They've been trying to get the word out. OK, that word has looked very much like a phish, but it has gone out. The issue has also been discussed in many of the kind of places where people in a position to do something about the problem hang out such as Ars, NANOG, Slashdot, and so on. At this point, if a PC has not been reconfigured then I'd say that the chances are that it won't be until it gets replaced or rebuilt, so there are three options:
Pull the plug, cutting off those who are infected. My preferred option since this will have the biggest LART effect, especially in the corporate and ISP environments where the impact (pun intended) is likely to be much greater.
Reconfigure the infected PC's DNS. Not a good option, IMHO, since there is a chance things may go wrong and if it does work then the users / IT departments remain ignorant about the infection - no lessons learnt at all.
Run the substitute DNS servers until such time as the impact is reduced to some arbitrary "acceptable" level, then do #1 or #2.
Well, they'd have to change a few things to avoid getting sued by Apple. Maybe go after the dog lovers instead of those who prefer cats? Yes, that could work... You could install "Windows 7 SP Shitzu" and really mean it when you say "My PC's running like a dog" or "Man, this new OS is a PoS". Also, anyone who says "It's the dog's nads" would obviously be a paid shill, so it would clear that up too.
Just re-configure the surrogate DNS servers to return the same reply to every query and point all traffic towards an FBI server hosting a web page that explains what's happened and why they are seeing the web page they are. May as well make mention of the fact that the DoJ has apparently been sending out email notifications followed up with snail mail version of these infections to the designated WHOIS abuse/tech contacts for IP ranges showing infected hosts, just in case they hadn't already figured it out for themselves. I don't think it'll take too long before someone in senior management figures out what that implies and goes for a walk over to the IT department with a clue-by-four.
Chances are the website is also hosted on the botnet, thousands of times over, across possibly as many domains and sub-domains. The spammers can then use Fast Flux DNS to cycle between random selections of hosts every few minutes or so. That means you need to take out the C&C servers to take down the website(s) as well, and even then there's no reason that the bots could not keep on operating in autopilot while the operators try to regain control.
Realistically, there is only one way to stop spam and that's to disrupt the money flow between the people that buy products from spam and the spammers to such an extent that it is no longer profitable. That's certainly not going to be easy, but for all its faults SOPA would have provided some of the necessary muscle needed to force Mastercard and Visa to try and prevent payments to known spam operators through its provisions to block financial flow to such sites (it's potential use for preventing sales of fake Viagra is why Pfizer is on the SOPA supporter's list). Another avenue of attack is blacklisting banks that can be shown to be processing spam related payments, especially since research has shown that there may only be a handful of banks prepared to deal with spammers in the first place.
"Click Start. Start. It's on the bottom left. S-T-A-R-T! No, don't type it. Click the button labeled 'Start'. No, it's not on your keyboard. No, wait....
And that's where you went wrong. The correct procedure for any self respecting BOFH at this point would be:
"Turn off the PC at the power switch, turn it back on and call back when you have logged back in. Bye." *Hang up phone* "I'm going on my coffee/cigarette break guys. See you in twenty!
According to the story the information was already shared with select members of the security community and relevent law enforcement, which presumably includes the St. Petersberg PD where most of the suspects seem to spend a lot of their time. I'm guessing this public release of the data is because local enforcement have yet to act on the information (or have already been bribed to ignore it) and this is an attempt to give things a nudge in the right direction.
Nope. I meant "flounders". As in (dictionary.com):
flounder
1 flounder pronunciation[floun-der]
verb (used without object)
to struggle with stumbling or plunging movements (usually followed by about, along, on, through, etc.): He saw the child floundering about in the water.
to struggle clumsily or helplessly: He floundered helplessly on the first day of his new job.
Nothing to do with fish. Maybe it's a Queen's vs American English thing - I'm originally the former.
No, that still makes sense. Microsoft would still get some revenue back from the games sold for the subsidised Xbox from the combo that was sold on eBay without the Kinnect, so still (presumably) ends up with a net profit.
Check out the co-sponsor; it's none other than one Darrell Issa (R-CA). Yup, the same one that is opposed to SOPA and has proposed the alternative OPEN. Not so opposed to abuses of the copyright system, it appears... I now can't help but wonder whether OPEN was merely put forward as a Plan B just in case SOPA flounders in the light of all the negative publicity. Time to check the small print, me thinks.
It happens, but it's usually the independant or certain premium entertainment complex type places that offer it, and even then only on some screens. I don't know of any big chains that do this (heard good things about Alamo picture houses, but haven't been to a US city that has one yet - anyone have details?). First place I found that did this is the Odeon run Printworks in Manchester, UK, but I've since been to several places around the world that do this.
Typically they have standard entry tickets where you get to sit in a cheap seat and watch the movie and everything else is extra, as normal. They also offer a premium ticket where you get some extras included in the price; typically better seats - which can be the same screen, but are better positioned relative to the centre of the screen - and free refreshments (except alcohol - you have to pay for that, if available). Often there's a lounge / green room where you can chill before and after the movie, and top-ups are often brought to you so you don't have to miss any of the movie. The real kicker is that the premium tickets usually work out less than buying the standard ticket and paying for a soft drink and some popcorn/nachos or whatever. The only drawback is you usually need to plan ahead and book.
It's not so "presumed" as it is believed to be the most likely basis for complex, multi-cellular, life by a considerable margin due to carbon's versatility in forming the huge number of chemical forms with other elements that necessary for the required biological processes. That said, it's definitely not the only option, silicon, nitrogen and phosphorous based biochemisties all being seen as theorerically viable, although silicon is most often seen as the most likely alternative. Here's a (somewhat old) link to Lou Allamandola, an NAI astrobiologist, discussing the various merits of silicon- versus carbon-based life.
Well, since we're playing what if... In Google's case they wouldn't actually need to throw the switch, just have a search equivalent of the Black Out day Jimmy Wales proposed for Wikipedia. Let's say you are coming from a US based IP address. You go to Google and enter a search, but get... No results, just some ads down the side of the screen and a message saying something to the effect of:
If enacted, SOPA and PIPA could be used to force us not to display links that might infringe copyright or face criminal sanctions. Since we can't determine that automatically, here's what is safe for us to display.
Click here for what non-US based netizens (i.e. your competitors) would see via our non-US based "affiliates", or here for more info on these two acts currently under consideration.
Needless to say, clicking the link would return the normal links, and second set of ads providing move revenue for Google, so there's an incentive there and the resultant uproar would be... entertaining.
I guess you don't use them for outbound email since FDC Servers has a terrible reputation for hosting spammers and having a completely non-responsive abuse department. There are more than a few members of anti-spam lists that advocate a block on sight policy for SMTP as far as FDC are concerned, and I know some that kill them for web as well due to hosted malware.
Of course, that may or may not be an issue for a given individual since it depends on what you want the server for, but I'd strongly recommend a few search queries for "$provider" in connection with "abuse", "spam" and "malware", etc. If they have an entry on Spamhaus, or lots of IPs listed in DNSBLs or URIBLs, then that's generally a bad sign too.
As others have noted if you jump straight into a hot warzone (i.e. Afghanistan) or even a warm/cooling one (i.e. Iraq) with no experience you are likely to get yourself or someone around you killed. If you really want to give it a go, then there are much better places to to dip your toes in the water and see if it really is for you - i.e. where people getting shot at or killed by IEDs is not a daily occurance.
One way to get started would be to look for a position with a large international IT/Comms consultancy, civil engineering, or mechnical engineering company specifying you want overseas work. Don't forget about satellite/radio/cellular/PMR type stuff in the comms sector, or BMS/SCADA stuff under mechanical engineering; both can involve quite a lot of IT. Most projects like that tend to involve lots of other similar companies all fighting for a place at the trough, so there's plenty of opportunities to network. And that's the key, really. Once you've got some contacts, you'll it turns out to be a very incestuous business with people moving back and forth between companies all the time depending on where the work is and what they want to do.
Money's usually very good, through excellent and out into la-la land (and sometimes tax free as well, although I don't think USians get that particular break) depending on where you go and what you do. Make sure that you talk to an accountant with knowledge of expat working before you go though, there are lots of loopholes and gotchas in tax law and overseas working regulations. Again, networking is important; find out what your colleagues are doing and screwed up on and learn from their experiences.
Without knowing the details of the case, it seems likely that this might have involved what is known as "Superior Orders", more commonly known as the Nuremberg Defence. The architect in question presumably knew (or could reasonably have expected to have known) that he was getting involved with drug dealers from the combination of the tunnel requirement and proximity to the US border. In the case of the Nazis it was determined that such a plea was insufficient to escape punishment, but could lessen it, so possibly the same applied here; 18 years instead of many more.
Of course, the original point is still valid in the general case and possibly in Corona's too, assuming that he didn't enter into the deal willingly. How might an honest Mexican safely decline a job once they have ascertained that their employer's trade typically has a very literal implementation of "head count reduction" with regards to terminating employment? Given the alledged levels of corruption within Mexican law enforcement, I doubt their Witness Protection Program is going to be seen as a particularly safe option...
Yes, they have, or at least it seems like it. The difference this time is that in addition to an abuse of the registered Nmap trademark Fyodor also has them in a clear breach of the NMAP licensing Ts&Cs and it appears he's willing to try and pursue the matter through the courts. I did have a strapline on the original submission to the effect that he was looking for a good US based copyright lawyer, but it appears that the Slashdot editors decided that wasn't an important part of the story.
Well, clearly the chatbot is browsing Slashdot with a comment threshold of at least +2. What a shame; it's missed out on all of the really entertaining stuff like reading posts falling hook line and sinker for a troll. Then again, it hasn't been traumatised by goats.cx, Tubgirl, et al so I suppose it balances out in the end.
More likely, I think, that they have just bought some large polystyrene blocks and cut bricks out of them to the required size using run of the mill polystyrene cutting tools. From the picture in the gizmag.com article, the blocks used in the construction look like they are all regularly shaped and sized "bricks", so I doubt that the per brick cost would be all that much, and almost certainly no way near a dollar each.
There are typically two parts to the meter. One that clips to the electrical powerline(s) near to where they come into the premises and another that displays the realtime power consumption. Since the former is typically in a closet and the latter placed somewhere it can be seen, there may be some distance between the two. That potentially makes running a cable a less than ideal solution, so the default solution seems to be to just go with wireless.
Thank the Eternal President of the Republic, you only excluded Greece and Italy. We'll get Kim Jong Il on a plane to D.C. straight away, and no talking to those Arabs and Persians about a better deal for one of their useless fuc... erm, glorious leaders - we got our bid in first!
"Breath of fresh air" is putting it mildly, I think. Neelie Kroes is one of the few people in the EU government that I actually trust to do what is right for the voters who put her there in the first place and not only asks them for their views (as required), but actually appear to pay attention to what people say as well. I think it's fair to say, that she really gets the underlying issues of IT and comms and so far has not simply pandered to the lobbyists like some of her colleagues have so blatently done - The Register doesn't call her "Steelie Neelie" for nothing.
Universal's insurer agreed to indemnify against copyright cases, and this was a copyright case. I suppose Universal should perhaps have checked that they would have been covered before agreeing to settle the case, but other than that the only out clause I can see for the insurer is that they didn't technically "lose" the case - they agreed to a settlement without admission of guilt.
Still, it boils down to media company vs. insurance company vs. lawyers, and I think it's pretty obvious the only winner out of that triumvirate is going to be lawyers. Oh well, I guess two out of three will just have to do.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, they'd have to change a few things to avoid getting sued by Apple. Maybe go after the dog lovers instead of those who prefer cats? Yes, that could work... You could install "Windows 7 SP Shitzu" and really mean it when you say "My PC's running like a dog" or "Man, this new OS is a PoS". Also, anyone who says "It's the dog's nads" would obviously be a paid shill, so it would clear that up too.
Just re-configure the surrogate DNS servers to return the same reply to every query and point all traffic towards an FBI server hosting a web page that explains what's happened and why they are seeing the web page they are. May as well make mention of the fact that the DoJ has apparently been sending out email notifications followed up with snail mail version of these infections to the designated WHOIS abuse/tech contacts for IP ranges showing infected hosts, just in case they hadn't already figured it out for themselves. I don't think it'll take too long before someone in senior management figures out what that implies and goes for a walk over to the IT department with a clue-by-four.
Chances are the website is also hosted on the botnet, thousands of times over, across possibly as many domains and sub-domains. The spammers can then use Fast Flux DNS to cycle between random selections of hosts every few minutes or so. That means you need to take out the C&C servers to take down the website(s) as well, and even then there's no reason that the bots could not keep on operating in autopilot while the operators try to regain control.
Realistically, there is only one way to stop spam and that's to disrupt the money flow between the people that buy products from spam and the spammers to such an extent that it is no longer profitable. That's certainly not going to be easy, but for all its faults SOPA would have provided some of the necessary muscle needed to force Mastercard and Visa to try and prevent payments to known spam operators through its provisions to block financial flow to such sites (it's potential use for preventing sales of fake Viagra is why Pfizer is on the SOPA supporter's list). Another avenue of attack is blacklisting banks that can be shown to be processing spam related payments, especially since research has shown that there may only be a handful of banks prepared to deal with spammers in the first place.
And that's where you went wrong. The correct procedure for any self respecting BOFH at this point would be:
According to the story the information was already shared with select members of the security community and relevent law enforcement, which presumably includes the St. Petersberg PD where most of the suspects seem to spend a lot of their time. I'm guessing this public release of the data is because local enforcement have yet to act on the information (or have already been bribed to ignore it) and this is an attempt to give things a nudge in the right direction.
Nothing to do with fish. Maybe it's a Queen's vs American English thing - I'm originally the former.
No, that still makes sense. Microsoft would still get some revenue back from the games sold for the subsidised Xbox from the combo that was sold on eBay without the Kinnect, so still (presumably) ends up with a net profit.
Check out the co-sponsor; it's none other than one Darrell Issa (R-CA). Yup, the same one that is opposed to SOPA and has proposed the alternative OPEN. Not so opposed to abuses of the copyright system, it appears... I now can't help but wonder whether OPEN was merely put forward as a Plan B just in case SOPA flounders in the light of all the negative publicity. Time to check the small print, me thinks.
It happens, but it's usually the independant or certain premium entertainment complex type places that offer it, and even then only on some screens. I don't know of any big chains that do this (heard good things about Alamo picture houses, but haven't been to a US city that has one yet - anyone have details?). First place I found that did this is the Odeon run Printworks in Manchester, UK, but I've since been to several places around the world that do this.
Typically they have standard entry tickets where you get to sit in a cheap seat and watch the movie and everything else is extra, as normal. They also offer a premium ticket where you get some extras included in the price; typically better seats - which can be the same screen, but are better positioned relative to the centre of the screen - and free refreshments (except alcohol - you have to pay for that, if available). Often there's a lounge / green room where you can chill before and after the movie, and top-ups are often brought to you so you don't have to miss any of the movie. The real kicker is that the premium tickets usually work out less than buying the standard ticket and paying for a soft drink and some popcorn/nachos or whatever. The only drawback is you usually need to plan ahead and book.
It's not so "presumed" as it is believed to be the most likely basis for complex, multi-cellular, life by a considerable margin due to carbon's versatility in forming the huge number of chemical forms with other elements that necessary for the required biological processes. That said, it's definitely not the only option, silicon, nitrogen and phosphorous based biochemisties all being seen as theorerically viable, although silicon is most often seen as the most likely alternative. Here's a (somewhat old) link to Lou Allamandola, an NAI astrobiologist, discussing the various merits of silicon- versus carbon-based life.
Needless to say, clicking the link would return the normal links, and second set of ads providing move revenue for Google, so there's an incentive there and the resultant uproar would be... entertaining.
I guess you don't use them for outbound email since FDC Servers has a terrible reputation for hosting spammers and having a completely non-responsive abuse department. There are more than a few members of anti-spam lists that advocate a block on sight policy for SMTP as far as FDC are concerned, and I know some that kill them for web as well due to hosted malware.
Of course, that may or may not be an issue for a given individual since it depends on what you want the server for, but I'd strongly recommend a few search queries for "$provider" in connection with "abuse", "spam" and "malware", etc. If they have an entry on Spamhaus, or lots of IPs listed in DNSBLs or URIBLs, then that's generally a bad sign too.
+1 This.
As others have noted if you jump straight into a hot warzone (i.e. Afghanistan) or even a warm/cooling one (i.e. Iraq) with no experience you are likely to get yourself or someone around you killed. If you really want to give it a go, then there are much better places to to dip your toes in the water and see if it really is for you - i.e. where people getting shot at or killed by IEDs is not a daily occurance.
One way to get started would be to look for a position with a large international IT/Comms consultancy, civil engineering, or mechnical engineering company specifying you want overseas work. Don't forget about satellite/radio/cellular/PMR type stuff in the comms sector, or BMS/SCADA stuff under mechanical engineering; both can involve quite a lot of IT. Most projects like that tend to involve lots of other similar companies all fighting for a place at the trough, so there's plenty of opportunities to network. And that's the key, really. Once you've got some contacts, you'll it turns out to be a very incestuous business with people moving back and forth between companies all the time depending on where the work is and what they want to do.
Money's usually very good, through excellent and out into la-la land (and sometimes tax free as well, although I don't think USians get that particular break) depending on where you go and what you do. Make sure that you talk to an accountant with knowledge of expat working before you go though, there are lots of loopholes and gotchas in tax law and overseas working regulations. Again, networking is important; find out what your colleagues are doing and screwed up on and learn from their experiences.
Without knowing the details of the case, it seems likely that this might have involved what is known as "Superior Orders", more commonly known as the Nuremberg Defence. The architect in question presumably knew (or could reasonably have expected to have known) that he was getting involved with drug dealers from the combination of the tunnel requirement and proximity to the US border. In the case of the Nazis it was determined that such a plea was insufficient to escape punishment, but could lessen it, so possibly the same applied here; 18 years instead of many more.
Of course, the original point is still valid in the general case and possibly in Corona's too, assuming that he didn't enter into the deal willingly. How might an honest Mexican safely decline a job once they have ascertained that their employer's trade typically has a very literal implementation of "head count reduction" with regards to terminating employment? Given the alledged levels of corruption within Mexican law enforcement, I doubt their Witness Protection Program is going to be seen as a particularly safe option...
Yes, they have, or at least it seems like it. The difference this time is that in addition to an abuse of the registered Nmap trademark Fyodor also has them in a clear breach of the NMAP licensing Ts&Cs and it appears he's willing to try and pursue the matter through the courts. I did have a strapline on the original submission to the effect that he was looking for a good US based copyright lawyer, but it appears that the Slashdot editors decided that wasn't an important part of the story.
Well, clearly the chatbot is browsing Slashdot with a comment threshold of at least +2. What a shame; it's missed out on all of the really entertaining stuff like reading posts falling hook line and sinker for a troll. Then again, it hasn't been traumatised by goats.cx, Tubgirl, et al so I suppose it balances out in the end.
More likely, I think, that they have just bought some large polystyrene blocks and cut bricks out of them to the required size using run of the mill polystyrene cutting tools. From the picture in the gizmag.com article, the blocks used in the construction look like they are all regularly shaped and sized "bricks", so I doubt that the per brick cost would be all that much, and almost certainly no way near a dollar each.
There are typically two parts to the meter. One that clips to the electrical powerline(s) near to where they come into the premises and another that displays the realtime power consumption. Since the former is typically in a closet and the latter placed somewhere it can be seen, there may be some distance between the two. That potentially makes running a cable a less than ideal solution, so the default solution seems to be to just go with wireless.
Your "dam[sic] cyberhackers" can't have been that mighty if they managed to confuse a water pump for the whole frickin' dam.
Yes, let's do that. Kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?
Randall excels again.
Thank the Eternal President of the Republic, you only excluded Greece and Italy. We'll get Kim Jong Il on a plane to D.C. straight away, and no talking to those Arabs and Persians about a better deal for one of their useless fuc... erm, glorious leaders - we got our bid in first!
"Breath of fresh air" is putting it mildly, I think. Neelie Kroes is one of the few people in the EU government that I actually trust to do what is right for the voters who put her there in the first place and not only asks them for their views (as required), but actually appear to pay attention to what people say as well. I think it's fair to say, that she really gets the underlying issues of IT and comms and so far has not simply pandered to the lobbyists like some of her colleagues have so blatently done - The Register doesn't call her "Steelie Neelie" for nothing.
Universal's insurer agreed to indemnify against copyright cases, and this was a copyright case. I suppose Universal should perhaps have checked that they would have been covered before agreeing to settle the case, but other than that the only out clause I can see for the insurer is that they didn't technically "lose" the case - they agreed to a settlement without admission of guilt.
Still, it boils down to media company vs. insurance company vs. lawyers, and I think it's pretty obvious the only winner out of that triumvirate is going to be lawyers. Oh well, I guess two out of three will just have to do.
Almost certainly an NSFW link since dev455 is currently submitting crap on the Firehose...