Point taken re: NASA and SPAWAR's standards. Thats just scary.
Our password rules are smart enough to filter concatenated english words as well. But then, if this guy was stupid enough to do all he did from just his home computer, then he HAS to be a script kiddie.
I agree, the facts are very odd. I don't know what agency you contracted with, but the USAF command I work for as a civvie doesn't allow passwords of any kind anywhere on their Windows network to contain less than 8 characters. They must contain a number, a special character, with at least one uppercase and one lowercase letter, and must not be in the english language. Also, our passwords must be changed on a regular basis, and can never be re-used. These sorts of strict rules are pretty standard force-wide, and have been as far back as I started working (2001). These standards are actually considered too lenient by some in our computer security division, which annoys me because its already a big fucking hassle.
So either the reporter has bad info, the government is lying in its reports, or the reporter is lying. I think it is impossible that a 'script kiddie' could guess an admin password and just remote in and delete 1300 user accounts. Of course, they aren't giving any kind of specifics, like were these networks that were web-based in the DMZ, or were these.mil only networks, or what. Did he just delete 1300 accounts on an intranet messageboard, for example. Like I said, the security standards are a hassle because they don't matter to most hackers, but are still necessary. The biggest vulnerabilities are the security holes in Microsoft Exchange servers, SQL databases that interface with websites, and IIS in general.
The fact is, DoD networks are port-scanned everyday from foreign countries. So this guy isn't anything special. Which leads me to believe information is being withheld.
I also doubt that this is the 'most damaging' hacking attempt ever, I'm sure the worst incidents are the ones that are never publicized.
Interesting question, I should have thought of some examples before my little ramble.
This looks kitschy: http://www.amnestyusa.org/ Sad, too, considering who the site is about.
On the other hand, I think this is good: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page because it organizes a large amount of information and is pretty easy to use.
Anyhow, looking back, maybe that guys design isn't that bad, I just don't think official communications should look like a blog. Personal issue, I suppose.
Just because it looks like a blog doesn't mean anybody will give it more attention. I ignore millions of blogs everyday, with that kitschy, cliched 'minimalist' design. Whatever. Responsible government officials should be paying attention to anything like that when it crosses their desk. This is a corporate culture problem, not a usability problem. This guy is treating a symptom but it won't remove the cause.
Here are a few problems with some of your arguments.
1) PS2 effectively buried the Dreamcast (my sweet, dear Dreamcast). I would say Sony was pretty serious, but I agree with you that Microsoft did make the game a bit more deadly, no pun intended. Competition is certainly stiffer.
2) IE isn't a good comparison, primarily because it is technically 'free' software, at least in the financial sense. It doesn't compare to the X-box, which is fabricated hardware that the consumer must purchase. Once they beat Netscape, Micro~01 had no incentive to develop IE further, which brings me to your third point and final comments.
3) Yeah, Intel vs AMD = good for customers. However, if one of the companies disappeared, the other would continue marketing and making new chips, because software (or bloatware) continues to demand more processing power. I know I'm heavily simplifying things, but the console market is similar. Developers want to keep pushing the limits of the available tech, gamers want prettier graphics and more realistic bouncing breasts, and this requires newer hardware.
Its all about sales. IE doesn't get developed as much because you don't 'sell' IE at Best Buy. Game studios want to keep selling new games. There are a finite number of X-Boxes that can be sold, thus Microsoft must make X-Box 2, and 3, creating demand and maintaining their bottom-line. The same for game developers. Even if Sony disappeared, we would probably see a new console every 5 years, which is roughly the timeline we see a company roll out its next generation. You don't stop doing business just because the competition is gone, which will never happen, the gaming industry is too lucrative, it rivals the movie industry and in some ways exceeds it.
Let's see.... the learning curve for me with Photoshop 4 back in grade school... about an hour to be able to do basic functions.
The learning curve with Gimp, a year ago, after years of experience with software, graphics-editors included: 4 hours.
Simply, on Windows, Gimp is ugly, is in literally too many windows, and is far too unwieldy to be considered anywhere near serious competition for Photoshop. Remember the thread about how no serious photographers that work in digital use Linux as their primary photo-editing environment? Using Gimp for 10 minutes makes the reasons evident. For example, it took me forever to make this thing in Gimp, but in Photoshop, I could do the same thing with much less effort. Photoshop has decades of usability testing and development behind it. Give me a break, and give me photoshop.
People are rationally ignorant. They don't have time to fiddle with something they don't understand. I had to fix my grandparents computer once, and when I tried to explain what I was doing they just said, "honey, we don't care."
As for people just getting new computers, at school I see far more students just put up with the spyware that debilitates their system. They'll bitch about it occasionally but they won't bother to do anything about it. Its amazing the threshold for bullshit some people put up with for computers.
Where were you educated and where did you get your desire to be a film-maker? Since you've made a name for yourself in documentaries, what sort of films inspired you to take this route? What's your favorite documentary film? Finally, what do you think the impact the current crop of politically oriented documentary films, such as Fahrenheit 9/11 (and its antithesis, Fahrenhype 9/11), Super-Size Me, The Corporation, and so on, will have on the documentary film genre as a whole? There have always been well-made, politically oriented documentaries, but with these films making serious box office dollars, do you think documentary film-makers will be pressured into pigeonholing their art to serve a specific politically-oriented moviegoing demographic?
While fully functional, GiMP, like Data, can be extremely annoying, and if you are drunk and don't know what you are doing, will probably just end up fucking you.
Update to a newer version of OWA. Our school uses Outlook Web Access and we have all the functionality, including check names, its just a little more tedious via FireFox.
You are clearly a no-talent assclown. You haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about. War has solved things in the past. Perhaps you've heard of world war II? War did solve something, it put the Nazi regime out of power. Not that you would care, because details like history are too inconvenient for your dogma. Furthermore, I said that we have huge diplomatic issues to deal with vis a vis the NK nuclear threat. I have never ever advocated nuking North Korea, and I think the doctrine of pre-emption is fairly nuts.
Our economy is founded on the notion of private property (a hateful, bigoted idea to be sure!) and free exchange.
Also, I am actually a dual Canadian American citizen. Not that it matters, because you equate being an American to being a bigot. How tolerant of you.
Finally, based on your slashdot user number, you live in a very small, insulated world lit only by the soft glow of a computer screen. You are singularly the stupidest person I have ever encountered on slashdot. Bravo. Maybe you should stop stroking your Marxist roommate's cock and see what the real world is like.
Yeah, US = DPRK. That's the most criminally stupid thing I've read all day.
If by "fine-tuned media machine" you are saying Google News, antiwar.com, Reason and other assorted independent websites are brainwashing me, you should try maybe getting a fucking clue. I'm a fairly radical libertarian on many social and economic issues, and I hate a lot of what Bush does, but I am probably voting for him this election because of psychotic leftist nutjobs like yourself who can't do anything but shoutdown perceived opponents and decry anything right of Lenin to be evil corporate fascism. So when I vote for Bush, consider it a big "fuck you," especially to people who talk the way you do.
Because Axis of Evil or Evil Empire are certainly innappropriate, especially when referring to North Korea, who treats its citizens so humanely, and with such dignity! Truly, they are a beacon of freedom that puts the evil US to shame.
In summary, I said that we should deal with the threat of North Korea NUKING asian countries, and that nukes > hacking, and your response is effectively, "SO? THE US IS JUST AS BAD." Turn the volume down on that Limp Bizkit CD, asshole.
Slashdot Mirror
Won't this just be like that one time with the two popes?
Will the different internets have their own armies? I can't wait!
What if Google wanted to declare itself eligible for the NBA Draft, play as a center, and refer to itself as the "Big Aristotle?"
Funny, +1
No, it just inhales, but it might deny this.
Goes to G4TV
Sort of like if you want more money donated for cancer research, give Bill Gates cancer.
Point taken re: NASA and SPAWAR's standards. Thats just scary.
Our password rules are smart enough to filter concatenated english words as well. But then, if this guy was stupid enough to do all he did from just his home computer, then he HAS to be a script kiddie.
I agree, the facts are very odd. I don't know what agency you contracted with, but the USAF command I work for as a civvie doesn't allow passwords of any kind anywhere on their Windows network to contain less than 8 characters. They must contain a number, a special character, with at least one uppercase and one lowercase letter, and must not be in the english language. Also, our passwords must be changed on a regular basis, and can never be re-used. These sorts of strict rules are pretty standard force-wide, and have been as far back as I started working (2001). These standards are actually considered too lenient by some in our computer security division, which annoys me because its already a big fucking hassle.
.mil only networks, or what. Did he just delete 1300 accounts on an intranet messageboard, for example. Like I said, the security standards are a hassle because they don't matter to most hackers, but are still necessary. The biggest vulnerabilities are the security holes in Microsoft Exchange servers, SQL databases that interface with websites, and IIS in general.
So either the reporter has bad info, the government is lying in its reports, or the reporter is lying. I think it is impossible that a 'script kiddie' could guess an admin password and just remote in and delete 1300 user accounts. Of course, they aren't giving any kind of specifics, like were these networks that were web-based in the DMZ, or were these
The fact is, DoD networks are port-scanned everyday from foreign countries. So this guy isn't anything special. Which leads me to believe information is being withheld.
I also doubt that this is the 'most damaging' hacking attempt ever, I'm sure the worst incidents are the ones that are never publicized.
Interesting question, I should have thought of some examples before my little ramble.
This looks kitschy: http://www.amnestyusa.org/ Sad, too, considering who the site is about.
On the other hand, I think this is good: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page because it organizes a large amount of information and is pretty easy to use.
Anyhow, looking back, maybe that guys design isn't that bad, I just don't think official communications should look like a blog. Personal issue, I suppose.
Just because it looks like a blog doesn't mean anybody will give it more attention. I ignore millions of blogs everyday, with that kitschy, cliched 'minimalist' design. Whatever. Responsible government officials should be paying attention to anything like that when it crosses their desk. This is a corporate culture problem, not a usability problem. This guy is treating a symptom but it won't remove the cause.
Here are a few problems with some of your arguments.
1) PS2 effectively buried the Dreamcast (my sweet, dear Dreamcast). I would say Sony was pretty serious, but I agree with you that Microsoft did make the game a bit more deadly, no pun intended. Competition is certainly stiffer.
2) IE isn't a good comparison, primarily because it is technically 'free' software, at least in the financial sense. It doesn't compare to the X-box, which is fabricated hardware that the consumer must purchase. Once they beat Netscape, Micro~01 had no incentive to develop IE further, which brings me to your third point and final comments.
3) Yeah, Intel vs AMD = good for customers. However, if one of the companies disappeared, the other would continue marketing and making new chips, because software (or bloatware) continues to demand more processing power. I know I'm heavily simplifying things, but the console market is similar. Developers want to keep pushing the limits of the available tech, gamers want prettier graphics and more realistic bouncing breasts, and this requires newer hardware.
Its all about sales. IE doesn't get developed as much because you don't 'sell' IE at Best Buy. Game studios want to keep selling new games. There are a finite number of X-Boxes that can be sold, thus Microsoft must make X-Box 2, and 3, creating demand and maintaining their bottom-line. The same for game developers. Even if Sony disappeared, we would probably see a new console every 5 years, which is roughly the timeline we see a company roll out its next generation. You don't stop doing business just because the competition is gone, which will never happen, the gaming industry is too lucrative, it rivals the movie industry and in some ways exceeds it.
I hope you succeed in your plans, Putin is bad news.
"I have felt a great disturbance in the force; as if a million voices suddenly cried out in terror."
Those poor, poor children.
Actually, it probably looks more like this:
1. brittnay speers nakkid
2. pearis hillton sex
3. crisstina agweelaira boobie
and so on...
Well, i was a bit drunk and I was using a trackpad.
Let's see.... the learning curve for me with Photoshop 4 back in grade school... about an hour to be able to do basic functions. The learning curve with Gimp, a year ago, after years of experience with software, graphics-editors included: 4 hours. Simply, on Windows, Gimp is ugly, is in literally too many windows, and is far too unwieldy to be considered anywhere near serious competition for Photoshop. Remember the thread about how no serious photographers that work in digital use Linux as their primary photo-editing environment? Using Gimp for 10 minutes makes the reasons evident. For example, it took me forever to make this thing in Gimp, but in Photoshop, I could do the same thing with much less effort. Photoshop has decades of usability testing and development behind it. Give me a break, and give me photoshop.
they just get a new computer. wtf is with that?
People are rationally ignorant. They don't have time to fiddle with something they don't understand. I had to fix my grandparents computer once, and when I tried to explain what I was doing they just said, "honey, we don't care."
As for people just getting new computers, at school I see far more students just put up with the spyware that debilitates their system. They'll bitch about it occasionally but they won't bother to do anything about it. Its amazing the threshold for bullshit some people put up with for computers.
"Logical to assume" I guess we know why the reader stayed anonymous.
DLS = Didn't Learn Spelling
Where were you educated and where did you get your desire to be a film-maker? Since you've made a name for yourself in documentaries, what sort of films inspired you to take this route? What's your favorite documentary film? Finally, what do you think the impact the current crop of politically oriented documentary films, such as Fahrenheit 9/11 (and its antithesis, Fahrenhype 9/11), Super-Size Me, The Corporation, and so on, will have on the documentary film genre as a whole? There have always been well-made, politically oriented documentaries, but with these films making serious box office dollars, do you think documentary film-makers will be pressured into pigeonholing their art to serve a specific politically-oriented moviegoing demographic?
While fully functional, GiMP, like Data, can be extremely annoying, and if you are drunk and don't know what you are doing, will probably just end up fucking you.
Update to a newer version of OWA. Our school uses Outlook Web Access and we have all the functionality, including check names, its just a little more tedious via FireFox.
Je ne pa suis Master Chief?
Look, I'm hungover, so I'll be brief.
You are clearly a no-talent assclown. You haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about. War has solved things in the past. Perhaps you've heard of world war II? War did solve something, it put the Nazi regime out of power. Not that you would care, because details like history are too inconvenient for your dogma. Furthermore, I said that we have huge diplomatic issues to deal with vis a vis the NK nuclear threat. I have never ever advocated nuking North Korea, and I think the doctrine of pre-emption is fairly nuts.
Our economy is founded on the notion of private property (a hateful, bigoted idea to be sure!) and free exchange.
Also, I am actually a dual Canadian American citizen. Not that it matters, because you equate being an American to being a bigot. How tolerant of you.
Finally, based on your slashdot user number, you live in a very small, insulated world lit only by the soft glow of a computer screen. You are singularly the stupidest person I have ever encountered on slashdot. Bravo. Maybe you should stop stroking your Marxist roommate's cock and see what the real world is like.
Yeah, US = DPRK. That's the most criminally stupid thing I've read all day.
If by "fine-tuned media machine" you are saying Google News, antiwar.com, Reason and other assorted independent websites are brainwashing me, you should try maybe getting a fucking clue. I'm a fairly radical libertarian on many social and economic issues, and I hate a lot of what Bush does, but I am probably voting for him this election because of psychotic leftist nutjobs like yourself who can't do anything but shoutdown perceived opponents and decry anything right of Lenin to be evil corporate fascism. So when I vote for Bush, consider it a big "fuck you," especially to people who talk the way you do.
Because Axis of Evil or Evil Empire are certainly innappropriate, especially when referring to North Korea, who treats its citizens so humanely, and with such dignity! Truly, they are a beacon of freedom that puts the evil US to shame.
In summary, I said that we should deal with the threat of North Korea NUKING asian countries, and that nukes > hacking, and your response is effectively, "SO? THE US IS JUST AS BAD." Turn the volume down on that Limp Bizkit CD, asshole.