Load-in for the ACSAC conference starts tomorrow, so I should really clear out the accumulated links. I’ve been trying to theme these or come up with some attempt at connecting them, but it’s just not happening. We’ll just throw them all in the pot and see how the concoction tastes…
- Cybersecurity in the News. This topic was the closest to a theme post, although I couldn’t quite figure out what I wanted to see. Three articles in the Cyber arena had caught my eye:
- The first looked at the threat of ransomware in the transportation networks. Most of the advice in the article was actually not specific to transportation, dealing more with educating users to not do stupid things: “The most important thing companies can do is train employees to be suspicious of email, and give them the tools to flag anything that seems strange. In most cases, with close scrutiny of the language, it is possible to tell if an email purporting to be from a colleague is in fact a spoofing email”. Yet is transportation more susceptable? I would tend to think so, because there is more remote monitoring and control, and the increasing computerization of automobiles and transport, most of which don’t have strong use of cybersecurity (authentication, encrypting protocols).
- The second also related to ransomware, this time talking about free decrypters from Avast. The article made for an interesting read, both with good discussions of how to protect yourself from ransomware, as well as information on how some of the ransomware is working.
- The last dealt with government cybersecurity — specifically, the upcoming elevation of Cybercommand to a unified combatant command as opposed to being under STRATCOM. There was some interesting discussion of the implications of this, and of how it really doesn’t separate CYBERCOM from the NSA. If you deal with government cybersecurity, this is worth a read.
- Whole House Wi-Fi . When you have a large house (or a house with concrete walls), getting an effective wi-fi infrastructure is hard. You can use power-line extenders, but they don’t always work. I’ve heard on some of my podcasts about EEro as a solution, and I found this interesting article describing Eero and how it works. It sounds like a good idea, but it is awfully expensive at a starting price of $499. How do I balance the pain of the power-line extenders with the cost of an easy to use system?
- Masonic Lodge Becomes Museum. Growing up, my father was a Mason and a Shriner. I was never interested, but I do remember constantly driving by the Masonic Temple on Wilshire. The days of the great Lodge 42 are gone, and that building is no longer a Masonic Temple. It is being converted to an art museum, and the good news is that it will be open to the public and free. This is something I’ll need to go to.
- Folk Music Passage. With all of the recent prominent deaths — Florence Henderson, Ron Glass, Fidel Castro, the American Democratic system — it is easy to have missed the passing of Milt Okun. However, if you’re a folk music lover like me, you’ll know the loss this is. Okun is responsible for many music groups and artists — Peter Paul and Mary, John Denver, and others. He had a major music publishing concern, Cherry Lane Music, and was behind music popular folk (and opera) music.
- Los Angeles Concerns. Two articles of specific interest to Angelinos like me:
- Fixing Sidewalks. As you know, the city is transferring responsibility for maintaining sidewalks to property owners. They aren’t fixing them first, but will give you up to $2,000 to do so. The city will launch the program’s website at sidewalks.lacity.org, where residents can report broken sidewalks or find more information about the rebate program. Priority will given to requests from people with disabilities.
- Pay for Parking. Paid parking is coming to selected Metro stations. If the program is approved, there would be parking fees implemented at the following stations: (•) Expo Line: Expo/Bundy, Expo/Sepulveda, 17th/SMC and La Cienega/Jefferson; (•) Gold Line: APU/Citrus, Irwindale, Atlantic; and (•) Red Line: Universal, North Hollywood. There would be a lower rate for those actually using Metro, although they aren’t doing the smart thing and making parking payments through the TAP card.
- Help Find Nancy Paulikas. Over 6 weeks ago, the daughter of one of the retired VPs at our company wandered away from LACMA, and has been missing ever since. She’s dealing with Alzheimer’s, and had no ID on her. They are still looking for her, so spread the word.
- Apartments and Earthquakes. Here’s a good explanation of how many apartment buildings are particularly susceptible to earthquake damage.
- The BBS Days. By now, you know I’m old. I remember being active in the days of dial-up BBSs, and connecting to all sorts of networks (including the Rain BBS). Here’s a good Slashdot piece on those days, with some links to interesting historical articles.
- When Life Gives You Lemons. Quite a few months ago, the review aggregator Bitter Lemons imploded, thanks to a misstep by its then editor, Colin Mitchell. The publisher of the site, however, reworked things, picked a new editor, and has started Better Lemons. I’d say things are much improved, however, they still consider me a critic 🙂
- For That Cat Lady in Your Life. How about a cat menorah? Perhaps we should purchase some and send them to Donald Trump. That way, he can grab them by the… oh…. never mind.
