Posts by Pascal Monett 19253 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Apr 2007
Only if you think that demonstrating your level of insecurity to the world is silly.
Personally, I think it was brilliant. They got in, lounged around for weeks, if not months, and then finally got detected. They're probably analyzing activity logs now to find out why they ended up begin caught, so as to "survive" even longer next time.
This is pure gold for everyone. For the hackers, who have taken a magnificent opportunity to see their baby operate in what is supposed to be a very secure environment. For Kaspersky, who had the guts to go public on this and now has reams and reams of data to analyze and further lock down their processes and network. For the public, who once more has proof that nobody is "secure". What they'll do with that knowledge is another matter.
You mean Alexander's Macedonian empire, right ? The one he carved out before his 30th birthday, conquering the entire known world of the time, right ?
Seems to me that one was the one fit for your sentence.
Actually, it's reports of its life that are an exaggeration.
Nothing I use anywhere is based on Silverlight. No web site I use makes any mention of it. I'm sure there are some out there, but they're beyond my horizon. It might as well be dead for all I see of it.
Especially UK ones.
Because however bad I mess things up, I always have this kind of thing to reassure me that I'm not that bad.
First day launch on the day that people absolutely needed it ? Very bad idea, and this is why. New launches are never cut-and-dried affairs (ask Blizzard, and they know what they're doing), but timing the launch with mandatory registration is just asking for trouble - which they got in spades.
There is just one thing I wonder about : is there anybody in there that learns anything from these snafus ? Seems to me that UK gov is staffed with a load of Charlie Browns. They never succeed at anything, and never get better even though they continually set themselves up for another go.
Excuse me if I'm slightly confused, but if the same family has the two identical cars, then what's the use of going hog-wild with one of them and getting the other one indicted for it ? It's still them that ends up with the bill (or the Police at their door).
Your second example is better - except that speeding carries a lesser fine than sporting a license number you have no right to. When you get caught for that you're not getting fined, you're going to jail. Not worth it unless you're already a hardened criminal.
No, really. We're heading straight for an energy crises and they want to find a way to pump yet more energy than we already are to power - in the least possible efficient way - stuff that is patently useless and possibly privacy-invading.
I do hope these jokers are getting a good salary out of the moron paying for this "research".
I tried to find out how long this Amy had been in charge, but the website of the BPL mentions no date information for anyone - not the President, not the Board members. No timeline of any kind.
So I am a bit torn when I read that she complains about no records being put in place. Nice to complain when stepping down, dear, but what did you do about it when you were in charge ?
Maybe she did do something, or try to do something, but I can find no record of that either.
In final analysis, however, it is the Board that is ultimately remiss in its duties. Not having a catalog of acquisitions is really a disastrous display of not being aware of their responsibilities.
Unfortunately, every person who buys a new PC will be recorded as buying Win One/Zero.
You do know that that is how Microsoft has been trumpeting the success of every single OS release since the beginning of time, don't you ?
Getting actual usage stats on the different OS versions has always been the province of the Internet, using various unreliable metrics (such as IE11 users have to be post-XP, but nobody knows if Vista or Win7).
Getting the straight dope from Microsoft has been impossible from day one, and for good reason : Microsoft is loath to show just how much every OS version apart from 7 is being treated like the plague.
Yeah, because only actual experts are going to click that button.
I would agree with you, really, and I would dearly like such an option, but I am aware of human nature, and I just know that there is a gaggle of blithering idiots who consider themselves experts because one day they managed to schedule an automatic backup.
So I think I get why Microsoft does not include such a button. If you really are an expert, you know how to get to the proper parameter in the Control Panel or, at worst, the Registry.
So I take it that you think the Ribbon is superficial ?
Well I have to say, given the amount of comments I have personally had in the last 4 years as a trainer, there is a chance you may be in the minority on that point.
Especially when confronted to people who know Office 2000 shortcuts by muscle memory and feel that Office 2013 is literally pulling the rug of productivity from under their feet.
In any case, I have to say that I find all this new UI stuff very amusing in light of the fact that, back in 1996 when I was studying to become a Lotus Notes consultant, we were - in all seriousness - given a copy of a report emanating from Microsoft on the importance of the UI and its stability.
One of the most important points was that, if a menu was more than 3 layers deep, you needed to rethink the menu structure. Three was the maximum admissible. Then there was the color conventions, with alerts to the fact that different cultures viewed alert colors different (red does not always mean danger in every part of the world).
I have the feeling that Microsoft has lost this report. If they need a copy, they should ask me.
And ?
In Linux, even though I am almost a complete n00b on the subject, even I know that you can choose which UI you want if the current one is not to your liking.
I would really like you to show me a site where I can download different Windows shells and try them out as I please.
Actually, scratch that. If that was in any way allowed (note : I did not say possible) then all that hoopla around The Interface Formerly Known As Metro would have been but a footnote in Win8 history.
Holy crap ! The US of A is overrun by terrists and now they have free reign to wreak havoc and mayhem as they please !
The thousands of police, FBI agents and all the US military strength will not be able to do anything unless mass surveillance the investigation is put back in place NOW !
It would appear that issues of privacy are much like insurance contracts in Joe Public's mind : you never understand how important it is until you need it.
I really would like the general public to be a bit more aware of the possible pitfalls of leaving all the details of your life in the hands of a third party which has next to no legal obligation to even listen to your opinion on the use of that data, but, as in everything IT, it would seem that millions of people will have to be bitten hard before any actual measures will be enforced.
In the meantime, I will be avoiding or blocking any and all source of information-gathering that I possibly can.
The problem does not appear to be the amount of time they put into thinking about the program, but how much they forgot to include in the design specifications in the first place.
Apparently, the notion of Privacy did not manage to be even invited to the discussions.
You're entirely right.
Unfortunately, fools make up 95% of the tech market.
This is one bandwagon that is NOT stopping anytime soon and, like blood in the water, the marketing sharks are already in a frenzy. The bonuses will be staggering.
And when the brown matter really starts hitting the revolving blades, they will safely retreat behind the old "but we didn't design the thing !" excuse, keeping their bonuses.
Doesn't matter. This is one game I'll be watching from the bleachers.
Or even not at all.
Well, it never has foreseen any problems, now has it ?
Yet, problems have cropped up.
Maybe nothing will happen - entirely possible that this one second thing is not actually an issue. After all, managing time synchronization across a WAN is an old problem which, I'm sure, has ample documentation. Then again, Apple somehow forgot the existence of time zones not so long ago.
So maybe they need to dust off their crystal ball ?
I don't like it one bit.
Not for whatever reason Microsoft is doing it - I'm sure that somebody over there has thought of some good reason for it.
No, what I don't like is the fact that, if Microsoft can detect that it is running in a VM, what's to stop a virus from doing the same ? And adapting its behavior to try to "break out" ?
Note that I have no idea if this is possible, I'm just worried about the possibility.
Benefits offered :
- false sense of availability (when it's down, you can't do anything about it)
- no sense of security (ahem, NSA, National Security Letters, and any effing judge in the kingdom of USA who decides that the world is his oyster)
General Direction of the Industry :
- aka "herd mentality"
- basis of the availability of all those identity hacks and leaks because actual security is hard and listening to marketspeak is soooo much more reassuring than reality
To clarify :
I am quite sure that the Cloud (ie virtual servers managed by someone outside your organization who is not subservient to you) has its benefits.
I am equally certain that business-critical data has nothing to do on the Cloud without proper encryption and security measures implemented by the business without counting on any promises made by the provider.
And there have already been accounts of cloud providers going down in a day because of hack - and your data goes with it.
So, as far as the cloud is concerned, my opinion is to treat it like gambling : only play with what you can afford to lose.
Indeed, blocking Facebook from automatically tracking people is a good move in my book, but damn near everyone is using Google code directly from the source.
Google must be rolling on the floor, laughing at how Facebook needs cookies to track people. With Google, just visiting a site triggers a call, so they know you're there.
So, how does Germany feel about that ? Or is this just a warming-up round before they start gunning for the Big G ?
I balked at that as well.
A gravity tank ? Why is this included in planes at all ?
Wouldn't the absence of a gravity tank make a plane a lot easier to lift from the ground and propel through the air ?
And could someone please give the name of the genius who managed to put gravity in a tank ?
IoT is about inserting Internet connectivity to stuff that we're already using for dubious purposes. I'll pass on the fact that, apart from Wifi, Blutooth or video (for which we already have dedicated hardware that works satisfactorily), nobody has found anything remotely compelling to put into a IoT thing.
Now they state that updates are a requirement. I understand that security is something that every vendor would like to put at the top of the bullet list without paying a dime for, but is security really the kind of thing I want to see in a light bulb ? Is there no other way of defining the utility of a network-connected chair ?
Maybe security should be designed, not into the IoT thingamabobs, but into the router/switch/hardware that talks to them. Let me clarify : a light bulb may be able to talk over the Internet, but only if there is hardware from an ISP connecting the household to the Internet. Yes, I know about the WiFi Ethernet attempts. One thing at a time.
If IoT can only work with a hardware portal to the Internet, then it is those things that can handle the security. The router could very well be configured so as to 1) not allow general interaction from the Internet or the local network to the IoT thingies, and 2) handle updates from the Internet to a given IoTmabob, on condition that said update is properly signed and comes from the proper domain (no use BitTorrenting an update here).
Would that not solve a bunch of possible issues ?
Just wondering.
We have been specifically and clearly told that they are respecting the law, a law that has been put in place for the express purpose of allowing them to do this data slurping in a perfectly legal way.
The fact that the law is immoral, brought on by the ever more paranoid spirit of politicians today and likely to change for the worse in the future is not something that the government needs to worry about.
One more reason for me to never ever install Windows 10. Except this is the clincher.
An OS is NOT supposed to be watching me, controlling what I do and reporting back to the mothership in order to find ways to sell me stuff. We have Google for that, thank you very much.
Windows 7 works fine. It will continue to do so despite MS retiring its support for it. Win7 is good enough for what I need doing, and I think it will be good enough for a while yet.
Meanwhile, other alternatives are becoming serious contenders. Open Source is definitely the future, and SteamOS is going to go live this year (I hope).
So, when Win7 finally kicks the bucket technically, I am betting that I just won't need Windows any more.
Good riddance.
Oh it's much better than that actually. Windows gives permission to everything except yourself when you change the motherboard or reinstall it for whatever reason with your data directory outside of the OS partition (like all normal installations should be done).
Whenever you do that, you're in for days of finding out that you don't have permission to open a given folder you created in a previous install.
Thank $Deity for the Internet, geeks and TakeOwnership !
Is not ICANN finding a successor, it's ICANN finding a successor that it will be able to shape to its twisted mentality.
I'm hoping the next person to step up to the position will purge the management by fire and set up something that is finally as honest, professional and transparent than what the world needs.
I also hope to win the Lottery someday. I think that just might be slightly more likely.
In any case, I propose myself as next ICANN CEO.
I surely can't do worse.
Is it the people we buy goods from or the people we willingly elect into government?
How touchingly quaint.
The elites today are the people of influence, i.e. the people with money or with the capacity to influence the people with money. The people with money tell governments what they want, and your elected muppets do what they say.
Democracy ? It's a great idea. To work, The People need to do more than watch sports on the telly and complain about whoever it is they didn't elect.
WTF ?
Several decades ago I was upgrading my PC every year, and it was worth it. I was benchmarking my rig every time, just to see how much better it had become.
Since 2009 I have made 2 upgrades. I don't bother benchmarking any more, an improvement of 5-6fps is not noticeable. What is noticeable is the comfort that 32GB of DDR3 RAM brings, along with two 180GB SSDs.
The only lazyness that developers have grown into concerns resources. Back then they needed 512KB of RAM because gaming was as demanding as anything else when you have next to nothing. These days, they expect you to have 16GB of DDR3 because hey, it's not expensive.
The US Government will do what it wants for whatever reason it finds. History proves that the US Gov is capable of making up reasons if it doesn't find any actual ones.
Heck, they invaded a country on made-up reasons, don't try to impress me with innuendo on cyber stuff.
I like the way they took the Cold War lingo and just straight use it the same in the field of cyberwar. Unacceptable losses ? You mean you're going to take down a router ?
Ooohhh, scary.
That's actually a refreshing difference from the usual "only a small amount of subscribers are experiencing issues" that is usually trotted out.
Of course, in the case of Yahoo!, they'd have trouble talking about a small number of subscribers, since that's all they have.
Yeah, the internet community is also convinced that online petitions are actually useful.
I say no. Anything that is under the authority of ICANN is tainted and cannot be trusted, just as ICANN cannot be trusted to anything that its board thinks is contrary to its interests (hint: nothing to do with running the Internet).
The board of ICANN should be suspended, charged and tried for criminal entente, profiteering and not respecting its own charter.
Personally, I'd take them all behind the chemical shed to have them shot.
Put some new blood in there, someone who actually gives a hoot about the Internet and not just about lining his pockets. In this case, the enemy you don't know can't be worse than the ICANN board.
