* Posts by Brian Miller

89 publicly visible posts • joined 3 Jul 2007

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Street View nod prompts call for privacy watchdog reform

Brian Miller

what about phorm?

Where exactly did they enforce the law when it came to the phorm case??

What a bunch of tossers. Liars and cheats living off of OUR tax money. If they aren't linked to the government why do WE pay their salaries.

Fuckers.

Doubt cast over ContactPoint security assurances

Brian Miller
Paris Hilton

£5k per child in the first year

So this is going to cost the government £5k roughly per child in the first year alone.

How much more money are the people of this god forsaken country going to allow this criminal organization (unelected government) squander.

Darling banks on offshoring to save UK plc

Brian Miller
IT Angle

How about..

The government switching to free open source software like I believe Norway already has. I still find it amazing that government and military IT is based around windows and office proprietary software.

Did they look at the market and go, hmmm, which is the most expensive?

Really this government is all about lining the pockets of the rich and fucking over the poor. Some things never change eh?

McKinsey: Adopt the cloud, lose money

Brian Miller
Paris Hilton

Heed

I think that you want people to pay HEED to this consultant, otherwise his wife may get a bit upset.

Third e-bike to line up for 'zero-emission' TT sprint

Brian Miller
Thumb Down

Really whats the point?

125cc bikes can go over 70mph (like a lot over). get 100mpg or so and can be bought new for £2600. They have a range of over 100 miles. They tend to look cool, and road tax is like £15 a year, insurance for old hands is ~ £70 a year.

Tell me where there is a useful improvement that I should spend 3-4 times the cost for inferior performance to a little tiny 125cc.

Charge at home I presume? Seeing as there aren't that many filling stations that will let your plug in. I am so pissed off that they canceled the real TT race. I only got my big bike license last year and now it's bloody gone.

I hope that the few journo's and misguided engineers that have put there efforts into pre-mature tech with no real possibility to compete successfully, really enjoy their time at the empty inns hotels and bars that will see no action this year.

Dell pipelines Adamo netbook?

Brian Miller

Link incorrect

The Adamo link at the top goes to a phone review. I was going to check it out because I like the look in the photo of the adamo....

Supercar maker pitches 'leccy sportster with stunning spec

Brian Miller

Flow batteries are a good idea.

These are batteries where you change the electrolytes out with freshly charged stuff.

The trick would be to empty the existing depleted electrolytes at the same time as filling it with excited stuff.

I have forseen this tech making in-roads in the auto market (pun intended). It is the way people are used to filling their cars anyway with liquids. This time you just have to dump and fill.

I doubt very much that it is charged in the conventional way. The stations would collect the depleted stuff en masse and charge it with an industrial charging installation.

The clue to the fact these are flow batteries are that the batteries have unlimited charge cycles. You just can't do that to batteries without replacing the chemicals in them.

Virgin Media trials longer bandwidth throttling

Brian Miller
Stop

Tricky PR Maths whizzes

By only throttling the top 5% at any one time that means...

top 5% throttled at earliest time say 10a.m

This means that there are now a completely different top 5% of users from 10 a.m

Say they get throttled at 10:30. Now we have the Top 5% of people that were originally only in the top 85% of "resource hoggers"

by 12 noon they could easily have throttled 80-90% of there clients as each were at some point in the top 5%.

Rip-Off Britain. Eternal state of Britishness = Getting bummed by Da Man

Internet security suites fail to block exploits

Brian Miller

Screw you all

I said... "Face it. There is no way to keep a non-technical (read that idiot) person secure online. And those that have even a semblance of a clue about keeping their PC's secure wouldn't trust a single program or suite to keep them secure. The USER keeps themselves secure."

In my previous post. Now some people may think they have got magic beans that can stop an idiot user from stumbling into trouble. I bet most those who have poo-pooed my comment work in the "security" business.

Just to show how quickly they judge, AVG has scheduled updates and ALL of the software I mentioned has at least 1 COMPLETELY free version NOT TRIALS. I have been running my work PC for over 2 years and have not had any infections. Others in my work have, quite a few others actually. The browser you choose and the layers of defences you have DO matter.

Take my "twaddle and shove it up your arse" as a great man once said.

Brian Miller
Stop

A fool and his money....

They are using SP2 of XP and IE as the browser that is targeted.

I have my firewall block IE as a matter of course. Also, XP SP2 minus some patches. They don't specify which patches are omitted from their test setup.

This is a poorly implemented study, leaving the reader to guess what test configuration was used.

I have to assume that only on esingle security "suite" was installed at any one time. This leaves no scope for supplemental protection.

Trying to attack a PC running AVG, Spybot S&D, and Outpost Firewall through a Firefox with no-script and adblock would make for a more realistic test platform to see if these all free defenses could successfully keep a computer secure.

Spybot S&D is especially relevant as it has "immunisation" to patch known vulns. Also it's teatimer and resident shield keep any harmful chanes from occuring without explicit permission.

Face it. There is no way to keep a non-technical (read that idiot) person secure online. And those that have even a semblance of a clue about keeping their PC's secure wouldn't trust a single program or suite to keep them secure. The USER keeps themselves secure.

Google demanding Intel's hottest chips?

Brian Miller

@ Anton Ivan itchianus

Thermal throttling kicks in at around 100 degC. CPU's are usually specced to run @ around 70-80degC

Running them @ 75-85 therefore would not see them reaching the limit for thermal throttling.

I have my q6600 clocked @3.4GHz per core running @70degC under prime95. (100% load) The latest generation of CPU's are much more robust than previous generations. My old athlon would start copping out @ around 55-60 C.

I am in fact suprised that intel doesn't sell this point more.

Ten of the Best... iPod rivals

Brian Miller
Alert

Why on earth???

Would anyone pay an extra £65 for 6 GB extra storage when the device can take a bigger cheaper microSD card.

I am speaking in reference to the pricing structure of the No.1 editors choice.

Rhetorical.

Group Test: Wireless music streamers

Brian Miller
Thumb Down

Aren't these technically a violation of copyright?

After all it is making available to others. If they have a receiver and live close enough they could pick up your transmissions and GOD FORBID copy it onto a cassette tape, then encode it to FLAC (sarcasm).

Honestly though, surely there is a legal question about these devices. They duplicate the copyrighted works don't they. And transmit them to all and sundry.

Bloody Freetards, paying lots of money to make available copyrighted works. I think that you all should pay the artists, no the music labels on a per listen basis.

(....paytard)

Boffins calculate true speed of 'Lightning' Bolt

Brian Miller
Joke

Lightning in vacuum

Even if we regard lightning simply as an electrical arc, which CAN exist in a vacuum, as opposed to the classic lightning generated by moving AIR AND WATER VAPOUR (required). Asking what the velocity is truly stumps the answerer. Velocity is a vector measurement which can only confuse things. To cap it all off you haven't been specific as to whether you are looking for the maximum, minimum or average speed.

So in all honesty I CAN give you an accurate velocity. 0 m/s @ 0-2pi rads in x,y and z.

Where this is the minimum value @ t=0.

Someone else can fill in the blanks. I win.

CookieMonster nabs user creds from secure sites

Brian Miller

RBS fail...ish

Royal bank of scotland fails for the login but now requires the use of crazy encrypto calc to do any sort of transfers outside of your own accounts.

So, someone could come in and transfer money between my own accounts, but would not be able to set up direct debits, transfer to someone else's account etc.

Not great, but at least its something. Just in time too. This is brand new,

Brit trio convicted for liquid bomb terror plot

Brian Miller
Go

Glycerine, Nitric Acid and Sulphuric acid

Thats all you need.

None of the above are restricted substances. No need to worry about a detonator, because its so unstable that a temperature change of +/-1 degC can detonate it once its mixed (nitro glycerine). Shaking the bottle vigourously would do the trick.

It would be suicide for sure. but then agian, detonating a bomb on a plane thats flying IS already suicide.

My chemistry teacher is a good man who warned me not to try to make the stuff at home when I was a teen. He even tried to get permission to make thermite and demonstrate it to the class. He didn't get permission but he tried.

Anyway, there is an equally good point to be made about thermite. Rust and aluminium powder. That's all. Light up a magnesium strip and dunk into powder mix. POOF melt all the way through the fuselage.

I think they should ban all make up powders on flights too. Could be dangerous. Also, all synthetic fabrics and cotton fabrics, hell just ban clothes. Too many places to hide things.

If we want to get to the root of the problem just ban people from flights. They can be dangerous, even unarmed. Especially those martial arts types. Definitely need to ban ex-servicemen, all oriental peoples, ex-policemen, instructors, students.

I KNOW!! just let politicians fly. that'll keep us all safe.

Joost ditches P2P client for the web

Brian Miller
Pirate

They should fill the gap

left by stage6.

They just need to allow users to upload content at a good quality like stage6 did.

Then they are competing with youtube etc. They don't create or license content, just facilitate video sharing.

This way they can set up some ineffective policies for getting take down notices served. i.e. have the studios send proof of identity and copies of their documents that prove they hold the licenses for various content. NO electronic copies thanks. originals only, they will be returned within 3 months. These must be sent for each takedown request.

Thank you for your time......

AMD to spin off fabs, claims analyst

Brian Miller
Thumb Down

what a bunch of pap

They will lose the only competitive advantage that they have over intel.

The ability control the pricing on it's chips.

What is going to motivate these fabs to perfect the newer processes for optimal yields of AMD specific designs.

I understand GPU's getting farmed out because they are always at least a generation behind CPU's (usually) in terms of fabriaction processes. The design and fabrication of CPU's are not independant processes. Iterations of design should take into consideration the existing limitations of fabrication and adjust accordingly.

Without access to the fabs and people "on the ground" there then they will lose touch of these limitations and suffer.

Nokia starts to ship N96

Brian Miller

THIS PHONE SOUNDS GREAT

Unfortunately i have to wait a year or so before my next upgrade, but it seems like nokia have listened to what people are wanting.

It is just a shame that they never made a phone that could stream from stage6 while it existed.

I temporarily saw a beautiful future for entertainment on the move. Then it was snatched away.

Let's face it, stage6 was the brightest possible future. Now we have kontiki and 4OD and iPlayer. gee....

Anyway. Nice feature set on this baby.

Imagine carrying around 48GB (16 internal + 32 on card) of flash in your pocket. Who needs an eeePC.

I think that someone should start manufacturing phone docking stations that have a 7-10" screen, usable keyboard + mouse, and a charger built in. Plug in the phone for browsing/email etc. save from having to carry loads of crap around.

Sell them to cafes, individuals, trains. then you only have to take your tiny pocket friendly phone everywhere, and plug in at the place you are travelling in/to.

Data watchdogs did not want to see eBay bank server

Brian Miller
Alert

Flaming AC

Some people are dumb, look in the mirror, and look at your spelling.

Sony Ericsson delays Windows phone to Jan 09

Brian Miller
Stop

Why Eddie WHY??

Combining the two most proprietary technology companies, microsoft and sony.

Even the iphone looks like a better deal, and that is terrible.

What have you done for me lately Eddie?

Tosh on top for laptop reliability

Brian Miller
Pirate

I'm not surprised

My toshiba Satellite M40 has an elegant design. It's CPU is highly accessible, 1 screw to access. Heatpipe/heatsink is easily removed, pure copper and integrates with the airflow from the NB cooler.

So, I have dropped in a pentium m 1.73Ghz chip (@533MHz FSB) and overclocked the crap out of it @ stock volts. (2.52GHz ROCK SOLID STABLE 55degC @ FULL LOAD). I have also OC'd the integrated GPU @ 400MHz core (up from 300). Again, stock voltage no artifacts, stable as a maglev train.

This shows the quality of the design and components used.

Customer satisfaction is another story. After registering with toshiba and contacting them about the possibility of upgrading the CPU they responded with an outright LIE. They claim that it is impossible to change the CPU on the laptop due to Intels's manufacturing process. They then forwarded on a copy of the packaging process that CPU dies go through BEFORE sale. i.e. integrating the die to the ziff plug.

Anyway, I have heard of other people being outright lied to by toshiba customer service. They are morally corrupt, but they make a mean laptop.

Hackintosh maker bites back at Apple

Brian Miller
Jobs Horns

Does anyone remember???

Safari for windows being pushed out with their itunes update a few months ago.

It had a EULA that said it could only be installed on apple hardware.

So, in essence what a lot of complete d!ckwads are saying is that it is ok for apple to make all itunes updaters (some many millions of people I imagine) petty criminals, but it is not ok for someone else to do what they do.

If Apple is happy to distribute their software onto Windows PC's under a license stating that it is installed on apple branded hardware, then I have to assume that ALL windows PC's are now apple branded hardware by their definitions.

After all its all the same hardware underneath the case. INTEL cpu's NVidia/Radeon GFX, etc etc. SAME STUFF as any PC.

I hope that psistar fux them up in court.

Million bank details sold on eBay

Brian Miller

So does that mean that they are safe??

If the winner has openly proclaimed that he has the data, does that mean this time it is safe from being used for malicious purposes?

I hope so, cause if my account gets snaffled into, I will be looking around for this Andrew character.

I bank with RBS so they better damn well tell me if mine were included.

Royal Navy plans world's first running-jump jet

Brian Miller

Reverse Thrust???

I know that these planes have thrust vectoring, but do they have a reverse thrust capability. This would solve the overshoot problem mostly.

I would also like to say that in the event that you are dealing with a lot of planes at one time, most likely they will not be returning with weapons, or at all.

Like when they are fighting/intercepting/bombing etc.

Intel Classmate PC turns tablet

Brian Miller

Atom an upgrade????

From what I have seen a celeron m 900MHz still wollops the atom 1.6Ghz in terms of performance.

The atom's really clocks are very misleading in terms of performance.

'Malvertizement' epidemic visits house of Newsweek.com

Brian Miller

Our company has fallen

At least three of our users have gotten various malware from exactly this.

I just recommended the Adblock + and Noscript add-ons for firefox, but unfortunately only the technically aware use firefox habitually.

Fingers crossed this will learn 'em good.

Fringe box office system provider goes titsup

Brian Miller
Thumb Up

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

LOL ROFL CHORTLE.

Take that trusting clients. Sue our non-existant company after all the kerching has been embezzeled out by the fatcats on top.

These comanies are really learning from the current Labour administration how to get there desserts.

LOL.......

Nice one. That made my day.

16-card GPU bangs-per-buck mega shoot out

Brian Miller
Unhappy

+ 1 for 3dmark issue

While the results are pretty much how it stands, only using 3dmark06 is a bit of a fob off.

Also, seeing as the new king is in town, where is the 4870x2 R700 GPU. eh??

I think an update is in order.

At least you only have to run a single test.

BT slams bandwidth brakes on all subscribers

Brian Miller

BE unlimited

If you are lucky enough to be near one of their exchanges I highly recommend BE internet.

BT suck. They assigned the same IP to my mums business as someone else. It took them 2 weeks to find the fault, and her contract says that because she pays through the nose for a business line she should get connected within 3 days. They tried to convince her it was her config and equipment at fault. THEY can't even spot an IP conflict on their network.

and then there is the phorm crap. DON'T USE BT.

Why flying cars are better than electric ones

Brian Miller
Flame

Crap Crap and Crap on top

@Mark "200mph minimum?"

Crap (how many glider air frames have you seen that could survive at this speed? 0)

"You'll need ILS or similar to get them to land the same direction."

Crap. What about landing them 1 way on one side and another on the other side. Colour coded, with lights. Kinda like we have on roads. Also at lower speeds SIGHT is usually a good indicator if someone is approaching the wrong way, mandatory GPS system could help to mark other air users too, or a centralised RADAR station that feeds data to all in range. NO technological obstacles.

"A stationary electric car uses whatever number of watts you're expending on the radio, AC and lights. So the stationary traffic is a load of bollocks too."

True, but CRAP argument. When MOVING which is their job they do not have the efficiency when penciling in the energy cost to build the roads into remote locations, not drive as the crow flies etc as mentioned in the article.

@ B.B.

"Think of an automated taxi."

Crap. How do you get it to pull over when you need to pee. where are they parked, how do they get to you in the first place, or do they travel until hailed? not very efficient in that case. Stil no crow flying direct travel.

"They can daisychain on motorways........"

Crap. And how do they respond to little Timmy running in front of the PRICT's. It stops them ALL, or mows him down with no regard. IF they cannot due to the laws of physics stop do they try anyway to limit the damage done? Technology has no answer yet.

"Move the jobs nearer the people (ie. get your companies out of the cities) which would help reduce emissions AND costs for most companies. Not only that but us workers would not have to waste 3 hours every day travelling in and out of a stinking, noisy, overcrowded city."

GRAND FINALE CRAP. Nearer the PEOPLE, OUT of the CITIES????? Heres is a clue, though I am sure you will just stick it up your arse. PEOPLE LIVE IN CITIES YOU FUCKWAD. I am glad you spend 3 hours a day driving to work, it keeps you away from SANE PEOPLE.

US scientist commits suicide as Feds prep anthrax charges

Brian Miller
Black Helicopters

I smell a rat

This poor fool was probably killed by the good ol' US of A government after he helped them spread fear and panic amongst the population. They realised that they didn't do a good enough job on the scapegoat, so were going to rat him in for being their rat.

They realised he might use the excuse "but the secret services made me do it". So decided on the next best thing to stringing him up in front of the nation. Kill him in a suicide setup, which leads the public to assume he was guilty.

All's fair in love and the war on terrorism.

Same Shit, Different Day.

Eye of newt: Inside Google's AdWords auction

Brian Miller
Stop

@James Butler...

You say...

"Google is where they are because they make the best product of its kind on the planet. They do not and can not "police what people read on the internet"

If you look at examples of Googles behaviour in china, I think you will easily stumble across the evidence that would contradict this statement.

How about changing the meaning of words and figures of speech, such as the 2nd Superpower example here on the reg.

I don't hate google, but I do feel like their dominance is not so friendly. I only hope they don't become in any way shape or form like Microsoft.

It's official: Samsung shows off i8510 8mp cameraphone

Brian Miller

@dervheid

It is likely that the memory controller of the U600 was not the higher capacity higher speed type. If it only supports up to 4 Gb then you know this is the case. The problem with SD cards is that they are based on more than 1 standard.

You must check thoroughly whats what with them.

more info @

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card#Technical_explanation

I know wiki crap but still handy info

Brian Miller

The speed is due to crappy flash

A lot of people go out there and buy the cheapest flash cards possible. Little do they realise that this can SEVERELY hamper the features of the phone, like taking photos or in any other way writing,reading or copying from the memory.

My sister showed me this with her N95. crappy memory makes it REALLY SLOW to write to the memory hence you press the button and wait, and wait for it.......... there we go, nice blurry photo.

Try getting some decent flash memory that is 3-4 times the speed of the crappy cheap stuff if you want to be able to use you camera.

Edinburgh Fringe ticketing chaos continues

Brian Miller
Alert

Morons

Why on earth are they printing tickets on a JIT system. There is not much wastage to save and it limits the rate that orders can be processed.

They should have started printing tickets for each and every show, and filed them away. When an order comes in someone goes to the file with that shows tickets, puts it in the envelope and sends it away, when that file has been emptied print another batch.

They KNOW the show schedule. They KNOW the Venues capacity. They know the average seat fills and the likely to sell-out shows. With all of this information they could have put it to some good use.

I am not suggesting they print ALL the tickets for ALL the shows. but maybe 10% batch of each show, and 50% batches for the most likely to be popular.

Anyway, I buy on the night anyway at the ticket office so I am not fussed. Just awed by their stupidity

Oz censor, gamers fall out over Fallout 3 ban

Brian Miller
Go

Pip Boy

I have already pre-ordered my survival edition on the amazon USA site.

You get the coolest watch ever in the form of a Pip Boy. Strictly limited numbers.

Fallout 3 is going to be GREAT!!!

I am re-playing fallout 2 just now. Poor Ozzies. Surely if they let Fallout 2 be released they have no reason to stop the release of fallout 3?

or is it because Jet, Mentabs, and Psycho aren't real drugs, just made up? they are close parallels with Ectasy, Speed and PCP.

Stimpacks might even be consisdered to be Cocaine??

I suppose Bethesda could just rename the morphine, how about Pain-away, or Nullhurt. Then they could slide it right on in to Oz.

HP demonstrates mega-memory concept

Brian Miller
Alert

Mandroids

While it seems to fit the bill quite nicely, it is more than the electrical properties of a silicon based circuitry that make it workable. 100 G impact withstanding means that it can be used in a rugged fashion.

It is hard to tell if this technology will be able to match ALL the properties we are now used to. Is it pocket worthy is what I am getting at.

If so though I enjoy the thought of great leaps of advancement in tech as much as the next man. It could record all your brain and you could live on inside a mandroid / womandroid suit.

All those poor suckers who jumped the gun with cryostasis. poor forgotten souls. We may NEVER forget. which could actually be the problem with my suggestion.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 280

Brian Miller

Crysis, Radeon's and dx 10.1

Heres my £0.02.

Crysis plays funny buggers whenever you run it in dx10 mode which I am pretty much certain they did. I think the reg should really give the test setup (i.e. OS, running processes etc.) to be sure they show a fair race. It would be easy to adulter results by running one is XP and one in Vista, or running prime95 while benchmarking or something (if you want it to appear crippled).

This review is an Nvidia piece, and the reg has never really been one to mix and match brands when doing a review, just look at the robodisk one from today. I think it is a fair approach because the target reader normally knows whats what, and if not they will ALWAYS be informed by peoples comments.

dx 10.1 along with dx10 is a lame duck. Firstly because enthusiast gamers that will pay £££ or $$$ for graphics cards predominantly run windows XP.

Think about it, if you are gonna pay a %200 premium for a %10 performance boost, then getting another 4-5 FPS for a free downgrade (misgnomer) to windows XP from Vista is a cinch, and seeing that windows XP will never get dx10 you will have to wait until win7 comes about before adoption rates will pick up, and this will likely be dx11 anyway.

Feel free to differ in opinion but if you do beware, your just plain wrong and likely stupid.

Criminal record checks: More often wrong than right

Brian Miller

So Scotland is less accurate still?

As only 0.02% of the cases were disputed down south and 0.036% in scotland.

That makes them nearly twice as innaccurate. However I very much doubt that is the case. I would guess that many of the disputes are misguided perhaps?

Anyway, if you've nothing to hide, you've nothing to fear... ;)

LOL, only yoking, Everybody has something to fear.

Microsoft prices services for the email-poor

Brian Miller
Gates Halo

Re: the difference

Are you implying that people in the business world just accept that Microsoft causes problems and cost overruns? and that if you researched more when making your software decisions and chose a competitor that is 500% less likely to fail and presented these facts to your boss you are more likely to get fired, then going "its microsofts fault".

Your off your tree mate.

In case you are wondering about my maths its actually simple. 0.01% downtime is 1/5th 0.05% downtime.

You work for Microsoft??? or at least are dependant on selling stuff made by them.

Its easy to explain to customers that Microsoft is bloated overpriced resource hungry unreliable piece of crapware.

Just let them read BIll Gates' Email about windows XP.

http://gizmodo.com/5019516/classic-clips-bill-gates-chews-out-microsoft-over-xp

Bill Angel, as at least he says it how it is.

Cyber B52 strikes mooted as response to Chinese infowar

Brian Miller
Thumb Up

So if they take utilities out...

How do they continue the attack without POWERED network infrastructure. OK maybe the big boys have a UPS. how long will they last?

In other scaremongering articles I have pointed out that almost ALL utilities have the ability to be run purely locally (off network), with some help of the humble telephone, or if they are down too then HAM radio enthusiasts might finally have their day as heroes.

This article is absolutly a breath of fresh air. Other articles on the use of SCADA to infiltrate utilities is a lame duck.

German government approves plod-spyware law

Brian Miller
Alert

What happens?

What if someone were to forward that trojan containing email across germany's border to their lawyer/family/friend etc?

What if someone who gets sent this trojan has their email hacked and the trojan is maliciously spread worldwide?

This sounds like a VERY slippery slope indeed. Will this bring on WWIII. Maybe. I can't see the Russian and Chinese (or insert any countries) military being particularly impressed when they discover that their systems have been infected/monitered by the Germans.

I don't think its worth the risk Herr Fritz.

Apple store detains teens for installing iPhone game

Brian Miller
Linux

Trespassing

Only in america is trespassing a crime. Technically there is no trespassing laws in the UK. There is a thing called "Ramblers Rights" which allows the public to go onto private property provided they do not damage, vandalise or otherwise devalue property. However businesses can refuse entry to people for no reason whatsoever (so long as they claim it is not based on race, disability etc.) It is also illegal to be on business premises after hours without prior consent of reasonable cause.

Seems a bit confusing eh? My mother got let off on parking in a private car park (lots of tickets) using the ramblers rights arguement, however I was arrested on christmas day on a safeways multi-story car park with my new skateboard when i was 16.

In the UK it is easy for a business to ban people from their premises, however by no means can they force you off the premises unless they have a licensed "bouncer". They must wait for the police to come and eject you.

In the states it depends which state you are in, for example I believe in texas you can shoot any trespasser on your property with impunity. I don't think you could get away with that in california or some other civilised state.

Hope this clears a couple of things up.

Electrical grid overlords take drubbing over cyber attack vulnerability

Brian Miller
Dead Vulture

My apologies

That link shows that the largest GT in the world is in fact 340MW. I was wondering how a 1.2GW GT could hold together under such huge forces. It can't it would appear, but my mistake in previous post stating 150MW.

Brian Miller
Linux

Worlds largest gas turbine

AC,

Please see link below stating that the largest Gas Turbine in the world is in fact 150MW

http://w1.siemens.com/innovation/en/publikationen/publications_pof/pof_fall_2007/materials_for_the_environment/world_s_largest_gas_turbine.htm

The article, if you read it properly attempts to attribute the lack of security to the SCADA systems primarily. I am merely pointing out that in fact these SCADA systems are not particularly vulnerable to the most common attacks by way of actually damaging the fundemental power generation machinery, just the scada terminal itself.

Couple this with the fact that the low level control can be very easily isolated from any network and continue to produce power and you see that this story is quite heavy on the hype, but thin on the danger.

The "higher level" of control matching demand can actually be achieved easily over the phone between the grid and individual plants. As happens in many parts of the world. ( I work all over the world, not just the UK/USA.)

A lot of power stations also have black start capability so even if the grid was down in its entirety it is still possible to restart quite readily, with just local control (maybe an hour or 2 depending on size and complexity of the plant (coal,/gas), except perhaps nuclear stations of which I have no experience).

I am not questioning your knowledge which may well be in advance of my own, but in relation to this story I believe it is just another attempt to scaremonger people into submission and spending on "security". (Does security actually exist anywhere ever?)

Brian Miller
Boffin

Ok its not exactly rocket science

But I still reckon it takes someone with background knowledge of the specific system. Fundementally the control is still performed by a PLC or similar device local to the generation equipment. Even if the entire SCADA system was brought crashing down and IF this were to cause a shutdown of the turbine (which it would not in all cases) it would take maybe 5 mins to bring it back up isolated from any network.

The real danger would be if a hacker with sufficient knowledge gained access to the PLC's internal program and enabled I/O forcing or started deleting/disabling rungs of logic. This could lead to the destruction of equipment in the field (some of these turbines I have seen are about 120 MW, which would leave a substantial hole/blast area). Anyway I stand by my statement that an attack on these systems would be traceable relatively easily. And most of the people that could do something like this, wouldn't.

Brian Miller
Dead Vulture

Actually its very rare

I am a Controls and Instrumentation engineer for Gas turbines, and we do Scada interfaces quite often. I personally have never seen a control system directly connected to the internet. They are connected to a plant network that may or may not have a internet connection, most often the protocols for communicating to the scada are proprietary and as such would require the theorectical hacker to have the specific scada package used at the plant installed (these cost thousands, and would be diffcult to find on bittorrent etc). These packages would also have to be configured correctly and have the control program, or at least the tag database to be able to do anything at all. A ddos would be ineffective unless it brought the internal network down too. So it would be possible to shut down the remote interface over the network, however this would not shut down the turbine itself as in the event that the connection is lost to the remote interface the local control cab would take over.

I am not saying it is impossible but it is not nearly as easy as it may sound. The chances are that the only people that would be able to do anything dangerous would be the manufacturers or operators of the control system. All of which would have their name written all over the attack. So, only a complete fool or someone under incredible duress (being tortured to do it) would even try.

Microsoft's 'Vista Capable' appeal thrown out

Brian Miller
Thumb Down

We seem to have

A lot of people on here that are obviously on microsofts books. I am so disillusioned with the world right now that I would not believe anyone who thinks that the gov, and big corps. don't hire people just to sit and blogspin all over the most popular internet news/blogs.

I can only hope that their brazen faced half-truths, coddleswallup, and damn lies affect their personal lives to the point that they are driven to suicide or better, honesty.

YOU SUCK. (you know who you are, and you are filling the world with hate.)

Botanist sues to stop CERN hurling Earth into parallel universe

Brian Miller
Linux

This case will be thrown out

Suprise!

Its called prior restraint. Even if he could prove that these things will happen they can't be stopped until they actually make an attempt, by which time its too late anyway.

Its the way of law. he should be aware as well that nuclear blasts that have already taken place have probably unleashed similar levels of energy in the proton collisions associated with them, and the earth still exists (for now).

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