11 Mar 2006
Former top Bush aide accused of thefts

Talk about a culture of corruption ... the money quote:

Bush nominated Allen in 2003 for a seat on the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia. But the nomination -- which some Democrats opposed on concerns about Allen's views on social issues -- did not come to a vote.

Mr. Allen was a leading advocate of "abstinence only" sex education and HIV prevention programs. I wonder if he managed to shoplift any condoms on his spree?

Reuters - Claude Allen, President George W. Bush's former top domestic policy adviser, was arrested this week in Maryland for allegedly swindling two stores out of more than $5,000, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, quoting Montgomery County police.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Microsoft Research Warn About VM-Based Rootkits

I wondered when one of these would show up. And I wonder how the new EFI boot mechanism will work with these - is there a chance that this same technique could be "exploited" to dual boot the new Intel Mac's and Windows?

I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that we're certain to find out.

According to a story on eWeek, lab rats at Microsoft Research and the University of Michigan have teamed up to create prototypes for virtual machine-based rootkits that significantly push the envelope for hiding malware and maintaining control of a target OS. The proof-of-concept rootkit, called SubVirt, exploits known security flaws and drops a VMM (virtual machine monitor) underneath a Windows or Linux installation. Once the target operating system is hoisted into a virtual machine, the rootkit becomes impossible to detect because its state cannot be accessed by security software running in the target system.

(link) [Slashdot]

00:00 /Technology | 2 comments | permanent link

Time switch creating computer nightmare

Backwards ClockYou know, this really deserves to be in large, bold letters:

TOLD YA SO!

And you can bet I'll keep you posted on the chaos ...

For the record, Hammerstead Farms will not be observing "Daylight Savings Time" - if you make an appointment to come out, plan on arriving on the standard time, and not some made up hour. If you're in doubt, try looking at the sun. You might learn something that our esteemed politicos in Indy are apparently ignorant of: you cannot change the time by passing a law. To trot out my favorite quote for situations like this: "You can put a shoe in the oven but that doesn't make it a biscuit!" (Malcolm X).

If you have an important meeting starting April 2, beware of relying on your computer for a reminder--there's a fair chance you'll be late. The state's first-ever switch to daylight-saving time will leave thousands of computers confused about what time it is, and their users not much better off.

(link) [Indiana Business Journal]

via Masson's Blog

00:00 /Politics | 1 comment | permanent link