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adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
Adam Katz
@adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
45 followers 11 following 240 posts
#Cybersecurity #antispam research leader at @TalosSecurity, FOSS advocate, zsh/bash #Linux geek, bastion of obscure knowledge.

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adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
@tychotithonus DuckDuckGo can do that too:
https://noai.duckduckgo.com/?q=roll+3d6
Search results for "roll 3d6" showing the result is 16 from 6 + 6 + 4
November 18, 2025 at 12:47 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
There are no US federal prohibitions on limiting campaign contributions at the state level, so twelve states actually permit unlimited financing. Other states have unfairly-high limits. Too bad I'm not a billionaire… […]

[Original post on infosec.exchange]
Generally speaking, campaign finance laws regulate the sources and amounts of contributions to political candidates and campaigns, as well as the disclosure of information about campaign funds. These laws are a source of ongoing debate. Proponents of more stringent campaign finance laws claim that the current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Opponents claim that strict disclosure requirements and donation limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression, hampering participation in the political process. During the 2023-2024 election cycle, the remaining 38 states had individual contribution limits that differed depending on the office sought. Below are the ranges for governor, state senator, and state representative. Governor Lowest: $625 per election (Colorado) Highest: $36,400 per election (California) State Senator Lowest: $200 per election (Colorado) Highest: $15,499.69 per election (Ohio) State Representative Lowest: $200 per election (Colorado) Highest: $15,499.69 per election (Ohio) The map below separates states by those with unlimited individual contributions and those with limits on individual contributions. [States: PA VA IN AL MS TX IA NE ND UT OR AK]
November 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
@JessTheUnstill there's better:
Comic by Banx. Nobel Prize Committee. 8 people are seated around a table with paper for nites and water for drinking. The caption reads: "just for fun, let's give it to Obama again"
October 10, 2025 at 5:55 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
We have no idea how this #ai cycle is affecting jobs. The numbers are all over the place.

Relatedly, I've found myself regularly explaining what an "AI winter" is that there's broad consensus that we're coming up on the next one. Nobody is connecting these […]

[Original post on infosec.exchange]
Two consecutive Slashdot article summaries: AI is Not Killing Jobs, Finds New US Study The mass adoption of ChatGPT is yet to have a big disruptive impact on US jobs, contradicting claims by chief executives and tech bosses that AI is already upending labour markets. Financial Times: > Research from economists at the Yale University Budget Lab and the Brookings Institution think-tank indicates that, since OpenAI launched its popular chatbot in November 2022, generative AI has not had a more dramatic effect on employment than earlier technological breakthroughs. > … Lufthansa To Cut 4,000 Jobs As Airline Turns To AI To Boost Efficiency An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: > Lufthansa announced plans to cut 4,000 roles on Monday as it aims to increase profitability and lean on AI to drive efficiency. The airline group said it will eliminate a total of 4,000 FTE, or full-time equivalent, roles worldwide by 2030. The company is targeting primarily admin roles, the majority of which will be affected at its home base in Germany, as part of a broader restructuring strategy. > …
October 1, 2025 at 4:59 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
China is using Deepfakes for anti-#LGBTQ imagery:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/24/horror-film-digitally-altered-china-gay-couple-straight-together
Photo from the article showing a side-by-side comparison of a frame between the official and doctored releases. The male on the right of the left image is female on the right image. Caption from the article: A gay couple in Australian horror film Together was digitally transformed into a heterosexual couple for release in mainland China. This move is presumed to have involved the use of AI. Photograph: Queer.de
September 25, 2025 at 6:39 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
PATH CLOSED
#silentsunday #centralpark
A photo at night of a fenced off segment of grass, roughly 2m x 2m, between a road and a path that parallels it. There is no path enclosed in the fence, which has two signs. On the left, one sign reads "PATH CLOSED. This path is temporarily closed for construction." The sign on the right simply says "DETOUR" and has an arrow pointing to the right, even though the sign is at the right edge of the fenced area.
September 7, 2025 at 7:36 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
@ai6yr he's doing everything he can, too: his page is called "Bankruptcy Law Office of Mark S. Zuckerberg" (The billionaire's middle name is Elliot).

Also, aren't image credits are supposed to refer to the copyright holder? Spider-Man is owned by Marvel […]

[Original post on infosec.exchange]
Facebook interface screen capture from the article: We suspended your Page Bankruptcy Law Office of Mark S. Zuckerberg Page has been suspended Why this happened We suspended your Page because some of the activity on it may not follow our rules. Bankruptcy Law Office of Mark S. Zuckerberg This goes against our Community Standards on impersonation. See rule What you need to know * How to prevent further restrictions * What this means for you * How we made this decision Request review You have 99 days left to request a review. the TechCrunch article image, zoomed in so you can see "IMAGE CREDITS: SPIDERMAN"
September 4, 2025 at 9:37 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
> Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!

Ever been to `about:robots` in Firefox? ✱
Welcome Humans! We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill! * Robots may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. * Robots have seen things you people wouldn’t believe. * Robots are Your Plastic Pal Who’s Fun To Be With. * Robots have shiny metal posteriors which should not be bitten. And they have a plan. [Button:] Try Again
September 4, 2025 at 4:57 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
#pigbutchering is still a thing. Be vigilant.

(This is when somebody messages you claiming to be an old contact or a wrong number, then tried to befriend you, then builds trust, eventually leading up to a big scam that ~bankrupts you, sometimes without you even understanding you've been scammed.)
Text message log from +1 214-266-3159 Them: I'm going to Boston this November. Do you still live there? Me: Who is this? Them: I'm Fiona. I forgot to tell you this is my assistant's phone number. Sorry, Steve. Me: I'm not Steve and I don't know anybody named Fiona. Good luck finding a victim for your scam Them: Thank you for your kind wishes.
September 2, 2025 at 1:16 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
@mattblaze I just admired this beautiful piece (Gelmeroda, by Lyonel Charles Feininger) from the Nazis' Degenerate Art exhibition yesterday.

I can't wait to see what they "curate" for us this time!
Photo of a Cubist painting. A gray cathedral steeple on a green-tinted blue background. Further explanation in the other picture. Photo of the museum's placard for the painting. Damn you for making me type out its text on my phone. Lyonel Charles Feininger. American, 1871-1956 Gelmeroda, 1936 Oil on canvas George A. Hern Fund, 1942 (42.158) This crystallin painting features one of Feinginger's favorite subjects—the Gothic church of Gelmeroda, located near Weimar, Germany. In his many images of the 14th-century structure, Feinginger explored the building as a physical connector between the past and the present. Here, he adopts the angled fragmentation of form and space found in Cubism and Italian Futurism to give a sense of spiritual energy and transcendence. In 1937, one year after this work was completed, Nazi officials included Feinginger's art in the notorious Degenerate Art exhibition, a direct attack on the creative expression that prompted him to permanently return to the United States.
September 1, 2025 at 7:42 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
Trump's FTC claims Gmail filtering Republican emails threatens “American freedoms”, rehashing an old claim with no substance.

GOP mail uses spammer techniques, including poor list management. Here's a graph by Koli-Lõks showing hit volume in their spamtraps […]

[Original post on infosec.exchange]
A 3D XY plot showing honeypot mailflow from actblue.com and mail from winred.com, both plotted throughout July. Blue is near zero while red is about 20-60 times as prevalent, with a giant spike in late July.
August 29, 2025 at 8:18 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
#todayilearned there are only 3½ fingers in a hand
(1 finger = ⅞ inch, 1 hand = 4 inches)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_units#Length
Chart showing the (sometimes approximate) relationships between assorted historical distance measures
August 15, 2025 at 12:23 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
> [University of Florida Researchers] have released 40 solar-powered, remote-controlled robot bunnies in South Florida this month.

https://www.popsci.com/environment/robot-bunnies-florida-invasive-pythons/ via @sambowne
The robot bunnies hope to lure the Burmese pythons out of hiding. Image: sfwmd Two photos side by side. On the left is a rabbit plush toy in a plastic box. On the right is a heat sensor reading of that toy, reading 26.5°, or maybe it says 28.5° (it's hard to make out).
August 6, 2025 at 4:36 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
It's not often that I deploy a quick change to my `~/.vimrc` and it so thoroughly improves my life, but setting `+` to correct the most recent misspelled word has done exactly that, right up there with when I learned about `+p` and […]

[Original post on infosec.exchange]
Screenshot of vim config with two comments and then a conditional stanza, as present in the post text, but with proper syntax coloring here.
July 25, 2025 at 6:36 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
#whofi: It is now possible to track people based on how their bodies (without devices!) block wifi signals

https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/22/whofi_wifi_identifier/

Preprint: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.12869v1
A diagram from the preprint. On the left, a green person labeled "Input Signal" has a right arrow pointing to the Encoder, a series of red bars narrowing in scope, connected to the Signature Model, which takes those as blue dots and points to a small teal bar labeled "S". Finally, this teal bar has a right line labeled "l²-norm" that points at a red person with a background image of a giant fingerprint
July 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
LeVar Burton is a national treasure. Children being ezposed to inspiration rather than product placement is a **great** argument.
July 15, 2025 at 2:06 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
I get the intent, and it might work with some JS to narrow the possibilities to what's valid (like `j-{a-nuary,uly-,une-}`), but I suspect a simple season picker (like`winter-{December,January,February}`) would work better.
(HT @xyla)
A UI for selecting a birth date. The month field is in three panes: j nov dec febr m sept octo em uly a un an ber y uary rch pril august Day and year are more normal
July 15, 2025 at 12:56 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
MLB has removed the #reverseboycott Oakland Athletics game from its streaming archive as an effort to hide it. This fact hit the news, so now people are remembering it again—or learning about it anew […]

[Original post on infosec.exchange]
Photo of A's fans inside the stadium at a game. Many wear lime green shirts, which say "SELL" on them (not visible here). One fan, posing for the camera in his A's cap and jersey, holds two signs: *Hey Fisher* You will sell more tickets if you kept your players!! END MLB WELFARE
July 10, 2025 at 5:52 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
Yes, finally. Please allow liquids next.

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/07/08/dhs-end-shoes-travel-policy
U.S. Department of Homeland Security DHS to End ‘Shoes-Off’ Travel Policy DHS to End ‘Shoes-Off’ Travel Policy Release Date: July 8, 2025 Passengers can now keep their shoes on at TSA security checkpoints WASHINGTON—Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a new policy today which will allow passengers traveling through domestic airports to keep their shoes on while passing through security screening at TSA checkpoints. The new policy will increase hospitality for travelers and streamline the TSA security checkpoint process, leading to lower wait times.
July 9, 2025 at 3:27 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
@tychotithonus and well-tabbed. Because I'm a stickler for 80-column virtual terminals, I use `# vim:ts=4:` in my crontabs. I've even hacked `crontab -l` to respect that custom tab width, plus I use GRC for colors:
3-pane vim & command line with redacted crontab output. # Usage: we_have PROGRAM [PROGRAM...] # true if we have ALL of the listed programs we_have() { type "$@" >/dev/null 2>&1; } # colored and tab-adjusted crontab listings crontab() { if [[ $* != *-l ]]; then command crontab "$@"; return $?; fi local cron retval expand ts f='conf.crontab' cron=$(command crontab -l) retval=$? if ! we_have expand; then expand() { cat; } else # take the tabspace variable from the first vim cue in a comment ts=$(echo "$cron" |grep -Pom1 '#.*\b(?:ts|tabspace)=\K[0-9]+\b' || echo 8) fi if we_have grcat; then # I'm using a custom GRC config here, so verify it's present first for f in ~/.grc/$f /usr/{local/,}share/grc/"$f"; do if [ -s "$f" ]; then echo "$cron" |expand -t $ts |grcat "$f" return $retval fi done fi echo "$cron" |expand -t $ts return $retval } # (.aliases above, .grc/conf.crontab below) # comments regexp=#.* colours=bright_black ======= # set an environment variable regexp=^([A-Za-z0-9_]+)= colours=unchanged,cyan ======= # cron line regexp=^([^#\s]+)\s+([^#\s]+)\s+([^#\s]+)\s+([^#\s]+)\s+([^#\s]+)\s+[^#]+ colours=unchanged,red,yellow,green,blue,magenta [adamhotep@tabasco ~]% crontab -l CRON=1 #m h dom mon dow command 30 6,16 * * 2-5 # 30 6 * * Sat # 30 11,17 * * 1-5 # 30 6 * * Sun # */15 * * * * # # vim:ts=4:
July 6, 2025 at 9:55 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
> There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people.

-- Commander William Adama, Battlestar Galactica
Photo of Edward James Olmos as William Adam in Battlestar Galactica
June 8, 2025 at 1:34 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
@tychotithonus Firefox on GrapheneOS (hardened Android), Vanadium (hardened Chromium) on the same GOS system.
Screenshot of the parent post from Firefox on GrapheneOS. No, I am not transcribi g this block of obscure U icode characters. Screenshot of the parent post from Vanadium on GrapheneOS. No, I am not transcribi g this block of obscure U icode characters.
May 24, 2025 at 2:55 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
I made a helper for Proximity (a word association game like #Semantle). It lets you poke around the database to see what's close to what:
https://github.com/adamhotep/userscripts/blob/main/Proximity%20-%20Find%20nearby%20words.user.js

Proximity #353
✅ 16 Guesses
💡 3 Hints
proximity.clevergoat.com 🐐
Screen shot of a game of Proximity in progress. There's a text box at the top where you enter your guesses, a "Guess" button beside it, then the list of guesses so far, with a colored bar indicating how close it is; the top guess is the most recent (264 away) while later guesses are ranked from closest (44 away) to farthest (tepid). The content is blurred so today's game isn't spoiled for you. Below the guesses is a panel of buttons including "Hint" and "Nearby...", which is circled by hand. Below that is another text box, also circled by hand. It's contains the word "proximity" and its button is labeled "Nearby". Another screenshot, this time of the "Nearby words" view, normally shown after completing a puzzle. A text box with its "Nearby" button is again circled by hand. Below that, it says "Nearby words" and it lists the nearest words to "proximity", including their similarity metric (proximity 1 is "nearness" with a similarity of 67.19, proximity 10 is "located" with a similarity of 45.07).
May 20, 2025 at 3:54 AM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
Github code diffs don't help you identify Unicode confusables. @bagder wrote about how an Armenian letter co (U+0581, `ց`, vs the visually identical U+0067, `g`) got past integration tests and code review.

This was just a test, but it could be used […]

[Original post on infosec.exchange]
A screenshot from Github that highlights the changed word but doesn't really explain what changed and there's no way to tell visually. A screenshot from Gitea (not Github!) warning that the replacement is using “ambiguous Unicode characters”
May 17, 2025 at 6:02 PM
adamhotep.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy
Sesame Street parodied Trump both as a petty real estate mogul (Joe Pesci as "Ronald Grump" in '88 & '94) and as an orange-toupeed Grouch muppet ("Donald Grump" in '05) who wants an Apprentice and fires everybody.

_This_ is why he wants to fire PBS […]

[Original post on infosec.exchange]
The Donald Grump muppet, a Grouch with a bright orange toupee and his name on his trash can Joe Pesci as Ronald Grump, showing off his model for Grump Tower, which would replace the whole Sesame Street neighborhood Joe Pesci as Ronald Grump, waving his hands grandly in front of the Sesame Street cast. There is a caption that reads The greedy character, played by Joe Pesci, wants to construct a "lavish new Grump Tower"
May 17, 2025 at 5:44 PM