Posts by Will Godfrey

Monoculture?

With world + dog apparently moving to the chrome engine will it be fun times ahead?

How about a change?

Can we have a list of the sites that haven't been breached?

Oh, wait. There probably aren't any. We just haven't heard about them yet.

Looks Familiar

More and more like the rubber duck's dad.

P.S. Always wanted a valid excuse to use that icon :)

The other extreme

One of the engineers where I used to work was booked to go to India to re-commission a printing press that had been bought second-hand and shipped across. The reason it was our guy who was asked, was partly because some of the control system was our design, but mostly because the manufacturer wasn't interested. Anyway, the plan was that 'John' would fly out, then get driven to site on day 1, do the commissioning on day 2 and return on day 3 - all at the new owner's expense.

The first day went exactly to plan and John was ensconced in basic but comfortable accommodation. Next day was a nightmare as the press hadn't been reassembled. Nobody had a clue how it all went together so most of it was still in crates. After frantic international phone calls and hurried conferences it was agreed that John would remain on site to oversee the reassembly. This took over two weeks as he had to fast-track train people in engineering techniques. The upside was that they were keen intelligent guys and soon became his 'gang'. Commissioning itself was then very fast as not only did John know the machine had no obscure modifications, but his workforce also had a pretty good idea what to do.

The good news.

The new owner paid in full with no questions asked.

John was asked to do two other similar installation/commission jobs (and now had a bunch of friends working with him)

The bad news

John won't touch so-called Indian food in England - says it's nothing like the home-cooked food he had over there.

Remind me

Wasn't this bitcoin stuff supposed to be so secure that it was bomb-proof?

It's beginning to look like it wasn't, if people can get in without the passwords only one person was supposed to have known.

It also seems it's not embezzlement proof.

Missed Option

None of the above.

I'm looking forward to a future of (relatively) quiet towns. Just the sound of the tires at any sort of speed is more than enough. If people have their eyes glued to their phones and their hearing muffled with 'beatz' well they're just likely to get a Darwin award.

It will never happen to me

That is the biggest hurdle to overcome.

Look on the bright side

With all the switched-on generation falling for this crap the burglars won't bother to go to the effort of picking locks and smashing windows, so the rest of us should be safe.

Crazy

Just how much more complexity can they pile into this 'simple' interface before it all collapses under it's own weight? Does anyone actually understand the protocol(s) anymore?

Not news now?

This is getting so common it's verging on boring.

Hmm rather like woodworm it is. It's boring into the CPU but leaving the exterior looking solid.

Hmmm

I don't think I'd be capable of {cough} opening {cough} a piece of unknown kit without thoroughly investigating what's inside.

Glastonbury got it right

You register an interest, then later have to supply a photograph (along with other details), which is copied onto your ticket - and these are fully checked at the gate.

Here we go again

In case anyone forgot...

Hello buffer my old friend,

I've come to break you once again,

'cos my malware soft-ly creeping.

Broke your code while you were sleep-ing.

And the spyware that it put there’s just the same,

It still remains.

And takes it all,

in silence.

Pity the small traders

Unlike the government squandering our tax payments, or multi-nationals with coffers overflowing with extortionate profits, these enterprises are simply unable to make any plans. In the first place they have no information about what systems might be put in place that they will have to work with. Even if they did, they do not have a fraction of the spare funds need to prepare for all options.

How low can they sink?

You can't even get a decent 'quality' of corruption these days - no style at all.

Fear of fear itself

The disinformation and pseudo-panic is getting ever more shrill

Curses!

We'd have gotten away with it if it weren't for them damn kids wayback pages

Facebook

The only option ->

I must be getting old

It took a while for that last bit to sink in - but I shall go to lunch with a smile on my face.

Better

It seems clearly pointing out problems gets a more cooperative response - Who knew?

Uncomfortable

I'm not keen on all this 'love'. I think I much preferred it when Microsoft thought Linux was an evil virus.

Lips moving

Therefore lying... again.

Pattern?

I'm not saying there is (or not) but first Kaspersky, then Huawei.

It leaves me wondering who is next on America's hit list.

Be Contrary

You could always completely negate any possibility of an advertising hook with:

Berlin Olympic Stadium

Lightbulb Moment

Reading these comments, (and noting the number of them) It dawned on me that El Reg Commentards must have an average age of 70.

The one with the farthings and a silver thrupenny bit in the pocket.

Interesting

I just had a look at some of my old email list ones - mostly 12-15 characters, and one for shopping (long since expired) was:

1 or MORE stupid requirement!

Like teaching a dog to play cards

You marvel not that it could be done, but that anyone would want to.

Ironic

It seems that adding protection code simply increases the attack surface. Maybe we need a return to ROM-based BIOS, then call it a day.

Deflection

"no evidence that any data has been accessed" is not evidence that no data has been acessed.

Dangerous

Has anyone here been brave foolhardy enough to actually go on mumsnet. I thought about it, but chickened out.

Hmmm

No doubt Microsoft is playing the long game, but which one is it?

Warning

Can we have one where software has been written by anyone traveling by train? I would imagine the ability to concentrate in that environment would be (at best) marginal.

P.S. I wonder if that's where the usual crappy suspects get their software done.

Off at a slight tangent

That's a remarkably clean and healthy looking fox.

Are we suggesting that's how Firefox is now?

Damn. I do wish they wouldn't keep swapping images around