Category Archives: Technology and Society

Technology and Society, Weird

Browser Problem

19 Comments

Somehow, I got directed to a web site called windowssecurityhealthalert.com (DO NOT GO THERE), that opened a new instance of Firefox. It has a popup with this kind of crap in it:

WARNING!!! A security breach has been detected, your browser being hijacked and monitored. It is highly recommended to contact a Microsoft certified technician, Call toll free 1-844-798-3802 and get a scan done to resolve this serious issue.

WARNING!!! Your credentials aren’t safe, your PC is being monitored by malicious software by Trojan files installed on your PC, This is a serious security breach, This malware and Trojan agent can steal your credentials and use your PC and your TCP/IP address for criminal activity. STOP using your browser now and call a Microsoft technician at toll free 1-844-798-3802 and remove all traces of malware and Trojan files.

WARNING!!! Please stop using your browser until you get your PC scanned and removes all traces of malware, call toll free 1-844-798-3802 and get a computer scan done NOW !!!

Someone is monitoring your browser and can steal your credentials.

WARNING!!! A security breach has been detected, your browser being hijacked and monitored. It is highly recommended to contact a Microsoft certified technician, Call toll free 1-844-798-3802 and get a scan done to resolve this serious issue.

I’m running Linux.

Anyway, it won’t let me close it. Clicking on the upper-right X does nothing, and when I close the popup, it just repops. If it was Chrome I could kill the individual process for it, but Firefox only has a single process for tabs and instances. If I kill Firefox, it just comes back when I restart and restore. I cleared all cookies, but that didn’t help. Anyone know how to track down what’s allowing it to do this and killing it with extreme prejudice?

[Mid-afternoon update]

After a little research, I installed this add-on, which blocks trackers and javascript. Post installation, I was able to kill both the pop up and the instance.

Business, Economics, Mathematics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Climate Models

7 Comments

Another example of their bogosity:

It occurs to me to wonder whether this error in the GISS-E2-R ocean mixing parameterisation, which gave rise to AMOC instability in the Pliocene simulation, might possibly account for the model’s behaviour in LU run 1. It looks to me as if something goes seriously wrong with the AMOC in the middle of the 20th century in that run, with no subsequent recovery evident.

But let’s make wealth-destroying policy based on this!

[Update on January 28th]

Insights from Karl Popper to break the gridlock in the climate debate.

It’s sad how so many people who (ironically) accuse me of being a “climate denier” or a “science denier” are so profoundly ignorant of how science actually works.

[Bumped]

[Update a while later]

An analysis from Judith Curry and Nic Lewis on the latest climate crap from Mann et al:

As I see it, this paper is a giant exercise in circular reasoning:

  1. Assume that the global surface temperature estimates are accurate; ignore the differences with the satellite atmospheric temperatures
  2. Assume that the CMIP5 multi-model ensemble can be used to accurately portray probabilities
  3. Assume that the CMIP5 models adequately simulate internal variability
  4. Assume that external forcing data is sufficiently certain
  5. Assume that the climate models are correct in explaining essentially 100% of the recent warming from CO2

In order for Mann et al.’s analysis to work, you have to buy each of these 5 assumptions; each of these is questionable to varying degrees.

You don’t say.

Economics, History, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

Thirty Years On

15 Comments

This is the thirty first year my birthday has been marred by the event. Leroy Chiao thinks that we shouldn’t have retired the Shuttle, but he assumes we did it for safety reasons. As I note in the book, Shuttle was retired because it cost too much, and the fleet had gotten too small to sustain it properly.

[Update a while later]

My thoughts on the anniversary, and lessons not learned, over at USA Today.

[Update a few minutes later]

Clark Lindsey has a link roundup on the anniversaries.

[Update a while later\

Doug Messier has some thoughts, and a warning to the space upstarts.

Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

Remembrance

8 Comments

…is not enough:

In each of the accidents there were people who believed that the programs were proceeding into unsafe territory. These people tried with varying degrees of success to alert the management of their concerns. In some cases, they fell silent quickly. In other cases, they were overruled and gave up. Later, in all three of the accidents, the top leaders unanimously said ‘we didn’t know anybody was concerned’.

The lesson to take away here is not to give up. If it is unsafe say so. If overruled, appeal. If denied appeal, make your case to the highest level manager you can find. Do not give up until you have been heard at the very top.

Because you might be the only one that sees what no one else can.

From someone who should know.

[Update a while later]
Here’s a nice piece from Nadia Drake.