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Has my Google Calendar been compromised? August 26, 2008 8:37 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Security, Technology , 1 comment so far

This morning as I looked at "My calendars" of my Google calendar I noticed one I did not remember creating. Not in "Other calendars" but in "My calendars" sat Paddy Daly. Since I quit using Google Calendar regularly a while back, I decided to see what notes I’d made about this Paddy Daly calendar I created. But I didn’t create it! And the creator made no notes. The calendar creator is punapaddy at a yahoo.com email address and a Hawii timezone. This makes no sense. There appear to be no events on the calendar either. I do seem to have the ability to delete the calendar.

Who is Paddy Daly?

Paddy Daly, {1888-1960} sometimes referred to as Paddy O’Daly, served in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence[1] and subsequently held the rank of Major-General in the National Army in the period 1922 to 1924. [Source, Wikipedia]

So is this some form of vandalism? Political protest or activism? How did it get on my calendar and what security hole in Google Calendar do I need to close?

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Spam on Reality Me out of control July 17, 2008 4:05 pm

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Announcements, Of Interest, Security, Technology , 1 comment so far

This weekend I plan to get a little aggressive with controlling spam on Reality Me. Most of it gets blocked but I get so much spam traffic that my Spam Karma logs regularly reach 70MB or more. If you find yourself unable to reach Reality Me, I may have been too aggressive. Just email me at juggler@gmail.com or Twitter @djuggler or Skype djuggler.

How do I plan to fight the spam? Mostly with apache. I’ll post details.

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The War of 2020 between China and the US May 7, 2008 5:06 pm

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, Economy, News, Of Interest, Politics, Security, Technology, Touchy Subjects , add a comment

China wins!

You did know we are at war with China, didn’t you?

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How to have sex while 5 children are in the house March 28, 2008 9:48 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Security, Sex, Technology, Touchy Subjects, War , 5comments

Someone has finally figured out how to have intimate moments without fear of scaring the minds of your youth by having them accidentally walk in on mom and dad being gross. See this worksafe link for the details. Via BoingBoing.

QSleeper

  • 1.25″ Polycarbonate Bulletproof Plating/Shielding
  • Bio-Chemical Filtered Ventilation
  • Rebreather
  • Control Panel Mode Selection (i.e., Basic System Ops., Intruder Setting, Energy Status, Lock Down, etc.)
  • Cover & Door Actuators w/ Emergency Release
  • One way see through head cover (reflective mirror on 2 sides and front)
  • Safety Features (Proximity Sensor, O2 Sensor, Smoke Det., Motion Det. Ect,)
  • Emergency Communication system (Cellular, Short-wave Radio, CB ect.)
  • Audio Amplifier (Amplify sound from out side unit)
  • Air/Water Tight Sealing
  • External Override Key Pad & Remote Control
  • Battery Backup Power
  • Toiletry system

Source, QSleeper

Please remember the vasectomy campaign!

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REAL ID real scary February 6, 2008 2:28 pm

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Conspiracy, Politics, Security, Touchy Subjects, United States , 2comments

Papers please. Thanks Tom.

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Content Theft Worsens October 7, 2007 10:43 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Blog, Daily Life, Publishing, Security, Technology , 14comments

If you follow my comment feed, then you may have noticed that I am getting huge amounts of trackback spam. Why not just turn off trackbacks? Because these people are stealing my content, and likely your content, for their own personal gain and the trackback is the easiest way to find them. Yes, they generate a link back to Reality Me which in theory should help my page rank but not when it is with duplicate content. I have installed the Antileech WordPress plugin but I am still figuring out how to use it without cutting off my feeds to legitimate readers. If you do end up getting a "this content is stolen" message instead of the actual post, please email juggler at gmail.com and I will fix it. That said, can you confirm which feedreader you use based upon the following:

I am assuming that Blogdigger, Gregarius, and Wasabot are used by content thieves.

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Orweillian of the Day October 4, 2007 1:22 pm

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Conspiracy, Of Interest, Privacy, Security, Touchy Subjects , add a comment

All those cameras and now "give us your keys."

People in the UK who encrypt their data are now obliged by law to give up the encryption keys to law enforcement officials…[Source]

Note: I have not confirmed the above against any other sources.

Per capita there are more surveillance cameras in the UK than any other country in the world…

The average city dweller can expect to be captured on film every five minutes…

Source, UK Something to watch over us, BBC News

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Today’s Computer Utility Recommendation October 1, 2007 10:04 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Security, Software, Technology , add a comment

Have you ever unexpectedly been unable to move, delete or rename a file because of a "file sharing violation?" Perhaps you have been frustrated by one of these messages:

Cannot delete file: Access is denied
There has been a sharing violation.
The source or destination file may be in use.
The file is in use by another program or user.
Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.

Cedrick ‘Nitch’ Collomb has written a fantastic program to deal with these annoying situations without even having to reboot the computer! It is called Unlocker 1.8.5 and I highly recommend adding this to your toolkit! I also encourage giving Cedrick Collomb a paypal donation. It’s worth it!

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Cory Doctorow calls it like it is! August 23, 2007 9:31 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Education, Health, Mental, Of Interest, Security , add a comment

Because your kids aren’t scared enough, dammit.

For those that don’t want to click through, that’s in reference to bulletproof backpacks.

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Where are those readers? August 22, 2007 10:05 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, Of Interest, Security, Touchy Subjects , 2comments

Do you like looking at your stats files? Do you often wonder just where all those IP addresses come from? For those that do not know, an ip address uniquely identifies a computer on the Internet. Type an ip address into http://www.ip-adress.com/ (note address is spelled with one d) and it will show you a map with an approximate location of the computer.

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Protect the stores! August 7, 2007 6:46 pm

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Humor, Of Interest, Security , add a comment

Leave your homes vacant!

There are more than 30 events planned in Knoxville for a National Night Out against crime. [Source]

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We are going to war! July 27, 2007 9:46 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : News, Of Interest, Politics, Security, Technology, Touchy Subjects, United States, War, World Politics , 1 comment so far

The squirrels have been sent in!

A few weeks ago, 14 squirrels equipped with espionage systems of foreign intelligence services were captured by [Iranian] intelligence forces along the country’s borders. These trained squirrels, each of which weighed just over 700 grams, were released on the borders of the country for intelligence and espionage purposes. [Source]

I can’t get the squirrels out of my attic. How do you capture trained spying squirrels?! Perhaps Boris and Natasha were on contract! "We’v ‘ave Moose on our side now as doolble agent." Thank you Ray Kurzweil!

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Why should I use your broken music? January 6, 2007 8:58 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cathy, DRM, Daily Life, Family, Security, Technology , 3comments

It’s that damn DRM. Yesterday Cathy’s computer gets this message:

Some of the items in the iTunes library, including "Rough Boy", were not copied to the iPod "Pavlov" because you are not authorized to play them on this computer.

Then it goes on to list a whole bunch of songs…basically anything she has ever purchased through iTunes. (Blingo has been good to her!) Oh, it also removed the tunes from the actual device. I am sure this has something to do with Sarah or Tommy plugging their iPods into Mom’s computer. How do families with multiple iPods but only one computer get their music?

DRM sucks. Even Bill Gates says DRM stinks. (see also)

[Biill Gate's] short term advice: "People should just buy a cd and rip it. You are legal then." [Source]

So, my next step will be a long, arduous customer service fight with Apple (oh the bad karma and wasted time!). Simultaneously I suppose I will research how to cripple DRM since, frankly, Cathy is being hassled for legitimately buying music and that doesn’t fly with me.

Update: Some resources that look like they will be helpful. Mark’s(we)blog and one digital life (showing a backup procedure for your tunes).

Update: The solution was actually pretty simple. 1) Logged out of Sarah’s iTunes login. 2) Logged into Cathy’s iTunes login. 3) Under the iTunes->Store menu choose "Authorize this computer." Done.

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Airport Security Is Useless October 27, 2006 10:42 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Security, Touchy Subjects , 1 comment so far

Now anyone can go past the airport security gates.

Update: FBi issues take down order for site then seizes computers. See Boing Boing for all the details including the seizure and questions of legality. Schneier on Security has some excellent comments.

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The Best Antivirus Software September 5, 2006 7:25 am

Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cool Sites, Of Interest, Security, Technology , 9comments

I have long since given up on Symantec’s Norton Antivirus and McAfee. These guys used to be the top dogs but now add so much bloatware that their efforts to keep your machine clean can greatly degrade performance. I often clean machines of viruses and spyware. I am good and I enjoy it. I usually encourage people to go with Avast or AVG as their antivirus of choice. Ryan at CyberNet Technology News alerts us that Virus.gr has ranked the leading antivirus solutions. Be sure to check out the comments Ryan is receiving. Click More to see the list.

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