PaulSpoerry.com

Researchers at TippingPoint Technologies’ Digital Vaccine Laboratories have found a way to infiltrate and seize control of one of the world’s largest spam-spewing botnets. By reverse engineering the encryption they have successfully cracked into the botnet. They basically have the ability to create a fake Kraken server capable of overtaking a redirected zombie.

Essentially, TippingPoint can now overtake the infected system and cause it to connect to TippingPoint’s fake Kraken server and receive a command to kill the target process handing the communication. In other words, they CAN stop the spam spewing from these machines. The catch is, they would be sending remote commands to someone’s computer without their knowledge which has caused an ethical dilemma. If they send the commands and stop the spam they are basically hacking the infected computer to do something the end user doesn’t know about.

Personally, I say they send the commands… the computers are already infected. I can however see the issue they have, nobody wants their machine doing anything without their permission. They don’t want to be as bad as the bad guys.

Read more on the issue at eWeek.

I haven’t personally tried this yet but it sounds promising.

WMExperts Forum Member / hero zbop has done the impossible incredible: Written instructions for getting the full version of YouTube working on Windows Mobile without needing a PhD in Computer Science. That’s not m.youtube.com, (which only features whatever videos YouTube has bothered to encode for that site), but the full YouTube. It’s not quite plug ‘n play, but it’s darn close. If you follow zbop’s instructions to a Tee you should be able to manage it.

• If you already have a version of TCPMP installed, uninstall it now.
• Install tcpmp.pocketpc.0.72RC1.cab: link here
• Install FlashVideoBundle.CAB attached [in the linked forum post below] (this MUST be installed in the same location as TCPMP)
• Soft-reset

You’ll also want to read through the whole thread (linked below) for some tips and tricks for configuring TCPMP to get everything running smoothly and quickly (see especially Malatesta’s post). On devices with slow processors, you may want to look into those acceleration tips. I’m here to tell you, though, on a lowly Treo750 with lowly EDGE, it works without too many config futzing.

If you follow the instructions exactly and use the preconfigured TCPMP settings, you should be able to play videos smoothly if your network connection is adequate.

Read: Full Youtube and Google Video access! – WM Experts

(Note, you’ll need to register in order to be able to download the flash bundle .cab.

Johnny Chung Lee unlocks the Wii’s hidden potential.

In a collection of videos, notable for their lucid explanations, the Ph.D. graduate student from CMU’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute shows exactly how versatile the “Wiimote” system can be. Among the uses he convincingly demonstrates: a virtual-reality head-tracker; a virtual whiteboard on a wall, tabletop, and laptop screen; and a Minority Report-style arm-waving and finger-pointing multitouch user interface.

As of September 2007, Nintendo has sold over 13 million Wii game consoles. This significantly exceeds the number of Tablet PCs in use today according to even the most generous estimates of Tablet PC sales. This makes the Wii Remote one of the most common computer input devices in the world. It also happens to be one of the most sophisticated. It contains a 1024×768 infrared camera with built-in hardware blob tracking of up to 4 points at 100Hz. This significantly out performs any PC “webcam” available today. It also contains a +/-3g 8-bit 3-axis accelerometer also operating at 100Hz and an expandsion port for even more capability.

So that’s the geeky shit. Check out this video and have yer mind blown.

Check the full article on CNet’s News.com here. You can also visit Johnny’s Wii project page to see more examples, as well as instructions on how you can do this yourself!

Ron Paul is generally considered not in the race and ignored by the major media outlets. Until very recently he’s been seen as having 1% or less support in the polls… recently he’s been seen as having 3-5%. There is of course a lot of talk about how his supporters are generally younger, and harder to poll… this is generally attributed to the lack of a land line, because more and more young people only use cellular. This may be changing as the California Republican Assembly, the state’s oldest and largest Republican volunteer organization, conducted a straw poll during their annual convention. Fred Thompson was the clear winner with 25% of the votes… what stands out is that the straw poll showed Ron Paul with 12%. Maybe the major media outlets will begin to pay more attention. If you didn’t know (I didn’t… I had to look it up) a straw poll is an informal type of voting where the results are used to gauge opinion. They are commonly used in American political caucuses, where the primary goals are to select delegates and vote on resolutions.

More info on Ron Paul can be found on his website: RonPaul2008

New technologies are radically advancing our freedoms, but they are also enabling unparalleled invasions of privacy. Companies can order all sorts of reports on you and make judgments about you, from banks, to landlords to employers. Here’s how you can see the data they’re seeing and make sure the record is right. For the record, I’m an advocate FOR privacy, but I know a lot of what’s available is also useful to me as a consumer and for the businesses who’s services I may want to use. We just need to be mindful of what they have on file.

Employment Report
ChoicePoint (866) 312-8075

Check Writing History Report
ChexSystems (800) 428-9623

Shared Check Authorization Network (800) 262-7771 Fax: (800) 358-4506
TeleCheck (800) 835-3243.

Residential and Tenant Reports
ChoicePoint: (877) 448-5732
Safe Rent (888) 333-2413
UD Registry (818) 785-3905

Medical History Reports
MIB (866) 692-6901

Insurance Claims Reports
ISO A-Plus Report (800) 627-3487

Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you’re entitled to one of each report below per year for free.

You can also request a LexisNexis report - but this one comes with an $8 fee. It’ll show your voter registration status, neighbors, family members, business associates, etc.

If you’re interested in privacy in relation to data mining, governement data collection, etc I suggest checking of EFF’s Privacy Page