U.S. cyber plan calls for private-sector scans of Net
Posted: 22 March 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: privacy, security Leave a comment »U.S. cyber plan calls for private-sector scans of Net
The Department of Homeland Security will gather the secret data and pass it to a small group of telecommunication companies and cybersecurity providers that have employees holding security clearances, government and industry officials said. Those companies will then offer to process email and other Internet transmissions for critical infrastructure customers that choose to participate in the program.
By using DHS as the middleman, the Obama administration hopes to bring the formidable overseas intelligence-gathering of the NSA closer to ordinary U.S. residents without triggering an outcry from privacy advocates who have long been leery of the spy agency’s eavesdropping.
Chinese Elite Hacking Unit 61398
Posted: 27 February 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: malware, security, web application security 1 Comment »Chinese Elite Hacking Unit 61398
As Mandiant mapped the Internet protocol addresses and other bits of digital evidence, it all led back to the edges of Pudong district of Shanghai, right around the Unit 61398 headquarters. The group’s report, along with 3,000 addresses and other indicators that can be used to identify the source of attacks, concludes “the totality of the evidence” leads to the conclusion that “A.P.T. 1 is Unit 61398.”
Mandiant discovered that two sets of I.P. addresses used in the attacks were registered in the same neighborhood as Unit 61398’s building.
“It’s where more than 90 percent of the attacks we followed come from,” said Mr. Mandia.
The only other possibility, the report concludes with a touch of sarcasm, is that “a secret, resourced organization full of mainland Chinese speakers with direct access to Shanghai-based telecommunications infrastructure is engaged in a multiyear enterprise-scale computer espionage campaign right outside of Unit 61398’s gates.”
Drupal versus Proprietary Web Content Management Systems
Posted: 11 February 2013 Filed under: drupal, open source | Tags: drupal Leave a comment »“Sloppy” mouse focus in Ubuntu Precise Pangolin 12.04
Posted: 7 December 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ubuntu Leave a comment »
Here’s how you can get your window focus to follow the mouse. Run gconf-editor, and edit “/ apps / Metacity / general / focus_mode.”
Very perceptive mannequins
Posted: 28 November 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: privacy Leave a comment »Wow. So… some mannequins spy on you.
In the lead-up to the holiday shopping season, BusinessWeek reported that “bionic mannequins are spying on shoppers to boost luxury sales” at five unnamed companies. The $5,130 EyeSee mannequins from Almax have cameras embedded in their eyes that use IBM Cognos software to record the number of shoppers checking out window displays and clothes, while also noting their age, gender and race. They don’t keep any images of the customers, just the aggregate data about who’s been considering blowing money on cashmere sweaters and $300 jeans. But it may not stop there.
“To give the EyeSee ears as well as eyes, Almax is testing technology that recognizes words to allow retailers to eavesdrop on what shoppers say about the mannequin’s attire,” reports BusinessWeek. This is the second time I’ve heard a business float the idea of recording customers’ conversation in order to better advertise to them. The desire for better marketing may just be the biggest threat out there to your privacy.
Yeah, we know, multi-tasking is bad
Posted: 26 November 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: productivity 2 Comments »Constant multi-tasking makes us worse at everything — including multi-tasking.
Do Not Track in Google Chrome
Posted: 7 November 2012 Filed under: privacy | Tags: privacy Leave a comment »
Shows the “Do Not Track” option in Google Chrome v.23 and up.
To turn this on, click Chrome’s Settings menu | Show advanced settings… | Privacy | “Send a ‘Do Not Track’ request with your browsing traffic.”
Facebook using Datalogix tracking
Posted: 25 September 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: privacy Leave a comment »Datalogix has purchasing data from about 70m American households largely drawn from loyalty cards and programmes at more than 1,000 retailers, including grocers and drug stores. By matching email addresses or other identifying information associated with those cards against emails or information used to establish Facebook accounts, Datalogix can track whether people bought a product in a store after seeing an ad on Facebook.
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/23/business/facebook-datalogix/
Interesting.
Silent Circle’s privacy-enhancing service expected to launch later this year
Posted: 20 June 2012 Filed under: privacy | Tags: privacy, security Leave a comment »The need for privacy-enhancing technologies continues. If all our communications are routinely intercepted and scrutinized, some of us will need the assurance that our good work is done without observance. Certain countries don’t like human rights workers “poking around,” for instance, or want to closely observe the movements of aid agency observers.
With that in mind, Phil Zimmermann, the original brain behind PGP, expects to launch Silent Circle later this year. The company’s main offering is a $20-a-month encryption service for voice, SMS, videoconference and e-mail traffic.
Mulititasking and distraction hurts IQ
Posted: 12 March 2012 Filed under: productivity | Tags: multitasking, productivity Leave a comment »That’s interesting.
Dr. Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist at King’s College London University, monitored the IQ of workers throughout the day.
He found the IQ of those who tried to juggle messages and work fell by 10 points — the equivalent to missing a whole night’s sleep and more than double the 4-point fall seen after smoking marijuana. [Dr. Wilson did not originally make the comparison to marijuana. - eds.]
“This is a very real and widespread phenomenon,” Wilson said. “We have found that this obsession with looking at messages, if unchecked, will damage a worker’s performance by reducing their mental sharpness.
“Companies should encourage a more balanced and appropriate way of working.”
Wilson said the IQ drop was even more significant in the men who took part in the tests.
