November 7, 2005

There were 2 posts published on November 7, 2005 (this is page 1 of 1).

Pirates Attack

Some people think that the days of pirates are long gone. The truth is that they’re alive and well, armed with the latest modern technology and weapons. There are plenty of rogue states from which they can operate, and plenty of harbors in which to hide. The seas aren’t as tame as one might think.

Just this week, one such attack too place off the coast of Somalia. Pirates in speedboats attacked a Carnival cruise ship 100 miles offshore, firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. After a tense, 90 minute battle, the ship escaped by blasting the pirates with a sonic weapon.

During my Navy days, we transited the Malaccan Strait near Singapore. The Malaccan Strait connects the Pacific ocean to the Indian ocean. It’s one of the busiest waterways on the planet, and chock full of pirates. We were wary of other ships as we transited, though any pirate bold enough to attack a U.S. Navy destroyer deserves what he gets. Vessels without the benefit of 5 inch guns or Harpoon missiles are vulnerable to robbery, kidnapping, or death at the hands of pirates. There aren’t a lot of options when you find yourself between an AK-47 and the ocean.

We didn’t meet any pirates on that cruise, but we did rescue a boatload of Vietnamese refugees who had been attacked by pirates. The 47 men, women, and children were robbed of their food and valuables and the gas lines to their engine were severed. Fortunately for them, they were stranded near busy shipping lanes. It made me think that even in the days of GPS, satellite phones, and radar, no one is safe from pirate attacks.

Sony Shoots Itself In The Foot With DRM Spyware

One day not long ago, a man named Mark Russinovich popped a CD he purchased from Sony Music into his PC. Russinovich isn’t your typical PC user – he arguably knows more about Microsoft Windows than anyone outside of Redmond. Russinovich founded Winternals, a company that makes sophisticated utilities for Windows.

While testing a rootkit detector he was writing, Russinovich was surprised to discover that his Sony CD had secretly installed spyware on his machine, destablizing it and compromising its security. It took Russinovich’s considerable skills to cleanly remove this rootkit. What really infuriated Russinovich was Sony’s refusal to own up to the spyware.

Fortunately, Mark documented the whole procedure on his blog. Word spread around the blogosphere to sites like BoingBoing and Slashdot. Now the mainstream news media like USA Today and the BBC are exposing Sony’s dishonest tactic.

Help spread the word that Sony spies on its customers and takes over their computers. Spend your money on companies that don’t treat their customers like crooks. Until Sony reverses course on this, I won’t be buying any Sony product.