Monthly Archives: November 2007

NSA: in ur treo eavesdropping on u. Kthxbai

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Windows MobileA story breaking in the security community but I’ve filed under “Does this surprise anyone, really? Come on!” has to do with smartphones running Windows Mobile. According to the filing from Cryptome.org reports that there is a Windows OS backdoor being used by the National Security Agency and agencies and contractors employed by the federal government that allows people to “backdoor” (extrapolate: eavesdrop, wiretap, trojan horse or fill in your own noun-verb) a system. This includes smartphone devices running Windows Mobile.

It is unclear as to whether Microsoft is a willing ally in this, as Borat put it, “war of terror”.

More info as I get it.

Added: As pointed out by commenters below, there is not enough evidence here to prove one way or another. Cryptome also has a considerable history of “waving the flag” around government crypto issues. However, in theory, the potential risk does exist as the exploit is in similar fashion as Windows Update. In WU, users allow a web service remote administrative access to their machine during the period of time surrounding an update. As this is the window of time that Cryptome alleges is the “backdoor” period, it would not surprise me if this is indeed true. Microsoft PR handling this issue has no comment at this time but promises to “look into it” – whatever that means.

Photo Attribution: Jnxyz

Organic Feed Reading

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There is so much information shooting around on these interwebs that sometimes I have a hard time keeping track of all the conversations I want or need to be a part of.

Yes, of course I use Google Alerts to do vanity searches on my name, but I’ve found that in the past three or four months, I’ve got more value out of subscribing to search feeds. Now I search for everything – particularly on Google Blog Search. I’ve put much less focus on subscribing to individual site feeds (though I do that too), and instead search keywords and track them around the blogosphere. Actually, it’s been a fantastic way of keeping track of conversations and making sure I’d know about the conversations I need to be in.

I could see PR folks making use of search feed aggregation more than site feed aggregation. Do you use search feeds? Do you use them a lot? Have they begun to take up a significant portion of your reading patterns?

In case you don’t know how to get search feeds from Google Blog Search, this video demonstrates how.

When a Brand Fades

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 Today is the New, New Internet Conference, the biggest web 2.0 conference on the Eastern Seaboard this fall. More than 800 attendees are expected. The roster of speakers is impressive. The conference will focus on the larger business aspects of the new Internet economy.

Though I am one of the speakers, I will be in the lobby working during the opening keynote (as well as the first session).  Why?

aol_logo1) I need to get some work done. And 2) the opening keynote is AOL’s Vice Chair Ted Leonsis. And I just don’t think he or the AOL brand is that relevant anymore.  In short, this was one of the sessions I could most afford to miss.

Look, AOL does have some great things going on. My fellow panelist Frank Gruber for one. And no one can deny how powerful TMZ is in the gossip side of things.

But at the same time AOL the brand has faded, it’s lost its luster. And that’s because it’s not really dominating much, and its leadership — like Leonsis – seem to be following, not creating earth shaking vision.

For many, including me, AOL just means dial-up.  And that’s because the brand promise was safe, easy dial up access for so long it’s permanently etched into my brain. This is in spite of the many things AOL is doing in 2.0. And is it any coincidence that one of its most successful efforts is branded TMZ and not AOL?

Perhaps it is me, but wouldn’t all of AOL’s current social media efforts benefit from a re-brand.  I just think the dial-up legacy kills it. As a result the company seems to be fading. What do you think about AOL’s efforts?