Messages

991

/dev/random / Re: Amazing Facts.

« on: January 01, 2009, 01:09:28 AM »

Did you know 74% of all statistics are made up on the spot?
Only 2% of individuals are able to discern which ones are not.

992

Tech Junkie Lounge / Re: windows vs. linux system call complexity

« on: December 18, 2008, 03:53:06 PM »

SYSTEM calls or FUNCTION calls? The images are too small to be useful.
Yep, one diagram has more lines and bubbles than the other but what are the functions in the bubbles?
What percentage of the total functions called are critical to serving the page vs. simply logging the activity?
What proportion of the total take "untrustworthy" user input?
If you can't control the input to the functions then you cannot exploit them.

Is it easier to analyze 50 functions for exploitation or 200 functions? Yes, if one assigns some "probability" to a function's exploitability then as a system 200 calls of any type can be less secure but one can also assign a zero probability to some of them (knowing they are not vulnerable) but an attacker may not be able to "know" that, he would have to spend time looking for vulnerabilities in more functions, not just randomly pick one. He has more cherries in the basket but he doesn't know which ones are sweetest until he tries them.

I also see a lot of cascade lines in the Apache diagram where there is a series of calls (10+) in a row before some terminus, would it be possible to pass arguments into the initial function in that chain such as to cause a failure in the 7th function that could allow an attacker some advantage that looking at the individual functions would not reveal?

Simply counting "calls" is not a valid metric for assessing the securability or stability of a system. It makes it hard to TEST the system but it doesn't invalidate the quality of the system if it is properly tested. If such were the case, the F-117A wouldn't fly.

993

Jokes / Re: Funny videos

« on: December 09, 2008, 03:40:35 AM »

Video on the cheater. Has to be a setup.

"I think we got a cheater, man."

Tried, convicted, sentenced, expelled in 10 seconds on "I think". Where's the evidence? On the parking lot pavement.

Laying hands on the player and tossing him on the ground: Assault and Battery. At least 4 counts.
Laying hands on his equipment: Theft. Grand theft.
Picking him up and expelling him from the building by force or threat of force: Kidnapping.
Destroying his computer on the parking lot pavement: Vandalism, willful destruction of property.
Instigation of group assault on an individual: Disorderly conduct. Criminal conspiracy.
Keeping his gear after the fact: Unlawful conversion, theft.

3 Felonies and at least two misdemeanors in real life for a game.
Mob rule at it's finest.

The kid had grounds for suing the host organization, the individuals and the owner of the property for loss of his gear plus punitive damages. The complete absence of uniformed security on the premises to prevent the organizers from doing exactly what they did shows negligence on the part of the organization and its members and the owners of the site.

994

Religion, and the Changing Moral Zeitgeist / Re: sexual orientation and innate choice

« on: December 07, 2008, 08:23:43 PM »

That would seem to imply you also doubt there's anything genetic responsible for heterosexual attraction?

True. Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. I've yet to see anyone pinpoint where any animals instinctual actions reside. Speaking in terms of an animals instincts, that would make homosexuals genetically deficient since their natural instincts prevent them from propagating their own genes, wouldn't it? That's the same thing the Nazi's said about jews, homosexuals, and various other races anyway... so I'm going to go ahead and use this twisted brand of logic to call you a Nazi. God damn, I should be a criminal defense lawyer!

Godwin's Law.

Thread is officially dead.
Zeig Heil!

995

/dev/random / Re: 10 Lies that Apple makes...

« on: December 03, 2008, 04:07:19 PM »

Amusing. My iMac 20 inch came with Tiger (I think it was Tiger, 10.4 something, not the new one) and a TRIAL copy of Microsoft Office for Mac and a TRIAL copy of Intuit Quicken for Mac. Hmm.... no trialware eh?

996

Quake / Re: Vanilla mymap :(

« on: November 17, 2008, 02:52:50 PM »

Unreal Tournament '99 has a popup menu at then end of a game that allows users to scroll through the maplist or somehow select one they like, other users vote accordingly and a realtime display of the maps being voted on and the vote count per map is shown. One can go with the majority or make another selection, I think the whole time period is 20 or 30 seconds.

Not sure how one could implement that in Q2's menu. It's such a tiny box and doesn't have a very good scroll feature. 2000 maps on a server can be hard to scroll client-side, ya think? Maybe a way to track most frequently voted maps and put them at the top?

997

Quake / Re: Vanilla mymap :(

« on: November 17, 2008, 04:36:11 AM »

I wrote two modules for LOX, a voting system and a map selection system that go hand in hand. They are in-mod code so they are not useful for mods who's source is long gone but it might serve as a model for an external system.

The vote code allows a player to initiate only two votes per map, if he can't get it passed in two tries, he's done until the next map. A cvar controls how many tries he gets. It also has built in timers for duration of the vote and how often it announces a vote in progress. The configuration is parameterized so admins can change the spammyness of the announcements and the number of votes a player can initiate.

The map list module allows admins to configure a maplist.txt file for map rotation instead of an array of names. There's also a load-sensitive map rotation that chooses families of custom maps according to how many players are on the server but this has proved to be less useful.

http://www.clanwos.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=1

Maplist Management Module for Quake 2 Servers
and
A Modular Voting System for Q2 Servers

998

Religion, and the Changing Moral Zeitgeist / Re: Ye Religion Thread

« on: November 13, 2008, 10:01:45 PM »

Regarding the establishment clause: If you view it in the context of the history of England up to the Revolution you can see many examples of the church reinforcing the state (king) and vice versa. This was as much on the minds of the founders as any imputed or stated agnosticism on their parts. They simply didn't want church and state and courts aligned against the people. Remember, the king was the lawmaker, the supreme judge of the law and the head of his church and the founders deemed this to be one of the defects of English rule under George III. The thrust of the Constitution is the separation of those powers in order to avoid abuse of those powers by any one sovereign.

Henry VIII broke with Rome and the Pope over the legality of his marriages and divorces and founded the CoE.
Elizabeth I fought civil wars over Catholicism vs. CoE and Protestantism and her policies were fundamental to the war with Spain. The echos of the dispute continue to this day in Ireland and England.

In 1630, The Puritans, whose beliefs included a claimed exclusive understanding of the literal truth of the Bible, came to Massachusetts for religious freedom while being intolerant of other religions, religious groups or people who were not members of the Puritan church. You had no say in how you were governed and no voice in the government at all if you were not a freeman, and there were very few of those. The "all men are created equal" was a direct address to the concepts of freemen vs. indentured and noblemen vs. commoner. One might as well as said "all men are born equal" or "all men are born free" but it doesn't quite sound as noble in concept. "That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights" implies that it is a natural state for men to be free and self-sufficient. Notice also that this did not apply to women who were still considered chattel, or to slaves. The evolution was not yet complete.

The Revolution was as much an evolution of government as a revolution in government. It was ultimately the casting off of ties to sovereign kings and fealty to lords as it was a abolition of fealty to a kingly Pope or church as state.

999

Religion, and the Changing Moral Zeitgeist / Re: Ye Religion Thread

« on: October 31, 2008, 07:54:36 AM »

Owned? Hardly. The fallacies in his logic are legion.
None of his audience are qualified or willing to call him out on them.

What doesn't harm me or another is "good".
What harms me or another is "evil".
The existence of "good" does not prove or depend on the existence of "evil' or vice versa.
The only time good or evil exist is when man does action to man, there is no good or evil in nature or natural events.
Only man can say one thing is good and another not good and only in reference to his flexible and variable moral code at the moment.

1000

Trouble Shooting / Re: Mah computer, it be dead :|

« on: October 28, 2008, 07:16:49 AM »

You don't say what model computer you have but "spam pressing" the power button would seem to indicate the power button is malfunctioning. Current power supplies (PSU) use a button that "requests" the power supply turn on power to the main board. A bad contact in the switch means no power.

Test the power button with the power plug pulled and an ohm meter across the contacts. Look for zero ohms (continuity) when the button is pressed.

Replace the PSU and power button for starters. This may require replacing the entire chassis/case if it's ancient and spares can't be obtained.

Take it to someone who is studying for a degree in how to fix computers.
Buy him beer AFTER he's fixed it, not while he's fixing it.

1001

Jokes / Re: Funny videos

« on: October 27, 2008, 10:59:29 AM »

damn... that's horrible!

It's happening in an area where apparently it's acceptable to wave a handgun in the air. So I'm assuming that this crowd is in some way related to a militant faction of something. Plus this guy is stupid enough to hand a loaded gun to a 3 year old. Thank God that the idiot got shot and not the child. I still feel bad because the kid doesn't know what just happened, nor does he know what happened to his dad. I think that the saddest thing on earth is the Mercury Rising situation where a child, who both doesn't understand death and is 100% dependent on his parents, is faced with the loss of one.

According to the caption it was in Syria, at a wedding. Apparently it's customary to shoot your load at weddings there to express your joy. Coupling violence with a wedding celebration is idiotic beyond all idiocy as this example shows. Doing it in a crowded patio is insanity.

The caption states the father died, the kid was two years old and is now four and "suffers shock" but I don't think a four year old has any concept of the nature of the incident. He will probably have dim memories of the event as he grows older. A belly shot like that is usually fatal. At that angle the round probably took out every organ from the spleen to the lungs and hopefully fragmented against a rib and took out some other vital organs on the way out his shoulder. He died in the hospital according to the article but he was as good as dead when he fell.

1002

/dev/random / Re: im drunk

« on: October 27, 2008, 08:31:15 AM »

It's called the 1000-yard stare and anyone who has seen serious combat knows it. He has seen some serious shit and he didn't like it. He has also realized his own mortality or has seen one or more buddies in his unit killed or seriously wounded. He will talk about it when he's ready but probably not with you if you are non-combat or civilian. You wouldn't understand it.

Don't make fun of it or play it lightly. If he does talk about it, just listen, don't make stupid comments about how cool it is that somebody got fragged. Pay attention to comments about suicide or wreckless behavior beyond the usual mosh-pit self-destructive behavior he may have exhibited with you in the past. Look up the symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome and be aware of them in him. Refer him to professional counselling if he is discharged from the service.

Your buddy is in some serious pain.

1003

Jokes / Re: Funny videos

« on: October 27, 2008, 08:18:03 AM »

Darwin's law in action. Too bad he reproduced first. Oh well, hopefully the kid will follow his father's example. He already has a good start.

Firearms, crowds, kids, probably some good hashish on the side. Bad mix.

1004

/dev/random / Re: im drunk

« on: October 25, 2008, 08:35:21 PM »

Two words: Meth lab.

1005

0x1337c0de / Re: Q2 Source Code - Question

« on: October 25, 2008, 08:30:20 PM »

cl_fx.c is part of the client code not the game DLL. The game DLL controls the game when running as a server.