Take a Deep Breath.

Why the FBI might soon cut off your Internet
WHAT? Oh, stupid alarmist headline writers.

The FBI is NOT shutting off anyone's internet connection. The "DNS Changer" Trojan goes into your system settings and modifies your DNS settings to connect with a server operated by the BadGuys any time you enter a web page. (this is bad) The BadGuys have been caught and the FBI has been operating the BadDNS servers as legitimate DNS points under the provisions of a court order. (this is good) The court order will expire on March 8th and the FBI will no longer be able to provide DNS servers at the address used by people who are still infected by the trojan. So your DNS lookups will fire off into the ether and never get a response.

Gizmodo:The FBI has a court order allowing it to set up temporary replacement DNS servers so that those with infected computers or networks can get the worm off of their systems. The court order, however, expires on March 8th. Unless that order gets extended, anybody who hasn't cleaned up their act before it expires, might get cut off from the Internet altogether.

FBI:
As part of that order, the defendant’s rogue DNS servers have been replaced with legitimate ones. Internet Systems Consortium (“ISC”), a not-for-profit entity, was appointed by the court to act as a third-party receiver for a limited period of 120 days during which time it will administer the replacement DNS servers. Although the replacement DNS servers will provide continuity of Internet service to victims, those replacement servers will not remove the Malware from the infected computers.

If this happens to you, your internet might appear to stop working on march 8th, but all you need to do is point it at an active DNS server to make it go. (just like always.) That first article makes it sound like the FBI is digging up the wire in your front yard to keep you from spreading the virus to others (which would be a serious problem and gigantic lawsuit)

You can go here: http://dcwg.org or here: https://forms.fbi.gov/check-to-see-if-your-computer-is-using-rogue-DNS for instructions on checking your settings, but I doubt you've got it unless you install really sketchy codecs on your machine.

Between this IP...	... and this IP
77.67.83.1	77.67.83.254
85.255.112.1	85.255.127.254
67.210.0.1	67.210.15.254
93.188.160.1	93.188.167.254
213.109.64.1	213.109.79.254
64.28.176.1	64.28.191.254

You should go ahead and change your DNS to Google's Public DNS anyway though, cause it's faster than the ones your ISP provides and the numbers are SUPER easy to remember:

http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/

Just Another Day At Work.

You ever get the feeling that the White House is just one big-ass party that you'll never be invited to? Everyone knows the best house parties always wind up with wild exotic animals roaming the grounds and dudes with guns posing manlyly.

Personal Inventory.

While I find most of the 'doddering old man doesn't know how many houses he has/ how to tie shoelaces' debate fairly amusing, this is an interesting point. Seven houses is obviously more houses than a ginormous majority of Americans (or world citizens for that matter) can claim amongst their assets; but what do you have seven of?

I have more than 7 DVDs. I have a 7.1 surround sound system. I have more than 7 (burned) CDs; although my CD changer holds one short of equaling McCain's realestate holdings. I have more than 7 pairs of underwear... but I seriously can't name anything of consequence (end table or higher) that I have more than 5 of. Golf clubs? (like the actual sticks, not country clubs)

I don't mean to suggest that having this kind of wealth makes John McCain unfit for the presidency. When's the last time we elected someone who's personal wealth was near the median for this country? But it does make me think twice when I hear stories about how John McCain is better able to identify with the working class Americans who are feeling the pinch of gas prices and a recession. Reducing taxes and then funneling money into pockets of private companies doesn't address the needs of "struggling" lower/middle class workers like tirmming excess/redundancy and supporting social boons like universal healthcare or alternate energy research would.

Bam; I've got one! I own 7 domains. And I'll pretty much guarantee that's more than John McCain has in his godaddy cart, that blog hatin, multi-mansioning, septuagenarian.

• McCain Has More Houses Than I Have... - Featured on BuzzFeed

Incentive Much?

Hang on a second. Let me get this straight. Citizens of Birmingham, UK did such a great job stepping up to meet the city council's recycling goals that said environmentally concerned council distributed 720,000 congratulation pamphlets? Isn't that kinda like thanking local drivers for reducing gasoline consumption by throwing a lit match into a tanker truck?

Some people may be distracted from this by talk of the £15,000 worth of publications that contain the wrong Birmingham's (AL) skyline, but not me. The fact that they were printed in the first place is obviously more insulting. Next time, how about you print up one pamphlet and just have everyone pass it around and share?

The classic pizza party ploy always got my fourth grade class pretty fired up for whatever they wanted us to do. Or, in the US at least, you could get around 373 kegs of beer with that $28,000. Not sure how your beer unit conversions work over there, but one beer for 52,600 people is a pretty nice reward...

• BBC NEWS :Chiefs admit Brum skyline mix-up

Homeland InSecurity.

This might be the closest to the thought police we'll ever experience. At least I hope it is. Seizing and scanning any electronic device that crosses the border seems like a large invasion of privacy. Yes, it is unreasonable to randomly seize a laptop, copy its contents (which may include any information stored online that cookies or stored passwords will access), crack any encrypted file that might be found and store the results in a massive government database for undisclosed periods of time.

But we're talking about ANY electronic device capable of storing information. So your pda, blackberry, cell phone, iPod, usb drive and cd collection are all up for grabs too. (the feds won't have to coerce telcoms into illegally releasing phone records, they'll just download them from our handsets). But lets not stop there. What else do you have that carries information? Got any credit cards? Gift cards? Transit cards? Key fob? Library card? Wristwatch? Pedometer? It all goes into the database. No suspicion needed, just because you're there.

Remember carnivore? Well forget having to send data to someone else to have it intercepted. All you need to do is cross one of the borders of your own god damn country and your govenment will help itself to all the information you never had to consider was personal or private.

Proponents say they're preventing "criminals and terrorists with a means to smuggle child pornography or
other dangerous and illegal computer files into the country" with this warrantles (yet currently legal) policy. But lets face it, there are better ways of smuggling data into the country than shoving a usb drive up your backside and standing in line at customs. (are you guys searching all the UPS boxes that cross the border too?)

But lets say you're not at all concerned about feds finding anything on your discs that could be construed as criminal evidence. (you're gonna delete that mp3 library when you get home, aren't you?) Fine, you honestly feel comfortable about you personal and secure information being duplicated and stored by any number of federal agencies with little or no oversight? You don't worry about the possibility of impropriety or all too common digital security or confidentiality breach? Can I introduce you to my government?

Policies like this should make the entire population cringe and hold their breath, hoping they don't get their own rights caught up in the mix of ensuring "freedom" in general.

• Homeland Security: We can seize laptops for an indefinite period | The Iconoclast - politics, law, and technology - CNET News.com

The NEW "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy.

"Don't ask us about the secret (probably illegal) programs spreading all around you and we won't tell you.

Sounds like a super foundation to build a global oligarchy on, doesn't it? The mere fact that the US government refuses to acknowledge whether certain secret (probably illegal) programs exist makes me suspect that they are illegal. This slate article details the trials and tribulations of plaintiffs and judges who feel as if the world has gone crazy -- while trying to flesh out the details of "secret" (probably illegal) government programs that everyone knows exist.

Q: "[How can it be] "a state secret" that that the government is not intercepting millions of customers' communications illegally. How can the absence of an illegal program be a secret?"
A: "If the government had to prove that something that doesn't happen, doesn't happen, it would have to divulge everything that does happen."

Huh? That's a bit of flawed logic, I'm afraid. I know defendants don't usually have to prove innocence, the burden typically lies upon the plaintiff. But its rough going when the defendant keeps confiscating and destroying all the evidence. Its an odd legal climate where the government doesn't just falsely deny something, they tell us that they can't tell us, and that its for our own good. We should start asking questions about the secret (and probably illegal) program to paint all ducks purple with q-tips and see if they have the same "national security secret" response.

"I'm sorry, but the NSA can neither confirm, nor deny, the existence of a secret federal program to paint ducks purple with q-tips.

• Slate: Lawyers in Wonderland