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Submission + - Anti-surveillance clothing becoming fashionable 1

Submitted by Earthquake Retrofit
Earthquake Retrofit writes: The New York Times reports: Flying surveillance cameras, also known as drones, are increasingly in the news. So are advances in facial-recognition technology. And wearable devices like Google Glass — which can be used to take photographs and videos and upload them to the Internet within seconds — are adding to the fervor. Then there are the disclosures of Edward Snowden, the fugitive former government contractor, about clandestine government surveillance. It’s enough to make countersurveillance fashion as timely and pertinent as any seasonal trend, like midriff tops or wedge sneakers.
Tinfoil hats are so passe'.

Comment Irrelevant news for nerds (Score 1) 251

by heteromonomer (#44145035) Attached to: AMD/ATI Drops Windows XP Support
Stop this shit Windows XP news. It's 2013. Why is this relevant news for nerds? I mean come on editors! Is this submission better than so many other worthy submissions? How many of us care about this crap? Stop assuming that most of us are some XP support drones looking for jobs on Dice.com. Many of us are scientists, engineers etc in various fields.

Submission + - US denies Ecuador extradition request (telegraph.co.uk) 4

Submitted by PolygamousRanchKid
PolygamousRanchKid writes: Joe Biden, the American vice president, has telephoned the president of Ecuador to ask him not to grant asylum to Edward Snowden. Rafael Correa, speaking on Saturday during his weekly televised address, said that the "cordial" conversation took place on Friday. "He asked that we please reject the asylum application that Snowden has made," said Mr Correa, according to Ecuadorean newspaper El Telegrafo. "But for us to be able to assess the application, Mr Snowden has to be inside Ecuadorean territory. When he is there, we can consider the application."

Mr Correa, whose Left-wing government is frequently at odds with the United States, said he told Mr Biden that Ecuador had requested the extradition of two of its citizens – a request with the US ignored. Roberto and William Isaias, who ran the collapsed bank Filanbanco, are wanted in Ecuador – having fled to Miami in 2003. They deny all allegations of corruption.

"He said to me that Mr Snowden is a fugitive of American justice and doesn't have a passport. So I replied, well, the Isaias brothers are fugitives of Ecuadorean justice, and they don't have passports, but you won't extradite them to us. The only difference is that the Isaias brothers have already been sentenced."

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: How to drive change against pervasive surveillance?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Recent revelations about NSA and GCHQ and others confirmed what I've been fearing and warning about since the 90s. Naively I expected I'd welcome this day, but I'm feeling dejected. Telling my friends "I told you so!" is not nearly as satisfying as I thought. But it has re-ignited the desire to do something about it.

So, I'd like to make a difference. To drive change in mindsets, laws and regulations, so that my children don't have to grow up in a Panopticon world where their entire lives will be indiscriminately and indefinitely recorded and retained by governments, corporations and individuals, where they will be guilty by association or breaking secret laws, judged in secret courts based on secret evidence, or their business empire destroyed by a stray words they said thirty years ago; who knows what is considered wildly inappropriate or treasonous in 2040.

The options I have come up with are:
  • Become a politician. Joining the pirate party in my country of residence might be a great option, as they can take active part in writing laws and regulations, and reach a wide audience via interviews in mainstream newspapers.
  • Become an activist. Highest risk, as you are not protected by the same explicit and implicit rules and regulations protecting members of the parliament. Even if you follow the law — which I would — your life is subject to "enhanced" scrutiny and might end up on all kinds of lists making your life a living hell. If you slip up like Julian Assange arguably and allegedly did in Sweden, you will be chained up and fed to the lions.
  • Become a blogger. The blogosphere has a high noise, and there are already many bloggers out there talking about privacy. Worst of all, blogging will likely only reach those with similar disposition, thus you will not be able to make a as much of an impact unless you already have a name — which I don't — or manage to become popular outside the geek community. Just as risky as being an activist.
  • Make it a business. I'm not a programmer or a techie, but perhaps I should seek employment in a trustworthy company producing security-related products. The most obvious choice with less tangible personal input, but potentially real and large real-world impact. Moderate to low risk.

What other options are there?

Submission + - Facebook Andriod app: Behaving badly, or dangerously incompetent?

Submitted by jarle.aase
jarle.aase writes: A blog-post at symantec.com, claims that: ...The first time you launch the Facebook application, even before logging in, your phone number will be sent over the Internet to Facebook servers. You do not need to provide your phone number, log in, initiate a specific action, or even need a Facebook account for this to happen.

ZDNet have picked up the story and asks the question: Facebook: Behaving badly, or dangerously incompetent?. They continue: To the knowledgable bystander, combined with the app's other mechanisms, it's impossible not to consider the opinion that the app is acting like spyware.

I just bought a Sony Xperia Z, and noted that the bundled Facebook app was constantly running — even if I myself never started it or used it. (I never used Facebook). I disabled it as soon as I noticed this behavior, feeling like a paranoid idiot — but it also turned out that my gut feeling was right.

Let's hope that EU's privacy authorities fines them appropriately.

Comment Re:I'm still going to opt out. (Score 1) 172

This. This deserves a +10 mod. I am ok with pat downs. Just make sure they happen in public when everyone is watching. The TSA agents on the groping job that I've met so far were extra polite and careful. Most of the jerks were in the baggage screening. Another thing I never understood is why they do the extra checking of baggage (after they've passed through the X-ray scanner) if I opt for a pat down.

Comment Re:Not actually a bad idea. (Score 1) 368

by heteromonomer (#43765389) Attached to: Bloomberg To HS Grads: Be a Plumber
If all you want is to make a living then even college education may be optional. However if you are passionate about a science subject, gone are the days when you can pursue it as a career (and not just as a hobby). For having science and research as a career, it is good to have a graduate school stint. May be not required but highly recommended.

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