More PDF Blackout Follies 309
georgewilliamherbert writes "The latest installment of "As the PDF Blackouts Turn" hit today, with a U.S. government apparently releasing a redacted version of their court filing in the Balco grand jury leak case
which merely stuck a black line over the text, which remains available in the document. As with prior documents, entering text cut/paste mode in a normal PDF browser such as Acrobat allows a reader to access the concealed text. Previous incidents include an AT&T filing in the NSA case." This works with Xpdf and KPDF, too; for KPDF, use the selection tool (under the Tools menu) around the redacted section, copy to clipboard, then paste into the text-manipulator of your choice.
Maybe (Score:5, Funny)
This is why... (Score:2, Funny)
Or... they could just find a better technological solution. Seems like a no brainer to me.
History repeats itself (Score:5, Funny)
which? (Score:5, Funny)
Which U.S. government?
Even more shocking (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Redacting right is HARD (Score:5, Funny)
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I was going to say, those guys are goooood.
Re:Redacting right is HARD (Score:4, Funny)
blonde joke (Score:5, Funny)
A: There is magic marker ink all over the screen!
Pretension (Score:2, Funny)
Is it just me or do they look a little pretensious?
Re:which? (Score:3, Funny)
Adobe can come out of this smelling like a rose! (Score:3, Funny)
Hush! Hush! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:which? (Score:1, Funny)
What's with all the illiterate retards lately? Kill yourself.
We have to act! (Score:5, Funny)
This law would instruct the FCC to create a program to certify approved PDF viewers; such viewers must make it impossible for users to steal the redacted data in a file, along with technical measures to prevent tampering with the viewers by hackers. Certified viewers will be made available to the public by software companies on a list of government-approved PDF vendors. After it becomes illegal to own a non-certified pirate PDF viewer, these dangerous information leaks will thankfully become a thing of the past.
Re:Redacting right is HARD (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Maybe (Score:5, Funny)
It was good enough back in the days of wood-burning computers;
it should be good enough now.
Re:Someone missed the memo (Score:3, Funny)
Re:This frightens me!!!!! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:A redacted document? Say it ain't so! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Maybe (Score:5, Funny)
Re:History repeats itself (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Maybe (Score:3, Funny)
It was good enough back in the days of wood-burning computers;
it should be good enough now.
Definitely! Then we can redact things with fancy ANSI terminal codes ^[[30;40mlike this super secret hidden message[[m!
w00t! No one will EVER figure how to defeat that!
Re:History repeats itself (Score:3, Funny)
Train them to use the blackout method, but to replace the redacted text with "If you can read this, you're under arrest!"
Re:Maybe (Score:1, Funny)
Re:This proves it: (Score:2, Funny)
that is all
Re:This is why... (Score:3, Funny)
Are you saying "boo" or "Boo urns"?
</oblig>Re:This is why... (Score:1, Funny)
ds
Re:Maybe (Score:5, Funny)
It was good enough back in the days of wood-burning computers
Oh man, that brings back some memories! Late nights cranking out code on my Bunyan 2500 - that puppy went through three cords of oak a week, and it kept the place warm to boot. And we didn't need any of that fancy book learnin' to make it work either; if you were a good hand at whittling, you could be a programmer. Never had a lick of trouble with the Bunyan, except for the occasional splinter. Oh sure, you had to keep some kindling around to get her started, but once she got goin' she could do anything - add, multiply, and of course, branch.
Internet? Pfft. We modulated the smoke exhaust by opening and closing the flue - you could see it for miles, unless it was raining, or windy. Hell, we had peer to peer networks back before most of you guys were even a swimmer in your dad's testicals.
There's still a few Bunyans around, if you know where to look. Auditors like them, since they're so good at logging, and keeping a paper trail. I think the Vatican still has one, though they only fire it up when they elect a new Pope. Ah, the good old days...
Re:Maybe (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Maybe (Score:3, Funny)
--jeffk++
(... a fool and his money are best parted... )
Proper way to conceal information... (Score:2, Funny)
The proper way to conceal the information is to apply white out on the monitor!
Re:Maybe (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Maybe (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Maybe (Score:3, Funny)
"The Simpsons" did it! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Maybe (Score:1, Funny)
Yeah! Good point.
<hidden>Not like that n00b 'GmAz' knows anything about vector graphics...</hidden>