NASA Hacker Extradited to US

http://www.examiner.com/x-45214-Canada-Internet-Security-Examiner~y2010m5d28-NASA-hacker-will-be-extradited-to-the-US

YAY! "Britain's Gary McKinnon who allegedly hacked into United States Government computers in 2001 and 2002 will be extradited to the US to face up to 60 years in prison."

I'm glad that they followed through and that he will be tried for what he did. I do not think that the man deserves 60 years in prison because he did not actually harm anyone, but I do think that he needs to be held accountable for the Millions of dollars in damages that he caused. If you have no clue why he is in trouble, check out a previous post that I did called, "Hacking for UFOs". Otherwise, I'm sure that he has a wikipedia page by now.

I have a hunger for knowledge and I always want to know how things work...just ask Ellen. However, it is common knowledge that breaking into a high security system (like those that the U.S. Gov't have) will land you in a world of hurt. Blackhat Hacking is illegal. Greyhat hacking is...well..., not really illegal but illegal at the same time. While Mr. McKinnon wasn't trying to hurt anyone, he was breaking into systems that he did not own.

Never Give Someone Your Password

If an individual calls and says that they are from Microsoft, your bank, Facebook, etc., and then they ask you for your username and/or password, never give it to them! It is always a scam. Check out this story below:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/computer-franchise/computer-repair-pcpal/prweb4047084.htm

There are a few simple steps to avoid phishing attacks / social engineering such as above:

1) If you didn't call the institute to request help, don't respond to someone saying that they noticed a problem and that they are there to help you.
2) Never give out a Username or Password. Ever. There is no exception to this rule. If the IT guy asks for it, say no. They DO NOT need it.
3) Never give out your bank account number, credit card number, or any personal information such as birth date and SSN unless you specifically called the institution on their listed number. This number is on the back of the card, your bank statement, or another bill. Still, never give out the full bank account number or CC number for verification purposes. The last four digits should always do.
4) If you ever feel uneasy, ask to speak with a manager. Get the managers name and then tell them you will call back in 10 minutes. Hang up and call customer support. Give them the individuals name and make sure that they really work their. If they give you a number for a direct line, don't take it.
5) If you ever have a doubt, call your local branch (if bank or other store) and ask them to help you out. If it is a company like Dell, Microsoft, HP, etc. Call their Customer call center.
6) Use common sense and your gut feeling. If something feels off, it most likely is.

Bank Fraud

Hackers like to test the limits of what they can do. One limit is whether or not they can break into your bank account and steal all of your money. And hey, while they're at it, they might just steal your identity too. Check out THIS site to see what they recommend. Here are some useful tips for anyone doing anything financial online:

How to Help Protect Your Account

• Don't access your account from a shared computer.

• Be certain your computer has anti-virus, firewall and anti-spyware programs, including security software with automatic updates.

• If you are using wireless service, check the settings on your computer to make sure the connection is encrypted. Don't connect to your account using a public network, like the ones you find at a coffee shop or at the airport.

• Review your statements regularly and carefully, and report any suspicious activity to your bank immediately.

• Use a strong password with letters and numbers combined. Don't use the same password for multiple accounts.

• Log out after every session.

Copyrighted, Bankrate.com. All rights reserved.

Online Schooling

So, I've just about rounded the one year mark of being back in school. The things I've learned are awesome and I use most of them (except biology) daily. I do love school, however, I've noticed a few downsides to completing my degree online.

1) Working full time and going to school full time puts a damper on non-school/non-work relationships
2) No summer break
3) Weekends are spent studying and writing papers in stead of fishing or reading (for pleasure)
4) The release of Lego: Harry Potter in June will be missed and I will either postpone playing it until my fall break or take a Friday off to finish school work so that Saturday and Sunday can be dedicated to the awesome Lego game
5) The amount of caffeine taken in via AMP or Mt. Dew per hour is directly related this complex equation:

where cf = C₈H₁₀N₄O2


{This is a joke equation}

6) The amount of time spent on the computer NOT playing games is frightening
7) Suddenly everything not dealing with an online class becomes an obsession...for example, I've taken up knitting in order to put off schoolwork
8) Procrastination is increased as you don't have to actually 'show up' for class, just log in and let it sit there for 30 minutes or so.
9) Never meeting the professor is a bit of a pain...then again, meeting the professor could be a pain... ;)
10) There is an increase in body mass due to the lack of stairs and paths being walked that you would typically find on campus. (this is the one that I notice most)

All in all, I love school. The professors have all been great to work with so far and the things that I am learning are useful in everyday life. One year down and Three more to go!

AutoRefresh1-1

Hello All,

I have published one of my first VB projects and I thought that I'd make it available to you! It is free to download and distribute from here: http://www.filehosting.org/file/details/139410/AutoRefresh1-1.zip

Feel free to try it out and send me any suggestions!

The program will auto refresh a web page every 30 seconds and then increment a counter. A friend inquired about a program that could do this and so I thought I'd give it a shot. Enjoy!

Thanks,

Tim

Working with the Local Area Connections

Hello, I am attempting to write a program that will disable the Local Area Connection while leaving the Wireless connection enabled. My company is using net-books in our stores to demo air-cards and we need to keep them off of the LAN. I'm new to VB and VB.net, and it's been a while since I did any type of programming. I've gathered some code that others have posted in forums and tutorials and I'm working through a tutorial book, but I finally believe that I am stuck.

I have a form that contains a user name and password field and a log on button as well as an exit button. Once the user name and password are input and the log on button in pushed, it should call up the 'ToggleNetworkConnection.vb' class and execute the code that is in there. Any help would be much appreciated! Once again, I'm fairly new to this, so if you see any ways to make this more efficient, please feel free to offer criticism!

Here is the code for the Form1

Public Class Form1
    Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form
 
    Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        Dim Username As String
        Dim Password As String
        Dim DisablePort As ToggleNetworkConnection()
 
        Username = "admin" 'username box
        Password = "admin" 'password box
 
        If TextBox1.Text = Username And TextBox2.Text = Password Then 'make sure they authenticate
            'this is where I believe the code to call the TogglenetworkConnection.vb should go
        End If
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub TextBox2_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox2.TextChanged
        TextBox2.PasswordChar = "*" 'makes the password show up as * instead of letters
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
        'insert code to exit the program
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
 
    End Sub
 
    Private Sub TextBox1_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox1.TextChanged
 
    End Sub
End Class

Public Class Form1 Inherits System.Windows.Forms.Form Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click Dim Username As String Dim Password As String Dim DisablePort As ToggleNetworkConnection() Username = "admin" 'username box Password = "admin" 'password box If TextBox1.Text = Username And TextBox2.Text = Password Then 'make sure they authenticate 'this is where I believe the code to call the TogglenetworkConnection.vb should go End If End Sub Private Sub TextBox2_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox2.TextChanged TextBox2.PasswordChar = "*" 'makes the password show up as * instead of letters End Sub Private Sub Button2_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click 'insert code to exit the program End Sub Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load End Sub Private Sub TextBox1_TextChanged(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox1.TextChanged End Sub End Class

Here is the code for the ToggleNetworkConnection.vb class

Public Class ToggleNetworkConnection
 
#Region "Public Methods"
 
    Public Shared Sub ToggleLocalAreaConnection()
        For Each verb As Shell32.FolderItemVerb In LocalAreaConnectionFolderItem.Verbs
            If verb.Name = "Disa&ble" Then
                verb.DoIt()
                Exit For
            End If
        Next
        Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000)
    End Sub
 
#End Region
 
#Region "Properties"
 
    Private Shared ReadOnly Property ControlPanelFolder()
        Get
            Dim shell As New Shell32.Shell()
            Return shell.NameSpace(3)
        End Get
    End Property
 
    Private Shared ReadOnly Property NetworkFolder() As Shell32.Folder
        Get
 
            Dim retVal As Shell32.Folder = Nothing
 
            For Each fi As Shell32.FolderItem In ControlPanelFolder.Items
                If fi.Name = "Network Connections" Then
                    retVal = fi.GetFolder()
                End If
            Next
 
            If retVal Is Nothing Then
                Throw New NetworkConnectionsFolderNotFoundException()
            Else
                Return retVal
            End If
 
        End Get
    End Property
 
    Private Shared ReadOnly Property LocalAreaConnectionFolderItem() As Shell32.FolderItem
        Get
 
            Dim retVal As Shell32.FolderItem = Nothing
 
            For Each folderItem As Shell32.FolderItem In NetworkFolder.Items
                Console.WriteLine(folderItem.Name)
                If InStr(folderItem.Name.ToLower(), "Local Area Connection".ToLower()) Then
                    retVal = folderItem
                    Exit For
                End If
            Next
 
            If retVal Is Nothing Then
                Throw New LocalAreaConnectionFolderItemNotFoundException()
            Else
                Return retVal
            End If
 
        End Get
    End Property
 
#End Region
 
#Region "Custom Exceptions"
 
    Public Class NetworkConnectionsFolderNotFoundException
        Inherits Exception
 
        Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Message() As String
            Get
                Return "The Network Connections Folder Could Not Be Found!"
            End Get
        End Property
    End Class
 
    Public Class LocalAreaConnectionFolderItemNotFoundException
        Inherits Exception
 
        Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Message() As String
            Get
                Return "The Local Area Connection Folder Could Not Be Found!"
            End Get
        End Property
    End Class
 
#End Region
 
End Class

Public Class ToggleNetworkConnection #Region "Public Methods" Public Shared Sub ToggleLocalAreaConnection() For Each verb As Shell32.FolderItemVerb In LocalAreaConnectionFolderItem.Verbs If verb.Name = "Disa&ble" Then verb.DoIt() Exit For End If Next Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000) End Sub #End Region #Region "Properties" Private Shared ReadOnly Property ControlPanelFolder() Get Dim shell As New Shell32.Shell() Return shell.NameSpace(3) End Get End Property Private Shared ReadOnly Property NetworkFolder() As Shell32.Folder Get Dim retVal As Shell32.Folder = Nothing For Each fi As Shell32.FolderItem In ControlPanelFolder.Items If fi.Name = "Network Connections" Then retVal = fi.GetFolder() End If Next If retVal Is Nothing Then Throw New NetworkConnectionsFolderNotFoundException() Else Return retVal End If End Get End Property Private Shared ReadOnly Property LocalAreaConnectionFolderItem() As Shell32.FolderItem Get Dim retVal As Shell32.FolderItem = Nothing For Each folderItem As Shell32.FolderItem In NetworkFolder.Items Console.WriteLine(folderItem.Name) If InStr(folderItem.Name.ToLower(), "Local Area Connection".ToLower()) Then retVal = folderItem Exit For End If Next If retVal Is Nothing Then Throw New LocalAreaConnectionFolderItemNotFoundException() Else Return retVal End If End Get End Property #End Region #Region "Custom Exceptions" Public Class NetworkConnectionsFolderNotFoundException Inherits Exception Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Message() As String Get Return "The Network Connections Folder Could Not Be Found!" End Get End Property End Class Public Class LocalAreaConnectionFolderItemNotFoundException Inherits Exception Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Message() As String Get Return "The Local Area Connection Folder Could Not Be Found!" End Get End Property End Class #End Region End Class

Here is the code for the Module1 which I believe calls Form1

Module Module1
    Dim MainMenu As New Form1()
 
    Sub Main()
        MainMenu.Show()
 
    End Sub
 
End Module

Module Module1 Dim MainMenu As New Form1() Sub Main() MainMenu.Show() End Sub End Module

Once again, any help would be great!

Thanks,

JackHadding

So, here's the question

If a thumb drive/flash card/hard drive is purchased from ebay or a garage sale and the individual is able to recover pictures and files off of that hardware, does the individual then own that data?


Most people, when they sell their old computer hardware or camera, simply format the drive and then sell it. This is a reminder to use killdisk to get rid of the data on the storage medium. It is all too easy to recover someone's deleted data. If you have questions, let me know!

Watch out Microsoft....Apple. (maybe)

Think that windowed desktops are too much of a clutter or a pain in the butt to sort through? A company by the name of 10/GUI is working on a new Operating System called Continuum. It is a touch screen based OS that uses a multi-point touch pad in place of the keyboard and mouse. Check them out here: (http://10gui.com/video)

Personally, I don't believe that we will be going away from windowed desktops anytime soon. I also feel like the continuum desktop is a bit clumsy, but I'd definitely love to see more or even try it out. Hopefully they release somewhere and I can try a demo! In the end, Microsoft will end up buying them out and incorporating the technology into it's collective...

Creepy, yet interesting

Here is an excerpt (a particularly disturbing one) from Bill Joy's, "Why the future doesn't need us." article written for WIRED in 2000. Enjoy!!

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html

Why the future doesn't need us.

Our most powerful 21st-century technologies - robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech - are threatening to make humans an endangered species.

By Bill Joy

THE NEW LUDDITE CHALLENGE

First let us postulate that the computer scientists succeed in developing intelligent machines that can do all things better than human beings can do them. In that case presumably all work will be done by vast, highly organized systems of machines and no human effort will be necessary. Either of two cases might occur. The machines might be permitted to make all of their own decisions without human oversight, or else human control over the machines might be retained.

If the machines are permitted to make all their own decisions, we can't make any conjectures as to the results, because it is impossible to guess how such machines might behave. We only point out that the fate of the human race would be at the mercy of the machines. It might be argued that the human race would never be foolish enough to hand over all the power to the machines. But we are suggesting neither that the human race would voluntarily turn power over to the machines nor that the machines would willfully seize power. What we do suggest is that the human race might easily permit itself to drift into a position of such dependence on the machines that it would have no practical choice but to accept all of the machines' decisions. As society and the problems that face it become more and more complex and machines become more and more intelligent, people will let machines make more of their decisions for them, simply because machine-made decisions will bring better results than man-made ones. Eventually a stage may be reached at which the decisions necessary to keep the system running will be so complex that human beings will be incapable of making them intelligently. At that stage the machines will be in effective control. People won't be able to just turn the machines off, because they will be so dependent on them that turning them off would amount to suicide.

On the other hand it is possible that human control over the machines may be retained. In that case the average man may have control over certain private machines of his own, such as his car or his personal computer, but control over large systems of machines will be in the hands of a tiny elite - just as it is today, but with two differences. Due to improved techniques the elite will have greater control over the masses; and because human work will no longer be necessary the masses will be superfluous, a useless burden on the system. If the elite is ruthless they may simply decide to exterminate the mass of humanity. If they are humane they may use propaganda or other psychological or biological techniques to reduce the birth rate until the mass of humanity becomes extinct, leaving the world to the elite. Or, if the elite consists of soft-hearted liberals, they may decide to play the role of good shepherds to the rest of the human race. They will see to it that everyone's physical needs are satisfied, that all children are raised under psychologically hygienic conditions, that everyone has a wholesome hobby to keep him busy, and that anyone who may become dissatisfied undergoes "treatment" to cure his "problem." Of course, life will be so purposeless that people will have to be biologically or psychologically engineered either to remove their need for the power process or make them "sublimate" their drive for power into some harmless hobby. These engineered human beings may be happy in such a society, but they will most certainly not be free. They will have been reduced to the status of domestic animals.

In the book, you don't discover until you turn the page that the author of this passage is Theodore Kaczynski - the Unabomber. I am no apologist for Kaczynski. His bombs killed three people during a 17-year terror campaign and wounded many others. One of his bombs gravely injured my friend David Gelernter, one of the most brilliant and visionary computer scientists of our time. Like many of my colleagues, I felt that I could easily have been the Unabomber's next target.Kaczynski's dystopian vision describes unintended consequences, a well-known problem with the design and use of technology, and one that is clearly related to Murphy's law - "Anything that can go wrong, will." (Actually, this is Finagle's law, which in itself shows that Finagle was right.) Our overuse of antibiotics has led to what may be the biggest such problem so far: the emergence of antibiotic-resistant and much more dangerous bacteria. Similar things happened when attempts to eliminate malarial mosquitoes using DDT caused them to acquire DDT resistance; malarial parasites likewise acquired multi-drug-resistant genes.


Check out the rest of the Article. It's very interesting.

Et tu, Mario? (Then fall ...Luigi?)

"Murder, looting, pizza theft, and other hazards of cooperative video-gaming"

Here is an excerpt from an article I read on slate.com today. Check out the full article here!

"Multiplayer video games operate along two dimensions. There are fighting games like the Tekken and Street Fighter franchises that give players a single option: defeat each other in glorious battle or turn off the console and bake cookies together. On the other end are games like the popular Facebook application FarmVille in which players must help each other by fertilizing one another's crops and exchanging gifts... Most cooperative games lie in a vast middle ground, however, a no man's land between altruism and gaming Darwinism that offers up a host of ways to misbehave."

It's a fairly funny article and it also brings back some great memories of growing up. My first system was an Atari 2600 that I purchased at a church garage sale...Without my parents knowledge... My mother wanted to throw it in the trash, but my father, a kid at heart, was as excited, if not more, than I was. We hooked it up to our glorious, 14ish", wood-paperedTV, and started out playing Moonraker. Other games we had were Pitfall, Joust, some space game and a myriad of others. So, the reason this brings back memories?? I can't exactly put a finger on which one, but ONE of my sisters absolutely loved playing Joust with me and spending all of her time finding some way to get me killed.

After moving away from Colorado and settling in Jacksonville, FL, my dad purchased us a Playstation...the original fat greyish box. One of my favorite games was Tekken 2. Anna, Jo, and I played it all the time. Jo had a favorite cheap move with Heihachi Mishima that we dubbed the 'Noogie' and Anna had her favorite character 'Nina' with which I'm sure she had some cheap move as well. I admit, I had a favorite character too, and after memorizing all of his moves, I found the cheapest and most affective. Marshall Law, I assume who's based loosely on Bruce Lee, had this famous spinning backflip kick thing that was a sure hit just about anytime I mashed those special buttons. We eventually purchased Tekken3 and Tekken Tag for Ps2 and wore those characters out as well. Now, I own a PS3 (I'm very, very loyal) and I'm playing games like CoD Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2, and various other games. I haven't experienced too much unfair or down-right dirty multiplay online yet, but I'm sure it will hit soon enough. However, I do play the Lego games (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman) with my girlfriend, and I can't even count the hours we've spent simply running around chasing one another with a lightsaber or thermodetonator trying to kill eachother. She has gotten quite good at it and usually can destroy my character pretty quick.

Well, check out the article! I'm sure that if you've played games at all, it will give you a laugh. Oh, while I was in STL, Renee, Ellen's mom, showed us a tv show about people who simply hoard stuff... It was very gross! I do wonder though, is there a person out there who simply hoards video games?? If so, I'd love to see what their house looks like. I don't even think I'd be disgusted by that!