Always With The Ranting...

Updates on Liquidmatrix.Org

2005-12-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

Well folks, here's a quick run down on the recent updates.

- Page templates have been cleaned up
- removed the "lake" java class file from most of the pages
- added news feeds on the main page
- added virus news feed
- added wireless security news feed
- added wireless vulnerability news feed

Work continues in earnest. If you have any suggestions drop us a line at comments at liquidmatrix.org

Babelfish

2005-11-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

Well the link for the babelfish language conversion has FINALLY been updated. Altavista changed their software a while back. We just never got around to updating our links. It's working on the main page and we'll update the rest of the site content shortly.

cheers,
gattaca

Symantec Stupidity

2005-11-29T07:07:00.000-08:00

As a company I had placed an order for LC5. I got nothing short of an incredible runaround. Now I'm reading that Symantec will no longer sell LC5 to companies outside the US. They have cited US export law as the rationale. This is obscene! Nothing has changed in the law to cause this and if it were true then I should pack up my firewalls, forensic tools et cetera and ship'em back. Might Symantec be losing their collective mind?

Article Link

Working Away at Liquidmatrix

2005-11-28T12:35:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a very cool digital forensics course in LA. Nice weather there. Shame it's so FREAKIN cold here. Ah well, enough grumping. We've got our internal pathing issues figured out. We're still going through and knocking off our bug list. The email server is back online. We should have all the databases back online this weekend. Slowly but surely.

The site re-furb will take place from Dec 17 until January 3rd during which time outages will occur. If an outage is projected to last more than 2 hours we'll post the expected time frame in advance.

US Poll: Majority Reject Evolution (WTF?)

2005-10-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

After giggling out of sheer terror and disbelief I thought I would share this one.

"Most Americans do not accept the theory of evolution. Instead, 51 percent of Americans say God created humans in their present form, and another three in 10 say that while humans evolved, God guided the process. Just 15 percent say humans evolved, and that God was not involved."

Article Link

Very Cool VMWare Hack

2005-10-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

Over on hackaday.com they have posted a very cool hack for VMWare. This will allow the user to load any OS with SCSI support.

Article Link

Security Awareness Posters

2005-10-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm bored. It's Sunday morning and I'm suffering from a crushing boredom. The wife is out for the day. I have football on the idiot box in a couple hours and a coffee in my hand. This is the life for the married guy, right? Then why am I so freakin bored? At any rate...my boredom has led me to this site, via Schneier on Security, dealing with Security Awareness posters. Having just delivered a security awareness training system to a client this seemed rather timely. And some...VERY funny.

Article Link

Africa Doesn't Need Free Software(?)

2005-10-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

"Microsoft has claimed the cost of software is not an important issue in the developing world.

In response to a question on the role of open source software in Africa, Gerald Ilukwe, the general manager of Microsoft Nigeria, said that cost is not important, even though he admitted that the average annual salary in the West African country is only $160 (£91)."

Article Link

This is just nuts!

Homer DaVinci Pens For Sale

2005-10-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

This made me smile on a day where I could use one. A website "Fountain Pen Hospital" Is selling a limited edition Simpsons pen with Homer in DaVinci-esque poses. Very funny.

Article Link

Rootkit Creators Turn Professional

2005-10-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a scary thought:

"Signalling a trend towards increased 'outsourcing' of some elements of malware creation, security experts are reporting a surge in the level of professionalism and commercialisation in the creation of so-called rootkits."

Article Link

Damn Pirates! (How Much For The Fake Prada?)

2005-10-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

This is rich. The champion against pirated goods in Finland is herself guilty.

"Finnish newspaper Iltalehti has a full page story of Miss Tanja Karpela Finland's own dear culture minister using pirated goods. She has been representing Finland on a official Finnish state visit to Slovenia with her FAKE Prada handbag."

Article Link

Mars Lander Lost...Again

2005-10-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

"After being lost and potentially found, NASA’s Mars Polar Lander appears to be lost once more.

The sharp-shooting Mars Global Surveyor has repeatedly scanned for wreckage of the Mars Polar Lander (MPL), which disappeared on touchdown in December 1999."

Article Link

Great Subway Reading

2005-10-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

Ever been sitting on the subway and had strangers creeping you out? Well try on one of these book covers from Flap Art that will return the ill-at-ease feeling. Freakin hilarious. (example "Coroner by Correspondence">

Site Link

Transparent Armor

2005-10-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

Scotty's legacy lives on! Star Trek is influencing research at ARL.

The US Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is testing a new kind of transparent armor, aluminum oxynitride It can stop .30 and .50 caliber armor-piercing bullets.

"The substance itself is light years ahead of glass," he said, adding that it offers "higher performance and lighter weight."

Article Link

Feel Like You're Being Followed?

2005-10-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

Want to track your friends and family? Try out this neat app. This one was over on MAKE and seems dirt simple. The dark imp that rides on my shoulder sees this one in a much more sinister light.

Article Link

Maxtor OneTouch III Turbo Edition: 1 Terabyte

2005-10-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

MP3's over loading your hard drive? Maxtor has just announced an external 1 TB external drive. SWEET!!!

Article Link

How Much To Shake Down 12 Year Olds?

2005-10-19T07:19:00.000-07:00

RIAA and MPAA execuive salaries have been revealed. The IRS released salary figures for execs from both groups. They are paid well...example: Jack Valenti, $1.4 million.

Article Link

Bittorrent: The Great Disrupter

2005-10-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Very nice article on Bram Cohen and his Bittorrent software.

"Bram Cohen’s BitTorrent software made it a cinch to pirate films on the Internet. So why is Hollywood on his side?"

Article Link

100 Oldest (Currently Registered) .COMs

2005-10-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

This was an interesting listing of .com's that still are in business today. Maps out the genesis of the internet as a business vehicle that it has become.

Article Link

Security Pros Win Out In Office Politics

2005-10-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Being a security pro in an office environment, I can safely say that yes I'm gaining some ground in the political battles...but, a LONG way from victory.

"More than a quarter (25.4 per cent) of the security workforce in Europe spends most of their workday dealing with internal politics or selling security to upper management, according to early results from a new survey. The second annual workforce study from security certification and training organisation ISC(2) also found that either researching or implementing new technologies occupied the majority of time for around a third (30.1 per cent) of the 595 experienced security practitioners and managers quizzed."

Article Link

SUSE 10 Upgrade Help

2005-10-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

Having recently upgraded to OpenSUSE 10, I found some surprises. A large number of packages had been disabled. I stumbled across this great write up on the Jem Report. A special thanks to Jem for this info. Saves me the frustration.

Article Link

Have You Ever Actually Read An EULA?

2005-10-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

Whenever you load a new piece of software or blindly click through a website EULA. You could be accepting outrageous stipulations. Java Cool Software has an interesting program that scans EULAs for hidden behaviour et cetera. The EUAlyzer 1.0 is a free download that writes all scans into a database so that you can keep track.

image from Craphound.com

Site Link

Is Your Printer Ratting You Out?

2005-10-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

EFF has an interesting piece wherein they dissect forensic tracking codes on a Xerox DocuColor laser printout.

Wild stuff (don't know why I'm surprised)

Article Link

Pot Can Grow Brain Cells? Dude...

2005-10-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

From the never ending battle betwix the moralists and the "herb"alists. It appears that a new study is challenging the belief that the 420 makes you 'dopey'.

"This is quite a surprise," said Xia Zhang, an associate professor with the Neuropsychiatry Research Unit at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

"Forget the stereotype about dopey potheads. It seems marijuana could be good for your brain. While other studies have shown that periodic use of marijuana can cause memory loss and impair learning and a host of other health problems down the road, new research suggests the drug could have some benefits when administered regularly in a highly potent form"

Article Link

Oh For The Love of (Insert Deity)!

2005-10-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

Wal-Mart called the police on a high-school student for a picture of a homemade anti-George Bush poster. He had taken it to Wal-Mart for photo finishing. The Secret Service went to the kid's high-school and confiscated the poster. Jackboots...man alive!

Article Link

I think this is an appropriate link. Fill the coffee cup and watch your rights melt away!

Artist Coop Pulls Out the Model Cars

2005-10-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

While wandering around aimlessly on the interweb this evening I stumbled across Coop's blog. He's blown the dust off his old model car collection. Brings back some memories. Too funny. Turns out that the autographed Boss Hog poster that I bought from him in 95 is worth a buttload of cash. :-)

Article Link

Worker 'Stole Human Brains'

2005-10-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought I had managed to see damn near everything...

"The Queensland state government has said it would investigate allegations that a forensic laboratory worker stole parts from human brains so they could be injected into racehorses to make them run faster.

The worker at a pathology lab in the northern city of Brisbane reportedly stole pituitary glands, found at the base of the brain, because the hormones they contain govern growth stimulation and could stimulate horses."

Article Link

UNICEF bombs the Smurfs

2005-10-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

UNICEF bombs the Smurfs: "UNICEF has produced a short Smurfs movie in which the Smurf village is bombed into rubble, leaving behind dead and dying Smurfs in a scene reminiscent of an Hieronymus Bosch painting. The video is part of a public education campaign on the ravages of war.

The short film pulls no punches. It opens with the Smurfs dancing, hand-in-hand, around a campfire and singing the Smurf song. Bluebirds flutter past and rabbits gambol around their familiar village of mushroom- shaped houses until, without warning, bombs begin to rain from the sky.

Tiny Smurfs scatter and run in vain from the whistling bombs, before being felled by blast waves and fiery explosions. The final scene shows a scorched and tattered Baby Smurf sobbing inconsolably, surrounded by prone Smurfs.

The final frame bears the message: 'Don't let war affect the lives of children...'

'We wanted something that was real war - Smurfs losing arms, or a Smurf losing a head -but they said no.'

Update: There's a slideshow of stills from the video, along with the audio track, here in Quicktime and WMV. If anyone has a link to a non-streaming, non-WMV-only version of this file, please let me know (I'm not interested in the WMV-only streams since they seem to be impervious to playback in "

Prophet of Doom?

2005-10-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

It's days like this when I start to get really really scared. It would be wonderful if the US media would continue to grow it's collective backbone and point a microscope at The Shrub and company. I better get back to work on that fallout shelter.

"God told me to invade Iraq", Bush tells Palestinian ministers.

"President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did, and then God would tell me, "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq …" And I did. And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East." And by God I'm gonna do it.'"

Article Link