I would put up a stack of them on top of a large pile of firewood and put them into their final resting in flames.
But you can always extract the disks themselves and use them for target practice or build something funny. Use the disks as wheels for toys for children maybe?
Anyway - it also depends on how old the drives are. If they are using the old ST412/ST506 interface (One narrow and one wide flat cable on a 5.25" disk) they are normally having really good stepper motors and a lot of other goodies in them too. You can always low-level format them by booting MS-DOS and in debug enter G=C800:5 (can be a different address on some controller BIOS:es too, so your mileage may vary)
And if you by old mean that you have 8" or even wider disks (like the RA60) then you should contact your local computer museum instead. Never mind wiping those disks - you will hardly find anyone that's able to do anything with them anyway... The information is surely outdated.
Or you can drill a hole in the disk, start it and pour in some fine sand and then shake the disk... I wouldn't even consider rescuing such a disk.
Many Obama supporters I talked to on primary day mentioned that they were planning to support Ron Paul or vote against a candidate in the Republican party because they didn't believe Obama needed their support.
This is an interesting and important aspect - because this means that what is important is not to get the most number of votes in the primary elections - only a sufficient number to be able to continue. Obama is still in the "race".
Personally I think that Obama is representing the new generation (as did Bill Clinton when he came to office), and some people compares Obama with Kennedy. But ultimately - it's not the history you should compare yourself with - it's the people of your time. One thing I think Obama really can make a difference in is foreign affairs. He may not have the formal experience - but that's not all that counts. I think that just because he doesn't represent the "standardized" US president model he has a better chance to make a difference - especially when it comes to countries where the US has a strained relation.
But since this is a question of the US there are so many factors to count on that you can't tell anything for sure. I just wonder how many voted for George W Bush because he shares the name with his father who also was a president.
And from my outside view I would rate the presidents of the later years:
Gerald Ford - not very remarkable, mostly known for pardoning Nixon.
Jimmy Carter - Had a little too much of bad luck (Iranian embassy), but tried to defuse the middle east in the Camp David talks. At least he earned some respect outside the US.
Ronald Reagan - Big mouth and stretching the military muscles - somewhat surprising there was no third world war!
George Bush - Gulf War, but pulled out before annoying too many others.
Bill Clinton - Not very remarkable in politics, but not too bad - mostly made a fool of himself in the Lewinsky affair... And to the rest of the world those prosecuting him were the greater fools. Caused the term "Oral Office" to be invented.
George W Bush - A weak wannabe - mostly a face put up to display and ruled by the forces that he inherited from his father. He will probably have to take the beating in the history books...
This will probably be modded as flamebait and will draw as much flames as petrol on charcoal
For more conspiracy fodder, are the Clintons really stupid enough to have a hand in this?
No - it's more about the fact that C comes before O in the alphabet. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a case of "when failure occurs - pick first record". Of course - that is easily modified for each election day by a software upgrade. It's like picking off the cents rounding errors in a bank and insert them into your account. The sum will grow slowly but steadily and noone will notice unless a detailed study is made. (Yes it has already happened).
And - no - being Canadian is no problem. There is a lot of non-US people on/. expressing their opinion... (myself included).
And actually - from a distance it really doesn't matter if Obama or Clinton wins - any of them will mark a milestone in the US history if one of them comes into office. And in my opinion both has what it takes to get through with it. The Republicans seems to be in the backwater here - none of the candidates are really providing anything fresh - the only requirements for a candidate seems to be that you are anti-abortion, religious (preferably a baptist or something similar) and for a foreign policy backed by the military. (And NOW I will get flamed...)
I would surely recommend you to indulge yourself in C programming on embedded devices. It is a completely different thing compared to C++ or Java. It really requires you to think over your design several times, first to get it to do what you want - then you figure out that your program is too large and then you lack some functionality so you have to start over again - and finally ending up with assembly...
The other end of the spectrum is also important and that is system architect problem solving. This means that you have to see a system on a larger scope and not only the lines of code that are written. Many modern systems has to integrate with a lot of different systems using a variety of protocols. The whole range from custom-designed file-based exchange of data using FTP to CORBA with IDL and Web Services with WSDL. And don't forget XSD/DTD/XML.
The more you learn the more you know that you don't know.
is soon a problem that's no more if the fuel prices starts going up as they have.
And anyway - the majority of people boarding an airplane aren't going to blow it up.
The metal detectors in use are a relatively good way of detecting weapons. Use of other detectors to sniff out nitrate compounds is the best option. Of course - there are explosives that aren't based on nitrogen compounds - but they are rarer. Removal of any lighters and matches will also be a good step - but it's harder to detect.
And handle the transportation of tax-free alcohol differently - don't allow it as hand luggage - transport it in a way where it can be picked up at the destination instead. (it would actually be convenient not having to carry around the bottles everywhere...) Glass bottles are really awesome weapons and alcohol is flammable so you have it all... The limits on water bottles and soda is just stupid. You may be able to harm somebody with a plastic bottle - but you will get a plastic knife - or even metal knife along with the inflight meal which may prove a much better weapon. But don't resort to serve pee-warm soup in a cardboard cup just because of the risk the kitchenware may pose. A large cup of water and an emergency ration will do as well;-)
And try to not annoy your passengers - flying feels more and more like cattle transportation...
Maybe everyone that's flying should resort to a complete body-shave, wear a skin-tight swimsuit and moccasins whenever passing through the security checkpoint and see how the security persons react... OK - maybe someone will consider that "indecent behavior" or something instead...
From a security point of view the security would be best if all persons were required to wear only airline-issued bodysuits before boarding, but that would sure cause one hell of an outrage. Get naked, drop your clothes and other items into a box and put on a bodysuit. No big difference from the prison system...
No wonder some people tries to get drunk before boarding...
I would advocate for scripting in client-side javascript on your homepages. The script shall only do a few calls (at most 10) using some random names.
This will cause a random distributed load and make it very hard to track if the requests are valid or not. Especially if a JavaScript timer is used to allow for a delay between each request, which will cause the request to look like it's an ordinary user doing it.
Why use a dictionary? There is a really good password generator that can generate passwords that looks like words (not all words - but at a good frequency.)
Then write an applet that runs on your homepage that in turn starts to do lookups against those names. Make the applet a bit nice so it isn't considered a DoS attack. A few seconds delay between each nslookup/whois call.
This applet can be used to target other domain name front runners too so it will render the current strategy of buying domain names automatically rather hopeless.
Just for the sake of it maybe everyone shall do whois searches of the most popular criminal outfits - preferably those with tastes for the extreme and then send a postcard to the outfits and see what happens...
The IT department is still useful - there still has to be a few people that has to know which buttons to push, where the cables are routed and have a broad knowledge of strange phenomena that can occur for no apparent reason.
And actually - an IT department is the lubrication of the computer services. 90 percent of the time it's just bread and butter like handling backups, tending printers and managing user accounts. The other 10 percent is more interesting - it is the question of resolving problems, rescuing data, handle computer security and crawling into unknown spaces finding the correct cable.
Especially the security measures are important in today's world of ever-changing threats. It is important to be able to perform some swift responses to resolve problems. This in turn requires a thorough understanding of the system installations.
Show me a business where the IT department isn't needed and I will see a stagnant or dying business. You may be able to outsource some functions, but then you have an IT department - just not on site - and with extended response time.
But that doesn't mean that it actually benefits your business to outsource.
The problem with outsourcing things like the IT department is that as long as it's part of the business the IT people is "always" there - and they can do some other minor jobs too if they have time. And usually problems are fixed relatively fast. (but not always documented)
In an outsourced environment the user has to log a case and then wait for the outsourced IT department to pick it up. This IT department is probably reduced in personnel compared to the business IT department which means that there will always be a queue. And when the outsourced IT department guy finally shows up he can take a look and say - OH! - That's not an IT department problem - that's a XXX problem and we don't do these... Usually the outsourced IT departments are drained of competence too so you will get the guy with maybe some obscure MS certification but no experience in the business to try to solve your problem.
And it doesn't matter what your agreements with the outsourcing company says - the competence goes down and the overhead of the operation goes up when you outsource.
As a result - don't try to measure your IT department by the means of productivity on their part. If you see them sitting down relaxing - relax - there are no problems. If you can't find them - start to worry. If they are running like hell - it's panic time. See the IT department as the fire department for computer management - they may show up from time to time to do some proactive work. Proactive work usually doesn't look like much - but it may actually make a difference when something happens because at that time they probably know every corner of the building better than most people.
And yes - range is an issue, but considering the availability of a SAM battery and a machinegun it's a lot easier to set up a machinegun or even a sniper rifle in the flightpath of an airliner and punch some holes in the aircraft. It will sure cause one hell of a racket when the officials try to figure out when and where the bullet holes originated.
The whole idea behind terrorism is not the effect itself but the aftereffects of canceled flights and a lot of stressed up officials closing highways and sure cause a lot of nuisance for ordinary people. And also scare ordinary people "flying IS dangerous to your health".
I can think of other ways too, but then the terrorist handbook hunters will take a too great interest.
And still - more people die from other causes every year than from aircraft accidents. (cars, suicide, smoking, gunshot wounds (Dick Cheney), diseases, etc...). Sooner or later you will end up at the Darwin Awards deaths too, but they are actually a little more rare than aircraft accidents - but more hilarious.
Simple modification is to skip all the intelligent target tracking and go ballistic. Requires more of the shooter. There are also systems that are wire-operated and lead to the target by the shooter. The range of weapons are too wide to provide any reasonable protection. And just about any machinegun, but probably not a submachinegun will do a job of causing problems for a modern airliner. Only difference is that it may require that the shooter is a bit closer to the target.
So it's just a waste of money and it will only cause the below average Joe to feel a bit safer...
She was asked if it was okay for a consumer who legally purchased a track to make a copy of that track. She responded by saying that's a "nice way of saying -- steals one copy."
Which means that the competence level and possibly also IQ of the RIAA and their attorneys are at a new low. Can't any court make a quick kill on all these cases by dismissing such cases in a way that it will be almost impossible to get such cases even brought to court?
It clearly shows us that they aren't even aware of the fair use clause - or want it removed.
A vote counter could be done in 1980:s technology using Basic - except that you may want to use more than a 16 bit integer to count the votes or you will get a rollover into negative after 32767 votes. Not a big problem...
Anyway - when it comes to voting machines the requirements should be that they are mathematically verifiable for correctness. This essentially rules out Windows CE and a lot of other systems. Mostly since the complexity of those systems are too large.
Both formats are outdated when it comes to counting capacity compared to current sizes of hard disks. When the CD appeared it was 650MB and the largest hard disk (if you could afford one) at the time were 100MB, which caused the CD to have a 6:1 advantage, but today a hard disk is of 1TB while the Blu-ray (if you are lucky) have 50GB of storage which means that there is a 1:20 disadvantage. And flash disks are now catching up on the optical disks - so the era of optical disk players may soon be begone and the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD may be an appendix in history.
The upcoming victim are probably the classic hard disk where the flash disks (or similar) may also take over eventually. The reason behind such transition is that solid state disks can have a much better reliability and speed - especially in harsh environments like laptops, but also servers may benefit here.
I know a state can't leave the Union, but can the rest of the states kick them out? Or at the very least Boston? I know I'd feel safer if the Gay State wasn't part of the Union...
Hmmm... I thought San Fransisco was known for the homosexuals and that's in California, and by the way Boston is a city, not a state.
But whatever - the "bomb scare" is sometimes real, but the really evil bombs doesn't look like bombs - they can be just about anything - and definitely not look like the bombs you see in the movies where you have flashing LED:s and a counter. Just go figure what that says about the person that made the bomb alert call...
An example of bombs to look for are Bicycle Bombs, but I would recommend that you don't harass your local delivery boy... They aren't that frequent. Car bombs are commonplace in some parts of the world since they pack more punch - but they are also easier to filter. There are many more variants (Hamburger bomb?, Dogshit bomb?), but I think that you get the figure - the one that gets you is not the one you see...
And don't forget; "bomb-makers have been known to sustain severe injuries if they are holding the device when it explodes" - Quote from Wikipedia.
is probably the cause for this - it doesn't matter if there is any substance to the content or if the filing is denied as long as it makes it to the papers - which will provide free advertisement for Apple. "Them guys ain't dumb"
The irony is that even Slashdot bought it - but maybe I shouldn't be surprised anymore...
The basic idea about a keyboard that can get programmed to display different text on the keycaps aren't really new - the difference is that the technology is better today. But the use is limited - only a few doing writing in multiple international languages/character sets will really benefit from this in a real keyboard. For ordinary people it's easier to buy a secondary keyboard and switch whenever necessary.
But in specialized applications the use of programmable keytops may be really useful. Think cash registers and other kinds of devices.
we will look back into these moments with a whiff of nostalgia while the snowcaps are melting...
It is actually worth to consider that in western society the internet and it's services has changed the way we live - you are now a second grade citizen if you don't have broadband internet access. The people that have internet access can get access to a lot more information - not only wikipedia but also lunch menus phonebooks and instant communication services that were in it's infancy just five years ago. For example Skype did on a good day maybe kiss the one million mark of online users but now it's rarely below the five million mark and is about to kiss the ten million mark.
The internet services and identity troubles that have arisen is something that is growing concerns. Of course - identity theft isn't something new but it's easier on a global scale today. However it isn't only about protecting your identity from being exposed - it is also about allowing it to get correctly verified. The ability to verify the identity of a person by cross-checking the data with other systems is an important factor when doing transactions. Of course - sometimes you want to do anonymous transactions - but that isn't a big problem.
And one item that has been up during the last year is all the bank frauds. Especially the Nordea case which got wide-spread publicity. This was caused by a substandard technique for user verification. And we are going to see more and more cases of intrusions into our bank accounts, which is worrying - but the important thing is that the banks must take responsibility for providing the best possible protective measures without making it overly complex for the users. The threats when doing bank transactions isn't only in the classical hacking but there are also the man in the middle attack and the man in the browser attack. The later is actually circumventing any encryption scheme which means that it doesn't matter how good your encryption is. A verification of the transaction has to be done by different means - and one way that is reasonably safe is by using a token (that isn't connected to the computer) with a challenge/response where the challenge data is user friendly (for example the account that money shall be sent to). This will still allow a criminal to read your data but make it a lot harder to actually modify your bank account unless the criminal has access both to the token algorithm and the secret key of the token. The one-time password tokens that are only generating a random number aren't sufficient since they does only verify the fact that you have the token - but that doesn't verify if the data you send along with the transaction isn't being compromised.
Of course - this means that you will still have to be on the forefront when it comes to protect your identity verification data, and that you actually shall demand of your bank and other online services that they provide you with good protective measures. However it also means that the public services also has to take measures to protect the citizens by having a reasonable setup where risk assessment has been done.
The more worrying part is that in many cases "security" actually resolves to "citizen monitoring" in a way that brings into mind the actions of Stasi and other similar agencies. This is actually counter-productive and is not doing any good at all for the citizens. It's like fishing for cod with a net sized for sharks - you may occasionally get a catch - but probably not the catch you expected or wanted. Just the publicity around the monitoring has caused the big criminals to think twice before doing anything that might be recorded and tracked. It doesn't mean that there aren't anyone communicating through the net for criminal reasons - just that the methods got a lot more covert. Type an online entry here as a blog comment, make a posting in slashdot - and sometimes encode a message into it through
Slashdot Mirror
But you can always extract the disks themselves and use them for target practice or build something funny. Use the disks as wheels for toys for children maybe?
Anyway - it also depends on how old the drives are. If they are using the old ST412/ST506 interface (One narrow and one wide flat cable on a 5.25" disk) they are normally having really good stepper motors and a lot of other goodies in them too. You can always low-level format them by booting MS-DOS and in debug enter G=C800:5 (can be a different address on some controller BIOS:es too, so your mileage may vary)
And if you by old mean that you have 8" or even wider disks (like the RA60) then you should contact your local computer museum instead. Never mind wiping those disks - you will hardly find anyone that's able to do anything with them anyway... The information is surely outdated.
Or you can drill a hole in the disk, start it and pour in some fine sand and then shake the disk... I wouldn't even consider rescuing such a disk.
Personally I think that Obama is representing the new generation (as did Bill Clinton when he came to office), and some people compares Obama with Kennedy. But ultimately - it's not the history you should compare yourself with - it's the people of your time. One thing I think Obama really can make a difference in is foreign affairs. He may not have the formal experience - but that's not all that counts. I think that just because he doesn't represent the "standardized" US president model he has a better chance to make a difference - especially when it comes to countries where the US has a strained relation.
But since this is a question of the US there are so many factors to count on that you can't tell anything for sure. I just wonder how many voted for George W Bush because he shares the name with his father who also was a president.
And from my outside view I would rate the presidents of the later years:
This will probably be modded as flamebait and will draw as much flames as petrol on charcoal
If everybody refuses to use Diebold equipment they are soon out of business.
A more annoying alternative is to post small signs "This is a Diebold machine - use at own risk" on or near their machines.
The other end of the spectrum is also important and that is system architect problem solving. This means that you have to see a system on a larger scope and not only the lines of code that are written. Many modern systems has to integrate with a lot of different systems using a variety of protocols. The whole range from custom-designed file-based exchange of data using FTP to CORBA with IDL and Web Services with WSDL. And don't forget XSD/DTD/XML.
The more you learn the more you know that you don't know.
And anyway - the majority of people boarding an airplane aren't going to blow it up.
The metal detectors in use are a relatively good way of detecting weapons. Use of other detectors to sniff out nitrate compounds is the best option. Of course - there are explosives that aren't based on nitrogen compounds - but they are rarer. Removal of any lighters and matches will also be a good step - but it's harder to detect.
And handle the transportation of tax-free alcohol differently - don't allow it as hand luggage - transport it in a way where it can be picked up at the destination instead. (it would actually be convenient not having to carry around the bottles everywhere...) Glass bottles are really awesome weapons and alcohol is flammable so you have it all... The limits on water bottles and soda is just stupid. You may be able to harm somebody with a plastic bottle - but you will get a plastic knife - or even metal knife along with the inflight meal which may prove a much better weapon. But don't resort to serve pee-warm soup in a cardboard cup just because of the risk the kitchenware may pose. A large cup of water and an emergency ration will do as well ;-)
And try to not annoy your passengers - flying feels more and more like cattle transportation...
Maybe everyone that's flying should resort to a complete body-shave, wear a skin-tight swimsuit and moccasins whenever passing through the security checkpoint and see how the security persons react... OK - maybe someone will consider that "indecent behavior" or something instead...
From a security point of view the security would be best if all persons were required to wear only airline-issued bodysuits before boarding, but that would sure cause one hell of an outrage. Get naked, drop your clothes and other items into a box and put on a bodysuit. No big difference from the prison system...
No wonder some people tries to get drunk before boarding...
"whois microsoft-suckers.com" will reveal...
This will cause a random distributed load and make it very hard to track if the requests are valid or not. Especially if a JavaScript timer is used to allow for a delay between each request, which will cause the request to look like it's an ordinary user doing it.
But instead of making a script that runs on your machine - make an applet or a client side javascript.
Checking 09-F9-11-02-9D-74-E3-5B-D8-41-56-C5-63-56-88-C0 on http://www.networksolutions.com/domain-name-registration/index.jsp will reveal that it is taken...
Then write an applet that runs on your homepage that in turn starts to do lookups against those names. Make the applet a bit nice so it isn't considered a DoS attack. A few seconds delay between each nslookup/whois call.
This applet can be used to target other domain name front runners too so it will render the current strategy of buying domain names automatically rather hopeless.
Just for the sake of it maybe everyone shall do whois searches of the most popular criminal outfits - preferably those with tastes for the extreme and then send a postcard to the outfits and see what happens...
And actually - an IT department is the lubrication of the computer services. 90 percent of the time it's just bread and butter like handling backups, tending printers and managing user accounts. The other 10 percent is more interesting - it is the question of resolving problems, rescuing data, handle computer security and crawling into unknown spaces finding the correct cable.
Especially the security measures are important in today's world of ever-changing threats. It is important to be able to perform some swift responses to resolve problems. This in turn requires a thorough understanding of the system installations.
Show me a business where the IT department isn't needed and I will see a stagnant or dying business. You may be able to outsource some functions, but then you have an IT department - just not on site - and with extended response time.
The problem with outsourcing things like the IT department is that as long as it's part of the business the IT people is "always" there - and they can do some other minor jobs too if they have time. And usually problems are fixed relatively fast. (but not always documented)
In an outsourced environment the user has to log a case and then wait for the outsourced IT department to pick it up. This IT department is probably reduced in personnel compared to the business IT department which means that there will always be a queue. And when the outsourced IT department guy finally shows up he can take a look and say - OH! - That's not an IT department problem - that's a XXX problem and we don't do these... Usually the outsourced IT departments are drained of competence too so you will get the guy with maybe some obscure MS certification but no experience in the business to try to solve your problem.
And it doesn't matter what your agreements with the outsourcing company says - the competence goes down and the overhead of the operation goes up when you outsource.
As a result - don't try to measure your IT department by the means of productivity on their part. If you see them sitting down relaxing - relax - there are no problems. If you can't find them - start to worry. If they are running like hell - it's panic time. See the IT department as the fire department for computer management - they may show up from time to time to do some proactive work. Proactive work usually doesn't look like much - but it may actually make a difference when something happens because at that time they probably know every corner of the building better than most people.
Correction: machine gun.
And yes - range is an issue, but considering the availability of a SAM battery and a machinegun it's a lot easier to set up a machinegun or even a sniper rifle in the flightpath of an airliner and punch some holes in the aircraft. It will sure cause one hell of a racket when the officials try to figure out when and where the bullet holes originated.
The whole idea behind terrorism is not the effect itself but the aftereffects of canceled flights and a lot of stressed up officials closing highways and sure cause a lot of nuisance for ordinary people. And also scare ordinary people "flying IS dangerous to your health".
I can think of other ways too, but then the terrorist handbook hunters will take a too great interest.
And still - more people die from other causes every year than from aircraft accidents. (cars, suicide, smoking, gunshot wounds (Dick Cheney), diseases, etc...). Sooner or later you will end up at the Darwin Awards deaths too, but they are actually a little more rare than aircraft accidents - but more hilarious.
"No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting."
So it's just a waste of money and it will only cause the below average Joe to feel a bit safer...
It clearly shows us that they aren't even aware of the fair use clause - or want it removed.
Berkeley has produced a document that's even more specifically addressing the voting machine verification.
Anyway - when it comes to voting machines the requirements should be that they are mathematically verifiable for correctness. This essentially rules out Windows CE and a lot of other systems. Mostly since the complexity of those systems are too large.
Just curious since I can't vote - but is there legal room that allows it?
What about disabled people that for some reason can't use a voting machine - what are their options?
Both formats are outdated when it comes to counting capacity compared to current sizes of hard disks. When the CD appeared it was 650MB and the largest hard disk (if you could afford one) at the time were 100MB, which caused the CD to have a 6:1 advantage, but today a hard disk is of 1TB while the Blu-ray (if you are lucky) have 50GB of storage which means that there is a 1:20 disadvantage. And flash disks are now catching up on the optical disks - so the era of optical disk players may soon be begone and the era of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD may be an appendix in history.
The upcoming victim are probably the classic hard disk where the flash disks (or similar) may also take over eventually. The reason behind such transition is that solid state disks can have a much better reliability and speed - especially in harsh environments like laptops, but also servers may benefit here.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth" (Mt. 5:4)
But whatever - the "bomb scare" is sometimes real, but the really evil bombs doesn't look like bombs - they can be just about anything - and definitely not look like the bombs you see in the movies where you have flashing LED:s and a counter. Just go figure what that says about the person that made the bomb alert call...
An example of bombs to look for are Bicycle Bombs, but I would recommend that you don't harass your local delivery boy... They aren't that frequent. Car bombs are commonplace in some parts of the world since they pack more punch - but they are also easier to filter. There are many more variants (Hamburger bomb?, Dogshit bomb?), but I think that you get the figure - the one that gets you is not the one you see...
And don't forget; "bomb-makers have been known to sustain severe injuries if they are holding the device when it explodes" - Quote from Wikipedia.
The irony is that even Slashdot bought it - but maybe I shouldn't be surprised anymore...
The basic idea about a keyboard that can get programmed to display different text on the keycaps aren't really new - the difference is that the technology is better today. But the use is limited - only a few doing writing in multiple international languages/character sets will really benefit from this in a real keyboard. For ordinary people it's easier to buy a secondary keyboard and switch whenever necessary.
But in specialized applications the use of programmable keytops may be really useful. Think cash registers and other kinds of devices.
It is actually worth to consider that in western society the internet and it's services has changed the way we live - you are now a second grade citizen if you don't have broadband internet access. The people that have internet access can get access to a lot more information - not only wikipedia but also lunch menus phonebooks and instant communication services that were in it's infancy just five years ago. For example Skype did on a good day maybe kiss the one million mark of online users but now it's rarely below the five million mark and is about to kiss the ten million mark.
The internet services and identity troubles that have arisen is something that is growing concerns. Of course - identity theft isn't something new but it's easier on a global scale today. However it isn't only about protecting your identity from being exposed - it is also about allowing it to get correctly verified. The ability to verify the identity of a person by cross-checking the data with other systems is an important factor when doing transactions. Of course - sometimes you want to do anonymous transactions - but that isn't a big problem.
And one item that has been up during the last year is all the bank frauds. Especially the Nordea case which got wide-spread publicity. This was caused by a substandard technique for user verification. And we are going to see more and more cases of intrusions into our bank accounts, which is worrying - but the important thing is that the banks must take responsibility for providing the best possible protective measures without making it overly complex for the users. The threats when doing bank transactions isn't only in the classical hacking but there are also the man in the middle attack and the man in the browser attack. The later is actually circumventing any encryption scheme which means that it doesn't matter how good your encryption is. A verification of the transaction has to be done by different means - and one way that is reasonably safe is by using a token (that isn't connected to the computer) with a challenge/response where the challenge data is user friendly (for example the account that money shall be sent to). This will still allow a criminal to read your data but make it a lot harder to actually modify your bank account unless the criminal has access both to the token algorithm and the secret key of the token. The one-time password tokens that are only generating a random number aren't sufficient since they does only verify the fact that you have the token - but that doesn't verify if the data you send along with the transaction isn't being compromised.
Of course - this means that you will still have to be on the forefront when it comes to protect your identity verification data, and that you actually shall demand of your bank and other online services that they provide you with good protective measures. However it also means that the public services also has to take measures to protect the citizens by having a reasonable setup where risk assessment has been done.
The more worrying part is that in many cases "security" actually resolves to "citizen monitoring" in a way that brings into mind the actions of Stasi and other similar agencies. This is actually counter-productive and is not doing any good at all for the citizens. It's like fishing for cod with a net sized for sharks - you may occasionally get a catch - but probably not the catch you expected or wanted. Just the publicity around the monitoring has caused the big criminals to think twice before doing anything that might be recorded and tracked. It doesn't mean that there aren't anyone communicating through the net for criminal reasons - just that the methods got a lot more covert. Type an online entry here as a blog comment, make a posting in slashdot - and sometimes encode a message into it through