kongisking said:
Well, uh, erm, no offense sir but...that's why they're hackers. Because they are very very skilled at breaking into cyber-places that are usually locked up tight.
First of all, the proper term is "cracker". People who call 'em "hackers" show their actual knowledge of the subject right there and then. Which is next to none.
I'm not saying it's wholly incorrect these days, though. At least to a layperson. Evolution of language and all that. But if you're "in the know", so to speak, you still don't make that mistake.
kongisking said:
This really begs the question of why everyone keeps casually assuming that internet security and firewalls are lazily-designed on principal. The whole point of security is to be, well, secure. What idiot would design a system to be easily broken through? So it stands to reason only exceptional folks can get past it. And that seems to be the case here.
It's not the system, you dolt. It's what said system is
attached to.
kongisking said:
Last I checked, this is the real world, not Star Wars, where plot convenience allows for a planet-destroying super weapon to have an amazingly simple, lazy single weakness to exploit.
You know, this actually hold
very true in real life as well. A very common example: the Abloy lock, which is considered unpickable. However, if somebody really wants to get into your house, all they have to do is jimmy a window.
Firewalls are there for the same reason. Ultimately, their main purpose is to keep honest people honest. The real solution is to make sure the stuff hidden behind the firewall is of no use to the guy trying to get to it.
In the corporate world, this can easily be achieved with simple encryption/decryption software. Create the file, let the program encrypt it, upload it to the server. Whoever downloads it must have the proper software to decrypt. Hell, you don't technically even need a firewall if you do that. Anyone who taps into the line in the middle will only get random gibberish.
Note, I don't mean every Joe on the street should do this with their selfies or pieces of fan fiction or grandma's cookie recipes or whatever they have stored in The Cloud. It's highly unlikely anybody will be interested in those. At least anyone with real skills of getting through a regular firewall. If somebody really bothers to travel that mile for stuff like that, just take it as flattery and carry on with your life.
---
Now, to those nudie pics... listen up, starlets, both A-class and wannabe alike. Uncle Finny's gonna give you a free lesson.
Now, I've heard people say that these dumb folks deserve it if they have to take those shots in the first place. I mean, do you really need to take a picture of your chest to know what it looks like when you can just
look down to it? Or glance in a mirror.
However, I am not saying that. The modern western society ensures us a freedom to do whatever the heck we like in the privacy of our own homes as long as we're not hurting others, so you don't need a good reason to act like that. Snap away if you get kicks of admiring your gene pool from the screen of your iPhone. However... Don't. Upload. It. To. The. Cloud. For the reasons listed above. Understand that, and learn how to turn the functionality off (which is very easy, trust me), and you greatly diminish the chances of anonymous admirers fapping away to your corporeal entity.
The Cloud is good for two things. Sharing stuff with a large amount of people, and backups. Now, as many of you have said, those pics were never meant to be seen by more people than you and possibly certain special other you share a bed with from time to time. So. If said special other needs this kind of stuff to get wood, just send 'em to him, from one personal device to another. Still not 100 percent secure, but hey, within the limits of reasonable assumption of security. If stuff leaks, at least nobody's calling
you an idiot.
And as far as backups go... I don't really see how anyone would find it a huge shame to lose that particular collection if the phone just zaps. Call me old fashioned if you like, but if you really think your labia flapping in the wind would be a swell thing to show to your grandkids 30 to 40 years down the road, you need professional help. And I'm not talking of the kind people like me are able to provide.
All right. That is all. Class dismissed.