Increasing versus Improving security
on
Real Security?
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· Score: 2, Insightful
Are we increasing security too much, so that the users circumvent it?
By "increased security", do you mean increased security measures, or the increased security of the resulting system?
If the resulting system is secure because of good security measures, then not every idiot can wander in.
On the other hand, if you mean just increased security measures, which, apparently aren't resulting in a more secure system, then the "security people" are idiots for using weak security mechanisms over and over again, in a hope of increasing the overall security of the system.
Improved security measures may not be large in number, but result in a secure system. You're better off using 1 strong encryption scheme rather than 4 weak ones.
Good point there: about the automation/commoditization of jobs. Infact, given the automation and machination of work, this process can be traced back through history.
The earliest of men hunted for food, since that was the only way they could survive. With the discovery of other tools, however, people took to development of those tools (blacksmiths/potters, etc), and as farming/hunting tools grew more efficient, only a subset of the population was required to do that work.
Then, people developed faster/more efficent ways to make those tools, so only a subset of the population was required to produce them, while others moved on to other occupations/hobbies: astronomy/philosophy/religion, etc. These people were more free to do what they pleased, because they didn't have to worry about basic survival, and were respected for what they did, by the common people.
Following that to more modern times, transportation was machinized, so less people/animals had to toil through to make transportation possible. Manufacturing was machinized, so lesser and lesser people had to do, what were now considered menial occupations.
And finally onto our century....it's happened with manufacturing/engineering, and the US...since it IS the richest country (for better or for worse) has always moved on to develop even better technologies to make life better for the world at large. Who knows Biology may be next. I know many people who are choosing to study Bio{engineering | informatics | logy} or do research in the field.
Wow, this theory really seems to work. I never discussed it with anybody till I posted it here--GillBates's Law.
As for my handle, I didn't go to UST, so it can't be me. The handle GillBates is already taken, however, which is why I had to append the zero.
I had a long discussion about this topic with my brother-in-law who works on Wall Street. This was the essence of his take (and apparently other of his colleagues') on the issue.
As an economy (such as that of the US) grows, the quality of life and jobs of the population increases/improves.
The quality of jobs necessarily means the type of work that the population is willing to do. Jobs which were considered white-collar, and high quality slowly sink, and are no longer considered so as people get wealthier (I am talking about the entire population here--the average).
The country then looks to exporting those jobs, so that it's population can work on something better...maybe higher level jobs.
That is what happened to manufacturing...it was considered a menial process, and shipped out to China, while the higher quality jobs (management, etc) were retained in the US of A.
That is what is happening to software/IT now. I thought it was an interesting take on the issue, in which case, it is just one of the pitfalls in the process of economic evolution of the industry.
He said software companies were working with the authorities on the problem, but the police were more concerned about controlling pornography.
If, indeed, the police are treating this issue as secondary to illegal pornography, then I would say they are on the right track.
Not that I am against pr0n as such, but a lot of human suffering goes into producing much of it, especially much of the cheap, street quality stuff. Most of the characters are drugged/coerced into performing by their overlords, any many do it out of necessity, in order to get their square meals. Most of them are prostitutes, who were forced in by pimps/etc.
So, to end the rant, I think the police have their priorities right, if they're more worried about stopping the pr0n racket than protecting the rights of a multi-billion dollar company.
I highly recommend
on
Eating in Space
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
the Space Station 3D movie in IMAX theaters. A must see if you are even remotely interested in space...or 3D movies for that matter.
I, for one, was amazed at the clarity and crispness of the scenes filmed inside the ISS. I have seen other 3D IMAX movies too: Ghosts of the Abyss,etc...but this one beats them all by a huge factor.
I know for sure it is (or was) running in Atlanta (Mall of GA), DC (Smithsonian Air and Space Museum) and Boston (Aquarium IMAX) last year. Google for it...definetly worth the effort. A few reviews and clips here.
Somehow, whenever I see a book (or review thereof) with a lot of words like infrastructure, framework,case study, component, in-house,my buzz-word radar goes up. I have given up reading many a book lately, just because I hate the wordiness that goes in to describing the concepts/theory.
And lately, I have started looking at Java as a corporate-hep buzzword too, not to mention.NET, and a hoarde of other ones.
Whatever happened to the concise, well-written, to the point books of a few years ago. Kernigan/Ritchie's C book comes to mind, though it was a C Reference Manual.
"But worms are always going to be able to infect a lot more interesting machines than individual intruders are." Moreover, before reaching an ATM network, a human attacker would likely encounter more alluring high-finance targets along the way. "They're going to have to go through a lot of juicer networks first."
Just the fact that ATM machines are reachable from the public Internet is a huge cause of concern to me. A VPN connection without an intervening firewall at the ATM machine itself (which they claim they are installing now) is plain ridiculous.
You are then just hoping that none of the insiders will try to sabotage the machines, either knowingly, or unknowingly because of an infected laptop etc. They have to realize that VPN is a VIRTUAL PRIVATE network, and NOT a dedicated line, and hence, security measures have to be MUCH more stronger than if it was a REAL private connection. Does it take rocket science to figure that out?
And then there's that quote from the " Windows expert and "chief hacking officer" that malocious hackers will probably not go for ATM machines, even though they are reachable/hackable, because of other "jucier targets", presumably the bank network itself. Most malicious hackers would do it just for the fun of making an ATM machine spew out cash, if they figure out they can make it do that. That is a very lame assumption from a security expert.
And finally, for your reading convenience, here's an earlier/. story which mentions that 65% of the ATMs will be running a stripped down version of Windows by 2005.
Man, every time I see a story like this (and about the RIAA, DMCA, the Patriot Act, the misdoings of the Dept. of Homeland Security), I go one notch up in believing John Titor.
The link to that site has been posted quite a few times in/.'s discussions. He claimed that he was a Time Traveller from 2036. Among the "predictions" he made back in 2000, was the Black hole research at CERN, the Chinese Man mission, the Iraq war, the Columbia disaster, and most importantly the VAST increase in powers that the US Government gave itself to suppress citizens.
The last one supposedly leads to a US Civil war in 2004. I might have laughed at his posts in 2000, but with these more and more frightening developments, I can't help but wonder.
But then, Google News lists 66 sources for the same story, while MSNNewsBot links to about 10, so it's hard to say if they're intentionally boycotting our popular Anti-MS site.
I would really love to see their news site regularly updated with/.'s Microsoft headlines:) That'll be fun to watch
The huge benefit is that you can return here whenever you like, login to your personal account from anywhere in the world, e.g. Internet cafe, airport, hotel room or even on the move using your PDA, Mobile Phone or Laptop PC and express your thoughts, your love and your appreciation.
Can I access their service from heaven? I think that's a value-addition they should definetly consider. In that case I will put off signing up till my afterlife.
How about a CPU instruction which outputs the required amount of energy? It would take as input, the number of watts to be generated as input, and produce the desired amount of energy as output.
For example: LDI %eax, 5// Put input value in %eax GENPOW %eax, [I/O port address]//Power output port
would generate 5 watts of power to the I/O port specified in the instruction.
This may very well be the solution to all our energy problems. Each home could have it's own power generator. I better patent it while I can.
I don't know much about law/the justice system, but WHY THE FUCK haven't we seen the government/any other body take action against SCO, for it's actions which seem so painfully obviously wrong, unfair and plain fuckin' evil, and which have been growing steadily worse for the past 9 months?
I'm posting this as a reply to my message, since a couple people were interested in knowing good locations for Aurora watching around Boston:
From what I read on the www.spacew.com website (they have a forum) before it went down, Wachussets mountain (near Princeton, MA) is a GOOD place to look for Auroras. It's on 290.
Another good resource I found was: www.darksky.com, which has about 5-6 good locations for sky watching in Mass. I wasn't sure of the places listed there (click on Dark Sky Finder on the site), so I may stick with Wachussets Mountain. Looks like the best bet.
I'm trying to hunt down some local space-watcher's group in the Boston area, who can recommend the best location/time to watch the expected Auroras tonight.
you took the words straight outta my mouth.....I feel that way every single time I read up something about the universe/astronomy....just makes our problems/wars etc feel small and insignificant.
When using your Q switched Nd:YAG laser at the campgrounds, always practice safety. Surround your laser with rocks to keep the fire from spreading. Be sure when you're done with your Q switched Nd:YAG laser to put it out with a bucket of water and make sure it has stopped smoking before you leave the area.
Remember what Smokey the Bear says. Only you can prevent your Q switched Nd:YAG laser from starting a forest fire.
Slashdot Mirror
If you're really looking for a 'perfect gift' for people new new to the net...
*chuckle* *chuckle*
*hee* *hee* *hee*
*snicker* *snicker*
okay, minute's up, back to work.
By "increased security", do you mean increased security measures, or the increased security of the resulting system?
If the resulting system is secure because of good security measures, then not every idiot can wander in.
On the other hand, if you mean just increased security measures, which, apparently aren't resulting in a more secure system, then the "security people" are idiots for using weak security mechanisms over and over again, in a hope of increasing the overall security of the system.
Improved security measures may not be large in number, but result in a secure system. You're better off using 1 strong encryption scheme rather than 4 weak ones.
The earliest of men hunted for food, since that was the only way they could survive. With the discovery of other tools, however, people took to development of those tools (blacksmiths/potters, etc), and as farming/hunting tools grew more efficient, only a subset of the population was required to do that work.
Then, people developed faster/more efficent ways to make those tools, so only a subset of the population was required to produce them, while others moved on to other occupations/hobbies: astronomy/philosophy/religion, etc. These people were more free to do what they pleased, because they didn't have to worry about basic survival, and were respected for what they did, by the common people.
Following that to more modern times, transportation was machinized, so less people/animals had to toil through to make transportation possible. Manufacturing was machinized, so lesser and lesser people had to do, what were now considered menial occupations.
And finally onto our century....it's happened with manufacturing/engineering, and the US...since it IS the richest country (for better or for worse) has always moved on to develop even better technologies to make life better for the world at large. Who knows Biology may be next. I know many people who are choosing to study Bio{engineering | informatics | logy} or do research in the field.
Wow, this theory really seems to work. I never discussed it with anybody till I posted it here--GillBates's Law.
As for my handle, I didn't go to UST, so it can't be me. The handle GillBates is already taken, however, which is why I had to append the zero.
As an economy (such as that of the US) grows, the quality of life and jobs of the population increases/improves.
The quality of jobs necessarily means the type of work that the population is willing to do. Jobs which were considered white-collar, and high quality slowly sink, and are no longer considered so as people get wealthier (I am talking about the entire population here--the average).
The country then looks to exporting those jobs, so that it's population can work on something better...maybe higher level jobs.
That is what happened to manufacturing...it was considered a menial process, and shipped out to China, while the higher quality jobs (management, etc) were retained in the US of A.
That is what is happening to software/IT now. I thought it was an interesting take on the issue, in which case, it is just one of the pitfalls in the process of economic evolution of the industry.
And yes, I am not an economist.
hey, i paid good money for that stuff....and just so you know, it's NOT 'miserable, horrible stuff': it's great, high quality pr0n.
If, indeed, the police are treating this issue as secondary to illegal pornography, then I would say they are on the right track.
Not that I am against pr0n as such, but a lot of human suffering goes into producing much of it, especially much of the cheap, street quality stuff. Most of the characters are drugged/coerced into performing by their overlords, any many do it out of necessity, in order to get their square meals. Most of them are prostitutes, who were forced in by pimps/etc.
So, to end the rant, I think the police have their priorities right, if they're more worried about stopping the pr0n racket than protecting the rights of a multi-billion dollar company.
I, for one, was amazed at the clarity and crispness of the scenes filmed inside the ISS. I have seen other 3D IMAX movies too: Ghosts of the Abyss,etc...but this one beats them all by a huge factor.
I know for sure it is (or was) running in Atlanta (Mall of GA), DC (Smithsonian Air and Space Museum) and Boston (Aquarium IMAX) last year. Google for it...definetly worth the effort. A few reviews and clips here.
I, for one,
welcome our
new cybernetic
poet overlords.
and would love to use it to access Hilary Rosen's content.
- - - - ..
I, for one, welcome our new European overlords.
And lately, I have started looking at Java as a corporate-hep buzzword too, not to mention .NET, and a hoarde of other ones.
Whatever happened to the concise, well-written, to the point books of a few years ago. Kernigan/Ritchie's C book comes to mind, though it was a C Reference Manual.
Just the fact that ATM machines are reachable from the public Internet is a huge cause of concern to me. A VPN connection without an intervening firewall at the ATM machine itself (which they claim they are installing now) is plain ridiculous.
You are then just hoping that none of the insiders will try to sabotage the machines, either knowingly, or unknowingly because of an infected laptop etc. They have to realize that VPN is a VIRTUAL PRIVATE network, and NOT a dedicated line, and hence, security measures have to be MUCH more stronger than if it was a REAL private connection. Does it take rocket science to figure that out?
And then there's that quote from the " Windows expert and "chief hacking officer" that malocious hackers will probably not go for ATM machines, even though they are reachable/hackable, because of other "jucier targets", presumably the bank network itself. Most malicious hackers would do it just for the fun of making an ATM machine spew out cash, if they figure out they can make it do that. That is a very lame assumption from a security expert.
And finally, for your reading convenience, here's an earlier /. story which mentions that 65% of the ATMs will be running a stripped down version of Windows by 2005.
The link to that site has been posted quite a few times in /.'s discussions. He claimed that he was a Time Traveller from 2036. Among the "predictions" he made back in 2000, was the Black hole research at CERN, the Chinese Man mission, the Iraq war, the Columbia disaster, and most importantly the VAST increase in powers that the US Government gave itself to suppress citizens.
The last one supposedly leads to a US Civil war in 2004. I might have laughed at his posts in 2000, but with these more and more frightening developments, I can't help but wonder.
An interesting read nevertheless.
For example the latest SCO story links to the /. headline as one of the sources.
On the other hand, the same story on MSN NEWSbot does not provide a link to the /. headline.
But then, Google News lists 66 sources for the same story, while MSNNewsBot links to about 10, so it's hard to say if they're intentionally boycotting our popular Anti-MS site.
I would really love to see their news site regularly updated with /.'s Microsoft headlines :) That'll be fun to watch
Can I access their service from heaven? I think that's a value-addition they should definetly consider. In that case I will put off signing up till my afterlife.
its the undo button.
Well, here's hoping that something like CERN's black holes will eventually help us build a time machine.
*fingers crossed*
gnaa, penis bird and ascii-goatse trolls to prove their worth! go guys, make /. proud of you.
Posted as AC by mistake
// Put input value in %eax //Power output port
How about a CPU instruction which outputs the required amount of energy? It would take as input, the number of watts to be generated as input, and produce the desired amount of energy as output.
For example:
LDI %eax, 5
GENPOW %eax, [I/O port address]
would generate 5 watts of power to the I/O port specified in the instruction.
This may very well be the solution to all our energy problems. Each home could have it's own power generator. I better patent it while I can.
I don't know much about law/the justice system, but WHY THE FUCK haven't we seen the government/any other body take action against SCO, for it's actions which seem so painfully obviously wrong, unfair and plain fuckin' evil, and which have been growing steadily worse for the past 9 months?
The Fart Poem....
At times it is silent, at times it is not
at times it sneaks out and burns oh so hot!
When you'd like it to happen, it just won't come out
it hides and it waits till you're out and about!
The evil ones reek and embarrass us so
then laugh as they trail us wherever we go!
I know it's a function we can't live without,
but on a first date must they really come out??
Men light them on fire - it amuses them so
women fight to be quiet so that no one will know.
I can't figure why after eating good food
the smell that results could kill many a dude!
So here's to the fart, our warm smelly friend
you begin in my tummy, then come out my rear-end!
http://www.curlydavid.com/fartp.html
I'm posting this as a reply to my message, since a couple people were interested in knowing good locations for Aurora watching around Boston:
From what I read on the www.spacew.com website (they have a forum) before it went down, Wachussets mountain (near Princeton, MA) is a GOOD place to look for Auroras. It's on 290.
Another good resource I found was:
www.darksky.com, which has about 5-6 good locations for sky watching in Mass.
I wasn't sure of the places listed there (click on Dark Sky Finder on the site), so I may stick with Wachussets Mountain. Looks like the best bet.
Hope this helps.
I'm trying to hunt down some local space-watcher's group in the Boston area, who can recommend the best location/time to watch the expected Auroras tonight.
you took the words straight outta my mouth.....I feel that way every single time I read up something about the universe/astronomy....just makes our problems/wars etc feel small and insignificant.
:(
oh well, back to work
When using your Q switched Nd:YAG laser at the campgrounds, always practice safety.
Surround your laser with rocks to keep the fire from spreading. Be sure when
you're done with your Q switched Nd:YAG laser to put it out with a bucket of water and make
sure it has stopped smoking before you leave the area.
Remember what Smokey the Bear says. Only you can prevent your Q switched Nd:YAG laser from starting a forest fire.