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Being the geek that I am, I cannot wait until my daughter is old enough to show her a science experiment that is not only fun to do but tastes great too! Teach your kid how to calculate the speed of light using marshmallows!

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It seems that this supposed credit card company out of Vegas is making a nightmare for unsuspecting consumers. Here’s the scoop. Read more »

Have you ever seen those laser surveillance systems that allows someone to listen to a conversation remotely through a window? Well, now you can build one yourself, and for less than $20!

Found across the internet, companies sell so-called “spy gear” to be able to listen to conversations from as far away as a mile away. Well, now you can build one yourself!

The principle behind this seemingly impossible technology is simple. During a conversation, the sound waves from the speaker move throughout the room. As the sound waves strike a glass window, a VERY small vibration is introduced and can be used to your advantage. Utilizing a visible light laser (or infrared for secrecy), you can “carry” the vibration via a laser light to a phototransistor which is fed into preamp and amplifier. You can substitute the preamp/amplifier set up with a laptop that has a microphone port.

Some tips to remember:

1. Use a sheet of cardboard or white paper to find the reflected laser beam when setting up or calibrating. This is assuming you do not want to be secretive about your little adventure or you are perfecting you setup for the first time.

2. Use an infrared laser if you don’t want the target to pick up on your scheme. I strongly suggest that you be sure to respect any laws in your area of the world concerning surveillance of this type. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

So how do you build this, you ask? As always, links are at the bottom of the article. Have fun and good luck!

Links:

http://www.electromax.com/laser.html <--- To see an example commercial system

http://www.instructables.com/id/EF9RFCKV9JEPORT41Y/ <— The instructions to build the device.

Because I want to bug the planet with one of my posts…This is just too funny..

http://beverlys.net/LJ/BuggingYou.swf

Here’s a story done by Edmunds.com on how to steal a car (and to defend against them). My favorite is the hidden key… when are people going to realize that there is no such thing as hidden when it’s out there in public??!??!

What’s next, should we start moving our wallet and loose cash to the front of our shoes at the beach? I bet nobody would look there!

Check out the link:

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/103271/article.html

Yeah, I’m sure that got your attention.

I’m referring to a phenomenon known to relatively few radio operators as a “numbers station”. Utilizing shortwave radios, amateur and (not-so-amateur) radio operators have been capturing these cryptic messages being broadcast over shortwave radio since as early as World War I. Often mechanically generated, they are broadcast in many languages, with different voices ranging from a man with an obviously fake English accent to that of a young girl.

The recordings themselves are downright creepy. Imagine it’s three o’clock in the morning and you’re listening to a shortwave radio. As you scan through the frequencies, you happen to stumble on what seems to be a melodic tone playing. The sound being broadcast could be anything from the first few bars of “The Lincolnshire Poacher” to a Spanish voice announcing “¡Atención! ¡Atención!. Following this introduction, a voice begins to recite sets of numbers. Often, the codes consist of numbers grouped into sets of five. Known to cryptographers as one of the most secure means of transmission, the codes are OTPs (One-time-pads).

A One-time-pad is a cryptographic system meant to carry the most secure of traffic. Because the encryption key changes with each use, the crypt in question is at best considered unbreakable. There is no algorithm to break because the key is unique each time it is used. So what is so interesting about these messages if they are considered unbreakable? It’s because someone is listening….

Most intelligence agencies do not publicly acknowledge that these numbers stations even exist at all. In one famous case, a group of Cuban spies were convicted in 1998 of espionage based on codes used to decrypt messages emanating from a numbers station in Cuba. Using the decrypted messages in court, U.S. prosecutors used the evidence to convict the Cuban nationals and inadvertently verified to amateur radio operators that they were, in fact, right on the money.

What used to be an inner circle of radio operators has exploded into large groups on the internet that actively follow the scheduled recordings to get the latest messages. In recent past, Wil Wheaton (from Star Trek:TNG) even wrote an article after he became fascinated by these curious transmissions.

Some have speculated that many of these messages may, in fact contain, disinformation. It is perhaps a perfectly viable system to have groups of code breakers scan the dial listening for codes that may or may not yield anything useful. If I wanted to keep the enemy guessing, this would be a fine tool.
Perhaps the most curious example of numbers stations is of a known Mossad (Israeli Intelligence) plaintext message broadcast that occurred this year. At 2200 UTC, 15 Mar 06 on 5339 kHz, Kilo Papa Alpha sent the message G1O2O3D4N5IG7H8T. This transmission is MUCH easier to read than most. Simply decrypt the message by removing the numbers to revealing the exciting message: GOODNIGHT.

Well, I suppose it beats “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.”

Links:

spynumbers.com

http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/page69.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_stations

Engadget did a review of installing the software to run the Zune. Needless to say, this review was less than glowing. Read here….

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/13/installing-the-zune-sucked/

Here’s the side-by-side specs…let the numbers speak for themselves….

The one thing I’m concerned with, although the PS3 appears to be a fine machine, is $600 too much to crack the market? Talk amongst yourselves…
http://www.itvidya.com/playstation_3_vs_xbox_360 

Brought to you by Yahoo news, The Bush administration said Monday that Guantanamo Bay prisoners have no right to challenge their detentions in civilian courts and that lawsuits by hundreds of detainees should be dismissed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061113/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/detainees_lawsuits