> it's getting to the point where just READING email can actually spread a virus.
As a sysadmin, I remember replying to my users, when they asked me, in the "Good Times" era:
- "I received this warning from the Pope, FBI and IBM, and they are telling me there is a new widespread virus named "Good Times" that will infect everybody that opens that e-mail. Is that true ?" - "No, it's a hoax. You can't receive a virus simply by reading an e-mail. You have to deliberately execute a file containing a virus to be infected. There is no 'magic' virus that can spread by itself."
I had some users who had a really hard time to understand the concept of a virus.
Well, now the explanation is very much harder (hopefully the users will have more cluons by now )...
Now the explanation will go like this: -"There are some e-mails that run its code by themselves, but it just applies to a special HTML e-mail, that has some Visual Basic code and 'normal' e-mail remains safe." -"What ?"
Just to worsen the virus concept, there is a new exploit that gives a pretty good buffer overflow in Photoshop image files, when read by Irfan View 3.07 (yes, you can run another programs, virus, anything simply by opening a picture). [That appeared on Bugtraq yesterday, for those who don't read it.] So how can we explain to a user that a virus is a code that needs to be run?
-"OK. I think I grabbed the concept now. So a virus is a piece of executable code, right?" -"Exactly." -"So it can only infect executable files, right ? I can't get infected simply by, say, opening a picture, right?" -"Uh... not exactly... Well, yes, you can't be infected unless you're using a vulnerable picture viewer." -"What about text documents ?" -"They're safe, unless they use macros such as Word."
It reminds me of something we have here in Brazil. It's a pre-paid cellular phone. It works like this: You buy the cellular phone in any shop (for about US$ 125 - yes, you cannot throw that in a bucket of water) and you have some minutes of credit (I don't know the exact figures, as I don't own one).
When the credit expires, you simply "recharge" it, paying for more minutes. The scheme for recharging is very practical: once you pay for it (either in vending machines or via internet banking or on special ATMs, or even by phone), you are given a code. Just type in this code, press the ENTER key and you're ready for another round. You decide how much you are going to pay (and, therefore, how many minutes of conversation you have). It's very much like refueling a car.
Different from this one that has just been patented, this Brazilian model also receives calls. The good thing is that the owner of the cell. phone does not pay for incoming calls. The drawback is that outgoing calls are very expensive (US$ 0.70/min., flat). So it's a good thing to have if you want to be called but don't need to make many calls. The credits expire after some time, from 3 monthes to 1 year, depending on how much you paid. If you pay US$ 50, you can have it working for 1 year, provided you don't use it too much.
I guess when you receive such a signal, you have to "syncronize" that to form a picture. That means the equipment would have to be set for, say, 60Khz horizontal signal/100 Hz refresh rate.
Would hard-to-find resolutions/refresh (Eg. 1600x1200/120 Hz) make it harder to intercept ? IMO, the eavesdroper would have to have at least a monitor as good as that one, am I right ?
There is a neat Palmpilot program called Omniremote. I tested it and was able to control every equipment I wanted using IR. It does have a limited range, but I am able to control my stereo, TV and CD-Player from the other side of my room (~5 meters).
It has even be considered a security problem for some cars (I guess some Mercedes model) that use a IR code for unlocking the door. So people who had access to your key could copy it much more easily than a conventional key.
Well, a Palmpilot IIIe can be found for $179. So paying $300 for an All-in-one remote is WAY TOO MUCH .
Yes, the palmpilot does have a limited range. But I heard of a device that you can attach to it to amplify the IR Beam, thus greatly extending its range. I have no idea of the price, but I belive it will go for about $50. Anyone ?
Maybe they should sue Altavista for not having links acessible to the analphabets. Maybe they should sue Ford for not making cars for the blind. Or maybe the French government should sue universities that have English webpages (oh my, another deja vu )
"Once upon a time, I , Chuang-tzu, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering happily like a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chuang-tzu. Suddenly, I awakened, and there I lay, myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man." Chuang-tzu, sacred text of Taoism
You know games are getting more and more realistic. What if what we know as Earth is just the ultimate game, something so realistic that even includes realistic feelings and sensations and you belive to be alive? What if we wake up from this dream ?
The way things are going, maybe in about 300 we'll be more than able to induce sensations, dreams, and much more to the brain. How can we know we're not just an induced dream from a more advanced civilization ? Maybe it's a game. Maybe it's a test. Who knows?
Makes me wonder what we'll see when we wake up. But that's a pretty good simulator.:)
Slashdot Mirror
> it's getting to the point where just READING email can actually spread a virus.
As a sysadmin, I remember replying to my users, when they asked me, in the "Good Times" era:
- "I received this warning from the Pope, FBI and IBM, and they are telling me there is a new widespread virus named "Good Times" that will infect everybody that opens that e-mail. Is that true ?"
- "No, it's a hoax. You can't receive a virus simply by reading an e-mail. You have to deliberately execute a file containing a virus to be infected. There is no 'magic' virus that can spread by itself."
I had some users who had a really hard time to understand the concept of a virus.
Well, now the explanation is very much harder (hopefully the users will have more cluons by now )...
Now the explanation will go like this:
-"There are some e-mails that run its code by themselves, but it just applies to a special HTML e-mail, that has some Visual Basic code and 'normal' e-mail remains safe."
-"What ?"
Just to worsen the virus concept, there is a new exploit that gives a pretty good buffer overflow in Photoshop image files, when read by Irfan View 3.07 (yes, you can run another programs, virus, anything simply by opening a picture). [That appeared on Bugtraq yesterday, for those who don't read it.] So how can we explain to a user that a virus is a code that needs to be run?
-"OK. I think I grabbed the concept now. So a virus is a piece of executable code, right?"
-"Exactly."
-"So it can only infect executable files, right ? I can't get infected simply by, say, opening a picture, right?"
-"Uh... not exactly... Well, yes, you can't be infected unless you're using a vulnerable picture viewer."
-"What about text documents ?"
-"They're safe, unless they use macros such as Word."
It reminds me of something we have here in Brazil. It's a pre-paid cellular phone. It works like this: You buy the cellular phone in any shop (for about US$ 125 - yes, you cannot throw that in a bucket of water) and you have some minutes of credit (I don't know the exact figures, as I don't own one).
When the credit expires, you simply "recharge" it, paying for more minutes. The scheme for recharging is very practical: once you pay for it (either in vending machines or via internet banking or on special ATMs, or even by phone), you are given a code. Just type in this code, press the ENTER key and you're ready for another round. You decide how much you are going to pay (and, therefore, how many minutes of conversation you have). It's very much like refueling a car.
Different from this one that has just been patented, this Brazilian model also receives calls. The good thing is that the owner of the cell. phone does not pay for incoming calls. The drawback is that outgoing calls are very expensive (US$ 0.70/min., flat). So it's a good thing to have if you want to be called but don't need to make many calls. The credits expire after some time, from 3 monthes to 1 year, depending on how much you paid. If you pay US$ 50, you can have it working for 1 year, provided you don't use it too much.
It's becoming quite popular.
I guess when you receive such a signal, you have to "syncronize" that to form a picture. That means the equipment would have to be set for, say, 60Khz horizontal signal/100 Hz refresh rate.
Would hard-to-find resolutions/refresh (Eg. 1600x1200/120 Hz) make it harder to intercept ? IMO, the eavesdroper would have to have at least a monitor as good as that one, am I right ?
There is a neat Palmpilot program called Omniremote. I tested it and was able to control every equipment I wanted using IR. It does have a limited range, but I am able to control my stereo, TV and CD-Player from the other side of my room (~5 meters).
It has even be considered a security problem for some cars (I guess some Mercedes model) that use a IR code for unlocking the door. So people who had access to your key could copy it much more easily than a conventional key.
Well, a Palmpilot IIIe can be found for $179. So paying $300 for an All-in-one remote is WAY TOO MUCH .
Yes, the palmpilot does have a limited range. But I heard of a device that you can attach to it to amplify the IR Beam, thus greatly extending its range. I have no idea of the price, but I belive it will go for about $50. Anyone ?
They're not blind. They're visually impaired.
Maybe they should sue Altavista for not having links acessible to the analphabets.
Maybe they should sue Ford for not making cars for the blind.
Or maybe the French government should sue universities that have English webpages (oh my, another deja vu )
"Once upon a time, I , Chuang-tzu, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering happily like a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chuang-tzu. Suddenly, I awakened, and there I lay, myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man."
:)
Chuang-tzu, sacred text of Taoism
You know games are getting more and more realistic. What if what we know as Earth is just the ultimate game, something so realistic that even includes realistic feelings and sensations and you belive to be alive? What if we wake up from this dream ?
The way things are going, maybe in about 300 we'll be more than able to induce sensations, dreams, and much more to the brain. How can we know we're not just an induced dream from a more advanced civilization ? Maybe it's a game. Maybe it's a test. Who knows?
Makes me wonder what we'll see when we wake up. But that's a pretty good simulator.