Posts by lglethal
977 posts • joined Monday 11th June 2007 04:20 GMT
A simpler and more ethical solution
Would simply be for the ISP to phone the customer and tell them their infected and how to fix it. Hell the ISP could probably offer a service (at a fee naturally) to come and fix the problem for those without the skills to do it themselves. If they feel the need to show a bit of stick as well they could tell the customer they have a week to fix the problem or they will be disconnected until they "prove" their no longer infected.
The ISP would save some money (less bandwidth used), possibly make a few bucks (with the "services"), and we would all experience a reduction in spam. The only cost for the ISP is the phone calls (if they use VOIP this is minimised) and the cost of employing someone to do the calls and the services (ok considering the level of service at most ISP's this would appear to be an issue! =P)
The only potential problem is with false positives which see people disconnected when their not actually infected but considering that the simplest way to identify infected machines is that those machines are trying to connect to known botnet IP's this should not be a problem...
Again, thoughts?
hmmm
Ahh the old head in the sand defence... "Honestly guv we thought these sales were coming from our legitimate advertising not from a botnet".
I would question whether many of the things that are sold via spam ARE legal - im sure considernig that many of these "Viagra" pills are actually sugar tablets, etc. or fake/unlicensed knock offs that they might very well be illegal for either a) false advertising (ie not the actual product ordered) or b) not being approved by the regulators (FDA in america, dont know the UK equivalent, etc). The other items sold by spam are also unlikely to be the real deal but cheap illegal knock offs. So it would be possible to go after the suppliers in that case (although not so much for the spam side of things).
I also wonder whether there is some law stating that if you obtain sales (even for fully legal things) through illegal means (which im sure spam counts as) then you can be liable. This would be one way to effect the sellers and reduce the demand for botnet services. It would certainly make real suppliers more careful with how they handle their advertising budgets...
Of course this does depend on there actually being a product to buy and the spam not just being an elaborate phishing scam.
Posted in Spam filters stuff Canadian Beaver
ewwww!
"a film starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster"
Now there is a porno i do NOT want to see! Yuk!
Posted in 'Plutonium pinch' nips NASA
BUT...
NASA will be cutting down on its use of supplies on other programs...
Im all for having a "home grown industry" but rather then nobbling forthcoming projects and damaging the potential science output whilst you build up said "home grown industry" you may as well buy overseas products...
Just one thing
Just one thing...
"River rafting through Nepal from the foothills of the Andes"
Damn that is one long rafting trip, might even need to cross an ocean or two to do it - them being on seperate continents and all... =P
Still apart from that completely agree with your statement!
@ Scott71
You obviously dont know any WoW addicts...
Oh wait you said people in their right mind - yep your correct...
Ive always wondered why...
... they dont chase after the producers of the pills rather then the botherders. Dont get me wrong, im more then happy to see a botnet go down if it stops the cr*p getting into my inbox! But surely the pills being shipped have to come from somewhere. And even if the manufacturer supplying the pills thinks their supplying a legitmitate enterprise they can provide an address for the bot herders and its much easier to stop the botnet by arresting the bot herder rather then just taking down there servers. Its kinda hard to re-engineer your botnet from jail!
Obviously this only works for botnets pushing a physical product but its got to be significantly more effective then just taking out the control network...
Thoughts?
I would say...
it strongly depends on the market, and also the definition of "pulling out".
If all of those companies mentioned in your post were to pull out by closing down their sites and no longer buying their components from chinese firms (Yeah like thats going to happen), the amount of money that would be sucked out of China would be phenomenal. And China would be left hurting badly - it may even lead to greater social unrest resulting in either a) revolution ("Every society is only 4 missed meals away from a revolution") or b) a more dictatorial, repressive society. Your choice.
If the pull out is more along the lines of a "we'll pull our management offices out but still buy all our components from China" well then i foresee there being no effect apart from a bit of an embarrassment globally for the PRC but nothing will change as there is no real financial loss and the PRC just wont care. And most Chinese people would never even hear about it...
So would it be better for the poeple of China, that depends on what you want for the people of China. Personally, i dont see any changes coming in the next 20 years. A society as a whole needs the will to change to make it happen - that will was (for the masses) well and truly crushed at Tiananmen Square...
Posted in 'Plutonium pinch' nips NASA
What is it with American paranoia?
"Oh no, we dont have anymore. What ever will we do? Oh we can buy it from Russia, you say? Well no we cant be reliant on those commie buggers. We must start producing some ourselves and in the meantime we'll cut back on using it in our projects instead of just buying what we need on the world market, because that would be wrong and unamerican..."
Posted in 'God help our smartphones,' vicar prays
hmm not sure your right
Funny, but the Shroud of Turin, Holy Water and the Pope's Pointy Hat all seem to be things that are considered blessed so i guess inanimate objects can be blessed...
*Disclaimer - agnostic - so what would i know? and do i care? =P *
Based on my reading of the article...
The security firm found this exploit 7 months ago then contacted Apple (and the other affected comapnies) and has since sat on it and not released details in order to give the companies time to patch their systems. Most of those have. Apple has not.
Now in order to try and force Apple to fix the security hole, the security firm are releasing a script which (based on peoples comments here) doesnt entirely work but should be close enough that someone with insider knowledge of the system could get it to work, but it would probably take time and hopefully Apple will now use that time to plug the gap. This seems like a particularaly responsible way to go about it to me.
Still if Apple continues to do nothing, i kinda hope (and i apologise to Apple users in advance) that this security hole does get exploited so that it embarrases the hell out of Apple and makes them get around to fixing the issue. Just because no one has taken advantage of a security hole and even if that security hole is very difficult to penetrate there is no excuse for not plugging it when it appears to be a (relatively) simple fix...
Posted in Peugeot designs Hybrid4 concept coupé
Wow i never thought id say it but...
There is a Hybrid that looks bloody great!
I'd even consider buying one (obviously depending on all the other factors like range, speed, comfort, boot size, etc.) but based on the looks at least Puegoet have got something right...
One thing though having an engine front and back - does it have ANY boot space?
Posted in 'Google' crowned word of the decade
your joking...
PETA really called fish "Sea Kittens"? hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaa!
God im tempted to send PETA €5 just so they can keep coming up with stupid stuff like that to make me laugh...
... but i've just remembered how annoying they are the rest of the time, so i think i'll keep my cash in my pocket...
Thanks a lot Droid09...
How long now before Android's app marketplace becomes as tight, opaque and closed as Apple's... All because of this type of shite... Thanks a lot...
There is a simple reason
The answer is simple - Its significantly more profitable to over react... All of these new fangdangled full body scanners cost a lot of money (no doubt with significant kickbacks to all of the appropriate officials/MPs) and so everyone gets a little bit richer (at the taxpayers expense), so everyone making the decisions is happy.
Its just simple economics...
So...
It took them 2 years to break the 768 bit key...
So there's no rush for me to go out and change just yet...
i cant believe...
.... that they would tout a figure of 2400 people (out of a population of approx 60million) signing up over the course of nearly 3 months as being a successful figure...
Hurry up and bring the Tory's to power please!
they screwed it up
by doing design by committee, which any designer will tell you is exactly how to become overbudget, late and be sub-optimal.
Additionally, they made the mistake of agreeing to meet the requirements of the various nations of europe who were buying in, which naturally changed after every election and meant that ever 6-12 months one nation in the consortium would change what they wanted out of the aircraft and Airbus would (foolishly) try to accommodate them.
The smarter thing Airbus SHOULD have done is to do a study about what the nations wanted, take the most common points, design an aircraft and then offer it to the European nations and say "Here, we have this aircraft and it will do this. For additional things, we can make changes on a per nation basis which will cost €X". The design would have then been a lot closer to being on budget, on time and in a state that would make everyone happy.
I hope Airbus learn, i doubt they will...
touche...
Ahh but how many of those computers are allowed to be taken home in the evening? The only time i was ever allowed to take my laptop home was when i was catching a flight overseas the next day...
So unless you were sure you werent coming in the next day why would you be taking home the work computer? Your boss might be questioning your commitment at that point... ;)
Additionally, the majority of companies ive worked for in these sectors it was only the managers who worked from laptops - everyone else used desktops (with maybe access to a crappy 5 year old ex-managers laptop they could borrow from IT when they had to visit a customer site). IT tend to get annoyed when you try and take a desktop computer home with you! =P
Just 2 minor points
To quote the article - "This is becoming more feasible as many employees have Blackberry devices..."
Maybe im in the wrong industry but in every company i have ever worked for the only people who have had blackberry's have been management. Of the occasional other person who had a blackberry or similar smart phone none of them were hooked up to the company's servers (not being company property) and so i fail to see how they could be useful for working from home!
On another point - in any sort of defence or aerospace related industry (and i imagine it relates to a lot of other industry's too) the work from home option isnt feasible due to confidential (business or government) requirements. If your not allowed to put things on a USB stick why on earth would you be allowed to access them from a home computer over an internet connection?
One thing that everyone is forgetting
is that the role of a "Tactical" lift aircraft is to fly into a danger area, drop like a stone to the runway, unload as much cargo as feasibly possible and get the hell out before being shot out of the sky by the nearest militant carrying a MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defence System) and considering how prolific MANPADS and rocket propelled grenade launchers are this is a big requirement.
The A400M is designed as a Tactical lift aircraft so making any comparison to the C17 Strategic Lifter is completely disingenous.
Making the direct comparison to the C130 then the A400M comes out superbly from an operational point of view. Its faster with a higher flight ceiling (so it can get to its destination faster then the C130 and at a height which will take it out of range of all but the most advanced SAM systems), it can land and take off on unprepared and very short runways (same as the C130 and if im not mistaken shortfield performance is even better in this than C130 in this regard) AND it can carry 50% more then the C130. Just looking at it in that regard you have an aircraft which severely outstrips its competitor in all the ways that those planning the mission are interested in.
On top of that it has a few special neat tricks (like inflight refuelling of fighters, and a range which means it can help out on shorter strategic lift routes) and it means you have an aircraft thats versatile and is unlikely to spend large amounts of time waiting for a tactical lift job to come up.
OK the cost at present is high, but i would question some of LP's figures - and making any sort of claim about inservice costs when the aircraft has never been flown in anger before is a bit ridiculous.
My final question for you all is since when did military items begin being purchased based on price rather then ability/survivability? If that were the case the Harrier would never have been developed and in fact why have any new aircraft/ship/tank the olds ones are known and cheap and parts are available - surely there better options then developing something new and more capable...
wrong...
Actually the A400M can be used as the inflight refuelling source for various fighter aircraft, its one of its main design requirements. You really should check your facts before making statements like that...
I cant agree
I live in Germany and i actually find that my German friends use their cards more often then i do. Although i live i Northern Germany which has always been that more progressive then the south so maybe thats it...
Posted in Westfield opens kimono on EV Cup racer
Anyone else think
that it looks like a scaled down version of an F1 powerboat with wheels?
Im guessing the designers turned to the art grad and said "we want it to look like it belongs in F1". One google search and one numpty later, you get this...
Awful design...
I like the looks of that!
Will be looking forward to the El Reg review of this as it looks pretty damn nice! With this and the HP Envy 17 coming out soon (if the rumours are to be believed) then there's finally seems to be a few high end, large screen, stylish desktop replacement systems coming out...
I personally cant wait!
Just curious...
Is this the same bug that has shot Bank of Queensland in the foot so recently?
If so, then booyah take that the rest of world - we Australians always come first - including in cocking up!
Let me be the first to say...
Wont someone please think of the children! =P
Actually have to disagree with you here champ
Having known a large number of people in the dance music scene in Australia (true its a different kettle of fish to the rock scene) but the main way most performers make money from music is through their gigs. I can remember back in 2002, there were only 2 DJ's in Aus who could earn enough to make a living from playing gigs and the rest needed a day job and that included those with the record contracts.
For the rock scene, im reliably informed that for 90% of bands out there the gig is where they make there money - the record is just a way to get more people to your gig...
That bootnote...
That bootnote made the entire aritcle worth reading! Bravo El reg!
Posted in China pinches thousands for pron
Just curious...
But were these 5000 odd people, the site owners and content providers or just the poor schmucks who felt the need to download some pron for their home entertainment?
Posted in Texas cops cuff 176 at illegal cockfight
I dont know about you...
but if i was wanted for murder then i probably wouldnt be hanging around in venues where illegal events were taking place.
But i guess that sort of thinking might be why im not wanted for murder...
It would have been so much cooler if it was called Atropos
Atropos was the one of the fates in greek mythology who "cut the strands that were mens lives at the time of death"...
Would have been so much more appropriate...
Actually i dont mind tweet either...
Everytime i see the word in an article i immediately turn the page as quite obviously the entire article is full off utter bollocks. It means i can read through dozens of newspapers in under 10 minutes!
I think he needs better laywers
I dont really care that he's guilty (which he's obviously admitted to) but a minimum of 17 years WITH a plea bargain - thats not exactly what i would call good bargaining skills.
Can somebody please tell me the phone number of his laywers as i have some wonderful property on Titan that i can sell them for a very nice price...
Posted in California cops don defensive headcams
Ignoring all the privacy, monitoring implications...
i just have to ask why the hell does it have an earpiece? I thought it was just a camera...
Posted in US mum calls 911 over Grand Theft Auto
Hurray for poor parenting!
Seriously the cops should send her the bill for the police's time in having to come deal with this and possibly the liability bill for any premises that were robbed during this itme whilst the police had to deal with this rather then doing there actual job. Oh and make her do some sort of parenting course cause she obviously doesnt have a clue how to be a parent!
In a situation like this its easy to stop the kid playing the computer - take the power cable. That will stop the kid playing pretty damn quickly (and provides a nice defensive weapon in the case of the ADHD brat getting violent). Getting a kid to go to sleep has been a problem for parents for thousands of years, but funnily enough the police arent usually the ones that have to deal with this! Parents need to take responsibility for their own sprog, not leave it up to the rest of society to do it for them!
Posted in Chinese villager jailed for eating tiger
Why cant the same penalty's be applied to...
Why cant the same penalty's be applied to all the chinese people who traffic in Indian/siberian/non-chinese Tiger body parts. They may not have killed the things themselves but by trading in their parts your fueling the trade that leads to there death.
And whilst where at it, what about the Shark fin dealers, and all the other endangered animals that are killed to feed the chinese market in these products...
Hypocrisy much?
Out of curiosity
Is the register registered with MIIT?
Posted in Ferry giant refuses ID card
Maybe ive been flying too much but...
since when are individual operators the ones deciding your able to travel overseas? To the best of my knowledge HMRC are the ones who are supposed to be checking your passport, not the bloody travel company, or have i missed something?
If this idiot was passed through the HMRC check ok, and then denied by P&O - why are P&O checking? If there was no HMRC check - please can you tell us where this was again so we can organise for every criminal activity to pass through this port...
What next will Ryanair be checking our passports? Special GBP15 no passport check extra fee perhaps?
wont someone please think of the retail workers!
Having worked retail in my youth i would like to send out my heartfelt condolences to all those stuck in an office/store/sub basement whose managers feel that it is acceptable to listen to christmas carols on repeat for the entire month of December (and if your really unlucky half of November and January too!)
I can remember one year as a young fella working at a local department store in Australia and being subjected to Mariah Carey's Christmas Carols on repeat for a 6 week period. I was only a casual (read weekends and nights) but i still came so close to cracking...
... to this day im still in therapy.
Tin foil hat missing?
That your biggest fear is that mossad could get access to your address (and what other minor data the DVLA holds) really speaks volumes about your world view.
Please return to wearing your tin foil hat and leave the rest of us to be concerned about the much greater (and far more realistic) threat to our personal lives from the cyber criminals opertaing from Eastern Europe.
Posted in Plough gives birth to sextuplets
Obligatory Red Dwarf reference
But are there planets which you can play Planetary Pool with?
what a stupid comment!
Funny, i didnt realise Israel was in the EU...
But yes, lets be worried about Israeli mossad agents getting access to our databases by somehow first getting access to some foreign EU powers databases. Yes thats really what people should be worried about in this situation...
idiot.
An intersting idea
This is an interesting idea but whether it will be successful or not depends on the things Cowherd above has mentioned. If the switch over is "instantaneous" then i see big problems, however if the switch over allows for the processing to be stopped correctly, data stored securely, and programs ended/paused correctly, then i see no reason why this shouldnt be a huge success.
Novel thinking, now lets just see how it works in practice...
Funny how i have heard this comment before..
I have heard this comment so many times since BAE even floated the idea of dropping out of the consortium, but guess what - nothings changed so far! The A350XWB is using the same production facilities, they havent pulled out of Britain for it (and that would have been the logical project to make the switch on).
There's a simple reason, the UK has specialists in the design and build of these components, if you want to design and build somewhere else, you have to build the manufacturing plants, train the workers and develop the experience, and that is just not cost effective to do. Things arent going to change - EADS is in the business of making money, there not going to do anything to hurt...
I may be being cynical but...
I may be being cynical but you have an industry which has become successful (very successful, lets be honest) with almost no government assistance or regulation. Now the government wants to "co-ordinate" the industry. Am i the only one thinking that if this goes ahead it spells the death knoll for the British Space Industry?
I may be mistaken...
... but im pretty damn positive that yes where someone is found to delibrately and willfully cause "damage" in a court case then punitive fines can be applied.
Admittedly, in this case, i would say its damn excessive but hey use a shit laywer and your bound to be screwed. And this guys supposed to be a professor - one can only imagine the "calibre" of young laywers he's turning out!
Goodbye roads, tv, public services
"Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said earlier this month he favoured letting market forces dictate investment."
God help anyone living in a rural area if this idiot ever gets put in a position of power. The average village of a couple of hundred people hasnt got much market power against a city of a couple of million so why should a company bother installing, well anything in a rural area.
Roads, gas, electricity, telecommunications, medical services - there is a reason these things are controlled by governments and that is that market forces would see millions of people in rural areas receive none of these because the market is too small to make it worth a company to build the delivery infrastructure. It is for this reason that broadband cable laying SHOULD be the domain of the government...
Hypocrisy much?
There's an animal population crisis (apparently), yet PETA object to the killing and eating of every other animal on the planet? Can you say Hypocrisy?
You would think...
... that if the Aliens were "friendly and wanted to help us" they would implant in someones mind, maybe this dude they "seem" to be communicating with, the keys to clean energy. Funnily enough they havent. I cant possibly understand the reasons why... *rolleyes*
Oh and if they object to makeup it could mean one of two things - 1) there all super amazingly gorgeous space babes, who look down on the earthly womans need of beauty enhancers with ill concealed contempt or b) they are all hideously disgusting beasts that not even a paralytically drunken scouser in a dark alley would say yes to, in which case there worried about losing out to the far superior earth female, especially once decked out in those lovely little enhancers that make us men all gooey! Tough call on which one it is going to be...
