* Posts by Private Citizen.AU

36 publicly visible posts • joined 15 Jan 2013

Russian anti-antivirus security tester pleads guilty to certifying attack code

Private Citizen.AU

US federal prison vs. ???

I assume he will be sentenced to a US Federal prison, I assume that is better prison than his local prison?

I am sure that there would be a few state players wanting to bypass antivirus systems, If he is really good at what he does he will probably leave prison with a job offer.

A Hughes failure: Flat Earther rocketeer can't get it up yet again

Private Citizen.AU
Facepalm

A rocketeer that cannot comprehend Gravity?

How can you launch a rocket to altitude without a basic comprehension of gravity?

Formation of planets is a function of gravity, at a certain mass gravity will drive the surface towards the centre and that generally forms ball like objects, A celestial body rounded by gravity is one of the criteria of being a planet. That is what I remember from high school science.

By his reason the moon is flat too and every other planet we have seen is flat. Rings of Saturn become the 2 dimensional handles of Saturn.

We should ban him from launching his rocket on the off chance he knocks the frisbee that is the moon off the fabric that that the stars are painted on.

Remember those holy tech wars we used to have? Heh, good times

Private Citizen.AU

Amiga vs. the World

I am still a card carrying Amiga follower after that I was disillusioned, the most I have achieved since is an anti-Apple theology.

Back in the day, Amiga vs the Apple Mac v. Atari ST v. PC v. TRS-80.

Back when Amiga had 4096 colours, PC had 4 colors (CGA), Mac was B&W, Atari ST was a wannabe and the TRS-80 was the backward cousin.

Oh the fun we had demeaning each other, none of these interwebs, you had to argue face to face, when someone walked into enemy territory and started bad mouthing.

Aussie Catholic School forced into hasty cover-up over suggestive Saint

Private Citizen.AU

A little context goes a long way

A love an honest mistake, and filth is in the mind of the beholder, but there is a dark history

"In the past 12 years, at least two former Blackfriars teachers — Stephen John Stockdale-Hall and Ronald William Hopkins — have been jailed for sexually abusing students at the school."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-22/statue-of-saint-and-child-creates-stir/9180724

To be fair a lot of religious institutions and schools have been mentioned in a recent Royal Commission on Child Abuse.

Commonwealth Bank: Buggy software made us miss money laundering

Private Citizen.AU
WTF?

Re: Outsourcing...

AUSTRAC notes all transactions over AUD$50, so running sub $10,000 transactions fools no-one. You may not be in the most watched category but every transaction should have been noted. It is one of the essential systems designed to find black money in our economy.

But to claim that it was software bug that went undetected for 3 years makes you wonder how competent the rest of their banking systems is. It beggars belief

It is inviting a case action.

Microsoft ctrl-Zs 'killing' Paint, by which we mean offering naff app through Windows Store

Private Citizen.AU

Paint and Notepad the OS survivors and saviours

The best thing about Paint and notepad is that they have been around since windows 1.x and they are available on every Windows computer.

When someone asks to support their windows computer in person or remotely you have two tools that work consistently. That most users can use or start these two apps.

Now Microsoft want to bury it in their itunes wannabee store.

Microsoft will finally have a must-have app in their app store,

Blunder down under: self-driving Aussie cars still being thwarted by kangaroos

Private Citizen.AU
Holmes

Re: Cane toads

All we need! cane toads with fricken laser beams.

oh I see what you mean.

Roos are unique as they have a tendency to hit you side on rather than head on. Something about flying through the air at speed makes them feel invulnerable. 80kgs at 50kph does quiet some damage. An auto car driving at speed into a mob of roos in full flight is a scary thought indeed.

I would think that emus would cause hassles as well - the only remedy I have ever found is a meat pie lobbed in the opposite direction of where you want to travel. Can an auto driven car safely launch fresh baked decoys?

NSA had NFI about opsec: 2016 audit found laughably bad security

Private Citizen.AU

Photocopy security caught Reality Winner

My reading of the Reality Winner case was that she was traced because she printed the report on a photocopier with microdot security identification, and that allowed them to trace back from the printer logs.

Computer security on that case was well and truly after the fact.

AVG defends plans to flog user data as privacy row continues

Private Citizen.AU
Big Brother

What about data in transit?

Companies say that they will protect our data that they gather, but we, as a market, are increasingly concerned with who intercepts our data.

They might anonymise the data they receive but who can read the data in transit?

If the data is not essential to the programs purpose then we prefer our data not to leave our computer to be sprayed across the internet.

AVG to flog your web browsing, search history from mid-October

Private Citizen.AU
Devil

Re: We wont pay for data slurping pesterware

I admit my company is solely responsible for AVG monetizing the free version. Hang me. Hang me now. My god man get laid and soon.

My low position in a smallish business, meant that I did not have the leverage with the management to get the budget I needed. I could have just let it go unprotected and then you would have bitched if my network turned into a botnet that brought down your ivory tower.

My initial step has resulted in the education and leverage that I needed to make it better and legit. It also compelled my boss to put a priority upon it. Sometimes you have to play the long game.

Private Citizen.AU

Re: Market place?

I suppose the difference between AVG and Google is that AVG is in a position to process system scans and compile a list of software (and versions) that you use. Could that data be intercepted and analysed for security holes that can be exploited?

Sure I am concerned that google has linked my work search history to my home and phone search history, but they do not get to scan my harddrive for the information.

"Your privacy is important to us" is a bit of misnomer really.

Private Citizen.AU
Coat

We wont pay for data slurping pesterware

I pushed for an antivirus on every device when I started. They relented but gave me zero budget.

My boss suggested Free AVG, and I have been dealing with the increased pester announcements which confused my users.

the benefit for AVG was my users started to install it on their personal devices, partly because my encouragement but largely as it was a brand they recognised from work.

I have just been asked by my boss whether we can opt out of the metadata sharing. The policy change affected our trust. We cannot allow unspecified data about our computing systems to leave our business.

Ironically the constant pestering has raised awareness amongst our staff so that management are now willing to pay but they want something that wont pop up all the time causing user confusion.

Oz opposition spraying perfume on metadata dead cat

Private Citizen.AU

The ALP mayor of Marrickville would be feeling the heat because the Greens won two next door state electorates of Balmain and Newtown. Data Retention was hot issue with the Greens Senator Ludlum hosting computer privacy sessions the week before the election. The ALP candidates were just constantly saying it was not a state issue but it still sucked the air out of their campaigns.

Google Translate MEAT GRINDER turns gay into 'faggot', 'poof', 'queen'

Private Citizen.AU
FAIL

How dare they translate the nasty bits?

The sanitisation of the world continues. I feel that this is like chipping pieces off the Rosetta stone because you dont like the translations.

Google should be able to present an default option for those who want the world wrapped in cotton wool or those who want to be able to spot reality's razor edge.

German minister photo fingerprint 'theft' seemed far too EASY, wail securobods

Private Citizen.AU
Stop

Survival Golden Rules

Rule 1. Never make a part of your anatomy more valuable to someone else than it is to you.

Spies would need superpowers to tap undersea cables

Private Citizen.AU
Black Helicopters

Commercial agreements allowed direct access.

I cant seem to find the article right now but it contained a copy of a Howard-Era "confidential" agreement that effectively only allowed Australian fibre to come ashore in USA on the condition that the traffic was copied to NSA (?) data warehouse. It just requires a router where the cable comes ashore.

I wasn't aware how hardy submarine cables were, and would agree that it would be ridiculously impractical to tap and importantly maintain your taps.

Why bother when your government is compliant with the country that wants to do the spying? Just build an onshore repository in the destination country and force commercial operators to comply.

BBC Trust candidate defends licence fee, says evaders are CRIMINALS

Private Citizen.AU

UK£145 - you have got to be kidding.

Your national asset needs to drop the price for the average punter or get their licence fee paid from budget and dump the costs of licence enforcement.

Australia removed the fee in 1974, funded the ABC/SBS from budget. Every year the pollies argue about the ABC bias (ie. reporting what the politicians do rather than their spin) and they threaten the budget allocation. So there is a genuine risk to editorial independence.

ABC/SBS currently get AUD$1.3Billion (equates to about AUD$60/UK£30 each), together they provide 9 digital TV stations/ 9 national radio stations to a whole continent across 3 time zones, 1 international radio station and 60 local radio stations.

Granted we cannot match the production output of the BBC , but one would argue UK£145 is producing a lot of shows that most punters would not watch, and the foreign sales should subsidise the licence after all the punters made it possible.

I suppose a 4 person household would cost (AUD$240/UK£120) but there are only 23 million Aussies vs. 64 million UK viewers you should at least be getting an economy of scale.

Hawking: Higgs boson in a BIG particle punisher could DESTROY UNIVERSE

Private Citizen.AU
Angel

Finite probability?

"Space is big really big..." Zem, Zem, and I, were falloping about and thought that an infinite universe is more than capable of providing the necessary energy and circumstances to create this "Killer-Boson" particle?

Universally I would expect it to happen quite often. I just dont see the need to globber about it. Granted I as a mere mattress I dont usually have lot of time for astrophysics.

- Zem, founder and sole member of the Sqornshellous Zeta Mensa society.

Help Australia's PM and attorney-general to define metadata

Private Citizen.AU

The biggest lie is accessibilty

The way they are selling it is that they will only store it and use it when they need it But the intelligence agency tools rely on real-time datamining of the whole dataset, both innocent and targets. There is no-time limit on retention once it has been transferred to the intelligence agency

Titanfall pits man against machine, Kiefer Sutherland Snakes into Metal Gear Solid V

Private Citizen.AU
Thumb Down

Nearly AUD$100 with almost nothing tangible

No offline play means coding laziness.

I expect an offline game of about 8 solid hours, with a skirmish mode for a variety of gameplay.

I expect to able to play even if my internet is not working or does not exist so i can travel with my machine.

I want a game I can throw into my vintage machine years from now. Not something that turns into useless lump after the server (or EA) goes the way of the Dodo.

I dont like paying to play with people I would avoid in real life. Online poofter bashing is also a factor in why I dont online much.

I QUIT: Mozilla's anti-gay-marriage Brendan Eich leaps out of door

Private Citizen.AU
Thumb Down

Re: Animals

This is not a victory. As a gay guy I am in two minds.

Personally I think it is bloody-mindedness to sack someone for political expression, many of the things I have said that could be used against me in future employment if this becomes the norm. Live by the sword you will die by the sword.

I cant see how providing leadership on a browser project threatened my existence. If as CEO of Mozilla he continued to support campaigns against Gay marraige then I think we would have an axe to grind. As CEO he not was picketing gay weddings or soldiers funerals. I am unaware that the GLBT community contributing to Mozilla felt endangered by his appointment. I did hear of a boycott but there is a boycott for every perceived slight nowadays.

I rally against people for expressing antigay sentiments, but I would only have an issue if his beliefs started to bleed into company policy or the company tried to affect public policy against me.

I cant see how equality will work if neither of us can express a personal opinion. I cannot see how he will change his position on marraige now that he been boycotted, I fear it will make him a stronger opponent.

I may not like his opinion but I will fight for his right to express it. - and I thought i was confused before. This is not a victory.

Which browser company and entire staff supports marraige equality? is there a pink standard?

UK cops: Keep yer golden doubloons, ad folk. Yon websites belong to pirates

Private Citizen.AU

Re: what to do if you want to arrest someone who annoyingly keeps not comitting a crime?

I thought the Brits invented something for that - the ASBO, I suspect 600 years of common law took a uturn about there.

BlackBerry sucker-punches TV star Ryan Seacrest in patent brawl

Private Citizen.AU
FAIL

Re: I hate to say it

side by side they look even more similar. While I agree Qwerty is Qwerty, in this format it is a stunted QWERTY, they could claim innovation and difference if they didnt match the key design (with mid key curves) but the giveaway is the location of the ALT, shift and enter keys, in reshaping a QWERTY keyboard for this factor you have to invent the layout for special keys. it looks like a blackberry keyboard with a few extra buttons. The placement of the shifted characters is beyond suspicious. http://www.powerpage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/TypoKeyboard-vs-Q10.jpg

Satisfy my scroll: El Reg gets claws on Windows 8.1 spring update

Private Citizen.AU
FAIL

Me too! all aboard the M$ bashing

My collection of programs (not apps) make use of the whole screen, I dont wont my GUI gatecrashing my programs just because I wandered into a corner of my desktop. I like the shutdown button, and my programs to be somewhere near a familiar start button. I like to select my gaming forces and direct them to attack the enemy hiding in the corner. Instead I end up fighting the enemy that my GUI has become.

The way microsoft is shoving windows 8.x down our throats reminds of those IBM salespeople in red ties shooing us pesky kids away from their trade booths. They did not listen! Where are they now?

I am up there with the rest of the desktop industry when I ask that microsoft give me back a true desktop operating system.

French youth faces court for illegal drone flight

Private Citizen.AU
WTF?

Re: Congratulations

As someone whose sexuality would cop the "nancy boy" jibe I find this a storm in a teacup.

1. If you are a nancy boy, this wont be the worse thing said about you. Toughen up you going to need it.

2. If you are a Nancy boy, your city looks beautiful in the drone video.

3. This is The Register where it is a pre-requisite for every article to take a swipe using irreverant language. It also happens to be one of the last sites capable of reporting the pitfalls of political correctness. BTW dont change - i need my daily dose of irreverance.

4. Why do you feel that being tagged as gay is so insulting? Do you still suffer from internal homophobia, it took me a while to recognise my own homophobia.

5. It was a very obvious omission, for the Reg not to use a Nancy boy bi line. I appreciate David 63 effort "Nancy boy windmills chopper in cam outrage".

As Oscar Wilde is alleged to have said "There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

Enough of these boys from Nancy, I am off to move a bundle of faggots in the garden and then rest my feet on my poof and relax. later I will be partying with gay abandon.

Cameron: UK public is fine with domestic spying

Private Citizen.AU
Big Brother

Caught in the cookie jar denials

It is obvious that the 5-Eyes have got themselves a good deal. They can rely on the partners to do the snooping that they are forbidden by law to perform. Cant collect themselves but they act on data gathered by a partner. Like having someone dropping an anonymous envelope at the front desk.

Now they have been found with their hands in the cookie jar, they are pretending that everything is all OK.

Snowden has achieved a

- almighty awareness of the pervasiveness of spying

- the fallacy of private information.

- Fallacy that checks and balances will protect the information they gather

I doubt anyone in the 5-Eyes will ever see him as anything but a snitch and traitor. With the right spin he will become public enemy or popular hero. It depends on whether the politicians or the people write the folk tale.

It's true, the START MENU is coming BACK to Windows 8, hiss sources

Private Citizen.AU
FAIL

Re: So basically back to Windows 3.1 circa 1993

I would have to agree that start screen has all the functionality of GEM Desktop

Private Citizen.AU
Windows

Drunk handicapped UI

I must admit that I originally decided to install Windows 8 on my Desktop last christmas - while full of christmas spirits (SIC).

One of the really annoying things was the active corners that would throw the OS in my face when I trying use older apps- very annoying in critical gaming moments..

But worse still was trying to use the mouse to power off after a few (sometimes more than a few) drinks.

I suppose I should thank someone at Microsoft knocking me out of my windows comfort zone now I am considering and learning other OS options.

Private Citizen.AU
FAIL

Windows 8.2? I will read about it on my Droid device

Microsoft had better hurry up while it still has fans. They have to learn that they cannot force feed us the "Modern UI" assuming that we are strapped to a chair like a scene from "Clockwork Orange". The user pushback has stalled the PC market as users stick with their familiar desktops.

Just bought my first Tablet, and I learning how to run my favourite DOS games under android.

Windows 7 worked the way I wanted. Windows 8 frustrated me. Windows 8.1 drove me to buy a droid tablet. Windows 8.2 better be the windows 7.0 UI with embellishments and high performance innards, or I will hold on to my ageing desktop while continuing to migrate my computing elsewhere.

SHOCK REVELATION: Telstra manages its networks!

Private Citizen.AU

Re: Spooks and cops need a warrant. but TELCOs dont?

privacy act allows information to be collected and used for its intended purpose (e.g. the provision of a service) so I dont think you could argue that the privacy act allows the stockpiling of communications for review. It does not matter whether you chose to check or uncheck a box on a Telstra privacy policy agreement as it would only be binding if both parties (the sender and the receiver) in the communications agreed to Telstra's "privacy" policy.

Private Citizen.AU
Big Brother

Spooks and cops need a warrant. but TELCOs dont?

The big issue that everyone is overlooking is that the Telco ("Telstra" in this case) is gathering information beyond what is required for Billing and operations without a warrant. (e.g. message headers and content)

They are not allowed to do this according to the privacy act and I am unsure that the other legisaltion implicitly allows them to gather the data en masse on the off chance that one of 22 million citizens will have a warrant issued against them some day.

The legislation requires them to have mechanisms to provide information to spooks and cops lawful requests but does this mean they are allowed to gather data preemptively of a warrant?

The telling point is that successive govt have tried to pass data retention laws, for exactly the same data that Telstra is collecting. If the gathering of such information was legal already then why the need to introduce the legislation?

Congrats on MP3ing your music... but WHY bother? Time for my ripping yarn

Private Citizen.AU
Unhappy

How I miss my 200 CD jukebox

I love CD for exactly the same reasons. I like the ability to re-gift anything I no longer listen to. But I do miss my favourite piece of HiFi. My 200 CD disk jukebox. Burnt in a housefire around 1999 and eventually gave up the ghost a few years later.

I could load up my whole CD collection and select a disc number and play. Putting it in on random play was an amazing although eclectic experience. Moving from Nirvana to Beatles to Tom Leuhrer to David Williams to Hitch Hikers you get the point.

The thought of ripping my CD collection has left them sitting in a box for over a decade. Every year I resolve to rip it and become easily distracted after about 10 cds.

TPG flashes cheeky 'down under' CAPTCHA

Private Citizen.AU

The 'N' word

I was commenting on an Australian news site discussing a story about rascim and I got a CAPTCHA which had the word 'N*gger'. I have the screen shot at home somewhere.

Snowden journalist's partner gave Brit spooks passwords to seized files

Private Citizen.AU
Big Brother

Compromised Kit for Sale?

knowing what the 5-Eyes have been upto regarding surviellance could you ever trust the electronics that have been returned? Time to dump it and get new gear. Would changing your passwords ever make you secure again?

Petshop iPad fanboi charged with filming up young model's skirt

Private Citizen.AU
FAIL

Wel I suppose using a IMAX rig would be only slightly more obvious

Zuck on that! Instagram loses HALF its hipsters in a month

Private Citizen.AU
Headmaster

Instagram users dont do christmas?

Instagram suffers a downturn during the period December 17th - January 14th. Is it atypical for a site to suffer a downturn over the christmas break? one graph taken from one christmas does not prove a trend. dont know much about instagram or the monitoring site, but I am getting quite cynical about damn statistics.

Are you sure that 7 million instagram users arent off, getting happy snaps of the family gatherings so they can come back and flood the world with what they did while I sat and did nothing but played 10 year old computer games.