It is said that the most complex structures built by mankind are software systems. This is not generally appreciated because most people cannot see them. Maybe that’s a good thing because if we saw them as buildings, we’d deem many of them unsafe.

/kbw333

A thought on remakes of Linux window managers and desktop environments (that give you a mouse elbow because you have to flit the mouse over to a corner every time you want to switch programs…):

The design of the desktop environment on a computer isn’t some f-cking art fair, we’re talking about a tool here! Go play with your X-box instead!

I mean, sure, all these new fancy window managers look really nice, clean and … empty… I guess it speaks to the seriousness of the users of said systems… clean and empty…

Don’t complain about things (computers, Linux installations, Desktops and Window Managers) being too customizable!

Ask for either administrator locked customizations or customization themes.

If you have to administer a thousand workstations and the users can customize themselves to hell and back twice over, then I can understand you do not want too many customization options open to the user…

Lobby for administrator locked customizations (a customization setting in itself, of course!)

If you feel like starting your computer and trying to set it up is like entering the cockpit of a Boeing 777, then I can also understand that you would like less customization options you had to worry about…

Lobby for a function like a customization theme, where you can download a set of customization settings from the web or get them from a friend.

See, in both these scenarios you’re not really in the need of less configuration, you’re in the need of different configuration…

…if you disagree, buy a Mac! 😛

Puppet is an open source configuration management utility that works on Linux and Windows and has its own declarative language to describe system configuration. (Sounds like just what Windows needs!)

I just stumbled onto Facebook (it wasn’t my fault!) and when I wanted to leave I had to press an “are you sure you want to leave Facebook”-button.

So, I checked and still today Facebook isn’t part of the standard model of physics and it doesn’t seem to be part of any of the big religions… so yes, the universe WILL survive without Facebook.

I clicked, “YES I want to leave” and I’m still here!

Do you have an anti-virus program for your phone?

You may not think of it as such, but if you have one of the more modern Smart Phones out there (iPhone, Android) you’re carrying around a small computer with more capacity than a desktop or laptop computer with a few years under the belt.

The threat are definitely real. Hacking a phone would make it possible to read your e-mails, use the phone as a listening device and hear your conversations or make it call a high price number in Bahrain. What you see happening to phones on TV and movies are not really so far fetched – although it usually requires more than just being near the phone like the guys in Person of Interest, before it gets hacked.

Part from these basic actions cracked.com lists the following things that can be done with a hacked phone or how a phone can be hacked:

• The tilt sensor can be used to figure out what you’re typing on your keyboard, if the phone is placed on your desktop.
• Your credit card information can be stolen, if the phone is just near the cards.
• Your phone can be hacked by free charge stations.

So, what to do?

Install anti-virus software

However, think of the following:

• Always install the software from a trusted source (I.e. the app-store, or app-market or Google Play). Do not download an anti-virus program from some website!
• Make sure you get software that does what you want it to do, there are a few variations. Read the specs!
• If you suspect your phone has been hacked, you may not be safe unless you do a total factory reset of the phone before you install any anti-virus software. Services like Gmail, Google Drive, etc might help you keep your important data even after a reset.

I’ve been running Avast Anti-Virus, and Avast Anti-Theft. The anti-virus software scans applications I install (which, in a contrary of the popular depiction in TV series, is the most common way of infection). The anti-theft software makes it possible for me to locate or wipe the phone if it gets stolen (I have linked my phone up with Dropbox, so wiping it on theft is probably a smart thing to do).

Of course, part from having a good anti-virus software installed, you also need to follow a few rules:

• Do not install software from unreliable sources if you can avoid it. Just because you have anti-virus installed you can still get infected simply because your virus definitions may not have been updated. Continue to use caution.
• Bring your own charger.
• Do not leave your phone unattended, or at least put in a lock password or lock pattern. Android has both, I am not sure what iPhone has, but it shouldn’t be too easy to just pick up your phone and install a Nanny-app just before the big board meeting.
• In fact, if you have a really important meeting, you might want to turn off the phone, rip out the battery and leave it in the next room – Belorussian (I think it was) rebels used to do that when the government used the mobile network to spy on them.

If you’re a fan of the TV series Pretty Little Liars, where a mysterious person, or group of persons, called “A” seems to have a magic ability to know everything about the main characters and what they are doing in exact that moment. You might want to think “hacked phones” and “A” may not seem so mysterious anymore…

One can only hope this only happens in TV, but a few irresponsible app installs later you may be monitored by NSA/China/your jealous ex… Or… well… I think we’re monitored by those three entities regardless of a hacked phone, but you get my meaning!