Tonight I got hold of a web cam for the first time in my life. I was stuck for something to do with it, so I thought I would try and turn it into a motion sensor.
UPDATE: An example of this idea catching a thief. Made me realise I need to store my photos off-site. Silly mistake.
UPDATE: An example of this idea catching a thief. Made me realise I need to store my photos off-site. Silly mistake.
Continue reading "Motion Sensor"
There seems to be a MySQL bot doing the rounds. It exploits weak passwords. It contains a full set of features such as: "DDOS engine, various scanners, commands to solicit information from infected systems (e.g. system stats, software registration keys and such). The bot provides an FTP server, and a backdoor [which] appears to be listening on port 2301/tcp and 2304/tcp, maybe other ports." The bot is controlled over IRC on ports 5002 and 5003.
Continue reading "Danger: MySQL Bot"
Oh no, just when I thought they were learning. Microsoft has decided to not distribute security updates to illegal copies of Windows. They will still be available but less so and may be completely blocked at a later date.
UPDATE 2005-08-02: Microsoft has done the right thing and will only block non-security updates to unregistered copies.
Continue reading "Microsoft to limit Security Updates to Registered Copies"
Your average politician thinks they are right, most of the time. It is rare they will, at least, admit failure. Some take it too far and ignore the other pies out there, thinking everyone likes the same kind of pie.
The Bolsheviks did it when they outlawed factionalism and the Shrub regieme has done it by making 'dissidents' sound un-patriotic. Both claim/ed to be democratic.
The Bolsheviks did it when they outlawed factionalism and the Shrub regieme has done it by making 'dissidents' sound un-patriotic. Both claim/ed to be democratic.
Continue reading "The Problem with Politics"
When was the last time a president's inauguration was met with protests, police brutality and the media ignoring the event? Sounds a bit like an African police state. Nope, I am talking about America. Have a read or look at the photos.
Jon Stewart of the Daily show has a hysterical take (local copy of MP3) on the speech.
On reading the stories about the protests, it seems some of the protesters were responsible for a share in the violence (read the comments). I can understand the anger the Shrub and his policies inspires, but getting violent only provides the otherside with an out and a chance to discredit the situation. It also keeps other protesters away. A larger more peaceful protest would have had more of an impact in my opinion.
Jon Stewart of the Daily show has a hysterical take (local copy of MP3) on the speech.
On reading the stories about the protests, it seems some of the protesters were responsible for a share in the violence (read the comments). I can understand the anger the Shrub and his policies inspires, but getting violent only provides the otherside with an out and a chance to discredit the situation. It also keeps other protesters away. A larger more peaceful protest would have had more of an impact in my opinion.
After my entry on this there were a few nice responses (Darb, Neil, Shaggy, Bronwyn). That entry really marked the first time I actually started talking to people about it. I found the responses very enlightening and have since chatted to more people.
Continue reading "My South African Identity, II"
Dana has pointed to a notification on WindowsITPro about some Windows vulnerabilities. Like Dana I am interested to see that it contains the line:
Administrators can help protect their networks by ensuring that their intrusion prevention systems are update to date.
It is nice to see that this is becoming more mainstream. I mentioned it a few weeks ago on the patch management mailing list and the response seemed to be that an IPS requires too much time to learn and set-up for the average overworked administrator.
This blog post on the Google blog is a big plusplus to Google. If you include the attribute 'nofollow' on a link, then it will be an acknowledgement that this link should not count as a vote for the page on Google (it won't count towards the link's pagerank). This is particularly usefull in *any* dynamic part of a page that displays hrefs, for example comments, guestbooks, recent referrers etc.
More specifically the link will change from:
<a href="http://spammer.site.com">Viagra</a>
to:
<a href="http://spammer.site.com" rel="nofollow" >Viagra</a>
Please integrate it into your page now.
More specifically the link will change from:
<a href="http://spammer.site.com">Viagra</a>
to:
<a href="http://spammer.site.com" rel="nofollow" >Viagra</a>
Please integrate it into your page now.
My flight left at 4pm and I arrived in Port Elizabeth at 5:45pm. Flying is far nicer than the awful Greyhound. Flying is 4 hours including waiting and the drive from the airport to Grahamstown. Bussing on the other hand is usually 16 hours in sweltering heat and unpleasant smells. If you book at the right time they are similarly priced too.
Continue reading "Back in Town"
I have been getting a lot of Google searches for "phone address e-mail intitle curriculum vitae" coming through to my site. So I Google'd for it and found that it is all thanks to johnny.ihackstuff.com, famous for the Googledork. People are looking for my Social Security Number. I don't have one, and they are welcome to the rest of it.
Our ex-SRC president, Thamsanqua Moyo has started blogging. His blog currently resides at http://calabash.rucus.net/serendipity/ but is liable to change.
For several months. I have been struggling with an identity crisis. I am a white South African.
Continue reading "My South African Identity"
They are a South African band specialising in our local brand of hip-hop, Kwaito. I recently bought to of their albums and have fallen in love with the band. Apart from some great music it is an awesome reflection of the state our country is in. It is strangely refrehing hearing someone rap about the evils of rape, AIDS awareness, growing up in the townships, the difficulties of the growing black middle class moving into previously white suburbia. They aren't just a social awareness program however, they also have some awesome tracks that will get you at least nodding your head in a sober fashion.
My security news is sparse at best while on holiday, but I thought this warranted a mention. The blurb is:
Starting from January 11th, 2005, Microsoft will provide Windows customers with Malicious Software Removal Tools. New versions of these tools will be available monthly (second Tuesday of every month on the same schedule that Microsoft already delivers other security updates) or more frequently if necessary.
I am not sure whether to be critical of this in a bout of silly Microsoft bashing. The reality is that this is a good thing and shows Microsoft's commitment to improving security, particularly as their platform is the worst affected by malicious software and contributed the most to 'zombie' machines and botnets. I think I will applaud. Thanks Microsoft, seriously.
Starting from January 11th, 2005, Microsoft will provide Windows customers with Malicious Software Removal Tools. New versions of these tools will be available monthly (second Tuesday of every month on the same schedule that Microsoft already delivers other security updates) or more frequently if necessary.
I am not sure whether to be critical of this in a bout of silly Microsoft bashing. The reality is that this is a good thing and shows Microsoft's commitment to improving security, particularly as their platform is the worst affected by malicious software and contributed the most to 'zombie' machines and botnets. I think I will applaud. Thanks Microsoft, seriously.
This is a bit late due to some unforseen circumstances. The report can be found here.
Continue reading "End of 2004 Progress Report"