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| from here and here |
Yes, there is a novel side-channel attack that involves video recording of power LEDs, and yes I'm sure it's important to protect your smart card readers against such an attack, but I'm also fairly certain most information security departments are still struggling to deal with phishing and ransomware and aren't anywhere near being in a position where dealing with this novel (and frankly low probability) attack is the best use of their resources.
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| found on Izismile |
Leaving aside what I think is an uncontroversial take about applying system updates, I can't help but notice that this is eerily similar to this one I made in January of this year. The caption on the distracted boyfriend is literally the only difference and it makes me wonder if making memes more personal would also make them more relatable and thus by extension more successful. Perhaps there was a perception that by addressing all computer users I was punching down, which violates the humour principle that I generally try to follow of not punching down. I didn't think of it as a punch at all, in this case, but perhaps I misjudged. It's definitely something for me to keep in mind.
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| from here and here (image source 1, 2, and 3) |
Would you choose meaningful or meaningless? It appears that Google is opting for meaningless. While they argue that the people don't understand the precise meaning of the lock icon, at least it does have meaning and even an imprecise understanding can still be beneficial. The "tune" icon they intend as a replacement conveys no information whatsoever. Removing all meaning is a cynical solution to the problem of misunderstanding the meaning.
If you miss seeing whether your connection is secure you can find out about that by clicking on the "tune" icon, just as you could with the lock icon, and the "tune" icon is arguably is more obvious about the fact that you can click on it, but the fact is that even people who knew you could click on the lock icon didn't bother, so they aren't going to bother with the new one either.
And then there's the older generations who aren't as quick to adjust to changes, and who have been trained to look for the lock icon for years. They are going to be left scared and confused because the lock icon is going to be missing from their bank website, from Facebook, from their email provider, etc. Some of them are just going to throw up their hands in defeat and give up on the Internet - no, really, some do give up and you might too if the rug were pulled out from under you over and over again throughout the years. Imagine how confusing it would be if the interface for traffic lights changed every decade or so. Imagine the accidents that would ensue all because something we were trained on was taken away and replaced with something unfamiliar.
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| from here and here |
I kinda think that if neither malware nor hardware destroying circuitry will stop users from plugging strange USB devices into their computers, explosive charges probably won't stop them either. But I'd certainly love to be proven wrong.
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| from here and here |
Is there ever a good time to apply updates? People are rarely at their computer unless there's something they're trying to do, and when they aren't at the computer it's usually powered off or in sleep mode. The person who solves this problem will make Patch Tuesday a lot easier to deal with - especially when there are nearly 100 updates included.
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| from here and here |
One of the problems that can occur in security (among other things) is that the human fascination with novelty can get the best of those in charge of security. Attention can get turned towards threats that are shiny and new (and relatively esoteric) before the fundamentals have been properly addressed, and security suffers as a result. Keep your eyes on the prize and don't get distracted by the woman in the red dress, Neo.
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| found on Meme Base |
