Posts by Eguro

Snowden: Oh, PLEASE let me come to Germany and help Merkel with her phone

Let's pretend for a moment that Snowden is actually intending on moving himself from Russia to Germany (he's most likely not, but let's pretend).

Not only would he have to get binding assurances from Germany. He'd need assurance from Russia that he wont be lawyered out of his asylum because of some weird law.

He'd need assurances from any country he plans to cross - whether by land, sea, or air - that he wont be stopped and have his journey extended by a couple of thousand of kilometres (landing him in the US/Guatanamo Bay), he'd probably need assurances from the other EU countries too that the EU wont try to step in once he's within the EU.

There's just way too much stuff that could go wrong - especially when a video call could probably be just as good!

How Dark Mail Alliance hopes to roll out virtually NSA-proof email next year

I'm a fan!

The problem is - as I believe they are well aware - integrating it into the lives of regular people.

We might think people are surely willing to give up a little usability for a lot of freedom - but survey says we'd be wrong.

And no - I don't have an actual survey - this is a chance for people to prove me wrong and lift my spirits.

Re: SMTP?

Key exchange surely shouldn't be that big of a problem, if you're setting up a Dark Mail you can generate your public and private key locally and give Dark Mail your public key. Why would I need Dark Mail to generate my keys - that would mean that Dark Mail had access to the content of my emails, which is what we're trying to avoid

Cameron pledges public access to list of who REALLY owns firms

The fact that this report is apparently written by either a time-traveller, Cameron's speech-writer, or someone from the NSA is either; Awesome, neato, or frightening - respectively!

Re: If there is 100% participation

Your post is good, but it was Illuminaughty that brought it to up-vote status!

Brilliant!

Facebook tests sinister CURSOR-TRACKING in hunt for more ad bucks

Is the idea that user look at where the mouse is?

Because I feel rather sure the exact opposite is true. That little mouse-cursor is the bane of my reading/watching/lol'ing/liking experience! It is retired to some remote corner of the screen until I have need of its services again.

Also I would somehow expect this to backfire - even if it's somehow a good way of figuring out where users are looking. Oh look 98% of users never even look at the ads, and it seems all our ad-clicks are performed when a user has some sort of seizure.

FREEZE, GLASSHOLE! California cops bust Google Glass driver

Re: Dear Moran

Except for the second count: "Driving w/ monitor visible to driver (Google Glass)" - at least that's what I make it out to mean.

Re: For everyone saying 'good'..

You are right!

Let's allow everything until we know that it's not safe!

Why err on the side of caution - it's not like someone's going to die, right?!

Blighty's telcos set to CHOKE off another fistful of piracy gateways

Opera turbo = in-browser proxy service

Just in case you want to access the ruling a bit quicker to be informed about these horrible horrible sites...

NSA.gov goes down after ‘error during scheduled update’

You're missing the big picture here guys!

Much like when Google had big issues for short while - not at all related to NSA installing anything on their systems

This is NSA having issues for a short while - not at all related to the S-NSA (Secret-National Security Agency) installing anything on their systems.

Did you actually believe that the NSA was the top of the hill? That secret court orders and other such time-consuming nonsense was actually - genuinely - necessary?

Obama to Merkel: No Americans are listening to you on this call

I don't see the UN as some moral force for good.

I see it as a diplomatic institution, which will not work as well as we could hope, if everything done there is riddled with doubts - in the minds of politicians, NGOs, the populations of the world, and all others who are affected by decisions made there.

You might argue that spying will help alleviate the doubts in the politicians minds, but that is - I think - only partially true. And it most certainly cannot be true about the doubts of other groups - I sincerely doubt that the US envoy to the UN will go on National TV to tell the public about how their spies have found out things, that'll put current dealings in another light.

First off: Of course none of the other members of the security council are trustworthy - hence it being bundled with a bunch of none too good suggestions.

Secondly: You are right! Spying - when complementing hot-topic diplomacy - can be a good thing!

I can't help but notice, however, that you did not make examples of countries already on friendly terms.

I'm not as naive as to think spying doesn't take place between friendly countries (sadly?), but I would hope that the nations of the world could get together and do something about blatant spying in the UN. Furthermore, whilst spying can be good, being discovered in spying is not good.

I think I've said it previously, but surely with these scandals about the US spying on UN headquarters, it is about time to relocate the UN to a more trusted nation? One of the other countries on the security council? Or let it rotate in 5-10 year periods - OR declare one piece of land somewhere a no-mans-land and hold it there - OR convene in airport transit areas which are already no-mans-land!

Pirate Bay captain pleads with Swedes: Don't make me walk Danish plank

Now granted it's possible he cannot understand Danish, at least not to a level that'll suffice for legal matters, however translation is easily done.

The fact that he was acquitted of one crime - in Sweden - because his computer was not under his control (necessarily) doesn't mean that same defence will work in Denmark.

Even so, no excuse not to come to the wonderful country.

Lumia 2520: Our Vulture gets his claws on Nokia's first Windows RT slab

Re: connectivity?

Forgive me for asking a question, but who down-votes the above post?

If the corrections he's made are wrong, then sure downvote - but for the love all things post a reply correcting mistakes!

If the corrections he's made are spot on, then are you pissed because he made a semi-snarky remark at the end, or because you really wanted the tablet to be unable to do those things, and having someone shatter that dream pissed you off to no end?

I'm seriously asking, because I do not get it

Re: Office 2013 RT is not designed for commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities

[The post is required, and must contain letters.]

*15

Anti-food startup Soylent pours sugar daddies' $1.5m into its gloopy mix

I could see this perhaps working if it is marketed as a breakfast substitute.

5+ minutes more in bed is always a plus in my book. And breakfast is the most important meal of the day they say, so I'm fairly that single piece of bread isn't quite optimal.

Bacteria-chomping phages could kill off HOSPITAL SUPERBUGS

Re: One question...

My guess would be that there isn't simply a one-phage-hit-all thing in existence, but that you'd need specific variations to combat specific infections

Re: Good news!

"Could the Superbug Killer be a menace in disguise?"

"How the Superbug Killer could end up killing your family"

"Terrorists believed to support Phage research; Should you?"

Re: Giant person-eating super-phages

You could, but by that time the Phage(s) will simply the devour the bat as you're swinging it.

COFFEE AND DANISH HELL: National ID system cockup forces insecure Java on Danes

Minor update to the story

Nets have announced that come April next year a new approach will be made using javascript instead of java

(source: http://politiken.dk/tjek/digitalt/internet/ECE2107661/nets-dropper-java-i-den-naeste-version-af-nemid/ )

Also the system is now working

Re: One JVM to rule them all

Well the alternative would be every bank has different ways of you logging on, each with various security issues, each done differently, and each done by people of varying degrees of skill.

The NemID system is set up so users make an account (mostly just their social security number) and a password. Then when they log into NemID they are prompted to deliver a code matching a set of numbers. So 4452 = 452234 - which then gives you access.

If you are logging in using the correct bank page, then even if your account and password is stolen, the baddies still have to find a way to get the correct number, or they wont be able to log in.

It's not a perfect system, but it's easy enough for people to use, and secure enough that it would take quite an effort to gain access to an account. Unless you can get in the know about which numbers correspond to which for what users.

Microsoft plugs Xbox One consoles into its cloud - what could go wrong?

Okay Microsoft!

I know it's hard, but please - for the sake of those people getting an xbone - try not to screw this up by making it more "engaging" than it has to be!

Game Developers!

This might also be a difficult thing to grasp, but if you could go ahead and ensure that any games you develop with this in mind, is also able to be played without this service - that'd be great! And I do not just mean that SP will work, but MP too. If your game is really that great, then we will surely want to play it years from now when server support has died down. And if your goal isn't to make a game that great, then fuck off!

Luxembourgeois data protection watchdog probes Microsoft in Skype PRISM complaint

It seems we're reaching a point where including the companies in any talks like this would be redundant.

You simply write the NSA and ask what said company would be told to say, if they were asked these questions.

(No it hopefully isn't that bad, but we can't seriously trust anything a US company says it does or does not do, since they can simply have a order on them to say this or that)

NSA justifies hacking world's digital communications

We only wish to use the power of the atom for peaceful power generating purposes...

Snowden's email provider gave crypto keys to FBI – on paper printouts

Except you're assuming that the constitution is somehow relevant to these matters...

GTA V Online hits speed bumps: Short wait before you can rough up that hooker

Liked the SP

So far my multi-player experience consists of a little loading bar. I'm then told that the connection timed out.

I've been trying a few times during the last 8 hours (as in not every five minutes, but more like once every 1½ hours if I remembered)

The fact that - unlike Sim City - the singe player portion can be played without connection to the servers (which apparently can't be attained) is what saves GTA from being a huge disaster.

Of course, if online doesn't get up and running in the next day or two, it'll be quite horrid. Single player is good and all, but it wasn't nearly as big as it should have been in my opinion. And frankly the map seems somewhat empty and also underused (There's a freaking casino, which I cannot enter! I do _NOT_ want to see a Casino DLC R* - do ya hear!?)

Google FAILS in attempt to nix Gmail data-mining lawsuit

Re: Big consequences?

How about this then:

"there might actually be content in the mail that is meant only for the sender and receiver"

or

"there might actually be content in the mail that the recipient doesn't want Google to scan"

Now it could be that it's all very innocent. The system simply looks for key words and sends for ads related to that.

But Google has built an ad-empire on having a profile for their users. So when Legitmailaddress-gmail.com get an email, it seems unlikely that it would only go for ads related to "Thailand" and "travel" as was stated in the mail, but also for this or that type of travel based on other information it has about that user.

If Google believes it is allowed to scan user emails, then why wouldn't they throw this into the mix of profiles? Why wouldn't it use this information in full?

And no - not copying the email and keeping it, but extracting whatever is deemed to be useful information. Adding emphasis to some information or other that is already in the user profile, reducing emphasis.

And, as I've stated elsewhere, also know that some email or other is actually in use.

"you have to use reliable encryption" - Perhaps that is how it is, but that is not necessarily how it ought to be.

- but the systems have to scan the mail to be able to forward the information. That is true! This does not mean that whatever is scanned should then not simply be destroyed afterwards.

Just because I send a postcard, doesn't mean that the postman should feel free to read it and make notes about it.

It's like a really accurate chain of whisperers, but with the added function that every whisperer along the way from sender to receiver are able to actively forget what they whispered.

Incidentally what "evidence shown" are you talking about. I might have missed it! - Not irony/sarcasm/snark - legitimately curious!

Re: Well, actually…

And even if it isn't - the scanning is being done prior to the recipient reading the mail.

Are all Gmail users psychic?

They cannot decide to let Google read something, that they themselves have not read yet.

Re: Big consequences?

The point would be that the service isn't self-contained.

The things being done are not isolated to the mail itself.

Spam sorting could be done merely from addresses, something that is personalised by the user of Gmail.

The problem is when the actual content of the email is not just scanned for virus or spam, but is also stored, compared against marketing data, keywords saved to the google account for ads on other services. The sender email being stored as an active email, something for the broader system to know about.

MS word isn't sending the text file I sent to a friend and sending key words to MS and linking it with accounts and emails and any other information it can get away with.

As far as I know a letter is private to the sender and recipient, so the recipient does have the legal ability to publicize the letter. I think it would be legal for Google to have a "scan this mail" function. So that after a user has read a mail, he/she can allow Google access.

But of course it doesn't work in reverse, because there might actually be content in the mail that the recipient doesn't want Google to know about.

This will be interesting to follow.

The argument from Google will likely be that without scanning the mail, providing the service will be impossible from an economic stand-point, but that's simply a weird argument. They'll still have tons of information about the user whose gmail it is. They can still show all the ads they care for, they just can't read the contents of people's mail.

As for the information of who has sent you mails, that also offers a problem. Personally I don't like the idea that Google knows my email address (although they likely do since "friends" of mine have sent me g+ invites *sigh*), but on the other hand, in regular post the sender also displays his address prominently. I guess you might expect Google to not retain knowledge of who has sent mails to you. I don't expect the post-service to keep logs of who has sent mail to me over the years, so maybe even retaining information about who is sending mails to users would be a problem.

The personal assistant analogy is silly. Even if we accept it, it's still idiotic. Personal assistant can open my mail no problem, but please refrain from reading it, keeping notes about the content and then wear shirts displaying various ads that he/she deems I'd be interested in.

I'm more in favour of a post-service analogy. There are of course blatant differences, but the same level of privacy should be expected - primarily the cannot open my mail bit. But then again you pay for the regular post-service, so the analogy seems to hint at a problem all by itself. (As an aside: What about stamps that are instead adverts? Or envelopes made entirely from adverts? Both = free mail)

Now that we're kind of on the topic (or brushing it lightly), does anyone know of a free email service that has an automatic forwarding function? I should like an somewhat generic email that I can use for signing up, which will send mails on to my primary email.

US House Republicans: 'End net neutrality or no debt ceiling deal' – report

Re: Way to miss the dick in your digestive tract

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt#History_2

Let's not start pretending that the debt ceiling is this new-fangled idea invented by Obama to bankrupt America

It's America telling itself that it's okay to keep borrowing money. So I guess it's America acting like quite a lot of Americans seems to act/have acted. Except it wont be America's car that gets repossessed it'll be the world that gets stuck in a WW3 situation because America - like its banks - is too big to fail (or at least would like to think that it is)

PARTY!

There is a serious need for more parties in America!

As long as you're stuck with (basically) two parties bickering about things, it'll either be one party ruling everything with a majority (well super-majority, otherwise they'll just be filibustered), or two parties bickering endlessly.

If you had 4-5 (or a lot more) parties, then there'd be many more opportunities for give/take deals.

The assholes who make too high demands - or too stupid demands - for something that pretty much has to happen, will simply be cut out of deals.

"Wont help us raise the debt ceiling so we get to pay our debts and not go bankrupt, unless we hire 4 prostitutes for each of you to service you day & night? I guess we'll just have to deal with those other guys who only want our support for a bill regarding agricultural oversight"

Politics is (or perhaps is supposed to be) the act of various interests coming together to cooperatively develop a working framework within which the citizens of a country can prosper and thrive. These politics should be based on the people they are supposed to represent (at least in what purports to be a representational democracy of sorts), which explains why some countries are more liberal and others more socialist - or whatever leaning you might have.

When these various interests can only be represented by 2 major parties, then there isn't a lot of room for nuance.

My country has ~6 million people and something like 10 political parties. And even these are hardly able to properly represent the varied interests of the people. What are the odds that 2 parties will be able to represent the varied interests of 318 million people?

It's of course a very ingrained system and it'll take a lot to change it, even a little. One could hope that the internet would be a way to challenge and change the system. Bringing us back to the topic, this could be one reason why some lawmakers would like the internet to be under a bit more control.

Elop's enlarged package claim was a cock-up, admits Nokia chairman

Re: 18.8 Million Euros for what ?

Never say never

Nokia retains patents. I'm fairly sure they might have tied their brand to the deal for a few years, but when that's over nothing is stopping them getting back into the mobile game.

As have been proposed elsewhere, they might even have a little Jolla in their future.

Well one can dream...

Elop seems to have been taking his queues from the banking executives - even when you fail to do your job in a massive way, you get paid idiotic amounts of money.

Dodgy 'iMessage for Android' app deep-sixed by Google

Re: I'm sure app and website will soon be back.

"As soon as Google is informed that this is not clumsy programming, but NSA data collection outsourced to a company in China."

As if the NSA isn't already getting anything sent using iMessage?

Report says PRISM snooped on India's space, nuclear programs

Do not get caught!

The biggest problem with spying - be it on allies, enemies, or citizens - is when you get caught!

That damned Snowden. If he hadn't come along no one would've known that their rights were being violated, allies wouldn't have known that we trust them as far as we can throw them (and, with our country-throwing technology shrined back in the 60's, that's not very far), and enemies would've been in the dark about our knowledge of them.

What's that? Snowden isn't releasing much about our spying on enemies? He's probably selling it to them! He's most certainly an enemy of freedom! He's a terrorist! Worse! He's a smart person with ideals *shudders*

Privacy lawsuits: Will sueballs lobbed at US cloud services hit you where it HURTS?

Great article!

One thing I find confusing in all this privacy-lawsuit talk, if what exactly such a suit would hope to achieve.

Securing my data and getting it out of the hands of the foreign powers that be (most likely way too late now) would be my primary aim I guess.

But in what way would a business have to pay for sending my private info to incompatible zones?

Some monetary compensation? This is where you'll get the "but there's been no monetary harm" argument from some. So my question would wind up as: How much does it cost to violate the privacy of any one person? How is a privacy violation measured in terms of monetary harm?

Paris because that's how these topics make me feel sometimes

Zuck off, Zuck: Brit duo's JustDelete.Me nukes clingy web accounts

Re: And Facebook keeps all those pictures.

It's of course your choice if you want to believe what Facebook tells you, but - provided you already have an account - you'll pretty much have to.

Re: And Facebook keeps all those pictures.

Below is the "account deletion" section of the Data Use Policy from facebook (https://www.facebook.com/full_data_use_policy)

"Deletion

When you delete an account, it is permanently deleted from Facebook. It typically takes about one month to delete an account, but some information may remain in backup copies and logs for up to 90 days. You should only delete your account if you are sure you never want to reactivate it. You can delete your account at: https://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account

Learn more at: https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=356107851084108

Certain information is needed to provide you with services, so we only delete this information after you delete your account. Some of the things you do on Facebook aren’t stored in your account, like posting to a group or sending someone a message (where your friend may still have a message you sent, even after you delete your account). That information remains after you delete your account."

BBC releases MYSTERY RIDDLE poster for Doctor Who anniversary episode

Re: Big earner

Can't argue that Americans are unable to make great sci-fi.

It seems to me that it's somewhat of a bygone era though. The last great Sci-fi I've seen from America was Firefly, which was sadly cancelled (now why didn't the BBC pick that up!)

If I am wrong - which I sure as hell might be - then by all means point me to the new interesting and well made. thoroughly consistent sci-fi of America that I've missed!

US plaintiffs can seek damages over Street View data slurp - court

Re: Tinfoil haaaats!!1!

They have advanced algorithms in there. From a snapshot of data they can recreate any data that has ever been processed by that router.

They then take that knowledge and through a Signal-Delicifier turn it into cake.

Google scrambles to block backdoors

Nice Encryption you've got there

Now hand over all your information and don't tell anyone you've done!

I guess it'll at least make it harder for the other security services to get the data. It'll only be the NSA and by extension the GCHQ.

Google submits YET ANOTHER offer to fix 'search dominance' in EU

The problem isn't just whether those products are in fact the most popular ones, but also whether they are only the most popular ones because Google abused their monopoly to give those products an advantage.

If you typed maps into Google 3, 4, 5 years ago was it also to get to Google maps? Or was it to get to some map service which was ranked as groovy awesomeness?

If Tescos had service kiosks around towns where people could ask about the area - and these were the primary way for people to find things in the city, then if Tescos - without informing the users - consistently pointed people to their own products, even though others were closer/cheaper/better, then maybe you'd have a Tescos analogy that you could consider using.

The above - very wobbly - analogy might also highlight the problem with Google "advertising" their own services. Namely the claim being that they didn't advertise them - they simply presented them as though they were the best or most popular results, in times when they weren't.

The problem I could see arising now is that Google will have now created a situation where their services are the most popular (perhaps due to monopoly abuse, perhaps due to simply being super duper awesome at stuff) and can now freely go back to displaying most popular results only. In which case changing their practices would mean little, and the only thing that would really have any consequence would be a massive fine.

That earth-shattering NSA crypto-cracking: Have spooks smashed RC4?

Re: Look at NSA-approved crypto

"Why have the Guardian publicly stated that no Journalist should entrust anything to online communications of any kind, and stated that all online communications should be assumed to be compromised?"

This might be down to the quite scary amount of brute-force which can be applied.

If you're working on the NSA-story and you send information encrypted online, then it is highly likely to be intercepted and stored somewhere. Now if they cannot "easily" decrypt it, then they will have the data and be able to work on getting hands on the decryption key(s), or finding weaknesses in the implementation. Since not all the people who work at the Guardian are likely to be specialists trained in encryption -and a crash-course probably wont suffice, it's might simply be too insecure to do online.

Sure this could still be done with face-to-face meetings, but in those cases the NSA doesn't already have the info to decrypt. They might wind up with a decryption key and none or only some of the data.

I will grant you that your point has merit, and you could be close to (or at) the truth. I am merely trying to defend the opposite view. I really have no way of knowing what is or isn't secure in encryption.

Re: Look at NSA-approved crypto

That is not an impossible angle.

But you do not address the point made in the first post: The NSA will have to assume that any encryption they can break - others can break.

We can alter your argument a little and say that anything they approve to be encrypted using this encryption is stuff they don't mind the people they're assuming know how to crack the encryption know about.

The stuff they want to really keep secret they encrypt using their own, the stuff they want to keep secret from some/most they will encrypt with AES. If the argument is angled like that, then it's possible the NSA wants the public to think AES is unbroken, whilst secretly knowing that it is broken, and are willing to pay a price for this privilege.

This would of course imply them having secrets that they willingly "share" with (what I have to assume should be regarded as) enemies.

Microsoft - do you really think you can take on Google with Nokia?

Re: The title is too long.

So you're saying it'll be short, ugly and used only by MS employees?

Microsoft buys Nokia's mobile business

Okay!

In a perfect world this could turn out to spell great success for Nokia.

They still have their patents. MSFT is simply taking over the smart-phone divisions. (As far as I've understood it)

Nokia can spend all that money to (re)develop an OS, produce a wonderfully awesome phone. Hardware like a Lumia but without Winpho. Winpho will die since only MSFT will be producing phones using it. In a few years Nokia can smile and wave at Elop - as he leaves his chair as MSFT to "pursue other endeavours".

Presumably the powers that will remain at Nokia aren't daft, and if everyone here at El Reg saw this deal coming years ago, then perhaps they did too.

Enough wishful thinking for one comment. Harsh reality may soon bite again, but not until my fantasy-bubble coat is worn down.

Bradley Manning* sentenced to 35 years in prison

Re: AC aware of world beyond their borders

"Anyone expecting English culture in London, or German culture in Berlin, or even Italian culture in Rome, is going to be disappointed." - But mainly because they'll come to another country with grand expectations of what their culture "should" be.

As a fellow European I have visited various parts of Britain - including London a few times. In London I have had a traditional English Breakfast in a little shop. Had Sushi, gone to various pubs and celebrated Ale-festival (with ales from primarily Britain but other countries as well), seen "the sights", had fun in a park, had Chinese food, enjoyed some nice hospitality from mates there - including plenty of tea (in case you were worried), and lots of other stuff.

Now granted it was different to the B&B I stayed at in other parts Britain, but to say that it isn't English culture is, I think, a gross misrepresentation of what culture is. Just because it's not bowler-hats and umbrellas abound, doesn't mean it isn't English culture.

Reminds me of when a sports tournament was hosted in Denmark (Women's European Championship in Handball), and the audience was at times not on their best behaviour (I.E. Booing at Denmark's opponents). There was some (I think French) sports official who said that it wasn't Danish culture. I would probably say that the evidence suggests otherwise.

Firefox takes top marks in browser stability tests

Opera only switched to Webkit on their "next" browser:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/02/opera15_wtf/