* Posts by Ole Juul

2726 publicly visible posts • joined 27 Apr 2007

Bot attacks Linux and Mac but can't lock down its booty

Ole Juul
FAIL

Why is Linux mentioned?

I must be blind, but I don't see Linux on the chart and it just seems to be added to the list of operating systems as an afterthought.

No need for speed, says Oz communications shadow

Ole Juul

People don't expect reliability

I'm with Llanfair in noting that copper based phones generally stay working when the power goes out, whereas a fibre based phone system probably won't. However I also notice that very few people have non cordless phones at home. Certainly in this area I've tried phoning around when the power goes out and nobody else has a working phone. So, I guess the bottom line is that people don't care if their phone always works or not.

Mozilla takes on web data miners with privacy icon release

Ole Juul

Language

"The letters "AD" make them specific to English. Aren't icons supposed to be a language-neutral alternative to language-specific text?"

I basically agree with you but Iconese is culture dependent and far from universal. English is still one of the most understood languages on the web.

Microsoft wades into interwebulator chat about Hotmail

Ole Juul

Sex and rocket science

"why has everyone turned into a girl?"

I'm not sure what you mean exactly. Are you suggesting that girls don't like Hotmail, or that only men, boys, and women do?

Researchers bypass Internet Explorer Protected Mode

Ole Juul

You make your choices - others don't

First of all, if you don't want to deal with the problems of Windows (including the price), perhaps you should use something else. If you have the option of buying used computers, then you probably have the option to make other choices as well. The problem detailed in this article does not need to effect you - nor a lot of people. It effects people who don't have a choice, whether the browser is work mandated, or they just don't know what's going on.

Second, while I agree that low resource systems are the way to go, 250MB is not a lot for a program to use, and the browser is also pretty much the de facto OS these days.

As to only having one window open, with Firefox specifically, you will find that the usage does not go up hugely. I'm using FF right now and it has 48 windows open (not tabs) and the usage is only twice yours. That's actually pretty good. However, I also use a number of other browsers (there's lots of choices you know) and I can vouch for the fact that there are several which "are just browsers". Epiphany is currently using 46MB and Konqueror a mere 5MB. You can also install an older version of Firefox. I suggest you start looking around.

Popular sites caught sniffing user browser history

Ole Juul

People who point where they look

Is there a name for that?

Privacy-protecting social network opens up

Ole Juul

Real name?

How about Bisporus then? I think you're right. Nobody will remember. Perhaps they intend to change it in the last minute.

Regarding the browser faux pas. Being snobbish doesn't sit well with most people - including many who don't like or use IE.

Eric Schmidt warns Berliners: 'We know where you are'

Ole Juul

Google it

"at Google "We're not all Germans" and couldn't be expected to know the country's own peculiar history."

I would have thought that most people around the world would had heard about what happened by now.

Chrome celebrates second b-day with sixth release

Ole Juul

Still beta

Only five tabs? You should be able to run ten times that. Chrome is fast, but not ready.

I run several browsers simultaneously and the others don't need to be restarted. Alter less than a week Chrome has grabbed all the memory available and chewed far into swap as well. I think we need more than a few versions before this is out of beta.

Google tests 'streaming' search engine

Ole Juul

Not to my benefit

This is going to make it really hard to do a serious search. Also, will less capable computers and connections be able to keep up? I wonder how the huge number of dialup users in North America and elsewhere are going to like this.

It's time to presume the web is guilty

Ole Juul

Freedom through guilt?

I don't agree with lumping corporate interests in with mine. It also looks to me like the author is using a completely different internet than I've come to know.

"The security defenses available to us are clumsy and inadequate."

What are you talking about? I've been using the client side of the internet since the beginning and I'm not having any problems with security. You must be doing something wrong and assuming that other people are too. Email works just fine. I have several different mail services and the amount of spam I get is almost unmeasurable - and thanks to the professional server management which we've come to expect nowadays, I get all my mail too. I can only assume that someone who has a problem with spam either runs their own amateur server or made a particularly bad choice of service provider. Yes spam is a huge percentage of e-mail traffic, but it is not a huge amount of bandwidth. It is just not a problem any more. As for security; one does not have to be a professional to run a secure computer nowadays, even with MS-Windows, but if you're having a problem, why not find an easier to manage OS while you still have the freedom.

"If we, as corporations and individuals, want the internet to remain free and open as it is today, then we have to solve these problems before the governments of the world try to do it for us."

I agree that it would be bad to have too much government interference, but you make a mistake in lumping together corporations and individuals. Corporate and government interests are similar, and both counter the freedom of the individual. There are not a lot of problems that need to be solved as far as internet freedom for the individual is concerned. However, I agree that there is indeed a threat of governments and corporations from taking away the freedom that the individual has now.

"It could be that the only to preserve the freedom of the internet is to do away with the presumption of innocence."

No it couldn't be. That way of thinking has been tried many times by governments in the past. It has always ended in disaster. Let's not go there.

Ubuntu quietly breaks off Sparc affair

Ole Juul

Version?

What a strange thing to say on an IT site. Also, it's "distribution" not "version", they mean different things. Why not cruise by their site and see what they have to offer?

Linux kernel purged of five-year-old root access bug

Ole Juul

Re: When isa vuln a vuln?

I find it interesting that this hole has been around in plain sight for 5 years and no one has bothered to use it as such. It apparently needed to be pointed out before it became a real "vuln".

Opera: Firefox tab sets? We've had 'em for years

Ole Juul

dynamic and male-appealing

"You know, this may sound pretty shallow, . . ."

It is.

". . . but I really think that calling their browser 'Opera' instead of something more dynamic and male-appealing like 'FireFox' or 'Chrome' is what is hurting them badly."

Yes, 'Opera' isn't very manly and you wouldn't want anybody to get the, you know, wrong idea. Anyway, you don't have to tell anybody you're using it. You could just be a closet user.

Ole Juul

Re: any one browser

It looks like people get as attached to using only one browser almost as much as using only one OS. However with a browser there is no practical reason for it.

I'm with Daniel 1 on not using only one. With a modicum of computer skills one can take advantage of the differences. On this oldish kit I have 6 different browsers open on different desktops. Really, there's no reason to just run one browser unless you've got pre Pentium hardware and a small harddrive.

Shopping mall mulls Supreme Court bid to back no-speaking ban

Ole Juul

Not give a reason?

"One of them is that management reserves the right to refuse you entry or to have you leave the premises without providing justifications."

I do think that justification is required in most countries. Otherwise one could refuse blacks (or whatever) and just not give a reason.

Ole Juul

Re: The point

Yes, proselytising can be a nuisance but who is to agree on which kind to ban? Personally sports fans irritate me. I'm also particularly pissed off by salesmen. However, as an adult I am able to put up with all these different kinds of religious fanatics. We have to be tolerant of each other. However, those who believe in "stringing" people up do push the limits of my tolerance a little. :)

Ole Juul

"Heyy! How yoo doin'?"

That's what we used to say. Now, if we want to greet someone we say "Where's the bathroom?"

Disney sued for spying on kids with 'zombie cookies'

Ole Juul

Children's consent

One of the hallmarks of understanding proper adult interaction with children is understanding consent. Children simply don't have the experience to be able to give it because they don't understand the implications of what they (or the adult) are doing. This puts the adult in a position of responsibility. I wonder if Disney has considered this. Is it even legal for someone other than a child's parents to track their online behaviour? It seems to me that one should get the parent's permission first.

My thought is that if you are going to use tracking cookies, then you need to have a consenting age form upon entry. Perhaps there should also be the ability for parents to filter these "cookie" sites.

Wikileaks double dares Pentagon hawks

Ole Juul

Get with the times

"These documents were CLASSIFIED."

And they've just been re-classified.

Google, Verizon offer net neutrality proposal

Ole Juul

Who does Google and Verizon represent?

Somehow this proposal comes across a bit like all "interested parties" getting together to draft a proposal for the criminal code. I'm not sure that these companies should even be involved in this kind of thing.

Good article.

Defcon speaker calls IPv6 a 'security nightmare'

Ole Juul

Re: Internet connection requires an address

Indeed, is there any reason that a single device couldn't find a use for 10, or 100, or more ip addresses? I think you're right, once this gets going we'll be using them up in no time.

Want to use WD diagnostics? Buy Windows

Ole Juul

A handful?

Linux may have a relatively small amount of home users, but I don't think that number is important. What matters to WD is the number of hard drives - after all that is what they're selling isn't it? I bet the number of individual drives with Linux is pretty high when you include servers.

Anyway, like someone said up above, there's plenty of tools out there and it is just possible that Linux users are not particularly envious (or even aware) of the Windows diagnostic which WD supplies.

Ole Juul

I'm sceptical too

But I don't think it is odd that a linux 'specialist' wouldn't have a copy of Windows kicking about. It's odd that he would give it a second thought. Yep, PR.

Ofcom sets out recompense for luvvies

Ole Juul

Solution?

I think you forget that some users repair their electronics and keep them going for a very long time. Also, like Terry Barnes mentions, there could be a pretty good black market there.

Virus writer charged with destroying property

Ole Juul
Coat

I would be a little more lenient

After all he did give users a nice humorous icon of an octopus. That's got to be worth something doesn't it?

Apathy kills Google's new-age Wave

Ole Juul

Wave goodbye

It seems to me that anything that requires such a lot of talking to explain is doomed from the beginning.

Microsoft gets dirty with Gmail cloud cash fight

Ole Juul

Indeed

At most 25, but realistically more like 18 years. The first independent version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, released on 20 November 1985. However, Windows 3.1, was the first viable version that prompted people to move from pure DOS and it was first sold during March 1992.

Ole Juul

be careful what you reveal

". . . they make absolutely no sense."

To you maybe. :) The rest of us are not having so much trouble.

MS preps emergency patch for Windows shortcut peril

Ole Juul

**facepalm** indeed

"Did you not read the article? In there is the reason why they're fixing it, and fixing it early."

You must be new around here. We _all_ know "why they're fixing it and, fixing it early". Did you not read the comments, or is humour not your strong point?

Ole Juul

I'm suspicious

Why did they decide to fix this particular critical Windows vulnerability? They must be up to something.

Google patents search that tracks your mouse moves

Ole Juul
Coat

Wait for it

Actually that's a brilliant idea. I bet we'll be starting to see Google ads in the scrollbar soon.

Ole Juul

Doh re me

"Not sure everyone posting comments has understood what Google are talking about,"

I don't think you understand what everyone's posting about. :) The thing is that many people put the mouse where they're not looking so that it doesn't get in the way. In my case that would be on the far left, or right, or white space, or scroll bar. Where does the "area around each link" come into it?

Police force more suspects to give up crypto keys

Ole Juul

It seems to me

that if you don't remember the password now, you're even less likely to remember it in two years.

Wireless network security weakness to demo at DEFCON

Ole Juul

Re: Security weakness

"We should also report on how intruders can gain unauthorized access by plugging into unguarded ethernet ports."

That's too short. You need to work on your presentation. If you could stretch that to over 500 words _then_ we'd have a security weakness.

Ask.com embraces its inner Jeeves

Ole Juul

I use duckduckgo.com

Sorry, I can't think of anything to say about Ask.

Firefox update fixes plug-in snafu

Ole Juul

So when are they going to get a round tuit

"The incident is not the first time a patch for the open source browser has been prompted by problems involving its extensions, rather than bugs in its basic build."

Yes, I've noticed that the "bugs in its basic build" are still there - specifically the memory leak.

Couple charged over hybrid car industrial espionage plot

Ole Juul

You've got to be kidding

GM trade secrets? Very funny. Oh, I get it. This is like the Russian spies who were found to use invisible ink. They want to make a spy trade with China now.

Mozilla tames Firefox tab monster with Candy

Ole Juul

What's the point?

You move through windows with Alt-Tab and through tabs with Ctrl-Tab, other that that the only difference between tabs and windows is that with tabs all the sites are shown the same size, which is a bad idea. I normally have 30 to 50 windows open and it's really easy to control - tabs would just be a mess. For a clean desktop, just go to another one. Basically only people with a limited number of desktops are going to have a use for this.

vBulletin vuln gifts admin credentials to unwashed masses

Ole Juul

Oh well

So coding isn't one of their strong points. I'm sure you can find some good things about vBulletin if you look really carefully. I'm still looking though.

End of Microsoft NHS deal means mass deletions

Ole Juul

Or £0 for Open Office

How much is that in US dollars?

Google claims Wi-Fi slurp legal in the US

Ole Juul

Google is different

I think you hit the nail on the head there. Google is indeed different from some guy who just happens to be walking by an open window and hear some conversation that wasn't meant for him. It's actually frightening how few people seem to be able to discern that difference.

Ole Juul

What about the patent?

It appears be associated with their patent for increasing the accuracy of location-based services. I would think they would test it a bit more thoroughly before it was sent to the patent office, but even if they didn't, an application would seem to imply intent.

The Reg guide to Linux, part 1: Picking a distro

Ole Juul
Joke

I'm old fashioned

"Still decades behind the times. When we're all using Minority Report style interfaces Linux will still require some archaic tactile keyboard or something."

This post was written using one of those archaic keyboards. What did you use to write yours? Did you cut and paste letters from the rest of this page?

Ole Juul

Yes, a bit more please

This article does indeed aim low. How about telling us more about how it is actually difficult to get even a small distro on old hardware like a P1 or 486 because those machines don't have, or sometimes don't support, enough memory to do an installation. Yes this can be worked around, and that is the kind of information that is suitable for an IT site. Also, how about some of the subtleties like how Ubuntu is in danger of becoming MS dependent through it's use of mono, and why one might want to chose Kubuntu instead? That is a discussion worthy of El Reg readers.

Good article. Wrong site.

Cyber cops want stronger domain rules

Ole Juul

Execpt that

Only people in cities would be able to register domains under that system. Your idea sounds fine until you realize that many people live in rural areas and all mail goes to a post box. Just try buying something on-line if you live outside of town, and you'll see what I mean.

Domain registrars push back on law enforcement changes

Ole Juul

It does need to be fixed

It's clear that there is a problem with the system the way it stands, but I really don't want "law enforcement" to be fixing it. That's almost guaranteed to make things worse.

As it stands private people are putting up their home addresses and home telephone numbers for all to see. That is wrong. Actually, to have either of those as a requirement is discriminatory to my way of thinking. Certainly to force people to buy a telephone subscription which they might not otherwise need (at ~$40 per month), is wrong.

At least in this country, one can get a passport or drivers licence without being forced to make your personal information public or get a phone . Why should a domain name rank higher than those?

Google's encrypted search casts shadow on web analytics

Ole Juul

Some winners, some losers

To me this has only a little to do with privacy. Letting web sites know what you were searching on is a very bad idea because some of them will modify their content accordingly. As long as we have that kind of sleazy behaviour, it is a good idea to block referrers. It will help keep websites honest.

On the other hand, I'm not sure that Google particularly cares how I feel about that. Since they will have this information and web masters won't, could they be planning to sell it? Either way, I win.

Google turns on SSL encryption for search

Ole Juul

Time saver

"Actually, I did think of the idea years ago. I dismissed it. Why? Simple. It will offer little, if any, boost to security."

And I guess you think that the purpose is to boost security? Very funny. Blocking referrer data is where this is at. I am looking forward to not having my time wasted by fake pages customized with my search terms.

Google: Street View spycars did slurp your Wi-Fi

Ole Juul

What dog?

"For some reason, everybody seems to take it for granted. Like maybe other people do this every time they walk the dog. Do they? What am I missing?"

In my case the answer is simple: I don't have a dog. However, I suspect Google doesn't either, so it's even more mysterious. :)

Seriously: No, it is not normal to collect information on private networks, especially by someone who has the ability to correlate this with other information about the people involved. A private person doing this would probably get thrown in the clink. I think Google just wants to collect as much information on people as possible. They'll go as far as they can get away with.