Nota Bene

NZ-2013. Day 9. Route.

On the ninth day in NZ we simply tramped back along the path we’d already walked along (see Day 7), so spent most of the day checking out scenery we’d already seen. On various websites they write that this tourist track is one of the most beautiful in the world (among the not so difficult ones). I agree – this is one example of the Internet not lying. It really is “wow”!

Reminiscent of the Isle of Skye

Blofeld’s back

More: the route of our expedition…

My work has me rushing all over the world, speaking at events, getting together with fellow experts to tell my own stories and listen to theirs. One day I thought, why not share them here as well? So, here are some very different “funny” (literally and figuratively) stories from the world of IT security.

Story 1. Secret files with home delivery.

More: Myths of Ancient Greece and other stories…

“Patents against innovation”. Sounds as paradoxical as “bees against honey”, “hamburger patties against buns”, “students against sex” or “rock ‘n’ roll against drugs”.

Patents against innovation? How can that be possible? Patents exist to protect inventors’ rights, to provide a return on R&D investment, and generally to stimulate technological progress. Well, maybe it’s like that for some things, but in today’s software world – no way.

Today’s patent law regarding software is…well, it’s a bit like one of those circus mirrors where reality is distorted. Patent law is now just so far removed from common sense that it’s patently absurd; the whole system right down to its roots needs to be overhauled. ASAP! Otherwise innovative patents meant to encourage and protect will simply fail to materialize. (Good job, patent system. Stellar work.)

So how did everything end up so messed up?

Well, despite the virtuous original intention of patents to protect inventors – today they’ve mainly turned into nothing more than an extortion tool, whose objective is just the opposite of protecting innovation. The contemporary patent business is a technological racket – a cross-breed between… a thieving magpie and a kleptomaniac monkey – with a malicious instinct to drag anything of value back to its lair.

Growth in the number of patent lawsuits with the participation of “trolls“

 Source: PatentFreedom

Now for some detail. Let’s have a closer look at the patent business.

More: aggregators, trolls and pools …

“Everything ought to happen slowly, and out of joint, so we don’t get above ourselves, so we remain miserable and confused”

Venedikt Yerofeev. Moscow Stations

I never thought I’d ever use this phrase when talking about the antivirus industry, but that’s what it’s come to. You know, not everything in this world progresses smoothly. Economic realities and the need for new customers often manage to lure even the best over to the dark side. This time, one of the best-known test labs in the AV industry – AV-TEST – has succumbed.

Comparative testing: A bit of background for the uninitiated

How do you go about picking the best of any particular product? And how do you know it’s the best? Well, you would probably start by looking at the results of comparative testing in a specialist magazine, or the online equivalent. I’m sure this is not news to you. The same goes for AV solutions – there are a number of test labs that evaluate and compare a huge variety of antivirus products and then publish the results.

Now, for some unknown reason (below I’ll try and guess why exactly) the renowned German test lab AV-TEST has quietly (there was no warning) modified its certification process. The changes mean that the certificates produced by the new rules are, to put it mildly, pretty useless for evaluating the merits of different AV products.

Yes, that’s right. I officially declare that AV-TEST certification of AV solutions for home users no longer allows product quality to be compared adequately. In other words, I strongly recommended not using their certificate listings as a guide when choosing a solution to protect your home PC. It would be natural to believe that two products that both have the same certification must be equal (or close to equal) in performance. With AV-TEST’s new certification standards, the onus is on the user to carefully investigate the actual results of each individual test…they may find that a product that blocked 99.9% of attacks has the same “certification” as a product that only blocked 55%.

More: let’s take a closer look at what happened and why…

How do you do, ladies and gentlemen!

Today – about the Churchill War Rooms. The underground bunker of Winston Churchill during WWII, in which he lived and worked at the helm of Britain’s tough, valiant and victorious war effort.

More: …and drank his preferred champagne and Armenian brandy

A little while back we had the General Secretary of Interpol, Ronald Noble, visit us in Moscow. He really is quite a guy. He’s been awarded the French Legion of Honor, is a professor of the New York University School of Law, and – surprise, surprise! – is an honorary professor of the Urals State Legal Academy (if you believe the Russian Wikipedia page on him:). Anyway, it’s now my turn to pay him a combined business and social call…

Lyon in France houses the head office of Interpol. When I asked “Can I take photographs?”, I was delighted by the answer, “whatever and wherever you like”.

More: So I took some photographs…

Ah yes, my wander round Paris; I almost forgot… Here’s the second installment of tales from my brief trip.

First of all, for those who don’t know, we have an office in Paris, on the outskirts of La Défense – Paris’s futuristic business district that’s also perfect for Jean Michel Jarre concerts. And a visit… well, that means a photo-shoot:

More: sacrifices for our art …

Last night in London this year’s SC Awards ceremony took place.

The SC Awards are a bit like the Oscars for European IT-Sec, and I normally find myself in attendance most years to pick up an award, for example – last April. But last night was the first time we received two of the most prestigious London Oscars in one night. Hurray!

And they’re not just any old awards:

• Information Security Vendor of the Year; and
• Information Security Team of the Year (for our GReAT (Global Research and Analysis) team.

Nice. Thank you to my agent, Mum, Dad, cat, God, etc., etc.; but mainly – thanks to the KLers who made this all poss :).

More: A well-deserved drink or three…

April in Paris is one of the earlier romantic fantasy stories of Ursula Le Guin. I recommend seeking it out, downloading and reading it, for it’s a magical book. And if anyone is still unfamiliar with the work of this American genius – you should be ashamed of yourself! Start with anything from this list.

Paris happens to be one of my favorite cities.

I’m not sure why but I can be happy here just wandering around for hours (today I was walking for more than six). I understand how some folks don’t like Paris, while others are indifferent… but as for me, I ‘m a pure Parisophile.

More: The Tower, The Dame & The Modern Art…

Herewith, the second Tolbachik report – to follow the first.

Today – about natural incineration; for it turned out that the most fun to be had on our trip to Tolbasco-chik came from assorted items burning up in flames after being thrown into the flowing lava!

More: Burning items do not harm lava (what would?)…