Archive for May, 2005

WordPress Security Update

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Looks like there’s a security vulnerability in WordPress if you’re running the default theme. Here’s a little bit from the WordPress Development Blog:

It has come to our attention that under certain circumstances there is a security vulnerability in WordPress that may be triggered if you’re running the default template. We were able to respond very quickly (under 40 minutes) and update the download to 1.5.1.2. You can upgrade by overwriting your old 1.5 files or if you would like to apply the fix manually it is relatively simple:

1. Open the wp-includes/template-functions-category.php file in a text editor like Wordpad.
2. Go to around line 103 where it says get_the_category_by_ID.
3. Create a new line after that and paste in $cat_ID = (int) $cat_ID;

Read about the entire thing here. Glad I’m not using the default theme! I’ve hacked this theme so much I wouldn’t be suprised if I’ve opened up some vulnerability…yah right. ;)


Dog Bombing

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Be warned, I drop the f-bomb very readily and multiple times in this post. Don’t read if you’re easily offended.

God, this is asenine. Seems the bad guys in Iraq have pretty much run out of suicide bombing volunteers. What the hell are they to do now? Duh, just strap some explosives to a dog and let him go! Seems like a pretty obvious solution.

You fucking pussies should just start doing the suicide bombings yourself. Stop using children, stop using animals. Just do it your damn selves if it’s so important to you. Or better yet, find another way to kill and maim. Why the fuck does it have to involve some living creature with explosives tied to it? That’s really fucked up. If they were smart, wouldn’t they come up with some sort of strategy? This just goes to show the mind set of the people we’re fighting. They have the inability to reason and make rational decisions.

I’m almost slipping back into the mindset that we should just nuke the whole entire region. I don’t see why we shouldn’t use the same principles they use.

Rusty, at The Jawa Report, brings up a good point in saying “Where is PETA when they’re really needed?”.

Insurgents in Iraq attached explosives to a dog and tried to blow up a military convoy near the northern oil centre of Kirkuk.

The canine bomb went off but the only casualty was the unfortunate animal, said police. The militants wrapped an explosive belt around the dog and detonated it as the convoy passed through Dakuk, 25 miles south of Kirkuk, said the town’s police chief, Col Mohammed Barzaji.

“The dog was torn apart by the explosion which caused neither injury among the soldiers nor any damage.”

You can read the rest of the story at the Telegraph. That’s pretty messed up they’re using dogs.


Voyeuristic Airport Security

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Saw this on Slashdot and Vulturo.com this morning. It seems airport security screeners in the U.S. are getting some new tech. The new X-Ray equipment will allow them to see through peoples clothes. I can’t imagine this will fly. I mean, they don’t even let doctors do that kinda stuff. That’s why they put that big lead vest on you, so they can’t see your weiner! The sicko airport weirdos wanna see everyone’s. It’s disturbing to me that this is being allowed to happen. I hope the privacy nuts freak out and somehow manage to make this not happen.

Get ready for electronic portals known as backscatters, expected to be tested at a handful of airports this year, that use X-ray imaging technology to allow a screener to scan a body. And yes, the body image is detailed. Let’s not be coy here, ladies and gentlemen:

“Well, you’ll see basically everything,” said Bill Scannell, a privacy advocate and technology consultant. “It shows nipples. It shows the clear outline of genitals.”

You can read the entire thing at C|New news.com. Here’s what was said on Slashdot about it.


Major Iraqi Offensive

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I saw this on The Jawa Report and Clarity and Resolve. It seems Iraqs defense minister let the insurgents know he’s launching a major offensive operation against them. Said offensive will include 40,000 Iraqi soldiers and 10,000 American soldiers.

Here’s more of the story from Yahoo! News.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) — Iraq’s government said on Thursday it would deploy 40,000 Iraqi troops in Baghdad in a massive crackdown on insurgents who have killed more than 600 Iraqis in a month-long spree of suicide bombings and ambushes.

The dramatic rise in attacks by mostly Sunni Arab guerrillas has raised fears that Iraq could slide toward civil war if the Shi’ite-led government does not deliver on pledges of stability.

Dubbed Operation Thunder, the crackdown will be unprecedented in size and scope, Defense Minister Sadoun al-Dulaimi told a news conference. It will initially focus on Baghdad but will then expand to other parts of the country. Dulaimi did not say when the operation would begin.

Sounds like a good time to me!


Major Torrent Site Closed

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As many already know, a major torrent site, EliteTorrents.org was shutdown today. First there were reports the site had been DNS hijacked. Eventually their was a page up claiming to be from the FBI. Many thought it was a fake or even a site defacement. Then ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) posted this interesting piece about EliteTorrents. The ICE website is pretty slow. Boing Boing has mirrors of the files.

The screenshot ICE provides is amusing to me. You’ll notice the title of the video they have playing in VNC (the video player) is clearly a trailer. It’s only a couple minutes in length. And in the background they have the EliteTorrents site showing with a copy of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith up, ready to be downloaded. Digital Warfighter has the text of the FBI message, incase the site isn’t even accessible soon.


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