tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347279.post6837525139555315446..comments2023-08-26T05:04:33.009-04:00Comments on anti-virus rants: who knows what the future may bring?kurt wismerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03810635947269551517noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347279.post-9995891691919974272010-12-22T11:56:58.977-05:002010-12-22T11:56:58.977-05:00first your nitpick: i didn't actually say ipho...first your nitpick: i didn't actually say iphones would do flash. the reference to flash had to do with the implication that without general purpose computers the web as we know it would cease to exist.<br /><br />is a digital camera a special purpose computer? i suppose that depends on the camera. firmware is suggestive of that supposed middle ground i said didn't exist. i'm probably going to have to call it a general purpose computer that lacks the facilities to easily use it as a general purpose computer (if i take away from a PC the vectors through which new code can be introduced, that doesn't change the processor architecture, it doesn't make the machine any less capable of running arbitrary code, just of encountering that code). <br /><br />i don't find the distinction between special and general all that fuzzy myself. i think the idea of fixed first order functionality, for example, seems very well defined and unambiguous. <br /><br />considering the alternatives when flying, a polygraph might not be so bad. i've already had a pat down on the front of my trousers and by all accounts it's gotten worse since i last flew. <br /><br />i also acknowledge what you're saying about the fact that we will have to fight again. i absolutely agree that this will happen, i just think it will happen before we get to schneier's dystopian future. there is already considerable backlash against airport security procedures. there are already people choosing droids over iphones. there are already examples of people not being cattle in every example of customer objectification out there and it promises to worsen as the objectification does.<br /><br />the parable of the frog in the pot of water not noticing the water being brought to a boil only includes 1 frog. if it were instead a million frogs it wouldn't work nearly as well because different ones have different tolerances. the same is true for society and anti-consumer practices - different people have different tolerances and the worse things get the more people will get hopping mad about it.<br /><br />bruce's dystopian future assumes a society of cattle, however. we can't get to where he's suggesting unless people lay down and let it happen and there are already people unwilling to do that right now. and while i may envision us changing course through non-violent exercising of choice, you can bet there are those envisioning bloody revolution instead. <br /><br />as for whitelisting - i believe i've read about your practice and if i'm not mistaken we use the same tool (in fact i recall being surprised we were on the same page when i read about it). i'm reasonably satisfied with it's operation <b>when it works properly</b>, however i occasionally encounter difficulties with it misidentifying the process involved. that i find troubling. there are, of course, many other alternatives, but it's nice to have two things in one package (whitelist and personal firewall). i wonder how it changing corporate hands yet again will affect the product.kurt wismerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03810635947269551517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7347279.post-11711698867608365262010-12-22T04:18:37.401-05:002010-12-22T04:18:37.401-05:00First, a nitpick: iPhones don't do Flash. Have...First, a nitpick: iPhones don't do Flash. Haven't you listened to Steve Jobs' rant against Adobe on the subject? :-)<br /><br />But, generally, I think that Bruce is right on all accounts. It can be argued whether the iPhone is a specialized computer or a general one. Your digital camera can run only its own firmware, developed by the producer (or whoever they have contracted) and, I hope, you won't argue that it's a specialized computer. Well, similarly, the iPhone can run only software approved by Apple (even if developed by someone else). If you really want to run anything of your choosing on an iPhone, you have to jailbrak it.<br /><br />But this is just a technicality; the broder between "specialized" and "general" computers is a pretty fuzzy one. The main point is that Bruce is right about his vision of the future. And if you find <i>that</i> dystopian, please consider that he's talking about IT security only. If you consider for a moment what physical security is likely to become, you'll get kittens. Here's a taste: how the Israelis imagine the future of airport security - using hardware and software that is already available:<br /><br />http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1336571/Terrorism-Can-really-stop-bomber-asking-Are-terrorist.html?printingPage=true<br /><br />Fancy undergoing a polygraph test the next time you want to fly?<br /><br />As for "we fought and won" - society doesn't develop in a straight line. We gought and won back then. We will have to fight again in the (not so far) future. Will we win with all the new technological developments used against us is anyone's guess...<br /><br />BTW, just out of curiosity - what kind of whitelisting software do you use? I use the program whitelisting capabilities of the personal firewall I use - but I'm not happy with it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com