If the device actually encrypts the files, it is not necessary to store the password in any form, hashed or otherwise. You can just decrypt the data with the given password and check if the CRC matches to find out if the password is correct or not.
Rather then encrypting the password entered and comparing it to the device?
That would not be any better than it is now.
The right way to do this would be to use the password to generate an encryption key and encrypt the data with it. Then, the only possible vulnerabilities are the password itself and various known-plaintext attacks.
1.) It is vastly quieter in the default CPU cooling situation.
The Athlon 64/Opteron is cool and dead-quiet even with the stock heatsink. Besides, there are hundreds of 3rd party coolers available.
Hyperthreading is cool. Without having to spend the money on two physical items, I get some of the performance benifits of dual-procs.
True. But you also lose performance on single-threaded apps. Besides, printing and burning CDs/DVDs doesn't cause any noticeable slowdown on any modern system. The processor doesn't need to do much for either of these tasks.
Origionally, I was going to buy the AMD Athlon 64 3200+, but after I started looking at it, I realized that the socket is at a dead end - if I ever wanted to upgrade, it would mean new motherboard.
These days, it doesn't pay to upgrade just the CPU. When you have ever-increasing memory and bus speeds, you don't want to put a new processor into an old mobo -- you'll always take a big performance hit.
And since the Memory controller is on the processor die, you're tied in to DDR memory forever with the chip.
The integrated memory controller gives a huge speed boost. Athlon 64s haul ass as far as memory bandwidth and latency go. In my subjective tests, an AMD64 system runs Mozilla (which is very memory-intensive) significantly faster than an intel chip.
Intels still run faster, even if they don't crunch the big numbers all in one cycle.
Bullshit. A 1.6GHz Athlon will slaughter a 2.2GHz pentium 4 at most applications. The top-end Intel chip and the top-end AMD chip have roughly the same performance.
Memory and CPU are also waterproof (of course, they can't smell too bad by themselves). Hard drives, fans, and batteries are best removed while this is done.
I don't know what the exact RPM is, but the disks aren't heavy enough to bend the shaft of the motor (which is about the only thing which could get damaged), even at 1500 RPM.
Excuse me, but a monolithic kernel is nothing remotely similar to Microsoft's abomination. Linux and other UNIX systems are modular operating systems that are built in layers. You have the raw kernel, you have some userspace daemons that are close to the kernel, then come the userspace programs (which are completely separate). If you find a hole in Mozilla, that won't let you hijack the system.
On windows, many of the key userland APIs are directly tied into the lowest levels of the operating system. This is great for Microsoft, who can just tell the FTC that "no, we can't remove Internet Explorer/Media Player/Instant Messenger from Windows". This isn't so great for its users, since a hole in one of those applications often yields control of the system in unpredictable ways.
The microkernel versus monolithic kernel is a pretty old debate. The main problem with microkernels, as far as I understand, is that they are much more difficult to develop. Yes, the complexity is encapsulated, but the message passing stuff can get very hairy. My opinion: if both approaches work well, who cares?
What's the difference in watching this through a camera as opposed to watching you watch from a van accross the street?
Think about it for at least 10 seconds. Then come back and reply if you still don't understand what the difference is. Just so you know, if I see a suspicious-looking van parked in front of my house for any length of time, I call the cops.
For the last frigging time, it's NOT UNREGULATED, it's UNLICENSED. It is very much regulated -- there are strict limits of what types of transmission can occur and at what power. The thing is, if another unlicensed user interferes with the college's network -- tough shit.
"Non-profit" does not mean they aren't out to make lots of money. It just means they have to either pay it out as salary or spend it all on the business, as opposed to giving it to the owners/shareholders. It's strictly a tax law thing, and doesn't mean they are some kind of charity.
the reason you need "G4 or faster for GarageBand software instruments" is that they're real-time synth'd using Altivec, something you just wouldn't do on x86...
WTF are you smoking? x86 is just as good as G4 at floating point, and there are plenty of real-time synths for Windows (ever hear of Reaktor? ProTools?) that work just fine. You do realize that x86s have MMX, SSE, and/or 3Dnow? These instructions pretty much let you use the processor as a DSP.
Interesting points. I've never actually tried to resurrect capacitors, but it's possible that orientation does make a difference. I just noticed that the capacitors that are near sources of heat tend to die first. Of course, by the time the capacitors decide to die, the computer will most likely be obsolete, so it's not a serious weak point.
As to hitting things to make them work: that's an excellent diagnostic tool. Most of the time, it's either connectors or bad solder joints.
First, it's not a liquid dielectric, it's a conductive liquid. The dielectric is the aluminum oxide that forms on the foil. Second, it can't "migrate", because of capillary action. Third, most capacitors die when the liquid dries out or leaks out, so hot temperatures cause them to die much more quickly. Finally, the PSU capacitors are usually the most expensive capacitors in the system, because they are designed for the hot temperatures and high voltages. Putting other capacitors near the power supply means they will die that much sooner.
Yes, it's definitely possible if you are holding it close to your ear. It won't fall apart (there isn't much energy in the sound), but it will blow your eardrums.
Yeah, I've heard of that. You would probably want a 4 layer board, too -- dang near impossible to route the power pins on even a smallish BGA. Not to mention the damn things are impossible to debug since you can't get at the pins. In short, it's not really suited to DIY use unless you use a PGA adapter. But hopefully, we won't be seeing too many of those things -- most companies still have very few BGA products (mostly DSPs with wide memory buses). But still, IMO the hobbyist has many more possibilities now than they did 20 years ago.
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Decrypt a small block and test the CRC. Just look at how the (fairly weak) ZIP encryption works sometime.
If the device actually encrypts the files, it is not necessary to store the password in any form, hashed or otherwise. You can just decrypt the data with the given password and check if the CRC matches to find out if the password is correct or not.
Rather then encrypting the password entered and comparing it to the device?
That would not be any better than it is now.
The right way to do this would be to use the password to generate an encryption key and encrypt the data with it. Then, the only possible vulnerabilities are the password itself and various known-plaintext attacks.
Oops, forgot to take care of this one.
Also, no AMD boards that I'm aware of have PCI Express.
Try a Google search for "athlon 64 pci express" and let me know if you still can't find any.
1.) It is vastly quieter in the default CPU cooling situation.
The Athlon 64/Opteron is cool and dead-quiet even with the stock heatsink. Besides, there are hundreds of 3rd party coolers available.
Hyperthreading is cool. Without having to spend the money on two physical items, I get some of the performance benifits of dual-procs.
True. But you also lose performance on single-threaded apps. Besides, printing and burning CDs/DVDs doesn't cause any noticeable slowdown on any modern system. The processor doesn't need to do much for either of these tasks.
Origionally, I was going to buy the AMD Athlon 64 3200+, but after I started looking at it, I realized that the socket is at a dead end - if I ever wanted to upgrade, it would mean new motherboard.
These days, it doesn't pay to upgrade just the CPU. When you have ever-increasing memory and bus speeds, you don't want to put a new processor into an old mobo -- you'll always take a big performance hit.
And since the Memory controller is on the processor die, you're tied in to DDR memory forever with the chip.
The integrated memory controller gives a huge speed boost. Athlon 64s haul ass as far as memory bandwidth and latency go. In my subjective tests, an AMD64 system runs Mozilla (which is very memory-intensive) significantly faster than an intel chip.
Intels still run faster, even if they don't crunch the big numbers all in one cycle.
Bullshit. A 1.6GHz Athlon will slaughter a 2.2GHz pentium 4 at most applications. The top-end Intel chip and the top-end AMD chip have roughly the same performance.
Memory and CPU are also waterproof (of course, they can't smell too bad by themselves). Hard drives, fans, and batteries are best removed while this is done.
I don't know what the exact RPM is, but the disks aren't heavy enough to bend the shaft of the motor (which is about the only thing which could get damaged), even at 1500 RPM.
Excuse me, but a monolithic kernel is nothing remotely similar to Microsoft's abomination. Linux and other UNIX systems are modular operating systems that are built in layers. You have the raw kernel, you have some userspace daemons that are close to the kernel, then come the userspace programs (which are completely separate). If you find a hole in Mozilla, that won't let you hijack the system.
On windows, many of the key userland APIs are directly tied into the lowest levels of the operating system. This is great for Microsoft, who can just tell the FTC that "no, we can't remove Internet Explorer/Media Player/Instant Messenger from Windows". This isn't so great for its users, since a hole in one of those applications often yields control of the system in unpredictable ways.
The microkernel versus monolithic kernel is a pretty old debate. The main problem with microkernels, as far as I understand, is that they are much more difficult to develop. Yes, the complexity is encapsulated, but the message passing stuff can get very hairy. My opinion: if both approaches work well, who cares?
Oh, and next Friday... is Hawaiian shirt day... so, you know, if you want to you can go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans.
What's the difference in watching this through a camera as opposed to watching you watch from a van accross the street?
Think about it for at least 10 seconds. Then come back and reply if you still don't understand what the difference is. Just so you know, if I see a suspicious-looking van parked in front of my house for any length of time, I call the cops.
And what's to prevent them from watching someone who forgot to close their shades while dressing?
Why exactly would you need a camera to do that?
The problem is that the cameras record everything, not just crimes.
A cop parked in the same place would also see everything. So what?
Just like a career in robbing banks will compare to medical school as far as potential earnings.
For the last frigging time, it's NOT UNREGULATED, it's UNLICENSED. It is very much regulated -- there are strict limits of what types of transmission can occur and at what power. The thing is, if another unlicensed user interferes with the college's network -- tough shit.
You don't get it, do you? In this case, federal law preempts any clauses that the college might put in their contract.
"Non-profit" does not mean they aren't out to make lots of money. It just means they have to either pay it out as salary or spend it all on the business, as opposed to giving it to the owners/shareholders. It's strictly a tax law thing, and doesn't mean they are some kind of charity.
Well, copying an OS with 90% marketshare kind of makes more sense than copying one with 3% of the same.
Bullshit. DVDs spin at a very low RPM and no disc could possibly damage the mechanism mechanically, regardless of how unbalanced it is.
the reason you need "G4 or faster for GarageBand software instruments" is that they're real-time synth'd using Altivec, something you just wouldn't do on x86...
WTF are you smoking? x86 is just as good as G4 at floating point, and there are plenty of real-time synths for Windows (ever hear of Reaktor? ProTools?) that work just fine. You do realize that x86s have MMX, SSE, and/or 3Dnow? These instructions pretty much let you use the processor as a DSP.
Why don't you actually read the article? MS allows basically the exact same things Apple does.
Well, Mac users don't seem to have a problem with DRM-laden AAC files, so what's the difference?
Interesting points. I've never actually tried to resurrect capacitors, but it's possible that orientation does make a difference. I just noticed that the capacitors that are near sources of heat tend to die first. Of course, by the time the capacitors decide to die, the computer will most likely be obsolete, so it's not a serious weak point.
As to hitting things to make them work: that's an excellent diagnostic tool. Most of the time, it's either connectors or bad solder joints.
First, it's not a liquid dielectric, it's a conductive liquid. The dielectric is the aluminum oxide that forms on the foil. Second, it can't "migrate", because of capillary action. Third, most capacitors die when the liquid dries out or leaks out, so hot temperatures cause them to die much more quickly. Finally, the PSU capacitors are usually the most expensive capacitors in the system, because they are designed for the hot temperatures and high voltages. Putting other capacitors near the power supply means they will die that much sooner.
170db with a cell phone?
Yes, it's definitely possible if you are holding it close to your ear. It won't fall apart (there isn't much energy in the sound), but it will blow your eardrums.
Yeah, I've heard of that. You would probably want a 4 layer board, too -- dang near impossible to route the power pins on even a smallish BGA. Not to mention the damn things are impossible to debug since you can't get at the pins. In short, it's not really suited to DIY use unless you use a PGA adapter. But hopefully, we won't be seeing too many of those things -- most companies still have very few BGA products (mostly DSPs with wide memory buses). But still, IMO the hobbyist has many more possibilities now than they did 20 years ago.