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23 Jan 2010 10:52

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Tech: Internet Explorer 6 fans get a taste of a major in-the-wild exploit

  • It’s the same one that led to Google’s Gibson getting hacked. It’s been warned about for weeks, and Microsoft patched Internet Explorer ahead of its normal release cycle to prevent it, but it’s official – the hack exploited by the Chinese is out in the wild. The exploit was bad enough, but what might be worse is the fact that Microsoft reportedly knew about it in freaking September and only patched it this week. Massive fail. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jan 2010 10:30

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U.S.: Sign of weakness? Obama’s TSA pick drops out after Senate fight

  • It is clear that my nomination has become a lightning rod for those who have chosen to push a political agenda at the risk of the safety and security of the American people.
  • Transportation Security Administration chief nominee Erroll Southers • Regarding his decision to drop out after a brutal, months-long stalling created by Sen. Jim DeMint. DeMint’s big problem with Southers? He didn’t like the fact that he might unionize the TSA. This nomination became contentious, by the way, after the attempted terror attack in Detroit last month. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jan 2010 10:23

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Tech: Microsoft on Internet Explorer troubles: All software is dangerous

  • It is important to note that all software has vulnerabilities and switching browsers in an attempt to protect against these highly publicized but currently limited attacks can inadvertently create some false sense of security.
  • A statement from Microsoft • Regarding a newfound push for users to switch in the wake of a security threat created by Internet Explorer, especially IE6. Germany and France have already said not to use Internet Explorer, and the drumbeat against the software is getting louder. It’s worth pointing out, by the way, that IE has a much slower bug-fixing cycle than its competitors, so this statement (outside of the general sense) is a load of hooey. Drop the zero, get with the hero. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jan 2010 10:46

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World: The Sanjay Gupta thing in Haiti, now with more details

  • what? Sanjay Gupta had to spend his Friday night in Haiti helping earthquake survivors after a crew of Belgian doctors left a makeshift hospital to fend for itself overnight. He did a great job.
  • why? Even though Gupta and others were told the UN had made the decision to move doctors out overnight, it was in fact the lead Belgian doctor who had made the questionable decision.
  • next The UN and Belgian government promise to give the doctors security forces to protect themselves from looters, criminals or anyone else in the wake of the earthquake. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Jan 2010 10:50

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Politics: Top Obama adviser: Expect “a certain shock” from security report

  • We know what happened, we know what didn’t happen, and we know how to fix it. That should be an encouraging aspect. We don’t have to reinvent anything to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
  • National security adviser James Jones • Regarding the soon-to-be-released security report. The report, out today, will note that a lot of things were missed. And they need to fix them. “That’s two strikes,” said Jones, regarding the Fort Hood shooting and the Underwear Bomber. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2010 21:07

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U.S.: Honey flare-up: A false-positive “explosive” has travelers abuzz

  • Excuse me sir, what’s in the jar? A California airport was shut down for hours today after somebody brought some containers of honey through the security check. The substance tested positive for explosives. Really, it was just explosively delicious. Call it sweet consolation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2010 11:15

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Politics: Ron Paul isn’t afraid of standing up to Dick Cheney’s crazy

  • I think he had his eight years, and he’s caused a lot of trouble for our country and perpetuated a war in Iraq unnecessary and wrong-headed. I would say it would be best he not be so critical right now.
  • Rep. Ron Paul • Suggesting that Dick Cheney is out of his element in criticizing the Obama administration’s security policies. Granted, Paul isn’t exactly GOP leadership, but he is also somebody people know and also in Cheney’s party. So it’s interesting that he’s saying this about the guy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Jan 2010 08:37

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Politics: Sen. Jim DeMint lets politics get in the way of security

  • obvious The Senate needs to confirm a TSA chief. Obama already has a guy picked out, and has for months. We just had a terror attempt, too.
  • lame Sen. Jim DeMint is holding up Erroll Southers‘ nomination … over his fear of unions. WTF? Who cares? Let it go, man! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

03 Jan 2010 19:46

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U.S.: Situation at Newark Airport; Twitter’s on edge once again

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jan 2010 21:08

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Politics: Caving in to the TSA: Should bloggers fight to protect sources?

  • Anyone working with Frischling now knows that he’ll respect your confidentiality, just so long as it’s not inconvenient to his liberty. And that’s not respect at all. He let all bloggers down the other day when he willingly handed over his computer to the government.
  • TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington • Regarding travel blogger Steven Frischling, who caved to TSA investigators regarding documents that he released in the wake of the underwear bomber last week. Arrington feels that Frischling let down a lot of bloggers by not fighting the subpoena and instead caving in. The situation has been resolved, with the TSA dropping the subpoenas (fellow travel blogger Chris Elliot didn’t cave), but Arrington feels that bloggers need to fight to protect their sources in cases like this – and as a tech blog on the front line of situations like this (although not as life-or-death), he has some experience with this. We’re with him, but would like to point out that there’s not a lot of institutional support for many bloggers in the same way as traditional journalists. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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