What an incredibly odd story. Look at these quotes from the article:
"Most of the alleged hacking took place in 2001 and 2002. At one stage the US thought it was the work of the al Qaeda terror network. "
OK, so this must have been some serious stuff going down for them to think that he was al Qaeda. Or was it?
"Friends said that he broke into the networks from his home computer to try to prove his theory that the US was covering up the existence of UFOs. "
Uh oh, we're talking mentally off here.
"He is accused of a series of hacking offences including deleting "critical" files from military computers. The US authorities said the cost of tracking him down and correcting the alleged problems was more than £570,000. The offences could also see him fined up to £950,000 if found guilty on all charges. "
Here it comes, the big bill for this mentally off "al Qaeda" operative. "Lesse, captain, I spent my lunch hour running a scan." "Aha! We'll bill that time as worth £50,000!"
"Prosecutor Paul McNulty alleged that McKinnon, known online as "Solo," had perpetrated "the biggest hack of military computers ever". He was named as the chief suspect after a series of electronic break-ins occurred over 12 months at 92 separate US military and Nasa networks.
Ah, it gets better. This guy must have been hot stuff! They think he's some kind of master criminal or something. Or al Qaeda maybe.
"It is alleged that he used software available on the internet to scan tens of thousands of computers on US military networks from his home PC, looking for machines that might be exposed due to flaws in the Windows operating system.
Many of the computers he broke into were protected by easy-to-guess passwords, investigators said. In some cases, McKinnon allegedly shut down the computer systems he invaded. "
WHAT?! He's just a script kiddie??! All this fuss over some guy port scanning Windows boxes??
"The charge sheet alleges that he hacked into an army computer at Fort Myer, Virginia, where he obtained codes, information and commands before deleting about 1,300 user accounts.
Other systems he hacked into included the Pentagon's network and US army, navy and air force computers. "
So let me get this straight. Some nutcase into UFOs uses script kiddie technology to port scan Windows boxes and somehow manages to get into the Pentagon and the military? Are you kidding me? Either they are running Windows boxes with easy to guess passwords and insecure networks, or else they should have charged him with a lot worse stuff than standard port scanning. Or maybe the reporter has no clue what he did, but this doesn't add up.
The only thing that does make sense is the U.S. military thinking a script kiddie UFO chaser was a master criminal at work...
Thanks, but this story was getting so many comments you had to be really early to get noticed at all. But yeah, this seems like a very big elephant in the room. Steve can wave his hands all he wants, but if this is a sellout to Hollywood it's a big deal. I'm hoping it isn't, that Intel will give them chips that are not DRM-loaded. But what are the odds of that?
OK, so it's real. Intel-based will mean some advantages, some disadvantages. Maybe in two or three years Apple will be ahead in chip speed, or maybe not. OS X runs on Intel? OK. But all of this is less interesting to me than the suggestion in this Wired article that says this move is all about the DRM.
Here on/. we have moaned and whined and foamed at the mouth about Intel's hardware-based DRM plans. But some suggested that even if the Wintel world rattled down the DRM highway in lockstep, at least there would be the creative side world of Apple where Uncle Steve would put stickers on computers saying, "Don't steal movies" and maybe some half-hearted picket fences to keep the most obtuse user from figuring out how to move movies from one machine to another.
Doesn't this change everything? Won't Apple just become another fiefdom in the DRM kingdom, where users are kept in chains? Won't this mean that Macs will be just as distrustful of their owners as PCs are going to be? Cuz I'm no "pirate," and I respect copyright laws, but I hate being treated like a thief by my own equipment. If Apple is about to go down the same DRM highway, I think it's going to become my way rather than their highway. And my way will be away from Apple, and toward FOSS completely. Maybe I'll buy the last "free" PowerBook Apple sells, max out the memory, get lots of backup parts, and then run Ubuntu or something on it for the next decade.
Nothing prevents a clueless Mac user from proactively downloading and installing stuff, that's true. What helps on the Mac side, however, is you cannot sneak something past them as you can with a clueless Windows user. If a site or an email tries to quietly install and run something (even assuming it's not an.exe which won't work at all), the first thing OS X will do is prompt the user for their password. Yes, they can cluelessly do so, but at least they are notified that something is happening. If they weren't expecting to download and run something, that can be a big red flag.
It's fun on OS X to get a Windows virus email. It just sits there, helpless and inert.
So yeah, OS X is not the beginning and the end of security on computers by any stretch of the imagination. But it sure cuts the damage way, way down for clueless users. I'm talking from experience in dealing with relatives. Years of OS X usage, not one problem with a virus, spyware, or adware. Years of clueless usage, I might add. So while it's not perfect, if you have clueless friends or relatives, recommend OS X and you can sleep well at night.
"You don't need a mac, hell you don't even need Linux/bsd/whatever.
You just have to be "not a moron".
tomstdenis, meet the human race. Humanity, meet tomstdenis.
What part of the fact that most computer users are not capable of figuring out why the printer is stuck has escaped your notice? I wouldn't expect most of the/. crowd to become 0wn3d by the bot masters. But the average computer user? You know, the unwashed masses who keep looking for the Any key? No way these folks are going to be able to properly secure their Windows boxes. Want proof? Look at who is getting botted today.
The advice to get a Mac instead is actually solid advice for these unwashed masses. They can be just as clueless about Reply versus Reply All on a Mac, but at least they won't get attacked. For the rest of us know-it-alls, choose for yourself. For Grandma Whywontitwork, I'm recommending a Mac.
"The BBC has a report on oxytocin and its ability to skew our trust levels. "
I'm not sure I trust the reporting. Wait, let me take some oxytocin....Ah, that's better. My, what a great news story! I can easily see how its conclusions fit reality.
"Meanwhile, the MPAA will keep briefing House and Senate members on a broadcast flag bill's importance and seek other ways to get the content protections it wants."
Does that sound like they are giving up? Nope, they are still going to push for what they want, and what they think America (that is, the MPAA) "needs."
My Dad has a PC that my sister and I used to use for our homework assignments. One night, I was writing a paper on it, when all of a sudden it went berserk, the screen started flashing, and the whole paper just disappeared. All of it. And it was a good paper! But man, that flashing screen was totally kewl, and made my drugs that much more fun. OK, so I totally got a bad grade for my paper, but it was fine cuz I met this totally great guy who also screwed up his paper.
I have a passion for the color blue. I see it and I swoon in ecstasy. How beautiful it is to my eyes! How evocative of the sky and the sea and everything life-giving!
I find screens fascinating. Just by looking at a screen, you can learn anything in the realm of human knowledge. There is no limit to the things one can learn by applying yourself to screens.
When writing, I find the word "of" to be a significant help in stringing together words into coherent sentences. I am so grateful to my elementary school teachers for introducing me to this wonderful word.
I cannot get the idea of death out of my mind. It haunts me, it consumes me, it puzzles me. I think about it endlessly.
Is there any wonder why I have a deep and abiding love for Windows?
Enjoy the documentary. I was around for the golden age of the BBS and remember it fondly. But you aren't missing all that much if you enjoy the Web today, for a web site dedicated to a particular community is very much in the BBS spirit. Oh, there are differences. BBS were more localized, so you were more likely to be dealing with people in a geographic location (although anyone could and did sign in too), whereas Web sites tend to be more open and accessible to anyone the world over. Only if you have a location-specific web site community do you begin to approach the old BBS spirit.
But one thing that is lost from those old days is being part of a much more exclusive group. In the early 80s, NOBODY knew about computers 'cept us geeks. It was a tiny community and everyone knew (or knew of) everyone. All those names in the teaser trailer? Yup, I heard of 'em all, just about. So the one thing we don't have today is the small community. But that's OK. It just means the cool tech we discovered early is now being enjoyed by everyone.
Still, I do miss seeing the ASCII-art Fido dog...
Re:You're just saying that because you work for TH
on
Tinfoil Hat House
·
· Score: 1
"What's the frequency, kenneth???"
We know what it is, and furthermore we know you know what it is. Expect a visit soon...
OK, I understand that we are going to see Google ads on everything now, including RSS feeds. But do we have to have absolute lies as ads??
"Linux Comparison
Get The Facts: Windows vs. Linux.
Read The Independent Analysis Now.
www.microsoft.com
Get the "facts"? "Independent" analysis? Haven't we had those lies debunked enought that they don't show up in ads on/.? And why does Google allow outright lies to be bought for as ads?
"McBride however is remembered as calling the resulting DOS attacks "the darker side of the Linux community we've been fighting."
Well then, this is an excellent opportunity for Mr. McBride to apologize to the Linux community for his inadvertant slander. I have no doubt that such a man who has shown a constant willigness to reach out to the press will take an immediate opportunity to correct his mistake.
Advertising on the Web (as much as I personally hate it) is a complicated thing. It does support web sites that allow their owners to continue providing good content in a timely manner. As a reader of sites, I appreciate this bargain. Of course I ignore the ads. That's a problem, so the advertisers got more aggressive to get my attention. So I blocked their ads because they were too intrusive.
Now some sites become so weighed down by ads it's painful to look at the sites to try to read an article. Lots of "Next >>" links and blocks of flashy color in the middle of an article. Aaargh! Ah, so we escalate the battle by using the RSS feeds instead. Bliss! Just the news and nothing but the news!
Escalation part deaux: They provide ads in the RSS feeds. Aaargh! We block the ads. They hire hit men to kill us -- ok, maybe we haven't reached that stage yet. But man, I sure get tired of this war of advertising. You'd think they'd catch on that those of us running screaming the other way from ads might not be the best audience for said ads. But no, they think that if they force feed their ads to us, Clockwork Orange style, we'll actually buy their hated products!
And given the consumer bent of most people, they are sadly probably right.
And for those webmasters who use advertising to survive, may the Force be with you. I understand the bargain you make, and I will still read your sites, and if you find a particularly clever and targeted ad, why I might even view it. It's a complicated issue.
As the poster that began this particular thread, please note that I included the presence of the girl's older brother specifically to let the mom off the hook when it came to endangerment issues. Let us assume the older brother is 16 and fully capable of looking after his kid sister (when he's not busy watching his chopsockey videos)
"Honey, I told you that when I'm at work I cannot authorize, er unlock the movie for you."
"Mommy, I wanna watch my movie!"
"I know, sweetheart, but I can't come home until later. Please play with your toys until then, or let your older brother play one of his movies for you instead."
"Yuck! Hate "Kill, Kick, & Maim!" I wanna watch "Honeydumpling Sweethearts" again."
I'm serious. My G4/1GHz/1GB PB never has its fan go off unless I've been using it for a long time doing video work or something. Having my usual 3 or 4 apps open at the same time and doing text editing or web browsing never sets the fan off.
Fair enough, but it's news to me that half the product line is noisy. Desktop G5s? Fine. But I know of nothing else, although people keep pointing me to research noisy laptops. I acknowledge they exist, but I've never experienced it with three different Apple laptops.
I never claimed my post was scientific evidence, just my personal experience and what I extrapolated from that personal experience. I certainly understand how someone who had a completely different experience would object, but it just isn't anything I've had to deal with.
"Well done. Either you have not owned very many Macs or you have NO experience with PCs."
I have owned several Macs, four in all, both desktop and laptop. None made a sound except when the fan came on, and that was hardly ever. So rare that it startles me when it happens because I have to remind myself what that sound was again. As for experience with PCs, how about decades? All I have to do is walk around the office to notice the dull roar of dozens of fans running non-stop from all the PCs.
Your experience is different? Very well, express it. But don't call me a troll just because I talked about my personal experience. Troll Disagreement. I stand by what I said, for this is what I have experienced and continue to experience.
Well, I'm going off my experience with my Powerbook, and it's silent. I agree that if it gets too warm the fan goes on and the fan is far from silent. But the fan on my Powerbook goes on about once every couple of months, if that.
Slashdot Mirror
"Most of the alleged hacking took place in 2001 and 2002. At one stage the US thought it was the work of the al Qaeda terror network. "
OK, so this must have been some serious stuff going down for them to think that he was al Qaeda. Or was it?
"Friends said that he broke into the networks from his home computer to try to prove his theory that the US was covering up the existence of UFOs. "
Uh oh, we're talking mentally off here.
"He is accused of a series of hacking offences including deleting "critical" files from military computers. The US authorities said the cost of tracking him down and correcting the alleged problems was more than £570,000. The offences could also see him fined up to £950,000 if found guilty on all charges. "
Here it comes, the big bill for this mentally off "al Qaeda" operative. "Lesse, captain, I spent my lunch hour running a scan." "Aha! We'll bill that time as worth £50,000!"
"Prosecutor Paul McNulty alleged that McKinnon, known online as "Solo," had perpetrated "the biggest hack of military computers ever". He was named as the chief suspect after a series of electronic break-ins occurred over 12 months at 92 separate US military and Nasa networks.
Ah, it gets better. This guy must have been hot stuff! They think he's some kind of master criminal or something. Or al Qaeda maybe.
"It is alleged that he used software available on the internet to scan tens of thousands of computers on US military networks from his home PC, looking for machines that might be exposed due to flaws in the Windows operating system.
Many of the computers he broke into were protected by easy-to-guess passwords, investigators said. In some cases, McKinnon allegedly shut down the computer systems he invaded. "
WHAT?! He's just a script kiddie??! All this fuss over some guy port scanning Windows boxes??
"The charge sheet alleges that he hacked into an army computer at Fort Myer, Virginia, where he obtained codes, information and commands before deleting about 1,300 user accounts.
Other systems he hacked into included the Pentagon's network and US army, navy and air force computers. "
So let me get this straight. Some nutcase into UFOs uses script kiddie technology to port scan Windows boxes and somehow manages to get into the Pentagon and the military? Are you kidding me? Either they are running Windows boxes with easy to guess passwords and insecure networks, or else they should have charged him with a lot worse stuff than standard port scanning. Or maybe the reporter has no clue what he did, but this doesn't add up.
The only thing that does make sense is the U.S. military thinking a script kiddie UFO chaser was a master criminal at work...
Thanks, but this story was getting so many comments you had to be really early to get noticed at all. But yeah, this seems like a very big elephant in the room. Steve can wave his hands all he wants, but if this is a sellout to Hollywood it's a big deal. I'm hoping it isn't, that Intel will give them chips that are not DRM-loaded. But what are the odds of that?
*sigh* What's the difference any more...
Here on /. we have moaned and whined and foamed at the mouth about Intel's hardware-based DRM plans. But some suggested that even if the Wintel world rattled down the DRM highway in lockstep, at least there would be the creative side world of Apple where Uncle Steve would put stickers on computers saying, "Don't steal movies" and maybe some half-hearted picket fences to keep the most obtuse user from figuring out how to move movies from one machine to another.
Doesn't this change everything? Won't Apple just become another fiefdom in the DRM kingdom, where users are kept in chains? Won't this mean that Macs will be just as distrustful of their owners as PCs are going to be? Cuz I'm no "pirate," and I respect copyright laws, but I hate being treated like a thief by my own equipment. If Apple is about to go down the same DRM highway, I think it's going to become my way rather than their highway. And my way will be away from Apple, and toward FOSS completely. Maybe I'll buy the last "free" PowerBook Apple sells, max out the memory, get lots of backup parts, and then run Ubuntu or something on it for the next decade.
And your little dog too?
Assuming your assumptions and input are correct, of course.
It's fun on OS X to get a Windows virus email. It just sits there, helpless and inert.
So yeah, OS X is not the beginning and the end of security on computers by any stretch of the imagination. But it sure cuts the damage way, way down for clueless users. I'm talking from experience in dealing with relatives. Years of OS X usage, not one problem with a virus, spyware, or adware. Years of clueless usage, I might add. So while it's not perfect, if you have clueless friends or relatives, recommend OS X and you can sleep well at night.
You just have to be "not a moron".
tomstdenis, meet the human race. Humanity, meet tomstdenis.
What part of the fact that most computer users are not capable of figuring out why the printer is stuck has escaped your notice? I wouldn't expect most of the /. crowd to become 0wn3d by the bot masters. But the average computer user? You know, the unwashed masses who keep looking for the Any key? No way these folks are going to be able to properly secure their Windows boxes. Want proof? Look at who is getting botted today.
The advice to get a Mac instead is actually solid advice for these unwashed masses. They can be just as clueless about Reply versus Reply All on a Mac, but at least they won't get attacked. For the rest of us know-it-alls, choose for yourself. For Grandma Whywontitwork, I'm recommending a Mac.
I'm not sure I trust the reporting. Wait, let me take some oxytocin....Ah, that's better. My, what a great news story! I can easily see how its conclusions fit reality.
Does that sound like they are giving up? Nope, they are still going to push for what they want, and what they think America (that is, the MPAA) "needs."
Oh yeah, Bill Gates is teh bomb.
I find screens fascinating. Just by looking at a screen, you can learn anything in the realm of human knowledge. There is no limit to the things one can learn by applying yourself to screens.
When writing, I find the word "of" to be a significant help in stringing together words into coherent sentences. I am so grateful to my elementary school teachers for introducing me to this wonderful word.
I cannot get the idea of death out of my mind. It haunts me, it consumes me, it puzzles me. I think about it endlessly.
Is there any wonder why I have a deep and abiding love for Windows?
But one thing that is lost from those old days is being part of a much more exclusive group. In the early 80s, NOBODY knew about computers 'cept us geeks. It was a tiny community and everyone knew (or knew of) everyone. All those names in the teaser trailer? Yup, I heard of 'em all, just about. So the one thing we don't have today is the small community. But that's OK. It just means the cool tech we discovered early is now being enjoyed by everyone.
Still, I do miss seeing the ASCII-art Fido dog...
We know what it is, and furthermore we know you know what it is. Expect a visit soon...
"What happened to the rest of me?!!"
"Linux Comparison
Get The Facts: Windows vs. Linux.
Read The Independent Analysis Now.
www.microsoft.com
Get the "facts"? "Independent" analysis? Haven't we had those lies debunked enought that they don't show up in ads on /.? And why does Google allow outright lies to be bought for as ads?
Well then, this is an excellent opportunity for Mr. McBride to apologize to the Linux community for his inadvertant slander. I have no doubt that such a man who has shown a constant willigness to reach out to the press will take an immediate opportunity to correct his mistake.
(Holding breath)
Now some sites become so weighed down by ads it's painful to look at the sites to try to read an article. Lots of "Next >>" links and blocks of flashy color in the middle of an article. Aaargh! Ah, so we escalate the battle by using the RSS feeds instead. Bliss! Just the news and nothing but the news!
Escalation part deaux: They provide ads in the RSS feeds. Aaargh! We block the ads. They hire hit men to kill us -- ok, maybe we haven't reached that stage yet. But man, I sure get tired of this war of advertising. You'd think they'd catch on that those of us running screaming the other way from ads might not be the best audience for said ads. But no, they think that if they force feed their ads to us, Clockwork Orange style, we'll actually buy their hated products!
And given the consumer bent of most people, they are sadly probably right.
And for those webmasters who use advertising to survive, may the Force be with you. I understand the bargain you make, and I will still read your sites, and if you find a particularly clever and targeted ad, why I might even view it. It's a complicated issue.
As the poster that began this particular thread, please note that I included the presence of the girl's older brother specifically to let the mom off the hook when it came to endangerment issues. Let us assume the older brother is 16 and fully capable of looking after his kid sister (when he's not busy watching his chopsockey videos)
"Hello?"
"Mommy, movie broke again."
"Honey, I told you that when I'm at work I cannot authorize, er unlock the movie for you."
"Mommy, I wanna watch my movie!"
"I know, sweetheart, but I can't come home until later. Please play with your toys until then, or let your older brother play one of his movies for you instead."
"Yuck! Hate "Kill, Kick, & Maim!" I wanna watch "Honeydumpling Sweethearts" again."
"I understand, but you'll have to wait."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
(Silently cursing DRM)
I'm serious. My G4/1GHz/1GB PB never has its fan go off unless I've been using it for a long time doing video work or something. Having my usual 3 or 4 apps open at the same time and doing text editing or web browsing never sets the fan off.
I never claimed my post was scientific evidence, just my personal experience and what I extrapolated from that personal experience. I certainly understand how someone who had a completely different experience would object, but it just isn't anything I've had to deal with.
I have owned several Macs, four in all, both desktop and laptop. None made a sound except when the fan came on, and that was hardly ever. So rare that it startles me when it happens because I have to remind myself what that sound was again. As for experience with PCs, how about decades? All I have to do is walk around the office to notice the dull roar of dozens of fans running non-stop from all the PCs.
Your experience is different? Very well, express it. But don't call me a troll just because I talked about my personal experience. Troll Disagreement. I stand by what I said, for this is what I have experienced and continue to experience.
I don't actually use Classic applications. Must make a difference, I guess.
Well, I'm going off my experience with my Powerbook, and it's silent. I agree that if it gets too warm the fan goes on and the fan is far from silent. But the fan on my Powerbook goes on about once every couple of months, if that.