Posts by RegW

Re: An unanswered question

Wot! Like a SCIS drive bad sector map?

Well isn't life just one big circle!

Re: Found a silver lining

When I first saw the suggestions, I looked into this and concluded KeePassXC was just a password manager. But you are right - it's there in the "Getting Started Guide" under "Database Operations" -> "Adding TOTP to an Entry".

The downside is that it has the opposite problem - its not available for phones! In theory if you can capture the original QR code then you could use it in combination with another authenticator app, but that seems painful.

Re: Not on FB

Nope.

Unfortunately I installed it once because it was the only video call app that my mother's funeral director would comtemplate. It wouldn't work without access to my contacts list, so I carefully deleted everyone before giving permission. Friends were aware within minutes that I had signed up, because (of course) my number was in their contacts, and FB published it to the world without my permission. "What? - I thought you said you would never use WhatsApp!"

I deleted it within minutes of the call, but the damage was done. Oh the shame of it.

Re: Define "intelligence".......so is the "artificial" kind really "intelligence"....

> (1) No fact checking on the HUGE "big data" databases which are used for training

I've got an idea, let's just check those facts ... tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Whirrrrrrr. Clunk.

No. It's OK. GPT-4 says it's all good.

We would probably never hear any such recording. President Trump is in talks with President Moreno "to explore new areas in trade, investment, and job creation".

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/joint-statement-president-united-states-president-republic-ecuador/

Re: You have (the right) to remain silent

I think we are all missing the point here. It's not about freedom of speech. This is about not doing something you told everyone you're not going to do (in your code of ethics).

However, on skimming though the document, it doesn't actually seem to prohibit what he is doing. It bands pressuring someone to vote a particular way or to contribute to a cause. You can't use company resources without running it past the legal department. You can't do politics on company time or expenses. You can't bribe a politician to win a contract.

So unless, I'm missing something, or Larry hasn't told his legal team - he is probably in the clear.

Re: C

Interesting. Yes the Java API that Oracle is claiming copyright ownership of, does indeed copy names and ideas from other places, including the C standard libraries.

I'm pretty sure I first encountered the C "index" function for finding a character in a string in 1985 in K&R (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language). I always thought it was poorly named. Java's version (called indexOf) is here: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/lang/String.html#indexOf-int- and works in exactly the same way - returning -1 if the character is not found.

I normally have GPS/location-services turned off and only turn it on when I want to use my choice of non-google maps software. When I do turn it on - my choice of GPS only location has been forgotten (again), and Google Play Services is the last app to have used location services (again).

Re: passwd

Under the company policy it would expire before I have finished typing it.

Re: My new business venture

I'll take all you've got for £8.75

Re: Oh no

I'm not sure I follow your argument.

Yes, it is your prerogative as an informed individual to not care which private details are collected about you and who they are shared with. But this is the reason why others might feel alarm.

And yes, cookies do make the web more useful. Although the role of governments in this story is that the outside organisation mentioned above, has found some government websites are riddled with cookies unrelated to their function. Making the web less useful by incompetently coding their own sites seems unlikely - but I could be wrong.

However, the bit I don't get is: why is your use of an ad blocker relevant? Especially as you seem to imply that ad tracking cookies make the web better.

Hmm. Doesn't seem to be open source and available on F-Droid like AFWall. Of course that's not a worry for everybody.

Re: Why?

Because obviously I want to use Linux for everything I do - but still need to have my movements tracked and recorded for in/security purposes.

Re: Lame name options IMHO

> Call it 'Joe', and you can keep the 'J' in every potentially affected acronym.

J0ee surely!

Re: Mail held overseas probably belongs to a non-US citizen

> If the US government starts using US companies to extend its jurisdiction to other countries ...

The article says:

> the messages can be accessed remotely from Google HQ in Mountain View, California, USA, so, basically, you can bet your ass it's under US jurisdiction.

Which would imply that it doesn't have to be a US company, just that the content is accessible from somewhere in the US. Of course, if this is deemed to be legal, then the opposite could also be assumed to be true. That content on servers within the US, which could be accessed from elsewhere (say Google's Moscow office), would be legally accessible in those jurisdictions.

Re: Why is this shocking?

> Please cite, as Google NEVER said that. If you actually believe that you need to unplug from the internet, as you are clearly too thick to use it.

OK, always like a challenge ...

> ... Always new ... You're always among the first to receive software and security updates ... And you'll have the freshest, fastest version ...

https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/nexus/5x/ (as of today).

Hmm. That wasn't much of a challenge.

Re: Ignorance is not bliss

Now I'm worried. I'm fine with the blue pill, but who is behind the curtain?

Re: Blessing

> Because the US government does not control the banks in the way China does, by a long shot. Roughly the same in Europe, really.

You assume that China is making its central bank do this. Which may be true, but wasn't stated in the article. However, the headline does seem to imply it.

I'm not sure whether it is the Federal Reserve or PBOC that you are likening to the various European central banks, but is theory they all play the same role. The central bank is supposedly independent, sets base rates and issues the money supply. So adopting a digital currency would seem to fit within the remit of the Peoples Bank of China, the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Danmarks Nationalbank, the European Central Bank, ... if they really wanted to do this.

Then yes, lending banks would probably feel forced to add it to all the other currencies they handle.

> I sometimes mute the sound when ads come on, since they obnoxiously increase the sound level to annoying levels.

Well that's one way for your ad blocker to know where to skip forward to :-)

Re: UK Scout Database

Would that be: "not a happy parent" ?

:-)

Re: "We've already siphoned off...

Hmmm, nice bone.

(quick, keep pumping)

"I guess none of these things are intrinsically bad, ..."

Until you discover that friend$ are matched up with their credit scores and the gaps filled in by association. You really shouldn't have friended that bloke who did a runner with the church collection.

Yes, I know you ticked the privacy option, but that doesn't apply to finance company who pays good money for the data set.

And yes, I know you don't believe this happens. I wouldn't have either until I talked to the developer whose was writing the code.

Re: Fines are fine

<quote>Jail is better.</quote>

Perhaps an IP address blockade would be more effective :-)

The French would have to learn to use TOR to get around it. But first they would need to find out how - without using Google. So they would need to use another search engine - bingo.

Re: TOR users beware the 'Enigma effect'.

... and Room 40 obviously.

Given that The Onion Router relies on the user encrypting the traffic for each node along the selected route, each node should be unaware of what lies beyond the next node. The dangers are:

+ the traffic leaving the exit node is transparent to the exit node if HTTPS hasn't been used.

+ that the complete series of selected nodes has been compromised, and your destination can be determined.

+ that your ISP or some agency detects you connecting to a TOR IP address and determines meaning from this.

+ that the encryption algorithms we use today have secretly been broken.

"You know Old Boy. We've got a load of those damned Enigma machines that we captured from the Jerries. The Germans swear by them, and I believe the Ruskis are giving them a go now. As a friendly power would you like a few? Got to keep those communications hush, hush - wink, wink - what, what?"

Re: @jeremy 3 (Um...)

I've read the permissions list and thought: "WTF are those?". You don't know what you are letting it do, so you let it pass. The alternative is to have no apps that do anything.

Re: User E%$^&#nce?

Yes - it is a bad sign. The correct term is 'UX', which is more properly baffling.