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Ask HN: Could QRCodes be Abused/Hacked Like This?

First, I know nothing of QRCodes except how to use them for price comparison so this may be a dumb question to those of you who are up-to-speed.Basically what would stop someone from getting QRCodes assigned to a url, 301'ing that url through an affiliate link, printing their QRCodes and slapping the stickers on price tags in major chain stores like BestBuy?I'm not going to do this. I'm just...

( Read More... | 3 comments | 5 points | on HN )
Re:Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot Beta 1, Released on Friday September 02, 2011 @05:13PM (#2955620)
I agree with everything you said. The whole point behind technology should be accessibility for everyone. Geeks (guilty myself) tend to get into a bubble where we forget about the rest of the world. And there's just something about the Hacker mindset (which most people on HN have) where there more complicated it is, the cooler it seems. Instead of having the mindset of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.", Geeks/Hackers tend to think "If it ain't broke, lets break it!!!"

Linux Mint is based upon Ubuntu/Debian. Give it a try. If you're a Windows power user you'll probably really like it. And all the commands you learned in Boontoo will work in Mint.

Re:Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot Beta 1, Released on Friday September 02, 2011 @04:51PM (#2955544)
Seems to be lots of love for Unity here. Where are my haters at?

I'd rather punch myself in the eye than use Unity. First thing I did was switch back to classic Gnome.

I think Linux Mint is heading in the right direction with Gnome. Also been thinking about switching to Xfce since I've been using the CL a lot more.

Ask HN: Is there a site where people looking for biz dev partners can meet?

I currently own a net based company and am looking to branch out into some new ideas. Unfortunately my biz partners of 13 years are looking to head a different direction. Therefor I've been on the hunt for potential other professionals to hook up with.Is there any type of site out there that makes the intro?

( Read More... | 4 comments | 12 points | on HN )

New Employment Phishing Scam

Saw another post on HN talking about an employment scam. Since we're talking about employment scams, just a note to everyone. There is also another scam going around where the company runs a fake ad, the ad says they background check, and for you to be considered you must submit a background check with your resume. They ask you to go to anysitenamehere.com and get a copy of your background...

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Possible/Probable Logic Behind Google+ Real Name Fervor

A lot of confusion seems to be going on with the Google+ Real Names Policy. The argument goes something like this:“It doesn’t matter if I use my real name or not. If my name is John Smith then there’s no way Google can know which one I am, ergo it’s pointless.”People making that argument are flat out wrong. I work in the public/private record and data broker industry. I’ve worked in it for 14...

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Isn't it Cap'n Crunch???
Re: on Sunday July 24, 2011 @03:34PM (#2800148)
Whoever wrote this just pulled it from their rear and has never coded in their life.
I'm not sure how you expect anyone here to answer that question... We know nothing about you or your idea but you want us to tell you how likely it is you'll have the next big thing???

I will say that if you don't know anything about the technology behind your product (providing technology is your main product and not in a supporting role) you're at a HUGE disadvantage.

And? Why would that stop them from getting this information and matching it? Are you saying because this information isn't available all over the world they wouldn't collect it it in the U.S.? The U.S. is the biggest consumer market in the world.

What do you think they could achieve (monetarily) having a personal history attached to a social account? I can tell you the first thing I'd do is determine your influence. I could take your addresses/family addresses and reasonably determine what kind of spending power you have based upon cross referencing your address with tax information. On top of that I don't have to necessarily know about you in another country. I can simply define the influence of an individual here and you may end up in their circle of influence. Imagine a person that's been voted as highly influential in said system and they communicate with you on a regular basis. From that I could infer that you are also potentially influential.

Other countries have similar systems. The information may not be as freely available but it's there. It just needs to be harvested.

For example, one of the biggest sources of relative information is obituaries. Something that is freely printed all over the place.

I suspect the reason Google wants your real name is to match it with credit headers. And before anyone calls me a tin-foiler please read the following and understand that I work in the industry. I'm not making a judgment call one way or the other as to whether this is "right" or not.

For those that don't know a credit header is information in a credit report that gives identifying information about a person. Credit headers contain:

Name, AKA's, Maiden Name, Date of Birth, Social Security Number and Issuing State, Relatives, along with Current and Previous Addresses which can go back 25+ years.

Credit headers have been ruled as to NOT be part of a credit report:

http://epic.org/privacy/fcra/

<blockquote>A credit header is identifying information from a credit report. It includes name, mother's maiden name, date of birth, sex, address, prior addresses, telephone number, and the Social Security Number.

Credit headers came into use after the FTC changed its definition of a credit report in the course of settling a case against TRW (now Experian). The FTC allowed the CRAs to treat headers as "above the line" information and to sell it with no legal protections for the individual. The reasoning was that this information did not relate to credit, and thus should not be considered part of the credit report.

Credit headers are used for location of individuals and for target marketing. They are sold in bulk by the CRAs and can be purchased online.</blockquote>

Google can simply take your IP address, trace it back and then run your name against the header database to locate individuals in your area with that name. The more unique your name the easier you are to identify. If you have a common name it would be further cross-referenced with other information like relative names or maiden names. Once identified they have your complete life history.

Re:Apple Laptop Security Flaw Found In Batteries on Friday July 22, 2011 @10:12PM (#2795917)
He found a default password but didn't take it any further for fear of burning down his home???

At this point this is nothing but hypothetical. I want to see him turn that Apple into a baked Apple!

Re:DoD offers up tiny, secure Linux distro on Friday July 22, 2011 @06:45PM (#2795458)
How is this any different than Knoppix with scratch turned off?
Re:Fog Creek releases WebPutty on Wednesday July 20, 2011 @04:35PM (#2787320)
Maybe I'm not understanding this completely (and that's entirely possible!) but why use 3rd party web servers? I like the idea but it just seems like it'd be easier as a browser addon. With the browser addon:

||Step 1 > Visit Url or open file ||Step 2 > Click the addon button ||Step 3 > Addon opens double pane and clears any current CSS ||Step 4 > Edit CSS and refresh

There's probably already an addon like this. Admittedly I've never looked past Firebug.

Re:Nginx established as a company on Monday July 18, 2011 @02:03PM (#2777360)
congratz guys (if you read this)

getting money flowing for dev of Nginx can only benefit the FOSS community. Hopefully some of that money will go into developing more documentation :)

Re:Refuse to be terrorized (2006) on Sunday July 17, 2011 @09:33PM (#2774771)
Huh? Just because they don't have said resources to kill everyone in the U.S. doesn't mean it's not their ultimate goal... No one can say whether or not they could eventually acquire those resources via rogue states.

UBL specifically stated that jihadist should NOT differentiate between Military/Government and civillians.

Re:Refuse to be terrorized (2006) on Sunday July 17, 2011 @06:24PM (#2774374)
<quote> "The real targets of terrorism are the rest of us: the billions of us who are not killed but are terrorized because of the killing. The real point of terrorism is not the act itself, but our reaction to the act.</quote>

I know this is not going to be popular because Schneier is a crypto/security God and all but I call B.S. on the above quote.

If you would have given any of the 9/11 terrorists or UBL a button and told them they could wipe out the U.S. and everyone in it by just pressing the button how quickly do you think they would do it? Or do you think they'd say "Sorry, no-can-do. There won't be anyone left to terrorize."?

Their goal is not to terrorize/scare people. Their goal is the total destruction of anyone or anybody that stands in the way of their total domination.

Re:Show HN: BetAnnoyer, you owe me bro (app I created) on Saturday July 16, 2011 @03:41PM (#2771540)
I'll bet $20 bucks you get shut down by your host for spam complaints.

Is Apple Sharing Customer Data with a 3rd Party Ad/Fetchback Network?

Before I start I'll say the following could be a coincidence but if so it's one heck of one.On Sunday I opened up the App Store software on my Macbook Pro. I started browsing through applications and came across an app named Boom.I did NOT visit the link to their website, I did not do a search for anything about them. I simply went on looking through the App Store at other software.Yesterday I...

( Read More... | no comments | 2 points | on HN )