Geek Stuff category archive

El Reg reports that ransomeware has surpassed botnets as the primary threat to computing in the enterprise for the simple fact that persons pay the ransom.

Paying up is always a surefire way to mitigate threats, now, is it not?

Healthcare is the most affected sector when it comes to cyber-attacks more generally, according to other findings from the 2015 edition of Trend Micro’s Annual Security Roundup Report. Throughout 2015, almost 30 per cent of all data breaches happened in the healthcare sector, followed by education and government sectors (17 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively).

No surprise there. Network and device security tends to be an afterthought in the enterprise, and healthcare is one of the worst, if not the worst offender.

Depressing frolics.

Going viral.

Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do.

It’s not hard; it’s just different.

What: Monthly TWUUG Meeting.

Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.

Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room. See directions below. (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.

When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Thursday, March 3.

Directions:
Lake Taylor Hospital
1309 Kempsville Road
Norfolk, Va. 23502 (Map)

Pre-Meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM (separate checks)
Uno Chicago Grill
Virginia Beach Blvd. & Military Highway (JANAF Shopping Center). (Map)

Join the forums.

In the Silk Road case, the defendant’s lawyer has taken a creative approach to the portion of the charges related to money-laundering. He’s arguing that, since Bitcoins aren’t legally recognized as money, they can’t be laundered, regardless of how dirty they are.

In the filing, Dratel referred to recent guidance [PDF] from the US Internal Revenue Service, which stated that virtual currency like Bitcoin “does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction,” and that for tax purposes it should be treated as property, rather than currency.

If the government doesn’t consider Bitcoin to be money, Dratel argued, then transactions conducted solely in Bitcoin don’t fall under 18 U.S.C. §1956, the US money laundering statute, which includes specific language referring to “funds,” “monetary instruments,” and “financial institutions.” For this reason, he said, the money-laundering charge against Ulbricht should be dismissed.

Follow the link for much, much more.

Omit the offspring.

No, no, no, not Napster-style piracy.

The traditional kind:

A global shipping company noticed that over the course of several months last year, pirates armed with guns had been rummaging through cargo more quickly than usual before making off with the most valuable crates.

When one unnamed shipping company hired Verizon’s VZ, +1.14% security team to investigate, they learned the pirates had begun practicing another trade: Hacking.

The pirates are stealing computerized bills of lading so they can make sure they are hijacking the good stuff. More at the link.

Screenshot frolics.

Via Marketwatch.

Uber and Lyft
have them a tiff.

Nir Eyal tries to understand the forces that keep you staring at your screen. One of them he identifies as “The Tech,” that is ” Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Buzzfeed and the like.” Here’s a bit of what he has to say about that:

Since these services rely on advertising revenue, the more frequently you use them, the more money they make. It’s no wonder these companies employ teams of people focused on engineering their services to be as engaging as possible. These products aren’t habit-forming by chance; it’s by design. They have an incentive to keep us hooked.

Follow the link for the rest.

Facebook has “community standards.” Who knew?

Aside:

Like Republicans, Facebook seems preoccupied with sex, while giving a pass to general all-around garden variety nastiness.

Nury Vitachi is skeptical that “virtual reality” gadgets can have any durable appeal.

I hesitate to hold myself up as typical, but I’ve not found any appeal in the prospect of putting on some kind of headset or helmet to fool myself into thinking I’m somewhere other. I’ve found this where quite enough, thank you.

Nevertheless, it is true that every virtual reality device so far (as opposed to simulators, such as flight and driving simulators, which are quite a different thing and have practical application) have flopped after the initial gee-whiz wore off.

Methinks Mr. Vitachi has a point. “Virtual Reality” may be another area where “because you can” is insufficient reason for “you did.”

Here’s one of his arguments (emphasis in the original):

5) We fail to realize that the wow doesn’t last.

Yes, there’s a big wow factor in trying out VR headsets, or reading reviews by people who have done so. But they have done so in trial situations, where people are demonstrating the equipment.

This doesn’t mean that the average person wants that experience several hours of VR a day every day of the week. We need to find a way to go beyond the wow.

Follow the link for the rest.