Posts by Runilwzlb

Google's reCAPTCHA favors – you guessed it – Google: Duh, only a bot would refuse to sign into the Chocolate Factory

Another reCaptcha victim

I use Linux/Firefox/AdBlocklPlus/NoScript and am unable to pass a reCaptcha test no matter how many times I click on the correct boxes or twiddle settings (short of removing protection completely). This results in me simply refusing to patronize sites that have a reCaptcha test.

On a separate note: Similar to user JonFen (above) in order to mitigate the risk of malicious apps (any app that snoops on data originating in another app), I also use the strategy of keeping apps segregated on multiple devices and no overlapping logins.

Financial and other sensitive activity is relegated to a privacy-oriented Linux desktop (NEVER a mobile OS).

A bare Android Pie phone with the minimum number of necessary contacts and no add'l apps installed for voice calls.

An iPad with a soft-phone app, also used as audiobook player with side-loaded media.

An HP-Touchpad (webOS) as a bluetooth music player (just because I love webOS and the ability to use a device that isn't trying to mine all my data.) [Once upon a time you could keep a calendar, to-do list, contacts, and notes WITHOUT GIVING ALL THAT DATA TO GOOGLE, et al. Imagine that!]

No big deal... Kremlin hackers 'jumped air-gapped networks' to pwn US power utilities

Fish gonna swim

Fish gonna swim

Birds gonna fly

Spies gonna spy

Fingered: Pants-down 'poo jogger' alleged to be corp exec

Seeking: Grant Application Writer: Sh_t-Spotter 9000 Mk 3

For our new product for Law Enforcement ... The Sh_t-Spotter 9000 Mk 3. Trash that old Shot Spotter, you don't make any money incarcerating gun criminals...Collect those hefty fines and the thanks of a grateful community by using our revolutionary Sh_t-Spotter 9000 Mk 3.

One solution to wreck privacy-hating websites: Flood them with bogus info using browser tools

But, does it work?

Question: It seems that in order to view any content on soo many of the sites I visit lately require google or amazon resources and scripts to be enabled. Although I try to enable only the minimum kit necessary on a site-by-site basis; with the great number of ordinary sites being hosted on AWS or running google resources and tools for their functionality...does it also mean goog and amazon can scrape info like ip address, cpu id, and other personal identifying session info? Does it do any good to cloak yourself with script-blockers, do-not-track tools if one is forced to disable protections to get to plain-vanilla product info sites? In other words...is this a thing?

You too can fool AI facial recognition systems by wearing glasses

This concept was used in a movie sometime ago.

I can't remember the film. But in a society with ubiquitous surveillance, the system was trained to ignore anyone displaying the super-secret 'ignore-me' graphic pattern. Resistance fighters were able to move freely and invisibly by painting the correct graphic pattern on their faces. The system then deleted their images from any recordings it made.

Avast blocks the entire internet – again

Its not a bug, its a feature.

"AVAST blocks the Entire Internet..."

Soon to save the world from itself by rolling it out in Android and IOS.

Space crap: Flap, zap or strap? $30k from NASA for your pooper scooper

Re: Complicated problem...

I was just about post the same idea, but you beat me to it.

p.s. Hows Wooster? And Boko?

CERN also has a particle decelerator – and it’s trying to break physics

An oldie, but I still like it.

Heisenberg was speeding down the highway. A cop pulls him over and says "Do you have any idea how fast you were going back there?"

Heisenberg says, "No, but I knew where I was."

Anti-ultrasound tech aims to foil the dog-whistle marketeers

Keep doing what you're doing

What you're doing is a good strategy. If you want something, go to the source. Clicking on an ad just flags you as a "mark", as in fool, patsy, with a great big target sign painted on your t-shirt. Avoiding ads is by no means fool proof, but why announce to world +dog that you're available for their abuse.

Thanks for the link

A bit of an obscure, convoluted way to make a point, but ...ok. Followed the link to Space Merchants. I love classic Sci-Fi and I don't remember reading this one...so I shall. Gracias.

Jurassic Park was right

So many gee-whiz developments. And each one ends up being a new way for people to get scrod [past tense of... ] by that tech being trivially easy to abuse. Its reported here all the time. New tech! Cue applause! Oh, by the way it can be used to (multiple choice) steal, your identity, spy on you, track you, mine you, steal your money, pwn your car, turn your tech into a money making bot for a crime ring, etc. (casually mentioned).

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should."

Jurassic Park

Invasion of the virus-addled lightbulbs (and other banana stories)

I toast therefore I am.

Red Dwarf.

NIST: People have given up on cybersecurity – it's too much hassle

Re: This should be good

" If you read the the lines of the latest IoT "future" talk, future software is apparently to remove your privacy, choices and cash. So talk of security is talk of sales loss."

Why are people un-enthused about 'computer' security? Because they have no control, its out of their hands. What do you expect when you build always-connected devices and systems that are insecure from the ground up. Their precious phones are basically buffet tables with any and all personal and confidential info on offer to the world+dog.

Build a device that people can't function in society without. Design the system so that no information residing on or accessible to the device can be kept from anyone, anywhere in the world, for any purpose. Then force people to put their entire lives and finances on it. And then send Captain Obvious from the NIST out to interview people about 'how they feel' about computer security. What did you expect you would find?

Windows 10 backlash: Which? demands compo for forced upgrades

HAD Win 10, Now I don't

A Win 10 auto update borked my homebuilt AMD/NVidia/SDD desktop. Also rendered my SDD incapable of accepting a Win 10 install (even though Win 10 had been installed on it just prior). Reformatted, repartitioned and installed Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Someday, I might get around to fixing the SDD format issue, but for now, I can't be bovvered with the headache of all the steps involved...just to get Win 10 back on the machine. Win 10's only function here is to run the player for my Blu-ray drive.

IBM lifts lid, unleashes Linux-based x86 killer on unsuspecting world

space for up to 16 drives (96TB total)

Back in days-of-yore when I worked at [Huge Japanese Manufacturer's Name Withheld] IBM OS/MVS shop 'we' were so proud of having almost 1 TERA BYTE (total) of spinning rust; fitted in six (I think) refrigerator-sized cabinets to run the empire on. How things have changed.

Apple killed OS X today and binned its $10,000 BlingWatch too

Re: Jet black scratches

Gives me an idea. Think there's a market for iThing 'plinth' models? Sort of like Star Wars, Marvel, DC action thingies just for display? People buy non-working prop phasers, communicators, etc., so hmmm?

Mozilla's trying on seven hot new spring/summer logo looks

Pathetic bid for attention

I think there's some salaried person at Mozilla who has come up with this campaign merely to justify their existence. ie: "Tell me again why we hired you?" Where does the need for a new logo come from? 'We' don't need it...Mozilla doesn't need it. Seems the only person who needs it is somebody there trying to keep their job.

Scared of mobile banking

There's a famous saying about secrets: "It's not that I don't trust YOU, it's all the other people you'll tell that I don't trust."

Banking apps by themselves are fine. But I don't trust the other apps that co-reside on the device with them. Its bad enough that any app can scrape your router passwords, login ID's, phone contacts, email contacts, browser info, location, etc.. Until they come out with a device and mobile operating system that respects and enforces the boundaries between data, I will never allow banking or other financial apps on my mobile device. That includes Amazon and Ebay.

California to put all your power-hungry PCs on a low carb(on) diet

Re: Maybe this will encourage popularizing low wattage cpu's

Thanks. If you're happy with your system and it conforms to your needs, then more power to you. (pun intended). According to System Monitor my tasks rarely if ever, reach 50% utilization, including HD video. If it does max out, its only for short periods of time. I've had this system a few years now and will be happy to keep using it until it quits, unless something better strikes my fancy. Appreciate your input.

Maybe this will encourage popularizing low wattage cpu's

Personally, I use a 25W amd 5350 desktop cpu. Not so I could be 'green', but so I could save on my electric bill (vs 125W cpu). Good low wattage cpu's are few and far between. Running Ubuntu, I am well served by this processor. When it comes time to replace this setup, I hope there are good choices available.

Gov't overreach...bad. Mo' better low wattage processors...good.

An analysis of who uses power-hungry pc's, and why, is a topic for a whole other thread and I don't want to complicate things by having two topics in one thread.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update: This design needs a dictator

Re: Just wondering....

What's the thumbs down for? Android's primary function (and IOS to a lesser extent) is to harvest and monetize every bit of personal data users can be persuaded to generate. And all Android apps regardless of seeming utility are merely adjuncts to that primary function; whether by Google or by the app creators.. Do you refute that? How?

Re: I HAD Win 10...now I don't. You can't get there from here.

I see some people gave me a thumbs down. Genuinely curious. What for? Did I say something that wasn't true? What is there to be offended by THIS time?

Just wondering....

I get your complaints. But aren't all three 'features' even more true applied to IOS and Android than they are to Win? In those two systems all three are foundational functions with anything the user wants to do secondary and incidental. Just wondering....

Re: I HAD Win 10...now I don't. You can't get there from here.

Thanks. I had already spotted the UEFI situation. Since Windows will not install, I already now have Ubuntu 16.04 installed with no Windows alongside. That's not the desired end result. During a routine update, Windows made a change that broke a working GRUB so it could no longer find the Win boot partition, and refuses to reinstall...and MS offers no tools to fix the situation. Oh, if I had a recovery disk, or a physical Windows install disk, or expensive imaging software, I'd be golden. But I don't. I can only work with the tools given me. Its almost as if MS doesn't care if I use their software or not. They're certainly not trying very hard to make sure we can install their stuff. My opinion of MS compared to Ubuntu was already low enough that the only thing I need Windows for is so I play commercial Blu-ray disks on my pc using PowerDVD. And this is coming from a guy who has used, installed, and supported every version of MS Operating system since MS-Dos with Novell Netware. Windows has become something you're not using because you WANT to, but only use because you HAVE to. I even optimistically gave Windows tablet a go, but found it unusable without a keyboard and mouse because everything I wanted to do required working with fiddly menus and tiny selection areas. Am I disgusted with Windows? Yeah, you could say that.

Re: Ad Blocker available?

I use Firefox with AdBlockPlus and NoScript (as well as other add-ons), and it worked fine. Till Windows 10 self-destructed, for an entirely different reason.

I HAD Win 10...now I don't. You can't get there from here.

A couple weeks back, I was doing a routine update on my Win10 desktop Dual-boot Ubuntu, SDD boot drive). When Windows rebooted, it could no longer recognize the boot partition...so my Win10 installation was fubar. I guess that's complaint no.1. .No problem, I keep data and operating system in separate drives right , so lets reinstall. Since I also wanted to do a clean install of Ubuntu 16.04 rather than upgrade, I deleted my partitions, did some resizing and set my installation partitions using gpart from the new Ubuntu Live DVD. Windows now refuses to install on my 128GB Samsung 750, complaining that the installation partition is not the right type. I made it a primary partition, ntfs, flagged bootable. Well apparently, if you have a working Windows installation, you can fix it. But I'm trying to install Windows from a Media Creator executable, so I'm s.o.l. a) Win 10 committed suicide during update. b) Trying to install from the cloud will not 'work' and there are no tools provided to fix whatever condition the install is testing for. So, as I said. I HAD windows, now I don't.

Evernote riles freetards with two-device limit

Re: Evernote... Read their 'privacy' notice!

Ditto. After reading their terms, which basically says:"All your stuff are belong to us (and to use, analyze, probe, profile, and resell any way we can think up now or in the future)"; I choose to not to participate. Put your life here? I think not! Had they instead said: You are not the product. We won't use your data, and we won't peek at your stuff unless required by law; I would have given them a go.

FBI expands code theft charges against Chinese national

Stealing code...in Court?

"A Chinese national first arrested in December will face expanded charges over stealing source code in a Manhattan court on Thursday."

He stole code right there in Manhattan Court? Damn, he's good! (:p)

Try: "A Chinese national first arrested in December will face expanded charges in a Manhattan court on Thursday.over stealing source code."

Android Lollipop sucks at security, says researcher

webOS to the rescue

Its time to revive webOS and non-data-sharing apps. Oh, for the good-old-days when your data was YOUR data and not public property. Android...if your going to give these kinds of powers in your API's...someone's going to use them. Duh!

SEC warns cybersecurity is biggest threat to financial system

Yup. Once phone operating systems accepted the 'store once, use everywhere' data model without policing what data apps could access, Hell was open for business.

Would we want to regenerate brains of patients who are clinically dead?

What about the ones still walking around?

Shouldn't we be working on reviving the brain dead that are still walking around? Surely they rate a higher priority than those that are deceased (insert dead parrot reference here)? The Kardashians are still a 'thing'. What more proof do you need?

Cars to run ... on Android

Giving it all away

I hate Android. All apps seem to require access to ALL your private info, networks, contacts and call history. Wanted a simple to-do list app. Verizon store rep recommended Evernote. Have you seen what permissions and personal info they demand just to activate their app? And their disclosure on 'what we do with your info? I've had colonoscopies that were less intrusive. I deleted the app without activating it, on general principles alone! Android in my car? Not me!

Web ads are reading my keystrokes and I can’t even spel propperlie

'Personalized' ads? Yes, as weird as you describe. Using draft text b4 its even submitted? Creepy, weird, AND obnoxious.

I use Firefox on Ubuntu w/script and ad blockers. I didn't even know FB HAD ads until I read this.

One in five PCs will be a tablet with detachable keyboard by 2020

Re: 47.1%

Maybe even less often. The experience of using W10 on either tablet or desktop (I have one of each) is so painful, that I'll only boot it to run an app that doesn't exist on one of my other devices. Ubuntu/Android/IOS/ [and yes even] WebOS.

Re: Do people really want an OS which works in tablet and desktop mode?

Agree...almost. I have an 8" W10 tablet w/bt kbd.. Navigation, activating controls, and selecting menu items still next best thing to impossible. Only thing accurate and versatile enough would be a mouse. Add'ly, my tablet freezes if more than 1 bt device is connected,. So if I want to use external speakers, can't have an input device attached. Touch enabled W10 tablet sounds good on paper...trying to actually use it to do anything?...fugeddaboudit,

Eighteen year old server trumped by functional 486 fleet!

DR DOS Forever! (I wish)

Just seeing the words "DR DOS" brought tears of nostalgia to my eyes. It was everything a computer user could want. For all our 'advancement', its been downhill ever since. It would be wonderful if we had a modernized version for today’s users. Linux is close, but DOS is easier.

Back then, computers 'did' things. Today, we use machines a thousand times more powerful...so that we can pop virtual bubbles, play Fruit Ninja, and afflict the world with an inexhaustible supply of Kardashian/Jenner photos (Professional CGI being the clearest exception to this trend).

I would feel better served with a DOS machine running my own .bat files, WordPerfect, Quicken, Lotus 1-2-3, and a few other useful apps, than I do today with Windows 10. Windows 10 doesn't launch apps any better than a dos based menu system, is loaded with Live Tiles I have no use for; and the only time I can force myself to shut my Ubuntu system (which boots in 5 seconds on a low-end AMD processor) and boot up Windows is when I want to play a Blu-Ray disc from my pc.

Re: And stores receipes...

Just seeing the words "DR DOS" brought tears of nostalgia to my eyes. It was everything a computer user could want. For all our 'advancement', its been downhill ever since. It would be wonderful if we had a modernized version for today’s users. Linux is close, but DOS is easier.

Back then, computers 'did' things. Today, we use machines a thousand times more powerful...so that we can pop virtual bubbles, play Fruit Ninja, and afflict the world with an inexhaustible supply of Kardashian/Jenner photos.

New Forum Wishlist - but read roadmap first

New member - Unable to create new "topic"

Hi, I'm a new signup. Wanted to start a topic, but The only place I can create new content is in response to someone else's post. No tools at the topic level. [Firefox on Ubuntu, all scripts permitted, current on all updates.]

JIC - I wish to post on a problem with Windows 10 and the system restore tool. Attempted to perform a restore on a Windows tablet. After 'special startup' the restore proceeds to require user input using a physical keyboard and mouse. Which, of course does not exist on a tablet. No BT kbd or touchscreen input was recognized.

My tablet only has one micro-usb port on it - which I used for the specially-purchased micro-usb thumbdrive containing the previously created restore image.

How can Windows 10 succeed as a tablet OS if the restore tool cannot accommodate a tablet environment? Either I need to get a usb hub and micro-usb adapter so I can attach a kbd/mouse/storage simultaneously, or MS needs a new restore procedure: Perhaps by asking all configuration questions b4 the reboot and creating a batch file that is used to direct the restore process.