* Posts by Danny 2

2212 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Jul 2009

UN privacy head slams 'worse than scary' UK surveillance bill

Danny 2

Re: "Reading is fundamental" too....

People click "I agree" out of pragmatism, to get the job done and get out of there. The fact EULAs are written by evil lawyers to trick decent folk doesn't negate the right to privacy, and I'm a bit shocked to hear you equate those or defend either.

I contracted once for a high rate, and signed willingly and greedily before regretting it when the middle-man started acting very shabbily for no good reason to both myself and the employer. The employer offered me a job directly and the agency pointed out a clause in the contract saying I was liable for £100,000 just for having listened to the job offer. I showed the contract to a decent lawyer and they said ignore it, it's so unfair it's unenforceable in court. I scoffed at the agency and they folded.

I'm guessing most EULAs are similarly unenforcable, they just use the legal process to wear you down. None of that relates to our "cause" for the right to reasonable privacy from our state.

Danny 2

Village life

$350 for an out of print book is one form of privacy!

I lived in a tiny village once where the local ancient gossip seemed to know everything about everyone, mainly by relentless interrogations and surveillance. She walked the length of the village looking in windows several times every day, and was so seemingly pathetic and charming many would open up to her chattiness, some joining in her gossip about others in the vain hope of getting in her good books. She'd then cross-reference that by checking with her sources, including two in the Dept of Social Security. Some residents got so annoyed at her they took counter-measures, mainly closing curtains and refusing to talk to anyone who talked to her. One guy would just her the finger each time he saw her passing his house.

There was still privacy, just less than in a city. It took me years to realise a distant cousin lived twenty doors up the road and only then because he kept getting my mail, and when a local family died in a road accident the first I heard was from the TV news report "A small village is in mourning tonight".

There was always privacy and always surveillance, it's just the surveillance is more wide-spread, easier, more intrusive and so more deserving of the middle-finger. There, saved you $350.

ProtonMail 'mitigates' DDoS attacks, says security not breached

Danny 2

Well, the fact they were DDoSed so heavily does suggest that was the only way to take them down, meaning their underlying security is good. I guess they really should have been more up to speed on the evolving nature of the DDoS threat, but at least they are now. Lot's of users have been asking them to speed up their plans for a premium paid service which shows how appreciated they are.

I hope this is such a high profile attack that experts will be able to identify the culprit.

Danny 2

I'm guessing the nature of their business made Proton Mail especially vulnerable to an encrypted flood attack, if that what this is. Things have changed since my day, the things we used to do to protect ourselves now themselves are the vulnerability. Swords versus shields I guess but you young web security bods have all my sympathy.

TalkTalk: Data was 'secure', erm, we beat rivals on price. Um, scratch that...

Danny 2

Re: The Freddie Mercury problem ..

A guy walks into a psychiatrist's office and says, hey doc, my sister's crazy! She thinks she's a sturgeon. Then the doc says, why don't you turn her in? Then the guy says, I would but I need the eggs.

ProtonMail DDoS wipeout: Day 6. Yes, we're still under attack

Danny 2

PM up due to Radware

"The Swiss-based secure email provider has selected Radware’s Attack Mitigation System (AMS) to help it take control of the situation and regain control of the mail service. Radware began working with ProtonMail on November 8th as part of their Emergency Response Service and service was restored shortly after."

http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=19088

Danny 2

They were being pragmatic. They were pressured because their ISP went down, taking some Swiss banks with them - the Swiss do love their banks. It was a small price to pay to avoid being deported. And of course it was a huge mistake that they won't make again. Not just because it encourages future script-kiddies, but because it distracts media attention, and your attention, from the nature of the secondary attack.

We don't need ProtonMail, we are all smart-arses who can properly use Open-PGP to chat among ourselves. But we can't convince anyone else to learn how to do that, so our doctors, our judiciary, our journalists and politicians need a simple 'tick box to encrypt' solution from a trusted provider. And we do need that, more than ever. Our state is increasingly psychotic, paranoid, irrational and violent. We can't all emigrate to Switzerland or Iceland, someone has to stick around to feed the cats.

Danny 2

"Maybe if you hadn’t paid the ransom to the wrong attackers it would be over"

Funny joke but still victim-blaming - what is the secondary attackers bitcoin, and would they really be satisfied with the pocket money originally demanded? I'm guessing the attack will stop only if ProtonMail say they'll no longer accept British email accounts, and issue a statement saying Theresa May is a saint, the UK is a bastion of freedom and they won't intrude here again with their dirty, nasty encryption.

It is cheering that they've raised their donation target, almost, and that they are now getting help from DDoSing experts. It's up and active, that's the main thing, and they obviously weren't cracked and maintained delivery of mails.

Personally I'm a bit down as I'm being prosecuted just now and expected some emails from the police, politicians and lawyers I'd emailed just before the attack - no such luck there. My bleeding useless, corrupt and dishonest court-appointed defence lawyer even blocked me as 'spam' after my first email to him. For all you tax-payers out there, legal aid today is benefits for lawyers, nothing more. I can't even confess unless I borrow money for the print-out! I also want to relocate to Switzerland, hell, even Syria seems a more rational destination just now. In the wise words of Ballboy, I hate Scotland.

Safe-mail.net goes titsup. Storage failure blamed

Danny 2

Yeah, at least PM aren't doing that. I guess being based in Israel rather than Switzerland brings it's own risks and protections.

"If your adversary is the Mossad, YOU'RE GONNA DIE AND THERE'S NOTHING THAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. The Mossad is not intimidated by the fact that you employ https://. If the Mossad wants your data, they're going to use a drone to replace your cellphone with a piece of uranium that's shaped like a cellphone, and when you die of tumors filled with tumors, they're going to hold a press conference and say "It wasn't us" as they wear t-shirts that say "IT WAS DEFINITELY US," and then they're going to buy all of your stuff at your estate sale so that they can directly look at the photos of your vacation instead of reading your insipid emails about them."

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/08/mickens_on_secu.html

Danny 2

Re: On ProtonMail and ethics

I should really add, over decades I've really appreciated the free knowledge you and your predecessors (Electronic Times, Computing Times?) have provided me. I've learned more from reading here than I ever learned from the expensive courses my employers used to send me on, both the articles and the comments. Lately it's all that's kept my oar in the water.

I guess that's why I'm holding you to a higher standard than I'd expect from other publications. Maybe that's unfair of me, sorry hoor, but if it's any consolation I soon won't be here to criticise and comment.

I've just read my ProtonMail messages, and even the lawyer the court appointed against my wishes has blocked me as spam, at least El Reg never banned me. I guess I should be requesting a solitary cell in advance before I cause a prison riot ;-(

Danny 2

ProtonMail is up instead of tits-up

For the moment. Get it while you can.

Danny 2

Thanks anon cow. I fully appreciate everyone's need for that status just now. I just wrote a huge rant on the subject which I decided not to post here (yet) so I don't tar this worthy cause with my personal issues, but I am mucking fad about this.

I still think an El Reg journalist could ask more informative questions, but I get why nobody else wants to stick their head above the parapet in this 21st century trench warfare.

Danny 2

Re: On ProtonMail and ethics

I'm annoyed at the ProtonMail hack for a couple of personal reasons - I've been promoting it heavily as an easy way for non-techies to secure communications, and I became over-reliant on it for an upcoming trial - emails to lawyers, police and politicians. I've learned that lesson and got the info I needed during the brief up-time.

I've also got my own suspicions about the nature of the secondary DDoS that of course are best kept below the line. However, ignoring all that, I'd say the story still has legs for one reason - the UK government legal attack on encryption. My paranoid conspiracy theories get enough thumbs up here that should indicate to you that I'm not alone in that concern.

I would be very, very interested if you could shed more light on the story through the interviews I suggested. Frankly if El Reg isn't pursuing this then what hope for technically clueless newspapers even understanding the issue? This is your stomping ground and it's your time to shine. (pretty please with a cherry on top)

Danny 2

On ProtonMail and ethics

If the original hackers/blackmailers of ProtonMail are claiming they didn't have have anything to do with the secondary DDoSing, and ProtonMail are claiming the same, then it seems like extremely lazy journalism to keep victim-blaming ProtonMail for their (hopefully temporary) demise. Paying the ransom was a mistake, but we all make mistakes under pressure, that is not the important point here.

El Reg is partly so interesting due your cynical computing coverage, but also due to your science coverage. ProtonMail is partly so trusted because it sprung from CERN. Get your priorities in order with this sort of misdirection or drop your science section. I expect more from you than from the BBC/state apologists as an independent, hopefully still cynical and brave, computing magazine.

Why not approach the ProtonMail founders for an interview on this take-down? Why not approach the original hackers for their take? Why not apply your standard 'Occams Razor' and just call a spade the GCHQ hack it so obviously is? That's what I expect from this place. You can display such bravado and machismo when we don't need it, step up now and prove your bravery when it is needed.

This isn't just about script-kiddie ransoms, this is about the future of private communications in the UK. Stand up for privacy and put your journalistic balls on the table.

ProtonMail pays ransom to end web tsunami – still gets washed offline

Danny 2

Re: GCHQ, j'accuse!

The Guardian had a bizarre angle-grinder incident recently, in case you didn't notice, with some OTT threats to take them offline, and out of print, thrown in for good measure.

I once mocked MI5 online once, a couple of years after I was wrongly blacklisted as a peace-protester. Guess what happened? I regret that mockery now, there are worse things than being blacklisted. They have no sense of humour, no sense of proportion when it comes to punishment.

I've stated the three dots I am joining. Of course, maybe another 'three letter agency' is trying to frame GCHQ, and of course I have no proof. It might be a duck-billed platypus confusing me, but it is waddling, swimming and quacking like a duck.

Danny 2

It is odd, I suspected the 'armada' were a front or a patsy, but maybe GCHQ had their number and just waited until they were useful. Or maybe one of their group was turned. Whatever, if I was one of those script-kiddies tonight I'd be very scared I'm suddenly paddling in the deep-end of the pool, next to a rather large fin.

Danny 2

It appears that ProtonMail understandably mistook the second attack for the first attack, and paid out the script-kiddies to stop the damage that the state-actor was doing.

As the script-kiddies said later on their coin, "Public Note: Somebody with great power, who wants ProtonMail dead, jumped in after our initial attack!"

Danny 2

GCHQ, j'accuse!

The last ProtonMail tweet before the attack was critical of the UK government. "In another attack on human rights, the British government is trying to ban ProtonMail" While that is true, it does seem ill-advisedly political and self-promoting now, given that GCHQ have no sense of humour.

The original hackers denied involvement in the second attack, saying in the bitcoin address used for the ransom demand, "We are not attacking ProtonMail! Our attack was small, directed at their IP only and lasted 15 minutes only! WE DO NOT HAVE THAT POWER! NOT EVEN CLOSE! We have no such power to crash data center and no reason to attack ProtonMail any more!"

The BBC article carefully fails to mention the allegation of state-sponsored actors, instead victim-blaming for paying the original ransom. Paying the ransom was stupid, not least because it obscures the real story that this was a state hack - our state hack.

One positive thing is that if GCHQ have to DDoS then they probably haven't been able to hack it.

Doctor Who's good/bad duality, war futility tale in The Zygon Inversion fails to fizz

Danny 2

"but the last five minutes of this made it the best for a quite a while, good basic drama"

A former girlfriend of mine once told me, "Well, you are not a bad lover", and I was overjoyed, it was the least negative thing I'd heard her say about anything. Please tell me that is you too, that "good basic drama" is your best review of the year and at best you consider Shakespeare "hit and miss"?

Danny 2

Re: For what it's worth....

The Sermon on the Mount is pretty, the Book of Job is elegant; save your understatement.

That scene was divine.

Who will rid me of this troublesome priest.

Danny 2

Re: A Complex Messiah

?Who is on first¿

You need a certain number (<14,000) before the census recognise your stated religion as a religion. This may be controversial but I bet there are more Whovians than Jedi living in the UK. Except of course in their Scottish HQ, Jediburgh.

Danny 2

Re: A Complex Messiah

I resisted the question mark after great temptation. To be honest my favourite character is Missy, Michelle Gomez, so my religious symbol should be ¿ rather than ?. I guess I'm an anti-Whovian at heart, but I need Whovians to prosper before I can oppose them

I'm a recent convert myself, although a life-long viewer, so before I start evangelising I do need some religious education as someone, probably me, wiped my memory repeatedly.

I also love the latest Pope but it took them 266 regenerations to get a good one, and their script writer still isn't up to speed. Still, the Jedi are the lowest-hanging fruit so let's start converting them first.

?Who is with me¿

Danny 2

Re: "How long can the ceasefire last?"

Repetition is never boring if you don't remember it. Some of my family have the luxury of dementia, but I am stuck with the vermouth and brandy that they forgot to hide.

Besides, don't your constant wars bore you? The shocking awe fireworks are good TV for the first five minutes, but all that failed nation building, forgotten heroes, 'collateral damage' stuff is deadly dull.

Danny 2

A Complex Messiah

The first two episodes of this series were a religious experience for me. Disappointing since then but this morning (no TV licence) made up for it. I'm sold on all this forgiveness stuff rammed down my throat and may even start trying it.

For the next UK census, if there is one, I'm going to list my religion as Whovian, and I'll try and convert all the Jedi. Who is with me.

Drones are dropping drugs into prisons and the US govt just doesn't know what to do

Danny 2

Re: The problem is that prisons are mainly two-dimensional

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Zone

The Phantom Zone was discovered by Jor-El and used on the planet Krypton as a method of imprisoning criminals. Previously, criminals were punished by being sealed into capsules and rocketed into orbit in suspended animation with crystal meths attached to their foreheads to slowly erase their criminal tendencies

Startup founder taken hostage by laid-off workers

Danny 2

Smile for revenge

The first time I was made redundant I was furious, as we'd just turned our first profit, been reassured by our boss and I'd just cancelled my mortgage insurance the previous day. We were being called in one at a time and I told my fellow sacked workers I'd give the boss hell when it was my turn. An older, wiser colleague told me, "Nah, go in and smile sadly, tell him what a pleasure it was to work for him and how much you wish him well. That way he'll feel far, far worse."

Danny 2

My favourite remains when the Bank of Ireland outsourced their IT staff, rehired them via HP for less pay, only for them to find porn on the bosses computer. Must be regular BOFH fans.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/22/hp_porn_row/

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/porn-finders-in-bank-had-been-outsourced-by-chief-executive-25916663.html

ProtonMail still under attack by DDoS bombardment

Danny 2

Re: Latest statement is pretty serious

I dunno, I'd never pay anything myself and am a wee bit disappointed they did. Still, I contributed to their fighting fund and already they are up to $15k.

My other query is did the script-kiddie blackmailer jump on the coat-tails of the APT, vice-versa, or are they one and the same?

Danny 2

Latest statement is pretty serious

https://protonmaildotcom.wordpress.com/

Slightly before midnight on November 3rd, 2015, we received a blackmail email from a group of criminals who have been responsible for a string of DDOS attacks which have happened across Switzerland in the past few weeks.

...

At this point, we were placed under a lot of pressure by third parties to just pay the ransom, which we grudgingly agreed to do at 3:30PM Geneva time to the bitcoin address 1FxHcZzW3z9NRSUnQ9Pcp58ddYaSuN1T2y. We hoped that by paying, we could spare the other companies impacted by the attack against us, but the attacks continued nevertheless.

...

This means that ProtonMail is likely under attack by two separate groups, with the second attackers exhibiting capabilities more commonly possessed by state-sponsored actors. It also shows that the second attackers were not afraid of causing massive collateral damage in order to get at us.

Danny 2
Thumb Down

Re: Looks like VFEMail.net is down too

"Our provider, TSRSolutions, has turned off our IP Address space due to an extortion DDOS attack from Armada Collective."

The Armada Collective? I'm guessing that is the English Armada Collective rather than the Spanish Armada Collective. Piss-poor pissants, dastardly bastards, priggish, well you get the gist.

Danny 2

Re: Who?

Sorry, my bad, the last 31 years. Telecommunications Act 1984.

Danny 2

Re: Looks like VFEMail.net is down too

ProtonMail is up, at least temporarily.

Danny 2

Re: Who?

I'm sorry, the idea that this would be too illegal or too stupid for GCHQ to risk is hardly borne out by the past 41 years of GCHQ being exactly this illegal and stupid.

Danny 2

Quacking like GCHQ

The last ProtonMail tweet before the DDOSing was unusually strident and political for them, "“In another attack on human rights, the British government is trying to ban ProtonMail”.

May stated, "“There should be no area of cyberspace which is a haven for those who seek to harm us to plot, poison minds and peddle hatred under the radar.”

Motive, means and opportunity.

Google engineer names and shames dodgy USB Type-C cable makers

Danny 2

Excellent use of sark

"Understandably, Leung used his new Google Chrome Pixel laptop and Nexus smartphone for the tests."

I've an old VMEbus cable up the loft, cost £100 thirty years ago and that was cost. Twisted pairs, shielded ribbon, resistors too, as used in CERN. Sentimental value - £5 to a museum.

UK's internet spy law: £250m in costs could balloon to £2 BILLION

Danny 2

Re: Laughing all the way to the Banksy

I agree, just like Warhol and Picasso did. They made their point(s), sold out in their own lifetimes, and still are above reproach.

I must be stupider than sin to realise this and still be this poor. Wanna buy an early sketch of mine while it's still cheap? Guarantee I'll kill myself once I'm a millionaire.

Danny 2

"Terrorists / IS / bigtime criminals" already do use encryption, they have done for years.

This is about your doctors, your lawyers, your politicians being nobbled by the state. It's about population control, not crime reduction.

Danny 2

Laughing all the way to the Banksy

Sorry for being off-topic on a great article, but I bet Banksy would be worth £2 billion if he'd copyrighted his work. Anyone can copy his stencils, with a bit of practice do better original ones, but people rip buildings apart to ship them abroad for auction. He really has proven his point that the art world is insane.

Linus Torvalds targeted by honeytraps, claims Eric S. Raymond

Danny 2

Re: Teacher accusations

My pal is a male teacher, top bloke and family guy, and he never leaves the classroom door closed and always has a teaching assistant present for one-to-ones with pupils. Sad, but I think necessary given how many utterly sick men seek out these roles. But not just sick men though, that's the catch.

On a lighter note, another pal, a total smart arse, used this to great effect in the '80s. He'd dragged me in to get tested by Scientologists (I hadn't heard of them back then) and we sat their test. He was just mocking them and me, but they obviously freaked even him so he said to make a run for it. A scientologist chased us out onto the street, weirdo, so my pal shouted at the top of his voice, "IF YOU EVER TOUCH HIM THERE AGAIN I'LL CALL THE POLICE". The entire street full of people stopped and stared, and I was almost as embarrassed as the scientologist, who fled and locked the door behind him.

Danny 2

Re: Sh...it happens

I was contrasting, not comparing, two different type of 'honeypot' type situations. Neither require any actual conspiracy, though both may have been. Both could have been avoided if the guy had been less horny, hence my lighthearted recommendation of celibacy plus porn.

Personally in both cases my sympathies lie with the male. I'm a male so you may think I'm biased but I also consider myself a feminist. Assange should have known that if you make an enemy of the security services then you can expect a little 'zersetzung', whether or not that is the case. Carter-Silk should have known it is safer today to insult a woman's looks than to praise them. Silly boys both, but they have my sympathies.

Danny 2

Re: Honeypot??

I mean, look at the man on the right before criticising the woman on the left. I'll be getting my internet-bullet proof jacket...

Danny 2
Coat

Sh...it happens

[First two disclosures:

1) I once commented nicely to ESR on his site and he threatened to shoot me - over the internet?! I knew he was a good programmer but still...

2) I've loved two women who made false rape accusations, against other men, for no sane reason. It happens, just far less often than actual rape goes unreported. ]

Julian Assange is still locked up in an embassy for being silly.

Charlotte Proudman got a Guardian column for being silly.

Celibacy and internet porn is the only sensible path for today. I'm sure you all already know that...

Fake IT admin tricked Cox rep into handing over customer database – cableco fined $600k

Danny 2

Last night's nightmare

I dreamed I was a sys admin about to be fired for a mistake beyond my ken that I hadn't anticipated. I was about to be blamed for something that wasn't my fault, and I felt terrified. Then I woke up relieved for moment or two realising it was just a bad dream, induced from reading too many articles here

And then as I woke up I remembered I'd actually been blacklisted for the past fourteen years for no good reason, and yet I'd survived fairly happily since then. Intelligent people always survive anything we used to fear. It's not as bad as we imagine, at worst it's unfair punishment and we are used to that.

My needy, fearful nightmares as a sys admin and higher back then were and are far more scary than the actuality. What is odd is I have faced the worst punishment you fear most, and far, far worse, but when I have anxiety nightmares I still worry subconsciously about daily backups, teenage hackers and commuting traffic jams. Those are life-long soul-killers

Worry less. The best thing they can do you is sack you. You will survive, and might even prosper - but the fear is a constant.

Licence to snoop: Ipso facto, crypto embargo? Draft Investigatory Powers bill lands

Danny 2

Re: This is a typical english forum

Um, typically British forum. I've been trying and failing to persuade my SNP MSP to use Protonmail for months. I even suggested they bung Protonmail a large amount of cash to issue every Scot a protonmail account. Plus my doctor, who innocently mistook my request for a single date of treatment and sent out my entire medical records via gmail. Not that I wanted to work for google anyway.

Google snaps Dutch woman completely taking the piss

Danny 2

Show the face at least

I believe this is my ex-fiancee. She did silly things like try to iron her blouse while wearing it. She also wouldn't be ashamed of me identifying her if it was her, no Dutch person is ashamed of peeing in public. That's the real reason they have canals.

Doctor Who's The Zygon Invasion shape-shifts Clara and brings yet more hybrids

Danny 2

Benefit-claiming Zygons

Attila the Stockbroker (Attila the Time Traveller?) wrote a wonderful poem in 2002 on the same line, here's part of it:

Asylum seeking Daleks

are landing here at noon!

Why can't we simply send them back

or stick them on the moon?

It says here in the Daily Mail

they're coming here to stay -

The Loony Lefties let them in!

The middle class will pay......

They say that they're all pacifists:

that doesn't wash with me!

The last time I saw one I hid

Weeks behind the settee...

Good Lord - they're pink. With purple bumps!

There's photos of them here!

Not just extra-terrestial....

The bloody things are queer!

UK MPs have right old whinge about ‘defunct’ Wilson Doctrine

Danny 2

I don't like that I am spied upon by my state, and that parliamentary representatives allowed this, but this is more important than schadenfreude.

When people have legal problems and the judiciary fails them then they complain to MPs. When your state acts illegally and you want to blow the whistle, then you should be able to write to your MP.

Politicians, doctors and lawyers need special protection from state snooping, not for their sake but for our sake.

Now the state has pointed out that they don't and won't respect that. Activists already knew that the state breaks it's own laws, I once discussed this with the local top cop and he stated honestly "If we can do it, we will do it" - an open admission of illegality that he was utterly fine with making.

Technologists - techies - need to protect these people especially from the NSA/GCHQ, because laws alone have failed to do that. I personally have suffered from my data leaking from the NHS and my MP, so I'm sure it is common.

You can't have a functional democracy without privacy.

Mistakes over GCHQ codebreaker's death crippled inquiry

Danny 2

Keep-It-Simple-Stupid of Death

Blair and Campbell killed David Kelly by leaking his name to the press in a game of 20 questions, even if it was a suicide. It is ridiculous to say that it couldn't have been a murder because he himself feared for his life if his name was mentioned. Perhaps it was someone, a rogue foreign element or whoever, trying to make it look like Blair ordered the killing. I don't trust Blair's sincerity, I think subsequent events proved how ready he and his neo-con allies were to kill. I'd like to see all politicians regularly comprehensively tested for psychopathy.

The Shirlie McKie and Lockerbie cases prove how unreliable state 'proof' is. Lockerbie remains the UKs biggest terrorist attack, if that what it was, and the fact that conviction is based on an obvious mistrial that still hasn't been righted indicates that we'll never know the truth in this case.

While it might just be possible to kill yourself in a bag in a bath, that seems the most fanciful of scenarios and it is suspicious it is even suggested, especially given the other evidence of the clean flat and the unidentified couple. Of course he was murdered, Occam's Razor. He worked in a dangerous environment, so whether it was an office affair gone wrong, or a foreign government trying to turn him, or his employer punishing him for refusing to confirm two plus two equals five, that's where the questions lie. The fact the investigation was stimied and mucked up hints at our states complicity.

UK.gov gives nod to .scot

Danny 2

Re: Yes but...

"with four- or five letter domains they're not proper countries"

Aye, right, says you Jimmy! It's just a convention to use ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes in the Domain Name System as country code top-level domains. It's not always followed which is why this is theregister.co.uk instead of theregister.co.gb - so Scotland can have a different alpha-2 code than it's ccTLD. Plus being the first independent nation with a four letter ccTLD would be a mark of distinction, innovation and modernity.

When this story was first reported on the Scotsman the suggestion was .Sco, and I was the first person to point out that as four letter ccTLDs were available then Dot Scot made far more sense. Partly due to a dislike of Sco-Unix, but mostly because it rhymes and is more intuitive.