mtbakervapor

[roonies]

that's an "I'm on a cruise" smile if ever I saw one!!!!

Not the greatest pic to work with, but thanks, luv it

 

[mcol]

amazing....if these smart people actually used there brains for good use the world might be a better place.

Agreed. Was sitting here trying to remember what her name was so I could stalk her on FB and see
if she's having a good Christmas, or has done any remodeling lately.

 

[Sambuca]

This is not too far from the truth. It has been discussed in recent years. I can't remember who or what state it was that wanted all children under a certain age implanted so they could be tracked if they were kidnapped. I do not believe it made any headway though.

Both my cats are implanted so if they ever turn up missing and end up at the pound we will be contacted.

it actually is the truth. they start small, with pets. kids'll be next. then, even if they don't do adults, the kids will eventually grow up and be the adults.

we been f--ked for a long time now. don't know why folks are sleeping through it...

 

[roonies]

Dang! sorry about that! I've gotten hit 3 times while traveling and what a PITA!!! This is why I only use prepaid CC's now for vaping stuff. Just used our regular CC at Toys 'R Us about an hr. ago. Hope they're secure!....then on to Wal Mart ( I know ) where I spent cash dollars. We have a herd of grandkids...oy!!

Credit union called today....I am one of the millions that are a victim of the target breach......one card shut off.....this kind of thing irks me to NO end. other countries have chips in their cards instead of magnetic strips, and theft is like 67% lower......why would they not make all cards like that???? This is the 3rd time in 2013 that I have gotten hit. gonna quit using credit cards all together. Grrrrrr

 

[Sambuca]

hi Roonies!

Seanchai, glad to see you are still in the public domain. where's your hat? Mcol was working hard all day!

 

[Seanchai]

it's just a shame that we have to worry about all this all the time. my credit union backs up all charges! it's just that it's a hassle to get a new card each time. I thought most of the ID theft happened online.....never thought about it happening in the store. it just seems that a corp? as large as Target would have enough safety built in that it wouldn't happen.....but I guess nothing is fool-proof with hackers.

There are a lot of issues at play here, but the main one, and the reason a corp like Target can be hacked, is it's not really *hackers* doing the hacking anymore - not for the top-tier places like that, who generally *do* have quite a few layers of protection. What hackers do in that case is write *programs* that do the hacking *for* them.... in cases like that, the computer running the hacking program is pretty much running on autopilot, performing advanced combinatorics in order to determine first how many *possible* codes there are, and then systematically running each one. Needless to say, computers don't miskey, lose their place in the list, make a maths error, or miscode - and they do all of that in a fraction of the time it would take even the smartest human to do. Once you have the program written, it's just a matter of how long you have to let the hacking computer run before it gets through all the layers of security.

The good news is, percentage wise, there are few people out there who know how to successfully write those programs, and smart companies are hiring those people to work *for* them and write *security* programs designed to be dynamic (keep changing the codes against the efforts of a computer that's trying to hack its way in). The more of those people we have working on the *security* side, the safer our computerized info will be. The not-so-smart companies are chasing after those hackers screaming bloody murder, when what they should be doing is saying "Nice hack - when you get out of jail, want to come work *for* us and write the program that would stop anyone from doing that again?"

 

[mcol]

Dang! sorry about that! I've gotten hit 3 times while traveling and what a PITA!!! This is why I only use prepaid CC's now for vaping stuff. Just used our regular CC at Toys 'R Us about an hr. ago. Hope they're secure!....then on to Wal Mart ( I know ) where I spent cash dollars. We have a herd of grandkids...oy!!

Hubby was at Wal-Mart right before he came home this evening.
He said it was a madhouse. I'm surprised he got out of there unscathed.
He always was a tough one.

 

[Joie]

Agreed. Was sitting here trying to remember what her name was so I could stalk her on FB and see
if she's having a good Christmas, or has done any remodeling lately.

I have to blame the employees of some of these stores also.....I have not signed one of my credit cards......they all say " ask for ID" And I think maybe 1 out of 10 times I am ever asked for my ID....they glance at it and hand it back. I used to ask them if they read it and just got tired of asking.

 

[Joie]

There are a lot of issues at play here, but the main one, and the reason a corp like Target can be hacked, is it's not really *hackers* doing the hacking anymore - not for the top-tier places like that, who generally *do* have quite a few layers of protection. What hackers do in that case is write *programs* that do the hacking *for* them.... in cases like that, the computer running the hacking program is pretty much running on autopilot, performing advanced combinatorics in order to determine first how many *possible* codes there are, and then systematically running each one. Needless to say, computers don't miskey, lose their place in the list, make a maths error, or miscode - and they do all of that in a fraction of the time it would take even the smartest human to do. Once you have the program written, it's just a matter of how long you have to let the hacking computer run before it gets through all the layers of security.

The good news is, percentage wise, there are few people out there who know how to successfully write those programs, and smart companies are hiring those people to work *for* them and write *security* programs designed to be dynamic (keep changing the codes against the efforts of a computer that's trying to hack its way in). The more of those people we have working on the *security* side, the safer our computerized info will be. The not-so-smart companies are chasing after those hackers screaming bloody murder, when what they should be doing is saying "Nice hack - when you get out of jail, want to come work *for* us and write the program that would stop anyone from doing that again?"

very true.....kind of like Vegas hiring people would knew how to beat the systems and learn from them.

 

[vapnstuff]

This is not too far from the truth. It has been discussed in recent years. I can't remember who or what state it was that wanted all children under a certain age implanted so they could be tracked if they were kidnapped. I do not believe it made any headway though.

Both my cats are implanted so if they ever turn up missing and end up at the pound we will be contacted.

Big difference between cats and kids though. But it's only the size of a grain of rice, they say, but have you seen the size of the needle? Scares the bejeebers out of me! 8-o

 

[mcol]

hi Roonies!

Seanchai, glad to see you are still in the public domain. where's your hat? Mcol was working hard all day!

Just for you Sambuca:

 

[Sambuca]

Just for you Sambuca:
View attachment 287284

uh....i already have a hat...

but because you did all that work...

 

[vapnstuff]

There are a lot of issues at play here, but the main one, and the reason a corp like Target can be hacked, is it's not really *hackers* doing the hacking anymore - not for the top-tier places like that, who generally *do* have quite a few layers of protection. What hackers do in that case is write *programs* that do the hacking *for* them.... in cases like that, the computer running the hacking program is pretty much running on autopilot, performing advanced combinatorics in order to determine first how many *possible* codes there are, and then systematically running each one. Needless to say, computers don't miskey, lose their place in the list, make a maths error, or miscode - and they do all of that in a fraction of the time it would take even the smartest human to do. Once you have the program written, it's just a matter of how long you have to let the hacking computer run before it gets through all the layers of security.

Kind of like the Stuxnet virus that infected the Iranian reactors a couple years back.

 

[mcol]

uh....i already have a hat...

but because you did all that work...

I won't rest till everyone is decked out.

 

[mcol]

Roonies you took to long to change your avatar:

 

[roonies]

What I couldn't believe was how everyone was there with all of their kids!! Getting up and down those aisles with a cart was treacherous at best! I hate shopping in stores!! online is just so easy....buy and drop ship! That's what I'm doing for my out of town family. Now if I can just get through all of the wrapping with 2 gammy shoulders. call me a wahhhhhmbulance somebody!!! I feel about a hundred years old! and they were out of Santa hats too. boo!!

Hubby was at Wal-Mart right before he came home this evening.
He said it was a madhouse. I'm surprised he got out of there unscathed.
He always was a tough one.

 

[DustyZ]

What I couldn't believe was how everyone was there with all of their kids!! Getting up and down those aisles with a cart was treacherous at best! I hate shopping in stores!! online is just so easy....buy and drop ship! That's what I'm doing for my out of town family. Now if I can just get through all of the wrapping with 2 gammy shoulders. call me a wahhhhhmbulance somebody!!! I feel about a hundred years old! and they were out of Santa hats too. boo!!

Ok, you're a "wahhhhhmbulance" did that help?

 

[mcol]

very true.....kind of like Vegas hiring people would knew how to beat the systems and learn from them.

Do you know how hard it is to put a hat on a dog that is
upside down and at an angle?

 

[mcol]

What I couldn't believe was how everyone was there with all of their kids!! Getting up and down those aisles with a cart was treacherous at best! I hate shopping in stores!! online is just so easy....buy and drop ship! That's what I'm doing for my out of town family. Now if I can just get through all of the wrapping with 2 gammy shoulders. call me a wahhhhhmbulance somebody!!! I feel about a hundred years old! and they were out of Santa hats too. boo!!

I sympathize with anyone that was brave enough to go to WM 2 days before Christmas.

 

[DustyZ]

Do you know how hard it is to put a hat on a dog that is
upside down and at an angle?
View attachment 287303

Awe how cute!