Oh great, this again. It was on CNBC tonight and my dad called me into the room to watch it with him. He then raised his eyebrows as if to point out how crazy I am for giving out my credit card online.
Although these disclosures and media attention are useful for letting card holders know about it (thus reminding them to check their statements), I have to compliment CNBC on something: They took the time to explain the difference between a CC# stolen during a transaction and one stolen later on from a database. Kudos to them.
REGARDLESS, I am forced to point out once again that we do "risky" things every day. Having your card # stolen from a database is no different than handing it to the guy making $5 an hour at Olive Garden and having him jot down the card info when he leaves with your check.
Granted, one might point out that getting a card stolen online might mean more people will abuse it and make illegal purchases. I counter that arguement with the fact that being one of 300,000 known stolen cards means media attention which would result in you getting advance knowledge to go over your statement with a fine-toothed comb, which you might not do (but always should regardless) if some random waiter stole your card to buy a few DVDs.
I guess he was listening through the thin walls in the hotel room next door:
(Internet): "Ungh....Ungh....yeah broadband baby, all for you, I promise....ungh....ungh....all the porn and details on making pasta figurines too....UNGH...ungh...ungh...search engines based on outside linking...interactive Who Wants to Be a Millionaire....Slashdot Karma....it's all yours baby....Ungh ungh ungh UNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGH!!!"
(Internet): "Sorry baby...I didn't mean to peak like that. I got excited. No, don't get dressed. Cmon baby..."
"Hey kids, shut off the lights and close the shades...it's time for Charlotte's Web!"
Heck, most parents are already running pirated software and make copies of CDs and video tapes, so this is just one more great opportunity to teach your kids how to get around copyright law!
Q) What is the only way to effectively have a spam-free account?
A) Change your account frequently.
Yes, you could NEVER give it out, but then you might never know what silly shmuck friend of yours will forward an email you sent to a guy who sends out joke lists that are read by another guy who posts the list, email and all, on his website.
OR, you could be really creative and only make your listed reply-to addresses contain those witty NOSPAM.blah.com lines, which sooner or later (if not already) will simply be encoded by a spam collection bot to bypass in search of more legitimate addresses to collect and sell.
Q)What's the solution then?
A) Pick an account. Aol, yahoo, whatever. Start replying to spams. Act interested. Act like some idiot fool with cash to burn. Sure, you'll get added to even more lists, but odds are that the original spammer will REPLY TO YOU to get more information.
And what do we now have? THE SPAMMER'S ADDRESS.
Maybe it's not his personal account. But it sure as heck is one he cares about. He checks it for his business. It is very critical for him to have a business account to contact his clients (cough-easymarks-cough).
So now what do we do? Submit it to some grassroots organization that stores the address. They'll register a few hundred random accounts at legitmate locations (we don't want to spam him back with false addresses like he did, now do we?) and send him oh, 400 emails with varying lengths and varying titles and varying names EVERY DAY. He won't be able to sort out who is who and will waste a bulk of his time trying to find 1 or 2 legitmate buyers.
Thus the loop is complete. They waste our time, we waste theirs. Sooner or later, 95% of them will deem the practice to be more trouble than it is worth. It's not perfect, and sure there are a few holes in the idea, but how does it sound as a start?
I bet Reagan called this one in. Now he can finally have that Star Wars Defense System that he always wanted...as soon as they enable the hidden laser grid on the birds.
If you get Wired and hang on to back issues, go back 2 or 3 months. They had a whole article on some new software technique this guy was going to market using cell phones to distribute digital pictures. It was a good read...that is, it was a good read instead of paying attention in my mind-numbing communications class.
That doesn't sound like the guy though. It sure would suck if he did that interview only to have someone else read it and beat him to market!
The article mentions that they can be moved around like a Fruit Rollup. Now what -I- want to see is for them to actually use them in Fruit Rollup packages, replacing that annoying cellifane wrap!
That'd be like a snack and a movie that I could carry in my pocket. Mmmmm....
Ah, the tally for Florida might be over, and the lawsuits might be pending, but don't forget about the good ole' electoral college system itself!
We vote for electors, not candidates. Those electors "usually" vote how the state totals come out, but who knows if a few of them change their mind? They aren't legally required to vote a certain way in every state, just in a few of them. In certain states, mis-voting gets you a small slap-on-the-wrist penalty as an elector.
These electors aren't all high-ranking rank-and-file politicians. A lot of them are small-town regular joes. Bush may have won Florida, but it would only take a small handfull of electors to swing things back to Gore if they wanted to.
Then again, it would take several LARGE handfuls of them to give it to Nader and be done with it, but that's a fantasy I'll keep to myself;)
Wow, I don't think I have heard the "Nader was a paid operative" wacko arguement yet, so thanks.
Next you'll tell me that Buchannan is actually beung funded by Mexican illegal aliens with co-funding from the National Meatball Circumfrence Safety Certiciation Foundation, right?
Yes.
These wonderful "nerd" shows are on so infrequently that this certainly is news. Especially when not one, not two, but THREE mega-nerd shows are all doing a marathon in the same week. That is cause for celebration. Many people outside of the US have satellite dishes and can get in on the fun as well. Sorry that you'll be missing out:(
I refuse to hear any arguements that come from the country that took the delicious taste of Vanilla Bean ice cream and turned it into the drab and flavorless French Vanilla ice cream.
Let's make a list:
Pros: French Kissing French Fries French Toast
CONS: French Vanilla Silly-looking hats Recipes that use a lot of yougut and small,dead, stinking fish French judges
What is the deal with these people? I love old tech stuff like Atari, but this seems a bit much. I spent about $40 last year getting an old 2600 and a dozen games from EBay, but in the long run they got about a half hour of playing time each.
It's fun and all, but not THAT fun. How much time do you think this guy will spend actually PLAYING the games, other than for the show-off value?
Man, I read that book when I was 11. It was incredible. The movie was lackluster in comparison, but at least it tossed in some deadly humor. That part where the guy loses his skull in the training mission was hilarious...
Anyway, the book was great. I can still remember how creeped out I felt when it discussed the bugs and how close they came on some of those missions. I'm heading out to buy a new copy to read...
Slashdot Mirror
I've got $20 that says that MIR hits Earth before this thing does! Any takers?
They should have consulted with Pizza Hut for better funding, like the Russians did.
Oh great, this again. It was on CNBC tonight and my dad called me into the room to watch it with him. He then raised his eyebrows as if to point out how crazy I am for giving out my credit card online.
Although these disclosures and media attention are useful for letting card holders know about it (thus reminding them to check their statements), I have to compliment CNBC on something: They took the time to explain the difference between a CC# stolen during a transaction and one stolen later on from a database. Kudos to them.
REGARDLESS, I am forced to point out once again that we do "risky" things every day. Having your card # stolen from a database is no different than handing it to the guy making $5 an hour at Olive Garden and having him jot down the card info when he leaves with your check.
Granted, one might point out that getting a card stolen online might mean more people will abuse it and make illegal purchases. I counter that arguement with the fact that being one of 300,000 known stolen cards means media attention which would result in you getting advance knowledge to go over your statement with a fine-toothed comb, which you might not do (but always should regardless) if some random waiter stole your card to buy a few DVDs.
That female mutant who can see extra colors (article from 2 weeks ago) STILL won't like it!
I guess he was listening through the thin walls in the hotel room next door:
(Internet): "Ungh....Ungh....yeah broadband baby, all for you, I promise....ungh....ungh....all the porn and details on making pasta figurines too....UNGH...ungh...ungh...search engines based on outside linking...interactive Who Wants to Be a Millionaire....Slashdot Karma....it's all yours baby....Ungh ungh ungh UNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGH!!!"
(Internet): "Sorry baby...I didn't mean to peak like that. I got excited. No, don't get dressed. Cmon baby..."
"Hey kids, shut off the lights and close the shades...it's time for Charlotte's Web!"
Heck, most parents are already running pirated software and make copies of CDs and video tapes, so this is just one more great opportunity to teach your kids how to get around copyright law!
This mouse is going to be PERFECT for my new underwater oceanic frozen hammer and truck manufacturing plant!
Did I mention that we get supplies via non-parachuted air drops?
They'd just skip trying to go smaller and move directly into phase 15: Creating talking llamas whose entire cell structure is a computer.
Kinda gives whole new meaning to GIGO and WYSIWYG, eh?
"Ma'am, you really shouldn't use this magnet to hold up pictures on your computer case. We found about 14 billion transistors stuck to it."
...and the new ultra-handy "What do I look like, some kinda atomic physicist?"
Or the brand new "Yeah, we had to charge you to swap out the bad electrons."
I guess hitting their website is usually pointless, but going to it and getting further contact info might help.
;)
On the other side of the coin, if we get a phone #, who is to say that they don't get several dozen random phone calls from a DialPad bot?
Q) What is the only way to effectively have a spam-free account?
A) Change your account frequently.
Yes, you could NEVER give it out, but then you might never know what silly shmuck friend of yours will forward an email you sent to a guy who sends out joke lists that are read by another guy who posts the list, email and all, on his website.
OR, you could be really creative and only make your listed reply-to addresses contain those witty NOSPAM.blah.com lines, which sooner or later (if not already) will simply be encoded by a spam collection bot to bypass in search of more legitimate addresses to collect and sell.
Q)What's the solution then?
A) Pick an account. Aol, yahoo, whatever. Start replying to spams. Act interested. Act like some idiot fool with cash to burn. Sure, you'll get added to even more lists, but odds are that the original spammer will REPLY TO YOU to get more information.
And what do we now have? THE SPAMMER'S ADDRESS.
Maybe it's not his personal account. But it sure as heck is one he cares about. He checks it for his business. It is very critical for him to have a business account to contact his clients (cough-easymarks-cough).
So now what do we do? Submit it to some grassroots organization that stores the address. They'll register a few hundred random accounts at legitmate locations (we don't want to spam him back with false addresses like he did, now do we?) and send him oh, 400 emails with varying lengths and varying titles and varying names EVERY DAY. He won't be able to sort out who is who and will waste a bulk of his time trying to find 1 or 2 legitmate buyers.
Thus the loop is complete. They waste our time, we waste theirs. Sooner or later, 95% of them will deem the practice to be more trouble than it is worth. It's not perfect, and sure there are a few holes in the idea, but how does it sound as a start?
I bet Reagan called this one in. Now he can finally have that Star Wars Defense System that he always wanted...as soon as they enable the hidden laser grid on the birds.
If you get Wired and hang on to back issues, go back 2 or 3 months. They had a whole article on some new software technique this guy was going to market using cell phones to distribute digital pictures. It was a good read...that is, it was a good read instead of paying attention in my mind-numbing communications class.
That doesn't sound like the guy though. It sure would suck if he did that interview only to have someone else read it and beat him to market!
The article mentions that they can be moved around like a Fruit Rollup. Now what -I- want to see is for them to actually use them in Fruit Rollup packages, replacing that annoying cellifane wrap!
That'd be like a snack and a movie that I could carry in my pocket. Mmmmm....
Now not only does my sweater not match, but it doesn't match my slightly translucent glowing aura.
But it is also rather uncommon for the guy who wins the popular vote to lose the election. And rare and wacky events always seem to come in sets...
Ah, the tally for Florida might be over, and the lawsuits might be pending, but don't forget about the good ole' electoral college system itself!
;)
We vote for electors, not candidates. Those electors "usually" vote how the state totals come out, but who knows if a few of them change their mind? They aren't legally required to vote a certain way in every state, just in a few of them. In certain states, mis-voting gets you a small slap-on-the-wrist penalty as an elector.
These electors aren't all high-ranking rank-and-file politicians. A lot of them are small-town regular joes. Bush may have won Florida, but it would only take a small handfull of electors to swing things back to Gore if they wanted to.
Then again, it would take several LARGE handfuls of them to give it to Nader and be done with it, but that's a fantasy I'll keep to myself
Wow, I don't think I have heard the "Nader was a paid operative" wacko arguement yet, so thanks.
Next you'll tell me that Buchannan is actually beung funded by Mexican illegal aliens with co-funding from the National Meatball Circumfrence Safety Certiciation Foundation, right?
Yes. These wonderful "nerd" shows are on so infrequently that this certainly is news. Especially when not one, not two, but THREE mega-nerd shows are all doing a marathon in the same week. That is cause for celebration. Many people outside of the US have satellite dishes and can get in on the fun as well. Sorry that you'll be missing out :(
Thanks God for my TiVo!
Expect a kickass release from me next week:
Racing Turtles 2001!
I refuse to hear any arguements that come from the country that took the delicious taste of Vanilla Bean ice cream and turned it into the drab and flavorless French Vanilla ice cream.
Let's make a list:
Pros:
French Kissing
French Fries
French Toast
CONS:
French Vanilla
Silly-looking hats
Recipes that use a lot of yougut and small,dead, stinking fish
French judges
You probably should hold your breath when that crazy space-fungus hits the atmosphere...
Yeah, but can it play soccer?
(Whistle) Handball!
Oh well, I guess it would be awesome at throw-ins...
What is the deal with these people? I love old tech stuff like Atari, but this seems a bit much. I spent about $40 last year getting an old 2600 and a dozen games from EBay, but in the long run they got about a half hour of playing time each.
It's fun and all, but not THAT fun. How much time do you think this guy will spend actually PLAYING the games, other than for the show-off value?
Man, I read that book when I was 11. It was incredible. The movie was lackluster in comparison, but at least it tossed in some deadly humor. That part where the guy loses his skull in the training mission was hilarious...
Anyway, the book was great. I can still remember how creeped out I felt when it discussed the bugs and how close they came on some of those missions. I'm heading out to buy a new copy to read...