Wikileaks

DOS attack on wikileaks.org. It will be interesting to find out who is behind it in technical terms. Everyone knows that a government (one of the most democratic ones?!) is behind it financially. But are the attackers part of the governments agency or have real hackers (criminals) been paid by the government.

If we are talking about some hacker (criminal) organisation being paid by a government to do dirty work then that is very worrying. Not because it is immoral but because we, ordinary citizens, suffer enormous damages caused by ID thefts, web accounts compromised, contact details stolen, spam etc.. All this of course if the work of such hacker (criminal) organisations and governments around the world allegedly cannot stop this.

It seams a lot clearer now why the governments do not want to stop hacker (criminal) organisations. They might come useful one day, like today for example (3/10/2010).

Is the west more democratic than the east? Sometimes!

NOTE: Not all hackers are criminals!!!

Wikileaks.org can be accessed directly via the sites IP address
http://213.251.145.96/
or
http://88.80.13.160

Also check http://wikileaks.info/

Social Networking Data Use

Interesting video on data collection made by social networking systems namely Facebook.

Security makes money

Here is a new (well it has been around since early 2000) device that can detect ANYTHING!!! Drugs, explosives, " mushrooms :-)".

This guy conned a large number of governments around the world by selling a peace of plastic with an antenna which, allegedly, detect any type of chemical in the air. It is used in Iraq, Taiwan, Mexico on airports, road check points etc. And the device only sells at £30,000 each.

So how to make money

1. Find out what are people (governments) scared of / how they can improve the SECURITY;

2. Think of an ideal solution that everyone would want (it doesn't have to work);

3. Package it nicely (after all it is the packaging that sells).

4. And do not forget, cheap stuff never sells. Set some crazy price.

5. Additionally make sure that only you can supply spare parts and do maintenance.

6. Offer Old for New discounts. That way no one will ever see what is inside your fab device. Who's going to dismantle a £30,000 gadget just to peak inside.

Read the original article on BBC.

Live Mesh

After reading a BBC Technology article (here) on smart ways to backup files I decided to try Microsoft's Live Mesh.

Live Mesh isn't only another file storage service. It provides several features such as:
1. Cloud Storage
2. File & Folder share with other users
3. Remote desktop
4. Multiple PCs can be connected to the same account and files/folders synchronised between them.
5. Event feed via RSS which tells you (and people you share folders with) of any changes made by anyone member.

To analyse
1.1 It gives each user 5GB free storage space with an option to upgrade.
1.2 Once a virtual folder is created in the cloud identical folder is created on user's desktop too. Now any files dumped into the folder will be uploaded to the cloud folder. This is very convenient although the upload is not very fast.

2.1 Files and folders can be shared with others and there is a good access control facility (i.e. forbid your friends to share this folder with someone else etc).

3.1 Remote desktop allows you to login into multiple PCs and use/run local applications. For this to work a PC to which you are connecting needs to be connected to the same Live Mesh account. I tried this at work but had no success!! I guess the problem was my network firewall.

4.1 Very useful if you use multiple PCs or work on a joint project with someone and you wish to share files.

5.1 This is useful as it can alert you to new files being added or removed from you account.

Existing services
1. Drop.io , Google Docs (has similar access control), 4shared.com etc.
NOTE: None of these create a local folder on your desktop and some might be less secure.
2. Google Docs (has similar authorisation features),
3. LogMeIn allows remote desktop connection, moving of files between PCs and no hassle with firewalls.

Security
The whole Live Mesh service is protected using your Live ID (i.e. hotmail account) and SSL. I'm not sure that this is very secure. I think they need to introduce two-factor-authentication. Also some form of file encryption in case someone does gain access to you Live Mesh account, although you could encrypt files on your PC before uploading.