Evil Bit

This is an old April Fool's joke, but I wanted write the post, so I could easily find it later.

The Security Flag in the IPv4 Header

Request for Comments: 3514

RFC 3514          The Security Flag in the IPv4 Header      1 April 2003


   The bit field is laid out as follows:

             0
            +-+
            |E|
            +-+

   Currently-assigned values are defined as follows:

   0x0  If the bit is set to 0, the packet has no evil intent.  Hosts,
        network elements, etc., SHOULD assume that the packet is
        harmless, and SHOULD NOT take any defensive measures.  (We note
        that this part of the spec is already implemented by many common
        desktop operating systems.)

   0x1  If the bit is set to 1, the packet has evil intent.  Secure
        systems SHOULD try to defend themselves against such packets.
        Insecure systems MAY chose to crash, be penetrated, etc.

Technology

On the one hand, you'd think they'd have something nicer. On the other, I appreciate a company being frugal.

Just visited the WOW! Cable offices. Their lobby setup includes a VHS player and a CRT television. #cuttingedge pic.twitter.com/tdKMOfqJ6C
— Lone Nut (@LoneNutVolFan) December 12, 2014

Stealing This

"I started reading the internet, and I just couldn't put it down!"

Stolen from Althouse

Anonabox - Poof!

And Kickstarter has killed the anonabox Tor router.

Routers

As is often the case, life seems to work in themes... since I've talking about the CWNP, I see a couple of articles about routers.

The first is a primer for buying a new router for your home.

[[[ UPDATE: Check out this reddit thread about the anonabox ]]]

Second is anonabox : a Tor hardware router:

"The anonabox easily encrypts Internet usage with a simple device that secures all web traffic, not just the traffic coming from one program. No software to download or configure, no login credentials, no registration, just plug it in and your network connection is encrypted. The anonabox also allows people to use programs over Tor that never supported it before or required complicated configuration like Skype, Safari and Filezilla, to name just a few. Also the default firewall configuration protects your computer or network from outside access."

Facebook Data

So the autoplay videos are eating up people's data plans. Rumor has it that at one local university, Facebook downloads are second only to the bandwidth used by Netflix. It's sneaky because you think you just loading "a page."

Job Search Site Feature

One of the most annoying things about the job search boards is seeing the same jobs over and over. If I built a Monster or CareerBuilder, I would allow the user to flip a toggle on each individual job posting so that it would be excluded from the query next time.

Customer Pulls Gun on Comcast Tech

No, it wasn't me. And for the record, I usually find the on-site techs much easier to deal with.

Customer Pulls Gun on Comcast Tech

Pseudonyms on Google+

Finally, I can be myself... sort of... Pseudonyms Now Allowed On Google+.

$20 in Quarters for $26.99

Washboard - where they will ship you $20 in quarters for only $26.99. It sounds like an SNL skit.

Stream

For the children...

Yesterday, I posted change your font. Today, stream that movie instead of buying that DVD.

Middle Out Backups

Anyone doing backups in the modern era probably already knows about reverse incremental backups, but after watching yesterday's Silicon Valley, I'm going to invent the "middle out" backup and make millions!

Mary Meeker's State of the Web

Her annual report on trends... I found the following slides the most interesting.

Moore's Law type trends...

I'm surprised that DVR/VOD/DVD is only 23%.

Compute/storage get cheaper. Devices get smaller. Devices become more ubiquitous.

Game of Thrones OpSec

An isolated computer - no network connectivity. I wonder how many WordStar 4.0 viruses there are out there?

At School

It used to be Macs in the computer labs in elementary schools - trying to buy mind share while we were young.

Plus ça change...

Microsoft is offering a free Bing search to schools with no ads and content filtering.

The Internet of Everything

I love slideshows like this Business Insider presentation showing the state of the internet union.

I wasn't surprised by anything in particular as I've seen the trends at home (thermostats, locks, etc.) and at work. For example, we were installing a new manufacturing line and made our usual assumptions about how many network ports would be required. Unbeknownst to us, the engineers had bought new versions of devices (like scanners) that were all IP based. In the past, these devices would have been connected to the PLC. It more than doubled the number of Ethernet connections we saw on a line that size.

Outernet

I'll just hold my breath... the Outernet:

"'There isn't a lot of raw research that is being done here; much of what is being described has already been proven by other small satellite programs and experiments. There's really nothing that is technically impossible to this'"

And:

"Much like how you receive a signal on your television and flick through channels, Outernet will broadcast the Internet to you and allow you to flick through certain websites."

New gTLD

Can't wait to get my .plumbing and .hiphop domains.

Moving to IP Voice

Given my recent adventure in Atlanta, the move to a platform with less resiliency built-in sounds a little scary. Of course, I am speaking out of school in some ways. I don't even have a landline at my house. But then again, I do have a few radios lying around. I don't have much in the way of backup power in the house, but I could always leverage the power in the cars.

Worst Passwords

Here are the worst passwords of 2013.

I should be safe. Mine is:

123456password12345678qwertyabc1231234567891111111234567iloveyouadobe123123123adminletmeinphotoshop1234monkeyshawdowsunshine12345password1princessazertytrustno1000000