You should send a similar letter to the heads of the RIAA and MPAA. I'd be interested to see their responses to it. This isn't something "arguable," so they can't hide behind their "poor starving artists" arguments or anything pathetic like that.
Do your research; it's a little more complicated than that. The index.dat files in Windows are not deleted when you clear your cache and history, you can't even touch them under normal circumstances, and when you do delete them, they reappear on the next reboot. If you still don't understand what I'm talking about, look at the contents of those files.
Does anyone remember those annoying little "undeletable" index.dat files that Windows keeps for no apparent reason? Ya know, the ones that log each and every website you've ever visited? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but with the NSA's recent actions, I think Microsoft would see this as the perfect opportunity to start sending those directly to Big Brother on a daily basis.
Exception: If you've given someone the link to your public profile from AIM (Facebook suggests you put the link in your AIM profile, but you can give it to anyone), then you're screwed, because those links never change AFAIK.
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Param eters\PersistentRoutes, at least on the Windows XP machine I'm testing on. (But I suspect that's not the only location.) After using the command, you should see a key with a value like 207.46.0.0,255.255.0.0,192.168.0.254,1.
Unfortunately, this does mean that it would be rather trivial for Microsoft to bypass or remove this "blockade" in future updates, but nobody ever said you absolutely had to install those updates...
Who said this was supposed to be "professional and maintainable"? I don't think I specified that at all, despite how you may have interpreted it. I offered this as a fun quick fix for a home user just to piss of M$ as much as possible - nothing more. If you're looking for something professional and maintainable, try not using Microsoft products at all.
Or better yet, you can just prevent those packets from ever reaching their destination.
The DOS command route -p add 207.46.0.0 mask 255.255.0.0 [192.168.0.254] (replace the address in brackets with a random address on your current subnet) will permanently route all would-be "phone home" packets to the random address that you specified.
... You could also, of course, use a firewall, but where's the fun in that?;-)
Of course Symantec horse is biting the hand of the man that feeds it, but only because the horse knows that very soon (after a few more delays, I should say) the man won't need that horse anymore! This could be a lawsuit intended to delay the shipping of Vista.
More delays = Longer time until Microsoft's bundled security = More Symantec products sold
2. Throwing the college campus dragnet may result in catching file-sharing but it sets the tone for how these students perceive the industry for the rest of their lives, and it's going to be adversarial in this light.
Exactly! What the RIAA seems to not realize is that the very demographic they are targeting is the same demographic that will someday create the legislation which makes or breaks their post-retirement livelihood.
If I were the RIAA, I'd be hiring the kids who are "stealing" music, not crucifying them.
... there is no law in the land that will stop this from progressing.
There may not be a law that should stop the case from progressing, but that's assuming we live in a perfect world where judges and juries make infallible decisions and cannot be corrupted by politicians, big business advocates and the like. In the real world, we have quite a different situation. Yes, legally I do believe that this case should continue, and I certainly hope that it will. However, there's nothing to stop the judicial system from making the wrong decision. What if it does?
In theory, a malicious user could exploit this vulnerability in a routine that's already calling that particular series of instructions. In practice, however, I think it would be nearly impossible to do anything useful, because you'll have no control over the values being written to memory; you'll just know that they aren't correct.
... that is, if you install Windows first. I've had several successful experiences with Linux/Windows dual boots, but you do have to take precautions in doing it just right. I've found that your best option is usually to install the Linux boot loader on top of Windows, so that Windows essentially doesn't know that its far superior boxmate is actually in charge.
That's highly unlikely (though I wouldn't put it past the US government to at least attempt it). The NSA would have to 1) find all of the Tor servers, 2) somehow monitor them individually for unencrypted connections, and 3) follow each and every encrypted connection to its endpoint - extremely difficult on a connection that completely changes its route every ten minutes.
Have you ever tried Xandros? IMHO, it's got all of those features, plus a free version is available. It's meant for Linux newbies, but powerful enough to hold its own in an expert's hands.
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You should send a similar letter to the heads of the RIAA and MPAA. I'd be interested to see their responses to it. This isn't something "arguable," so they can't hide behind their "poor starving artists" arguments or anything pathetic like that.
No, they probably employed a firewall that required both hands to operate.
I say we just nuke Taiwan. It's a small place, right? We must make sacrifices for the greater good...
Do your research; it's a little more complicated than that. The index.dat files in Windows are not deleted when you clear your cache and history, you can't even touch them under normal circumstances, and when you do delete them, they reappear on the next reboot. If you still don't understand what I'm talking about, look at the contents of those files.
Does anyone remember those annoying little "undeletable" index.dat files that Windows keeps for no apparent reason? Ya know, the ones that log each and every website you've ever visited ? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but with the NSA's recent actions, I think Microsoft would see this as the perfect opportunity to start sending those directly to Big Brother on a daily basis.
"All your blog are belong to us!" --The EFF
Exception: If you've given someone the link to your public profile from AIM (Facebook suggests you put the link in your AIM profile, but you can give it to anyone), then you're screwed, because those links never change AFAIK.
It's in the Registry:
m eters\PersistentRoutes, at least on the Windows XP machine I'm testing on. (But I suspect that's not the only location.) After using the command, you should see a key with a value like 207.46.0.0,255.255.0.0,192.168.0.254,1.
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Para
Unfortunately, this does mean that it would be rather trivial for Microsoft to bypass or remove this "blockade" in future updates, but nobody ever said you absolutely had to install those updates...
If you're running Linux, you probably have no reason to block phone-home connections to Microsoft. ;-)
Who said this was supposed to be "professional and maintainable"? I don't think I specified that at all, despite how you may have interpreted it. I offered this as a fun quick fix for a home user just to piss of M$ as much as possible - nothing more. If you're looking for something professional and maintainable, try not using Microsoft products at all.
Or better yet, you can just prevent those packets from ever reaching their destination.
... You could also, of course, use a firewall, but where's the fun in that? ;-)
The DOS command route -p add 207.46.0.0 mask 255.255.0.0 [192.168.0.254] (replace the address in brackets with a random address on your current subnet) will permanently route all would-be "phone home" packets to the random address that you specified.
I'm seriously considering thoroughly forsaking Microsoft when Vista rolls around.
You mean you haven't done this already?
Of course Symantec horse is biting the hand of the man that feeds it, but only because the horse knows that very soon (after a few more delays, I should say) the man won't need that horse anymore! This could be a lawsuit intended to delay the shipping of Vista.
More delays = Longer time until Microsoft's bundled security = More Symantec products sold
You get the picture.
They were just waiting for a chance to get it passed, and 9/11 was the perfect opportunity.
Yeah, maybe if by "opportunity" you mean "execution". Ever seen the Loose Change videos?
... and thought, "Please let it include a scroll wheel..."?
Just because it isn't scientific doesn't mean it isn't interesting news. Nor does it mean that the theory is necessarily bunk.
2. Throwing the college campus dragnet may result in catching file-sharing but it sets the tone for how these students perceive the industry for the rest of their lives, and it's going to be adversarial in this light.
Exactly! What the RIAA seems to not realize is that the very demographic they are targeting is the same demographic that will someday create the legislation which makes or breaks their post-retirement livelihood.
If I were the RIAA, I'd be hiring the kids who are "stealing" music, not crucifying them.
... there is no law in the land that will stop this from progressing.
There may not be a law that should stop the case from progressing, but that's assuming we live in a perfect world where judges and juries make infallible decisions and cannot be corrupted by politicians, big business advocates and the like. In the real world, we have quite a different situation. Yes, legally I do believe that this case should continue, and I certainly hope that it will. However, there's nothing to stop the judicial system from making the wrong decision. What if it does?
In theory, a malicious user could exploit this vulnerability in a routine that's already calling that particular series of instructions. In practice, however, I think it would be nearly impossible to do anything useful, because you'll have no control over the values being written to memory; you'll just know that they aren't correct.
Speaking of George Bush, I think I'd like to "shadow" his job for a few days. Think they'd allow me to make a few changes during my time in office?
... Does it run Linux?
Changing launch dates for a major product? They must be copying Microsoft's marketing strategy for Vista!
Oh, wait...
... that is, if you install Windows first. I've had several successful experiences with Linux/Windows dual boots, but you do have to take precautions in doing it just right. I've found that your best option is usually to install the Linux boot loader on top of Windows, so that Windows essentially doesn't know that its far superior boxmate is actually in charge.
That's highly unlikely (though I wouldn't put it past the US government to at least attempt it). The NSA would have to 1) find all of the Tor servers, 2) somehow monitor them individually for unencrypted connections, and 3) follow each and every encrypted connection to its endpoint - extremely difficult on a connection that completely changes its route every ten minutes.
Have you ever tried Xandros? IMHO, it's got all of those features, plus a free version is available. It's meant for Linux newbies, but powerful enough to hold its own in an expert's hands.