Posts by Vociferous

Wait, what? TrueCrypt 'decrypted' by FBI to nail doc-stealing sysadmin

Re: Pretty obvious - a keylogger was installed

> The install collates the data into a form ready to send, checks the privacy settings, then reports that the diagnostic data can't be sent due to said, settings.

I will bet you ten quatloos that all the privacy settings in Windows 10 you've turned off will be turned back on without any notice during some software update. It doesn't even require intentional effort by Microsoft (even though I expect there will be) because such is the nature of default settings.

Microsoft vacates moral high ground for the data slurpers' cesspit

The Win 10 privacy ̶t̶e̶x̶t̶ book is really interesting.

In it, Microsoft gives itself the right to search documents in your My Documents folder, and use that to create a profile of what words you use, for identification purposes. Speaking of identification, Win10 by default lets website check your unique computer ID. It wouldn't do to have ad serving thwarted by people using multiple online identities, would it?

Microsoft gives itself the right to install a keylogger on your computer. If Microsoft suspects you of being a pirate, Microsoft asserts the right to read your mails and search your computer for evidence.

All your base ARE belong to Microsoft.

Testing Motorola's Moto G third-gen mobe: Is it still king of the hill?

The only things I've not liked about my Moto G...

...are the awful camera, and the even worse sound quality when playing music. In all other aspects it's a fantastic phone. After reading this article I still don't know if the sound quality and camera have been improved.

No, Microsoft: Your one-billion Windows 10 goal is just sad ... really sad

Re: The true Microsoft facts

You're living in a dream world.

Does price matter?

I look at those sales charts, all those hundreds of millions of PCs and cellphones, and wonder -- is it completely irrelevant that the just the graphics card to my PC cost more than my smartphone? That just my Steam library represents a value roughly 500 times the sum total I've spent on phone apps?

Seems to me, with cellphones only the producer and the carrier makes money.

New Zealand Supreme Court says Kim Dotcom search warrants were legal

When even Google gets pummelled by the MPAA and its tame officials...

...what chance does Kim Dotcom have, never mind Joe Average?

The Verge has reported that the MPAA and the major Hollywood studios directly funded various state Attorneys General, including Hood, in their efforts to attack and shame Google.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/12/7382287/project-goliath

FBI warns of disk NUKE malware after Sony Pictures megahack

Russia is cosying up to Nork.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/19/vladimir-putin-invites-north-korea-kim-jong-un-moscow

Can't possibly lead to any good.

Makers of Snowden movie Citizenfour sued by ex-oil exec

Re: Traitor to the USA (not America)?

> but hero to the free world?

In a way. He got publicity for things which were already known (very little of what he leaked about the spying on EU citizens hadn't already been published), and it's good that it finally got EU citizens to realize that their data isn't safe. And hardening data against NSA spying automatically means it gets harder for the Russians and Chinese to steal too, which is a good thing.

I'm not sure that outweighs the damage he did to the spying on the non-free world.

> I'll get back to you whem I can confirm exactly where the free world is

You should travel more. You need to spend some time in, let's say, United Arab Emirates, China, or Russia. Try criticizing the government, or get in a legal spat with an official while you're there. Because it seems as if you think you're being oppressed, living in the UK.

Re: Horace Edwards... The best case I know of for Retroactive Birth Control!

A whistleblower may damage his country, but that's not his motivation. His motivation is exposing illegal activities.

A traitor may expose illegal activities, but that's not his motivation. His motivation is damaging his country.

Considering that only the first two leaks contained anything which might possibly be illegal, it's clear that Snowden is a traitor, not a whistleblower -- and DEFINITLY not a patriot.

Ironic, given the furore over The Interview.

But he's right that Snowden is a traitor. Or more likely a Chinese spy.

If he'd stopped leaking after his first two leaks, where he exposed potentially illegal snooping on US citizens, he'd have been a whistleblower. Instead he kept leaking details on how the US kept tabs on the dictators Assad and Putin. Those activities were neither illegal nor unethical, but in fact exactly what the NSA are supposed to do.

Google's first stab at control-free ROBOT car rolls off the line

Re: Hands on…

Couldn't agree more. Also...

"when I looked to my right there was a pedestrian standing very close to the curb, giving the awkward body language that he was planning on jaywalking"

God, I hate people who do that. Or the tits who stand at a zebra crossing, talking on their phone. Do they intend to cross? Are they aware of the traffic? Are they going to suddenly take a big step out right in front of my car when they finally agree on what to buy for dinner?

Re: The technology doesn't matter

> My guess is, it is designed to look small and vulnerable to discourage the assholes that, for instance, deliberately attack Prius drivers

Yeah, pretty much. I saw an interview a while back where they talked about the techno-fear Google Glass had caused, and how the design of the Google car was intentionally toy-like and cute to avoid it suffering the same fate. It's really hard to imagine that car as the Skynet out to exterminate humanity.

Re: The beginning of the end of driver as an occupation.

> And the end of rail travel too.

Possibly. Depends on how the economics works out, and what side of the equation heavy cargo ends up, but it's possible driverless, networked cars could obsolete rail travel as well.

The beginning of the end of driver as an occupation.

Going the way of gaslighters and typists.

And if this isn't a broadside against Uber's business idea, I don't know what is.

Norks' internet goes TITSUP in possible DDoS attack

Couldn't have happened to a nicer dictatorship.

Or should that be "wouldn't"?

'Google catches us in an invisible web of our personal data without telling us'

> If Baidu was not censored by the Chinese government, I might just use it.

Censored? It's RUN by the Chinese secret service.

Re: Big data is as good as you let it be.

> spare a thought the rest of the worlds internet population who may not be quite up to your genius level

Yeah, installing AdBlock and Media Hint and using a fake account is real genius-level haxxoring.

And since when has Google access to ISP logs?

But OK, the norms out there who are unable to install AdBlock and Media hint, will suffer the horrendous consequence that they'll get ads targeted to their interests served on the web pages they visit. That is so totally horrible that it clearly warrants the EU censoring the net.

Big data is as good as you let it be.

"Google catches us in an invisible web of our personal data without telling us and without asking us for our consent."

Yeah, if you're an idiot and uses your real name or same email account everywhere, and feed Google's data engine with your email and voluntary information to google+, then Google might be able to do that.

Oh wait, these are the same EU regulators who want to make it illegal to use aliases and false accounts on the net, because t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶r̶d̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶i̶t̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶'̶r̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶-̶l̶i̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶C̶i̶t̶i̶z̶e̶n̶ think of the children.

STAY AWAY: Popular Tor exit relays look raided

Re: Why not have the server automatically shut down

> needs him to input his PGP

Not handing over encryption keys when law enforcement asks for them is a serious crime in the UK, punishable by up to five years imprisonment. The situation is much the same for intentionally destroying the information on the server. I guess the best is to make the server forgetful by design, e.g. not storing logs of anything sensitive, with small and regularly flushed caches, and those who happen to be using it when it's seized by the secret service, well, they're just SOL.

Re: "I haven't even mentioned a specific agency and the theories are already flowing"

> His twitter suggests that he is in the UK so I suspect MI5.

This kind of thing is much easier to do in the EU than the US. So yeah, almost certainly some european security service, albeit at the request of the US (it's believed this is the beginning of the payback for the Sony hack).

EU breaks 'legally binding' lobbying register promise

The EU has been captured.

It's like the US, except in the US there's two opposing sides, and a critical press.

US Navy's LASER CANNON WARSHIP: USS Ponce sent to Gulf

Re: Geneva Convention

> Blinding them is the problem

Yes it is. We really don't want little 5 watt lasers mounted on aircraft or tanks panning over the surroundings tens of times per second, instantly and permanently blinding anyone who happen to look towards that tank or aircraft.

Re: LIMITED RANGE

> I don't understand why the range is only one mile.

It could be that the US isn't being entirely honest in the listing of the capabilities of it's new weapon.

Re: USS Ponce

'Beaver scout'. That's... inspiring.

Europe: Hold my wine glass, I've got an internet govt to build

Re: How to censor the internet.

Do I really have to remind you that "limited and focused" censoring of the internet in the EU currently includes all porn, supporting unpopular political isms, "trolling" (i.e. causing someone to get upset), anything which anyone might consider copyright infringement, consensual S&M sex, insulting Islam, and google supplying completely accurate and publicly available information to EU citizens if the subject of the information doesn't want it known.

This list is growing rapidly.

The EU is strongly, deeply, fully, committed to censorship of the internet and control over the information flow to its citizens. It has absolutely zero commitment to freedom of speech.

How to censor the internet.

There's the goal.

Feds finger Norks in Sony hack, Obama asks: HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE KOREA?

Re: Defence Defence Defence!

> use the usual best practices for clients. Harden your operating systems, use application servers whenever possible, do not have persistent OS partitions between boots

Let's start with "do not store passwords unencrypted in a textfile named "passwords"". Then we can graduate to more advanced stuff. Like "don't place hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars worth of unreleased media files on an internet-connected computer".

Re: Good for Obama.

1) Assange is wanted for rape. In Sweden.

2) Snowden would have been a whistleblower if he'd stopped leaking after his first two leaks. He continued to leak. Tell me how it's freedom of speech and not simple treason to compromize the US monitoring of Syrian dictator Assad, or the eavesdropping on Russian underseas cables?

3) Free speech: you don't know what it is.

Re: Proportional response.

For the plebs, sure.

Proportional response.

People seem confused by this.

What it means is travel restrictions and frozen overseas accounts of select Nork dignitaries and military. If that isn't spectacular enough for you, tough titties, because that's what you'll get.

Oh all right then, I'll throw in an international arrest warrant for the team which flew to Thailand to do the actual hacking.

Heads up! If Tor VANISHES over the weekend, this is why

Re: Mephistro

> I'm more inclined to think this is Sony's lawyers, looking for a bit of payback

Pretty sure you're right. With the enthusiastic cooperation of the EU security services.

> Not sure where those servers are physically located

Read the article?

Nork-ribbing flick The Interview AXED: Sony caves under hack terror 'menace'

Came to see poster's USA-hate get the better of them....

...to the point they'd defend a blood-soaked dictatorship's censoring of free speech.

Was not disappointed.

Why is ICANN rushing its 'UN 'net security council'? So it can be announced at Davos

Can someone interprete this to me like I'm 5 years old?

What does this all mean?

Power hungry third worlders trying to muscle in on ICANN space? Big egos seeking glory? Various governments (hello, EU!) trying to increase their influence and censorship of the net? NSA stooges trying to avoid meaningful privacy protection? All/none of the above?

Brit gun nut builds working sniper rifle at home out of scrap metal

Re: Scrap metal?

Yes. Artisan gunsmiths in Afghanistan can and do build AK47's from scratch. Imports and salvaged guns fetch better prices, but there are perfectly usable and completely home-made AK47's for sale there.

Scrap metal?

He cleaned up a working but dirty (very slightly rusty) receiver and trigger assembly, had a store-bought barrel attached and tested by a professional gunsmith, and bought a ready-made new wooden stock for it.

That's a fun wood-shop project, not "building a sniper rifle from scrap metal".

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Thin plot, great CGI effects

Re: There's no such thing as "great CGI effects".

> it is still a big improvement on plasticine stop motion animation, crude mattes and cardboard flying saucers

I honestly don't see that, unless we're talking 1950's Plan 9 type special defects. The last generation of physical props, in the 1990's, were more real-looking than the current generation of CGI.

> , the CGI is the best available option and its state-of-the-art is unquestionably getting better

Getting better, yes, but still far from good. Surely you agree that it's easy to spot CGI in blockbusters, and not just because of the subject matter?

Re: There's no such thing as "great CGI effects".

Great CGI effects are when you do not notice them.

Yeah, and that's the thing: they're so very easily noticed. There's absolutely no mistaking, say, Lake Town in The Hobbit, or the droid factory in Star Wars ep. 2, or the action scenes in the recent Mad Max trailer, or anything in any Marvel movie ever, for reality. It is state-of-the-art CGI, and screamingly obvious.

"Downtown Abbey" have a large post production crew removing artifacts like cars

That's no doubt true, and perhaps it's easier to remove things undetectably than adding things undetectably. Certainly fake carriages and city scapes are easily detectable in period pieces too.

There's no such thing as "great CGI effects".

Even today computer animation has not progressed to a point that it integrates seamlessly in movies, and it gets worse the better quality the video is (e.g. 4K @ 50Hz). Most people can ignore that and suspend their disbelief at the resulting mix of obvious live footage and obvious computer graphics, which is great for them -- because I, sadly, can't, and CGI seriously reduces my enjoyment of movies.

To me watching any movie which CGI is exactly like watching someone play a computer game: it can be entertaining, but at no point am I in any way convinced what I'm watching is real.

Hold the front page: Spain's anti-Google lobbyists lobby for Google News return

Google should make an example of Spain.

They've asked for it, so let them have it: remove all *.es links from Google.

Not just the newspapers; after all, citing a line from any spanish website is piracy according to this idiotic law, so grant the entire country's Right To Be Forgotten(tm).

Hooker beating: What if you read the Bible AND play GTA5?

Re: "That's a flawed argument if ever I saw one."

> comparing a 2000 year old book with a recently released videogame isn't a flawed argument?

Not if the claim is that "fictional violence (such as in GTA5) should be banned because it causes real violence".

Then it's perfectly logical to point out that the claim is ridiculous, as showcased by the fact that the supposed source of morality and goodness is brimming with worse fictional violence than GTA5.

Your argument, on the other hand, was that "the bible is good because there are even worse", which is fallacious.

Tides of Maritinia: The spy who jumped into a sci-fi water world

Echoes of <i>All My Sins Remembered</i>.

I haven't read this book, but Joe Haldeman's amazing classic also has an involuntary surgically altered superspy with implanted personalities, who over time starts doubting that he's on the right side.

(Come to think of it, it's a bit odd that Hollywood hasn't made a movie adaptation of AMSR yet. Could be a great sci-fi Bourne-like action vehicle. But on the other hand they'd probably butcher it, I, Robot style.)

EU Google-bashing is making us look really bad, say Google bashers

FTA: "There is no vendetta and no bias against US companies."

There may or may not be a EU vendetta against US companies, but there's definitely an EU vendetta against Google.

Google says NYET! to Putin, pulls techies out of Russia – report

Re: More counter-evidence for the irrational Google hate.

> The other big problem Google is getting itself into repeatedly in other areas of the world is a rather unclear attitude towards privacy

The "right to be forgotten" directive is nothing but government-enforced censorship. The same is true of the demands to block/censor Google Earth, and the RIAA/MPAA lobbying to ban Google from showing certain search results. Google was forced out of China because it refused to give the Chinese secret service access to gmail, and is now being forced out of Russia for the same reason.

More counter-evidence for the irrational Google hate.

Google-haters really need to take a second to reflect on the fact that ALL the problems Google is facing from governments around the world, stem from the fact that Google isn't willing to censor the internet

QEMU, FFMPEG guru unleashes JPEG-slaying graphics compressor

There's been many better formats than JPEG.

None has taken off.

I hope this will, but history says odds are against it.

Sony Pictures email hack: The bitter 'piracy war' between Google and Hollywood laid bare

Are MPAA worse scum than RIAA?

Or are they both equally horrible in their own way, like diarrhea and vomit?