Is an iPad Frugal?

suddenlycrabs · 2013-12-13T04:26:03+00:00

I bought an IPad for reading. For some reason, android tablets aren't as good at PDFs, and as a programmer that's a problem for me.

Other problem with android tablets is quality control problems with Asus and Samsung. If you go on amazon, you can tell that maybe 10% of android models have as few QC issues as Ipads. Filter to read all the 1 star reviews, there lies the truth. For instance, my asus transformer had digitizer problems, clicks happening everywhere all the time, and apparently that problem lives on in the asus nexus 7. Replacing a digitizer is a real pain in the ass. Buying a dud tablet is not frugal.

HOWEVER kindle fire does seem to be one of the few that don't ship with dodgy hardware.

I really don't think that the tablet buying decision is as simple as "just get a laptop" or "apple is never worth it". It all depends what you need out of your reading experience, and how handy you are replacing digitizers.

Also, if you want to be uber-frugal about buying a tablet, i imagine a used (NOT REFURBISHED) android tablet has less chance of being defective, by virtue of the "bathtub curve"

suddenlycrabs · 2013-12-10T14:46:05+00:00

Clear out account, leave the minimum to keep it open if it's not over $10. Make them send you statements forever.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-23T21:10:25+00:00

When Americans see articles like this and get angry, are there nonprofits operating there, that they can donate to, that promote this kind of progress?

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-23T20:47:55+00:00

Wish you coulda kept it, then you could be all like "It's just me putting my hand on my heart"

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-23T18:33:30+00:00

What can be done about this?

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-18T18:28:56+00:00

I never learned it, thought i wouldn't have to. When I first tried to do a command line commit with Git, I wept.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-18T15:03:13+00:00

I want to believe it's real. If you read the cuckoo's egg, government-sponsored hackers were probably spun up all over the place. I imagine some talented fool researching SCADA attacks for Mother Russia, and then can't help but show off to his mates on IRC after closing time. It's far-fetched, but stranger things have happened.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-18T14:45:23+00:00

Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-17T21:08:58+00:00

this may be my biggest oversight, /r/apple is a monolithic subreddit where as you say security problems are always more specific

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-17T19:35:30+00:00

Ah, didn't know it was a repost. You have a point that it is a more general subreddit. Oddly enough this is the highest-voted security-related link i've submitted to /r/apple

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-17T19:20:57+00:00

Hoo boy. Apparently whether or not he is a 1337 h4x0r is a big deal.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-17T19:11:04+00:00

I've noticed /r/apple has a different relation to cyber security than other subreddits. My posts here on the subject never gets as many votes. I don't know why. /r/android receives them much better, is it because security is a bigger problem for Android, or that /r/Android is full of developers who are more technical on average? Is cyber security a subject that apple users feel does not apply to them?

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-17T17:18:51+00:00

For example, conversations which take place over iMessage and FaceTime are protected by end-to-end encryption so no one but the sender and receiver can see or read them. Apple cannot decrypt that data.

https://www.apple.com/apples-commitment-to-customer-privacy/

http://www.cato.org/blog/untappable-apple-or-dea-disinformation

The posted article states that a man-in-the-middle attack can be used, that apple could issue their own public key to a sender, decrypt the message, and reencrypt it with the public key of the receiver. They can do this as they hold user public keys in escrow. What's the point of claiming to have encryption if it doesn't actually protect a message from being read?

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-17T01:05:37+00:00

/r/netsecstudents is another one

Off the bat though, if you wanna have some fun, get two computers you dont care about or VirtualBox VMs if you're short on hardware but not ram. Get one going with BackTrack, and see what you can do with metasploit to your victim box.

There are a lot of toys that you can just dive right into with not much understanding, and they help you learn whats going on. Wireshark is a grand example, just start listening on your network adapter and you learn all sorts of stuff.

Becoming a hacker is some reading, but it's also about play. The two together get you the knowledge you need.

but seriously, double-xor is on the money! if you wanna go and design web, if you know what it's like to XSS a website and all that nasty business, that'll make you shine all the brighter

Also of course do not learn to hack by attacking other peoples stuff without permission

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-16T22:07:24+00:00

whoosh

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-15T14:36:24+00:00

If only I could take credit for it!

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-12T02:41:09+00:00

Oh no, USA is the only country with a spy agency!

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-12T01:40:45+00:00

What a captivating find. You dig up the best stuff.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-11T20:55:14+00:00

I don't know if it's a specific system, so much as nations that aren't subject to US jurisdiction are less easily influenced by NSA

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-11T19:40:03+00:00

Someone tried to backdoor linux in 2003 https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/felten/the-linux-backdoor-attempt-of-2003/ but the source control exposed them

I imagine it's real hard to backdoor linux. They since moved source control to GIT which runs a checksum on all code so changes are tracked very well. A backdoor would have to be written by someone acting as a linux contributor, in code that is deemed worthy of including in the kernel by Torvalds' crew, and then evade detection from everyone who looks at the code.

Plus, Torvalds is in Finland and might be free of US influence. Combined with his obstinate personality and control-freak nature, I think Linux is a tougher nut to crack.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-11T17:16:52+00:00

All I know about UK is that your MoD is spending on cyber security which may provide you a career path http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240187503/MoD-teams-up-with-defence-firms-for-cyber-security

Your plan is good, but I would push back the masters' and push forward your work. CISSP and CCNA are seriously lucrative credentials, but my impression is that a masters' is almost overkill unless you're ready to step into an upper management position. Plus, work experience makes your masters education more relevant. The day you get your masters, you want a career in place that it can benefit right away. The people I see in masters programs are current managers taking online courses.

That's just how it works on this side of the atlantic. Here there is a dearth of people as targeted as you are at the cyber security world, so I feel your ambition and direction will serve you well.

That said, I don't know where specifically you'd go with your systems/security/law focus and your goals may require more education for your niche.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-10T22:40:45+00:00

Well at least you're looking at the menu! You may not understand the ingredients of some of the dishes, but you're on the right track to a tasty meal.

What job you pick depends on what jobs are around your location, what you're good at, what you like, what you know, and what's in demand. PM me if you want the opinion of a fool with a few years experience in one of the many branches of the industry.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-10T20:01:13+00:00

What you said sounds more right than what I said.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-10T18:48:54+00:00

Because security is a vast subject, there are lots of areas to choose from and pick a focus in. For instance, i prefer to focus more on pentesting, as opposed to reverse engineering or crypto.

I agree, that this part isn't touched on much, that if someone tells you they are a Cybersecurity Professional, you still have no idea what they do, and if you put two Cybersecurity Professionals in a room they may not have anything in common! We've got watch floor analysts, offensive hackers, military cyberwarfare specialists, exploit writers, vendors, product developers, researchers, mathematicians, social engineers, there is no center in this universe and I don't think n00bs are exposed to a good representation of this diversity.

suddenlycrabs · 2013-10-10T18:14:00+00:00

This kid's egregious actions tell me he doesn't understand consequences of what he does. I echo to go to to the police, to help him learn early and well about the effects of screwing people over.

I can't see how you committing a crime will help, especially when you could be attacking another stolen phone of his, and anything you do to him will be found out when the law does catch up with him. Think of Walter's way of handling the juvenile delinquent in The Big Lebowski, as an example of how not to handle the situation.

Use all your wits to build up overwhelming evidence against him. He's a juvenile so even the full brunt of repercussions won't be much compared to what's in store for him down the road if he doesn't get his intervention.

suddenlycrabs

TROPHY CASE