GV Menace » general

« Expand/Collapse

general (50 unread)

Skip to page: 1 2 3 4

March 18, 2010
20:02
When Security Fails, Who Are You Going to Fire?
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Two recent unrelated news stories struck me as indicative of a fundamental problem with IT security: We seem to favor looking at symptoms over finding the root cause of problems. The first story was nearly comical for the effort that was expended to pin blame. Back in December, the Conficker virus infected 3,000 computers on the network of the Waikato District Health Board , which encompasses all of the hospitals in a district that accounts for 10% of New Zealand's population. Officials claimed that emergency operations were not affected, but the district hospitals requested that only true emergencies be referred to them. Certainly, it is critical that steps be taken to assure that nothing like this ever happens again. I just don't agree that an effective response would include a three-month investigation into the incident . The report came in this month, and, believe it or not, they say they found the source of the infection. According to the report, someone plugged an infected USB drive into a computer in a parking garage tollbooth, bringing multiple hospitals to a near standstill for three days.
20:02
Be prepared for the year of mobile malware
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

The number of types of attack on mobile devices may not be growing, but circumstances are conspiring to create a genuine threat, says Rik Ferguson. The rise in threats to mobile devices is definitely real, although still a long way from reaching epidemic proportions. The real message for the coming months is about preparedness. There were a limited number of new threats in 2009, but a significant increase in their complexity and criminal intent. Signs are that consumer acceptance of mobile phone-based financial activity is now mainstream, with handset banking applications even being advertised on primetime television.
20:01
Two Madoff computer admins indicted
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Two former computer administrators who worked for convicted financial fraudster Bernard Madoff's investment firm were indicted this week on charges of conspiracy and falsifying financial records. Jerome O'Hara, 47, of Malverne, N.Y., and George Perez , 44, of East Brunswick, N.J., each face a maximum of 30 years in prison if convicted on all charges. A statement released yesterday by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York said the two men started working for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC (BLMIS) in the early 1990s. Both O'Hara and Perez were responsible for maintaining computer programs that supported Madoff's investment advisory business.
20:00
Why Apple should buy Adobe
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Quick - which Silicon Valley icon creates the computers that creative professionals love? And what SV company creates the software that creative professionals crave? Right: Apple and Adobe. So why are they 2 separate companies? Thereâs no good reason, especially now that Adobeâs management canât figure out how to grow the company. Apple, with over $30 billion in cash, could buy Adobe outright, whose market cap is about $18 billion. A cash and stock offer would also make Adobe shareholders happy. Apple prefers small, bite size acquisitions. But Apple is a big company: their market cap is 10x Adobeâs. Integration wouldnât be hard: the 2 companyâs headquarters are a 15 minute drive down I-280. Steve could oversee both. A quicker drive than to Pixar up in E-ville.
20:00
RSA Reveals Zeus Trojan Cyber-Crime Infrastructure
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Researchers in EMCâs RSA security division have uncovered an extensive infrastructure propping up the attackers behind the Zeus Trojan. The findings reflect part of the reason the disruption of Troyak-AS on 9 March only caused Zeus traffic to slow, as opposed to stopping it in its tracks. Troyak is just one part of a larger cyber-crime infrastructure helping to provide âbulletproofâ hosting to attackers. âIn light of our findings, AS-Troyak appears to be a piece in an intricate puzzle of networks that are used for malicious purposes,â RSA said yesterday. âWe suspect that the purpose of these networks is to connect an armada of eight malicious, bulletproof malware-hosting facilities to the internet, assuring their constant online presence.â
20:00
Fake MacBook Air, 'big IPhone' Tablet on Show in China
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

A knock-off MacBook Air running Windows, a tablet computer shaped like a big iPhone and another tablet meant to rival Apple's iPad were all among the devices shown off by a small Chinese gadget maker on Thursday. Teso, a gadget design outfit in the freewheeling southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, has already sold its MacBook Air look-alike for more than a year and is preparing for sales of its tablets, said a company official surnamed Wu. The tablet shaped like an iPhone uses the hit Apple phone as a model for details down to the curves on its black rear shell and the single circular button below its screen. But it uses an Intel Atom microprocessor and its screen measures 10 inches, similar to the 9.7-inch screen on Apple's upcoming iPad.
20:00
Enterprises Adopting Cloud Faster Than Traditional IT
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Cloud computing, a method of delivering resources such as applications through the internet is still not universal, but it is gradually gaining momentum. Rob Lovell, chief executive at ThinkGrid, has claimed that the growing awareness of how this technology works is leading more companies to roll out applications based on this model. Mr. Lovell suggested that key ways of increasing interest are by ensuring it is not built up as an intimidating project, that it is not allowed to become disruptive and is easy to understand, Broadband Choice states. He said: "People will flock to get it because it offers so many more benefits than having your computers and your net servers in your office."
20:00
The top 6 enterprise issues for Windows Phone 7
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Sometime in the next few weeks, Microsoft will reveal features, services and shortcomings for Windows Phone 7 in the enterprise. It will be one of those good news/bad news moments for corporate IT departments. So far, Microsoft's mobile platform executives have hammered at the consumer focus for the radically redesigned Windows Phone operating system. At this week's MIX10 Web developer conference, where details of the Windows Phone platform and development tools were unveiled, executives sidestepped, minimized or deflected nearly every question about how and how well the operating system will play in business mobility. "Not all the enterprise elements are being disclosed here," says Todd Brix, senior director, product management, for Microsoft's mobile communications business. "More will be coming up later in the spring."
20:00
Judge Approves $9.5 Million Facebook âBeaconâ Accord
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

A federal judge on Wednesday approved a $9.5 million settlement to a class action lawsuit challenging Facebookâs program that monitored and published what users of the social networking site were buying or renting from Blockbuster, Overstock and other locations. The case concerned allegations Facebookâs now defunct âBeaconâ program breached federal wiretap and video-rental privacy laws. Terms of the settlement, in which Facebook denied any wrongdoing, require the site to finance what the deal calls a âDigital Trust Fundâ that would issue more than $6 million in grants to organizations to study online privacy.
20:00
Apple has pre-sold "hundreds of thousands" of iPads
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Apple is on pace to potentially sell more iPads in its first three months than it sold iPhones in the three months after the touch-screen handset made its debut back in 2007, people familiar with the company's running sales totals say. Since going on sale for pre-order last Friday morning, customers have purchased "hundreds of thousands of the device," those same people told The Wall Street Journal. By comparison, Apple sold roughly 1.2 million iPhones in the three months following its June 29, 2007 launch. Meanwhile, the newspaper claims that Apple is 'racing' to tie up a broad number of content licensing deals before the iPad officially hits the market in under three weeks. In particular, the company is trying to convince television networks to drop the price of TV shows that users would downloaded directly to the device.
20:00
20 Cell Phones That Leak the Most Radiation
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Way back in 2000, I introduced CNET's Cell Phone Radiation Chart, which let readers know how their particular model rated in terms of SAR or specific absorption rate levels, measured by the FCC as part of its cell phone certification process. Today, the list is maintained by our intrepid mobile editors--Kent German, Bonnie Cha, and Nicole Lee--but in honor of the list's 10-year anniversary, we're giving it a little color and displaying the whole thing in pictures. As we note in our intro to the list, for a phone to pass FCC certification and be sold in the United States, its maximum SAR level must be less than 1.6 watts per kilogram. In Europe, the level is capped at 2 watts per kilogram, whereas Canada allows a maximum of 1.6 watts per kilogram. The SAR level listed in our charts represents the highest SAR level measured with the phone next to the ear as tested by the FCC. It's possible for the SAR level to vary between different transmission bands (the same phone can use multiple bands during a call), and different testing bodies can obtain different results.
20:00
Data Breaches Are Heaviest at Hotels
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Hackers are now stealing credit-card data from hotels more often than any other industry, according to data-security companies. In a recent report, SpiderLabs, a unit of data-security firm Trustwave, said 38% of its data-breach investigations in 2009 occurred at hotels. Financial services accounted for 19% of the company's data-breach investigations. Once an attack occurred, it took an average of 156 days for the business to realize it, according to the report. The problem has continued into 2010, says Nicholas Percoco, senior vice president of Trustwave and head of SpiderLabs. Verizon Business, another data-security firm, noticed a similar increase in attacks on hotels starting around last April, says Dave Ostertag, manager of investigative response at Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communication Inc.
20:00
$45,582 telephone bill traced back to Somalia
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

It only took 12 hours for a hacker to run up $45,582 in telephone charges for a local furniture company. More than 10,000 minutes of phone calls were made from the phones at Sherrill Furniture on Highland Ave. NE from 9 p.m. on Friday, March 5 to 9 a.m. the following day. The company reported the security breach to police Tuesday and the preliminary investigation revealed that the phone calls originated in Somalia. Investigators know that calls were made to Austria, Bulgaria, France, Korea, and the Philippines. "We're not sure why the calls were made," said Capt. Thurman Whisnant of the Hickory Police Department.
20:00
French rail service SNCF closes web security hole
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

A WEB security loophole allowing hackers to access the personal details of thousands of rail passengers has been closed after it was uncovered by a newspaper. The SNCF has been aware of the flaw since June 2008, according to Le Canard EnchainÃ©, which received a leaked internal memo from then warning of a "possible misuse of customer data". A hacker showed how easy it was to access the name, address, telephone number and date of birth of customers registered on www.voyages-sncf.com - all that was needed was one person's railcard number. The Canard says this data is very valuable - fetching between â¬8 and â¬20 per person when sold on to other companies for marketing purposes.
20:00
If The Hat Is Blackâ¦
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Much of cybersecurity is based on thinking like criminals. Security consultants, pen testers and software experts make our computers safer based on their expectations of what a hacker will do. One security expert, Robert Hansen, CEO of SecTheory, is bridging the gap between the blackhat and the professionals. Hansen has been spending months delving into the world of the blackhat. Gaining their trust, he has been able to have candid conversations about hacking and security with the experts. He then blogs insights gained from these conversations. Hansen is trying to better understand the tactics, mindsets and motivations of a cyber hacker. In a recent post, Hansen says that most hackers do acknowledge that security features are doing well to make cyber crime harder.
20:00
High-tech copy machines a gold mine for data thieves
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Want to know what expenses your boss claimed last month? How much your colleague makes? What the co-worker down the hall is really working on? Forget about hacking their computers â you might want to hit the nearest photocopier instead. Turns out the newfangled, multi-purpose copy machines in your office keep a wealth of copied data on a hard drive that anyone can hack. In the age of everything digital, the photocopier is probably the one workplace item you never thought to worry about. It's just making a copy of a document, right? How risky could that be? Very risky, as it turns out. You might want to press cancel on the copy machine right about now.
20:00
Faux Facebook emails use password reset ploy
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

A widespread phishing campaign is making the rounds that claims to be from Facebook but is meant to infect victims' PCs, researchers said. The fraudulent emails arrive with a note stating that the recipient's Facebook password was changed and they can find the new one in an attached ZIP file, said Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager at McAfee Avert Labs, in a blog post. The malicious attachment actually contains an assortment of malware, depending on the message, including trojans and rogue anti-virus programs, he said. The scam is global in its reach and, as of Wednesday afternoon, the malware contained in the phishing run ranked as the sixth most prevalent global virus that McAfee was tracking. It is possible that machines compromised with the Cutwail or Rustock botnets are delivering the spam messages, Marcus said.
20:00
Fired CISO says his comments never put data at risk
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Robert Maley was fired from his job as the chief information security officer for the state of Pennsylvania earlier this month after he spoke, without proper authorization, about security incidents involving the state during a panel discussion at EMC Corp.âs RSA trade show. References he made to a security incident involving the online driving test system at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in particular were believed to have led to his termination. A state spokesman has not commented, citing privacy rules, except to confirm that Maley is no longer employed by the commonwealth. In this interview, Maley gives his side of the events that led to his dismissal.
20:00
UBC student union considers police investigation for fraudulent votes
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

After six weeks and $42,000, the UBC Alma Mater Society student union elections may become a police matter following a meeting of the council last Monday regarding the hacked election. AMS president Bijan Ahmadian confirmed the student union's council asked UBC general manager Ross Horton to contact the police in hopes of identifying the hacker or hackers responsible for tampering with the election. The AMS election was held entirely online. An estimated 731 of the 6,900 votes cast in January's election were deemed to be fraudulent. Following the discovery of the fraud, a private company was hired to investigate.
20:00
TippingPoint: IE8, iPhone will fall first day
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8, not Apple's Safari, will be the first browser to fall in next week's Pwn2Own hacking challenge, the contest organizer said today. Aaron Portnoy, security research team lead with 3Com TippingPoint, the sponsor of Pwn2Own, also predicted that Apple's iPhone will be the only smartphone hacked during the contest, which starts March 24. Portnoy, who organized the fourth annual Pwn2Own, changed his predictions from earlier bets he made a month ago because of new information he received from researchers who have registered for the contest. Previously, Portnoy said that Apple's browser would crumble before rivals from Google, Microsoft and Mozilla; he had also declined to speculate on which mobile phone, if any, would collapse under attack.
20:00
Europe 'vulnerable to cyberattack'
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

European governments are not doing enough to improve online security â leaving the entire continent vulnerable to cyberattack, according to a new parliamentary investigation. A report from the House of Lords suggests that officials in Brussels have failed to boost the union's internet defences â creating a yawning gap between Nato, the EU and member states that could leave the system prone. European countries are increasingly reliant on the internet for a wide range of services â including information, communication and commerce â and the global nature of the online world means they are more closely linked to each other than ever before. Despite this, however, the report suggests that the drastic differences between security operations in each nation leaves the entire system vulnerable.
20:00
Microsoft Denies Virtual PC Vulnerability
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Core Securities, a company which develops vulnerability testing software, has discovered a major flaw in Microsoft's virtualisation software which might allow hackers to exploit virtual Windows systems. Interestingly, Microsoft, which was informed about the flaw 6 months ago, refuses to acknowledge the security hole as a critical one. According to a report released by the company, Microsoft's Virtual PC, Virtual PC 2007 and Virtual 2005 are affected by a major security bug which might allow hackers to penetrate the security measures set-up by Microsoft including DEP (data execution prevention) and ASRL (address space layout randomization).
20:00
Turkish hackers disrupt Armenian Olympic website
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

The official website of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia (NOCA) www.armnoc.am is not working since Wednesday, March 17, when Turkish hackers disrupted it posting their flag and statements on denial of the Armenian Genocide (1915) there. Natela Hovasapyan, NOCA spokesperson, told ArmeniaNow they are not able to recover the website yet, and they have no idea how long it will last. This is not the first time when Turks or Azeris hack an Armenian website. Samvel Martirosyan, a specialist in information tampering, told ArmeniaNow that the reasons (for hacking the NOCA website) are not clear yet, adding that the site is weak and is one of dozens hacked annually.

16:05
Al-JanadriyahRecent Uploads tagged saudi
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

RΩMΣL posted a photo:

Janadriyah Festival is a national heritage and folk cultural festival. Located 45 kilometres outside Riyadh, Janadriya plays hosts to the cultural festival annually.
16:00
لمحبي “الصور النادرة”SaudiGeek
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

تقوم مجلة LIFE بالتعاون مع قوقل بنشر صور التقطها مراسلوها لأحداث وأماكن وشخصيات هامة حول العالم. وما يميز هذه الخدمة أنها تحتوي على صور تنشر لأول مرة. على سبيل المثال، عندما جربت أن أبحث عن Saudi Arabia خرجت بهذه الصور القديمة عائلة ما تتناول وجبة ما ، التقطت هذه الصورة في مايو 1961 (انقر على [...]
15:27
عالية آل فريد - “ معا ضد كل أشكال التمييز على المرأة ”(title unknown)
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

فالمرأة السعودية لازالت تتعرض لإنتهاكات فادحة لحقوقها الإنسانية ، وتواجه عقبات تلو العقبات تعرقل مسيرتها في الحصول على حقوقها الأساسية التي تحفظها وتصون كرامتها ، فعلى صعيد العمل مثلا ، بالرغم من أن 60./0 من خريجات الجامعات السعودية من الإثاث في مقابل ذلك لاتوجد فرص عمل كافية
14:20
Rebuild the Holy Mosque to stop mixing between men and womenMy World and More ..
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

wow, Saudi sheiks never stop to amazes me and the world with their ideas.
Since a very important sheik take back their old fatwa that mixing between men and women is t forbidden and they can not seem to settle, it's like they are about to lose their thrones and they are willings to kill not to lose it. So another sheik, Youseff Al-Ahmad said that to stop the mixing in the Holy mosque at Mecca , yes this one in the picture ,
that we should destroy it all , yup, DESTROY IT, and rebuild it again . But this time with 10 stores probably so some of these stores will be for men and some for women to circle around the Kaaba without mixing. Wow, that must top suggestions in 2010.
Let's wait and see what will the governments do about this new suggestion, cuz lots of lunatics will follow their sheiks's sayings to the heart .
This is the sheik's talk to a group of sheiks and young men- and no one was wise enough to argue with him -

you can read more about it in Arabic here
14:02
The Night I Met the KING… and it paid to be a GAUCHOSober Saudi
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

From the moment that I signed the two-year contract to go to KAUST, I told everyone who asked, that “Yes I will meet the King.” I honestly thought that I would, but I had no clue it would happen in the manner that it did…

Last night, at the 25^th anniversary opening of Janadriyah (imagine a State Fair in the USA, but for an entire country) in the capital city of Riyadh, the magic unfolded… like a mosh pit at a Bad Brains concert with mascara-lined punks replaced by live TV cameramen, heavily clad militia, and a collective swarm of the richest, most powerful men in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

From what knowledge I have of the event, every year, the festival is patronized by the King, who proceeds to visit a specific exhibit. This year, with his treasure, KAUST, making its debut; it was only fitting that he visit the school’s extravagant display.

I was fortunate to be chosen as one of six KAUST students to participate in the opening ceremony that was nothing more than a scaled-down version (but no less spectacular) of the inauguration last September here at KAUST.

As with everything that involves the King, there’s no way that anyone can make plans, because everything is done on the King’s clock (and rightfully so!). This being said, while you might not ever know WHEN exactly he’s coming, you ALWAYS KNOW if he’s coming or not.

The preparations that go into every event involving the King would make for an Oscar-winning documentary. From the millions of dollars spent by event planners to the hours and man power displayed by the Royal Guard to make sure that every venue is safe and secured; you’re constantly reminded of the significance of this single human-being. Last night was no exception.

Running on very little sleep and an empty stomach (except for the dozens of dates and cups of coffee that Saudis from around the entire Kingdom generously offered us) and without access to a sanitary bathroom, I need not describe the physical and mental state that of each of us when “the moment” came.

Leading up to the King’s entrance, we had been forewarned that there would be a number of cameramen, militia, and “important” people with him; but that was a gross understatement. We had also rehearsed the exhibit walk-through countless times (if it’s possible to rehearse standing in one spot and hoping for a handshake) in hopes of a peaceful 5-10 minutes where the King could meet and greet some living products of his vision; but even the rehearsals went for naught.

On his golf cart accompanied by younger brother and Crown Prince, Sultan, and the King of Bahrain, the King eventually made a loop through the exhibit as the ‘eye of the storm.’ Fatigue completely washed away by adrenaline and “star power” that emanated from the King’s cart, it took a few swim maneuvers over stray guests for me to finally step out and greet him when he reached my section of the exhibit (fortunately I had good basketball coaches in high school and can get through a screen!).

Standing just a foot away from the man who is the reason or my being in the Kingdom, I couldn’t help but smile like his spoiled grandchild. After being formally introduced by the KAUST VP and another staff member, I greeted him in Arabic, which he responded by offering his hand.

A moment frozen in time, I was praying someone was catching this handshake with a camera and that his response would be nothing more than a formal reciprocal welcome. In a classic case of freezing in the limelight, he asked how I was doing (in Arabic) and what little Arabic I did know immediately left my mind; leaving me smiling like a foreigner begging for forgiveness for not being able to respond in this foreign tongue (but wanting to SO BADLY). So with a bow of the head and a thumbs up, I gave a hearty “shookran” (thank you) and off went the first TRUE KING (and Head of State) that I’d ever met… phew, awesome.

What took place in the next instant though, is something that I NEVER EVER could’ve foreseen happening, and will surely never forget. All of those beautiful years that I spent living the dream in Santa Barbara, at a school that I’d grown to love after being politely rejected by the likes of UCLA and USC (a pride point for most Gauchos) paid themselves off with the single shake of a hand.

On the second golf cart were another two VERY IMPORTANT Princes. To be completely fair, I only remember ONE of them. After being introduced as an American (by possibly the politest Saudi I have ever met, Mr. Al-Thunayan) the Prince closest to me asked what part of the USA I was from. Before I could finish saying “California” he was telling me that he had gone to school at “UCS” (followed by the longest pause of my life, probably 1 second to be not kidding!) “B. UCSB!”

Still partially blacked out from just meeting the King, all shields were instantly removed and I was completely taken aback. As if suddenly talking to yet another fellow Gaucho, I jumped back, made an announcement for everyone around us to hear and demanded a second handshake from this “Good Man” (as I called him). It’s always fun meeting someone who’s been to California here in Saudi, but this connection took my excitement to new heights. For the next few minutes, walking with his cart as it was exiting the exhibit, we spoke as fellow Gauchos might about the physical beauty of Santa Barbara and how much we both enjoyed our time there.

Now completely blacked out, I must’ve looked like a crazed man who’d just won an NCAA Championship but hadn’t slept in a week and was seeing stars (at least that’s how I felt).

Coming to my senses soon thereafter with the rest of the students, I could only think to myself, Damn! With a Gaucho at the helm, maybe the Kingdom IS the place to be after all…

(photos to come soon, Inshallah. KAUST wasn’t permitted photographers who some reason, but official pics come in next week)

12:09
موقع لحقوق المرأة الإيرانية يفوز بجائزة حرية التعبير على الإنترنت من مراسلين بلا حدود
» ‎ (title unknown) (general)

الكاتب الأصلي:حامد طهراني · ترجمة عبد الرحمن منصور · عرض المقالة الأصلية
كرّمت منظمة مراسلون بلا حدود ومعها جوجل، في 12 مارس / آذار، صحفيين على الإنترنت من موقع نحن نغير لحقوق المرأة وأعطتهم أول “جائزة لمتصفحي الانترنت”، وهي جائزة سنوية جديدة مخصصة للمدافعين عن حرية التعبير على الإنترنت. وفي نفس اليوم أصدرت منظمة مراسلون بلا حدود تقريرها عن ”أعداء انترنت“.

تسلمت پروین اردلان‬ من نحن نغير الجائزة بمكتب جوجل في باريس. وتبدي حركة النساء الإيرانيات مقاومة دائمة. حيث تجلب الحركة الآن خبراتها وأساليب عملها الديمقراطي إلى الفضاء الإلكتروني.

كان موقع نحن نغير من الداعمين لحملة تحت عنوان: مليون توقيع لتغيير قوانين التمييز. دعت الحملة إلى إنهاء التمييز ضد المرأة في القانون الإيراني. وأتت ضمن إطار احتجاجات سلمية لنفس الهدف، كالتي جرت في 12 يونيو 2006 في ميدان هفت تیر في طهران.

يمكنك أن تشاهد فيلم فيديو حيث نحن نغير يقدمون أهدافهم وتاريخهم:

فازت پروین اردلان‬ أيضاً بجائزة اولاف پالمه في 2007، لكن الحكومة الإيرانية لم تسمح لها بمغادرة البلاد لتسلم جائزتها. فسجلت هذه الرسالة على يوتيوب.

في الوقت نفسه، فقد سجن العديد من المدونين الإيرانيين وبينهم شیوا نظرآهاری‬، المدونة والناشطة الحقوقية، منذ 12 يونيو بالانتخابات الرئاسية.

9:41
الخلاف القذر !Conscience
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

لا بأس أن نختلف .. لا بأس نرد على بعضنا بالردود الطوال ؛ لكن علينا أن لا نكذب في ذلك مزورين غير مقالة القائل ، كثيرٌ ينقل الأراء والفتاوى والتصرفات والمواقف بشكل خاطيء .. بل ومقرف ، أحياناً يكون الناقل معذوراً إذ نقل حسب ما فهمه ؛ لكن الملاحظ مؤخراً هو تقصّدُ ذلك إسقاطاً للقائل أو تشويهاً لفحوى حديثه ، إذ ليس القصد الخلاف والاختلاف .. وإنما تعكير الصورة بناءاً على مواقف مسبقة لتمرير أفكار معينة ، أستحضر في ذلك مثالين اثنين .. وأمر مروراً بالثالث .

زوبعة حدثت – كالعادة مع الكتب التي نجهلها – حول رواية [ ترمي بشرر ] لعبده خال ، وبغض النظر عن موقفي الشخصي من الكاتب .. وبغض النظر فحوى الكتاب الذي لم أقرأه لندرة الكتب العربية حولي ؛ رأيت وقرأت مواضيع تحذر من الكتاب .. تدّعي أنه كتاب سامج وضيع زبالة – مع احترامي لكم ولصاحبه – وقد صوّر مشاهد لا تليق متفنناً فيها .. والمثير أن أحدهم صور بعض المقاطع كدعوة للدعارة وسواها ، شخصياً .. أصبت بدهشة ووضعت علامة × على الكتاب ، تفاجأت لاحقاً بمن أثق به يرد على أحد كتاب تلك المواضيع ويفند ما يدّعيه ويتهمه بتشويه الكتاب وأنه لا يحتمل كل هذا ، ومن ثم تبيّن فيما بعد أن كاتب الموضوع الأصلي لم يمسك غلاف الكتاب حتّى ، وما نقله لا يعدو انطباع عمّا سمعه من شخص قرأ الكتاب فوصفه له على أنه هكذا .

الثاني .. ما يتحدث به كتاب المنتديات عن الشيخ د. يوسف الأحمد ؛ حول مقترحه الذي جاء طارئاً في سياق حديثه حول عدم وجود إشكالية في أعادة بناء وتوسعة المسجد الحرام لتخفيف الاختلاط الموجود فيه حالياً رداً على من يستدل بوجود الاختلاط في المسجد الحرام على إقرار الاختلاط في أماكن أخرى غيره ، أحدهم كتب [ مطالبة بهدم المسجد الحرام منعاً للاختلاط ] وآخر يصف الشيخ الأحمد بأنه [ أبرهة عصره ] وثالث يكتب [ فتوى بوجوب هدم المسجد الحرام منعاً الاختلاط ] وسوى ذلك ، شخصياً لا أرى برأي الشيخ يوسف المقترح وأراه غير مقبول ، هي حتى ليست فتوى .. ولم تتم المطالبة بمنع الاختلاط وإنما جعل المكان أوسع مما هو عليه حتى لا يتم التلاصق والامتزاج الشديد ، ورغم أني أرى هذا المقترح بعيداً عن الواقعية ؛ لكني أيضاً أستهجن طريقة تصويره للناس ولي كقاريء ووصف صاحبه بالتشدد رغم أنه لم يقل شيئاً يستحق عليه ذلك ، وبعض آخر استجاب لتلك المواضيع وبدأ ينظّر الآن على أن التشدد و و و إلخ !!

يا جماعة .. طريقة تناولنا للأمور خاطئة ، إخراج الأمور عن سياقاتها لا يمكن أن يجعلنا موضوعيين في التعاطي مع الأشياء ، الأراء تبقى آراءاً لا ينبغي أن يُنظر إليها أكثر من ذلك ، ووصفنا للأمور يجب أن يكون دقيقاً حتى لو كنّا نخالفها ونخالف أيضاً من يقول بها ، فبرغم حنقي الشديد وبغضي للمدعو يحيى الأمير .. وكذلك امتعاضي وغضبي لقوله عن حديث صحيح ورد في البخاري أن مفهومه وحشي ؛ لكنه لم يقل أن رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – وحشي .. بل قال اللقاء مستدركاً : لا يمكن أن يصدر هذا من رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – ، صحيح أن كلامه منتهى البشاعة والوقاحة وسيودي به إلى مهالك عظيمة في الدنيا والآخرة .. لكنه لم يقل : الرسول وحشي ؛ كما يصوره لنا جروب أنشيء في الفيس بوك أحيي القائمين عليه لغيرتهم لكني أعيب عليهم تقويل إنسان شيئاً لم يقله بلسانه وإن كان ذلك مفهوم حديثه ، لست أدافع عنه الآن .. لا يستحق أبداً أن أفعل ذلك .. لكني أدافع عن الموضوعية التي يجب أن نتخذها مطية لما نريد وما ندعو إليه .

يجب أن لا نجعل تصوراتنا/أفكارنا/مواقفنا المسبقة ولا حتى ما نؤمن به هو من يتحدث عن أقوال وأفعال الناس ، بل يجب أن نستحضر أقوالهم وأفعالهم كماهي .. كما قالوها أو فعلوها .. ثم نعرضها على ما نراه صواباً أو خطأُ مع إنزال كلٍ منزلته ووضع الأمور مواضعها ، يجب أن نرى الأمور في سياقاتها دونما بترٍ لها منها ، ودونما اجتزاءٍ وتقسيم لبعض تفاصيلها وأركانها ، وليس كمن يرى الصورة مجزأة دون كل تفاصيلها ؛ ثم يريد أن يحكمَ على ذلك الجزء … مُجرّداً ولو بحسن نية !

لنختلف اختلاف شرفاء ..
ولننأى بأنفسنا عن الخلاف القذر ..

8:33
The March 18 Movement – Bloggers should not be killed
» ‎ Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead (general)

Click here to view the embedded video.
Today is the first anniversary of Iranian blogger Omid Reza’s death. For those of you who don’t know who Omid is, this is an excerpt from the entry we created on Wikipedia:
Omid Reza Mir Sayafi (also Omidreza Mirsayafi), a 29-year old Iranian blogger and journalist died in Evin Prison in Tehran on March 18, 2009. In December, he was sentenced to two and half years in prison for allegedly insulting religious leaders, and engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mir Sayafi was still awaiting an additional trial for insulting Islam. Some human rights groups that his death follows a pattern of Iranian authorities “denying urgent health care to prisoners of conscience, resulting in their death.”
Mir Sayafi’s blog is no longer accessible. But with some searching one can find an archive containing the blog posts that led to his imprisonment. Mir-Sayafi’s main area of expertise was traditional Persian music. He also wrote poetry and penned articles for Persian-language electronic art journals. He was apparently well known in Iranian intelligentsia circles.
Several citizen media groups have announced March 18 as “the day of solidarity with persecuted bloggers”. The March 18 Movement was created in his memory.

Please join us!

8:25
And they Call My Views Crazy!Saudimajix's Blog
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

What would you say if I said lets demolish Al-Haram Al-Makki for what so ever reason?

Muslim or not you would think I have gone mad.

Well some one already did, Yousef Al-Ahmed, due to the mixing of the sexes in Al-Harm “Makkah Mosque” he think demolishing it, and rebuilding it as to ensure the segregation of the sexes.

[www.news-sa.com]

what the hell is going on here!!!

people think I’m the crazy guy with crazy ideas and writing about taboo topics.

Al-barak first by stating killing who ever promote mixing the sexes, now this, I’m just waiting for whats next!!

I really want to know what these people are thinking, what kind of thinking!!!

I have learned that when is there is a problem we solve it, the set back and see the cause of the problem. are we doing that?

The king is taking it upon him self, talking to the world about Islam, and trying to fix the image of Islam world wide.

And what these people do???!!!!

We need to re think this for a second and start here from within, we have to agree among our selves first. or at least thats what I think.

we are going back to the stone age, even before Islam existed!. we have our own Taliban here in our own back yard.

These people are far more dangerous then the terrorist that pick up arms, because these people lead to such thing.

I see a grim future, but as always I hope for the best.

and hope our, or at least my voice is heard.

Ahhhh, that been said

cheers
6:45
” الأمل” بعد أن غسلت يداي .. !سلطان الجميري
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

المرحلة الإنتقالية التي يعيشها المجتمع السعودي ، مرحلة صعبة ! لا أقول صعبة على ضحايا الإنتقال .. بل هي صعبة علينا كمشاهدين لهذه المرحلة .. لنا كأفراد ننظر الى الخيبات والصدمات التي نراها كل يوم في أوساط النخبة !لقاء صحفي بين ليبرالي وإسلامي .. وحوار آخر في قناة فضائية …! ثم ماذا ! مالذي جناه المجتمع بعد [...]
5:08
"البروج المشيَّدة"صحيفة الوطن السعودية :: كتاب اليوم
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

"البروج المشيَّدة"صحيفة الوطن السعودية :: كتاب اليوم
5:08
سيرة دولة ومجتمع: الكتابصحيفة الوطن السعودية :: كتاب اليوم
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

سيرة دولة ومجتمع: الكتابصحيفة الوطن السعودية :: كتاب اليوم
3:22
01102008013Recent Uploads tagged saudi
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

rpyongque posted a photo:
3:22
01102008011Recent Uploads tagged saudi
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

rpyongque posted a photo:
March 17, 2010
23:01
لمحبي الخيال العلمي: دعوة للكتابةمدونة أشرف إحسان فقيه
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

هذه مجموعة قصص قصيرة من أدب الخيال العلمي، ستُكتب بأقلامكم أنتم. إنها دعوة مفتوحة للإبداع ليست لي يد بها، وإنما هي من بنات أفكار الأستاذة (حياة الياقوت) الكاتبة و الـ “ناشطة اللغوية” كما أعتبرها. كما أنها رئيسة تحرير موقع (ناشري) الذي هو عبارة عن مؤسسة ثقافية ودار نشر على الإنترنت لها جهود باهرة في نشر الأفكار الهادفة واللغة السليمة.

من هذا المنطلق، تقدّم الأستاذة حياة (سلسلة كُتب ناشري)، والتي سيكون أولها مخصصاً لقصص الخيال العلمي العربية، وقد فاجأتني -مشكورة- بمسؤولية الإشراف على هذا الإصدار الإلكتروني وتحرير مادته.

هذه إذاً فرصة رائعة لكل قاصي الخيال العلمي المخبوئين فيكم ليظهروا، وهي فرصة للمخضرمين منكم أيضاً كي يبدعوا مجدداً ويسهموا في عمل أدبي سيثري المحتوى العربي على الإنترنت، وسيعزز من مكانة هذا الضرب من الإبداع.. المحدود عربياً!

عليه، يسرني هنا أن أعلن عن دعوة دار ناشري للمهتمين بالكتابة الإبداعية في مجال الخيال العلمي للمساهمة بهذه المجموعة القصصية وفق الشروط التالية:

1. هذا المشروع موجّه لقصص الخيال العلمي القصيرة (15 صفحة قياس A4 كحد أقصى).

2. ليس هناك قيود على أعمار المؤلفين.

3. يشترط في القصص المقدمة أن تكون باللغة العربية، وأن تكون أصلية بأقلام أصحابها.

4. لا يفضل الاقتباس المباشر من الأعمال الأخرى، وفي حال تم ذلك فمن الضروري الإشارة إلى العمل الذي تم الاقتباس منه.

5. سيتم اختيار الأعمال المنشورة على أساس جودتها من ناحية اللغة، ثم الحبكة القصصية، ثم محتواها العلمي.

6. في حال أنه سبق نشر القصص المرسلة سواء ورقيا أو إلكترونيا، تجب الإشارة إلى تفاصيل ذلك. علما بأن الأولوية للأعمال التي لم يسبق نشرها.

7. لن تقبل النصوص التي تتعرض للمقدسات الدينية، أو التي تحتوي إباحية، أو تجريحاً، أو ما من شأنه تحميل دار ناشري أية مسؤولية قانونية.

8. سيتم التواصل مع أصحاب الأعمال المختارة للاتفاق على صيغة وترتيبات نشرها بعد انتهاء فترة التقديم. كما سيتم إخطار أصحاب الأعمال التي لا يتم اختيارها، لتنتهي علاقة دار ناشري بالنص عند هذا الحد.

9. يمكن لأصحاب الأعمال المختارة نشر أعمالهم لاحقاً بعد ظهورها في كتاب ناشري لكن شريطة الإشارة إلى ناشري.

10. إرسال طلب المشاركة في هذا الكتاب يعني الموافقة على الشروط الواردة في هذا الإعلان.

11. آخر موعد لتسليم القصص هو يوم 20 إبريل 2010.

12. يرجى إرسال النصوص في ملف بصيغة Microsoft Word مع ذكر اسم كاتب العمل، وسيرته الذاتية المختصرة، وعنوان بريده الإلكتروني، وصورته الشخصية (اختياري)، وذلك إلى البريد الإلكتروني:

وهكذا.. فأنا شخصياً متحمس لتلقي أعمالكم وتأمل أفكاركم المكتوبة بلغة الخيال العلمي. هل تكون هذه فرصة لظهور مواهب كبرى جديدة؟ أرجو ذلك، وأتطلع -صادقاً- لأن تكون مهمة الاختيار بين الأعمال التي ستصلني شاقة ومحيرة.. وممتعة أيضاً :^)

بانتظاركم!

21:26
The new disclosure debate and the evil Mr Moore
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

So, letâs pretend you are Rob, Mr. Head of IT, are sitting in your office on March 9th, working on your fantasy baseball draft (I hear Albert Pujols is the way to goâ¦) when one of your staff walks in and says that Microsoft has another zero-day running around. Internet Explorer 6 and 7 are vulnerable to a condition where invalid pointer that is accessed after an object is deleted. Putting on your best manager hat, you ask the hard question: âOK, what do we know?â She tells you that because you bought into the anti-Vista hype (in her head, sheâs calling you moron but she doesnât say it out loud, she isnât crazy, just proud), there isnât much that can be done currently. There were some mitigations provided, but they mainly involved Vista and Server 2003 and 2008. Now you know that your boss is going to be calling any moment and here is what you know: Something about an invalid pointer, the fact that it is âin the wildâ, a CVE number and âMicrosoft is working on itâ, you probably shouldnât tell him that Vista part. The phone rings.
21:21
Should Microsoft make IE open source?
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Microsoft looks to Internet Explorer 9 to help it retain the lead in browsers, and possibly increase market share. But maybe it's time for Microsoft to try something far more radical: Make Internet Explorer open source. Microsoft is betting that IE 9's increased speed and better adherence to HTML 5 standards will stem the erosion of IE's market share. I'm not sure that's enough, though. Firefox and Chrome are gaining on IE at least in part because of the vibrant ecosystem of developers who write add-ins for those browsers. Making IE open source could help quickly build a similar ecosystem for IE, and help fend off Firefox and Chrome. In addition, if Microsoft made IE open source, it could take some of the ideas that developers come up with for the browser itself, and incorporate them into its version of the browser. Better ideas are at a premium; this would be a cheap way to get them.
21:20
New password-stealing virus targets Facebook users
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Hackers have flooded the Internet with virus-tainted spam that targets Facebook's estimated 400 million users in an effort to steal banking passwords and gather other sensitive information. The emails tell recipients that the passwords on their Facebook accounts have been reset, urging them to click on an attachment to obtain new login credentials, according to anti-virus software maker McAfee Inc. If the attachment is opened, it downloads several types of malicious software, including a program that steals passwords, McAfee said on Wednesday. Hackers have long targeted Facebook users, sending them tainted messages via the social networking company's own internal email system. With this new attack, they are using regular Internet email to spread their malicious software.
21:20
New Cybersecurity Bill Pushes Ahead
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

A new version of a cybersecurity bill was introduced in the Senate on Tuesday that may eliminate some opposition to the measure from the tech industry. The bill would give the president a Senate-confirmed national security advisor to lead "all cybersecurity matters," whether in defense or civilian areas, according to a summary of the bill. Cybersecurity touches just about every aspect of the United States, from military espionage and potential cyber sabotage of U.S. infrastructure to cyber bank thefts and loss of intellectual property. The new draft put out by Senators John Rockefeller and Olympia Snowe reflects consultation with industry groups and some changes to lessen tech industry opposition, said James Lewis, a technology expert with the think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
21:19
Apple to ban film-based screen protectors from company stores
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Consumers seeking a protective film for the screen on their iPhone, iPod, iPad or Mac will soon have to look outside of Apple's retail stores, which will soon halt sales of the accessories indefinitely. Citing sources at a number of iPhone and iPod accessory makers, iLounge claims that Apple has been in dialog with these vendors for "some time now" regarding the impending ban. "Apple has said that it will remove both film-only solutions from its stores, as well as any case or other accessory that includes film protection as part of its package, such as cases that include film screen protectors," according to the report. It adds that the ban -- which covers film protectors for iPods, iPhones, iPads, and Mac -- will impact all forms of screen film, "including completely clear film, anti-glare film, and mirrored film, regardless of whether the purpose of the film is protective, decorative, or both."
21:16
Open Source Developers Pick Android Over iPhone
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

While the Apple iPhone remains the undisputed king of mobile app downloads, Android has been winning converts among open source developers since its inception. Now, Android has made enough of a splash that it can claim more open source developers than the iPhone, according to new research by Black Duck Software. Of course, that takes into account more than just mobile apps, with libraries and other bits of software being counted. But the findings suggest that while the iPhone continues to reign in the overall number of downloadable applications, the Google-backed mobile OS may be winning fans thanks to its more open nature. Developer.com takes a look.
21:16
How Amazon powers M86âs cloud security
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

M86 has revealed that it was using Amazon's EC2 cloud computing platform to roll out hosted security services to its customers in Australia. M86 created a virtual instance of its web application on Amazon's EC2 platform for each customer, said Werner Thalmeier, M86's vice president of product management. "We started the prototype 18 months ago. From our point of view it was faster and most reliable way to market and the most scalable," said Thalmeier. The image is built and tested by M86, which optimises for EC2 and performs quality assurance "The customer can only pick a ready image [which] can connect to internal policy filters or use the system browser interface through an encrypted connection" and can't be spoofed, claimed Thalmeier.

21:00
أنثى تعرف الرجال !ماجد الحمدان
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

عادل شاب مثقف يطالب بالحرية الإنسانية، مهتم بالرفاه الاقتصادي، يحترم رغبات الآخرين، يعشق الحياة ولكنه غير مؤمن بوجود مثل مطلقة، لذلك يمارس الزنا وأحيانا يقارع الخمر، غير أنه لا يسبب الأذى للآخرين، كما يرى نفسه تجسيدا بشريا لليبرالية.

بتار لا يقارع الخمر ولا يزني ويؤمن بالمثل المطلقة، ويستميت كي يثبت وجودها على الأرض، وهو مؤمن بالله يصلي وينادي بالتقوى وطاعة النبي الكريم، وبالمناسبة فبتار هي الكنية التي أطلقها على نفسه، غير أنه على استعداد تام كي ينقض على من تسول له نفسه ممارسة المنكرات، فهو من باب سد الذرائع يحاصر الجميع ممن حوله ويتدخل في كل صغيرة وكبيرة من شؤونهم.

دائما ما يردد قال الله وقال رسوله، ولكنه لا ينادي بالحقوق ويكره المال رغم أنه من جامعيه، ولا يعترف إلا بما أسماه العلم الشرعي، ويردد في كل مناسبة بنقصان المرأة في عقلها ودينها، كما يرى أن البشرية تعيش في جاهلية كونية، لذلك فهو يرى نفسه ظلا لله على الأرض، وسببا من أسباب الفضيلة.

سعاد فتاة فائقة الحسن، تؤمن فطريا بحرية الآخرين، نشأت على الفضيلة، تقدم لها بتار وعادل في ليلة واحدة، كان المجتمع يزكي بتار، لم يختلف في شخصه عن أبيها الذي تنقل بين الزوجات إشباعا لنزواته، لذلك لم تتردد لحظة واحدة في أن توافق على عادل، فالأمل قائم على توبته من الزنى والخمر، ولكن الوالد أبى إلا بداعية الفضيلة.

بلغت سعاد اليوم شتاءها السابع والعشرين، ولم تتزوج بعد، ، أما بتار فقد تزوج من الثالثة في أقل من أربعة أعوام، وخضب بطونهن الثلاثة، وهو لا يزال مؤمنا بنزول الأرزاق رغم أنه قد أصبح مهددا بالفقر في داخل منزله الصغير، ونساءه لا يكفين عن الشجار!

بينما لا زال عادل أعزبا في ربيعه الدائم؛ يمارس نزواته بين الحين والآخر ولكنه أصبح من أحد كبار رجال الأعمال ومثقفا معروفا، ولا زال متأكدا بأنه سيتزوج من سعاد، فوالدها المريض قد بدأ يدرك أنه قد أصبح كهلا شارف السبعين!
20:50
Why English and not Arabic?Saudimajix's Blog
» ‎ ahmed's shared items (general)

I have been asked that by my mom and follow friends,

“Why do you write in English and not in Arabic?”

to tell you the truth,

I started writing in Arabic,

and I was not happy,

you should have seen the comments,

since I write about topics that are a taboo in our society, I have been targeted by a group of people who don’t take reason or at least discuss the topic.

They take things for granted, and let someone think on their behalf.

I felt that I was the only one that see things the way I saw it. I had few people supporting me, but with time they fade away.

when I switched to English, I found that I was not the only one that have such views in any matter or any topic. Sure, I had my share of people disagreeing with me, but that didn’t change the fact we actually discussed it.

I’m seeking Educated, open minded, people that are thinkers, and know whats right and whats wrong, and most of all don’t need someone to tell them what to do or what that they should be doing.

so now you know why English and not Arabic.

ahhhh, that been said!

cheers

20:38
Vulnerability in SpamAssassin filter module gives possible remote root
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

The SpamAssassin Milter plug-in which plugs in to Milter and calls SpamAssassin, contains a security vulnerability which can be exploited by attackers using a crafted email to inject and execute code on a mail server. The SpamAssassin Milter plug-in is frequently used to run SpamAssassin on Postfix servers. In order to exploit the vulnerability, the plug-in must be called with the -x expand flag. For attackers to obtain root privileges, as the author of the security advisory proclaims, the plug-in has to be started as root â something which is anyway highly inadvisable. The attack occurs via a specially crafted recipient (RCPT TO) and is therefore unable to succeed if the plug-in only receives emails addressed to defined addresses.
20:33
Blazing fast password recovery with new ATI cards
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

ElcomSoft accelerates the recovery of Wi-Fi passwords and password-protected iPhone and iPod backups by using ATI video cards. The support of ATI Radeon 5000 series video accelerators allows ElcomSoft to perform password recovery up to 20 times faster compared to Intel top of the line quad-core CPUs, and up to two times faster compared to enterprise-level NVIDIA Tesla solutions. The support of massively parallel computing available in the newest ATI video accelerators such as ATI Radeon HD5970 allows ElcomSoft to achieve password recovery speeds exceeding those of high-end CPUs and competing NVIDIA boards, including NVIDIA Tesla systems.
20:32
10 Ways to Improve Your Memory
» ‎ Hack In The Box (general)

Yesterday I forgot four passwords, two book titles, and one pair of pants despite sticky notes reminding me of each. Since then, I've read HowStuffWorks' suggestions on improving memory. I forgot if they worked, but let's review 'em anyway. Note that none of these methods are foolproof or ideal individually. What you really need to do is look at your lifestyle and figure out a combination that works best for you. That said, here are some suggestions...

Skip to page: 1 2 3 4

oman →

GV Menace » general

Feeds

general (50 unread)