Hawking and Hertog call their theory ‘top-down’ cosmology, because instead of looking for some fundamental set of initial physical laws under which our Universe unfolded, it starts ‘at the top’, with what we see today, and works backwards to see what the initial set of possibilities might have been. In effect the present ’selects’ the past.
Free Linux Install Disks
13Jul06TheLinuxStore.ca has started a new project. A project that will give away free Linux disks of your favorite distribution (SUSE, Fedora, Mandriva, Gentoo, Debian, Knoppix). Have a look, give feedback, donate to the cause, and request a disk.
Cracking Windows Account Passwords
02Jul06Thought your Windows password was safe? Well, think again. As processors are getting faster and more powerful, password cracking is becoming much easier. Ophcrack is a free, open source hash cracker (similar to brute force cracking but uses precomputed tables). Ophcrack uses RainbowTables, an implementation of Philippe Oechslin’s faster time-memory trade-off technique, to compute hash tables and crack your password in about 30 minutes (depending on your processor).
How to Check for NSA Wire Taps
29Jun06If you’re a Windows user, fire up an MS-DOS command prompt. Now type tracert followed by the domain name of the website, e-mail host, VoIP switch, or whatever destination you’re interested in. Watch as the program spits out your route, line by line.
[code]
C:\> tracert nsa.gov
1 2 ms 2 ms 2 ms 12.110.110.204
[...]
7 11 ms 14 ms 10 ms as-0-0.bbr2.SanJose1.Level3.net [64.159.0.218]
8 13 12 19 ms ae-23-56.car3.SanJose1.Level3.net [4.68.123.173]
9 18 ms 16 ms 16 ms 192.205.33.17
10 88 ms 92 ms 91 ms tbr2-p012201.sffca.ip.att.net [12.123.13.186]
11 88 ms 90 ms 88 ms tbr1-cl2.sl9mo.ip.att.net [12.122.10.41]
12 89 ms 97 ms 89 ms tbr1-cl4.wswdc.ip.att.net [12.122.10.29]
13 89 ms 88 ms 88 ms ar2-a3120s6.wswdc.ip.att.net [12.123.8.65]
14 102 ms 93 ms 112 ms 12.127.209.214
15 94 ms 94 ms 93 ms 12.110.110.13
16 * * *
17 * * *
18 * *
[/code]
In the above example provided by Wired News, traffic is jumping from Level 3 Communications to AT&T’s network in San Francisco, presumably over the OC-48 circuit that AT&T tapped on February 20th, 2003, according to the Klein docs.
The magic string you’re looking for is sffca.ip.att.net. If it’s present immediately above or below a non-att.net entry, then — by Klein’s allegations — your packets are being copied into room 641A, and from there, illegally, to the NSA.
Welcome to my weBlog
20Jun06For those of you who are unfamiliar with the origin of the word “blog”, I find it appropriate to borrow this quote from Wikipedia,
A weblog, which is usually shortened to blog, is a website where regular entries are made and presented in reverse chronological order. Blogs often offer commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news.
For the time being, my blog will function as a log of interesting information and personal experiences. My postings will be mostly inspired from social media outlets, such as Digg.com and del.icio.us.
eBay Bans Google Checkout
06Jul06According to a recent article from auctionBytes,
From eBay’s standpoint, eBay is probably fulfilling a duty to maximize their shareholder’s wealth. Blocking Google seems to be a logical step to ensure marketplace dominance. So, why shouldn’t eBay be allowed to block Google?
The answer is simple: eBay’s unchecked control hurts consumers. Instead of making the auction experience better for the online community, eBay is only looking out for eBay. Instead of embracing choice and welcoming competition, eBay seeks absolute power. Here’s a reality check, eBay: You can’t quash Google. More importantly, depriving consumers of meaningful choice only plants seeds of backlash.
But, eBay probably enjoys their absolute control over the auction experience. Right now, eBay capriciously suspends users’ auction accounts and PayPal accounts without any explanation. With a marketplace competitor, eBay would actually need to provide real customer service and develop equitable business policies. But, why compete when you can just ban anyone in your path?
Smaller online payment processors, such as StormPay, have been unable to raise sufficient capital to challenge eBay’s monopolistic tactics. Google, who’s motto has always been Do No Evil, will hopefully step up to the plate and put eBay in its place. If such a day does arrive, it will truly be a victory for the consumer.