Topics

226

Living Room / German Government Warns Key Entities Not To Use Windows 8

« on: August 23, 2013, 01:34 AM »

Uh... Yeah. No comment from me. Enjoy.

http://www.testoster...ot-to-use-windo.html

According to leaked internal documents from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) that Die Zeit obtained, IT experts figured out that Windows 8, the touch-screen enabled, super-duper, but sales-challenged Microsoft operating system is outright dangerous for data security. It allows Microsoft to control the computer remotely through a built-in backdoor. Keys to that backdoor are likely accessible to the NSA – and in an unintended ironic twist, perhaps even to the Chinese.

The backdoor is called “Trusted Computing,” developed and promoted by the Trusted Computing Group, founded a decade ago by the all-American tech companies AMD, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and Wave Systems. Its core element is a chip, the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), and an operating system designed for it, such as Windows 8. Trusted Computing Group has developed the specifications of how the chip and operating systems work together.

...

Original German article:

http://www.zeit.de/d...indows-8-nsa/seite-1

227

Living Room / Yahoo! Overtakes Google In US Web Traffic

« on: August 22, 2013, 09:35 PM »

Yahoo!? You mean they still exist? Apparently so!

http://news.sky.com/...le-in-us-web-traffic

Analysis of US internet use suggests Yahoo! attracted more people to its web services than Google for the first time in over two years.

According to the latest audience figures compiled by comScore, Yahoo! sites received 196.6 million unique visitors in July - a 21% rise on the same month in 2012.

Google, which includes YouTube, attracted 192.3 million visitors to its property - a slight increase.

The research does not include search engines - a domain still dominated by Google - or mobile traffic, which analysts say would be likely to benefit Yahoo! as it is seen as being behind its biggest rivals on mobiles.

228

General Software Discussion / A Relatively Decent Web App (uber niche)

« on: August 20, 2013, 10:17 AM »

I loathe web apps. They're crap. Just horrible. Well, 99% of the time.

I found (and paid for) an app that isn't total garbage and is actually usable.



Sierra Chart has a lot of better functionality, and beats this by miles, but last I used it doesn't have trading ability.

Anyways... it is *possible* for a web app to not "totally" suck donkey gonads.

Still... Doesn't measure up to desktop quality, but not totally horrid.

229

Living Room / Maybe Not Everybody Should Learn to Code

« on: August 19, 2013, 09:51 PM »

Slate has some good things every once in a while, but most often, it just seems like so much drivel.

http://www.slate.com..._to_code.single.html

But if you aren’t dreaming of becoming a programmer—and therefore planning to embark on a lengthy course of study, whether self-directed or formal—I can’t endorse learning to code. Yes, it is a creative endeavor. At its base, it’s problem-solving, and the rewards for exposing holes in your thinking and discovering elegant solutions are awesome. I really think that some programs are beautiful. But I don’t think that most who “learn to code” will end up learning anything that sticks.

And don't teach anyone history, because it won't stick. And they won't be professionals anyways.
And don't teach anyone math, because it won't stick. And they won't be professionals anyways.
And don't teach anyone geography, because it won't stick. And they won't be professionals anyways.
And don't teach anyone how to drive, because it won't stick. And they won't be professionals anyways.

Coding doesn't need to stick. The lessons you learn along the way are fantastic.

Just the most basic things in programming are valuable lessons. Loops. Cripes! Learning about loops is a brilliant lesson in logic. I can't imagine anyone not already exposed to that coming out from it and not being better for it.

I sometimes wonder if the purpose of Slate isn't just to make people a bit stupider every day. 

230

Living Room / Hacker Posts About FB Flaw to Zuckerberg's Wall (gets way worse)

« on: August 17, 2013, 11:28 PM »

This is funny!

http://rt.com/news/f...cker-zuckerberg-621/

A Palestinian information system expert says he was forced to post a bug report on Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page after the social network’s security team failed to recognize that a critical vulnerability he found allows anyone to post on someone's wall.

The vulnerability, which was reported by a man calling himself ‘Khalil,’ allows any Facebook user to post anything on the walls of other users - even when those users are not included in their list of friends. He reported the vulnerability through Facebook’s security feedback page, which offered a minimum reward of US$500 for each real security bug report.

...

After receiving the third bug report, a Facebook security engineer finally admitted the vulnerability but said that Khalil won’t be paid for reporting it because his actions violated the website’s security terms of service.

Summary:

• Buddy reports bug to security team
• Security team tells him to piss off
• Posts to Zuckerberg's wall
• Security team won't pay reward for bug that they refused to listen to

Just all around it's wonky. The part that I found the worst was the reward part. It's just really douchey.

This is exactly why security experts should instead of reporting bugs to companies, should just sell exploits to criminals. If companies won't act in good faith, why should any security experts?

231

General Software Discussion / Chrome’s insane password security strategy

« on: August 17, 2013, 10:55 PM »

Judge for yourself if this link:

chrome://settings/passwords

Is what you think of when you think of password management and security.

http://blog.elliottk...rd-security-strategy

I'm not going to quote the article - visit it - it has several screenshots and whatnot, and I'm too lazy to replicate the article here.

It's a good read. Do check out some of the links at the bottom of the article as well. e.g. Wired's response is basically, "Shut up. This is normal."

232

Found Deals and Discounts / H. P. LOVECRAFT Bundle! Pay what you want!

« on: August 17, 2013, 05:12 AM »

H. P. LOVECRAFT? BUNDLE? OMG! STFU!

http://vodo.net/hplbundle

Pay what you want for our H. P. Lovecraft bundle

films + games + books + more

BOUGHT IT!

But hurry - only 2 days left as of this posting...

233

DC Gamer Club / Pet Peeves in Language in Games?

« on: August 17, 2013, 01:25 AM »

Anyone have any pet peeves (or general complaints) about the language they see in different games? I'm curious to hear from people.

e.g. Grammar problems, spelling, wrong word used, too simple language, too long to read, etc. Whatever you have noticed.

234

Living Room / Search for Devices - Then Pown them...

« on: August 16, 2013, 11:42 AM »

I subscribe to Tinman's newsletter, and in it he had this article:

http://www.techhive....leeping-toddler.html

EXTREMELY creepy. It gets worse... linking from there I find this:

http://www.shodanhq.com/

A search engine to find devices that you can then try to exploit.

Good grief. It's been around for 2 years.

If you're not scared, then 1 of 3 things:

• You're a competent IT pro and have hardened your system
• You didn't understand any of the above (no shame in ignorance)
• You're an idiot (lots of shame in willful ignorance)

The amount of open information out there is just astounding.

235

Living Room / Cody Wilson Interview on Idea City (3D Printing & Defcad)

« on: August 16, 2013, 11:16 AM »

Cody Wilson did an interesting interview with Ideacity.

He brings up some interesting points, and also mentions crypto-anarchism. Those interested in privacy will likely find crypto-anarchism interesting. But he also goes on about other topics, including The Pirate Bay and a mention of Edward Snowden.

Here's a quick list of general topics he hits on to help you decide if you want to spend 14 minutes watching.

• 3D printing
• The Pirate Bay
• Edward Snowden
• Legislation - a good deal on this
• What is happening to him
• Crypto-anarchism
• Police state
• Freedom
• Politicization of 3D printing
• Leftist activism/politics (this is surprising and probably NOT what you're thinking)
• Why did you choose a gun to 3D print?
• General item printing - distributed manufacturing
• Rights and weaponry
• Lots more...

He talks about other things, but that's a quick list.

Here's the BIG picture - he talks about 3D printing as a revolution. You can't casually watch - you need to pay attention. It's a pretty heavy interview.

236

Living Room / Microsoft Censors OpenOffice Download Links

« on: August 16, 2013, 12:02 AM »

Presented without comment...

http://torrentfreak....wnload-links-130814/

Microsoft Censors OpenOffice Download Links

In its efforts to take down as much infringing content as it can, Microsoft has started to censor legitimate links to competing software. Hoping to remove pirated versions of Microsoft Office from the Internet, the software company has sent several DMCA takedowns to Google, listing copies of its open source competitor Open Office as copyright infringements. An honest mistake perhaps, but also a terrible one.

237

Living Room / Interview With "The Dread Pirate Roberts" of The Silk Road

« on: August 15, 2013, 03:21 AM »

Ah! Now here's a cool interview! The operator of the world's most notorious web site out there... THE SILK ROAD!

It's pretty darn cool to hear from the Dread Pirate Roberts. It must have taken some balls to come out and give an interview.

http://www.forbes.co...g-website-silk-road/

Here's the teaser!

An entrepreneur as professionally careful as the Dread Pirate Roberts doesn’t trust instant messaging services. Forget phones or Skype. At one point during our eight-month preinterview courtship, I offer to meet him at an undisclosed location outside the United States. “Meeting in person is out of the question,” he says. “I don’t meet in person even with my closest advisors.” When I ask for his name and nationality, he’s so spooked that he refuses to answer any other questions and we lose contact for a month.

...

We have an important message, and the time is ripe for the world to hear it,” says Roberts. “What we’re doing isn’t about scoring drugs or ‘sticking it to the man.’ It’s about standing up for our rights as human beings and refusing to submit when we’ve done no wrong.”

...

Unlike other Bitcoin-based underground sites, Silk Road bans all but what Roberts defines as victimless contraband. He won’t permit the sale of child pornography, stolen goods or weapons, though the latter is a gray area. The site has experimented with selling guns and may yet reintroduce them, Roberts says.

238

Living Room / Why I Idolize Larry Ellison...

« on: August 15, 2013, 02:16 AM »

Larry Ellison is one of the greatest people person in history. He stands god-like above the rest of as a god for humanity.

His infinite wisdom dwarfs even that of His Noodly Divinity, the Great and Wonderful Flying Spaghetti Monster. Once I find a decal of Larry Ellison, it will replace the FSM on my car.

In his latest and perhaps greatest insights into the greater good for humanity, His Holiness Larry Ellison has professed the brilliance, magnificence, and benevolence of the surveillance state:

http://www.huffingto...2.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Larry Ellison, Oracle CEO: NSA Surveillance Is 'Great'

The chief executive of one of the country's biggest software companies thinks that NSA surveillance is "absolutely essential."

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison told Charlie Rose on Tuesday that he's unbothered by reports that the NSA is collecting phone records and monitoring internet user activity.

"Who's ever heard of this information being misused by the government? In what way?" Ellison asked.

"Let me just hear you clearly," Rose said. "You were saying whatever the NSA's doing is okay with me?"

"It's great," Ellison responded. "It's essential. By the way, President Obama thinks it's essential. It's essential if we want to minimize the kind of strikes we just had in Boston. It's absolutely essential."

Ellison added that if government surveillance were used for "political targeting," rather than to investigate possible terror threats, that would be crossing the line.

Several major tech companies have distanced themselves from the NSA in the wake of reports that the agency has been allowed to access their users' data. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Larry Page both denied the allegations. Oracle was not among the companies linked to NSA surveillance programs, though the company, which specializes in database management systems, does a significant amount of business with the U.S. government.

While some databases, such as MySQL, may run companies, Oracle runs countries and the world.

With such massive computing requirements, the next questions is about how many DB techs, networks admins, programmers, analysts, BOFHs, and peripheral jobs are being created.

Larry cares about people, and it shows. He endorses more jobs for non-bad-guy types. What a guy! So selfless. Richard Stallman could take a few lessons from him!

I'm certain that his love for the greater good/surveillance state has nothing to do with Oracle licenses in data centers.

Hail His Holiness Ellison!

239

Living Room / Interview with Ladar Levinson of LAVABIT (Must see)

« on: August 13, 2013, 01:32 PM »

I'm not really a fan of Amy Goodman, but when she gets some people on, I can't stay away:

http://www.democracy...owdens_email_service

EXCLUSIVE: Owner of Snowden’s Email Service on Why He Closed Lavabit Rather Than Comply With Gov’t

...

LADAR LEVISON: Yeah, well, I’ve—thank you, Amy. I’ve compared the decision to that of, you know, putting a beloved pet to sleep, you know, faced with the choice of watching it suffer or putting it to sleep quietly. It was a very difficult decision. But I felt that in the end I had to pick between the lesser of two evils and that shutting down the service, if it was no longer secure, was the better option. It was, in effect, the lesser of the two evils.

...

LADAR LEVISON: Unfortunately, I can’t talk about that. I would like to, believe me. I think if the American public knew what our government was doing, they wouldn’t be allowed to do it anymore, which is why I’m here in D.C. today speaking to you. My hope is that, you know, the media can uncover what’s going on, without my assistance, and, you know, sort of pressure both Congress and our efforts through the court system to, in effect, put a cap on what it is the government is entitled to in terms of our private communications.

What can you say? This fellow's business has been destroyed because he had some moral convictions. Rare. Very rare.

And destroyed why?

Just shameful.

240

MEWLO Web Framework / Mewlo web framework collaboration discussion

« on: August 12, 2013, 10:47 AM »

What I would really LOVE to do is find some more serious Python coders who are interested in being part of the team creating this.  It's a huge project and it's going to need all the help it can get.

-mouser (August 12, 2013, 04:12 AM)

I've been watching from the sidelines for a while, and I KNOW that I am very far from prepared to commit in any substantial way.

However, I know that there are always a trillion things to be done, and many of them are quite small and easily manageable by developers that work in an office/nursery.

If you think that you could come up with a list of "mini-mini-projects" (like at the method or class level), I would be interested in helping to solve some when I had time. e.g. A database of cuss words and a filter that doesn't eliminate legitimate words, e.g. remove "ass" but leave "pass" and "assassin". That's just an example. (It takes a while to compile the database, and would be a great project for a non-programmer.)

241

Living Room / Licensing Developers?

« on: August 11, 2013, 11:12 PM »

Just musing here, but I'm kind of curious as to when developers will need to have a license to write code. Given the way things are, it kind of seems inevitable. The NSA is laying off 90% of their sysadmins, which tells you a bit, or hints at a few things. At a minimum it says that sysadmins have a lot of power.

A lot of occupations require licenses. Here are a few:

• Lawyers
• Doctors
• Teachers
• Makeup artists
• Security guards
• House painters
• Florists (well, only in Louisiana)
• Accountants
• Home theater installers
• Dishwasher installers
• Barbers
• Manicurists
• Travel guides
• Bartenders
• Locksmiths
• Tree trimmers
• Taxi drivers

And many other professions are all highly regulated and require licenses, so why not require regulation and licensing for developers? Seems like a(n) (un)natural step.

A recent story from Techdirt outlines how Sen. Lindsay Graham wants to strip bloggers of their first amendment rights:

http://www.techdirt....ent-protection.shtml

Senator Lindsey Graham Apparently Not Sure If Bloggers Deserve 'First Amendment Protection'

So if bloggers don't have a right to free speech, why should developers?

And if arranging flowers is dangerous enough to require licensing, well, I think that software development certainly qualifies.

If you think about it, it would be fantastic for large software houses. They wouldn't have to compete with small developers. They could lobby to have all kinds of regulations and fees that would preclude small developers from writing and distributing software. It would boost the value of their stocks and make their share holders very happy.

No more indie-games and an instant double-digit surge in stock prices for EA and other big companies.

Microsoft and Apple could stand to benefit. Imagine if all GPL software were banned from use in government. MS, Apple, Google, Oracle, etc., would have an instant sales bonanza. They could hike prices even.

They could also then afford to hire those small developers even cheaper as they could claim that it was expensive to train and license them in order to comply with regulations.

But I don't know how long it will take.

5 years?
10 years?
More?

I'm having a hard time seeing a down-side here.

242

Living Room / SOPA 2: The Resurrection...

« on: August 10, 2013, 11:27 PM »

Hey, not that *I'm* trying to rehash old issues, but it appears others are doing it for us.

SOPA is back, and this time YouTube is a felony...

http://rt.com/usa/so...reaming-illegal-183/

The task force’s latest report, Copyright Policy, Creativity and Innovation in the Digital Economy, pressures Congress to consider felony convictions for people caught streaming copyrighted songs, music and movies, and some say such legislation would outlaw the practice of uploading homemade cover tunes to the World Wide Web.

We've been over this a few times:

https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=31569.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=29392.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=29635.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=29349.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=30551.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=30246.0
https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=29936.0

And in many, many other threads. Those are just a few.

SOPA part 1 got an unceremonious bullet in the back of the head, thanks to the vigilance and dedication of a large number of people and organizations.

However, as you may well have expected, the necromancers in WDC have no qualms about bring the dead back from the grave.

So there you have it...

THE SOPA ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE~!


(I was just dying to make a zombie joke~! )

243

General Software Discussion / Thoughts on Replicant? (FSF approved Android fork)

« on: August 10, 2013, 06:00 AM »

Anyone have any opinions or experience or comments on Replicant?

http://replicant.us/

It's approved of by the FSF, which goes a LLLOOONNNGGG way in my books as far as trust goes. Not so sure about how it is operationally though.

244

Living Room / Drones Strike in South Africa! Mobile Apps Seize Control!

« on: August 09, 2013, 09:27 AM »

Yes. 'Tis true. There are drones in South Africa! They are creating chaos amongst the people.

Worse yet, there's an mobile app that you can download to control them! Literally anyone can control these drones!

http://www.france24....frica-music-festival

Drone delivers beer not bombs at S.Africa music festival

Revellers at a South African outdoor rock festival no longer need to queue to slake their thirst -- a flying robot will drop them beer by parachute.

After clients place an order using a smartphone app, a drone zooms 15 metres (50 feet) above the heads of the festival-goers to make the delivery.

Carel Hoffmann, director of the Oppikoppi festival held on a dusty farm in the country's northern Limpopo province, said the app registers the position of users using the GPS satellite chips on their phones.

"The delivery guys have a calibrated delivery drone. They send it to the GPS position and drops it with a parachute," he explained.

The drone was built in South Africa and nicknamed "Manna" after the Old Testament-story of bread that fell from the sky to feed the Israelites travelling through the desert following their exodus from Egypt.

"It's an almost Biblical thing that beer is dropping from the sky," said Hoffmann.

The beer, free at this stage, is dropped in plastic cups and the drone is performing well.

"Every time it drops a parachute a crowd of 5,000 cheers," he said.

MANNA! HAHAHAHA~! From Heaven!!!



Now, THAT'S how you do drone strikes!

(I can't believe this didn't start in Ireland or Canada!)

245

Living Room / How to Use Your Computer Properly

« on: August 09, 2013, 07:28 AM »

Mr. Argarkov from Voronezh, Russia has valuable lessons for us all in the proper use of our computers.

http://www.telegraph...ing-to-terms.html?fb

Man who created own credit card sues bank for not sticking to terms

When Dmitry Argarkov was sent a letter offering him a credit card, he found the rates not to his liking.

But he didn't throw the contract away or shred it. Instead, the 42-year-old from Voronezh, Russia, scanned it into his computer, altered the terms and sent it back to Tinkoff Credit Systems.

Mr Argarkov's version of the contract contained a 0pc interest rate, no fees and no credit limit. Every time the bank failed to comply with the rules, he would fine them 3m rubles (£58,716). If Tinkoff tried to cancel the contract, it would have to pay him 6m rubles.

Tinkoff apparently failed to read the amendments, signed the contract and sent Mr Argakov a credit card.

...

Earlier this week a Russian judge ruled in Mr Argakov's favour. Tinkoff had signed the contract and was legally bound to it. Mr Argakov was only ordered to pay an outstanding balance of 19,000 rubles (£371).

Hats off, and bottoms up with a glass of vodka for Mr. Argarkov!

246

Living Room / Summon the NSA

« on: August 09, 2013, 06:44 AM »

This is just fantastic!

http://www.summonthensa.com/

And it looks like the author has put the site in the public domain as well.

247

Living Room / Apple Patents Making You SHUT UP!

« on: August 07, 2013, 09:44 PM »

Clear the room of anyone with sensitive ears. You are about to erupt into a blithering mass of profanity. Better yet, run out on the airport tarmac next to a jet as it might mask the volume of your screams...

Then again, you might just sigh and figure it's all par for the course.

http://news.techeye....deo-camera-and-wi-fi

Apple patents tech to let cops switch off iPhone video, camera and wi-fi

So they can pummel with impunity


Police forces around the world have had the problem that when their officers get a bit carried away and start pepper spraying tied captives there is someone on hand filming the event on their mobile phones.

While six police lay into prone grannies on the floor with long batons, the pictures can be on the net in seconds, meaning supervisors have to answer embarrassing questions.

But they may not need to fear scrutiny much longer - Apple has patented a piece of technology which would allow government and police to block transmission of information, including video and photographs, whenever they like.

All the coppers have to do is decide that a public gathering or venue is deemed "sensitive", and needs to be "protected from externalities" and Apple will switch off all its gear.

The police can then get on with the very difficult task of kettling protesters without having to worry about a few beating anyone to death.

Apple insists that the affected sites are mostly cinemas, theatres, concert grounds and similar locations, but it does admit that it could be used in "covert police or government operations which may require complete 'blackout' conditions".

According to RT it could also be used to prevent whistleblowers like Edward Snowden from taking pictures and broadcasting them on the interent.

Apple said that the wireless transmission of sensitive information to a remote source is one example of a threat to security.

But it said that this sensitive information could be anything from classified government information to questions or answers to an examination administered in an academic setting.

Apple patented the means to transmit an encoded signal to all wireless devices, commanding them to disable recording functions.

The policies would be activated by GPS, and wi-fi or mobile base-stations, which would ring-fence ("geofence") around a building or a "sensitive area" to prevent phone cameras from taking pictures or recording video.

Odd that the company made famous by its 1984 Big Brother video can't really see what it is doing. Perhaps its own secretive culture and an overzealous security treatment of its staff have fostered sympathy for Big Brother after all.

What was it that Henry Kissinger said?

The illegal we do immediately; the unconstitutional takes a little longer.

(Source - Yes - it's real.)

Because they need to work with companies like Apple, which adds in a bit more administrative overhead...

I can imagine that there are decent uses for it, but this WILL be abused.

And I didn't really need another reason to hate Apple... 

248

Living Room / Apple vs. Samsung Goes NUCLEAR!

« on: August 05, 2013, 10:27 AM »

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

Yeah. It's kind of like that. Thermo-nuclear 666 on crystal meth while riding rabid undead unicorn-dragon hybrids...

http://www.zerohedge...s-unprecedented-veto

See if you can spot, on the chart below, why over the weekend Barack Obama (aka the Anti Patent Troll-In-Chief) intervened directly in the ongoing patent dispute between Apple and Samsung on behalf of the Cupertino company (which makes its products in FoxConn facilities in China), resulting in an unprecedented veto of a decision from the US Interantional Trade Commission - an outcome not seen since 1987.

Additional links to more info on the topic at the link above. Just make sure to bring your holy water...

249

Living Room / Where/how do you mostly watch movies/videos?

« on: August 05, 2013, 04:15 AM »

A couple movie/film threads are quite active, so I figure this might be an interesting poll.

Me? On a computer.

250

Living Room / August 4th is 1984 Day!

« on: August 03, 2013, 11:29 PM »

I'd never heard of this until just today, 1984 day.

http://1984day.com/



August = 8, 4 = 4, 84.