Dose of Paranoia - 2025-02-21
It gets worse before it gets worse
Important Stuff
The Golden Age of America continues with a measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico at the same time that our new “Make America Healthy Again” brain worm/roadkill bear guy has started the important work of discouraging people from getting vaccinated. If only there were some way of preventing outbreaks of measles… But, hey, at least they are trying to un-fire the people that they fired who were trying to protect us from bird flu. And the people they fired who keep our nuclear weapons safe. Well, as safe as nuclear weapons can be. Safe-ish.
Assault with a Battery - While a garbage truck on fire is the absolute perfect metaphor for the United States at this moment, please, please, please don’t throw Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries in the trash, people. They have this nasty habit of exploding and triggering difficult to extinguish fires (like this one). The folks who pick up our trash work really hard and the least we could do for them is not to expose them to totally avoidable danger. If you are in NYC, here is some info on how to dispose of rechargeable batteries safely. For those of you in other places, this Google search is a good place to start.
InfoSec/Scam Stuff
Hack of the week - Users of the Bybit crypto exchange should be getting thank you notes from Kim Jong Eun soon as it looks like North Korean cybercriminals have stolen $1.46 billion of their crypto “assets” and redirected it to the DPRK’s coffers. This one theft got the Dear Leader’s nuke program more moneys than all of their crypto crimes in 2024. I can see why the crypto bro crowd wants less regulation of their “business” - they are just so good at protecting the “assets” that idiots, er, investors, entrust to them. I almost feel sorry for the account holders. Almost. No, not even close.
Putting a hack on your calendar - Bad guys are using Google Calendar invites to steal personal info and/or get malware onto victims computers. This is pretty smart on their part - the invites have a good chance of bypassing spam filters and targets’ spidey senses are not usually triggered by something as innocuous as a meeting invite. Microsoft Teams users are also being targeted by attackers using malicious Teams meeting invites to gain control of their corporate credentials.
Side Hustles from Hell - Rising prices can make “side gigs” attractive, but some side gigs can turn unwitting people into cybercriminals without their knowledge. Promoted by YouTube influencers, these seemingly easy part time jobs offer hundreds of dollars per month for a an hour or two of “administrative work.” However, in reality, participants become part of money laundering or other criminal schemes that can ruin their reputation and expose them to monetary losses and criminal charges.
Scam City - If you have ever wondered about who is on the other end of the seemingly endless barrage of scammy texts, calls, and emails we receive daily, the BBC has an interesting look into one of the hotbeds of this activity - in Myanmar. Some people come to these places willingly in search of a not so honest living. Others are lured by fake tech support job offers and then forced to work for the scam masters, although just what percentage of scam city workers are under duress is a matter of contention.
Tech Stuff
Setting up a new Windows computer can be a lot of work, but this tool looks like it can make the process of installing software and changing settings (like disabling Microsoft’s useless CoPilot AI crapware) to make Windows more usable easier. The folks at LifeHacker are usually pretty reliable when it comes to recommendations like these.
Fun Stuff
I know I would be much more likely to travel by taxi if I could do it like this.
And of course, I would want to do it in combination with this new, Peak America service.
And I would listen to some of these free, public domain audiobooks from LibriVox while riding in my medieval Japanese taxi surrounded by Escalades full of armed “protectors” to keep me safe from the Golden Age of America.