Posts by JCitizen 947 publicly visible posts • joined 16 Jul 2012
Good points, I like your comparisons - thanks for commenting! Spintronics never seemed to take off, and that is probably why. I was always wondering if it were possible to disturb the spin of the valence shells, then almost anything could knock that out of kilter and result in data loss. I think the early laser experiments made more sense, as they theoretically could have been more permanent. Obviously it did't work as it looks like they abandoned that scheme.
I can see how it could be confusing for us unfamiliar with deeper nuclear physics. I'm sure you are right because of the discussions in the article about core nucleus perturbances under the valence shells. IIRC the first time I read about spintronics, they were experimenting with using lasers and silicone based storage mediums - so things have changed a lot with that research as well.
I disagree there is no application - can you imagine how shrunken the space data storage would use with each atom spinning in its own direction, using any degree of spin in 360 degrees? it would also possibly make binary computing obsolete. You would no longer need just zeros an ones; but a whole zoo of combinations as various as a master encryption method!!
my stupid fellow Americans are okay with unconstitutional acts like this as long as they seem to be successful, but not one object of these investigations was successful - in fact there was only one failure FISA led investigation, that didn't turn up any terrorists in the end. The ONLY reason the US has had some success is because the various agencies were finally allowed to share information. And THAT is all that was necessary - Homeland security was that sharing instrument, and the only part of that success - but the media seems complacent not to point that out. At least the majority of the media doesn't.
Yep, and just like the same companies have done to NASA since the old moon program, it is just one cost over run and another. Business as usual. If NASA wanted to get to the moon on time and on budget, it would be more likely to just let Space - X do it.
We didn't use firewalls for our CNC machines, we used a network 3 position switch. It was completely cutoff from the network when the switch was set. We only changed programs occasionally, and it only took a couple of minutes to download the program. I'm sure the server was probably air gapped from the web as well. There may be G-code hackers out there, but I've never heard of one. SCADA yes, PLCs maybe, but not G-code.
Everything else ran on punched tape - so no problems there.
It is a sad fact they took the bloated universial fits all cr@pware road, so many formerly good AV utilities did - but I finally trashed it over a year ago when it failed to detect a major drive by attack I got from a infected malvertisement. Sad thing is Essentials or Windows Defender is all we got if we are poor now. But I guess it depends on how you look at it. Almost none of today's competent malware is detectable anyway, so you will have to pay through the nose and get an anti-malware that uses differant tactics than yesterday's AM solution.
ESET is probably one of them, but I've had better luck since I ditched Avast, and left my life time licensed MBAM solution on board. It turned out Avast was too busy blocking MBAM, and when I finally got rid of it, I found MBAM was doing a better job by itself. It can occasionally trip up undetected malware by simply blocking certain actions by enhancing the Window permissions them selves. I know I have an attack when the screen goes black and a windows error box tells me I don't have the permissions to do what "I'm" supposedly trying to do. I think this is also how MBAM fights ransomware - quite similar to CryptoPrevent, but up to date and not free anymore.
If anybody knows of a file cleaner that can get rid of LSO's and Zombie files, please let us know, because now CCleaner has been acquired by Avast, and now it nags you with popup ads as well! So it is just a matter of time before malware finds a vulnerability in it too!
I've watched many a documentary about Armstrong's ability to fly the lander; he was the only one that flew one on earth without getting killed (he was quick to eject). THAT is why he was selected instead of Buzz. After the 1st landing, NASA would not allow Armstrong to continue in the space program, because they didn't want America's hero getting killed later on. The US did things like that in WW2, as it was considered a national interest to save America's heroes. The airmen that came back in the Memphis Bell B-17 bomber were not allowed to fly combat missions anymore as well. It was all a morale issue at the very least.
Our FCC, SEC, or somebody, should be levying fines like that for every breach we have - because it is obvious that , " they don't take security seriously" at many US firms. I get tired of reading all the breaches, it is time to kick some arse!! 500,000 USD is better than nothing, which is what they get over here, nothing!
Microsoft has never vetted the users at Azure, and that is a bad problem. I had a friend who was attacked by bad actors on Azure, when it started out a few years ago; and so vigorously, that the only way to tell MS their problems was to snail mail them, and they acted like nothing happened. Getting on Azure if you have an IP to protect is like playing with dynamite. Proceed at your own risk!!
Especially if your company is a network security newbie; they will have your phone, system, email, and network thoroughly pwned before you know it.
How do you know the old "Orange One" didn't decide to strap a TLA onto the thing to bomb Iran? That would be a handy excuse to say, "we didn't do it - Allah did!" Hee! Hee! Hee!
It is the perfect excuse - especially since they already worship a space rock every Hajj at Mecca, how could they lose! Hee! Hee! Hee!
I knew this scheme and more than half of the other things in the original terrorist laws were a waste of time. There is one simple fact they keep trying to skirt - THEY KNEW THE 911 ATTACK WAS COMING but wouldn't listen to their field people about the warning signs; and the three letter agencies weren't allowed to communicate with each other to compare threats and data - So DUH! The single most valuable act that resulted from the early laws, was the combining of intelligence from ALL the agencies, and the easy sharing between such agencies.
HOWEVER! We also forget there was a reason that separation of law enforcement and intelligence agencies was done in the first place - because it was ABUSED during the civil rights and anti-war movement days. I'm willing to risk the abuse, but they must cut back to simple data sharing, and that is all - no other special powers need be given these people, because using common sense and age old investigative techniques are more efficient and effective in the first place. Keeping the public aware to report if they see something and make sure and say something will be even more effective - and THAT is where the data gathering and maybe even Advanced Intelligence needs to be focused. Let the AI bots look at read all the public available knowledge out there and I guarantee they will catch more plots for crazy people to commit than ever before.
In fact, we have foiled more school shootings in our state, by simply using the "see something say something" adage than anything else.
It is almost impossible to detect today's malware; I only use AM as a stop gap measure - I rely on other methods to hopefully foil the plans of the criminals who write such code - kernel based methods can protect the system, but if the criminal gains administrative access, all bets are off. BTW; the malware today is also highly automated and can call downloads from the internet that can foil most firewalls and add more capability in an automated attack - the original criminal doesn't even have to take control for a while, because the malware can do almost all his dirty work. RDP control is usually his last step.
Well, the closest thing to that I can think of is the cookie vault in CCleaner - you can put the cookies you want to keep in the vault and when cleaning, it will leave those alone. But you have to close the browser to do the cleaning, I've noticed since I started using DuckDuckGo on Chrome, I have way fewer cookies to clean each time. DDG has granular control of what you want to block on each site and it remembers that. I think it is way better even, than NoScript!
And NSA expects us to just roll over and let them do it some more with today's encryption. They would be better off just doing some old fashion gum shoe work, and do what hackers do - infect the devices with malware to spy on the end points. It is probably even more effective, because it keeps the enemy guessing at just how much the opposition knows. Nation state bad actors have been doing it successfully for decades.
I've had too many years doing support for poor bastards that used Norton (Symantec) than to EVER recommend them!! ESET is probably the best AV bar none, but I get by pretty well with my lifetime licence of Malwarebytes Anti-malware. It is pretty much an AV as well as an AM solution now. I does a better job by itself than Avast has been able to for years now. I was quite the Avast fan for many years - but when detection got so low with all the products out there, it was better to at least use something that could thwart ransomware - which MBAM has a reputation of being able to do. It also keeps some undetected malware from gaining operating system permissions, which makes it more valuable than any other cheap solution. I don't know what NOD32 charges for a year now, but I'd assume it isn't cheap.
The 2nd Amendment isn't about the abuse of people's rights, it is about the undeniable reason to have that right - just because dirt bags abuse them doesn't excuse removing them. It is about having the tools to avert tyranny, and that can happen quickly in history - the US came close during the Great Depression; it could tip over in the future - in fact many think Trump is the US version of Hitler - no US citizen wants to give up all their rights just to be safe - it ISN"T worth it!
Besides this fact my friends and relatives across the pond tell me it is easy peasy to get an illegal firearm. What good was having the law if any bad guy can get a gun if he wants too? There is a data map of the world that shows that the US is not the dangerous place in per-capita deaths by violence committed by firearms that many would have you believe. In fact it is the more dictatorial countries that not only outlaw personal firearm possession, but will do so violently at the drop of a hat. Many of them are a hot bed of violence by firearm, compared to the rest of the world.
https://jaymans.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/violence-map.png
Seems to me the easiest solution is to do just what criminals do when they want information on a target that uses encryption. Simply get a virus/malware on the target system, and surveil the subject that way. All the LEOs would have to do is get a court order to place this "malware" on the target's system to gather the required information. Time limits could be ordered by judges, and the malware could self destruct along that court's guidelines. Am I missing anything here? Encryption has not stopped nation state bad actors, why should it stop the Law Enforcement Officers?
Just mining H3 from the Lunar soil, which has more than anywhere else ( supposedly); That could get fusion researchers excited enough to lend a hand to private venture. If all the present privateers worked together, they could get to the moon even faster! They might even want to build the world's ( or solar system's) first successful fusion reactor on the moon.
Since helium 3 is more common on the moon that anywhere on earth, one could use fusion to literally build oxygen out of helium building blocks. It is just a matter of swapping out protons and such until you get an O2 molecule. The moon would be much easier to do fusion on anyway because of the low gravity. Since they have had relatively good success doing so on earth these days, it should be even easier up there. Helium 3 fusion reactions have an advantage no other element has, because it puts off less radiation and more power during the fusion process. The disadvantage of high heat, would be offset by an easier process of magnetic containment. The equipment used would gain much less radioactivity during this process. It has a lot of advantages, all of which focus on the fact that the moon is as close to the perfect source and environment for such projects.
These companies just want to get rid of competition, they don't care if it is a good product or not - they can just buy them out and let them die on the vine - they could care less. It is just one of the disgusting aspects of capitalism, but still the best system we know. Someone else could start the idea over again and just change the name, as long as they aren't violating any copyrights or patents, they could bring back the same service and let someone else buy them out again. A good venture minded group could do just that too. Maybe the old employees will quit and start over again - If they didn't sign any agreements preventing that.
Avast used to be a good AV, but I found that a fully updated PC with all apps updated, and running as a restricted user, can protect against malware incursions just as well. However I still use the paid version of MBAM just in case, and it does well enough alone. I now recommend just using Windows Defender for most folks and train them to watch out and think before clicking on pop ups; and all is well - expecially if they clean the files often. Unfortunately Avast bought Piriform so now CCleaner is slowing down, but until I can find another free file cleaner that removes LSOs and Zombie files, I'll have to put up with another Avast product again.
@MIke 137 ----- That is exactly right. I install DuckDuckGo and it does a much better job blocking everything on the web sites than Avast did, and you can adjust the controls for each site and support sites that need the ad dollar to stay in business. It especially works on Chrome which is why it was developed. I'd swear Chrome runs faster with it enabled.
Avast is fairly good for a free ware AV, but I have a life time license for MBAM, so I don't need it anymore. I use my PC as a restricted user, so the bugs can't take over, and simply run CCleaner to make sure no attack files are left over from surfing the web. Unfortunately Avast bought CCleaner, so now it is getting slow - but I don't know any other file cleaner that can remove Zombie files and LSOs, and the minute I can find one that is less of a problem,, I will switch to it.
I watched a time lapse film of several stars orbiting a black hole - the orbit was highly elliptic though. If this can happen why not planets? I'd imagine black holes could rob planets from star systems and probably gobble a lot of them up as well. Who would really know if those stars were formed from being close to a black hole or not - many questions here. I know it is realistic to assume no stars and only planets can form around a black hole orbit, but who is to say they couldn't get so massive they'd graduate to star size?
As far as that goes, you can set off a tiny fusion reaction with a focused set of lasers, and a ball of heavy water. Of course the collimator must be extremely precise, and building the small porous glass beads to hold the water is quite a trick, because the beads must also be precisely manufactures as well. The only problem is, that the reaction of a reasonable sized device is only about as powerful as a good sized firecracker. To make one as powerful as a stick of dynamite, you would probably have to build one the size of a building. The precision required to make the water "fish bowl" would become even more difficult to build as well.
A Canadian company has surprisingly claimed to be able to generate fusion energy using rather simple mechanical means that are similar to the laser method, but rely on focused pressure in a plasma target - the General Fusion design instead uses a large number of steam-driven pistons to mechanically compress a vortex of liquid metal. As I understand it, the liquid metal solves the neutron problems associated with fusion energy, and also acts as the transfer of heat to the generator mechanisms. Obviously they must be claiming the resulting energy is greater than the energy used to generate the steam pressure.
Besides the fact that our THAADS anti-missile defenses would quickly exhaust these puny arsenals the Norks and Pakis would have. Before you criticize the effectiveness of these star-wars like defenses, just look at how well Iron Dome in Israel is working, and who do you think helped us improve our short range anti-missile defenses?
There are web sites that store samples of various malware; but those are so old that they are past zero day protections of the browser or your anti-malware stop them by definition alone. The last time I played with it, I used junk email accounts I set up just for that purpose. I assume they would still be a good source. Check out Matt at malware-removal.com --- he is running behind on the latest releases of anti-malware, so he must be pretty busy, but he has good ideas one can latch onto.
"The big problem with this is if the malware has admin privileges"
There you go! CryptoPrevent denies administrative access to the malware using some not so simple MMC policies (and maybe a snap in or more). When the free version was supported, I tested it against all the ransomware I could find as test samples, or from junk email sources, and at that time no malware could bypass it. I quit testing it when the free version ended updating; so I have no idea if the new company that bought out Foolish-IT has kept up with the latest malware.
Andy Granitelli ran the legendary STP Indy car racing teams of the 60's and 70's. Detailed in his book about testing JATO rockets on 1940 built cars; and survived a stint of over 150 mph. Now the only reason he survived was because these were 1st generation rockets, and he was lucky most of them didn't ignite, and probably because of the old fuel in them didn't put out the power they might have as brand new.
You can believe it or not, but I read about it when I was a kid, and he even had pictures of the following chase car which had windows and head lights fused so badly by the heat, that you couldn't see out of the car anymore. He had about three rockets on the car, IIRC, and only one fired, undoubtedly saving his life.
That in the 1970s we studied his theories on law enforcement tactics, while I was in police science in college. As mayor of New York city Giuliani put some of them to the test; and cleaned up crime using the newest methods and computer tools, and made it safe to be a tourist to the city again. He also had a record of being a brilliant prosecutor. I think he is just losing it and getting too old to be of service to his country any longer. It is sad!
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