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Browse All You Want At Work

choka writes "I came across a new Mozilla deriative known as Ghostzilla. It has the ability to open and hide the browser within most applications with simple mouse gestures, ensuring no one will discover what por^H^H^Hsites you visit in office ;) (i.e., if your sysadmins don't check the proxy logs...)"

170 of 438 comments (clear)

  1. Great! by FortKnox · · Score: 5, Funny

    Congrats! Now Mozilla will be on that hot list of stuff not able to download and use at the office!

    GOOD THINKING!

    --
    Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    1. Re:Great! by Xaoswolf · · Score: 5, Funny
      It's too late, the slashdot effect has excorcized this ghost.

      All we need now is a short woman to say, "This network is clean."

  2. Great, but by endeitzslash · · Score: 3, Funny

    where can I hide my Cheryl Tiegs poster?

    1. Re:Great, but by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 2
      where can I hide my Cheryl Tiegs poster?
      Ahhh.... A man of my generation!
      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    2. Re:Great, but by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 2

      What about the Farrah Fawcett poster?

      --
      Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
    3. Re:Great, but by dousette · · Score: 5, Funny

      How about in the trunk of your Delorian so you can send it back to 1985 where it belongs? :^)

  3. Devious by trevinofunk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is one of the most devious things I've seen in a while! I love it!!. It reminds me of old shareware PC games, where you could hit the F9 key to escape to a DOS shell, so you wouln't get caught at work. Hugo's House of Horrors anyone?

    1. Re:Devious by idfrsr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      IIRC I think that chessmaster 1000 also had this feature that brought a dummy financial statement on F9

      useful to say the least. The big stuff makes good software but its the little things that make a program great.

      --
      "The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away" -Tom Waits
    2. Re:Devious by The+Turd+Report · · Score: 2, Informative

      I forget the game, but I remember one where you would hit the f9 key (the docs called it the 'Boss Key') and a spreadsheet and a graph would come up on screen.

    3. Re:Devious by Per+Wigren · · Score: 5, Informative

      I forget the game, but I remember one where you would hit the f9 key (the docs called it the 'Boss Key') and a spreadsheet and a graph would come up on screen.

      It was the Leisure Suit Larry series. Maybe other Sierra-games also..

      --
      My other account has a 3-digit UID.
    4. Re:Devious by Punk+Walrus · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Click and Clack, the old Tappit brothers who host Car Talk on NPR was one of the first truly interactive web sites out there for a PBS show. Ever since the beginning, they have had a "Boss" button to click so it would load your browser with something official and work-looking. Of course, any detailed look at these "work-looking" documents shows a bit of humor, like ratio of donuts eaten per producer per show, graphs showing increase in mailbombs sent to the office, and the precent of NPR listeners who wish they'd never heard of their show.

      I always thought Slashdot should have a boss button.

      [ Boss Button]

    5. Re:Devious by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      On my Mac I remember there were programs that would take you to a fake Excel-looking spreadsheet or to some screen of "loading data" with different progress bars and whatnot. Can't remember which games these were though.

      --

      If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
    6. Re:Devious by fishbowl · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I always wondered what would be more suspicious,
      a game like rogue, or a dos prompt?

      There was one such game that had a boss mode which looked exactly like lotus 1-2-3 r2.2

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    7. Re:Devious by dhsmith · · Score: 2, Informative

      Windows Solitaire had a boss key in the version that came with one of the Win2K release candidates. When you hit Esc solitaire minimized to a taskbar button with the Excel logo that said 'budget.xls'.

    8. Re:Devious by Dave2+Wickham · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hehehe... I remember Space Quest III. You would press the boss key and have something like this popup:

      "So you don't want your boss to know you've been
      playing Space Quest III for X minutes?

      Tough!"

      Well, I was about 5 when I played it, so forgive me for not remembering :P.

    9. Re:Devious by Arcturax · · Score: 5, Funny

      All well and good so long as you are a beancounter. But it looks rather suspicious if you are a coder. After all no coder worth his salt could stay awake in front of a sheet of financials.

      --

      --Won't that be grand? Computers and the programs will start thinking and the people will stop. - Dr. Walter Gibbs
    10. Re:Devious by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      " It reminds me of old shareware PC games, where you could hit the F9 key to escape to a DOS shell, so you wouln't get caught at work..."

      One of the Sierra games (Uhh.. I think it was Leisure Suit Larry 3, but don't quote me on that) had a boss mode that'd throw up a fake spreadsheet and pie-chart. That was cool until you tried to get out of it, only to be met with a message that says "no, you should be working now." Heh you had to quit the game and reload it.

    11. Re:Devious by gaudior · · Score: 2
      Burning Monkey Solitaire does this with a Command-B. It puts up a progress indicator that says things like:

      • Violently Opposing Thumb
      • Re-evaluating the whole organ-grinding thing
      • Visualizing Boss as a Blue Butt Ape.

      I love that kind of stuff.

    12. Re:Devious by dubiousmike · · Score: 2

      I tried Ghostzilla a few weeks ago at the office.

      Unfotunately, when you use the trial version, you get a very untimely nag screen to buy the full version which pretty much destroy the usefullness of hiding the fact that you are surfing.

      Also, I found the "movement" you need to make with the mouse to be something I couldn't do naturally (ie - look like I am trying to hide something).

    13. Re:Devious by plover · · Score: 2
      The "Boss" key in Leisure Suit Larry popped up a financial-looking chart showing condom use.

      Usually.

      But sometimes, very infrequently, it would decide to bring up a flashing screen that had in 72 point flashing letters: "HEY BOSS I'M PLAYING A GAME!!"

      I loved that feature.

      --
      John
  4. This will work great... by LordHunter317 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Until some idiot accidently embeds the wrong figure within his PowerPoint presentation.

    At the board meeting:
    "As you can see in this full-page figure..."

    "Well, something about that figure is certainly full..."

  5. Damn, I need that one. by Railroader · · Score: 5, Funny

    as I sit here at work on a Friday afternoon reading slashdot.

    1. Re:Damn, I need that one. by vsprintf · · Score: 5, Funny

      as I sit here at work on a Friday afternoon reading slashdot.

      You say that like it's a bad thing. Remember, this is "News for Nerds". You're just staying abreast of the latest technological happenings. Hmm . . . probably shouldn't use abreast in a post here . . . You're just trying get on top of things . . . oh, screw it.

  6. Simple mouse Gesture by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Speaking of simple mouse gestures, the site has been slashdotted by a simple click! :)

    1. Re:Simple mouse Gesture by krog · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Speaking further of mouse gestures, moving your pointer all the way left, then all the way right, then all the way left again is a poor choice of gesture. It takes way too long to be useful, esp. if you're using a trackpad. Perhaps a R-L-R-L mouse button combination, or even just a keystroke would be a better choice.

    2. Re:Simple mouse Gesture by ryman · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The problem with those is that they would most likely be intercepted and interpreted that Ghostzilla is running within the window of. Mouse movements are one of the few input functions that most programs don't use for command execution.

      --
      "We are far too easily pleased." --C.S. Lewis
    3. Re:Simple mouse Gesture by mhesseltine · · Score: 5, Funny

      How about up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-B-A?

      --
      Overrated / Underrated : Moderation :: Anonymous Coward : Posting
    4. Re:Simple mouse Gesture by mhesseltine · · Score: 2

      I thought that looked wrong. No wonder my Contra cheat wasn't working!!

      --
      Overrated / Underrated : Moderation :: Anonymous Coward : Posting
    5. Re:Simple mouse Gesture by self+assembled+struc · · Score: 2

      actually, it was
      up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-b-a-st ar t
      well, for most of you losers out there.

      i was all about
      up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-b -a-sele ct-start

    6. Re:Simple mouse Gesture by Mike+Schiraldi · · Score: 2

      No, select and start are not part of the code. The code is uuddlrlrBA. After that, you can do whatever you want. For example, uuddlrlrballldddbbaabba and then start.

    7. Re:Simple mouse Gesture by Mike+Schiraldi · · Score: 2

      Thank god, someone else who knows that select and start aren't part of the code. For some reason, i have a pet peeve over people who add "start" or "select start" to the end, which are not part of the code.

      Though you screwed up the second and third buttons.

    8. Re:Simple mouse Gesture by glenstar · · Score: 4, Funny

      It is certainly a good thing that they used mouse gestures instead of an emacs interface: C-x C-g C-t C-c ....

  7. Uhh... by Vaulter · · Score: 5, Funny


    But what if your hands aren't on your mouse?

    --
    I don't have a sig...Do you??
    1. Re:Uhh... by Kenja · · Score: 5, Funny

      Then odds are that no hand gesture in the world is going to save your job.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    2. Re:Uhh... by Xaoswolf · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't know, it just depends on who your boss is, and whether or not he/she has any positions that needed filled...

    3. Re:Uhh... by Stonehand · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Got any openings I could fill?"
      -- the prostitutes in New Reno, in _Fallout 2_.

      (Yes, these were supposedly _female_ prostitutes... *shrug*)

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    4. Re:Uhh... by akiy · · Score: 5, Funny
      Then odds are that no hand gesture in the world is going to save your job.

      You're obviously not a Jedi.

      --

      --
      http://www.aikiweb.com - AikiWeb Aikido Information

    5. Re:Uhh... by Kenja · · Score: 5, Funny

      I dont think even Obi' could pull off "this is not the pantsless geek you're looking for"

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    6. Re:Uhh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      You're obviously a virgin.

    7. Re:Uhh... by Da+Masta · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well the idea is to keep one hand on the mouse and the other on your, um, joystick.

      Of course, the problem comes when you remember to use one gesture, and forget to stop using the other one.

      To say the least, it'll be tough explaining to your boss why you're masturbating to an Excel chart. ;-)

    8. Re:Uhh... by newr00tic · · Score: 2, Funny

      That kid in The Matrix(tm)s waiting room at the Oracle would say: "There is no pr0n"..


      TheBoss: "ok.." *walks away*
      --
      A horse can't be sick, you know, even if he wants to.
    9. Re:Uhh... by mccalli · · Score: 2
      I find your lack of faith....disturbing.

      Cheers,
      Ian

    10. Re:Uhh... by elbobo · · Score: 2

      "The sales! Look at the sales! I am so HARD for this project!"

  8. links by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Thats why I use links. Perfect for viewing websites that you shouldn't be, with the added bonus that if you run it remotely through an ssh connection, the sysadmins *CAN'T* look up your history in the proxie logs.

    1. Re:links by Qzukk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Text-based browsing is the way to go for "clandestine" browsing sessions. Especially if your job consists of programming anyway, from a distance it all looks the same.

      Even better, if you're a web developer, just browse in source form, then nobody at all will be able to tell you're slacking off instead of working on the new internet site.

      --
      If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
    2. Re:links by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 5, Informative
      if you run it remotely through an ssh connection, the sysadmins *CAN'T* look up your history in the proxie logs.
      Ah, but that's where ngrep comes in! :^)
    3. Re:links by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 2

      I was actually thinking of standard telnet sessions (mostly because our firewall here at work doesn't allow SSH data in or out, so I am forced to use telnet). It's times like this that one wishes there was a "retract comment" button on Slashdot. :^)

    4. Re:links by LordHunter317 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Just run an SSH server on port 23 instead of port 22. That's what I do. Try the -p option.

    5. Re:links by Wee · · Score: 2
      Shouldn't be that slow for text heavy sites.. For pictures, maybe not

      Run Opera over an ssh session. Use it with image loading turned off, and if you see a site with images you'd like to see, you just hit the 'g' key to load the images. After you've seen what you want to see, hit 'g' again, and image loading is off again.

      -B

      --

      Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.

    6. Re:links by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 2

      The problem is that I am the client, and the SSH server I am wanting to connect to is only on port 22.

    7. Re:links by Bobzibub · · Score: 2

      What kind of firewall would do that!?!?!? = )
      -b

    8. Re:links by AKnightCowboy · · Score: 5, Informative
      Wouldn't a better solution just be to log into your ADSL machine at home, and run mozilla over an X session?

      Even better, use the -D option on newer versions of OpenSSH to do dynamic port forwarding. Then point Mozilla or Netscape's SOCKS4 proxy to the port you specify. For example: ssh -D 1080 remotehost.com -l blah Then just point mozilla to a socks4 port of 1080 on localhost. Everything you browse will then be proxied over your SSH connection and appear to come from your ADSL host to remote sites. Works pretty well in my experience without the hassle and overhead of setting up a squid proxy or running a full X application on a remote host.

    9. Re:links by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 2
      So do you work at FSU?
      Nope, I'm just a student there...
    10. Re:links by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 2
      What kind of firewall would do that!?!?!? =)
      A very paranoid one that I have no control over... :^)
    11. Re:links by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 2

      On second thought, wouldn't it be possible (as a sysadmin) to just obtain the user's private key right off their computer? Wouldn't this allow decryption of enough of the SSH authentication stream to allow the data stream to be decrypted as well?

    12. Re:links by LordHunter317 · · Score: 2

      But if you control the server as well (I'm assuming its like one at home), then you can go home and tell it to run on port 23.

    13. Re:links by Publicus · · Score: 4, Funny

      A firewall that passes telnet and not ssh? That's absolutely moronic! That's like defending against an foreigh threat to the United States by stripping Americans' of all their civil liberties!

      You know, really moronic!!!

      --

      My Karma was at 49, then they switched to words. All that work for nothing!

    14. Re:links by Quixadhal · · Score: 2

      True, although viewing those pr0n^H^H^H^Hsites might require you to sit back from the monitor a ways (assuming you're using aalib) -- which itself might attract attention.

      Of course, if your sysadmin has installed a VNC server, you're hosed anyways.

    15. Re:links by pigpen_ · · Score: 2, Informative

      If they cracked the passphrase for the key, then yes. But otherwise I don't think so.

      --
      Zambozay! My brain must've been eatin' a sandwich!
    16. Re:links by Casca · · Score: 2

      Not sure what good ngrep does if you are using ssh, unless someone has figured out a way to break 3DES encryption on the fly...

      --
      Casca
    17. Re:links by DickBreath · · Score: 2

      A firewall that passes telnet and not ssh? That's absolutely moronic!

      I have a friend who works at a giant telecom corporation. This is exactly what their firewall does.

      He can't ssh to his Linux box as home. (Newbie, btw.) I helped him to rtfm, and to edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config so that ssh would listen on BOTH 22 and 23. (He doesn't run telnet, so why not ssh on both ports.) Now he can SSH from work to the telnet port on his box at home.

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    18. Re:links by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 2

      Nope, it's a school SSH server... I suppose I could set one up at home on port 23 though, SSH into that, and then SSH into the one at school... Might be slow, but hey it would be secure!

    19. Re:links by msfodder · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well if I'm a competent sysadmin I know exactly what traffic is going where, when and how. If you attempt to use external dns I redirect it, if you attempt to connect to ssh I block it,if you hit port 80, it goes to the proxy,etc.. You have a client and I have the power. If you want to play I'll route you into a hole and wait for you to complain so I can show you the logs. If you get really stupid I'll have your job and a pat on the back. Don't fuck with sysadmins.

      --
      ..Free Live Free...
    20. Re:links by jerdenn · · Score: 2

      On second thought, wouldn't it be possible (as a sysadmin) to just obtain the user's private key right off their computer?

      That's exactly why I keep my SSH and PGP keys on a floppy. It's slow, but safe.

      -jerdenn

    21. Re:links by Zebbers · · Score: 3, Funny

      Don't fuck with sysadmins.

      We all know thats the last thing you sysadmins need to worry about....you won't be getting fucked anytime soon.

    22. Re:links by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 2
      On second thought, wouldn't it be possible (as a sysadmin) to just obtain the user's private key right off their computer?
      That's exactly why I keep my SSH and PGP keys on a floppy. It's slow, but safe.
      This is why flash-memory keyfobs were invented!
      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    23. Re:links by Chandon+Seldon · · Score: 2

      Heh.

      If I was working where you admin, I'd take that as a challenge.

      --
      -- The act of censorship is always worse than whatever is being censored. Always.
    24. Re:links by ivan256 · · Score: 2

      The user's private key is just for authentication. The data keys are seperate. To decrypt the outgoing data, the sysadmin would require the private key that was generated by the remote server. At best he could hope to pull the local key out of the clients system memory and decrypt the incoming stream, and if he can pull that off without the user noticing, he could probably get a job that pays much better than sysadmin.

    25. Re:links by ProfessorPuke · · Score: 2

      You're not safe at all. The sysadmin owns the computer you're running ssh on; he can install a modified ssh to log keys elsewhere.
      Even if you run your own ssh executable from a floppy too, he can decide to log all removable media-accesses or whatever else he wants. (In many situations, sysadmins should lock down employee's computers so that only a select list of approved programs is executable)

      The ONLY way to run a safe encrypted session from someone else's computer is to use a constantly-expiring key. Like one generated by a smartcard with an LCD readout. (That is the standard used by many big high-tech corporations)

      Even if you do this, you're still not 100% secure. They can't log your ssh key and use it later, but if the ssh executable on the box is trojaned, it could read data during your session, and even send extra data without your knowledge (prehaps even enough to change your password, or install a security hole on your remote machine).

      Running your own ssh off of a floppy might help, but that's STILL not immune to corruption. You have no guarantee that the operating system is really running the code you asked for. I could imagine installing a special check in the executable loader that, when told to run "a:/putty.exe", secretly calls up a bugged version.

      Trust no one!

      I expect that in the future, people whose data is very important (and those who think it is) will carry powerful PDAs to use when connecting to their network from an untrusted site (which will include all "Internet Cafes" and airport/hotel workspaces). They'll plug into TCP via USB or RJ45 or something, because only if you have physical control over the encrypting application can you trust it.

      (But then, you also have to watch for high-resolution ceiling cameras monitoring your stylus-strokes...)

    26. Re:links by shird · · Score: 2

      Does anyone know the reason why this was removed from RedHat 8? It wa included in 7.x and maybe 6, but was surprisingly absent from 8, even though lynx was present. I was personally annoyed by this, as links is my favourite text based browser, and it was quite hard to find to download. (try searching for 'links browser' and see how many irrelevant hits turn up :P)

      --
      I.O.U One Sig.
    27. Re:links by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 2
      You're an idiot. It's called SECURE shell for a reason. Sniff all the packets you want; they're encrypted, genius...
      Read my other posts... If you are a sysadmin, obtaining a user's SSH private key would be as easy as getting onto the user's computer (perhaps with a Linux boot disk) and then FTPing their private key to your own machine. At that point, you could brute force their password and have access to all future encrypted streams.
    28. Re:links by snake_dad · · Score: 2

      One word: keystrokelogger. Or is that two words? Oh well..

      --
      karma capped .sig seeking available Slashdot poster for long-term relationship.
  9. Quite apropos by MrEd · · Score: 4, Funny
    Something about their web server seems pretty 'ghostly' right now.

    ..... hey, somebody had to say it...

    --

    Wah!

  10. screw ups.. by grub · · Score: 2, Funny


    Leaving that on a shared laptop, your boss is giving a presentation for a room of investors and with one deft flick of the wrist.. goatse.cx pops up.

    That would rock.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  11. The Difference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    if your sysadmins don't check the proxy logs

    There is a distinct difference in a sysadmin who checks the log and rats you out, and a sysadmin who checks the log and gives you a few tips on a really good asian schoolgirl site. :)

    1. Re:The Difference by Cervantes · · Score: 5, Funny
      As a former and future sysadmin, I take offence at that!

      Everyone knows that good sysadmins check the proxy logs to find the really good asian schoolgirl sites!

      (along with passwords. Thanks, Microsoft Autocomplete!)

      --
      If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
    2. Re:The Difference by Mandi+Walls · · Score: 3, Funny
      that is so true.

      i recommend grepping for the IP of an Anime-addicted graphics artist's machine in the logs...

      cause, ah, he needs to have web access so he can get, ah, ideas...and, ah, source images! yeah! that's it!

    3. Re:The Difference by Mr.+Flibble · · Score: 2

      No, no, no! Good sysadmins are lazy, they don't need to grep through proxy logs when they can run dsniff on the gateway and capture all the great asian schoolgirl sites and the passwords and logins to those sites!

      --
      Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
    4. Re:The Difference by No-op · · Score: 2

      my god, someone who knows who mr flibble is AND who dug song is. that's so frickin cool.

      --
      EOM
    5. Re:The Difference by Phroggy · · Score: 2

      Since when is sniffing packets easier than grepping a proxy log? Log files sound easier to me, and I'm pretty lazy...

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    6. Re:The Difference by Ratbert42 · · Score: 2

      I knew I had it made the day my sniffer (which we use for actual work) logged a bunch of traffic to a porn site and we tracked the IP back to the IS head.

  12. its not the porn screen i dont want them to see by SirSlud · · Score: 2, Funny

    its the wang in my hand I wish was easier to hide!

    (let the small penis jokes begin. i can take it!)

    --
    "Old man yells at systemd"
  13. What platform? by updog · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What platform does this run on... the screenshots show only Windows. Is there a Linux version? The download link doesn't allow you to specify the platform...

    1. Re:What platform? by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


      the screenshots show only Windows. Is there a Linux version?

      Of course not, only Windows-lamers look at pr0n. Open source granola crunchers can get laid for real. :)

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    2. Re:What platform? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      (Score:-1, You Wish)

    3. Re:What platform? by fanatic · · Score: 2

      GPL: Free as in herpes, not as in beer.

      Unless this is sarcasm, you are truly a moron.

      --
      "that's not encryption - it's a new perl script that I'm working on..." - from some Matrix parody
  14. I dunno... by Hayzeus · · Score: 5, Informative
    If they're serious, they're going to be checking logs. If they're REALLY serious, they'll check your machine periodically for unapproved software.

    I've worked plenty of places where IS and IS only were allowed to install ANY software. Even though most of us were developers with years of experience, unauthorized installation of anything was potentially grounds for termination.

    1. Re:I dunno... by truesaer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I've worked plenty of places where IS and IS only were allowed to install ANY software. Even though most of us were developers with years of experience, unauthorized installation of anything was potentially grounds for termination.

      I hate that crap. My last job was like that, and productivity was very poor. You have to move fast, and delaying for a week to get IS to approve and install some kind of utility or program you need is rediculous. Those companies deserve what they get, which is probably bankruptcy.

    2. Re:I dunno... by Jucius+Maximus · · Score: 2
      "I've worked plenty of places where IS and IS only were allowed to install ANY software. Even though most of us were developers with years of experience, unauthorized installation of anything was potentially grounds for termination."

      My last (co-op student) job was like that. I actually got an e-mail from them yesterday asking if I was interested in working for them again in January but I said no. (I've got at least one interview coming up soon.) I made sure they knew it was because such policies limit productivity.

    3. Re:I dunno... by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I hate that crap. My last job was like that, and productivity was very poor. You have to move fast, and delaying for a week to get IS to approve and install some kind of utility or program you need is rediculous. Those companies deserve what they get, which is probably bankruptcy.

      Does anybody keep a list of such companies so we know who to avoid (when the tech econ improves and we have choices again)?

    4. Re:I dunno... by killmenow · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I can tell you've never been on the other end of this. When you run an IS organization for a large enterprise, you'd better not allow users to install software on their PCs.

      Now, developers could be in a slightly different ruleset. There's no reason they cannot get a "fast-track" approval for software. Or perhaps what's best for them, being developers, is to be cordoned off into their own, isolated, little section of the LAN where they can install any damn thing they want with impunity so they can do their development and testing...BUT, they must know that those machines can and will be reset to IS approved configurations if necessary and anything lost because it was held locally is the developer's fault.

      And not only that, but the policy would require those machines as being unsupported by the general IS infrastructure. The developers would have to support them themselves or a specific team would have to be dedicated as "lab" support.

      I used to be a developer for a government agency and I wasn't allowed to move my PC. I could move the mouse and the keyboard a little...but that's it.

      A lot of large organizations (gov't, hospitals, etc.) work like this. It may be a PITA for you as a developer, but it is manageable...and having an open policy, allowing anyone to install software on their PC is NOT manageable on a large scale.

    5. Re:I dunno... by elvum · · Score: 3, Interesting

      http://www.javassh.org may be of interest them (assuming you can persuade an IS representative to install the J2SE 1.4 RTE with Java WebStart...)

    6. Re:I dunno... by Sloppy · · Score: 2
      I once worked at a place where they bitched at me because I installed emacs. Some horseshit about how they couldn't verify the quality or purpose of it.
      Hey, verification is important. Someone should write the author of that program and suggest he make it Open Source!
      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    7. Re:I dunno... by Idarubicin · · Score: 2
      I've worked plenty of places where IS and IS only were allowed to install ANY software.

      In one of my previous workplaces, we had a policy like that. We finally got tired of waiting for the IS guys to install software for us, so we spliced a second PS2 connector on to one of our keyboards. Worked great for extracting the admin's password on his next visit. Probably illegal, but it meant that we were actually able to start getting work done again.

      (Moral of story: any network on which there exist computers that are not physically secured--is insecure.)

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    8. Re:I dunno... by loconet · · Score: 2

      Those companies deserve what they get, which is probably bankruptcy.

      Couldnt agree more

      --
      [alk]
    9. Re:I dunno... by ProfessorPuke · · Score: 2

      Spliced it? A blatant hardware mod like that is begging to be detected. These days we have off the shelf solutions.

      Probably not illegal, only grounds for termination. (Won't stop hyperactive prosecutors from going after you if your ex-boss complains enough, though. This is America, after all)

    10. Re:I dunno... by Wakko+Warner · · Score: 2

      Yeah, your KaZaA Lite installation sure increased productivity.

      I'm sorry, but I've worked at places that allowed users to install whatever they wanted, and I'll never work at such places again. You can only listen to stupid fucktards complain they lost all their work after they installed "just this one little program" for so long. (Though, most of the time, they don't admit to having installed it.)

      - A.P.

      --
      "Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
  15. Expand this concept. by cybermace5 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Include a custom peripheral, like Steel Battalion does.

    This peripheral would convert any office chair into an ejection seat, for those times when you absolutely positively cannot get out of admitting you were surfing the web, instead of working.

    --
    ...
  16. porn does it again.... by nebenfun · · Score: 5, Funny

    yet more proof that porn drives innovation....

    what is the saying? "necessity is the mother of invention"
    it should read
    "horniness is the mother of all invention"

    *crosses fingers* porn industry don't let me down...
    daddy wants a holodeck
    nbfn

    1. Re:porn does it again.... by Tadghe · · Score: 3, Funny


      > "horniness is the mother of all invention"

      Um close but I think it might be closer to ...
      "Horniness is the mother of all"

      --
      Bugs Bunny was right.
  17. Slashdotted...Download size 9.27 MB by jukal · · Score: 5, Informative
    As the site is already suffering, the download size is over 9 MB and there is not much other information on the site than this...

    Ghostzilla is a browser for surfing the Web when you don't want anyone to physically see what you are doing. It renders Web pages to look indistinguishable from your work screen. You make it disappear instantly with one move of your hand and bring it back with another. Ghostzilla can show Web pages discreetly within literally any application you work with.

    and the screen shots.... I'd believe everyone would be better of if you waited atleast some 30 minutes before hitting that download button. Why?

    ** Here is an analysis of the Slashdot Effect.

    1. Re:Slashdotted...Download size 9.27 MB by jukal · · Score: 2
      If everyone waited 30 minutes to download it, it would merely delay the slashdot effect by.. yep, you guessed it.. 30 minutes.

      Excellent! You must be one positive mind if you believe that every single slashdot reader is interested in reading every single comment posted here. Positive thinking will save the world :) In this case, and as a Zen like piece of wisdom for life: everyone == everyone you can make listen.

  18. Oh baby. . . by polyphemus-blinder · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, this is great! That's because the office is, of course, the best place in the world to oggle porn. Yeah.

    So now instead of seeing the embarrassing sites you're visiting, your boss will only notice more frequent hand...er...mouse gestures.

    --

    It's all going according to .plan.
  19. Hah! by swordgeek · · Score: 2, Funny

    Slashdotted already? Guess that says something about how popular (and necessary!) this is for slashdot readers!

    Of course, I know it was unavailable because I tried to get there asap. :-)

    --

    "People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
  20. Then again... by dze · · Score: 5, Insightful
    If you somehow get *caught* using this, you're gonna be in huge trouble cause it's obvious that you've gone to some length to conceal your activity. I'd think that looks worse than being "caught" visiting cnn or slashdot every so often.

    And at my work, like most other workplaces no doubt, they check the proxy logs anyways, so it wouldn't be much of a gain. It would be very easy to write a little script to go through and identify the "top" web surfers and to see who's surfing sites with pr0n-related terms, or anonymizing sites.

    <hypocrite>Anyway, you should do your web surfing from home!</hypocrite>

    --

    "Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey
  21. Normal Mozilla works too.... by reaper20 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Since most of these work spyware programs search for IE specific history, you're still pretty "safe" using normal Mozilla.

    Even the humans do this, seems to me like most of the tech support guys searching for 'inappropriate' material are looking in the IE history anyways.

  22. Off topic but I don't care by kin_korn_karn · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why is slashdotting a site so hilarious to you fools? Every time a story is posted there are a dozen idiots that get modded up to +5 funny just saying "oh gee, look, their site's down"

    1) There's nothing fun about being the admin of that box
    2) The fact that all these sheep are blindly clicking on the link is sad and pathetic
    3) It's just not humorous.

    1. Re:Off topic but I don't care by teamhasnoi · · Score: 5, Funny

      Baaaahhh, Baahhhh, *ClickClickClick* Baaahhh, Baahhhhhhh, *Click*ClickClickClick*ClickClick*

    2. Re:Off topic but I don't care by Quixadhal · · Score: 2

      So I take it your site was recently slashdotted by a herd of wolly foragers who seemed particularly nervous when hearing zippers?

    3. Re:Off topic but I don't care by mabinogi · · Score: 2

      If you're not here to click on the links....then why are you here?

      Please don't tell me it's for the intelligent conversation, and the informed comments....

      --
      Advanced users are users too!
    4. Re:Off topic but I don't care by vsprintf · · Score: 5, Funny

      2) The fact that all these sheep are blindly clicking on the link is sad and pathetic

      Finally! An advocate for the slashdot ethic: Do not read the linked articles, especially if you intend to post a comment. It might change your assumptions or something. :)

    5. Re:Off topic but I don't care by duren686 · · Score: 2

      ...Baaahhhhhh*click*EXPLODE!

      --
      Y2K Compliant since the late 1890s
    6. Re:Off topic but I don't care by liquidsin · · Score: 3, Funny

      4) ???
      5) Profit!

      --
      do not read this line twice.
    7. Re:Off topic but I don't care by nutbar · · Score: 4, Funny

      I take extreme offense at that, I am a New Zealander and my girlfriend does not slashdot sites.

  23. Hrmmm... by Violet+Null · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've had this for awhile. I call it "Alt-Tab"

  24. Mac users have it easy by teamhasnoi · · Score: 5, Informative
    In OS X you can hit CMD(Apple) H, which 'hides' most apps. Have a doc open in the back and you're all good. For added 'security', have another browser (IE) in the dock for when the boss wants you to look something up, or show you something.

    Now I can read /. all damn day! NOOO000ooooo....

    1. Re:Mac users have it easy by RaboKrabekian · · Score: 5, Informative

      In windows you can just hit the windows key-D and all of your applications will be minimized. There are actually a lof functions that you can peform with the windows key - it's not just to bring up the start menu.

      --
      "Moderate drinking can help prevent amputated limbs" -- Abigail Zuger, NYTimes, 12/31/02
    2. Re:Mac users have it easy by MoneyT · · Score: 2

      As a note, in OS 9 at least, option clicking outside of the application (even into another application) did the same thing.

      --
      T Money
      World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
    3. Re:Mac users have it easy by Jon+Abbott · · Score: 2
      In windows you can just hit the windows key-D and all of your applications will be minimized.
      So in Windows you can either get caught with naughty bits on your screen, or just appear as if you were thoroughly contemplating the desktop background...
  25. Re:try this by Joey7F · · Score: 2

    I just see a purplish or bluish screen?

    --Joey

  26. Xaoswolf Needs Sleep Badly by Xaoswolf · · Score: 2
    office chair into an ejection seat

    thinking about people looking at pr0n at work. Read that as ERECTION seat.
    Gave me a very strange mental image. I think I'm going to go to sleep now...

    *Shuts door, puts head on desk, hopes the boss doesn't walk in*

  27. Tech support guys... by unicorn · · Score: 2, Insightful

    looking for "inappropriate" material, usually need look no further than their own history folders.

    --
    "Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke
  28. Wank @ work like all telecommuters 8) by DrSkwid · · Score: 2

    you can even schedule it in to your diary.

    turn the web cam back to base off tho.

    --
    There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
  29. Source? by jmd! · · Score: 2

    Since I don't have access to Windows, and their download is an EXE, I can't check myself, but if their download includes the browser itself, isn't this a license violation? Where's the source?

    If it's installed on top of/under a seperate Mozilla install, all is fine.

    Can someone take a look at what's inside that .EXE for me?

    1. Re:Source? by flippet · · Score: 3, Informative
      The licence page says the source is available at http://www.ghostzilla.com/source/. At the moment I'll have to take their word for it, it's thinkin'...

      Phil, just me

      --
      "Cattle Prods solve most of life's little problems."
    2. Re:Source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Can someone take a look at what's inside that .EXE for me?

      Sure, man!

      Hmm ... let's see ... It starts with alot of binary numbers, anyway.
      Ok ... more binary numbers here. Binary, binary, binary ... Ooops! The file ended there!

      Yeah, binary all the way.

    3. Re:Source? by mabinogi · · Score: 2, Informative

      Ok, repeat this out loud, and slowly untill you understand:

      IT'S OK TO DISTRIBUTE BINARIES CONTAINING MODIFIED GPL SOFTWARE IF YOU PROVIDE THE SOURCE ON REQUEST FOR NO MORE THAN THE COST OF DISTRIBUTION.

      http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl.html Section 3b

      The offer to obtain the source has to accompany the binary...and since you can't be bothered even opening it to find out, I don't think you have the right to be claiming license violation.

      --
      Advanced users are users too!
  30. Re:Hmm... by cornice · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Did you read anything from the site? It does a little more than add mouse gestures. It puts a black and white web browser window on top of any application (framed in current application) without any borders, buttons, etc. It's certainly not invisible but someone could easily walk by your desk and think you're not browsing the web. All the mouse gesture does is eliminate the browser portion of the screen allowing the original app to shine through. Since human vision is so tuned toward movement this method of hiding draws far less attention than your plain old mouse gesture.

  31. Old dos games by ch-chuck · · Score: 2, Redundant

    used to have a 'The Boss Is Coming' button - when pressed the screen instantly changes into something like a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. Once the danger has passed you press it again to get back into your game where it was.

    Another DOS stealth trick: create a directory named ALT-255, it doesn't show up in dir listing. We'd put the games in there. That doesn't quite work in Windows tho.

    --
    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  32. I think I'm safe at work... by unicorn · · Score: 4, Funny

    One of the VP's here complains about getting too much porn spam at his work address. Not because he's opposed necessarily, just because it's all straight, and he's definitely NOT. I browsed his bookmarks accidentally when I was messing with Outlook for him. He's got quite the collection of favorites.

    And apparently at the company staff only Xmas party a year before I started, he was tanked enough to scream "holy shit, she's got tits" about one of the interns that had only been around a few months.

    I love my job. However, I think our HR manager hates hers.

    --
    "Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke
  33. Re:try this by guido1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Because of this key in mshtml.dll
    HKLM,"Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\AboutURLs","mozilla",2,"res://mshtml.dll/ about.moz"

    There are also specific keys for:
    PostNotCached
    blank

    Now, how mozilla ranks a key, and that no MS code review found this is anyone's idea.

  34. Any resolution??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Screen resolution in the pictures here is 800x600, but Ghostzilla works with literally any resolution and any size and position of any application window."

    C'mon, they can't be serious! A program that runs in any resolution? That would totally rock. ;)

  35. Re:encrypted proxy by Nihilanth · · Score: 2

    sure it does.

    but when your company sees you pumping traffic through an anonymous/encrypted proxy, they'll assume the worse and..well..you get the idea.

  36. Linux efficiency by TheFlu · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I run WindowMaker on Linux and I hot-key the switch workspace command to ALT-1 (next workspace) and ALT-2 (previous workspace). It's extremely efficient to simply leave terminal windows and applications maximized in their own workspace and just hop between the screens when you need to switch to a different app. It's like tabbed browsing, once you get used to it, it's hard to go back to the old way.

  37. this I like by Maskirovka · · Score: 2

    Nothing like giving the lusers a false sense of security!

  38. Re:Hmm... by DMBoyd · · Score: 2, Funny

    good old close window popup exploit. one of the biggest exploits with javascript and it hasnt been limited or anything.
    i remember writing a javascript that not only generated random geocities sites. but opened 30 random geocities sites, each in a new window, and then the page would also open two copies of itself also. so itd double and double and continue to open geocities sites until the cows came home. or the memory ran out.( which is a pretty long time on current pcs)

    i wrote this in response to the fact that our school was monitoring our net usage to make sure we werent playing games (slime voleyball, etc.) through a proxy program placed on a g4 comp.

    this overloaded that proxy. so they removed it.

  39. More porn-related addons for Mozilla by jesser · · Score: 5, Informative

    Pornzilla Modifications - stealth profiles, image zoom, view (but don't download) all linked images, go to next/previous thumbnail gallery or image.

    Leech - download all links from a page that have an extension in your list of extensions to download. The author didn't figure out how to send referrers with the requests, which is annoying because many porn sites require a correct referrer header, but there are several workarounds included with Leech.

    --
    The shareholder is always right.
  40. Re:encrypted proxy by fawadhalim · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sure. Set up squid on your home box, and do

    ssh -L 3128:localhost:3128

    set localhost:3128 as your proxy address.

  41. encrypting images by u19925 · · Score: 3, Funny

    yeah, and i have a even more smarter browser. it encrypts all displayed images, so no one knows that the image on the screen is p0xxxrn.

  42. Kleenex by chargen · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's why we all keep boxes of kleenex on our desk.

    Duh!

  43. It works by commodoresloat · · Score: 2
    just checked it out. cool!

    That way you didn't even have to take your hand off the mouse in a hurry when the boss walked by.

    Not off your mouse, no. But you will need the other hand for the option key.

  44. Mirror by RudeDude · · Score: 2, Informative
    download ghostzilla

    Mirror provided by Mr HOSTBOT

    --
    RudeDude
    Perl/Linux/PHP hacker
  45. Proxy Server? Hee... by xanadu-xtroot.com · · Score: 2

    Just put in your own DNS info in your TCP/IP settings, and disable the proxy server setup, and there's no issue (minus a packet sniffer, of course, but...). What's the issue? Am I missing something (seriously, that's an honest question, I've gotten around several proxy logs this way)?

    --
    I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
    I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
  46. For linux you have by phorm · · Score: 2

    Hmmm... well in linux you've got:

    a) Lynx/Links... hmmm: If your boss sees you checking out ASCII nudes he/she will probably just shrug and think you're more crazy than perverse.

    b) Gnome's *"Multiple desktops" through which to carry on both your work and another to browse slashdot or the "other" activities mentioned quite often

    *WinXP has this too with TweakUI, but the taskbar doesn't change so and all it really does is reposition windows, making it a lame and semi-useless knock-off. Too bad as I find this one of the most useful features of the linux GUI.

    1. Re:For linux you have by crisco · · Score: 2

      Turn off Shared Desktops and the TweakUI thing for XP works a little more like the *nix desktops that inspired it.

      --

      Bleh!

    2. Re:For linux you have by crisco · · Score: 2

      But then the missing feature is 'send to desktop X', allowing you to organize desktop sets.

      --

      Bleh!

    3. Re:For linux you have by snake_dad · · Score: 2
      b) Gnome's *"Multiple desktops" through which to carry on both your work and another to browse slashdot or the "other" activities mentioned quite often

      For windows: go here and download multidesk. Does the job quite well.

      --
      karma capped .sig seeking available Slashdot poster for long-term relationship.
  47. Re:Proxy Server? Hee... by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 2

    Doesn't help if the gateway is intelligent enough to log your traffic....

    --
    Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
  48. So the mouse gesture just hides the browser window by Chef_TM · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... instead of closing it? That aint that useful u know. I can envision many situations when it could make things much worse.

    Back in the day when I blindly opened executable file attachments without thinking, (Hey I was a kid, I didn't know about viruses and network security. I thought MS-DOS was an original, fully functioning operating system!!) I used to get lots of those comical programs designed to embarass you while at your desk. You know, the ones that opened up a porn pic of a man playing with himself, that u just couldn't close. Well one such time I received the goatse.cx picture via this method. I went to kill the process. It died. Phew, lucky escape. Little did I realise, that it had spawned a child process. Suddenly I had loads of little windows with scaled down goatse.cx pictures. So I turned off the screen. To my (and the rest of the JAM PACKED computer lab's) horror, a mans voice singing. "GIMME SOME ANAL LOVING" blared over the speakers....

    So basically no amount of hand waving will save your job, if your boss looks at a computer screen full of windows containing work relevant source code, while he hears the moans of a hentai anime school girl being pleasured by a giant robot.

    Not that I have ever.. er.... seen such... errrr... material like that errr... ever. No really. I haven't.

    I hate this forum. It makes me sig as a dog

  49. Re:Mozilla by Da+VinMan · · Score: 2

    I happen to agree with the plugin sentiment. That said, I still recommend trying this thing out. It may not be a technical victory per se, but it's still damn cool. I can't get over how fast it works. I may never really use it, but it's still damn cool.

    Damn cool. 'Nuff said. :+)

    --
    Please mod this post only if you think others should/n't read this. I have enough ego^H^H^Hkarma. Thanks!
  50. ssh by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually, ssh with the right switch can be a SOCKS proxy all by itself; no squid required.

    'Course my /. threshold is high. Maybe someone already pointed that out.

  51. Re:Hmm... by Flakeloaf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Did you read anything from the site?

    Hell no! If I had actually READ the article, there's no way I could've gotten that smartass comment in in time.

    --

    Am I the only one who heard Roxette to sing "I'm gonna get blitzed for some sex"?

  52. Thanks Slashdot by CanadaDave · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Great, now thanks to Slashdot every boss knows of Ghostzilla's existence. Although what boss would have the nerve to suspect an employee of using Ghostzilla, and ask him or her to press CTRL-ALT-DEL in Windows to prove it. Is there also a "KILL" mouse gesture? I mean a way to kill Ghostzilla from memory so that there is no evidence? Thanks.

  53. Where I work they use proxies and mete out access by crovira · · Score: 2

    from the LANs to the web with an eye dropper and only through "twice firewalled" intranets.

    Good thing too. Its a bank with networks of OLD pentium machines running NT 4.0 SvcPk 6. (Sniffers of any kind would degrade performance so severely as to be noticable!)

    Production systems run on mainframes and connect via encrypted leased lines that have no connection from the mainframes to the 'Net.

    Can't be too careful with financial systems.

    --
    MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
  54. True Story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Years ago, I was running a firewall for my company(this was back when firewalls were "BRAND NEW" and "MYSTERIOUS".

    Anyway, at the same time, my wife was working for a company for a real asshole boss.

    Keep reading, this gets better.

    Anyway, she ended up quitting a long-time job because she couldn't stand her asshole boss.

    Well, after she left, that company pretty much went down the toilet and he was looking for a job. It turned out he got a job with my company.

    I think you can see where this is going.

    We only kept aggregate logs; the security guy and I had the unwritten rule on porn...once or twice was an accident, more than that was surfing for porn.

    Well, one day, we noticed a lot of hits to some site that sounded "porn-ish" if you know what I mean.

    I checked the site, and sure enough it was porn. Not only that, but it was men on boy gay sex. Hoo-boy.

    We checked back on the IP address...you guessed it, her old boss was surfing gay kiddie porn at work.

    Got his sorry ass fired within 8 hours. My wife to this day will forgive me almost anything when she remembers getting her old asshole boss fired for gay kiddie porn.

    Seriously, this only happens in sitcoms, but this time it happened in real life.

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

  55. My personal favorite: by kikta · · Score: 2

    A rather verbose memo about not putting the seat up before you take a leak. :-D

  56. Depends by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 2

    If you are an accountant and the figures for next quarter are REALLY GOOD they might just give it a miss. :)

  57. All too true by Jucius+Maximus · · Score: 2
    "It's too late, the slashdot effect has excorcized this ghost."

    I loaded the site shortly after the article first came out and it was just dead. Clearly, it was slashdotted.

    But I loaded it just now and look what I got: "Account for domain ghostzilla.com has been suspended." Is it possible that we pushed the site over a hosting-set bandwidth limit?

    Seriously, there should be a policy when it comes to posting links to small servers on the front page of slashdot. The owners of the pages should be contacted for permission, and if possible mirroring so that the site is not blasted into oblivion.

    Posting links on slashdot is destructive and this is a perfect example -- it got a person's account suspended! Instead of spreading the ghostzilla love around, it was annihilated. Not good at all.

  58. Re:Thank god for Google by loconet · · Score: 2

    doesn't that violate the GPL? ... Nope

    --
    [alk]
  59. No... by Robber+Baron · · Score: 2

    So in Windows you can either get caught with naughty bits on your screen, or just appear as if you were thoroughly contemplating the desktop background...

    No...you do a screen capture of some important looking shit and use the "set as wallpaper" function!

    --

    You're using her as bait, Master!

  60. Or, Perhaps by DimitryP · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You could try working at work? After all, when I go to work, my boss expects me to work. Using the internet is not something that should need to be hidden. If you have a job, you go to said job to earn a paycheck. To earn said paycheck, perhaps you should try, you know, doing your job. It's what we normal people do.

    --
    Guns are like umbrellas and condoms. Better to have one and not need it, than need it and not have one.
  61. Re:If you use KDE by odaiwai · · Score: 2

    Of course, when you boss sees that you change whatever you're looking at whenever he approaches, he's going to get very suspicious, no matter what it is.

    Keep it open, and point out something relevant in the background to him. Better to be thought the kind of sad geek who'd look past a beautiful naked woman to examine a server in the backgound, that someone who browses porn at work.

    Honestly, Porn at work? You deserve to get fired. Browse your porn at home.

    dave

  62. Ah, so this is why.. by Lord+Bitman · · Score: 2

    So finally we know what MS had in mind when they allowed any application to take control of any window and do anything they want to it. Well thanks MS after all! A local root exploit is just a minor feature if we get to do this with it too!

    --
    -- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
  63. Re:What they don't know won't hurt them by Electrum · · Score: 2

    Friend of mine works at a place which only allows HTTP/HTTPS traffic to pass the proxy. It's not port-based firewalling, it's packet inspection. If it isn't HTTP, it doesn't go thru.

    His solution? He developed a java applet which gives him shell access to a Linux box (which also is running a webserver, necessary to serve the applet due to java security). It tunnels over HTTPS to a session running in userspace on the server. He doesn't need root to make it work, either.


    There is a much easier solution: use Corkscrew.

  64. Re: Slashdot at work by King_TJ · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hey, I'm totally with you -- but not everyone works for an "enlightened" boss (or bosses above your direct boss!). At my last job, I read Slashdot daily. (On slower days, at least once a morning and again in the afternoon.) I really considered it relevant and work-related too. I mean, sure, I skipped anything that was just a movie review or talk of a new arcade game....

    But I was always the first to have knowledge of new updates and fixes for new security risks, as well as good suggestions for the occasional software for a special niche need.

    Unfortunately, I also took a lot of flack from the "higher-ups" for my appearance of "doing nothing constructive" when people from other departments walked by and saw me "web surfing". I had to justify my usage time and time again, and it seemed like each time only quieted them down for a few weeks at the most.

    Eventually, I ended up losing that job. Can't really say it was over reading Slashdot, but I have the sneaky suspicion it didn't help matters any. Given a similar situation at a new job, would I do it all over again though? Yeah, absolutely. The net's biggest problem is a lack of quality sites that cull through the really interesting and relevant news, and put it in one place. Sure, you can go read ZD stuff and get the "party line" opinions on everything - but beyond that, there's Ars Technica, Slashdot, and a handful of respectable sites for hardware benchmarks and reviews. Other than that, though, what do you have? Would a company think it's a better use of time and money to buy those multi-hundred dollar a year "Dr. Dobbs Journal" subscriptions and have you read those??

  65. Re: approval for software installations by King_TJ · · Score: 2

    Personally, for most companies using a Windows NT/2000 or XP type environment - I think they should make more use of the concept of the "power users" group (or security groups along those lines).

    While it's really not manageable to let users go loading anything and everything they like on their PCs - it's just about as bad when the opposite is true. I worked in that type of environment before, and with only 250 or so total PCs in the whole environment - we often had to waste considerable amounts of time loading special software onto people's PC by "special request". Especially for people like engineers; they receive quite a few "30 day trials" of expensive programs they want to evaluate before making decisions on what to use for a project.

    I think the best solution is to grant users software installation privileges on a case-by-case basis, by dropping them into the proper security group. In fact, if you're worried about them abusing it - just add them to the group only for a temporary time-window (say, 1 week from the time they request it). That lets them do whatever they need to do, and still keeps them from abusing their access level months down the road. (Not only that, but as an admin, you know changes made that might be adversely affecting something else had to be done by only certain people, within a certain time-frame -- so you can more quickly isolate/fix them.)

  66. Re:My favorite part... by King_TJ · · Score: 2

    Man, no kidding. I run the old RealPlayer 8.0 or whatever it is - because their newer versions are screen-wasting, bloated crap.

    Nonetheless, I want the ability to hear an RA stream - because sometimes, it's just darn useful.

    Unfortunately, the stupid RealPlayer keeps blinking to tell me I need to upgrade to their newer software, and I can't find a way to stop it.

    Someone oughta write a small patch/hack to de-blink that damn thing!

  67. Forgive me if this is a stupid question... by Dthoma · · Score: 2

    ...but will this extension work with Phoenix? Phoenix is based on Mozilla, but I'm not sure if its stripped-down manner will let this work.

    --

    Note to M1-ers: a curt but otherwise insightful message is not "Flamebait" or "Troll".

    1. Re:Forgive me if this is a stupid question... by Da+VinMan · · Score: 2

      GhostZilla isn't an extension. It's a whole nuther browser, like Phoenix. Just try it.

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      Please mod this post only if you think others should/n't read this. I have enough ego^H^H^Hkarma. Thanks!
  68. Re: approval for software installations by truesaer · · Score: 2
    Thats a good idea. I was really referring to developers when I posted my comment, not the travel department or something. I'm doing hardware debug work, and if for example I need to install a packet sniffer to see why the LAN isn't working correctly on my board I just need to get that done.

    Our systems here are primarily our problem. I don't think they really support the things we do beyond reimaging the drive if it is truly hosed. We all have access to ghost anyway, and I've learned from experience to keep images of systems when you have them in a specific configuration you're going to need for testing, etc.