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3376

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: SecuSend - Software for secure file sharing.

« Last post by 40hz on June 13, 2013, 07:25 AM »

@SSH - quick question purely out of my own curiosity...

One of the problems with any encryption utility is how well you can trust the author to (a) have written good code, and (b) not to have put a backdoor in it. Which is two of the reasons (i.e. QC and transparency) why things like TrueCrypt have open sourced their code, and all major encryption methods have (AFAIK) published their algorithms.

As an independent developer, how do you address those concerns?

Please don't take my question as a challenge or criticism. Not being a software developer I'm interested more from a business perspective since I'm a systems person who is professionally involved with data and signal security.
 

3377

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 13, 2013, 07:12 AM »

...the respect and consideration that DC is known for.

-Stoic Joker (June 13, 2013, 06:52 AM)

It all comes down to the tool chosen for the task at hand.

I see genuine political discussion as nothing more than an intelligent attempt to identify and question the underlying motivations behind our public actions and behaviors. I never saw it as attempting to sway or convince since most people "believe what they believe" with scant rationale behind it.

But the two key words in the above are "genuine" and "discussion." Those afford the possibility of reaching consensus.

When simply attempting to disprove or convince, the correct tool to use is argument.

I think we can discuss without needing to argue - while still firing off an occasional zinger or two to keep it all amusing. And hopefully without somebody taking the ball and running with it.

----------------------------------

(Pardon the Captain Obvious bit - But I thought it needed said.)

-Stoic Joker (June 13, 2013, 06:52 AM)

I think it does need to be said every so often. Even around here.

Thanks for saying it SJ.

3378

Living Room / Re: My New Philosophy

« Last post by 40hz on June 13, 2013, 06:57 AM »

The only part of any plan that you can truly count on is that nothing will go according to plan ... Be flexible.

-Stoic Joker (June 12, 2013, 03:42 PM)

I've always preferred: Adapt or die.

-4wd (June 12, 2013, 09:07 PM)

Me too ... But it tends to make clients uneasy when you say shit like that onsite.

-Stoic Joker (June 13, 2013, 06:54 AM)

Agree. In my neck of the woods it might even be considered "contributing to a 'hostile workplace'" and get you fired.

3379

Living Room / Re: My New Philosophy

« Last post by 40hz on June 13, 2013, 06:54 AM »

Keeping in the Bokonian theme Stephen has introduced I'd add:

Know a granfalloon for a granfalloon when you find yourself in one. - me


"Never sign on to anyone's trip but your own." - Hagbard Celine

3380

Living Room / Re: Legitimate app breaks popular encryption - EFS, BitLocker, TrueCrypt ...

« Last post by 40hz on June 13, 2013, 06:29 AM »

I wonder why all the funky-characters stuff ended up in this thread?

While it'll screw up dictionary-based attacks, FYI it will do nothing to mitigate against the attack originally posted about.

-f0dder (June 13, 2013, 12:14 AM)

+1. Every time I see a trick like that I keep thinking back to that famous XKCD strip that points out how most of what gets suggested to make passwords "more secure" does little other than make them difficult for humans to use and remember. Computers have no problem dealing with them however.

3381

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« Last post by 40hz on June 13, 2013, 06:23 AM »

^^ You're the man, 40.

-superboyac (June 12, 2013, 10:42 PM)

Well...one of em' anyway.

3382

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: SecuSend - Software for secure file sharing.

« Last post by 40hz on June 13, 2013, 06:22 AM »

@SSE - first up let me join mouser in saying "Welcome to Donationcoder!" And to thank you for bringing SecuSend to our attention. Nice website too!

i don't see where you are exchanging keys between users.

-mouser (June 13, 2013, 05:55 AM)

@mouser - I think it's up to you how you do it. In their tour section there's this:

When you trying to encrypt files for other person you need to add contact key to the available recipients list. The other person can send you contact key file via email, share on social network, USB flash drive, etc. When you receive a key file you can easily add it to the available recipients list by using main menu command...

I assume you'd need to do the same to share your own public key file.

3383

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« Last post by 40hz on June 12, 2013, 08:42 PM »

Man, Traci Lords really did a number on the men before my generation.  Every time I hear one of you guys talk about her, it's like a special thing.

-superboyac (June 11, 2013, 09:51 PM)

I don't think it's so much that. More like she was just easiest to remember. Mainly because of her attitude (on and off he screen) and all the stories making the rounds about her. Don't forget, times were a lot more repressed back then. Despite the 'sexual revolution' things were still pretty much Sunday School for most Americans. They may have thought about getting up to all kinds of shenanigans and escapades. But it seldom went beyond that. It wasn't till the Disco Era that it all broke wide open and almost anything went - as long as the guy was still mostly left in control.

I keep trying to relate and can't.  I have access to thousands of hot porn chicks at any given moment, none seem special.  I'm always blown away by that.  I guess the closest I can relate was all the hubbub in junior high about Sharon Stone and Basic Instinct.

You're not  unusual. And Betty Page was better in that domain than anything that ever came before or after IMHO.

In case anybody doesn't know who Betty Page is

What? You thought it was gonna be a "Betty Page" Betty Page picture?
Dream on! Or go Google her...this is a family site!

There is a certain sameness to porn actors and movies. And therein lies one difference between porn and eroticism. Porn is predictable and appeals to the lowest common denominator in the human libido. Which tends to be more a young person's thing since every experience seems brand new - and a healthy 20-something body is such a marvelous vehicle to go exploring with. (*sigh*)

As you get older and more sophisticated (or jaded ) it usually takes a little more to seduce you than just seeing some attractive person taking their clothes off. At least for most of us.
 

3384

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 12, 2013, 08:14 PM »

I wonder if it's even possible to completely avoid politics and have a "purely technical" discussion about any technology of significance in today's world?

The "problem" with where the US has gone is the same as the "problem" was in the old Soviet Union. Or in modern day China. To wit: there is nothing in such societies that is ever totally divorced from political overtones or considerations. Because politics is everything to those who are currently in power.

As a friend of mine from Soviet Russia once said - politics was inescapable in the Soviet Union. To even say "I am not making a political statement" was seen as a political statement.

If history is anything to go by, once a battle for the control of the public mind breaks out, there's no quarter until one side or another attains complete victory.

 

3385

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 12, 2013, 01:37 PM »

^ Thx for understanding where I'm coming from and taking it in the spirit intended   

That's also the reason why I don't cruise the basement, let alone post anything there.

3386

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 12, 2013, 01:14 PM »

Maybe instead of The Basement, we need a new section called "Head in the Sand" for isolating serious political topics that might disturb some people - and probably *should* disturb them?

3387

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« Last post by 40hz on June 11, 2013, 08:15 PM »

I think a lot of it has to do with circumstance.  I'm just amazed that she was able to do it without denouncing the industry.

-wraith808 (June 11, 2013, 07:10 PM)

I was also thinking maybe - since she had done an illegal porn flick when she was something like 15 or 16 - that it generated enough sympathy (or maybe just some "Lets not go there...") to encourage the larger entertainment industry to not make an issue of it?

Beating up on her could have easily set off a firestorm in the movie industry if she was seen as being penalized for something that she got caught up in when she was still technically a minor. (I say "technically" because there's something about her expression that makes me think she wasn't ever much of a minor, despite her age, once she left home.)

3388

General Software Discussion / Re: Shift to Linux

« Last post by 40hz on June 11, 2013, 08:06 PM »

When using Linux don't you feel like crippled deep down a dungeon?

-kilele (June 11, 2013, 07:39 PM)

Not for a minute. As the matter of a fact, lately I feel like I'm wearing handcuffs every time I need to work within Windows.

is Linux a good platform to allow a software developer make a living ?

Redhat, Suse, Canonical, HP, IBM. Hollywood and a bunch of other people who write software seem to think so. Even Steam feels there's a future for paid games - and they're  doing ok with it last I heard.

Also I didn't find any desktop manager which allowed searching within a combobox 

Not quite sure what you mean by "searching within a combobox"...but ok. Maybe you can elaborate a bit more on that one? Searching isn't something a desktop manager would do. Do you mean doing a file search within a GUI interface like so:



That would be a function more likely found in a file manager.

3389

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« Last post by 40hz on June 11, 2013, 05:36 PM »

^I'm somewhat impressed that she managed to make a career transition from real X-rated porn, to mainstream movies, to network TV appearances. In an industry so rife with hypocritical moral contract clauses, I think that's gotta be a first. (Maybe even an only?)

She's not the worst actor in film either. Porn or otherwise.

3390

General Software Discussion / Re: Shift to Linux

« Last post by 40hz on June 11, 2013, 05:10 PM »

Whatever works best for the user I always say.

-40hz (June 01, 2013, 03:47 PM)

This, I can get on board with.  The OS is a tool, not a religion.

-wraith808 (June 11, 2013, 04:54 PM)

Seriously!

What is the BFD about which brand of computer or software you use? Who cares?

You share what you know about the "good stuff," offer help and suggestions when you can, and move on your merry way.

I don't get evangelism. But that's probably because I was once very interested in religious belief systems and put a fair amount of study into learning as much as I could starting with Albigencian and ending somewhere around Zoroasterianism. Mostly because I didn't get it. At all.

Still don't really.

Feel much the same way about software, makes of cars, and sports teams.

It's all a big "so what?" to me.

3391

General Software Discussion / Re: Shift to Linux

« Last post by 40hz on June 11, 2013, 05:01 PM »

I use openSUSE because it's very liberal when it comes to software choice and it's uber-stable.

-zridling (June 11, 2013, 04:27 PM)

Another superb choice. I still have earlier versions that I paid money to buy disk sets for back when it was still available in retail computer stores - back when there still were retail computer stores and not just PC sections in big box outlets.

The real "old guard" distros (Slack and Debian) are exceptionally stable and pretty well worked out. You may lose a few of the fancier out-of-box bells & whistles (until you install them yourself  ) by not going with some of the newer releases like Mint or Mageia. But that shouldn't stop you.

Check out the Distrowatch website for a fairly comprehensive list of what's currently available.
 

3392

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 11, 2013, 04:48 PM »

Would you stop aiming for the basement

-Stoic Joker (June 11, 2013, 03:52 PM)

Damn right. THEY monitor the Basement don't ya know?  

...we'll lose 40hz when it goes there.

Why do you say that as if it were a bad thing?

(Thx btw! )

3393

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 11, 2013, 01:59 PM »

Hm... No, they need to keep him in view as an example warning to others.

-Stoic Joker (June 11, 2013, 11:30 AM)

No they don't. And his silence is more valuable than him being around as an example. The spin doctors are only preaching to the choir and the borderline undecided anyway. And roughly 50% plus change of the population already think he shouldn't have done it regardless.

[quotq=e]It's to easy to write one's own ending (DB Cooper) if he vanishes.
[/quote]

Yes it is. But that works both ways. Like BinLaden - it's scarier when you know the shark is out there somewhere rather than right alongside your boat where you can do several things about it.

No...out in the wild somewhere (eeek! )...using his knowledge to aid and abet the enemy? I think he's far more valuable to the current powers if it's generally believed he's still loose and unpunished. That gets people angry because "he got away with it." And also serves as justification for expanded "security" legislation and suppression of freedoms.

Not to say they couldn't just wack him and still let people think he was alive. That strategy proven effective too.

Not like they need to keep him alive. With the overall hostility being shown towards this guy by the media (and the Legislature) there's small chance of him attaining martyr status if they do. Which is why whistleblowers generally get pilloried with impunity despite the so-called "protections" that are on place to prevent it. And in this case, there's very little chance of much public support since this county seems to be doing everything in it's power to not see that a very real coup took place within the government shortly after the WTC attack - and they're now living in a police state. That's the elephant in the room nobody even wants to acknowledge, let alone deal with. (DC isn't the only place that has a Basement for topics some people consider threatening or inappropriate.    )



And as time goes on, it will become increasingly difficult (or "legal") to do anything about it. Especially since no government - no matter how enlightened - has ever willingly relinquished additional power once they've been granted it. And ours is far from enlightened.
 

3394

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 11, 2013, 08:25 AM »

Well, let's hope we don't hear reports about him being seen attempting to run across the N. Korean border.

-app103 (June 11, 2013, 07:16 AM)

I expect him to disappear, never to be seen again. Later, there will come rumors and "high credibility" reports of him being seen in Beijing or Moscow - which will "only go to show he was working with foreign enemies all along" and that his going public was a desperate attempt to gain sympathy and protection after his original deal with "whoever he was working for" with went sour.



I also expect to see more airplay for his dippy dancer girlfriend who is now spouting childish and self-serving nonsense on her blog. Gag!

(Note: her actual blog has become inaccessible lately in the wake of the above. Try the wayback machine...)

3395

Living Room / Re: Encrypted DNS queries via OpenDNS dnscrypt for Windows / linux / BSD / iOS / OSX

« Last post by 40hz on June 09, 2013, 09:21 PM »

 And gosh, how did this get so far off-topic?  First we're talking about encrypted DNS queries and now privacy protection!  

-Tinman57 (June 09, 2013, 05:05 PM)

It's not really OT when you think about it. Because, in the end, if you don't know what the real rules are, who you can believe - and what to reasonably expect - all topics become a single topic centered on the issue of trust. And its betrayal.

Anything other than that (when those significant questions remain unanswered) is what is really irrelevant.
 

3396

General Software Discussion / Re: Shift to Linux

« Last post by 40hz on June 09, 2013, 12:55 PM »

^ I'm glad sword brought up the point about the media type. I too have had weird problems with live CDs burned to RW media with certain machines. Never ran into it with standard non-R/W media however.

Possibly it's just the optical drive in your new machine that's being fussy?

That might be something worth looking into - or try the installation from a USB key assuming you're sure the image you downloaded is good.

3397

Living Room / Re: Life on the farm

« Last post by 40hz on June 09, 2013, 12:47 PM »

Agree 100%.

The pictures in my mind are always more poignant and beautiful than they probably were in reality.

I've been told the only real difference between being 'normal' and partially (or completely) 'delusional' is the degree to which you're consciously aware of the head games you play with yourself.

Well...I am aware. And I'm also an exceptionally good head game player when it comes to myself thanks to studying Zen and NLP. And my brain records the most wonderful images...which I always have suspected reflect at least 50% wishful thinking om my part - even in a 'best case' scenario.

 So I guess I'm still not too far gone.



Yet.

3398

Living Room / Re: Worth Reading: Trevor Pott's editorial on NSA PRISM and its real ramifications

« Last post by 40hz on June 09, 2013, 12:28 PM »

I think the key takeaway in the original article is how the current 'powers that be' within the US government have successfully (through revisionist historical interpretations and the removal of anything resembling "Civics" education from the US public school curriculum) led the new generation to believe the US Constitution, through its government,  grants it's citizens rights - when in fact, the actual wording only serves to restrict the powers given - by the people - to their own government.

It seems a small thing. But it's an absolutely critical indication of  the engineered mindshift that has taken place in the last 30 years.

Last night I was watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind over a friend's house. Their kids (aged 16, 18, and 23) couldn't understand why the government and military were being "so nice" and the people were being so uncooperative about the civilian evacuation order in the area the ending of the story takes place in. The youngest one said "How long ago was this supposed to be? They're lucky it's not today."

When I asked why, the 18 year old looked at me like I was clueless and said: "Well...it's a national security situation isn't it? The government could have just arrested or shot them for disobeying if any of that was really happening."

When I asked how they could possibly be allowed to do that, I was told by the youngest: "Because it's the law." as the other two nodded in agreement.

For what was definitely not the first time in the last decade, I actually felt scared about what I was hearing coming from the mouths of our upcoming generation.

I sometimes wonder if this is how German parents started feeling when listening to their children back around 1932-1933?

 

3399

Living Room / Re: Life on the farm

« Last post by 40hz on June 08, 2013, 01:46 PM »

 

I wish I could walk down memory lane without getting totally depressed ten minutes in.

I won't even keep a photo album because of that.

3400

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on June 08, 2013, 01:44 PM »

Alternative uses for placentas, in New Zealand ...
 (see attachment in previous post)

-IainB (June 08, 2013, 05:01 AM)

Only in NZ!