papasquat's recent activity
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Comment on Origin of ECDSA curve seed provided by NSA to NIST in 2000 without explanation turns out to be simple PRNG output with UNIX timestamp as seed in ~comp
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Comment on Origin of ECDSA curve seed provided by NSA to NIST in 2000 without explanation turns out to be simple PRNG output with UNIX timestamp as seed in ~comp
papasquat Link ParentI don't think "9/11 was an inside job" is the part most people find ridiculous. Yeah, it would be massively fucked for an American intelligence agency to willfully cause the deaths of thousands of...I don't think "9/11 was an inside job" is the part most people find ridiculous. Yeah, it would be massively fucked for an American intelligence agency to willfully cause the deaths of thousands of innocent American citizens, but they've done plenty of fucked up things to innocent citizens in the past, so it's not without precedent. The ridiculous part is the controlled demolition/jet fuel can't melt steel beams/holographic passenger jet/crisis actor stuff.
If the CIA wanted to stage a false flag terrorist attack, they'd just... fund and enable islamist terrorists to do a terrorist attack. All the other whacky stuff would only make sense if they intentionally wanted to get caught.
If jet fuel truly can't melt steel beams (it can), why would the CIA stage an attack that would require the laws of physics to be bent for it to work?
The ridiculous part isn't that an American agency did a false flag attack, it's the methods that conspiracy theorists posit that they did it.
As an aside, I also don't believe that 9/11 was an inside job, but not because it's impossible, just because there's no credible evidence for it being one.
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Comment on Squadron 42 | Official wishlist trailer in ~games
papasquat Link ParentThey invited prominent Star Citizen streamers to play it. I think that's a very important caveat, because a lot of these guys live in a different reality than the rest of us. I've put a decent...They invited prominent Star Citizen streamers to play it. I think that's a very important caveat, because a lot of these guys live in a different reality than the rest of us. I've put a decent amount of hours into Star Citizen, and it's impressive for what it is in it's current state, but it's not what I'd actually call a game. The gameplay loop doesn't really exist in a meaningful way. There's fun to be had, but you really need to dig for it.
If you watch Star Citizen streamers though, it's the most fun game ever made, that has an infinite amount of content to have a blast with. The bugs are minor and easily worked around, and everything is gravy. That's not the experience most people will have with the game as it currently exists, so I take everything those guys say with a grain of salt.
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Comment on iPhone Duo sells out immediately, now backordered until next year in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentThey're not USB dongles, they're little OTP generators with screens. We have a lot of users that use shared workstations. If we had USB dongles, people would end up leaving them plugged in and...They're not USB dongles, they're little OTP generators with screens. We have a lot of users that use shared workstations. If we had USB dongles, people would end up leaving them plugged in and losing track of which one is theirs.
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Comment on iPhone Duo sells out immediately, now backordered until next year in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentNot really, unfortunately. Telcos are very, very vulnerable to social engineering. It happens very regularly.Not really, unfortunately. Telcos are very, very vulnerable to social engineering. It happens very regularly.
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Comment on Grand Theft Auto VI | Launch trailer in ~games
papasquat Link ParentThis has been a recurring problem in basically any open world game that tries to have a serious story. It was especially bad in GTA IV, which tried to have a more down to earth, gritty story, with...they want people to empathize with some of the stories, but the open world mayhem of the game makes it hard to not immediately negate any goodwill acquired in a narrative with a stray killing spree.
This has been a recurring problem in basically any open world game that tries to have a serious story. It was especially bad in GTA IV, which tried to have a more down to earth, gritty story, with a reluctant main character who lamented all of the violence required in his line of work... Then he'd go out and run over 3 hookers, shoot 5 cops in the face, and cause 12 accidents on his way over to the bowling alley just for fun.
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Comment on Grand Theft Auto VI | Launch trailer in ~games
papasquat Link ParentThis has always been GTAs main messaging. It's never been serious social commentary or a political call to action. It was humor and commentary born of the late 90s, early 2000s alternative...It ends up feeling more like vaguely cynical teenage edginess than anything.
This has always been GTAs main messaging. It's never been serious social commentary or a political call to action. It was humor and commentary born of the late 90s, early 2000s alternative culture, similar to something like CKY or South Park. It'll lampoon right wing talking points, warmongering, and a loss of community, but it's not going to actually propose solutions to any of that, or delve deep into the systems that produce it.
I don't expect that GTA 6 will either, nor do I think I'd really want it to though. It's just not that kind of game.
It's the video game equivalent of the kid in the leather jacket saying "this is all bullshit, teach", and when the teacher goes "well do you have a better alternative for how to teach this class so that you don't fall on your face when you get out of school without knowing how the basics of how the world works?" They fall completely silent.
That's fine for what it is, the annoying kid in the back of class can be entertaining. He's not going to change the world though.
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Comment on iPhone Duo sells out immediately, now backordered until next year in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentThis is the plan at my organization: we have two options for MFA, the Microsoft authenticator app, either on your issued corporate phone, or your personal phone if you don't have a corporate...This is the plan at my organization: we have two options for MFA, the Microsoft authenticator app, either on your issued corporate phone, or your personal phone if you don't have a corporate phone, or a hardware based OTP generator.
We have thousands of employees, and the vast majority of them choose the authenticator app (as do I), because I don't want to have to carry around a separate hardware device and be responsible for keeping track of it, manually putting codes in, etc.
There are some people who go for the hardware token, but they usually regret it within a couple weeks.
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Comment on iPhone Duo sells out immediately, now backordered until next year in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentYeah, I don't disagree with that decision, SMS is a pretty bad MFA method, and something as important as the accounts Entra gets used for shouldn't use it as a method, but the transition is still...Yeah, I don't disagree with that decision, SMS is a pretty bad MFA method, and something as important as the accounts Entra gets used for shouldn't use it as a method, but the transition is still going to be painful for a lot of organizations.
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Comment on iPhone Duo sells out immediately, now backordered until next year in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentSMS isn't adequate for Microsoft's use case though. You really don't want enterprise accounts being compromised. A very low stakes website account might be fine if they get compromised though. And...SMS isn't adequate for Microsoft's use case though. You really don't want enterprise accounts being compromised. A very low stakes website account might be fine if they get compromised though.
And an app hyperlink doesn't solve the biggest problem with SMS, which are SIM swap attacks. If you send a hyperlink or a code, it doesn't really matter if someone else gets the message. In SMS OTP MFA, being able to receive SMS messages at a specified phone number is used as proof of identity, which is a flawed approach due to how vulnerable SMS is.
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Comment on iPhone Duo sells out immediately, now backordered until next year in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentMicrosoft's MFA is deprecating text messaging as an option in a few months, so I expect we'll see a lot of people in similar situations.Microsoft's MFA is deprecating text messaging as an option in a few months, so I expect we'll see a lot of people in similar situations.
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Comment on iPhone Duo sells out immediately, now backordered until next year in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentYeah, and it's the first iPhone in years that does something different. For bragging rights alone, people were always going to buy it.Yeah, and it's the first iPhone in years that does something different. For bragging rights alone, people were always going to buy it.
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Comment on Metallica’s James Hetfield has a message for entertainers who bring their ‘bullshit‘ agenda to the stage in ~music
papasquat LinkI'm 100% fine with a band not making political statements, not using their concerts as a platform for their personal political beliefs, and focusing on being musicians rather than activists. I...I'm 100% fine with a band not making political statements, not using their concerts as a platform for their personal political beliefs, and focusing on being musicians rather than activists. I think it's a totally valid perspective, and maybe even one I'd take if I was talented and famous.
The thing is, if you're going to do that, just do that. You don't need to tell everyone you're doing it. They know you're doing it by virtue of the fact that you're not making political statements. What's the point of calling attention to it, and denigrating other artists that choose to do it?
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Comment on Mass shooting at US Hindu temple prevented by jammed gun in ~news
papasquat Link ParentReally? Greek people seem like the most "white white" you can get. I mean, racist white people are obsessed with the concept of "western civilization", and they're the ones who kinda started the...Really? Greek people seem like the most "white white" you can get.
I mean, racist white people are obsessed with the concept of "western civilization", and they're the ones who kinda started the whole thing.
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Comment on What is your dream game? in ~games
papasquat Link ParentOne of the things I've always hated about RTS games is how unrealistic your role as a commander is. If you're a company/battalion/brigade commander, you don't have to tell your guys to run from...One of the things I've always hated about RTS games is how unrealistic your role as a commander is.
If you're a company/battalion/brigade commander, you don't have to tell your guys to run from the alien that's about to eviscerate them. They know to do that. You don't need to tell them to not shoot at the tank, because it won't do any damage, or to not just stand there in the open while people are shooting at you.
They're people who are generally just as smart as you are. Your job is to tell them where to go and when, how you want them to attack objectives, and to give them the tools they need to do all that stuff.
"Micro" is always seen as a positive thing in RTS, but in real life, micromanagement is almost entirely a negative. I wish there were more RTS games that let you actually command units that weren't complete idiots, instead of explicitly having to tell them every little thing to do.
4x and wargames are better at this because they abstract all the actual combat away, but I wish there was something that let you play at the platoon/company/battalion scale where you can actually see and influence the battles instead of the war.
I think that sort of thing would really scratch that itch, even if it's not going all the way to massive planetwide warfare scale.
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Comment on What was a small but bright moment of your day? in ~life
papasquat LinkI was walking down the street today, and I heard "hey! Fuck you!" to my left. That's not exactly uncommon, the area I work in has a lot of mentally ill people on the streets and I've been shouted...I was walking down the street today, and I heard "hey! Fuck you!" to my left. That's not exactly uncommon, the area I work in has a lot of mentally ill people on the streets and I've been shouted at a lot. I turned and it was a guy holding two middle fingers up at me, who I recognized.
Turns out it was this guy I was friends with in the Army with and hadn't seen in a few years. He's a lawyer that works in the area now.
(And yeah, that was a pretty normal way for him to greet me when we were in together).
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Comment on I deliberately bet like a problem gambler. DraftKings made me a VIP. in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentNot really. For one, most people aren't willing to beat people's brains out. Secondly, trying to beat up a mafioso isn't something you can do alone. Even if you kill one, you're a dead man walking...For that you need the community's consent, and said community could easily take some bats and beat the mafia's brains out if they ever decided it wasn't worth it.
Not really. For one, most people aren't willing to beat people's brains out. Secondly, trying to beat up a mafioso isn't something you can do alone.
Even if you kill one, you're a dead man walking from then on. Normal people have too much to lose to be willing to put themselves at that much risk. In order to be able to take on and kick out a gang from your neighborhood, you can't do it alone, you need a large group of people willing to do violence for each others benefit.
Which... You may have noticed, is now just another gang.
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Comment on I deliberately bet like a problem gambler. DraftKings made me a VIP. in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentThe public understands that high end bags, clothes, and watches are mass produced in sweat shops like everything else, but they still drop tens of thousands for luxury designer brands. They...The public understands that high end bags, clothes, and watches are mass produced in sweat shops like everything else, but they still drop tens of thousands for luxury designer brands. They understand that smoking causes lung cancer and nicotine causes heart disease but still smoke and vape like crazy. They understand that just because a sexy actor is wearing a certain type of cologne doesn't mean you'll be sexy by wearing it too, but advertising still works.
These things are all basically just hacks of the human psyche. They take advantage of the fact that we don't process reality objectively and rationally. We have little quirks in how our minds work that were evolutionarily advantageous, but can be exploited by people who don't care about the well being of others for massive profits.
We see flashing lights and examples of people winning lots of money and assume the same is likely to happen to us because of rudimentary, innate pattern matching mechanisms hardwired into us. We have quirks of our biology that make us gain pleasure from ingesting certain chemicals. We have an intense innate desire to aquire and guard things simply because other people seem to value them.
Rational, logical thought doesn't really factor into the decision making process when it comes to the deep seated psychological tricks the gambling industry uses. It appeals to the lizard brain, not the deep thinking one.
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Comment on AI models may be capable of self-replicating without access to a datacenter in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentWell... It kind of is. ITAR still controls the export of cryptography in the US. It used to be enforced a lot more strongly, and Phil Zimmerman was the subject of a high profile criminal...Don’t build it” isn’t a solution when a technologies spread widely enough.
Well... It kind of is. ITAR still controls the export of cryptography in the US. It used to be enforced a lot more strongly, and Phil Zimmerman was the subject of a high profile criminal investigation because he released PGP on the internet. Ultimately the investigation was dropped because of public backlash, but the US government has a lot of enforcement mechanisms at its disposal that it could absolutely use if it were at all concerned with the safety of AI.
Like yeah, a hacker could build something in his basement, but AI training takes a whole ton of resources to do effectively, something you really can't hide. The reason AI safety isn't being enforced more heavily by the US isn't because it's not enforceable, it's because AI is the engine fueling the US economy right now. The government isnt interested in ruffling the feathers of the golden goose.
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Comment on AI models may be capable of self-replicating without access to a datacenter in ~tech
papasquat Link ParentI don't see that being particularly useful, to be honest. A conventional work that calls a public AI API would make a lot more sense as an approach. Unless AI models become exponentially more...I don't see that being particularly useful, to be honest. A conventional work that calls a public AI API would make a lot more sense as an approach.
Unless AI models become exponentially more efficient, a model that runs on an IoT device isn't capable of doing a whole lot of adapting. They can give very rudimentary responses very slowly unless the hardware is purpose built to run AI models.
A worm that tries to replicate "conventionally", then calls an API running a powerful AI model if those lateral movement techniques fail would be a way more efficient use of resources.
Really though, worms don't need this stuff as is. They're very capable of spreading using known CVEs because people don't update their acrobat or IP cameras.
The only real use case for super advanced AI powered worms that I could see would be going against mature, well protected enterprises that you want to laterally move against. The worm would have to make a lot of C2 calls to figure out how to evade and spread though, which would be detectable.
There are things where you really wouldn't want to do this. Things like technical capabilities for military aircraft or missiles that would make them easier for adversaries to plan around, the identities of informants who could still be employed by repressive regimes after 20 years, or whose families could face reprisals for information given to the US, details of sensitive security measures which may still be in place for 20 years and so on.
I think the government has a responsibility to declassify anything that doesn't have the capability of causing grave harm, but a flat rule would definitely be harmful.