Comment DHS Precrime Division (Score 1) 59
Not sure why the thought of the Precime Division from Minority Report popped in my head but yeah, given enough time on the AI path we may end up with such a scenario.
Comment Re:It's called - 'Specs' (Score 3, Funny) 23
You take exception with that and I'm annoyed by the phrase "Finally Nearly Here"...
Comment Re: And.. what is Z-library? (Score 2) 83
Probably the only thing that got them truly hemmed up was the Piracy as a Service model, although I'm still trying to grasp the logic in how the US Postal Inspection Service came to be the lead in this whole matter. Is this the new route around overburdened bureaucracy of the other 3LAs?
Submission + - OpenSSL announces CRITICAL vulnerability (openssl.org)
An anonymous reader writes: Mark your calendars for the next Heartbleed/Poodle. OpenSSL developers today announced that 3.0.7 will be released on Tuesday, November 1, 2022 and will fix a critical vulnerability found in the product. No details have been made available but previous vulnerabilities announced this way tend to be remotely exploitable with minimal effort.
OpenSSL 3.0.7 is a security-fix release. The highest severity issue fixed in this release is CRITICAL: https://www.openssl.org/policies/general/security-policy.html
Most likely unrelated but perhaps relevant: Two weeks ago, OpenSSL 3.0.6 was released and then completely retracted within 24 hours due to "a significant regression" in the software.
Comment Monitoring Gone Too Far... (Score 1) 187
It's one thing to require a GPS tracking bracelet on a person for pre-trial supervision or even as a term of probation for a limited term but to enable communication through that device... that is too far in the name of "justice".
I could easily see such technology being used without prior notice of the monitored to listen in on private communications, even privileged communications such as with a lawyer or counselor; this is of course not to mention the fact that such monitoring could be used to build a greater case against an individual based upon recordings. It's not unheard of for this here on Slashdot for company provided monitoring to be abused and misused, it's also not unheard of for such systems to be compromised by third-parties for malicious purposes such as covert surveillance or harassment so, is it a stretch to believe that such could likely happen with this particular practice?
Why is GPS/location monitoring not enough? What sound justification could be made for more than that for legal reasons? These are children, not spies, not enemies of the state and even if such features could lead to greater security for society, is that a society that you could reasonably say you'd prefer if it was your child or yourself?
Comment Re:Same with Youtube (Score 1) 287
I was the same way except my first encounter with a YouTube ad was on the phone... shortly after I found modifying DNS worked wonders since I am on WiFI 95% of the time anyways.
US Couple Arrested For Transmitting Nuclear Secrets In Sting Operation 372
DesScorp writes "Recalling the famous Rosenberg nuclear spy case of the '50s, the US Justice Department has arrested a couple working at a 'leading nuclear research facility' for giving nuclear secrets to Venezuela. Pedro and Marjorie Mascheroni 'have been indicted on charges of communicating classified nuclear weapons data to a person they believed to be a Venezuelan government official and conspiring to participate in the development of an atomic weapon for Venezuela,' the department said in a statement. If convicted, the couple would receive life in prison."
Remote Operated Aircraft Targets Hurricanes 56
burnin1965 writes "Usually news articles about remote operated UAVs involve blowing people up. NASA's application takes a different path and uses the utility of the aircraft for scientific research that will benefit humanity. I haven't read much about NASA's Global Hawk lately, but they have been busy providing up-close access to the recent string of hurricanes."
Stuxnet Worm Infected Industrial Control Systems 167
Sooner Boomer writes "ComputerWorld has an article about the Stuxnet worm, which was apparently designed to steal industrial secrets and disrupt operations at industrial plants, according to Siemens. 'Stuxnet has infected systems in the UK, North America and Korea, however the largest number of infections, by far, have been in Iran. Once installed on a PC, Stuxnet uses Siemens' default passwords to seek out and try to gain access to systems that run the WinCC and PCS 7 programs — so-called PLC (programmable logic controller) programs that are used to manage large-scale industrial systems on factory floors and in military installations and chemical and power plants.' If the worm were to be used to disrupt systems at any of those locations, the results could be devastating."
Why Twitter Should Stay Out of the App Business 76
waderoush writes "Twitter has come out with some impressive new tools this month — the Twitter app for iPhone/iPad on September 1, and the overhauled Twitter website, or #NewTwitter, this week. But Twitter is late to its own party, Xconomy argues today. #NewTwitter still lacks basics like photo uploading and URL shortening, and apps built by third-party developers like TweetDeck and Flipboard continue to provide more compelling ways to explore the information in a Twitter stream. While Twitter may finally be 'getting focused' on ways to achieve mass market growth, as former Twitter platform manager Alex Payne wrote this week, the company will have a hard time competing with its own developer community — and might do better instead to acknowledge, and focus on, the service's growing role as a general Internet utility."
Submission + - Leave the virus, Take the cannoli (esecurityplanet.com) 1
graychase writes: The United States Secret Service (and Verizon) say organized crime is responsible for most corporate and government data breaches. Organized crime syndicates were implicated in 85 percent of all such "cyber attacks" last year, according to the 2010 Verizon Data Breach Investigations report released Wednesday.
Writing for eSecurityPlanet.com, Sean Michael Kerner says, "The report, which investigated more than 900 serious data breaches that compromised more than 900 million online records, also found that the vast majority (96 percent) of the breaches could have been avoided had companies and organizations implemented basic security technology and policies. This latest data confirms what security experts have been saying for years: Cyber criminals are highly organized and capable of extracting personal information from customers and companies using socially engineered malware and sophisticated phishing scams to quickly turn stolen data into cash and goods — all from a browser."
Also, the report says the vast majority of breaches could have been avoided with basic precautions. In other words, "You snooze, you lose--and we told you so."
Writing for eSecurityPlanet.com, Sean Michael Kerner says, "The report, which investigated more than 900 serious data breaches that compromised more than 900 million online records, also found that the vast majority (96 percent) of the breaches could have been avoided had companies and organizations implemented basic security technology and policies. This latest data confirms what security experts have been saying for years: Cyber criminals are highly organized and capable of extracting personal information from customers and companies using socially engineered malware and sophisticated phishing scams to quickly turn stolen data into cash and goods — all from a browser."
Also, the report says the vast majority of breaches could have been avoided with basic precautions. In other words, "You snooze, you lose--and we told you so."
Submission + - Supermarket Backs Squirrel Meat Sales Amid Protest
Hugh Pickens writes: "BBC reports that the owner of a supermarket in Crouch End, North London defends selling squirrel meat as a sustainable way of feeding people, says it has a "lovely" taste, and predicts that more people will eat squirrel in the future. "I think it's lovely. It's a bit like rabbit. I think there will be a lot of fuss about this now, but in a few years it will become accepted practice that we eat squirrels. People don't bat an eyelid now about eating rabbit," says Andrew Thornton owner of a Budgens supermarket adding that squirrel meat is more sustainable than beef and that the squirrels will be culled anyway. "It takes about 15 tonnes of grain to produce one tonne of beef, which is not sustainable." But not everyone is happy with the sale of squirrel meat and the animal welfare group Viva accuses Budgens of profiting from a wildlife massacre. "If this store is attempting to stand out from the crowd by selling squirrel, the only message they are giving out is that they are happy to have the blood of a beautiful wild animal on their hands for the sake of a few quid," says Viva founder and director, Juliet Gellatley."
Comment Re:I used to use wine... (Score 3, Insightful) 427
That's great for you and all, but almost every PC game that has ever been released is a testament to why Wine is still necessary (even if not necessary for some).
My words only express my experience, nothing more and nothing less.
I encourage those whom play Windows games to use Wine, to get Crossover Games and tell the game publishers, if you have a problem, call it in to support, go to their forums, make a little bit of noise showing your support for the game and your platform of choice, just don't be insane about it.
By all means use the tools available and work to make them better, give your feedback and help support those who work to support your gaming. Don't think that just because you've switched that you can't continue to enjoy your computer as you've done in the past.
And while it may not be perfect, if you're adamant about it and help others on official forums, you show that the market can be viable and that the risk for exploring it can be negligible especially given our normal distribution methods for software over the Internet.
Comment Re:I used to use wine... (Score 5, Insightful) 427
Gosh, you're SO L33T!
Why do you think the rest of us care?
I know its bad to feed the trolls but here's a thought...
My experience has shown me that I don't need Windows apps as much as I though I needed them, I found better alternatives and while Wine is great at some point you just have to sit back and wonder, "Is it worth it?"
I went through updates which broke previously working applications, I went through configuration edit after edit for each application to get things working and at one point just decided to look for a better way. Don't get me wrong Wine is great for beginning Linux but it really shows the flaws in many Windows programs and with closed source, you can stumble onto one at random even if you're coding to established API for compatibility.
So why my comment? I commented because I felt it showed that Wine helps break the reliance on Windows applications, it's great for transition but not for long haul requirements and I'm not commenting for the sake of commenting, a review of my account can attest to that. You however seem to enjoy placing your finger up your rear trying to tickle the back of your throat hoping something worthwhile will eventually come out of your mouth.
Too bad it is a miss today for you but thankfully, I'm at least not an anonymous coward like you.
Comment I used to use wine... (Score 5, Interesting) 427
Long ago when I first switched to Linux I made the decision that I would not run a dual boot environment and would instead use Wine to run my apps I NEEDED from Windows on my Linux machine.
Fast forward six months from that switch, I removed the NEEDED applications because I found better ones (hello GnuCash) and haven't used a Windows application or required Wine since then, that was almost 3 or 4 years ago now when I fully switched my desktop to Linux.
