jaybird110127

rysiek, 5 days ago (edited 2 days ago) to infosec

Lukewarm take:

When I see general* "security advice" that mentions "do not use public WiFi" or "use a VPN", I am immediately suspicious about all other advice offered.

Yes, a decade ago that was a consideration, because most sites were not using HTTPS. Credentials were flying cleartext on the wire.

Today, almost all sites use HTTPS. Doesn't mean the risk is zero, but it's way lower.

*) "general" meaning "without a very specific threat model in mind", meant for general public, etc.

#InfoSec

simon, 5 days ago to random

My SIM ejector broke on Monday and all my other ones have gone missing, so I stupidly ordered the first thing I found on Amazon, which was a 10-pack for $8. I remember thinking that was quite expensive, but I guess I wasn't in the headspace to translate that into looking further. I did buy two of them, because I never want to not have another SIM tool.
Today I found a 200-pack for $13. That's 12.3 times cheaper per-tool.
There's definitely a lesson to be learned here. $13 is also cheap enough that I'm going to get them so I can find out whether there is in fact a difference between 80-cent SIM tools and 6.5-cent SIM tools. Now I'll really never run out.

evilcookies98, 5 days ago to random

Today, my friends, is the end of an era in the game show department. Don’t worry, I’m all right, except for some screwed up dreams. Guess it’s taking me back to January 8 of 21. That was the end of an era under very different circumstances, But I can’t help thinking about it. I still never watched that Jeopardy episode again. Maybe one of these days I’ll actually get a hold of myself and do it.

bryansmart, 5 days ago to random

Some small businesses get sent compliance demands like Know Your Customer or Homeland Security crap, they’re worried, should they accidentally enter the wrong info, or enter the right info in the wrong format, it will cut off access to accounts or trigger enquiries that will waste their time. I’m blind. I’m mostly terrified their will be unlabeled fields, broken auto-complete fields, or I’ll be locked out as a bot for having to try their shit forms on multiple browser/screen reader combos.

simon, 6 days ago to random

If we made a training dataset of millions of badly encoded MP3 files and their wave counterparts, I wonder if we could train a model that can restore bad MP3 files. Seems kinda similar to what Demucs is doing, but I don't know much about much where it concerns this type of training.

axbom, 7 days ago to random

If you see a domain name ending in .ai that means the island of Anguilla got some money, as it is the owner of this country domain.

”For each domain registration, Anguilla’s government gets anywhere from $140 to thousands of dollars from website names sold at auctions, according government data.”

In 2023 just over 20% of the government’s total revenue came from these registrations.

”[…] the government used the money to provide free health care for citizens 70 and older, and it has committed millions of dollars to finish building a school and a vocational training center. The government has also allocated funds to improve its airport; doubled its budget for sports activities, events and facilities; and increased the budget for citizens seeking medical treatment overseas.”

The island was hit hard by a hurricane in 2017 and tourism essentially disappeared during the covid pandemic. The .ai domain revenue has been a welcome injection into the economy.

Now you can’t say I never talk about AI in a positive light 😉

https://per.ax/angui

simon, 6 days ago to random

#AudioMo: Years ago, I got a GE microcassette answering machine just for fun. More recently, I got an AT&T digital answering machine and discovered it had some unusual but cool features, including a built-in talking caller ID. Inspired by a long thread about old phones and phone equipment, I recorded a demo of both answering machines, including leaving myself a message on the tape and playing back the famous "Answering Machine Song".

textfiles, 6 days ago to random

I now realized we passed the tenth anniversary of the FILE FORMATS WIKI without a whisper in 2022. Previously "Just Solve the Problem", the File Formats Problem (not enough documentation and links to tools) was important and big enough that it's still going!

http://fileformats.archiveteam.org/wiki/Main_Page

TechDesk, 7 days ago to tech

Microsoft announced that it’s reopening a Windows Insider Beta Channel for PCs still running Windows 10, which will be used to test “new features and more improvements to Windows 10 as needed.” This comes despite the company’s intention to end support for the aging yet stubbornly popular operating system in October 2025. Read more from Ars Technica: https://flip.it/xCtSdz
#Tech #Technology #Microsoft #Windows

Quinnypig, 8 days ago to random

I'll trust Microsoft's AI with anything even slightly nuanced just as soon as Excel stops telling me the glass is January 2nd full.

campuscodi, 8 days ago to random

Security researcher Alexander Hagenah has released TotalRecall, a tool that extracts and displays data from the Recall feature in Windows 11.

https://github.com/xaitax/TotalRecall

9to5Mac, 7 days ago to random

New Macs and iPads have a secret component Apple won’t talk about https://9to5mac.com/2024/06/05/new-macs-and-ipads-have-a-secret-component-apple-wont-talk-about/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

cstross, 7 days ago to random

Am considering writing a satirical novel about US politics in the 20-teens.

The first line will start:

"It was a Trump and Stormy night …"

kottke, 8 days ago to random

World-first tooth-regrowing drug will be given to humans in September. “If successful, this therapy could be available to patients with any permanently missing teeth within six years.” https://newatlas.com/medical/tooth-regrowing-human-trial/

SomeGadgetGuy, 9 days ago to windows

It just clicked in my brain. What I haven't been able to articulate about why I'm so anxious about #Windows Recall. I'm sure others have already gotten to where I am.

It's worse than "a system that tracks everything you do" and stores that info in a basic database that could be easily compromised.
It's worse than a nanny surveillance tool for companies to spy on their employees.

It's inescapable.

It doesn't matter if I make a dozen "how to disable recall" tutorials. The second YOUR data shows up on someone ELSE'S screen, it's in THEIR recall database.

It won't matter if you're a master #security expert specialist. You can't account for EVERY other computer you've ever interacted with. If a family member looks up an old email with your personal data in it, your data is now at risk.

If THEIR system is compromised YOUR data is at risk.

I just went from "vague feeling of unease" to "actively writing templates to canvas elected officials, regulators, and attorneys general."

dgar, 8 days ago to random

A pun walks into a bar and ten people die.

Pun in. Ten dead.

TheQuinbox, 8 days ago to random

Computer rebooted to install a Windows update a couple days ago without asking me. In the process, it seemingly just reset some of my settings. My turn off computer combo box was set to never for both, but after the update ,my box was sleeping super shortly after I'd leave it. Go and check, and sure enough, the values are set to 10 and 30 minutes. Oh, Microsoft, how you have so not changed. I remember a windows 10 update back in 2017 nuking some values out of my registry. Nice to see that a bug that involves erasing user configurations hasn't been solved in 7 years, but at least we have a hallucinating AI model accessible with a single key, right?

18+ JamminJerry, 8 days ago to random

A radio station in Australia ran a phone in competition to find the most embarrassing moment in listeners lives. The final four were:
4th Place:
While in line at the bank one afternoon my toddler decided to release some pent up energy and started to run amok. I was able to grab hold of her arm after receiving looks of disgust from other patrons. I told her that if she didn't start behaving herself, right now, she would be punished. To my horror she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening. "If you don't let me go right now, I will tell grandma that I saw you kissing daddy's willy last night."
After this enlightening exchange, the silence was deafening. Even the tellers stopped doing what they were doing.
I mustered the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow.
The last thing that I heard as the doors closed behind me were screams of laughter.
3rd Place:
It was the day before my 18th birthday. I was living at home, but my parents had gone out for the evening, so I invited my girlfriend over for a romantic night alone.
As we lay down in bed after making love, we heard the telephone ring downstairs. I suggested to my girlfriend that I give her a pigggy back ride down to the phone. Since we didn't want to miss a call we didn't have time to get dressed.
When we got to the bottom of the stairs the lights suddenly came on as a whole crowd of people yelled SURPRISE.
My entire family - Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins as well as my friends, were standing there. My girlfriend and I were frozen in a state of shock and embarrassment for what seemed an eternity. Since then no one in my family has planned any surprise parties.
2nd Place:
A lady picked up several items at a discount store. When she finally got to the checkout she learned that one of the items had no price tag or bar code.
The checkout girl got on the public address system which boomed out across the store for everyone to hear. "Price check for Tampax super size."
But it got worse. Someone at the rear of the store apparently misunderstood the word 'Tampax' for 'thumbtacks' and replied in a businesslike tone, his voice booming over the same public address system. "Do you want the kind that you push in with your thumb or the kind that you belt in with a hammer."
1st Place:
And the winner is......
This happened at a major Australian University during a biology lecture.
A professor was discussing the high glucose levels found in semen. A young woman raised her hand and asked. "If I understand you correctly, you are saying that there is as much glucose in male semen as in sugar?"
The professor responded yes adding some statistical data. Raising her hand again the girl asked. "Then why doesn't it taste sweet?"
After a stunned silence the whole class burst out laughing. The poor girl turned bright red and as she realised exactly what she had inadvertently said, she picked up her books and without another word walked out of the class. However as she was heading for the door the professors reply was a classic.
Totally straight faced, he answered her question. "It doesn't taste sweet because the tastebuds for sweetness are on the tip of your tongue and not at the back of your throat."

spaciath, 8 days ago to random

What the fuck did I just read? chrome-extension://mhjfbmdgcfjbbpaeojofohoefgiehjai/edge_pdf/index.html

talon, 8 days ago to random

Breaking news: ChatGPT is down. The tech sector completely collapses as nobody remembers how to do work anymore. Execs slowly weep into their expensive coffee mugs and ruin their suits over lost profit. Some hearings have to be postponed as lawyers no longer have the ability to accurately defend. "The effects of this singular centralized service falling over are much higher than anticipated, maybe someone should have warned us about this!" one person remarked when questioned about the matter. But the damage is done. "We decided to give everyone a 4 day work week by disabling our service on Tuesdays," an anonymous source at OpenAI told us upon request for comment.
Microsoft seems to have been hit by this the hardest. The poor unpaid intern who accidentally pressed "y" instead of "n" on the OpenAI Azure cluster is now facing an absolutely unprecedented amount of scrutiny from techbros world wide and can kiss their silicon valley dreams goodbye. Though some are speculating that this is a clever move by an Anthropic operative to get some of ChatGPT's core userbase over to Claude instead. What will happen next? Stay with us as the mystery deepens and we unravel what might be the as of yet silent AI company melee slowly leaking over into the mainstream media.

swling, 8 days ago to random

Japan: Some broadcasters running trial suspension of AM radio

(Source: Japan Today) Is Japan witnessing the death of AM radio? Since February, some commercial radio broadcasters have begun a trial suspension of AM radio, with a real possibility the pause will extend to a permanent discontinuation across the country as broadcasters look to cut costs. Thirteen of the 47 commercial operators in Japan have shut off their transmitters to see what effect the temporary end of…

https://swling.com/blog/2024/06/japan-some-broadcasters-running-trial-suspension-of-am-radio/

9to5Mac, 8 days ago to random

Apple’s iPhone recycling robot no longer unscrews phones: It rips them apart https://9to5mac.com/2024/06/04/iphone-recycling-robot-daisy/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

radio, 8 days ago to random

He's not Springsteen but he is* our Boss, and he runs one of the best metal and comedy shows in internet radio. He's a fantastic friend and an all round great guy! All of us would like to wish Nick a very happy 35th Birthday! May your day be a special as you are! @nick

serrebi, 9 days ago to random

I've heard phone calls over this. It worked pretty well, some were even lossless, once they went digital. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNBCRIR_Kcw

18+ fastfinge, 9 days ago to random

So nothing has gone wrong with any of the servers I run for, like, two weeks now. It's quiet, too quiet. The longer this goes, the more anxious I get. I know the #server gremlins are plotting something terrible. I'm sure I can hear them giggling. All I can do is sit and wait, helpless to predict what inevitable horror they'll unleash upon me. I'm sure other #sysadmins feel this way too, right? It's not just me? The server gremlins are coming for us all. The only thing we can do is fight an endless, losing battle, hoping to hold off the inevitable victory of the crawling chaos for just one more day. But eventually, we will all succumb to the spammy tentacles, and be pulled into the ever hungry virus infested maw. Someday, we shall all chant the twisted song of our ineffable overlords, the regexp that attempts and fails to correctly parse HTML, for ever and ever.