Portikon - Slashdot User

Submission + - Unencrypted passwords at "secure" sites 1

Submitted by linear a on Thursday August 02, 2007 @03:14PM

linear a writes: I've noticed that quite a few web sites do *not* encrypt user passwords. I've gotten into the habit of hitting the "email me my password" from them to see what happens. So far I've found maybe 6 that must store passwords in clear since they were able to return the original password back to me. Clearly this is Bad Security Practice. Also, I've had notably bad progress when I ask them to fix this practice. Some of these are sites one would clearly expect to have better security (e.g., a software vendor and an online bank). Do you have thoughts on how to better encourage better password practice at these places? Also, is this is really as common as it seems to be for me?

Submission + - UCLA Probe Finds Taser Incident Out Of Policy (ucla.edu)

Submitted by Bandor Mia on Thursday August 02, 2007 @01:10PM

Bandor Mia writes: Last November, it was reported that UCLA cops Tasered a student, who forgot to bring his ID, at the UCLA library. While an internal probe by UCLAPD cleared the officers of any wrongdoing, an outside probe by Police Assessment Resource Center has found that the police actions on Mostafa Tabatabainejad were indeed out of UCLA policy. The probe was conducted at the behest of acting UCLA Chancellor Norman Abrams.

From the report:
"In light of UCLAPD's general use of force policy and its specific policies on pain compliance techniques, Officer 2's three applications of the Taser, taken together, were out of policy. Officer 2 did not take advantage of other options and opportunities reasonably available to de-escalate the situation without the use of the Taser. Reasonable campus police officers, upon assessing the circumstances, likely would have embraced different choices and options that appear likely to have been more consistent both with UCLAPD policy and general best law enforcement practices."

Submission + - Approach Women Without Hesitation (blogmackin.com) 1

Submitted by Bachelor on Thursday August 02, 2007 @01:09PM

Bachelor writes: So the theory is called "The three second rule" it is an idea on removing all hesitation from a cold approach. The idea in a nutshell is: if your out in public and you see a hot woman you want to talk to you do not think about it and walk right up to her within three seconds, not know at all what your gonna say, and just say something.

Submission + - Virtualization, Vista security issues at Black Hat

Submitted by BobB on Thursday August 02, 2007 @12:44PM

BobB writes: Can rootkit malware that hides by mimicking a software-based virtual machine ever be detected? That was the topic of debate as security researchers presented their latest findings to packed audiences at the Black Hat Conference in Las Vegas. Vista security questions also swirled at the event. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/080207-black -hat-virtual-machine-rootkit-detection.html

Higher Tuition For an Engineering Degree 531

Posted by kdawson on Sunday July 29, 2007 @02:57PM from the does-this-mean-music-majors-are-free dept.

i_like_spam writes "The NYTimes is running a story about a new trend in tuition charges at public universities throughout the country. Differential pricing schemes are being implemented, whereby majors in engineering and business pay higher tuition rates than majors in arts and humanities. Last year, for instance, engineering majors at the University of Nebraska starting paying an extra $40 per credit hour. One argument in support of differential pricing is that professors in engineering and business are more expensive than in other fields. Officials at schools that are implementing differential pricing are aware of some of the downsides. A dean at Iowa State said he 'thought society was no longer looking at higher education as a common good but rather as a way for individuals to increase their earning power.' And a University of Kansas provost said, 'Where we have gone astray culturally is that we have focused almost exclusively on starting salary as an indicator of... the value of the particular major.'"

Web Contracts Can't Be Changed Without Notice 169

Posted by kdawson on Sunday July 29, 2007 @01:52PM from the late-binding dept.

RZG writes "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on July 18th that contracts posted online cannot be updated without notifying users (PDF of ruling). 'Parties to a contract have no obligation to check the terms on a periodic basis to learn whether they have been changed by the other side,' the court wrote. This ruling has consequences for many online businesses, which took for granted their right to do this (see for example item 19 in Google's Terms of Service)."

Sun Says Project Indiana is Not a Linux Copy 161

Posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday July 29, 2007 @12:45PM from the because-we-say-so dept.

eldavojohn writes "Ian Murdock (Debian author & Sun's OS Chief) made some comments about Project Indiana that many have said is an attempt to make Solaris simply "more Linux-like." But Murdock quashes any concerns that this is just another Linux clone — muddying up the waters of distribution selection. He says that it's more a 'best of both worlds' attempt to make an OS that appeals to a broader audience. From the article, "Project Indiana will include a revamped package management system, which should prove popular with developers unaccustomed to Solaris. The OS has some clunky, archaic aspects, and Murdock thinks the new package system will modernize Solaris.""

Submission + - Lawyers shafted by windows on NY bar examination

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 28, 2007 @11:18PM

An anonymous reader writes: Over 5000 aspiring lawyers who took the New York bar examination on laptops using windows, word and a software from a company called SecureExam ended up with lost essays and computer problems. The New York Board of Bar Examiners released a statement and the company responsible released a second statement. Possibilities at this point might entail a software company being held liable for licensed software under a EULA for the first time. Bar examinations in Georgia reportedly had problems as well. It seems the software created a single file with all the answers and either discarded the file rather than upload it or mixed parts of the essays together.

Submission + - Undeletable porn video on YouTube (alx5000.net)

Submitted by

alx5000

on Monday June 11, 2007 @03:26PM

alx5000 writes: "meneame.net (the Spanish Digg) is reporting that a German hacker has posted an undeletable porn video on YouTube. So far, the video has been watched more than 100,000 times since it was posted 2 days ago, and the account of the poster blocked, but the video still remains viewable. You can watch it here (NSFWFGS!)"

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