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And so my first attempts at programming a PIC seem to have failed. Upon further research, there seem to be two main ways of programming PICs, one of which involves using either a high voltage (at least +8Vdc, up to +13Vdc on older devices) on the PIC’s MCLR pin or a low voltage +5Vdc on the same pin. Not sure if the latter method is enabled by default on new PICs straight from the factory though. If it isn’t, that might be why my efforts aren’t working. I’m going to have to shop for some new parts to build a PIC programmer that can do high voltage programming, just to be sure. This looks like another promising circuit and method to try. If it works on the breadboard I’ll solder it onto one of my prototyping boards along with a ZIF socket and start using it to do my PIC work.

I graduated college with a degree in electronics and computer engineering eighteen years ago, and haven’t seriously done hardware almost since then. After I wound up looking for hardware random number generators in an attempt to respond to a post here, I decided to try building one myself, based on the design here. I ordered a few Picaxe chips just for the purpose, though I wound up using a circuit design based on this instead but used a 74LS14 Schmitt trigger inverter instead of the 74ALS04 described there. As suggested on the link I used a MAX232 RS-232 Line Driver to generate the 16 V the transistors use to generate avalanche noise. Unfortunately, the Picaxe-08M2 could only send the random data back at 2400 baud, and so I wired the same circuit up to a cheap Arduino Nano clone and managed to at least get 115200 baud. Going to higher baud rates doesn’t seem to improve data transfer speed.

The random data it generates seems to be very good though, and passes the ENT and FIPS 140-2 tests. The Dieharder tests almost all pass, with only two or three getting a Weak rating, but from what I can see even that is already very good. Just seems to mean that I might not have completely eliminated the bias from the circuit using the von Neumann algorithm alone. The hardest part about this project seems to be getting the random data out of the circuit and into my computer at a reasonably high speed. And that leads me to USB, which looks to be rather complicated. ordered a few PIC16F1455 microcontrollers which should be able to do full speed USB at 12 Mbps, which is good enough for my purposes, although it looks like getting that to work is going to be complicated to say the least.

My PICs just came in today. Later, I’m going to start with getting them programmed with some basic stuff and try to get familiar with the toolchain (SDCC), start with the “hello world” of getting the microcontroller to flash a LED, using my Arduino as a programmer, and then try to figure out how to do the rest later on. Once I have a working design I’ll upload it somewhere, both the hardware designs and the software.

Sanctuary Bills in Maryland Faced a Surprise Foe: Legal Immigrants

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — When lawmakers in Howard County, Md., a stretch of suburbia between Washington and Baltimore, declared their intention to make the county a sanctuary for people living in the country illegally, J. D. Ma thought back to how hard he had worked studying English as a boy in Shanghai.

Stanley Salazar, a native of El Salvador, worried that the violent crime already plaguing Maryland’s suburbs attributed to immigrant gangs would eventually touch his own daughters.

Hongling Zhou, who had been a student in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square uprising, feared an influx of undocumented immigrants, and their children, would cripple the public schools.

At first blush, making Howard County a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants had seemed a natural move: The county has twice as many Democrats as Republicans and a highly educated population, full of scientists and engineers. One in five residents was born abroad.

But the bill met stout opposition from an unlikely source: some of those very same foreign-born residents.

In passionate testimony before county legislators, and in tense debates with liberal neighbors born in the United States, legal immigrants argued that offering sanctuary to people who came to the country illegally devalued their own past struggles to gain citizenship.

Some even felt it threatened their hard-won hold on the American dream.

Their objections stunned Democratic supporters of sanctuary here and helped bring about the bill’s demise in March. A similar proposal for the state collapsed this month in the Maryland Senate, where Democrats also hold a two-to-one advantage. Some of the same immigrants spoke out against it.

The failure of the sanctuary bills in Maryland reveals a potentially troublesome fissure for Democrats as they rush to defy Mr. Trump. Their party has staked out an activist position built around protecting undocumented immigrants. But it is one that has alienated many who might have been expected to support it.

What follows are the stories of four immigrants in Maryland who oppose sanctuary status — people whose voices have rarely been heard in the long debate over how to fix the nation’s immigration system.

Some supporters of sanctuary had dismissed them as white-collar professionals whose personal struggles could not compare with those of undocumented people now facing possible deportation.

But anyone who thought their journeys were easy, these immigrants said, has never walked in their shoes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/us/legal-immigrants-who-oppose-illegal-immigration.html?_r=2

Please, click the link, and read their stories.

I'm not doing this up as a proper story right at the moment because I'm not feeling especially professional and I prefer to be when talking about site business as a staff member. That said, this needs some attention.

A combination of personal issues and burnout have caused staffing on the site to drop annoyingly low. Here's the current shortfalls in staffing:

• Half a dozen or so Editors. We could use ten. Preferably folks not on a GMT or east coast time daylight hours schedule.
• Two perl coders. NCommander is still around doing systems and infrastructure but it's just me and paulej72 writing perl for the site currently. We realistically need four to six.
• Two board members. We need a bare minimum of three to prevent tie votes.
• Zero treasurers. The two board members have been covering this but we need someone who's good with finances and can keep track of everything officially.
• Zero artsy types. All UI design choices and graphics are currently done by us code monkeys, this is far from ideal.
• Zero wiki admins. We usually have to figure out who even has emergency backup access to it when something needs administratively done.

Again, this is not an official call to arms. This is me being annoyed at the state of things and venting. Board and treasurer decisions will be made by the board and it's not even my place to ask for recruits, so I'm not. That said, if you want to volunteer for any staff position, we're always open.

Best way to get in touch is to contact us on IRC (look over to the left) but don't expect an immediate response because we're often busy doing Life Stuff. Email works as well. themightybuzzard@soylentnews.org or any other staff member will get you forwarded to someone happy to help you on your way to exploitation.

This attack seems to be both serious and urgent and it has now reached the local news outlet but not made the headline at soylent, a technology focus site. So I present what has been submitted so far to get the news out.

Anyone foolish enough to run Microsoft's Windows operating system should now disconnect or patch it immediately. And in any case make an additional backup. Preferably using another system to ensure an uninterrupted backup.

Beware that hospitals, bank and telecommunications may be unavailable due to this ransomware virus as they are still recklessly relying on Microsoft software products.

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cafebabe at 2017-05-12 21:07:08
NSA-created cyber tool spawns global attacks - and victims include Russia

cafebabe [soylentnews.org] writes:

From Politico [politico.com] via Edward Snowden [twitter.com] via Vinay Gupta [twitter.com]:

Leaked alleged NSA hacking tools appear to be behind a massive cyberattack disrupting hospitals and companies across Europe, Asia and the U.S., with Russia among the hardest-hit countries.

The unique malware causing the attacks - which has spread to tens of thousands of companies in 99 countries, according to the cyber firm Avast - have forced some hospitals to stop admitting new patients with serious medical conditions and driven other companies to shut down their networks, leaving valuable files unavailable.

The source of the world-wide digital assault seems to be a version of an apparent NSA-created hacking tool that was dumped online in April by a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers. The tool, a type of ransomware, locks up a company’s networks and holds files and data hostage until a fee is paid. Researchers said the malware is exploiting a Microsoft software flaw.

Thoughts on a similar scenario were published by the Harvard Business Review two days before this incident [hbr.org].

More sources: here [dailymail.co.uk], here [dailymail.co.uk], here [dailymail.co.uk], here [dailymail.co.uk].

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c0lo at 2017-05-13 00:34:33
Almost 100 countries hit by ransomware attack (merge2 "Massive Ransomware Attack Hits NHS and ISPs")

c0lo [soylentnews.org] writes:

(while merging, maybe it worth sanitizing the comments in the prev story. Yeap, that one with "Woowaa! Woowaa! There's a cyber-attack!!! Change the lightbulb!!!!!" it's childish and there's no information into it)

Australian Brodcast Corporation reports [abc.net.au] - 2 hours ago

'Biggest ransomware outbreak in history' hits nearly 100 countries with data held for ransom

A global cyberattack has hit international shipper FedEx, disrupted Britain's health system and infected computers in nearly 100 countries.

The ransomware attack hit Britain's health service, forcing affected hospitals to close wards and emergency rooms with related attacks also reported in Spain, Portugal and Russia.
...
It [the atack] is believed to have exploited a vulnerability purportedly identified for use by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and later leaked to the internet.
...
Private security firms identified the ransomware as a new variant of "WannaCry"[pt] that had the ability to automatically spread across large networks by exploiting a known bug in Microsoft's Windows operating system.
...
Leading international shipper FedEx Corp said it was one of the companies whose system was infected with the malware that security firms said was delivered via spam emails.

"Like many other companies, FedEx is experiencing interference with some of our Windows-based systems caused by malware," the company said in a statement.

Only a small number of US-headquartered organisations were infected because the hackers appear to have begun the campaign by targeting organisations in Europe, a research manager with security software maker Symantec said.

By the time they turned their attention to US organisations, spam filters had identified the new threat and flagged the ransomware-laden emails as malicious, Vikram Thakur said.

Massive, Fast-moving Cyberattack Hits 74 Countries [wltx.com] - 5 hours ago
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cafebabe at 2017-05-12 16:39:04
Massive Ransomware Attack Hits NHS and ISPs

cafebabe [soylentnews.org] writes:

From InfoSecurity [infosecurity-magazine.com], FastCompany [fastcompany.com] and elsewhere:

A major ransomware attack has been reported, with targets including banks and NHS Trusts all being hit.

According to Russia Today [rt.com], a number of NHS employees have been reported as being hit by the ransomware, while one user posted on Twitter [twitter.com] a screenshot of the ransomware which asks for "$300 worth of Bitcoin".

Woowaa! Woowaa! There's a cyber-attack!!! Change the lightbulb!!!!! [youtube.com]

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cafebabe at 2017-05-12 18:53:36
Massive Ransomware Attack Hits NHS and ISPs (Addendum)

cafebabe [soylentnews.org] writes:

Further sources: BBC [bbc.com] (and here [bbc.com]), Russia Today [rt.com], DailyFail [dailymail.co.uk], Telegraph [telegraph.co.uk], Guardian [theguardian.com].

Telefónica reportedly affected [twitter.com]. NHS failed to patch computers [twitter.com] which affected US hospitals in 2016. 16 divisions of the UK's NHS taken offline [twitter.com] with aid of NSA Fuzzbunch exploit [twitter.com]. The fun of a public blockchain is that ransom payments of £415,000 have been confirmed [rt.com]. Cancellation of heart surgery confirmed [bbc.com]. Doctors unable to check allergies or prescribe medication. Patient access to emergency treatment denied [twitter.com] in part due to hospital telephone exchange being offline [archive.org].

It also appears that one of the affected parties refused to answer a Freedom of Information request in Nov 2016 about cyber-security due to impact on crime detection [whatdotheyknow.com]. Similar parties provided responses to the same request [whatdotheyknow.com].

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cafebabe at 2017-05-13 03:59:23
NSA-created cyber tool spawns global attacks - and victims include Russia (Addendum)

cafebabe [soylentnews.org] writes:

One or more anti-virus companies may have been hacked prior to WannaCrypt infecting 75000 Microsoft Windows computers in 99 countries. First, anti-virus software like Avast fails to make HTTP connections [soylentnews.org]. Second, five million of ransomware emails are rapidly sent. Although many centralized email servers were able to stem the onslaught, many instances of anti-virus software had outdated virus definitions and were defenseless against the attack. Indeed, successful attacks were above 1%. Of these, more than 1% have already paid the ransom. Although various governments have rules (or laws) against paying ransom, it is possible that ransoms have been paid to regain access to some systems.

Also, file scrambling ransomware has similarities to REAMDE by Neal Stephenson [soylentnews.org]. Although the book is extremely badly written, its scenarios (offline and online) seem to come true with forceful regularity.

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I was reading this article and thought it might be a good submission as a follow up to the post about Comey's firing.

I held back, as I thought it might already be referenced in the comments. As such, I went back and, as I was reading through the comments, came across this gem from VLM:

Could someone explain the Russia conspiracy theory?

It seems to be anointed queen in waiting lost because she sucked and the electorate hates her although the elites love her, therefore someone is to blame, and it can't be her and it can't be the D party leadership, so obviously it was gremlins or space aliens or ... I know, Russians!

Is there anything to it beyond "argh matey here be tinfoil internet pirate hats"

This got me thinking about the various ways in which we (Americans) have allowed ourselves to be divided, and discussion has devolved into demonization and wacky conspiracy theories.

I posted the following as a response (with minor changes) to VLM:

Regardless of whether the outcome would have been the same, the Russians continue to use active measures (as they have for decades) to influence public opinion in countries of interest for them. This includes the US, UK, France, much of the former Soviet bloc and FSM (okay, FSB) knows where else.

The rise of social media and the ridiculous conspiracy theories^* of the right in the US have primed the public to accept fake news (that is, lies intended to pollute public discourse) as long as it comports with their existing biases. That, and demonizing political opponents has weakened our political system and allowed folks like the Russians to muddy the waters and make it more difficult for us to work together to address the issues we all face.

It's appropriate that we all stand together to identify and understand how our public discourse and political system are being affected by those who wish to weaken, destabilize and/or harm the US.

^*Partial list of right-wing conspiracy theories. Feel free to add any left-wing ones you think appropriate.
Pizzagate
Birtherism
Jade Helm
Common Core will turn your kids gay
Agenda 21
Sharia Law coming to your town
Plans for firearms confiscation
FEMA Concentration Camps
Clinton death squads

I posit that by promoting bald-faced lies as truth and attempting to discredit those with whom we disagree, we open ourselves up to just the sort of stuff that Russia has been trying (and with the expansion of news bubbles, aided by social media, being more successful) to do for decades.

I chose not to submit the Reuters article, as it seemed to be more of a piece with the Comey firing article. What's more, even though many sources were cited, the core source(s) were anonymous. I'm sure that if there's truth to the allegations, we'll hear more about it soon.

All the same, it seems appropriate for the US to examine the role of external actors on its political and information ecosystems.

Just because the folks attempting to sway public opinion with lies are doing so at the expense of your political enemies, they are not your friends, and should not be defended or given a pass on their interference in our system.

Such actors are a threat to our national interests and should be treated as such by all of us.

I guess the question becomes, are you an American first, or a [Republican|Democrat|Libertarian|Alt-Right|Communist|Socialist|Whatever] first?

I'm an American. And my fellow Americans (regardless of political stripe) are valued members of my society. Let's work together to make our country successful for all of us. Doing so will benefit society as a whole, socially, economically and politically.

The Humble Bundle has a 'Super Nebula Author Showcase' going: pretty good deal for those who enjoy reading from an ebook or tablet, etc.

Authors of interest to me are:
Harlan Ellison,Greg Bear, George RR Martin

There was one that caught my attention, then made me mad: the new thing to push books by unknowns...

Arthur C. Clarke's 'Venus Prime'
and underneath, 'Venus Prime', Arthur C. Clarke, Winning Author
**But it was written by Paul Preuss (who as far as i can tell is not a pen name that Clarke used and is NOT an award winner).

I hate this sort of thing, and have seen a lot of it sold under names like:
Clive Cussler and James Patterson

I know it's a way of getting known, but sheeesh.

Anyways, looks like a good bundle but i find i am one of those people turning against ebooks, sadly... i just find, i dunno, inconvenient or something.

Just testing tag codes..

[b|i|p|br|a|ol|ul|li|dl|dt|dd|em|strong|tt|blockquote|div|ecode|quote|sarc|sarcasm|user|spoiler|del]

Testing b
Testing i

Testing p

Testing br
Testing a

1. Testing ol

• Testing ul

Testing li

Testing dl

Testing dt

Testing dd

Testing em
Testing strong
Testing tt

Testing blockquote

Testing ecode

Testing quote

Testing sarc
Testing sarcasm
Testing user

Testing del

Men-only island set for UNESCO World Heritage status

A Japanese island where women are not allowed to set foot has been recommended for listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Okinoshima in south-western Japan is deemed so sacred that only men are allowed to visit, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports. Even then, visitors are not allowed to bring back any souvenirs to the mainland, not even a blade of grass, the paper says. It has been recommended for World Heritage status by an advisory panel, with a final decision to be made at a UNESCO meeting in July.

The home to the Munakata Taisha Okitsumiya shrine, which honours a goddess of the sea, Okinoshima was the site of rituals for the safety of ships, and successful exchanges with the people of the Korean Peninsula and China between the fourth and ninth centuries, the Japan Times says.

wut about the kawaii goddess? Do she count?

New World Order Government cultural organization enforces gender norms on a Japanese island with a for real goddess on it, leading to a disastrous series of events. I'm sure somebody could write a 25 episode anime with that premise.

You were (spoilers) warned. Now it begins. The Garden Bridge has gone down in flames!

• Evening Standard
• The Guardian
• Washington Post
• Curbed
• Motherboard
• BBC News