Recent Posts

3576

Living Room / Re: Knight to queen's bishop 3 - Snowden charged with espionage.

« Last post by IainB on September 29, 2013, 09:03 PM »

Interesting interview. Here are a few interesting snippets.

...snip...
Boyce: Well, I agree with what my wife Cait said here not so long ago: The average American is more interested in how much cream and sugar he has in his coffee than his civil liberties.

Sigh...
I wish more people would get angry about this. Or upset or just talk about it. Something. Just to keep up the pressure.
__________________________

-Renegade (September 28, 2013, 01:50 AM)

So @Renegade, how much cream and sugar do you have in your coffee? I drink coffee by the mug-full and prefer milk, not cream - just a dash, and of the skimmed variety, not full cream.
Sugar, I like maybe a level teaspoon-full in the mornings, and at most a half teaspoon-full in cups of coffee after that. I love coffee.    
I didn't know this was going to be a discussion about coffee. How nice!

3577

Living Room / Re: VPN Gate - Univ. of Tsukuba launches Academic Experimental [Crowd] Project.

« Last post by IainB on September 29, 2013, 07:05 PM »

@Shades: Thanks. Very informative.
I was generally aware of the reasons why all that information was sent out, and that you could change/obfuscate the information by altering the user agent info from the browser. However, I am unsure of how many VPN Gate users might be aware of this.
(I use the Firefox add-ons UserAgentSwitcher and now UAControl for this.)

What I was rather appalled at though was that the user profile provided by that information was effectively a kind of fingerprint (or at least a semi-unique ID) in VPN Gate - where VPN Gate is supposed to be an anonymising network to make it "safe" for people in totalitarian regimes where "Big Brother" scrutinised their every move.
Post-Snowden, it seems that it is now certain that those regimes include the US (where BB's agent is the NSA), so I am somewhat averse to using any US-based volunteer server nodes in the VPN Gate network. (Zero trust.)

3578

Living Room / Re: VPN Gate - Univ. of Tsukuba launches Academic Experimental [Crowd] Project.

« Last post by IainB on September 29, 2013, 02:55 AM »

Well, I have just about given up re malicious IP addresses. My post to the VPN Gate forum seems to have taken a somewhat surreal turn. I can't understand it. It's nonsensical.
You can take a look at the discussion thread here:
Evidence that SoftEther VPN Service exe has embedded malware
I had to remind myself of this:

Timothy 1:7 - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

- which quote I came across when I was using VPN Gate and went to take a look at my IP details here: http://aruljohn.com/details.php
- and was surprised at how much of my anonymous ID browser's "fingerprint" was revealed.

3579

Living Room / Re: What to do if threatened by a defamation suit

« Last post by IainB on September 28, 2013, 01:07 PM »

Thanks. Interesting!

3580

Living Room / Strategy for capturing and retaining OCRed text ("Alternative Text") from images

« Last post by IainB on September 28, 2013, 09:21 AM »

Sorry for the length, but I need to explain this in context and in some kind of sequence for it to make sense.
The question I have at the end is:

How could one make best/optimum use of the potential for bulk copying (as opposed to the current piecemeal capability) to capture OCRed "Alternative Text" in a more readily accessible form than the present Clipstory html files seem to offer?

• 1. How I came to be using ClipStory: (bear with me; this is relevant)
  On 2012-02-18 I posted a Feature request for CHS - "Detritus" database(s)
  It was not of pressing importance, and I didn't know if/how the request could be met, but it was at the back of my mind when I discovered that my can't-live-without clipboard information management tool - CHS - had somehow, without my knowing, deleted the bulk of my hard-earned Favorites that it held in its database. Fortunately my backup cycles meant that I was able to find older CHS database backups that were much larger in size than the more recent shrunken CHS database.
  Lesson learned: Monitor your critically important databases for any significant changes in size.
  
  However, because it was likely to be such a chore, I have procrastinated and not given myself the time to go back and see if/how I might be able to recover the Favorites from those older backups.
  So, with the "detritus" idea at the back of my mind, and having also by that stage spent some time experimenting with NirSoft's InsideClipboard, when BitsDuJour announced they were giving away Clipstory, I got a free, licensed copy. I installed it and am still using/trialling it. This was to be my de facto detritus collecting tool. I have it set up to save all stuff copied into folders (which are backed up), thus:
  
  • ClipStory audio files
  • ClipStory files      
  • ClipStory images    
  • ClipStory text      
  • ClipStory webpages  
  
  Essentially, anything you copy/cut gets saved into Clipstory (there's a max limit on file size though). The "webpages" folder saves anything copied from an html source. This means there's some doubling-up - e.g., a snippet of text copied from a web page apparently goes into the Clipstory text folder and the webpages folder - but that's OK by me as I periodically empty all the folders except the text one.
  There is also some duplication with CHS, which retains in its database the same text and images as Clipstory. However, again, that's OK by me as I periodically empty out all the images and all the text in the CHS databases - except for that text that I wish to retain, which gets flagged as "Favorite" and is kept for good and for easy access via CHS.
  
  
• 2. How MS OneNote OCRs/captures text from images:
  If you paste/drag an image into OneNote, or if you capture a screenclip image using its superb built-in screen-clipping tool, or if you paste/drag content containing images from a web browser, into OneNote, each image gets immediately OCR-scanned and any text found by OCR is made available almost instantly in the form of copyable (and search-indexed) text - what OneNote calls "Alternative Text" or "Alt Text". This is tedious when you want to copy text from multiple images, as it needs to be done on a per image basis.
  Here's a picture of the "Alt Text" that you get if you right click-such an image: (this was a single image in a OneNote table that had several text-containing images pasted into it)
  
  
  
  I had built that table in OneNote so that I could use it in a DCForum post about buying MS Office for $9.95 as a corporate "Home Use" special deal. When I had built it, I copied the table and pasted it into irfanview (it pasted in as an image), saved the image, and that image went into the DCF post.
  
  
• 3. What Clipstory did with the copied table:
  It saved it as an HTML file in the ClipStory webpages folder. But that's not all.
  In my housekeeping, I had deleted all the Clipstory image files, and was about to delete the HTML files, when I thought I should just take a quick look and see what I was about to delete. It was then that I discovered that Clipstory saves some stuff from OneNote that is potentially more interesting/useful than one might at first realise - viz: "Alt Text" as html code.
  I reconstructed what seems to have happened.
  When I looked through the Clipstory html files, they were all in html.
  
  Reconstruction: This is the html content of the file (2013-9-28 8497.html) of the copied OneNote table:
  
  Spoiler
  
  

Code: Text [Select]

1. Version:1.0
2. StartHTML:0000000105
3. EndHTML:0000006237
4. StartFragment:0000000539
5. EndFragment:0000006197
6.  
7. <html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
8. xmlns:dt="uuid:C2F41010-65B3-11d1-A29F-00AA00C14882"
9. xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
10.  
11. <head>
12. <meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
13. <meta name=ProgId content=OneNote.File>
14. <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft OneNote 15">
15. </head>
16.  
17. <body lang=en-GB style='font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>
18. <!--StartFragment-->
19.  
20. <div style='direction:ltr;border-width:100%'>
21.  
22. <div style='direction:ltr;margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;width:11.625in'>
23.  
24. <div style='direction:ltr;margin-top:0in;margin-left:0in;width:11.625in'>
25.  
26. <div style='direction:ltr'>
27.  
28. <table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 valign=top style='direction:ltr;
29.  border-collapse:collapse;border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:
30.  0pt'>
31.  <tr>
32.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
33.   width:4.7347in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
34.   <p style='margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:20.0pt;color:black;
35.   text-align:right' lang=en-NZ><span style='font-weight:bold'>What you get
36.   under the MS Office </span></p>
37.   </td>
38.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
39.   width:6.8888in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
40.   <p style='margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:20.0pt;color:black'
41.   lang=en-NZ><span style='font-weight:bold'>2013 Home Use Program</span></p>
42.   </td>
43.  </tr>
44.  <tr>
45.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
46.   width:4.7347in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
47.   <p style='margin:0in'><img src="file:///C:\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.png"
48.   width=537 height=219
49.   alt="Machine generated alternative text:&#38;#10;Word 2013&#38;#10;Want to create and share great-looking&#38;#10;documents that get noticed? Use galleries&#38;#10;of easy-to-use formats for r&#38;#233;sum&#38;#233;s, letters,&#38;#10;greeting cards, flyers, and more."></p>
50.   <p style='margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:black'
51.   lang=en-NZ>&nbsp;</p>
52.   </td>
53.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
54.   width:6.8888in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
55.   <p style='margin:0in'><img src="file:///C:\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.png"
56.   width=539 height=220
57.   alt="Machine generated alternative text:&#38;#10;Excel 2013&#38;#10;Excels versatile tools help you analyze&#38;#10;information to make better decisions.&#38;#10;Improved charting tools and new visual&#38;#10;effects make it easier to present data and&#38;#10;highlight trends."></p>
58.   </td>
59.  </tr>
60.  <tr>
61.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
62.   width:4.7347in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
63.   <p style='margin:0in'><img src="file:///C:\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.png"
64.   width=540 height=215
65.   alt="Machine generated alternative text:&#38;#10;PowerPoint 2013&#38;#10;Get your ideas noticed. With PowerPoint&#38;#8217;s&#38;#10;new formatting and graphics features you&#38;#10;can more effectively create dynamic&#38;#10;presentations."></p>
66.   </td>
67.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
68.   width:6.8888in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
69.   <p style='margin:0in'><img src="file:///C:\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image004.png"
70.   width=529 height=218
71.   alt="Machine generated alternative text:&#38;#10;Outlook 2013&#38;#10;Better manage your time and information,&#38;#10;connect across boundaries, and improve&#38;#10;email control and protection."></p>
72.   </td>
73.  </tr>
74.  <tr>
75.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
76.   width:4.7347in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
77.   <p style='margin:0in'><img src="file:///C:\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.png"
78.   width=535 height=215
79.   alt="Machine generated alternative text:&#38;#10;OneNote 2013&#38;#10;OneNote 2013 makes it easy to take flotes,&#38;#10;sketch a diagram and record a presentation,&#38;#10;all in one place. Your flotes are&#38;#10;automatically saved and searchable, and&#38;#10;they travel seam lessly to your favorite&#38;#10;devices."></p>
80.   </td>
81.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
82.   width:6.8888in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
83.   <p style='margin:0in'><img src="file:///C:\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.png"
84.   width=538 height=220
85.   alt="Machine generated alternative text:&#38;#10;Access 2013&#38;#10;Track and report information with ease. Our&#38;#10;fluent user interface and interactive design&#38;#10;capabilities don&#38;#8217;t require deep database&#38;#10;knowledge."></p>
86.   </td>
87.  </tr>
88.  <tr>
89.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
90.   width:4.7347in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
91.   <p style='margin:0in'><img src="file:///C:\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image007.png"
92.   width=531 height=217
93.   alt="Machine generated alternative text:&#38;#10;Publisher 2013&#38;#10;Create and distribute persuasive marketing&#38;#10;materials that reflect your brand identity."></p>
94.   </td>
95.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
96.   width:6.8888in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
97.   <p style='margin:0in'><img src="file:///C:\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image008.png"
98.   width=538 height=217
99.   alt="Machine generated alternative text:&#38;#10;InfoPath 2013&#38;#10;Easily create electronic forms to gather&#38;#10;data for projects."></p>
100.   </td>
101.  </tr>
102.  <tr>
103.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
104.   width:4.7347in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
105.   <p style='margin:0in'><img src="file:///C:\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image009.png"
106.   width=538 height=219
107.   alt="Machine generated alternative text:&#38;#10;Lync 2013&#38;#10;Lync 2013 is the client for Microsofts&#38;#10;enterprise-ready unified communications&#38;#10;platform. Lync connects people everywhere."></p>
108.   </td>
109.   <td style='border-width:0pt;background-color:#F2F2F2;vertical-align:top;
110.   width:6.8888in;padding:2.0pt 3.0pt 2.0pt 3.0pt'>
111.   <p style='margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:9.0pt;color:#595959'
112.   lang=en-NZ>&nbsp;</p>
113.   </td>
114.  </tr>
115. </table>
116.  
117. </div>
118.  
119. </div>
120.  
121. </div>
122.  
123. </div>
124.  
125. <!--EndFragment-->
126. </body>
127.  
128. </html>

[/spoiler]
(Look at all that

"Machine generated alternative text".)

When I viewed the file with Universal Viewer, I got this:
(Click to enlarge/reduce.)


That looked very familiar. The bits marked as "Machine generated alternative text" were images, and I couldn't select/copy that text, so I copied some of the (copyable) heading text "What you get under the MS Office". Then I started up OneNote and searched for that string. Found it in the table in OneNote straight away, and went back to compare the table with the view of file 2013-9-28 8497.html, but now that file looked like this:
(Click to enlarge/reduce.)


After a bit of mucking about, I figured out (but am not absolutely sure) that the html was probably linked to the original in OneNote, from whence the images had been copied, but the images were inaccessible until I started up OneNote, at which point they were fetched, and (it seems) put into Temp, from where they were fetched again and inserted into the web page displayed, thus covering up the Alt Text image placeholders in the view of the html - all made possible because I had opened up OneNote.
This would seem to be consistent with OneNote's being organised something like a huge and complex wiki - it hyperlinks everything it holds in rather clever ways. Everything you do in the Notebooks is linked to date, time, and author, and material in OneNote is cross-linked internally within OneNote itself and externally to sources of material from across the internet and the client PC. Thus, if you copy anything from OneNote, the copied content will include all the relevant links related to where it was located at the time it was copied. If you move stuff around, the links are tracked and dynamically reassigned as necessary, so there is continuity and you don't easily get dead/broken links.
[/li]
[/list]

Given the above, the Clipstory html files afford the potential to do bulk copying of multiple images' text, and thus overcome the tedious per image copying referred to above. The question I have is: How could one make best/optimum use of the potential for bulk copying (as opposed to the current piecemeal capability) to capture OCRed "Alternative Text" in a more readily accessible form than the present Clipstory html files seem to offer?

3581

Living Room / Re: VPN Gate - Univ. of Tsukuba launches Academic Experimental [Crowd] Project.

« Last post by IainB on September 27, 2013, 09:06 AM »

@Shades: Thanks for that. Interesting. Looks like "misuse" alright.

3582

Living Room / Yay! I've got the old style of Gmail Compose back - in Firefox!

« Last post by IainB on September 27, 2013, 08:53 AM »

It has really been p#ss$ng me off - the way Google, not content with making Gmail a space-wasting, glary, and eye-straining as all heck mess, then decided to arbitrarily take away the Compose page and replace it with a compulsory squidgy, cramped-up piece of rubbish. I detest being dictated to by service suppliers.
If you use Chrome/Chromium, then there is apparently an extension you can download from the app store that will restore the old-style Compose page and functionality, but there's apparently nothing similar for Firefox.

Then today I read in a Lifehacker post:
Gmail Compose Windows, Noisy Environments, and Progress Bars

...
Force Your Browser to Load the Old Gmail Compose Window
Scott shares a way to force Gmail to use the classic compose window:

• I learned that specialized extensions that bring back the old Gmail compose window mostly work by switching the user agent to Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.0). So I just downloaded the UAControl extension for Firefox, which lets you set up the user agent on a per site basis. Now whenever I am using Gmail in Firefox, I have the classic compose window!
  __________________________
  

If you're using Chrome instead of Firefox, you can use the extension User-Agent Switcher for Chrome to get the same effect.
_______________________

So, I downloaded/installed the Firefox add-on UAControl
Then I restarted Firefox opened the new add-on's Options panel, and added the two properties lines thus:
   mail.google.com
   Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.0)


Then I refreshed the Gmail page, pressed the stupid big red Compose button, and presto! There it was. The old-style Compose page, ergonomically rather good, with appearance and functionality returned.
Try it yourself if you want the return of the old-style Compose page.
Then you too can flip Google the bird.

3583

Living Room / Re: VPN Gate - Univ. of Tsukuba launches Academic Experimental [Crowd] Project.

« Last post by IainB on September 27, 2013, 05:59 AM »

After some experimentation, I think I have this sussed, but cannot fix it.
So, I made this post at the SoftEther VPN forum:

Post subject: Evidence that SoftEther VPN Service exe has embedded malware
Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:33 am 

WARNING: Evidence that SoftEther VPN Service exe has embedded malware.

Thought I should report that the Windows Service called SoftEther VPN Client (program executable is vpnclient_x64.exe) is sending outbound messages to IP address 80.82.64.193 - a suspicious site that is blocked by Malwarebytes. These outbound messages are being sent even when the SoftEther VPN Client Manager is NOT connected to a VPNGate node - i.e., when it is inactive.
Also 80.82.64.193 (dea.anonymouse.me) is often listed on the VPNGate Hostname list in the VPN Client Manager GUI.

I asked on the Malwarebytes support forum why Malwarebytes is blocking outgoing VPN Gate IP address 80.82.64.193 (WHOIS says Host dea.anonymouse.me Country Netherlands).
They advised that this IP address was on their blocked list, because:
____________________
That IP is on a range of servers that are known to recently be participating or housing threats that can potentially harm someones computer and why the IP is blocked.
IP Address 80.82.64.193= ET-RBN Known Russian Buisness Network IP with malicious detections as of Today-9-27-2013
It would seem your software is allowing you to connect to IP's that can be malicious.
____________________

I had been running VPNGate using installer vpngate-client-2013.07.20-build-9091.127245.zip

So, I fully uninstalled/expunged the SoftEther VPN and all related VPN Gate system files, and clean reinstalled from vpngate-client-2013.09.27-build-9387.127802.zip (downloaded from http://download.vpngate.jp/common/cd.as ... 127802.zip)

However, the outbound requests to IP Address 80.82.64.193 continued as before.

This would seem to indicate that the installer package may have malware embedded in it, resident in the SoftEther VPN Service exe, and that it is ALWAYS ACTIVE when the Service is running.

Hope this makes sense or is of use.


3584

Living Room / Re: VPN Gate - Univ. of Tsukuba launches Academic Experimental [Crowd] Project.

« Last post by IainB on September 27, 2013, 01:35 AM »

Got this comment/suggestion from someone on the MBAM forum:

IP Address   80.82.64.193= ET-RBN Known Russian Buisness Network IP with malicious detections as of Today-9-27-2013
It would seem your software is allowing you to connect to IP's that can be malicious.
You might want to wait for a Admin or Expert's opinion as I am neither, just a helper

3585

Living Room / Re: VPN Gate - Univ. of Tsukuba launches Academic Experimental [Crowd] Project.

« Last post by IainB on September 27, 2013, 01:34 AM »

My contribution: does their webpage get kicked by Ghostery/other for any trackers?

-TaoPhoenix (September 26, 2013, 09:32 PM)

I have been reluctant to drop my phaser shields to find out...

3586

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Interfaith Explorer (FREE) - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on September 27, 2013, 12:16 AM »

My remarks will have to wait a few days until my project machine comes back online.
I will test out the Buddhism section because that's a bigger faith than most people realize.

-TaoPhoenix (September 26, 2013, 09:26 PM)

Yes, that's what my Thai (Buddhist) wife just reminded me.   

3587

Living Room / SUSPICION! - VPN Gate

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2013, 08:36 PM »

"SUSPICION!" (from the song of the same name).
As a trial, I've been using VPN Gate on and off for a few months. For probably most of the time it sits passively in my Systray (executable is vpnclient_x64.exe).
However, MBAM (the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware proggy that I use) regularly reports it as being blocked whilst trying to communicate with a dodgy IT address - 80.82.64.193 (Type: outgoing, Port: 57126, Process: vpnclient_x64.exe)

I did a WHOIS via http://ipaddress.is/80.82.64.193 on this IP address, which returned this information (and more):

IP Address 80.82.64.193 Profile
A detailed IP address report for 80.82.64.193 is below. The timezone of 80.82.64.193 is Europe/Amsterdam. The current local time of 80.82.64.193 is Friday 27th of September 2013 03:08:36 AM.
IP Address Location Information For 80.82.64.193
IP Address   80.82.64.193
Host   dea.anonymouse.me
Country   Netherlands
ISP   Eyes4media GmbH
Organization   AS29073, Ecatel LTD
Latitude   52°30'00" N
Longitude   5°45'00" E
_______________________

That looks like it is probably one of the "anonymous" VPN Gate network nodes, but I would like to find out more about why MBAM blocks it and why it (in Holland) is a main node for my client in the VPN Gate network - which I thought was Japan-based.
I just wonder whether there might be an NSA connection sucking on the end of that IP address...

I am relatively ignorant. This isn't an area of expertise for me at all. Anyone know how I might be able to ferret out more information about this?   

3588

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Interfaith Explorer (FREE) - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2013, 12:12 PM »

^^ Yes, orthodox Christians generally seem to have become pretty well-behaved and peaceful this century, but nevertheless they have suffered and continue to suffer persecution in different parts of the world.
The Baha'i faith is an interesting sect, relatively very young, not barmy, and seems to have been "made up" starting from 1844:

23 May 1844 – Siyyid Ali-Muhammad, a 25-year-old merchant in the city of Shiraz, Persia, announces that He has been sent by God to prepare humanity for a new age and the imminent appearance of another Messenger even greater than Himself. Source:  - http://www.bahai.us/...and-history/history/
________________________

I guess because Mohammed had earlier proclaimed himself to be the absolute last true prophet of Allah, and that any subsequent prophets would thus be false, was probably a major reason why the Baha'ists were/are persecuted (for their "heresy/blasphemy").
By comparison with olden times, making up a new religion nowadays seems to be a relatively very easy and safe thing to do, and can apparently be highly profitable, especially if they are granted tax-free charitable status - and it seems the barmier the better (e.g., Scientology, the Moonies).
Still, I'd give the Baha'ists top marks for their apparently wholesome principles/ethics and lack of fascist religio-political ideology/dogma.
I do think there is a lot of truth in the old saw that:

By their fruits ye shall know them.

- just look at the Interfaith Explorer, for example. That's evidence of benevolence and good curatorship and good curatorial practice, right there.

3589

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

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2013, 08:31 AM »

3590

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Interfaith Explorer (FREE) - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2013, 01:15 AM »

@Renegade: You could reasonably expect that it would include all the Baha'i texts, since it is a Baha'i-created repository, after all, but actually it seems pretty comprehensive over the other faiths' texts too - though that is only what I observed from the English translations, so I am unsure whether it might be true for translations in other languages.
For example, having six (6) English translations of the Koran ("Qur'an") is quite impressive, but the French version ("Le Coran") looks pretty limited in that regard, by comparison.

Another impressive thing: the principles of the Baha'i faith make it genuinely inclusive - and seem to make it and its representatives independently take up the mantle of responsibility for accepting, embracing and accommodating all those other religions, and for providing this sort of central, safe and "Open technology" repository for their religious texts, for posterity.
Given that Bah'ism is a branch of the Islamic sect, I find that inclusive aspect of the faith a most hopeful sign for mankind, though it apparently marks Baha'ists out as blasphemers and unbelievers in the eyes of many of the orthodox and exclusive Wahhabist form of Islamicism, whose acolytes have apparently decreed that Baha'ists are all going to have to die and burn in Hell for eternity for their blasphemy, or something. It must take real faith/conviction and guts to be a Baha'ist (or a Christian for that matter) in the Middle East.

You might not know this, but I am pretty skeptical of religion (and religious belief and religio-political ideology) in general. However, I have to say that I rather like the Baha'i faith - it seems to me that it really does deserve the name of "The Religion of Peace"™. Certainly more so than an orthodox older sister/bother who might falsely try to lay claim to that title - e.g., Christian or Islamist.
For evidence, you only need to look at the example of that website (http://bahairesearch.com) and the Interfaith Explorer - all apparently pulled together by two guys -  Ian Vink and Runa Ali. A seriously inclusive and dedicated effort and a work of faith and (I suspect) of love.

3591

Living Room / Re: CISPA is the New SOPA/PIPA/OPEN/ACTA/etc. etc. etc.

« Last post by IainB on September 26, 2013, 12:13 AM »

Well, maybe it is merely a politically pragmatic and stealth approach to securing the legal sanction of NSA spying legitimisation whilst avoiding the risk of any more blowback from the Snowden/NSA revelations.
I mean, it could make sense to use CISPA (or some SOPA**/CISPA** permutation/derivative) to legislate implicit sanction for indirect NSA access, and as a lever to gain agreement from senators who might otherwise be reluctant to publicly approve any new, direct access NSA spying legislation.
Those senators might need to save face that way.
From what I have read it's all pretty much a foregone conclusion. It's gone too far, and there's too much at stake, commercially and politically, for government to allow retraction on this matter.
From the evidence - i.e., what we have seen so far - you are arguably up against the usual remorseless totalitarianism/fascism, and if you don't like it then you will have to lump it. Chances of change and survival AS-IS are probably equivalent to the proverbial chances of an ice cube in Hell.
You will get that legislation passed, one way or another, regardless. So, "forgetaboutit" - quote from Donnie Brasco, which context was also American gangsterism.

3592

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

« Last post by IainB on September 25, 2013, 10:00 PM »

3593

Mini-Reviews by Members / Interfaith Explorer (FREE) - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on September 25, 2013, 08:41 PM »

Originally posted:	2013-09-26
Last updated	2017-02-08

Basic Info

App Name	Interfaith Explorer
Description	Religious text repository and referencing system, available in 20 languages.
Thumbs-Up Rating
App URL	Online version: http://bahairesearch.com Download the client: Interfaith Explorer
App Version Reviewed	Several versions, up to and including v2.4.0 (current since 2013-12-30) - trialled by me in English and also with the French plugin. There are 20 language plugins in total.
Test System Specs	MS Win7-64 Home Premium
Supported OSes	PC Windows (various) andiPhones, iPods & iPads
Support Methods	Regular updates and access to feedback to/from the application developers.
Upgrade Policy	Automatic updates.
Trial Version Available?	Not applicable (This is FREEware.)
Pricing Scheme	Not applicable (This is FREEware.)

Intro and Overview:
I maybe should apologise, as this review is probably long overdue. I knew I should do it, but had kept putting it off because it takes work to do that, and I am essentially lazy. However, because I thought the software was good, I have occasionally posted positive comments about Interfaith Explorer scattered over a few years' worth of discussions in the DC Forum. (If you do a search, you will find them.)

However, yesterday I made a long post about it in a Basement discussion thread, and in response, @Renegade commented:

Holy shit! That looks awesome! Running out to download and check it out....
That really should be posted in the General Software forum. Looks like a very cool piece of software.
______________________

-Renegade (September 25, 2013, 11:43 AM)

So I am guiltily rectifying matters now.
Rather than write an introduction out from scratch, here is the post from the Basement thread God's Server that I had made in response to someone else's earlier comment. This should suffice as an introduction, as long as you appreciate that context:

It is said that God is infinite, omniscient and omnipresent - and for all we know that could be true - so by definition he probably can't be "too busy". That is, there would arguably be no queuing involved.
However, that doesn't mean that you can't use computer network servers to spread the word. Previously largely a purely manual process and the domain of "holy men" (rabbis, vicars, priests, imams or their acolytes) spreading the word involved preaching to assembled congregations and reading out passages of various bibles and sacred texts for students/worshippers to recite and learn by rote.

Recite no more. Automation of the manual process and some subsequent enlightenment can now be easily distributed across the network, relatively painlessly. The best example of this that I have come across is via the Bahai faith's website - http://bahairesearch.com
There they have the online Interfaith Explorer, and you can read and cross reference the main books from the main religions.
You want it offline too? No problem. From this superbly informative website, you can download the local client application (for various languages) Interfaith Explorer
Once you have that you can read and cross reference the main books from the main religions on your laptop/PC.

Prepare to be somewhat amazed. Well worth at least an exploratory read.
I reckon that's as close as you are likely to get to an earthly God's server, until you get to go to that Ultimate Data Centre in The Cloud - so make the most of it.

[ Invalid Attachment ]
____________________________

-IainB (September 25, 2013, 05:21 AM)

Examples - screenshots/clips:

• 1. A typical startup screen
  
  
  (Enlarged startup update window)
  
  
  (Main User Interface - English)
  
  
  (Left-hand pane showing partly-opened books list)
  
  
  
• 2. Menu examples - French/English - different coloured backgrounds.
  
  ________________
  
  ________________
  
  ________________
  
  

Who this software is designed for:
Anyone who might be interested in expanding their knowledge of theology, religions, religious books/bibles and comparative theology.

The Good:
Incredibly useful and excellent collection and indexed search capability of the important religious texts from the different major/old religions of the world. Various versions/translations are provided - e.g. there are at least 6 English translations of some of the different versions of the Koran/Qur'an. There is only one version of the Christian bible  - the King James Version.

Needs Improvement:
(No notes on this as I have not seen any drawbacks in the software or its content, though I would like it to include some other religious works - e.g., Swedenborg's profound religious philosophy.)

Why I think you should use this product:
If you are interested in expanding your knowledge of theology, religions, religious books/bibles and comparative theology, then Interfaith Explorer will be of great assistance in this.
Gives you the ability to review and compare a pretty full range of biblical texts in a way that you might not otherwise have been able to do.

How it compares to similar products:
(No notes on this as I have not trialled any similar products.)

Conclusions:

• As I said in the above quoted post.
  

  Prepare to be somewhat amazed. Well worth at least an exploratory read.
  
• Incredibly useful, and it's FREE.
• No-fuss, simple and quick download and installation.

Last, but not least, this software and its resources are made accessible to speakers of (so far) 20 different languages: (per http://bahairesearch.../Pages/Download.aspx)

3594

General Software Discussion / Re: Cloud-storage - safe & secure? Consider Wuala (it's encrypted as well).

« Last post by IainB on September 25, 2013, 05:54 AM »

This post in Cnet.com from 2013-07-17 says some interesting things about encryption and Wuala and other services:
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

Google tests encryption to protect users' Drive files against government demands
The search giant is seeking ways to armor user files, sources say, a move that could curb government surveillance attempts.
by Declan McCullagh
July 17, 2013 10:47 AM PDT

Google has begun experimenting with encrypting Google Drive files, a privacy-protective move that could curb attempts by the U.S. and other governments to gain access to users' stored files.
Two sources told CNET that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company is actively testing encryption to armor files on its cloud-based file storage and synchronization service. One source who is familiar with the project said a small percentage of Google Drive files is currently encrypted.
The move could differentiate Google from other Silicon Valley companies that have been the subject of ongoing scrutiny after classified National Security Agency slides revealed the existence of government computer software named PRISM. The utility collates data that the companies are required to provide under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act -- unless, crucially, it's encrypted and the government doesn't possess the key.

"Mechanisms like this could give people more confidence and allow them to start backing up potentially their whole device," said Seth Schoen, senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco.

Major Web companies routinely use encryption, such as HTTPS, to protect the confidentiality of users' communications while they're being transmitted. But it's less common to see files encrypted while stored in the cloud, in part because of the additional computing expense and complexity and the difficulties in indexing and searching encrypted data.
Google previously had said that user files were transmitted in encrypted form, but stored in its data centers in an unencrypted manner, as detailed in an April 2012 post on a Google product forum from a community manager.
Jay Nancarrow, a Google spokesman, declined to answer questions about Google Drive encryption.
Secure encryption of users' private files means that Google would not be able to divulge the contents of stored communications even if NSA submitted a legal order under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or if police obtained a search warrant for domestic law enforcement purposes.

Ukrainian Internet Party activists hold a 'tap the phone and internet lines' protest on June 27, 2013 outside the US Embassy in Kiev.
(Credit: Getty Images)

By contrast, secret NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden show that Microsoft worked with NSA to "circumvent the company's own encryption" as part of PRISM, according to a report last week in the Guardian.
Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said yesterday that there are "significant inaccuracies" in last week's news reports. He added in a blog post, referring to Outlook.com: "When we are legally obligated to comply with demands, we pull the specified content from our servers where it sits in an unencrypted state, and then we provide it to the government agency."
Some smaller companies already provide encrypted cloud storage, a concept that is sometimes called "host-proof hosting." SpiderOak says its software, available for Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, Android, and Nokia N900 platforms, uses "zero knowledge" encryption techniques that allow it to store data that is "readable to you alone." SpiderOak also offers a Web access option because of "overwhelming customer demand," but the company suggests the client application is more secure.
Wuala is an application for Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, and Android that also uses client-side encryption. Zurich-based LaCie AG created the application.

"LaCie employees have very limited access to your data," the company says. "They can only see how many files you have stored and how much storage space they occupy."

While details about Google's experiments with Drive encryption were not immediately available, the company may be taking a different approach by performing the encoding and decoding on its servers.

Microsoft counsel Brad Smith.
(Credit: Getty Images)

If that's the case, a government agency serving a search warrant or subpoena on Google would be unable to obtain the unencrypted plain text of customer files. But the government might be able to convince a judge to grant a wiretap order, forcing Google to intercept and divulge the user's login information the next time the user types it in. Vancouver-based Hush Communications was required to take a similar step in 2007 -- though that was under Canadian law, not that of the United States.
Whether the government could obtain a user's login information with a wiretap order is an "unanswered legal question" in the United States, says Jennifer Granick, director of civil liberties at Stanford University's Center for Internet and Society. "I think the answer would depend in part on whether decryption could be called a current capability of the provider -- or requires reengineering of the service."
Google has litigated aggressively in the past to protect users' privacy. CNET disclosed in May that the company is fighting the Justice Department over secret national security letter requests in two different federal courts. It fought the government over a subpoena for search logs and has an active case before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. It also was the first major company to adopt "perfect forward secrecy" for Web encryption, a technology that protects the confidentiality of user communications even if a government is eavesdropping on the network.
Alan Butler, appellate advocacy counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, says a user typing in a passphrase might "be considered an electronic communication and subject to interception" under federal surveillance law.
CNET reported in an article last Friday that the U.S. government has used the threat of installing custom eavesdropping hardware on companies' networks to compel cooperation in aiding surveillance demands. The article disclosed that Verizon Business was required to install surveillance gear that the government had purchased and provided.

Disclosure: Writer Declan McCullagh is married to a Google employee not involved with Google Drive.

Declan McCullagh

Declan McCullagh is the chief political correspondent for CNET. Declan previously was a reporter for Time and the Washington bureau chief for Wired and wrote the Taking Liberties section and Other People's Money column for CBS News' Web site.
________________________________

3595

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

« Last post by IainB on September 23, 2013, 06:21 AM »

Apparently true, and an amusing glimpse of "quaint but amazing" modern Americana: Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Repeatedly Dodges Questions About It

3596

Living Room / Dotcom’s Mega Pushes More Bandwidth Than New Zealand + Dotcom resigns.

« Last post by IainB on September 23, 2013, 12:18 AM »

Some old and new news from torrentfreak. Interesting developments.
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

Dotcom’s Mega Pushes More Bandwidth Than New Zealand

Spoiler

Dotcom’s Mega Pushes More Bandwidth Than New Zealand
Ernesto  June 5, 2013

Kim Dotcom’s Mega has grown exponentially since its launch earlier this year. According to Dotcom, the bandwidth generated by the encryption-focused file-hosting platform has now exceeded that of the entire country of New Zealand. At the same time, the number of complaints by copyright holders remains remarkably low at 80 to 100 DMCA requests per day.

mega - The introduction of Mega has been one of the most successful tech launches this year.

In a matter of days the site’s membership went from zero to more than a million and in the weeks that followed the site continued to expand its user base.

Thus far Kim Dotcom and his colleagues have kept most of their statistics under wraps. However, earlier today Mega’s founder said that “the privacy company” now pushes more bandwidth than the entire country of New Zealand.

“Only 5 months after the #Mega launch we are now pushing more bandwidth than the entire country of New Zealand,” Dotcom tweets.

Mega’s founder doesn’t specify any numbers but Mega’s bandwidth should be well over 100 million petabytes at this point.

While the site’s traffic still pales in comparison to the defunct Megaupload and several other file-hosting services, it’s still a force to be reckoned with. The company certainly doesn’t lack any ambition and hopes to go public on the New Zealand or Australian stock markets in the near future.

Those not sharing in the Mega excitement thus far are Hollywood and the major music labels. The RIAA has devoted part of its website to tell the(ir) “real story” about Megaupload and would prefer it if Dotcom disappeared from the limelight.

Interestingly, however, copyright holders haven’t had much to complain about during Mega’s first few months of business. Although Hollywood studios have tried to get Mega de-listed from Google on copyright grounds, not many complaints have been sent to the cloud hosting company itself.

Dotcom informed TorrentFreak that the number of DMCA notices per day doesn’t exceed double digits, yet more than a million files are uploaded per day.

“We currently receive between 80 – 100 notices per day. That’s tiny considering the 1.6 million uploads we receive daily and compared to the takedown volume of sites like Dropbox & YouTube,” Dotcom informs TorrentFreak.

“We are reacting swiftly to these takedown notices, just like we did at Megaupload,” Dotcom adds.

Indeed, Mega’s numbers are nothing compared to the tens of thousands of notices other service providers receive. In part this difference can be explained by the fact that unlike Dropbox and YouTube, Mega doesn’t allow Google to index its files.

One thing is clear though, U.S. authorities and copyright holders will have a hard time portraying Mega as a criminal operation setup to infringe on content owners’ copyrights.

It will be interesting to see whether Mega can keep up current growth in the future and “take over” a few other countries in the process.

Kim Dotcom Resigns as Mega Director to Focus on Music Venture

Spoiler

Dotcom Resigns as Mega Director to Focus on Music Venture
Ernesto - September 4, 2013

Kim Dotcom has stepped down as director of Mega, the cloud hosting service he successfully launched earlier this year. According to a statement the Internet entrepreneur has decided to free up time for other projects, including ongoing legal battles and his political aspirations. In a few months Dotcom will also launch a new music service, the name of which is being kept secret for the time being.

dotcom-laptop - On January 20, a year after Megaupload was raided in 2012, Kim Dotcom launched his new file-storage service Mega.

In a matter of days the site’s membership went from zero to more than a million and in the weeks that followed the site continued to expand its user base.

The introduction of Mega has been one of the most prominent tech launches this year and the privacy company has big plans to expand its business in the future. But despite the early successes, Kim Dotcom has chosen to move on.

Filings to the New Zealand Companies Office reveal that Dotcom was replaced as Mega Director last week. The move was confirmed to BusinessDesk by Mega CEO Vikram Kumar, who said that Mega’s founder will use the time to work on his many other projects.

One of the new ventures Dotcom will focus on is the music platform formerly known as Megabox. Unlike Mega, the new music service will be operated by a company owned by the Internet entrepreneur himself.

Dotcom previously told TorrentFreak that he dropped the Megabox name for a better one, to be revealed at a later date. Dotcom did say that unlike his other projects, he will not be using the “Mega” brand for the new music service.

There are currently 22 developers working on the project and it’s expected to launch a few months from now.

In addition to the music service, Dotcom also has political aspirations. A few days ago he told TorrentFreak that he has written a draft program for a new party that he wants to participate in New Zealand’s elections next year.

“I’m excited about the party and I’m confident that I can help make New Zealand a significant Internet economy player. Someone needs to lead New Zealand into the future. Unfortunately the current government doesn’t know what the future looks like,” Dotcom said.

Aside from the music venture and his political aspirations, Dotcom will also be focusing on Megaupload’s legal battles. He and several of his Megaupload colleagues are fighting an extradition request from the United States, where they are wanted for several alleged crimes.

Dotcom’s extradition hearing is currently scheduled for November this year, but may be pushed to April 2014 because legal arguments on a number of issues have complicated the case. In the United States, Megaupload has asked the court to dismiss the criminal indictment against the company, but a decision on this request is yet to arrive.

Related Posts

    Dotcom’s Mega Pushes More Bandwidth Than New Zealand
    New Zealand Gave Kim Dotcom Residency, Knowing He Was Wanted By FBI
    Dotcom Given Green Light to Sue Kiwi Spies, But Evidence to be Withheld
    Mega Eyes Stock Market as Secret Dotcom Extradition Hearing Gets Underway
    U.S. Government Wins Appeal in Kim Dotcom Extradition Battle

3597

Living Room / Re: CyberGhost VPN Special Deal (worth a look)

« Last post by IainB on September 21, 2013, 11:10 PM »

Useful post from CyberGhost VPN:
(Copied below sans embedded hyperlinks/images.)

Outrunning NSA’s Bullrun
Posted by CyberGhost VPN - Oana Ciobotea in News

Following the latest rumors about NSA and its connected Intelligence Services, many of you Ghosties are concerned about the decryption program called ‘Bullrun’ which is said to be able to hack SSL and VPNs – along with the equal alarming news that a lot of US companies have been forced to implement backdoors to their services.
But, and it’s a big ‘BUT’ here, we need to differentiate between an eligible concern and unfounded fears. The encryption line of battle has not been broken yet. It’s under heavy attack, no doubt about that, but good encryption still works the way it should: Protecting your data!
It’s true, that an encryption program called ‘Bullrun’ exists, and it really seems it’s able to compromise security barriers like SSL (as you use with your online banking) – but it doesn’t work as good as the NSA hoped it would. That’s why they force companies to implement backdoors and influence the programming of encryption standards (so they can easily break it). In a way that bad news is a good news, because it shows that despite all the money and the man power that goes in there, less than expected came out.

Regarding CyberGhost we’d like to ensure you that CyberGhost VPN is still a good friend:

• 1. We don’t use any of the maybe hacked or unsafe technologies, instead we began even before ‘Bullrun’ became public, to provide the VPN tunnel to and on ALL our servers (Free and Premium) with AES with 256 bit key length. There are no hints that AES-256 is even near to be hacked. In fact, at present it’s much more likely the earth will fall into the sun than the NSA will be able to decrypt 256 bit AES secured data. (This goes also for TrueCrypt, so don’t fall for any propaganda claiming TrueCrypt is a threat and guiding you to real unsafe technologies like Psyop.)
  
  
• 2. Our Windows client as well as the announced Mac OS X and Android client are based on OpenVPN. This protocol is Open Source and controlled by a worldwide community of programmers and therefore backdoor free.
  
  
• 3. We run our business under the Romanian legislation and can’t be forced by the NSA to take part in their goal for worldwide espionage. No backdoors included!
• 4. Some still in use SSL components will steadily be exchanged and updated – even though they are commonly not yet be seen as unsafe.
  ___________________________
  

Like said above, good cryptography is still effective and the only option against spying eyes. If you have any other questions, please write us a comment and we will be happy to answer.

(The comments section and responses are probably worth a read.)

3598

Living Room / Re: Getting Things Done revisited

« Last post by IainB on September 19, 2013, 03:22 AM »

If you are looking at paper-based systems, this website has some interesting stuff: Philofaxy

3599

General Software Discussion / Re: Cloud-storage - safe & secure? Consider Wuala (it's encrypted as well).

« Last post by IainB on September 17, 2013, 05:51 AM »

I only use a PC to connect with Wuala.

3600

General Software Discussion / Re: Cloud-storage - safe & secure? Consider Wuala (it's encrypted as well).

« Last post by IainB on September 17, 2013, 04:26 AM »

As I am an existing user of Wuala's FREE service, they emailed me to say that if I invited people to sign up using the referral code below, I could get up to 15GB additional storage for free. So, if you want to sign up you would be doing me a favour, thanks:

For every successfully invited contact, you'll get 1GB of bonus space (up to a limit of 15GB). All they have to do is register and install Wuala with your referral code.
________________________________

The latest FAQ is here.

Download and install Wuala (further instructions)
Create an account and enter your referral code B3FF6574B36FACG7AF46 in the field Promo code

The Wuala service still seems to be one of the most secure and NSA-proof end-to-end encrypted cloud-based services out there, plus it has the advantage that it is not based in the US.

With Wuala you can...

•     Access files from anywhere
•     Securely store files online
•     Backup files automatically
•     Sync files across multiple computers and online
•     Access previous versions of files
•     Share files with friends, family and co-workers
•     Jointly manage files in a group

We don't scan!
Unlike other cloud storage services, we never scan or filter any data you store on Wuala.

We don't read!
We (or anybody else but you) cannot read your data because of Wuala's client side encryption.

We Are Swiss...
Wuala is operated and developed in the middle of Zurich, Switzerland and we care about your security and privacy.

...Our Servers European
If you heard the news, you know that your data is much safer in Europe. Our 3 datacenters in Switzerland, Germany and France ensure your data stays in Europe.
________________________________