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Comment BitCoin: A Pyramid Scam System (Score 1) 255

In my understanding, Bitcoin is nothing more, nothing less than a Pyramid Scam system, and a self-limited and volatile one. Also, to make things even worse, the Bitcoin is a closed system, meaning that only exists a total amount of possible money that can be generated, and the only way to make it gain more value is to try to do nasty things like "market speculation"... things that will only help to create an "I-will-explode-soon" kind of market bubble, and (if you think it cannot be worse) inside a "glass ceiling". Also, from the start of its creation, all the big slots already had an owner, leaving only the little ones to "the rest of us" to try mining...

But the worst part is the amount of people encouraging this "system". The ones participating are already trapped in this scam and cannot leave without loosing everything invested (or try to sell to other people and helps perpetuate this insanity).

But, some day, when all this abomination "magically" disappears in thin air, everyone in it will loose all their "money" and (eventually) will cry a lot... but it will be too late :(

Submission + - How Windows 10's data collection trades your privacy for Microsoft's security (pcworld.com)

jader3rd writes: PCworld has an article on how Microsoft uses Windows 10 telemetry to improve the security of the end user:



But the telemetry data is used for more than how to improve or evolve Windows. There is an actual security impact, too. Knowledge is power, and in the case of Windows 10, that usage data lets Microsoft beef up threat protection, says Rob Lefferts, Microsoft’s director of program management for Windows Enterprise and Security.

The information collected is used to improve various components in Windows Defender, such as Application Guard and Advanced Threat Detection (these two features are available only to customers with Windows 10 Enterprise with Anniversary Update and Enterprise E5 subscriptions). As Windows 10’s built-in security tool, Windows Defender uses real-time protection to scan everything downloaded or run on the PC. The information from these scans is sent back to Microsoft and used to improve protection for everyone else.


Submission + - Sysadmin Gets Two Years in Prison for Sabotaging ISP (bleepingcomputer.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Dariusz J. Prugar, 32, of Syracuse, New York, will have to spend 2 years in prison for hacking his former employee, Pa Online, an internet service provider (ISP) formerly located in Enola, Pennsylvania. According to authorities, Prugar had used his old credentials to log into the ISP's network and "take back" some of the scripts and software he wrote while as an employee there, after being fired in June 2010.

Seeking to hide his tracks, Prugar used an automated script that deleted various logs. As a side effect of removing some of these files, the ISP's systems crashed, affecting over 500 businesses and over 5,000 residential customers. When the former ISP couldn't fix the issue, they asked Prugar to help. During negotiations, instead of requesting money as payment, Prugar insisted that he'd be paid using the rights to the software and scripts he wrote while at the company, software which was now malfunctioning, a week after he left. This tipped off the company, who detected foul play, contacted the FBI and rebuilt its entire network. The ISP shut down operations in 2015.

Comment Re:FPGA (Score 1) 101

Still, we need more than what the Open Hardware movement can offer to us in FOSH (Free and Open Source Hardware) products. We also need to be able to DIY them, and therefore we need to have access to the right tools so we can create (or, as an option, order) the chips by ourselves ;) Also, we need a tool to (that is easy to) design the chips too, so we can build them later :D

But, at a start, this action is a very good one...

Submission + - A new algorithm for measuring code security (theintercept.com)

mspohr writes: A new venture from a cybersecurity legend, Peiter Zatko, known more commonly by his hacker handle “Mudge” and his wife, Sarah, a former NSA mathematician, have developed a first-of-its-kind method for testing and scoring the security of software.
"Called the Cyber Independent Testing Lab, the Zatkos’ operation won’t tell you if your software is literally incendiary, but it will give you a way to comparison-shop browsers, applications, and antivirus products according to how hardened they are against attack. It may also push software makers to improve their code to avoid a low score and remain competitive."
The Zatkos’ system is not comprehensive, and although it will provide one indicator of security risk, it’s not a conclusive indicator. Vendors are going to hate it.
"The technique involves, in part, analyzing binary software files using algorithms created by Sarah to measure the security hygiene of code. During this sort of examination, known as “static analysis” because it involves looking at code without executing it, the lab is not looking for specific vulnerabilities, but rather for signs that developers employed defensive coding methods to build armor into their code."
There will be a presentation at the Black Hat conference next week:
https://www.blackhat.com/us-16...

Comment Re:waste of effort (Score 1) 275

I think we need to create bigger ports too. A monster company like Maersk probably think that the bigger is the better in terms of transportation cost. So, if they are right, the world countries need to upgrade all their ports for this new "standard size" for cargo ships (or they think they can create bigger ones in the future?).

Other companies need to built bigger cargo ships too, and probably decide about a standard and innovations like how is the best position for load/unload this massive ships.

Also, I think they have to maintain their short ships too. Let the bigger ones do the massive transportation and the small ones implementing something like a tactical supply in short routes (and support to the bigger ships before and after their standard routes).

Comment Re:Accelerated expansion (Score 1) 202

Well, and massively above speed of light in this early days ... If the theory of a dot-expanding-into-a-universe is real, we have a "46 billion light-years in all directions, filled with hundreds of billions of galaxies and having been around for nearly 14 billion years since the Big Bang". :D

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