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tgw

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Everything posted by tgw

  1. try to have a laptop repaired in the West...
  2. My current job is programming websites (has been for over 10 years). I'm not a technological hermit, and have no intentions of becoming one. I just have a pretty good idea of what's going on. I think it's very important for democracy to spread the information, so that this kind of activities can be controlled. How to protect the people from their own judicial institutions, but also how to protect our democracies from manipulation. Redefining roles and responsibilities of organizations like FBI/Homeland Security and respectively MI5/MI6 for the UK in the protection of democratic process. I like the name of the German domestic intelligence service: "Verfassungsschutz" - it literally means "protection of the constitution"
  3. the advantage with technology, is that few people are needed.
  4. lol, yeah, sure. I'm afraid you got no say, even if you root your phone. you will need to reinstall device drivers, an operating system, etc. they all have undocumented security vulnerabilities. ???? the fixes stay "on hold" until the vulnerabilities get discovered by third parties. there are teams tasked with collecting and grandfathering zero days, and managing their lifecycle. that's why the "no Huawei" ruling was made. hardware can come loaded with special chips containing backdoors (US equipment delivered to sensitive countries routinely got re-chipped at an NSA facility before shipping, this is not done anymore I believe because customers of interest wisened up), and all platforms will download drivers, updates, etc. from servers designated by their access provider's DNS, and authenticated by official OEM certificates, both of which can be corrupted. by the way, that's how Stuxnet worked. to be safe, a country has to control production of both software and hardware. it's only a part of what needs to be done, but it is a prerequisite. as a related information, here are some crispy details about a (former) vendor of secured communication systems and "hardened security" phone devices: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypto_AG just make up your own mind and think about what lengths you would be willing to go to "catch the bad guys" or "protect your country" if you were personally in charge of running your contry's signal intelligence with a huge budget. would you for example setup or acquire a major VPN and encryption service ? or several? technically brilliant, huge coverage, aggressively priced? ???? some people are in need of secure phones - that would be your core capability right? why not sell that service and make a few bucks for your budget too? there are no limits! and the few bits that came to light in the media are just tiny scratches on the surface of the whole thing.
  5. all people interested in the stuff on your phone are not created equal. criminals don't have huge computing resiurces like the larger intelligence services. also, criminals cannot use back doors made for them in operating systems, applications (got any applications that seem useless but can't be uninstalled from the phone, huh?), etc. yes, encryption is strong against criminals who cannot read the decrypted info directly from your phone screen as if they were there. the big guys can. yes of course, 99% of people dont need to be alarmed, because they are not a person of interest for these operations. things can change rapidly though. running for a political mandate, even small... being a vocal anti-nuclear protester?.. a journalist that disturbs the command levels? member of a computer security group? highly skilled specialist in a sensitive area? journalist in belarus or russia? many people are potentially at risk.
  6. @CharlieH it's not being blown out of proportion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Data_Center what you describe is exactly (part of) what's happening, but you probably imagine it on a ten- or twentyfold lesser scale than what they are really doing. I wrote many posts on this forum in the past before the Snowden thing, and I was called a paranoid loon by many posters. I had my first TMS-7020 based computer at the age of 9 and immediately started to learn programming. Although market finance was my main field of study and trade, I also worked in IT security and have also been an IT security consultant for the government. in a nutshell, not only are they doing what you suspect them doing, but they are very probably doing much more. did you look at that US intelligence analysis of GPS locators of cellphones in the Wuhan lab? it's just an example. they probably know where your phone was at an exact time 3 years ago as well as which phones were nearby. this, and much much much more. I don't think cryptography certificates are safe, at least not under a length of 4096. You can assume several intelligence agencies from several countries can access your phone, write messages on it without you knowing, etc. In the "good" countries, citizens have protection against these techniques - our countries' legal systems don't allow these techniques to be used in normal police / criminal investigations. In countries like China however, I would consider any information or evidence from digital sources, including personal devices, computers, browser histories, etc. as potentially tainted. The one single important thing is that intelligence agencies promise, swear, etc. to not use the technology against citizens ... except incase of national security concerns. We also know that for US law, non-US citizens are cattle, including allied heads of state. You can bet that right now there are conspirations under way using digital technology, planting false evidence, etc. you can also read up on stuxnet, there is a good documentary about the subject called "zero days". it's old (2016), but it still is very interesting. also because of the IT security implications. Cambridge Analytics ... and example of what happens when user data is exploited for political purposes. Result: Brexit. Probably part of a Russian intelligence operation: all these things aren't directly linked, but they are components of today's data universe and there are many highly skilled and very secretive players in the field. and the extent of it all is much bigger than you imagine
  7. interesting question. I guess except for some highly exotic cuisines, all is present in one form or another in Pattaya. I would rather say "one form or another" is not satisfactory. For example, saying "Chinese Cuisine" - China is huge with a huge choice of food, but then most "Chinese" restaurants in Pattaya offer "southern Chinese" cuisine which is very close to Thai cuisine and, as Thai cuisine, mostly consists of seafood. we could agree that MK is Chinese cuisine and that Nam Sing is Chinese too. Center and northern Chinese cuisine based on pork, beef, chicken, duck, noodles, rice, etc. is rare in Pattaya, or even inexistent if as me you aren't the type of guy who will blow 2k at the Royal Cliff restaurant to get his fill of Cantonese rice and Peking Duck. I had a *superb* Peking Duck in *Geneva* years back for about 500 baht per person... in Pattaya? no... Vietnam. Since the poor guy on Thappraya had to close, I don't know where to go for Vietnamese cuisine. Where to get a good phô ? Grilled Chicken. This may sound strange, as there are many sellers around town, but I mean "European grilled Chicken" with salt, pepper and herbs, not the sweet tasting Thai product. another grilled dish - grilled German pork leg. years ago, the German Garden in Naklua was the only restaurant where it was on offer, but it closed long ago before covid. now... the non-grilled and instead oil-fried Ersatz is often disgusting.
  8. objectively, this is a good package to finally attract people that will be beneficial to Thailand.
  9. the production took place in Thailand. the "acting" went through a lens in Bangkok and then onto a digital image sensor in Bangkok to be transcoded into a video signal in Bangkok.
  10. many businesses in Thailand are bad at inventory/stock management.
  11. I'm looking for a new office chair. There are quite a few offers on Lazada, some look incredibly cheap for the features offered, but as it looks too good to be true, I'd like to ask the forum if anyone has experience with these cheapish office chairs for 1000 - 2500 baht. Some examples: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/hz-shop-y-type-i676790474-s7388658859.html https://www.lazada.co.th/products/hz-shop-y-type-i676790474-s7388658859.html https://www.lazada.co.th/products/furinbox-i1123344654-s2585072319.html https://www.lazada.co.th/products/erland-modern-style-chair-i2489697602-s8782839414.html features I am looking for include: - tiltable back rest with lock - tiltable seat with lock - adjustable height (of course) - armrests made from plastic - all chair covers made from mesh/fabric (I don't care about head rest or leg rest) Index Living Mall: https://www.indexlivingmall.com/110032248.html not in stock in Pattaya, so no way to try it first, but I'd be happy to read your comments if you have this chair still Index Living Mall: https://www.indexlivingmall.com/370000001.html this one is "Furinbox Cooper", but seems to be available at other places too eager to read about your experiences with cheap office chair - can any be recommended?
  12. Although I manage internet marketing campaigns in Europe, I have never done that in Thailand. I'd like to ask for information about common prices for clicks on Google Ads and Facebook/Instagram ads in Thailand. Can some members provide some information based on their experience please?
  13. Many golfers in Thailand face high per-round costs at their usual courses, while courses with flat yearly membership fees and no additional compulsory cost per round are very rare. Let's put legal aspects aside and think about how many of us would be ready to acquire a membership in such a golf course and for how much. Project cornerstones: - conveniently located at a similar distance from the city as other nearest courses (for Pattaya this would mean within the arc between Burapha/Laem Chabang and Cheechan, following route 331 - other locations in Thailand use your imagination) - minimum 18 holes championship course, not a cheap setup, a good course with good maintenance - optional carts and optional caddies, no per-round fee for members - memberships are perpetual, meaning they don't expire. when the membership holder dies, the membership is inherited - club policies/management priorities/investments set yearly by the member's general assembly Proposed main fee structure for members (theoretically the course should be able to run on minimal maintenance with these fees): - initial memberships fee for fund setup - yearly maintenance fee for members So the question here is not about project costs or feasibility, the question is about how much would a resident golfer in Thailand be ready to pay for a membership ? As an additional question, if you have knowledge about golf course economics in Thailand, could you please comment on costs of building an 18-hole course (without cutting corners), land costs and maintenance costs in Thailand ? Yes, I realize the land cost is very location dependent, but a few ballpark figures would be useful to put things in perspective.
  14. because of Covid I have run out of Zolpidem (Brand name Stilnox / Ambien), which is a fast-acting and very short duration sleeping pill. I have a prescription for Zolpidem, but I can't find a place that dispenses it - does anyone know where in the Pattaya area I could go? Would the newish government hospital on soi Buakhow be worth a try?
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