Posts by Samizdata

Forget the IOT gear...

Forget the IoT gear, I would just be happy if I could get my tablet updates. And that's a proper computing platform with an already in place updating mechanism.

Until we can breed more clueful users...

Look, I know it sounds stupid and obnoxious now, but I deal with people every day that think the way to go to a site is NOT to bookmark it or enter it into the address bar, but to search for it every time. I have told them time and time and time again not to, but they do. I deal with helping people whose brains shut down at the idea of free money and have only been lucky that I have stopped a pile of 419 scams against people I know. I have seen people with Flash, Java, and Firefox dating from the XP days in this TYOOL 2017.

Until we can reasonably expect users to take responsibility for what they do online, even accept that they even HAVE any responsibilities for a secure Internet, and that can actually prevent everything above the brainsteam from shutting down online then we need to start removing empowerment from their hands, and start automating steps like updates for the OS and apps, and forcing checks against sites. I don't much like it, granted, but I am accepting it has to be this way until human nature changes, sadly.

(Also, FWIW, I have said it before and will again, Troy Hunt is doing God's work...)

Notifications? Really?

Lies, foul lies. They certainly haven't notified me. The only thing I have heard on the whole thing was from the sainted Mr. Hunt. Sadly, at this point, I am almost regretting signing up for Mr. Hunt's notification service. No worries though. I use unique passwords across the board.

Here's my thing. As soon as you start tossing around comprehensice sueballs at everyone that criticizes you, that says to me, "Patent troll!"

That seems to be their default goto.

Also, port 49152 seems closed to external scanning. I am thinking the company was doing research with outdated kit.

I remember doing an initial Netware build on a server I had no documentation on at all, with a version of Netware I had never used. Finished about 0400, called in later that day, got chewed up one side and down the other by the boss.

The next day I had to setup backup infrastructure on a unnamed tape drive, again with no documentation...

This is El Reg, not The Gruniad...

"As the researchers told IEEE Spectrum, iStegSiri is a proof-of-concept designed to try and get the security community to pay better attention to *seganography-based* attacks."

Seganogaphy? I understand the need for hot news, but, really lads..

Such an AMAZING surprise from an organization that will take your money but not let you get it back.

This...

This is why we can't have nice things.

For those of us that enjoy popping balloons or slicing a cat into lunchmeat with our reasonably powered personal lasers, we have to suffer because some asses have no common sense.

Unfair, I say, unfair!

Good. Maybe Lenovo will finally turf the pants firmware for the NVG510 and come up with something reasonably decent.

To edit or not to edit...

CarderPlane? Really? C'mon now, I expect better from El Reg...

Seriously though. The US Goverment, post PRISM, bitching about privacy and sousveillance? Methinks maybe the Big G is being less forthcoming with access to Glass data and specifications than the Fed likes.

Already dealt with it...

Had to clean up a case pre-automated detection. Sort of a pain, but I whupped it.

And, sorry, I couldn't resist.

Is not a man entitled to the coin of his bit?

No, says the the man with malware, it belongs to me.

I have been beta testing Pertino for a while and it is a pretty nifty tool. In fact, the biggest problem I have had with it was finding new use cases as it is so flexible.