Zombie blasting overlaid on top of speed metal. Fun times

Zombie Grinder 4000

Web applications are among the most common computing services that are exposed to the Internet, and thus they pose an inviting target to anyone who wants to break into your network to steal sensitive information, tamper with your data, or otherwise compromise your system. Ensuring the security of a Web application is a serious task, and requires consideration throughout the design, development, deployment, and operation phase

Working reading that doesn't feel like work.

Design and Deploy Secure Web Apps with ASP.NET 2.0 and IIS 6.0

AIM Robots are sponsored and operated by AOL and other vendors and appear as buddy icons in the buddy lists of AIM users who install them.

For example, users can send an instant message to the AOLYellowpages AIM Robot with the name of a local business or with simply a keyword and the robot replies with related directory listings. The Wall Street Journal robot lets users set up news alerts to be delivered via AIM, as well as request stock prices.

For those who have been under an IT rock, Time Warner is looking to sell off AOL. With Yahoo dropping out the main parties interested are Microsoft and Google.

AOL's instant messaging technologies and userbase is its crown jewel. While Google does have an IM service I couldn't figure out why Google would be interested. How wrong I was! Google doesn't care about AOL's dial-up customers or adding AIM users. Google sees AIM as a conduit to spread services.

Decius has a T-Mobile Sidekick. So does my friend Strick. Web browsing on it is about on par with a 9600 baud modem. While there are some services/proxies/gateways which will strip HTML down to something doable on a handheld, I find they leave much to be desired. This is because they are doing it in real time. At times its faster to IM Rattle to search for something than to actually search for something.

So what does this mean about IM? IM is fast. IM is faster than web browsing on most non-PC devices. AIM compatible IM clients exist in many mobile phones. AIM has a ton of existing users. Creating Google IM Robots to respond to Local searches, Direction requests, Maps, address lookups would fill a need for mobile devices. In short, AOL and AIM allows Google to expand beyond the computer.

Why would Google want AOL?

A representative of the United States government last week warned entertainment publishers against using CD and DVD copy protection software that hides inside computers.

"It's very important to remember that it's your intellectual property; it's not your computer. And in the pursuit of protection of intellectual property, it's important not to defeat or undermine the security measures that people need to adopt in these days," said Stewart Baker, the assistant secretary the Department of Homeland Security, at a conference.

oh how I wish he had said "its important not to endanger a computer or impede the fair use of the intellectual property."

Can't win them all.

US Gov't weighs in on Sony DRM

Server Used: [ whois.pir.org ]

ida.org = [ 129.246.225.12 ]

Domain ID: D1226635-LROR
Domain Name: IDA.ORG
Created On: 11-Aug-1988 04: 00: 00 UTC
Last Updated On: 22-Oct-2004 21: 05: 23 UTC
Expiration Date: 10-Aug-2007 04: 00: 00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar: Network Solutions LLC (R63-LROR)
Status: CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID: 19939329-NSI
Registrant Name: Institute for Defense Analyses
Registrant Organization: Institute for Defense Analyses
Registrant Street1: 4850 Mark Center Drive
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City: Alexandria
Registrant State/Province: VA
Registrant Postal Code: 22311
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: 1.70384525

A co-worker got a call from these guys today. Who did you contact in 1988 to even register? The US Commerce department? These guys are in VA and seem to scream Feds...

Update: These guys are serious players

WHOIS: Holy Crap!

I walked back over to my stove, to check on the status of my piddly sandwich. Somehow, it no longer seemed quite so weak. As though, there was an inner strength to my now proud grilled cheese.

I leapt into action, seizing the spatula into my shaking hand. Some powerful force was at work here, I could feel it. I slowly flipped my now glowing sandwich over, and with a brilliant flash of light, the holy image of THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER APPEARED!!11!!!ONEONEONE!!!!11

Everything makes sense now. I used to be all hung up on drugs, and depressed about life. But after tonight, my life has taken on new meaning. I must get this message out, and spread the holy gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. This has truly changed my life.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster now makes appearences on pieces of toast, much like the Virgin Mary.

eBay: Miracle Sandwich Flying Spaghetti Monster! (item 5611000686 end time Sep-07-05 18:22:22 PDT)

U.S. Navy personnel cleared unexploded ordnance from a luxury cruise ship Monday, two days after pirates attacked the vessel off Africa, the U.S. military said.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

U.S. Navy boards ship after pirate attack

From - Sat Nov 05 02:50:29 2005
Date: Sat, 05 Nov 2005 02:50:28 -0500
From: Acidus (acidus@yak.net)
User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0.2 (X11/20050317)
To: tonykel nkem (djkelvin2003@yahoo.com)
Subject: Re: sort code

tonykel nkem wrote:

: i have some valid credit card with the billing information how can i
: get or generate the cvv2 or cvc of the card plz i need reply.
: hacker kelvin

Step 1. Remove your pants
Step 2. Insert your dick into your own ass
Step 3. Go fuck yourself

Sincerely,
Acidus

A Dutch dentist who amputated his own finger and attempted to convince insurers that it had been severed in a car crash was fined €25,000 yesterday for the failed fraud, Reuters reports.

The unnamed 50-year-old snipped off his pinkie before piling his car into a tree in Belgium. He claimed €1.8m from insurers, saying the finger had been chopped off by the vehicle's steering wheel.

However, the master fraudster had failed to consider the forensic evidence, which showed "the shape of the cut on his index finger, the level of anaesthetic in his blood and the absence of skid marks on the road" pointed to a scam.

Dutch dentist amputates own finger for fraud

The analysis does some of what I would like to see: Take key events and produce a timeline of how FEMA was informed and what Brown's response was:

The e-mails reveal that Mr. Brown was apprised early on Monday of the levee failure and the
dire consequences for New Orleans. For example, Mr. Brown received the following stream of
e-mails on Monday, August 29:
• At 9:39 a.m., Mr. Brown received a message stating: “Report that the levee in Arabi has
failed next to the industrial canal.”21
• At 9:53 a.m., Mr. Brown received a message stating: “A LEVEE BREACH
OCCURRED ALONG THE INDUSTRIAL CANAL AT TENNESSE[E] STREET. 3 TO
8 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED DUE TO THE BREACH … LOCATIONS IN
THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO ARABI AND 9TH WARD
OF NEW ORLEANS”22
• At 10:20 a.m., Mr. Brown received a message stating:
From Marty Bahamonde in the New Orleans EOC (next to the superdome)
- Severe flooding on the St. Bernard/Orleans parish line. Police report water level
up to second floor of two story houses. People are trapped in attics.
- Pumps starting to fail. The city has now confirmed four pumps are off line.
- Windows and parts of the east side of the Amaco building blown out.
- New Orleans shopping center (next to superdome) destroyed.
- Windows and parts of the East side of the Hyatt Hotel have been blown out.
Furniture is blowing out of the hotel.
- Top floors of the Entergy building have been blown out
- Area around the Superdome is beginning to flood.
We should have pictures shortly.23
• At 11:57 a.m., Mr. Brown received a message stating: “New Orleans FD is reporting a 20 foot wide breach on the lake ponchatrian levy. The area is lakeshore Blvd and 17th
street.”

THE E-MAILS OF MICHAEL BROWN

The e-mails indicate that Mr. Brown responded to only one of these messages. At 12:09 p.m., Mr. Brown responded to the 11:57 a.m. report of the “20 foot wide breach on the lake ponchatrain levy” by dismissing the report. He wrote: “I’m being told here water over not a breach.” The e-mails do not indicate who told Mr. Brown this misinformation. There is also no indication in the e-mails that Mr. Brown recognized the seriousness of his mistake or took actions to correct it. There are no further e-mails from Mr. Brown that day about the levees.

Levy Timeline: FEMA's emails