We find (from the Washington Правда) that James Hansen (conspiracist nutjob chiefly famous for going on about "global warming" long before it became the official USG party line) has moved on to playing with the little rocks on President Bahamas' beaches. Continue reading
Category Archives: Shitware
Arris Cable Modems Weak
Bernardo Rodrigues has found a "double security threat" in Arris cable modems. The vulnerability was published on Oct 2013 and it still works (archived). This threat affects at least 600`000 modems and has been likely exploited. Compromised models include the TG862A, TG860A and DG860A. Continue reading
Montana Standard 'Outing' Pseudonymous Commenters
Butte, Montana newspaper the "Montana Standard" plans to retroactively display the "real" names of commenters who previously commented anonymously or under pseudonyms (archived). Commenters have until December 26th to opt out by contacting the paper to have their comments removed. "Real Name" comment policies are something of a fad in old media circles, with the idea being tying comments to the author's real name would encourage a higher standard of discussion as though spammers, idiots, and social engineers don't already have or can't create "real" enough names already.
Forever 21 Inc Tries Preventing Other Raspberry Pis From Running Software
Forever 21 Inc. raised $116mn in venture funding before a product or business plan was even announced. Earlier this fall the company announced the 21 Computer, a Frankenstein creation using a Raspberry-Pi 2 and a proprietary ASIC which will be obsolete soon given the continual difficulty increases. This computer can be bought for the low price of $400, which allows users to connect to 21 co.'s API a bastardization of the already functioning Web of Trust. Recently code was independently released allowing individuals to run the 21 co. software stack on a $40 Raspberry Pi, to which the CEO of 21 Inc. responded on reddit stating they will be patching the code to prevent non-21 Co. from connecting to their marketplace. Continue reading
IBM Approves Third Party OS/2 Distro
According to TechRepublic IBM has approved the marketing of a third party OS/2 distribution produced by an outfit calling itself Arca Noae (archived). The updated OS/2 is supposed to include support for more modern hardware including USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 along with ALSA sound. This development suggest that certain perennial buyers of Microsoft Windows might be in the market for a proprietary replacement.
Ransomware Ring Busted, "Decryptors" Rushed by Adware Vendors
Shortly after an FBI agent publicly encouraged ransomware victims to pay off their attackers, some arrests and leaks have lead to the release of a number of private keys maintained by some ransomware authors. Allegedly all of the keys for Coinvault and Bitcryptor ransomware have been acquired and persons alleged to have connections to the schemes have been arrested. Adware vendors Bitdefender (archived) and Kaspersky Labs (archived) have released free adware1 tools to decrypt files related to these ransomware products, though caution is advised as the decryption tools from these providers and those from others have the potential to be at least as malicious as the original ransomware.
It is important to accurately categorize software according to what it really does instead of what it is marketed as. Their free products advertise their paid products and their paid products advertise still more premium paid products. ↩
Google Fiber Dissapoints First City to Host Service
The Kansas City Star reports that Google Fiber has severely disappointed Kansas City, home of the first Google Fiber installation (archived). This outage lead to Kansas City customers of Google Fiber missing the first inning and a half of their Royals playing in the World Series. The outage included the rare inside the park home run by Alcides Escobar on the first pitch of the game. Service was reportedly restored for most customers by 7:35, though some customers were still afflicted by the outage much later. Google representative Kelly Carnago said “We’re sorry for the inconvenience” and offered customers a two day service credit for depriving Kansas City of the least depressing thing happening there. Bitcoin mining "vendor" Butterfly Labs is/was located in a suburb of Kansas City.
Former GAW Supporters Promote Perpetual Energy Scam
BadBitCoin.org, a self declared "scam fighter" and erstwhile attempt at a Bitcoin Better Business Bureau, defended the GAW miners scam well past its point of collapse. Now the operators of that site have taken to shilling for a new take on the classic perpetual motion/free energy scam on their twitter account.
Well Connected Bezzle "Health" Startup Theranos Collapsing
Theranos, a health startup which features a board comprised of two former US Secretary of State, Numerous former US Defense Officials, a former Senator, and a former Wells Fargo CEO is facing accusations of their signature blood testing service was never accurate to a useful degree and they have withdrawn all but one product from the market (achived). Theranos was at one point reportedly valued at up to 10 Billion dollars, or a little more than a half of Whatsapp at the time of its acquision by Facebook. This suggest that even well entrenched fiat luminaries like Henry Kissenger and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD are beyond saving fiat startups they involve themselves with from excessive hype and insufficient competence.
Uber Provides Alibi for Armed Robbery
The advent of unmarked "sharing economy" taxi cabs is providing a new alibi for getaway drivers and accomplices of armed robberies, reports confirm (archived). Continue reading