Schneier on Security ([syndicated profile] bruce_schneier_feed) wrote2026-02-05 12:00 pm

Backdoor in Notepad++

Posted by Bruce Schneier

Hackers associated with the Chinese government used a Trojaned version of Notepad++ to deliver malware to selected users.

Notepad++ said that officials with the unnamed provider hosting the update infrastructure consulted with incident responders and found that it remained compromised until September 2. Even then, the attackers maintained credentials to the internal services until December 2, a capability that allowed them to continue redirecting selected update traffic to malicious servers. The threat actor “specifically targeted Notepad++ domain with the goal of exploiting insufficient update verification controls that existed in older versions of Notepad++.” Event logs indicate that the hackers tried to re-exploit one of the weaknesses after it was fixed but that the attempt failed.

Make sure you’re running at least version 8.9.1.

ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2026-02-05 12:24 am

Community Thursdays

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...

* Posted "What Are Couple Goals And How Do We Achieve Them?" in [community profile] goals_on_dw.

* Posted "Sighting a Siberian Superstar: Local birder secures rare red-flanked bluetail for life list" in [community profile] birdfeeding.

* Commented in [community profile] awesomeers.
bluapapilio: mihashi from ookiku furikabutte (oofuri mihashi)
蝶になって ([personal profile] bluapapilio) wrote2026-02-04 11:01 pm

Manga Check-in: "Ookiku Furikabutte" vol. 1 ch.1+omake


I debated a lot before finally decided to start over from the beginning.

Between the anime and manga I remember a fair amount but I cant remember where it was at baseball wise, and I feel it loses some of the emotional aspect of the highs and lows if I cant remember the details of who've they've gone up against so far.

I stopped at volume 12 or thereabouts last. Not like it's a hardship to reread, it'll be really nostalgic tbh. But man, I forgot how long the chapters are!!! Back then they were divided in parts when translated because they were so long. It's crazy to me that Oofuri isn't licensed.

Chapter 1: Momoe's so cute!! I forgot Hanai was against her being the manager in the beginning. He'd rather have no baseball than a girl manager. Of course she makes him change his mind by squashing a bunch of pomelos in her hands.

Mihashi will never not tug at my heartstrings. You can understand Abe too though so while you wish he'd be a little more patient with Mihashi, he's not intentionally being mean, he's just struggling to understand him on top of having his own issues.

Abe's sparkling face at Mihashi's special throws is frickin' hilarious and adorable.

It must take a lot of courage to follow a catcher's signs knowing you're the vehicle of whether you win or lose... In Mihashi's case, it also gives him a way to place the power in Abe's hands because he's too insecure to have any confidence in himself.

Abe: 'He knows. Without my signs, he'd have just been a slow pitcher. I'll have to just keep using him like a puppet I guess...'

Omake: Aw, Chiyo saw Momoe crushing the pomelos and swinging the bat around and briefly got scared of becoming manager. So glad she got over it (through the power of confusion lol 'they must be tastier when you squeeze them by hand')

I took so many screenshots for chapter 2 I have to make a new post. 😂🙏
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2026-02-04 10:02 pm

Wildlife

What is the American red wolf?

The American red wolf is the world’s most endangered. This species is found only in the United States, and fewer than 20 remain in the wild. It is one of the most endangered mammals on Earth.

Now, an unprecedented partnership between universities, government agencies, and biotechnology companies is using the latest genetic tools to save this iconic predator from extinction. The effort represents a new model for how technology may reshape wildlife conservation in the decades ahead.

ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2026-02-04 09:58 pm

Birdfeeding

Today is cloudy and cold.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large flock of sparrows, several cardinals, and a starling.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/426 -- I did a bit of work around the patio. 

EDIT 2/426 -- I did more work around the patio. 

I am done for the night.

ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2026-02-04 09:52 pm
Entry tags:

Cuddle Party

Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.

We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!


Read more... )
vass: Small turtle with green leaf in its mouth (Default)
Vass ([personal profile] vass) wrote2026-02-05 02:01 pm
Entry tags:

Things

Books
Finished reading Victoria Goddard's Plum Duff. I am extremely baffled by the theological worldbuilding choices she's making. What is she doing? Is it on purpose? Where's she going with this? Does she realise the implications of what she's doing? i.e. that this is a fantasy-Anglican religion which somehow managed to replace original sin with something worse?

Read Victoria Goddard's Stone Speaks To Stone, a rollicking boy's own adventure from Jemis' father's soldier days. I get that it was necessary to show the mindset of an imperial subject who "well believed in its civilising mission". I do understand that it was necessary. I just. Ugh. I'm still waiting for the ironic twist to that refrain "he was a loyal son of the Empire." One day Jack's going to learn better, right? Or else Jemis, who fancies himself a revolutionary, will have to contend with his beloved father's role in imperial expansionist wars.

Reading Ursula Whitcher's North Continent Ribbon, long after everyone else. It's time. (I still have some leftover guilt and anxiety about the roleplaying game during which [personal profile] ursula conceived this setting, and it's been getting in my way.)

Tech
*whimpering*

Garden
More tomatoes!
sorcyress: Drawing of me as a pirate, standing in front of the Boston Citgo sign (Default)
Katarina Whimsy ([personal profile] sorcyress) wrote2026-02-04 07:41 pm

(no subject)

I had a mostly good day at work today! I actually was productive for almost all of it! Now I would _very much_ like to be done. Unfortunately I have a geometry team meeting and then an equity meeting.

But I am actually finished with prep for tomorrow, including slides which is something that hasn't been true in months.

***

Okay, wrote the above at about 1:30. I have since done both of those meetings (both of which were good --I was actually trying to write some of these words during the geometry team meeting, but it was too engaging and useful so I focused instead. Huzzah.)

I fucked around in my classroom for about an hour afterwards, despite being totally done with everything, then set Forest going and walked home. This meant I got home and still had just heaps of time on Power Hour mode which was extremely rude of me. But between good work day and that, here are the things I have done today:

*Made many copies of many things, but critically, all the papers for tomorrow's classes, except for the midterm review packets which weren't finished until the geometry team meeting. I'll try and get to work tomorrowmorn in time to do those.

*Prepped my classes the rest of the way, by like making slides and everything.

*Graded the do nows for the one class that did them (I am back to my old way and it's so much better, note to self, change is bad)

*Put together an answer key for the performance task the ninth graders are doing

*Also ran the performance task for both classes of ninth graders, including doing interference and answering questions and sometimes very pointedly not answering questions because like, y'all. This is technically an assessment. I need to assess if you know anything.

*My reward is that one of my groups opted for a horror movie poster when they got to the part that was "make a movie poster" and it's _great_. To be clear, the theme of the first part of the task is a football player on a field being illuminated by floodlights and it's all about shadow length and stuff. You need to make a poster for "Floodlights: The Movie", so mostly like, we get football themed stuff. Last year, it was a group that made a carnivorous football out for blood. This year, the subtitle is "the last QB" and they asked if they could cut off the head of the little clipart football player they're required to incorporate and I said yes as long as it still made it onto the poster somewhere, so he's just carrying it as the ball. I love my children so much. This bullet point isn't an accomplishment or anything, but it is just like, good.

*Had aforementioned good geometry team meeting (where we sorta slightly overwhelmed my new mentee with a little bit of "it's awesome that you want to help the students study for the midterm, do it with WAY less work") and good equity team meeting (where we got to be very slightly snarky about our secret agenda of helping promote academic equity).

*Walked home, am in the middle of some wild ass-daydreams, but that's fine, it's novel at least

*Put away all the hang-up laundry, which has badly needed it (since before Arisia)

*Began loads one (and subsequently two) of running laundry. I suspect there's four loads alltogether but there might be five because...

*Stripped the bed, remade the bed, brought the old sheets down to the washer

*Did a little bit of knitting while listening to music (listening to music is acceptable during a power hour as long as there is an absolute minimum of fucking around with what music. In this case, it was "search Seeming, hit play". I'm obsessed but you know what, it's better than listening to silence.)

*Put all the clean dishes away and reloaded the dishwasher

*Ate dinner! Which brings us to now, and theoretically writing my words and I could get into a loop, but I shant.

***

I'm trying to use Habitica again, after many ages, to track all my dailies and stuff. It's going pretty well! Today I only have four things left to do, and I actually might get them all done, which would be Very Impressive. We'll see how it goes.

My world is absolutely falling apart, especially on the macro level, but the good news is that everyone else around me is also living in 2026 in the united states, so they mostly get it. May we all make it through.

I love you, and hope you're doing well.

~Sor
MOOP!
magid: (Default)
magid ([personal profile] magid) wrote2026-02-04 05:48 pm
Entry tags:

Winter share, 8 of 11

Another boxed share due to the cold weather, so I was inspired to pull out the kitchen scale again.

  • about 9.5 pounds of carrots
  • about 4 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes
  • about 4 pounds of red daikon
  • two medium bags of spinach
  • 2 4-ounce containers of salad mix sprouts from the Gill Greenery (alfalfa, China Rose radish, and crimson clover)
  • 0.75 pounds of little shiitake mushrooms from Mycoterra Farm

First thoughts: a lovely bowl of ramen with mushroom, carrot, and spinach. Slaws with carrot and/or daikon with either Asian-ish or mustardy dressing. Carrot halwa pudding. Potato salad, possibly with sprouts. Mashed potatoes with spinach. Baked potatoes. Fried potatoes. (I like potatoes….).Pickled daikon and/or carrot, possibly with ginger and other flavors toward bahn mi-style pickles. Some kind of saute to feature the shiitakes, likely with onion, carrot, and tofu.
merrileemakes: A very tired looking orange cat peering sleepily at you while curled up on a laptop bag (Default)
Merrilee ([personal profile] merrileemakes) wrote in [community profile] common_nature2026-02-05 07:08 am

From little things big things grow

Hi [community profile] common_nature, [profile] stonpicnicking_okapi shared their love of this comm as part of February Love Fest and inspired me to join. :)

I have been experiencing nature up close and personal thanks to some frogs. At the end of November, following a rain storm, my Partner and I could hear a frog in our tiny, ornamental garden pond/water feature. We're always so thrilled when this happens!

The next morning when I walked past the pond I saw a pile of bubbles and thought that was cool. The male frog has been making a bubble nest, like a betta fish, pining for a female to come join him (spoiler: I don't know much about frogs).

The next day I went to clean the pond (a bi-weekly feat during summer) and noticed that only only had the bubbles persisted, but some of them had developed little black dots. Oh my god, they're not bubbles they're eggs!
Life, uh, finds a way )
gingicat: deep purple lilacs, some buds, some open (vivid lilacs)
The Ginger Tiger Cat ([personal profile] gingicat) wrote in [community profile] davis_square2026-02-04 12:16 pm

Free trees in Medford!

For those Davis Square folks over the Medford line:
https://www.treesmedford.org/gettree

"TreesMedford is once again providing free trees for the hottest areas of Medford, MA. If you live in South Medford, Glenwood, Wellington, or Hillside (south of Salem St or the Mystic River) click the button below to further determine eligibility for the program and request a free tree."

(Should we have a tag for South Medford since it borders Somerville?)
asakiyume: (Em reading)
asakiyume ([personal profile] asakiyume) wrote2026-02-04 10:10 am

Reading Wednesday

I'll post about things other than reading one day, but [movie!Aragorn voice] today is not that day.

I finished Elizabeth Acevedo's Family Lore, which I continued to love right to the end. The characters were so complete and multifaceted, and I liked them all. The places--rural Dominican Republic, capital of Dominican Republic, New York City, felt real and three dimensional. And Acevedo's way of observing things, whether it's the way two birds leave a tree branch or a person rubbing the indentations glasses make on each side of their nose--wonderful. And there are moments like this:
"I know it's too soon, but I love you. I have for a long time." And the silence in her body that followed was the most peace she'd ever known. There was no disclaimer on his declaration. And in the years since, she might have heard a fib or two in his voice about nonsense, but the truth of his love always cut through with clarity.

And I just started Gary Paulsen's The Cookcamp, drawn by [personal profile] osprey_archer's write-up. During World War II, a five-year-old boy goes to live with his grandmother, who's a cook for a workcamp of men building a road from Minnesota to Canada. Truly beautiful writing here, too:
[The men] sat roughly to the tables, all of them big as houses, the boy thought. They sat to the tables and his grandmother brought heaping platters of pancakes and motioned to the boy to bring the big bowls of biscuits, which he did. Then she brought the huge enamel pot of coffee from the stove and sure enough each man turned his cup over--his hands so big the cup looked like a baby cup--and blew in it and held it up for coffee ... They made [the boy] think of big, polite bears.

Really nice, and as Osprey Archer promised, it's going to be a very quick read.
Schneier on Security ([syndicated profile] bruce_schneier_feed) wrote2026-02-04 12:02 pm

US Declassifies Information on JUMPSEAT Spy Satellites

Posted by Bruce Schneier

The US National Reconnaissance Office has declassified information about a fleet of spy satellites operating between 1971 and 2006.

I’m actually impressed to see a declassification only two decades after decommission.

ysabetwordsmith: (Fly Free)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2026-02-03 10:08 pm

Poem: "The Evolution of Self-Publishing"

This is today's freebie. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] elinox. It also fills the "Breaking the Rules" square in my 2-1-26 card for the Valentines Bingo fest.

Read more... )
magid: (Default)
magid ([personal profile] magid) wrote2026-02-03 09:07 pm
Entry tags:

Hinenu

I won a copy of Hinenu (David Shlachter) from LibraryThing, and it arrived a couple of weeks ago. I had a bunch of library books out so it sat for a bit, until I got an email from Lehrhaus that the author was going to give a talk tonight. That got me to read it Friday night so I could be prepared for the talk.

This is a gorgeous, full-color book using profiles of 100 Israelis as representatives of the entire population of the recently achieved 10 million. He uses a variety of demographic axes: age, gender, religion, native/immigrant (including region of origin)/non-citizen resident, and region lived in. The design is beautiful, with a full-page spread for each person, approximately one page of text facing a full-page photo, plus a smaller second photo. Under the big photo there’s the demographic information, which is also color coded. The photos are incredible. I found the choices of which colors to use for which age ranges led to some photo captions in those colors that were quite difficult to read (lacking enough contrast). I appreciate the thought that went into the design; it would work better for me with just a few different particular color choices.

The profiles are organized in decade order (and oldest to youngest within the decade), oldest first. I hadn’t realized until reading this just how young Israel skews: 18 profiles were of people aged 0-9, and another 17 were aged 10-19. So a third of the population is under 20. I understood why there were so many younger profiles, though that meant a number of the later (younger) ones were from a parent’s perspective, which I found inherently less interesting than the ones in first person.

Because it mirrors the population, I got a better sense for how the country’s demographics are in general; I know my experiences there have definitely been skewed/siloed, so this helped me.

I appreciated the author’s notes on the project at the end (and agree that there were a few too many surfers!).

At the talk tonight, I heard more about how the author came up with this idea and found people to fit the needed profiles, as well as how it’s changed him. He also talked about some of the challenges (some people would’ve liked to have participated, but feared retaliation from their community, for instance). There was a short 9-min video about the book, including some of the people profiled; it was great to hear their actual voices. He’s an engaging presenter, very curious about people, so I was glad I went (plus I got my book signed).
buttonsbeadslace: A white lace doily on blue background (Default)
buttonsbeadslace ([personal profile] buttonsbeadslace) wrote2026-02-03 09:17 pm

Invited people from school over for snacks and card games this weekend

Overall great success. I made Budget Bytes bean quesadillas because they fit the criteria of:
- eat with your hands & without a plate because we don't have enough plates or silverware for everyone
- vegetarian & relatively low on Ingredients People Don't Eat, apart from the cheese
- satisfyingly filling
- flavorful but not super spicy
also I love them, it's one of my favorite recipes and I hadn't made any in a while. Black beans are not the most common kind of bean here (which is a shame bc they're my favorite) so I used kidney beans instead. They were a hit, and in a couple of weeks we will do it again & one of my classmates will make gyoza.

(Also a big thank you to my classmate for agreeing with me that most food here is bland. Like, it's not BAD, but it is bland. By US standards I have a pretty low spice tolerance, but even so, I'm used to even most foods that are not specifically Spicy Foods having a little bit of spice to them. Pizza. Pasta. Sandwiches with spicy mayo. IDK. But here it's like, if it's a cheese pizza it's dough + squished tomatoes + mozzarella and that's it! Like at least put some onion and garlic in it! Some regular black pepper! Something!)
bluapapilio: headphones connected to a heart (listening pleasure)
蝶になって ([personal profile] bluapapilio) wrote2026-02-03 01:38 pm

🔊 Daily music

@ Spotify

プロローグは終わり
次のページへと
今ここにいる理由
What is your name?

Bеgins from now our story
タイトルはまだ
It's to be decided
🎤
tripleS - Untitled
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2026-02-03 01:01 pm

Poetry Fishbowl Open!

The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED. Thank you for your time and attention. Please keep an eye on this page as I am still writing.

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Books and Literacy." I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.

I'll be soliciting ideas for readers, writers, storytellers, scribes, editors, publishers, students, teachers, caregivers, children, parents, bookworms, nerds, bookstore owners, librarians, an anonymous benefactor, activists, volunteers, superheroes, supervillains, other bookish people, reading, writing, delighting the reader, editing, publishing, bookbinding, shopping for books, telling stories, teaching, inviting students to a lesson, demonstrating tools, educating the whole child, learning, studying, parenting, lending a hand, cooperating, concentrating on a current task, volunteering, supporting people in hard times, respecting people, modeling manners and skills, learning to trust others, observing the environment, engaging all the senses, cultivating a full life, creating intimacy, making friends, getting to know each other, cooking together, choosing your own goals, discovering things, improvising, adapting, cooperating, bartering, sharing, making mistakes, fixing what's broke, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, other educational activities, books, scrolls, magical tomes, printing presses, pens and pencils, bookstores, libraries, Little Free Libraries, book nooks, windowseats, Montessori schools, other alternative schools, preschools or daycares, Montessori homeschool, prepared environment, colleges and universities, beautiful places, craft centers, community centers, coffeehouses, outdoor classrooms, parks, nature centers, other spaces designed for learning, Triton Teen Centers, mentor circles, intentional communities, clubs, quiet rooms, inclusive workplaces, Thalassia, the Maldives, the Lacuna, the Aqademy of the Qrossroads, Waldorf toys, Montessori materials, intrinsic motivation, child independence, respect for the child, freedom to choose, freedom of time and uninterrupted work periods, absorbent mind, post-traumatic growth, individualized education, three-part cards, language lessons, mathematics, diverse ages and abilities, self-correcting toys and lessons, natural consequences, freedom of movement, intentional neighboring, diversity, inclusivity, emotional closeness, nonsexual intimacies, first contact, rescue, interspecies relationships, trial and error, trust issues, teamwork, found family, complementary strengths and weaknesses, personal growth, and poetic forms in particular.


Currently eligible bingo card(s) for donors wishing to sponsor a square:

Valentines Bingo Card 2-1-26

Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

An Army of One involves education and reading in the Lacuna.

Arts and Crafts America focuses on fine arts and practical crafts, sometimes education. Bookbinding would be a logical craft.

The Bear Tunnels has future books in a past culture.

Daughters of the Apocalypse have to rediscover many historic skills for survival, including earlier methods of sharing knowledge.

Frankenstein's Family has two scientists teaching villagers to be thoughtful instead of stupid, and after a few years, several more people keenly interested in books and education.

Not Quite Kansas started with mishandling a book of spells, and involves trying to learn about a whole new world.

Path of the Paladins includes the Canticle of Thorns and other books.

Peculiar Obligations has Quakers in organized crime. The Religious Society of Friends has been greatly involved in education, including abolitionist and natural science publications.

Polychrome Heroics is largely about people learning things. Threads particularly focused on this include Antimatter and Stalwart Stan, Aquariana, the Big One, Danso and Family, Dr. Infanta, Iron Horses, Officer Pink, Rutledge, and Trichromatic Attachments.

Quixotic Ideas is set in a world with plenty of magic and a positive tone, where people often help each other and solve challenges peacefully. It includes a healthy magical school.

Schrodinger's Heroes save the world from alternate dimensions, and they learn a lot along the way.

Or you can ask for something new.

Linkbacks reveal a verse of any open linkback poem.

New to the fishbowl? Read all about it! )
Schneier on Security ([syndicated profile] bruce_schneier_feed) wrote2026-02-03 12:05 pm

Microsoft is Giving the FBI BitLocker Keys

Posted by Bruce Schneier

Microsoft gives the FBI the ability to decrypt BitLocker in response to court orders: about twenty times per year.

It’s possible for users to store those keys on a device they own, but Microsoft also recommends BitLocker users store their keys on its servers for convenience. While that means someone can access their data if they forget their password, or if repeated failed attempts to login lock the device, it also makes them vulnerable to law enforcement subpoenas and warrants.