Tag Archives: Security

Thompson’s Reflections on Trusting Trust revisited

Posted on 2025-10-27 by jcs

As Irreal oldtimers know, My absolute favorite Computer Science paper is Ken Thompson’s Reflections on Trusting Trust. It is truly a thing of beauty. This is a beauty that should be appreciated in stages. In the first stage, we’re introduced … Continue reading →

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The Vacuum From Hell

Posted on 2025-10-15 by jcs

I really like the idea of a smart home. The Irreal bunker hasn’t gone crazy but we do have our TV, many of our lights, our security camera, and our front door locks integrated into the Apple Smart Home environment. … Continue reading →

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The Wages Of Complacency

Posted on 2025-08-04 by jcs

I tell you and tell you and tell you but you don’t listen. “Don’t entrust the only copy of your data to a third party”, I say. “But I’m a good guy and I’m not doing anything controversial. Besides, I’m … Continue reading →

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The UK Is Seeking A Way To Back Down On Encryption

Posted on 2025-07-23 by jcs

As I reported 5 or 6 months ago, the UK decided to issue an order to Apple mandating a backdoor to all their users’ data. Apple responded by simply withdrawing their encryption services from the UK. At the time I … Continue reading →

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You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

Posted on 2025-07-15 by jcs

Every year or so, Irreal publishes a list of the most popular passwords as determined by those found by exploits. It’s always exciting to see if the perennial favorite password or the hometown favorite (and frequent winner) 123456 will win … Continue reading →

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France Makes The Right Choice

Posted on 2025-03-31 by jcs

Some Americans like to make fun of the French but they’ve recently shown that they’ve got it together a lot more than many governments. The EFF is reporting that France recently rejected a backdoor mandate greatly desired by the Interior … Continue reading →

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Age Verification

Posted on 2025-03-09 by jcs

I often say on Irreal that any time you hear the phrase “think of the children” you should check to make sure you still have your wallet. It’s a favorite locution of scoundrels who want to steal not your wallet … Continue reading →

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Is Emacs Privacy Friendly?

Posted on 2025-03-03 by jcs

Over at the Emacs subreddit, Tb12s46 asks if Emacs is privacy friendly. By that he means does Emacs collect telemetry or otherwise spy on its users. On its face, the question has an easy answer. Of course Emacs doesn’t do … Continue reading →

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The Other Shoe Drops: Apple Responds

Posted on 2025-02-22 by jcs

A little less than two weeks ago I wrote about the UK’s Quixotic efforts to get a back door into Apple’s end-to-end encryption for all users worldwide. They issued a secret order—immediately revealed, of course—ordering Apple to let them spy … Continue reading →

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Apparently Not Everyone Gets The Irony

Posted on 2025-02-12 by jcs

At this point, I’m old enough that you’d think I’d know not to believe that governments could ever learn their lesson. But no, it just isn’t so. A month ago I was all warm and fuzzy about the fact that … Continue reading →

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