Syndicated Blog

Cryptosmith
Security architecture, not bitcoins

Breaking Bitlocker

It was only a matter of time before someone did this. Bitlocker is Microsoft’s technique for encrypting a desktop, laptop, or other MS Windows device. We encrypt the device to protect the ...

Play the Password Game!

| | passwords, security
A clever person has hosted a Password Game. Give it a try! ...

Leaking Secrets Under Social Pressure

| | classified, leaks, military, security
Here is a classic example of human nature: people on a gaming site argue that the site’s tanks don’t accurately reflect their capabilities. Participants post classified information to prove their point. Reporters ...

GPT and Confirmation Bias

| | Artificial Intelligence, MLS, Tech Teaching
“Garbage in, garbage out.” In computing we’ve recited the GIGO motto since I was in diapers (Univac I and vacuum tubes were state of the art). Comfirmation bias is like GIGO: if ...

SCI//HCS-P/SI/TK at Mar-a-Lago

This is a brief explanation of the weird acronyms on the cover sheets that appeared in the photo of classified the FBI seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. They identify different types of ...

The Mar-a-Lago Mess

I’ve avoided commenting on the FBI’s discovery of classified documents at the Mar-a-Lago Club, the home of former President Donald Trump, before this. Numerous pundits have shared their opinions about Trump’s legal ...

The Quantum Computer Bogeyman

| | Crypto, quantum, security
Peter Gutmann of the University of Aukland recently published a parable “On the Heffalump Threat.” He pokes fun at the R&D cottage industry trying to achieve a practical quantum computer and at ...
Can I auto-post to Mastodon?

Can I auto-post to Mastodon?

| | mastodon, Publishing
I’m reposting this article as part of my tests of auto-posting. In other words, my first attempt wasn’t exactly a success. It appears that I didn’t get my cron working correctly. Like ...
Mastodon

Mastodon

| | mastodon, Publishing
Like lots of other people, I’m looking at Mastodon as a newer, better tech-social community. I’m trying to auto-post from this site to a Mastodon ID, and I have a separate Mastodon ...
Writing Nonfiction with ADHD

Writing Nonfiction with ADHD

| | ADHD, Publishing, training
This post is inspired by Tessa Flattum’s post, “How to Write a Novel with ADHD.” I self-diagnosed my own ADHD after my son was diagnosed as a child. I’ve written three technical ...