Panopticopter: DIY Weaponized Drones

*Technology is a breeze, for over 6 years I've been trying to find a definitive answer as to, "Why people believe lies before they believe the truth", baffling.

*They need $10,000, what are they building just 1?

You've probably seen stories about drone strikes in the news. The U.S. military has been using drones (also referred to as "unmanned aerial vehicles" or "UAVs") with mixed success since 2001, when they were first used in Afghanistan. While drones have provided the U.S. military with the ability to perform airstrikes in highly sensitive areas, modern weaponized drones are anything but perfect. In particular, U.S. military drones have been criticized for their lack of precision, leading in some cases to unnecessary civilian deaths.

This is where we come in: we think we can build a better drone for a fraction of the price.

We're DIY Drone Labs, a group of three MIT engineering students who have been experimenting with drones built using open-source components like the Arduino microcontroller and BeagleBoard single-board computer. We think for just a few thousand dollars, we can build a prototype drone that has more accurate image-capture and image-processing abilities than the current generation of drones being used by the U.S. military. What's more, we're working with explosives experts to design an alternative to the Hellfire missiles being used by U.S. military drones. We think we can engineer a new kind of explosive that's capable of performing strikes with surgical accuracy, thereby greatly reducing the potential for unnecessary civilian casualties.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has already expressed interest in our project and the speed at which it is progressing. While the DoD currently has a number of advanced drone projects in development, it will likely be years before any of these vehicles see the light of day and there's a pressing need for more advanced drones in the air right now. That's why we're asking the Kickstriker community for support, so that the three of us (Brandon McCartney, Natassia Zolot and Radric Davis) can spend the summer focusing on the Panopticopter, a weaponized drone that will incorporate everything we've learned from years' worth of experiments. Our goal is to have a working prototype of the Panopticopter ready for testing by the end of summer. Can you help us get there?

Of course, there's something in it for you as well. Check out our reward levels to see what you'll get for helping push the Panopticopter project to the finish line. We're giving away signed schematics, videos of tests performed in our lab in Cambridge, MA and do-it-yourself drone building kits (non-weaponized, of course). As an added bonus for the Kickstriker community, if we meet our funding goal, we will release all of our schematics and source code for the Panopticopter under a Creative Commons license, making it the world's first open-source drone!

Thanks in advance for your support,

The DIY Drone Labs Team (Brandon, Natassia and Radric)

Trump promises ‘great rebuilding of the Armed Forces’ while signing executive order at the Pentagon

*I thought he was impeached? Maybe I should turn on a TV

President Trump signed an executive order Friday to launch what he called a “great rebuilding of the Armed Forces” that is expected to include new ships, planes and weapons and the modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Trump, making his first visit to the Pentagon since his Jan. 20 inauguration, said the order was signed “to ensure the sacrifices of our military are supported by the actions of our government.”

The order calls for new Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to carry out a 30-day “readiness review” that is expected to examine needs for the war against the Islamic State, along with training, equipment maintenance, munitions, modernization and infrastructure. A draft of the order obtained by The Washington Post on Thursday also said it would examine how to carry out operations against unnamed “near-peer competitors,” a term that U.S. officials typically use to mean China and Russia, but that language is not in the final version.

Within 60 days, Mattis also must submit to Trump a plan to improve overall readiness in the military by fiscal 2019. It will focus on everything from maintenance backlogs to the availability of training ranges and manpower shortages, and the time needed to coordinate and carry out military training.

[Placing Russia first among threats, Mattis warns of Kremlin attempts to ‘break’ NATO]

Trump also called for reviews of the U.S. military’s nuclear arsenal and of ballistic missile defense. The draft document suggested that the Pentagon also would suggest programs that might be cut, but that language did not appear in the final order Trump signed.

Trump signed the order at the Pentagon hours after he said at the White House that he will allow Mattis, who retired as a Marine general in 2013, to “override” him on whether the United States tortures terrorism suspects. Trump has said he is convinced torture works, while Mattis believes interrogations should be carried out according to U.S. military guidelines, which specifically ban techniques such as waterboarding.

“He’s an expert. He’s highly respected. I happen to feel that it does work,” Trump said, without mentioning that Congress has banned torture. “I’ve been open about that for a long period of time. But I am going with our leaders.”

Later, at the Pentagon, Trump promised U.S. troops that his administration “will always have your back.” The president, speaking six days after claiming that the media misreported the size of his inauguration crowd in front of a memorial wall at the Central Intelligence Agency, struck a more somber tone and read from prepared remarks. He called the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes “sacred” and added that the “soul of our nation lives between these walls.” The room recognizes the bravery of Medal of Honor recipients.

Washington Post

My personal suggestion for learning about computers (Updated)

Play and have fun with them

 Buy an el-cheapo from a pawn shop, C List, Backpage, Flea Market, anywhere and play with it.

 Try to download, upload, change font, simply try anything you'd like.

 Having fun and laughing about it can beat any post, any school or any training to a given point.

 Enjoy.

*Only 1 RE: Today
 If I had ever had a child, he / she would have never gone to school past kindergarten, would have never been introduced to any religion and never would have been taught about money.

 It wouldn't have not been "home schooling", it would have been "life" schooling. I would have let the child progress in any way he / she found Joy and I would have guided that child as to how to make it profitable. (Profit is not $$$, it's being able to trade, barter and have the occasional currency to bridge the gaps. Very few Americans will agree with this yet I have no debt, no worries and no headaches except for the occasional layover at various airports)

 1 more then I have to divert the emails to the pond (Learned that in Okinawa)
 I went to 3 colleges and dropped out of all 3 and I'm an electrical systems engineer meeting the minimum required standards of the state of Maryland and IBM / Gaithersburg MD.
*I show up with the .docs in foreign countries and they throw all that in the trash. I'm immediately put to work to prove I can complete the task at hand.

 Ok that's it.

Hackers vs. Cyber Criminals: Know the Difference

Short Bytes: People are often confused between two terms: hackers and cyber criminals. In this article, I’m sharing a video that tells you the difference between these two.

Cyber crime occurs when breaking into the private worlds of people, these bad hackers start to misuse the information for their own benefit and loss of others. The story of hacking and cyber crime goes back to early 1950s when some phone freaks, commonly known as “phreaks”, started hijacking world’s phone networks and making long-distance calls.

A report sponsored by the security firm McAfee estimates the annual damage to the global economy due to cyber crimes at $445 billion and near about $1.5 billion was lost in the year 2012 due to online debit and credit card fraud in the US.

According to me, there are two types of hackers: good hackers and bad hackers. The bad hackers are the ones who commit cyber crime.  Here’s a video that shows how Darren Kitchen, a hacker and the host of tech show Hak5, tells how hacking is different from cyber crime:

1. IT Security & Ethical Hacking Certification Training2. Cyber Security Hacker & Pen Tester Certification Training

Hacking from A to Z.

One of the challenges of writing—and reading—about hacking is that it's a world full of jargon and technical terms. It's our job as journalists to translate this lingo and make it understandable to the average reader.

Still, accuracy is important and sometimes you have to use the right terms. To help you navigate our stories during our special week on cybersecurity, The Hacks We Can't See, (and our future and continued coverage of hacking) we thought it'd be good to have a little glossary.

A

Attribution

Attribution is the process of establishing who is behind a hack. Often, attribution is the most difficult part of responding to a major breach since experienced hackers may hide behind layers of online services that mask their true location and identity. Many incidents, such as the Sony hack, may never produce any satisfactory attribution.

B

Backdoor

Entering a protected system using a password can be described as going through the front door. Companies may build "backdoors" into their systems, however, so that developers can bypass authentication and dive right into the program. Backdoors are usually secret, but may be exploited by hackers if they are revealed or discovered.

Black hat

A black hat hacker is someone who hacks for personal gain and/or who engages in illicit and unsanctioned activities. As opposed to white hack hackers (see below), who traditionally hack in order to alert companies and improve services, black hat hackers may instead sell the weaknesses they discover to other hackers or use them.

Botnet

Is your computer part of a botnet? It could be, and you might not know it. Botnets, or zombie armies, are networks of computers controlled by an attacker. Having control over hundreds or thousands of computers lets bad actors perform certain types of cyberattacks, such as a DDoS (see below). Buying thousands of computers wouldn't be economical, however, so hackers deploy malware to infect random computers that are connected to the internet. If your computer gets infected, your machine might be stealthily performing a hacker's bidding in the background without you ever noticing.

Brute force

A brute force attack is arguably the least sophisticated way of breaking into a password-protected system, short of simply obtaining the password itself. A brute force attack will usually consist of an automated process of trial-and-error to guess the correct passphrase. Most modern encryption systems use different methods for slowing down brute force attacks, making it hard or impossible to try all combinations in a reasonable amount of time.

Bug

You've probably heard of this one. A bug is a flaw or error in a software program. Some are harmless or merely annoying, but some can be exploited by hackers. That's why many companies have started using bug bounty programs to pay anyone who spots a bug before the bad guys do.

C

Cracking

A general term to describe breaking into a security system, usually for nefarious purposes. According to the New Hacker's Dictionary published by MIT Press, the words "hacking" and "hacker" (see below) in mainstream parlance have come to subsume the words "cracking" and "cracker," and that's misleading. Hackers are tinkerers; they're not necessarily bad guys. Crackers are malicious. At the same time, you'll see cracking used to refer to breaking, say, digital copyright protections—which many people feel is a just and worthy cause—and in other contexts, such as penetration testing (see below), without the negative connotation.

Crypto

Short for cryptography, the science of secret communication or the procedures and processes for hiding data and messages with encryption (see below).

Chip-off

A chip-off attack requires the hacker to physically remove memory storage chips in a device so that information can be scraped from them using specialized software. This attack has been used by law enforcement to break into PGP-protected Blackberry phones.

D

Dark web

The dark web is made up of sites that are not indexed by Google and are only accessible through specialty networks such as Tor (see below). Often, the dark web is used by website operators who want to remain anonymous. Everything on the dark web is on the deep web, but not everything on the deep web is on the dark web.

DDoS

This type of cyberattack has become popular in recent years because it's relatively easy to execute and its effects are obvious immediately. DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service Attack, which means an attacker is using a number of computers to flood the target with data or requests for data. This causes the target—usually a website—to slow down or become unavailable. Attackers may also use the simpler Denial of Service attack, which is launched from one computer.

Deep web

This term and "dark web" or "dark net" are sometimes used interchangeably, though they shouldn't be. The deep web is the part of the internet that is not indexed by search engines. That includes password-protected pages, paywalled sites, encrypted networks, and databases—lots of boring stuff.

DEF CON

One of the most famous hacking conferences in the US and the world, which started in 1992 and takes place every summer in Las Vegas.

Complete to Z > https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/mg79v4/hacking-glossary

SysNica Navigation Tools

How can I learn more about computers?

*Back to the basics. I have by no means given you a step by step approach to learning more about basic computing. To be honest, I can't remember basic computing, I remember my OSI model, principles, techniques, better means and practices etc. And I most certainly can't write it down, I wouldn't know where to begin?!
 For the beginners or not quite sure > Here you go.

This document is for anyone interested in learning more about their computer and how it works. Here you will find all related documents throughout Computer Hope that can teach you everything you want to know about your computer.

Computer Overview

Understanding each of the major hardware components that make up a computer is always a good first step in learning more about computers. To learn more about each of the components in the computer, its connections, as well as a full explanation of each of the internal parts of a computer, see our computer definition.

1. Transistors - The computer contains millions of transistors, which are used to create machine language using logic gates that turn on and off the circuits.
2. Machine language - All computers and electronic devices communicate in binary, which is a series of 0's and 1's or Off and On electrical signals. All software written on your computer is created in a high-level programming languagethat humans can understand. When complete, the program is compiled into a low-level machine language that computers understand.
3. ASCII codes - Each binary 0 or 1 is considered a bit and each number, letter, or other character is made up of eight bits (one byte). A common method for storing and editing text is done with ASCII codes, which is one byte of binary. For example, the lowercase letter "a" has an ASCII code decimal value of 97, which is 01100001 in binary.
   
4. Motherboard - The Motherboard is the largest circuit board in the computer that holds and connects everything together. Without the motherboard, components like your processor and memory could not communicate with each other.
5. Computer memory - Not to be confused with disk storage, the computer memory(RAM) is volatile memory and is used to store currently running applications. When the computer is turned off, all data in the memory is lost.
6. Computer disk storage - A non-volatile type of memory, disk storage like a hard drive is what stores your information even when the computer is turned off. All of your personal files, documents, songs, photos, etc. are stored in a storage device.
7. ROM - Another type of memory, read-only memory (ROM) is a memory chip that has data which can only be read. Most computers today have a programmable read-only memory (PROM), which is still read-only, but can be re-programmed if needed through a firmware update.
8. Memory capacity - All memory and storage has a total capacity that is written using abbreviations such as KB, MB, GB, and TB. See the full overview of all computer capacities for a complete understanding of all values.
9. Processor - The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the component responsible for processing all instructions from software and hardware.
10. Software and Hardware - Software is instructions and code installed into the computer, like the Internet browser you're using to view this page. Hardware is a physical device you can touch, like the monitor you're using to display this page. See the differences between computer hardware and software for more information.
11. Input/Output - A computer works with a human by inputting data using an input device such as a keyboard, having the processor process that data, and then displaying the output on an output device such as a monitor. The printer is also another output device and is what allows you to get a hard copy of documents and pictures stored on the computer.
12. Expansion cards - An expansion card is a card that can be added to the computer to give it additional capabilities. A video card, modem, network card, and sound cardare all examples of expansion cards. However, many computers may also have on-board devices, such as a sound card and network card that are built onto the motherboard. For a laptop computer, additional cards are added into the PC Cardslot.
13. Programming - All software running on the computer has been created using a programming language by a computer programmer.
14. Operating system - Every computer must have an operating system for software to communicate with the hardware. For example, most IBM compatible computers run the Microsoft Windows operating system and have the option to run alternative operating systems, such as a Linux variant. Apple computers only run macOS.
15. Network - Computers communicate with other computers over a network using a network interface card (NIC) or Wi-Fi that connects to a router. There are two primary types of networks: a local area network (LAN) and a wide area network (WAN). The Internet is also considered a network, which uses the TCP/IP protocol.

How does a computer work?

Knowing how the computer works after you press the power button is also an excellent way to learn more about your computer.

How to use a computer

If you are new to using a computer and need additional help or want to gain a better understanding on how to use a computer see our how to use a computer document.

Computer history

The history of computers and how they have progressed over the years is another great way get a better understanding of computers. We've listed several thousand key events in our computer history section and list hundreds of computer pioneers who have made the computer industry what it is today.

• When was the first computer invented?

Keep informed

Computers and their hardware and related software are constantly evolving. Try to keep as up-to-date as possible by reading computer related news, blogs, RSS feeds, newsletters, forums, and following computer people on social networking sites like Twitter.

• Our RSS feeds and e-mail feeds
• Computer related news sites
• Computer Hope forum

Computer quiz

Ready to test yourself and learn more about computers at the same time? Take the Computer Hope quiz, which contains hundreds of computer related questions. After each question is answered, a brief description of the answer is given, as well as additional information and related links. When the quiz is completed, you'll get a complete overview of what categories you may need to learn more about and links to where you can find that information.

Free college courses

Many of the big colleges and universities have posted free online courses that can be watched by anyone, covering a wide range of computer related topics. Watching these online can give you a similar education to what you may get by going to school.

• Watch free online lectures

Online free books

There are hundreds of thousands of online computer books and computer related e-books that can be downloaded. See the eBook definition for a full listing of places to find books online for free and legally.

• What computer books would you recommend reading?

Additional information

• How does a computer work?
• How do I setup a new computer?
• Top 10 new computer user tips.
• Why should I learn about computers?
• How can I become a computer technician?
• What jobs are available in the computer industry?
• What are all of the advantages of using a computer?
• How does a computer convert text into binary or 0's and 1's?
• All computer learning and training related pages.

Afraid of getting ripped off online? (Updated)

*Simplified yet there is a much greater level to this.

Change the level of protection in the Junk Email Filter

**Update > This will get you a bit closer to it.

Junk e-mail messages, also known as spam, can be a nuisance in your Inbox. The Junk E-mail Filter in Outlook identifies messages that are likely junk and moves them to the Junk E-mail folder.

By default, the Junk E-mail Filter protection level is set to No Automatic Filtering. You can make the filter more aggressive so it catches more junk messages. The higher you set the protection level, the greater the risk of some legitimate messages being identified as junk and moved to the Junk E-mail folder.

1. Click Home > Junk > Junk E-mail Options.
2. Choose the level of protection you want.
   • No Automatic Filtering     Although this turns off the automatic Junk E-mail Filter, messages are still evaluated by using the domain names and email addresses in your Blocked Senders List.
     NOTE:  If you want to turn off the Junk E-mail Filter, you must also remove names form the Junk E-mail Filter lists.
   • Low     If you don't receive many junk messages, or want to filter only the messages that are the most obvious junk, select this option.
   • High     If you receive lots of junk messages, but don’t want to restrict messages from senders on your safe lists, select this option. We recommend you occasionally check the Junk E-mail folder to make sure that a message you wanted isn’t moved in error.
   • Safe Lists Only     This is the most restrictive option. Any message that is sent neither from someone on your Safe Senders List or to a mailing list on your Safe Recipients List, is classified as junk.

Just delete them!

You can tell Outlook to delete all suspected junk messages instead of moving them to the Junk E-mailfolder. This takes away your ability to review messages for possible false positives, so consider the risks of using this option.

1. In Mail, click the Home > Junk > Junk E-mail Options.
2. On the Options tab, check the Permanently delete suspected junk email instead of moving it to the Junk E-mail folder box.

The Reality Behind Living the Expat Life

*In my experience, it's the greatest thing that ever happened in my life!

Packing up and moving abroad is not a decision to be taken lightly. There are many things to be considered before making such a big move, including: How will you earn money? Where will you live? Can you speak or easily learn the language and culture? What will you do with your personal belongings? Will you need a visa? What will happen if you become sick or injured?

For many expats, living abroad is a big adventure that sometimes comes after years of researching, planning and dreaming of living elsewhere. For others it is because of a job transfer or new job opportunity. Whether it is because they are in search of something new or following their career path, living the expat life isn’t always glamorous and can be a lot of work.

The non-glamorous aspect of expatriate life comes from leaving family and friends back home and watching their lives move on via social media highlights, emails and telephone calls. If you are planning to be an expat, be prepared to miss the ones you love, and don’t expect them to visit you overseas.

You must be willing to start over. You can’t possibly bring all of your furniture and household belongings with you overseas, so you must be willing to start from the beginning. You must also be adaptable and be okay with living out of your suitcase (or even backpack!) until you have a more permanent residence. And once you have that residence, you may have to invest in furniture and of course, food and toiletries.

Secondly, if student life isn’t for you then you may want to reconsider moving to a foreign country. If you don’t speak the language be prepared to learn it and go back to school to earn any necessary credentials so that you cannot only live well abroad, but can work and earn a living.

Expat Visa Requirements

If you are moving abroad with a company then you may be granted a working visa, but if not be sure to research the terms and conditions of getting a visa in your country of interest. Even the most common jobs, such as teaching English as a second language legally require a visa.

You should also keep in mind that a visitor’s visa lasts, on average, three months so you will need to have a job lined up (or at the very least interviews), have a place to stay so they can verify you’re not living on the streets, and have a substantial amount of financial savings available should you need it.

Learning Local Culture

Even the most popular of expat countries, including Ecuador, Mexico, and Thailand are quite different in culture and language compared to the United States. Each have their own ways of doing things and can be amused at how differently foreigners are. It’s important to remember that you are living in their country (even if it is not forever!) and therefore you need to learn and respect their culture and language.

Although there may be other expats living where you are, living abroad can still be lonely, especially if you don’t speak the language. If you walk off the airplane without knowing anyone you need to make an extra effort to assimilate and walk around your new world to get to know it better. It will be difficult to not miss the comforts of home, including familiar fast food and traditions, but being forced outside your comfort zone can lead to exciting things! Remember, the more you get out there and familiarize yourself with your new location, the more inclined you will be to enjoy your time as an expat.

And while it is important to get out and learn your surroundings, you should also take the time to familiarize yourself with high crime areas and sections of the country that you should avoid. You should also protect yourself by ensuring you have the right health insurance to cover you in case you become ill, injured or are involved in an accident while living overseas. Expatriates have unique insurance considerations and therefore need to make sure they leave their home country with more than just their domestic insurance plan – especially since most plans won’t cover you while you’re away for a long period of time!

International Health Insurance is a Good Idea

Depending on the plan, international health insurance provides expats with either worldwide or regional medical coverage and will cover trip cancelation and delay expenses, evacuation services, repatriation services, as well as provide access to a global network of healthcare providers, hospitals and caregivers.

If you plan on living outside of the country for a long period of time you may not be able to take all of the comforts of home with you, but with the right expat health plan you can guarantee you are insured as you would be if you were living on home soil.

Start your insurance research early and remember although it is an important investment, it does not have to be complex. Start with an insurance company you trust, be honest about your needs and they should be able to find the best plan for your expatriate needs.

Full > https://www.internationalcitizens.com/living-abroad/reality-behind-living-expat-life.php