Santa Cruz Snowboard USB Flash Drive
There I was, wandering through the isles of another big-box store when what should my eye behold? A techno item I hadn't previously heard about? (and a cool-ish one at that!)
There, hanging off its poorly security protected peg was a flash drive that looked like a snow board! Not just a snowboard, but one with some really rad graphics to boot! Apparently, they also have surf board and skate board models, but there were no skate boards or I would have bought one.
Front Package propoganda included:
"4GB"
"100% Compatible"
"2 Year Warranty"
"Extras - Videos, Wallpapers and More"
Nice! All that and a cool package to boot? My kid will think this is cool even if technically it sucks, so I bought one.
Upon opening the package, I noted that it had a very silky feel to it, and looked to have high quality. Let's take a look at the goodies!
I decided to give it a whirl on my Linux computer - after all - it is 100% Compatible!
Nothing special happened - no fancy videos came up. I was just a little disappointed.
Perhaps it means it is 100% Windows compatible?
One more test - does it autoboot in Windows?
I plugged the snowdrive into my XP computer. Again Nothing special happened. Bummer!
Now that the drive has lost its thrill factor for me - I proceded to look things over.
The "4 GB" drive only had 3.8GB Free Space, which means 200 MB of whatever is filling up my new drive.
What is on the drive that is using up this space?
On the drive were the following 7 files and 5 directories:
Files:
ActionSportsDrives.html
ACTIONSPORTS.ICO
AUTORUN.INF
AUTORUNNOLAUNCH.INF
AUTORUNLAUNCH.INF
Auto Launch ON-OFF Disabler.exe
SCSnow_Splash.jpg
Directories:
Wallpaper Pics
My Files
My Photos
My Music
My Videos
Well, being a movie buff, I went directly to the My Videos folder and to my surprise saw 1 lame, low definition quicktime video of what looks to be one individual doing some less than spectacular moves on a snowboard. No triple backflips. No jumping over a helicopter. No spectacularly bloody crashes. Just one guy on a board. The word "Lame" comes to mind.
Perhaps the backgrounds would be better? So I migrated into the Wallpaper Pics folder.
There I found 10 pics. 2 of which were "Android" backgrounds - My Cell phone doesn't have a "USB Port" I could plug this into. The most spectacular thing I saw here was the snow. Other than that - the pics were nothing short of lame.
In short - Nice packaging, poor implementation. Next time get some guys that can actually snowboard, use a camera crew that knows how to make good videos, and use formats that look good on my high definition screen!
Not a complete loss though. Perhaps if my kid doesn't want to play with it, I can wipe the drive and actually use it for file storage?
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
On Anonymous
Anonymous is a quasi-organized cyberintelligence group with formidable intellectual assets. They have the ability to take down major corporations, as well as government agencies. As a whole - their intent is amicable, however there are rogues with their own agendas.
What most people fail to understand is that software often controls hardware....
What happens if the hardware being controlled by the software is your local electric company, your metro-rail transportation control, or your 911/EMS center?
While I am an affectionado of the concepts and precepts of Anon, I further understand that they are a group wielding a power never before held, and with great power comes great responsibility.
I have visited their forums, their blogs, their community gatherings, and their war rooms. I understand in detail the means and methods by which they are attempting to induce social and economic reform. I am not altogether against their methods (at present) or (at least some of) their present agenda.
However - let it be perfectly clear - Anonymous is not under control. It is at best - quasi organized cyber anarchy. And we all know that there is only one possible outcome from anarchy - revolution. Anarchy promotes civil unrest, which escalates into public protests, which when they are either ignored or suppressed by the government, turn into rioting and civil war/revolution.
But these guys can only cause software and connectivity problems right? Guess again.
In this article (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/drone-virus-kept-quiet/) you will find that SOFTWARE controlling military hardware was hacked via a keystroke virus. A keystroke virus is one that reads the keystrokes of a particular computer system, and broadcasts it to a 3rd party so they can examine it.
This is not dissimilar to the movie "war games" where the kid uses a tape recorder to record the button pushes that open the door, then later plays it back to open the door.
Given enough time, the keystrokes can be examined and new commands created - to control the planes. It can be used by a terrorist group to turn the planes against our own troops. This, of course, is the problem with ANY remotely controlled system - it can be taken over by someone closer with a stronger transmitter.
Am I saying that this virus was the work of Anonymous? Absolutely not. What I am saying, is that many (not all) of the folks in Anon are capable of writing, or using such a program to their advantage. They could take ANY system which is connected to the Internet, tunnel into it, and wipe it out. Most of them are not "cyber-terrorists". Many are teenage/college students, many self trained, with a desire and willingness to promote communal change. Some are more seasoned veterans, but the veterans are not necessarily in charge. They are as a whole, however, determined, intelligent individuals with the skills, abilities, and wherewithal to cause severe damage if they were backed into a corner.
As such - it is IMPERATIVE that ANY sensitive or critical system be completely and totally isolated from the Internet, and that strict protocols be followed in the transferring, updating and/or adding of software to these systems.
They can NOT be connected via a VPN or firewall, which can be breached, or they open themselves up to a host of possible problems. I do not care what your IT person tells you. Theory is great...REALITY WINS! There is no such thing as a completely secure system. If it is in any way, shape, or form connected to the Internet - it is unsafe. Banks, TV Stations, Hospitals, Government Agencies, etc SHOULD have their own connectivity system, not connected to the Internet. They should have an intranet, and an Internet - and at no time should either be allowed to be connected for any reason.
If life and limb depends on it, if you do not want it ever to go down or be compromised - connecting it to the public Internet in any way shape or form is a dire mistake.
What most people fail to understand is that software often controls hardware....
What happens if the hardware being controlled by the software is your local electric company, your metro-rail transportation control, or your 911/EMS center?
While I am an affectionado of the concepts and precepts of Anon, I further understand that they are a group wielding a power never before held, and with great power comes great responsibility.
I have visited their forums, their blogs, their community gatherings, and their war rooms. I understand in detail the means and methods by which they are attempting to induce social and economic reform. I am not altogether against their methods (at present) or (at least some of) their present agenda.
However - let it be perfectly clear - Anonymous is not under control. It is at best - quasi organized cyber anarchy. And we all know that there is only one possible outcome from anarchy - revolution. Anarchy promotes civil unrest, which escalates into public protests, which when they are either ignored or suppressed by the government, turn into rioting and civil war/revolution.
But these guys can only cause software and connectivity problems right? Guess again.
In this article (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/drone-virus-kept-quiet/) you will find that SOFTWARE controlling military hardware was hacked via a keystroke virus. A keystroke virus is one that reads the keystrokes of a particular computer system, and broadcasts it to a 3rd party so they can examine it.
This is not dissimilar to the movie "war games" where the kid uses a tape recorder to record the button pushes that open the door, then later plays it back to open the door.
Given enough time, the keystrokes can be examined and new commands created - to control the planes. It can be used by a terrorist group to turn the planes against our own troops. This, of course, is the problem with ANY remotely controlled system - it can be taken over by someone closer with a stronger transmitter.
Am I saying that this virus was the work of Anonymous? Absolutely not. What I am saying, is that many (not all) of the folks in Anon are capable of writing, or using such a program to their advantage. They could take ANY system which is connected to the Internet, tunnel into it, and wipe it out. Most of them are not "cyber-terrorists". Many are teenage/college students, many self trained, with a desire and willingness to promote communal change. Some are more seasoned veterans, but the veterans are not necessarily in charge. They are as a whole, however, determined, intelligent individuals with the skills, abilities, and wherewithal to cause severe damage if they were backed into a corner.
As such - it is IMPERATIVE that ANY sensitive or critical system be completely and totally isolated from the Internet, and that strict protocols be followed in the transferring, updating and/or adding of software to these systems.
They can NOT be connected via a VPN or firewall, which can be breached, or they open themselves up to a host of possible problems. I do not care what your IT person tells you. Theory is great...REALITY WINS! There is no such thing as a completely secure system. If it is in any way, shape, or form connected to the Internet - it is unsafe. Banks, TV Stations, Hospitals, Government Agencies, etc SHOULD have their own connectivity system, not connected to the Internet. They should have an intranet, and an Internet - and at no time should either be allowed to be connected for any reason.
If life and limb depends on it, if you do not want it ever to go down or be compromised - connecting it to the public Internet in any way shape or form is a dire mistake.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
The King is Dead - Long Live the King
Yes folks, the sad day has come that Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers, has passed away - about 2 years after he should have. Ol' Steve was the proud recipient of an organ transplant that garnished him about 2 more years of life. Cancer was the culprit what done him in.
What most folks don't know about this college-dropout-turned-Silicon-Valley-titan that he was clueless. He didn't know Cat 5 cable from Bailing wire (or at least not at first). But boy could he sell, and that was his saving grace.
Unlike his Microsoft counterpoint, Bill Gates, Mr. Jobs may have been excellent management and sales material, but he didn't know the nuts and volts of the systems. Bill Gates, on the other hand, was both handy with executive chores, and was a very good computer programmer as well.
On the flip side, is a guy known as Steve Wozniak - who ALSO co-founded Apple Computers. Steve Wozniak was the brains behind the operation. He invented, assembled and tested the Apple 1 and Apple II computers. Then Jobs went on to market and sell them. Together they made a fabulous, unstoppable team. However, together - they secretly hated each other. In a later interview, Steve Wozniak was quoted to say they were "not really good friends". A very political way to say that they never got along. It all started with the Apple I. The Woz wanted to market and sell it as a kit. Jobs wanted to sell it as a ready built computer. Guess who won that argument, and every one after that.
As such, after a plane crash back in the 80's, Wozniak decided to quit working for the computer giant "full time" (He continued to receive a paycheck and benifits), got married, changed his name, and went on to actually finish getting his college degree - something that many college-dropout-turned-Silicon-Valley-mogules never did do.
By the way - if you do want to find Steve Wozniak these days, he goes by Rocky Raccoon Clark, and in my humble opinion, would make a great addition to the leadership team at Apple.
What most folks don't know about this college-dropout-turned-Silicon-Valley-titan that he was clueless. He didn't know Cat 5 cable from Bailing wire (or at least not at first). But boy could he sell, and that was his saving grace.
Unlike his Microsoft counterpoint, Bill Gates, Mr. Jobs may have been excellent management and sales material, but he didn't know the nuts and volts of the systems. Bill Gates, on the other hand, was both handy with executive chores, and was a very good computer programmer as well.
On the flip side, is a guy known as Steve Wozniak - who ALSO co-founded Apple Computers. Steve Wozniak was the brains behind the operation. He invented, assembled and tested the Apple 1 and Apple II computers. Then Jobs went on to market and sell them. Together they made a fabulous, unstoppable team. However, together - they secretly hated each other. In a later interview, Steve Wozniak was quoted to say they were "not really good friends". A very political way to say that they never got along. It all started with the Apple I. The Woz wanted to market and sell it as a kit. Jobs wanted to sell it as a ready built computer. Guess who won that argument, and every one after that.
As such, after a plane crash back in the 80's, Wozniak decided to quit working for the computer giant "full time" (He continued to receive a paycheck and benifits), got married, changed his name, and went on to actually finish getting his college degree - something that many college-dropout-turned-Silicon-Valley-mogules never did do.
By the way - if you do want to find Steve Wozniak these days, he goes by Rocky Raccoon Clark, and in my humble opinion, would make a great addition to the leadership team at Apple.
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