Curt’s Basement

A tool that automatically steals IDs of non-encrypted sessions and breaks into Google Mail accounts has been presented at the Defcon hackers’ conference in Las Vegas. Last week, Google introduced a new feature in Gmail that allows users to permanently switch on SSL and use it for every action involving Gmail, not just authentication. Users who did not turn it on now have a serious reason to do so, as Mike Perry, the reverse engineer from San Francisco who developed the tool, is planning to release it in two weeks.

To turn this on, go into Settings, and then at the bottom turn on “Always use HTTPS” beside Browser Connection.

And if you use Notifier at all, then you need this patch for it to continue working.

From Slashdot

This finally clears up some of the confusion regarding the open beta. The August 15th thing was that people could create their accounts and download the client if they’ve preordered before, but the beta only actually starts on the 7th of September.

The open beta begins September 7 and is open to anyone who pre-orders the game from EA’s “select retail partners.”

From Game | Life

It’s an old one, and I THINK I posted it on the old site, but still it’s a good one. So here’s the Monday Music Video:

Besides having one of the awesomest names for a site ever, this looks like a pretty snazzy tool for keeping track of your backlog of games.

Play a lot of video games? If so, there’s a good chance you’ve accumulated a backlog over the years. Sure, you’ve been meaning to go back and play them but it seems like there’s always something getting in the way. Work? School? Family? Even those pesky new games that keep coming out before you’ve finished the last one. How are you supposed to keep up? Nevermind trying to get through the old ones in your backlog!

What you need is a little motivation. What gamer doesn’t like to look over their stats and celebrate the milestones as they progress toward a goal? That’s where we come in. We’ll keep track of everything for you so you’ll know what you’ve done and what still needs your attention. Inputting your games is quick and easy. No slow, endless lists to search through. Just type it in and go!

The Backloggery

A while back, I came up with the “One sentence character concept”, which basically followed this format: A (descriptive) (role) is trying to (do something). A forlorn detective is trying to run away from his past. A heartbroken ninja is trying to overthrow the Empire. An untested new superhero is trying to know her friends from her enemies.  Basically, each character concept is a creative vector for play.

From Deeper in the Game and part two is here

Sometimes life imitates art, rather than the other way around, and the 2001 video game “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon” stands as a prime example. The game, although dated by contemporary standards, did one thing: It accurately predicted the eruption of hostilities between an expansionist Russia and Georgia.

From The Bulletin

“The BBC reports on a scientific community still holding to flat earth theories. From their article: ‘Are there any genuine flat-earthers left? Surely in our era of space exploration — where satellites take photos of our blue and clearly globular planet from space, and robots send back info about soil and water from Mars — no one can seriously still believe that the Earth is flat? Wrong. Flat earth theory is still around. On the internet and in small meeting rooms in Britain and the US, flat earth believers get together to challenge the ‘conspiracy’ that the Earth is round.’”

via Slashdot

This is really impressive. It’s probably some of the most realistic 3d animation I’ve ever seen.

from Gizmodo

I’m not usually much for Star Trek, but this does look intriguing with it’s mixture of space and on foot.