Posts by MrReynolds2U

How Windows NTFS finally made it into Linux

Re: Title to long :whaa:

Have you got a Ferrari laptop? That's fast no matter what variation of Linux you're running.

Is that with X running or just command line?

Things that are not PogChamp: Amazon's Twitch has its source code, streamer payout data leaked

Is it still news when this keeps happening?

"That said, a leak of its internal code could cost Twitch far more in terms of competitive advantage."

Unlikely. Nothing they do is revolutionary. It's far more likely to reveal a vast array of security issues, bad code practices and potential grey deals.

Be prepared for the bad guys to find exploitable code these long before they are patched.

Oh, and expect to receive SMS and email phishing about a Twitch account you don't have.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the BBC stage a very British coup to rescue our data from Facebook and friends

Re: the Scottish game

Welshman living in England here. I concur that availability of national football on terrestrial TV is definitely skewed towards England, but then so is the population.

National reporting on the BBC always seems to prioritise English (especially South-East) stories, but then again, maybe that is due to geographical population dispersion and therefore relatively proportional and un-biased. I don't think it's conclusive or obvious.

However, I'd really like it if the BBC (and other media outlets) were tougher with political interviewees and stopped booking those who side-stepped or waffled nonsense. Of course, if they did this then there would be no political interviews.

The most successful politicians are those that give only the illusion of an answer.

Apple debuts iPhone 13 with 1TB option, two iPad models, Series 7 Watch

"Apple lead the way and left competitors eating their dusts"

No, they mostly recycled other people's ideas and "perfected" them.

For them it was not about being first to market, but being the best to market... subjectively of course.

Facebook building 'on-demand executable file format' that self-inflates using homebrew compression

Re: Mmmm, lots of free space caused by the new executable file format

Proprietary compression means it may take a while for AV scanning services to be able to accurately scan inside these executables for malicious code. Best to just blocklist anything with that file signature / magic number.

How to stop a content filter becoming a career-shortening network component

Ha ha, I was thinking about Wikus van der Merwe instead.

"Fookin' prawns!"

Proofpoint wins $14m from ex-VP and French email security rival in IP theft court battle

Ridiculous

Reading the verdict, it seems Proofpoint have persuaded the court that writing an MTA, using heuristics, classifying content or behaviour, specifying policies and taking action based upon policies and classification are their trade secrets.

Anyone with a working knowledge of coding would assert that they are some of the required steps in creating an email filtering/security solution and are not unique to Proofpoint.

Unless he ripped off the source code directly, this is an appalling outcome for competition and innovation.

Debian 11 formally debuts and hits the Bullseye

Re: Benefits vs. features

The Tesla 4XXX - are they sponsoring the the 4th Xander Cage movie?

Or maybe they are targeting the Australian market with a Castlemaine 4X special edition.

See that last line in the access list? Yeah, that means you don't have an access list

Re: was it seman's contracting dicks?

There was a glut of "cisco certified" chaps running around in the late 90s.

They paid a grand for 2 weeks of instruction and came out with a CCNA or whatever it was then.

I remember taking one out to a customer's site and he got all excited because he'd never worked on a real bit of Cisco kit before, only lab stuff.

I preferred the Checkpoint tech. He knew his kit inside and out.

Firewall rules 101

A lot of SME and enterprise firewalls come with two implicit rules:

- deny all IN

- allow all OUT

The first thing I do is change the outbound rule to deny all OUT.

Keep that allow all crap on consumer kit please.

Zorin OS 16 Pro arrives complete with optional 'Windows 11' desktop

Re: The small market share of Chromebooks in businesses is puzzling

You can compare Google Docs and MS Office online, but not the desktop version. I run up against the limitations of the online versions regularly and end up giving staff a desktop version of MS Office.

Maybe with the advent of Web Assembly that will change things but I'm not holding my breath.

Secondly, there are many bespoke and off-the-shelf programs that require a Windows client OS. Only when the program vendors start making cross-platform versions will things change.

Windows desktop is here to stay in the business workspace until MS themselves get bored of it.

Boffins propose Pretty Good Phone Privacy to end pretty invasive location data harvesting by telcos

Re: What about 911 autolocating?

In the UK a combination of EISEC and Advanced Mobile Location SMS is used to geo-locate emergency service callers. This shouldn't be affected by the proposal since transmitter information and/or a phone-based AML protocol is followed.

I know a lot of people are saying nothing will change, but what this does is stop the phone companies saying that it's impossible or too expensive to implement when the relevant authority asks how privacy can be improved. Of course this will happen right after we start seeing flying pigs.

Electrocution? All part of the service, sir!

Ah yes... spare grey mouse balls in my toolkit. Getting sent out to replace them when it was cheaper for the client to buy a new mouse.

Redpilled Microsoft does away with flashing icons on taskbar as Windows 11 hits Beta

How about asking a few questions when you first boot up or log on as a new user?

What will you be using this computer for (tick any that apply):

- social media

- browsing the Internet

- photography

- programming

- managing your company IT systems

etc

and then make useful tools visible for that user. The same way some IDEs do.

That way I can easily access what I need in 1-2 clicks rather than 6 just because Joe Bloggs doesn't need to access "Mail 32 bit" from control panel but I do.

Hard drives at Autonomy offices were destroyed the same month CEO Lynch quit, extradition trial was told

There is a genuine opportunity for the government to have closed-door negotiations in relation to an effective swap with Anna Sacoolas.

Both parties will now have pending criminal charges but the money involved and the apparent win for supporting US businesses could have a massive influence on the the Biden administration acquiescing.

Not that I actually think it will happen. We've seen how poor the UK gov is at negotiating.

Israeli authorities investigate NSO Group over Pegasus spyware abuse claims

Re: NSO caught with its pants down

Erm... you didn't mark your post as sarcasm.

Both the US and the UK would veto any attempt to sanction Israel.

What is your greatest weakness? The definitive list of the many kinds of interviewer you will meet in Hell

Re: Dignity

I'd rather not

Exsparko-destructus! What happens when wand waving meets extremely poor wiring

Re: Less poor wiring than poor building

Yeah, I once had a terraced council house with shared attics. There was talk of people climbing into neighbouring houses and helping themselves to TVs and the like. I augmented my access panel with large lockable bolts just in case.

Autonomy founder Mike Lynch loses first stage in fight against extradition to US

Secret handshake?

Sounds like HPE expect to lose and have crossed the right palm with silver to get ahead of the civil judgment.

They haven't been able to bring a criminal case to trial.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but... if there's no criminal case to answer in the UK, then he can't be extradited... or have I mis-read the treaty?

Troll jailed for 5 years after swatting of Twitter handle owner ends in death

Re: swatting

up-vote for the Alan Rickman reference and the fact I now can't say FBI any other way :)

England's controversial extraction of personal medical histories from GP systems is delayed for a second time

UK GDPR (2021) is pretty clear on this. Informed consent is primarily an opt-in process.

They seem to be treating GDPR like it doesn't apply to them.

Also, why - given the stated reasons - would the data not be completely anonymised before upload?

NASA fixes Hubble Space Telescope using backup power supply unit, payload computer

Nah mate, that's Accessorize Anonymous :)

India bans Mastercard from signing up new customers

Re: MasterCard babbling with response

Actually it appears in part of their desire to ensure continuing western investment in the IT infrastructure.

India doesn't want to be the cheap option, they want to raise prices and quality but not lose investment as they level-up with western nations.

It will also come in handy for the security services, and for investigations into tax avoidance among multinationals (including MasterCard).

Lightweight VS Code is only getting heftier with addition of official web server extension

Re: What definition of 'lightweight'?

"Meanwhile Notepad++ with a few dozen documents open"

I seem to have a problem... I have over 100 tabs open in Notepad++ as it kind of works as my TODO list.

That and anything I pull out but might want again. There are snippets for days.

Nominet is back to 'the same old sh*t' says Public Benefit campaign chief as EGM actions grind to halt

Re: In all seriousness

Be careful getting the government involved. Right now they are talking about privatising Channel 4 which is currently a public-owned media company. Even those running it are warning against such actions due to the inevitable switch of focus from quality to profit.

To CAPTCHA or not to CAPTCHA? Gartner analyst says OK — but don’t be robotic about it

Re: Complex CAPTCHA

I would say that deserves a pint, even if it is only Tuesday.

Today I shall explain how dual monitors work using the medium of interpretive dance

Re: Examples...

Extending that...

How about the HDD cache being a secretary that brings you the files you need from the filing cabinet but can only hold one thing in each hand at a time.

Why did automakers stall while the PC supply chain coped with a surge? Because Big Tech got priority access

Re: "a lot of power merely amplifies mistakes"

That would just give the government another way of generating income from/controlling the poor.

Got money? Pay and pass the tests when you need to. Have a high-powered car even if you don't need it.

Not got money? You're stuck in the low-powered cars whatever your needs might be.

Accused hacker Lauri Love loses legal bid to reclaim seized IT gear

Re: Something not ringing true here ...

Sure, so long as it's not connected to a proprietary RAID system, without which, the data is meaningless nonsense.

Re: Drive could not be read when powered down?

That may well be the case now but I was at a company where due to a legal dispute, a third-party came in and imaged all the HDDs by attaching an external drive and booting each PC from a CD running imaging software.

Cloudflare launches campaign to ‘end the madness’ of CAPTCHAs

Re: Hardware dongles?

I'm pretty sure the only reason I know what a US fire hydrant is or looks like is from a Richard Scarry book when I was a child.

JavaScript developers left in the dark after DroidScript software shut down by Google over ad fraud allegations

Re: Have said this before...

Or perhaps from "do no evil" to "see no evil"

Capgemini scores £150m contract to help Student Loan Company overcome its IT problems 5 years after £50m superfail

Re: WTAF

I completely agree. I have no idea why they would need to spend that on IT systems. Government IT procurement seems to be a factor of 10 or even 100 higher than necessary.

The interest rate covers the fact that lots of loans don't get paid back.

After a few years, the loans are sold on to other companies. Mine were sold on to CreditSafe once I started making payments. They then ignored my every attempt to defer once my pay dropped below the threshold.

And non-profits can still spend potential profits on wages, investments or hold reserves.

Re: Realism

I was in the first year that the modern student loan system was introduced but I was also able to get a grant like those who came before me. It took me a while but I paid it off when I eventually found a decently paying gig. I had 5 years of loans that roughly equated to 1 year (9k) under the current system.

I think grants for UK students should be brought back for high-need (not high-demand) courses. So there is a financial incentive to study STEM etc. The grants and fees need to be proportional to the costs, demand and quality of the course and its qualification. And yes, grants should be means-tested.

The current system of excessive charges for all courses just creates additional government debt without the realistic expectation of students on second tier courses repaying their fees. The Blair idea of everyone going to Uni was idealistic. Everyone should have the opportunity if it's right for them and their career. Not everyone needs a degree and the associated debt.

What next for Visual Studio? Microsoft's monster IDE can't please everyone and 64-bit will not solve legacy problems

Dealing with VS bloat

When you install VS you can choose what you want in it - there's no need to install everything you'll never need. So I frequently go back in and remove bits in-between projects.

It does seem to use load-on-demand for some tools but giving you the option of profiles with more fine-grained control for when you just need particular tools/languages would be nice.

Re: git integration / Azure devops push

VS git is really bad:

• multi-repo issues
• PITA to use a non-GitHub git system (like GOGS)
• PITA to use multiple git accounts in different projects/solutions
• quite happily wipes (not to recycle bin) a source folder if mis-configured

It is usable if you keep stuff simple but prefer VS Code.

Having said that I don't find git to be particularly intuitive outside of push/pull on clean, single-branch, fully synched repos.

Not saying you should but we're told it's possible to land serverless app a '$40k/month bill using a 1,000-node botnet'

This seems entirely obvious and something a decent coder and ops team would protect against.

I guess the reason they are publishing a paper is so those who don't fall into the above category might actually realise how obvious and expensive this mistake can be.

Bank of England ponders minting 'Britcoin' to sit alongside the Pound

Re: Even on these threads ...

"Bitcoin's inherent value is in it's relative anonymity and freedom from transaction charges levied by middlemen."

Bitcoin isn't free from transaction charges. The scaled charges that seem to have flourished in some places have created a multi-tier system which can cause long delays for low value transactions. But I guess "you get what you pay for."

I agree that there are better alternatives in the coin-market though.

Since we're moving away from cash, Visa and MC are getting even more powerful.

Sure BritCoin is one option, but they might be better looking at ways of running a parallel payments system within the UK.

China, India and probably a few other countries have their own systems that don't rely upon Visa and MC so we know it's entirely viable.

UK digital secretary Oliver Dowden starts national security probe into proposed Arm-Nvidia merger

The US entity list has already led to ARM stopping export to certain countries (I believe this was due to some of the kit being co-designed in Texas).

ARM probably felt they had no option but to comply for fear of US bullying tactics against anyone who stepped out of line.

To have one floppy failure is unlucky. To have 20 implies evil magic or a very silly user

Re: The endless story

I often get "the phones are down" or "we're all having problems".

When in actual fact, one person can't dial properly or understand that a number might be out-of-service.

- Me: "Have you tried calling the number from your mobile?"

- User: "It's not working when I call them from my mobile either."

I wait for the penny to drop... it never does.

UK's National Cyber Security Centre recommends password generation idea suggested by El Reg commenter

Re: Biometric password

Current example of this is my daughter's Faeces Book account getting hacked and the email and phone number changed. Then they deleted the account for some reason. All automated efforts to fix this fail and there's no obvious way of contacting a human at FB to get it sorted.

She's since learnt the benefit of setting up MFA so at least she'll be better protected in future.

Still, it's a shame for her as there were a gazillion photos on there of her late mother.

For blinkenlights sake.... RTFM! Yes. Read The Front of the Machine

Re: Not Me But.......

Like I said, the installer thought it was still awaiting activation.

I forgot to mention that in my checks I opened up the box outside and re-attached the two wires which had come loose.

Re: Not Me But.......

I think we've all been that guy at some point.

I was on the phone to my ISP because the Internet had been down since they'd installed it a couple of days before. The installer had thought it was just waiting for the service to be activated.

They took me through the usual checks on the router: power, cables in right place, reboot etc.

It eventually dawned on me that the installer had put the WAN cable in a LAN port and vice-versa. It felt so stupid for not seeing it myself and apologised profusely.

It was just one of my own ID10T moments... there have been a few.

Prince Philip, inadvertent father of the Computer Misuse Act, dies aged 99

Re: No TV - BBC !!!

Try adding a non-mainstream comment on one of their stories.

They take it down faster than a sheep in a vacuum.

Ex-Geeks staff lose legal bid to claw back withheld training costs from final paycheques

Re: What's the fuss?

Sorry to be a dick but in the UK there are some decent protections under rights of termination for all of the above (for a car see "Halves & Thirds" rules).

Likewise most consumer contracts are pretty much unenforceable in a court room.

If however, you're talking about company-based contracts, then yeah, more often, you're f#cked.

I actually like their model - not 100% though. Apprenticeship wages can be rather low so paying a trainee a reasonable wage but garnishing their pay if they leave early seems like a decent benefit to the trainee. I don't think the training costs are entirely reasonable in this case though.

Post Office awards Fujitsu a £42.5m contract extension for the IT system behind wrongful subpostmaster prosecutions

Re: So, let me summarize

I don't know whether they are included in the system but you also have the banking, insurance and other utility side businesses. I presume they add to the number of channels they are referring to.

I wouldn't want to touch it with a bargepole.

Their 'next job could be in cyber': UK Cyber Security Council launches itself by pointing world+dog to domain it doesn't own

Re: Brought to you by...

Yes I've noticed those post-grad qualification adverts:

- Know fuck-all about IT?

- Want a pointless qualification that nobody in the industry will recognise?

- Want to get said MSc and still know fuck-all about IT?

Sign up today.

Re: I did actually study Cybernetics at Reading

"Cyberspace" I am entirely fine with. It's been around a while and just feels right as a term.

However, politicians and marketers using the word "cyber" on it's own (as a blanket term for pretty much anything computer-related) is what grates.

Actually, thinking about it... pretty much anything a politician or marketer says pisses me off.