Nick: It’s hackers versus cartels! Andrew: Anonymous versus the Zetas. Nick: Los Zetas! Andrew: The general gist of what happened is this: A member of Anonymous got kidnapped, so Anonymous put out a thing saying, “If you don’t release our guy, we’ll dox of all of your members.” Nick: For those who don’t know, doxxing is where they release the names, addresses, account numbers, and even social security numbers of Read More...
In this episode, we discuss a recent article that portrayed the group, Anonymous, as evil. In light of all the controversy surrounding the group, we discuss Anonymous’ tactics and whether or not they are “terroristic” in nature. Click here to listen!
In this episode, we debate Bitcoins and their impact on the world. Nick is the skeptic, and Andrew is the zealot. Virginia sits on the fence and watches the debate. At the end, Nick speculates about the government’s ability to freeze the Bitcoin market, and Virginia breaks out her financial skills to discuss stock market theory. Click here to listen!
Nick: Bitcoin is more like “bullshit coins.” Andrew: Why do you hate them so much? Nick: I don’t hate them. I just don’t get them. Virginia: I’m actually impressed with the potential for another form of currency that does not involve animals feathers or teeth. Nick: The problem is it’s already an asshole to people who don’t have money. It’s so expensive to build and run a system. Andrew: Let Read More...
After a newspaper published the names and addresses of gun owners in New York, the Nerd Absurd crew tackles the issue of what data should be public and how difficult it should be to get that information. They discuss public shaming, the presumption of innocence in a technological world, and how long information about things like arrests should be available to the public. Click here to listen!
Nick: I wanted to bring up the idea of people publishing gun owners in an area. We’ve got similar things here in Texas. You can watch the arrest records of your local municipality on Facebook. Andrew: Or go onto the website and see who was booked, when, and for what. It destroys the presumption of innocence. The website isn’t saying that they’re guilty, but most people assume that if you’re Read More...
Andrew: So there was a high school girl. Her family had an issue with the whole RFID tags and tracking where you go in the school. So, the school told her that she couldn’t go to school. Nick: The family sued the school because they said that they had a religious objection to being tracked. Their problem with the RFID chips because they were “the mark of the beast.” Virginia: Read More...
Today we talk about the RFID chip showdown that took place last fall at a San Antonio school. We discuss how to game the system, how RFID’s work outside of school grounds, implications for correlating school badge data in malls or other public places, and whether or not requiring students to wear ID badges is even effective. Click here to listen!
Today we mourn the passing of Aaron Swartz. We talk about his accomplishments and what they mean to the web. We talk about how the government approaches technology and hacking laws. Finally, we talk about ways to stop this from happening again. Click here to listen!
Andrew: Maybe we should go into the backstory… Virginia: Is there anyone listening who doesn’t know the story? Nick: So, Aaron Swartz was a super genius. One of those people who everyone agrees is a genius. Mike: If fact, if you’re listening to us, you’re doing so partly because of Aaron. He contributed to RSS, which is how many of you get our feed. Andrew: He was a big proponent Read More...