Posts by Pascal Monett

Exoplanets from another galaxy spotted – take that, Kepler fatigue!

"2,000 moon-to-Jupiter sized planets for each main sequence star"

I'm sorry, my mind has a problem processing that information. How can a star have that many orbiting bodies, and how is it possible to determine that there are that many free-wheelers in any galaxy, let alone one billions of light-years away ? My gast is well and truly flabbered.

Oh, and there's a problem in that paragraph. If there are indeed 2000 moons & planets per main sequence star, it means that there are trillions of moons and planets, not trillions of stars. That would be recursive and likely reverse the expansion of our Universe due to the creation of infinite stars with 2000 times more stars for every Universal Processor tick. Check your Unicraft Handbook, I'm sure it's explained in there somewhere.

Should ISPs pay to block pirate websites? Supreme Court to decide

Thank you for that information

I understand now how complex the situation has become. Indeed, blocking an address does seem to be a lot more difficult a prospect than I initially imagined.

Re: "Blocking ip traffic is really difficult"

Um, don't think so. Put an IP address on blacklist and you're done.

I'm not an expert, but if you can do exactly that in the Windows hosts file, I doubt it can be any more of an issue for an ISP with trained professionals.

Re: Pass it on

"an automated system that blocks *any* site requested by *anyone*, without any due process to investigate whether the request is legitimate or not"

Oh, I see, you're talking about YouTube.

I do believe that the issue at hand is not yet including takedown notices by "anyone". This is a court order we're talking about. I doubt the courts would start sending orders willy-nilly just because Bill Cartier, watchmaker, thought it would be funny to shut down Cartier.com.

Long haul flights on a one-aisle plane? Airbus thinks you’re up for it

I hate the nickel-and-diming

On our last vacation trip, we toured the US West coast, hopping 5 times to 5 different states. We were happy and tired at the end, but the flights were just nagging money all the time.

What's the use of boasting the lowest plane ticket cost if everything else is an added cost ?

I'm going to avoid flying in the future, but if I do, I swear I'll take a 1st class ticket just for my peace of mind.

Nunes FBI memo: Yep, it's every bit as terrible as you imagined

He's been doing that since Day 1 and he will never stop because that's just how he is. He doesn't know any different.

Yes, and the article specifically outlines why and why that is important.

India signals ban on cryptocurrencies, embraces blockchain

I'm glad you see unicorn rainbows every day. Your life must be just filled with Care Bears. Good for you.

Meanwhile, the continuous outrageous variations in BitCoin prices, the unending string of exchange scandals, and the fact that blockchain is not, contrary to popular opinion, security, not to mention the unacceptable transaction fees, mean that I will leave you to your "freedom" while I use a state currency that is actually reliable and secure.

Each to his own, but please do not rope in Freedom to excuse your lack of objectivity.

Re: "Stick to posting Anti Trump nonsense"

Nothing anti-Trump is nonsense. Everything sensible is anti-Trump by definition.

But I don't expect a card-carrying Republican to understand that.

Hey, you know what the internet needs? Yup, more industrial control systems for kids to hack

If it is to remotely view the machine, there is no need to wire the machine. Install a CCTV to monitor it. If hackers take that over, big deal.

But of course, one does not just want to monitor, one wants control. Convenience is what will be the downfall of the IT industry. Because security is most definitely not convenient, we have the basic human tendency to get fed up with security instead of scrapping the convenience.

DevOps: Bloody hell, we've got to think about security too! Sigh. Who wants coffee?

Re: you're peddling cheap, low quality, high street tat

And that is the direction programming has taken since Day 1. As the old saying goes, there's never enough money to do it right, but there's always money to do it over.

Once upon a time programmers were engineers. With a degree. From a proper university. Nowadays, programmers are anyone with a keyboard. That might be good from a diversity point of view, but the downside is that those who can properly analyze a project and write good code are drowned in the masses of rent-a-suit shops and shipped-in-from-overseas keyboard mashers who may or may not have the chops but whose main quality is being cheap.

Let me put this another way : my wife is fanatical about shoes. She has upwards of sixty pairs and, every time we stroll the streets of a new town or city we've never been to before, she can't help but be magnetically attracted to any store front that has pairs on display. After 15 years of marriage (that was already a good while back), she surprised me one day when, out of the blue, she declared that she was fed up with buying cheap shoes. She stated, and I quote : "I'd rather have one or two good pairs a year than buy a pair every month that won't last more than 8 months". I lit a candle that day.

There is a market for cheap shoes, throwaway items that won't last, and that's fine. There is also a market for quality items that people need, items that will endure and give pride and pleasure to their owners for a long time.

DevOps is the cheap throwaway market. Everything is described to make everyone believe that whatever issues exist will be solved by the next iteration, so they are not important.

Sorry, but programming is not cheap. Programming is the very lifeblood of companies today, and there are some unavoidable medical practices and costs when it comes to dealing with lifeblood. The slew of hacking issues of last year demonstrate clearly that security is not something you just pay lip service to.

I would like the industry to take a step back and realize that nothing that has ever been made in a rush has ever lasted or performed as expected.

I would also like to win the lottery.

I know which has a better chance of happening.

Disengage, disengage! Cali DMV reports show how often human drivers override robot cars

My cruise control can brake if the speed goes over the set limit. That means that, if I'm on a down slope and there is no one around and no radars, I disengage the CC to benefit from the energy that gravity gives me, and I re-engage it when I'm on the upward slope before going below the set speed again, so my CC keeps me at the proper speed.

So yes, I exceed the speed limit every now and again. When no one is there to be harmed.

I am, of course, talking about driving outside inhabited areas.

To take the devil's side

We are at the dawn of autonomous vehicles. I do believe that we need all the data now in order to be able to properly program the damn things for later.

So yeah, Big Brother it may be, but that should help needing less of the Red Cross later on.

Besides the XPoint: Persistent memory tech is cool, but the price tag... OUCH

9.9 seconds + 0.1 seconds = 10 seconds

So your example turns out at 3MB/s.

Yes, they are related.

They are not interchangeable.

Tech bad-boy Uber crafts tool to make staff follow the rules in future (er, coding rules, that is)

No, not really. What Uber has done is ensure that the code it writes to screw over its competition is properly written, maybe even optimized, and that it respects coding standards.

But it will still screw over the competition every chance it gets.

New York lobs $210m at telcos to hook up 120k homes, businesses with bumpkin broadband

"Cuomo did not say when the build-out will be completed"

Of course not. No promises before getting the money. Then there will be excuses and "unforeseen complications". The fact is simply that Verizon is coming aboard because the competition is getting a slice of new pie and Verizon cannot let than happen without moving in.

The fact that there's pork at hand might not even be the major factor in Verizon's sudden new interest, although it certainly sweetens the deal.

Crim-checker IT system update fail has cost UK taxpayer 'MEEELLIONS'

"MPs have slammed..."

While it's good to see higher-ups expressing their discontent, I have to wonder what impact is this actually going to have.

It seems that UK Government IT projects are undying zombies, forever feasting on more and more money and nobody can stop them.

I guess, if enough pressure is maintained, maybe somebody will get early retirement ?

Suspicion of villainy leads Facebook to ban cryptocoin ads

Somehow I doubt that anti-discrimination legislation is going to have any place in this particular picture, but I grant you that Facebook likely cannot prevent minorities (in the US) from creating a profile and using the site. Nor does it, AFAIK.

I maintain that Facebook is not obliged to support freedom of speech, nor is it required to apply court process to any issue it might face with respect to users of its platform - within the law, of course. So Facebook Stormtroopers bursting into a scammers' house and hauling him and his equipment off to a dark, dank dungeon are off the table - however satisfying that may be for some.

Allegedly.

Re: Guilty until proven innocent?

You're confusing government and private company. Facebook has no obligation to respect Free Speech, nor is it expected to deal with ads by respecting the criminal code.

Facebook is a private company, it can do as it sees fit and, in this case, I applaud The Zuck (hurgh! I actually wrote that) in restricting scumbag access to an unwitting population.

In America, tech support conmen get a mild slap. In Blighty, scammers get the book thrown at them

I've always thought that criminals should first and foremost be made to pay damages to their victims, meaning at least 100% of what their victims lost, whenever possible. Then, of course, they pay the cost of their court case, whatever that may be.

They get out of jail when they've paid up. If they can't pay (because they killed the victim), they never get out.

Seems to me that would simplify things greatly. Judge and jury must only find guilt. If guilty, definition of the amount to pay with the previous guidelines. No mucking about with how many years for a murder vs how many for purse-snatching. You're in until you've cleared your debt to society and that's all.

And, since you clear your debt on prison terms, son of rich daddy gets to stay in as long as son of cobbler for the same amount of debt. No external funding allowed.

Re: "they would get you on federal crimes"

Um, I don't think the FBI has jurisdiction on UK territory.

Yet.

I eagerly wait to see your check for $12000 to the Red Cross.

Re: "[..] the days when we could simply drag the bastards into the middle of town..."

Ah, the good ol' days. When men were men, women were obedient and whoever hung from a branch was scum.

How did it come to this ?

1,900 rotten apps bounced out of Google Play every day in 2017

I like the deposit idea - that would virtually kill multiple accounts overnight.

It would also cull small devs with nice ideas - but those might just slog on until they have the dosh to register. Hopefully it would also slam the door on worthless copycat submissions.

The real question is : how heavy would the backlash be ?

Watchdog: Uh, sit down, AriseBank. This crypto-coin looks more like a $600m crypto-con

BitCoin is in a storm, it seems

Looks like the honeymoon is over, and now BitCoin is being labelled for what it is : a perfect platform for scammers, thieves, criminals and drug lords.

Nothing is secure with BitCoin. Echanges are not subject to banking charters and are run by either rank amateurs who get hacked or hardened criminals who disappear with the loot. Blockchain is as well and and good, but it is not security since it does not prevent your wallet from being hijacked.

There are apparently many levels of vulnerability in cryptocurrencies, and a lot more work is being done in taking advantage of them than in fixing them.

I still think BitCoin is a good idea, but we need a BitCoin 2.0 that puts a lid on scams if this thing is ever to actually be useful.

Pour yourself a tall one, Juniper investors. It's lost money again

"revenue [..] was down 11 per cent compared to a year ago."

But. . but . . Cloud is everywhere ! Entire IT departments are being axed because everything is in the Cloud ! Soon we'll all be working on terminals wirelessly connected to it !

How can this be ?

Crooks make US ATMs spew million-plus bucks in 'jackpotting' hacks

Re: Physical access

Indeed. Quite disappointed when I read that. I was hoping for some newfangled card hijacked to make the ATM vulnerable from the outside or somesuch.

But no, it's just boring old get-access-to-the-innards-then-profit.

UK infrastructure firms to face £17m fine if their cybersecurity sucks

"it is absolutely vital that they are as secure as possible"

Yes, it is.

Pity that the government is doing fuck-all to ensure that happens.

'Bitcoin heist' shock: Cops seek 4 for aggravated burglary in Midsomer Murders town

Re: If you are "clever" enough to make money from BTC

Nobody using BTC is clever.

I think the history of that mirage speaks for itself.

Intel alerted Chinese cloud giants 'before US govt' about CPU bugs

The only way the NSA is spreading anything is by getting hacked.

Re: Thanks Intel

It is the inevitable consequence of the term : multinational.

Intel is NOT a US company, it is a world company.

This is the obvious consequence.

Trump White House mulls nationalizing 5G... an idea going down like 'a balloon made out of a Ford Pinto'

"There is nothing that would slam the breaks [sic] more quickly on our hard-won momentum to be the leader in the global race for 5G network deployment screwing the US customer out of proper broadband more quickly than the federal government stepping-in to build those networks."

There, FTFY.

Oh, and Pumpkin Pie is biting Trump's hand ? Wow. Talk about wearing your loyalty on your coat. Nobody can doubt who he's working for now.

If you think that private-company-managed communications are going to protect you from the NSA, I have a bridge to sell you.

Fella faked Cisco, Microsoft gear death – then sold replacement kit for millions, say Feds

"169 Cisco switches and routers worth an estimated $2,344,860"

What ?!?

Are you telling me that a Cisco router is $5K a piece ?

For that hardware-encoded-password POS ?

You have gotta be kidding me.

Can't login to Skype? You're not alone. Chat app's been a bit crap for five days now

"the problem is limited to a small number of customers"

Of course it is. It ALWAYS is.

Only 1% of 300 million is still 3 million users ; not a small amount in itself, right?

And if 1% of those 3 million use 2FA and are affected, that's still 30,000 people.

So yeah, 30k people compared to 300M subscribers is small fry, sure. BTW, how many of you live in a town with 30k inhabitants ?

Just wondering.

You can't ignore Spectre. Look, it's pressing its nose against your screen

"It's not quite that simple"

And just what exactly can I do about it ? Nada.

While I applaud any article that draws attention to the security deficiencies of The Cloud (TM), I cannot help but remain unimpressed at this latest expositional piece. Telling me that state actors have the means to create malware to spy on VMs I would have spinning on AWS instances is hardly that important when the NSA can just write a National Security Letter to Amazon and have Bezos send them the data.

Having another country capable of it does not really make a difference.

It knows where the gravel pits and power lines are. So, Ordnance Survey, where should UK's driverless cars go?

"a valuable contribution to us achieving our bold ambitions."

Actually completing a government IT project is already a very bold ambition.

Let's not mention on time, to spec and within budget. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

Lenovo's craptastic fingerprint scanner has a hardcoded password

I'm sure the guy who lifted your fingerprint from your keyboard totally agrees with you.

Stop us if you've heard this one before: Tokyo crypto-cash exchange 'hacked' for half a billion bucks

@ Fruit and Nutcase

Anybody know how much Madoff cost us all ?

Indeed. I am in awe of how they are showing it to "the Man".

Great job guys, keep up the good work.

I want life to be boring, says Linus Torvalds as Linux 4.15 debuts

Now you have me interested. I want to see an enilopter. I really do.

All your base are belong to us: Strava exercise app maps military sites, reveals where spies jog

@ DougS

You might remind your female friends of a basic difference : IRL, someone has to meet you, or at least be told about you, before they think of looking you up. I doubt that stalkers choose their victims by perusing the phone book. If they don't know your name, they can hardly look up your address and they'd have to follow you home before they can correlate an address to a name.

Publishing personal info and travel data on a social site removes that sleuthing requirement. The stalker can just peruse the activities, select a woman he likes and dive into her life. Finding the address is trivial at that point.

Security through obscurity works very well in real life. Do you know where US carrier fleets are at this time ? Hint : don't try finding out - that will land you in very hot water.

Google slaps mute button on stupid ads that nag you to buy stuff you just looked at

"stop a site from autoplaying material"

Stopping autoplay should not be a per-website opt-in - it should be a browser setting default and you can opt out per website where you actually want it.

But that would put control back in the user's hand. Can't have that, now can we ?

If you've ever wondered whether the FCC boss is a Big Cable stooge – well, wonder no more

Re: Stacking the house of Cards

Well, theoretically, you have three years before that'll have a chance of happening, because as long as Trump is President, Pai is what passes for a good government stooge.

Here we go again... UK Prime Minister urges nerds to come up with magic crypto backdoors

"meeting these fundamental social responsibilities"

The fundamental social responsibility of government is protecting its citizens, not snooping on them.

Keeping the peace means feet on the ground, visible police presence by affable and polite constables always ready to help while keeping an eye out for shady behavior.

It is costly, doesn't catch everything, but it is civilized and respects the privacy of the innocent.

It was once said : "I prefer to let a hundred criminals free rather than jail a single innocent".

My, has time flown by . . .

You had one job, Outlook! Security bug fix stops mail app from forwarding attachments

"file attachments were getting cut out of messages when forwarded to others"

GOOD.

Can we also have attachments stripped from Reply To All messages ?

This culture of resending everything with just a little FYI on top is seriously getting on my nerves.

GitHub shrugs off drone maker DJI's crypto key DMCA takedown effort

Re: It's somebody else's computer

And for the life of me, I can't understand why people are so prompt in throwing data at it.

Education on this point is going to be long and painful, and there will be tears before things get better.

Just because clouds have silver linings doesn't mean you can ignore the dark thunderstorm brewing within.

It's 2018 and… wow, you're still using Firefox? All right then, patch these horrid bugs

"could be exploited by dodgy webpages to execute malicious code within the browser"

Not if you have NoScript (or equivalent).

As usual.

I'm a bit tired of all these articles on browser vulnerabilities that never, ever mention JavaScript blockers. They are the first line of defense and, in my view, they are as good as Star Wars ISD shields. Nothing gets through unless you allow it.

So yeah, maybe Firefox has some security issues in the core, but NoScript is the active energy shield that is protecting it and it is impenetrable.

Let's get JS blockers on all the other platforms, shall we ?

Mass limit proposed so boffins can tell when they've fingered a brown dwarf or a fat planet

Re: Can't something be done?

Yes : educating people that Science has no social or sexual connotations and none should be inferred. A black hole is a hole in space/time that is black because no light can be emitted from it. End of.

That education will likely take until the heat death of the Universe, though.

Re: Arbitrary?

Because until such time as we have a complete definition, we still have to classify the discovery.

It wouldn't do to throw everything in the "Undefined" folder, and we can't reasonably put it in "Supermassive" either (or "Sun-like", etc). So we have a category that requires refining, but we still need the category.

£60m, five years late... Tag criminal tagging as a 'catastrophic waste' of taxpayers' cash

I concur

The only lesson that has been learned is that government wanks are ab-so-lutely incapable of defining an IT project, let alone managing one. Those who have learned that lesson are the taxpayers, not the government wanks.