Author Archives: jcs

Matt Blaze on Adtech

Posted on 2016-03-20 by jcs

Countless pixels have died in the battle over adtech. I’ve long held the view that I’m happy to view the ads but I object strongly to being tracked and having arbitrary scripts run on my machine. Some time ago, I … Continue reading →

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Literate Programming With Org Babel

Posted on 2016-03-19 by jcs

Howard Abrams recently gave a talk at the PDX Emacs Hangout in Portland. So far, there is no video of the talk but Abrams did write up his notes1. The talk was intended to be a workshop so you should … Continue reading →

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Magit Video on Rebasing

Posted on 2016-03-18 by jcs

Charl Botha has posted an excellent video on advanced rebasing with Magit. It serves as a great followup to Howard Abrams’ Magit tutorial video. Abrams covered rebasing too but Botha shows how to perform more complicated tasks. First he shows … Continue reading →

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Org Mode and Software Engineering

Posted on 2016-03-17 by jcs

Rohan Kshirsagar has a nice post on integrating Emacs Org Mode into the software engineering process. That’s a big subject area, of course, but Kshirsagar focuses on using Org to take notes as things occur to you and perhaps turn … Continue reading →

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What Happens When You Give Law Enforcement a Backdoor Key?

Posted on 2016-03-16 by jcs

This: The hackers who accessed celeb iCloud accounts in 2014 used a forensic tool designed for cops to download the data. https://t.co/grEzwuSaGJ — Christopher Soghoian (@csoghoian) March 13, 2016

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John Oliver on Encryption

Posted on 2016-03-15 by jcs

The other day I saw a hilarious John Oliver video on encryption. He explains, as only Oliver can, why despite outward appearances the encryption question is not simple and one’s immediate reaction of “Of course Apple should help the government … Continue reading →

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A One-liner Fuzzy Isearch

Posted on 2016-03-14 by jcs

If you’re looking for a quick and easy fuzzy isearch, here’s a way to get it with a single line of Elisp. Also check the comments for some riffs on the same idea.

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Steven Levy on the New Crypto Wars

Posted on 2016-03-13 by jcs

I’ve written about Steven Levy before (1, 2, 3). I still consider his book, Hackers, the definitive history of the hacker culture. Now over at Backchannel Levy asks Why Are We Fighting the Crypto Wars Again? Levy recounts the history … Continue reading →

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The Data on Farook’s Phone

Posted on 2016-03-13 by jcs

Undoubtedly true but beside the point. The government wants a precedent not any purported data on the phone. Reminder: Farook destroyed his + wife's personal phones. There isn't jack on his work iPhone. He didn't even bother to hit it … Continue reading →

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Securing Your WordPress Site

Posted on 2016-03-12 by jcs

About three years ago, after Irreal was hacked, I published a short article on securing WordPress sites that pointed to a WordPress article on ways to harden a WordPress site. Recently, John Stevens wrote me to say that he and … Continue reading →

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