Abuses of the Total Information Awareness system
on
Ask Kevin Mitnick
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· Score: 4, Interesting
The US goverment is proposing to perform blanket surveilance of the population with the proposed Total Information Awareness system. Presumably, such a system would present a huge tempataion to those who wish to access people's electronic information, since it represents a one-stop shop.
If such a system gets built, how likely do you think that it will get compromised, how quickly will this happen and what techniques do you think would be used?
Anti-Jamming Technology == Homing Missile
on
GPS Jamming for $50
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· Score: 1
The transmitter that jams a GPS signal is not going to be difficult to detect. Lest you thought the "anti-jamming technology" was some super secret signal processing, rest assured that its probably just a big missile that homes in on the signal source and blows it to bits. KaPow!!!! No more signal jamming.
Here is the Wayback Machine's version of the list. Links to the raw data are also in The Machine.
I can see how the PCI-SIG might have a case for objecting to the use of the logo - you usually have to be a member to use that. Attibuting the PCI name might have alleviated the situation also.
Sorry - here is the Wiki site for the VR exercise bike. Unfortunately, it was produced bt Tectrix, bought by Cybex and then canned. Oh it also had a fan that would blow in your face as you started going faster.
Here is a picture of the Virtual Exercise bike. Apparently, it was produced by Tectrix and called the VR bike. It was purchased by Cybex and then squashed. It's a crying shame, since this was a fun machine to work out on.
The Pro Club in Redmond had a pretty good implementation of an exercise bike linked to one of several "virtual worlds". It was made by Cybex and had a first person (or overhead) display. The worlds were a tropical island, snow scape and an arena with a ball game. Resistance varied depending if you were going up or down hill (or underwater) and there were challenges in the form of races (against AI or linked units) as well as matches for the arena. The arena game had a ball that stuck to the front of your bike and could be fired off with a button into the goal.
It was pretty absorbing and one could get quite a workout without realizing it. Playing against the AI was tough, since it never got fatigued.
The games demoed on the Exertris are all 2d and (strangely) oriented left-to-right. Strange, since according to their web site Bill Gates was showcasing them at CES. Obviously he hadn't turned up at his local gym to do some research.
By far the most important aspect of this is that web sites will tend to be written for accepted standards rather than IE. Mozilla, KHTML and everybody else gain by this and should be happy. Everything else is just a matter of ego. In the end Apple's move is a victory for open source and open standards.
A simple solution would be to have a DNS entry similar to the MX address (which tells you where to deliver *to*) that specifies valid hosts that can originate mail *from* specific domain. This can be checked by the recipient and mail rejected if it does not match the DNS entry. No more forged emails.
The second phase of this is to have a blacklist database. Currenly, such a database is not possible, since you can forge email from popular sites such as hotmail and AOL and any blacklist inclusing these would cut out too many valid users.
The reason why spam exists is because if complacency with SMTP.
There's just no reason why this or many other servcies need to run as root. Consider Apache for example. Although started as root (needed to bind to port 80), it setuid's to a user of your choice after startup.
Wonder why Mac OS X was left out of the quotation. Sheesh - it was a FIVE YEAR study and Max OS X hasn't been out that long. Oh wait... neither has Windows 2000. In fact, Windows 2000 will not be supported five years after it's release date. Oh I get it. Windows 2000 doesn't cost anything to support after 5 years, since your forced to upgrade at that time.
which will not be until December 2 according to the register. Apparently, MS are hiring a Detlef Eckert who heads a department in the European Union overseeing security, e-Commerce and telecommunications. But don't worry, he will not be resigning his post, just taking a leave of absence to work at Microsoft until he rotates back into his position to oversee EU IT in an unbiased way.
There's a polarization forming in regards to the US v Rest of the World. This is similar to the polarization in the wireless industry. Both in wireless and desktop software, there is a US-based monolopoly (Microsoft, Qualcomm) versus fairly open standards (Linux, GSM) worldwide. In the US, these monopolies are coddled and protected whereas elsewhere the free market reigns.
The result is that innovation happens elsewhere and the US remains isolated. The US is correct in believing that the free market fosters innovation and progress, but does not heed its own advice and protects its home-grown industries. It would not suprise me if we don't see non-US technology (cough Symbian) making significant inroads into the US market to a point where tarrifs are introduced on non-US tech.
The SimPuter is a great example of this. If it's afforable to Indian citizens, I'd be interested to see how appealing it is to US pockets.
Re:Not-so-secure PDA
on
Secure PDAs
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· Score: 3, Insightful
The concern about Bluetooth is mainly focussed on devices that are shipped with security disabled. In addition, the device would have to provide a service (such as the ability to make a phone call) for that service to be abused. Most major manufacturers ship with security enabled and I doubt whether the PDA exports any services either.
Let's not forget what happened to memory prices once the asian manufacturers started getting in on the act. In no way will a Chinese manufacturer be disinclined to export these devices once the performance is up to snuff. If they can produce computers that are affordable to a Chinese consumer, what will the US prices be like? Meanwhile, in WinTel land...
First. There is NO WAY that I want a UNIQUE identifier linking me w/ANY purchase.
Second. Fuck that, I don't want priority on concert tickets nor do I want unreleased music. The music is easy to find (see Sopranos season 4 ep. 1 - 4 on Kazaa or IRC).
Um.. If you don't like being tracked, please don't use Kazaa. It's chock full o' spyware.
Bear in mind that 2.45 GHZ is the resonant frequency of the OH covalent bond of water, which you're mainly comprised of. Wonder how much power you'll be absorbing.
Except that they may have taken out a life insurance policy on you without your knowledge (with the company as beneficiary). Amazingly, companies do this all the time.
Per-seat licensing of UnitedLinux obiterates an important business aspect of using Linux, which is the peace of mind that your business won't be disrupted by a BSA audit (or at least the audit will be very quick). Let's not forget that a major reason to switch to Linux is the need not to keep track of which license goes with which machine, which gives the sys admins the added task of accountancy (e.g. Oregon and Washington school districts).
This will be great for Red Hat, if they don't follow suit, since UnitedLinux have taken themselves out of the game. If Red Hat does follow suit, new distro's will spring to the forefront. If you're not worried about per-seat licensing, just go with Windows.
I've been very pleased with an Acer TravelMate 340T that I bought. I heard somewhere that they are the manufacturer of the guts of Viaos. In any case, I've used my acer laptop at my primary machine connected to the rest of my gear with an 802.11b for over a year now and have few complaints.
Interesting that this article is submitted by its author. Obviously, by scouring the web looking for informative and interesting articles, we've been barking up the wrong tree. Instead, we should be slipping Hemos a few $$$'s to drive traffic to our website.
Windows has a Critical Update Notification application that keeps popping up a notice every few days when they publish the fix for the latest gaping sucurity hole.
Is there anybody with connection to people who have a voice in these proceedings? If so, the court should be aware of Microsoft's own instructions on how to make a customized version of XP. I'm not sure whether it's dishonesty or stupidity on Microsoft's part, but how come they are arguing against something that they themselved have a tailor made solution for?
The sad thing is that they will be caught lying again, stand corrected and we'll all just move on. Is there any penalty in these proceedings for lying to the court (usually a serious offence for you and I) or will they get just get their wrist slapped, like they did for the faked video.
What is "Standard Definition" video? I can record video from my firewire camcorder and edit it with a number of programs. Video card ~ $200 and software $100-$300. This is on Windows of course. Apart from running on Linux, how is this $3000 solution better?
One thing that helps with Linux is to enable console output to a serial line (if you have one spare). Then you can capture the OOPS message on a terminal emulator - time to fire up that HyperTerm on that Windows laptop that none of us has.
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If such a system gets built, how likely do you think that it will get compromised, how quickly will this happen and what techniques do you think would be used?
The transmitter that jams a GPS signal is not going to be difficult to detect. Lest you thought the "anti-jamming technology" was some super secret signal processing, rest assured that its probably just a big missile that homes in on the signal source and blows it to bits. KaPow!!!! No more signal jamming.
I can see how the PCI-SIG might have a case for objecting to the use of the logo - you usually have to be a member to use that. Attibuting the PCI name might have alleviated the situation also.
Sorry - here is the Wiki site for the VR exercise bike. Unfortunately, it was produced bt Tectrix, bought by Cybex and then canned. Oh it also had a fan that would blow in your face as you started going faster.
Here is a picture of the Virtual Exercise bike. Apparently, it was produced by Tectrix and called the VR bike. It was purchased by Cybex and then squashed. It's a crying shame, since this was a fun machine to work out on.
It was pretty absorbing and one could get quite a workout without realizing it. Playing against the AI was tough, since it never got fatigued.
The games demoed on the Exertris are all 2d and (strangely) oriented left-to-right. Strange, since according to their web site Bill Gates was showcasing them at CES. Obviously he hadn't turned up at his local gym to do some research.
By far the most important aspect of this is that web sites will tend to be written for accepted standards rather than IE. Mozilla, KHTML and everybody else gain by this and should be happy. Everything else is just a matter of ego. In the end Apple's move is a victory for open source and open standards.
The second phase of this is to have a blacklist database. Currenly, such a database is not possible, since you can forge email from popular sites such as hotmail and AOL and any blacklist inclusing these would cut out too many valid users.
The reason why spam exists is because if complacency with SMTP.
There's just no reason why this or many other servcies need to run as root. Consider Apache for example. Although started as root (needed to bind to port 80), it setuid's to a user of your choice after startup.
Wonder why Mac OS X was left out of the quotation.
Sheesh - it was a FIVE YEAR study and Max OS X hasn't been out that long. Oh wait... neither has Windows 2000. In fact, Windows 2000 will not be supported five years after it's release date.
Oh I get it. Windows 2000 doesn't cost anything to support after 5 years, since your forced to upgrade at that time.
which will not be until December 2 according to the register. Apparently, MS are hiring a Detlef Eckert who heads a department in the European Union overseeing security, e-Commerce and telecommunications. But don't worry, he will not be resigning his post, just taking a leave of absence to work at Microsoft until he rotates back into his position to oversee EU IT in an unbiased way.
The result is that innovation happens elsewhere and the US remains isolated. The US is correct in believing that the free market fosters innovation and progress, but does not heed its own advice and protects its home-grown industries. It would not suprise me if we don't see non-US technology (cough Symbian) making significant inroads into the US market to a point where tarrifs are introduced on non-US tech.
The SimPuter is a great example of this. If it's afforable to Indian citizens, I'd be interested to see how appealing it is to US pockets.
The concern about Bluetooth is mainly focussed on devices that are shipped with security disabled. In addition, the device would have to provide a service (such as the ability to make a phone call) for that service to be abused. Most major manufacturers ship with security enabled and I doubt whether the PDA exports any services either.
Let's not forget what happened to memory prices once the asian manufacturers started getting in on the act. In no way will a Chinese manufacturer be disinclined to export these devices once the performance is up to snuff. If they can produce computers that are affordable to a Chinese consumer, what will the US prices be like? Meanwhile, in WinTel land...
Second. Fuck that, I don't want priority on concert tickets nor do I want unreleased music. The music is easy to find (see Sopranos season 4 ep. 1 - 4 on Kazaa or IRC).
Um.. If you don't like being tracked, please don't use Kazaa. It's chock full o' spyware.
Bear in mind that 2.45 GHZ is the resonant frequency of the OH covalent bond of water, which you're mainly comprised of. Wonder how much power you'll be absorbing.
For those who want to make a start, here's some sample code to start off with.
Except that they may have taken out a life insurance policy on you without your knowledge (with the company as beneficiary). Amazingly, companies do this all the time.
This will be great for Red Hat, if they don't follow suit, since UnitedLinux have taken themselves out of the game. If Red Hat does follow suit, new distro's will spring to the forefront. If you're not worried about per-seat licensing, just go with Windows.
I've been very pleased with an Acer TravelMate 340T that I bought. I heard somewhere that they are the manufacturer of the guts of Viaos. In any case, I've used my acer laptop at my primary machine connected to the rest of my gear with an 802.11b for over a year now and have few complaints.
Interesting that this article is submitted by its author. Obviously, by scouring the web looking for informative and interesting articles, we've been barking up the wrong tree. Instead, we should be slipping Hemos a few $$$'s to drive traffic to our website.
Windows has a Critical Update Notification application that keeps popping up a notice every few days when they publish the fix for the latest gaping sucurity hole.
The sad thing is that they will be caught lying again, stand corrected and we'll all just move on. Is there any penalty in these proceedings for lying to the court (usually a serious offence for you and I) or will they get just get their wrist slapped, like they did for the faked video.
What is "Standard Definition" video? I can record video from my firewire camcorder and edit it with a number of programs. Video card ~ $200 and software $100-$300. This is on Windows of course. Apart from running on Linux, how is this $3000 solution better?
One thing that helps with Linux is to enable console output to a serial line (if you have one spare). Then you can capture the OOPS message on a terminal emulator - time to fire up that HyperTerm on that Windows laptop that none of us has.