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Groups > comp.os.linux.misc > #90165 > unrolled thread

/dev/tcp

Started byEli the Bearded <*@eli.users.panix.com>
First post2026-08-19 21:20 +0000
Last post2026-08-24 19:08 +0100
Articles 20 on this page of 105 — 18 participants

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Contents

  /dev/tcp Eli the Bearded <*@eli.users.panix.com> - 2026-08-19 21:20 +0000
    Re: /dev/tcp Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-19 23:53 +0100
    Re: /dev/tcp Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-19 23:42 +0000
      Re: /dev/tcp Eli the Bearded <*@eli.users.panix.com> - 2026-08-20 00:59 +0000
        Re: /dev/tcp Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-20 03:59 +0000
          Re: /dev/tcp Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-20 10:10 +0100
          Re: /dev/tcp Eli the Bearded <*@eli.users.panix.com> - 2026-08-20 18:15 +0000
            Re: /dev/tcp Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-20 23:30 +0000
              Re: /dev/tcp Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-21 01:18 +0100
              Re: /dev/tcp Marc Haber <mh+usenetspam2616@zugschl.us> - 2026-08-21 09:52 +0200
                Re: /dev/tcp Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-21 08:12 +0000
                  Re: /dev/tcp Marc Haber <mh+usenetspam2616@zugschl.us> - 2026-08-21 11:16 +0200
                    Re: /dev/tcp Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-21 22:57 +0000
                      Re: /dev/tcp Marc Haber <mh+usenetspam2616@zugschl.us> - 2026-08-22 06:17 +0200
                Re: /dev/tcp c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-21 21:50 -0400
                Re: /dev/tcp Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> - 2026-08-24 17:42 +0300
                  Re: /dev/tcp Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-24 23:53 +0000
                  Re: /dev/tcp c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-25 02:27 -0400
              Re: /dev/tcp vallor <vallor@vallor.earth> - 2026-08-23 00:56 +0000
                Re: /dev/tcp Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-08-23 04:01 +0000
                  Re: /dev/tcp c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-23 03:37 -0400
                    Re: /dev/tcp "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-23 13:50 +0200
                      Re: /dev/tcp vallor <vallor@vallor.earth> - 2026-08-23 22:28 +0000
                        Re: /dev/tcp "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-24 09:35 +0200
                          Overwriting with random data (was: Re: /dev/tcp) Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-24 11:10 +0100
                            Re: Overwriting with random data "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-24 20:34 +0200
                              Re: Overwriting with random data Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-24 20:57 +0100
                                Re: Overwriting with random data "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-24 22:26 +0200
                                  Re: Overwriting with random data c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-25 02:39 -0400
                                    Re: Overwriting with random data Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-25 08:45 +0100
                                    Re: Overwriting with random data "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-25 11:36 +0200
                                      Re: Overwriting with random data Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-25 15:19 +0100
                                    Re: Overwriting with random data The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-25 12:12 +0100
                          Re: /dev/tcp c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-25 00:37 -0400
                      Re: /dev/tcp c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-24 00:31 -0400
                        Re: /dev/tcp "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-24 09:45 +0200
                    Re: /dev/tcp The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-23 12:52 +0100
                  Re: /dev/tcp The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-23 12:50 +0100
    Re: /dev/tcp Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-08-20 13:50 +0000
      Re: /dev/tcp c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-20 13:02 -0400
        Re: /dev/tcp Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2026-08-20 18:26 +0000
        Re: /dev/tcp The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-21 13:54 +0100
          Re: /dev/tcp c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-21 22:57 -0400
            Re: /dev/tcp "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-22 21:47 +0200
              The hammer is best (Was: /dev/tcp) gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2026-08-22 23:50 +0000
                Re: The hammer is best (Was: /dev/tcp) c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-23 04:28 -0400
                Re: The hammer is best Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-23 10:14 +0100
                  Re: The hammer is best "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-23 13:55 +0200
                    Re: The hammer is best The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-23 13:16 +0100
                      Re: The hammer is best Marc Haber <mh+usenetspam2616@zugschl.us> - 2026-08-23 21:20 +0200
                        Re: The hammer is best c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-24 02:18 -0400
                        Re: The hammer is best The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-24 11:26 +0100
                          Re: The hammer is best c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-25 02:06 -0400
                            Re: The hammer is best The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-25 12:18 +0100
                      Re: The hammer is best Joed Oakes <lost@noway.home.invalid> - 2026-08-23 19:42 -0400
                        Re: The hammer is best Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-23 23:56 +0000
                          Re: The hammer is best c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-24 02:25 -0400
                        Re: The hammer is best rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-08-24 01:14 +0000
                        Re: The hammer is best "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-24 09:50 +0200
                          Re: The hammer is best c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-25 00:56 -0400
                      Re: The hammer is best c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-24 00:53 -0400
                        Re: The hammer is best rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-08-24 06:42 +0000
                          Re: The hammer is best c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-24 23:34 -0400
                            Re: The hammer is best rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-08-25 04:08 +0000
                              Re: The hammer is best "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-25 11:29 +0200
                                Re: The hammer is best rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-08-25 18:52 +0000
                        Re: The hammer is best The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-24 11:28 +0100
                          Re: The hammer is best c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-25 02:07 -0400
                            Re: The hammer is best rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-08-25 06:39 +0000
                              Re: The hammer is best The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-25 12:23 +0100
                                Re: The hammer is best Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2026-08-25 18:26 +0000
                                  Re: The hammer is best The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-25 20:05 +0100
                                    Re: The hammer is best "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-25 21:43 +0200
                                    Re: The hammer is best Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2026-08-25 20:21 +0000
                                      Re: The hammer is best "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-25 23:14 +0200
                                Re: The hammer is best rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-08-25 19:08 +0000
                            Re: The hammer is best The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-25 12:20 +0100
                  Re: The hammer is best c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-23 22:16 -0400
        Re: /dev/tcp Geoff Clare <geoff@clare.See-My-Signature.invalid> - 2026-08-21 13:41 +0100
          Re: /dev/tcp Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-21 22:58 +0000
          Re: /dev/tcp c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-21 22:28 -0400
            ksh (was: /dev/tcp) Geoff Clare <geoff@clare.See-My-Signature.invalid> - 2026-08-24 13:56 +0100
              Bash vs. ksh - Does it matter? And the 'vi' mode thing... (Was: ksh (was: /dev/tcp)) gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2026-08-24 14:57 +0000
              Re: ksh (was: /dev/tcp) Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-24 21:08 +0000
                Re: ksh (was: /dev/tcp) gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2026-08-24 21:28 +0000
                Re: ksh (was: /dev/tcp) rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-08-25 01:11 +0000
                Re: ksh (was: /dev/tcp) Geoff Clare <geoff@clare.See-My-Signature.invalid> - 2026-08-25 13:25 +0100
                  Re: ksh (was: /dev/tcp) Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-25 21:58 +0000
              Re: ksh c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-08-25 02:25 -0400
                Re: ksh rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-08-25 06:52 +0000
                  Re: ksh The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-25 12:27 +0100
                    Re: ksh Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2026-08-25 18:26 +0000
                      Re: ksh Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-25 22:03 +0000
                Re: ksh Marco Moock <mm@dorfdsl.de> - 2026-08-25 09:56 +0200
                  Re: ksh "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-08-25 11:24 +0200
                    Re: ksh Marc Haber <mh+usenetspam2616@zugschl.us> - 2026-08-25 20:36 +0200
                  Re: ksh The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-25 12:27 +0100
                  Re: ksh Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-25 22:01 +0000
      Re: /dev/tcp Eli the Bearded <*@eli.users.panix.com> - 2026-08-20 18:22 +0000
        Re: /dev/tcp The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-21 13:57 +0100
    Re: /dev/tcp Lars Poulsen <lars@beagle-ears.com> - 2026-08-23 06:37 -0700
      Re: /dev/tcp Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-23 14:49 +0100
      Re: /dev/tcp The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-23 16:13 +0100
      Re: /dev/tcp Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-23 22:31 +0000
        Re: /dev/tcp Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-08-24 19:08 +0100

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#90427 — Re: The hammer is best

Fromc186282 <c186282@nnada.net>
Date2026-08-24 00:53 -0400
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<l9icnfjKBY0dUxb3nZ2dnZfqnPGdnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to#90392
On 8/23/26 08:16, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 23/08/2026 12:55, Carlos E.R. wrote:
>> On 2026-08-23 11:14, Richard Kettlewell wrote:
>>> gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) writes:
>>>> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>>>> ...
>>>>>>    are hidden buffers plus the wear-leveling scheme
>>>>>>    gets in the way. You wipe 'em the Hillary Clinton
>>>>>>    way - HAMMER :-)
>>>>>
>>>>> Instead, use encryption, on the device or the partitions.
>>>>
>>>> Hammer is better, because encryption can be worked around by holding a
>>>> gun to the head of the person who knows the encryption key.
>>>
>>> My backup drives are encrypted. In principle they could be stolen from
>>> here, from an offsite location or in transit and if that happens I won’t
>>> have the opportunity to destroy it.
>>
>> Exactly.
>>
>> And in the typical business case, hammering of disks is not often done. 
> 
> It is UNIVERSALLY done in the UK.
> Insurance will be voided, contracts lost  and people will get fired if 
> it is not.


   Ok, still SOME intelligence in the UK !  :-)


> The big sources of usable hardware are BIG corporates - banks, insurance 
> companies, travel agencies... they dump a thousand machines a year to 
> recycling companies who sign in blood that the disk will be CRUSHED.
> 
>> Hard disks are simply repurposed, recycled, sold... usually zeroing 
>> them first. Encryption protects the case when zeroing is forgotten, or 
>> the disk breaks before that. Encryption protects against such accidents.
>>
> No, they are not. Not by corporations. Some Mickey Mouse companies with 
> nothing worth stealing might...

   Physical destruction IS best. This can actually be
   as simple as a hammer or cold chisel. However the
   drill-press approach will also getcha there, esp if
   the drill also ruins the physical mechanism for
   read/write. Almost all drives these days have it in
   the SAME location.

   Good sharp half-inch drillbit ... TWO seconds to ruin
   the drive.

   Oh, while for a little while they made HDDs with glass
   platters, almost all are aluminum. Even a quarter-inch
   hole, followed by a small drop of toilet-cleaning
   hydrochloric acid (a pinch of salt added is even better)
   will absolutely ROT aluminum platters Real Quick. Used
   to keep a little vial of the brew.

   Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
   disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on
   a stick" over them to try and recover bits of data.
   Defensive measures should be in proportion to the RISK.
   CIA probably MELTS the things. Joe's Garage does not
   need to - one good whack with a ball-peen will do it
   very nicely.

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#90438 — Re: The hammer is best

Fromrbowman <bowman@montana.com>
Date2026-08-24 06:42 +0000
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<nf27enF5rktU31@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#90427
On Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:53:09 -0400, c186282 wrote:

>    Good sharp half-inch drillbit ... TWO seconds to ruin the drive.

.45 ACP, modified Mozambique Drill.

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#90478 — Re: The hammer is best

Fromc186282 <c186282@nnada.net>
Date2026-08-24 23:34 -0400
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<4R-dnd1P7cUBkBD3nZ2dnZfqn_adnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to#90438
On 8/24/26 02:42, rbowman wrote:
> On Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:53:09 -0400, c186282 wrote:
> 
>>     Good sharp half-inch drillbit ... TWO seconds to ruin the drive.
> 
> .45 ACP, modified Mozambique Drill.

   Well ... far more FUN !!!

   However the office manager wasn't gonna
   go for that ........ downer !

   Oh, be careful with the 45-ACP, low velocity,
   has a tendency to ricochet. The .357mag is
   better IMHO :-)

   For awhile I had a high-voltage transformer meant
   for a furnace ignitor spark-thing. Little wire,
   would thunk it and turn on the transformer. Nasty
   sparks would then trash the chips on the disk
   control board. Didn't trash the platters alas,
   but made reading them a LOT more difficult for
   low-budget spies. OUR stuff wasn't worth the effort.

   Now likely cia/nsa have a furnace - a big pot of
   molten metal - and drop all their old drives into
   that. THEIR stuff IS 'worth it' for high-end hacks.

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#90481 — Re: The hammer is best

Fromrbowman <bowman@montana.com>
Date2026-08-25 04:08 +0000
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<nf4ipnF5rktU43@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#90478
On Mon, 24 Aug 2026 23:34:18 -0400, c186282 wrote:

> On 8/24/26 02:42, rbowman wrote:
>> On Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:53:09 -0400, c186282 wrote:
>> 
>>>     Good sharp half-inch drillbit ... TWO seconds to ruin the drive.
>> 
>> .45 ACP, modified Mozambique Drill.
> 
>    Well ... far more FUN !!!
> 
>    However the office manager wasn't gonna go for that ........ downer !

The office manager wasn't involved but the programming and QA staff had 
their yearly bonding operation out at the range. We even got the wimpiest 
QA guy to fire a gun. 'See, just like Star Wars!' 

We had everything from muzzle loaders to ARs. One of the women's father 
even showed up with a P08. I always lusted after one of those, well, just 
because... ' Si vis pacem, para bellum.'

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#90505 — Re: The hammer is best

From"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid>
Date2026-08-25 11:29 +0200
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<vs30mmxkn3.ln2@Telcontar.valinor>
In reply to#90481
On 2026-08-25 06:08, rbowman wrote:
> On Mon, 24 Aug 2026 23:34:18 -0400, c186282 wrote:
> 
>> On 8/24/26 02:42, rbowman wrote:
>>> On Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:53:09 -0400, c186282 wrote:
>>>
>>>>      Good sharp half-inch drillbit ... TWO seconds to ruin the drive.
>>>
>>> .45 ACP, modified Mozambique Drill.
>>
>>     Well ... far more FUN !!!
>>
>>     However the office manager wasn't gonna go for that ........ downer !
> 
> The office manager wasn't involved but the programming and QA staff had
> their yearly bonding operation out at the range. We even got the wimpiest
> QA guy to fire a gun. 'See, just like Star Wars!'
> 
> We had everything from muzzle loaders to ARs. One of the women's father
> even showed up with a P08. I always lusted after one of those, well, just
> because... ' Si vis pacem, para bellum.'
> 

You know, that's an USAian thing, over here we don't even think about 
doing it. :-D

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.
ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺;

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#90557 — Re: The hammer is best

Fromrbowman <bowman@montana.com>
Date2026-08-25 18:52 +0000
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<nf66j4F5rktU50@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#90505
On Tue, 25 Aug 2026 11:29:35 +0200, Carlos E.R. wrote:

> You know, that's an USAian thing, over here we don't even think about
> doing it. :-D

The chunk of the US in particular. There is no registration or permit 
required in this state so it's a guess but the estimate is 63% of the 
households have one or more firearm, often a lot more. They used to 
require a concealed carry permit for incorporated areas but we got rid of 
that restriction a couple of years ago. Open carry was always allowed 
except for a few places like the courthouse and bars.

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#90451 — Re: The hammer is best

FromThe Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid>
Date2026-08-24 11:28 +0100
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<116h6d6$2o5cd$4@dont-email.me>
In reply to#90427
On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>    disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on
>    a stick" over them to try and recover bits of data.

Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.

-- 
The difference bweteen a psychopath and a saint is that the psychpoath 
takes what he can and gives only what he must, but the saint gives 
everything he can and takes only what he needs.


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#90490 — Re: The hammer is best

Fromc186282 <c186282@nnada.net>
Date2026-08-25 02:07 -0400
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<4R-dndhP7cUKrBD3nZ2dnZfqn_adnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to#90451
On 8/24/26 06:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
>> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>>    disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on
>>    a stick" over them to try and recover bits of data.
> 
> Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.

   Think "time/resource investment -vs- likely payoff".

   Disks from CIA boxes, yes, WORTH IT. Otherwise ...

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#90494 — Re: The hammer is best

Fromrbowman <bowman@montana.com>
Date2026-08-25 06:39 +0000
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<nf4rkdF5rktU45@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#90490
On Tue, 25 Aug 2026 02:07:49 -0400, c186282 wrote:

> On 8/24/26 06:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
>>> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>>>    disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on a stick"
>>>    over them to try and recover bits of data.
>> 
>> Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.
> 
>    Think "time/resource investment -vs- likely payoff".
> 
>    Disks from CIA boxes, yes, WORTH IT. Otherwise ...

I used to joke that if a competitor got their hands on our entire source 
code it would set them back five years. 

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#90522 — Re: The hammer is best

FromThe Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid>
Date2026-08-25 12:23 +0100
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<116jtvv$3l7js$12@dont-email.me>
In reply to#90494
On 25/08/2026 07:39, rbowman wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Aug 2026 02:07:49 -0400, c186282 wrote:
> 
>> On 8/24/26 06:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
>>>> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>>>>     disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on a stick"
>>>>     over them to try and recover bits of data.
>>>
>>> Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.
>>
>>     Think "time/resource investment -vs- likely payoff".
>>
>>     Disks from CIA boxes, yes, WORTH IT. Otherwise ...
> 
> I used to joke that if a competitor got their hands on our entire source
> code it would set them back five years.
> 
Yeah well....

Didn't they do that with some battleship plans, that they let get 
'stolen' by Japan, who built the ship, launched it, and it turned turtle 
and sank...

Probably apocryphal

-- 
"If you don’t read the news paper, you are un-informed. If you read the 
news paper, you are mis-informed."

Mark Twain

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#90552 — Re: The hammer is best

FromCharlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid>
Date2026-08-25 18:26 +0000
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<K7ljS.4$UGU.1@fx46.iad>
In reply to#90522
On 2026-08-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> On 25/08/2026 07:39, rbowman wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 25 Aug 2026 02:07:49 -0400, c186282 wrote:
>> 
>>> On 8/24/26 06:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>>>>>     disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on a stick"
>>>>>     over them to try and recover bits of data.
>>>>
>>>> Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.
>>>
>>>     Think "time/resource investment -vs- likely payoff".
>>>
>>>     Disks from CIA boxes, yes, WORTH IT. Otherwise ...
>> 
>> I used to joke that if a competitor got their hands on our entire source
>> code it would set them back five years.
>> 
> Yeah well....
>
> Didn't they do that with some battleship plans, that they let get 
> 'stolen' by Japan, who built the ship, launched it, and it turned turtle 
> and sank...
>
> Probably apocryphal

Perhaps, but then there was that WWII operation where the Brits
took a random body, dressed it up like a high-ranking officer,
loaded it with faked papers describing a bogus battle plan,
and set it adrift where the Nazis could find it.

-- 
/~\  Charlie Gibbs                  |  In this world there are
\ /  <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid>      |  two kinds of people:
 X   I'm really at ac.dekanfrus     |  1. Those who can extrapolate
/ \  if you read it the right way.  |  from incomplete data.

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#90559 — Re: The hammer is best

FromThe Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid>
Date2026-08-25 20:05 +0100
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<116kp23$6rh$2@dont-email.me>
In reply to#90552
On 25/08/2026 19:26, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
> On 2026-08-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> 
>> On 25/08/2026 07:39, rbowman wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 25 Aug 2026 02:07:49 -0400, c186282 wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 8/24/26 06:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>>>>>>      disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on a stick"
>>>>>>      over them to try and recover bits of data.
>>>>>
>>>>> Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.
>>>>
>>>>      Think "time/resource investment -vs- likely payoff".
>>>>
>>>>      Disks from CIA boxes, yes, WORTH IT. Otherwise ...
>>>
>>> I used to joke that if a competitor got their hands on our entire source
>>> code it would set them back five years.
>>>
>> Yeah well....
>>
>> Didn't they do that with some battleship plans, that they let get
>> 'stolen' by Japan, who built the ship, launched it, and it turned turtle
>> and sank...
>>
>> Probably apocryphal
> 
> Perhaps, but then there was that WWII operation where the Brits
> took a random body, dressed it up like a high-ranking officer,
> loaded it with faked papers describing a bogus battle plan,
> and set it adrift where the Nazis could find it.
> 
The Man Who Never Was.

Shot to nothing, but it actually worked!

IIRC it was the Spanish who found it

-- 
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's 
too dark to read.

Groucho Marx


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#90568 — Re: The hammer is best

From"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid>
Date2026-08-25 21:43 +0200
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<cs71mmxrf1.ln2@Telcontar.valinor>
In reply to#90559
On 2026-08-25 21:05, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 25/08/2026 19:26, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>> On 2026-08-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On 25/08/2026 07:39, rbowman wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 25 Aug 2026 02:07:49 -0400, c186282 wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 8/24/26 06:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>>>>>>>      disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on a stick"
>>>>>>>      over them to try and recover bits of data.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.
>>>>>
>>>>>      Think "time/resource investment -vs- likely payoff".
>>>>>
>>>>>      Disks from CIA boxes, yes, WORTH IT. Otherwise ...
>>>>
>>>> I used to joke that if a competitor got their hands on our entire 
>>>> source
>>>> code it would set them back five years.
>>>>
>>> Yeah well....
>>>
>>> Didn't they do that with some battleship plans, that they let get
>>> 'stolen' by Japan, who built the ship, launched it, and it turned turtle
>>> and sank...
>>>
>>> Probably apocryphal
>>
>> Perhaps, but then there was that WWII operation where the Brits
>> took a random body, dressed it up like a high-ranking officer,
>> loaded it with faked papers describing a bogus battle plan,
>> and set it adrift where the Nazis could find it.
>>
> The Man Who Never Was.
> 
> Shot to nothing, but it actually worked!
> 
> IIRC it was the Spanish who found it

Yes, because the body was set adrift from a British submarine near 
Spain. A fisherman found it. The authorities here at the time were very 
friendly with the Nazis, being fascists themselves. So the Nazis got a 
secret peek at the sealed papers before returning the body and 
belongings to the British Embassy people.

I think the tomb in Spain now has the true name of the person. Not sure 
about this, maybe he was taken back to Britain now that the history is 
public, and honoured as a posthumous hero?

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.
ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺;

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#90569 — Re: The hammer is best

FromCharlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid>
Date2026-08-25 20:21 +0000
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<DPmjS.2$dCP2.1@fx02.iad>
In reply to#90559
On 2026-08-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> On 25/08/2026 19:26, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>
>> On 2026-08-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>> 
>>> On 25/08/2026 07:39, rbowman wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 25 Aug 2026 02:07:49 -0400, c186282 wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 8/24/26 06:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>>>>>>>      disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on a stick"
>>>>>>>      over them to try and recover bits of data.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.
>>>>>
>>>>>      Think "time/resource investment -vs- likely payoff".
>>>>>
>>>>>      Disks from CIA boxes, yes, WORTH IT. Otherwise ...
>>>>
>>>> I used to joke that if a competitor got their hands on our entire source
>>>> code it would set them back five years.
>>>>
>>> Yeah well....
>>>
>>> Didn't they do that with some battleship plans, that they let get
>>> 'stolen' by Japan, who built the ship, launched it, and it turned turtle
>>> and sank...
>>>
>>> Probably apocryphal
>> 
>> Perhaps, but then there was that WWII operation where the Brits
>> took a random body, dressed it up like a high-ranking officer,
>> loaded it with faked papers describing a bogus battle plan,
>> and set it adrift where the Nazis could find it.
>> 
> The Man Who Never Was.
>
> Shot to nothing, but it actually worked!
>
> IIRC it was the Spanish who found it

Thanks - I figured someone would rememer the title.
I read the book way back when.

-- 
/~\  Charlie Gibbs                  |  In this world there are
\ /  <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid>      |  two kinds of people:
 X   I'm really at ac.dekanfrus     |  1. Those who can extrapolate
/ \  if you read it the right way.  |  from incomplete data.

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#90570 — Re: The hammer is best

From"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid>
Date2026-08-25 23:14 +0200
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<o5d1mmxbgj.ln2@Telcontar.valinor>
In reply to#90569
On 2026-08-25 22:21, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
> On 2026-08-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> 
>> On 25/08/2026 19:26, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>>
>>> On 2026-08-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 25/08/2026 07:39, rbowman wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, 25 Aug 2026 02:07:49 -0400, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 8/24/26 06:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>>>>>>>>       disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on a stick"
>>>>>>>>       over them to try and recover bits of data.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>       Think "time/resource investment -vs- likely payoff".
>>>>>>
>>>>>>       Disks from CIA boxes, yes, WORTH IT. Otherwise ...
>>>>>
>>>>> I used to joke that if a competitor got their hands on our entire source
>>>>> code it would set them back five years.
>>>>>
>>>> Yeah well....
>>>>
>>>> Didn't they do that with some battleship plans, that they let get
>>>> 'stolen' by Japan, who built the ship, launched it, and it turned turtle
>>>> and sank...
>>>>
>>>> Probably apocryphal
>>>
>>> Perhaps, but then there was that WWII operation where the Brits
>>> took a random body, dressed it up like a high-ranking officer,
>>> loaded it with faked papers describing a bogus battle plan,
>>> and set it adrift where the Nazis could find it.
>>>
>> The Man Who Never Was.
>>
>> Shot to nothing, but it actually worked!
>>
>> IIRC it was the Spanish who found it
> 
> Thanks - I figured someone would rememer the title.
> I read the book way back when.

Here you have the facts:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat>


-- 
Cheers, Carlos.
ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺;

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#90560 — Re: The hammer is best

Fromrbowman <bowman@montana.com>
Date2026-08-25 19:08 +0000
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<nf67gjF5rktU51@mid.individual.net>
In reply to#90522
On Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:23:43 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> Didn't they do that with some battleship plans, that they let get
> 'stolen'
> by Japan, who built the ship, launched it, and it turned turtle and
> sank...
> 
> Probably apocryphal

The US did something like that after WWI. They copied a captured German 
Zepplin and build a few. It was a 'height climber' designed for a 16,000' 
ceiling, well above the pesky Brit aeroplanes. Some made it to 20,000'. 
They weren't daily drivers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Shenandoah_(ZR-1)

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#90521 — Re: The hammer is best

FromThe Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid>
Date2026-08-25 12:20 +0100
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<116jtql$3l7js$11@dont-email.me>
In reply to#90490
On 25/08/2026 07:07, c186282 wrote:
> On 8/24/26 06:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 24/08/2026 05:53, c186282 wrote:
>>> Anyway, unless you're the CIA or such, nobody is gonna
>>>    disassemble yer old drives and try to run a "head on
>>>    a stick" over them to try and recover bits of data.
>>
>> Large corporate competitors might well undertake such.
> 
>    Think "time/resource investment -vs- likely payoff".
> 
>    Disks from CIA boxes, yes, WORTH IT. Otherwise ...
> 
In my experience, it's the same with banks, and any big company.

Formula, test results and synthesis route for the next wonder drug? Billions

Entire list of insurance companies customers and what they are insuring? 
Millions

Why take the risk?

-- 
There’s a mighty big difference between good, sound reasons and reasons 
that sound good.

Burton Hillis (William Vaughn, American columnist)

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#90423 — Re: The hammer is best

Fromc186282 <c186282@nnada.net>
Date2026-08-23 22:16 -0400
SubjectRe: The hammer is best
Message-ID<ViCdnRhVJp7xNBb3nZ2dnZfqnPudnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to#90379
On 8/23/26 05:14, Richard Kettlewell wrote:
> gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) writes:
>> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>> ...
>>>>    are hidden buffers plus the wear-leveling scheme
>>>>    gets in the way. You wipe 'em the Hillary Clinton
>>>>    way - HAMMER :-)
>>>
>>> Instead, use encryption, on the device or the partitions.
>>
>> Hammer is better, because encryption can be worked around by holding a
>> gun to the head of the person who knows the encryption key.
> 
> My backup drives are encrypted. In principle they could be stolen from
> here, from an offsite location or in transit and if that happens I won’t
> have the opportunity to destroy it.
> 
> The chances that someone would threaten my life or liberty over it are
> negligible, but if they did, they wouldn’t need to wait for a device to
> be disposed of, they’d just turn up at my door with a weapon, RIPA
> notice or other leverage.
> 
> Physical destruction is not really relevant for most of the lifetime of
> confidential data, and encryption does actually achieve something useful
> in realistic use cases.
> 
> High value data is protected by keys that no human knows.


   However when you open the lock, anyone 'watching' can
   then get at the data.

   Physically stealing drives, very rare, tends to be noticed.

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#90284

FromGeoff Clare <geoff@clare.See-My-Signature.invalid>
Date2026-08-21 13:41 +0100
Message-ID<bltllm-fgq.ln1@ID-313840.user.individual.net>
In reply to#90219
c186282 wrote:

> On 8/20/26 09:50, Rich wrote:
>> 
>> These are handled by Bash, they don't exist as part of the OS (system).
> 
>    Correct. I've used the /dev/tcp trick before to
>    check ports. Seems to only work with Bash. Others
>    might add it eventually, but not too likely.

According to https://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashFAQ/061 the feature was
added to bash in version 2.04 and was "Copied from / Inspired by" ksh93.

It certainly works in the versions of ksh93 I have.

-- 
Geoff Clare <netnews@gclare.org.uk>

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#90303

FromLawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid>
Date2026-08-21 22:58 +0000
Message-ID<116al76$m98h$8@dont-email.me>
In reply to#90284
On Fri, 21 Aug 2026 13:41:47 +0100, Geoff Clare wrote:

> According to https://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashFAQ/061 the feature was
> added to bash in version 2.04 and was "Copied from / Inspired by"
> ksh93.
>
> It certainly works in the versions of ksh93 I have.

Whatever happened to the idea of “do one thing, and do it well” ... ?

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