SERVICE: Google’s two factor authentication

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Google’s two factor authentication has arrived at one of my accounts.

It’s an excellent idea and turns one’s cell phone into the equivalent of a SecureId token. Maybe better?

Basically, before you turn it on, you have to consider THREE things.

(1) Understand that the initialization process takes a few minutes of your undivided attention. (If you screw it up, then I’m not sure how you fix it.) So “multi taskers” be forewarned.

(2) Understand what you need to do for all things that access your Google Account but don’t support two factor authentication (i.e., you email program). You’ll generate a special password for each of these applications. (It doesn’t say to, but makes it easy to generate on unique on for each such use.)

(3) Understand you have to have a plan if you loose your cell phone (i.e., losing one of your two factors will lock you out). Google allows you to specify another number and to print out a bunch of backup one time use passwords. Don’t fail to do this.

All in all, seems like a good working implementation.

I’d suggest that you do it on a test id. (Like I didn’t. I was excited to see it finally. That’s could be a bad blunder.)

I assume that you can revert if you want to. But I don’t know that for a fact.

Do as I say; not as I do?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: DROPBOX client didn’t restart after reboot

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Interesting!?!

Could have been disastrous. So there is nothing in the MACOSX operating system that ensures everything that should be in your environment is. And, by extension, nothing that shouldn’t be there isn’t either.

Argh!

What else can’t we see?

# # # # # posted 2011-02-19 06:43

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SOFTWARE: LibreOffice 3.3 recommended “Office” suite

Saturday, February 19, 2011

http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7959?hq_e=el&hq_m=1174302&hq_l=4&hq_v=e357d8d5d7

LibreOffice

*** begin quote ***

Sure, LibreOffice 3.3 is basically a recolored OO.o, at this point. But, adding its own fixes and features sets it in a new direction. LibreOffice should retain its compatibility with OO.o so that extensions, fixes, patches, and code enhancements can be used in either product.

*** end quote ***

RECOMMENDED!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | SOFTWARE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: APPLE is enforcing its headlock on “their” hardware

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/02/15/ibooks-1-2-1-detects-some-jailbreaks-disables-ibookstore-purchases-in-response/

*** begin quote ***

Users of devices jailbroken by one of the methods that allows Apple’s test binaries to successfully run who attempt to open content purchased from the iBookstore are met with the following error message:

There is a problem with the configuration of your iPhone. Please restore with iTunes and reinstall iBooks.

Restoring a device from iTunes obviously removes the jailbreak, again rendering the device in compliance with Apple’s standards.

Apple’s tactics are of course drawing some scrutiny from jailbreak fans, many of whom are pointing to recent actions by the U.S. government to explicitly allow jailbreaking. Consequently, Apple’s move to prevent access to legitimately purchased iBookstore content just because the user attempts to view it on a jailbroken device is seen as interference with legal usage.

*** end quote ***

Now, I remember why I didn’t like LOTUS. And, why I shouldn’t like APPLE.

DRM!

APPLE sells me some hardware and dares me to use it.

Henceforth and forever more, all APPLE hardware is, be definition, “NOT RECOMMENDED”. Windoze may be “bad”, but at least you can be “OPEN”!

On to Linux!!!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: Fails to restart from sleep

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Don’t think I lost anything. No obvious error message. Send report to Apple.

Argh!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | MACBOOKAIR | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

DATA: Open Gooferment data in New Hampshire

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/02/08/0112246/New-Hampshire-Begins-Open-Data-Efforts

*** begin quote ***

Now, with over a dozen Free Staters elected to the NH legislature, these geeks are starting to affect government data-sharing policy.

*** end quote ***

http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/new-hampshire-opens-its-states-legislative-data

*** begin quote ***

Chalk up a new one for the open-government-data geeks.

In the past few days, New Hampshire’s General Court, as the state legislature is officially known, started releasing data on legislation and legislators in nerd-friendly, “pipe-separated” files, uploaded daily. In non-geek speak, this means the data is presented in a way that any competent web developer can easily process for use in an application or a researcher can feed into a database system to explore.

*** end quote ***

Seems like the “crazy Free state Project members” are making a change that was completely unexpected.

They are cracking the Gooferment data open like a dropped Chinese porcelain urn.

Imagine that people are actually interested in what the Gooferment is up to.

“Very interested”!

Now we just need to make the Gooferment switch to free Open Source Software and save some money.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | DATA | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Serendipity! I get to watch a red light camera from wife’s ICU room

Monday, February 14, 2011

I find the Universe has a sense of humor.

In observing the Red Light Camera by Saint Peter’s University Hospital, I think it’s “unacceptable”.

I don’t have a stop watch to determine the timing.

Some folks obviously enter the intersection on red and it ain’t even close. Other’s not so clear.

If a car is in the intersection to make a left turn, and the light goes red, sometimes it “fires”.

If a car yields to a light’s ‘n’ sirens ambulance while in the intersection, it fires?

If a pedestrian interrupts some poor slob making a legal right or left, and he’s caught in the intersection, it fires.

To do a good study, we need to mark the pavement with what I’d call the 25mph line. If a poor slob is doing 25mphs, how much distance does the yellow give him to stop. I can’t tell with out some tools: radar gun; pavement markings; and a stop watch.

If the Old Lady is stuck in the ICU long, maybe I’ll have time to do a real study.

Make a movie?

Yeah, I have too much time on my hands.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Red light camera as like an ATM to the Gooferment

Monday, February 14, 2011

http://reason.com/blog/2011/02/07/more-fights-over-red-light-cam

More Fights Over Red Light Cameras
Radley Balko | February 7, 2011

*** begin quote ***

Actually, the argument is that there’s good evidence showing that lengthening yellow times is a far better way to prevent intersection accidents than red light cameras. It’s more effective, and doesn’t come with the creepy surveillance state vibe. Somehow, that doesn’t seem as appealing a policy to city governments. Another reason we critics have impugned the motives of public officials is that several cities have been caught shortening yellow times at intersections after they’ve been outfitted with cameras. That would seem to be a pretty good indication of a government that values revenue more than safety.

*** end quote ***

Yes, cash-strapped jurisdiction would have a very good motivation to install the camera and then shorten the yellow.

See the Gooferment can’t be both a participant in the game and the game’s referee.

Any illusion that there is a difference between the supposed three branches of Gooferment is just a corrupt illusion.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Technology | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

NETWORK: “In the same way”? Not Quite

Sunday, February 13, 2011

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/ipv6-marks-next-chapter-in-history-of.html

IPv6 marks the next chapter in the history of the Internet
2/03/2011 01:39:00 PM

*** begin quote ***

In the same way your phone is associated with a unique number, your computer is assigned a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address when you connect to the Internet. The current protocol, IPv4, allows for approximately 4 billion unique addresses—and that number is about to run out.

*** end quote ***

Unfortunately, not really.

I’ve had the same home phone number for more than three decades. Thru three PSPs (Phone Service Providers).

ISPs play all sorts of games with “my” IP address. Not to mention that I have wifi router that automagically “counterfeits” the mac addresses to allow me to “fool” the ISPs network.

Argh!

It’s more imprecise language that encourages fuzzy thinking.

We really have two different kinds of internet. An internet of things controlled by the manufacturers with mac addresses and the internet of people controlled by the ISPs.

We can say that the IPV4 problem is an ISP problem; not a User problem.

Certainly, not MY problem. I get nothing out of it.

I’m more interested in mesh networks and P2PDNS.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | NETWORK | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: GOOGLE starts to make two factor authentication available

Friday, February 11, 2011

Advanced sign-in security for your Google account
Posted: 10 Feb 2011 08:30 AM PST

*** begin quote ***

Most of us are used to entrusting our information to a password, but we know that some of you are looking for something stronger. As we announced to our Google Apps customers a few months ago, we’ve developed an advanced opt-in security feature called 2-step verification that makes your Google Account significantly more secure by helping to verify that you’re the real owner of your account. Now it’s time to offer the same advanced protection to all of our users.

2-step verification requires two independent factors for authentication, much like you might see on your banking website: your password, plus a code obtained using your phone. Over the next few days, you’ll see a new link on your Account Settings page that looks like this: …

*** end quote ***

Now maybe this will embarrass the financial institutions into real security. As opposed to “password theater”.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »