Posts by Velv

So something that's used by 0.0012% of the world population is a "basic feature"

Sounds more like someone has a chip on their shoulder

They also received "behavioral support from nurses", which may or may not have included being handcuffed to a cast-iron bedstead at gunpoint.

I've never smoked, but if they need someone to be in a control group just send me a message

In a parallel, there are rules where if the spooks have illegally collected data which proves a suspect did not commit a crime they are being investigated for the spooks are required to informally brief the police that they are "barking up the wrong tree".

Tinfoil hats on...

It's easy to explain the Investigatory Powers Bill - the authorities are going to gather together evidence on everyone on the presumption that everyone is guilty prior to them committing any crime

The way things are going they'd be better keeping a database of people who aren't "criminals".

That way when you get stopped :" ah, you're free to go Sir, you're on the known good list" or "sorry Sir, you're not on the list, we need to take you in"

Did the thieves get the spelling wrong on the transfer, or was the spelling wrong on the original email from the Nigerian Prince?

Based on the small samples of code here it would be very difficult to prove they had been stolen. They are simple direct functions that really any basic programmer would come up with for the small function concerned.

So unless they had their code lodged in escrow or some other secured format that proves the date of authoring beyond reasonable doubt then they're probably fishing.

How did Bounce steal the Yieldify code anyway?

"It also argues – as it has done in the San Bernardino case – that the request is device-specific and so does not constitute blanket approval for the FBI to break into any iPhone"

Well, yes, and no. Each case may be about one physical device. But the precedent is being attempted that a court order is all that's required to access any one device. And given the number of judges is the US there's going to be * A L O T * of requests to access one device, and some of those might not yet have committed a crime.

Harking back to the old nomenclature of Rainbow codes in military technology it's good that they've been able to resurrect the old Blue Circle radar system

How to look like your doing something good while shafting the UK tax payer even more...

Sales may be booked in the UK, and revenue in the UK may increase hundreds, maybe even thousands of times. But Facebook UK will still need to license the use of the Facebook logo from Facebook Ireland and its Dutch sandwich partner, so the opportunity for profit in the UK will be wiped out.

WiFi Assist

Apple partial attempt to fix the "poor wifi" problem was WiFi Assist where packets were augmented with 3G or 4G when the wifi was poor. Shame it didn't clearly indicate the wifi was being augmented and it used up all your allowance on this background stuff.

So you're right, stop the background chatter, but also fix the optimisation of services to make automatic switching clearer on the packet route. WiFi Assist had the potential to provide great service, but at a significant cost.

Completely missed the point. It is not THAT phone which is of the slightest interest to the FBI or anyone else in the investigatory world.

They need a case sufficiently emotive to achieve public support. "We'll be able to stop terrorists". They know there is no useful information on THAT phone, and will already have used the carrier data to its full ends. But they need to justify accessing THAT phone so they can access OTHER phones in the future.

</TinFoilHat>

"Except for going legal, what are your options?"

Stop using Oracle. There are other database technologies out there, and if Oracle insists on shooting itself in the foot those technologies will very quickly become the de-facto standard Oracle currently appears to be. Net easy for everyone to make the leap, but a critical mass soon will.

Of course none of this would have been an issue if the device had been an Android...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/07/22/pin-punching-robot-can-crack-your-phones-security-code-in-less-than-24-hours/#2fb4ef6158a8

Yes, yes, it's old, and I'm sure all Android devices now have an appropriately increasing delay between PIN attempts...

"Apple should not be above the law."

Absolutely true. Nobody should be above the law.

But when the law (or anyone) is acting like an asshole and everyone is telling them they are acting like an asshole they should take a step back and listen.

First they came with a court order for the terrorists, and we complied because we're good corporate citizens.

Then they came with a court order for the murderers and the rapists, and we complied because we're good corporate citizens.

Then they came with a court order for the bank robbers, and we complied because we're good corporate citizens.

Then they came with a court order for the shoplifters, and we complied because we're good corporate citizens.

Then they came with a court order for everyone just in case...

If the order of a court is all it takes to compel any vendor to break into someone's personal data, just where does it stop.

Nothing is truly secure ad infinitum, it's about just how much resources you can put at breaking it in a timely manner.

I couldn't find in the iOS Security Guide if the hardware is tamper proof, so if it's not, the brute force challenge is about how many attempts you need to make before it locks. A four digit PIN has 10,000 combinations, however one way to achieve that is to clone the device 10,000 times and try a different four digit PIN against each.

Resources you put up against the problem...

Walk before you can Run

For centuries new "technologies" have been the preserve of the wealthy in their early days only to become everyday essentials and almost a human right.

Transport is the best example I can think of. Carriage and horses were initially only for the wealthy who could afford to keep their own horses. Eventually hackney cabs came long and the general public could share in the occasional luxury journey, only to be replaced by buses, trains and cars that almost everyone can afford. The money laid the roads ultimately benefiting everyone.

And so it was with mobile networks in the UK. Rich City wankers paid hundreds of pounds per month to build the core highways and services we now all share neutrality on.

Net neutrality is a fine principle, but somebody has to pay for it. Walk before you can run. Let Facebook pay to build the network THEN enforce neutrality. It's worked for centuries, Adam Smith noted it, it's not perfect, but it keeps the momentum of development.

The Military solved this problem a long time ago - launch a missile at anything that targets you...

If the UN say he's being held, then give him the opportunity to leave the embassy and go to Equador.

Then issue an international arrest warrant and request extradition.

If the US decide they want him, I'm sure Equador will capitulate quicker than either the UK or Sweden given the investments the US is making and th attempts to establish stronger links. I'd also bet it would be easier to get him out of Equador by force than from the UK or Sweden.

Yup, I hear black helicopters...

One could argue that those who place themselves in the public eye are asking to be trolled and bullied.

One could argue it's OK to ridicule generally successful people when they fail as they deserve it.

One could even argue that pointing out facts is never trolling or bullying because, well, it's just facts.

One could also argue Andrew Orlowski is a bully and a troll (fact, see points one, two and three) but I'd never do that.

Andrew, you invited comments in the body of the article, at least have the decency to publish them all. Censorship puts you on a par with Donald Trump, and rejecting comments you disagree with just reinforces the portrayal of El Reg as "evil" and "nasty".

As for Mr Fry, no, I doubt he's done the due diligence. But publicity is publicity dahlings!