@jik@federate.social avatar

jik

@jik@federate.social

he/his
Digital Services Expert at #USDS (https://usds.gov/), detailed to #VA.
I work primarily in #infosec, #IT, and #SaaS infrastructure. Prior to USDS, I was a #tech #startup #CISO.
Dad, old-school hacker, Righteous Indignation Man. Opinions are my own. You can follow my blog from the Fediverse via https://blog.kamens.us/author/jik/.
#MaskUp #COVID #CovidIsNotOver #USPol #MAPol #BosPoli #Boston #MA #politics #resist #linux #FOSS #OpenSource #ConsumerActivism #privacy #programmer #hacker #fedi22

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

cstross, to random
@cstross@wandering.shop avatar

Welp, I knew Microsoft's CoPilot+ Recall was going to be a privacy disaster but I didn't expect it to turn into an enterprise computing catastrophe for Microsoft quite this fast!

But this can't be a one-off. Any large enterprise that has to comply with a regulated privacy environment—HIPAA in the USA, GDPR in the EU, banking/insurance/finance globally—must be considering a ban on Microsoft installations on laptop/desktop computers right now or be breaking the law.

https://infosec.exchange/@SecurityWriter/112558224281615019

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

@jt_rebelo @WhyNotZoidberg @cstross I don't think you can. That would be the same as asking for someone's entire file cabinet or entire hard drive be entered into evidence. It would be ipso facto overly broad.
If you have probable cause to believe your opponent is concealing discovery information they're legally required to disclose, and there might be evidence of that in Recall, you might be able to convince the court to appoint a special master to examine the Recall data.

jik, to iPad
@jik@federate.social avatar

I've got an / puzzle, and I could use any suggestions anybody has to throw out there.
Back in 2022 in the middle of the pandemic a medical provider in NYC sent my uncle an iPad to attend a virtual appointment on.
I'm trying to figure out how to return it to them, or barring that, to factory reset it so that it can be returned to service as a useful device rather than a nearly brand-new iPad needing to be recycled.
This has proven to be... difficult.

1/3

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

My uncle doesn't remember who sent it.
It's not labeled with the owner.
It's locked in some sort of kiosk mode such that it opens Safari on boot and it's impossible to open anything else.
The mobile data service it was linked to is shut off.
I can't connect it to WiFi because I can't open the Settings app.
The only thing accessible in Safari is a Google Meet link, which of course I can't connect to because mobile data is cut off and I can't connect to WiFi.
2/3

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

When I hold down the home and power buttons to reset it, it goes right back into that kiosk mode.
I would love to return this shiny, new, expensive device to whoever it belongs to, but I can't figure out who that is (it's kinda stupid that they didn't label it, don't you think?).
I'd love to factory reset it if I can't return it, so that it isn't wasted. But I can't figure out how to do that either.
Any suggestions for resolving either of these impasses?
Thanks.
3/3

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

Update: Apple Store said they couldn't help.
Verizon Store looked up the IMEI and said the owner of the iPad wasn't a healthcare provider, but rather a company that sells telehealth services to healthcare providers. They said they weren't allowed to tell me who and refused to do so. They also declined to contact the owner on my behalf or take back the iPad and return it to the owner. 🤷

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

(update part 2)
I can't try recovery mode because I don't have the right cable (USB-A to lightning) where I am. Will have to bring the iPad home with me and try it there. Doubt it will work, since it's probably got MDM on it.
Looking more and more likely that I'm going to end up just giving it to Staples for recycling and getting a few dollars back in rewards. sigh
@philip @Caution @spocko @steter @djg @plambrechtsen @grumpybozo @Archnemysis @sollat @Wraithe FYI

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

@philip @Caution @spocko @steter @djg @plambrechtsen @grumpybozo @Archnemysis @sollat @Wraithe Wait, we have a breakthrough!
I was trying to get the damn thing to power off and it kept restarting instead, during which I happened to notice that the home screen is visible briefly on startup:

5-second video of an iPad starting up. The video starts with the screen black except for the Apple logo, then the home screen flashes briefly, then Safari opens.

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

@philip @Caution @spocko @steter @djg @plambrechtsen @grumpybozo @Archnemysis @sollat @Wraithe Did you catch it? Here's a frame-grab from the video:

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

@philip @Caution @spocko @steter @djg @plambrechtsen @grumpybozo @Archnemysis @sollat @Wraithe I have sent a message to Inovalon through their web site telling them I would like to return their iPad and asking them to contact me. We'll see if they respond.

jik, to infosec
@jik@federate.social avatar

I just received a moderately interesting call.
The phone rings.
It's a New York Number (I'm in NYC) with "New York NY" as its CID.
I answer and say hello, and hear a couple seconds of silence and then the blip sound indicating I've been transferred from the bulk dialer to a live person.
The person who says hello has a strong Indian accent and I can hear other people talking in the background.

1/4

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

"I'm calling from the diabetes supply team, and we're sending you an [unintelligible] glucose meter. Are you a diabetic?"
Me: "Why?"
The guy repeats exactly the same sentence.
Me: "I heard you. Why are you sending me a meter. Did someone tell you to do that?"
He repeats the same sentence.
Me: "I heard you. I'm asking why you're sending me a meter."
He hangs up.
2/4

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

There are three types of scam this could be:

  1. He's trying to get me to say "Yes" so he can record that and use it to fraudulently claim I verbally agreed to buy something.
  2. If I'd played ball he would have collected personal / payment information about me and used it to harm or scam me.
  3. It's possible that there really is a glucose meter that they want to send me as a loss leader to make money off of the needed supplies.
    I'm thinking it was probably (1), but not certain.
    3/4
jik, to aitools
@jik@federate.social avatar

New hot take after spending countless hours going through years of accumulated paperwork at my elderly uncle's: every mailing that is an advertisement should be required by law to have the words "this is an advertisement" printed on both sides of the envelope or postcard, with FTC enforcement power.
The quantity of deceptive, time-wasting mailings my uncle has received is appalling. This simple law would fix that.
#ElderAbuse #scams #JunkMail #advertising

randahl, to random
@randahl@mastodon.social avatar

Today, while Biden was wondering if he would allow Ukraine to fire back at Russian missile positions in Belgorod, Russia bombed a large hardware store and shopping center in Kharkiv with 200 people inside.

More people die every day, while we wait for the Biden administration to make the only right decision: Let Ukraine fire back!

video/mp4

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

@randahl There is something deeply unsettling and cognitively dissonant about the U.S. allowing Israel to use American-supplied weapons to demolish Gaza while at the same time prohibiting Ukraine from using American-supplied weapons to attack targets inside Russia.
#Gaza #Ukraine

jik, to windows
@jik@federate.social avatar

I really enjoy the fact that my IT department reboots my laptop overnight on a regular basis, combined with the fact that it takes about ten minutes for my laptop to stop going crazy when I log in. It makes for so much productivity when I sit down at my desk in the morning, energized to start work!
(Yes, this is , of course, and yes, there's performance-intensive security software running in the background that makes launching apps excruciatingly slow and compute-intensive.)

jik, to Israel
@jik@federate.social avatar

I don't know whether 's false implication that the warrants assert equivalency between 's government and is based on willful blindness to the facts or cynical political maneuvering.
Either way, it is immensely disappointing.
I guess we'll have to wait 105 years for the U.S. government to acknowledge that what's happening now is , just as we had to wait that long vis a vis the .

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

@ViXY_DBC Looking around at what's going on in the rest of the world I don't know that there's much chance of that either.

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

@ViXY_DBC

  1. Do not come into my mentions and hold up China as an example the world should emulate. One word: Uyghurs.
  2. Also, the phrase you used above is "democratic international order." Do you think China is a democracy?
  3. I am not talking about what might theoretically happen in some dream-world, I am talking about what is possible in the real world we actually live in.
jik, to PersonalFinance
@jik@federate.social avatar

After listening to https://www.npr.org/2024/05/10/1197959049/zombie-second-mortgages-homeowners-foreclosure , I think this is needed:

  1. If a lender tells you a loan is paid off or forgiven, demand written proof, ideally the original, signed loan document marked "paid in full." Verbal assurances are worth the paper they're printed on.
  2. If a debt collector tells you they own a debt you owe, demand written proof. If they can't prove they own it, it's illegal for them to collect in it (in the US at least). When in doubt consult a lawyer.
Mrfunkedude, to random
@Mrfunkedude@mastodon.social avatar

Tell me the story of the last time you committed an act of kindness in 500 characters or less.

There’s nothing wrong with bragging about creating kindness. There’s nothing honorable about not sharing the joy of creating kindness.

We need to uplift and encourage people who create kindness in their daily lives.

So tell us your story. It doesn’t have to be something big. It can be something as simple as helping someone carry a bag of groceries.

How did you create kindness this week?

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

@Mrfunkedude My uncle was just in the hospital for 4 days. I came down to NYC from Boston to visit him for several days because he needed the moral support. He ended up in the hospital again today; it was bad, but I was able to be there with him for most of it, and it would have been much worse if he had been alone.

jik, to random
@jik@federate.social avatar

I received two emails late last night from a user of my extension.
The first read, in total, "WHY AM I GETTING HUNDREDS OF NOTICES!!!!"
The second, a bit later, read (again, this is the entire message), "JEZUS FUCKINNG CHRIST THE MESSAGES"

1/2

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

My response:

Hello,

I would be happy to help you solve whatever problem you are having, but for me to be able to do that you're going to need to be more specific. You haven't told me anything about what notices/messages you're talking about, so I can't possibly determine what is causing them or how to make them stop.
2/2

jik, to Israel
@jik@federate.social avatar

It is impossible to support what #Israel has been and is doing in #Gaza unless you believe at some level that Israelis are more deserving of safety and security than Palestinians.
This is true regardless of whether you believe Israel's actions constitute #WarCrimes or #genocide.
There is no way to justify Israel's conduct that is not racist and xenophobic.
If this post offends you, I suggest you spend a good long time thinking about why.

jik, to transit
@jik@federate.social avatar

I am taking a today between Kansas City and St. Louis. It's been so long that I can't remember the last time I took an intercity bus. It hasn't changed a bit.
Most notably, it appears to still be true that the people on buses are mostly the people who can't afford to fly.
(Yes, I know, it's a generalization based on appearances. Don't come into my mentions harassing me about it unless you've ridden a Greyhound for several hours and seen it for yourself.)

jik,
@jik@federate.social avatar

It's still a combination of perfectly decent, nice people, rude people, and people who seem to have something not quite right in the head. The latter category continues to seemingly be overrepresented on buses compared to other forms of transit.
Definitely a much higher percentage of BIPOC, especially immigrants, compared to flying.
(One wonders if this is in part due to the fact that undocumented immigrants can't get the ID they would need to fly.)

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • JUstTest
  • mdbf
  • ngwrru68w68
  • modclub
  • magazineikmin
  • thenastyranch
  • rosin
  • khanakhh
  • InstantRegret
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • Durango
  • kavyap
  • DreamBathrooms
  • megavids
  • GTA5RPClips
  • tacticalgear
  • normalnudes
  • tester
  • osvaldo12
  • everett
  • cubers
  • ethstaker
  • anitta
  • provamag3
  • Leos
  • cisconetworking
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •