Texas Traffic Signs Hacked With Anti-Trump and Anti-Hillary Messages (hackread.com)

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Texas Traffic Signs Hacked With Anti-Trump and Anti-Hillary Messages (hackread.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Tuesday June 14, 2016 @09:20AM from the political-agenda dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Someone is hacking the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) electronic message boards and displaying anti-Trump and anti-Hillary messages. For example, one message read "DONALD TRUMP IS A ... SHAPE SHIFTING LIZARD!" while the other read "HILLARY FOR PRISON." The hacker appears to be a supporter of Bernie Sanders, displaying "BERNIE FOR PRESIDENT" on the message boards. One of the messages read "FREE BARRETT BROWN," an imprisoned U.S. journalist and alleged unofficial spokesperson for Anonymous. Not all the messages have been political, however. In reference to an incident in which Zookeepers shot and killed a rare gorilla after a 3-year-old boy fell into its enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, a message read "GORILLA DESERVED IT." The reports mention the defacing occurred a couple of weeks ago.

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Old news by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:23 · Score: 0

This was like two weeks ago.
1. Re:Old news by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:27 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, the summary even says that, "The reports mention the defacing occurred a couple of weeks ago."
"Hacked" is a strong word by svanheulen · 2016-06-14 09:27 · Score: 5, Informative

I've modified the message on one of those signed before. The box was unlocked and there was a manual inside with the default password for the device (which worked).
1. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Shakrai · 2016-06-14 09:39 · Score: 2
  
  Hack: To gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization: hacked the firm's personnel database.
  
  --
  I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
  We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
2. Re: "Hacked" is a strong word by Kvathe · 2016-06-14 09:42 · Score: 1
  
  Shared or default passwords are probably the #1 way anybody "hacks" into anything. I remember seeing an image on 4chan many years ago that described how to change messages on traffic signs like this. In the unlikely event that they've modified the default password there's even a reset button that will get you in anyway. The backup password was DOTS if I recall ;)
3. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by mrchaotica · 2016-06-14 09:44 · Score: 1
  
  Some of them are remotely controlled. Older and/or portable signs might be on dial-up or cellular, while newer fixed ones might be wired with dedicated fiber as part of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) network. Accessing those types of signs might still be pretty easy, but IMO would properly count as "hacking."
  
  --
  "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
4. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:45 · Score: 0
  
  seeing that's a crime on par with stealing a stop sign, I hope you didn't mean to sign in as AC. whoops?
5. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by bondsbw · 2016-06-14 09:45 · Score: 1
  
  "Breaking and entering" is a strong word. The mat was easy to move and there was a key underneath it (which worked).
  
  --
  All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
6. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by svanheulen · 2016-06-14 09:50 · Score: 1
  
  I wasn't speaking in a legal sense. And in that same sense I would call what you're describing "entering."
7. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by svanheulen · 2016-06-14 09:51 · Score: 1
  
  No shits given.
8. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by I'm+New+Around+Here · 2016-06-14 09:57 · Score: 1
  
  Back when I was a teenager, my friends had a street sign in their garage. They would cut pieces out of it to make their own "Ninja throwing stars".
  If you had friends like that, you know why I put that in quotes. :^)
  
  --
  If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
9. Re: "Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:57 · Score: 0
  
  That's what she wanted, but that's not how she would describe it. ;-)
10. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by TeknoHog · 2016-06-14 10:03 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  In the olden days of /., 'hack' would have been more about technical skill and an inquisitive attitude, rather than legality or authorization. Even with the later, incorrect usage of hacking to mean cracking, I wouldn't say that "doing stuff without a permission" is synonymous with "hacking".
  
  --
  Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
11. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2016-06-14 10:04 · Score: 1
  
  Loosely, but there are court cases floating around about this. For example, is a guy who was given a password then accessed the data, but for the wrong reason, and thus illegal, hacking? Punishment does indeed make a difference. Same if the guy had the password legitimately, then was fired, then accessed the database. Was his access "revoked"?
  These seeming split hairs make a difference for prosecution and sentencing, as they are different crimes (and some may not even be.) It is like saying someone was breaking and entering, when you never reclaimed the key when firing them. Stealing is something else.
  
  --
  (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
12. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by svanheulen · 2016-06-14 10:06 · Score: 2
  
  This was my point exactly. I wasn't commenting on the legality of the action, only that I doubt there were any "hacking" skills required to do what they did.
13. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Solandri · 2016-06-14 10:14 · Score: 2
  That's the definition that's been redefined by people, corporations, and governemnts trying to hide their incompetence behind the veneer of law. Hacking = illegal. Here's the original definition
  
  n. Originally, a quick job that produces what is needed, but not well.
  
  n. An incredibly good, and perhaps very time-consuming, piece of work that produces exactly what is needed.
  
  vt. To bear emotionally or physically. âoeI can't hack this heat!â
  
  vt. To work on something (typically a program). In an immediate sense: âoeWhat are you doing?â âoeI'm hacking TECO.â In a general (time-extended) sense: âoeWhat do you do around here?â âoeI hack TECO.â More generally, âoeI hack fooâ is roughly equivalent to âoefoo is my major interest (or project)â. âoeI hack solid-state physics.â See Hacking X for Y.
  
  vt. To pull a prank on. See sense 2 and hacker (sense 5).
  
  vi. To interact with a computer in a playful and exploratory rather than goal-directed way. âoeWhatcha up to?â âoeOh, just hacking.â
  
  Notice there's nothing about legality or authorization. That was all added afterwards by authority figures who didn't like people poking their noses into things they weren't "supposed to be" messing with.
14. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:19 · Score: 0
  
  So then if I copied a text file to a USB drive from a computer that had no password, no physical security, you're saying I am a "hacker" ...
  Get a better dictionary.
15. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by tlhIngan · 2016-06-14 10:21 · Score: 1
  
  I've modified the message on one of those signed before. The box was unlocked and there was a manual inside with the default password for the device (which worked).
  To be fair, the main problem was the box was unlocked.
  A password is useless on a device like this - if you change it, then every sign needs to have the same password, and every employee who deals with them needs to have the password. Chances are if this is the case, the password is effectively public because someone will leak it out eventually (or someone overhears it accidentally).
  After all, the road crews doing the signage probably don't want to figure it out every time, which is why the manual is there so they can quickly set up the sign and have it display the desired message. No road crew wants to go and fiddle and figure out how to use the damn sign, after all.
  If they had their way, the boxes would have built in modems and such, and all they'd have to do is dump it by the side of the road and phone it in.to the traffic central so they can take control of it. In this case a unique password is useful (and something the traffic center computers can keep track of
16. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:29 · Score: 1
  
  The portable ones are usually just simple "enter passcode, then text" with the keypad located behind a metal cover (rarely locked, because somebody on the road crew will lose the key or will just walk off the job) on the sign itself. The passcode usually remains the default for similar reasons. The passcode is also said to reset if the battery lead is removed (battery also inside a usually-unlocked compartment).
17. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Joe_Dragon · 2016-06-14 10:32 · Score: 1
  
  But they still may have a local keyboard but to get to some you have to stand at your risk next to 70+ MPH traffic.
18. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:33 · Score: 0
  
  A lot of "hacks" involved social engineering. Realizing that people are too lazy to change default passwords fits that bill.
19. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Shakrai · 2016-06-14 10:52 · Score: 1
  
  In the olden days of /., 'hack [catb.org]' would have been more about technical skill and an inquisitive attitude, rather than legality or authorization. Even with the later, incorrect usage of hacking to mean cracking, I wouldn't say that "doing stuff without a permission" is synonymous with "hacking".
  It may not be synonymous for the /. community but it almost certainly is for John Q. Public. Language evolves over time; even the Google definition for "hack" (which I couldn't directly link, hence thefreedictionary) includes, "use a computer to gain unauthorized access to data in a system."
  
  --
  I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
  We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
20. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by PopeRatzo · 2016-06-14 11:02 · Score: 1
  
  Absolutely.
  Now, if they'd hacked these traffic signs by whistling we'd have something to talk about. Or from a cyber-cafe in Bulgaria. This is just stupid vandalism.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
21. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by ArylAkamov · 2016-06-14 11:04 · Score: 1
  
  Yep, it is usually that easy. I've seen them with the password sharpied on the inside of the box.
  Reminds me of some old &TotSE shenanigans:
  http://imgur.com/uE67Mhz
22. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 11:09 · Score: 0
  
  If you give someone the keys and they do something silly then you need to classify "the silly" as the crime. If you don't do this then everything becomes subjective and the law goes to shit. You can't go to court because someone did something that you find offensive unless it's covered by a law.
  In this case changing the display on the sign is a bit antisocial, but it's hardly what I'd call a crime. Scrawling graffiti on something actually causes damage that takes time, money, chemicals and manpower to restore. Changing the sign back can be done in the morning when they restart their shift - totally different scale.
  Unfortunately for this person the subject was political. Some people become very charged when talking about contradictory viewpoints on politics. Some other people will become irrational when presented with opposing political views. My guess more likely this person goes to jail because they talked bad about Hillary...or Trump. Likely the charges will be trumped up with some defamation suit as well, just for good measure.
23. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 11:37 · Score: 0
  
  . make their own "Ninja throwing stars".
  Westerners forget the point of such stars was poison, a common tool in a mercenary's arsenal.
24. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by AK+Marc · 2016-06-14 12:39 · Score: 1
  
  The current definition of hack matches the old definition of "crack".
  
  --
  Learn to love Alaska
25. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 12:47 · Score: 0
  
  Less interesting: Data on what sort of people use the word hack.
  More interesting: Data on what sort of people use the word unauthorized.
  
  Seeing as the former will probably be more blurry noise and the latter is more likely to exhibit... certain trends and patterns.
26. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 13:02 · Score: 0
  
  To the courts (and Our Betters who weaponize them) you're actually a "superhacker".
27. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by mlts · 2016-06-14 13:22 · Score: 1
  
  Here in Austin, we are no stranger to road signs with off-beat messages. "Turn around, zombies ahead" was seen on a few signs.
28. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by mlts · 2016-06-14 13:47 · Score: 1
  
  It is easier to have an easily compromised sign than a sign that can't be used because it is too secure, and the key for it was lost. Cellular connections may be dicey, especially when the sign is in proximity to a lot of rebar or out where there is no real signal.
  I personally would just have a locking cabinet with an Abloy PROTEC2 CLIQ cylinder (or something with similar good electronic/mechanical strength), which not just will ward off vandals (it can be defeated, but will require a lot more physical tampering), but also give an electronic audit record of who has the sign. From there, just open the cabinet, set the text of the sign, close cabinet.
29. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by parkinglot777 · 2016-06-14 23:42 · Score: 2
  
  A lot of "hacks" involved social engineering. Realizing that people are too lazy to change default passwords fits that bill.
  Please take a look at his original post... If the door is unlocked and there is a manual there with default password, do you mean you need to talk to social engineer with the box in order to get the password? Are we living in Futurama?
30. Re: "Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-15 02:38 · Score: 0
  
  Jargon.txt has the correct definition
31. Re: "Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-15 02:44 · Score: 0
  
  The ones I've examined had a serial port (db9) and a detachable keypad. Of the handful I've seen up close, most had the password written nearby.
32. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by dave420 · 2016-06-15 03:42 · Score: 1
  
  The access was still unauthorised, regardless of how easy it was. That's all that's needed for it to be considered hacking.
33. Re: "Hacked" is a strong word by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-15 05:59 · Score: 0
  
  Basically unauthorized access == hacking now a days.
34. Re:"Hacked" is a strong word by Coren22 · 2016-06-15 07:51 · Score: 1
  
  Breaking in this instance is breaking the invisible barrier separating outside from inside. It isn't about damaging a person's property, that is vandalism.
  
  --
  APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
Awesome by WolfgangVL · 2016-06-14 09:27 · Score: 2

Keep it up. Just because we cant win the game doesn't mean we cant have a little fun with it anyway.

--
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
1. Re:Awesome by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:36 · Score: 1
  
  I was going to vote for the lizard people, but I think they might count that as a vote for Hillary.
  So I'm going to vote for Trump's toupee instead.
2. Re:Awesome by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:11 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Yes, foolish human. We xenopilliaromorphs are greatly pleased at your choice in supporting our long term plans to silently replace the unintelligent growths your unsightly heads produce as part of our ultimate goal of enslaving your entire population.
  The host body you refer to as "trump" has been most compliant with our deep compulsion techniques. We are pleased that you have determined our true origins, and yet still (wisely) accept our rule, by openly endorsing the candidacy of his "toupee." A number of our ethicists were concerned about the ethics of parasitizing a sentient species. Your willful cooperation pleases us.
  As a friendly gesture, we shall tell you how to please us further: We find the more luxurient of earth hair care products most enjoyable, but dislike many earth styling methods. To curry our favor, use shampoos and conditioners rich in decadent natural oils, and free of parabens, silicones, and sulfates--Avoid the use of hair driers, and styling irons. Observe proper combing and grooming techniques to avoid breakage.
  Do these things, and we shall reward you in the new order. Together, we shall make "america" great again.
Other postings by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:29 · Score: 0

BURMA SHAVE!
Good start by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:31 · Score: 0

I agree that Hilary and Trump suck an ass but Bernie's a shitbag too. I guess it's better than nothing. I'm glad to see that at least some people are voting their conscious and not folding into voting for the of the big statists.
1. Re:Good start by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:14 · Score: 0
  
  How is Bernie himself a "shitbag"? Answers that don't involve "I'm privileged and deserve more than others and the government's job is to protect my privilege, and anyone who disagrees is Hitler" pls.
  McCain was a decent guy that I disagreed with on most political things. Hillary I politically agree with on more things than Trump, but she's 100% cunt. Bush Jr was a cunt and politically wrong on most things. Obama's a showman who falls well short of many promises, but on balance he's not awful. Teddy Roosevelt had a military imperialist streak, but by all accounts was a really nice guy in person. The world isn't black&white.
2. Re:Good start by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:41 · Score: 0
  
  Gary Johnson 2016: the other, other white Republican.
Not that hard... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:37 · Score: 1

Back in 1999 or 1998, the magazine 2600 had a few articles on how to "hack" those signs. Most of them are programmed either via an attached keyboard or via an IR keyboard. Few, if any of them, have their default passwords changed. Heck, some of the larger highway signs in Illinois were dial-up and had no passwords on them either (not that I know for any particular reason)....
1. Re:Not that hard... by Joe_Dragon · 2016-06-14 09:45 · Score: 1
  
  tollway or the free road ones?
You Mean Improved? by zenlessyank · 2016-06-14 09:38 · Score: 3, Funny

Replacing stupid messages with useful ones is not what I call hacking. I would call that fixing or improving. Trump or Hillary is like an alternative reality gone wrong, except this is real.
1. Re:You Mean Improved? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:40 · Score: 0
  
  It's only real in the reality that you are currently experiencing. Find solace that somewhere in the universe a human race has made smarter decisions.
2. Re:You Mean Improved? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:48 · Score: 0
  
  Trump, Hillary, and Bernie are all utterly awful but this is nothing new. The US system is all about voting for either a giant douche or a turd sandwich once every few years before dutifully serving/obeying whichever attracts the most votes.
  You want to really improve the signs? Try "VOTING IS A WASTE OF TIME".
3. Re:You Mean Improved? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:52 · Score: 0
  
  except this is un- real.
  FTFY
4. Re:You Mean Improved? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 11:44 · Score: 0
  
  so get involved and vote!
5. Re:You Mean Improved? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 20:44 · Score: 0
  
  And your solution is...?
6. Re:You Mean Improved? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 20:45 · Score: 0
  
  FUCK YOU!
  Love,
  Bernie
7. Re:You Mean Improved? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-15 00:14 · Score: 0
  
  Not AC, but: stop paying taxes.
8. Re:You Mean Improved? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-15 02:06 · Score: 0
  
  We're in the backwards "Berenstain Bears" alternative timeline
Not Political? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:40 · Score: 1

Not all the messages have been political, however. In reference to an incident in which Zookeepers shot and killed a rare gorilla after a 3-year-old boy fell into its enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, a message read "GORILLA DESERVED IT."
I'm pretty sure that counts as political.
meh by dejitaru · 2016-06-14 09:42 · Score: 1

Screw current events or politics, personally I prefer those that hack them with something funny and whatnot. Brings better joy to some random driver's life if they have a small chuckle then reading some persons pointless opinion.
1. Re:meh by zenlessyank · 2016-06-14 09:54 · Score: 2
  
  ASCII art for the win.
2. Re:meh by I'm+New+Around+Here · 2016-06-14 10:01 · Score: 1
  
  Remember the one that warned about zombies ahead?
  
  --
  If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
3. Re:meh by TeknoHog · 2016-06-14 10:12 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Agreed, but even that won't always work out. Recently, a Finnish subway driver wrote 'wish I had a beer' on the in-car display, and a media shitstorm ensued. The subway operator had the driver scolded, though not fired, and issued a statement on their stance against promoting alcoholic drinks.
  
  --
  Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
4. Re:meh by dejitaru · 2016-06-14 10:21 · Score: 1
  
  yeah, that's funny until the zombie apocalypse happens and people think it's a joke and drive to their demise... well, maybe that is still funny....
5. Re:meh by UnknownSoldier · 2016-06-14 10:42 · Score: 1
  
  You mean these ?
  Yup, that was hilarious! People need to lighten up over "prank signs."
6. Re:meh by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 12:49 · Score: 0
  
  Off topic, but funny that subways are on rails and have drivers, but everyone thinks software can operate an automobile...
7. Re:meh by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 20:49 · Score: 0
  
  Most all of these trains are automated with a human there just in case. Ya know, like they are proposing for those automobiles you seem to hate so much.
8. Re:meh by eth1 · 2016-06-15 03:09 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed, but even that won't always work out. Recently, a Finnish subway driver wrote
  'wish I had a beer'
  on the in-car display, and a media shitstorm ensued. The subway operator had the driver scolded, though not fired, and issued a statement on their stance against promoting alcoholic drinks.
  That's entirely due to the legions of idiots that love to go out and find things to get outraged about, and the media that loves to sell those things to those people. If it wasn't for that class of people trolling social media (and mainstream media scraping social media instead of actually reporting), that sort of thing would just be chuckle-providing fun.
Anti Hilary, Anti Trump . . . . ? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2016-06-14 09:42 · Score: 1

Cmon' over folks . . . the beer is on me!

--
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
1. Re:Anti Hilary, Anti Trump . . . . ? by PopeRatzo · 2016-06-14 11:20 · Score: 1
  
  Man, this is Texas we're talking about here. Don't nobody give no nevermind to no nanny state traffic signs down here. Hell, when we see a traffic sign here in the Lone Star State, we just shoot the bejeebus out of it. I mean really fill that bitch with lead. Just to show who's boss, you know? Sometimes, you have to water the tree of liberty with the blood of some got-damn traffic signs.
  Live free or die.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
2. Re:Anti Hilary, Anti Trump . . . . ? by camperdave · 2016-06-14 12:28 · Score: 1
  
  Hacking a sign in Texas means shooting the little flipper dots to spell something else.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
#GorillaLivesMatter ... by tlambert · 2016-06-14 09:43 · Score: 1

#GorillaLivesMatter ... what, too soon?
1. Re:#GorillaLivesMatter ... by zenlessyank · 2016-06-14 09:56 · Score: 1
  
  #HumanLivesMatterMoreAsshole
2. Re:#GorillaLivesMatter ... by aardvarkjoe · 2016-06-14 09:59 · Score: 1
  
  #ItsEasierToMakeMoreHumans
  
  --
  
  How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
3. Re:#GorillaLivesMatter ... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:44 · Score: 0
  
  #WhatMattersIsSubjective
4. Re:#GorillaLivesMatter ... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:48 · Score: 0
  
  #justAsEasyToCreateMoreGorillasToo
5. Re:#GorillaLivesMatter ... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:48 · Score: 0
  
  #AlreadyTooManyHumansAnyway
6. Re:#GorillaLivesMatter ... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:57 · Score: 0
  
  #Thatswhytheyareendangered,rightasshole?
7. Re: #GorillaLivesMatter ... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 11:10 · Score: 0
  
  #hashtagsaregay
8. Re:#GorillaLivesMatter ... by camperdave · 2016-06-14 12:30 · Score: 2
  
  (I want to get in the water that's thirty feet below me!)
  Clearly, it is a Global Warming issue.
  
  --
  When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
9. Re: #GorillaLivesMatter ... by Falos · 2016-06-14 13:04 · Score: 2
  
  #hashbrownsaredelicious
10. Re: #GorillaLivesMatter ... by Areyoukiddingme · 2016-06-15 05:02 · Score: 1
  
  You mean #brownsaredelicious...
Simple.... by beheaderaswp · 2016-06-14 09:53 · Score: 1

"Ban People"
Will fix everything.

--
Another consultant who stuck it out.

"We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
Hillary for Prison by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 09:55 · Score: 0

Waiting for that is basically Bernie's entire campaign strategy at this point.
Law enforcement themselves did it. by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 10:36 · Score: 0

They don't get paid unless they can act like they are stopping crimes.
This is just an attempt to get attention by subanark · 2016-06-14 10:45 · Score: 1

This is an attempt to get as many people as possible to be angry, and by extension, more attention. The gorilla message is particularly telling as people generally fall into the "The gorilla's death was tragic, but no chances should be made with human lives" and "The situation could have been resolved without killing the gorilla".
1. Re:This is just an attempt to get attention by fahrbot-bot · 2016-06-14 11:27 · Score: 1
  
  The gorilla message is particularly telling as people generally fall into the "The gorilla's death was tragic, but no chances should be made with human lives" and "The situation could have been resolved without killing the gorilla".
  ... and the gorilla was an easier shot.
  
  --
  It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
2. Re:This is just an attempt to get attention by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 13:18 · Score: 1
  
  >This is an attempt to get as many people as possible to be angry
  Uh, yeah. Was trolling become so fragmented by the next generation, by the year of the SJW, that no one remembers whence it came?
  
  The vandal probably doesn't even HAVE an opinion on the gorilla incident, it was just the quickest, most inflammatory set of letters that fit onto a sign. It's mean to set off the opinionated and vocal, bonus points if at each other.
3. Re:This is just an attempt to get attention by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 13:21 · Score: 0
  
  I'd assume the gorilla message was sarcastic.
Slow news days by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 11:16 · Score: 0

Guess some reporters needed to fill those pages and get content online during a slow news day. My friends and did that as teenagers over 20 years ago. The article seems to imply some organized group of sophisticated geniuses are somehow taking over signs. Reality is, lazy road crews rarely lock the box with the control equipment. Password is almost always the factory default or printed on some sticker. Not very difficult to set whatever message you want.
Next up... by fahrbot-bot · 2016-06-14 11:26 · Score: 1

One of the messages read "FREE BARRETT BROWN" ...
Just down the road: Free Hat

--
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
1. Re:Next up... by PPH · 2016-06-14 11:35 · Score: 2
  
  FREE THE MALLOCS
  Come on, this is Slashdot.
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
Worry about this message by neglogic · 2016-06-14 11:38 · Score: 1

KLAATU BARATA NIKTO.
The Lizard you know by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 16:36 · Score: 0

How is "Trump is a Shape Shifting Lizard" anti-Trump?
+1 for Lizard King
The courts have nothing to say on this by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 18:13 · Score: 0

US law criminalises "computer hacking" without defining what it is. So you say "I hacked", therefore you are in breach of that law, therefore you are a criminal guilty of... something undefined. But that doesn't matter, because you are guiltee and therefore must be punished.
We have had judges act on it: They hear someone call themselves a "hacker" and conclude they've just thrown away their fourth amendmend rights.
The takeaway is that it is now criminally stupid to call yourself a "hacker", and by extension, calling anybody else a "hacker" or say that they "hacked", is an accusation of punishable actions under that law. You can split hairs all you want, this law has got punishment in store for that "hacking".
The effects of this ought to teach us that abusing words like "hacker" and "hacking" and "hack" have been horribly abused, can come back to haunt us. But hey, as long as you don't call yourself a "hacker" or get called a "hacker", you're good, right? Nothing to fear, right?
..Which will add even more votes to him by proving by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 18:14 · Score: 0

But it is always sad to see people who can't cope with this "democracy" thing. IN the age of micro aggression, where even seeing the name of a candidate they hate sends college students to a psychiatrist, this will happen more and more. this IS a generation of micro dic(k)-tators.
ObBurmaShave by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 19:59 · Score: 0

Shape shifting lizard
Hair like a crazy wizard
Racist on the stump
Don't be Donald Drumpf, use
Burma Shave
Re:Bernie by Anonymous Coward · 2016-06-14 20:23 · Score: 0

Polls still suggest Bernie could win a 3-way election with 40% of the popular vote.
That is so.... HI TECH!!!! by codeButcher · 2016-06-14 22:17 · Score: 1

That is so.... HI TECH!!!!
So far, the best that South Africa could come up with is to graffiti the name of your favorite politician on the lower half of the STOP sign.

--
Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
Not hard by ebvwfbw · 2016-06-15 12:02 · Score: 1

I saw one sign that said - ZOMBIES AHEAD, next week - WELCOME TO OZ
Thing is, the signs have to be so simple that why even a Construction worker can figure it out.