Posts by Yorick Hunt

Yet another UK public sector data blab, this time info of pregnant women, cancer patients

Re: CTRL+F

So am I.

Lessons need to be learnt!

Cisco intros AI to find firewall flaws, warns this sort of thing can't be free

"warns this sort of thing can't be free"

So the bugs and vulnerabilities are provided free of charge even on the base model devices, but security fixes/patches/upgrades "can't be free?" Same old, same old, eh?

I'd much rather have security provided free of charge, with bugs and vulnerabilities being offered as an optional extra. I'd even be happy to pay $500 a month on a five-year contract for bugs!

Citrix pulls the plug on its User Group Community

User self-help?

Preposterous!

We can't have users helping each other on a community forum, we need to monetise this!

CISA details twin attacks on federal servers via unpatched ColdFusion flaw

Cold Fusion?

The technology most of the world abandoned when Macromedia was dragged under the waves by the apex predator? Esoteric doesn't mean invulnerable. Still, it could've been worse - they could've been using WordPress.

UEFI flaws allow bootkits to pwn potentially hundreds of devices using images

I was savagely downvoted when I made this observation regarding XP vs Win10/11, but this is the same scenario...

When you have a known insecure platform (BIOS or XP), you know to take measures to secure it. But when you're told "trust us, this is ultra secure, don't ask questions" (UEFI or Win10/11), you're not only lulled but forced to accept their claims - only to eventually realise that they were full of political promises.

Scores of US credit unions offline after ransomware infects backend cloud outfit

By the sounds of it, this setup wasn't particularly cloudy - more like a low-lying fog.

US lawmakers have Chinese LiDAR on their threat-detection radar

Translation:

"Our carmakers don't have/can't use this kind of technology, and we don't want them to be outcompeted by some foreign country who isn't 'in our orbit'"

Plex gives fans a privacy complex after sharing viewing habits with friends by default

Re: Media Server?

Teach your octogenarian mother (or grandmother - I don't know how old you are) how to use VLC to access media from a network share (and not call you each and every time she wants to watch something) and I'll buy you a dozen pints of your prefered libation.

I remember there being extensive discussions about handling Anime in the subreddit; you need to change the data scrapers for that library to ones that are Anime-specific.

Re: "on by default"

As Microsoft, Google, Meta (and many others) have shown, just because you can set an option to enable privacy, doesn't mean you'll actually get privacy.

Just like peeing yourself whilst wearing black trousers - you'll get a warm feeling, but the net result is inconsequential if not detrimental.

"the list of your content is paginated in the browser because they can't or won't do an endless-scrolling type arrangement"

The new "Jellyfin Vue" sub-project is a new web UI re-written from scratch to give a completely new take on presentation. Still experimental, so only worth playing with if you have time on your hands.

"my only gripe is that it doesn't seem to be able to handle libraries - e.g. for Anime - that contain both TV shows and films; it's one or the other"

When creating a new library, there IS a type labelled "Mixed Films and Programmes," which might serve your needs - but it's a relatively new option and I haven't tried it, so don't take this as an endorsement - just an observation.

The Reddit Sub was abandoned by the development team a while back (when Reddit controversially changed their policies), but it still exists and has a mountain of useful info & hints. The Jellyfin forum is far less informative alas, as nobody saw any reason to re-post what was previously posted to Reddit.

Jellyfin all the way

Sadly undernourished financially precisely because it doesn't use such underhanded funding manoeuvres, it manages to do precisely what it should do - without any privacy compromises.

Trio of major holes in ownCloud expose admin passwords, allow unauthenticated file mods

PMSL

Is this the same group who laughed at me when I questioned why the admin username was hard-coded and couldn't be renamed or disabled?

A known admin username is trivial in the greater security realm, but their attitude spoke volumes of their attitude towards security and robustness.

Stop shaming service providers for outages, argues APNIC chief scientist

Re: Indeed...

I was actually referring to the level of customer service that Dodo is known for - absolutely pathetic by any metric, but ultimately no worse than that provided by Sloptus.

There WAS a time when Optus was a capable provider/carrier, but those days ceased back in the (very) early 2000s.

Indeed...

... Don't blame the ISPs, blame the carriers - but in this case the two are conveniently one and the same.

All I've been able to do when thinking about this fiasco was PMSL, in utter disbelief that there are still idiots willing to entrust Sloptus with anything. Even Dodo's given them a run for their money, and that's really saying something.

New Relic warns customers it's experienced a cyber … something

The trackers becoming the trackees... Pass the popcorn, please!

Cisco whips up modded switch to secure Ukraine grid against Russian cyberattacks

GLONASS.

US nuke reactor lab hit by 'gay furry hackers' demanding cat-human mutants

Re: Idaho National laboratory

They already have - one of them's leading the Australian Liberals.

Former infosec COO pleads guilty to attacking hospitals to drum up business

"It reminds me of the early 1990s when a certain anti-virus vendor was suspected of creating viruses to further the sales of their product."

I remember that well, but no names mentioned out of respect for the deceased.

CEO of self-driving cab outfit Cruise parks his career

All full?

When the teat of venture capital starts drying up, it's time to have a long burp and count the takings (before possibly moving on to the "next big thing" venture).

Clorox CISO flushes self after multimillion-dollar cyberattack

"Best Practices"

Just like other fads, "best practices" are revised on a seemingly daily basis, as the real world confronts the la-la land of the corporate world.

Rather than investing grey matter into actually locking a network down, it's far easier for those with more titles than qualifications to simply grab off-the-shelf black box solutions, citing (when the inevitable happens) "best practices" as their excuse.

Whether the CISO was dismissed or fell on her own sword is irrelevant; she'll turn up in a similar role at a similar company within weeks if not days. All while being less capable than the average teenage nerd in the realm of network security.

AI chemist creates catalysts to make oxygen using Martian meteorites

Re: Oh?

The idea is to test the process using Mars-sourced materials here, then send the equipment to Mars for in-situ testing (and potentially ongoing use).

How long would the testing process last if for each iteration they had to send new equipment to Mars?

Impatient LockBit says it's leaked 50GB of stolen Boeing files after ransom fails to land

Re: Scan the data for corruption

OK Hillary, no use posting anonymously; we know it's you and we know you'll be forever bitter.

Re: Scan the data for corruption

That's a pretty hefty arse-umption you have there; did my use of multisyllabic words and lack of spelling or grammatical mistakes not give me away as a non-Septic?

"MSM" is known throughout the world (yes, even outside of the anglosphere) as the acronym for "mainstream media;" if the news sources where you live don't refer to this acronym, you're likely getting your news from the wrong sources.

Re: Scan the data for corruption

How exactly did Wikileaks fail?

Try to use factual information, not something you heard from MSM.

Qualcomm and Iridium's satellite link-up loses signal

Not to worry...

... Huawei's Mate 60 already works perfectly with satellite connectivity, and gamers (for whom Qualcomm's offerings are the pinnacle) don't need it.

Tipsy tongues tell all: How your sloshed speech could snitch to Siri

Way to go!

I spent my years at uni doing copious amounts of alcohol "research," but these guys have taken it to a new level!

Google dragged to UK watchdog over Chrome's upcoming IP address cloaking

Now's a perfect time...

... To put both the plaintiffs and the defendants in a locked room so they can engage in some mediation... And blow the room up!

It's perfectly legal for cars to harvest your texts, call logs

Re: Consent

Maxwell Smart was on the right track with the Cone of Silence™

Robot mistakes man for box of peppers, kills him

Who cares about interlocks?

I almost lost my hand years ago in a filling machine, the exuberance of youth leading me to believe that diagnosis would be much quicker if I simply bypassed the safety switches. We live and learn. But this guy was no spring chicken, what was his excuse?

BTW, they're called capsicums.

You can buy personal info of US military staff from data brokers for just 12 cents a pop

Well it's a good thing they banned TikTok.

Getting someone's name, date of birth, address, medical records and religious practices is one thing, but finding out if they prefer cat videos or dog videos is just over the top!

Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals

Freudian typo?

"Now, Amazon has committed to stop doing less of that."

It may appear to simply be a typo resulting in a double negative, but I'll bet my left gonad that Spamazon will do PRECISELY that - keep doing what it's doing.

Apple slams Android as a 'massive tracking device' in internal slides revealed in Google antitrust battle

Pot... Kettle...

Cauldron...

I suppose the army of marketers they employ need to be doing something, even if only creating an infinite number of PowerPoint (or Keynote as the case may be) slides.

FBI boss: Taking away our Section 702 spying powers could be 'devastating'

Professional burglar: "allowing homeowners to install alarms and/or security cameras would be devastating."

Just one in ten UK orgs have significant AI investment plan

You're taking about corporate executives - they're probably struggling to decide on which colour of AI they should choose.

As the saying goes, "all hope abandon..."

It took seven years but over-40s fired by HP win $18m settlement

Re: They wonder...

"I like to make myself indispensible to the younger folks, it keeps me employed"

Spaghetti code and zero documentation, tried and true ;-)

"You need to be the lion using your big paws to guide the cubs while they make mistakes and figure things out."

Indeed, but the problem here isn't with the young blood in the technical team - it's with the clueless young blood (young only by capacity, not by age) infesting management.

I can handle a manager of any age not having the slightest idea about technical aspects, as long as they're willing to listen to those who know - but once they jump on their "I'm a manager, I know everything" saddle, I'm out.

More's the pity for these folks who didn't have the ability/desire/forethought to leave other avenues open for themselves; it's been MANY decades since corporations last placed any value on loyalty.

They wonder...

... why HP went from being at the front of the IT world to just a box mover aspiring to compete against China and Taiwan...

Get rid of the experienced, competent staff and replace them with McDonald's graduates, and this is what happens - sliding into obscurity.

Wayland heading for default status as Mint devs mix it into Cinnamon 6 bun

I've always hated xfce - compact and nimble is nice, featureless and obtuse isn't. With Wayland's numerous "we'll get to that at some stage" features, it seems Mint is now relegating itself to the realms of "fiddlers" rather than users - and there are precious few people who can afford the time to fiddle.

Biden's facing the clock to veto Apple Watch import ban after ITC patent ruling

Live by the sword...

... die by the sword.

Knowing Apple though, no doubt they'll now launch into a multi-year (or even multi-decade) legal joust, spending far more money on legal fees than they would have to simply stump up for licencing/royalties.

Privacy advocate challenges YouTube's ad blocking detection scripts under EU law

Re: Good.

Both of you should hunt down "SmartTubeNext" - only works on Android TV boxes alas, but removes all traces of ads and allows you to permanently remove channels from the recommendations list.

13-year Google privacy settlement pays litigants the equivalent of a Big Mac meal

Here's an idea...

In all such cases, the award should be increased by the value of the legal fees incurred - that should reduce the appeal of years-long litigation in the hopes that it'll be dropped.

Cisco to sell enterprise version of $400 Bang & Olufsen earbuds

Mmm...

... Enterprise Version! <insert Homer Simpson drool here>

French IT behemoth Atos facing calls for nationalization as it tries to restructure

https://youtu.be/BqnFnWSYzaQ

Irish cops data debacle exposes half a million motorist records

Whenever a "third-party contractor" is involved with a government department, I always wonder whether said "contractor" was just a friend/relative of someone high up in the government department in question. No qualifications, no previous experience, just someone who thinks "yeah, I can click a few things and make this happen."

If something like this happened in the civilian (i.e., non-government) sphere, you can bet there'd be hefty outrage and commensurate fines involved. As it stands, it's likely to evoke minimal publicity and even less compensation for those affected.

That script I wrote three years ago is now doing what? How many times?

Re: On the flip side

Never be afraid to ask end users (the less skilled the better) into your office to try to break the software you're writing. I swore by this back when I was writing point-of-sale software and always received praise for its user-friendliness.

SEC boss warns it's 'nearly unavoidable' that AI will cause financial crash

Vaccinated investors...

... vaccinated against clues.

Was the "dotcom bubble" really that long ago that people have forgotten?

Yeah, go on, when you have more money than brains, sink it all into "the next big thing" without doing any due diligence - hundreds of press releases can't all be bull, surely? <insert facepalm emoticon here>

D-Link clears up 'exaggerations' around data breach

D-Link's dumb 5-port switches are fine when needing to squeeze an extra network port into a temporary office without having to run another cable to the rack, but I wouldn't trust anything "smarter" than that. Same goes for Netgear.

Five Eyes intel chiefs warn China's IP theft program now at 'unprecedented' levels

"Five Eyes," "Hoover Institution," "Condoleezza Rice..."

Say no more!

British boffins say aircraft could fly on trash, cutting pollution debt by 80%

Why not just cut out the middle man?

Just burn the bovine excrement that these gronks are producing and voila!

530K people's info feared stolen from cloud PC gaming biz Shadow

Re: Wait a minute

"QC is for losers!"

Are you a Microsoft employee?