@avirr@sfba.social avatar

avirr

@[email protected]

Occasionally curious. Berkeleyite. Mom & partner. Trailing-edge Boomer. Liberal. Librarian and search consultant. BA in Medieval studies. BMUG and Mac software development alumna. Web stuff. City planning with disabilities in mind.

This account is searchable

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@evacide@hachyderm.io avatar evacide , to random

This story is unhinged, especially given that the Trump administration cut funding for censorship circumvention technology that actually works.

"...the site had no content but showed the National Design Studio's logo, the words "fly, eagle, fly" and a log-in form."

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-plans-online-portal-bypass-content-bans-europe-elsewhere-2026-02-18/

avirr ,
@avirr@sfba.social avatar

@evacide “user activity on the site will not be tracked” suuure

@georgetakei@universeodon.com avatar georgetakei , to random

Whoever leaked this information served Hegseth up in a platter. Good.

A screenshot of a tweet by Andrew Desiderio reporting that Senators Roger Wicker and Jack Reed will conduct oversight into alleged “kill them all” orders related to SOUTHCOM operations. Below is an image of the senators’ joint statement, formatted as a black-and-white press release.
ALT
avirr ,
@avirr@sfba.social avatar

@georgetakei Bipartisan accountability is a start

@evacide@hachyderm.io avatar evacide , to random

Finally, Elon has made a change to his social media platform that I approve of: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/x-new-location-transparency-feature-questions-origins-maga-accounts-rcna245487

avirr ,
@avirr@sfba.social avatar

@evacide I think they turned it off real quick

@georgetakei@universeodon.com avatar georgetakei , to random

When you have to check if it’s The Onion or a real headline.

A tweet from MAYRA (@LePapillonBlu2) says: “That’s what happens with unchecked power.” Below is a headline screenshot from The Independent that reads: “Trump admits he didn’t have to tear down East Wing for ballroom, but just wanted to.” A subheadline adds that Trump addressed reports of backlash from former first ladies.
ALT
avirr ,
@avirr@sfba.social avatar
@briankrebs@infosec.exchange avatar briankrebs , to random

Look who just got thrown back into a Russian penal colony for 10 years: Pavel Vrublevsky, one of the main cybercrime figures in my 2014 book, Spam Nation.

"The Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow found Pavel Vrublevsky, the founder of ChronoPay, guilty and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, accused of fraud. The businessman, along with ChronoPay employees, posted false information online, offering financial rewards for participating in surveys and for successfully forecasting the exchange rate and stocks. In addition, he encouraged Internet users to participate in trading on the stock exchange and other similar operations, promising people earnings."

Pavel has always looked 10 years older than his age on paper, and wow the years have not been kind to him. ChronoPay was a major processor of payments for all kinds of schemes, including pain pills via mail. Pavel's son Peter has allegedly been advertising for Sprut, a Russian-language narcotics bazaar that sprang up after the Hydra darknet market was shut down.

https://archive.ph/wip/YgQyw
https://krebsonsecurity.com/tag/pavel-vrublevsky/
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/11/an-interview-with-the-target-home-depot-hacker/

Pavel Vrubelvsky, wearing a brown-green baseball cap with "LA" on the front and a grey zip-up sweatshirt, stares out from behind bars in a Moscow court while his 10 year sentence was read in court today.
ALT
avirr ,
@avirr@sfba.social avatar

@briankrebs @ohmu But did he reveal them or just threaten?

avirr ,
@avirr@sfba.social avatar

@briankrebs @ohmu Well I guess I’m glad some of the bad guys got exposed.

@Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar Daojoan , to random

'Follow your passion' is advice from people whose passions happened to be monetizable. Nobody tells the guy whose passion is Pokemon card collecting to quit his job, but that's statistically most passions

avirr ,
@avirr@sfba.social avatar

@Daojoan The false promise of making money on collectibles, has led to a lot of financial space pain

@junesim63@mstdn.social avatar junesim63 , to random

Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'

This is the guy who donated £257m to Tony Blair's institute and wants to use all our UK data to train Oracle's AI. Digital ID cards are a step.on the way.

https://fortune.com/2024/09/17/oracle-larry-ellison-surveillance-state-police-ai/

avirr ,
@avirr@sfba.social avatar

@junesim63 Let’s start with billionaires

@JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , (edited ) to random

[Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @JessTheUnstill Bullet points seem fine to me, but apparently other people need paragraphs.

    @briankrebs@infosec.exchange avatar briankrebs , to random

    NBC News: A hacker used AI to automate an 'unprecedented' cybercrime spree, Anthropic says

    The company behind the Claude chatbot said it caught a hacker using its chatbot to identify, hack and extort at least 17 companies.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/hacker-used-ai-automate-unprecedented-cybercrime-spree-anthropic-says-rcna227309

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @briankrebs Their attitude in that quote was infuriating! “While we have taken steps to prevent this type of misuse, we expect this model to become increasingly common as AI lowers the barrier to entry for sophisticated cybercrime operations,”

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    NBC - DoJ investigating whether DC’s Metropolitan Police Department manipulated data to make crime rates appear lower. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/justice-department-to-investigate-whether-dc-police-manipulated-crime-data/3977022/

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa Every accusation is a confession

    @pathfinder@beige.party avatar pathfinder , to ActuallyAutistic group

    actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group

    I suspect we have all been here, where we have something we want to share with the community, but are unsure whether it should be put under the hashtag or group, because strictly speaking it's not really about autism. As a potential answer to this @SilverArrows has suggested the use of @theateam as a means around this.

    So in honour of this, here is my first bash.

    I am currently working my way through my umpteenth viewing of Babylon5. It is my favourite science fiction show. I fell in love with it when it first appeared in the UK 30 years ago and I still love it now. It has aged surprisingly well, given that it was one of the first, if not the first, such show to use CGI for its special effects and that this is, unfortunately, showing a bit now. Many of its themes of searching for identity, place and purpose, rang a bell for me back then, as an unrealised autistic groping his way to some vague understanding of the world around me and still echo for me now.

    There is a richness and nuance to the way much of it is handled, that I always found familiar. As I did some of the oft repeated lines. Such as "I tried to tell them, but they wouldn't listen, they never listen." In fact, there is so much of it that seems to come from the experience of someone who knows what it's like "to be all alone in the night", that during this watch through I have become more and more convinced that there is no small amount of, this has been written by someone who is neurodivergent, about it.

    Acting upon that hunch and feeling, I had a little dig and indeed, it turns out that its creator J Michael Straczynski is, indeed, autistic. As he's also partly responsible for another of my absolutely favourite shows, Sense8, this makes me very happy. 😀

    .

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @theateam @pathfinder actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group It was a great show! The Big Reveal surprised and delighted me.

    But Space Opera was coined in 1941 for an earlier generation of SF

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    The Rabbinical Assembly, which is the international association of Conservative rabbis, says it is increasingly concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and asks Israel to ensure aid “reaches those in need.” https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/story/statement-humanitarian-aid-gaza-and-freeing-hostages

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa Good for them, it can’t have been easy

    @FediTips@social.growyourown.services avatar FediTips , to random

    I am an unpaid volunteer running five websites and five accounts helping people use Mastodon and the wider Fediverse. These all cause bills each month, which I pay.

    If you want to help these sites & accounts keep going, you can buy me a coffee:

    ➡️ https://ko-fi.com/fedithing

    (No registration, choose any amount, all currencies work.)

    Alternatively, become a patron:

    ➡️ https://liberapay.com/FediThing

    All support very greatly appreciated! 🙂

    ❤️ @FediTips , @FediFollows , @FediVideo , @FediGarden & @homegrown

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar
    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    Embassy Baghdad issues a security alert about the "increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence or attacks against U.S. businesses and locations frequented by U.S. citizens. We urge all U.S. citizens in Iraq to avoid locations frequented by foreigners and any large gatherings or crowds."
    https://iq.usembassy.gov/security-alert-for-u-s-citizens-u-s-embassy-iraq-june-15-2025/

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa Seems obvious…

    @dangillmor@mastodon.social avatar dangillmor , to random

    The NY Times just can't help itself -- "raises questions" is the tamest possible language in describing the Trump regime's butchery of justice in its escalating human-rights abuses, exemplified by the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia.

    At least there's acknowledgement of lawbreaking.

    NY Times headline: "Return of Wrongly Deported Man Raises Questions About Trump’s Views of Justice"
    ALT
    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @dangillmor It is the the mildest possible statement of concern

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    SCOTUS, on a 4-4 vote (with Justice Barrett recused), affirms the judgement of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, ruling against establishing the country's first religious charter school. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-394_9p6b.pdf

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa Whew. Good that Barrett recused herself here.

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    On Friday, former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer, “characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” according to a statement from his personal office.

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa Same media that roasted him will exploit him for clickbait now.

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    TechCrunch - xAI blames an “unauthorized modification” for a bug in its AI-powered Grok chatbot that caused Grok to repeatedly refer to “white genocide in South Africa” when invoked in certain contexts on Twitter/X. https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/15/xai-blames-groks-obsession-with-white-genocide-on-an-unauthorized-modification/

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa Malicious compliance I hope

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    Politico - The Trump administration has restored the student visa registrations of thousands of foreign students studying in the US who had minor — and often dismissed — legal infractions. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/25/trump-admin-reverses-termination-foreign-student-visa-registrations-00309407

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa The classic pullback, makes them seem reasonable and all the remaining restrictions tolerable

    @JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange avatar JessTheUnstill , to random

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @JessTheUnstill Bodily waste is still available

    @briankrebs@infosec.exchange avatar briankrebs , to random

    Here is a thread to watch on the /r/sysadmin/ at Reddit. Apparently, a number of Microsoft shops are getting a ton of alerts about credentials being leaked or compromised for Entra, MS's cloud-based identity and network access solution. Some report getting those accounts that caused alerts locked out. I suppose this could be some kind of glitch or false positive on MS's end....

    https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/1k2pmkz/new_entra_leaked_credentials_no_breach_on_hibp_etc/?share_id=Wy8kDMc84FCgo1Jxr8AM5&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar
    @themarkup@mastodon.themarkup.org avatar themarkup , to random

    Some lawmakers think additional guardrails are needed for future uses. For now, the facility will use AI to comply with regulations. https://themarkup.org/artificial-intelligence/2025/04/08/for-the-first-time-artificial-intelligence-is-being-used-at-a-nuclear-power-plant-californias-diablo-canyon

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @themarkup It seems mostly an information aggregation system and search engine, with some Large. Language Model expansion. Not a terrible idea.

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    SCOTUS grants Trump administration’s request to continue, under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, mass deportations of non-citizens designated as members of the Venezuelan TdA gang.

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa Well fuck.

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    "The story of the VOA building isn’t especially important compared with the planned gutting of its entire parent agency. But the untruths presented here should reinforce Americans’ skepticism about other assertions of corruption, overspending and misdeeds by people who have given their lives to government work." https://www.wsj.com/opinion/kari-lake-isnt-telling-the-truth-about-voas-new-building-lease-taxpayer-savings-7dcdb17e?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa paywalled :-(

    @briankrebs@infosec.exchange avatar briankrebs , to random

    Wow. The US Treasury Dept. today announced it is lifting sanctions on Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service that state-sponsored hackers from North Korea have been massively using to launder their stolen billions.

    "Based on the Administration’s review of the novel legal and policy issues raised by use of financial sanctions against financial and commercial activity occurring within evolving technology and legal environments, we have exercised our discretion to remove the economic sanctions against Tornado Cash as reflected in Treasury’s Monday filing in Van Loon v. Department of the Treasury."

    https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0057

    h/t to @ncweaver for the heads up. Weaver said: "The US government has just said "money laundering is legal as long as the process is automated."

    "Every wei that flows through Tornado Cash, even if 'legitimate,' is helping the North Korean nuclear regime by hiding illegitimate flows," Weaver told me.

    Here's Treasury sanctioning Tornado Cash in 2022: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0916

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @briankrebs @ncweaver They think Canada is more dangerous than North Korea

    @dansup@mastodon.social avatar dansup , to random

    Love this!

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @dansup Fun but fleeting

    @internetarchive@mastodon.archive.org avatar internetarchive , to random

    As part of its new 'transformative' access model for libraries, "...Clarivate will also phase out one-time perpetual purchases of digital collections, print and digital books for libraries." https://clarivate.com/news/clarivate-unveils-transformative-subscription-based-access-strategy-for-academia/

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @internetarchive So no more buying books, you can only rent them. With fierce DRM I’m sure. And no guaranteed access. lovely

    @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io avatar molly0xfff , to random

    having succeeded in purchasing positions of influence inside the White House, the billionaires and tech VCs have now set their sights back on Wikipedia

    Shaun Maguire @shaunmmaguire Wikipedia has been ideologically captured for years It's important that this is finally coming to light The most extreme bias is probably against Israel Foundation AI models are being trained on this biased data as if it's ground truth
    Elon Musk @elonmusk · 3h Defund Wikipedia until balance is restored!
    Elon Musk @elonmusk · 3h Since legacy media propaganda is considered a “valid” source by Wikipedia, it naturally simply becomes an extension of legacy media propaganda!

    Elon Musk @elonmusk · 3h Since legacy media propaganda is considered a “valid” source by Wikipedia, it naturally simply becomes an extension of legacy media propaganda!
    ALT
    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @molly0xfff “Foundation AI models are being trained on this biased data as if it's ground truth”

    There’s an easy solution to that.

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    McDonald’s shares plummet after the CDC links a fatal outbreak of E. coli to Quarter Pounders. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/22/mcdonalds-shares-fall-after-cdc-says-e-coli-outbreak-linked-to-quarter-pounders.html

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa Nice timing

    @arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar arstechnica , to random

    X’s new terms steer lawsuits to Texas court where judge owns Tesla stock

    X terms specify Northern District, where Judge Reed O'Connor is a Tesla investor.

    https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/xs-new-terms-steer-lawsuits-to-texas-court-where-judge-owns-tesla-stock/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @arstechnica How can that be legal?

    @w7voa@journa.host avatar w7voa , to random

    NY Times Editorial Board: "Mr. Trump has shown a character unworthy of the responsibilities of the presidency. He has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people. ... He is, quite simply, unfit to lead." https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/11/opinion/editorials/donald-trump-2024-unfit.html

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @w7voa welp, that’s something

    @indivisibleteam@mastodon.social avatar indivisibleteam , to random

    Tell your Members of Congress to say No to Netanyahu by skipping his speech. Our senators and representatives must send a clear message that they don’t support the continued bloodshed and slaughter of innocent Palestinians or the disregard for returning hostages to their loved ones: https://act.indivisible.org/sign/no-netanyahu-tell-your-members-congress-not-attend-speech?source=mastodon&medium=directpost

    avirr ,
    @avirr@sfba.social avatar

    @indivisibleteam The very least they can do.