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Updates from January, 2017 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Geebo 11:01 am on January 3, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: California ( 21 ), driving ( 2 ), phones ( 5 ), Safety ( 45 )   

  California seriously cracks down on cell phones in cars 

  

  We’re all guilty of it. We’ve all used our cell phones while driving. Whether it’s quickly checking a text message or changing a song, we’ve all taken our eyes off the road for just a second to fiddle with our phones. While we think we can handle it, it really is extremely dangerous to do so. California believes so too, and believes it so much they have instituted some of the toughest laws against driving and using your phone.

  While California has only allowed hands free calling for years, as of January 1st of 2017 California has made it illegal to use your phone while driving unless it’s in a cradle on your dashboard. Part of the law even states that the cradle can’t be on the center of the windshield. Not only that, but the law states that you can only use one finger to swipe anything on your phone while it’s in the cradle. Whether or not this will actually decrease incidents involving distracted driving remains to be seen. For example, can the law requiring only one finger swipes be enforced in reality? Will the fines, running from $20 to $50 be enough to discourage this kind of behavior? Or is this just a cash grab by the always financially addled Golden State?

  California is one of the most visited states by tourists. How many of them will be aware of the new law when they go to visit California? How many of them will be stopped by the California Highway Patrol for having their cell phones in their hands? While California has always had the toughest cell phone laws in the country, these new laws seem to be on par with the red light cameras that plague our cities, meaning that they generate more money for governments than they prevent actual accidents.

   

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  Geebo 11:02 am on January 2, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: hacking ( 31 ), malware ( 26 ), power grid ( 2 ), Vermont   

  Has the power grid been hacked? 

  

  Over the New Year’s weekend a story made the rounds that the power gird in Vermont had been hacked by foreign aggressors, Russian hackers to be specific. As is usually the case with these stories the cyber-devil is in the details.

  Much like the claims that the Russians hacked the 2016 US election the truth is somewhere in the middle. In the so-called power grid hack it was reported that Russian hackers had gained access to the power grid in Vermont. That turned out to be not the case. Instead, it was revealed that Russian malware was found on a laptop owned by a utility company. The laptop itself had no connection to the power grid, not to mention that Russian malware can be a misnomer.

  Russia is a haven for hackers and malware, this doesn’t mean that they are necessarily state sponsored. Also, not only is malware for sale to whoever wants to pay the price but any computer can be infected with it regardless of who owns it. For the most part malware is usually injected into computers when the user clicks on a risky link or email attachment. It’s normally used to cast a wide net to infect as many people as possible rather than singling out a single machine.

  So as it stands right now the power grid is relatively safe from Russian hackers. There’s a better chance of it failing from its own decay.

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