Security & Hacking: US Infrastructure Enormous Vulnerabilities

Also seems like a lot of stupidity going on as well.

This article today from Sophos http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/31/nuclear-security-silence/ isn't anything new, see http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/security-hacking-backdoor-in-computer.html

But this Quote of a Quote [I'm quoting Sophos, quoting Reuters article], illustrates just how messed up Infrastructure Security is, as well as the stupidity:

"In addition, attendees said they were alarmed to learn that because the government has kept a technique it discovered for attacking electricity generation equipment secret for five years, potential targets had not realized they were vulnerable and therefore did not buy hardware needed to protect themselves." 

Also might want to look at Basecamp, which is trying to raise public awareness to pressure politicians and business to improve situation http://www.digitalbond.com/tools/basecamp/

A bit technical, but most computer nerds should be able to follow it no problem.

Some Wikipedia articles that explain the acronyms.

• SCADA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCADA
• DCS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_control_system
• PLC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_logic_controller
• RTU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_Terminal_Unit

Natural Selection 2 Launch

Natural Selection 2 Steam Launch

Steam link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/4920/ 

Natural Selection 2 is a cool mix of one player, the Commander, that plays game as RTS, while rest of the team plays as FPS.

You can also catch live stream games and events from their Twitch channel,

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/naturalselection2

HwangSin Streaming SC2

Stream:  http://www.own3d.tv/HwangSin

<333 Hwangsin

Days like today, when so many great streams going glad, I have 2 screens for my computer, plus laptop for a 3rd if needed ^_^

Sacriel Streaming DayZ for Halloween

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/sacriel

Though Sacriel is being stream sniped. so very BM.

Root Drewbie streaming

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

Yay! 

Been a while since I saw Drewbie Stream!

Nerd News: More on Hurricane Sandy's effect on Data Centers

Ars link http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-takes-data-centers-offline-with-flooding-power-outages/

For a similar post see http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/nerd-news-internet-hubs-hurricane-sandy.html

PSA: NYC Hurricane Sandy & Delieveries of Food, Medicine, or Water

 Via Twitter:
Anyone who needs food, water or medical supplies delivered via bike please message us 
~https://twitter.com/OWSBC/status/263395580238249984

 Their webpage is http://owsbc.org/

Their Twitter homepage is https://twitter.com/OWSBC

Email: OWSBC@OWSBC.ORG
Twitter: @OWSBC
Facebook: OWSBC

Natural Selection 2 streaming live now

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/naturalselection2

More info http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/

I think this is a Steam release party, but not completely sure. 

Edited to add Steam link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/4920/

Security & Hacking: Governer Haley, of South Carolina, Press Conference on State's Tax Returns Hacked

I feel equal motivation to Ridicule and Cry!


At 12:39 mark she is asked why sensitive information wasn't encrypted, her response, was that encryption wasn't an industry standard, that banks don't encrypt SSN's!

Link to that section of the Youtube http://youtu.be/ni9jQS3Nb80?t=12m39s 

Just consider some of these resources, available for anyone, there are more resources available for state governments:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_security
•  PDF good report http://www.verizonbusiness.com/resources/reports/rp_data-breach-investigations-report-2012_en_xg.pdf
• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc750076.aspx
• http://krebsonsecurity.com/

"Officials announced last week that up to 3.6 million returns from as far back as 1998 may have been compromised by the international hacker, who likely penetrated the Department of Revenue's system a month before the breach was detected by the U.S. Secret Service." ~http://www.abcnews4.com/story/19949311/haley-sled-giving-update-on-tax-records-hacking

See also:

• http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2012/10/30/states-cost-for-credit-protection-service-capped-at-12-million
• http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9233074/S.C._governor_s_post_breach_data_encryption_claims_are_off_base_analysts_say

Nerd News: Internet Hubs & Hurricane Sandy

For those wondering why problems in New York affect Teamliquid and other net based services, this is interesting http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9233080/Storm_forces_Internet_hubs_to_run_on_generator_power

The article linked above is about what they call "carrier hotels," more formally known as Colocation Center (coloc for short), see Wikipedia for more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colocation_centre

Short version is those two Colocation Centers are a major node from Transatlantic internet traffic, right now both of them are running on their generators.

Root Vibe Streaming

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/vibelol

Because TL is down because of the Hurricane, I am trying to blog and tweet when any player I follow starts streaming.

GL HF

TLO streaming SC2

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

Since Teamliquid is down, I am trying to post when any player I follow starts streaming, to make it easier for people to see who is playing.

Nerd News: Teamliquid is down, because of power loss Hurricane Sandy

Just a heads up for everyone"


teamliquid.net  is down from power loss caused by Hurricane Sandy. No ETA for when service will be restored
~https://twitter.com/R1CH_TL/status/263121801574494209






You can use http://sc2casts.com/ I think, not sure if they just mirrored TL or not.

Minigun is Streaming SC2

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

also TL is down in case people are wondering

PSA: Live Radio (EMS) feed from NYC

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?action=cwp&ctid=1855

Hurricane Sandy: Map with Gauge Flooding in Real Time

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2012/oct/29/map-real-time-flood-gauge/

A real time map showing flooding, based on remote sensors if I understand correctly.

Nerd News: Valve Linux Beta

http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/

Valve is beta testing Linux.

I know a lot of Nerds are excited about this, I am interested, though I am just getting into Linux myself.

Motivation for me is to get my old XP machines back into use, and also for security using Live CD, thinking I will probably study pen testing a bit as well.

Don't think I will get very serious about doing pen testing myself, but it will help a lot for understanding computer security.

PSA: Hurricane Sandy Reference Page

Edited to add:  online broadcast of EMS radio from NYC area http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?action=cwp&ctid=1855 

Flood Map based on sensors if I understand correctly http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2012/oct/29/map-real-time-flood-gauge/

*****

http://researchbuzz.me/sandynyc/

Research Buzz is a blog by a very good researcher, that I have been following for some time, today they have resource page up for Hurricane Sandy, focusing on New York City (NYC), but is relevant to surrounding areas and for general info on Hurricane Sandy.

One handy tip quoted from link above:

"Remember, if you want to follow a single Twitter account via SMS, you can send a text message to 40404 reading follow username (substituting the Twitter account name for the user name you want) — depending on your phone it might be easier for you to get updates from emergency service Twitter accounts via SMS than via a Twitter application."

Just a handful of the more general resources, from Research Buzz:

• NYT state-by-state report page http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/29/state-by-state-guide-to-hurricane-sandy/
• Google's Crisis Map (I tweeted this earlier) http://google.org/crisismap/sandy-2012
• Power Outage Map http://apps.coned.com/stormcenter_external/default.html

Sage Streaming SC2

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

Since I am up so early in the morning, I can watch Sage stream, usually I haven't gone to sleep yet when he streams :)

Computer Desk of the Week (CDotW): Workstation & Gaming Rig

http://extremerigs.blogspot.com/p/build-log-project-thief-tx10-monster.html

I use the Computer Desk of the Week posts to showcase both PC builds and Desks, plus the occasional PC build that builds the PC into the Desk!

If link above doesn't work, that blog is a little strange, then click on this link http://www.extremerigs.net/ and select "Build Log: Project Thief - TX10 Monster Dual Workstation/Gaming" from the "Pages" section at left side of blog.

He is also posting about it on this forum http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158816

For more posts like this, click the Label Computer Desk of the Week CDotW

Nerd Gear: HDD Enclosures

Nice article here http://lifehacker.com/5955402/five-best-drive-enclosures about HDD enclosures.

They had a couple I hadn't heard about before, though they missed one I like, http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go is expensive, but I like the looks and the USB 3.0 & Firewire, I don't normally use Firewire, so the two of my machines that have Firewire on them, always have that available.

USB ports on the other hand, tend to be in short supply, I probably should get a good powered USB hub.

The other thing I like about the OWC On The Go Pro, is that you can get external power adapter for it, http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MOTGPWR/

With the external power adapter, and a OTG cable, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FUNYSA/, I can use the external HDD with the Galaxy Note 2 I am getting myself for Christmas.

OTG cables don't provide power, so they can't power HDD or optical drives.

IE vs Firefox: The Cake Wars

http://limpet.net/mbrubeck/2012/10/26/mozilla-ie10-cake.html

My favorite news item of the day ^_^

Nerd News: Google Android event canceled due to Hurricane Sandy

Story at Verge http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/27/3563274/google-event-canceled-due-to-hurricane


Also for those in the path of the Hurricane, here is a link with some tips for prep and etc http://lifehacker.com/5955487/how-to-prepare-for-hurricane-sandy

Sacriel streaming DayZ

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/sacriel

My favorite DayZ caster/streamer.

Security & Hacking: How to Crack WPA & WPA2

Good, though somewhat technical, article on cracking WiFi http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-howto/31914-how-to-crack-wpa-wpa2-2012

Though not mentioned in that article, related to strong passwords, I really think everyone should be using a good password keeper.

So the only password you need to remember is the one needed to unlock your password keeper, I would use Steve Gibson's advice for that password, blogged about here http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/05/steve-gibsons-haystacks-needles.html

Then use random passwords, generated by the password keeper, for everything else.

There are many good password keepers out there, I like and recommend mSecure https://msevensoftware.com/

For free I believe Strip Lite is good, their website http://getstrip.com/ or iTunes.

Another free one I might suggest is KeePass, I have heard good things about it, and have a friend that uses it.


See Also:

• Security Now # 347 [about iOS Password keepers, but most avialable for Android/PC/etc] (text) (mp3) (VOD)
• [PDF professional review of a few password keepers] http://www.elcomsoft.com/WP/BH-EU-2012-WP.pdf

Security & Hacking: South Carolina's Department of Revenue Hacked

Saw the story at Ars http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/10/hack-of-south-carolina-network-exposes-ssns-for-3-6-million-taxpayers/

Sounds like all, or virtually all, of taxpayers of the state were hit by this hack, based on population of South Carolina http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/45000.html

This makes the town that got hacked seem insignificant by comparison, http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/security-hacking-hackers-hit-small-us.html

For more posts on these types of topics click on either Security or Hacking Labels, Labels can be found in Label cloud at left side of blog and at bottom left of every post.

I really hope this South Carolina hack is big enough that State and Local governments here in the US start taking cyber or computer security seriously.

Thundertoss' Top 200 KOTH is live

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/top200koth


For those of you not familiar with Top 200 description and rules:

Thundertoss' weekly Top 200 King of the Hill continues, showing the top players duking it out in a King of the Hill format.

Top 200 Players (Grandmaster priority, top Masters permitted)
$50 for each 5 wins.
$10 for dethroning a 5+ win player.
$10 for "Match of the Night"

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

Site: http://www.twitch.tv/top200koth

TL Thread: Top 200 KOTH Returns!

War of the Roses "Barbarian" build

Kavik has been streaming War of the Roses frequently, he has been trying any build people suggest, and answering questions.

You can find more of Kavik's VOD's at http://www.youtube.com/user/KavikTV/featured

Sage Streaming SC2

Was thinking of going to bed, but then Sage started streaming, so much for sleep ^_^

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

Nerd News: Das Keyboard sponsors ROOT Gaming!

This is cool to me, I am a ROOT fanboy and a Das fanboy!

TL thread with announcement http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=377878

Links to my blog posts about my Das Keyboard, that I love http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/01/nerd-news-got-my-das-keyboard-today.html

As some of my readers know, I have lot of joint pain issues, already have arthritis so bad I have prescription pain medication.

The Das keyboard has greatly eased my pain issues with my hands, wish I would have got a Das years ago.

Also wish I could find something that helped my knees and ankles as much as Das helps my hands.

Security & Hacking "Backdoor in computer controls opens critical infrastructure to hackers"

http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/10/backdoor-in-computer-controls-opens-critical-infrastructure-to-hackers/

Things are just peachy with infrastructure security, this quote sums it up, "The CoDeSys tool will grant a command shell to anyone who knows the proper command syntax and inner workings, leaving systems that are connected to the public Internet open to malicious tampering."

This involves power plants and other infrastructure in the US and other parts of the world.

Not only is it frightening, it is really sad, just how big a vulnerability this single issue causes.

Not really even hacking, more like no security at all.

There are more infrastructure security issues out there.

There is a ridiculously bad category called Forever Day Bugs, also know as iDays, or Infinite Days.

Name is similar to Zero Day, only Forever Day/iDays vulnerabilities remain for years even after they are disclosed.

For various reasons iDays don't get patched or fixed.

Bruce Schneier has talked about Forever Day Bugs (vulnerabilities) http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/04/forever-day_bug.html

Ars has also covered them http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/04/rise-of-ics-forever-day-vulnerabiliities-threaten-critical-infrastructure/

ICS=Industrial Control Systems, not Ice Cream Sandwich, in this context.

Nerd News: Update on Amazon Kindle owned by Linn in Norway that was Wiped

Link to full story, which I strongly urge everyone to read, for some reason the correct details and updates to this story are not getting much attention http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2012/10/rights-you-have-no-right-to-your-ebooks/index.htm

Still not clear about the details about why a problem occurred in the first place, but Simon Phipps covers in the article on Computerworld UK, linked above, some of the possible reasons it might have occurred.

But the two highlights, that I will quote, indicate the issue has been resolved, again this information is from Simon Phipps' article at Computerworld UK, I would also like to note the article was published at 19:34 (BST I assume) on October 22, 2012 (ie Monday) and the updates happened late Monday Night/early Tuesday Morning:

Update @ 23:55 - Linn just contacted me to say her account has been mysteriously re-activated and she's busily downloading her books. Hopefully Amazon will have more news for us all soon. Even positive arbitrary actions disclose how much Kindle customers read only with the grace of Amazon, of course...

Update @ 00:30 - Amazon PR just wrote to say: "We would like to clarify our policy on this topic. Account status should not affect any customer's ability to access their library. If any customer has trouble accessing their content, he or she should contact customer service for help. Thank you for your interest in Kindle."

Note the response from Amazon's PR department, about Account status ability should not prevent you from reading your library!

For those not aware Amazon went through a mess with deleting a book from customers' Kindles, because Amazon actually didn't have the rights to sell digital copy of that title or something like that, see Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com_controversies#Kindle_content_removal 

Important thing to get from that, is Amazon learned it's lesson then, they apologized and offered everyone affected small amount of compensation.

IME Amazon responds to customer complaints, both on individual level and on bigger issues when brought to their attention.

Not saying they are perfect, they still use DRM which I hate, and personally think is pointless, as we all know locks only keep honest people out.

Apple Fusion Drive Problems and Troubleshooting for Mac Mini & iMac

Here is link to Apple's support information for the new Fusion drive http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5446?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Has FAQ & Troubleshooting information.

Based on quick reading, I would say Fusion Drive is probably not a good option for serious video capture, they already address a problem with this, in the support information, and consumers haven't had it for more than a day or so yet!

Quote of section I am referring to:

"I'm using video capture software and it reports frame drops during sustained captures. What could be wrong?
Your project's capture requirements may exceed the sustained capture rate available to your Fusion Drive. Try capturing a smaller segment of the source or reduce its resolution."

Sage Streaming SC2

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

Watching Sage again today, he has really been beating most Zergs on ladder last couple of days.

Think Ret is only Zerg I saw beat him yesterday.

Liquid Hero Streaming SC2

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

Hero Fighting!

Sacriel DayZ: Airfield sniper team encounter

If case you haven't heard yet, Sacriel is gaming and streaming full time now, what he is doing for work.

So if you like his VPD's please follow him on http://www.youtube.com/user/sacriel42/featured

Note: this is another private server, so skins and gear are not same as standard

Catz vs CombatEX

Catz vs CombatEX

On Catz's youtube Channel "WeAreCatz"

Catz has had couple different Youtube channels, but this is his current & active one.

New VOD's are posted almost everyday, unless Catz on the way to a Tourney or in a Tournament or such.

So if you haven't been getting enough Catz, or like me, you can't listen to him when your girlfriend is trying to sleep (I hate headphones) because his singing wakes her up.

You can get a daily fix via youtube ^_^

Nerd News: Xbox and Windows Phone Store and services temporarily down

http://www.wpcentral.com/xbox-and-windows-phone-store-and-services-temporarily-down

Sounds like at least some people were having problems with Microsoft and/or Xbox connectivity.

Figured I would post this in case people were having problems, so they knew it wasn't on their end.

Nerd Gear: Anandtech reviews T Mobile Galaxy Note 2

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6386/samsung-galaxy-note-2-review-t-mobile-

Galaxy Note II on T Mobile is what I plan to get myself for Christmas this year, and I am becoming convinced that Anandtech is one of the best places for reviews on electronics.

I wish they had more articles, but pretty sure the reason they have fewer than some other places, is that they actually spend time testing and using stuff before writing about it.

They also have first touch articles, but those are clearly labeled, so you know up front if your getting a real review, or just impressions from a trade show or event.

Most, if not all of their writers, also do a good job at separating facts and observations from opinion and preferences.

Something that I, as a writer, really appreciate, a lot of online sources of so called "information" don't seem to make an effort at that, or perhaps lack awareness of the distinction.

Anyway, I don't have anything objective to add ^_^

I haven't found anything to dislike about the Note 2 so far, other than ridiculous price on T Mobile, not sure why they are $70 more than anyone else, maybe that is typo or something, or they want people to buy the phone elsewhere?

Security & Hacking: "Thieves rig Barnes & Noble PIN pads to steal credit card data"

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/24/barnes-noble-pin-pad-credit-card/

Not clear yet if this attack used Skimmers or Hacking.

Note that the FBI asked Barnes and Noble to sit on this for a month, so actual attack happen a while ago, and not clear yet how long it had been active.

Days?  Weeks?  Months?  Years?

I suspect Skimmer's of some type myself in this attack, but could have been software hack or something else.

For more on Skimmers see Krebs article "Would you have Spotted this ATM Fraud?" for even more you can see Brian Krebs entire series on Skimmers at his "All about Skimmers" were he has collected all his articles in one spot, with short intro to each article and link to full individual story.

Security & Hacking: Hacker Halted "Malicious Browser Extensions"

See http://www.prweb.com/releases/browserextensions/ZoltanBalazs/prweb9802144.htm and http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9232848/Researcher_to_demonstrate_feature_rich_malware_that_works_as_a_browser_extension
for full story.

Short version, based on my understanding, is that this is a presentation by Zoltan Balazs, with Proof of Concept of an extension that the user has to be tricked into installing with Firefox (ie Social Engineering).

On the other hand, with Chrome it would need to get on official Chrome Store, so much higher barrier for success on Chrome.

If user makes the mistake of installing this malware on their browser, then they are pretty much pwned.

Defeats security of at least some types of Two Factor Authentication, they specifically mention Google's.

Two things stood out to me, quoted below from the Computerworld aricle:

"Chrome's support for Native Client (NaCl), a sandboxing technology that allows Web applications to run C or C++ code inside the browser, can be leveraged by the Chrome extension to efficiently crack password hashes."

"The Safari version was easy to create because Chrome extensions can be easily converted to Safari extensions, Balazs said."

Related links:

• Bio Zoltan Balazs http://www.hackerhalted.com/2012/Presenters/CuttheCrap.aspx#Zoltan-Balazs
• Hacktivity 2012 earlier this month, where this was previously presented http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_HU/hu/services/enterprise-risk-services/security-privacy-and-technology/hacktivity2012/index.htm

Sacriel Streaming DayZ on private Server

http://www.twitch.tv/sacriel

Sacriel is my favorite DayZ streamer/caster, if you like him as well please follow him on twitch.

Nerd News: Prices on Micro SD cards have dropped a lot

On Amazon at least they have dropped a lot, last week they were around $1/GB they are down to around $0.70/GB right now.

Not sure if this is permanent or not?

I am an Amazon Associate, but not trying to make money off of anyone for this bit of info ^_^

Security & Hacking: Exploiting Badges in Public

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/22/how-flashing-can-reveal-your-identity/

Just think what a prepared person could do with a good DSLR!

Or a moderate price telescope with digital camera hook up on building entrance, or more cunningly on a nearby food place to actual target.

This type of thing reminds me of the old days and dumpster diving.

Watching WhiteRa Stream HOTS Ladder

http://www.twitch.tv/whitera

Days like this where bad air quality (air pollution) and my asthma are trolling me, I really appreciate awesome gamers like WhiteRa streaming.

Helps a lot on days like this!

<3 WhiteRa

Security & Hacking: "National Weather Service website hacked"

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/19/national-weather-service-website-hacked-by-kosovo-hackers-security/

"A post on pastebin.com by a group identifying itself as "Kosova Hacker's Security" took credit for the hack and posted lists of files allegedly copied from the servers as proof."

So, just another example that you can get malware even from "safe" sites, which is one of the most common excuses I get from friends/family that I am trying to get to follow basic computer and net security procedures.

Bristol Cryptography's report on CSS 2012

http://bristolcrypto.blogspot.com/2012/10/ccs-2012.html

Link above is their article on CSS 2012.

I found their comments on Why Eve and Mallory love Android: an analysis of android SSL (in)security interesting,  link to original article which is behind paywall though Abstract & etc available for free, since I am planning on switching to Android this Christmas from Blackberry.

Iron Squid NA Qualifier

English Cast : ToD & Kaelaris on www.twitch.tv/ironsquid

French Cast : P&T on ogaming.tv/ogaming-tv

2 Spot for Main Tournament.

500$ to win for the winner.

Site: http://ironsquid.binarybeast.com/xSC212092714

EG MCSL: Evil Geniuses vs. Team Liquid

Way to many great games going on this weekend!

EG's Master Cup Series League:  EG vs TL!


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

When: 03:00 KST/Sat 20:00 CEST/Sat 14:00 EDT/Sat 11:00 PDT

DreamHack Eizo Open Bucharest

DreamHack Eizo Open: Bucharest is the forth competition of the year.

When: 16:30 KST/09:30 CEST/03:30 EDT/00:30 PDT

Streams: http://dreamhack.tv/

Host: Redeye

Casters: Apollo & JoRoSaR

Observer: Adebisi

Bracket: http://dhopen.binarybeast.com/

Website: http://open.dreamhack.se/

Thread: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=373536

Site: http://open.dreamhack.se/

Top 200 KOTH

New Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/top200koth


Thundertoss' weekly Top 200 King of the Hill continues, showing the top players duking it out in a King of the Hill format.

Top 200 Players (Grandmaster priority, top Masters permitted)
$50 for each 5 wins.
$10 for dethroning a 5+ win player.
$10 for "Match of the Night"

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


Site: http://www.twitch.tv/top200koth

TL Thread: Top 200 KOTH Returns!

How and Why to Backup your Computer Data

This VOD covers the importance of computer backups, with basic explanation about how to go about it.

Think about what happened to Mat Honan if you need more motivation!  http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/08/security-hacking-mat-honan-targeted.html

OWC is a company that focus on upgrading Mac computers, but their products will work with PC's just fine.

Things like SSD, RAM, HDD's, etc.

They provide hardware to improve all of Apple's computers; from Mac Pros (the workstation not the laptop), iMac's, Macbook Pro's (aka MBP, Apple's Laptop), & Macbook Air's (aka MBA, Apple's Netbook or lightweight both physically and performance wise laptop/netbook).

OWC also has excellent installation videos, cause let face it, most Apple Computers are not Noob Friendly for hardware upgrading.

Though you can generally upgrade HDD or SSD on Apple Laptops easily.

Like this SSD upgrade for the 2012 Rentina display MBP http://youtu.be/s0AVEc0IVqo

Here is a short, clear, and concise VOD on Backing up with Windows 7

Random Wikipedia of the Day: Swarming (military)

Today's Random Wikipedia of the Day (RWotD) "is for the Swarm" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarming_%28military%29

To see previous Random Wikipedia of the Day RWotD just click that Label, other Labels can be found in the cloud at left side of Blog.

I really should do RWotD daily, or close to daily, they are popular & fun.

Feel free to share Wikipedia links you find interesting.

Natural Selection 2 (NS2) "ESL Launch Tournament"

http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/news/2012/10/esl_launch_tournament

"On November 10, some of the best players in the Natural Selection 2 beta will have the opportunity to go head to head, live and in person, at the ESL studios in Cologne, Germany."

Natural Selection 2 combines a team leader that plays the game as a RTS, with the rest of the team that plays as FPS.

This is a game I am very excited about, for many reasons, but one is that I have long had an interest in Self Defense, Military History, Combat, Martial Arts, etc and one of the things that I learned early is that Unit Coordination (ie how well individuals in a unit communicate and work together as a team) is really a force multiplier.

This game is the first one that I know of in Esports that looks like it will really emphasize that element, while at the same time be very enjoyable to spectate.


For more information on Natural Selection 2 see their link above, or my other posts by clicking Label Natural Selection 2, other labels can be found in Label cloud at left side of blog.

XCOM "Rescue: Russia - Locate VIP"

If your into Minecraft you have probably seen Paul's Minecraft Tutorials or streams.

Paul is a big fan of XCOM, and so it is natural that he is all over the current version.

If you want to follow his entire XCOM series the playlist is http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEbtIY4p_ltqJiLj2nhn_FbrXxSSY5xO1

If you like Paul's shows please follow him either on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/paulsoaresjr/featured or Twitter https://twitter.com/paulsoaresjr

I always encourage people to follow Casters, Gamers, & Bloggers that they like, not only does it help a little for those people (guess I am one of those people as well), but for a lot of people that produce content like that, it is one of the best forms of feedback.

Honestly most of us that produce things for people to watch or read on the internet will never make much money from it, we do it because we like to share stuff with people.

Combination of entertainment and education IMHO.

" Fake AV Vendors Feel Credit Card Crunch"

Another really excellent article from Brian Krebs http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/10/rogue-pharma-fake-av-vendors-feel-credit-card-crunch/

Not sure how to accurately summarize this article, but he opens with:

"New research suggests that companies behind some of America’s best known consumer brands may be far more effective at fighting cybercrime than any efforts to enact more stringent computer security and anti-piracy laws."

He then mentions that things like SOPA have been pushed by legislators, but that the data suggests brand holders already handle things very well.

Security & Hacking "Study Group: Game Theory in Internet Security "

http://bristolcrypto.blogspot.com/2012/10/study-group-game-theory-in-internet.html

Note, this is high level article, a bit beyond my current or complete understanding.

I consider the Bristol Cryptography blog to be professional and/or academic level Crypto and Computer security source of information.

It is an University of Bristol Blog after all ^_^

But it discusses Game Theory and DoS & DDoS attacks.

Guide, How To "VNC from an iPad or iPhone to a Mac"

http://osxdaily.com/2012/10/18/vnc-from-iphone-ipad-to-mac-remote-access/

I haven't used this myself, I still don't have iOS device myself, though I will probably get an iPod Touch sooner or later, or failing that I will get my girlfriend's iPad 2 when we upgrade her to iPad 3 or iPad 4

I do have an iMac, in part cause I didn't want to have to switch to Windows 8, and with Bootcamp I can run Windows 7, and eventually Linux (just starting to play with Linux).

Anyway I have been looking into VPN solutions for my girlfriend, because she is a database manager at work, and while she has work provided laptop, it usually stays at work in the dock unless she knows she is going to need it.

She doesn't like carrying it around.

But she loves her iPad 2, unfortunately because it doesn't support flash, and for some other issues, she can't always take care of everything work related that she would like to from her iPad.

If we find a VPN solution for iOs that solvers her problems I will certainly post about it, other wise we are thinking about maybe a 2nd work Windows 8 phone or phablet to solve that problem.

Computer Desk of the Week (CDotW)

This week's desk of the week is a loft, but it still has room for three 27" screens http://lifehacker.com/5952844/the-lofted-workspace

Quote from link above with specs & bit more:

"liquid cooled 6 core, 64 gb RAM custom machine and 3x 27" Achieva Shimian Korean IPS displays. These are mounted to the wall with monitor arms and can be pulled closer to the edge of the table if needed. The setup works really well for my 3d modeling and coding work"

Sacriel's latest DayZ: Friendly Dave.. The Murderer Pt1

If you haven't heard Sacriel is doing gaming & streaming full time now, congrats on that!

If you like Sacriel please follow him on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/sacriel42/featured 

Friendly Dave is dam good sniper shot, hope he teams up with Sacriel more in the future!

Rotterdam Streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/RotterdaM08

aka Rooterdam ^_^

Crota & EonShiKeno as team in 2v2 HOTS

I would like to see more of these two guys playing 2v2!

coLMinigun vs iSPyre bo7 live cast live games

I missed the announcement for this T_T

Game 4 is in prgress atm

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/samsc2

EG MCSL - ROOT vs. Fnatic

Go ROOT!!!!

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


When: 10:00 KST/03:00 CEST/ Wed 21:00EDT/Wed 18:00 PDT

Security & Hacking: " Scrap Value of a Hacked PC"

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/10/the-scrap-value-of-a-hacked-pc-revisited/

EXCELLENT Article with clear picture showing what Hackers gain from hacking a computer, even a simple one just used for web surfing and email!

Brian Kreb's security blog is one of my favorite!

Think this article illustrates why, lot of computer people understand computer security, but I know as a writer just how hard it can be to communicate concepts at times.

This illustration is brilliant!

It really is an outline in visual form:

1. Web Server
2. E Mail Attacks
3. Virtual Goods
4. Reputation Hijacking
5. Bot Activity
6. Account Credentials
7. Financial Credentials
8. Hostage Attacks

Followed by simple details so non computer security geeks will understand that "Reputation Hijacking" means they take control of your Facebook/Twitter/etc.

Learned about a new Bot myself today from this artical, the CAPTCHA Solving Zombie, Krebs' answered question about that in the comments with this link http://www.inwyrd.com/blog/2010/03/hijacking-koobfaces-captcha-solver/

Security & Hacking: Proof of Concept Steam Vulnerabilities

Saw story mentioned couple places http://www.pcworld.com/article/2012128/researchers-steam-url-protocol-can-be-abused-to-exploit-game-vulnerabilities.html and http://www.macworld.com/article/2012128/researchers-steam-url-protocol-can-be-abused-to-exploit-game-vulnerabilities.html

Also saw this http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2971493

They reference this source (PDF) http://revuln.com/files/ReVuln_Steam_Browser_Protocol_Insecurity.pdf

It isn't in the wild AFAIK, if anyone has any evidence of that I would like to hear about it!

Security & Hacking: "Hackers hit small US town, steal tax payer data and $400,000"

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/15/burlington-hacker/

Online banking isn't safe, though everyone is gradually being forced in that direction, since mailing statements cost time and money.

If you are going to do online banking or other finicail transactions, like stocks or other investments, then use a Live CD or as a distant 2nd choice, use a  iOS device on a private password protected WiFi connection.

For iOS devices were security is concerned you want to use an iPad 2 or newer, iPhone 4S or newer, or 2012 iPod Touch or newer device, because there are hardware related limitations to the security of earlier iOS devices (some security features were add in the hardware, and also some of the more recent software security features require the more powerful CPU & etc of the newer devices).

Here is a Guide to using Live CD by someone who knows what he is talking about, Brian Krebs, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/10/e-banking_on_a_locked_down_non.html 

Link above is older one from when Krebs was still writing for the Washington Post, here is more recent one from the Washington Post (2010) http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/10/avoid_windows_malware_bank_on.html 

And one from this year, on Live CD from his blog Krebs On Security http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/07/banking-on-a-live-cd/

I have also suggested to a few people, that having two separate Bank or Credit Unions, and having some of their money split between them, would be helpful if you do get hacked.

Since you might only lose money from one institution, so you would have some money available to pay Rent/Mortgage, buy food, keep paying for Medical & other types of important insurance, and buying medicine.

You might get some money back if this happens to you, but there is no guarantee of that.

Sadly for the city workers hit by this, ones that were getting their paychecks direct deposited, even having two separate accounts might not have helped them at all.

KavikTV Streaming War of the Roses

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/kaviktv

He also has War of the Roses Guides on his Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/KavikTV

If your looking for more info, the official War of the Roses page is http://www.waroftherosesthegame.com/

Sacriel streaming more DayZ

http://www.twitch.tv/sacriel

I am pretty sure Sacriel said yesterday that he quit his job, so he can full time game and stream for a living now!!!!

Congrats Sacriel!

So if you like his casting and streaming please follow him on twitch link above, it will help him make money while living the dream ^_^

You can also follow him on twitter https://ja.twitter.com/Sacriel42 or @Sacriel42

And on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/sacriel42

Sacriel streaming DayZ

http://www.twitch.tv/sacriel

Nerd Gear: Nerd Bar "The Inebriator"

More Info http://www.theinebriator.com/


I like this! 

Even though my poison of choice is Mountain Dew!

I do have a rum and coke on occasion, or even better Rum in Ice Tea (my own creation AFAIK).

I also enjoy home brewed beer that couple of my friends make, wonder why I have never gotten in bottles as gifts though?!?

Anyway, this is real neat, the VOD is of their first version/prototype, they are working on second version, sounds like they might try and commercialize the second version if things go well.

Hopefully they will be able to do so with the second version, they have no plans to share or market first version, except what they have shown on youtube and their blog http://www.theinebriator.com/

Nerd News: Gaymercon & Extra Life

http://gaymercon.org/info/about

You can follow them on Twitter @GaymerCon or link https://twitter.com/GaymerCon

They are participating in a Gaming Charity event October 20, 212 with Extra Life

Gaymercon post about event here http://blog.gaymercon.org/gaymercon-teams-up-with-extra-life-for-24-hour-gaming-session-on-october-20th-to-raise-money-for-local-childrens-hospitals/


Extra Life event info, from link http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=508

WHEN:  October 20, 2012 @ 8am (Or choose a date that works for your schedule)

WHERE:  Anywhere you like to game (Most people play from home!)

GAME/PLATFORM:  Play any games on any platforms you want including mobile devices!

HOW IT WORKS:  Simply ask your friends and family to sponsor your efforts.  They can make a monthly pledge or a one-time gift.  Then, have a seat and play games on October 20th.

WHO IT BENEFITS:  Gamers select the children's hospital they want to play for during registration.  In the US and Canada there are more than 170 CMN Hospitals to choose from.  Players may also choose to play for hospitals in the UK and Australia.
As always you can register for Extra Life absolutely free, however we'd like you to consider the $15 Platinum option, which makes you eligible to receive lot's of goodies and prizes throughout the campaign, including the official 2012 Extra Life T-shirt when you hit $200 in funds raised.

Back story on Extra Life http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.page&id=1007&eventID=508

Podcasts on Android & iOS

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-download-listen-to-podcasts-android-ios-iphone/

Good overview for both types of devices.

Covers computer connected option as well as wireless, my preferred method, via WiFi/Mobile Internet.

Article covers a few of the better Podcast Apps for both eco systems, since you generally need an App for a decent wireless podcast experience with most devices.

I listen to podscasts a lot, I don't like music for aerobic workouts, cardio is real important but mind crushingly boring for me.

So I tend to listen to hardcore tech or science podcasts during aerobic workouts.

Also listen to same types of podcasts when I am exhausted but Asthma is preventing me from really sleeping.

HwangSin is streaming

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

<333 HwangSin

ASUS ROG The GD Invitational

Waiting for Group B to start, Elfi vs Kas next series, Elfi is one of my favorite Toss.

Though to be honest, I have several favorite Toss and Zerg ^_^, fewer favorite Terrans.

Time: 19:30 KST/12:30 CEST/06:30 EDT/03:30 PDT

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

Information on event at http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=374139

Twitch is having problems, they are aware of it and working on issue

https://twitter.com/theGunrun/status/256964146141224960

All kinds of crazy tonight on internets.

For those that don't know Gunrun is one of the Wizzards that fixes problems on Twitch.

This from Fishstix, another Twitch TV employee
  
"We are aware if apparent issues with all Twitch streams and our engineers are on it. Update soon"


https://twitter.com/FishStix/status/256962649542242304

Thundertoss Top 200 King of the Hill is back

Just started, 10:40 KST/ 3:40 CEST/ 1:40 UTC/ 22:40 BRT/ 6:40 pm PDT

New Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/top200koth

Big Shoutout and Thanks to Sponsers:

• @twitchTV
• @CultOfRazer
• @quanticRum (Quantic is a sponsor, additionally QuanticRum is doing Production)

For those of you not familiar with Top 200 description and rules:

Thundertoss' weekly Top 200 King of the Hill continues, showing the top players duking it out in a King of the Hill format.

Top 200 Players (Grandmaster priority, top Masters permitted)
$50 for each 5 wins.
$10 for dethroning a 5+ win player.
$10 for "Match of the Night"

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

Site: http://www.twitch.tv/top200koth

TL Thread: Top 200 KOTH Returns!

Computer Desk of the Week: Custom Coffee Table Computer

Images here http://imgur.com/a/zcgZ9

Reddit here http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/119ctm/build_complete_custom_coffee_table_computer/

Details:  i5 3570k 3.4 GHz 16GB RAM ASUS P8 Z77-VLK Motherboard Gigabyte Nvidia GTX 550Ti 1GB video card H100 All in one liquid cooling 128GB Solid State Hardive

Thanks to KavikTV for the heads up on this build.

Labels: Computer Desk of the Week CDotW

SsonLighT vs Liquid`Sea

SsonLighT (P) vs Liquid`Sea (T) cast by Duckvillelol

Not sure I liked the early opening by Toss, but I liked the first real attack.

Nerd Gear: Neat NAS Mod

Finished pics of the NAS mod here http://m.hardocp.com/news/2012/10/11/h_reader_mod_day/ thread for build, which IMHO if even more interesting than the finished product, is here http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1706705

Nice job Kier!

Well done Sir!!

Basic Combat Guide for War of the Roses by KavikTV

War of Roses is a new game, Official page http://www.waroftherosesthegame.com/

Kavik is continuing to make Guides and other VOD's for the War of the Roses game, you can follow him at http://www.youtube.com/user/KavikTV/featured if you like his casts.

He is also streaming War of the Roses several times a week at http://www.twitch.tv/kaviktv

If you follow him on his Twitch channel you can get email notice when he starts streaming, and because he wants to encourage others to play Roses, he has been taking viewer suggestions for any gear combos, even ones that are silly.


He also Tweets when he is gonna stream, unless he forgets :p at @KavikTV  or https://twitter.com/KavikTV

To see all my posts on this game just click on the label War of Roses, you can bookmark it, if you are just interested in War of Roses.

Labels can be found at bottom left of every post, and selected Labels can be found in the Cloud at left side of Blog.

Natural Selection 2 (NS2) Release Date Oct 31, 2012

Natural Selection 2 (NS2) is a very interesting Team game, each team has a Commander that plays the games as a RTS, while the other team members plays as FPS.

They have announced release date of October 3, 2012 full info at http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/news/2012/10/natural_selection_2_release_date

Lot of things I like about this game, I like the blend of RTS with FPS, lets friends with different preferences and skills to play together with more enjoyment.

People with physical handicaps or health issues, like myself, run into physical barriers/ceilings often with competitive games, aside from board games.

I think this game provides an opportunity to lot of people that would like to compete seriously but because of physical limitation can't ever place.

I really like a some of the game play elements, I really like the Aliens 3 dimensional movement, that and the importance of team communications have real relevance to real life.

Yeah I know most gamers don't care about real life elements, but I do coaching and instruction in more than one field.

Teaching people to be situationally aware, especially to things above them is difficult, having people play a game were aliens drop on their head should fix that quickly ^_^

Nerd News: Very Cool Desktop layout

Saw this at http://lifehacker.com/5950465/the-orbital-control-desktop link to creators Flickr page & image http://www.flickr.com/photos/lloydlingin/8050939259/in/pool-lifehacker-desktop-showandtell,
a similar but busier, ie more visual elements, version http://takeshikawa.deviantart.com/art/Hi-Tech-Desktop-Rainmeter-328429757

Guide to making Desktop HUD with Rainmaker http://lifehacker.com/5828789/how-to-create-an-attractive-customized-desktop-hud-with-rainmeter

Rainmaker http://rainmeter.net/cms/

Crypto News: Embedded Systems Week: Day 1

I started studying computer security seriously last December, because my credit card number got hacked or stolen some how and I wanted to know why & prevent it from happening again.

Learned a lot so far, though still a lot left to learn, still pretty much a Noob when it comes to Crypto, but I keep studying and learning.

The Bristol Cryptography Blog is an excellent source for Crypto news and information, they are covering the "Embedded Systems Week: It consists of three co-located conferences, CASES, EMSOFT and CODES+ISSS."

Day 1 coverage here http://bristolcrypto.blogspot.com/2012/10/embedded-systems-week-day-1-monday.html

Windows & Adobe Patch Recap: Microsoft patches Windows & Office problems; Adobe Flash Update

In case you missed my post before Microsoft's Tuesday, Brian Krebb's post http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/10/microsoft-patches-windows-office-flaws/ covers all the important aspects, and he mentions the Adobe Flash update as well.

Nerd Gear: "ASUS F2A85-V Pro Review: A Look at FM2 with A85X"

Anandtech review and discussion http://www.anandtech.com/show/6360/asus-f2a85v-pro-review-a-look-at-fm2-with-a85x

If your like me you can find hardware a bit confusing at times, Trinity processors add to that complexity, as Anandtech article linked above says:

"The main point of confusion comes in the face of chipsets, whereby multiple sockets and processor families can use the same chipsets and each motherboard manufacturer has a different naming scheme in order to differentiate the two."

Anandtech always seems to do good reviews, and I think this article is helpful in understanding Trinity.

Not that I claim a deep understanding of it at this point!

Fortunately I have a few friends that are real hard core computer nerds that I go to when I need help ^_^

WhiteRa Streaming HOTS

http://www.twitch.tv/whitera

<333 WhiteRa

Can't wait to see what Special Tactics WhiteRa comes up with for Heart of the Swarm!

DayZ: Another Day of Zeds from Sacriel (Private Server)

If you like Sacriel's VODs and your not following him, please consider doing so, it really helps casters to make some money or leverage deals.

His Youtube Channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/sacriel42/featured

IME most of the good casters like Sacriel stick a lot of their money back into hardware and games, so all of us viewers benefit.

Wonder if TV will ever think of doing that O_o

Security & Hacking: Spear Phishing in Action

Very interesting examination of Spear Phishing in action http://blog.fireeye.com/research/2012/10/spear-phishing-in-action.html?

There is more to it than just sending an email.

Adobe patch, make sure you get it.

Both Brian Krebs http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/10/critical-adobe-flash-player-update-nixes-25-flaws/ and Sophos http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/09/adobe-security-update/ cover this latest patch/update.

Sophos and others starting to cover the Skype Malware going around.

See Sophos blog here http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/10/08/skype-worm-spreads/
and Ars link http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/10/skype-users-targeted-by-malicious-worm-that-locks-them-out-of-their-pcs/


My previous posts on this malware:

• http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/security-hacking-more-on-skype-malware.html
• http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/psa-update-on-skype-malware.html
• http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/psa-skype-malware-alert.html

Best News of the Day: Microsoft files DCMA takedown at BBC & US Government!

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/8/3472662/microsoft-dmca-takedown-bbc-wikipedia-government-google-search

The Verge says it was accident, I don't know why they assume that ^_^

Damm Pirates are everywhere, take 'em down, do it for the Children!

World of Warcraft (WoW) Hack, WMD in WoW Skeletons Everywhere

Saw the story on Ars, same source for youtube embedded above, found this both funny and sad.

Brought to my mind the Maine Republican attack on Democratic Candidate, that I blogged about the other day Nerd News: Gamer in Politics, Demonized for playing World of Warcraft (WoW)  

Liquid Taeja vs Grubby

Grubby (P) vs Taeja (T) cast by Crota

Game 2  ||  Game 3

Security & Hacking: More on Skype Malware that is going around

http://zhurai.com/541-skype-chatspam-virus-notes/

 If you have more info please post in comments or Tweet me @CliffsEsport || https://twitter.com/CliffsEsport

My previous posts on this:

• http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/psa-update-on-skype-malware.html
• http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/psa-skype-malware-alert.html

War of the Roses! Plus two Planetside 2 Beta keys to give away to viewers!

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/kaviktv

When:  Live now 03:00 KST/ 20:00 CEST/19:00 BST/18:00  UTC/ 15:00 BRT/14:00 EDT [2:00 pm]/13:00 CDT [1:00 pm CDT]/  11:00 AM PDT

Kavik is not only one of few people streaming War of the Roses, he also wants other people to join, so he is willing to do any gear setup people want to see.

He also has Youtube channel with War of the Roses VOD's http://www.youtube.com/user/KavikTV/featured

If your Interested in buying see this link http://www.waroftherosesthegame.com/buy

Also, I am Amazon Associate, so if you want to buy through Amazon, and help me make a little money, doesn't affect your price, you can buy with this Amazon link War of Roses (PC Download). 

DayZ: Sacriel's Airfield Squad vs Squad Part 2

Sacriel's latest DayZ VOD, on a private server, with no 50 BMG's and some other limitations.

Computer Desk of the Week

Computer Desk of the Week CDotW for this week, Cool Steampunk build http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170797

Kavik streaming some War of the Roses

http://www.twitch.tv/kaviktv

Think it is more or less random stuff today, probably going to have bigger event tomorrow

http://www.waroftherosesthegame.com/

PSA: Update on Skype Malware

See GFI Labs report here http://www.gfi.com/blog/infection-spreads-profile-pic-messages-to-skype-users/

I posted about this yesterday http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/psa-skype-malware-alert.html

Nerd News: Gamer in Politics, Demonized for playing World of Warcraft (WoW)

I Tweeted about this yesterday, http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/10/candidate-for-maine-state-senate-attacked-for-warcraft-character/

Here is link to Republican Flyer attacker her https://www.mainegop.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Lachowicz-2.jpg 

I have uploaded and inserted it below, in case it "disappears" from the link, since this was a political flyer pretty sure I should be able to reproduce the image for comment!  [The image is also on the Ars site.]

Today Colleen Lachowicz has responded http://www.colleenlachowicz.com/?p=106


Lots of things bother me about the Republican flyer.


First of all, that IS my world, Esports & Gaming!

If the Republicans, who paid for and wrote this flyer, took any time to learn about Gamers & gaming, instead of viewing people through the eyes of a bigot, they might actually realize what kind of message they are sending.

But then perhaps they do realize what kind of message they are sending?  They spent money and time on it after all.

Also, they don't have a clue about DPS?!?  That is Damage Per Second as anyone that even Googled it would know, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damage_per_second

For those that don't know, the use of Brackets ie "[]" inside the quotation means it was inserted by the person doing the flyer, not from the original comment.

See these links on Brackets and Grammer for more detail:

• http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/bracket.htm
• http://www2.ivcc.edu/rambo/eng1001/quotes2.htm

Honestly seeing those types of errors, in basic simple research, that I  have taught Elementary age students to do, makes me wonder if these Republicans are smarter than a 4th grader?

Do you want people that limited in research skills or knowledge to be making laws?

Especially when they hate other people for just being different from their group?

"BrewPi released! All source code online, a wiki, a forum, a bug tracker"

Geek Beer Brewing, using a Raspberry Pi!

http://brewpi.com/#

You can also follow BrewPi on Twitter @BrewPi or https://twitter.com/BrewPi

New Game (Pre Alpha) MaK

Notch tweeted about this https://twitter.com/notch/status/254198056038326272

http://www.vergegamestudio.com/blog/

This is PreAlpha  but looks interesting.

HwangSin Interview

Interview by Livinpink

Microsoft Windows Update Next Week, 1 Critical

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9232068/Microsoft_to_patch_20_bugs_next_week_in_month_of_Office_updates

Critical Update for Office, Supposed to be Critical for Word 2007 & Word 2010, but only important for Office 2003.

HwangSin Streaming!

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

Maybe it was just my computer, but I had to refresh couple times to get his stream to work today.

See also these interviews http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/10yk54/livinpink_cyberactiv_a_slew_of_interviews_with/

Nerd Environmental News: UK Power shortage risks by 2015, Ofgem warns

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19842401

Detailed report (PDF) here http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/WhlMkts/monitoring-energy-security/elec-capacity-assessment/Documents1/Electricity%20Capacity%20Assessment%202012.pdf

I think Gamers, well everyone really, should think about environmental issues, because it impacts not only us, but everyone else.

Not only in simple ways like making power to run our electronics more expensive, or having to deal with rolling blackouts or other more extreme measures.

But also because the interconnectedness of the world, lot of the countries that manufacture HDD, SSD, & other computer components will be hit hard, earlier than UK, or many of EU countries, or US.

Megaupload & Kim Dotcom: Collateral Victims Finally Getting Court Hearing

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/10/megaupload-users-pleas-to-get-their-files-back-will-be-heard-in-court/

This "case" gets more convoluted every month, still have a hard time believing that the governments and police agencies involved were acting properly.

Starting to doubt we will ever really now anything about the truth in the matter, though we may get an interesting hodgepodge collection of facts.

Skyrim: Road Rage by Paul Soares Jr

You have probably seen some of Paul Soares Jr's Minecraft Youtubes, he has one of the best introduction to Mincraft VOD's I have seen.

For the few of you that haven't seen Paul's Minceraft VOD's see my post here about Minecraft http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/08/minecraft-great-miner-to-follow-paul.html

If you like Paul's shenanigans please follow him on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/paulsoaresjr that should encourage him to keep making his entertaining VOD's.

HOTS Liquid Sheth vs WhiteRa

HOTS game, Sheth vs WhiteRa cast by Duckvillelol

Stephano Streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/egstephano

PSY live on his Youtube Channel NOW!

http://www.youtube.com/user/officialpsy

PSA Skype Malware Alert

Update:  GFI Labs has report about it http://www.gfi.com/blog/infection-spreads-profile-pic-messages-to-skype-users/


****
There is some type of Skype Malware that was making rounds last night.

Several of my friends, including one Pro SC2 player, got hit by it, and it spammed malware link to everyone in their contact list.

So if you get a Skype link from anyone, I would check with them first before opening it, versions I was sent said something about "Is this your new profile pic lol" but I am sure there are more than one version out there.

There always are.

Nerd Gear: Dell U2713HM review from Anandtech

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6308/dell-u2713hm-unbeatable-performance-out-of-the-box

I find, after getting a 27" iMac, that 27" is bigger than I want for most applications, I use it of course ^_^ but as I get my home office set up the way I want, the 27" screen will eventually be used primarily for viewing when I am standing.

Working on a custom desk setup that will work for both sitting and standing use, for better back health.

I find the 23" or 24" screens to be sweet spot for size, but I will definably be going Dell for my next screens.

But then I am looking at having 5-6 screens total, counting laptops, sadly that is for work not gaming T_T

Though once I have the hardware, I will probably get a good A-10 simulator.

Security & Hacking: Keccak is chosen to be SHA-3

Official NIST announcement http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/hash/sha-3/winner_sha-3.html
detailed PDF announcement from NIST http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/hash/sha-3/sha-3_selection_announcement.pdf

Bruce's comments and thoughts http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/10/keccak_is_sha-3.html Bruce made it to the final round with his entry.

Keccak website http://keccak.noekeon.org/

Interesting times, hat tip to NIST for picking a good replacement before we need one!

I wish more banks and other institutions would follow that lead, instead of general trend of not updating security and crypto until long after vulnerabilities have been exploited.

Crossbow Guide for War of Roses

My good friend Kavik is into the new game War of Roses, he has a few VOD's up about it already, this is his guide to a Crossbow build for the game.

He has also been streaming the game at http://www.twitch.tv/kaviktv and he has been taking Chat requests for equipment choices and play style, or limitations.

Including ridiculous combinations, like Full Plate Armor and with only a Dagger for a weapon.

If you like what you see you can follow KavikTV at on his Twitch link above, Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/KavikTV/featured or Twitter @KavikTV https://twitter.com/KavikTV

See also:

• War of Roses Main page http://www.waroftherosesthegame.com/
• War of Roses Forum http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?648-War-of-the-Roses
• War of Roses Support http://www.waroftherosesthegame.com/support 

Sacriel: DayZ Private Hive - Squad vs. Squad Airfield Part 1

Sacriel has started playing DayZ on a private server, if I understand correctly, he is likes it cause it is more old school, no Thermal, no 50 cal sniping.

So Tactics are more important.

HOTS Root ToD vs mTwDimaga

[Edited to add Game 3 link]

Dimaga vs ToD HOTS cast by Crota

I saw last couple games of this series, was Bo5 IIRC

Though Crota only has 2 games uploaded so far, will add links for others if they get uploaded, was interesting series.

Game 2 (think I have these in correct order Crota has G1 & G2 on this VOD??) | Game 3

Idra vs BiGbiRD

cR.BiGbiRd vs EGIdraRC cast by Duckvillelol

Security & Hacking: Browser Choice and Security

Interesting blog post by Brian Kreb http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/10/in-a-zero-day-world-its-active-attacks-that-matter/

He compares the number of days, that actively used Zero Days, were impacting IE, Chrome, and Firefox for a year.

For Advanced Users, Sys Admins, & IT Managers, you might also want to look at these links from comments section:

• Comment about Net policy that I agree with http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/10/in-a-zero-day-world-its-active-attacks-that-matter/comment-page-1/#comment-118125
• Qubes OS link that one commenter suggested http://theinvisiblethings.blogspot.com/2012/09/how-is-qubes-os-different-from.html
• US State Department switches to Chrome http://midsizeinsider.com/en-us/article/us-state-department-switches-to-google-c
• IBM switches to Firefox http://news.softpedia.com/news/IBM-Switches-to-Firefox-as-the-Default-Browser-145970.shtml

One real pro of Chrome, that Brian Kreb didn't mention, is the fact that Google offers rewards to Hackers that demonstrate vulnerabilities to them, you have to follow their terms of course, but I think that is a very smart and useful approach.

For more on Google's Award see http://blog.chromium.org/2012/02/pwnium-rewards-for-exploits.html or to see all my Blog posts on that topic click the Label Pwnium

I recommend Chrome with Addblocker Plus or Firefox with NoScript & Addblocker Plus.

I have tried Chrome with ScriptNo, a NoScript imitation for  Chrome, but don't like how it performed for me, and it doesn't have as many benefits as NoScript IMO.

I prefer Firefox with NoScript and Addblocker Plus, but I personally use Firefox (on Mac & Win 7), Chrome (with Addblocker Plus), and Safari daily.

Don't forget about mobile browser security, iOS is best choice there IMO.

For mobile web I use the built in Web Browser on my Blackberry Bold 9780, which has some unpatched browser issues because of carrier T_T on a daily basis.

Really looking forward to switching to Android phone so I can run Mobile Firefox with NoScript & hopefully AddBlocker Plus (no Addblocker Plus for mobile FF yet).

Though I may get a cheap iPhone 4S for more secure mobile web.

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/mobile/platforms/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/mobile/addon/noscript/?src=search

Nerd Gear: 500MB of free WiMAX today

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/1/3436270/freedompop-begins-public-beta-500mb-free-wimax

Only good in limited locations, from what I understand, and you still need to buy hardware, but might be useful for some people, hoping they succeed in shaking up wireless industry, which sounds like their main goal.

I find their 4G sleeve for iPod Touch a lot more interesting, http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/31/3205635/freedompop-ipod-4g-sleeve

The 4G sleeve for iPod Touch isn't available yet, but you can preorder http://preorder.freedompop.com/freedom-sleeve-ipod-touch

Wonder how good Skype would work over that.

Nerd Gear: Slingbox 1080 News

 New Slingboxes spotted on shelves, though not for sale, http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/1/3436572/new-1080p-wi-fi-slingbox-300-500-photo-specs-best-buy

For those not familiar with Slingbox, it is a device/service that lets you view your home TV shows anywhere you have Net on a PC, Laptop, Tablet, or Smartphone.

More info at their site http://www.slingbox.com/go/slingbox?displayVideo=true or Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingbox

Personally not a fan of TV, I am a Book Worm & Indie Move fan, but my girlfriend loves TV & Movies, Netflix is her BFF.

And we are getting close to cord cutting, so I am gonna hold off on getting her one, rather get her a new iPad with LTE to replace her WiFi only iPad, so she can watch Netflix more places when we are out of town.

Or Amazon Prime, IIRC they now let the Video Player app on iOS download Videos for offline watching just like they have allowed on Kindle Fire from day 1.

Wouldn't mind hearing from people that use Slingbox, might be something about it I would be interested in?

Security & Hacking: PlaceRaider Android App Spies on You

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/429394/placeraider-the-military-smartphone-malware/
via Bruce Schneier's Blog http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/10/scary_iphone_ma.html

[Bruce labeled it iPhone by accident when first posting it, URL's are forever with blogs, has happened to me T_T ]

According to Technology Review the "app [is] capable of running in the background of any smartphone using the Android 2.3 operating system".

So newer versions of Android might be safe from this particular app?

Basically this Malware App silently takes pictures, while geo and orientation tagging them, filters out blurred and dark images, then send the rest to a server.

Interesting app.

Gangnam Style comes to NFL

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000067581/Gangnam-style-sack

^_^

Note:  couldn't get vod to play in Firefox, had to use Chrome YMMV