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Comment LogMeIn buying Lastpass was the end of them (Score 1) 43

by Que_Ball (#64439204) Attached to: LastPass Separates From GoTo
The company immediately entered the failure category for me once LogMeIn bought them.

They ruin everything they touch.
Doubling pricing year over year while at the same time they stop investing in the product is their guiding principle.

And while the passwords stored was encrypted, some metadata was available in the stolen data with minimal encoding indicating the website addresses stored.  Often those website URL contain sensitive info and it also indicates to the hacker if the data is worth investing in brute force attempt time to decrypt.  So high value targets like Crypto wallets were the first to be drained because they could see the websites you stored and that would indicate which users to target.  They still had to use brute force methods to decrypt the data but they would only be focused on the password vaults that showed evidence of storing crypto wallet data to make it worth the effort and costs.

Comment Likely not even using real floppy anymore (Score 5, Informative) 113

by Que_Ball (#64380206) Attached to: San Francisco's Light Rail To Upgrade From Floppy Disks
Retro hardware enthusiasts have this all figured out.

They likely are not even using an actual floppy disk mechanism at all, but a floppy disk emulator with high endurance flash media which are readily available and far more reliable.  But the underlying system it is plugged into would be of more concern.  The boot media is likely just a good sound bite.

I have used these devices a bunch on industrial CNC machines where these are common issues.  Floppy emulators, Serial port to ethernet port servers, and IDE to PCMCIA adapters to the rescue.  The core of the machine is likely going to last decades beyond the computer hardware and a new replacement in the fractions of a million each means they will keep them running with the old controllers as long as possible.

Comment Ok, premise: assume it's true (Score 1) 130

by Que_Ball (#64166085) Attached to: LG Washing Machine Found Sending 3.7 GB of Data a Day
So if we "assume" it's all true.  LG appliance sending that much data on a continuous and sustained basis.

So assuming it was true, my first guess would likely be some kind of diagnostics crash data upload that continuously fails and retries to upload over and over and over again in a never ending loop.  That kind of runaway data use is not unheard of.  Similar to how your temp folder might fill up on a computer when similar condition exists except storing locally and not overwriting the same file each time.  (A massive number of people on Windows 7 can remember deleting their CBS logs folder when it gets into some kind of loop where the log file grows too large until the disk eventually fills)  I could see where an old and rare firmware might try to upload a diagnostic crash log, and the server accepts the file upload but then returns a temporary failure result code causing it to retry in a loop.  Maybe if the majority of installed machines had different version firmware and never got into that condition but only this one device never got the update the manufacturers diagnostic page now expects because it got stuck in this loop that nobody else had reported.  But what are the chances?  Some random repair guy would just declare the board is dead and swap it out if the customer reported a problem, never investigating it further.

But yeah, an Asus router not reporting the usage properly and in reality nothing was using that data seems to be the consensus result.  The internet was not slowed down, or acting unusual. So the router usage database is just corrupt after some power outage, data file format wasn't properly updated after a firmware update, or something like that, and you have some bad linked list data looping back on itself.  Seen enough consumer grade router software glitches to suggest it's not a bad idea to do a factory reset after any major firmware version change or after something "weird" happens.

Comment In Canada and I cancelled ours. Vote with wallet. (Score 4, Informative) 111

by Que_Ball (#63460610) Attached to: Netflix Password Sharing Crackdown To Expand To US In Q2 2023
So I'm in Canada.

I cancelled our Netflix.  I find it hard to believe they expanded revenue with this move.  I call BS on that.
I have only heard from people who cancelled their accounts as a result of the changes.
I paid for 4 screens simultaneous streaming.  I should get 4 end of story.

Vote with your wallet, they will get the message.

Comment Huawei stencil kits. Rebadge your equipment now! (Score 1) 68

by Que_Ball (#62246949) Attached to: FCC's 'Rip and Replace' for ZTE and Huawei Balloons To $5.6B
I wonder if any of the carriers have taken a stencil kit and spray paint can to go paint Huawei logos on all their old equipment yet?

Hey government, you need to pay for all this Huawei equipment that is totally NOT just old end of life Nortel gear we have not bothered to replace yet.
Wink wink!

Comment Thanks for reminding me (Score 0) 95

by Que_Ball (#60945058) Attached to: Amazon Makes It Too Hard To Cancel Prime, Groups Tell Regulators
I just cancelled it.  Sure they do not make it super clear on the second page that by cancelling now it will continue working for the remainder of the existing prepaid subscription.  I usually try to remember to cancel any prepaid subscriptions that would otherwise renew automatically.  It is a good habit.  Even if I plan to renew, at least this way I can wait until after it expires and I need to order something or watch a prime video show.

As usual it was about 3 clicks.  Not hard, not even that confusing.  Far easier than a boat load of things that will only let you cancel by calling in even if you signed up initially online.  I would say they could just be more clear about the fact that the subscription continues until the original renewal date in that second step.  Other than this I am fine with everything.

Comment Because Mac computers have huge storage by default (Score 3, Funny) 25

Since all Mac computers are sold with such generous amounts of storage by default this should not be a problem.  That is why the premium prices are so acceptable to the masses.  You get such an enormous amount of storage space with your default configurations when you buy a Mac.
And even if you wanted more upgrading your device to add storage is simple.
Plus when you buy a new one upgrading to the next level of storage is a bargain since the company enjoys such large economies of scale with their suppliers they can pass on the savings to the customer.
Not to mention the very competitive prices they charge for their cloud storage product it is a bargain compared to all the other companies in the industry.

I'm sure that any patch they roll out will include tools to fix the files it already bloated.  They would have no incentive not to fix the problem they created.

Comment Re:Highlights the problem though (Score 1) 107

They test the line at the outside of the house to make sure it is active, then they leave the equipment on your doorstep with an assortment of connectors and cables so you can plug in the inside stuff yourself.

Most people can figure it out.

The next phase of human evolution will be to separate those who can DIY and those who cannot.  The non-DIY humans will eventually die out and the human population will emerge stronger as a result.

Comment Humanitarian Aid: Send your test kits to the USA (Score 4, Insightful) 203

by Que_Ball (#59824020) Attached to: China Says Peak of Coronavirus Epidemic Has Passed
I would like to make an urgent appeal to China to start sending as many test kits as they can spare in a humanitarian effort to the USA.

The USA has third world like conditions for medical care of it's most vulnerable poor to middle class population and could urgently benefit from the generosity of the Chinese people in this time of need.

Please China, help a child in the USA and donate a test kit today.

Comment 1 billion revenues from... Referrals? (Score 0) 41

As far as I can tell the only thing they are selling over there is referrals to credit card offers.  The core service that people sign up for is free but they make money on the offers they present to you.

I know those are valuable referrals, but a billion in revenue per year?  Really?
Lets say those are $50 per sign up.  So 20 million people signing up for credit cards a year and that would only count the ones that apply, get approved, and keep the card for whatever the minimum period is to pay out the referral.

Population of USA between 18 and 35 is 74.7 million (source wolfram alpha)
About 19% of that population would be below the threshold income to qualify based on US Census Bureau figures for 2014
So a pool of 60.5 million consumers likely fit the criteria of potential customers.

I do not know how often people will apply for credit, but I wouldn't assume it is more often than once per year on average and likely far less (I mean once you have your credit card how many people are really shopping around for better offers.

So are they really taking referral payments from what I can only see are 20 of the possible 60 million possible applications per year that fit their profile?

Comment I have more problems with the defective Pro design (Score 1) 25

by Que_Ball (#59392390) Attached to: Amazon Ring Doorbells Exposed Home Wi-Fi Passwords To Hackers
Frankly this isn't really much of a problem.  Sure they should have some kind of random password printed on the device for the setup network and some kind of QR code you scan to connect with that random password. I have seen that version of a temporary setup network connection before.

My bigger problem is the defective design of the Ring Pro doorbell.  It has an internal battery that cannot be replaced by the average user.  Once it stops holding a charge as all lithium batteries will do eventually and faster than average given it's often in harsh temperatures of both extreme heat and cold those things last maybe 2 years, often less.

So when I asked if I could get mine repaired their only option was to offer a small discount on their store to buy a replacement and to throw away the current doorbell.  They started offering a larger subscription with extended warranty but I bought mine before that was an option and still it's a defect in the design that shouldn't exist.

So if you are the type who can fix your own stuff get a 602025 or 602030 size lithium battery almost certainly shipped from China (Aliexpress, ebay, etc).  Get the version with 3 line charger, the vast majority have 2 wire charge boards but the Ring Pro uses the 3 line version with temp sensor wire.  Then if you cannot get one with the same type of connector pre-installed you might need to either de-solder the wires from the old battery or just buy some 1.0mm 3 pin SH type JST terminals.  You have to remove the wires from the terminal connector and arrange them in the correct polarity too as I have not seen anyone selling them in the same polarity as the original ring battery wiring pattern.

Some lawyer somewhere who likes class action lawsuits should consider suing them over this defective by design product.

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