Diary of a Wolfeman

PBS’s I, Cringely wrote about how he feels the new USB standard Redmond is pushing will likely include hardware security controls that are designed to work in correlation with Windows Longhorn, and coupled with that, the new MS strategy for a BIOS-less mobo, thus making it useless while running Linux or possibly even MacOS. They have done it in the past, and much of what he says is true. He forgets one very important thing though: whatever can be done, can be undone.

I’m not saying it won’t be a pain in the ass; my own struggle with ATI drivers attests to the problems of running Linux in a Windows-oriented world. The fact is, though, that I did manage to get them working. Anything is possible if you put the rights heads together on a problem, and some of the brightest people in the world are Linux enthusiasts who take great joy in subverting Bill Gates’ dream of a computing world he controls.

On top of that, it is far more difficult to make something secure than it is to bypass those securities – it’s a simple fact of engineering. Take a look at your car: it has an ignition key lock that costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 to replace and locks on the door of a similar nature, but the doors can be openned with a simple piece of flat metal and the car started by simply bridging a couple of wires under the dash and kicking the wheel to break the turn-lock. Hell, I once stunned a frined of mine by bypassing his $7,000 home-security syatsm with a piece of wire and two alligator clips.

Now, the examples I just gave you are examples of illegal behavior. While Microsoft and it’s partners would like you to think so, using a device or tool for something other than it’s intended purpose is NOT inherently illegal – it’s the how you use it that may be illegal. Using a VCR to record a show for later playback is not illegal, it’s the distribution of that copy that gets you in trouble. What we’re talking about here is using a device for it’s intended purpose, just not in a way that MS & Co approve of.

It’s like using a pair of pliers to pound a nail. Is it the easiest way to do that? No. Will it work? Yup. Is it illegal? Get real.

MSNBC has a review of the new BlackBerry phone, which looks to be a sweet bit of geekery. The reviewer could only find one thing to complain about in the beta model he tested – the screen is hard to read in sunlight.

The real surprise about the whole thing is the price – T-Mobile is offering the thing for a mere $199.99 US, with a decently-priced access plan as well.

Y’know, it just so happens that I already have a T-M account…

I picked up another contract gig for this Thursday, and thought it would be a good idea to drag along a laptop just in case something goes wrong, and Greyduck was kind enough to loan me the laptop he’s had lying around the house. This one doesn’t have a battery, so nobody has been using it.

I had to dump Windoze2k back into it, since the stuff I’ll be using it for requires it, but other than that it ain’t so bad – provided I don’t need to do any serious number-crunching with it. This thing is slow. I spent about 3 hours installing the OS, patching the OS and getting the video drivers to work. (A slight hiccup in the ATI mobility drivers thought it was supposed to be using the TV out connector instead of the panel display.)

So, what was one of the first tests I ran with it? Seeing how much signal I have down in the garage at my smoking table. 64% strength, 73% quality if you must know the details.

I just got this in my inbox:

GLORIOUS LOTTERY AGENCY
Ref. Number: XXXXX
Batch Number: XXXXX

Sir/Madam,
We are pleased to inform you of the result of the Lottery Winners International programs held on the 4th of September 2004, your e-mail address attached to ticket number XX-XXX with serial Number XX-XXXXXX drew lucky numbers x-xx-x-xx-x-x which consequently won in the 1st category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of One Million United States Dollars (US$1,000,000) CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Due to some numbers and names, we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until you file for your claim. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming and unwarranted abuse of this program by some participants.

This is, of course, a scam of the first order.

Chances are they will ask for some sort of money up front or tell me I have to purchse something in order to be elligible yadda yadda yadda. A quick Google search came up with many hits on scam-debunking websites across the globe.

Move it straight to the round-file, folks.

I realized the other day that I have a number of Gmail accounts to give away – anyone wanting one should email me. We’re talking a whole gigabyte of storage and, best of all, an account with no SPAM coming into it. (At least, until you spread the addy around.)

If response is too great, I may hold an auction :)

ISPs gang up on spammer-run websites | The Register

Here’s the short version: send out spam with a website link, and the ISP shuts down your website, thus removing the financial incentive to send more spam. Bye-bye, thanks for playing, now kindly piss off. I love it!

I was reading through the latest edition of Linux Format last night, and I ran across a handy little shell script for Linux that works with KDE really well. It’s a one-click dictionary lookup. Heres the code:


#!/bin/bash
NAME=`dcop klipper klipper getClipboardHistoryItem 0`
konqueror http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=$NAME


Save this as ‘dictionary.sh’ someplace in your home directory, make it executalble and create a link on your desktop. Highlight a word somewhere and click the link, and it will open Konqueror up and get the definition for you. The sheer simplicity of this amazes me.

Change the http:// link to thesaurus.reference.com for another good script.

Article: Stealth wallpaper keeps company secrets safe | New Scientist

I’ve always been big on security. For a couple years, I was even seriously considering starting my own business as an electronics surveilance expert. My education in electronics gives me a great understanding of this relatively simple field, and movies like Sneakers just egg me on.

Now a company in England is offering something I’ve thought about before: wallpaper that will block wireless signals in a specific spectrum. The article elaborates:

A type of wallpaper that prevents Wi-Fi signals escaping from a building without blocking mobile phone signals has been developed by a British defence contractor. The technology is designed to stop outsiders gaining access to a secure network by using Wi-Fi networks casually set up by workers at the office.

It is the work of moments for an employee to connect a paperback-sized Wi-Fi base station to a company network. That person can then wander around the office with their laptop while remaining wirelessly connected to the internet.

But it is also the work of moments then for an outsider to breach that company’s computer security using the Wi-Fi connection. Unless the Wi-Fi base station is protected by security measures that most amateur users would not bother to set up, it gives anyone up to 100 metres away the chance to bypass the corporate firewall and wirelessly hack straight into the network.

Until now, the only way to ensure people are not illicitly gaining access to company secrets has been to turn offices into a signal-proof “Faraday cage”, by lining the walls with aluminium foil, and using glass that absorbs radio waves in the windows. This ensures all electromagnetic emissions are absorbed, but it also means that no one can use a cellphone in the building.

The technolgy is simple to design, but slightly harder to manufacture – at least, it was before now. Anyone familiar with Faraday’s work knows that radio signals are waves of energy that travel in a straight line from the antenna. Each frequency has it’s own wavelength, which is described by a physical measurement. This wallpaper is designed with cross-shaped ‘holes’ designed to only allow specific wavelengths through those holes, blocking all others. Since the FCC has regulated what services can use certain wavelengths, it is a simple matter to calculate the size of hole you need to block a certain signal.

It is true that part of the WiFi spectrum is also used in some cordless phones, but this won’t be an issue, since the phone’s base station will be inside the wallpaper ‘cage’. You just won’t be able to take the phone with you when you step outside for a smoke.

At about $900 (500GBP) a square meter, however, I doubt you’ll be seeing this offered at your local home improvement store.

As some of you know, I spent a couple years while I was in ‘Vegas working for a company that ran video arcades. One of the biggest benefits of this job was being able to play all the new games for about a week to stress-test them before we put ’em out in the field.

Back when Time Crisis came out, I thought it was the best shooter-game I’d ever played. Having that ‘hide’ pedal was a superb twist on the idea of a shoot-’em-up. Last night, I came across the next generation from Konami: Police 911

The basis for this game is that you’re a Tokyo beat cop called in to assist against a Yakuza gang. SWAT is already on-site, but they figure they could use all the guns they can, so your sorry but is going in too – with a sidearm only. Oh – did I mention no body armor? Yup. You better know how to duck, chombatta.

Like Time Crisis, this game walks you through the scenario location by location, allways putting you someplace where you have the use of some sort of cover, whether it be a wall, a bar, or a line of riot cops with shields. Where TC has a pedal for you to step on to toggle between views, P911 has a sensor grid in front of the game to track your actual movements. When you duck, so does your character. The game is exceedingly accurate at this – your point of view only changes as much as you duck, instead of being a simple toggle. This also gives you more options for play, since you can also move right and left to take advantage of cover or optional firing angles. (Hint – early on, there’s a little window to your right with a bottle in it. Shoot through here to take out one of the three thugs coming at you, instead of leaning left and getting hit by all three.)

The only bummer the game has is that you are going after gangsters toting a single .40 calibre sidearm with a limited number of clips. Yep – after a certain number of reloads, you have to stuff your magazines while crouching behind a trash can in the middle of a firefight. Goes towards the realism, I guess.

One other thing, folks: stretch before you play this game. I run up and down stairs all day in my house, and my upper thighs are still twitchy after only one game last night.

Greyduck and I finally got around to putting together the entertainment center given to us by the EMC and her husband. In the words of Buffy or Willow, “it’s giganamous!”

It has enough room for all the widgets we have attached to the TV though, so it’s a good thing. Strangely enough, there are no lateral supports on the bottom 1/4 of the unit though, so it’s a bit wobbly. We’ve got it wedged into the corner at an angle so it can’t move much until I can fit some braces to it. I don’t know what they were thinking – it’s an obvious design flaw.

If they would just ask me about these things… :)