How to get acute Hepatitis C from a clinic
[tags]medicare, health, healthcare, hygiene[/tags]
Answer: Move to Las Vegas or any other US city. You might not get it right away, but keep going to clinics for investigative procedures and your efforts will eventually be successful.
A clinic had been using unsterilized equipment and reusing syringes resulting in an acute hepatytis C endemic. Apparently, proper procedures were not followed at management directions. Las Vegas is not particularly well known for safety, still, I would think that most people would much rather be in control of the risks they take. The expectation is that if you pay for a service - I don't expect medical services in Vegas to be free - to get a higher quality than in socialized health care. This is a major let down and will surely be used in the upcoming presidential election.Sources
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i8B3EkgPbRHRxqB6l6BG6ZL1bn9QD8V8CITO2
Vegas Hepatitis Exposure List Incomplete - Medbroadcast
Fraud 101: Spam, spim, chain mail and other time-wasters
We recently learned that Canada's Competition Bureau (7) took the unusual step of warning the public about several hoaxes perpetrated on the Internet and not only (9). This is a good opportunity for this article, since after getting for the nth time a chain email from a friend, I had already decided it's about time I write this little ditty, in the hope that if I am to receive more junk / chain mail from friends, they will at least be more interesting / innovative.1. Chain letters
It's very tough to protect yourself from chain letters because the "enemy" is really a hapless friend. You cannot educate / lecture your friends, as that is the surest and simplest way to lose them. But when you've been using and abusing the Internet since the early 90's, like I did, you've seen the same chain letters several times, sometimes translated in the various languages you and your friends have in common.
It's hard to understand what and who invents these. Although we have a few theories, we will not indulge in this silly sport. Rather, we will try to explain why they are bad and how to deal with them.
Such chain emails are, fortunately, easy to spot. The tell-tale sign is usually a statement to the effect:
"for every email you send you (or I) will make $1000"
"if you don't forward this email Viracocha will kill ye"
Hoaxes are bad because they waste time and clutter our mailboxes. They are very frustrating especially when received for the 10th time. When a friend forwards you a hoax, the implicit message is "I could spend 1 minute verifying if this is a hoax, but I prefer to make you waste 1 minute for the 10th time today deleting my crap".2. Spam
This is something we all hate. Luckily, things are now far better than only a few years back. Statistical analysis - more specifically, Bayesian algorithm - helped improve spam filters dramatically. This works by analyzing what you (and possibly others) have marked as spam vs. what you consider to be legit. Each word gets a score based on how often ends up in the spam folders vs how many times occurs in the legit correspondence. Together with other words and clues it allows the program to guess whether any email message is good or not. If you are using Google Mail, you must have noticed the improvement. If you are using Outlook, chances are you are still fighting an organized military with a broom. That's because the filters Microsoft has included in Outlook are not based on "live" statistical analysis, but rather on what Microsoft decides is the top monthly spam. Luckily, you can easily correct this problem with SpamBayes (5). Still, GoogleMail is far better not only than Outlook, but even than any other service, so if you have a problem with Spam, get GoogleMail - it has free spam filters (hotmail was trying to charge for it earlier), free POP, free IMAP, all the storage you want, multiple labels, unlimited filters, etc. You can use it with Outlook easily, if you would rather not store your email off-site.
Google spam filters are so good that there are signs that the spammers are giving up (3).3. SpIM
SpIM is spam for instant messaging clients and is especially prevalent on Yahoo!'s network (at least that used to be my experience). How does it work? Well, you are happily feeding your Internet addiction, when every now and then a message from a "melita" or "larissa" or who knows what other name you've never heard of pops on your screen asking you to visit some porn website. You then have to close that window manually, which is a total PITA because it interrupts your work flow. To protect yourself, you could allow messages only from people already in your contact list, but that is not what you want to do. What if an old friend has just found you and tries to message you? What if your house is on fire and your spouse can only use someone else's IM account to let you know, but can't, because you won't allow it?
These are all good questions. The only solution that I know of that can intelligently allow legit messages while denying SPIM is a Trillian plugin. (Pidgin should have something like that too, but if it does, then I don't know about it.)
Trillian is, as you probably know, an instant messaging client that connects to all possible networks and allows you to access them from the same interface, grouping your contacts based on their relationship to you, rather than their network of choice. You no longer need to have Windows Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AIM and ICQ all running at the same time, taking memory and screen real estate away from you and slowing down your computer. Trillian basic is free; if you want to your plugins, you need the Pro version, which is $10 or $20, can't remember. To deal with SPIM, you need to install Trillian SPAM challenge (6). This plugin will then issue a challenge/response check to anyone trying to contact you; this eliminates robots and SpIM. Other plugins allow for a multitude of other features, including shipment checker, incoming messages forwarding to any email address or cell phone, etc.4. Malware or phishing websites
These are websites that have been infected with some kind of virus, trojan or spyware. This malware is hidden somewhere in the webpage code and it infects you as you load the webpage in your browser. Many times, legitimate, high-traffic websites might become infected unbeknown to their rightful owners. Google might sometimes alert you when that happens and they are known to remove such sites from their index(4). Perhaps the best way to protect yourself against such malicious websites is to use a secure browser, such as Opera (the most secure browser of all) or Firefox with the NoScript extension, with Java disabled. Secondly, be very careful with what information you are giving away. In 99% of the cases, there is no reason to give away your real name, your real address or your D.O.B. even though the website might insist on it.. Use your judgment, don't be an automaton.5. eBay, PayPal or other shopping sites
This chapter would most likely require a separate article all by itself. Suffices to say for now that the problem with PayPal as well as its parent corp, eBay, is the lack of or inadequacy of their buyer or even seller protection policies. Most credit cards offer some kind of protection, but with PayPal, you're toast. You are completely at the mercy of your vendor, who may or may not deliver your merchandise, and may or may not send you what you thought you were purchasing. Either way, you will probably end up on your own and you will have to swallow your losses. That is why, if you have an alternative (such as a credit card), avoid PayPal.
There are even certain fraudulent non-Internet activities you cannot really protect yourself from. One such case involves the fraudulent use of Interac. If when you pay with your bank card the vendor makes a backup copy of your number and password, then imprints them on a card and empties your bank account, you will find that your bank will seldom reimburse you for the loss. Similarly, if somebody breaks into a shopping website that has your credit card numbers, there is again very little you can do about it. If a payment processor is dishonest, again, there isn't much you can do either (1).
Credit cards used to provide some form of protection against fraudulent charges, with usually $50 or $0 deductible for fraud, but lately, some agreements have been updated to either remove or drastically reduce such protections. We will be writing more about this shortly.Sources
Corrections
none so far!
Fac(eboo)k off, Canadian Pornking!
Just like pop will eat itself, Facebook will one day self-destruct (2). Until then, it's getting an ever increasing mind-share and implicitly expanding media coverage. In the last salvo in this war for our brainspace, we learn that Facebook is taking a Canadian porn site to court over alleged attempts to steal private details of users(1).
The lawsuit names Istra Holdings Inc., the numbered company affiliated with SlickCash, and defendants Brian Fabian and Josh Raskin as either "residing or working" at the same Toronto address. The SlickCash website boasts that its partners have been "involved in every facet of the online adult industry" since 1999. The suit also names Ming Wu and six other defendants whose identities remain unknown. The amended complaint was filed last Wednesday after Facebook was granted court orders in Canada forcing Internet service providers Rogers Communications and Look Communications to divulge subscriber information.
Obviously, it's great to hear that the two ISPs, Look and Rogers have actually upheld the privacy of a user, no matter who they were or what they've done. After all, the allegations have yet to be proven in court. We can only hope that they do the same with all such requests and are not using this as a PR opportunity. As for PR, it is unlikely IMHO that Facebook will recover at least the money spent on trial from that numbered corporation even if they win, which if true, suggests that the trial itself is rather demonstrative - although clearly necessary and a step in the right direction. Almost since its inception, Facebook faced significant criticism regarding its privacy policies. The following video clip has been around for more than 1 year and is alleging a nefarious connection between Facebook and CIA / NSA.Facebook and Privacy
Facebook had its share of privacy woes, perhaps far more than any other Web 2.0 outfit. It started with persistent allegations of connections to CIA. This is not as outlandish as it may seem. CIA has an official policy, launched in the previous decade, of cooperation with private corporations and of active involvement in the private sector. It only makes sense that they do this, as that is the most efficient way of spending the taxpayer's dollars.
Some of the privacy issues the Facebook users identify are not always valid. Nonetheless, the Beacon system is a little too intrusive for anybody who delves into the details.Facebook vs. Myspace
It's hard to believe today that Myspace was once mightier than Facebook. Facebook has become cooler long time ago and has been growing much faster. It seems that Facebook users are more educated, usually university students and graduates, whereas Myspace addresses the lower end of the spectrum.Advertising on Facebook
With its increasing popularity, Facebook has become a great advertising medium.
Facebook is now a microuniverse on its own.Sources
Corrections
none so far!
Massive, unfixed security flaw at Passport Canada
We just learned about a very serious security flaw in the Passport Canada website accepting online applications. Other people's information can be easily accessed by simply applying for a passport and then altering characters in your browser's address bar. The flaw was discovered by Jamie Laning, an IT worker at Algonquin Automotive, in Huntsville, Ontario. The available data includes SINs, driver's licence numbers, mailing addresses, business and phone numbers, federal ID card numbers and even a firearms licence number. Says Carlisle Adams, professor at U of O:
This is exactly how identity theft happens. If you want to take out a mortgage, for example, this is the type of information the bank is going to ask for to make sure you're really the person you're claiming to be. Then all of a sudden there's a mortgage in someone else's name.Although Mr. Laning alerted Passport Canada of the problem last week and the site was suspended through yesterday, the problem has not been fixed, despite Passport Canada's claim to the contrary. While the security flaw in itself is not the most terrible thing, it is deeply unsettling to learn that Passport Canada was unable to fix it within one week, that it deceptively claimed it fixed it and that Canadian law does not even require disclosure of privacy breaches. This means that there may be many more security breaches that happen but we do not know about them, unless somebody makes a FOF request.
The security breach follows two significant events concerning personal information. On Nov. 21, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson introduced legislation making it an offence to obtain, possess or traffic in people's identity information for the purposes of committing a crime. Just two days earlier, Britain's tax and customs service announced it had lost disks containing banking and personal data of 25 million people."I think it's very clear that a strong, mandatory security-breach law is long overdue in this country and it's cases like these that highlight it," said Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa.This is not the first negative media report to hit Passport Canada. Only a couple of months ago, Canadian Press issued the following:
Canadian law does not require organizations to disclose when they've suffered security breaches. In the United States the majority of states have enacted legislation requiring organizations to disclose security breaches within a specified period of time.
Passport Canada is reporting continued long delays in processing mailed-in passport applications, despite a streamlined renewal process and hundreds of new employees. And there is concern those delays will only get longer as the busy winter travel season approaches.It now takes a minimum of six weeks to get a passport through the mail; two weeks longer than the agency's benchmark of four weeks.The way our secretive, inept government works, we would not be surprised if Mr. Laning would be charged with terrorism. It is much easier to find a scapegoat than hiring a knowledgeable IT security firm and have the problem fixed.
And that doesn't include the time it takes to get applications and documents through Canada Post.
UPDATE: Brian Masse (NDP) raised this issue in Question Period and Minister Maxime Bernier was told by CEO Gérard Cossette that the website is now "among the most secure".
IT Business published an article citing concerns that the privacy breach will lead to ID theft.
Source: Passport applicant finds massive privacy breach, Globe and Mail Read More to See the Light...
Information Architecture > Data Warehousing > An invisible abomination
Information Architecture > Data Warehousing > An invisible abomination
Nebu (meaning "gold" in Egyptian) is a company with a sneaky product. It enables ISPs to surreptitiously insert ads in webpages they serve to their customers transparently. This means that they can do so without the knowledge or consent of either their customer or the content provider. Obviously, this product can be misused, but it can also be used to provide advertising supported Internet access far better than NetZero used to. Put to good use, it has the potential to divert more advertising dollars and bring to the limelight more obscure sites, to the detriment of the sites with the lion share of eyeballs.
That's an interesting development at a time when the net neutrality debate rages on.
These guys' lawyers stand to make a lot of money. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this was not somehow started by lawyers. :)
