The TSA says the cupcake was packed in a jar full of frosting, which is considered a gel. This violates the policy that prohibits liquids and gels in order to protect travelers from terrorists that design explosives made of such substances.

Travelers are permitted to take cakes, pies and cupcakes through security as long as the gel does not exceed the federal limits.

The U.S. Department of Treasury unveiled a new $100 bill today, equipped with several changes that are meant to enhance security and reduce counterfeiting.

According to Larry Felix, the director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the changes are meant to be “very obvious and visible.” The bill is pretty high-tech and has three major security changes.

The first is the blue 3-D security ribbon that runs down the bill lengthwise, right beside Franklin’s face. When you tilt the bill from side to side, the tiny images on the ribbon switch from bells to the number ’100′.

The second is the inkwell at the bottom of the bill, just to the right of the blue ribbon. It’s engraved with an image of a bell, and changes color from copper to green when you tilt the bill back and forth.

Lastly, there is a giant metallic ’100′ on the back of the bill and on the front in the bottom right corner. The metallic material is harder to counterfeit and it also changes color when the bill is tilted. That security feature is already on bills in other countries, such as Canada.

The $100 is the most counterfeited in America. As it’s the largest bill available for public use, the Department of Treasury said it felt the need to “protect the integrity” of U.S. money and overhaul its security features.

Click here for an interactive view of the new bill.

Click here if you want to see all of the American $100 bill designs, starting from 1862. The 1862 one is seriously awesome.

Digital forensics provider Paraben Corporation has released a new product designed to detect porn on a person’s computer.

According to Paraben, the average age of a person first exposed to pornography online is 11 — whether on purpose or .. cough … not.

The Paraben Porn Detection Stick scans a PC and peripherals like flash cards and external hard drives and seeks out all those nekkid pics.

“Creating a tool that empowers parents with the ability to find risks to their children was very important to me as a parent and as a professional fighting crimes against children,” said Amber Schroader, CEO of the Utah-based firm.

The product’s internal software can scan images for skin tones and body parts on 15 supported image formats. It doesn’t say anything, however, about video files.

The product is $99 and promises a 99 percent success rate.

So that still leaves, what, 10 gigs of porn on your computer?

A Boynton Beach, Fla. woman busted four robbers who broke into her house after she saw them ransacking her home on a digital webcam security system that let her check in on her house from her work computer.

Talk about timing.

When Jeanne Thomas saw four men robbing her house, she called 911 and the cops got there before the thieves could get away with the loot.

In the interview with CBS, Thomas says she used refers to the camera as a “webcam” but Logitech was quick to point out that it was actually their WiLife Digital Video Security System.

The product, while not a traditional webcam per se, is a bunch of webcam-like cameras that you can view from the web.

Names aside, it was a good $250 investment for Thomas.

There are many methods and products for ensuring data encryption, but unfortunately many can run you hundreds of dollars along with countless hours of time in the process.

I’ve always felt that some of the best software is free — take Mozilla Firefox for example.‚  SafeHouse Explorer is another great free product and in my use, I’ve found it to be a comprehensive data encryption solution for most Windows users.

One thing that I’ve noticed and enjoy about SafeHouse Explorer is its very clean look and simplicity of use. The application is designed to have the same appearance as the Windows Explorer and some of the most frequent tasks such as the “open volume” button are well placed and labeled, making the overall interface very functional, yet simple.

SafeHouse Explorer works to protect and encrypt your files by first letting your choose the size of its database or volume file. Then you create a password. I recommend that you choose a strong password (use the password strength indicator to help you), considering this will be your “master password” to all your files that are stored in that one volume. Once this is complete, you can simply drag and drop files into the window, and the program will then index and encrypt the files upon exiting the program.

One feature worth noting is the secure move-ability. This feature enables you easily move files to the SafeHouse application, and once imported, it destroys the files in the original location where they were dragged from.

Recovering your files is simple as well, and there are a variety of ways to regain access to your encrypted files. Users can create desktop shortcuts, double click on the volume file or simply launch the application and use the “open volume” button and navigate to the database or volume file. From there, users must enter their password- in which they assigned previously when they created the volume. SafeHouse Explorer then displays all of their files and the user can make changes. It then automatically creates a network drive when it recognizes you are logged into a particular volume. Once you close SafeHouse Explorer it deletes the network drive from Windows. This option makes it incredibly easy for users to easily gain access to their files using the familiar genuine Windows Explorer without having to use SafeHouse Explorer to access files. When volume is open in the application, users can make modifications directly to the file in SafeHouse Explorer. Many other clients require you to re-import files to make changes.

The company also offers a pro version of SafeHouse that offers additional functionality, but the free version is more than enough for most Windows users just looking to safeguard and encrypt files. There’s no Mac version, however.

You can download SafeHouse Explorer for free at: http://www.safehouseencryption.com/

Well, it’s happened.

Facebook has been hit with instant messaging spam.

Blast saw it first-hand when a friend who we haven’t talked to in a while randomly IM’d us about a “free” “giftcard” she’d “won” at a certain “website”.

We’ve gotten used to Facebook spam, with people’s accounts being hijacked to write on all their friends’ walls, but not this.

Nothing is sacred. Nothing is pure. You bastards.