Nick Selby

When's the last time you did a fire drill on your personal devices? Every day, we all make little micro-choices of ease over privacy, cool function over security. Each one feels benign or manageable. But what about viewing all these choices in the aggregate? Here's a scenario: An unknown actor now has full access to your personal device. Everything. Right now, this minute. Wide open. Take a deep breath, and write down all the accounts that are compromised, and give the data within each account a rating of Meh, Whoa, or Holy Shit! Don't forget your password manager, Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram, Strava ... Then, read that list you made. If you're like most people, in the aggregate? It's a whole lot of Holy Shit. I bet your heart rate rises, even though it's just a drill. So, take appropriate action.

With the exception of "travel insurance" every single "tip" here about flying in the United States of America was par for the course when I used to travel pretty extensively in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This says a lot. Gift article: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/travel/air-travel-flight-bookings.html?unlocked_article_code=1.D1E.Kl3X.BVhSpwyDFAuC&smid=url-share

RE: https://mstdn.social/@elfin/117333769162710695 When you're In a hole, step one is, "stop digging."

I think we owe Jeffrey Newman and Jayson Connor a moment in which we stop doing what we are doing and read about how these remarkable people spent their lives. Gift link. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/nyregion/jeffrey-newman-jayson-connor-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xFA.V90L.8njPFyv7fIFL&smid=nytcore-ios-share

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@wendynather/117016471575854969 Words of wisdom (of course) from @wendynather@infosec.exchange

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@tychotithonus/117037035686131194 Great three-toot thread; HT @wendynather@infosec.exchange

@doctormo@floss.social In the start of the second Gulf War, when a Marine buddy asked me to contribute to a fund to get Marine vehicles up-armored and update their body armor, my dad was outraged. This was a son of a Marine and someone who, while too young to serve in WWII, could recite every battle and every movement with tremendous detail; the man was a patriot. And his argument was that President Bush came in to office and cut taxes and then went to war ("with the army you have," according to Rumsfeld), and reduced the best trained, best equipped fighting force on the planet into one begging for loose change. "If you want to cut taxes so much that our boys are driving in thin-skinned Humvees, I am not chipping in what we all should have been levied in the first place." I couldn't argue.

This is my favorite news story of the year. Please boost, it's wonderful. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50849559

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@44CON/117037056913881882 This makes a lot of sense; Screenly (and their sister company, SBOMify) are just sooo good. They are sponsoring one of the world's most under-rated and seriously great practitioner-focused security conferences - I really can't recommend #44CON 2026 any more highly - if you are anywhere near London this September, I hope to see you there.

Some friends asked me, "What's that tag on your running shoe?" For runners, cyclists, or anyone engaging in sports outside, this is perhaps the best safety device you can have - it's called RoadID, and it is a steel tag engraved with a website that first responders can use to access your name, emergency contacts, basic health information like allergies and chronic illnesses, health insurance and more. On the rear of the tag is an ID and PIN that first responders may use to access the information online, 24x7x365. I have no financial interest in RoadID. The tags come for shoes (probably the worst, since every person hit by a car loses their shoes, it's amazing), wristbands, watchbands, and other creative tools. I've had mine for more than a decade, and recommend them highly (though the company auto-subscribes you to their marketing bullshit every time you make a change, so one must remember to de-tick the box allowing them to spam you). https://roadid.com #running #cycling #skiing #hiking

Oh to be registered to vote in Clacton. https://mastodon.scot/@AlexGallagher/116945662355607169

I have updated my Non-Alcoholic drinks page on my personal website to include my latest favorite, red, white, and rosé from Le Moderato in France. Spectacular. https://nickselby.com/docs/na-booze/

@jack_daniel@mastodon.social Quick! let's set up a not for profit for oceanographic violence interruption!

@tychotithonus@infosec.exchange Could not agree more.

A notable exception to Betteridge’s Law of Headlines. @ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net

For those of us lucky enough to have a parent with memory issues or dementia, I recommend the Memory Board. We installed it yesterday and already it is helping. You can schedule messages, mix images and text, and it rotates the messages currently set to display. No subscription, just buy the tablet, which starts at $175 in the US. https://memoryboard.com

Wow, these reporters ARE good, amirite?

With utter morons on both sides of the conflict, to paraphrase what Mortman said the other day, this has turned rapidly into multiplayer Russian Roulette. https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-hormuz-strait-war-july-15-2026-b7c592f269d822407dd6b5641602bf25

Now about four hours of layover in Amsterdam.

Behavior consistent with a country begging to enter peace talks and eager to have the war over.

@chrism@chattingdarkly.org Ah.

@afx@infosec.exchange yes, and it's worth it.

So happy to see that under the bold leadership of Oresident Donald J. Trump, the price of so many things is falling. Take home loans, which form the foundation of the American dream!

‘Tis chic

MUC->AMS

The most remarkable thing about this story is that the bride, jilted at the altar by the caterer, refused to name and shame the caterer, saying that these things happen. I am certain that I would have done the same thing she did, if by that one infers I mean I would have immediately commenced a campaign to name and shame them in every available media open to posts and I would consider ads in LinkedIn and insta. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vgd5jmryro?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

This pan is hand-raised from 2.3mm thick copper by Spijk Selby at his workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark, and lined with pure tin by Normandy Kitchen Copper for a naturally non-stick cooking surface. The handle is forged from 304 stainless steel and secured with 3x 6mm pure copper rivets. Stainless steel was chosen over cast iron for its lighter weight, and over brass for its slower heat-up time, keeping the handle more comfortable to hold during cooking. The pan's black finish is achieved through the charcoal forging process. The pan is compatible with both gas and electric stovetops. https://rockyhillforge.com/collections/tin-lined-copper-pans

Thank God they didn't try this in America. I quote Homer Simpson just before he signed a high interest car loan with a balloon payment in five years: "But that's a long time from now, right?"

#usability Having a link leading nowhere, or a warning that opens to nothing is super irritating and easily suppressed. Not doing it shows you really don't care about your users' journey.

@krypt3ia@infosec.exchange You're not suggesting and Kaspersky is controlled by an intelligence service, say it ain't so!

@afx@infosec.exchange Ooooh I love this recipe and I substitute the Monday Mezcal for the "tequila" - though the page lists tequilas that are really good as well https://allthebitter.com/blogs/recipes/agave-margarita-non-alcoholic-mocktail-recipe

I actually like the reply from the founder, which could have been terse and defensive: "We genuinely appreciate the questions and suggestions as we're always trying to improve. It serves as an important reminder for us to continuously be improving our systems and infrastructure (in addition to everything else we're working on). We do require employee 2FA to access our environments. We use a tool called Supabase for our database systems, which includes modern audit logging, review, cloud security monitoring, linting, and source-code security testing with our engineering team. We also have additional security testing and monitoring tools in place. Your distinction is an important one: the primary concern is not simply unauthorized messages being displayed, but the possibility of the device itself being compromised and used as an entry point into the local network. We are thinking about that with our device architecture, software maintenance process, and update strategy. You are also right that requiring physical access for updates is not ideal for a product designed for remote caregivers and people who may not be able to manage updates themselves. It's one of the things we hear most often from families. And one of the biggest things we're working on. Making board updates more automatic and remotely manageable is a priority for us. As you can imagine, it's an intensive project that we have to get right; otherwise, it introduces a lot of risk and the possibility of 'bricking' a large number of boards. Thank you again for reaching out and for all your questions. Feedback like this helps us build a more secure and dependable product."

I love code shares. My “Delta” flight is actually a “KLM” flight that is operated by Hop, an airline so stupid it could only be French.

AMS->SEA and Delta has no Wi-Fi. I guess with still is a luxury. After all it is brand new technology.

Took a nice little recovery mountain-bike ride up the scenic Smuggler's Way near my house, a little backwoods trail that heads south from Germany into Austria, and came upon this beautiful view...

@chrism@chattingdarkly.org Could he spell it?

There used to be a really good seafood restaurant in the International terminal at SEA; people used to make reservations at it. But last time I was there was 2021! Anyone know the name and whether it's still there?

Oh my God is Lucky unwatchable terribly execrable.

@kevinrothrock@infosec.exchange Right? I loved him in Hunt for Red October, too.

@The_Whore_of_Blahbylon@mastodon.social Hang on, hang on. There's lots there that needs unpacking. . .

hey #artists: My friend who does spiritual counseling is making her first time web site and needs a logo that spells her four-letter name in a series of hand drawn letters comprised of stages of a flower opening. Any Fedi folks know of someone I can hire? Thanks in advance and please RT for reach?

My son introduced this product today and sold the first one in minutes of posting the photos. Not on his website, but on the Reddit copper cookware sub.

The Reason article is very good https://infosec.exchange/@Javvad/117206198248946043

“In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone?... the Great Depression, passed the... Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act… Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?... raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. “Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression. Today we have a similar debate over this. Anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve. Anyone know what this says? It says that at this point on the revenue curve, you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point. This is very controversial. Does anyone know what Vice President Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Something-d-o-o economics. "Voodoo" economics…” -Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off