For the purpose of argument, suppose that there is a God, and that he is the only God, and that he made all the rules. The only way to get to heaven is to obey all these rules. *
If everyone came up with a system of beliefs on their own, what is the probability that any would come up with the correct set, and therefore know the correct way to live in order to get to heaven? If this God loves the people, and wants them to get to heaven, wouldn't it make sense for him to find/invent ways to get more people to believe in him? Religion naturally has a tendancy to spread from one person to the next and to organize itself so that its message can be more effeciently spread. eg: I am quite sure I know the one Truth, and so naturally I am going to tell everyone I know (especially the ones I care about) that truth so that they can get to heaven. An organized religion is just one that a large group of people believe in.
However, I do believe that things can be carried to far. One person can gain too much power within the group, and begin to use that power for his own good, and not for the spreading of the religion to other people. ** A major example of this happened in the middle ages. The Catholics of the day were really into selling petitions (I'm not sure that is what they called them, though) that would get your loved ones out of pergatory. You paid some money to the priest, and he would give you a piece of paper that said the person you were petitioning for was forgiven of a specific sin, and could leave pergatory. This is not a concept that is in the Bible anywhere, but never the less, the religious leaders of the time duped nearly everyone into believing it. Only those who could read latin could read the Bible (because they said it was a sin to read the Bible in other languages) to find out that the Bible said nothing of these petitions. This is one of the points the Martin Luther's 99 thesis brought up.
Organized religion is not bad, but it can be corrupted just like any other organization. Yes, there are people who just blindly follow the religion that they were taught, and it's really sad. If they profess to be Christians, then I feel sorry for them because they don't know what they are missing, and they won't really benefit from it. The Bible says that they are as good as dead, essentially. (notice that there is a distinction between someone who is not a Christian and says that they are, and someone who is a Christian but doesn't say they are. I feel sorry for both, but the latter will go to heaven, the former will not.)
*: note that this is not actually what the Bible teaches! The Bible teaches that there is one God who created every thing, and that you get to heaven by _faith_, not just by following all the rules.
**: (ok, yea, in one sense religion is like a virus in that they both try to spread themselves, however religion can only spread if the person it is spreading to accepts it: religious beliefs can not really be forced on someone as a virus can, so it isn't really a virus.)
I just heard on the news that it was going on line, but that people had been having trouble accessing the site due to the large amount of traffic. The didn't say it explicitly, but could this be the Slashdot effect at work? That would be really awesome.
(yes, I know, this probably made it into other news shows at more reasonable times, but I've been asleep for 12 hours.)
Well, you see, thats just the point. It many times does benefit the consumer, because if you have a choice between 10 different brands or product X, there is competiton between the different brands to make the "best" product. The consumers then excercise their power by choosing the product they feel is "best", by what ever defination they choose (ie: quality vs price) If people don't buy your product there is a large incentive to make a better product, because that is in the best intrest of the company.
The real problem comes when one company dominates the market, like MS. There are supposed to be laws against such monopolistic practices, but they don't always work. (like this)
Generally though, people keep their appliances for many years because 1) they are rather large expenses to make every few years, 2) if it ain't broke, don't fix/replace it, and 3) they don't make em like they used to.
The only probablem with this is that you are now emulating windows. However, I do believe it is a good idea, as long as there is an easy way to get an open with type thing, so that I can override the default with out actually changing the default.
Yes, these are available. They hold approx 4 gigs, and work like an external drive, although I have never used one. Just write a prog to reformat the data as a "movie" ie each byte in your archive makes a byte in the bitmap for the frame, then just pretend like its a movie (it might even look cool) and save it to tape. Kinda a kludge, but it would work. You can also buy drives with software that provides easier access to the data.
It has been my experience that the skills needed to successfully conduct CT are quite teachable, given that the person whishing to learn the nessecary skills is motivated, has a minimum profiency with computers and network technology in general, and has access to the information required. There is also the additional requirement that they posses the correct hardware.
Motivation doesn't seem to be much of a problem with most terrorist groups, unfortunatly.
Contrary to popular belief, it does not take a genius to hack into a system. The genious factor only determines how quickly he is caught. However, at a minimum, a hacker must be able to think cleverly and be somewhat devious in order to be a successful hacker. Someone who can only follow the instructions of others won't be able to come up with a new solution when he encounters something new. It should also present an aspect of fun for the hacker. (Is a terrorist allowed to have fun? Does this make their crimes more heinous?) However, I think that this is fairly widespread knowledge.
In order to become a proficient hacker, you also need access to information about the inner workings of the systems you are attacking. A lot of this information can be found on the web, but nothing beats having a good Perl book or the users guide to the operating system by your side, in print. This is an area where a foriegn terrorist group may have trouble. Can they get the information they need? It is almost impossible to pay cash at an online bookstore, and many books are not available from your corner bookstore. I suppose it is again just a matter of motivation - these books can be purchased, you might just have to jump some hoops to get them.
As for hardware, this is relatively easy to get, because you can run Linux on nearly anything these days. The real problem is connectivity. In order to successfully mount an attack, your machine has to be physically connected to your victim's machine (obvoiusly). I really dont know how good connectivity is in most areas in the world (how easy is it to get connected to the net in Uzbekistan anyone?), but it seems that in many parts of the world, it might approach near impossibility. However, state sponsership could very easily ease this. The only other option is to actually base your operation in a country like the US where you can get connected for cheap. The only problem with this is that it may be a bit more difficult to remain anonymous.
So, to sum it up, yes, any decent, hardworking terrorist group can set up a CT "department" and succesfully attack virtualy anthing they want.
I'm not sure how help full this will be, because all it really amounts to are my random thoughts on the issue while doing a little "work" in the campus computer lab. If you are going to quote me, at least fix my spelling.
Not only that, but msdos.sys is a text file that controls windows, and it still uses config.sys and autoexec.bat, which come from before win 3.1. It also introduces another dosstart.bat. It runs this whenever you go to dos, so that it can load your real-mode cd-rom driver or whatever else you need in that session. There are many of them. The point though is that they already have most of the defaults correct for most situations, and windows provides easy ways for a program to modify these files during installation, so that the user rarely ever sees them. (I think Windows 3.1 did a better job here... everyone has had to go into the registery and fix it, but it used to be fairly rare in 3.1.
Yes, it does. Remarkably so, execpt that the programmer in the movie hadn't taken much time to assign specific icons to each of his files.
I remeber laughing out loud at that part in the theater. It was already pretty quiet (sorta suspensful) but it got REAL quiet there, at least for a few seconds.
No, the video card ROM just puts a call to a function in shadow ram in the vector list. This is what gets called by the interrupt. The functions that give you all the info mostly just point to a small block of shadow ram where you can read out the names of manufactures and version numbers, screen modes supported and stuff like that. The info is pretty cool. And I do believe the name of the monitor manufacture can be found in there, if the monitor supports it, but I don't really remeber.
Ok, yea here it is...
int 10: AX=4F15 BL=1 cx=dx=0 es:di=where you want the info to go
puts in 128 byte block at es:di manufacture, model, serial number, manufacture year and week, size of screen (in cm), gamma, timing, and some other stuff. Pretty cool!
No, the video card ROM just puts a call to a function in shadow ram in the vector list. This is what gets called by the interrupt. The functions that give you all the info mostly just point to a small block of shadow ram where you can read out the names of manufactures and version numbers, screen modes supported and stuff like that. The info is pretty cool. And I do believe the name of the monitor manufacture can be found in there, if the monitor supports it, but I don't really remeber.
I rember Ralph Brown's interrupt list had all the specs on it, but it is sorta an arcane way to go about it... (although someone eventually has to code it at the assembler level)
Talk about Big Brother... Thats even worse than the CIA part. Suppose that the school bully takes you lunch money just before your test, and so you go in angry, and hungy to boot, and so therefore slightly anti-social, and take this test that determines your fate as a geek for the rest of your life? Yikes, not for me. Also, what happens when people other than the CIA start to _find_ this info? creepy super-villan music/manicial laugh/
Hey guys, why does it filter out 's when you don't use a character entity? Could be hard to write 2 1 in plain text! (seems like the have to be matched, as well. Not only that, but previewing jacks them up.
I was just looking around, (KryoTech's product page) and while I was there, they updated their products page to include a 1Ghz AMD Athlon (K7) machine. It has links to a press release that they gave at a shareholder's meeting, and a Q&A session. Pretty cool stuff. It won't come out until the end of the year, but it will probably beat Intel to market. db48x@yahoo.com
Another note (even though I haven't read the other replies...) 900Mhz cordless phones just have a radio transmitter that is tuned to 900Mhz. Its compleatly analog for all I know. It really has very little to do with creating digital things at the same frequency. (There was an article on the AirPort for Macs, at 2.4 Ghz... same deal. It doesn't actually use a 2400Mhz chip, just a radio transmitter tuned to that freq.)
Well, perhaps the management just doesn't want to get egg in their face if there are any nasty bugs. I can see them taking quite a bit of persuasion to release it to the world at the drop of a hat, especially months before it has to be ready. They perhaps don't realize that it probably won't hurt their reputation much to release a buggy beta to the general public. I say give them a bit of a break, its their first try.
Slashdot Mirror
For the purpose of argument, suppose that there is a God, and that he is the only God, and that he made all the rules. The only way to get to heaven is to obey all these rules. *
If everyone came up with a system of beliefs on their own, what is the probability that any would come up with the correct set, and therefore know the correct way to live in order to get to heaven? If this God loves the people, and wants them to get to heaven, wouldn't it make sense for him to find/invent ways to get more people to believe in him? Religion naturally has a tendancy to spread from one person to the next and to organize itself so that its message can be more effeciently spread. eg: I am quite sure I know the one Truth, and so naturally I am going to tell everyone I know (especially the ones I care about) that truth so that they can get to heaven. An organized religion is just one that a large group of people believe in.
However, I do believe that things can be carried to far. One person can gain too much power within the group, and begin to use that power for his own good, and not for the spreading of the religion to other people. ** A major example of this happened in the middle ages. The Catholics of the day were really into selling petitions (I'm not sure that is what they called them, though) that would get your loved ones out of pergatory. You paid some money to the priest, and he would give you a piece of paper that said the person you were petitioning for was forgiven of a specific sin, and could leave pergatory. This is not a concept that is in the Bible anywhere, but never the less, the religious leaders of the time duped nearly everyone into believing it. Only those who could read latin could read the Bible (because they said it was a sin to read the Bible in other languages) to find out that the Bible said nothing of these petitions. This is one of the points the Martin Luther's 99 thesis brought up.
Organized religion is not bad, but it can be corrupted just like any other organization. Yes, there are people who just blindly follow the religion that they were taught, and it's really sad. If they profess to be Christians, then I feel sorry for them because they don't know what they are missing, and they won't really benefit from it. The Bible says that they are as good as dead, essentially. (notice that there is a distinction between someone who is not a Christian and says that they are, and someone who is a Christian but doesn't say they are. I feel sorry for both, but the latter will go to heaven, the former will not.)
*: note that this is not actually what the Bible teaches! The Bible teaches that there is one God who created every thing, and that you get to heaven by _faith_, not just by following all the rules.
**: (ok, yea, in one sense religion is like a virus in that they both try to spread themselves, however religion can only spread if the person it is spreading to accepts it: religious beliefs can not really be forced on someone as a virus can, so it isn't really a virus.)
I just heard on the news that it was going on line, but that people had been having trouble accessing the site due to the large amount of traffic. The didn't say it explicitly, but could this be the Slashdot effect at work? That would be really awesome.
(yes, I know, this probably made it into other news shows at more reasonable times, but I've been asleep for 12 hours.)
Well, you see, thats just the point. It many times does benefit the consumer, because if you have a choice between 10 different brands or product X, there is competiton between the different brands to make the "best" product. The consumers then excercise their power by choosing the product they feel is "best", by what ever defination they choose (ie: quality vs price) If people don't buy your product there is a large incentive to make a better product, because that is in the best intrest of the company.
The real problem comes when one company dominates the market, like MS. There are supposed to be laws against such monopolistic practices, but they don't always work. (like this)
Generally though, people keep their appliances for many years because 1) they are rather large expenses to make every few years, 2) if it ain't broke, don't fix/replace it, and 3) they don't make em like they used to.
The only probablem with this is that you are now emulating windows. However, I do believe it is a good idea, as long as there is an easy way to get an open with type thing, so that I can override the default with out actually changing the default.
Yes, these are available. They hold approx 4 gigs, and work like an external drive, although I have never used one. Just write a prog to reformat the data as a "movie" ie each byte in your archive makes a byte in the bitmap for the frame, then just pretend like its a movie (it might even look cool) and save it to tape. Kinda a kludge, but it would work. You can also buy drives with software that provides easier access to the data.
Or, a pair of eyeglasses that change tint color, or perhaps cycle continously.
Daniel
It has been my experience that the skills needed to successfully conduct CT are quite teachable, given that the person whishing to learn the nessecary skills is motivated, has a minimum profiency with computers and network technology in general, and has access to the information required. There is also the additional requirement that they posses the correct hardware.
Motivation doesn't seem to be much of a problem with most terrorist groups, unfortunatly.
Contrary to popular belief, it does not take a genius to hack into a system. The genious factor only determines how quickly he is caught. However, at a minimum, a hacker must be able to think cleverly and be somewhat devious in order to be a successful hacker. Someone who can only follow the instructions of others won't be able to come up with a new solution when he encounters something new. It should also present an aspect of fun for the hacker. (Is a terrorist allowed to have fun? Does this make their crimes more heinous?) However, I think that this is fairly widespread knowledge.
In order to become a proficient hacker, you also need access to information about the inner workings of the systems you are attacking. A lot of this information can be found on the web, but nothing beats having a good Perl book or the users guide to the operating system by your side, in print. This is an area where a foriegn terrorist group may have trouble. Can they get the information they need? It is almost impossible to pay cash at an online bookstore, and many books are not available from your corner bookstore. I suppose it is again just a matter of motivation - these books can be purchased, you might just have to jump some hoops to get them.
As for hardware, this is relatively easy to get, because you can run Linux on nearly anything these days. The real problem is connectivity. In order to successfully mount an attack, your machine has to be physically connected to your victim's machine (obvoiusly). I really dont know how good connectivity is in most areas in the world (how easy is it to get connected to the net in Uzbekistan anyone?), but it seems that in many parts of the world, it might approach near impossibility. However, state sponsership could very easily ease this. The only other option is to actually base your operation in a country like the US where you can get connected for cheap. The only problem with this is that it may be a bit more difficult to remain anonymous.
So, to sum it up, yes, any decent, hardworking terrorist group can set up a CT "department" and succesfully attack virtualy anthing they want.
I'm not sure how help full this will be, because all it really amounts to are my random thoughts on the issue while doing a little "work" in the campus computer lab. If you are going to quote me, at least fix my spelling.
Not only that, but msdos.sys is a text file that controls windows, and it still uses config.sys and autoexec.bat, which come from before win 3.1. It also introduces another dosstart.bat. It runs this whenever you go to dos, so that it can load your real-mode cd-rom driver or whatever else you need in that session. There are many of them. The point though is that they already have most of the defaults correct for most situations, and windows provides easy ways for a program to modify these files during installation, so that the user rarely ever sees them. (I think Windows 3.1 did a better job here... everyone has had to go into the registery and fix it, but it used to be fairly rare in 3.1.
Daniel
Yes, it does. Remarkably so, execpt that the programmer in the movie hadn't taken much time to assign specific icons to each of his files.
I remeber laughing out loud at that part in the theater. It was already pretty quiet (sorta suspensful) but it got REAL quiet there, at least for a few seconds.
No, the video card ROM just puts a call to a function in shadow ram in the vector list. This is what gets called by the interrupt. The functions that give you all the info mostly just point to a small block of shadow ram where you can read out the names of manufactures and version numbers, screen modes supported and stuff like that. The info is pretty cool. And I do believe the name of the monitor manufacture can be found in there, if the monitor supports it, but I don't really remeber.
Ok, yea here it is...
int 10:
AX=4F15
BL=1
cx=dx=0
es:di=where you want the info to go
puts in 128 byte block at es:di manufacture, model, serial number, manufacture year and week, size of screen (in cm), gamma, timing, and some other stuff. Pretty cool!
No, the video card ROM just puts a call to a function in shadow ram in the vector list. This is what gets called by the interrupt. The functions that give you all the info mostly just point to a small block of shadow ram where you can read out the names of manufactures and version numbers, screen modes supported and stuff like that. The info is pretty cool. And I do believe the name of the monitor manufacture can be found in there, if the monitor supports it, but I don't really remeber.
I rember Ralph Brown's interrupt list had all the specs on it, but it is sorta an arcane way to go about it... (although someone eventually has to code it at the assembler level)
Daniel
Talk about Big Brother... Thats even worse than the CIA part. Suppose that the school bully takes you lunch money just before your test, and so you go in angry, and hungy to boot, and so therefore slightly anti-social, and take this test that determines your fate as a geek for the rest of your life? Yikes, not for me. Also, what happens when people other than the CIA start to _find_ this info? creepy super-villan music/manicial laugh/
Hey guys, why does it filter out 's when you don't use a character entity? Could be hard to write 2 1 in plain text! (seems like the have to be matched, as well. Not only that, but previewing jacks them up.
I was just looking around, (KryoTech's product page) and while I was there, they updated their products page to include a 1Ghz AMD Athlon (K7) machine. It has links to a press release that they gave at a shareholder's meeting, and a Q&A session. Pretty cool stuff. It won't come out until the end of the year, but it will probably beat Intel to market. db48x@yahoo.com
Another note (even though I haven't read the other replies...) 900Mhz cordless phones just have a radio transmitter that is tuned to 900Mhz. Its compleatly analog for all I know. It really has very little to do with creating digital things at the same frequency. (There was an article on the AirPort for Macs, at 2.4 Ghz... same deal. It doesn't actually use a 2400Mhz chip, just a radio transmitter tuned to that freq.)
They really just want to use gcc and stuff, so that they can support their servers at msn.com and hotmail.
hehe...
db48
Well, perhaps the management just doesn't want to get egg in their face if there are any nasty bugs. I can see them taking quite a bit of persuasion to release it to the world at the drop of a hat, especially months before it has to be ready. They perhaps don't realize that it probably won't hurt their reputation much to release a buggy beta to the general public. I say give them a bit of a break, its their first try.