Random News Stories

[Harold Hallikainen]

The above iPad case is interesting in that it is not internet fraud, but just a phone call. Though the fraudster is probably using the supplier's web site to order the iPad. This morning I read of people putting ads on Facebook saying they are immigration attorneys that will help people stay in the US. The scammers set up fake video immigration hearings where the residency is approved. They tell the people that there is now no need for them to attend the next scheduled immigration hearing. It really looks like it is too easy to get away with fraud and is worth the risk to many people.

[Ryan Gallagher]

In the US people have been scam capitalizing on misfortune for far too long. My brother has been struggling and getting into some minor legal trouble lately, and before you even know he's been arrested, any publicly findable family will get scam calls from people impersonating police officers "notifying" you of his jail status. The catch is they never know all the details, they just see the public arrest records.

We've not followed one to it's conclusion, but I am sure there is some "fee required" scam to at minimum acquire a payment card number, or other more valuable info, if not a direct payment to the scammers.

[Harold Hallikainen]

And, of course, everyone posts bail with gift cards...

[Leo Enticknap]

A growing issue seems to be that scammers are now using AI to make their approaches more convincing. I heard of a really nasty one recently, in which a compromised web page changes the DNS addresses in your browser to those of a server operated by criminals. You then receive an email telling you to contact your bank about something, but stressing that you shouldn't trust the number in the email, but to look it up yourself. You then Google search in your browser, which directs the DNS lookup to the scammer's server. It gives you an AI-doctored search result which is identical to what Google would have given you, apart from that one phone number. You're then on the phone to the scammers, who take your details and empty your bank account.

[Harold Hallikainen]

Interesting! Does this survive the https certificate check?

[Ed Gordon]

Understanding DNS Settings

DNS (Domain Name System) settings are crucial for directing internet traffic to the correct locations. These settings translate domain names into IP addresses, allowing users to access websites and services.

Can a Web Page Change Your DNS Settings?

A web page cannot directly change your DNS settings. This action requires administrative access to your network or device, which a website does not possess.

Potential Risks

While a web page cannot change your DNS settings on its own, it can attempt to manipulate users through:

• Phishing: Malicious websites may impersonate legitimate services to trick users into providing sensitive information.
• Social Engineering: Users might be persuaded to change their DNS settings based on misleading information or prompts.

Best Practices for DNS Security

To protect your DNS settings:

• Verify Sources: Always check the legitimacy of any request to modify your DNS settings.
• Use Security Tools: Employ anti-virus and anti-malware software to detect and prevent phishing attempts.
• Educate Yourself: Stay informed about common online threats and how to recognize them.

By following these practices, you can help safeguard your DNS settings from unauthorized changes.

It is possible to download and run a "harmless" application that you gives administrative rights to in order to install the program. During that installation the program has administrative rights to your device.

Another route to re-direct a name lookup in to "poison" the HOSTS file.

...the hosts file can bypass DNS by mapping a hostname directly to an IP address on your local machine, overriding any DNS resolution. This is useful for testing or redirecting traffic without changing DNS settings.

This is a trick software pirates use to block the software from contacting the genuine license server.

[Leo Enticknap]

Interesting! Does this survive the https certificate check?

I heard about it on a talk radio show, and they didn't go in to that level of detail. Unsurprisingly, most of the airtime for the piece was devoted to explaining the basics of DNS for the lay listener.

Here (though functionally identical stories are now appearing across all the major news sites, especially of outlets in college towns)

Canvas Has Been Hacked, and Is Apparently Being Held for Ransom
The cloud-based learning management system is used by more than 8,000 colleges and universities.

Canvas, the cloud-based learning management system used by more than 8,000 colleges and universities, including all top ten colleges in the U.S., is being held for ransom. A group called Shinyhunters has claimed responsibility for the hack and has given Canvas' parent company, Instructure, until May 12 to reach a settlement, or else "everything is leaked."

Canvas outages have been reported nationwide

There's no word on how many schools have been affected, but reports of students being unable to access Canvas are coming in from universities and colleges all over the country. Over the last half an hour, complaints of Canvas being down have gone from nearly none to over 8,000 on Down Detector.

A similar breach of Instructure took place in late April or early May, and the company confirmed that names, email addresses, student ID numbers, and private messages exchanged between users were exposed by Shinyhunters, but said there was no evidence of compromised passwords, dates of birth, social security numbers, or financial information.

Instructure updated its software on May 2, saying that it had deployed patches, increased monitoring, and taken other measures meant to contain the damage, a fact referenced by ShinyHunters in the message left for Canvas users:

The hacker group claimed its previous hack added up to over 3 terabytes of data, affecting 275 million students, teachers, and others at close to 9,000 educational institutions. Whether this latest breach will be that large remains to be seen.

What to do if you're affected by the Canvas outage

While the threat is presumably being resolved, here are some steps students and faculty can take to make their digital data more secure on Canvas.

• Change your password: If you can log in, change your Canvas password. If you use the same password for banking, email, and other places, change those as well.
• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): This adds an extra layer of security.
• Beware of phishing emails: If email addresses were compromised, hackers may send highly targeted emails to students. Be suspicious of any messages asking you to install software or share account information.
• Monitor your credit: It's unknown whether financial information was part of the hack, but giving your credit report a check wouldn't hurt.

A relative of mine works for one of the affected institutions, and there is a lot of concern going around. Canvas does appear to be back up after having been offline for most of the afternoon, but the issue is what data might have been taken from it by the hackers. The three biggest schools within the institution are a medical, a dental, and a nursing school, and it's being speculated that there could be some serious HIPAA issues with some of the data that was in that system.

As with Delta and CrowdStrike, it's yet another example of how businesses large, small, and every size in between have become utterly dependent on third party, cloud based data processing vendors, and how vulnerable they are when those vendors eff up.

[Ed Gordon]

Canvas cyberattack halts learning at Washington state universities

The online platform used by teachers to communicate with students at major Washington universities suffered a global outage Thursday after it was reportedly hacked.

The University of Washington reported the Canvas outage at 1 p.m. “due to an apparent security incident.”
“Canvas is fully inaccessible to all users at this time,” the notice said.
Teachers and students were unable to access their classes or send messages through the Canvas platform. Canvas is the primary learning management system at state universities including the University of Washington, Western Washington University, Central Washington University, and Eastern Washington University.
The state universities were part of a much bigger apparent hack that had worldwide impacts.
Students at the University of Pennsylvania received a message on their login page from a cyber extortion group called “ShinyHunters” that took credit for breaching the Canvas parent company, Instructure, and stealing data from almost 9,000 schools. The group threatened to leak the stolen data unless institutions negotiate privately before Tuesday, May 12.

n an update at 4 p.m. Thursday, the University of Washington reported that Canvas assured users “they have found no indication that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information was involved in the cybersecurity incident."

At Western Washington University, students and teachers attempting to access their classes were told, "Canvas is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance."

Source: https://www.kuow.org/stories/canvas-...e-universities

[Jim Cassedy]

"Popcorn Prohibition"??
NoPopcon_04071949.jpg
[ April 7, 1949 - Albany Democrat-Herald, Albany Ore ]

[Ryan Gallagher]

"Popcorn Prohibition"??
[ April 7, 1949 - Albany Democrat-Herald, Albany Ore ]

Inflation adjusted that court $100 fine is $1,393 in today's money!

They were pretty serious with that incentivizing of others to rat out the muchie enjoyers with that 3x ticket price rebate.

I expect this failed to become legislation based on where popcorn sits as the defacto movie theatre snack?

1949
> Avg. ticket price: $0.46
> Price adjusted for inflation: $4.69 (2017)
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Samson and Delilah

via Cost of a Movie Ticket the Year You Were Born
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cost-...155153039.html

That avg ticket would be $6.41 in 2026 money. Can't help but notice ticket prices have basically doubled or tripled beyond just inflation. And we make up so many other reasons why no one goes to the cinema anymore! haha.

[Jim Cassedy]

I seem to recall that there were several attempts to pass similar legislation in several cities
over the years, including one which wanted to outlaw cellophane potato chip & pretzel bags,
because of the crackling noises they made. As far as I know, none of them was ever codified
into law. I think this is similar to the occasional lawsuits people bring which want to force
theaters to advertise the actual starting time of the feature so patrons can bypass the trailers.
I don't think any of those have ever been successful either.

[Leo Enticknap]

The NTSB has published a video animation detailing its findings as to the cause of the engine separation that resulted in the Louisville MD-11 crash last November.

The real question for me is why that fatigue cracking wasn't found during routine inspections of the pylon, especially given that failure of the pylon's aft mount was also the cause of a very similar disaster in 1979.

[Leo Enticknap]

There is a big kitty on the prowl in Santa Monica:

This is right next to the Aero Theatre, where I used to work as a projectionist and now service.

image.png

I would walk a block or two west on 14th (the road down the center of this screenshot) at midnight to 1a several times a week heading back to the car after a closing shift. Looks like I could have had many lucky escapes!

[Ed Gordon]

And then there is the little kitty in Long Beach, CA:

Curious kitten pulled from car engine in Long Beach

A curious kitten found itself in a dangerous situation after recently clawing its way into a car’s engine compartment in Long Beach.
“Not your typical rescue today at Station 21,” the Long Beach Fire Department posted on Facebook Thursday.
Video showed a lifeguard reaching deep into the engine compartment, attempting to get a hold of the kitten hiding inside.

• 

“This adventurous kitten kept moving farther away from rescue crews as lifeguards carefully removed panels to reach it,” the Fire Department said.

Several meows later, the apparently uninjured baby black cat was pulled to safety.

“Thankfully, the tiny stowaway was safely rescued and reunited with its relieved owners,” the Fire Department said.
Station 21 serves the Alamitos Bay and Marina Pacifica area, where crews often respond to water‑related rescues.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/arti...182323148.html

I was riding my dirt bike up a dirt road here in Washington state and a cougar ran across the road in front of me. I continued as fast I could past where it crossed and then stopped to look back. I then remembered that this road was a dead end. I decided to take my chances now, and went back at top speed with my thumb on the horn button all the way...

We had an attack here recently:

Overview of Cougar Attacks in Washington State

Cougar attacks in Washington state are rare, with only two deadly attacks recorded in the last century. In total, there have been about 20 encounters that resulted in injuries to humans. Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, typically avoid human contact.



Notable Attacks

• February 2024: A group of five cyclists encountered a young male cougar while biking near Snoqualmie. One cyclist, Keri Bergere, was attacked and suffered severe injuries. Her friends fought back for 45 minutes, ultimately saving her life.
• July 2023: An 8-year-old child was attacked in Olympic National Park, with the child's mother successfully fending off the cougar.

[Mark Ogden]

Ooooops, wrong thread. Moving to Random Photos.