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Comment: Re:Keyword; simulated (Score 2) 68

by doas777 (#46345081) Attached to: Scientists Demonstrate Virus That Spreads Across Wi-Fi Access Points
Good distinctions, but a point of clarification. Worms are self contained and target Systems (OSs, embedded devices of particular make, etc). They contain all the code necessary to spread from system to system using whatever media they are designed for. Viruses target applications with communciations capabilities. A spam virus for instance generally targets an email client for instance. the virus requires the vulnerable application to transmit itself from vulnerable system to vulnerable system however; that code is not contained in the virus. Viruses do not require human interaction as a rule (some do, some don't). Automatic application updates and hardened code on the few types of applications capable of supporting a virus, have largely made them extinct. Trojans DO require human intervention, but are the most flexible. Worms and Viruses are peer-to-peer only, whereas Trojans are client-server. For instance Drive By Download attacks from malicious web sites are now the infection-vector of choice these days, because it requires as little human interaction as possible. The malware described here, would be a worm, because it is spreading of its own accord, and does not target a specific communications application.

Comment: resume 2005 levels (Score 1) 564

by doas777 (#45921233) Attached to: PC Shipments In 2013 See the Worst Yearly Decline In History
in 2004, most people didn't need a PC, and one unit would service 5 or more people. then there came facebook and services like it, and with it, PC sales soared. people only used them to consume content however, so for the most part, a general purpose PC was more machine than they needed.

Now that we have Smartphones, and tablets, and internet connected TVs, and all manner of other cheap devices for consumption, only the content creators need full PCs.

The desktop isn't going away, but the inflated market must shrink back to its previous levels before the sales numbers will stop falling.

Comment: Re:How about warrants with probable cause? (Score 2) 509

by doas777 (#45681561) Attached to: NSA Head Asks How To Spy Without Collecting Metadata

No, they are claiming that they use statistical methods to attempt to exclude american citizens, but expect to collect their data anyway. additionally they implement policies that make american citizens fair game if there is any associational link to a foreign national with less than 3 degrees of seperation. this standard includes the vast majority of the american people. Programs XKeyScore and Nebulus (the program that notices when you say 'bomb' on the phone) can't establish the nationality of the parties even if they wanted to.

the biggest issue however, is that NSA analysts have been giving the data to domestic law enforcement agencies with no warrent, and that data is being introduced in non-terror prosecutions of american citizens, per the last batch of data that DNI released (declassified FISC findings).

When a power is used for specific elevated conditions for a period of time, law enforcement and the judicary become comfortable with it, and over time, the bar to use those elevated powers lowers. For instance, in London, after installing hundreds of CCTV cameras, which had no impact on serious crime, local town councils started using these terror-justified feeds to start prosecuting locals for not picking up after their dogs.

Allowing this program to continue, gaurentees that the liberties I knew as a child will be gone forever.

Comment: Freedom isn't free (Score 5, Insightful) 509

by doas777 (#45680951) Attached to: NSA Head Asks How To Spy Without Collecting Metadata

The cost of freedom is that you must acknowledge that you must remain vulnerable to attack. Otherwise you destroy the freedom you are supposedly trying to protect.

In this case, that the job exists at all is the problem. That makes the solution simple and elegant. The only remaining issue, is accepting that everytime somthing bad happens, we are necessarilly limited in our ability prevent it.

The government cannot ever make me safe. all they can do is protect my liberties, and over the last 12 years they have been doing a piss-poor job of it.

Comment: Re:Quality vs quantity (Score 1) 196

by doas777 (#45035911) Attached to: More Evidence That Piracy Can Increase Sales
Quite true. additionally our economy can only support so many super-profitable acts. There could only be one Elvis, and at the time there were only a handful of popular/profitable musical groups. Now they try to manufacture a thousand Elvis's, but don't want to subdivide the pie. You can have one king, or you can have dozens of dukes, but you can't have both, and you certainly can't have thousands of different acts and still expect any of them to make decent money.

Comment: Very differant experience (Score 3, Interesting) 543

by doas777 (#44298957) Attached to: Visual Studio vs. Eclipse: a Programmer's Comparison


Comment: Least untruthful, or mistake? pick one (Score 3, Interesting) 296

Clappers office has previously released a statement that his answer was "least untruthful" he could make it, because the program was classified. this clearly implies that he was aware that the statement was false at the time he made it.

Today the statement is, "I misunderstood", implying that at the time, he believed the statement he made was factual.

So, which is it? These statements appear contradictory

Comment: Privacy and Safety (Score 3, Interesting) 684

by doas777 (#40529835) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Are Smart Meters Safe?

Though I have no idea regarding the RF tx concerns, I can speak a little about the privacy implications. first a little reading, Here is a link to the NIST-IR 7628, which describes guidelines for smartgrid security. Volume 2 focuses on privacy impact. http://www.egov.vic.gov.au/focus-on-countries/north-and-south-america-and-the-caribbean/united-states/trends-and-issues-united-states/information-and-communications-technology-united-states/cyber-security-united-states/nistir-7628-guidelines-for-smart-grid-cyber-security.html

it is already possible with analog meters to identify devices inside a home, simply by sampling the signal at the meter at an interval of less than 2 minutes. the faster the sample the more accurate. by comparing the signals to a database of common electrical devices researchers were able to profile device usage as early as 1992. obviously, up till now, most utilities coudn't afford the staff to sample most lines at that interval however.

The smart grid exacerbates this privacy issue, because it allows and in fact requires high speed sampling to accommodate Time-Of-Use billing, and because the meters can send usage information to the utility head end effortlessly with no additional cost.

the real issue with privacy however will not come for a few years: smart appliances. Several EDUs are already selling internet service through their smart meters, but there is effectively no option to firewall this connection as it travels over the power lines and any interference would be felony meter tampering.

So, imagine 5 years from now, you are buying a new TV. you don;t care about internet connectivity, but the device comes with it embedded, and there are very few options in the TVs menus for configuring it. It uses powerline networking, so in order to just turn it on, you have already connected it to the Internet. At this point, you basically have to trust your TV manufacturer to not report to advertisers what you watch, including stuff like pr0n. with SMART devices you have to trust the manufacture implicitly..

Another big focus for the smartgrid is Electric Vehicles. The plan at present is to have the car identify itself to the power network, along with its owners billing info, so that wherever you plug in to get a recharge, it appears on your monthly bill. this can easily be used to track you over long periods of time.

SG meter data can also be used to uncover hidden sources of power generation within your property, so if you hide your usage to maintain your privacy, that will likely be accessible to any adversarial party that requests it.

So, a well monitored smart meter can be used to tell your schedule, the size of your family, when you are home, when you are away, your approximate worth, enumerate your devices, log how/when/where (in your house) you use them, track your internet usage, how far you travel each day (and possibly where you went), the day of the week you go to the grocery, and what ever any device you plug in decides to send to third parties, all with no indication that anything is happening.
