Intrigued and disturbed by reports that the former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko may have been killed by radiation poisoning, I couldn’t help wondering how something like that was done? How easy would it be to get your hands on Polonium-210, the chemical element? Quite easy, it turns out. If you’re in the U.S., or have someone with … Read more
Jeff Jarvis has an amusing tirade against the lame Thanksgiving eve stories of TV (“The lead story is that the roads and airports will be crowded this morning. Now that’s news!”) to which I’d add: how about the lame PR pitches this time of year about the dangers of shopping online? I’ve had half a dozen … Read more
The boffins have spoken, and they’ve spoken right: Don’t use anti phishing toolbars, or at least don’t rely on them. (Anti phishing toolbars sit in your browser and supposedly warn you if you’ve been directed to a website that’s about to plunder your bank account, or at least steal your passwords.) I’ve been saying the … Read more
The Associated Press profiles security guru Bruce Schneier. Bruce writes clearly and well, and apparently got a mention in “The Da Vinci Code”. He’s also very critical of Post 9–11 overreaction: “Eventually we will all come to our senses about security,” he says. “I think it’s 10 to 20 years. A generation.” His argument: less … Read more
It used to be called Loose Bits, but I prefer Loose Change. For now. It’s the same thing: tidbits I found that might be of interest: First off, NeatReceipts, which sells a small scanner and special software to scan in your receipts while you’re on the road, has announced a new version of its software, … Read more