I Knew This Router Was A Fake!

This is a pretty good article about the joint efforts of US and Canadien law enforcement Agencies (FBI, ICE, RCMP, etc) to sieze more than $78 million dollars of "counterfeit" Cisco gear. According to the article, the equipment included routers, wics, network modules..., you name it. All eventually likely destined for an EBay auction near you. The gear consists of parts (probably manufactured to Cisco standards without the serial numbers) and counterfeit Cisco labels to make them appear authentic. The equipment is sourced from China. Bad China, very bad. Federal Agencies take this matter extremely seriously as they intepret it as an attempt to weaken the US and Canadien network infrastructures.

Say Hello to My Little Friend

The Cult of the Dead Cow, aka "the world's most attractive hacker group," released a Web auditing tool called Goolag Scanner which basically upgrades your Google Hacking arsenal significantly. Penetration testers only please... (Tongue in cheek moment).

The RFID EcoSystem Project aka Minority Report Stuff

I feel like I have been stuck on the same topic for more than a few posts now. Sorry for the lack of diversity in topics, but I am attempting to document trends. Perhaps this RFID EcoSystem Project was the original screenplay for Minority Report. The research is attempting to find a compromise in RFID application and utility vs. privacy. Sorry, but you can't have both. For the record, I enjoy my privacy, (what I have left anyway) and I don't have the desire or need to have the ability to track coworkers, family, friends or whatever else in real-time. Well, maybe my boss. Just kidding. Seriously though, this Orwellian technology is really making me extremely uncomfortable to say the least.

Embedded Microchips...???? Um, I'll Pass

Folks, this is just way too crazy. Biometrics run amuck. Check out this clip of some of the first volunteers to get "chipped." And just in case you would like to know where you can receive more information to obtain your very own embedded microchip, Channel 2 news will gladly point you in the right direction.

FBI Biometric Database

This is a folllow-up to a previous post about the FBI's goal to create a large biometric database. I like to document trends here. Also, the news bite benefits those who don't like to read articles. Hey, I have to provide a little something for everyone.

Upgrade from 802.11G to 802.11N on the Cheap!

Don't ever say that I don't scour the bowels of the internet to find my readers bargains on stuff that you may actually need or really nice-to-haves. Ok, perhaps I am giving myself far too much credit here, but here is a cool product that will take care of that upgrade to the 802.11N standard for about $63 and has software that you can configure to get your wireless security just right. <-- Tongue in cheek moment.

An easy (and cheap) way to upgrade your 802.11g router to Draft N by ZDNet's Rik Fairlie -- Looking for an inexpensive and easy way to move up to 802.11n Wi-Fi throughput? Trendnet has just launched a product that transforms your 802.11g router into the higher-speed Draft N device. The $63.99 300Mbps Wireless Easy-N-Upgrader (TEW-637AP) also works with 802.11b wireless and wired routers. To install Easy-N-Upgrader, all you need is a free LAN [...]

Tapping the Internet

Ok, this article feeds right into my paranoia. For the record, I am merely attempting to document a trend. Spychief Mike McConnell is drafting a plan to tap into the internet. Get this. Mike McConnell says that "the government must have the ability to read all the information crossing the Internet in the United States in order to protect it from abuse." Uh, what? Am I reading too much into this?