MacGyver

Listen, I'm a huge apple fan. I'm not calling you out here. Most users have been very happy with their Macs, and quite secure for some time. The world is changing, though. Microsoft is no longer really seen as the evil empire they used to be. Apple's user base is growing rapidly - because they make a great product. But, they've also surpassed Microsoft now from a market cap perspective, and there is always that segment of the population that likes to hurt the big guy just to hurt them. Look at the Sony breach that has been going on for a month now. When there is money to be made by stealing identities, the criminal element is going to take aim at you. Period. We teach our clients every day that security by obsurity is an awful strategy to build your business on, but many companies do exactly that. Most of the big cybercrime we're tracking and investigating right now is coming from former Soviet bloc countries and China. The scary thing about both of these groups is that they have real intelligence gathering capabilities and real skills. We've already seen plenty of MacOS based 0-day exploits and unpatched vulnerabilities sell on the black market. It's only a matter of time before someone takes one of those and weaponizes it to hit the masses. I agree that historically, UNIX based systems have proven more secure. There are many academic discussions to be had on the reasons for that. I certainly have my own opinions. But, the MacOS is not a holy grail. You can't approach it with the same skill sets or tools, but that's not to say it's a challenge that can't be met. They will have their day. My fear is that when some widespread Mac stuff does hit, Apple is really going to have its work cut out for them in getting the message out to their users, because many of them do live in that, "I've got a Mac, I can't be hit" dreamworld. Lester, we trade off with them all the time. We take a step and they take two. We get ahead and then they change the game. I'll tell you our approach as a forensics firm, and note that your mileage with it may vary. We don't use AdAware, Spybot S&D, Malwarebytes or anything. From a software perspective, we have a corporate TrendMicro subscription covering anti-virus, and that's it for our workstations. We do however, because of the nature of things that we work on have some fairly serious controls. We wipe and reimage every one of our machines once a quarter, whether "it needs it or not". This is across all platforms and OSs. If we mount a drive up in one of our forensic workstations, it gets wiped and reimaged after we finish the case. We've got a sandbox in our lab, where nothing goes in or out. As sad as it sounds, I apply this in my personal life as well. My personal stuff gets the same treatment from a reimaging perspective. It's effective. The internet is one huge experiment in social anarchy. It's the wild west. Prepare accordingly. That said, your card really more safe with a reputable merchant online than it is when you hand it to a server who takes it out of your sight at a restaurant. The criminal networks have gotten so good, that when a mule swipes your magstripe data at a restaurant, there is already someone standing in line at Best Buy with a big screen TV. They can literally commit thousands of dollars worth of identity theft before you sign your receipt for your meal.

You ought to be fine going that direction that early.

Don't let the fanboys fool you. The only reason that Macs haven't had more viruses over the years is that they represented such a small portion of the total user base. As more users switch to Apple products, you're going to see more viruses. We're already tracking binaries that are targeting Mac users. They're out there. Criminals, especially organized criminals are drawn to where the money is. A bunch of college students running Macs, who don't yet know appropriate online behavior, and who think there Macs are unsusceptible to malware make a pretty nice target. And a growing target at that. That said, the way criminal networks access your data is evolving with the advent social networking. Why spend all this time and effort writing a rootkit to try and get low level hooks into your system, when I can just put up a facebook app? I don't have to steal your data - in a lot of cases you're willing to give it away just to plant some pretend vegetables or something.

Most of the versions of this program are state sponsored Chinese. They've got an interesting attack vector. The difficult thing about this iteration of malware is that they change it weekly. It makes getting rid of it cleanly pretty difficult. If you've got good backups of the rest of your data, you're better off in both time and ongoing risk to do a clean reinstall. Be highly vigilant in checking your bank account and credit info if you've done any online shopping or banking from this computer. Most of the binaries that we've unpacked have got keystone loggers set to forward your username and password when you hit any of the major financial sites. Shoot me a PM if you want to discuss it further in detail.

Remind me to use a single name when applying for my FFL. I can't see that going over too well. Why is it that arms dealers only ever have one name and lone gunmen are always referred to by all three?

We need the whole story on this. I might drive by there tomorrow and see whose cars are in the parking lot. I have a feeling it might be more than the ATF if no one, including people like David who know everyone in the business knew they existed.

You know what they say about having been married nine times. Maybe it's you. I don't think I'd have gone near that brother-in-law if there was a gun within a 100 meter radius. I'm sure there's a lot of story.

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/tn-gun-owners-announcements/22008-regarding-anti-law-enforcement-cop-bashing-late.html

Missed part of your question above. A knife edge will work fine for ignition. I've made a the back of hacksaw blade work with some determined effort.

Since Lowe's moved south a half a mile, I never get over there. I had no idea it was there. Sounds like no one else did either.

Yeah. Add in some other rare earth metals plus magnesium and you've got it. I do use a thunderbird insert. I love a Zippo due to the windproof factor, and due to the fact that it can stay on without my holding a button down. The classic Zippo's problem for a non-smoker like me is fluid evaporation. If you don't top it off every week, you might come up empty.

I can count two occasions where either my life, or the life of a friend who was in the woods with me was saved by being able to get a fire going quickly. Accidents happen in the woods. If you get wet in the cold, you can get in a lot of trouble really fast. Your life can literally end before even the fastest rescue team can locate you and get you out. Modern technical fabrics are amazing, but even then, you still need to have a way to get warm fast. Luck favors the prepared. I carry a Zippo with a butane insert everywhere I go. Nonetheless, I keep another firesteel around my neck. I know it will always work if I need it. Beat the reaper at his own game. Don't be a victim of stupidity.

This one isn't cheap, it's around $20, but it rides around my neck every day. nanoSTRIKERâ„¢ - $26.95 : EXOTAC, Outdoor Gear The only tradeoff with mischmetal is that you need a good edge to drive the spark.

Can't recommend them highly enough. I'm proficient with a firesteel. If it can burn, I can light it. That said, my 4 year old daughter and I just did a series of experiments comparing a couple best-in-breed fire steels with a mischmetal rod. We tested paper flat, paper bundled, grass, leaves, dryer lint and cotton balls. In every category, the mischmetal started the fire with fewer strikes - usually by a factor of five. It's really like driving a pool of molten metal into your tinder as opposed to just sparks.

Awesome, Bronker! Never too late to take some time for your most important patient. You're useless to your family, friends and patients if you're dead! As a runner, if I can be of use to you in putting a training regimin together, let me know.

Apple controls the prices across all retail points. One place is the same as any other. Apple store, Best Buy, Wal-Mart will all have the same price. Apple store is probably most likely to have inventory.

Sounds like you need a better holster. There are some great ones out there. I'm 6'0" and 145, and yet I'm concealing a Kimber Warrior today under a t-shirt. I have been out amongst the unwashed masses a lot today, as every day, and can't ever recall being made. Remember, when you carry, you represent all of us.

The Paclite upper is a whole different experience. I'd recommend it to anyone.

I never skated as a kid, but my wife bought me a caster board about 6 months ago. My first though was that she was trying to collect my insurance money. But, after trying it, I'm hooked. Cruising on this board is a ton of fun. It feels like you're on a surfboard, but turns like a snowboard. I'm looking at picking up a good longboard when the right deal comes along.

Nice!

sure. post the link.

My wife's pretty lethal with a badminton racket. Chops 'em in half with a good swing.

Look at the top right of the screen under premium memberships. Benefactor status is available for six months or a year, which will allow you to post items for sale. It's probably one of the simplest ways out there to sell a weapon.

You pay the tax stamp for each transfer of ownership, so to transfer it to the trust, it would cost you another $200.

Yep, trust comes first, as the trust is the actual owner of the item. We've got a couple of good vendors on here who can help you out.