The InfoSec Blog

I do a bit of work on the fringe of the Ruby community, and the Mac is popular there along with an IDE or two. However I’m beginning to see a few articles to the effect that the IDE is getting in the way after a point and that reverting to your favourite text editor as an IDE is actually more productive.

For old-farts like myself that would be VI (or VIM). Such a comment will probably bring cries of derision, more so than the idea of an editor replacing an IDE. But after a few decades editing is no longer a conscious act. Just as some people touch-type and the words appear on the screen (or paper) without any thought about the mechanics, so too with your favourite editor – only it extends to the non-alphanumeric keys too.

Of course I cheat; VIM has panels and Linux has all these windows and other things that make VIM usable as an IDE. Integrated? Yes, in my head. Its the best place for it.

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I must admit, this isn’t quite what I expected when I read the headline. I was expecting the contents of the laptop that had somehow come into the hands of the police or DEA to contain evidence that lead to the bust.  As it was, the recovery was a result of “phone home” software and the
bust was an incidental.

Security software built into a stolen laptop computer led police to a
Hoisington residence on Tuesday. Authorities not only found the
computer, but they also uncovered what appears to be a methamphetamine
lab.

So what is the procedure around the ‘phone home‘ software? Does it
contact the police directly? Does the owner notify the ‘phone home‘
software vendor and they in turn notify the police when they have a trace?

Detective Denton Doze at the Great Bend Police Department said the
$9,000 computer, along with hand tools and power tools, was stolen
during a burglary reported last Friday at the My Town project, 1419 Main
Street.

That must have been quite some laptop!

As of Wednesday evening, the missing tools had not been accounted for.

Well, obviously. They don’t have ‘phone home‘ software that runs when they are used. Read the rest of this entry »