Friday, March 31, 2017

Hard to call it research if that's all there is to it

from here

Ultimately the research will involve making new malware, but if that's all it took then there wouldn't really be anything new to learn from that. The fact that there is more to the research into bypassing AV proves that AV isn't as trivial as it's frequently made out to be.

On the Internet no one knows you're a cat

found on I Can Has Cheezburger

When hacker kitty finally gets in, expect to see shipments of gourmet cat food from Amazon.

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Senseless security is wearing thin

from here (source image)

Thin fences making thin neighbours really doesn't make any more or less sense than good fences making good neighbours. A fence shouldn't change the neighbour, it just prevents movement or access, and it's debatable whether the one pictured above would even qualify.

Windows firewall merchandise

found on CafePress

I'm not sure but I think someone just took a captioned photo that would be funny in it's own right and had CafePress print it on t-shirts and other apparel so that you can wear the joke around town. That's not a half bad idea. Maybe I should try it.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Ever wonder what the opposite of camouflage is?

from here (source image)

The only way people don't see you coming in this is if they're blinded by the colour scheme.

I guess we'll both go blind

found on Rall.com

Maybe the spooks would be better off if their window into our private lives went dark. Better that kind of blindness than the other.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Protect your nudes with elliptic perv cryptography

from here

Thanks to @mzbat for sharing one of the bat-shit-craziest things I've ever heard of coming from a teacher's mouth.This is what kids are learning these days? I think we found the FBI's golden key, and it's a long-term psy-ops campaign.

Never underestimate your adversary

found on Dump A Day

I've said it before and I'll say it again:
Never underestimate your adversary
I'll be honest, though. I probably would have underestimated them. I would not have thought those little rodents would have that kind of problem solving ability. Perhaps I just don't know rodents very well.

Monday, March 27, 2017

How to catch monsters and win cases

from here

I'm not sure how techniques can logically become more secret over time, but logic isn't necessarily the government's strong suit, so of course they'd use techniques that later became classified.

Sometimes the best defense is to get the f^*% out of there


Watch on YouTube

The hawk may be a king in the skies, but in a pine tree it's clearly at a disadvantage relative to the squirrel, and the squirrel capitalizes on that in order to escape.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Vendors keep trying to take away our weird machines

from here

If you only look at vulnerabilities as bugs to be eliminated, you might never look deeper and learn about the concept of weird machines. Not that that justifies the existence of vulnerabilities, mind you, but sometimes advancement requires us to look at things with new eyes rather than just following the same mental shortcuts we built up in the past over and over again.

Dude, where's my car?

found on Ebaum's World

In reality, I suspect this paint job is actually a theft deterrent, because nobody want a car that ugly.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

What blows up more, batteries or bombs?

from here

It's almost as if the people who decided any electronics bigger than a phone have to go into checked luggage were trying to create air disasters. That or they've magically never heard of exploding batteries, even though there was a news story recently about a woman's face getting burned by a battery in her headphones exploding.

Whatever the justification, this is a disaster waiting to happen - a time bomb, if you will.

The House Chore Games

found on Imgur

This mom must be dealing with a clever kid if she has to devise a countermeasure for replay attacks.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Don't tempt fate, or the Internet

from here

I kind of feel sorry for the site operator featured in this Ars article. He was clearly out of his depth. Now when you load the page there's nothing there. I suppose that's more secure, but it's not very useful.

How to get a 'free' printer

tweeted by Blake Messick

Supposedly this is just a prank, which I hope means that any ill-gotten gains were eventually returned to their rightful owners with an explanation, otherwise I think this might qualify as some sort of fraud.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Free WiFi and banking - What could go wrong?

from here (source image one and two)

Thanks to KetchupandBeer for tweeting the photo of a rather disconcerting billboard. That appears to be an actual hotspot stuck to the billboard where literally anyone could tamper with it (because why not find a way to make free WiFi even more risky). I wouldn't connect to that if you paid me.

It's bark is definitely worse than it's bite

found on Tastefully Offensive

They may roll down stairs alone or in pairs, but the only way that's going to stop a burglar is if they're laughing too hard.

Monday, March 20, 2017

Minimize data breaches with this one weird trick

from here

Seems like a pretty good catch phrase, actually. Repeat it enough around your decision-makers and maybe they'll actually scale back their plans to gather all the data.

Russell Peters: "Terrorists vs Indians"


Watch on YouTube

I can't say I'd know a terrorist if I saw one (because terrorists can look like anyone), but I do feel reasonably confident that I'd be able to tell the difference between an Indian and someone from one of those 7 predominantly Muslim countries. That comes from having exposure to those groups. If people didn't live in bubbles and actually interacted with people from different cultures they might be less afraid of them. In the absence of that, things like the comedy of Russell Peters or Little Mosque on the Prairie should help normalize those different cultures at least a little and in so doing make them seem less scary.

Friday, March 17, 2017

By throwing darts at a map, just like before

from here

T'was Paddy what done that thing, that's who.

A special sort of event security



Somebody's gotta keep the beer safe today, maybe it should be you?

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Conway Science

from here

It took me a while, but I finally figured out the troll science behind Kellyanne Conway's claim about microwaves turning into cameras.

A strangely appropriate response

found on Wanna Joke

Look, as funny as it may seem, when something is using aerosolized chemical agents against you that is probably one of the best tools you can use to protect yourself.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

How not to avoid arrest

from here (source image)

If you don't want to get arrested, maybe try not wearing a shirt that draws the attention of authorities by giving them instructions they're under no obligation to follow.

Sometimes it's the only way to be sure

found on Memebase

This makes me glad I'm not promiscuous online.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

No one is that unimportant

from here

It doesn't matter who you are or how unimportant you think you are, everyone has something an attacker wants, even if it's just another bot for their botnet or another ransomware payout.

What would she say to the god of death?

found on Imgur

This is quite the harrowing tale of self-defense gone right. Thankfully Kelly Herron had the tools (skills) she needed to get the job done. She was prepared, and there's a lesson in that. This news story about the incident has more details.

Monday, March 13, 2017

A lot of people are going to have a bad time

from here

If half of people will click anything you send them (despite being 'aware' of the risks) you might be tempted to think that user education doesn't work Let me ask you this, though; when you were in school did you ever find you didn't quite get some of the material the first time around? Everyone learns at a different rate, but everyone DOES learn with enough time and effort. People clicking on things they shouldn't doesn't mean education doesn't work, it just means it hasn't completely worked yet.

Don't cause trouble in elevators


Watch on YouTube

I don't know what these guys were thinking, but trying to snatch someone's purse when you're in a confined space is ridiculous. You literally can't get away in there, as these two fools clearly discovered.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Or worse, trying to unlock it

from here (source image)

In theory this door may be able to be locked and unlocked from the inside, but if you're on the outside trying to either get in or make sure other people don't get in - it's just not gonna happen.

Alexa pleads the 5th


Watch on YouTube

It's very curious that Alexa shuts up for that specific question. It's not like the technology has difficulty understanding the person speaking, that much was demonstrated by the previous 2 questions. After the news about the CIA being able to use smart TVs to spy on people, this behaviour by Alexa is enough to make one a little paranoid.

I originally saw a version of this video thanks to Alex Girard, but that one is now dead due to a copyright complaint. I suppose this video may not last long either, so watch it while you can.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Bob's messages to Alice seem less interesting now

from here (source image)

Alternative approaches I've seen is where the computer has a layer of ash over it. Don't ask.

Don't blame me for your bullet injection vulnerability

found on Izismile

Hacking as a synonym for cheating is interesting. I wonder where else people might someday apply that. Hacking tests? Quite possibly that's already been done, but I don't think people who cheat on tests are generally called hackers (yet). Hacking marriage or analogous relationships? That seems like more of a stretch.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Crypto doesn't matter once they pwn the device it runs on

from here
If the news about the Vault7 leak on Wikileaks has you wondering about the security of messaging apps like Signal or WhatsApp, then stop. The news doesn't highlight any problem with those apps. The CIA bypassed not just the encryption in those apps, they bypassed the apps entirely by compromising the devices the apps run on. The messages have to be decrypted on the device in order for you to read/hear them, as well as reply to them. If those devices happen to be compromised then whoever has compromised the device can also read/hear those messages and your replies.

Shouldn't privacy be this simple?

found on Piximus

Simple and uncluttered by complex rationalizations and false expectations. It's almost like something a child might say and it cuts straight to the point.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Think of it as mini-me

from here (source article)

I can't help but think that in some people's eyes this reaction by the German government will make the product even more desirable.

I bet he's ready for a dog fight

found on Dump A Day

Somehow I imagine the real thing was more intimidating. I bet this pug will give Snoopy a run for his money, though.

Monday, March 6, 2017

Anything you post can and will be used against you in a court of law

from here

I don't know what this teen was thinking, but sharing photographic evidence of your crimes is not a good way to get away with those crimes.

Know your adversary


Watch on YouTube

If you're trying to counter or block your adversary, it's important to know your adversary's capabilities. If those capabilities include climbing, for example, then making the barrier higher probably won't help.

Friday, March 3, 2017

It does weird things when I click it so it must be working

from here (source image)

If only all the cyber criminals were foolish enough to target the wrong intermediaries (like infecting Android developers in an attempt to spread Windows malware). A lot fewer people would get infected that way.

Not just man's best friend

found on Atchupp

Security is sometimes about satisfying the need for safety. That need is often considered a basic human need, but the story behind this picture highlights the fact that it transcends species - it's actually a basic animal need. So the domestic dog, having undergone thousands of years of selective breeding to cultivate their protective tendencies, aren't just man's best friend, they're a best friend to anything that needs protection.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Well there's your problem

from here

I genuinely don't understand why people keep using WordPress. Whenever I hear about a vulnerability discovered in a blogging ecosystem, it's almost always WordPress. It's almost as if the potential for compromise doesn't matter in the real world.

Camouflage as an appetite suppressant

found on The Meta Picture

Pretty sure if someone found this in their salad they'd lose their appetite. Either that or they'd give up vegetables.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Say AAAHHHHHHHHHH!

from here (source image)

Even if this is a statue (I hope it is, but the water splashed over the ledge where the end of the mouth is makes me wonder), I think I'd feel uncomfortable sticking my head in it's mouth.

Something just doesn't add up here

found on iFunny

I've had this happen to me, and since this meme wasn't created by me, clearly I'm not the only one who has experienced it. I don't know what was going on, but clearly someone did something seriously wrong when they were implementing the password scheme(s) in question.