Comment Wait, I know this one! (Score 1) 51
Lies, damned lies, and statistics!
Comment Re:DOOM DOOM DOOM (Score 2) 175
Doesn't make up for them increasing more than everyone else's reductions. The rest of the world can go net zero and China would still be above what is recommended. Solar panels are a bit of a scam right now. They leak toxic chemicals into the soil, don't work at night, don't work well in series, are easily obstructed, require lots of strip mining, etc. You'll pivot to battery storage, which has also traditionally incurred large amounts of strip mining and chemical leakage. That hopefully gets better with better batteries, but it won't solve all the problems in the time we are told we have.
Russia has been funding green scams around the world. I am not falling for their propaganda. https://thehill.com/opinion/en... https://www.newsweek.com/putin... https://www.theguardian.com/en...
Russia has been funding green scams around the world. I am not falling for their propaganda. https://thehill.com/opinion/en... https://www.newsweek.com/putin... https://www.theguardian.com/en...
Comment DOOM DOOM DOOM (Score 0) 175
"Pay me money and I can tell you how to fix it!"
It's an old scam that works quite well, sadly. Propose ways to curb the big producers and maybe I'll actually care. Almost everywhere has lowered their CO2 emissions, except China and India who increased enough to cover everyone's reductions and then some.
Submission + - Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road founder pardoned (economist.com)
slazzy writes: The founder of the Silk Road market was pardoned today after more than 10 years in jail.
Submission + - DECLASSIFICATION OF RECORDS CONCERNING THE ASSASSINATIONS OF JFK, RFK and MLK (whitehouse.gov) 4
schwit1 writes: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy and Purpose. More than 50 years after the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Federal Government has not released to the public all of its records related to those events. Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth. It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay.
Section 1. Policy and Purpose. More than 50 years after the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Federal Government has not released to the public all of its records related to those events. Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth. It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay.
Submission + - Backdoor Infecting VPNs Used 'Magic Packets' For Stealth and Security (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: When threat actors use backdoor malware to gain access to a network, they want to make sure all their hard work can’t be leveraged by competing groups or detected by defenders. One countermeasure is to equip the backdoor with a passive agent that remains dormant until it receives what’s known in the business as a “magic packet.” On Thursday, researchers revealed that a never-before-seen backdoor that quietly took hold of dozens of enterprise VPNs running Juniper Network’s Junos OS has been doing just that. J-Magic, the tracking name for the backdoor, goes one step further to prevent unauthorized access. After receiving a magic packet hidden in the normal flow of TCP traffic, it relays a challenge to the device that sent it. The challenge comes in the form of a string of text that’s encrypted using the public portion of an RSA key. The initiating party must then respond with the corresponding plaintext, proving it has access to the secret key.
The lightweight backdoor is also notable because it resided only in memory, a trait that makes detection harder for defenders. The combination prompted researchers at Lumin Technology’s Black Lotus Lab to sit up and take notice. “While this is not the first discovery of magic packet malware, there have only been a handful of campaigns in recent years,” the researchers wrote. “The combination of targeting Junos OS routers that serve as a VPN gateway and deploying a passive listening in-memory only agent, makes this an interesting confluence of tradecraft worthy of further observation.” The researchers found J-Magic on VirusTotal and determined that it had run inside the networks of 36 organizations. They still don’t know how the backdoor got installed.
The lightweight backdoor is also notable because it resided only in memory, a trait that makes detection harder for defenders. The combination prompted researchers at Lumin Technology’s Black Lotus Lab to sit up and take notice. “While this is not the first discovery of magic packet malware, there have only been a handful of campaigns in recent years,” the researchers wrote. “The combination of targeting Junos OS routers that serve as a VPN gateway and deploying a passive listening in-memory only agent, makes this an interesting confluence of tradecraft worthy of further observation.” The researchers found J-Magic on VirusTotal and determined that it had run inside the networks of 36 organizations. They still don’t know how the backdoor got installed.
Submission + - Bill Gates' TerraPower Signs Agreement For Nuclear To Power Data Centers (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader writes: TerraPower, a nuclear energy startup founded by Bill Gates, struck a deal this week with one of the largest data center developers in the US to deploy advanced nuclear reactors. TerraPower and Sabey Data Centers (SDC) are working together on a plan to run existing and future facilities on nuclear energy from small reactors. A memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies establishes a “strategic collaboration” that’ll initially look into the potential for new nuclear power plants in Texas and the Rocky Mountain region that would power SDC’s data centers. [...]
TerraPower’s reactor design for this collaboration, Natrium, is the only advanced technology of its kind with a construction permit application for a commercial reactor pending with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to the company. The company just broke ground on a demonstration project in Wyoming last year, and expects it to come online in 2030. Electricity demand from data centers has tripled over the past decade, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). That demand is only expected to grow with the rise of AI, a trend that could prolong the lives of aging fossil fuel power plants and revive retired nuclear plants. Microsoft made a deal in September to help restart a retired reactor at Three Mile Island. Both Google and Amazon, meanwhile, announced plans last year to support the development of advanced reactors to power their data centers.
TerraPower’s reactor design for this collaboration, Natrium, is the only advanced technology of its kind with a construction permit application for a commercial reactor pending with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to the company. The company just broke ground on a demonstration project in Wyoming last year, and expects it to come online in 2030. Electricity demand from data centers has tripled over the past decade, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). That demand is only expected to grow with the rise of AI, a trend that could prolong the lives of aging fossil fuel power plants and revive retired nuclear plants. Microsoft made a deal in September to help restart a retired reactor at Three Mile Island. Both Google and Amazon, meanwhile, announced plans last year to support the development of advanced reactors to power their data centers.
Submission + - Scammers Use Venmo To 'Deceive and Defraud Customers' On Flights (sfgate.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The same morning that JetBlue Airways announced that it was the first airline partnering with Venmo to begin accepting payments for booking flights, an account on the popular payment platform was already raking in money. A Venmo user named Owen Miller paid the JetBlue Checkpoint Store for a drink on Wednesday morning, which is a typical transaction between a traveler and airline, except for the fact that JetBlue doesn’t operate that account. “At this time, JetBlue does not accept Venmo payment for inflight purchases such as food and beverages,” a representative for the airline told SFGATE in an email. “Unfortunately, we have seen accounts falsely representing themselves as JetBlue to deceive and defraud customers.”
As the first airline to accept Venmo payments, JetBlue is also the first to contend with online fraud that’s common with any digital marketplace. JetBlue only accepts Venmo as a payment option for U.S. customers when booking flights on its website. The airline said it plans to fold Venmo payments into its mobile app later this year. Travelers looking to book JetBlue flights with Venmo on its website are provided with a pop-up window that has a QR code for them to scan on the Venmo app. The airline said it works with a cyber fraud prevention business partner and its legal counsel to identify fraudulent accounts on Venmo impersonating the airline. “Still, new sites, unrelated phone numbers and social media profiles do pop-up online,” JetBlue wrote, “... so we urge our customers to ensure they are always interacting with verified JetBlue channels.”
As the first airline to accept Venmo payments, JetBlue is also the first to contend with online fraud that’s common with any digital marketplace. JetBlue only accepts Venmo as a payment option for U.S. customers when booking flights on its website. The airline said it plans to fold Venmo payments into its mobile app later this year. Travelers looking to book JetBlue flights with Venmo on its website are provided with a pop-up window that has a QR code for them to scan on the Venmo app. The airline said it works with a cyber fraud prevention business partner and its legal counsel to identify fraudulent accounts on Venmo impersonating the airline. “Still, new sites, unrelated phone numbers and social media profiles do pop-up online,” JetBlue wrote, “... so we urge our customers to ensure they are always interacting with verified JetBlue channels.”
Submission + - Is Bambu Labs Locking Down Users' 3D Printers? (arstechnica.com) 1
jenningsthecat writes: 3D printer manufacturer Bambu Labs has faced a storm of controversy and protest after releasing a security update which many users claim is the first step in moving towards an HP-style subscription model. Ars Technica reports:
"Part of Bambu's "just works" nature relies on a relatively more closed system than its often open-minded counterparts. Sending a print to most Bambu printers typically requires either Bambu's cloud service, or, in "LAN mode," a manual "sneakernet" transfer through SD cards. Cloud connections also grant perks like remote monitoring, and many customers have accepted the trade-off.
However, other customers, eager to tinker with third-party software and accessories, along with those fearing a subscription-based future for 3D printing, see Bambu Lab's purported security concerns as something else. And Bambu acknowledges that its messaging on its upcoming change came out in rough shape."
The Ars article also mentions that "Repair advocate Louis Rossmann, noting Bambu's altered original blog post, uploaded a video soon after, "Bambu's Gaslighting Masterclass: Denying their own documented restrictions." Rossmann also took aim at Bambu's Terms of Use, suggesting that the company was asking buyers to trust that Bambu wouldn't enact restrictive policies it otherwise wrote into its user agreements."
When Bambu Labs removed the controversial original blog post from their website, it also disappeared from Archive.org. Not mentioned in the Ars article, but confirmed in Rossman's YouTube video, is that Rossman recovered the blog post anyway from archiving site Archive.is
"Part of Bambu's "just works" nature relies on a relatively more closed system than its often open-minded counterparts. Sending a print to most Bambu printers typically requires either Bambu's cloud service, or, in "LAN mode," a manual "sneakernet" transfer through SD cards. Cloud connections also grant perks like remote monitoring, and many customers have accepted the trade-off.
However, other customers, eager to tinker with third-party software and accessories, along with those fearing a subscription-based future for 3D printing, see Bambu Lab's purported security concerns as something else. And Bambu acknowledges that its messaging on its upcoming change came out in rough shape."
The Ars article also mentions that "Repair advocate Louis Rossmann, noting Bambu's altered original blog post, uploaded a video soon after, "Bambu's Gaslighting Masterclass: Denying their own documented restrictions." Rossmann also took aim at Bambu's Terms of Use, suggesting that the company was asking buyers to trust that Bambu wouldn't enact restrictive policies it otherwise wrote into its user agreements."
When Bambu Labs removed the controversial original blog post from their website, it also disappeared from Archive.org. Not mentioned in the Ars article, but confirmed in Rossman's YouTube video, is that Rossman recovered the blog post anyway from archiving site Archive.is
Submission + - Accidents behind Baltic undersea cable damage (washingtonpost.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Accidents, not Russian sabotage, behind undersea cable damage, officials say
Ruptures of undersea cables that have rattled European security officials in recent months were likely the result of maritime accidents rather than Russian sabotage, according to several U.S. and European intelligence officials.
Ruptures of undersea cables that have rattled European security officials in recent months were likely the result of maritime accidents rather than Russian sabotage, according to several U.S. and European intelligence officials.
Submission + - Startup Raises $200 Million To 'De-Extinct' the Woolly Mammoth, Thylacine & (venturebeat.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Colossal BioSciences has raised $200 million in a new round of funding to bring back extinct species like the woolly mammoth. Dallas- and Boston-based Colossal is making strides in the scientific breakthroughs toward “de-extinction,” or bringing back extinct species like the woolly mammoth, thylacine and the dodo. [...] Since launching in September 2021, Colossal has raised $435 million in total funding. This latest round of capital places the company at a $10.2 billion valuation. Colossal will leverage this latest infusion of capital to continue to advance its genetic engineering technologies while pioneering new revolutionary software, wetware and hardware solutions, which have applications beyond de-extinction including species preservation and human healthcare.
“Our recent successes in creating the technologies necessary for our end-to-end de-extinction toolkit have been met with enthusiasm by the investor community. TWG Global and our other partners have been bullish in their desire to help us scale as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said CEO Colossal Ben Lamm, in a statement. “This funding will grow our team, support new technology development, expand our de-extinction species list, while continuing to allow us to carry forth our mission to make extinction a thing of the past.”
“Our recent successes in creating the technologies necessary for our end-to-end de-extinction toolkit have been met with enthusiasm by the investor community. TWG Global and our other partners have been bullish in their desire to help us scale as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said CEO Colossal Ben Lamm, in a statement. “This funding will grow our team, support new technology development, expand our de-extinction species list, while continuing to allow us to carry forth our mission to make extinction a thing of the past.”
Submission + - Texas Sues Allstate for Collecting Driver Data to Raise Premiums (gizmodo.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Texas has sued (PDF) one of the nation’s largest car insurance providers alleging that it violated the state’s privacy laws by surreptitiously collecting detailed location data on millions of drivers and using that information to justify raising insurance premiums. The state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, said the lawsuit against Allstate and its subsidiary Arity is the first enforcement action ever filed by a state attorney general to enforce a data privacy law. It also follows a deceptive business practice lawsuit he filed against General Motors accusing the car manufacturer of misleading customers by collecting and selling driver data.
In 2015, Allstate developed the Arity Driving Engine software development kit (SDK), a package of code that the company allegedly paid mobile app developers to install in their products in order to collect a variety of sensitive data from consumers’ phones. The SDK gathered phone geolocation data, accelerometer, and gyroscopic data, details about where phone owners started and ended their trips, and information about “driving behavior,” such as whether phone owners appeared to be speeding or driving while distracted, according to the lawsuit. The apps that installed the SDK included GasBuddy, Fuel Rewards, and Life360, a popular family monitoring app, according to the lawsuit.
Paxton’s complaint said that Allstate and Arity used the data collected by its SDK to develop and sell products to other insurers like Drivesight, an algorithmic model that assigned a driving risk score to individuals, and ArityIQ, which allowed other insurers to “[a]ccess actual driving behavior collected from mobile phones and connected vehicles to use at time of quote to more precisely price nearly any driver.” Allstate and Arity marketed the products as providing “driver behavior” data but because the information was collected via mobile phones the companies had no way of determining whether the owner was actually driving, according to the lawsuit. “For example, if a person was a passenger in a bus, a taxi, or in a friend’s car, and that vehicle’s driver sped, hard braked, or made a sharp turn, Defendants would conclude that the passenger, not the actual driver, engaged in ‘bad’ driving behavior,” the suit states. Neither Allstate and Arity nor the app developers properly informed customers in their privacy policies about what data the SDK was collecting or how it would be used, according to the lawsuit.
In 2015, Allstate developed the Arity Driving Engine software development kit (SDK), a package of code that the company allegedly paid mobile app developers to install in their products in order to collect a variety of sensitive data from consumers’ phones. The SDK gathered phone geolocation data, accelerometer, and gyroscopic data, details about where phone owners started and ended their trips, and information about “driving behavior,” such as whether phone owners appeared to be speeding or driving while distracted, according to the lawsuit. The apps that installed the SDK included GasBuddy, Fuel Rewards, and Life360, a popular family monitoring app, according to the lawsuit.
Paxton’s complaint said that Allstate and Arity used the data collected by its SDK to develop and sell products to other insurers like Drivesight, an algorithmic model that assigned a driving risk score to individuals, and ArityIQ, which allowed other insurers to “[a]ccess actual driving behavior collected from mobile phones and connected vehicles to use at time of quote to more precisely price nearly any driver.” Allstate and Arity marketed the products as providing “driver behavior” data but because the information was collected via mobile phones the companies had no way of determining whether the owner was actually driving, according to the lawsuit. “For example, if a person was a passenger in a bus, a taxi, or in a friend’s car, and that vehicle’s driver sped, hard braked, or made a sharp turn, Defendants would conclude that the passenger, not the actual driver, engaged in ‘bad’ driving behavior,” the suit states. Neither Allstate and Arity nor the app developers properly informed customers in their privacy policies about what data the SDK was collecting or how it would be used, according to the lawsuit.
Submission + - Slashdot is forcing user to turn off ad blocker (slashdot.org) 21
SysEngineer writes: I have been a slashdot read for over 20 years.
I have excellent karma and I don't like ads.
Any site that forces me to turn off my ad filter, I will not support.
I have excellent karma and I don't like ads.
Any site that forces me to turn off my ad filter, I will not support.
Submission + - Slashdot Dies A Slow Death with Crippling Advertisements (slashdot.org) 2
zamboni1138 writes: Anybody familiar with the technology news web forum known as Slashdot have known about the recent decline in quality of stories and comments. Recently Slashdot decided to "upgrade" their advertisement experience resulting in an almost broken user experience for users that implement any kind of ad-blocking technology. Over the last week visitors to the site using ad blockers have noticed a unique experience with javascript alerts explaining "This page could not be loaded properly due to incorrect / bad filtering rule(s) of adblockers in use. Please disable all adblockers to continue using the website. (click OK if you'd like to learn more)". These notices are almost non-stop while trying to load/read a page making the site unusable.
Submission + - Slashdot is dead and has been replaced by an ad-saturated shithole (slashdot.org) 1
An anonymous reader writes: ..and nothing of value was lost.
Between all the Trump-supporting shitheads that permeate this place, and now ads everywhere you look that can't be blocked without blocking the entire site, I declare Slashdot to be dead.
RIP Slashdot.
Between all the Trump-supporting shitheads that permeate this place, and now ads everywhere you look that can't be blocked without blocking the entire site, I declare Slashdot to be dead.
RIP Slashdot.
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I don't have any use for bodyguards, but I do have a specific use for two highly trained certified public accountants. -- Elvis Presley
