July 3rd, 2011 § § permalink
May 5th, 2011 § § permalink
We here at Lone Iguana love obsessing about security- the neat gadgets, the problems and the solutions. Let’s take a quick look at some semi-recent security issues.
The Brief of ATMs: Simply covering the entry of your pin code with your free hand is a very smart precaution…
The Brief of Cars: Just because your car is the latest in technology doesn’t mean a smart hacker can’t break it.
The Brief of Surveillance: They’re watching you.
The Brief of the Internet: Holy crap.
May 5th, 2011 § § permalink
May 5th, 2011 § § permalink
- The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook (9780811861366): Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht: Books
- Exam Prep: Hazardous Materials Awareness & Operations (Exam Prep (Jones & Bartlett Publishers)) (9780763728533): Ben A. Hirst: Books
- US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76 (9789562914475): Department of Defense: Books
- Wilderness Medicine, Beyond First Aid, 5th Edition (9780762704903): William Forgey: Books
- How To Win Friends and Influence People (9781439167342): Dale Carnegie: Books
- Kill Or Get Killed (9781581605587): Rex Applegate: Books
- Metal Bible NLT (One Way) (9780842342582): Tyndale House Publishers: Books
- Basics – Low-Tech Fixes for High-Tech Problems – NYTimes.com
- Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan (9780811862158): Lisa Katayama, Joel Holland: Books
- The Modern Con Man: How to Get Something for Nothing (9781596914537): Todd Robbins: Books
- How to Cheat at Everything: A Con Man Reveals the Secrets of the Esoteric Trade of Cheating, Scams, and Hustles (9781560259732): Simon Lovell: Books
- The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man (9780385495387): David Maurer, Luc Sante: Books
- Do Not Open (9780756662936): John Farndon: Books
- The Contortionist’s Handbook (9781931561488): Craig Clevenger: Books
- Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy (9780385523882): Martin Lindstrom, Paco Underhill: Books
- The Young Detective’s Handbook (9780316118880): William Vivian Butler, Lucinda Landon: Books
- The Action Hero’s Handbook: How to Catch a Great White Shark, Perform the Vulcan Nerve Pinch, Track a Fugitive, and Dozens of Other TV and Movie Skills (9781931686051): David Borgenicht, Joe Borgenicht: Books
- The Spy’s Guide: Office Espionage (9781931686600): Duane Swierczynski, H Keith Melton, Craig Piligian, Retired KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin, H. Keith Melton: Books
- The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking (9780671724009): Dale Carnegie: Books
- How to Stay Alive in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter and Self-Preservation Anywhere (9781579122218): Bradford Angier: Books
- Detective Dictionary: A Handbook for Aspiring Sleuths (Late-Night Library) (9780822507215): Erich Ballinger: Books
- The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception (9780061725890): H. Keith Melton, Robert Wallace: Books
- The Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual (9781594740237): Scott Beatty, David Hahn, Chuck Dixon: Books
- Spy Survival Handbook (9780439561259): Laban Hill, Robert Rath: Books
- The Sneaky Book for Boys: How to perfom sneaky magic tricks, escape a grasp, craft a c (9780740773136): Cy Tymony: Books
- Be Your Own Detective (9780871318725): Greg Fallis: Books
- Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (9780316172325): Malcolm Gladwell: Books
- Stuntman!: My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life (9780316078993): Hal Needham: Books
May 5th, 2011 § § permalink
May 3rd, 2011 § § permalink
At some time in the early morning yesterday, under cover of darkness, a team of U.S. Special Forces soldiers and CIA operators executed a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, with the goal of eliminating notorious al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The mission was a success; U.S. President Barack Obama announced last night that bin Laden was killed in a firefight between U.S. forces and Taliban fighters. The 54 year old bin Laden had managed to evade capture for nearly 10 years while gracing the top of the FBI’s most wanted terrorist list with a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture, but was finally brought to justice yesterday at the hands of those U.S. forces. The following links provide an in-depth look at the operation itself, the months of careful intelligence gathering, planning, and preparation that made it possible, and the aftermath.
These images were released in a DoD news briefing today, containing satellite imagery and an illustration of Osama’s compound.
Politico provides a detailed description of the raid.
Wired investigates the combat forensics techniques used to identify bin Laden and other terrorists.
Armed Forces Press Service news report on the operation.
A collection of photos concerning bin Laden’s death.
Official White House blog post on the event.
A number of Gizmodo posts that explore the news stories, technology, special forces groups, and equipment behind the operation.
More information is sure to unfold within the coming days, so stay tuned and keep your eyes on these and other news sources.
Bonuses:
April 28th, 2011 § § permalink
Action movies often depict heroes nonchalantly walking away from tremendous explosions. While it might make for good entertainment, the truth is that you most likely wouldn’t be in any condition to walk away from a Hollywood-size explosion. Io9 looks at how explosions work, and why they can be so deadly. They also offer a tip for surviving smaller explosions: RUN . Don’t bother with trying to hit the deck or take cover, just get out of there as fast as possible. Since the force of the explosion decreases exponentially with distance travelled, every bit of distance you can put between yourself and the blast increases your chance of survival. Just make sure you’ve tied your shoelaces properly; trip now and you’re, quite literally, toast.
So How Does One Survive An Explosion?
Generally, one doesn’t. At least not any movie explosion. Films that show people using missiles or using dynamite as a ‘diversion’ or a way to propel themselves or their vehicles or their chairs (Looking at you, Long Kiss Goodnight.) are doing the equivalent of running someone over with a car as a way of patting them on the back. Military-grade explosives unleash millions of pounds per square inch of pressure. Anything near it is getting destroyed.
For more modest explosives, the best defense is distance. Since force is applied over area, it decreases by the square of the distance it travels. Run like hell. A good hundred meter dash will put you in the safe range of one kilogram of TNT. A thousand meters will keep you safe from a thousand kilograms of it. Keep moving directly away from the explosive and keep doing it as far as you can. If you can run while covering your head – especially your ears – you’ll decrease incidental injuries but don’t let anyone distract you from distance. Just get away.
How big an explosion could you realistically survive?
April 23rd, 2011 § § permalink
Previously, I explored
the many tricks, tips and tools of Jason Bourne, and the
tricks, tips and tools of James Bond (part 1 and
2) . Now, let’s continue with exploring the tricks, tips and tools of James Bond, part 3. This article will delve into the tips, tricks and gadgets of James Bond’s following five films,
Moonraker,
For Your Eyes Only,
Octopussy,
Never Say Never Again (unofficial), and
A View to a Kill.
Moonraker
Tools
- Bond uses a dart shooter on his wrist that fires when his wrist is flexed.
- He also has a cigarette case that is a safe cracker.
- Bond has a small pocket camera.
- A gondola is used which doubles as a speedboat, and a hovercraft.
- Bond has a key that can pick any lock.
- Another agent has a diary with a dart thrower, a flame thrower perfume bottle, a purse that doubles as a communicator, and a syringe pen.
- Q’s gadgets included exploding Mexican balls, and a false sleeping Mexican which shoots bullets.
- Bond maneuvers a boat (Glastron/Carlson CV-23HT) complete with torpedo and mine ejectors, along with a glider.
- He also has a watch (Seiko M354 Memory-Bank Calendar) which he can use to blow things up.
- The outfit in space is a Moonraker Space Suit.
Tricks
- In the air without a parachute, Bond lands on another person in the air by guiding his body, then removes his opponent’s parachute and puts it on.
- When attacked by someone else also falling through the air, Bond pulls his opponent’s parachute to launch him up, and away from him.
- In order to cease a machine’s operation quickly, Bond fires a dart into it.
- Bond constantly romances women for intelligence.
- In order to discover the location of the safe, Bond asks about it, then watches where the eyes moved to find the general location.
- Pretending to shoot at a bird, Bond shoots at a hidden sniper which he has spotted.
- When a knife is thrown at him, Bond picks the knife up and throws it back at his opponent.
- Bond hides and watches someone enter his target to acquire the security code.
- When fighting, Bond throws his opponent into a glass case, then grabs a nearby rope to swing into his opponent. Finally, he throws the man out the window.
- To travel quickly, Bond grabs a chain and uses it to zip line across the landscape on a nearby wire.
- Bond grabs an air tank and sprays it at an opponent to catch him off guard.
- When his enemy brings in an unbeatable opponent, Bond turns the man against his enemy with his mind.
» Read the rest of this entry «
April 4th, 2011 § § permalink
How to Do Everything is a new podcast from Mike Danforth and Ian Chillag, producers of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!. The new show is “half advice show, half survival guide”; listeners send in their questions and Mike and Ian talk to experts and do their best to answer them. It’s an entertaining and packed with great information, from naming a military operation to jumping out of a moving car. Check out the podcast at their website, on iTunes, and send in your own questions here.
Here’s how it works: you send us your questions—from “how do I break up with my hairstylist of 20 years” to “how do I not sound stupid when ordering wine” to “how do I escape a charging rhino”—and we answer them. Usually, given how little we actually know how to do, we find experts who can help you out.
How to Do Everything
March 8th, 2011 § § permalink
Security in-a-box is a project that provides various resources for enhancing your security and privacy both on and offline. The site contains a how-to booklet and a number of hands-on guides for using free software such as TrueCrypt, Tor, Eraser, and more to strengthen your digital security.
Security in-a-box is a collaborative effort of the Tactical Technology Collective and Front Line. It was created to meet the digital security and privacy needs of advocates and human rights defenders. Security in-a-box includes a How-to Booklet, which addresses a number of important digital security issues. It also provides a collection of Hands-on Guides, each of which includes a particular freeware or open source software tool, as well as instructions on how you can use that tool to secure your computer, protect your information or maintain the privacy of your Internet communication.
Security In-a-Box: Tools and tactics for your digital security