Windows Security

Windows Security is pretty good. The UI for managing the security is sometimes very poor. Any Administrator who is trying to manage permissions on complex directory trees will know the sense of frustration I experience when being presented with a dialog like the following:

Which as you can see is completely useless to the administrator. This box is usually seen when using the option:

Whats required here is the option for the Administrator to provide sufficient system credentials to circumvent this "Access Denied" issue (or if it is behaviour by design, a full description on why these permissions are thought not to be changable).

The reason is probably that some permissions in the ACL are set not to be inheritable (e.g. not to propergate above this folder). The error message does not give the Administrator the clue that this is the issue.

Security permission control should be simple. Make is so Microsoft, please.

FaceBook fails users AGAIN (privacy failing)

I am so *£%#@ off right now. I already setup my privacy settings ONCE to disallow public access to my account BUT FaceBook has gone through a back door to enable that access.

How so? Well, whilst I setup my account settings to be all "Friends Only", APPARENTLY FaceBook author (feel like telling him to go *£%#off) feels the "general public" are my friend so allowed the world to see my name and a list of my friends (which has lead to an unhealthy amount of new spam which lead me to find out the source of this spam).


Heres a heads up for all facebook users, vital personal information (in this case your name and a list of people who are your friends) is being made publicly available by your FaceBook account. Yes.. I repeat publicly available.

Please PLEASE follow the following steps to prevent this before you too become another hit on Google (and therefore the primary target of spammers!).

Goto the "Account" drop down in the top left of your FaceBook page. Click "Privacy Settings" and you should be taken to the following page:

Click on the "Edit your Settings" button next to the "Application and Websites" at the bottom of the screen.

In the section "Public Search" click "Edit Settings".



Untick the box which contains the "Enable Public Search".

Grand Theft Auto IV

This is the worst game in the GTA series yet (so far).

First off theres the massively invasive installation process which forces you to play online (or at the least forces you to require an internet connection to use the product).

Right, so for now I've put up with that s**t on the basis, hey maybe the game makes the loss of personal privacy worth it? (hah).

So, I am playing the game... unlike the other GTA's (which where suggestive and excitingly unconventional and to be fair down right criminal hehe) this game just comes across as lude, crude, rude and somewhat offensive.

Within the first converstation between the main character and his cousine many sensiblities are down right offended. Now, I realise thats part of the ethos of the game genera, but frankly previously it was done with alot of class. This introduction is just plain "base", it might be more realistic, but I don't want to REALLY be a criminal. I want to PLAY at the exciting parts of the fantasy of Crime (thats why I play). This incarnation of the game so far seems to completely miss this concept.

Graphically the game is good, but, I bought the game months and months ago but only reciently upgraded with a machine good enough to play it. Now, bear in mind my old machine was no slouch. It was a Pentium D 3.2ghz with a Nvidia GTO 7900. Sufficient for many lush games (like BioShock and Batman). Though failed for GTA IV.

Now my new setup runs it fine, but what a disapointment.

The MOST annoying thing though, the thing that made me quit the game in disgust, is the completely control freak nature of the new system.

In the older GTA games the joy of the game is not doing what your told the freedom of those games is massive and frankly very exciting. I thought this would be a given for the new game so the first thing I do is ignore my "cousin" and wander off to explore. At this stage, without the irritating dialog, the games looking pretty exciting again. However, just as I am enjoying myself, the game cuts me off mid pummel and says "You have abandoned your cousine" and then RESETS ME back to the car.

OH MY GOD! How shit can you get!

I will probably try the game again at some stage but that experience has put me right off.

Windows L(Spy)ive

I only need to mention two technologies, SecuRom and Windows Live. Two of the most public and invasive technologies created today (who thought Steem would look innocent by comparison).

So, SecuRom installs a kernel component to give itself root level access to your system (even more priviledged that the user and able to bypass any and all security measures you may have in place). Windows Live installs a swath of processes all of which want to be very chatty about the fact that you have Windows Live installed (to the joy of any system hacker, its like installing a process saying "pick me, pick me, I have a gianormous attack footprint").