I've been using FoxyProxy/Privoxy/Tor for a few months now. It wasn't nearly as difficult to set up as I'd imagined (I'm running Ubuntu), and it didn't degrade or slow down my web experience as much as I feared, either.
It caused me an unexpected problem last week, though. I ordered some hardware from NewEgg. The process went exactly as usual and I got the confirmation e-mails as usual. The next day, however, I got another form e-mail that said my order had been cancelled because my bank was outside the United States. WTF, I thought - this is clearly not the case. I called NewEgg's support line and was told that it was actually *my* IP that appeared to be outside the US. I explained that I was using anonymizing software to protect my privacy online, but that I'd used my NewEgg account and completed the VerifiedByVISA process, and that I was shipping to a verified address, etc. The support guy said he couldn't un-cancel my order; I'd just have to re-order using "my real IP" this time. Fine, I grumbled. I went through the process again; when I supplied NewEgg's cart app with my account credentials this time, I was told that my account was suspended! I called NewEgg again; apparently my account was suspended because of the "suspicious transaction" referenced above. It took me a half hour to get my account reinstated.
"What was the most exciting thing you saw?" I ask.
"I found a list of officers' names," he claims, "under the heading 'Non-Terrestrial Officers'."
"Non-Terrestrial Officers?" I say.
"Yeah, I looked it up," says Gary, "and it's nowhere. It doesn't mean little green men. What I think it means is not earth-based. I found a list of 'fleet-to-fleet transfers', and a list of ship names. I looked them up. They weren't US navy ships. What I saw made me believe they have some kind of spaceship, off-planet."
Also of note:
"Once you're on the network, you can do a command called NetStat - Network Status - and it lists all the connections to that machine. There were hackers from Denmark, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Thailand..."
"All on at once?" I ask. "You could see hackers from all over the world, snooping around, without the spaceniks or the military realising?"
"Every night," he says, "for the entire five to seven years I was doing this."
Actually, this incident falls very neatly into the category of terrorism. Fatalities are not required; past actions of the victim-state are not relevant. The action has neither to inspire terror nor be designed to inspire terror.
American Heritage:
"The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons."
Merriam-Webster:
"the unlawful use or threat of violence esp. against the state or the public as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion"
You're wrong, America engages in terrorist activity on a fairly regular basis and Bender is great. Deal with it.
> Does anyone know of a source for an appropriate power supply, or a kit, or even just plans for one?
I'm working on a PC-based MP3 player for my car, so I've done a fair amount of looking. There are a couple of sets of plans floating around the net, but the current they generate is inadequate for my purposes. This is a good resource, with links to many examples of DIY projects.
The only commercially-produced DC power supplies I've found are made by Arise. They have several models that might suit the purpose, like these.
If anyone is aware of a better solution, I'd love to hear about it!
Slashdot Mirror
I've been using FoxyProxy/Privoxy/Tor for a few months now. It wasn't nearly as difficult to set up as I'd imagined (I'm running Ubuntu), and it didn't degrade or slow down my web experience as much as I feared, either. It caused me an unexpected problem last week, though. I ordered some hardware from NewEgg. The process went exactly as usual and I got the confirmation e-mails as usual. The next day, however, I got another form e-mail that said my order had been cancelled because my bank was outside the United States. WTF, I thought - this is clearly not the case. I called NewEgg's support line and was told that it was actually *my* IP that appeared to be outside the US. I explained that I was using anonymizing software to protect my privacy online, but that I'd used my NewEgg account and completed the VerifiedByVISA process, and that I was shipping to a verified address, etc. The support guy said he couldn't un-cancel my order; I'd just have to re-order using "my real IP" this time. Fine, I grumbled. I went through the process again; when I supplied NewEgg's cart app with my account credentials this time, I was told that my account was suspended! I called NewEgg again; apparently my account was suspended because of the "suspicious transaction" referenced above. It took me a half hour to get my account reinstated.
Actually, this incident falls very neatly into the category of terrorism. Fatalities are not required; past actions of the victim-state are not relevant. The action has neither to inspire terror nor be designed to inspire terror.
American Heritage:
"The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons."
Merriam-Webster:
"the unlawful use or threat of violence esp. against the state or the public as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion"
You're wrong, America engages in terrorist activity on a fairly regular basis and Bender is great. Deal with it.
> Does anyone know of a source for an appropriate power supply, or a kit, or even just plans for one?
I'm working on a PC-based MP3 player for my car, so I've done a fair amount of looking. There are a couple of sets of plans floating around the net, but the current they generate is inadequate for my purposes. This is a good resource, with links to many examples of DIY projects.
The only commercially-produced DC power supplies I've found are made by Arise. They have several models that might suit the purpose, like these.
If anyone is aware of a better solution, I'd love to hear about it!
[LordCrumb]