woland @woland@infosec.exchange

Let's see. When I was younger I liked telephones. A lot. I still do. That included exploring the PSTN and causing general mischief. I have a Western Electric 1D2 payphone in my bedroom. Among other hobbies... I'm an amateur radio operator, Linux user, open source supporter and electronics meddler. I admire any human who has the patience to work in infosec.

I can't really stomach the wallowing echo chamber of Twitter, so maybe this will be better.

#introductions #infosec #linux #opensource

Google is actually paying random people on the street $5 to scan their faces. My guess is they're not really telling these people the privacy implications of this #google #privacy Paging @EFF

https://9to5google.com/2019/07/22/google-face-data-pixel-4-collection/amp/

Me: God damn it! Why won't this switch work!? It's on the same subnet as everything else and now I can't find it after I reset it?!? Better half: It's plugged into our router, right? Me: Uh.... *Blinks, then proceeds to bash head into coffee table repeatedly until my skull implodes on my brain and the embarrassment can no longer be felt*

Took a break from mastadon for a little while. Nothing bad or negative happened, but summer tends to get me into a depressive slump and that's when I take breaks. About done studying for the CompTIA Network+ exam though. So that's something I guess. I've really learned a lot so far, despite getting a (now expired) CCNA years ago. Back then 100BASE-TX was all the rage and hubs were still a thing! Just gotta keep moving forward. Hope everyone's summer/winter is going well.

While I'm a big fan of the Defensive Security podcast from @jerry and Smashing Security from @gcluley I must say I have really enjoyed the last few episodes of Purple Squad Security from @JohnsNotHere -- one was about attending conventions and the other about the book "Tribe of Hackers"

https://purplesquadsec.com/podcast/episode-54-tribe-of-hackers-with-marcus-j-carey/

New T-shirt! (It was $5 on clearance) #lockpicking

Can someone tell me exactly what Google Fiber would be considered when it comes to WAN technology? SONET/SDH? Something else? All the reading I've done on it hasn't been clear. I know there is a fiber network box each user gets, but not sure how it works.

"Reporting about copyright infringement is not infringement. The few thumbnails—including a single image from American Gods—act as proof of the story being reported and certainly don’t replace watching entire episodes of television."

"EFF’s Tweet About an Overzealous DMCA Takedown Is Now Subject to an Overzealous Takedown"

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/04/effs-tweet-about-overzealous-dmca-takedown-now-subject-overzealous-takedown

It's my weekend! Weekend project is reevaluating and changing all of my passwords and then shutting down accounts I never use anymore. Super exciting, I know. But it's been a little while.

Some crazy people might even call this fraud.

Office Depot rigged PC malware scans to sell unneeded $300 tech support

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/03/office-depot-tricked-people-into-buying-pc-support-with-fake-virus-scans/

I forget who originally posted this, but thank you. It's a superbly written article on the importance of reading fiction and its neurological implications towards creating empathy. I think empathy is important in security. It's valuable to know how an attacker or potential target thinks and operates, especially in a social engineering or OSINT scenerio.

https://lithub.com/what-does-immersing-yourself-in-a-book-do-to-your-brain

Me: I should probably study for that Network+ exam coming up. Also me: oh look! Make an RSS reader in Python? Let's do that!

I'm reading through "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" and I have to say the commitment principle is fascinating. We as humans tend to make up all kinds of crazy justifications for a decision we have made once we make a commitment to that decision. This explains a lot of the crazies in politics, including the flat earthers.

In one corner we have the Master Lock 570, a pin tumbler lock with a dead core (not spring loaded) and 4 security pins. In the other corner we have a snake rake and tension wrench. Guess who wins? (Within 45 seconds, every single time.) #lockpicking