Privacy

How Do You Fool Spam Bots? 87

ThisIsAnExampleAccou asks: "I am currently researching Spam Bots, and the various methods by which they collect addresses. While doing my research, I have started to notice the various ways that people post their email addresses to fool spam filters (i.e. bob@hottroutmail.com - go fishing to mail me) What clever ways have you seen/done to fool spambots while still letting people know how to get in contact with you?"
Programming

Large User-Maintained Documentation? 22

SysKoll asks: "I am working for a company that has release several open source contributions. Our flagship product, often updated, has thousands of pages of documentation that are constantly revised to stay relevant. Right now, users who find a doc defect send an email, and the doc is updated both on the web site and in the updates, but it can take weeks. I am trying to convince my upper management that the way to go is to turn the doc web site into a wiki-style community site, where registered users can annotate pages directly between official revisions. Does anyone know a large set of web-published documentation that is annotated using this kind of user feedback?"
The Almighty Buck

Linux for Non-Profits? 67

Glowing Fish asks: "I am volunteering for a non-profit that is currently in the process of giving away grants of systems (some using Linux and some without an OS) to various non-profit organizations. One of the problems is that many of these organizations have a somewhat skewed version of what they need, thinking they need Pentium IV systems with 100s of megs of RAM with Windows XP installed. I have been given the job of politely explaining that for most non-profit organizations, it is not necessary to have this type of computing power. What is the best (and politest) way to explain to people that they don't really need this type of computing investment? Without Microsoft-bashing, how would you explain the ever spiraling relationship between RAM and OS bloat? What type of systems would you suggest to a non-profit organization for office work, and why?"
Media

Where is the Webcasting? 55

epiphani asks: "This weekend the Womens World Cup soccer finals took place between Germany and Sweden, and a German exchange student, whom is staying with us, was very interested in seeing this game. We don't have cable television at home, however we do have broadband. Now, thinking an event such as this should obviously have a webcast stream somewhere, I went on a search so my German friend could watch the game. After looking for close to an hour, the closest thing I could find to live coverage was a text-based ticker that followed the game. Where is webcasting? Almost all radio stations now have live feeds to the internet, and yet a major sports event such as this doesn't have a video webcast? What is holding this back? The technology exists, and I suspect there would be demand. Are the cable and satellite television distributers preventing it to maintain their business model, or is there some technical aspect that hasn't been addressed?"
Programming

Switching from tcsh to bash? 89

momerath2003 asks: "With the advent of Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, Apple will switch its default shell from tcsh to bash (in order to conform more to the newer Linux trends). A lot of Mac power users will want to know how to make the switch, especially if they use such tcsh-specific extra files as the login/out scripts in the /usr/share/tcsh/examples directory (they automatically set up some aliases and can automatically read aliases from a specific file, among other things). So, how do we all adapt? What are some ways to emulate the behavior of the example files, and what differences are there between the bash and tcsh shells?"
Security

How Effective is Online Dispute Resolution? 38

An anonymous reader asks: "I recently had a website stolen from my ownership and removed from my hosting company. The hosting companies all say that everything looked legitimate to them, but I know it isn't and I can prove it. ICANN, WIPO and other dispute resolution services are expensive and I do not have the money to pursue. What alternatives are there as far as online dispute resolutions and other forms of mediation? I have talked to a computer lawyer and they were of no help because they were not familiar with this situation either. What methods of dispute resolution (auctions, domain names, etc.) have others at Slashdot used? How effective are they?"
Hardware

USB/Firewire "Branching" -- Is it Possible? 55

Shaze asks: "I have been doing a lot of overseas web conferencing lately and have been playing around with my two webcams. I was suddenly intrigued by the idea of being able to 'span' or 'branch' both webcams together to create one device pulling signals from both. I did some quick research on the topic to no avail, however many of my colleagues believe this to be possible. Some even going so far as to say they have seen software or drivers that will turn your webcams into one Twain device. Aside from my own meanderings, I can't seem to find any information on anyone or anything even suggesting this is possible. What do you say Slashdot readers: Is this a new application waiting to be marketed or am I just seeing double?"
Wireless Networking

Wired Voice and Data to Cellular Options? 33

otterboy asks: "I am involved with a remote scuba diving operation in Northern British Columbia. The lodge has a regular wired handset, with a wire running up to the top of a nearby mountain. At the top of the mountain sits a little shack, which contains a cell phone, a big antenna, and a black box from Motorola. That box provides an RJ11 jack into which we can plug the 'regular' phone, which allows us to use the cell link from the regular wired phone in the lodge, since the only cell signal we can get is at the top of this mountain. We also use a GSM modem (over the 'regular' phone line, which gets converted to a cell signal up on the mountain), but the best rate we can get is about 4.8kbs. According to Motorola, this is a limitation of their converter. I've looked at Cellsocket, but it deals only with voice. Does anyone know of a converter with better data performance, or are we stuck with Motorola?"
Editorial

Real Life EMF Experiences? 163

ilander asks: "I've been looking to buy my first home recently and found one that seemed perfect. The one downside is that there are power lines directly overhead (in the yard) as well as a high tension power line tower in the empty lot in back, less than 200 feet away from the house. So does anyone have any personal experience working/living near power lines? Aside from the possible health risks, which may or not exist (depending on who you ask), will I run into any problems with my monitors and TVs? What about DSL, cable and my 802.11b network? How about digital satellite reception? Any help is appreciated!"
Linux Business

A Novell Linux Specialist? 335

richardeholder asks: "Our Novell partners differentiate themselves in the marketplace by promoting their areas of expertise or specializations; this allows their customers to know what their skill sets are and what they can reasonably expect these partners to provide for them. As we embrace Linux, we would like to extend the title of 'Linux specialist' to partners who merit it. Before we move forward on this initiative, we would like to ask the Linux community for guidance on what should constitute a Linux specialist. Should we require certifications such as LPI and the RHCE/RHCT, or are there other more valuable ways of demonstrating Linux competency?"
Security

Prosecuting Spamming Crackers? 51

lnixon asks: "As a recent Slashdot article mentioned, the latest trend in spamming is to use cracked Windows machines for sending spam and hosting spamvertised web sites, 'spacking', as Wired terms it. A couple of weeks ago, I started tracking one of these cracker rings down, carefully documenting the trail as I went.Mostly through luck, I actually found the originating server. This information should seriously put a crimp in their activities...if only I could get the law interested. I have tried to get the attention of CERT, of FBI and of my local police authorities, but nobody seems to be interested. Now, what should I do? Organize a posse?"

Fixing Security Through Obscurity? 66

LineNoiz asks: "I work as a junior developer at a small company that sells check printing software. One of my company's favorite things to tell customers is how secure our product is and how it will reduce check fraud (we even sell check fraud insurance). I cringe everytime I hear them say it, because I know that it is 'secure' only because of it's relative obscurity. I personally know very little about security, and really have no idea what it would take to make our product secure. All I really know is that this is a problem waiting to happen. How can I convince my managers that our security is nothing to brag about? How can I convince them to spend the time and money to make it secure? Where can I myself go to learn more about security and what it would take to make/keep it secure?"

Victoria's Secret Fined for Security Leak 52

An anonymous reader submits: "The state of New York has fined Victoria's Secret for failing tomaintain secure access to customer purchase records. Last year, a customer noticed that it was possible to look up online purchase records by manipulating their website. However, this was not consistent with the company's posted privacy policy. After getting brushed by VS's Customer Service, the guy contacted the media. NY State AG Eliot Spitzer took action under 1930s laws regarding deceptive business practices. VS settled to pay a $50 000 fine, notification of affected customers, fixing the site, and all without admitting violation of law."
Hardware

Post Cobalt Alternatives? 68

wizman asks: "I co-own a small ISP that does a bit of web hosting - probably less than 150 domains. We have been using the Cobalt RAQ product line ever since our beginnings. We are outgrowing our current RAQ and have been planning to purchase a newer one. However, it seems that ever since Sun purchased Cobalt, they have been moving away from the RAQ platform. Because of the incredible slowless in which Sun patches vulnerabilities (just now seeing a new SSH package) on top of a number of other annoyances, I am now seriously considering other options." Current RAQ sysadmins: what are your plans for the near future? What would you do if you owned Cobalt RAQs? Would they stay or would they go?
Microsoft

Patching Paranoia - How Fast Do You Patch? 681

selfassembled asks: "I work for an IT group in the Boston area called Thrive Networks. After the most recent exploit was revealed, my company scrambled to get our client's servers patched within 48 hours. This is extremely difficult because no customer wants to be interrupted by a reboot during business hours. Our staff worked after hours to get this patch installed ASAP. How fast do you (or your IT group) install patches for major exploits like this? What do you consider to be an acceptable turn around time for a vulnerability patch that may not even have an exploit yet? After Blaster and Welchia we decided it's better to be safe than sorry, and our customers seem to agree."

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