USA's new visa waiver program: fuck privacy

Pardon my french, but this is exactly how it feels. Apparently the amount of control that US borders apply to foreign travellers were not enough and so all citizens of those countries for which no Visa was required (in which Portugal is included) are now required to request a pre-authorization to travel do the USA...starting today...

The pre-authorization is requested at this website, but the funny part is the privacy warning that you get once you enter it:


Besides not having any cancel button (as a possibility for you to "not agree" with these conditions) the warning clearly states that your privacy is not guaranteed and that any information that you enter there can be used by any US official in any means necessary.

How to protect against the newly-found WPA hack

Did you hear that the WiFi's WPA security protocol was cracked? A PhD candidate studying encryption has found an exploit in the WPA standard that would allow a hacker to "send bogus data to an unsuspecting WiFi client," completely compromising your WiFi security and opening your network to all sorts of hacking. That could mean that your WiFi network at home or at work is no longer secure...

But don't worry, it's easy to protect yourself against this new exploit. All you have to do is switch off Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) as an encryption mode, and use Advanced Encryption System (AES) only. TKIP is the only protocol that the hack applies to, so switching to AES-only will ensure that your Wi-Fi network is safe again.

Source: Lifehacker

How tough do you think your password is?

Creating a strong password to protect your private data is probably one of the most important aspects to keep your online data secure. But what is exactly a strong password? Well, with the lack of a better definition, a strong password is one that cannot be easily broken (that is, in a short amount of time) by a human or a software program employing brute-force techniques.

So, using your dog's name, your birthday date (even in reverse) or your wife's maiden name is never a good option as these would be the first attempts of an attacker. The best option is to use a meaningless word (that is not part of any dictionary) that includes numbers, special characters and has at least 8 characters.

To know exactly how strong a password is, you can always use an online brute force calculator (if you're not comfortable about placing those stats on an online form, you can always use an offline one). According to this calculator, one of my passwords (yes, another tip is to use different passwords for different accounts) is 12 characters long and has 8,224,573,620,224,000 combinations. That means that it will take 29,920.82 hours or 1,246.70 days to crack my password on a computer that tries 137,438,953,472 passwords per hour. This is based on a typical PC processor in 2008 and that the processor is under 10% load.

So, I guess I'm more or less safe... well, except if write my password on a piece of paper and then left it out in the open for everyone to see :-)

Source: Lifehacker
Image source

Anti-spyware software: the good and the bad

If I had a cent for each time somebody asks me what the best anti-spyware software is, I would have 15 cents. Ok, so not a lot of people ask me about that but it's still something that people are interested in. So, check out this nice post on which are the good anti-spyware softwares and which are bad.

The Internet unites against a XBox Thief

There's a lesson to be learned here: the Internet, whatever way you look at it, can be very powerful when people unite...so don't mess with it...

Source: College Pork

Mythbusters' RFID hack shut down by credit card companies

When TPTB knew about a new episode of the Mythbusters that was going to reveal the RFID hack that allows you to easily scan credit card information (while it is still on your wallet), they summoned their large army of lawyers who absolutely made it really clear to Discovery that they were not going to air the episode. And because Discovery is an ad-supported channel, obviously, they backed down.

Check out the report from one of the MB's team members:



Wouldn't it be great if, instead of using vast amounts of money to create an army of lawyers to keep consumers in the dark about this "glitch", the large credit card companies use that money to create more secure ways of payment?

Source: Engadget

If you think about it...it probably means something's wrong!

Retro-blogging: best posts of August 2007

And we're back! After a few days to get used to the new idea of being a Father, I'll try now to update the blog a little bit.

But for now, let's flashback to the blog's August last year's best posts:

• Download your next iPod
• 1 TB in one CD?
• Ever heard of a "mechanical virus"?
• How to send large files when your e-mail account says "NO"
• A nice MP3/CD Player concept
• A list of more than 450 freeware utilities
• Context-aware image resizing: the future of image displaying
• Power up your cellphone with your body heat
• A four-wheel segway??
  

A different kind of security system: paintball sentry gun

If you live in a rough neighborhood, you may want to install this "security system":



Source: Hacked Gadgets

Retro-blogging: best posts of July 2007

Previously, on The Tech In Me:

• Plants that phone when they need to be watered
• It's not the cellphones' fault
• The Wii Workout, at the gym!
• 15 years of SMS
• Vodafone says "no to 3G-less iPhone" - and now that a 3G version of the iPhone is available, iPhone has said yes :-)
  
• The ISPs won't tell on you
• The evolution of cellphones
• Avoid that cable clutter under your desk
  
• 500 GB in one DVD
• Technology can be used for the strangest things
• How to keep your Coke cold while at the computer
  

Finally, a search engine that we control

Wikia Search is a search engine that was inspired by the wiki-philosophy: you create, manage and enjoy the content. Basically, it's a search engine whose results are "brought" by the community itself.

So, while performing a search, if you don't like some of the results, just remove them. Or if you think that some other result should be added to a particular search, then add it. It's as simple as that. There's also a rating system that allows determining the order in which you would like to see results displayed in a search. And the good part is that these changes are not visible only by you. Your changes will reflect in everyone else's searches.

I guess that at the beginning this search engine will be somehow chaotic as everyone tries to "impose" their interpretation of search results, but as the community grows larger and larger, it's normal that we'll see an emerging effect that will bring more accurate results.

So, join in and start improving everyone's search results.

So, you thought your Bluetooth headset was secure?

More DIY videos at 5min.com

Skynet may actually be real

Doesn't this sound too familiar to Skynet? (If you don't know what Skynet is then maybe you should have a look at this, this, this and more recently at this).

My research revolves around artificial intelligence, but even this scares the hell out of me:

"Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics also known as SyNAPSE is the US military's attempt at creating an artificial intelligence, presumably to take over the function of human operators for unmanned land/aerial vehicles and to possibly be used to pilot future bombs (smart bombs on steroids)." (Source)

Yaicks! We're doomed! Sarah Connor was right after all :-)

Technology that works too well

This is the first time I hear about something that is going to be shut down because it works too well. The story is simple: In Dallas, the second largest city in the US state of Texas, the City Hall has decided to put up some cameras to capture images of drivers that would go though the red lights. The setup and maintenance of such system was quite expensive but the City Hall officials' idea was to fund the project with the fines that would be payed by drivers that were caught.

However, since the cameras work so well, every infraction was caught and soon drivers were no longer going through red lights, which in turn, undermined the funding of the project. So now the City Hall is considering stopping its planned rollout of more cameras, or shutting down the cameras on a rotating basis so as at least catch some infractions that could "save" the system.

The system that is meant to stop crime needs people to actually perform the infraction. Ironic, isn't it?

Source: Engadget

ATM + Microsoft Windows = Security Problem

I already suspected that using Windows on an ATM machine was not a good idea. But recent security tests proved that Windows-based cash machines are easily hacked.

Security experts have hacked ATMs to show how easy it is to steal money and bank account details from modern cash machines.

Network Box illustrated this threat by showing that only the personal identification number was encrypted when information was sent from a U.S. ATM to networked bank computers. The card numbers, card expiration dates, transaction amounts, and account balances were clearly readable in plain text to anybody intercepting the data as it traveled through the network.

Since ATM Machines are basically equivalent to desktop PCs (they usually are based on Intel hardware and Windows operating systems), they have the same vulnerabilities as a normal house computer. That is, an exploit that works on a home or office computer, will also work on these ATMs. In fact, the risk may even be greater as the update process of such machines may not be as frequent as in a normal user's computer.

Avoid Apple Remote's evil twins

If you're a teacher or have to do a lot of presentations using your mac, chances are that you already got stuck to a presentation that looks like it has been possessed by the devil, going back and forth in the slides and presenting other strange behaviors. But later on, you discover that this is only caused by a wise guy using another Apple Remote that is clicking the buttons to ruin your keynote.

To avoid these embarrassing moments (especially if you're doing a very important presentation to your boss or a client) you must "pair" your Apple Remote with your mac. To do so, follow these instructions:

1. Log in as an administrator user
2. Hold the remote close to the mac and press simultaneously the keys "Menu" and ">>|" (Fast-forward) for a few seconds
   
3. The screen will fade to black and an image with the remote and a chain link will appear, indicating that the Apple Remote is now paired to your mac

Later on, if you decide to turn off the pairing for a specific Apple Remote or if you want to disable remote controlling with the Apple Remote at all:

1. Log in as an administrator user
2. Go to "System Preferences"
3. Go to "Security"
4. On the bottom of the dialog you'll find the options you need
1. Mark "Disable remote control infrared receiver" to disable all contact between your mac and any Apple Remote
2. Or click the "Unpair" button to remove only the previously paired Apple Remote
   

Tip from MacTips

Crash Internet Explorer

WARNING: Internet Explorer users, do not click on the link that is provided on this post. It will crash your Internet Explorer...For REAL! You have been warned!!

If you really want to show your friends what a crappy browser Internet Explorer is (and what better alternatives are out there), then send them this link:

http://www.crashie.com/

This website uses a simple code to crash Internet Explorer. And what code might that be? Well, here it is:

<script>for(x in document.write){document.write(x);}</script>


Use with caution :-)

Windows on an ATM machine: is this really a good idea?

Having Windows running on machines that are supposed to be running flawlessly for a long, long time, might not be a good idea (as the BSOD in Frankfurt Airport shows).

Just this week, while I was browsing around for Christmas presents for the family in some shopping mall here in Portugal, I found this odd screen for an ATM machine:


Here's a magnification of the previous picture:

If you still can't read it, this is what it says:

"Windows NT could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEMHardware Profile\Last Know Good menu" (I don't know if this last word is actually "menu")

"You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows NT setup using the original Setup floppy disk or CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the firt screen to start repair."

Retro-Blogging: Best posts of October 2006

Previously on "The Tech In Me":

• Google Maps on your phone - How to view Google Maps on your cellphone
  
• New short-range wireless standard - Wibree was starting to get discussed
  
• Fading Windows with Jedi Concentrate - A nice application to help you concentrate on specific windows
  
• Multi-touch Interface Screens - The beginning of Perceptive Pixel
  
• Invisible Clothing - Futuristic clothing that allows you to stay invisible-ish
• Google Code Search - Search for millions of lines of code in C++, Java, PHP and other languages
• Google will buy YouTube? - when the rumours started
• Online Media Converter - Convert multimedia files between formats
• J2ME Polish - Java Mobile Programming made easy
• McDonald's and Coca-Cola's MP3 Players "play" malware - When two of the world's largest companies join together to bring malware to the world
• "GooTube" won't be the next Napster - Google's naive view of YouTube copyright problems
• A Trojan that keeps you safe from virus? - The world was shocked at this "benevolent virus"
• Wireless Internet for free on Lisbon's parks - Lisbon just got greener for the Internet Geeks
  

"Flight mode" is not good enough to avoid iPhone users getting arrested

It seems that some flight attendants are not very confortable on people using their iPhones during flights, even if on "flight mode". An iPhone user was detained for refusing to turn off his iPhone during a flight, because he was using it on "airplane mode", which restricts any communication features of the cellphone. He believed he wasn't breaking any rules because these special modes are created exactly to avoid that any harm is caused by the cellphone while it is being used on an airplane.

The problem lies on the fact that flight companies (and specially their employees, such as flight attendants) lack the knowledge that these special modes exist and do not cause any harm to the flight operation.

This reminds me of a little story that happened to me:

I travel quite a lot due to international conferences and project meetings and I never had any problems using devices on "flight mode" on airplanes.

Well, at least with flight attendants... The only problem I had, was actually a passenger that asked me if I had the time, and I showed her my cellphone (which was on "flight mode") and she started yelling (well, she was Italian, it was not yelling but you know how they can be quite volumous when talking :-) ): "You can't have your cellphone on. It's against the law".

I then spent 10 minutes telling her the difference between "flight mode" and normal mode and why the rules apply to the electric-magnetic fields and not the devices themselves, so it's okay to use the devices as long as the "communication features" are off. Soon enough she was asking me to check if her cellphone had that kind of functionality and if she could use on the flight :-)

I think the long talk with her didn't work, because every time the airplane reached some turbulence, she would give me that suspicious look to see if I was using the phone, kind of like she was saying: "it's your cellphone that's causing this turbulence!"

If it wasn't for my iPod and laptop I could have never survived the 25-hour flights to Hawai'i. Luckly, there's "flight mode" on devices :-)