BTW: There was some research done a while back that did show that using spell and grammar checkers improved the bad english-skills people, but actually made the people who were already good english-skills people worse!
That's it, blame the spelling and grammar checkers...
You're looking at the wrong level. The proposal was for software embedded in the phone (not the HLR) so that it would brick if it received the right command. So no need to corrupt the HLR at all, just send the brick yourself command to the phones.
This.
Why do all that work, just tell the phone to do the work for you! If this gets implemented, that is...
I don't think that is what they where discussing. I thought it was about banning the ESN at the carrier level. This would effectively render the handset unserviceable by any carrier that refused to service the ESN. No need to put software on the phone.
Nope.
FTFA:
A proposal by Samsung to the five largest U.S. carriers would have made the LoJack software, developed by Canada's Absolute Software, a standard component on many of its Android phones in the U.S.
To work, the LoJack system requires two components. The first is code buried with the phone's firmware that ensures it remains active even if the operating system is reinstalled. The second is a desktop app through which users control the software.
To be sure, there certainly are many, many ways to break an egg, but this article is specifically talking about device-resident code that would take care of bricking the phone for you...no need to mess with HLR's. One-stop shopping, as it were
canada: you used to be cool. what happened?
Have you been up here lately??
-47 Celsius with the wind chill this morning...and we're getting damn tired of it already!
I could find a song on iTunes US, but not available on iTunes Canada, and because I do live in Canada, I could not easily order it off of iTunes US. If the right's holder decides to maintain the rights to a song, and not allow me to purchase it legally in my own country, then why should you be allowed to sue for copyright infringement, considering you're not making it available for me to purchase legally?
Interesting thought.
I wonder how exactly they would assess 'damages' if the material in question was never available for purchase in the first place?
You're looking at the wrong level. The proposal was for software embedded in the phone (not the HLR) so that it would brick if it received the right command. So no need to corrupt the HLR at all, just send the brick yourself command to the phones.
This.
Why do all that work, just tell the phone to do the work for you! If this gets implemented, that is...
The real solution here is for rights holders to get off their fucking asses and start giving consumers what they want.
Everything for free?
DRM free, certainly.
Y'know, like mp3's, which are still pirated but are at least available for purchase, unlike any DRM-free video that I am aware of...give true customers access without all the PITA usage restrictions, and the true fans will buy it simply to support the media they love. Yes, there will always be freeloaders, but those are the same people who would bum the DVD's from their friends instead of buying it anyways. At least you'd have the freeloaders telling their friends (who may be more flush with cash) about this hot new show they should watch...if the show's worth talking about, that is.
They probably know. It's not about money (they've been getting record profits), it's about control.
...pun intended?
Oh that is a nice thing!!!
Thank you!!!
Yeah a little pricey but not crazy expensive at all and totally worth it.
No problem, I had actually forgotten all about them, so thanks for the reminder! I was looking into them a while back for this very application but I ultimately went with an encrypted password manager on cloud storage instead. Might have to give them another look-see...
...that would be a security risk.
Security through obscurity? Has this site taught you nothing?!?
A text file, encrypted locally with a long password (something I can remember easily, but quite long) and then uploaded to Google Docs for easy access anywhere that I have the decryption software. If I need a password, I just open that file up and copy / paste the password needed - then close it again. If I make a change to a password I can just change it once and that populates to all the other locations where my Google Docs are stored, but it is fully and safely encrypted the whole time.
I even have an app for my phone in case I need it, but there is three factor authentication: my phone's login, a short PIN for the app, and then my full encryption password.
Just FYI, KeePass does basically the same thing for you, but in a user-friendly, searchable, generally-less-mucking-around-required database. Pop the encrypted database file into Google Docs or Dropbox or somewhere and boom, you're done.
I suppose one benefit of using a text file would be that you could theoretically use it on some new system that didn't have a KeePass client yet...if your encryption/decryption client worked on the new system, that is.
What I use is a text file on a thumb drive also backed up on several local drives.
The text file contains the first half or so of the password, enough to remind me of what the password is should I forget. The rest is stored in my brain.
For rarely used passwords and places I will put a hint under the half pass.
I am trying to get away from these long 20 character passwords though... I really wish some one would invent a better system. Maybe a thumb drive that combines storage and a thumb print scanner in one package.
Youy mean like this?
Yeah, they're a bit pricey, but not totally out of the ballpark for the concerned user
I like KeyPass because the same database file can be used in my Android phone and on me PC. I don't want to use a cloud based password storage as that might be a vulnerability. I also like that KeyPass allows you to use more than just a password to protect the database, you can also have it use a keyfile. So it turns into something you know (the password) and something you have (the keyfile on a USB key). Then you just need to keep the database synchronized between the different systems you use it on. That could be a problem if you add passwords very frequently, but in my useage it has not been a problem. KeePassDroid is a nice Android version.
My dually-encrypted KP database is the one and only sensitive file I entrust to Dropbox, since even if someone gets it, they'll have to crack both the keyfile and the passphrase to get anything out of it. That does a lovely job of keeping your database in sync for you, since Dropbox clients are pretty much everywhere
So, do you put the keyfile in your Dropbox folder, or no? If so, how is that more secure than using a password? Otherwise, do you just manually move it to different devices with a thumb drive or email, or what?
I don't, but opinions vary on this. For me it's no big deal to transfer the keyfile offline to any device that I would want to use, but 90% of the time it's one of two devices (phone, laptop). I always have my phone with me, so I always have my keyfile with me too if I need access from a different device...I suppose if I accidentally dropped both of them off a mountain somewhere, then I'd be hooped until I could get home again and grab the keyfile from my secure backups
AS to the how, well bluetooth works *sometimes* for small file transfers, and if the bluetooth is wonky, I break out my connection cable. I also have a slick little cable that lets me plug a USB thumb drive into my android phone, so it's easy to push a file to a thumb drive, then use the thumb drive to put it wherever you like...also works great for photos / music / etc.
I use Keepass.
I store my keepass database on dropbox, this way it is accessible from my iphone, ipad and all my laptops and desktops. Any changes I make are synchronized between devices automatically.
Keepass will auto fill in websites with plugins like KeeFox for Firefox, or launch Putty.
I don't even know what my Slashdot, eBay or Amazon passwords are, as they are all about 64 random characters each.
If you choose to go this route, it makes sense to have a very strong passphrase, as such, my passphrase exceeds 128 bits. A key file is also an excellent option.
Why not both? KeePass allows you to do that.
I also use KeePass (despite how silly the name looks when it's not properly capitalized
Meh. It's secure enough for my needs
Do they really expect $20million in annual revenue from WhatsApp to grow to cover that $16billion?
The question is, how does Facebook ever hope to recover the cost?
Apparently the personal data of 450 million users is worth approximately $35 per user to them...are targeted ads really that lucrative?
U X e dUdX, e dX, cosine, secant, tangent, sine, 3.14159...
