[QUOTE=Nick;364624]The Dutch national public prosecutor's department is advising everyone to cover their webcams and disable microphones when not in use.[/QUOTE]

Very soon, you'd better start [url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-15/google-nest-purchase-seen-improving-smart-home-gizmo-connections.html?cmpid=yhoo]covering your home thermostat, too[/url]. Unless you are naive enough to believe Google/NSA really, truly, sincerely wants only to help you save on your utilities bill.

Anyone who has delved into side channel attacks (such as Differential Power Analysis) will know how much information you can derive from sensitive metering of energy use.

[QUOTE=Nick;364643]Anyone who has delved into side channel attacks (such as Differential Power Analysis) will know how much information you can derive from sensitive metering of energy use.[/QUOTE]

No wonder all the pot farmers are so interested in going "off grid"....

Of course "smart" appliances can be used for other things than spying on their owners, as well:

[url=www.engadget.com/2014/01/17/internet-of-things-hacked-malicious-email-phishing/]Thousands of smart gadgets hacked to send spam and phishing emails[/url]

I wonder if there is any connection between such ever-more-connected utility gadgetry and the [i]Battlestar Galactica[/i] slang reference to the Cylons of "toasters." Maybe they indeed started out that way.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;364871][url=www.engadget.com/2014/01/17/internet-of-things-hacked-malicious-email-phishing/]Thousands of smart gadgets hacked to send spam and phishing emails[/url][/QUOTE]So all my paranoid behaviour with always using a VPN, using a dedicated proxy to filter all connections, setting my firewall to allow only the proxy IP to egress to the VPN, blocking all incoming connections, no UPNP, etc. has paid off by saving you from receiving spam from me. You should all be thanking me. You're welcome. :razz:

[size=1]Heh, actually it is all to stop my minions trying to use bittorrent. But it doesn't seem to work, they still manage to somehow get "things". Well at least I still have bandwidth for my evil plans so I'm not too bothered about it at this point.[/size]

With regard to "smart" devices. I personally can't see the point other than the "look, isn't it just so cool!" attitude. With things like these I see little hope for the future of the human race. We'll end up becoming like the folks in Wall-e.

[url]http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/01/17/nsa_surveillance_reform_every_scary_weird_thing_we_know_the_agency_can_do.html[/url]

Amazingly scary lectures on what the NSA can do:

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZYo9TPyNko"]Part 1[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vILAlhwUgIU"]Part 2[/url]

Thank you, Jason, I was glued to the screen for two hours.
Part II [I]and then[/I] Part I would work better for most, I think. Part I was a bit hippyish (not that this is a bad thing) and too technical.

Part II simply drives an arrow through your heart.
[YOUTUBE]vILAlhwUgIU[/YOUTUBE]

Appetite comes with eating, don't they say?

The Year in crypto talk sounded nice too (I can attest that the Crypto I class [I]totally pays off[/I] -- while listening to it):
[YOUTUBE]HJB1mYEZPPA[/YOUTUBE]

...and there were some [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJB1mYEZPPA&t=935"]cool, scary moments in it[/URL], too.

Snowden is in cahoots with evil space aliens, or maybe orcs and trolls.....
 

[U][B][URL="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/26/1272119/-Snowden-is-in-cahoots-with-evil-space-aliens-or-maybe-orcs-and-trolls-or-maybe-even-Satan"]Snowden is in cahoots with evil space aliens, or maybe orcs and trolls, or maybe even ... Satan![/URL]

[/B][/U]Excerpt:[QUOTE]I have it on no authority that Edward Snowden is in cahoots with evil space aliens, or maybe orcs and trolls, or maybe even ... Satan itself! I'm sure this is bad, although to be honest, I'm not sure what exactly cahoots might be, or how one gets into them or out of them. But the important thing is that I can put the word "Snowden" into a sentence with something that the target audience generally considers Very Bad, because if you can't [URL="http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/americas-spies-want-edward-snowden-dead"]actually assassinate[/URL] someone, character assassination will have to suffice! [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=kladner;365513][URL="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/26/1272119/-Snowden-is-in-cahoots-with-evil-space-aliens-or-maybe-orcs-and-trolls-or-maybe-even-Satan"]Snowden is in cahoots with evil space aliens, or maybe orcs and trolls, or maybe even ... Satan![/URL][/QUOTE]

The only thing ah hates worse than a lowdown snake-in-the-grass traitor is a goldurn scallywag of a cahootser...

--------------------------

[url=www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/29/us-norway-nobel-snowden-idUSBREA0S0SR20140129?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews]Snowden gets Nobel Peace Prize nomination from Norwegian MP[/url]: [i]OSLO (Reuters) - A Norwegian member of parliament nominated former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize on Wednesday, arguing that his release of classified documents made the world a safer place.[/i]

While undoubtedly flattering, I wonder if ES really wants to join that club - there are some highly dubious/unworthy characters amongst the membership, including our current US president.