Retro Gaming: "Microsoft Teams Up with Atari to Bring Arcade Classics to the Web"

Link to Atari Arcade site http://atari.com/

Saw the story at Paul Thurrott's blog http://www.winsupersite.com/blog/supersite-blog-39/windows8/microsoft-teams-atari-bring-arcade-classics-web-144142 snippet:

"While the games at Atari Arcade can be played for free in any browser, you can play ad-free in Internet Explorer. And if you’re using Windows 8 with a touch-based PC or device, the games have been specially designed to support multi-touch."

Android & iOS are supported in addition to computers.

My girlfriend is testing Centipede on her iPad 2 as I type this ^_^ she hates Spiders, so she loves any game that lets her kill Spiders.

She is playing for free in Safari, they are also selling the games as Apps for $0.99 per game, at least for iOS.

PSA | Security & Hacking: Java Patch has critcal bug(s?)

See Ars link for full details http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/critical-bug-discovered-in-newest-java/

In case you missed it, this patch was out of cycle on released yesterday to deal with this Zero Day Java Exploit 

At this point I am joining lot of other people in recommending disabling Java from all the browsers you use.

AFAIK using Java on your computer, but not with Browser, like to play Minecraft should be okay, I have heard had more than one computer professional say that.

If there are online services that you need to use for work, or whatever, that require Java in Browser you can do several things:

1. Ask that company if they have any Java alternatives, or if they are working on alternatives because of the Security risks of Java.
2. Use a second browser only for the sites that you have to use Java for, make sure you keep it patched (most of the mainstream browsers now disable Java if you don't have current version installed)!
3. Disable Java on your browser and only turn it on when needed, then turn it off again.

See Also:

• http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/08/java-exploit-leveraged-two-flaws/
• http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/08/security-fix-for-critical-java-flaw-released/
• http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/08/30/oracle-releases-out-of-cycle-fixes-for-java/ 
• For more of my Blog Posts similar to this one, click on one of these labels:  Security, Hacking, Password Cracking, or Pen Testing.

Minecraft: Cool Mob Killing Machine

"Death Bowl" Mob Trap (Tutorial) by Monkeyfarm http://www.youtube.com/user/monkeyfarm

Pretty cool, this is not for farming or experience, but for fun & the look.

You don't use TNT in Minecraft for farming to often IMO ^_^

Be sure to check out Monkeyfarm's Youtube channel, he has a lot of Minecraft VOD's up.

Minecraft: "Advanced TNT Semi-Automatic Artillery Gun"

No Audio, but Text on signs in game and on Youtube link below, this is not a beginner project.

See youtube link for all the details Kovona posted with the VOD at http://youtu.be/zpGWNJf_QsA snippet below:

Published on Mar 25, 2012 by kovona I been at it again...pushing the envelope of TNT mastery for the challenge and insane fun of it. This is my finest creation and work in progress yet. WORLD SAVE FILE - If you want to try it out: https://rapidshare.com/files/1288777336/Munition_Testing_Area.zip Just unzip and plop it into your minecraft save folder.

Hwang Sin Streaming

http://www.own3d.tv/itsgosu/live/276078

Natural Selection 2 (NS2) Exosuit Trailer

For more information click http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/news/2012/08/exosuit_revealed

Below is cut and past from information posted with embedded Youtube VOD
http://youtu.be/re9sqgeWFDM

"Natural Selection 2 is a hybrid shooter/strategy game that pits two asymmetrical sides against each other. It is currently in beta testing, and you can join the beta by pre-ordering at www.naturalselection2.com.

On September 4, pre-orders will become available on the Steam Store. At this time, instant beta access for pre-order will end. Natural Selection 2 will release in the very near future, soon after Steam pre-orders become available.

Natural Selection 2 runs on our very own engine, called Spark. This trailer was created using the Spark Cinematic Editor. The SCE is a little bit like Source Filmmaker, though not as sophisticated. The SCE, and our other development tools, are included with the game.

These tools include map editor, script editor, animation tools, and more. Because the NS2 game code is open source, anyone can create mod content for NS2, or even entirely new games on Spark."

Nerd Gear: Mesh Potato and spreading Net

 This story and device, just to cool not to blog.

Saw this Ars' article How one man is bringing VoIP, Net access where telecoms fear to tread:Several towns will get cellular, Internet access for the first time

The device used, Mesh Potato, is from this company http://villagetelco.org/mesh-potato/ check out that link and their FAQ for more info http://villagetelco.org/mesh-potato-faq/

Here is snipped from http://villagetelco.org/mesh-potato/

"The Mesh Potato is a device for providing low-cost telephony and Internet in areas where alternative access either doesn’t exist or is too expensive. It is a marriage of a low-cost wireless access point (AP) capable of running a mesh networking protocol with an Analog Telephony Adapter (ATA). Wireless APs such as the Meraki or OpenMesh (Accton Mini-router) APs are rapidly gaining in popularity due to their low-cost, relative robustness, and ease of installation. Adding the ability to plug an ordinary telephone into a device like an OpenMesh AP opens up very interesting possibilities."

I would think HAM's might be interested in this, also has Dark Net possibilities I think.

You might also want to read about origins of Mesh Potato at http://villagetelco.org/2008/06/the-origin-of-the-mesh-potato/

Snippet from origin link:

"The device would be based on the Atheros chipset used by Meraki and OpenMesh and would run OpenWRT and BATMAN. Asterisk would deliver the telephony function. Designed with a weatherproof housing, this device could be attached to the outside of a house or would even work inside if need be. Pre-configured, it would be plug and play for a new Village Telco client."

Minecraft: Obsidian Building

Think this still works, planning on trying it, since I don't use Redstone for much atm.

Link to Minecraft Wiki on Obsidian http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Obsidiani
if your wondering about Obsidian uses.

Ep 8 SC2 Up & Coming: MLG/WCS Recap with guests iSInsur & coLSasquatch

Episode 8 of SC2 Up & Coming:  MLG/WCS Recap,  Hosted by NanMan & ALTWindy, with special guests iSInsur & coLSasquatch.

SC2 Up & Coming is a weekly podcast, dedicated to the up and coming Starcraft II scene. Each week we will focus on the players, teams, and leagues.Our plan is to shed some light on some of the lesser known players and teams. We will also keep you up to date on qualifying events, LAN events, as well as major tournaments. When: Every Monday at 9:30pm EST Where: Live every week at www.Twitch.tv/TheRealNanMan You can also check out updates @Sc2UPandComing Hosted by NanMan and ALTWindy. NanMan has been casting Starcraft II since November 2010. He now currently casts for Playhem, ESEA, SPGL, AGL Invitational, and the DC LANs. Windy is a caster and President of the tournament league and team, ALT StarCraft.

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/therealnanman 

When: 10:30 KST/03:30 CEST/ Tue 21:30 EDT/ Tue 18:30 PDT

TL Thread:  http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=348830

Security & Hacking: "How I cracked my neighbor's WiFi password without breaking a sweat"

http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/wireless-password-easily-cracked/

Very good article, though written for average person, there is higher level information available in many of the Comments, it clearly shows how easy it is to hack many things average people think are secure.

Also, since the author of that Ars article was using online software services (ie software that ran on servers, not on author's computer) he didn't need much of a computer to do this.

For those new to Pen Testing and Password Strength (Security?) he was basically using a dictionary of words and common passwords.

The term "Dictionary" sometimes throws people, they don't mean Websters or OED, rather it is a list based on previously cracked passwords.

Millions of cracked passwords, so current Hacker's Dictionaries tend to be pretty representative of any password that a person picks out!

If you can remember it, it is a very bad password, you should be using some tiype of password keeper, and using the generate random password feature that all the good password keepers offer.

I plan to do a post in the near future on Password Keepers, but there are a lot of choices out there, many are free.

For similar Blog Posts, click on one of these labels:  Security, Hacking, Password Cracking, or Pen Testing.

Selected Labels can be found in label cloud at left side of blog, and every blog post has labels at bottom left of post.

Specific posts on Cliff's Esport Corner (aka Cliffs_esports_corner in some chat rooms) can be found best by using Google with query term and Cliff's Esport Corner in your Google search.

Watching SaSe Stream

already saw some of his trademark Warp Prism/Immortal Micro today ^_^

http://www.twitch.tv/hellosase

Security & Hacking: Zero Day Exploit Java

Original report (AFAIK) http://blog.fireeye.com/research/2012/08/zero-day-season-is-not-over-yet.html

It is strongly suggested to disable Java till a patch is available.

Other articles on it:

• Ars (~General Audience) http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/critical-flaw-under-active-attack-prompts-calls-to-disable-java/
• Erratica Security (~Coder/Computer Nerd level) http://erratasec.blogspot.com/2012/08/new-java-0day.html
• Krebs (update) http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/08/attackers-pounce-on-zero-day-java-exploit/

Edited to add:

Windows users  guide for disabling Java http://antivirus.about.com/od/securitytips/ht/How-To-Disable-Java-In-Internet-Explorer.htm

Mac users guide to disable Java in Chrome, Firefox, & Safari http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_disable_java_your_mac_web_browser

For Chrome cut and paste about:plugins into the url bar, I couldn't figure out any other way to get there, there probably is but this is easy.

If you have any problems check both links in this section, the browsers work pretty much the same on Windows or Mac.

Or post question in comments and I will try to help.

How To: Dropbox Two Factor Authentication

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9230641/How_to_configure_Dropbox_39_s_two_step_authentication
 that Computerworld link is best set of instructions I have found so far for setting up Two Factor for your Dropbox account.

My previous post with other links http://cliffsesportcorner.blogspot.com/2012/08/security-hacking-dropbox-two-step.html

Waterproof and Rugged Cases for iPad

http://ipadwaterproof.com/

Been looking for waterproof cases for girlfriend's iPad 2, she wants to be able to use it around pool or lake without worrying about it getting wet.

I can see not wanting to miss a SC2 tournament ^_^ found this site, idk how accurate their reviews are, but it is a very useful listing of several iPad cases all in one place, they also list Rugged ones in addition to just waterproof ones.

Looking to see if I can find a similar resource for Nexus 7 Tablets, though I suspect since the Nexus 7 is a lot newer, there won't be as many cases out for it yet.

If you know of any cool Nexus 7 cases please post a comment.

Edited to add; the simple Bag type waterproof cases will work with anything that fits inside them, Kindle, Nexus 7, etc.  So if you need a waterproof case for a tablet or ebook reader any of those will work, just make sure your device fits.

Security & Hacking: "Dropbox two-step verification security option"

Sounds like Dropbox has Two Factor Authentication available via Beta, full story at http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/26/3269423/dropbox-two-step-verification-security-beta

If you use Dropbox this is probably a good idea, but if they are hacked from inside again, it might not do much good, I don't recommend Dropbox for critical data, there are a lot better choices available for that, and honestly Dropbox is about easy access not security.

If you are worried about security of items stored on Dropbox, encrypt first with Truecrypt or similar first.

And USE A STRONG PASSWORD!

Satiinifi streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/satiinifi

Just saw last few minutes of awesome game, staying tuned for more!

Very Sad News: Violet

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=362662

On January 27, 2011, Violet was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

I am so very sad to say he lost that fight.

PokerStrategy.com League: Snute vs Titian

Part of the PokerStrategy.com League. 10 maps will be played. Each map win scores a point for the league. Total prize pool is $8,900.

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/z33ktv


When:  02:00 KST /Thu 19:00 CEST/Thu 13:00 EDT/Thu 10:00 PDT

TL Thread:  http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=357940

Minecraft: Water Elevator

From Paulsoaresjr's "Minecraft Tutorials-How to Survive" series, this is Number 24 Water Elevator.

I haven't tested this yet, Paul posted this VOD back in Dec 2010, so not sure if it works with current version of Minecraft or not, but it is still very cool.

I just recently started playing with Minecraft, had dabbled a little in Beta some time ago, was looking for games gf might be interested in, so looked at Minecraft more seriously, and found we both like Minecraft.

We also enjoy Paul's casting!!!  If you do as well, please subscribe to his Youtube Channel or Twitter @paulsoaresjr   http://twitter.com/paulsoaresjr

Security & Hacking: "Cracking passwords from the Philips hack - an important lesson"

Excellent article by Paul Ducklin, over on Sophos' Naked Security Blog "Cracking passwords from the Philips hack - an important lesson"

Read the comments as well!

For more posts on Security & Hacking click on one of the following Labels:
Security 
Password Cracking
Pen Testing
Hacking

Nerd Gear: Laptop Guide

Ars has a good article up about buying laptops, http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/08/the-ars-pc-laptop-buying-guide-back-to-school-edition/

Won't be much for Computer Nerds, but most of their suggestions seem good, if not what I would suggest specifically, so you can point non Computer Nerd friends & family at this link to help them get started.

They didn't mention the Gaming Laptop I would be buy now if I could, we have to get gf a Macbook Air 11" before I get a gaming laptop T_T

Gaming Laptop I would get if buying one right now is ~$1,350.00 at Amazon (full disclosure: I am Amazon Associate, so if you buy from this link I will make a couple dollars, doesn't affect price) ASUS G75VW-AS71

Specs for ASUS G75VW-AS71:

• Intel Core_i7_2.7_GHz Processor 2.3GHz
• 16 GB DIMM RAM
• 750GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
• 17.3-Inch Screen, Nvidia GTX 660M 2G GDDR5

I have a buddy that is a computer nerd that has one of the older ASUS gaming machines, he has been happy with it, only complaint I remember him mentioning is that keyboard could get hot while gaming, but the current ASUS gaming machines have a much improved cooling setup from the reviews I have read, believe it even has removable cleanable Air filters, so you don't need to take it apart as often to clean out airflow path.

I have been using 13" ASUS UL30V for two years, runs SC2 on med settings fine, and I have worked it hard blogging, was running a 23" & a 15" external monitors at home for about 6 months till I got my iMac for blogging.

So I personally have confidence in ASUS laptops, ASUS was one of the brands one of my Computer Nerd buddies suggested when I told him I was looking for laptops, I have been very happy with it.

If you have any laptop suggestions or comments please post, I have found Notebook Check best place to start http://www.notebookcheck.net/Top-10-Desktop-Replacement-Laptops.17035.0.html they also benchmark most laptop graphics cards.

TeachMeThatBuild: LiquidSheth's ZvT RoachLingBane Allin

TeachMeThatBuild is SanchoPanda's new show.

Sheth was the very first Guest for the show's launch, SanchoPanda has uploaded more than a half dozen episodes since then, including an Out Takes VOD ^_^

SanchoPanda is talking with several SC2 players, such as, Gretorp, Temp0_SC, Drewbie, Rotterdam, vVvGlon, and others for future episodes.

If SanchoPand's name sounds familiar you may have seen A Very Drewbie Christmas on his youtube channel.

Below is cut and paste from the information section of the VOD, since information section doesn't show with embedded Youtubes, bold is my added emphasis.

Episode 1: LiquidSheth shows his ZvT 2 Base RoachLingBane All In


Replay: http://drop.sc/208310

All-In Part 1: Basic Strategy of the Build

Part 2: Build Order
9 OL
15 Hatch
16 Pool
16 Extractor 
17 OL
17 2 Queens, 4 Lings, then back to drones
26/28 OL
Metaboost @100Gas
30/36 OL
41/44 Roach Warren
44/44 Extractor
44/44 3-4 OL

Around 7 minutes -- Roach Warren finishes, make 10-12 Roaches, then use rest of larva for lings.
Next 50 Gas on Baneling Nest
When Roaches Spawn, send them to enemy base with lings rallied behind.
More first group of lings into banes when they arrive at enemy base, protect with Roaches.
Attack! when banes finish morphing.

Drewbie Streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/rootdrewbie


Go Drewbie!

Nerd News: "McAfee update chaos sparks user fury"

See story at SC Magazine's site http://www.scmagazine.com.au/News/312625,mcafee-update-chaos-sparks-user-fury.aspx

Personally I don't use McAfee's AV anymore, I think they have skills & talent to make decent AV software, but how they view and treat customers just doesn't make me feel like giving them my money.

I prefer Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows AV software (talking home & small business use, a business with some real money to throw at software could be different).

For Mac OS not sure yet, currently using and testing Sophos Free Mac AV.

So far for free AV it seems good, small bug issues couple of times, fixed with next patch, but other than that no complaints so far.

Nerd Gear: AMD Radeon HD 7800 price cuts

See Anandtech link for details http://www.anandtech.com/show/6175/amd-radeon-hd-7800-series-price-cuts-new-game-bundle-inbound

If you have some good but less well know online sites for buying GPU's feel free to post link in comments section, spam will be deleted, and I figure everyone knows about places like Newegg.

Thinking there have to be some good but less well known sites out there.

Security & Hacking: "Why passwords have never been weaker—and crackers have never been stronger"

Really good article from Ars http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/passwords-under-assault/, and as always with Ars articles, you can find some exceptional bits of information buried in comments section.

Another password cracking you should read is Lessons Learned from Cracking 2 Million LinkedIn Passwords.

For more click one of the these Labels:

• Pen Testing
• Password Cracking
• Hacking
• Passwords
• Security

Those Labels and more can be found at bottom left of Blog post, selected Labels can be found in Label Cloud at left side of blog, space limitations there, but I am always open to feedback for labels that should be added or removed from the Label Cloud.

If your looking for something specific on my blog, best way is just to add query term to Cliff's Esport Corner in a google search.

I tested the google search widget for the blog but it didn't work as well as normal google so I removed it.

Mobile Gaming: Warhammer Quest coming to IOS

Rodeo Games is developing Warhammer Quest for iOS, due out 2013.

You can follow Rodeo Games link above or Games Workshop, makers or Warhammer, on their blog at http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/wnt/blog.jsp

Games Workshop Blog post about the news.

SaSe Streaming

Watching SaSe Stream, while hunting the Internet for Esport Stories.

http://www.twitch.tv/hellosase

Nerd News: Project Hexapod

http://projecthexapod.com/blog/ is the site for Project Hexapod, a Kickstarter Project that is already funded with 13 days left to go.

For Kickstarter, they named their 4000 lbs, 6 legged, rideable robot Stumpy.


They are making Stumpy Open Sourced, so anyone that wants can have their very own Stumpy!

Tod vs Stephano

Tod vs Stephano cast by Pomf et Thud (French cast).

Empire Kas vs Shortstuff

Empire Kas (T) vs Shortstuff (Z) Slayers Miya, cast by Crota.

Game  2 (no HD for this VOD) ||  Game 3 (full 1080 for G3)

ROOTTOne vs NvRossi

RootTT1 vs NvRossi, a PvT, cast by Duckvillelol

Training & Health: Laptop Mount for Exercise Bike or Treadmill

I, like a lot of Nerds, spend a lot of time sitting in front of a computer.   That is bad for both health and comfort in the long run.

One partial solution is to do some of our work or play from computer on a treadmill or exercise bike, youtube & link below is to a very cool Do It Yourself (DIY) setup for a laptop.

But you could also do this for keyboard and large screen TV, your not going to be able to do high level micro this way, but watching replays or streams is certainly doable.

How To:  Mount a Laptop to Your Exercise Equipment by ManMade.


Advanced Training Tip:

Stress is Stress, the body doesn't know the difference of Stress because of exercise to the Stress of Tournament competition.

So you can train for Stress of Competition, with interval exercise (ie do high or moderate intensity at intervals with slow periods between), and doing a game during easy intervals between.

Fine Motor control (things like Micro) and Thinking both drop much lower than normal under Stress.

Practicing under Stress helps with that, because you get used to it, called Habituation in Psychology, and also because you improve your performance under Stress.

For more of my posts on Training & Practice, check out Starcraft 2 Skills:  Cross Training.

Also the Labels Learning SC2 and/or Starcraft 2 Skills.

HwangSin Streaming

What the Doctor ordered ^_^

http://www.own3d.tv/itsgosu/live/276078

DC LAN #9 at Monster PC

DC LAN:

"Starcraft 2 LAN tournament! Open to all players of any league! Notable players include: LgNAvilo, Anfield, Alkresh, ALTBonk, ALTWebz, LuckyFool, Jsung, mMeHalation, URathma, and many other players trying to make more of a name for themselves!"

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/therealnanman

Caster:  NanMan

When:  Aug 19 Sunday 00:00 KST/Aug 18 Sat 17:00 CEST/Sat 11:00 EDT/Sat 08:00 PDT

Brackets:  http://challonge.com/dclan9

Prizes:  Depends on number of signups. Should be around $400-500 in total split between top 4 finishers.

Staff & Volunteers:

• Bracket Manager: DarkVI3tz
• Ref(s): Burns, d3_crescentia
• Organization: LuckyFool
• Time Warp: (P)CaucasianAsian

TL Thread:  DC LAN #9 @ Monster PC

ESEA Starcraft2: ROOT vs Knights of Starcraft

When: 10:00 KST/03:00 CEST/Fri 21:00 EDT/Fri 18:00 PDT

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/axeltoss

TL Thread:  http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=360046 


Rules:

• 4 bo3s each match-up plays map of the week
• loser chooses next map 
• first team to 3 wins the match
• 2-2 matches will play an ACE match

Security & Hacking: " Home About Archives Authors Analysis of FileVault 2 (Apple’s full disk encryption)"

Article here http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2012/08/06/analysis-of-filevault-2-apples-full-disk-encryption/ links to their paper (PDF) http://eprint.iacr.org/2012/374.pdf on it.

They also offer link http://code.google.com/p/libfvde/ to software tool for recovery of files.

Thanks to Bruce Schneier for mentioning it on his blog, link http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/08/an_analysis_of.html, his comments are certainly worth reading as well (for those that don't know, Bruce was/is involved with Truecrypt).

Ars: "Review: New Super Mario Bros. 2"

http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/sxWvDBwASQg/

I know some of my friends were/are big Mario fans, I am sure they will buy this even if it was terrible.

Nerd Jobs: Google raises Bug Bonus program

Full information at http://blog.chromium.org/2012/08/chromium-vulnerability-rewards-program.html

Security & Hacking: "Security Flaw in Dirt Jumper Family of DDoS Toolkits Exposes Attacker’s Own Database"

Report from Prolexic, a "distributed denial of service (DDoS) mitigation service provider", Security Flaw in Dirt Jumper Family of DDoS Toolkits Exposes Attacker’s Own Database, is linked from Ars "White hats publish DDoS hijacking manual, turn tables on attackers" they (Ars) cover the story in more depth than normal.




Links of Interest:

• Twitter @Prolexic or https://twitter.com/prolexic
• Dirt Jumper DDoS Toolkit Vulnerability Disclosure Report http://www.prolexic.com/company/news-events/news-events-pr-dirt-jumper-vulnerability-and-pandora-ddos-threat.html 
• "Open source penetration testing tool" http://sqlmap.org/
• My Blog posts on Hacking, Pen Testing, or Security those labels and others can be found at bottom left of this post, selected Labels can also be found in Label cloud at left side of Blog, otherwise best way to find something on my blog is via Google, just search for "Cliff's Esport Corner" + "Query Term" you don't need the plus symbol

Security & Hacking: Hardware Hackers

"Family of potential network hackers thwarted by Australian telco engineers"

I tell you it is genetic.

Stay Safe!

Security & Hacking: Ars' "Why hacked Blizzard passwords aren't as hard to crack as company says"

From Ars "A significant percentage of Blizzard passwords may already be in hackers' hands."

If you haven't already, and your on NA Bnet you need to change your password, see PSA: Blizzard NA Bnet change your passwords

The Ars article today is about how difficult, or not, it is/was for Hackers to crack encrypted passwords they managed to steal.

For more on password Hacking see "Lessons Learned from Cracking 2 Million LinkedIn Passwords"for more on good strong passwords see Steve Gibson's Haystacks & Needles (Understanding Passwords)

Great PvP: Grubby vs BabyKnight

BabyKnight(P) v Grubby(P) - Entombed Valley - 8.11.2012

Cast by Ipp from RagequitTV.

I don't Blog mirror matches much, aside from Tournaments, in general Mirror matches revolve around Micro and slight differences in build efficiency.

Those skills are important in SC2, critically important, but personally I find that aspect of the game less than satisfying, this PvP is anything but boring, so shit back and enjoy!

My comments, with spoilers, below the VOD.


Cliff's Comments with Spoilers below:

I really liked this game.

Plenty of action, and decision making clearly made a difference, as well as the use of the Warp Prism.

I have thought for some time that Protoss players don't use Warp Prisms enough, and that they don't make enough of them either.

Grubby was using 2 Prisms at a time for at least part of the game, if he could have kept the first one alive longer, the game might have gone a bit differently.

This game is best game I have seen recently, I really enjoyed it!

GL HF

Watching iS Axslav streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/Axslav

So many great Starcraft 2 streams to watch!

Dropbox Humor

from Sophos' Naked Security Blog

^_^

Security & Hacking: "Math Model Identifies Network Source of Rumors, Epidemics"

See http://sciencebusiness.technewslit.com/?p=10795 for full story.

Short version, they use some type of statistical sampling (I believe) to locate probable source of events, this can be used for tracking source of Malware, Spam, Rumors, Epidemics, etc.

While a very useful tool, this also has clear implications for freedoms, it could make SOPA look like nothing, and it is frightening to consider what a truly repressive government could do with such a tool.
 
Excerpt (?) of Paper, authored by  Pedro C. Pinto, Patrick Thiran, and Martin Vetterli, can be seen at (PDF) http://www.pedropinto.org.s3.amazonaws.com/publications/locating_source_diffusion_networks.pdf

Full paper, behind paywall, at Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 068702 (2012) [5 pages]Locating the Source of Diffusion in Large-Scale Networks

URL:

http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.068702

DOI:

10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.068702

PACS:

89.75.Hc, 89.20.Hh, 89.75.Da

According to PDF link:

• "This work was supported by the ERC Advanced Grant – Support for Frontier Research – SPARSAM Nr: 247006."
• "[16] See Supplemental Material at [URL will be inserted by pub- lisher] for additional details on proofs, accuracy of approxi- mations, complexity, and parameters of the case study."

Rotti Streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/RotterdaM08

or Rooterdam as he is also known now as part of Root ^_^

Natural Selection 2: Live Cast Stream Cydweithrediad vs Nexzil

http://www.twitch.tv/naturalselection2

Natural Selection 2 is a First Person Shooter / Real Time Strategy hybrid being developed by a small independent developer.The game is currently in a closed Beta, available to anyone who preorders at naturalselection2.com.

More information at their website http://www.naturalselection2.com/

A game that looks interesting to me, since it really requires team play and coordination.

HwangSin Streaming

http://www.own3d.tv/itsgosu/live/276078

HwangSin Fighting!

Nerd Gear: Arduino

From their website http://www.arduino.cc/:

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.

See their website, link above, for full details, list of distributors at http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Buy

PSA: Blizzard NA Bnet change your passwords

http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/securityupdate.html

See link for full details, short version, Blizzard has found determined some information was hacked, and are suggesting NA accounts to change passwords.

Secret Questions may have been compromised as well.


For more on good passwords see Steve Gibson's Haystacks & Needles (Understanding Passwords)

I would also strongly suggest Two Factor Authentication.

Security & Hacking: Gauss Malware, linked to Flame

Saw this first on Ars http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/nation-sponsored-malware-has-mystery-warhead/

Original discovery & announcement from Kaspersky

I suggest reading whole story at above links, more detail from Kaspersky link:

At the present time, the Gauss Trojan is successfully detected, blocked and remediated by Kaspersky Lab’s products, classified as Trojan-Spy.Win32.Gauss.
The company’s experts have published in-depth analysis of the malware at Securelist.com: http://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792238/Gauss_Abnormal_Distribution
A Gauss FAQ containing the essential information about the threat is also available: http://www.securelist.com/en/blog?weblogid=208193767
Stay tuned for updates by following our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Kaspersky?ref=ts

One Mechanical Keyboard for Multiple devices.

Thanks to a comment in an earlier post about the Matias Tactile One Keyboard, a mechanical keyboard that also supports one device on Bluetooth (iPhone, Android, Tablet, Laptop, etc), I now know about another Mechanical Keyboard, called KBtalking Pro, that supports multiple Bluetooth devices (so you don't have to repair).

Click on link above for specs or watch youtube embedded below.

I have also learned about Synergy, Free & Open Source software, that will let you use one keyboard on a WiFi network and switch between computers, though it doesn't support Smartphones & Tablets yet AFAIK.

There is a Beta for iOS http://synergy-foss.org/wiki/IOS_Client

Mil.ForGG vs Fnatic.Moon Bo5 from ASUS ROG

 Mil.ForGG(T) vs Fnatic.Moon(Z), in a BO5 from ASUS ROG Group 2CR2, cast by Ipp of RageQuitTV.

Game 2  ||  Game 3  ||  Game 4  ||  Game 5

Root Catz vs cR.EdgE

Root Catz vs cR.EdgE, in a Zerg vs Zerg, cast by Duckvillelol

Blizzard: Balance Testing TvZ Creep & Raven Changes

Full details at http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/6873704/Call_to_Action_Balance_Testing-8_8_2012


You can give Blizzard feedback at http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/6294289730?page=1#0 or see what other Gamers think of it.

Big Teamliquid Thread about this at http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=359152

Basically they are slightly reducing radius each Creep Tumor generates Creep and also reducing the Vision of Creep Tumors.

While increases Raven Speed to 2.5 and Raven acceleration is increased as well.

I think the Raven buff is a good idea, don't like the Nerf to Creep Tumors, but I admit it is a mild Nerf.

Stephano Streaming

http://www.twitch.tv/mstephano

Finally, haven't seen Stephano stream in some time.

Security & Hacking: Ongoing Reactions to Mat Honan's Hacking & Reporting

If you haven't hear about Mat Honan's Apple ID being Hacked, and the Hacker using that access to remote wipe Mat's iPhone, iPad, & Macbook, see Mat Honan Targeted.

The Hacker(s) used vulnerabilities in Amazon's Customer Service to gain access to Mat's account there, so they could see the last 4 digits of his credit cards.

Because those Credit Card numbers were the only thing Apple required for getting access to Apple ID account wihtout password, that you couldn't find with Google. 

The other information need to access Hack Apple account was Name, Email, and Billing address for account your were hacking.

Amazon was first to respond to this http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/amazon-fixes-security-flaw-hackers-used-against-wireds-mat-honan/

Followed later by Amazon http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/apple-freezes-over-the-phone-password-resets-in-response-to-honan-hack/

I really hope that Apple & Amazon adds two factor authentication as a result of this.

I prefer Yubikey for Two Factor Authentication, but I believe temporary password texted to cell phone is more popular form of Two Factor Authentication among most people, mainly because they don't have to buy another device.

With Cell Phone Text, you get a second, temporary Password or Pin that you have to enter in addition to your main password.

Normally these temporary Passwords are only valid for a few minutes, if you don't use it before it expires you have to request a new one.

Totalbiscuit's Interview & Walkthrough with DayZ Designer Dean "Rocket" Hall

DayZ, is a Arma II Mod.

Useful DayZ Links:

• Ars Forum DayZ thread http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1173935
• http://dayzmod.com/
• http://dayzwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=How_to_install_DayZ
• http://www.arma2.com/

See also "How DayZ will evolve as a standalone release"

Security & Hacking Updated: Mat Honan Targeted

I posted about this story the other day, VOD interview/discussion at http://twit.tv/show/this-week-in-tech/365

Mat Honan also talks about it on his Blog at http://www.emptyage.com/post/28679875595/yes-i-was-hacked-hard

Since I wrote about this, Honan's has written an article How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking, were he explains how the hack was done, and how this vulnerability still exists.

Strongly suggest reading the whole story, but the key aspects of the hack are as follows:

1. "My [Honan's] Twitter account linked to my personal website, where they found my Gmail address."
2. "Because I didn’t have Google’s two-factor authentication turned on, when Phobia entered my Gmail address, he could view the alternate e-mail I had set up for account recovery. Google partially obscures that information, starring out many characters, but there were enough characters available, m••••n@me.com. Jackpot. "
3. "Since he already had the e-mail, all he needed was my billing address and the last four digits of my credit card number to have Apple’s tech support issue him the keys to my account. "
4.  "He got the billing address by doing a whois search on my personal web domain."
5. Then Hacker calls Amazon & adds bogus Credit Card number to account, since they can do this with just Name, billing address, and email associated with the Amazon account.
6. Call Amazon back & say can't get into account, Amazon will let you in with:  Name, Billing Address, Email, and Bogus Credit Card numbers Hacker just added.  Then you can add new email to account and see last four Credit Card numbers of every Card on that Account.  So you now have the keys to the Apple account.

This sounds a lot like certain types of games were you have to find small pieces of information and use those bits to build more.

Couple of things stand out to me, besides Apple's horrible policy, if at all possible, don't associate emails or Credit Cards between Apple and any other company that you do online or phone ordering with, because Apple considers the last four numbers of your credit card to be  more than a password, since you can reset valid passwords with that information!

Maybe only use a prepay Card with Apple?  Not sure how else to protect your Apple accounts from being hacked this way.

Root Drewbie is Streaming

Yay, it has been too long since Drewbie has streamed!!!

http://www.twitch.tv/ROOTdrewbie

Benji streaming: xGTL Week 9 - Gamecom Nv vs Gama Bears followed by ASL Day 1

Benji streaming some Starcraft 2 events.

Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/benjisc2

Info:

• xGTL http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/XGTL
• xGTL http://www.xeriagaming.com/xgtl/
• ASL http://twitter.com/aslsc2

Liquid Jinro Retires

Full story on TL http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=358724

Good Luck Jinro

Security & Hacking: Mat Honan Targeted

VOD interview/discussion at http://twit.tv/show/this-week-in-tech/365

Mat Honan also talks about it on his Blog at http://www.emptyage.com/post/28679875595/yes-i-was-hacked-hard

Take the time to look at this, and think about structuring your accounts & etc to protect yourself from this, Hackers will certainly take note of this.

Couple of Basic Points:

Backup critical data, you need at least 3 copies of important data, the "working" copy, plus two separate backups in different locations/companies.

Don't interlink all your accounts.  That leads to domino effect of a single vulnerability being exploited, perhaps something out of your control like happened to Honan, that gives Hacker access to one of your accounts, and that one account will let them in to all the others.

Nerd News: Curiosity Lands on Mars

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/mars/curiosity_news3.html

Minecraft: Red Magic Mushroom Shelters

Really cool use of Mushrooms in Minecraft.

My favorite part starts at ~10:30 in the youtube below

Minecraft: Great Miner to Follow Paul Soares Jr

Paul has done some great Minecraft tutorials on Youtube, if you like follow him:

• Blog http://paulsoaresjr.com/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/paulsoaresjr
• FB http://www.facebook.com/PaulsoaresjrPub

If your just starting to play Minecraft start with his Minecraft Tutorials E01How to Survive Your First Night.

HwangSin is streaming

http://www.own3d.tv/itsgosu/live/276078

ASUS ROG Summer 2012

See ASUS ROG thread on TL for full details, note several cancellations/replacements in Groups (comments before and after group list).


Streams:

• Multi View http://www.hatsu.co.uk/ASUS_ROG_Summer2012_multi.htm 
• Millenium TV
• TheGDStudio 1
• TheGDStudio 2
• ESV TV
• EmpireTV
• Mori

RSS Feed:  http://tournaments.peliliiga.fi/summer12/tournaments/asus-rog-summer-2012/feed

Results:  [Liquidpedia] http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/ASUS_ROG_Summer_2012#Results


When:  8/2/2012 - 8/4/2012 (Thursday-Saturday)

UTC/GMT Clock (see also Time Zone Clocks at Top of Blog)




Thursday

• 14:00 GMT+3 Groups 1-4 Round 1
• 15:30 GMT+3 Groups 1-4 Round 2
• 17:00 GMT+3 Groups 1-4 Round 3
• 19:00 GMT+3 Groups 5-8 Round 1
• 20:30 GMT+3 Groups 5-8 Round 2
• 22:00 GMT+3 Groups 5-8 Round 3

Friday

• 1400 GMT+3 Groups A-B Round 1
• 1530 GMT+3 Groups A-B Round 2
• 1700 GMT+3 Groups A-B Round 3
• 1900 GMT+3 Groups C-D Round 1
• 2030 GMT+3 Groups C-D Round 2
• 2200 GMT+3 Groups C-D Round 3

Saturday

• 1200 GMT+3 RO8 A & B
• 1330 GMT+3 RO8 C & D
• 1500 GMT+3 RO4 A
• 1630 GMT+3 RO4 B
• 1800 GMT+3 Bronze match
• 2000 GMT+3 Final