Apple Inforrmation Requests

Apple released a report that details (apart for the US) the number of requests that it received from Law Enforcement Agencies yesterday"

• Report on Government Information Requests November 5, 2013

I just listened to a program on the BBC  World Service that discussed it. I was confused to know why the number of requests that were granted (i.e. information was actually released) was not discussed. Surely it does not matter how many requests are made or received, it is the number that are complied with?

Perhaps Apple were asked as they possibly would have this information to "give-up"? Other companies or services may not have this information  as they may not have a clue. I am sure that Google does though!

The main issue seemed (on the BBC report) was the general terms that Apple are allowed by the US government to reveal information on US requests.
Do I see a double standard here? Again, nothing new............

After all, the NSA is only spying on these nasty foreigners, not on its own citizens!

Hats off to Roger Dingledine

Not only did Roger (Arma) take the trouble to write a blog post about the Guardian "exposé" he also  responded to the comments that visitors posted about it.

Some of the comments were accusatory, in that Tor did have a problem or that they are in cahoots with the NSA, but he responded, I think, in a manner that was wholly appropriate. Not only did he address each point, technical or political, he was also tolerant of the idiotic.

• Yes, we know about the Guardian article - October 4th, 2013
• My page on Roger Dingledine - and the Tor Blog.

Problems with Netflix Audio Sync

If you search for this problem on the Internet the first result that you will find is a posting from Netflix that  indicates to me that they don't know what the fix is for this.



I have seen this phenomena before on downloaded media from torrent websites. The fact that you are streaming media from a paid subscription to Netflix does not mean that you will not see this there.


If a media stream is not encoded correctly the Audio and Video can often fall out-of-sync. This could be due to a  number of reasons but once the delay or advance has occurred on the original media stream it is not easy to correct it.

If there are problems with the audio/video sync on media watched on-line from Netflix it is more than likely to be a problem at their end than with your equipment.





I have documented this in more detail on tempusfugit.ca

I'm really impressed with Windows 8 - how bad it is!

It maybe fine on a phone or a tablet, but as I have no intention of purchasing a Windows powered one of them I cannot comment. In fact, there are too many better alternatives out there and that also includes Google Android.

In addition to the ungainly, and frankly "amateurish", appearance of the "tile" interface - there is little on the "Home" screen that is of interest to me when I am using a computer. In general the tiles are too big and apart from Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer there is nothing really of interest to me. I have no intention of purchasing anything from the Microsoft Store or using anything that needs a Microsoft Account. Why are all the tiles so big?

My Windows desktop is rather like that of a Mac as it comes out of the box, it is a carefully selected background image and NO ICONS. I am of the school that likes menus and believes that this should be the sole way of accessing programs.

Whatever I attempted to do on the Windows 8 computer that I purchased (on a non-touch device) I had to drag the cursor to the side or corner of the screen to pull up the menu so that I could either access the settings or do even the simplest of tasks as actually turning the computer off! Most of the time the menu refused to pop-up - I got the impression that this would not be a problem if you were using Windows 8 with a touch screen as a swipe to the left would bring up the menu, using a mouse or the trackpad yielded less than satisfactory results.

Reverting to the traditional desktop was a pain - I admit that this was probably due to a learning curve and I probably would get used to the Windows 8 way of doing things. If I had to purchase a Windows machine I would probably "live with it" and not downgrade it to Windows 7 (although I am capable).

The computer had an InsydeH2O UEFI preboot, a bain to many, as I was not looking to see if I could install an alternate operating system I do not know if this would have been problematic (in that it would have "locked-out" changes - ie. a Secure Boot)

The computer was returned to BestBuy within 24 hrs of purchase. I think that it is time to save up for a Mac.

Edward Snowden worked for Booz Allen Hamilton as a contractor to the NSA.

After a bit of poking around on the web a few more facts were found about Edward Snowden that seem to have been overlooked.

It would see that he was not an employee of the NSA but an employee of a company that was a contractor for the NAS, Booz Allen Hamilton.

The screenshot above was found on a website that looks like it is an official White House "mouth piece". I am not so sure that, www.govinfosecurity.com, are.

I have documented this in more depth on my website:

• Booz Allen Hamilton

Apple ID Blocked

It seems that if you make repeated iTunes Gift purchases on iTunes your Apple ID will be temporarily blocked. So are any new IDs you create from the same location, even if you use a different credit card.

The error message that you see is "Cannot complete this purchase at this time - Contact iTunes Store support to complete this transaction" (There are a couple of variations of this message but both tell you that you have to contact iTunes Store Support).

Searching online, the Apple help and other forums, did not come up with a solution to this problem. Hence the reason for this post. Neither did going into an Apple physical store who told us the phone Apple support, something that we had been avoiding having read some of the horror stories. After 4 phone calls where the Apple help desk personnel did not have an answer and proceeded to go round in circles we sent an email to Apple iTunes support, which apart from the cognition of them receiving the question was not answered.

The problem went away having been unable to purchase an iTunes gift between July 28th and August 10th.

The surveillance specialists dream come true

I look back on a post that I made on my website in February 2012 that Social networking was the surveillance specialists dream come true.

With all the furor about the NSA and the UK's GCHQ, Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning, I guess I was right about how the "government" could use the "new media" to spy on its citizens.

Downloading and keeping video from streamed websites

This includes media from You Tube, Netflix, the BBC (iPlayer), ITV (incl 4OD), MLB.tv and many other websites that use RTMP and RTMPE schemes to provide streamed content on the Internet.

I have detailed all of my techniques on my website tempusfugit.cahttp://tempusfugit.ca/index.html

Getting a letter from BTGuard

If you read the small print on the BTGuard website you will see that they inform you that you must not use their services to conduct illegal activities.

Downloading copyright material is one of these activities.

If BTGuard are contacted by a copyright holder and they can identify you as a user of their services that has violated a copyright you may get a letter from them.

Smartphone Threats

I was amused when I listened to the Radio 4 You and Yours program when the first thing that was said with regard to the risks that you run when you use your smartphone is that of loosing it or having it stolen.

This obviously was not "sexy" enough and you can't sell anything to get people to take more care in not leaving their phone on a train or putting it in a situation where it can be "lifted". It was a chance for the "technical experts" to go on about public WiFi and having your traffic "sniffed". There was a solution (or app) that I guess the experts could sell you for that!

Android systems seemed to get a bad rap for security, as opposed to the Apple iPhone. This was cited as being due to the fact that Google (Play) do not "lock-down" the design and distribution of their apps to the same degree as Apple.

The MAIN THREAT comes from Social Engineering, nothing unique to Smartphones. If a website can convince you to enter your personal details then is is down to your own stupidity.

Lawful Interception

With the latest revelations that the US government had been spying on the Europeans in Washington the concept of "Lawful Interception" comes to mind once more.


This activity has been going on for a while now and it is only being realized by the masses. How come in some instances it is okay for a government to monitor the activity of those that use the Internet when it comes to national security and it is an invasion of privacy in other cases?

To suddenly throw up ones hands and declare this as unacceptable denys that this has been going on for a long time. It is just the methods and technology that has changed.

Why LinkedIn is a security risk

LinkedIn has a serious security flaw in that you can see who a LinkedIn member has viewed a profile of someone that they are interested in.

The consequence of this is that you can draw conclusions and formulate your own connections between members without using the LinkedIn network. Whereas LinkedIn try an maintain a level of security by getting you to sign-in and to upgrade your account (the later is more a revenue generating activity that attempts to get you to upgrade so that you can communicate with other members), it is still possible to see who someone you are interested in has looked at other members profiles.

You don't have to upgrade your account to see this information.

What this means if someone claims that they do not know a particular person and then they look-up their profile, it is obvious that they did know that person.

Where is Edward Snowden?

The more that the US government threatens the more political it becomes and the chances of asylum are increased.

The Immobilizer business in Central Canada

It would seem that the Immobilizer business is a bit of a "racket" in Manitoba.


Immobilizer program too cosy, some charge

There are also those that seem to have conflicts of interest. With the Canadian government and others in the insurance and automotive industry. Things are not always as they first appear. I will have to see if I can clarify some of what I have found regarding CAIRSS and MPI 

Aunty makes some changes to iPlayer

Starting today, 6 June 2013, there are reports and get_iplayer users that are looking for a fix for a:

"failed to read rtmp packet header" error

I have found a work-around for this and it is documented on my website, www.tempusfugit.ca

It seems that the BBC are in the habit of changing where the swf hash is located and what SWF hash needs to be used. The swfurl is hard-coded in the get_iplayer.pl script and can also be specified on the command line.

Free Java Update (Required)

This is just another ploy from DomaIQ to get you to download their software. You see this pop-up in a new browser window when you access a torrent download using IsoHunt:

If search for DomaIQ and read the small print at the bottom of the page that you see the above you will see that mplayerdownloader.com "is distributing modified installers which differ from the originals." i.e. fakes.

mplayerdownloader.com are the same company that try and make you believe that you need to update your Flash Player - all they are trying to do is get you to do is to download their marketing toolbar:

Above is a screenshot taken from the DomaIQ website that is encouraging webmasters to include their marketing tool on their sites.

Aircrack on a Galaxy S4

Details of the complete installation and instructions for running Black Ubuntu and a full penetration suite on the new S4 are on my website, www.tempusfugit.ca.

Tested:

• Gedit
•  airmon-ng - with list of wireless adapters that are required.
•  mtpfs
•  libusb
•  yum
•  tcpdump
•  Backtrack
•  curl
•  git
•  Metasploit (fully working)

Those claiming that they have this running on an S3 I suggest you look at the release notes and see that most of the things that have been tested (i.e. working) are NOT the penetration elements.

The RTL8187 based wireless adapter

There seems to be a view that an RTL8187 based wireless adapter is needed to allow the operation of aircrack-ng. In fact there are many adapters that will allow this in addition to the RTL8187. You need to check the specifications of the adapter that you are thinking of using.

If you are running a Linux implementation of aircrack-ng you will also need to obtain the Linux drivers for your particular NIC. This will often determine the suitability of such a device. In addition the drivers to allow an adapter to operate in an "injection" mode on an Android device is even more restrictive.

Android APKs that supposedly compatible with the Samsung tablet GT-P3113 are supposed to need this type of adapter. You need to check this before you make a purchase. Just because there are statements made on the Google Play Store that an application will work is not a guarantee that it will!

• The RTL8187 adapter

Is Bitcoin Mining a scam?

Looking at the offerings by BFL (Butterfly Labs) and Avalon I am highly skeptical.

The use ASICs to process hashes for the Bitcoin system seems to be based mainly around the amount of money that you can make by winning the lottery in coming up with the fastest machine to do so.

It is not that I think ASIC's are not useful in processing large amounts of data and generating hash codes for use in a system such as Bitcoin. Quite the contrary, ASIC devices and the cores in computer GPUs are very capable of doing such work.

I am more concerned that there is little discussion that can be found on how ASIC chips are actually used to generate the hash codes and more than that how the codes are then used by the Bitcoin system. There is far more emphasis on the generation of hash codes than there is on the effectiveness of a P2P payment system that does not depend on a specific countries balance of payments and is virtually a "vitual currency", that should be immune to regional fluctuations and the health of any particular economy.

I have yet to see a business plan that describes the logic behind participation in this project. I seems to be taken as read that all you need to do is throw money at hardware, that has not been fully explained, plug it in, connect it to the Internet and then wait for the Bitcoins to roll in! If there is any discsussion about the financial side of things this revolves round the cost of the equipment, the number of hashes per second that it can generate and the cost of the electricity that the "Bitforce" box takes to run. A ROI, Return on Investment, is then calculated from those figures. The fact that viability of being the fastest, or being part of a pool that is the fastest, is a sound business propsition is NOT mentioned. It this "lottery" was abandoned then the whole scheme is then a nonsence.

Returning to a discussion about the hardware. There has been a lot of talk centered around the fact that the vendors of equipment to process these vast numbers of Hashes at ever increasing speeds have failed to deliver product. There seems to be a race to make the fastest box. There is no discussion around that if an owner of such a box, if they exist, will only be one of possibly many that have the same box and the lottery "pool" will be diluted. There is no discussion that describes the business model that a lottery can further the operation of the Bitcoin currency, only that there is a lottery and you are supposed to be able to earn Bitcoins by producing hashes. To me this is generating revenue out of thin air! At the end of the day the  money has got to come from somewhere and this is little more than a High-Tech pyramid scheme, the top of which is inhabited with those with the fastest machines. Those at the base are those that fund the scheme by purchasing the equipment to get higher up the pyramid.

Installing Ubuntu 12.04 on a Surface Pro

As the Microsoft Surface Pro is an x86 based tablet it is an excellent choice to install Ubuntu 12.04.

Once installed as a dual boot,  all the Linux based penetration tools can be hassle-freely installed and the unit used as a security testing tool.

At a price that is slightly more than a similarly configured Google Nexus 7 tablet it is bigger, faster and has a "proper" keyboard. All the software that you need to run tools such as aircrack-ng are free open-source and will receive regular updates. As far as I know, according to the Canonical website, the Ubuntu Touch project is still in the experimental stage.

• The Ubuntu Touch Project

The other issue with installing the Ubuntu Touch software (Ubuntu 12.04) on an Android device is that it comes with no warranty. If you purchase a device with this installed it will likely to have no warranty from Google or anyone else.

How to fake running Ubuntu on an Android tablet

It is easy to fake the running of Ubuntu Linux on an Android device. In fact it is easy to fake the operation of Windows (any version), OSX and any other operating system that there is a VNC Viewer available.

I found this out when I was investigating the use of a tablet as a web administration tool. I was also interested to see how I could run Microsoft Office from an Android device as I was a little disappointed with the Polaris Office that came on the device that I purchased.

Below is a screenshot of an Ubuntu webserver log as seen on an Asus Transformer:

This technique would be particularly useful if you had a particular application running on a Linux box and you wanted to demonstrate the operation of that app on an Android device. As far as the viewer of a demonstration is concerned it would appear that the program is running on the Android device when in truth it is running remotely on the desktop device that VNC is connected.
Running an application remotely would be a great way to demonstrate the concept of an Android App that you had designed a front end (GUI) for and you have not yet managed to port natively to Linux running on an Android device. For example: if you had aircrack-ng running on a Linux machine you could demonstrate it running on an Android tablet and you could show the penetration of a WiFi network. You could also demonstrate the operation of more complex programs, even the highjacking of an aircraft and show that you are sending false telemetry to the aircraft control systems.

Of course, I am not saying that this is what the potential vendors of Android apps do at hacker conventions, I am merely suggesting that it could be done. The concept of whether something is possible given enough time seems to be a popular ruse.

I have detailed the use of using VNC to remotely control other computing devices on my website:

• Using a tablet as a Webmaster administration tool

More Android nonsence

Hugo Teso -  Aircraft Hacking: Practical Aero Series

The PlaneSploit apk

It looks like n.runs take their research from reputable sources:

• Hacker uses an Android to remotely attack and hijack an airplane
• The n.runs slides from The Hack in the Box (#HITB2013AMS) security conference in Amsterdam
• Hack in the Box (#HITB2013AMS) on twitter

If you are looking for a Security Professional

I have compiled a list of companies that are involved in such ventures.

These companies are among a ever growing number of enterprises that have sprung up in response to the growing fears of how you at risk these days in light of increased hacking efforts.

• The list

Being told that you need to ugrade your Flash Player

.... when you are attempting to download a torrent.

This is not a dialog generated by a process that determines that your Flash Player is out-of-date, it will appear even if you are not trying to play anything. The "fake" dialog appears on a pop-up webpage that loads when you access a page on isohunt.com and the page has a mplayerdownloader.com URL

Don't fall for this and do not click on the OK button.

Linux shell on an Android device

There seem to be two options:

1. Install a Linux image on your Android device such as Ubuntu Touch
2. Run a Linux toolkit" such as "BusyBox and run Linux commands from there.

However, there seems to be an over-emphasis on the User Interface, not an uncommon activity when it comes to "touch" devices, and the fact that there is an "app" option for a particular feature it is assumed that the reason it doesn't yet work is that it coming with the next release. There is always the "old chestnut" that the app will not be fully operational with your particular hardware. This excuse is compounded by the notion that all you need to do is to find the right driver or possibly use an external piece of hardware (such as a wireless adapter that will allow "monitoring" and injection)

I am going to can the Wordpress blog

All it seems to garner is spam comments.

I thought I could use it as a means to allow visitors to tempusfugit.ca a way of contacting me. It has not worked out.

Freedom of speech

In response to a BBC Radio 4 program about the dangers faced when using the Internet I can only say that there is another side of the coin when it comes to the reporting mechanisms setup by Social Media sites such as Facebook.

Wayne McAlpine Saskatoon

It amuses me that after all this time that there are still visits to my website and blog from this person.

As I have said before: "The elephant never forgets"

Black Ubuntu vs. Backtrack

It would seem that there is a debate on whether it is better to use Black Ubuntu installed on a "rooted" Android device rather than use the Kali Linux version of Backtrack Linux.

• Black Ubuntu
• Backtrack/Kali Linux

Backtrack aircrack Android

Install Backtrack/Kali Linux on an Android tablet.

The details are on my website.

Run the Metasploit Framework on an ARM-based device,  or even a TI OMAP 4430 or an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor.

A day in the life of the internet hacked and mapped

 Guardian 27 March 2013

This has nothing to do with "Hacking" - it is just the same thing that Google did when it mapped" WiFi hotspots when it was doing its Streetview drive-by.

I think the article is now to do with data-mapping. This is not what the commenters on the blog picked up on.

WiFi hotspots (routers in the article) can be "seen" regardless of whether they are "secured" or not. It is not "easier" just because the passwords were left at the factory default - if this is what the originator of the story is saying.

A review of penetration testing software

I have a review of the current, and recent, "pen" testing software and have posted it on my website tempusfugit.ca

This software is either used by me to audit WiFi networks or it has been evaluated for possible use.

If you have anything add to the review, software that I may have missed or needs consideration, I can add it to the review.

Installing Ubuntu Touch on an Android Tablet

As a long-time Linux user I am particularly interested in doing this.

My goal is to be able to run a decent editor such as Gedit so that I can author and edit web pages. It would also be nice to be able to upload image files to this blog using a tablet. This is a limitation that the Apple iPad seems to have. I guess that is the lack of access to the file system such that you cannot get Google Blogger to generate a list of images to choose from.

In my experiments with Android I think that the image/blog issue is solved but I can't remember attempting it. In any case the editing of files using the Android operating system was lacking when I experimented last year.

I will attempting, another, Linux install on an Android device in the near future.

How to use your standard Windows notebook as a wireless security audit tool

As a "security professional" you may have a requirement to perform an audit on a clients WiFi setup. Instead of purchasing an expensive tool that is supposed to enable you to do this I suggest that you can perform most of what is needed with a Standard Windows notebook.

A basic audit of a wireless network involves the determination of the security settings of that network. This can be done without the use of any special software or hardware. Many so-called "penetration" tools will tell you little more than you can determine with your notebook:

A list of wireless connections showing the SSID and security settings

Your client may not be aware that they have an unsecured network and the simple list that you can see using your Windows computer will show them clearly what connections are protected and those that are not.

The vendors of equipment that purport to offer you a more detailed idea of what your vulnerability is in a given situation are often just "spinning you a line". The tools that they are using merely reveal the same information but possibly on a screen the looks more "important" (as it is from a Linux application):

WiFite v2 is an example

Shown above is a screen from WiFite, a tool that is available on some penetration tools. All this is telling you is that there are 3 wireless devices detected. IT DOES NOT tell you whether the connections are secured or not. In addition, it is suspected that the 3 devices determined above a just the internal devices that the Linux operating system can see AND NOT ones that you potentially want to log-on to or even "hack".

A client will be more concerned if they are operating a system that is unsecured and may require your services to make their system secure, setting the encryption on their routers and wireless access points. Seeing as the marketing of devices that claim to offer "security professionals" tools to enable them to advise their potential clients on how not "To Get Pwnd" surely if is better to use a tool, a PC that they are familiar with, to show them.

As for "hacking" systems you will need far more sophisticated tools to allow the inspection of data traffic and the interpretation of such data. The ability to determine a password or the content of the payload is a VERY complex and time consuming exercise. The level of security also is a feature of the encryption method used, but I am sure that you know all about that!

Pwn Pad software download

There is nothing stopping a purchaser of an overpriced Pwnie Express Pwn Pad taking the image and allowing other hackers to install it on their Android device.

While it is likely that Pwnie will attempt to protect their efforts in configuring their device, they will have to contend with the "hacker community". Such individuals are not the sort that will want to pay $600 for free software!

2013. ROGERS Support Team

This looks like a scam to me.

The rogerssecure.host.sk/zindex.htm link is not a link. The .sk domain is is Slovakia, Rogers are in Canada (plus other places - not in the former Eastern Europe as far as I know).

I have seen a couple of emails with the identical text saying that I need to upgrade my Rogers/Yahoo mail all have been from email address nothing to do with Rogers.

Lord McAlpine and fact checking

Checking your facts before you Tweet or blog is still a "Chilling Effect".

Often there is no independent way of  checking facts except from other things that you find on the Internet. These "facts" may also be inaccurate so you will never be able to post an opinion as you can never be sure of your facts.

Those with power, such as McApline, will always have the resources to go after anyone that they don't like what they are saying about them regardless of whether it is true or not.

This also reminds me of the Super Injunctions brought by the likes of Wayne Giggs against reports of his affair with Big Brother star, Imogen Thomas.

• Lord McAlpine row: George Monbiot reaches 'unprecedented' settlement  - Josh Halliday     guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 March 2013 15.30 GMT

If looks like that those with the surname McAlpine have a propensity for this sort to activity!

How-to download and install Ubuntu on an Android Smartphone or tablet

This is something that seems to be a popular thing to consider now that more and more Android devices are becoming available in the stores.

Something that needs to be pointed out is that even there is an excellent video presentation on the Ubuntu website by Mark Shuttleworth, there is no stable version of Ubuntu that is currently available for download and install. Even the askUbuntu forum answers the question:

What is 'Ubuntu for phones' and how can I get it?  - askUbuntu asked by Tom Brossman in January 2013 and updated by Ubuntu on February 2013:

"Right now is too early to tell how the Ubuntu for Phones will work, will be sold, how the software will be integrated, how to get the software and work on it/with it or even be compatible with an Ubuntu Desktop."

What I don't understand about WiFi Hackers

Rather than discuss whether the tools that are available are of any use in determining whether you are at risk or more importantly are any use in determining ways to compromise systems, the discussion revolves mainly around the cost of the equipment that is being promoted to enable penetration.

The Pwnie Expresss Pwn Pad is a case in point. Promoted at the RSA conference it is not whether the device is effective that the talk is about, it is the fact that they are trying to charge in the region of $600 for free software.

It seems to taken as red that users of wireless networks are at risk regardless of what measures that they may take. I don't think that there are many users that are not aware of wireless security and you are not easily put in a position where you can operate a network with no security in place. Encryption is pretty much setup by default and you would have to switch it off manually if you so desired. Most users are incapable doing this in any case.

The final irony is that even if you were to operate a wireless network with no security the relative risk that the average user would be exposed to would be minimal. Even if a "hacker" managed to penetrate your system and could "see" your traffic it is unlikely that that "hacker" could  do anything with this information. Apart from frightening the "hacked" into thinking that they are at risk and then sell them a solution so that they are presumably protected.

There are many that will disagree with me on this point but I would counter that many of these are the "profession" themselves and are in the business of selling you such solutions.

What I think is actually possible when it comes to the penetration of Wireless Networks

amidst a sea of misinformation.....

I am not saying that Pwnie Express have not mangaged to produce hardware that incorporates software that can be used to penetrate WiFi networks, I am saying that many have an unrealistic idea of what can be done with such tool, regardless of the platform or device that the software runs.

• My page on the Hacking of Wireless networks
• The Pwnie Express Pwn Pad
• Running Aircrack on Android

whiskyintkasdalawksakd.ias3.com

A scam claiming your Yahoo account is going to closed due to exceeding your limit

dump error ! (slic table not found ! )

Does anyone know what process this message is triggered by?

It is obviously a BIOS image dumping/editing program, so I don't need to be told that. I am more interested in the exact program that generates this error.

The study of SLIC/SLP table manipulation is a topic on www.tempusfugit.cs

The infradead.org website and get_iplayer.exe

The infradead website seems to be down.

I still use get_iplayer.exe on a daily basis so no changes have been made by the BBC in the last wee while. The question is, "what if they do in the future?"

I have all the code and have made extensive analysis of it. Last time that it broke I had a workaround before there was one on the "Get_iPlayer Lives" site.

Unless the BBC make extensive changes to the way that they provide iPlayer programming it is presumed that the current method I use will continue to work. If it does change I will have to find another workaround or fix the code myself.

No doubt the enterprising torrent sites will be a source of the last working version of get_iplayer. It will also be an opportunity for those same people to attempt to sell you something you weren't bargaining for when you make your downloads.

Windows 8 SLIC 2.2

Full details on the SLIC 2.2 table and the entries needed for Windows 8 activation by means of a BIOS Mod are posted on - www.tempusfugit.ca

All the necessary tools  to enable you edit your computers pre-boot image.

More false advertizing for TurboTax

What FutureShop say on their website for TurboTax Basic edition:

"Perfect for people with simple returns consisting only of T4 slips and charitable donations"

Nonsense!  I have used the Basic package for the last 4 years to file returns with Flow-Through deductions (100% write-off), investment and business income.

The demise of the Filecrop website

Some time back I came across the Filecrop website and I think that my assessment was that it was a scam.

I may have been overly harsh in this assessment and maybe it was just a failed attempt of SEO on the part of the site authors in an attempt of providing a service for those looking for illusive torrents.

The bottom line is that the filecrop website address no longer resolves and visitors are finding my page on my website. I am now interested in knowing if there are disgruntled subscribers of the service.

Bogus claims that your computer is reporting errors to Microsoft

I have a theory that if you refer to the company or companies involved in this by name they will be filtered or down-ranked by Google as the principals involved in this have been attempting to manipulate search results and forum comments.

I cannot see why a post that I made on this does not feature higher and those that mention the firms but are on sites such as whocallsme.com and the Guardian are higher.

fastheal.net - a telephone scam

I just got off the phone with a particularly nasty person from what I can only determine was from Kota, India.

They were claiming that our computer was sending out error messages and that they were a Microsoft Certified Professional and if we visited their website they could help fix the problem.

The website in question was www.fastheal.net (no link here on purpose). The female on the phone directed us to the site and wanted us to click on the connect to a technician link 3. This link attempted to download a program called soft3.exe. Seeing as we were connecting to the fastheal site using an iPad iOS did not know what to do with program so we were safe.

Doing some research on this activity I found a number of other websites that have had dealings with these jokers. The most enlightening was the one I found on the Guardian website:

• Virus phone scam being run from call centres in India

You can read all about the antics of this operation for yourself. Needless to say the caller was offensive and resorted to calling me a liar and used profane language.

The call was ended with the caller threatening to hack into my partners computer, she was the one that took the call originally, and make it so that she could not use it again. All this time I was connected to the Internet on another Windows computer and so far nothing has gone wrong with it or any other of the many computers that are on our netowrk.

Not much to report

I don't like the Windows 8 interface and I see no reason to purchase a PC at the present time. I would love a Mac Book Air but I am too cheap to pony-up the $1,000 to get one. My $300 Windows machines, running Windows 7, are working just fine. If I needed a new computer I would live with W8 as I am of the opinion that you are far better off leaving your hardware exactly as it came.

I continue to be perplexed by those that want to steal Windows 8, looking for ways to install it and activate it without paying. As far as I know there is no such thing as a Windows 8 Loader by Daz or anyone else. In fact I am so disinterested in Windows 8 piracy that I can't  be bothered to do any research. If I were to re-o/s a computer it would be to Windows 7 or Ubuntu.

I am waiting to see how the Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro (the x86 version as opposed to RT) is going to be received critically. My guess is that it is going to be deemed overpriced and those that bought an RT device are going to be "pissed" when MS reduce the price of the Pro version to what they were trying to sell the RT device for!

On the tablet front, for what I use one for the original iPad is all that I need. Sure, there are sexier ones, with better displays and faster processors, but for what I use it for.................

Ontario Drive Clean Myth

How can disconnecting your car battery to get your car to pass the Drive clean test be a myth? (Yet)

The testing of emissions by checking the cars computer was only introduced January 2013 (or will be). The creation of a myth before the tests actually have started seems a little difficult to believe.

Flvstreamer - Sanity failed

The warning:

WARNING: HandleInvoke, Sanity failed, no string method in involve packet

Seems to occur when the stream gets corrupted during the download. It can be fixed by closing the get_iplayer window and restarting the download. It should pick up where it left off. If not you may have to delete the partial download and/or use the /force switch.

Would I buy a Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro?

Probably not.

I currently use a 11.6" Windows laptop and portability is my prime consideration. I also own the original iPad and an iPad 3. I have tried the Asus Transformer Prime. To perform all the activities that I carry out I have established that I need a "proper" keyboard. I have tried doing what I do on a tablet and have concluded that I still prefer an attached keyboard. My requirements are probably reasonably unique and the vast majority may not need a keyboard.

If I were to replace my portable hardware I am more likely to opt for an 11" Mac Book Air. The reasons for this are mainly that I do not like the Windows 8 interface and that I prefer a desktop with no icons (or tiles) - as can be achieved using Windows 7 or OSX.

As I said before there appear to be those that claim that reviews of the Surface that you find on "box store" websites are "fake". I don't think that this is the case, more likely that those that have bought the Surface are those that are more likely to write a positive review. Those that have bought are also those that are going to justify their purchase regardless of how good the purchase is. Bad reviews ARE likely to be made by those that have purchased an iPad or an Android tablet - the justification process is at play here as well, in spades!

There have been things that I have learned reading some of the reviews of the Surface on the Box Store websites:

1. The Surface will work with any Bluetooth keyboard. So does an iPad or an Android tablet, but you don't have to use the MS Touch keyboard and can purchase the Surface without a keyboard. I personally use an iPad BT keyboard with a Windows PC without problems.
2. There is a general lack of understanding of RT and the capabilities of this o/s and the version of Office that comes with Surface.
3. The most common con is the lack of apps.

Surface now available in Box Stores

I really do hope that Microsoft do well with this device. However, they need to review their price point. They may sell a few RT devices but the "Pro" versions (not yet available) are way over-priced.

Much has been said about fake reviews on the box store sites - this may well be the case, however, the proof is going to be in the sales of the device. Windows 8, RT included, is okay. I personally do not think that it is an improvement on Windows 7, except on a tablet, and I do  not like the interface on a computer.