security

Warning: Your WiFi Is Likely Compromised

Is your wifi network on KRACK? This "attack works against all modern protected Wi-Fi networks."

If you use wifi in any way, here are six things to note:

  • KRACK is an extended security and privacy vulnerability revealed just today. It’s unlikely your wifi is secure yet.
  • This is a vary capable bug, so don’t underestimate the seriousness of this matter.
  • “The attack works against all modern protected Wi-Fi networks.”
  • “It appears almost any device that uses Wi-Fi is affected.”
  • You “may want to be wary of using Wi-Fi at all until patches are widely rolled out.”
  • “It’s more urgent for general users to patch their personal devices, whether phones, PCs or any smart device, be they watches, TVs or even cars.”

KRACK: beware the wifi hack/bug

Some measures to take while you wait for updates to your wifi network

Read it all

US State Department Updates Mexico Travel Warning

Security conditions in Sonora and Sinaloa warrant the update

The US Department of State updated its Mexico Travel Warning on Tuesday, August 22, 2017.

The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens about the risk of traveling to certain parts of Mexico due to the activities of criminal organizations in those areas. U.S. citizens have been the victims of violent crimes, including homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery in various Mexican states. This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Warning for Mexico issued December 8, 2016.

For information on security conditions in specific regions of Mexico, see our state-by-state assessments below. U.S. government personnel and their families are prohibited from personal travel to all areas to which the Department recommends “defer non-essential travel” in this Travel Warning. As a result of security precautions that U.S. government personnel must take while traveling to parts of Mexico, our response time to emergencies involving U.S. citizens may be hampered or delayed.

Read it all

When You Have to Go in a National Park

Be sure to pick a single-occupancy restroom or outhouse.

Secretary of the Interior cheers gender-free bathrooms in national barks

June 27 tweet by Secretary of the Interior

So yesterday (apparently) the President decreed that national parks no longer honor the single-gender bathroom concept. (Gender-specific restrooms — what an antiquated concept in this great society. 😯 )

Apparently whatever the sign may say is no guarantee what you will find inside. So beware of using multiple-capacity restrooms. The spectators therein may be more “sexually varied” than you bargained for. Read it all

Do Non-Kooks Fret About Their Cellphones Being Tracked?

Companies, governments, individuals, angels, God, Satan -- who am I missing?

I saw this breaking on Drudge earlier, but he’s still linking back to his home page:

Makers of surveillance systems are offering governments across the world the ability to track the movements of almost anybody who carries a cellphone, whether they are blocks away or on another continent.

The technology works by exploiting an essential fact of all cellular networks: They must keep detailed, up-to-the-minute records on the locations of their customers to deliver calls and other services to them. Surveillance systems are secretly collecting these records to map people’s travels over days, weeks or longer, according to company marketing documents and experts in surveillance technology.

For sale: Systems that can secretly track where cellphone users go around the globe

And just so you know, your cell provider has been able to do this from day one. Read it all

Avast, ThinkPad, Bible 900, Hungering, XP, and Me

Pre-April-8 priorities brought upon me by Microsoft and hackers

Plagiarists and hackers, Microsoft and Christian Light Publications, children and bill collectors — they’re all having their own say in my day in their own way.

But it’s up to me to weigh my priorities and then arrange them by order of weight.

Among the top things still undone (by me) today… Read it all

I Researched the XP Alternatives and Made My Choice

I'm sticking with Windows XP over Linux, MS DOS, and Win3.1!

A week from tomorrow Microsoft ends support for Windows XP. You know that. Some of the warnings I’ve read remind me of the good old pre-Y2K hysteria.

Dell Dimension 3000 info

I own two XP machines: a 9-year-old Dell Dimension 3000 tower (are they expensive collector’s items yet?) and an almost-8-year-old IBM ThinkPad R51e. I doubt either has the muscle or the brains to run Windows 7 or Window 8.1 well (if at all).

What do I plan to do about their soon-to-be-dangerous-on-the-Internet OS?

Well, I had thought to switch to Linux since I can’t afford to replace either machine with — Wow! I just looked out the window and you ought to see the sunrise-struck clouds against the light-blue sky, all pink and salmon and some-shade-of-orange! — eh, where was I? 🙄

Anyway, so I’d thought to switch to Linux — mint or puppy or loveunto, I didn’t know which. Read it all

6 Things Most People Don’t Know About Me

Proceed with caution; you may get what you're not expecting.

Mark Roth partially bares his soleBefore my list, some questions:

  • Why do I think it important to announce them?
  • Why should anybody care to know?
  • What makes people do stuff like this?
  • What drives your interest?
  • Does this look like Facebook to you?

Do you still want to see my list of 11 things most people don’t know about me? Read it all

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Above all, love God!