After listening to a recent episode of the Data Security Podcast, I was intrigued with Comodo’s free VPN product. Continue reading “Comodo's EasyVPN Landing Page is an Attack Site?”
I've Hit a New low
Last week, I followed a friend’s example and started celebrating my birthday two days in advance, and really didn’t finish until, oh, about a week after. As a result, I had my highest caloric intake in a single day since I started the Medifast diet last June. See this graph for a visual.
- Weight and Calories Graph
Observe that I’ve only broken 3,000 calories in a single day twice. Once when I was at the SANS conference in December, and this past weekend, when I consumed far too much of my own Greek Olive and Onion bread (which, by the way, is getting rave reviews all around, even from my 4 year-old godson, who “is not fond of olives and onions”).
The kicker is that I weighed in at 163.8# this morning – an all-time low for me as an adult. I think I’ll go get some beer and pizza now.
I bet you thought this post was about the divorce, didn’t you? Psych!
Are We There Yet?
This weekend, thanks to my friend’s small child, I had a brilliant suggestion for auto makers and after market car whiz-bang installers: Stop installing DVD players in the back seat (which just perpetuate the military industrial entertainment complex) and GPS receivers in the dashboard (which lead to distracted drivers and accidents).
Instead, put the display for the GPS in the back seat. What does this accomplish?
- Drivers are no longer visually distracted by GPS maps. Instead, they can ask the kid in the back seat, who will be more than happy to provide navigation functions.
- Drivers are no longer distracted by the sound of “are we there yet? Are we there yet,” from the back seat.
- Kids learn the value of being helpful, which both pleases the parents and speeds the journey.
Obviously a person driving solo can’t use a GPS display in the back seat, so maybe you need two, but still, skip the DVD player.
Think about it.
Really Fast ICMP Echo Requests
Today I was helping a client troubleshoot some odd network behavior. He reported that he had no network connectivity. Not knowing exactly what he meant by that, I decided to ping his computer from one of the servers at the same location. What followed next was pretty interesting. Continue reading “Really Fast ICMP Echo Requests”
Scam of the Day: Stimulus Payment, Python, Pants, and Bombing.
This one just came in via my mom. I consider myself fortunate enough to have a mom who can recognize a good scam when she sees one.
And, on that note, is anyone else reeling from astounding spike in spam over the last couple of weeks? I mean everywhere, from email to IM to Skype, to blogs and other web forms. Everything from these scams to the traditional 419 to a “python in my pants.”
Side note:
Dear Spammer, please take note: I used to handle boa constrictors and have no desire to have a python in my pants.
Thanks,
Peter
Thought of the day: can we route the military to do something useful, like bombing spammers? Thanks.
------- Forwarded message follows ------- Return-Path: <[email protected]> Received: from smx74.sover.net (smx74.sover.net [209.198.112.154]) by spot.sover.net (8.14.2/8.14.2) with ESMTP id n05JZW0F066421 for <[email protected]>; Mon, 5 Jan 2009 14:35:32 - 0500 (EST) (envelope-from [email protected]) Received: from post.nvozrast.ru (post.nvozrast.ru [212.44.139.147]) by smx74.sover.net (8.14.2/8.14.2) with ESMTP id n05JZVbQ008350 for <[email protected]>; Mon, 5 Jan 2009 14:35:32 -0500 (EST) (envelope-from [email protected]) Message-Id: <[email protected]> Received: from User ([87.198.234.70]) (authenticated user [email protected]) by post.nvozrast.ru; Mon, 5 Jan 2009 22:34:35 +0300 From: "Internal Revenue Service"<[email protected]> Subject: Stimulus Payment form it's ready for you to submit Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2009 19:32:47 -0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_00D3_01C2A9A6.2E79EE60" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2600.0000 X-Bayes-Prob: 0.0001 (Score 0) X-Spam-Score: 2.60 (**) [Tag at 5.00] FORGED_MUA_OUTLOOK,L_T_COMBINED,MSGID_FROM_MTA_HEADER, MSGID_FROM_MTA_ID,UNDISC_RECIPS X-Spam-Milter-Status: No, hits=2.60 required=5.00 l=75 f=1 st=1 tests=FORGED_MUA_OUTLOOK,L_T_COMBINED,MSGID_FROM_MTA_HE ADER,MSGID_FROM_MTA_ID,UNDISC_RECIPS X-CanItPRO-Stream: sovernet:[email protected] (inherits from sovernet:default) X-Canit-Stats-ID: Bayes signature not available X-Scanned-By: CanIt (www . roaringpenguin . com) on 209.198.112.38 Status: X-Antivirus: AVG for E-mail 8.0.200 [270.10.2/1876] X-Antispam: NO; Spamcatcher 5.1.0. Score 2 X-PMFLAGS: 570949760 0 1 PV1H9GJ5.CNM After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a Stimulus Payment. Please submit the Stimulus Payment Online Form in order to process it. A Stimulus Payment can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline. To submit your Stimulus Payment form, please download the document attached to your email. Note: If filing or preparation fees were deducted from your 2007 Refund or you received a refund anticipation loan, you will be receiving a check instead of a direct deposit. Regards, Internal Revenue Service
Information Disclosure: A Real World Example (non-IT)
A friend of mine collapsed on New Year’s Eve (no, not from drinking) and was admitted to the regional hospital. I called last night to ask when visiting hours were. I gave his name and was transferred to the department where he was (in the ICU). The gentleman I spoke with there told me to come by after 8AM to visit my friend. I told him I preferred to call ahead, since I live about an hour away, and he said that made sense.
This morning, I called to see if I could visit. However, I specifically asked if he was admitted. (Now, I’m not sure exactly why I didn’t say “My friend was admitted, can I come visit” instead, but that’s just the way the words came out of my mouth). I was asked for my friend’s name. I gave it, and was told “that patient hasn’t given permission to give out his status.”
I pointed out to the person on the phone that she had just confirmed to me that he was admitted, which was my original question. She replied “Okay…” I thanked her and hung up.
What conclusions do you draw from this?
hello, world (Round Two)
It’s been almost two months since I’ve played World of Warcraft. I miss killing pixelated badguys with my imaginary friends, but I prefer the real world. Although I must say, today’s -10?F does remind me of Winterspring (or maybe Northrend, even though my toons never stepped foot in there).
No Clue What to Give for Christmas
I’m stuck. I have no idea what to give folks for Christmas this year. Friends, family, extended family. No clue.I mean, yeah, I have this leftover ring that I’m not using anymore, but where the heck am I to find frankincense and myrrh?
Sure, I could be lame and give a gift certificate, but that’s one step above cash. Nothing says “I took no time to find a gift for you” quite like cash.
*sigh* Fine. Gift certificates it is. *groan*
All I Want for Christmas… (2008 Edition)
Okay, here we go again.
- World peace.
- Fyodor’s Nmap book.
- A Phillips Norelco G480 Grooming Kit (to replace the one the TSA apparently helped themselves to) before I start to look even more like a long-haired hippy.
- A two-hour Thai Massage.
- A standard yoga ball (not Gaiam brand).
- No, make that a?two-day Thai Massage.
- An unhackable network.
Scam Alert of the Day (Or How Not to Try to Scam People)
I just got this email this morning, to our technical support mailbox: Continue reading “Scam Alert of the Day (Or How Not to Try to Scam People)”