Thursday, May 31, 2012

Violet vs Polt


TSL.Polt(T) v Empire.Violet(Z) - Tal'Darim Altar - 5.30.2012cast by Ipp of RageQuitTV

Nice long game.




Babyknight vs GoldenLighT

ALBabyknight (P) vs Golden LighT (Z) cast by Duckvillelol



More D3 Account Security

I am still following Diablo 3 accounts getting hacked.

See this useful post on Bnet http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5271503297

Some other tidbits:
  • You can get phished from friends Twitter messages, see http://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=13330
  • don't use same password on more than one site
  • use at least one number and one symbol (ie "#$%")[should use upper and lower case letters but Blizz may ignore that]
  • longer is better ^_^ But not if it is words or something from Hackers dictionary (ie 123456789)
  • don't put number or symbol at beginning or end of password, that is what most people do, and password hacking software takes advantage of that
  • Dictionary words for passwords =/= OED or Websters Dictionary; rather it means a Hackers dictionary!  See below.

Don't use a password that can be found on a list like these (warning some Mature language):
  1. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/26000-email-addresses-and-passwords-leaked-check-this-list-to-see-if-youre-included/50424 
  2. http://www.troyhunt.com/2011/06/brief-sony-password-analysis.html
  3. http://www.imperva.com/docs/WP_Consumer_Password_Worst_Practices.pdf
  4. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/repeat-after-me-reusing-passwords-is-bad/10684
  5. http://blog.jimmyr.com/Password_analysis_of_databases_that_were_hacked_28_2009.php



Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Thundertoss Top 200 KOTH Replay pack update

Ascend just updated the replay packs from Top 200, you can find them here http://ascendtv.com/top200koth/replays.php

A lot of really good top level games, useful for study or casting.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Stephano is streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/mstephano

Steve Gibson's Haystacks & Needles (Understanding Passwords)

I am a big fan of Steve Gibson, if your a computer Nerd you probably know who he is, if not let's just say he knows Computers & Computer Security better than anyone your likely to meet.

He is also an excellent communicator, he is one of the best people I know, for taking a complex & arcane topic and explaining it so anyone can understand it.

I strongly recommend reading his article on Passwords at https://www.grc.com/haystack.htm

There are many important components to good passwords, and I suggest reading his article, but if your not going to, I would say the 2 key points to a strong enough password for most of us are the following.

First, Password Length, size matters!

[Thinking of it that way will ensure you remember that important fact.]

Longer is better!!

Second, use a specific minimum complexity, in Steve Gibson's own words [types of characters:  Lower case letters, upper case letters, numbers, and symbols ie "@<>$&*"]:
"The use of every type of character forces the attacker to search through the largest possible space. We must always assume that an attacker is as smart as possible (and most are). So, knowing that 41.69% of all passwords consist of only lowercase alphabetic characters, a smart attacker who is forced to resort to a brute force search won't initially bother spending time guessing passwords that contain uppercase, digits and symbols. Only after an all lowercase search out to some length has failed will an attacker decide that the unknown target password must contain additional types of characters.

So, in essence, by deliberately using at least one of each type of character, we are forcing the attacker to search the largest possible password space, because our password won't ever be found in any of the smaller spaces
."

Links & Info
Steve Gibson's Password Podcast:
Wikipedia on Steve Gibson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Gibson_%28computer_programmer%29

Steve's Little Corner http://www.grc.com/stevegibson.htm
Steve's Twitter http://twitter.com/SGgrc
Steve's Blog https://www.grc.com/news.htm

HwangSin Streaming

http://www.own3d.tv/itsgosu/live/276078

HwangSin switched to Own3d and I wasn't following him there!  My bad, got that fixed now, was wondering why I hadn't seen him stream for so long.

Much better now :)


Computer Security: "The Rules Of Computing"

An excellent article, titled "The Rules of Computing" from a Computer Security blog I follow, it is Mac focused, but the information, aside from Mac specific software, applies to all computers, including Smart Phones!

A lot of people don't realize that smart phones are computers, with additional vulnerabilities added, and that it takes a certainly baseline skillset to operate them without undue security risks.

Especially with the Android platform, since it is less tied down, and far more open, much like computers. 

I wonder if there may be a real job opportunity for Nerds to get into Android Security?

Stay Safe,

Cliff

Friday, May 25, 2012

Password Hacking & Password Strength

Found a password strength meter/tester that is a little different than the others https://passfault.appspot.com/password_strength.html#menu

Article here at Sophos' Naked Security Blog explains it http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/05/25/how-long-would-it-take-to-crack-your-password/

I don't claim to be able to give expert advise about password yet, but personally I like using password phrases with numbers & symbols added to make nice and long passwords.

Blizzard News: Diablo 3 Real Money Auction House delayed, Hotfixes, Account Security/Hacking

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5149181449

Full article at Blizzard link above, covers "Hotfixes, Upcoming Patch, and Ongoing Issues"; also says that due to the problems people have had staying on Bnet servers & etc that they are postponing the opening of the Real Money Auction House (RMAH) for D3, they also cover
"Battle.net®/Diablo III Security Concerns" which fits with what I have blogged already about here (includes link to Blizz to open ticket if account is hacked) & here, but below are some direct quotes of critical sections about Bnet/D3 security from Blizzards current article linked at top:

 ...the number of Diablo III players who've contacted customer service to report a potential compromise of their personal account has been extremely small. In all of the individual Diablo III-related compromise cases we've investigated, none have occurred after a physical Battle.net Authenticator or Battle.net Mobile Authenticator app was attached to the player's account, and we have yet to find any situation where a Diablo III player's account was accessed outside of "traditional" compromise methods (i.e. someone logging using an account's login email and password).

also
...we've also seen discussions regarding the possibility of account compromises occurring in ways that didn’t involve these "traditional" methods -- for example, by "session spoofing" a player’s identity after he or she joins a public game. Regarding this specific example, we've looked into the issue and found no evidence to indicate compromises are occurring in this fashion, and we've determined the methods being suggested to do so are technically impossible. However, you have our assurance that we’ll continue to investigate reports such as these and keep you informed of important updates.
and

The best defense against account theft still includes smart password management (e.g. using a unique password for every site/service and keeping your password to yourself) and scanning for malware and viruses regularly, as well as following additional preventative steps found here. In the end, while no security method is 100% foolproof, the physical Battle.net Authenticator and Battle.net Mobile Authenticator app are great ways to provide your account with an extra layer of protection.

I hope that helps, you can click on the Diablo 3 Label, to see all of my Blog posts on D3, you can find that Label and select others in the Labels cloud at left side of the Blog.  Every blog post will also have Label(s) at bottom left of post.

GL HF,

Cliff

Thundertoss' Top 200 KOTH (King of the Hill)

Stream: http://ascendtv.com or http://www.twitch.tv/ascendtv (different links to same stream)

When: 10:30 KST/03:30 CEST/Fri 21:30 EDT/Fri 18:30 PDT

CastersAscend & Thundertoss 

Casters on FacebookAscend FB & Thundertoss FB

Replays:  http://top200koth.blogspot.com/ (See Replay Packs on left side of that page)

Format:  Top 200 Players (Grandmaster priority, top Masters permitted)

Prizes:
  • $20 for each 5 wins 
  • $10 for dethroning a 5+ win player 
  • $10 for "Match of the Night"

Players: join the chat channel "top200koth" on the NA server, and send a message to Thundertoss.

Thread: Top 200 KOTH (with prize $$!)

TLO Streaming!

http://www.twitch.tv/liquidtlo

Fun hanging out in TLO's chat, TBO is there most of the time, and today Apollo stopped by to hangout.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Nerd News: National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC)

http://www.nationalccdc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=41

For those who are into computers, or want to learn about them, this looks like a great type of event to participate in, might even find more people to have LAN parties with ^_^

Watching Liquid Hero Stream

He is using Phoenix opening a fair bit today, makes me happy.

I think Phoenix openings have potential to be one of the strongest, for offensive style openings, of openings Protoss can use.

I consider Forge Fast Expand (FFE) as a passive or defensive opening, doesn't mean it is bad, but I personally I prefer Offensive openings.

http://www.twitch.tv/LiquidHerO

Diablo 3 Account Security & Hacking compared to Online Banking Hacks

I have seen lot of people posting about getting their accounts hacked, and some people want to blame Blizzard.

I have been focusing on Computer Security issues with all the time & energy I can since late last year, when someone managed to hack my Credit Card.

I have learned a lot since then about computer security, though I feel I am a long way from being an expert, I have certainly learned some important things.

One of those things is that Malware and/or weak passwords are almost always the problem.

Here is a story about small business losing lots of money because of this, if you read the story you will see how it matches exactly with what people are experiencing with D3.


The author of that article has had lots of small business owners contact him because of his story asking what they should do, he recommends Live CD's, which is similar to VM but runs from CD/DVD.

There are also Live USB's.

The point of using these is that most Malware isn't designed to run on Linux, and the Live CD runs separated from the computer in many ways.

Bear in mind many of these people that Brian Krebs talks about lost $100k or more in money!  So they were and are taking this very seriously, and more than a couple were using two factor authentication, lot of banks require than for customers that have large amounts of money.

But with malware on your computer, they can block or delay your log in and use the authentication that you enter to log in.

Additional Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_CD

Hope that helps.

I really do know what it is like to have stuff hacked, been there done that, don't want it to happen again, but it might no matter what I do.  T_T

Stay Safe,

Cliff

ROOTerdam (Rotterdam) streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/RotterdaM08

gogogogogogogo

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Blizzard Diablo 3 Account Security (also WoW & Starcraft 2)

[Special Thanks to KavikTV & Ravager for their help on this post, all errors though are solely mine.]

Update:  If you have been hacked here is Blizz link to use to get problem resolved http://us.battle.net/support/en/article/compromised-diablo-iii-account

According to Blizzard, any time they release a new game, like Diablo 3, or when they release an expansion, there is an increase in the number of accounts reported being Hacked.

There are lots of reasons for this, but here some basic things you can do to help prevent this, these are things you should be doing to reduce your risk from these types of problem in general (ie internet banking, internet buying, etc).

First make sure your Operating System (OS) is up to date (as security problems are found, they are fixed, you need these to help keep hackers out, it is like getting a broken lock on your house door fixed), if your not sure see these links:

Second if your not using an AntiVirus/AntiMalware program already get one and use it!



Cliff recommends these two free AntiMalware products:
I can't recommend any other free ones at this time, I have been using Security Essentials for some time now since having serious problems with a different free product.

I haven't yet used the Sophos product, because I don't have a Mac yet, but I will be getting a Mac in a few weeks, and Sophos' AntiMalware is what my research leads me to use, I will report directly about that product in a future post.

Those two steps will do a lot to prevent a keylogger or something else bad from getting on your computer.

Third update your Browser, Blizzard has good guide to this

Next you should pick a strong password, and if you really want to do something extra get an Authenticator or a Mobile Authenticator from Blizzard, you can use these for Starcraft 2 & WoW as well.

What that does it lets Blizzard send you a 2nd temporary password to use in addition to the password you picked, it is like needing two keys to open a vault or launch a nuke.

I have at least one friend that has using this for some time, and it saved his account from getting hacked when all his local gaming buddies accounts got hacked.

VOD below from Blizzard describes these products and how to use them.

Cliff recommends the Authenticator over the Moble Authenticator, because most of us  will connect our phones to our computers at least some of the time, and if there is MalWare on the computer, it could infect the phone as well.

Friend of mine recently had that happen to his phone, his infected computer also infected his phone.

Or if you have MalWare on your phone, from App or something else, the Hackers might be able to access that 2nd password.

I REALLY recommend the Authenticator if you use a shared or public computer!!!!!!!

Hope that helps.

Stay Safe,

Cliff

See Also:
http://us.battle.net/en/security/checklist 




Hazelynut streaming SC2

http://www.twitch.tv/hazelynut

Go Hazelynut!


Hacking News: "A Tale of Two Pwnies (Part 1)"

Awesome title and good read from Google's Offical Chrome Blog http://blog.chromium.org/2012/05/tale-of-two-pwnies-part-1.html

About results of most recent Pwnium hacking competition.


Monday, May 21, 2012

Computer, Electronic, HAM Geeks gather round, great story of a 16 yr old building his own Sonic Gun

This story is simply to good not to share with everyone, and there is a small Blizzard tie in at the end of the story.

Steve Gibson is a complete Nerd, I would say he is a super Nerd, this story describes a month or so in his life at age 16, when he build a real Sonic Stunner, and what happened when he used it.

This is also a story that might help older nerds get their kids into building hardware or doing coding, instead of just using technology.

Enjoy:

 Security Now #281

Podcast link: http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/aolradio.podcast.aol.com/sn/sn0281.mp3
Mobile/low def Video:  http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp4/twit.cachefly.net/video/sn/sn0281/sn0281_h264b_640x368_256.mp4






TLO Streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/liquidtlo

A nice greedy opening by Toss


Liquid`Taeja(T) v lisTWO(P) - Daybreak - 5.20.2012, cast by Ipp of RageQuitTV.

Protoss uses a cute greedy opening in this game, I liked it! 

If Taeja had scouted more he could have punished it severely of course, but I think he assumed things he didn't see (like Toss was hiding Robo & Gates probably).


Mobile Security: Encryption Bug & Fix for iOS devices that shipped with iOS 3.0

I know lot of gamers are computer geeks & hackers, but not all gamers are, I also know lot of computer geeks prefer Android to iPhone, but you may still have friends or family that use iPhone, or maybe you use iPad or iPod yourself for music.

Anyway, my gf has iPad, so I have been doing a lot of research on iOS security.

Found out some real interesting things about iOS security.

See this Elcomsoft pdf for details, they also cover several password keepers in detail in that pdf.  Elcomsoft is a company that build hacking software and tools for governments and police agencies.

If your using an iPhone 4S or iPad2 or newer (ie A5 or newer chip), and use a strong password and lock the iOS device, your pretty darn secure.

Though iPhone 3GS & current gen iPod touch are fairly secure, they can be hacked by companies like Elcomsoft, or people using tools made by those types of companies from what I understand currently.

Apple may have a backdoor, but if they do it has not made news yet, you also need to be careful what you put on the iCloud, cause Apple states in EULA & etc for iCloud that they can view and even delete data from there.

There are password keepers that encrypt on the device but use iCloud or Dropbox for syncing and backup of encrypted data.

Only problem I have found is that there is a Bug that can prevent iOS device from encrypting data if it shipped with iOS 3.0

Full Story with fix at tidbits.com/article/12049.

You can check to see if your iOS device is using encryption by going to Settings > General > Passcode.  Scrolling to bottom of the screen and look for "Data protection is enabled".

You can see a screen shot of this message from an iPhone near bottom of this page http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4175 

Stay Safe,

Cliff

Sunday, May 20, 2012

watching ToD stream

http://www.own3d.tv/live/117696/ToD_-_FnaticRaidCall

ToD is one of the Toss I follow, I suspect he will have a breakout performance eventually, he is a very solid player.

TLO streaming from Korea again!

http://www.twitch.tv/liquidtlo

Now I can blame staying up all night on TLO!

It isn't my fault he starts streaming so late at night ^_^

Cliff is on Youtube?!?

My VOD selection seems to be popular, Youtube has made a channel of the VOD's I blog about, you can see it, and subscribe if you want, here http://www.youtube.com/blogs/id/8O1gZPDGNaw#popular

I found this by accident when using Google to find some of my older posts (fastest way to find older post I know) don't know if it will stay up or if it is only a temporary thing.

Have to admit I was more than a little surprised to see it, wondering if I should try and find out if I can get some add revenue from it ^_^

I do need a new computer!

Starcraft 2 Thoughts: Better Stargate Opening

In this PvZ matchup, Titan vs Hyun, cast by Crota, we see a stronger stargate opening than typical out of Toss.

I think some Toss are starting to figure out that Phoenix are much stronger than Voidrays in the early game.

Though as a rule I dislike Stargate openings vs Zerg, the Stargate opening in this game is about as strong as you can make it.  But I do agree with Crota, that Zerg also made some mistakes defending.

We see some elements that Elfi has used before, which are similar to style of play I have suggested for PvT.




Friday, May 18, 2012

Watching TLO Stream from Korea

http://www.twitch.tv/liquidtlo

Go TLO

Root Gaming has a Dota team as well as SC2 Team

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=338454

Full story at Catz's TL post above.

Root Gaming website

Root Gaming is back, their web sit is http://www.root-gaming.com/ it is under construction atm, but all my fellow Root fans will probably want to bookmark it.

Root News: Rotterdam joins Root as player

Full story here http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=338461

If you missed the news, Catz and Drewbie have restarted team Root, latest news for Root is Rotterdam joining the team.

For more of my blog posts on Root just click label Root, it can be found in Label cloud at left side of the blog, or at bottom left of this post.

Thundertoss Top 200 KOTH (King of the Hill)

Update:  No Top 200 KOTH tonight, Ascend is still real sick and not able to cast.

Stream: http://ascendtv.com


When: 10:30 KST/03:30 CEST/Fri 21:30 EDT/Fri 18:30 PDT

CastersAscend & Thundertoss

Replays:  http://top200koth.blogspot.com/ (See Replay Packs on left side of that page)

Format:  Top 200 Players (Grandmaster priority, top Masters permitted)

Prizes:




  • $20 for each 5 wins.
  • $10 for dethroning a 5+ win player.
  • $10 for "Match of the Night"

Players: join the chat channel "top200koth" on the NA server, and send a message to Thundertoss.

Thread: Top 200 KOTH (with prize $$!)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

ChanmanV's Pro Corner: col.Goswser and Fitzy - ZvT

 I'm watching ChanmanV's Pro Corner, I am a fan of his shows, and  big fan of Goswser!


Stream:   http://www.twitch.tv/chanmanv



Show Description:
This episode of Pro Corner we have zergs col.Goswser and Fitzy on to discuss ZvT. They will be doing a dual coaching format where each player will take turns walking us through a live game while the other "looks over their shoulder" with comments and critiques. The last 15-20 mins will be saved for view Q&A where you guys can ask col.Goswser and Fitzy any of your questions via skype call in or stream chat. These 2 guys are alot of fun so don't miss out!

When: 12:00 KST/05:00 CEST/Thu 23:00 EDT/Thu 20:00 PDT

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Nerd News: Bram Cohen, Founder & Inventor of Bittorrent

Found this VOD/Podcast (your choice, I listen to the podcasts) from TWiT.TV, on the Triangulation #40 episode where they had Bram Cohen, the guy that created Bittorrent on the show.

He is a really interesting nerd!

Linkhttp://twit.tv/show/triangulation/40

For more posts like this, just click Nerd News label, which can be found in the Label cloud at left side of Blog, or at bottom left of post, along with other labels.

Catz & Drewbie part from compLexity

[Update:  Yes Root is Back!  Sweet!!  http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=337937] (Shoutout to 8mmspikes for the heads up)

http://esfiworld.com/news/catz-drewbie-leave-complexity-minigun-ryze-extend-contacts

I don't know what to say about this, it bums me out somewhat.

Full disclosure, I am a Mod for Drewbie & Minigun, and good friends with Catz's Mods.

I don't have any inside information, but I am hoping this means that Catz & Drewbie are planning to start another Team!!!

I am still a Root fanboy at heart!

I certainly wish all involved continued success, and I will certainly post updates as more information becomes available.


PSA: "Avira Antivirus update cripples millions of Windows PCs"

ZDNet, computer security News/Blog site that I follow, had this very disturbing story about Avira!


http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/avira-antivirus-update-cripples-millions-of-windows-pcs/12129

I don't claim to be a Computer Security expert, but ever since my old XP machine got infested with malware after installing free AVG I have been very picky about what AV (AntiVirus) software I install.

I personally have had very good luck with Microsoft's free Security Essentials link http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials

That was recommend to me by two friends that are true professional Computer Geeks, I am sure there are probably better AV products out there that require purchase (not free).

But I suspect you would need to use products designed for Business/Corporate use to see a real significant benefit over Security Essentials or other good free AV software.

Stay Safe,

Cliff


Nanman Streaming Diablo 3 All day!

My friend NanMan is streaming Diablo 3 all day.

I think he will have today's stream up on youtube later as well, he has play through of Beta up.

Streamhttp://www.twitch.tv/therealnanman

PSA: Rootkit Removal, Windows Defender Offline (free)

I have an old XP machine that I used to use to play Diablo 2 on, it is horribly infested with malware, free AV software was part of the problem from what I have been able to tell.

I tried a bunch of things to clean it, but wasn't sure it was clean so I stopped using it, with the Diablo 3 release I started thinking about it again.

Which led me to this free Malware removal tool that I didn't try on the XP machine, that is supposed to be good for removing rootkits & such http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline

If I felt halfway sure I got it clean there is data I would like to pull off of it, nothing critical, but some useful things.

I know, I should have it backed up but we are talking like maybe a dozen bookmarks that I could find again with couple days of work if I ever do need them, & some project Gutenberg books that I have on my Blackberry anyway but have been to lazy to download again on laptop or transfer from Blackberry to my laptop (I wish smartphones had USB 3!!!).

Anyway I though some of my readers would find this tool useful, you can put it on a DVD/USB and then boot with Windows Defender Offline, it will load ahead of the root kits during the boot from what I understand ( I am not a hard core computer nerd).

Hope that helps.

~Cliff


Minigun & Catz Streaming Diablo 3

They are not playing together though T_T

Minigun's streamhttp://www.twitch.tv/colminigun

Catz's Stream: http://www.twitch.tv/colcatz

Monday, May 14, 2012

ChanmanV's Pro Corner: col.QXC & iS.JEcho

Two players that I really like, JEcho &v QXC will be playing a Bo5

Casters:  ChanmanV &Axeltoss.

Format:  After the series, the 2 players walk through at least one of the replays from the series to get a sense of their decision making and strategies.   Followed by a Q&A via skype or stream chat.

When: Tue 12:00 KST/Tue 05:00 CEST/Mon 23:00 EDT/ Mon 20:00 PDT

Streamhttp://www.twitch.tv/chanmanv

More Infohttp://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=292091

Blizzard's Live Exclusive Diablo 3 Event

Machinima is hosting a Live Diablo III launch event.

When:  May 14, 2012 at 19:45 (7:45 pm) PDT 
 
Stream (a Youtube Stream weird):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RBCEV1yyD8

Note some helpful information in the comments section of the stream link.

Diablo 3 System Requirements, Install Problems, Help, etc.

I as well as many others are looking forward to Diablo III, which releases in less than 4 hours from now (in NA), I figured I would post some links to help anyone having trouble with the install tonight or in the future.

Feel free to post helpful links or information in the comments section.

I will add to this post as I find more information.

Good Intro to Basics (ie Primary skills, Secondary skills, Passive, etc):  http://segmentnext.com/2012/05/12/diablo-3-builds-character-development-and-progression-guide/

Diablo 3 Blog (news, install problems, guides, etc):  http://www.diablo3builds.com/ 

Blizzard/Bnet Diablo 3 Guide (start here if you have no clue):  http://us.battle.net/d3/en/game/


Blizzard/Bnet Diablo III Main page http://us.battle.net/d3/en/?-


System Requirementshttp://us.battle.net/support/en/article/diablo-iii-system-requirements

Known Issues (mainly from Beta atm):  http://us.battle.net/support/en/blog/5367451

PC Troubleshooting Guidehttp://us.battle.net/support/en/article/diablo-iii-installation-troubleshooting-pc


Mac Troubleshooting Guide http://us.battle.net/support/en/article/diablo-iii-installation-troubleshooting-mac

Main Blizzard Diablo III Helphttp://us.battle.net/support/en/games/diablo3

Launch Day Prep Guidehttp://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/5338015/Launch_Day_Preparation_Guide-5_14_2012#blog

Another Diablo 3 site (Builds, news, etc):  http://www.d3sanc.com/



Watching Attero Stream

http://www.twitch.tv/sc2attero

Such a handsome Nerdballer!

He's witty as well!

WhiteRa streaming some really crazy games!

http://www.twitch.tv/whitera

Go WhiteRa!!

<333

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Watching Axslav vs BeastyQT on MSI Battlegrounds Day 2

Live now Monday 03:00 CEST/Sun 21:00 EST/18:00 PST

http://www.twitch.tv/MSIstarcraftTV

Tt.WhiteRa Vs EmpireMista Showmatch

[Update: Showmatch will be delayed about an hour, see stream for more info]

WhiteRa vs Mista Roccat HSL Show Match

Best of 9

Event Time: 02:00 KST/Sun 19:00 CEST/Sun 13:00 EDT/Sun 10:00 PDT


Where : On Hellenic Starcraft2 League
Date: Sunday May 13th
Time: 20:00pm UTC/GMT +3 hours | Eastern European Summer Time
Prizes: 1st - 150 €
Casters: HSLTV | PlayhemTV | EmpireTV
Streams: HSL TV (Greek), PlayhemTV (English)

Mista is a strong player, though perhaps not well known outside of the EU yet, he won at least one Rundown (weekly event sponsored by my friends at CSN).

Brackets from that Rundown http://cyber-sports.net/brackets/19095

In Mista's first Rundown, Rundown #7 IIRC,  he faced Destiny.

 Game 1 Destiny vs Mista in a Bo3 in VOD below

Starcraft 2 Thoughts: Value of Spines, Spores, & Many Macro Hatches

Thanks to Stephano, many more Zerg are starting to use Spines as part of their build, something I have suggested for a long time, Spines are far more useful than banking thousands of minerals IMO.

I do wish, specifically against Protoss that Zerg would make more Spores, they do a lot to deny Protoss free map hacks via Observers!!!

I think 1 or 2 Spores for every clump of Spines is good.

Another Key point to consider for late game Zerg, is to make more Macro Hatches, specially forward ones like Stephano has toyed with, if you use them to make units, a Hatch with no injection will produce ~4 Larva a minute (ie 1 every 15 seconds).

So 3 Hatches will cost 900 Minerals and without Injects will produce 12 Larva/minute vs 2 Hatches + 2 Queens that cost 900 Minerals and with Injects will provide ~12 Larva a minute.

So if you make more Macro hatches you will have more Larva after big fights when you miss injects, plus if you have 2-3 hatches near each Queen, if you miss Injects, the Queen can burn her extra energy by injecting all the Hatches next to her.

Additionally the Hatch provides some supply, and has a lot more HP than either Ovie or Queen, and counts as a building for base races.

Food for though.

GL HF,

Cliff

Some Early Morning Slush Streaming

Go Slush!

http://www.twitch.tv/slush

I wish he would yell at Kiwikaki to stream again though :/

***
Slush is one of the very few Zerg I have seen that seem to regularly use Ovie Creep generation to help spread creep around his base.

Most Zerg don't spread creep enough in their Main & most Expos (usually Natural has best creep), this is an important component to base defense IMO for Zerg.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Friday, May 11, 2012

Play Expo October 13 & 14, 2012

For my readers in UK & EU, you might want to go to this event, in their own words this "show is the only UK video games expo which caters for every aspect of video games – from console, PC and mobile to classic gaming including arcade and pinball right through to pro gaming/eSports and even cosplay."

For more information see their site at http://www.playexpo.net/

Blizzard/Bnet post about Tournaments

If your looking for Starcraft 2 events to watch or participate in, check out this post from Blizzard about events this weekend/week Upcoming Tournaments

TLO PLaylist

I don't know how current these are, I will add more as I find them, feel free to post comments with links to newer TLO playlists or ones I have missed.


Adrenaline by Dario Wünsch
 http://open.spotify.com/user/liquidtlo/playlist/7jkAIU1PJhcgvFDuaVHpqy

TLO:EPIC
http://grooveshark.com/#!/playlist/TLO+Epic/53889583

You can look at this TL thread for more info as well
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=181739&currentpage=15#

To see list of all Pro Gamers Playlists I have posted click playlist, that link can be found at bottom left of this post, and in the Label cloud at left side of Blog.

I have not figured out a good way to have cross reference search engine in the blog itself yet (google widget for Blog doesn't work as good as main Google?!?), but my blog is well crawled by Google so you can cut and past Cliff's Esports Corner Playlist in Google.  Then add WhiteRa, Catz, Stephano, Drewbie, TLO, etc to get a list of Playlists I have posted of that specific player.

GL HF,

Cliff

Thundertoss Top 200 KOTH (King of the Hill)

Stream: http://ascendtv.com


When: 10:30 KST/03:30 CEST/Fri 21:30 EDT/Fri 18:30 PDT

CastersAscend & Thundertoss

Replays:  http://top200koth.blogspot.com/ (See Replay Packs on left side of that page)

Format:  Top 200 Players (Grandmaster priority, top Masters permitted)

Prizes:



  • $20 for each 5 wins.
  • $10 for dethroning a 5+ win player.
  • $10 for "Match of the Night"

Players: join the chat channel "top200koth" on the NA server, and send a message to Thundertoss.

Thread: Top 200 KOTH (with prize $$!)

TLO streaming Zerg Shenanigans

Go TLO!     http://www.twitch.tv/liquidtlo

Just FYI, link to lyrics of a song TLO was listening to today, that I had never heard before (TLO listens to a lot of interesting music IMHO) http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/dropkickmurphys/kissmeimshitfaced.html

TLO's Twitter, since correct one is little hard to find on Google

I found out today that Teamliquid TLO actually tweets a lot about when he is going to stream Starcraft 2 & etc.

I didn't know that cause the Twitter the Google shows for TLO is either one he never used or a fake one, under Dario (his real name).

Once I looked on TL it was easy to find TLO's real Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/LiquidTLO

or @LiquidTLO


If you don't want a Twitter account you can RSS Twitter accounts, I posted instructions for that on Cliff's How To Corner, http://howtocorner-cliff.blogspot.com/search/label/twitter

Catz Streaming

Go Catz!

http://www.twitch.tv/colcatz

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Attero streaming

Just watched Attero defend vs a Terran 1-1-1 very smoothly on his stream http://www.twitch.tv/sc2attero

He added Stargate/Phoenix to his Immortal Zealot mix when he scout the Banshees, first time in a while I have seen a Toss use Phoenix vs Terran, I would like to see more Phoenix vs Terran.

Idra vs BeastyQT

Idra vs BeastyQT, cast by Ipp of RageQuitTV, on Entombed Valley 5.10.2012

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

col QXC vs Fnatic NightEnD Bo7

[UPDATE, Added Correct stream, sorry about confusion]

Tonight on CSN's weekly Allstars showmatch, a Bo7 pitting QXC vs NightEnD.

Even though Toss is my main race, I am a QXC fan, Go QXC!

For more on the teams just click Fnatic or compLexity.


When:  Tuesday 5/8/2012 at 20:30 EST/17:30 PDT

Streamhttp://www.twitch.tv/csntv  CORRECT STREAM: http://www.twitch.tv/cybersportsnetwork

Casters:  @Axeltoss@SC2PrOmise

Prize Pool:  1st: $100 2nd: $25

Map Pool:
  • MLG Antiga Shipyard (Cross Only)
  • MLG DayBreak
  • MLG Shakuras Plateau
  • MLG Tal'darim Altar
  • ESV Ohana LE
  • ESV Cloud Kingdom
  • MLG Metropolis
  • Bel'Shir Beach Winter

Illusion is streaming some great practice games, between lot of pros.

http://www.twitch.tv/illusioncss

I like watching custom games/practice a lot more than ladder games, you usually see higher level play from both sides.

Or sometimes you get to see new builds being worked on.

PSA: iOS users 5.1.1 update has important security patches in it

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5278

I normally wait a week or two to update my gf's iOS devices, but iOS 5.1.1 has what I would consider a critical patch for Safari, so already have it installed.

5.1.1 seems stable so far on her iPad, if I find any serious bugs with this pacth I will post update to this blog post.

Without the patch your vulnerable to Address Spoofing, which could be a real problem for purchases or online banking.

This website http://majorsecurity.net/ has proof of concept of the Safari Vulnerablity at http://majorsecurity.net/html5/ios51-demo.html

Stay Safe,

Cliff

For similar posts click PSA, iOS, or Hacking, these labels and more can be found in the Label cloud at left side of Blog.

Labels may also be found at the bottom left of every post.

WhiteRa Streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/whitera

Go WhiteRa!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Starcraft 2 Skills: PvT dealing with 1-1-1

This game, Hero vs Sjow, from NASL Season 3, shows how Protoss can use maneuvering to defeat Terran's 1-1-1 push.

Computer Security: Staying on top of Hacks, Exploits, and Vulnerabilities

Though Computer Security is multi faceted, one important aspect is knowing about new problems, so you can find and implement work arounds or temporary fixes until the weakness is patched.

Sometimes no security patch or updates will be issued, or they may not be released for months  [Cough Mac, Flash, Cough].

Sometimes there are technical reasons for those delays, and sometimes other reasons, doesn't really matter to us, still have to deal with the problem.

I follow several blogs & podcasts to stay on top of issues.

One of my favorites, a weekly podcast, is the Security Now podcast I have mentioned before, I am not a hard core computer nerd, but this podcast provides good enough explanations of security issues, without dumbing down, that I can keep improving my knowledge base on the topic.

For daily, or as it happens, updates I follow several blogs, here is a partial list, I would welcome suggestions for more to follow,


Stay Safe,

Cliff

Sunday, May 6, 2012

WhiteRa vs TLO Showmatch streaming now!!!

WhiteRa vs TLO!  Bo7 Showmatch, think this is for fun, but not sure.

I crawled out of bed to watch it ^_^

Live now Sunday May 6, 2012 at 16:45 CEST/10:45 EST


http://www.twitch.tv/whitera
http://www.twitch.tv/liquidtlo

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Starcraft 2 Skills: Mouse Clicking Practice that TLO was using on his Stream

I saw TLO using this game http://www.missionred.com/games/reflexte.html for mouse precision practice (popping circles with mouse).

It is all flash bashed, McAfee said no problems on that site, I gave it a short try and liked it better than last type I tried, this one seemed to run smoother on my laptop.

GL HF,

Cliff

Oops! There is Top 200 KOTH tonight, I thought Thunder was going to watch "Avengers"

Stream: http://ascendtv.com


When: 10:30 KST/03:30 CEST/Fri 21:30 EDT/Fri 18:30 PDT

CastersAscend & Thundertoss

Replays:  http://top200koth.blogspot.com/ (See Replay Packs on left side of that page)

Format:  Top 200 Players (Grandmaster priority, top Masters permitted)

Prizes:


  • $20 for each 5 wins.
  • $10 for dethroning a 5+ win player.
  • $10 for "Match of the Night"

Players: join the chat channel "top200koth" on the NA server, and send a message to Thundertoss.

Thread: Top 200 KOTH (with prize $$!)

Iron Squid Grand Finals!

When:  Saturday 5/52012 at (think these times were off, now corrected)

  • Corrected times
  • 10:00 11:00 CEST
  • 04:00 05:00 EDT
  • 01:00 02:00 PDT
Detailed Schedule:
  • 11.00: pregame show
  • 11.30: aLive - MMA
  • 14.30: NesTea - Symbol
  • 16.30-17.30: Interviews with the players
  • 18.00: Bronze match
  • 20.00: Grand Final

Streams

More Informationhttp://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=333825

Watching Sase Stream again

Watching http://www.twitch.tv/hellosase till Iron Quid starts with Totalbiscuit & Apollo!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

TLO Awesomeness 2012 Edition

A really great game between TLO & Axslav, on Metropolis, cast by Ipp, from RageQuitTV.  Uploaded May 2, 2012


Replayhttp://drop.sc/170291

I like this game a lot!