Wow. I have to admit, they did the Facebook chat right. I like how it looks and how it works. I would only change one this and allow chats to disembark from the status bar, but other than that, congrats. It is actually keeping me on Facebook longer.

Enough brown nosing, here are the pros and cons:

PRO: very well done layout – clean, crisp and not in the way

CON: I have no idea when one of my friends sign on or off, it would be nice to have to show something simple as – Bob signed on, and have it as an option to turn off for those who have reached their 5000 friend limit.

PRO: I now have access to all of those old friends and people that I have lost touch with over the years and didn’t know their email or IM address. This was already the case, but IMs are much more inviting to use.

CON: Like I said above, it would be nice if I could dock and undock the IM windows. being stuck to the bottom kinda gets annoying.

I still think that Facebook is littered with a lot of useless apps and spam, but the IM ability is helping to ween me back into trying and cleaning up my profile.

EDIT:Alright, either the Facebook code really fast, or I just didn’t know where to click, but I have been corrected. You can undock the IM interfcae by clicking on the shiloutte and clicking “Pop Out Chat”. This will create a new window and put all of your chatting in the new window. After you are done being pop’ed out, just click Pop-In on the upper right and you are back to normal. While this isn’t the 100% solution I was looking for (Ajax floating chat boxes that could be together or seperate or tabbed)

Programmers vs. Management

Posted on April 17th, 2008 by Carolyn Shelby

Received from my mom today, via email.

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.

The woman below replied, You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the

ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.�

You must be a programmer, said the balloonist.

I am,� replied the woman, How did you know?

Well,� answered the balloonist, everything you told me is technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip.�

The woman below responded, You must be in Management.�

I am,� replied the balloonist, but how did you know?�

Well,� said the woman, you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault.�

Programmers vs. Management | Cshel SEO and PR

So, this is the second time I am writing this article, which really takes writers block to a whole new level. It sucks to loose all of your writing a one fatal click. But enough of my belly aching.

http://www.phrack.org

Phrack Issue #65 is out, as of April 11th, 2008. I am by no means a Phrack addict or aficionado on all things Phrack, and I have only read TCLH’s introduction which in my humble opinion it is close to Mentor worthy.

He makes a point to say that hacking is supposed to be fun, and the responsibilities that are impacted from hacking activities need to be offset by that fun. I whole heartedly agree on that point. While the word ‘poser’ is / was over used, like many words in the English language, to the point of meaninglessness, it exactly describes those who don’t have fun. They do it for the recognition. To see their name on a paper that is passed around, or to huddled around after a conference talk.

So, have fun, or leave. We don’t want you. As for the rest of you, enjoy.

EDIT: My preview of Maltego v2 has been delayed due to real life obligations. I apologize to those I had promised it to, and mostly to it’s creator, Roelof Temmingh

Book Suggestion: The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage

Technorati Tags: hacking, maltego, paterva, phrack, hacker

Check out http://www.hak5.org/stickers to help Hak.5 pay for their 4th Season of Technolust.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AdFA6WWJ7E&w;=425&h;=355]

Red Skelton was a good & funny man. He also ended every show by saying, ‘GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS.’ Listen to the end of this. It is something he said 39 years ago.

Youtube Link: Red Skelton’s Pledge of Allegiance

You can also help others find it by digging the story

So, a while back I wrote about a program called “Evolution”. Since then it has evolved into its new form “Maltego”. Maltego has had it’s face ripped off and remolded, and lot of work on the back end, if you know what I mean.

So basically I was teased by the creator of Maltego. He sent me these two images showing the awesomeness that will be Maltego v2 (and yes, Awesomeness is a word)

But I have been promised that a beta copy of v2 should be hitting my inbox in the next couple of weeks. So, as soon as I have pushed the new Awesomeness to the limits I will post right here on what ya’ll can expect out of a product that already was blowing minds back and forth across the Security / Intel field.

There are tens of millions of sites to visit. Not forgetting telegraph.co.uk, here are the only ones you actually need.

read more | digg story

I just wanted to do my part and tip my hat to Johnny Long from Ihackstuff.com. He really is doing great work. Also, check out hackersforcharity.org to do your part. Without further ado, HERE’S JOHNNY!

No Tech Hacking Released!

I’m proud to announce the release of No Tech Hacking from Syngress Publishing! I’m even more happy to announce that 100% of the proceeds will be going to charity. In fact, each purchase through this Amazon like will feed an African child for one month!

What’s the story with the proceeds?

It’s simple, really. My proceeds from this book are going to AOET (aoet.org), an organization that provides food, education and medical care to children left in the wake of Africa’s HIV/AIDS epidemic. More than an aid organization, AOET aims to disrupt the cycle of poverty and hopelessness in sub-Saharan Africa through empowerment programs and job training, enabling children and adults to be self-sustaining, restoring not only their health but their pride and hope for a brighter future. A single book purchase made through my Amazon associates account (linked from any of my websites, or though http://tiniuri.com/f/Xpc) will generate enough income for AOET to feed a child for an entire month. Other retail purchases (which generate half as much income) will provide either medical services or educational supplies and funding for a single child through a donation pool set aside for those purposes. Why bother? Because I am called to “look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27), and I know from personal experience how mutually transformative it can be to take that calling seriously. Hamlet was onto something when he wondered, “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them.”

— Johnny Long

So if you can’t do anything else, buy a book using the link above and help support a child in need. Again, the link is:

No Tech Hacking on Amazon.com -  http://tinyurl.com/3bt9or

I’ve had an idea and I have been hashing it out the last couple days. I want a smal piece of hardware that runs basically a MITM, but a physical one. Something like those old keyloggers that you plug between a PS/2 keyboard and a computer. If it already exsists, please link me, but this is what I want it to do:

Features of the KVM-MITM:

• Ports:  (2) DVI or VGA; (2) Ethernet NICs; (4) USB or/and (4) PS/2 Ports  <— Half male, Half female

• Services:

  • VNC or RDP – a remote way to alter what is happening

  • Keylogger – recording all keys pushed through USB or PS/2 Mouse

  • SSH / SFTP – for reconfiguration or grabbing Keylogger data

  • IP snagger – management of using a static IP address within the DHCP scope automagically, without registering with DHCP

  • SSH Client for Tunneling local services

  • SSL Tunneling client for alternate means of tunneling if port 22 is blocked

  • Iptables – keep from a scan detecting the bridged nic (0 ports open, just tunnels outboud listening)

• Power Supply: USB powered or a Male/Female plug for a standard desktop power cord

Just an idea…. any takers?