Archive for the 'Technology' Category
Air Force Aims for ‘Full Control’ of ‘Any and All’ Computers
June 4th, 2008In general terms, vulnerabilities often come about as the result of ignorant managers implementing functionality against the advice of competent engineers, or, if a network has been built with budget constraints that wind up placing security somewhere down the list of priorities. If the target network has been built properly, however, the Air Force’s fantasies […]
Google Spotlights Data Center Inner Workings
May 31st, 2008This is far out. The Google monster eats computer hardware day and night. Never mind the power consumption, which would be unthinkable. When will Peak Google occur? HA Via: cNet: On the one hand, Google uses more-or-less ordinary servers. Processors, hard drives, memory–you know the drill. On the other hand, Dean seemingly thinks clusters of […]
Lindbergh’s Deranged Quest for Immortality
May 28th, 2008Life extension technology is a standard obsession with the elite. There has been an attempt to mainstream the nonsense through the activities of lunatics like Ray Kurzweil, who hopes to download his consciousness into a computer at some stage. Need I say more? Well, there’s a lot more. And, no, this isn’t a character analysis […]
Debian OpenSSL Security Flaw
May 26th, 2008Hint to 99.98% of you reading this: Skip to the next story. Reader GP submitted Alarming Open-Source Security Holes, by Simson Garfinkel, which is a human readable version of this Debian Security Advisory: Luciano Bello discovered that the random number generator in Debian’s openssl package is predictable. This is caused by an incorrect Debian-specific change […]
Teenage Student Isolates Microbe that Breaks Down Plastic
May 26th, 2008This is incredible. Full text follows. Via: TheRecord: Getting ordinary plastic bags to rot away like banana peels would be an environmental dream come true. After all, we produce 500 billion a year worldwide and they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. They take up space in landfills, litter our streets and parks, pollute […]
China’s All-Seeing Eye
May 19th, 2008The one is a bit long, but very worth reading, especially if you liked/were terrified by, The Last Roundup: MAIN CORE. If you plan on reading this, click through to the main story because my excerpt includes the grim spoiler ending. Via: Rolling Stone: China today, epitomized by Shenzhen’s transition from mud to megacity in […]
The Last Roundup: MAIN CORE
May 18th, 2008In my case, there’s no way the programs I want to talk to Congress about should be public ever, unless maybe in 200 years they want to declassify them. You should never learn about it; no one at the Times should ever learn about these things. —Russell Tice, Former NSA SIGINT Officer I’m going to […]
Securing Your Notebook Against U.S. Customs
May 15th, 2008Via: Guardian: Last month a US court ruled that border agents can search your laptop, or any other electronic device, when you’re entering the country. They can take your computer and download its entire contents, or keep it for several days. Customs and Border Patrol has not published any rules regarding this practice, and I […]
Texas: “In-School Suspension Program” Uses GPS Tracking Systems Attached to Students
May 13th, 2008You’ve got to hand it to the New York Times. This one goes down smooth. The GPS system is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It tracks, it traces, it slices, it dices, it gets results, it saves lives. And it saves money! Who needs jail for the kiddies when an “in-school suspension program” is […]
NSA vs. Military Academies
May 12th, 2008Via: Wired: Even with a solid network design and passable software choices, there was an element of intuitiveness required to defend against the NSA, especially once it became clear the agency was using minor, and perhaps somewhat obvious, attacks to screen for sneakier, more serious ones. “One of the challenges was when they see a […]
