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Comment Re:List of Vulnerable Banks / Bank Apps, Please? (Score 1) 139

by Jherek Carnelian (#45923417) Attached to: Mobile Banking Apps For iOS Woefully Insecure

When Joe Graduate hears how "basic" and "easy" this securing software stuff is, from people like you that have no clue, they go off and do it themselves

No that is not even close to a major problem. The big problem with software security is that it is usually an afterthought. Poor security does not impeded the normal operation of software, so it is extremely common for management to de-emphasize or even ignore it completely. And then once the software is up and running, retrofitting security into a system is super-expensive so the mindset becomes something like, "why fix a leaky roof if it isn't raining."

So no, the problem is rarely a case of security being deceptively easy, it is a case of bean-counters not assigning enough beans to the effort.

Submission + - Smart Toothbrush Aims for Better Brushing Habits

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: These days, it seems just about every imaginable thing is "connected." There's connected thermostats, locks, refrigerators, forks, and so many more. Now we can add toothbrushes to the list as Brandon Griggs reports at CNN that the Kolibree toothbrush syncs wirelessly with an iPhone or an Android to track brushing habits, announce whether you have brushed thoroughly enough and reward you for good oral hygiene. "It works just like a regular toothbrush," says Renee Blodgett. "The only difference is that all the data is stored on your phone so you can see how you're brushing." Users download a mobile app and connect via Bluetooth, and the Kolibree documents every brushing via three sensors that record 1) how long you brush, 2) whether you brush all four quadrants of your mouth, and 3) whether you brush up and down (good) instead of just side to side (bad). "Before Kolibree, the issue is that there has been no easy and quick way to monitor whether you're doing an A+ job or a C- one when you brush, so how can you improve on a habit you don't have any data about?." There's a bit of gameplay built in, which challenges users to do better next time, and the company has created an API, hoping that third-party developers will come up with additional apps that will inspire users to brush more and more effectively writes Daniel Terdiman. "With individual health getting more attention than ever, it's certainly possible people will see the benefit of something that keeps a close eye on how well they're treating their teeth, and which challenges them to do better."

Submission + - Hackers gain 'full control' of critical SCADA systems (itnews.com.au)

Submitted by mask.of.sanity
mask.of.sanity writes: Researchers have found holes in industrial control systems that they say grant full control of systems running energy, chemical and transportation systems. They also identified more than 150 zero day vulnerabilities of varying degrees of severity affecting the control systems and some 60,000 industrial control system devices exposed to the public internet.

Comment Re:Clever? (Score 1) 229

Your flaw is comparing corps to people. They're not people, and should be compared to other corps.

Maybe in some other context you might be have a pint, but not when it comes to government representation. Politicians are not supposed to represent corps, only people since elections are by the people. Lobbying is a way for corps to purchase representation, therefore it is not acceptable no matter how many corps do it.

Comment Re:Clever? (Score 1) 229

Lobbying is more like speeding. If all the traffic around you is going ten miles over the limit, you are NOT contributing to the greater good by adhering to the law. You're making yourself an obstacle.

Doing the right thing can be complex.

You keep digging that hole. Now corporations have a moral imperative to lobby in order to not endanger everyone else? WTF is wrong with you?

You keep missing the key point - corps are a tiny minority, if that, of the citizenry. This isn't a case of all the traffic speeding and them just keeping up, it is a case of 99.99% of the traffic moving at walking speed and this handful of aholes going at 100mph.

Comment Re:Clever? (Score 1) 229

I see, so expecting one and only one telco to opt out of the lobbying process is normal behavior, then, is it?

It is truly stunning how you've missed the point. I sincerely believe you are a psychopath now. I'll spell it out ... when a specific group decides to do something bad that doesn't make it neutral just because they are all doing it. Your argument is akin to saying, if a gang requires each member to commit a murder in order to be inducted, then that's not bad, its neutral because everybody in the gang did it -- totally normal behavior for gangs.

Submission + - The Other Exam Room: When Doctors "Google" Their Patients

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Writing in the NY Times, Dr. Haider Javed Warraich shares a dirty little medical secret: doctors do "Google" their patients, and the practice is likely to only become more common. And while he personally feels the practice should be restricted to situations where there's a genuine safety issue, an anecdote Warraich shares illustrates how patient search could provide insight into what otherwise might be unsolved mysteries — or lead to a snap misdiagnosis: "I was once taking care of a frail, older patient who came to the hospital feeling very short of breath. It wasn’t immediately clear why, but her breathing was getting worse. To look for accidental ingestions, I sent for a drug screen and, to my great surprise, it came back positive for cocaine. It didn’t make sense to me, given her age and the person lying before me, and I was concerned she had been the victim of some sort of abuse. She told me she had no idea why there was cocaine in her system. When I walked out of the room, a nurse called me over to her computer. There, on MugShots.com, was a younger version of my patient’s face, with details about how she had been detained for cocaine possession more than three decades earlier. I looked away from the screen, feeling like I had violated my patient’s privacy. I resumed our medical exam, without bringing up the finding on the Internet, and her subsequent hospital course was uneventful."

Comment Re:Clever? (Score 3, Insightful) 229

If that's the terms the government wants, they can set those terms.

Since AT&T's lobbyists were responsible for most of the terms, I'm comfortable with Vanderhoth's original assessment. Just because our government representatives were corrupted doesn't mean AT&T is in the right.

Submission + - How to Create a Better Malware Warning Through Psychology (threatpost.com)

Submitted by msm1267
msm1267 writes: Generic malware warnings that alert computer users to potential trouble are largely ineffective and often ignored. Researchers at Cambridge University, however, have proposed a change to the status quo, believing instead that warnings should be re-architected to include concrete, specific warnings that are not technical and rely less on fear than current alerts.

Submission + - AT&T's Sponsored Data is bad for the internet, the economy, and you (theverge.com)

Submitted by sirhan
sirhan writes: From The Verge: AT&T is looking into what they call Sponsored Data, a program designed to let content providers bypass bandwidth caps if they pay AT&T. Simply enough, "if YouTube doesn't hit your data cap but Vimeo does, most people are going to watch YouTube. If Facebook feels threatened by Snapchat and launches Poke with free data, maybe it doesn't get completely ignored and fail. If Apple Maps launched with free data for navigation, maybe we'd all be driving off bridges instead of downloading Google Maps for iOS."

Comment Re:More accurate headline (Score 1) 510

by Jherek Carnelian (#45880943) Attached to: Anti-GMO Activists Win Victory On Hawaiian Island

Peanuts

What part of "normal conditions" do you fail to understand? Sunlight is fatal to people who have erythropoietic protoprohphrya. By your logic, sunlight is fatal too.

You show me that scientific proof that there is no why what so ever that DNA from one organism can transferred to another.

What part of "cross-breeding" do you fail to understand?

Oh, I get it, you are a nut.

Comment Re:"Android most important platform for gaming" (Score 1) 128

by Jherek Carnelian (#45877937) Attached to: Nvidia Announces 192-Core Tegra K1 Chips, Bets On Android

Except that it *is* the same audience NOW because now everyone has a cell phone. When the choice was console or portable, consoles won big. But now the choice is portable or portable and console. The experience isn't the same, but it isn't wholly different either. It is close enough for some people to decide that gaming on their phone is good enough and skip buying a console.

How large will the number of people be? I don't know, but in the past that number was zero so drawing comparisons between the past and present isn't so simple.

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