I spy with your Internet-connected eye

from here

Why has our culture become so enamored with surveillance that we not only accept it when others do it to us but we even do it to ourselves? That such surveillance devices then get taken over by attackers seems like an entirely predictable conclusion. Why do we do this to ourselves?

It would certainly deter me

found on Izismile

I get a kick out of the imaginative ways people come up with to protect things. This person is not only thinking outside the box but it seems like they've also decided to monetize their inventiveness.

Unfortunately they're also advertising their willingness to facilitate a crime on Facebook for all to see. Not exactly a criminal mastermind at work here.

Better living through power tools

from here

Unfortunately it appears that the KeyWe smart lock has software vulnerabilities that can be exploited by an attacker. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the software (firmware really) can't be updated, so the mistake that makes them vulnerable can't be fixed or patched. One may argue that the only way to deal with the problem is to remove them and replace them with a traditional lock, but if they already accept a traditional key it seems like a well placed hole through some computer chips could eliminate the avenues of attack the vulnerability opens up.

Toxic Cyberpunk Hacker button

Product Page

I'm going to be honest, I never would have thought to search for such a thing. Maybe others would have but the only reason I came up with the search terms to find this is because I rolled some dice.

That's not to say I think this is a bad design, I don't. I think it's an under appreciated concept and it definitely deserves to be seen.

The Not-So-Safe-Mode

from here (source article)

It kind of violates ones expectations when Safe Mode isn't safe, and it makes one start to wonder why AV doesn't run in that mode when malware clearly does. That doesn't sound safe at all. Not even a little bit.

When hunting bugs is more useful than hunting mice

found on Weird Facts

That pair of cats definitely earned their keep that day. I wonder how the Russians felt about their plans being foiled by felines.

Why not both?

from here

The news that Avast (the anti-virus software brought to you by International Talk Like A Pirate Day) is selling the browsing data it collects to 3rd parties is definitely more than a little disappointing. One could imagine that they're trying to take out the competition; in which case one might accuse them of anti-competitive behaviour, but who wants healthy competition in that industry? It's certainly fair to say this represents a significant conflict of interest and a profound ethical lapse, however it remains to be seen if other members of the AV industry will hold them accountable since they've got such a terrible track record of doing that in the past.

Garfield's Cyber Safety Adventures: Privacy

Watch on YouTube

Better watch out for cheese_cat12 and others like him. You never know what their true intentions are.

Burnt arm in 3...2...1...

from here (image source)

Skillet grease can be quite painful. I've seen some clever solutions that problem, but this is not one of them. The part of her in the most danger of getting burned is also the part with no protection at all.

Now that's a weird threat model

found on eBaum's World

I don't know what happened in there in the past that the establishment wants to avoid repeating, but it seems like it must be one heck of a story.