Monday, August 31, 2009

SCAMWATCH : How to spot a rigged ATM

Autoamated teller machines (ATM's) are frequently being targeted by data thieves using card skimming devices in combination with video capture and surveillance and mobile technologies. The card skimming devices are often moulded around the ATM card slot to collect account information stored on the bank card's magnetic strip, while victims are monitored via video capture systems or remote surveillance on or in close proximity to the ATM documenting your passwords and Personal Identification Number (PIN). So how do you identify an ATM with a card skimming and pin capturing device attached?


photo : An ATM skimming device discovered at Thirroul.
via : illawarramercury.com.au

Card "skimming" (is) one of the fastest-growing scams, estimated to be costing Australian consumers, businesses, credit card companies and banks more than $100 million a year. via: theage.com.au

The information surrounding organised card skimming operations was quite sensitive up until recently. Due to the frequency of card skimming operations targeting Australian Banks and ATMs, It was deemed that the slide show released by the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) depicting various card skimming and surveillance techniques employed by organised crime syndicates was of more value in the hands of the consumer.


Commonwealth Bank on ATM skimming

SCAMWATCH : How to protect yourself

Australian Criminal Code on Card Skimming



Detecting ATM Card Skimming Systems



Sunday, June 21, 2009

avoid youtube age verification

Ever wanted to avoid Youtube's annoying age verification page, Skip the sign-in page or bypass sign-up to Youtube altogether? You only want to watch an age restricted video after all. No harm in that right?

I came across a useful workaround tonight and thought i'd share. If you've ever wondered how to avoid those annoying age verification pages directing you to sign-in or signup to an account to view adult content on the YouTubes and other streaming video sites, this post may help.

EDIT: It seems embedded videos on some 3rd party websites may also circumvent certain workplace internet filters into the bargain.

I'll provide some context behind this discovery I suppose... The internet has been buzzing this week over the controversial Iranian Election results. Today came the (inevitable?) posting of an extremely graphic video capturing the aftermath of a fatal shooting of a female Iranian Protester. The video is most definitely NSFW. Consider yourself warned >> http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?&next_url=/watch%3Fv%3Dfmi-LePl894

This workaround consists of switching the regular video link with the embedded version.

A regular video url
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0

The embedded video url
>> http://www.youtube.com/v/oHg5SJYRHA0

You can make a bookmarklet to automate this url edit by dumping the javascript below into the location field of the bookmark properties:

javascript:var%20v=window.location.href.match(/%25%33%44([A-Za-z0-9_\-]+)$/)[1];if(v)window.location.href=%22http://www.youtube.com/v/%22+v

EDIT: A firefox add-on You Old Enough? in conjunction with bug me not >> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9128

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Warp20 1989-2009

warp20.net

Create The Definitive Warp Album. Vote for your favourite ever Warp tracks here. Your top 10 (by different artists) will combine with our top 10 to make a historic album for release this Autumn. Leave personal messages and memories and the best will be printed in the album art.
We Are Reasonable People. Read more about Warp20.


I'll throw my top 10 up when i get a chance to digest all this music....

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Filmmaker Implants Bionic Eye Camera

Canadian Rob Spence is undertaking possibly the ultimate step in observational documentary filmmaking history. Coined the Eyeborg Project, Rob plans to insert a camera inside a prosthetic eye with assistance from Engineer Kosta Grammatis. He had his damaged eye (a result of a childhood shooting accident)removed three years ago.

From mass shifts in unconsciousness

With the camera tucked inside a prosthetic eye, he hopes to be able to record the same things he sees with his working eye, his muscles moving the camera eye just like his real one.

Spence said he planned to become a "human surveillance machine" to explore privacy issues and whether people were "sleepwalking into an Orwellian society".

He said his subjects would not know he was filming until afterward but he would have to receive permission from them before including them in his film.

His special equipment will consist of a camera, originally designed for colonoscopies, a battery and a wireless transmitter.

I'll be keeping a close eye on the development of this project.... (yeah i went there)

via: www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/03/12/1236447354395.html

Friday, February 27, 2009

YouTomb

YouTomb is a research project by MIT Free Culture that tracks videos taken down from YouTube for alleged copyright violation. youtomb.mit.edu

via: negrophonic.com